Zhakila Decorating

Happy New Year to you. I hope this year will fulfill your hopes and dreams whatever they may be.

I am quite excited by the year ahead. It's going to be a bit of a different one for me. For the first time in a couple of years, I am not going to be formally employed! I might have an exciting decorating project lined up but otherwise I am going to have some more time on my hands and here's how I'm going to fill it....

My kind and generous husband gave me a very nice camera for Christmas. When I started this blog years ago, my intention was to photograph ideas in my own home to illustrate the subject matter of my blog post, but when I saw my pathetic attempts compared to the glorious interiors I come across online and in magazines, I tended to not bother that much with taking my own photos. But that is about to change. I also do most of my paintings from photographs so I am now very motivated to learn to take better photo's.

But let's focus on the important things first - the stuff! My current camera bag is a bit small, especially if I intend to accumulate some more lenses over time and the bag that came with the camera is one of those typical bags that screams, "I am a tourist or I have an expensive camera inside me - please steal me". And then, of course, there is the issue of style. I have seen some beautiful leather camera bags online, but they cost a small fortune, so I decided to improvise....

I found this camera bag insert online through Amazon...

and found the perfect size bag, via Bidorbuy to accommodate it - voila - an inexpensive camera bag. I thought this bag with it's slightly distressed canvas outer and leather trim would look quite cool and give me some street cred! (Thank goodness my kids don't read my blog - I can picture them howling with laughter at the idea of their middle aged mom having anything vaguely resembling street cred!)

....and then just to complete the picture I found this really cute camera strap, also on Amazon, for the price of 3 cappuccinos.

I am going to be the most stylish photographer out there, but, sadly, to quote a friend's son

"I now have all the gear....but no idea!"

I have tried reading the manual, but for all the sense it makes, I might as well be reading the Chinese version. I have fiddled and faffed with my camera, read some tips online, and watched some video tutorials, but I'm still really battling to understand it all. ISO, F/STOP, AV, TV, ...H.E.L.P.!!

Someone once told me that you loose a few brain cells every time you have a baby. The fact that I have 4 children might explain it, although, apologies to the younger three, I might have donated them in entirety to my oldest son who just got 98% for Maths in his Matric exam! Whaaat! I said that with that mark, he surely must have the highest Maths mark in his school. No, he replied Kirk got 100% . Unbelievable. I have never achieved 100% for anything, well maybe spelling in Grade 2. And Kirk isn't even a nerd! Talking about nerds, did you see Mark Zuckerberg's great response to a fan who said she was going to encourage her granddaughter to date a nerd in case he turned out to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. He suggested that she should rather encourage her granddaughter to become the nerd and invent something amazing. Yes please, then one of my sons can marry her!

I seem to have digressed - I think I was talking about my lack of brain cells...

...so I think the best course of action is to do a Beginners DSLR course through the Cape Town School of Photography. Some poor unsuspecting lecturer is going to have to get that info into my head one way or another. And if anyone wants to buy an unused, ~~unstylish~~, camera bag for an excellent price, please contact me.

Getting on to my other plans for 2016....

I am going to install one of these in my home...

I am going to resist one of these, but my husband might as well know that I won't be able to resist for ever....

I plan to spend more time walking on the beach....

with this....

and these....

I am going to spend more time painting....

In fact, my brother-in-law has commissioned me to do some paintings for his offices.

I need to give some thought as to what a group of manly, building industry types might want to spend their days looking at. I know what you are thinking... I don't do that type of art!

Maybe some extreme sports... that's quite manly, don't you think?

Like this...

or this...

I don't know, I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

This post is getting quite long so I will stop now, but since this is essentially a blog about interiors, I will throw in some pics that caught my eye while I was browsing through Tumblr recently.