The Real Jenty

When Exmi asked me a few months ago to participate in a new secret blogging project, just for girls, I was intrigued, and of course I said YES!

How could I not?  It sounded like such a cool idea… a bunch of girl bloggers from all walks of life, at varying degrees of technical proficiency… all reviewing the latest and greatest gadgets from a chicks point of view.  Brilliant plan!! Plus the fact that I like them all, and we get together every so often to talk about the gadgets and have wine… like a book club just better!!

Anyhoo, Girl Guides is finally live… in a beta version…

Check it out, and let us know if there are any issues with it

Oooh and also read my review of the Macbook Pro… which is why I bought it in the end

I can’t wait to play with my next gadget actually!

I’m about to go shopping, I need a bit of a break, and I had the following thoughts…

I need to go shopping to get new printer cartridges.  This is a necessity.

I would like to look for new shoes while I’m there, because I need new shoes of course, what girl doesn’t?  I have no qualms buying shoes, but will try and not walk into Aldo’s or Nine West, because I can’t justify their prices.

I’m currently earring-less, because I realised this morning that for some reason, I only put the one on… the other one is now in my car.  Weird.  Second time this week that I’ve done that.  I would like to buy another pair of nice earrings because mine are a little old and sad. But again, I wonder about whether I should spend that money.

I’ve finished a bottle of perfume.  I would like to get another bottle, yet I wonder about the waste of money.

However, get me wandering onto a camera site like Orms or SACamera or a new site to me CameraQuip, and I have no qualms about spend x times the amounts mentioned above on a new lens, and I immediately start scheming about how to justify the cost of buying a Canon 5D Mark II.

Or, take me into a kids clothing store, and I have no issues with filling bags with clothes and shoes for the boys.

Another example, is this morning, when I was trying to work out whether I should buy a new car, just because my back gets sore in my Jazz! And you know how I am about new cars!

Is it just me?  Maybe it’s the fact that the things I ponder about are for me personally.  I immediately think it’s a waste of money, and can think of hordes of other things to buy instead.

Oh hell, enough of this thinking, I’m going spending!

Finally got a Macbook Pro… now I just need to set it up…

YAY!

… can’t think of anything else to say… I’m too tired… goodnight

You know the bed I blogged about over the weekend?

My oath it’s a large bed! Connor can barely climb onto it because it’s so high.

The king size duvet is dwarfed by the bed.  WTF now?  Can you get extra width duvets?  That’s gonna cost a fortune I’m sure.

But I must say… the sheets from that Time and Again collection from Mr Price are divine… 400 thread count and OMG so soft

Right… I’m off to do the big test… the comfort test… I’m exhausted and need to sleep

I have the day off work tomorrow… and I’m going to hopefully find more linen… and have coffee with my mom… before a photoshoot

**update** the bed was awesome and the duvet size wasn’t a problem because the bed is so wide

Apart from photoshoots, and meeting Angel at the venue for her wedding next week and my dad’s 60th birthday today, I actually did do something about the house for a change this weekend… we bought a new bed.

We’ve been threatening to get a new one for the last 2 years… seriously 2 years… we’re sad that way.  Every time I’ve given it some thought, there have been more important things to buy with the ludicrous amount of money that bed cost.

In fact, until yesterday, I must’ve been living in lala land about the cost of beds!

Anyhoo, yesterday morning, I threw all my toys out the cot when I got squished in bed yet again by the small “monster” aka Connor… and decided that we needed a King sized bed… today… another day was not going to go past without something happening.

So off we toodled, and bought the bed, which is being delivered tomorrow.

And that resulted me (with Bradley in tow) in traipsing through Cresta, World Wear centre, Lifestyle Crossing and Retail Crossing centres looking for duvets, linen and blankets for our new bed (because our old bed is queen sized).  And that was all done between 9:30am and 11am this morning. Poor kid was exhausted

OMW, what crud in the shops!! My first port of call was Woolies - NOTHING interesting (apart from the duvet inner which I bought there because they were better quality and cheaper than @Home).  @Home actually had beautiful grey embroidered duvet covers by Margaret Muir (and I had a 20% off voucher from a magazine that I’d bought)… but no sheets… so that was USELESS!

Eventually after going to 3 Mr Price Homes, 1 Woolies, and 2 @Home stores I bought one set of Time and Again plain duvet covers from Mr Price Home… so now I’m on the hunt for another set.

As for blankets and electric blankets… that was a fruitless search… I couldn’t find any.

At least I have some linen for when the bed arrives tomorrow.

I’ve been feeling like going on a shopping spree for a few days now… and haven’t managed to leave the office.  In fact, yesterday, the feeling was so bad that I contemplated buying a new car!!

LOL, I have to also tell you that after I tweeted about it, Williams Hunt responded asking whether they could help me.  How cool is that! I like that they’re watching… even though I don’t like Opels

Today, I was determined.  I had to get out the office for a bit!!And OMG I spent way too much again!  The aim of my shopping trip was to buy a gift for a friend and a jersey for Lance… I got them… but in that hour I also got…

• 2 dresses from Big Blue
• underwear from La Senza (it’s on my Stuff list ok!)
• 3 jerseys and a shirt for Lance at Woolies
• If I’d had some time I would have bought some boots from Woolies too!

Not bad for one hour hey?

Seriously, some days like today, I really really despair over the lack of good retail websites in this country.  I’m not talking all of them, but seriously, the really big brick and mortar shops should have a better presence online by now.

I suppose it’s a chicken and egg situation, where they’re not getting enough traffic and clients from their websites so they’re not prepared to jack them up… but I swear if they were better… they would get more online orders… especially if they were clever about the costs of delivery.  The old excuse about the size of the web audience in this country doesn’t make sense anymore, based on the recent stats I’ve seen… retailers should do their homework again.

Take this evening for example, I’ve been trying in vain to update my “stuff” page (my page with stuff that I want in the hopes that Lance will get me a surprise for my birthday).  I’ve been trying to get a link to a site for a steel colander.  Now that’s quite a basic thing to have in a kitchen (even though I don’t have one, and Pierre melted my Tupperware one when he steamed the rice in it one night), so it shouldn’t be difficult to find. Well, now… Woolies have them in the shop, I saw them today, yet their online store doesn’t list them.  Home Etc and Boardman’s websites are truly pathetic… what’s the freaking use of a brochure ware site for a retailer?! And that actually goes for most of the brick and mortar shops locally.

I ended up having to link to Amazon… it’s just really useless.  I would love to shop more online, but the retailers here are just so freaking backwards.   I’m not surprised more and more people are shopping overseas and importing stuff.  I, for one, don’t have the time to wander around shops anymore, I’d much rather buy online.

It’s time the local retailers caught a wakeup, seriously!

I finally got around to getting some South Africa kit today but not the gross yellow soccer shirts that everyone is touting… because I look yellow when I wear yellow and that just isn’t a pretty sight.

I decided I needed to make a little effort… there’s a street parade in Sandton next Wednesday that I’m DEFINITELY packing my camera for… and I need to look close to the part if I’m going to be handling a vuvuzela! Right?

Anyhoo, instead of the normal gear, I blinged out! LOL!  Much to Lance’s disgust… he thinks I’ve gone really kugs.

A colleague and I spotted the gear at Woolies today while we were shopping for a gift. I couldn’t resist.  So now I’m the proud owner of a velour, that’s right, a bright green velour South Africa hoodie

and a black t-shirt with a glitter SA flag emblazoned on it.

Hehe, all I need now is the white hi-tops to go with the skinny jeans and I have quite a serious outfit going

Not actually sure when I’m ever going to wear the stuff again after the World Cup is over!

I saw this article in my reader today (yes, I’m way behind) and I’ve decided I want one.

In that colour, or the lime green, or the white one.

Hmm, thinking I should start a page with all the stuff I like, so that I don’t have to tell my husband what to get me for my birthday… he can just shop from there.

I have a love affair with Poetry clothes and homeware… not the ones they sell in Cape Union Mart, ‘cos their range is so very very limited… but from the Poetry shops… I could spend a fortune there!

Anyhoo… Kim Gray has a competition to win a voucher from the store… and I want it!