A long pause...

Shew-wie, so getting back into this blogging thing is a lot harder than I realised, if I even realised at all! I have been way too quiet for way too long! Ideas for blog pieces filling my tiny heart everyday and then fading into a distant memory... waiting for the perfect moment to be captured online, shared and the love spread. But I have come to realise the last few months that the perfect moment never seems to arrive. I miss my writing here on my lilsparklies blog, I have even imagined starting from scratch with  a new and shiny lilsparklies page (I have the tendency to like to start things over from scratch!) but no. Not this. This is my lilsparklies journey and the journey started when it started. It's about wearing these heels in and celebrating things in their entirety. I will try and be better at this, I guess somewhere life just happens you know? 

 Things seem crazy at the moment but don't they always? I guess if they weren't life would be, well, boring. And nobody wants to live a boring life! It's all about balance, words so easily spoken yet not so easily achieved. But we try, today we give it all we've got and hey, if we don't make it we'll wake up and try again tomorrow :)

Tea or Coffee?

A rich cup of coffee in the morning and a sweet cup of tea before bed-time {alright with a couple of cuppas in-between!} is just what I need to start and end my day on the right note**

Honestly, I probably drink a bit too much...of both, but I just can't help myself! I am a BIG tea lover, my favourite flavours are: French rose & vanilla, mint green tea and peppermint and Belgium toffee. YUM! And when it comes to coffee I love it strong!

I want to start a journey this year of discovering even more delicious flavours of tea and find the perfect places to sit and sip on a lil something sweet over a chat with my girlies* So will start the series of "Tea @" where I feature a different tea place :) My dream is to one day own my very own lil tea garden with specialised tea-parties and treats* One day is one day, right?

Tea at night and coffee in the morning... two dear friends that I will always hold near and dear! The question I ask of {you} is...tea or coffee?

Monday Vibes**

#Day 4 {4 January 2013}

Shew-wie! There goes the first week of January! My tiny heart is so over-joyed and so excited for the new year...but I have been feeling really under the weather. Thankfully it is weekend and I can hopefully catch up on some sleep and feel better..

have a lovely lovely weekend and I will check in soon soon :):)

#Day 3 {3 January 2013}

Day 3 of 365... it seems so small and the year still seems so very young. The "newness" of it all and the excitement of new adventures and opportunities is consuming. You see, I live for new years! Absolutely love it! I am all about new beginnings and second chances. I am a dreamer and a firm believer in the saying "it's never too late to be brand new". This is the time of year to figure it all out, to take the right steps forward, set the foundation and tone for the year that lies ahead because at the end of the day it gets harder. Day 33 is harder than day 3 and day 333...well.

Life happens, deadlines are cut fine, we get financial strain.. maybe even lose people that were once close to us. It is so easy to get caught up in the negativity of it all. Things happen every day that test our patience and can push us more and more into a negative space. So today I want to take a moment to {smile}. To stay positive. Positivity is key. Those new years resolutions you may have made--- good luck sticking to them if you have a stinky attitude! Being positive and staying focused is what is going to make or break my 2013! It starts here and it starts now, 3 days in and my head is in the right space. I've never been someone who outright laughs or smiles for no reason and last year I discovered a positivity within me that I never knew I had. A determination and a good outlook on life! I want to build on that, grow it and let it show in the laugh lines on my face in years to come! :) I just need to keep it going and surround myself with people who WANT to be happy for me and with me. :)

Let the good times roll and always remember to smile!! 

The lilsparklies journey...

When I started lilsparklies I had a vision... a dream* Here is a reminder of what the lilsparklies journey is all about :) 

There are a few things that can make a lil girl's heart {sparkle}, an ice-cream, a doll, that feeling she gets when her daddy lifts her high above the ground,a pretty dress, playing with mommy's eye shadow or a diamond ring [lil girls can't tell the difference between a shiny bead & a diamond :)]. As one grows up one realises that there are so many beautiful things in life that can make one's tiny heart {sparkle}; it could be a kiss on the cheek, a handwritten letter, a green robot, imported fabric, family or a [real :)] diamond ring.

The Lord has blessed my life so much & i see pretty lil pieces of {sparkle} everywhere i look in my life.That is what my blog is about; a collection of all the lil things that make one's heart {sparkle} with joy and appreciation. So put on your "sparkle" shoes & join me on the journey to finding all things pretty, inspiring, {sparkly},special & magical***

...the sparkle is back*

Ah... where to begin. Luckily it is the beginning  :) 2013 is here and with it has come all the exciting feelings of second chances, new opportunities and blank pages ready to be written on, for me at least it feels that way!

Not one single post in 2012...almost as if the year didn't even happen.. I like it like that actually. Mysterious and dreamy* Horrible for my blogging cred, but not to linger. It's time to move forward. 

I am delighted and excited about 2013 and what it holds for my lilsparklies blog. For those that have stuck with me through the silence, thank you.. to those that are new; lace up your shoes and enjoy the lilsparklies journey :) 

{images via weheartit.com}

The Long and Short of it

I had long black hair for basically the first 2 years of varsity and then chopped it of on a whim in my third year! I also was blonde for a while, shew! This year I started growing my hair out as I miss that LONG black ponytail! There's something about a long ponytail that screams sophistication and sexy! But about halfway through the year I got tired of having my hair at the 'in-between' just over the shoulder look! BORING! My problem is I either want LONG LONG hair or short hair---not mid-length! I was very scared because cutting it off means I'd have to go through the whole boring process again! But my hair grows-fast. So I chopped it all of again! My room-mate Corne did a stunning job!! I went for a graduated bob-le Voctoria Beckham style! Here's to a fun summer with playful, flirty short hair!

In The Bathroom: Towels!!

I spent the night at a lovely family friend of mine who lives just up the road the other day and a simple thing added such a sparkle to my stay: stacks of lovely fluffy towels in the bathroom! Not only is her house beyond beautiful--but when I went to shower It was so sweet to have all these lovely towels--a simple touch that makes a BIG difference! Its so much better than when someone goes and scratches out some old hard towel for you to use, instead all these stunning rolled up fluffy blue towels and you feel comfortable using them as there are so many and you just KNOW that they are nice and clean!!

Make your guests feel at home and treat yourself to having lots of beautiful towels in your bathroom* They don't need to be fancy or expensive, just readily available, clean and stored neatly! If your bathroom is small you can invest in a towel rack, or a towel ladder that is equally sufficient. For bathrooms with more space, a cupboard for towels is a brilliant statement and keeps towels away from dust!

Another neat thing to do with your towels is to add LiL names on, this way the kids won't fight about who is using who's towel! Customised towels reflect your personlity, while neutral towels tend to last through the ages!It's up to you!
 Here are a few lovely ideas for storing and displaying your towels:

Featured: Old-Fashioned Maine Home

I dream of my home one day {far away but a girl can dream right?} and there is inspiration EVERYWHERE! I absolutely love the bold prints yet subtle furnishings of this Maine home that designer Tom Scheere has put together! I hope you enjoy it!

via {www.countryliving.com}