Bridget McNulty

Local bloggy gems:

// August 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blogs, Cape Town, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Links, food

I’ve recently stumbled across not one, not two, but THREE local bloggy gems, and I wanted to tell you about them. It always makes me so happy when I find local blogs that I love, because not only can I totally relate to what they’re talking about (especially if it’s about food), but because it means the South African blogosphere is growing! Great stuff.

So, in no particular order, three lovely blogs you should check out:

* Mint The Shop is my idea of heaven. Gorgeous vintage and retro homeware, from kitchen stuff to quirky home decor. Be warned! It’s difficult to leave without having bought something (because it’s reallly reasonable). That gorgeous vintage yellow Le Creuset pot is now mine! Thanks brother. Visit Mint here: http://www.minttheshop.com/

* Still Life With Wooden Spoon is a blog about cooking…. with a full time job, which I appreciate. Funny, self deprecating and with some incredible recipes, this is one to bookmark and look at just before you go home to cook dinner. I may even try the gnocchi-ravioli combo… Yum! Visit Still Life here: http://slwws.wordpress.com/

* love made me do it is extremely girly and whimsical and lovely, and I read the whole thing in one sitting. The author is actually going to be our wedding photographer (more on that soon!), and we have so much in common: a passion for old knick knacks (she’s also collecting vintage plates for her wedding), a love of proteas, a fondness for the phrase ‘love is all’ etc etc etc. Visit love made me do it here: http://lovemademedoitx.blogspot.com/

Happy bloggy browsing!

PS: It’s time for the SA Blog Awards, so if you’d like to nominate me, please visit here: http://www.sablogawards.com/or click on the banner on the right. I’m under ‘Best Personal Blog’. Thanks!

Image: love made me do it

Day 16: Affection

// July 17th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Blogs, Decisions, Love

So I realised yesterday that even though I’m halfway through this challenge, I haven’t given anything to my man yet… Or my family, actually. I think sometimes when people are very close to you it’s easy to take them for granted a bit.

So I decided, today, to rectify that. My language of love is gifts (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, check this out – I’ve spoken about the 5 love languages before) which is why this challenge appealed to me so much. But my man’s language of love is affection… I often think it’s an easier language to have, because when someone loves you they’ll obviously be affectionate. When you open your arms for a hug, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get one.

But just as a gift doesn’t mean as much when you have to ask for it, affection doesn’t mean as much when you have to ask for it either. So yesterday evening I made a conscious effort to be as affectionate as possible – to step out of my circle of ‘this is me on a Friday night, watching a DVD, eating (yummy) naan bread’ and give him extra hugs and kisses. And don’t you know, he was in the best mood by the end of the evening.

I think it’s something I’m going to do more.

PS: Had to improvise a little with the picture, but these toys are on his desk and they kind of look like they’re hugging, don’t they?

Spreading the bloggy love

// June 26th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Blogs, Cape Town, travelling

Another reason I’ve been so quiet on the bloggy front lately (aside from, oh, I don’t know, one of the greatest sporting tournaments EVER being held in my country) is that I’m spreading my bloggy wings.

You’ll now find me, once a week, over at Travelstart Street, writing about a few of my favourite things (because blogging is one of those favourites, don’t you know). And remember Just the Planet? The lovely folks who made sure my man and I didn’t sleep in airports while we were travelling all over the world? I’ll be blogging from there, too, about Cape Town and travel and some beyootiful places to spend the night.

So head on over to Travelstart Street – http://www.travelstart.com/street/
And the Just the Planet blog – http://blog.justtheplanet.com/
if you’re in the mood for something a little different.

Never fear, though, with my birthday fast approaching (one week today wooohoooo!) I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and unknotting a couple of thoughts I’d like to chat to you about… For now, though, I have a stew bubbling on the stove, a man in need of one big hug (he doesn’t know it yet, but he needs it) and another soccer game to watch!

Have you been following the World Cup at all? Or is it just me who feels as if life now revolves around the results of two teams of strangers trying to shoot a ball into a net?

It’s Earth Day today.

// April 22nd, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Blogs, Decisions, Life (and the living of it), Nature

What are you doing about it?

How about heading over to FLOW (For Love of Water) and making the FLOW Promise:

It couldn’t be easier – just click through to http://forloveofwater.co.za/promise/ and write your name, make the promise and tell others how you’re acting for your love of water (there are no wrong answers, I promise).

Our bodies are over 70% water. Maybe it’s time we started thinking about that…

What do you think?

Photos from Around the World

// April 9th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Blogs, Inspiration, Nature

At last! Photos from the adventure.

I know I was pretty bad at posting any pics while we were travelling around South-East Asia and South America (blame it on too much to blog, tweet and vlog about), but I finally have some images to show you!

Oh happy day.

My man has posted photo sets from all the hotels we were lucky enough to review (in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, with more to follow). You won’t find many candid shots (those will take a leetle bit longer to process), but consider this a taste of what’s to come.
They are absolutely stunning.

And I’m not just saying that because I’m in love with him.
These are some seriously beautiful pics.
Check them out at www.markpeddle.com (really, go now, they’re so beautiful).

But be warned! You might not want to be my friend any more when you see all the incredible places we stayed at…

Photo: Mark Peddle

Wednesday morning: 10.33am

// March 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blogs

I am most definitely home.
Woke up in my nest this morning (I’m now totally nested – all my treasures in their place, a full fridge and my first baking project – stripey cookies – successfully behind me).
We don’t have internet yet, so I’m now at a local cafe using their wifi. Ordered a pot of tea and a bran muffin, and the tea arrived in a big pot, strong, with a lovely big tea cup, fresh milk and a glass of water on the side.
This is why I love being home! Everyone speaks my language (even though we have 11 official languages, we also have a common South African language around things like tea. You know, the important things in life!)

I suppose I’m feeling full of love for South Africa at the moment not only because I’ve just returned home, but because I’m in the lovely position of writing blog updates every second day for Travelstart.co.za
To celebrate the 100 days to the World Cup kick-off, they’re posting 100 reasons to visit South Africa in 2010, and I’m contributing every second day.
It’s such fun!

Check out my favourites so far, and bookmark the page for a dose of South African love every day!
http://blog.travelstart.co.za

It’s a good read, I promise!
(Although if you’re not in South Africa, it will make you want to come and visit… Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

A big bloggy realisation:

// November 17th, 2009 // 7 Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Links, travelling

I don’t actually think I’m a good blogger.

It just hit me!

Take a look at some of my favourite blogs, the ones I still read even though I’m in foreign countries and have sketchy internet connection…

* Naturally Nina – http://www.naturallynina.com/
This has grown into my favourite blog of the moment… Nina writes honest, heartfelt and inspiring blog posts about life, love and everything else. And her blog is beautifully designed.

* A Cup of Jo – http://www.joannagoddard.blogspot.com/
I hate that I love this blog so much (because so many other thousands do), but what can I say? Joanna is a master blogger – probably one of the best out there. Despite her many followers, the blog feels personal and heartfelt, and she always has hundreds of fabulous links all over the web: seriously, you could save hours just by looking at the treasures she’s unearthed for you.

* Color Me Katie – http://www.colormekatie.blogspot.com/
This New York photographer is zany and playful, and posts beautifully photographed, wildly colourful short blogs about her life and loves. A delightful break to any day.

Now, what do all these blogs have that make them intensely readable? Short, snappy blog posts that are highly visual and that engage the reader.
Now take a glance over at Sweet Life, the blog I’ve been regularly updating as we travel around the world: www.justtheplanet.com/sweet-life

High-quality, well-written blog posts, even if I do say so myself (this was what I was told to write when I first started a blog). Original content and all that jazz, but not a whole lot of images and I just don’t know how to write those snappy blog posts that make people feel they have to comment. And so it hit me: I’m not really a blogger. I’m a writer, yes, and I’ve been loving writing travel pieces and trying to paint word pictures about the places we’ve been visiting. But at heart, this is the kind of writing that comes naturally to me – far too many words, and something you’d read in a book or a magazine. Not ideal for blogging.

Now how am I supposed to fix that? Tell me, please!

PS – I joined NaNoWriMo and took up the challenge of writing a 50 000 word novel in one month. But it’s 17 days in and I’ve only had one day when I’ve been able to get my hands on the computer not for work but for play. Eek.

The Uniform Project.

// August 27th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blogs, Inspiration

In the midst of packing up and final meetings and starting to make plans for Bangkok, I stumbled across this fascinating website: The Uniform Project.

One woman in New York has decided to wear a uniform (a little black dress) every day for 365 days, to raise funds for children’s uniforms in India. It might sound skanky, but she actually has seven identical versions of the dress, and she accessorises them so incredibly each day that it looks like a different dress every single time. Extraordinary!

Check it out: http://www.theuniformproject.com/
Doesn’t it make you want to dress crazier?

(And for more frequent blog posts, be sure to head over to Sweet Life – my travelling blog).

The Wonder of Whiffling.

// August 20th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Writing

In the mood for something a little light-hearted this Thursday?

Check out this hilarious and wonderful website – http://www.thewonderofwhiffling.com/
It’s the website of a new book all about extraordinary words and phrases in the English language, and I think it’s simply delightful.

Here’s an extract:

Creative One’s

// July 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it)

Today I’m feeling much better… calmer and happier and altogether less troubled. Thanks for all the good advice!

I suppose it proves that emotions really are energy in motion, and that if you allow yourself to feel them, they’ll simply pass through you…

Today, though, I have a treat for you! Sofia Barao’s wonderful blog (check it out here) is doing a series of interviews with creative people, called Creative One’s, where she asks the same questions about special ‘ones’. Today she interviewed me… go and check it out (if you’re interested)! And then spend some time browsing through her beautiful website… I’m going to.

Until tomorrow!