Airline Tart

I have been flying with Qatar Airlines exclusively for the past 8 years and have loved every minute of it.
the staff is always super friendly and helpful and because i am a frequent flyer i have access to all kinds of little luxuries that makes  a trip so much more pleasant. I totally get it that they win the best luxury airline service award year after year.
BUT
Emirates Airlines has 2 flights leaving cape town daily and has been offering really inexpensive deals. a LOT less than Qatar. And the connection between Dubai and Delhi is only a few hours whereas the one from Doha to Delhi is 14 hours.... they do put one up in a luxury hotel with meal voucher for all 3 meals and this cooked by world class chefs.

But money is money ..

So I booked a ticket on Emirates to come to Delhi.

I skulked around at the airport feeling like a woman cheating on her husband with her much poorer lover .
I felt really guilty choosing to fly with another airline ...

On booking in i encountered Godzilla who skipped the lesson in "be nice to customers and SMILE" and made me unpack stuff from my suitcases to get rid of FOUR KILOS ! OMG !
that would never happen on Qatar EVER .
Then to make matters worse when it was time for boarding the lesson missing employee had put a note behind my name to tell the boarding staff to check my hand luggage to make sure i did not re-stash the FOUR KILOS..... i was called out of line by two other lesson missing employees who swung my hand luggage around in the air to try and figure out if the FOUR KILOS were lurking in there somewhere.

Then as i sat down i realized why they were cheaper ... more seats to a plane ! My legs were squashed into the seat in-front of me, hardly room to read a book if the front seat tilted back ever so slightly.
AND there was no choice of movies... a schedule told one during which hour what was playing... JUST like a bad TV program selection, And because it was a daytime flight and there was no room to hold my book to read i was bored beyond !
I did manage to find a row with empty seats and lay down for the duration.

Just as i decided NEVER again will i fly with Emirates , i will go hungry to pay the difference in price to fly with Qatar i get upgraded to business class for the flight between Dubai and Delhi ...
Moet at 4am lying flat with a HUGE screen on which i can CHOOSE what i wish to watch was heaven !

But Qatar Airlines deserve the award of best luxury airline 100000 %

and i am sorry i cheated on you.

what is time

it seems as if one cannot step away from anything or you never get back to it, be it blogging, exercising or whatever... how long since i have posted on here !


I am embarking on a very exciting new chapter in my life and have decided to write about this regularly on this blog. Not so much to entertain anybody else as to keep a visual diary of my life for me too look at and be grateful for.

I LOVE my life. I love that i have talent that enables me to create beautiful things.
i am crazy about the people  i am on this journey with .

life is awesome !

kiffstuff has more gorgeous clothes !

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 We have chosen so many beautiful pieces in 42 degree heat that i do not have the energy ( and i am sure you don't have the time ) to take pics of it all to show you.

I went with Negeva, my daughter and was a little concerned that she would not cope with the heat and dust that is Delhi in May, as it was also her first trip to my beloved India.... but it was as if she was born there :D

we searched through heaps of clothing and chose only the most exquisite pieces !

i so look forward to hearing your comments .

Jyoti Mahal Hotel in Delhi has a gorgeous roof top restaurant

We are staying in this amazing hotel in the middle of an area in Delhi called Pahar Ganj. it is filled with everything beautiful and not beautiful made in India and is an absolute shoppers heaven . BUT it is congested and dirty and filled with strange dread locked, tattooed, floaty foreigners and hard selling Kashmiri men.Some of these floaty foreigners are old, seriously old, they look as if they came here in the sixties and just stayed......

My posh Delhi friends refuse to visit me here.

The hotel we are staying in is called the Jyoti Mahal and is simply beautiful. When one steps through the front doors it is as if you are in a private palace of gentle beauty and calm. Nothing is extremely glamorous but there is just such a wonderful atmosphere of calm and rest that it is for sure the hotel of choice to stay in for myself and so many of my friends when we come to Delhi .

lush and pretty

hand carved wooden light

love the opulence of the fabrics

more opulence

 The story is that a South African designer, by name of Janine, has re decorated the restaurant on the roof. She is unfortunately so aloof that even though i greet her, she ignores me and i can therefor not substantiate this rumour.... BUT it is breathtakingly gorgeous at night .

got this from my friend Lauren and LOVED it

The Four Principles of Spirituality

The First Principle states:

“Whomsoever you encounter is the right one”

This means that no one comes into our life by chance. Everyone who is around us, anyone with whom we interact, represents something, whether to teach us something or to help us improve a current situation.

The Second Principle states:
“Whatever happened is the only thing that could have happened”
Nothing, absolutely nothing of that which we experienced could have been any other way. Not even in the least important detail. There is no “If only I had done that differently…, then it would have been different…”. No. What happened is the only  thing that could have taken place and must have taken place for us to learn our lesson in order to move forward. Every single situation in life which we encounter is absolutely perfect, even when it defies our understanding and our ego.

The Third Principle states:
“Each moment in which something begins is the right moment”
Everything begins at exactly the right moment, neither earlier nor later. When we are ready for it, for that something new in our life, it is there, ready to begin.

This is the Fourth Principle, the final one:
“What is over, is over”
It is that  simple. When something in our life ends, it helps our evolution. That is why, enriched by the recent experience, it is better to let go and move on.

it is no coincidence that you’re here reading this.
If these words strike a chord, it’s because you understand that not one single snowflake falls accidentally in the wrong place!
Be good to yourself.
Love with your whole being.

Amazing new technology for transfers !!

J.T. McMaters now have transfer that does not need to be FIRED in a kiln ! This may not sound very exciting to you if you have never had a few pieces of pottery you stuck transfers on but had no kiln to fire them in...

Now i do not have to beg/pay anybody for firing ever again... OK, maybe Eskom, but i do not mind that too much :D

Lauren gave me a sheet of transfer to play with and these are them.

I am not crazy about the colours on these but the whole idea just fills me with total joy ! and it is sooooo easy :

FIRST you cut out the individual designs and decide how you want to place them... this takes a while for me.

this way maybe

or like this

mmmmmm

finally decided

This is an important step. wet the transfers to remove the top part from the paper backing so that you can stick it on your plate or bowl. Do NOT wet it too much , just enough to be able to slide it off. Apply it to your piece making sure you have no air bubbles trapped underneath as this pops when you bake it and you are left with these ugly little "holes" in the design. I like using toilet paper and my finger tips to rub them out.

Now you have to leave them for 4-6 hours to dry , after which you peel off the transparent top layer leaving only the ink....... the waiting is very irritating if you are an instant gratification kind of girl like me :D NOW you have to leave it for 24 hours...... enough to drive you insane, but i just walked away .... AFTER this waiting game it is quick though.... set your oven on 180 to 200 degrees Celsius and bake for 20 minutes AND:

 

 

how fabulous !!!!

dishwasher safe instant beauty.... cadmium free etc which i don't find too important anyway :D but many people do and should......

so many colours available and not a lot more than the old kiln fire transfers either !

If you want to play as well contact Lauren Skoll on +27214484223 or check their website www.skolldecal.com

THANK YOU LAUREN IT WAS WONDERFUL AND I NOW WANT LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL PATTERNS AND COLOURS AND STUFF !! 

I THINK YOU CREATED A MONSTER :D