Someone once asked me if South Africa was a safe place to live. And my immediate and un-hesitated answer was "Of course, if you're vigilant." 

On Wednesday morning, I hopped in my nice car and drove into Central Johannesburg in peak hour traffic (of which there is none by the way) to visit the Home Affairs office in Newtown, a place not renowned for its safety. I parked my car in the designated safe parking, locked it and walked across the very busy road to the large multi-storey building. The place was buzzing, there were people waiting to get married, apply for passports and registering there newborn babies. 

Courtesy Google Maps

Never once did I feel threatened or unsafe by anyone of thing that was hanging around the office. These people are just getting on with their lives just like I do EVERYDAY. 

The staff were friendly and i went upstairs to find my queue for unabridged birth certificates. The room was quiet with only a few other people needing a similar document to me. The smiley and helpful lady at the counter gave me the application form and told me that if I didn't get the particulars of my grandparents (I went for my mom's birth certificate) it was alright. 

After waiting 15 minutes for my mom to send me the details of her parents, I wrote them down, paid for the certificate and walked out scot-free, if you will. 

I got back into my car after a gruelling 20 minutes, of which 15 were not even waiting for home affairs, and drove through the streets of high-rise buildings and businesses. 

Courtesy: https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-12369500-stock-footage-a-sunset-timelapse-of-the-city-centre-of-johannesburg-cbd-with-blue-skies-and-shadows-moving.html

I drove through this incredible place and saw everything work, the bus stops were packed and buses were carting people to where they needed to be, the train station (Park Station) had people pouring in and out of it, people were walking and crossing correctly to get to there destination and the police presence was amazing! Cops everywhere making sure people were safe and stopping people who were behaving badly on the road, picking up the broken stone dustbins on the street, doing their job. 

I have never felt so proud of the place that is my home and how brilliant this city is. South Africa and possibly Johannesburg in particular are not the safest places in the world, however, anyone ever warned you about the pick-pockets on the streets on New York City or Paris. 

My country is beautiful and we are finally on the rise. It was mornings like today when I understand why South Africa will always be home. The city is beautiful, the people are wonderful and weather is amazing. 

I hope to find more gems in Joburg this year, stick around and you can learn about them with me. 

Lots of love and have a beautiful day! 

Soph <3

xxx

Hello! 

As many of you may know, I only write very occasionally, when I have something to talk about. Hehe! 

I too am #metoo, but what amazed me the most about this phenomenon is the vast quantity of women that have experienced harassment or abuse and how many of them are in support against abuse and harassment. 

I, like everyone else, am under no obligation to tell you my story but I can proudly say that this has shown me how strong women are and how supportive we all are of one another. 

I am abundantly aware of the problem of harassment, but it has become so desensitised (to me, shockingly) that I seem to be brushing the sexist comments off when they get thrown around at parties and nights out. I seem to simply accept them and make up a justifiable excuse as to why someone else  has decided to say something of this nature out loud. It is appalling and I feel ashamed to admit that I don't do anything because this is exactly what this internet trend is about. How dare I accept this behaviour and lack of respect? 

Although I have realised the sheer enormity of the situation and how real harassment and abuse is, the trend online has shown me how incredible we are as "victims" of this abuse. I use victims loosely because I think we are heroes. Not only because we have come back so strong from all the obstacles but we show support to each and every person that has shared #metoo. This is not about shaming people who have done wrong, this is about being supportive to everyone who has experienced this. 

This is a stand to make sure I don't accept the sexism anymore and make sure I don't justify it. But most of all, this is a shout-out to all the women and show my support. I am incredibly proud of what this hashtag has shown me and what it has taught me. 

I am very proud of who I am and so should every other girl, inside and out (cue previous post). I know some incredible women and the only thing that can come out of this internet sensation is positive support and growth and I really dig that. 

We can do it! Stay amazing, women! 🙋🏼

Lots of love 

Soph <3 

xxx

However, I have also realised how much it means to me that girls feel comfortable in their own skin. I have never really suffered from body image issues and I understand that I am one of the lucky ones, but I know we all have THOSE days. 

I have never been a small or skinny person. Never! Even as a baby, I was this chubby, delicious kid that could snuggle and you could blow-spit on her tummy... you know what I mean right?!?! 

As a child, I remember never being skinny and even as a young teenager, I was normal, not skinny and not overweight. As a teenager going through puberty, I kind of "grew" into my curvy body and learned to love my body and how I could dress to made it look amazing! I know I am one of few...

I once read a book called "Finding Sarah: A True Story of Living with Bulimia" which is about a South African girl who suffered so badly from this horrible eating disorder it nearly killed her. Brilliant book, by the way, go buy it and read it! It scared me so much and I was always so grateful that I loved my body the way I do. I am still very grateful and understand that I am one of very few that love my body as much as I do and that many girls my age either suffer from similar eating disorders or just absolutely hate what they look like. 

This is why I am writing this because I wish I could make everyone love their body they have been blessed with. 

So it's been a week in Dubai and it has been awesome! It hasn't been anything less than 30 degrees and dusty (from all the sand) but lots of fun nevertheless. 

I thought I would tell you about all the cool places I have been. One of the best things about here is the photo opportunities I have wherever I go. 

I have been to two very cool restaurants/ cafes so far and they were both so cute and really good to eat at. 
The first one we went to was Salt on Kite Beach. 

I am very lucky to be able to travel to Dubai on a regular basis (you might've read my very, very early posts) because my mom and sister live in Dubai. They moved just over two years ago and are absolutely loving it. I decided to stay back in SA and finish school... That's a story for another day.  

I get the opportunity to come to this very weird and wonderful place very often to visit mom, almost like a second home. I decided this time to bring you guys along with me. This is just a little introductory post and a blog catch up considering I haven't posted in ages (Sorry guys!). 

If you are anything like me and love brands and shopping this is the place to go! The vast malls that are EVERYWHERE make for some incredible experiences, that is, if you can afford it and some wonderful eye catching ad campaigns and clever window art, something I love to look at. 

Although a very interesting place, one of great experiences and adventures. I will take you with to all the fab restaurants and places we go as well as show you all of the amazing things I have managed to pick up along the way. Please let me know if you would like me to film any of my experiences so you don't have to do all the reading. 

I can't wait to share my thoughts and experiences with you. 

Lots of love 

Soph

<3 

So as you may have read in the title of this post, this is an attempt to be productive/creative in some way. 

Maybe this is a good opportunity to just have a good old conversation with you guys, maybe a bit of ideas will spring from it... such as how to NOT procrastinate!

Today, this is my beautiful picture (in my opinion) that I am choosing to grace you all with. This is my number one way of procrastination! YouTube and browsing the web for rubbish is everything when it comes to something I don't want to do. 

People I am absolutely loving recently on YouTube are The Michalaks. They are a family who live in London and they are so nice! I am crazy about their videos because they are so beautiful, they make videos that are so lovely to watch. They have all this stunning equipment that I am so envious of! Go check them out when you have a chance. 

Another way of wasting time, I realised today, is to paint your nails. So with the long weekend this week, I decided I would paint my nails blue. If I do paint them over the weekend then I paint them a really lame light pink colour so if I don't take it off in time, school doesn't notice. Don't break the rules... it's bad! 

 I was going to take this opportunity to tell you about what is yet to come on this page in the next couple of posts but considering I am really bad at posting on time, I will just let you all wait and see. What I can tell you is that there is going to be a bonus post either tomorrow or Sunday just because I like to express who I am and what I do with my life (keeping in mind I am in matric so nothing very exciting).

I just thought I should inform anyone that may have asked why, in my older posts, you would've noticed my images are all weird and horrible. This is because of the new format of the page and the old format of the images. I am trying hard to fix it and will probably do that after I am done with this post. But if anyone asked why, that's the answer. 

Just a cool thing to remember is that it is Earth Hour tomorrow from 8:30 - 9:30pm. It is a really cool initiative, if you want to read more about it, visit the webpage.

I hope you enjoyed this chatter that I was procrastinating with. If there is anything you would like me to post about please let me know. Have a great weekend and a very festive Human Rights Day on Monday. 
See you all soon,
Lots of Love 
Soph <3 
xx

So, as we hang onto the last weeks of summer, there is no better way to celebrate sunny days and friends than with some delicious summer coolers. 

Here are a few recipes that will help you make the most delicious drinks, whether in company or just relaxing by yourself. 

These can have alcohol in them but I made them without alcohol, if you feel like a bit of a punch, just add what you prefer into the drink. 

Two of the recipes require simple syrup, so we'll start with that:

Ingredients

1 cup of water 

1 cup of sugar 

160g of raspberries to add later

Place a saucepan over high heat with the water and sugar and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then turn the heat right down and leave it. 

1st Cooler: Strawberry Limeade

Ingredients

Fresh Strawberry slices

2 Fresh Limes

Fresh Mint Leaves

Simple Syrup (made above)

Sprite or lemonade

You may add some cucumber if you like

Cut your limes in half and squeeze their juice into your serving glass with a tablespoon of the simple syrup. Mix well. 

Add some ice, stir and add the Sprite or Lemonade. 

To finish off, slice up strawberries and add a sprig or two of mint to garnish. Add a cute straw for fun! 

2nd Cooler: Raspberry Virgin Mojito:

Ingredients

1 lime, sliced

6 or so mint sprigs, plus garnish leaves

2 - 3 raspberries for garnish

Lime flavoured sparkling water

Place the simple syrup back on low heat and add the 160g of raspberries. Let simmer for 3 - 4 minutes, stir well. 

Strain the syrup from the pulp and allow to cool for a few hours. 

Carefully pour the cooled syrup into the glass just less than half way. Add some ice and stir well.

Fill the rest of the glass with the flavoured water. Garnish with a few mint leaves and raspberries. 

3rd Cooler: Watermelon Breeze

Ingredients

1 - 2 cups of cubed watermelon

3/4 cup of coconut water

A squeeze of lime 

Sprig of mint 

I de-pipped my watermelon, but you don't have to if you don't mind the pips and cut the watermelon into smaller cubes. Place the cubes and the coconut water into a blender. Add a squeeze of the lime and the leaves of the sprig of mint. I added one or two cubes of ice to the blender too, blend well. 

Add some ice cubes to the serving glass and pour the blended cooler into the glass and garnish with mint. Place a fun straw for some accessories. 

Here are the finished products to enjoy on a hot summers evening. I hope you all try these out, also please let me know what you want to see on my blog.  

Thank you for reading

Lots of Love 

Soph 

<3