Meet Free Monday #35

My Week in Review: 15 - 21 September

It's great to finally be back to blogging. As I mentioned a while ago, things have been so insanely busy, both work wise and on a personal note. Step one... get back to MFM posts. Last week, I briefly checked in with the giveaway - thanks for all the entries! What a lovely prize - I will be drawing the winners soon. Today's MFM post is my week in review, which focuses on what I worked on and did last week. 

The past week was a busy one - I know I always say that, right? Well... it really was, but it was a good week too. I had a shoot booked with Ideas Magazine and my focus was on being organised and as prepared as possible. 

Monday...
The morning kicked off with a bit of work, but I spent most of the day out the office collecting and sourcing items for the shoot. One of my stops was Settings Function Hire - they have a huge variety of crockery and decor items for events. I particularly liked the pastel jars they had on display. I also fitted in lunch with my mom at St Clements in Musgrave Road. Their Prawn and Lime Cakes are my new favourite meal (highly recommended). One of my close friends had a baby on Monday, which meant a very over excited me visiting her in hospital. I was so overjoyed - I almost clapped and shrieked when I got to see her little baby boy (enthusiastic much?).

Tuesday...
A day for meetings and many an errand. I started the day early... way earlier than usual. My first meeting or shall I say coffee catch-up was with Jane. I needed to collect a gift I bought from her shop (It's a Bling Thing). My other meetings were great too, but these had a strong work focus. The rest of the day was consumed with errands for the shoot - going to the party shop (they have loads of useful things) and taking a look at Mr Price Home (bright and beautiful). A full day ended perfectly with dinner at my parent's house.
Wednesday...
Serious crunch time for Thursday's shoot! The first stop was Fresh Flowers in Florida Road (their prices are really good) to shop for pretty blooms. One or two other errands where on the list and then it was time to focus on 'real work' followed by crafting and packing everything I needed for the next day. A good nights rest was needed, so I decided to enjoy my new satin pillowslips from Dear Deer. What a decadent treat (and the cute packaging made it even better). Zzzzzzzzz...

Thursday...
SHOOT DAY! The day began before the crack of dawn and the shoot was kindly hosted by my parents at their home. It was so lovely to meet the Ideas team who flew to Durban especially for the shoot. Dala Watts (the creative director) and Terena le Roux (the editor) were just lovely, relaxed and so easy to work with. Derryn Semple did all the photo snapping and my mom played hostess. I  can't share much about the theme of the shoot or the details, but it will be in the December Ideas Magazine. Hooray - I can't wait! The rest of the afternoon was full of normal work - although I was truly exhausted. We celebrated a busy, but successful day with a delicious braai (and wine - of course).

Friday...
Secretly all I wanted to do was take the day off. The reality was quite the opposite. It pretty much looked like a craft bomb exploded in my office (stuff yanked out of storage, nothing in its place). I had to leave the mess to get on with other tasks. One of the fun 'to do's' was planning several blog posts and I got to use my brand new unopened Elephantshoe 'my weekly planner'. It's always so nice to use new stationery to feel motivated again. While out and about I spotted 'Make it Home', a creative magazine at CNA - it isn't cheap, but is full of inspiration. I'm thinking of getting it. Last on the list was some wrapping and gift decorating - I'm behind on so much snail mail but I'm trying to catch-up.

Saturday...
Sleeping in was on my agenda and I successfully did that! Bliss! My aim was to get started on tidying up my office, but let's be honest, I didn't do that. I did, however, get around to a few other tasks which also included some relaxing and spending time with Daniel. Earlier in the day Daniel kindly collected my order from Mr Price Sport - who sent me a voucher for the launch of their online shop. I was so happy to find that they stocked 'packing cubes' which I had seen via overseas blogs, but not locally. I can't wait to give these a try on my next trip (organising nerd alert!). We finished our night off with one of our favourite meals (Butter Chicken) from Palki. I also fitted in a little bit of work after dinner, which will hopefully ease the load during the week ahead.

Sunday...
I managed to have a lovely balanced day. Time to relax and time to dedicate to work. I've started reading The Fault is in our Stars and I'm enjoying it, but I'm sure there will be tears ahead. Ideas mag  was also on my reading list as it was a gift from the team along with some of their stationery. We did our usual relaxed lunch at home followed by cupcakes from Woolies. A bit more work, relaxing and reading finished off a chilled day at home.