Writer’s Block in Joburg and the Insufferable Heat

I am home, home after one whirlwind of a year in Cape Town.

I am back in Joburg, the city that will always hold my heart.

Traffic in Newtown

Now it’s time to relax and appreciate a period of calm.

For me a holiday has always been a period of catch up, not the DSTV kind but rather everything that I didn’t have that much time for before. Things like reading, writing, art and blogging…. None of which I have done (except for some sporadic watercolour experiment that may or may not have worked out).

Photo by Cara Richmond

I am blocked. My creativity, something which I actually like about myself, has sailed off in the wind and taken its own holiday, or possibly has otherwise melted in this dreadful heat.

Coming home hasn’t been the refreshing break I expected. Sure there are aspects that are great. I get to see people who I have missed but other than that I feel suffocated more than ever before. Mostly it’s due to the weather.

And I know it’s just weather, and I can’t honestly do anything about it but it’s starting to get to my head.

These are my issues:

• It is too hot. Point blank. This is not normal, in fact it is a heat wave linked with drought and suffering that doesn’t bring prosperity to the land in general. It’s suffocating and in fact the need for water increases along with a desire to preserve the liquid as it rapidly disappears which is just conflicting.

  

  Photo by Cara Richmond

• I’ve never liked summer. As a pale person even the glimpse of sunlight turns me bright red. It’s bad for my skin and it makes me feel sweaty and disgusting. My hand bag’s contents have completely been made over with the addition of permanent deodorant, suntan lotion, even after-sun. My hair is limp, my skin is shiny and horrid and the heat makes me drowsy and uncommitted.
• “Summer body”. I already suffer from selfdoubt in my body image and this year has bought many conflicting emotions about how I should and shouldn’t look and how I should or shouldn’t feel about that. Every day I stand in front of the mirror and imagine myself with a new body. With a better body. In Cape Town it’s possible to pretend. It’s cold and rainy and layers are ones best friend. And layers my dear readers are the best tricks that I have to covering up and making myself feel better. And now I’m here and it’s too hot for such things. I mean I only own one pair of shorts so you can imagine just how I feel every day trying to keep intact my fashionable image well trying not to turn into a walking talking sweating tomato (with unattractive legs).
• The pollution. With the lack of rain and drenching heat the infamous Johannesburg smoggy sky sit lower than ever and I can’t breathe. For those of you who don’t know, I have asthma and in Cape Town my lungs feel freer and healthier than they’ve ever felt and so returning to the smog my lungs are no longer used to it and every breath I take hurts.

  

  Photo by Cara Richmond

• I am lazy. The heat has put me in a lethargic position where I sit and do absolutely nothing. I achieve nothing. I am creatively blocked. And yes I do blame the heat. The heat is overpowering and negative and I don’t know how to deal with it. This puts me in a positon where I am unmotivated to do anything other than sit on my bed and send snapchats.

BUT I still love Joburg. The heat sucks but that is temporary. I am glad to be back in the city that moves, that excited and that is full of energy. MrP (Mr price clothing) ran an Instawalk recently (a walk dedicated to creating relationships within the IGers community and showcases the environment you’re in. it gives those involved an opportunity to practice and share the art of photography) through Newtown in Johannesburg CBD and on a whim we went. It was amazing. Better than anything I’ve seen in Cape Town because it felt real. Sure Newtown is a developed area aimed to renew the city but it’s impossible to mask the reality of Johannesburg and the harsh beauty that it exist in. It’s far more tangible than any other city in South Africa and photographing it was possibly the first push I needed to start appreciating my city again. I have been so stuck and hidden by this heat that I had forgotten what I longed for coming home.

These are my loves:

• It sounds strange but the only way you will ever move towards a solution is through conflict and discussion. Johannesburg is consistently struggling through conflicts. There is never complete complacency in this city and that’s what keeps it moving forward and maintains inspirations.

  

  Photo by Cara Richmond

• This city is large. I can drive for two hours and not have left the hustle. Johannesburg sprawls on and on. It’s like a never ending blanket that encapsulates you and holds you in its grasp. It’s difficult to escape the city but luckily I don’t want to.
• I won’t pretend to say that Johannesburg is the most colourful city. Cape Town is bright and clean and has walls painted over in different colours that make it bright and exciting. But it’s a show. In Joburg the colours appear dull but they have depth and as an artist that excited me more, that means more than anywhere else I’ve ever been.
• I’m a (wannabe) civil engineer so I love buildings. My family has a deep history with buildings in this country and this city and I am attracted to the structure of Johannesburg. Whether it be the beauty of the skyline and the sheer size of the buildings themselves or the pushing of boundaries with architectural design or the structure of the movement itself. Joburg never rests and you could be caught in a traffic jam at any time of day but there is a chaotic and uncensored order. It’s angry and it’s passionate and it keeps this city on its toes.
• The people (and their clothes). People in Joburg are the most ambitious people I’ve ever met. The reason this place always moves is because the people always move. This is a place where success is possible. It you want peace and prosperity go the winelands if you want competition and fame come to Johannesburg because this is the place where dreams come true.

Thank you MrP for a fantastic walk and for reawakening my excitement for this city.

Photo by Cara Richmond

I am on a mission to take down this writer’s block which cam along with art block and fashion block. You can see in my current expression I’m hot and bothered with slightly skew glasses (because hiding behind colour glass that is basically the size of my face is my specialty). My dungereese is kind of my go to look for summer (find my blog on exactly that here to find out more on how I style it). and the rest of my outfit is a hope that wearing the colours of summer might somehow let me blend into the surroundings and hopefully cool me down ever so slightly.

In this outfit:

Sunglasses – MrP (last season)

Pastel top – H&M

Denim skirt Dungarees – Cotton On (last season)

Shoes – H&M

Photo by Cara Richmond

To my readers. I’m struggling a bit with my writing and my style lately but I’m trying to improve that and I hope to see you again soon with interesting (and better, more creative) blog posts.

Have a good festive season.

X J

 

Off With Her Hair

Off with her hair

I have always said that my hair is connected to my psyche. Yes an odd statement and maybe a little crazy but I promise whenever I make a dramatic change to my hair it effects my lifestyle. Generally this involves taking a pair of scissors (well letting a professional take a pair of scissors) to it. I can’t explain it but the shorter my hair the better I feel. It’s like when I cut off the heavy split locks, I cut off the worries of my life. Okay it’s not that full proof but it’s always the first step to me trying to make my life more positive.

Lately life’s been throwing me a few curve balls and I allowed myself to slowly sink into self-pity (a sad life-destroying hole that aint so fun to be in). And seeing as I put myself there I needed to take the responsibility to get out. So I turned to one of the best ways that I know how to turn myself onto a brighter path and that is by mutilating my brown bob.

Now through my life I have had short hair more than I’ve had it long and so usually when I take such drastic measures it can’t really be classified as brave because I am so used to it. This however was the shortest I have ever gone and with actually having nothing wrong with the bob (except maybe I was bored of it) I actually felt a few nerves for once nevertheless I had told myself to do it and so I couldn’t turn back. Which is how I ended up having one of the shortest hairdos out of all my friends (guys included).

It’s a rather simply pixie cut which I am still getting used to dealing with. I wanted something that was classic yet edgy, that didn’t require a lot of maintenance, which when it grows out will still look reasonable and I still wanted it to be a little feminine.

Yes. I know. It’s short

This is what we came up with. I think it fits the requirements what I am not sure of is whether its fits me. Does the shorter ‘do’ suit me and my personality? I don’t dislike it. I think it’s different and it definitely had the desired effect on my mind but I don’t know if I will stick with it. I am not so sure if I can join the ranks of Ruby Rose, Miley Cyrus or Charlize Theron with my new look but at least I can say I tried right?

One of the other issues it has caused is that with this new (and improved?) and more mature hairstyle I feel like my wardrobe has become boring and inadequate which has had me clutching at the tiny tufts of hair in frustration because I never know what to wear.

Black, White, Red – Great combo

The thing about fashion is- OOH SQUIRREL

Itchy head, itchy head

The other shoes are my sisters #photographer

This particular outfit was born out of irritation and experimentation because I had had enough. I wish I could wear this none stop. I love the jacket-cardigan-scarf-thing (please help me name it) it adds this unusual layer and texture to my looks. The choker is something I have stolen from my sister and is a new trend I am just getting into particularly because I feel like it goes with the hair quite well. I love the classic black and white look and I definitely feel like it is a mature peak in my current style. Also please note I finally got new shoes. They are simple and practical but they look nice. I finally went shopping with a purpose and instead of getting distracted but pretty shirts I told myself I couldn’t leave until I had bought some stylish, flat, user-friendly black shoes… I can not believe that I actually found them. I am moving up in the shoe world.

Comment below and let me know what you think of the new hair… Should I keep it of lose it?

Oh and as I was told by a very wise woman (wink wink) “a change is as good as a holiday” so if youre feeling down and nothing seems to work, maybe it’s time you trimmed that ‘do’. Remember hair is simply an accessory and there really is no need to get to personally attached. IT WILL GROW BACK. Trust me.

x J

A Factorie Clash

So I am currently enjoying the summer vibe that Factorie, an Australian brand surrounding teenage fashion which has found its way to South Africa, has to offer. I must admit the place isn’t perfect and I have found a few clothes of bad quality but the general trend is fun clothes which are easy to slip into and fall in love with. They are so popular that you can’t help but bump into people wearing the same clothes as you which is a bummer but I suppose it only speaks for the on-trend atmosphere of the brand.

One of the new style trends which has arisen this season which Factorie has taken full advantage of is what I like to call the skirt-shorts. These are shorts which are loose and casual and take on the look of a skirt except you don’t have to worry as much about the wind causing you to flash everyone. I, being an anti-short person, have found that this trend works to my advantage because it looks and feels like I am wearing a skirt so I invested in a pair.I am now very fond of them and maybe (just maybe) I may have to invest in another.

Another favourite from Factorie are the new halter neck crop tops. I love this shape on me, I love how it makes me look and feel and I already own two versions of this shirt.

Of course, me being me, I had to have a moment of clashing patterns. I haven’t done it in a while and I feel like I have an empty space in my fashion soul so I decided to go for it once more. It may look like I am wearing very little clothing but what you must understand is that with temperatures reaching above 30 degrees Celsius almost everyday one rarely wants to wear clothes at all. I love this look because it’s cool and comfortable but has my added bit of mischief to it.

I go bright

So it is a new year and I thought I would start it off with this incredible and incredibly bright dress that I stepped in to when I stepped out of my comfort zone. I didn’t know it was possible to find something this bright but I managed somehow. It fits like a glove and makes my boobs look amazing (I know this is a bit crude but most ladies will understand that this is a great find in a dress).

I literally can’t take this thing off. I have basically nowhere to wear it but I will put it on and stand in front of my mirror and twirl because then I can’t take the smile off either. I am overjoyed with this dress. I can’t say too much about it without getting repetitive and starting to sound like an over attached lunatic but this has become my favourite dress and the best part was it was only just over R100 from Mr Price. I know a lot of people wont even step into the shop as it is ‘below them’ but honestly if you get off your high horse and go looking you may just find a hidden treasure.

PS. I hope that this will be a great year for you, me and the blog and I promise I am going to work at this.

War Horse

This year has been chaos and in that chaos I have lost time to do things I love. I read so little I don’t think I can call myself a reader anymore (I know it is devastating), I can’t remember what a gallery looks like and I think I have been to one play and that was a school thing anyway but when I heard that War Horse was coming to Jo’burg, the dramatic part of me noticed but it was when the puppet company toured to some of the schools in the area with Joey as their star attraction I knew that I had to go. The horse is amazing. The engineering of it… This is something I don’t know how to explain. I want to become an engineer and I’ve loved drama my entire life so to see the two combined so seamlessly, effortlessly and with creativity I can’t even imagine was truly breath-taking for me and I made myself a promise that I would see this show.

There was one problem… my final matric examinations started two days before the play which meant that I would have to give up study time to see the production but after a long discussion with the academic side of me the creative side won out and I was going to go. Something which the Teatro often does is sells an entire show (usually an unpopular time) to various schools and mine, being ever so slightly cultural, opted to buy one. This results in cheaper tickets so my mom booked for u. It was for a Friday night and my next exam was only the following Wednesday. So off we went. Me dressed in a glorious black jumpsuit from Factorie (which I can’t show you because it has since shrunk after one wash much to my displeasure. Shame on you Factorie).

I’m sure that everybody living in Jo’burg will know that driving to Montecasino in the evening is never a good idea. We left early but still were forced to spend a gruelling hour in traffic much to my mother’s horror. We get there about twenty minutes before the show starts and we joined the line. This is when my sister mentions that she hasn’t seen any St Mary’s girls and she wondered out loud if we had the right day… No we did not. A quick glance at our tickets confirmed the show was only on Tuesday. We were devastated. We had a cup of coffee and headed home (luckily in less traffic). The problem now was that with my Physics exam on Wednesday morning there was no way I could go. A friend took my ticket and I was left home alone and depressed.

I am very lucky to have a saint as a mother. She remembered that we were baby sitting my little cousin while the rest of her family went to the show. My mother quickly organised that I go with them and she managed to book me a last minute ticket.

So I went dressed in this amazing playsuit which I love. I never used to be able to find playsuits that suit me because the top half of my body is proportionally smaller than bottom so I battle to find something that fits me all round but this season the shapes work for me. I wish I had knee high black socks because that combined with my heeled black ankle boots would have looked amazing with this but my mom’s light ones go nicely as well. I don’t usually wear statement necklaces (honestly I think I’m just too lazy to style them) but I got this for a bargain at Mr Price and I love the subtle clash with the floral pattern, of course.

But honestly speaking I could have been wearing my Pyjamas and I wouldn’t have cared because the show was so amazing it didn’t even matter. I was in love and happy. Sitting there and enjoying the play just made me feel all warm and gooey as if I was a character in a cheesy rom-com. Because my ticket was booked late, I was in the very centre of the very last row on the very top level but that didn’t make a difference either (imagine if I’d been up close). I was on the edge of my seat and exclaiming, not at the story line, at the backgrounds, the acting techniques and of course the puppets (the goose is by far my favourite). I think the rugby-player-looking twenty-something year old in front of me thought I was insane. The show is INCREDIBLE -and I use capitals for a reason. I know they are sold out now here but if ever you get an opportunity to watch it you have to go. It takes the art of making a play and twists it on its head in the most amazing way possible. The music is also out standing and the acting without flaws but it is the puppets, the puppet makers and the puppet masters which awed me the most, so much so I was almost convinced to change career paths. I feel like this is an inadequate explanation and description of the play but I could never give it justice . Well done War Horse and well done players.

Ps maybe I’m biased but let us all note that the horse was designed in our very own Cape town  (not a surprise it is so brilliant)

A night with the girls

As is the general slightly stereotypical trend for girls, I have a group, a clique, a posse,a jolly band of brothers sisters. It is just a small group, only 6 of us. We don’t have a name except maybe ‘the onesie crew’ but that is a story for another day. I do have other friends but we have individual relationships between just the two of us but in this group we have one 6 sided relationship (yes it can get a bit chaotic). They are my group of girlfriends but we aren’t like a lot of other girlfriend groups I’ve noticed. A lot of the groups around me were formed out of necessity. They consist of girls who dress the same, play the same sport, have the same culture or class orientated lifestyles but we aren’t like that. It is a wonder that 6 people so different in personality could come together and stay together as best friends. We like different movies, food, music, clothing, past time activities, school activities. We have different philosophical, political and religious views and yet we manage to work as a coherent, functioning, totally mad group of girls.

Due to our uncountable differences we rarely manage to go out with all of us in one go. It does happen but it is hard to organise. Now currently we are on school holiday which we, because we are in our final year of school, are expected to spend studying. I do realise that this blog may make it look like I am having the best of times dressing up and going out but most of my days have been spent at my desk learning everything from advanced calculus to PW Botha’s repressions and reforms. I did, inevitably, start to get cabin fever. I wanted to see my friends. Getting a day where we were all available was about as easy as giving a donkey a belly ring but eventually we settle on a day. Today. We met up at JB Corners in Sandton (this is like our spot now) and we ate good food and laughed all evening. It was great to see them. The nice thing about us all being so different is that we always have things to talk about and always make each other laugh. I was tired before I got there, exhausted, it was probably from my brain being over worked but after spending only a couple of hours with my friends I felt rejuvenated.

I know every girl/woman probably says their girlfriends are the best girlfirends but honestly (and totally unbiasedly) my girlfriends are the best girlfriends.

Manhattan, Neighbourgoods and new jeans

I love the fit of these jeans. Not too loose and not to tight.

I find myself loving the perfect accessory more and more. Jewelry has a way of completely changing an outfit

This is a blog about all my adventures this weekend.

It started with a day shopping with a friend of mine. I am a fussy shopper and so didn’t end up buying much however I finally decided to give in and buy these incredible jeans from Topshop. They are quite pricey and now sit as one of the most expensive items in my cupboard but totally worth it. They are washed out ‘Mom’ jeans. They are high-waisted and fit like a glove. I feel great in them. I find it quite difficult to find a good pair of jeans that fits me nicely but I must admit that Topshop knows how to make jeans. I have been looking for a nice pair of high-waisted jeans and I am so glad I found them. Lets just say I am suffering from a little crush on this item of clothing.

My friends and I had been planning to go to the Manhattan Club that evening and I was all too happy to slip into my jeans for the occasion. I don’t usually wear crop tops but in these jeans I felt like a new person and so decided to wear a tight black crop top with it. It felt quite unusual for me because I’m usually dressed in quite a girly or mature colourful style and this look was definitely not that. I felt like a rocker and it felt good. I wore a friend of mines necklace. I loved how the long jewelery complemented the short shirt. I also wore a mix of different styled rings adding up to a total of 8. Yes I may have gone overboard but I love rings too much for my own good. I finished it off with my hiking boots. They are the only shoes I own that go with the hard-core look.

The reason we were going to the club was that I recently turned 18 and this is the legal age to party in South Africa. I don’t drink but I still felt that at the age of 18 I had to go to a club at some point. It’s almost a right of passage.

What did I think?

Well it was fun to begin with. We danced and partied and the atmosphere was one of excitement and joy. It was interesting observing the club lifestyle: the way people dress, what people drink, how they dance and act and the layout of the club itself was interesting to me who  obviously hasn’t done this very much.

So it was fun to a point and then I got over it very quickly. At about 12 after being there for 4 hours already I started to feel claustrophobic. My friends were drunk and I wasn’t, there were too many people and all the fumes from cigarettes, alcohol and I don’t want to guess what else were giving me a head ache and making me woozy. My temper was shortening and the guys. Trust me boys, when you are drunk in clubs your pick-up lines are awful.

I convinced my very drunk friend that we should go home and we left at about 1 which was probably a good thing because if we had left much later I would have ended up hating it.

On the way home my friend insisted on getting McDonald’s. I had a McFlurry as that is the only thing I can stand eating from the place. I took  a vow against McDonald’s a long time ago and smelling her burger in the car at 1 in the morning didn’t make me regret it.

I was very happy to see my bed when we eventually got home.

What does any sane person do after a night clubbing? Not what we did. We decided to go to the Neighbourgoods Market in town. If you live in Joburg or if you one day come to Joburg… You have to check this out. It is every saturday and it is a market which is filled with the most incredible sights and sounds and most importantly food. Waffles, Burgers, pies and everything else you can think of and it all tastes amazing. A lot of people from Joburg are scared of going into ‘town’ because it has a reputation of being dangerous. To this I tell you to get over yourselves. Stop cowering in your ‘picket-fence’ houses and go, run screaming with joy because this place is amazing and shop by shop it is lifting up the area. It’s a revolution which you should be proud to have an oportunity to take part in.

We spent a few hours of the late morning there. The weather wasnt great but the place was as amazing as ever. I love going there. I love watching the people and tasting the food.

I did not however feel so good when I got home. I think the partying the night before, the late night and the rich food didn’t make a good combination for me. I obviously don’t have a very good stamina for this kind of thing. I felt awful and went to bed at 5 O’clock in the afternoon and only woke this morning.

But it was worth the fun I had on the weekend.

New Coat for Hard Rock Café

I’m sorry for the distinct lack of blog posts lately. It seems that the only device on which I can access my blog in an iPad and this is an unsatisfactory device on which to type. The soft fleshy thumps my finger make, make them feel fat and I miss the tick of a keyboard (who would have thought right?)

But anyway ’tis the season for 18th birthdays and a couple of days ago I had the pleasure of going to the Hard Rock Café for dinner. It was friends of mine, twins, birthday and they were paying. It was great. It’s the first time I’ve been and although it is extremely overpriced the food is amazing and the atmosphere is brilliant. It really had a unique vibe, well at least unique to what I’m used to, it’s old fashioned American diner meets modern class. The waiter was enthusiastic (maybe slightly too enthusiastic for some people) and the night was enjoyable. I ate a large burger which was probably too big but I finished it anyway. It had some long name with the word hickery and barbecue some where. It was a beef burger and I’m not a big fan of beef but I decided to go for it and was pleasantly surprise, as I said I ate the whole thing. The birthday girls ordered a host of desserts but I was too full to try any but they looked great.

I rarely get to where heels and after a long term of school my friends felt the same so we decided to over dress slightly and make it a semi-formal event. I was so excited. I wore my favourite blue wedges (easier to walk in) and A new dress I got. I wore the heels to a dance I went to so I have the most incredible bag that goes with it which I wore as well. And  the most important piece if the outfit? The coat! I love coats and for my birthday I got money to buy a new one. I like the chunkiness of this one as it compliments my style and I have a soft spot for oversized coats. I was so excited to wear it and I think it went well. The cherry on the top was that my friend gave me a beautiful ring with a black stone that is more formal than most of my other rings. It just bought the whole look together.

Anyone in Joburg who us looking to treat themselves, go to the Hard Rock Café. It’s pricey so only good for a treat but what an amazing treat it will be!

Here you can see how the matching bag and shoes tie the outfit together plus how amazing is that coat.

This close up shows the beautiful ring and bag

I think nobody’s feet can look bad in the right pair of heels