happy belated caturday: the sister edition

first off, forgive the tardiness of this blog post. "why," you ask, "are you posting a Caturday post on a Sunday? that makes no sense!" then you shake your head at me in half-amusement, half-confusion. well, hear me out. i meant to post it yesterday; i really had every good intention to do so. but i was a little preoccupied because i went to see Sindi in the morning, and then spent a good portion of the afternoon making a salad, and then took that salad and my merry little self and Chris to a party in my sister's honour. and why, you ask?

because IT WAS SINDI'S BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY! 

yeeeeeah!

the cats wish you a happy birthday. they insist that you accept their good wishes. that is all.

it's safe to say that Sindi is the coolest cat. as in, ever. she is majorly awesome and caring; she listens; she loves. she bakes a meeeeeean chocolate cake and is also a chocolate-chip cookie queen... this cat doesn't even rival her in awesomeness points, and that's really saying something.

i mean... REALLY.

Sindi is funny and kind and original and beautiful, and i cannot imagine life without her.

Sindi's and my dream book cafe by the beach. note the cat.

i just love her a lot a lot, and reckon she's the best sister - and friend - anyone could ever have.

cool things.

first off - i was totally watching Catch That Kid while composing this post. it made me laugh big time. i had no idea Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu were in it! plus, can i mention that Kristen Stewart was always awkward?

srsly.

High School Musical, Twilight and The Pacifier, all in one movie! wonder what Edward would think of the two punks hitting on his true wuv? I'd personally choose Max over Rob any day...

now, onto the cool things!

ZAC FARRO and BIRTHDAYNESS.
last Thursday, the 4th, just so happened to be my fake-fiance Zac Farro's BIRTHDAY! he is all of nineteen years old now.

yes......Zac eats garden gnomes for breakfast.

Happy Birthday for Thursday the 4th, dearest Zachary!
with love and kisses, Hanny.

...and now i move along.

HAYLEY FREAKIN' WILLIAMS.
when i was looking through the images on Google for photos of the abovementioned young man for my last blog post, i came across this darling photo. it made me want to scream because of its fabulosity. don't argue.

am i the only one in the world who wishes to be Hayley Williams?

i mean, am i?

SPRINGLEAP.
here is another cool thing.
Springleap is an idea that was started by some awesome peeps in South Africa in an attempt to recreate the way artists in this country and around the world gain recognition. the basic premise is that anyone with creative ideas can submit them as a t-shirt design; all of these designs are then voted on by the public through the website. *to find out more about this fantastic venture, go here*

this is a t-shirt design called Ice Cream Factory, by cmatos... and i love it. because it combines two of the best things in life: ice creams and penguins. i want this shirt like an emu wants ostrich feathers. yeah, i am willing to beat that sucker ostrich up if it so much as comes near me flaunting those feathers... in other words, if you own the shirt, stay FAR away. srsly. i've been training...

ETSY DRESSES.
yes - i am in love with Etsy. do you want to see why?

this is honestly one of the most beautiful dresses i have EVER seen. and yes - it's one dress. that is reversible. and that i think rocks the party. it's designed and made by audreyandgrace.

here are a few other dresses i fell for.

these two tea dresses were designed and made by Louise Hedley, and i basically adore them.

this blue tulip dress, designed and made by Jacqui Cheng, also caught my eye. i love wearing things that are blue, and i heart the design of this dress, so it was basically love at first sight :)

NEW CLOTHES...and a bag

it's true - everyone loves getting new things. don't lie to me and say you don't... or i will laugh at you. unless you mean new underwear from your gramma. then i will understand. anyway, in the past month, i have not gotten any underwear from my gramma, but i HAVE gotten 4 specifically fantasmagorical things, 3 of which where clothing items. are ya ready? :)

1st: remember how, a few posts ago, i mentioned i was desperate for a pair of red skinny jeans? well, on the 11th of May, i got out from school really late and phoned my mom to fetch me. when she arrived at the school, i opened the passenger door and nearly sat on a package. my mind right then was thinking something along the lines of WHAT.THE.FREAK? i examined the package. it had my name on it. *squee!* and it was from my sister. *double-squee!* i tore it open. the most beautiful pair of red skinny jeans lay on my lap. i swear, i came close to dying of happiness.

looky!

just more evidence that i have the best sister in the whole entire world.

2nd: a week ago, some really close friends of my family from Atlanta, Georgia came out for a visit. (they are basically the shizz nizz. true story.) with them, they brought:

- A PRINCETON HOODIE

Stephen - the son in the equation - goes to Princeton. he is awesome, and so he brought 2 Princeton hoodies - one for me, and one for Sinderella.

i'm down with being Ivy League Ghetto, yo. you should be scurred. fo' shizzle.

- A VERA BRADLEY BAG

yesss... i said "Vera Bradley". as in, only the most uh-MAY-zin' bags in the world. check out the cuteness! each design of bag has a different girl's name. d'you want to guess what mine is called?

well, of course it's the Hannah bag :)

3rd: this past Sunday was my dad's birthday. (Happy birthday, Dad!) so, to celebrate in style, we went drove 2 hours to Gateway, the Mecca of Shopping in these-here parts. and what did i spot there, but the most ridiculously fabulous hat of all time. take a look for yourself:

naturally, i had to get it. guess who shall have warm ears this winter?!

you want to know something else that is beyond cool? YOU are, if you're reading this :) kthanxbye!

The Catch-Up

hi!

*cue Slim Shady music*

guess who's back? back again? Hanny's back.. tell her friends!

sheesh, i am so ghetto. srsly, though... it's good to be blogging again :) after promising to blog more (do you remember that?) i feel sheepish for abandoning you all for a little less than a month. *sigh* have i mentioned that school is evil? anyway, i have other purposes for this blog post besides grumbling about the awfulness of homework and suchlike, so let's get down to business ;)

firstly, did anyone notice that i left out an incredibly important component of my life a couple of blog posts ago, when i mentioned all the things i was grateful for? *shakes head in disgust* yes, friends, 'tis true... i COMPLETELY skipped out BOOKS! books are basically the love of my life. so i decided that to make up for my horribleness, i will give you all a list of my favourite books of 2008 and the start of 2009 :) ready? go!

#1 : BLUE LIKE JAZZ

by Don Miller

okay, so i don't even know what to tell you. just get the book and read it. and laugh, and cry, and agree and disagree. and laugh and cry some more, and repent a bit, and shake your head in amazement at the sheer coolness of this book. Don Miller is a freakin' genius. all i'm gonna say. (in case any of you were interested, he prayed at the Democratic Convention last year. good prayer, too... read it.)

joint #2 : THE HOST

by Stephenie Meyer

so. i was concerned when i first heard about The Host. with Stephenie investing so much in her Twilight characters, could she possibly come up with a completely different story and still make it brilliant? i decided to bite the bullet while in the US of A and got it. i have NO idea why i was so wary. Stephenie can do anything, as far as i'm concerned. (except fly... i'm not gonna recommend that. unless she has a Nimbus 2000 - then she can go for it.) The Host was absolutely one of the best reads i've had in a long, LONG time. i think the thing i love the most about Stephenie is that she is so amazingly talented at weaving relationships and emotion through her writing. it's compelling and beautiful, and i know that from now on, whether she writes about caterpillars crawling on daffodils or a guy delivering pizza, i'll enjoy it. so there, Mr Stephen King. bah to you.(plus, she used the word "squish" again. just sayin'. "SQUISH!" *squeals* i love that word.)

joint #2 : THE BOOK THIEF

by Marcus Zusak

this book broke my heart. the imagery, the history, the story line, the characters... everything about it took me in and changed the way i see literature, and the world in general, today. it was real and personal and affecting. plus, i fell in love with Rudy Steiner. i'm gonna stop there.

#3 (collectively) : THE GOOSE GIRL, ENNA BURNING and RIVER SECRETS

by Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is a wonder woman. this series is the Bomb. as in, you have NO IDEA how fabulous they are, dahlings. her characters are really vivid and relatable. plus, it's fantasy... Hanny loves!

#4 : BREAKING DAWN

by Stephenie Meyer

aaah-HAH! i bet you thought that because i'd already put The Host on my favourites list, i was going to forget about Breaking Dawn! not gonna happen, friends. this book, although slightly different from my expectations, was the perfect way to end off the series! i'm not going to talk about too much of it's awesomeness since Chell hasn't read the series (love!) and all of you other awesome peeps probably have. so just go through all the awesomeness in your head, and know that's what i'm thinking, aight?

#5 : THE TWO PRINCESSES OF BAMARRE

by Gail Carson Levine

okay. admittedly, last year was not the first time i'd read this book. it was something like the zillionth. but since i hadn't read it for a year, or at least a couple months, i decided to read it again... and fell in love with it all over again. have i mentioned that Gail Carson Levine is super? if you're unfamiliar with her, i demand that you remove yourself from this blog at once!! no, wait... don't go just yet. i will allow you to continue reading if you do so solemnly swear to read: a) Ella Enchanted and b) The Two Princesses of Bamarre. of course, she's written other books of almost-equal coolness, but those are now law. so go read them, already!

#6 (collectively) : THE HERO AND THE CROWN/SPINDLE'S END

by Robin McKinley

*sigh* have i mentioned how much of a Fantasy Freak i am? this list is testament to my addiction to most things fantasy. (and when i say fantasy, i mean smart, sassy fantasy. but you knew that already, right?) well, Robin McKinley is something like the Queen of Fantasy. that's why i couldn't decide between two of her books... they are both so awesome. TH&TC is fabulous because the main character is an amazing, sword-wielding, dragon-slaying heroine with the most beautiful name in history (Aerin. *Hanny dies at its beauty!*) whom i relate to on the highest level in terms of many things, including co-ordination. and Spindle's End is fabulous because it is a COOLER (can you believe?) retelling of Sleeping Beauty. that is all.

before i end my Books section, can someone pur-lease tell Jamie T to write his book already? then i promise i will stop blathering on about him. for reals.

now that BOOKS are out of the way, i want to wish my lovely BFF Lauren an AMAZING 21st birthday! i feel like a jerk because her birthday was over a week ago and i didn't do ANYTHING except write her a little note online :P i AM going to send you a card, dearest, i PROMISE! in the meantime, i hope this is okay :)

this is the photo of Lauren and her Ted that i have up in my room. isn't she beautiful?

i also want to thank my wonderful friend Ana Cristina for the lovely bloggy award she gave me... squee! ...and i want to thank the most awesomest Nancy Face, who sent me a fabulous Valentines Day card in the post! thanks a bunch, Nancy! :)

speaking of Valentines Day.... Valentines Day is a big day at my school. on Valentines Day, everyone wears normal clothes (we usually have to wear a uniform - bleugh!) and gives eachother chocolates and teddy bears and mugs. i don't really like Valentines Day; i am the unofficial Scrooge of Valentines Day. i've never liked it because i've never had cause to like it. this year, though, since Valentines Day fell on a Saturday, we celebrated at school.. on Friday the 13th! tee hee. on the actual day, i had a hard time. my parents and i went to a funeral of a family friend and colleague of my dad's who died unexpectedly... i am not a fan of funerals. later on, the day got better, when i got to watch my favourite rugby team (the Sharks, baby!) play the Stormers - a rugby team from Cape Town - and WIN in one of the first games of the season! today, some friends of mine who are out of school had a crumpet party (where i got to hang out with my main man, Scott!) and Valentines Day came up. "we had a very rotic day yesterday," they said. "...by which you mean?" i asked, befuddled. "it was romantic without a man!" they replied. hee hee... i guess that'll be me next year, too, then :)

i am missing Sindi - we dropped her off at university (all of 13 hours away) last weekend. she is far far away... and i miss her.

lastly but not leastly, can you all do me a favour and click on the link below? even if you don't join SocialVibe, i will earn points from a click... and i am a points fanatic :) thank you!

that's all from me... i am outta here!