Fit the Third: I'll get you my pretties!

I went shopping today and bought absolutely nothing! There have been many times in the past when I have seen something lovely but not had the need or money for it, yet regretted having to let it go unappreciated. At such times I have wished I could share my finds with others of the same Gothic persuasion, and, now that I finally have a blog, and a camera, I can! So, today, I will be spamming you with photographs of some lovely things I spotted at the local mall today.

Very few people in South Africa have ever heard of goth, and there are almost no shops here catering to us, but I greatly enjoy finding things in ordinary shops that fit beautifully into the Goth aesthetic, and I have always wished that there was some kind of database of these things for South African Goths, as few as we are.

So, without further ado, I present my first batch of finds.

Hats!

Dozens of miniature top hats in assorted sizes and colours from Ralo. If you're lucky enough to have a Ralo nearby, it's a great place to buy affordable makeup, costume jewellery and acessories.

Fairies! Pretty! At Birthdays.

Pirate Piggy Banks! For frugal buccaneers. Also at Birthdays.

The first of two lovely Steampunky shoes I saw today. 

These are from Side Step.

More Steampunky shoes! I absolutely adore Steampunk but I simply do not have the wardrobe or budget to justify buying Steampunk things. Maybe if there was a convention I could attend.....

Black and White striped towels! I want!

I have to plug Mr Price Home here, partly because I often find lovely things there, and partly because my dear cousin is a buyer for them, so she is partly responsible for any lovelies I find there.

A Black and White frilly apron!

I have reached an agreement with my mum: as payment for the next ten times I cook, she will either buy this for me or make me something similar.

Victoria Frances jig-saw puzzle in the window of the toy shop. The kind owner also gave me a free starter deck of Magic: the Gathering cards. I have a new deck to test out this Friday night!

These shoes from Mr Price look gorgeous on the shelf but sadly, do not suit my feet at all. Le sigh!

An adorable t-shirt with Lenore the cute little dead girl! From Jay-jay's.

The grand finale: Monster High dolls! At Checkers. I'm waiting for the Halloween costume dolls because, even though I would love to own them all, I can't.

Well, that's all for tonight. I'm thoroughly knackered. I hope someone finds inspiration here, or at the very least, enjoys looking at the pretties!

Fit the Second : Of Night Frills and Little Shits

This is Samwise, our nine-week old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy: 

He's supposed to be my dad's dog but since my dad works long hard hours, I've taken on most of the puppy-rearing responsibilities. (Yes, that is my knee) Samwise thought the best way to wake me up this morning, just before six, was to leave a pile of what puppies do best on the carpet beside my bed. I cleaned it up only to discover, throughout the course of the day, that he had left two other surprises hidden in assorted corners of my room, which explained why the smell just would not dissipate. This forced me to clean and tidy my room fastidiously, and led to me finally getting around to my First Official Blog Project (tm).

One of my two gorgeous aunts got hold of a bunch of fabric remnants from a curtain maker and gave me metre upon metre of black and silver fabric. After mum had made me a pair of pillowcases and I had made myself a table cloth for my vanity table, there was still a considerable amount left and I, putting two and two together, figured it would do nicely for a night frill around my bed.

Before: (I forgot to take a proper before photo, so I just took a photo of the side I hadn't put it up yet) 

The tools of my ingenious cludgery : Fabric, thumb-tacks and mum's pink hammer.

During: I simply attached the fabric to the bed by sticking thumb-tacks through it into the wood of the bed.

And after: A marvellous transformation that serves the dual purpose of improving the aesthetics of my beloved bedroom and allowing me to hide assorted boxes out of sight under my bed.

I am very proud of my achievements! I still have a couple of other projects planned, such as painting my bookshelf with black and white stripes, putting up a mirror with lights in my vanity corner and changing the roof of my mosquito net.

In the meantime, here's a bonus picture of a drink I treated myself to a few nights back; one of the few totally goth things South Africa has to offer: nightshade syrup! I mixed some of the beautifully purple syrup with soda water and, although it didn't taste as good as I had hoped, it was a fun experiment.

Fit the First: Down the Rabbit Hole

"Introductions are USEFUL!" 

Jillian Venters

It has taken me a very long time to gain the courage to start a blog. After all, what do I have to say that others would want to read? But I have been inspired by so many wonderful goth women, in particular those taking part in Batfit 2012, to share my little plot of strangeness with the world.

I hope this will encourage me to post all the interesting photos I'm always taking, and to share the little things in life that make me happy.

A little bit about me:

I'm a 27-year old semi-teacher of English, living in the Lowveld of South Africa. I've been Goth for a mere seven years of my life but I have been strange and unusual for the entirety thereof, and I don't see myself changing any time soon.

I am interested in practically everything, and try to know a little bit about almost every subject on earth, from Theology to Theatre and everything in between. I'm finishing off the last bits of my teaching diploma right now, but I plan to study British History next, and, at the urging of my shrink, I don't plan to every stop studying.

What to expect: 

It is my intention to fill this blog with a combination of the random musings of my over-active mind, tales of my various adventures (be they in front of the sewing machine, the stove or the computer) and exuberant outbursts over my discoveries of Goth in unexpected places.

I hope you enjoy it!