Beautiful & Creative Bookcases | Display & Store

I love books, always have, always will. I collect them like little treasures, read them over and over again and share the best ones with my Book Club. Granted, they haven’t taken to a few of the ‘different’ ones like I thought they might (Shades of Grey, The Host), but still – they get my best 🙂

However, since I got married, we’ve delayed for various reasons, in getting or building a bookcase that can house my constantly growing collection. At the moment my books are in clear plastic boxes, on a side table, next to my bed piled on the floor, on my bedside table and in my drawer! They need the love and cherishment of a good-looking bookcase, so that’s what today’s post on The Good Girls Guide is all about – beautiful bookcases in which to display and store… enjoy!

White BookCase for Magazines | source here.

A Pop of Colour in the Corner | source here.

Fly Away to Americaland | source here.

Floor to Ceiling Book Dream | source here.

Bikes and Bookcases | source here.

Colour Lovers | source here.

Gorgeous Green Gardens | For the Greenfingers in You

When I think of gorgeous rooftop gardens, i think immediately of that scene at the end of Just Like Heaven, when Reese Witherspoon walks out onto the most incredible rooftop garden I have ever seen. That changed my perception of how a garden should be, and really opened my eyes to the creativity and possibilities of creating that perfect garden space (even if it’s only 10m by 10m!)

Gardens for me have always been about grass, flowerbeds and a few trees (preferably Oak) dotting the lawn. But having seen such inspiration in Garden and Home and House & Living and those sorts of magazines, as well as various shows on the Home Channel – it’s clear that paving, stonework, indigenous and making the most of spaces can create the MOST amazing gardens ever!

So this Sunday post on The Good Girls Guide (while it’s all cold and windy and horrible outside in Cape Town today) is dedicated to beautiful green, summery gardens. Enjoy 🙂

Beatrix Potter’s Garden | source here.

A Garden Behind the Shed | source here.

Rooftop City Garden | source here.

Whimsical Garden Dreaming | source here.

A Garden Bridge into Secrets | source here.

A Garden Tapestry | source here.

Afternoon Garden Hideaway | source here.

Seaside & Marine Moodboard | Friday Inspiration

Happy Friday gorgeous readers! I am very happy that we’ve reached the end of a very long week – looking forward to sleeping in, doing some excercise, hanging with friends, going for coffee and waiting patiently for my husband to come back from school sports tour (he’s a teacher)…

It’s all good 🙂

So the other day I left the house for work and walked straight into a thick sea fog, the smell of the ocean keenly in the air. Made me think about being at the beach and how Summer is really ‘just around the corner’. SO, I’ve put together some marine/beach/sea/ocean inspiration for your wardrobe, your home, your decor or even your next holiday.

Enjoy this Seaside Marine Moodboard to get you thinking about the next best thing. Have a super weekend!

Ladies, Where’s Your Red Lipstick? | MWAH

There’s nothing that says confident, powerful, sexy and strong…quite like red lipstick! Today’s post on The Good Girls Guide is dedicated to that SASSY GIRL within, bring her out with a gorgeous red pout 🙂

Ruby Red Lips | Alfred Ramos

Hazel eyes and ruby red lips
Red hair I want to caress with my fingertips
That smile of innocence jumps right at me
Like a sly fox ready to attack me
I’m just trying to catch my sigh
My heart is dancing in a moonlit sky
Don’t know why
I cry when heroes die
Do I know when?
This feeling is going to end
I have fallen into an abyss
Dreaming of the ruby red lips I can’t kiss
All my raging emotions dispel
An emptiness surrounding this southern belle
Will she turn and walk away
Just when my nerves are ready to fray
Or like a dozen roses wilting in my hand
Will she blow away in a puff like desert sand?
So how do I put out this fire?
Raging between despair and desire
And if I was looking for clemency
I’d wake up from this fantasy
As her ruby red lips vanish into the night
Blowing a kiss in her midnight flight

Bold Lashes & Red Lips | source here.

Dazzling Cherry Lips | source here.

A Touch of Innocence | source here.

The Beauty with the Orange Kiss | source here.

Baby Boyish | source here.

1950s Runaway | source here.

Geisha Girl Inspiration | source here.

And Finally, Pucker Up | source here.

Vintage Mood Board | Sunday Loveliness

Creative mood boards are an excellent way of finding a new style or look for your wardrobe or room makeover, decor, design inspiration or more. It’s also a brilliant tool for brides when deciding on a look and feel for their weddings!

Today’s lazy Sunday post (well, before  I got for a run at least!) is a vintage inspired moodboard – gathering the look and feel of a yesteryear era. I love the big curls, big lashes, colours of the photos, pearls, lace and silver jewellery, the old-fashioned swimsuits, the big cars, old typewriter and faded books…it just says Vintage!

Imagine taking this into a room into your home – a redone wardrobe, a photo feature on the wall, an old-fashioned dressing table…or imagine making it your wedding theme: dusty pink and lace, soft roses, books and silver goblets on the tables, ribbons of satin and crepe…

So be inspired! Make your own mood board! Create on online with a Pinterest board, or simply get some relevant magazines and create your own. Have a super Sunday 🙂

Vintage Inspiration | All photos taken from Pinterest.

Nigella’s Chocolate Brownies | Friday Recipe

Ooh, Nigella Lawson – the Chef with the big ladle of cream, butter, sugar and yummy goodness. Now while it’s not a great idea to eat like that on a daily (ha, or weekly!) basis, it’s good to have a treat every now and then. I’m a firm believer that chocolate is good for the soul, body and mind.

Soul – you feel comforted, comfortable and happy

Body – you feel energized by the natural cocoa (ok, I just made that up)

Mind – you know that a gym class is just a drive away…

So today’s post on The Good Girls Guide is about a decadent little Nigella special – one of her chocolate brownies. FLOURLESS no less! Serve with ice-cream for more delishishshsness….

Ingredients

FOR THE BROWNIE:

• 225g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
• 225g butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 150g ground almonds
• 100g chopped walnuts

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 75g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
• 125ml double cream
• 2 x 15ml tablespoons
• Camp coffee or 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• 1 x 15ml tablespoon golden syrup

Method

Serves: Makes 16 squares

1. For the brownie:
2. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a heavy-based saucepan.
3. Take the pan off the heat, mix in the vanilla and sugar, and let it cool a little.
4. Beat the eggs into the pan along with the ground almonds and chopped walnuts. Turn into a 24cm square baking tin or, most sensibly, use a foil one.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, by which time the top will have set but the mixture will still be gooey. Once cooler, cut carefully, four down, four across, into 16 squidgybellied squares.
6. For the sauce:
7. Break up the chocolate and put into a heavy-based saucepan.
8. Add the remaining ingredients, then place the pan over a gentle heat and let everything melt together.
9. Once everything has melted, stir well, take off the heat and pour into a jug to serve.

See Nigella’s recipe here.

Shoes You’ll Probably Never Wear | Gawk Time!

When I see celebrities parading around in sky-high jawbreaker heels, I’m just amazed that they can walk (and talk, baring the fact that they are concentrating so hard on not falling over) in them! But then again, those are just normal (and heavily priced) Christian Louboutins, not like the skyscraper shoes I’m showing off today!

The Good Girls Guide brings you a classic Gawker post: Shoes You’ll Never Wear! Don’t gasp or say, ‘of course I’ll wear them!’, before looking at these incredible pieces of shoeart – because that’s what they are. It’s a fun look at how fashion and trends sometimes go overboard and are incredibly unrealistic, even when they’re pretty.

So here we go – crazy shoes to gawk at!

Black Feathered Stilettos | source here.

Mirror-Ball Heels | source here.

Super Sonic Lumo Heels | source here.

Unique Stiletto Heel | source here.

Dangerous Ballet Pumps| source here.

Smokin-Hot Red Soles | source here.

Baby Black Booties | source here.

Rhinestones & Studded Glory Shoes | source here.

Yellow & Green DIY Goodness | Something for Home

I’ve been searching for great new ideas on Pinterest and slowly started accumulating a collection of amazing DIY ideas – for some reason, they were all yellow and green! And this is how this little blog post was born…

Since The Good Girls Guide is all about bringing you clever ideas, tips & tricks, I thought that some DIY inspiration before the week kicks off would be a great idea. From magnetic photo frames to inspired Chinese lanterns and a crazy stenciled wooden floor, it’s all things you CAN do yourself (or with a man lending a hand on some of the heavier tasks!)

Hope you all had a great Sunday and all the best for the week…keep these ideas for next weekend!

Magnetic Photo Frames | source here.

Grow Your Herbs on the Wall | source here.

Paper & Buttons Flower | source here.

DIY Rustic Headboard | source here.

Stencilled Wooden Floor | source here.

White-wood Chinese Lanterns | source here.

Material Flowers on Cushions | source here.

You Can’t Buy Happiness…| Friday Thought

So many times, we strive and strive to be happy, to be successful and to feel fulfilled…but we are often let down by people, by situations or circumstances, by our own (or others) limitations and very often just by disbelief.

I’ve found that running after things or people or expected outcomes can very often lead to disappointment and the very opposite of happiness. Not always, sometimes a situation can knock your socks off with the way it turned out and the smile on your dial lasts longer than you thought it would. But very often we lean on the wrong things for fulfilment and happiness.

Today’s Friday post from The Good Girls Guide is not a lecture on how to find happiness, but rather it’s a suggestion that sometimes deep within ourselves we have the true key to happiness, and it will never be found chasing after unatainable things. For me, it’s God – He gets me through pretty much everything, even when I’m scraping the barrel of yuck. I know that deep within me He’s given me the tools to be happy, but the key to it all is not to try too hard.

Sometimes it reallyis  just an icecream on the pier.

Oh, to Fall in Love!

As a newlywed, I’m still so inspired by incredible wedding photography, decor, clever ideas and just general great wedding tips & tricks. But for the most part, it’s being inspired by couples in love – you can really tell when a couple loves each other, and with a good photographer who is all about capturing natural moments – you can definitely see it!

Having been to about 7 weddings since my own (which was in November), it’s just amazing to appreciate it from the other side of the table. Seeing a couple making their vows to each other in front of God, family and friends is so much more meaningful when you yourself are married. WOWNESS!

And you know what…falling in love has nothing on loving in marriage. It’s something quite amazing and very special, and has such incredible potential for growth.

Anyway, after the lovey-dovey smushy parts of this LOVE post, I thought I would share my favourite wedding photography and inspirational sites with you, courtesy of The Good Girls Guide – in case you’re planning, dreaming or wishing you could do it again…

• Love Made Visible – my amazing wedding photographers – just talented, gorgeous and natural
• Christine Meintjes Photography  – an incredible photographer with classic, beautiful style to sigh over
• Oh Darling Bride – local Cape Town based wedding blog full of great tips & ideas on decor, trends & more
• Style me Pretty – gorgous real weddings, insiration, ideas and decor trends
• The Pretty Blog – another local but internationally inspired wedding blog full of amazing DIY & ideas
• Southern Weddings Magazine – rustic, luxurious, country style weddings to oogle over…

Beautiful Vintage Wedding | source here.