Friday ...

... is quote day! Also, these lilacs.

“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.”- St. Augustine.

I've been trying to do these small things daily:

Drink more water.
Do at least 5 burpees every day.
Write one page filled with words of some kind.
Rely less on my iphone as a distraction in public... Looking up.
Watch at least one YouTube tutorial on how to improve my photoshop and camera skills.
Be outside (this one is the easiest)

What you doing this weekend? We have high optimistic hopes of finding a camping spot despite it being a long weekend. Prepare for a summer of this blog being flooded by our tight camping adventures. Maybe some outfit posts and DIYs too, since I'm working on becoming an actual useful blogger. #dreams

Last fun fact: Spokane is the Lilac city. 

Spring and yay

We've had some beautiful days here in Spokane this week. Like run around bare foot, try new ice cream, wear your favorite dress, pick dandelions and hum happy tunes kind of beautiful days. I'll probably talk about the weather here a lot more, like I have in the past. Good weather is such a big deal to me. Yesterday was the warmest day we've had in 222 days! 222 days! Warmer than in Jo'burg for the first time in months, yes yes yes! Give me the summer, bring back the sun! 

This weekend I'll be attending a Wedding industry conference the whole day Saturday and then Sunday we run Bloomsday! It's a 12km road race attended by over 50 000 runners and walkers if I'm not mistaken. It's a big deal, and you're basically shunned from Spokane if you don't do it... Well not really, but I need all the motivation I can get.

Have a wonderful weekend xoxo

Things I've always wanted to do in America #29

Speaking of things I've always wanted to do in the USA... here with a quick look at our day at the county fair.

Filled with goats and ponies, kids being violently thrown from sheep, tiny pig races, a ferris wheel, something deep-fried, blue ribbon pumpkins and oh so much more.

When Ben was at the County Fair last year, he kept sending me pictures of goats and over-sized egg plants... all I could think was: Next year I'll be at the county fair, I'll be a wife and a permanent citizen and probably eating something horribly unhealthy. Man, I couldn't wait for that day. Now I'm already looking forward to the next one... might even enter the pie contest next year.

RepreSENT !

Things I've always wanted to do in America #12

While the chances are that I won't be able to go to school in a yellow school bus and eat cafeteria food like they did in the movies, I have managed to add a few checks to my list.

It's a weird kind of list. Not very impressive, and I don't even fully know what's on there. It's just a list of things I've wanted to do in America based on books, movies, tv shows, blogs and American friends I've been exposed to over the years.

Some checks have included: Eating a Krispy Kream doughnut, going to Yellow Stone, New Years in Eve in Times Square, shopping at Yard Sales (and oh my have I checked this one), spending a day at the county fair and so on.

One such odd desire: go to a pumpkin patch, another has been to go 'pick your own' anything. I honestly can't believe I went the whole summer without heading out to Green Bluff and picking my own darn strawberries like all the cool girls do. Oh well, I more than made up for that.

Pumpkins, apples, blackberries and flowers!

 

 All this fresh country air suddenly inspired me to ask Ben to take a few "outfit" shots of me. Something I may or may not introduce here... But my inner super model/posing without posing self just didn't seem to appear. Anyway, the shoes are from Woolworths, and so is the bag and so is the scarf... I think. Oh never mind, maybe I'll be a classy outfit post girl in my next blog life.

Our trip out here did nothing but feed this dream we have of one day living in the country with all out goats and peacocks. 

 

 

I would like say something about apples if I may? If all apples tasted like these apples did off the tree I'd probably wouldn't call them the boring fruit. So sorry about that apples! I didn't know you could taste that good.

I'm sure there are places in South Africa to go pick stuff to over joy your picking heart, but I just never thought to do that, not anywhere around Jo'burg that I know of anyway. So, that's why, check! Check to still getting my tourist on, even though I live here now.

Riverfront

a Sunday afternoon before a public holiday Monday must be one of my favorite occurrences ever, right up there with free ice creams, receiving hand written letters and spring blossoms.
  Add together: a willing meandering partner, a moody sky competing with late afternoon sunshine, appreciation for my new home town's biggest attraction and you're bound to get a pretty content lady over here.

What I'll miss about Spokane

Today's topic "What do you miss"

(phew, I'm a little uninspired here at the end of a lovely weekend)

This is the third country I've lived in, the seventh city I've lived in, the tenth home I've lived in(since my 21st brithday).

I get around.

Every time I move I miss some aspects of the previous place, and as you can imagine, I miss South Africa a lot! I miss my family and friends like crazy. My car, the family dog, Nandos...

But instead of getting caught up in that I'm going to share with you what I would miss about Spokane, the North West and the US, if we were to move tomorrow.

I've actually been thinking about what I would miss a lot.  It's helped me appreciate what I do have right now. It helps with those homesick 'i-just-want-to-go-have-sushi-with-belinda-and-visit-izanne-and-speak-afrikaans-and-drink-wine-with-my-family' days.  I can't be the only one that feels this way every now and then, right?

So let me share some here.
(I say some, because I know I'll think of a few extra very clever things I should have posted here like 4 days on)

- Just a how freaking gorgeous this town is in the late Spring. I.CAN'T.GET.ENOUGH! (See my instagram for an overload of blossoms)

-Trees everywhere

-Our apartment. For wood floors and big window reasons, but also sentimental first home together reasons.

-The Spokane river. Riverfront Park. Spokane Falls.

-The Monroe bridge, and the views.

-Snow.  Not that I'm missing it so much in this very moment, but I know that I would miss it.

-Manito Park of course.

-Bloomsday

-Micro breweries

-Spokane Downtown and how close we are to it.

-Tulips and lilacs. It's not called the lilac city for nothing, believe me.

-Being close to my family in law.

-Their farm, the free eggs and honey.

-The Steam Plant, best.beer.ever.

-Trader Joe's

-Being so close to the hiking trails.

-The Palouse (just recently discovered how gorgeous it is)

-Our neighborhood, and all the tree lined streets.

-That it's safe to walk


As I mentioned, these are just a few of the things I think I'd really miss.