October already??

Is it just me, or has this year just flown past??

As I get older I feel like the years pass by quicker and quicker. I can remember last October like it was just yesterday! Planning a surprise 50th party for my 2nd mom (Mom-in-law), prepping for my final exam for my degree! Hell, I can vaguely remember when I was about 10 years old, being that nosey little kid hanging around the adults, and hearing them saying the exact same thing! The years seem to be passing quicker, maybe it's just because we're busier? Who knows!

A lot has changed in a year, but some things will always stay the same...like my need to start Christmas shopping when October rolls around. Am I the only one that does this??? Never mind the fact that more than half of our family still have to celebrate their birthdays...

October fills me with a sense of urgency and a need to get things done, with it's promises of summer just around the corner, Jacaranda trees lining the roads in full bloom - reminding me that the year is drawing to a close.

This is a street in Kensington lined with Jacaranda Trees, they're not this purple yet, but within a week or 2 they should be!

This October promises to be a busy one! With close friends of ours getting married and 2 milestone birthdays, and I'm the baker for all 3 occasions!! YAY!! Not to mention it's cancer awareness month, this is a issue that hits close to home - My Gran passed away from cancer and I have two amazingly strong friends fighting this dreadful disease... Ladies please have your girls checked out, they never fail in having you checked out! *wink wink*

I feel like I need to get more organised as this year's end draws closer. I need to get my s#*! together - like the kind of girl that always wears matching underwear - wearing matching underwear makes you feel like you have some sort of feminine super power! Hahaha anyway I've strayed off topic but whatever.

I hope everyone has a wonderful October!

One week in Dubai - First impressions!

Ok so after typing the title to this post (which just popped into my head), I now have the song "One night in Bangkok" stuck in my head! One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble la la la lala la la lala la la!

Aaaarrrgghhhhh... I hope you are sharing my pain right now!

Anyway, we left for Dubai from Johannesburg on Friday night and it was madness! I stood in the queue to go through to the terminals for approximately 50 minutes!
Note to self : when we immigrate we will NOT be doing so on a Friday night!

Instagramming because the queue is long and I'm booored as hell!!

We touched down in Dubai at 5am and were out of the airport by about 6:30, we settled in our hotel rooms in the Jumeirah Lake Towers by 7 - I was snug as a bug in a huge bed...exhausted! After a power nap, and a high tech soak in the tub we were on our way to the malls for breakfast and shopping!

High-tech taps - took me a while to figure out...Hot and cold? Nope! Haha turns out you bath according to temperature here!

 We shopped from 11am to 8pm! (Not really though, the malls are like these magical wonderlands that have alot more than just shops and restaurants in them. Our 9 hour "shopping spree" included skiing, watching musical fountains, watching children ice skating and gazing at an aquarium full of ocean critters - all in the Mall of Emirates and the Mall of Dubai!) We caught the metro back to our hotel and got lost between the JLT station and our hotel, it took us about 45 minutes to find our hotel in 40 degrees Celsius humidity, it was so funny!

Ski Dubai, the area where I had my first skiing lesson!

Pretty building outside the Mall of Dubai

Aquarium inside the Mall of Dubai

I can describe my first impression of Dubai in exactly 2 words! Fascinating and humid.

The buildings, architecture and infrastructure fascinate me. It is now 3 days later and I still sit in the taxi gazing out the window in awe. Each and every building is unique, different, beautiful. The only thing that I can think of comparing the diversity of it to is ... people!  Each and every one of us - unique, different, special in our own way - BEAUTIFUL.

This country is beautiful, not only the buildings but the people! The vastly colourful population! Just as fascinating as the buildings! I have done so much people watching in the past 3 days, everywhere we go is so different to anything I have ever experienced. Friendly, helpful people from every corner of the globe populate Dubai.

I can't wait to tell you all about our trip, as soon as I get a free hour, but for now, I think this will do!