full moon; full heart. awoooo

tonight there's a full moon blooming in the sky! oh how i wish i had the capability to photograph it... because it truly is magnificent. but i guess you'll see it too, if you take the time to look up. look up and be amazed by its beauty.

(this photo comes from here; isn't it amazing?)

sometimes i get very hung up in what's going on in my life and all the petty things that are making me sad or angry or afraid; sometimes i get this way about things that aren't even happening to me or anyone i know. sometimes, on nights like tonight, i forget my purpose, or i feel like i'm without purpose, or i question my purpose. i feel little and forgotten and insignificant.

and then i look up.

and i see this full moon; i see this orb of light hanging in the sky, a giant ball of luminescence and wonder. and i still feel little, but i am in awe. i am not forgotten. and i know that God has a purpose for me out there. and i feel like nothing else on earth should matter. nothing else in my life could ever compare to Him and what He's doing - in my life and in others'.

i was reading Kimmy Kim's blog and what she said was so true to how i've been feeling recently and it made me cry (don't judge!) so i'm gonna quote her:

"there are days when my love is silent and i am a mess. all i want is a "do-over". but i long to be in the place where i can say - "take it all, there's nothing left here on this earth i love but Jesus who will never let me go." that's where i want to be."

and i have a full heart again; a heart full of love and gratitude and amazement. so look at the full moon tonight, won't you?

that's all.

floral frivolity

i have a confession... are you ready? i have started another blog.

on WordPress.

but wait up! don't hurl rotten tomatoes at me just yet ;) my blog over at WordPress - DearDeer - is strictly about design and stuff that inspires me, and not so much about my personal life, like Pink Chucks is. the truth is, Blogger irritates me a little, but i don't have the heart to get rid of Pink Chucks, so i'm sitting on the fence.

sometimes, though, i expect things i feature on DearDeer to intersect with Pink Chucks, and this was the case a couple days ago. i decided - on a whim - to post about how much i love floral patterns, focussing on the aesthetic beauty of these designs and how they inspired me. when i was finished with the post though, i read through it and thought it'd make a fun post on Pink Chucks, too! so without further ado, i give you all the floral frivolity i was able to scrounge up around me (mostly from my wardrobe). are ya ready? :)

1. the "sunshiney day" waistcoat

this cute little thing was made for me by my mom when i was 2. i wish i could find the actual photo of me wearing it... but how precious and happy is it?! i heart sunflowers :)

2. the "rosey posey" dress

oh my... i adore this dress. it was my first floral dress of many, and it was a gift from my dear dear sister Sindi. it was on display in the window of a shop at our fave mall, and when i saw it i was speechless. Sindi forced me to try it on... and when i confessed that i didn't have enough money for it, she bought it for me. amazing, right? i always get compliments when i wear this dress, and i couldn't love it enough.

3. the "floral fiesta" dress

this dress took my breath away the first time i saw it! a girl at school wore it for one of our Civvies Days (if you don't know what that means, head here) and i couldn't resist. i sneakily snuck up to her and asked her where she had got it from and how much it had cost. (yeah, i really asked that... cause i'm a cheapskate.) after i found it, tried it on, loved it and bought it myself, i discovered that this was seriously an AMAZING bargain, and i'll tell you why. converted into dollars, this dress only cost me around $13. about six months later, i was perusing ModCloth (which will one day be the death of me) and i stumbled across... this very dress. for $63.99. don't believe me? here it is on ModCloth. they are practically identical. say whaaaat?!

4. the "roses are forever" dress

when we were in the States last June/July, we stayed with my gramma... and this means obligatory thrifting. (my gramma, in case you weren't sure, is a thrift hound. she's amazing.) so, on one of our trips down to Thrift Town - yes, the store is called that - i was studying the jeans aisle when my mom, who was near by, came up to me bearing this dress. it is simply GORGEOUS: 30% silk, light to the touch, and with a cute, unobtrusive bow capping each sleeve. i'm desperate for an opportunity to wear it out.

5. the "kei kei aloha" dress

on another occasion during our time in the USA last year, we were out shopping with my aunt Kym and cousin Zoey when we stumbled across a phenomenal collection of summer dresses in Abercrombie & Fitch. Zoey fell in love with one of the dresses, and i couldn't get enough of this one, and so the ever-gracious Kym bought them for us! isn't she fantastic? this dress is so cool - it's classy, but friendly. i've worn it everywhere and i just can't get enough of it :)

6. the "blooming brilliant" dress

everyone say "hi" to my latest floral acquisition - this simply delightful cartoonish dress which rocks my world! it's light and fun and brightens up my day whenever i wear it, which makes it my best friend right now in this summer weather. i love the stripes, too - yay for stripes!

7. the "hope garden" bag

this absolutely adorable bag, which i've written about on Pink Chucks before, was also a gift, this time from dear friend Jenne. it's a Vera Bradley, which, by default, makes it a beautiful and extremely high-quality product. the pattern used on the bag is called "Hope Garden"; the actual design of the bag is called... Hannah :)

ja, ja! so there you are, folks - the floral collection of one Miss Hannah Mac :) do you love any particular print? do you collect any certain pattern? let me know!

good things that happened today.

"oh, what a day it's been."

i'm listening to Dear Reader (if you haven't heard of them, i'm scolding you soundly in my head right now!) and Cheri just sang that line from "Great White Bear" to me through my computer's speakers. and it was so apt to how i'm feeling right now. hah!

sometimes there are just those days when everything just seems bad bad bad. today wasn't really one of those, but it puttered along in that direction. i've mostly been stressing because i have good friends in Brisbane and the flash flood business going on there is scary. i also read the speech that Obama gave at the memorial service for those who died in Tucson... which was amazing, but put me in a bit of a melancholic mood. and just... other lame stuff.

so, in an effort to rally myself back to a happy place (!) i've decided to draw up a little list of all the GOOD things i witnessed and took part in and enjoyed today :) here goes:

* making birthday plans! i have a week to go before the Big Day, and so far i've deduced that i'm making what sounds -and looks - like the most amazing chocolate cake in history, and plonking magic re-lighting candles and happy "18" candles on it. aaaah, i'm already salivating! recipe here, courtesy of the amazing Judy.

i'm also planning fun things to do, like going to the beach and playing Apples To Apples and Scrabble while eating at The Fat Cat. and then going to watch Tangled the next day. sounds good, huh? i'm excited :)

* really, really good music to sing along to at my mom's school

* reading and finishing The Horse and His Boy - i love C.S. Lewis, and i'm happy that i'm finally making progress through the Narnia series!

*this quote from the book:

"But of course," he thought. "I was quite safe. That is why the Lion kept on my left. He was between me and the edge all the time."

i love it. it feels so true to many situations in my life, where i look back in shock and amazement that i've made it through something which seemed insurmountable, only to realise that my Guy was with me the whole time, keeping me from so many pitfalls and heartbreaks, so many cliff edges.

*watching Big Bang Theory with my mom and sister :)

*hearing from my Tee... which basically means that she's safe. now i'm only worried about Shaw. (these are my Brisbane peeps, in case you're wondering.)

*chicken nuggets for dinner. oh yes.

*cell group, and Joe & i for pwning everyone else at Trivial Pursuit. our end percentage was 81%... impressive, huh?

aaaand...

*reading Jon Acuff's Stuff Christians Like, which kills me.

so there you have it! and now i must sleep.

best blogs in the business

let's have a minute's silence for my fantastic use of alliteration in the title of this post....

*silence*

cool, now we can continue :)

so i've been thinking about it and although i'm really not a super blogger (ie. i only blog once every blue moon and sometimes my posts are boring or ridiculous) i really really love blogs - cruisin' them and getting inspiration and a few laughs and smiles. and there are some blogs that i hou van especially, created by girls that i look up to and just generally think are awesome. so surely i should show the inventors of these blogs how much i appreciate them, and also expose them to one another? the answer to that rhetorical question is yes... yes i should.

thus without further ado, i present to you.... *drumroll*

THE BEST BLOGS IN THE BUSINESS!

how about first we talk about Busy Bee Lauren? yes? YES.

Lauren Bee is a beautiful soul whom i first stumbled across when we were both going fan-girl crazy over Twilight *hides face in shame* on the internets something like three years ago. Lauren lives in AZ with her hubby Ted and their babies, Gizmo and Leo. (they are pets... not actual babies. in case you were wondering.) her blog, Busy Bee Lauren, has been going strong for four years now, and it's pretty much amazingspice... just like the lady. she talks fashion, food, family, design, travel, books and daily life stuff; she has class, wit and beauty galore and i love her. oh, and she loves owls... so you pretty much have to adore her.

then we must discuss My Sweet Old Etcetera.

this a-MAY-zing blog is run by the gorgeous Miss Ana Cristina, who is totally bomb. besides being one of my favourite bloggers of all time, Annie is a high school English teacher in FL. her passion for literature and creative writing have oftentimes left me wishing that she were MY English teacher! she writes beautifully and blogs about the funnest things; i love that her blog is so personal and heartfelt. Annie loves a lot of the same stuff i do, so i'm inclined to say she has really good taste... but truth be told, i really value her opinion and her blog is often an inspiration for me. she makes me smile and i really can't sing her praises enough. (if you would like to read some of her creative writing, you can access it here!)

i'm also absolutely in love with EmmaJaneNation.

friend-of-friends Emma Jane runs this fantaaaastic blog where she posts the most creative stuff - be it fashion, food, design or just life in general. i simply adore her style and her originality. Emma got engaged to Dylan earlier this year, so she's also recently been blogging - very subtly - about prep for their wedding which is happening in January! i love the little hints at the plans they're making and can't wait for the actual wedding to roll around so i can get a peek at their beee-you-tiful day!

thanks to Emma's blog, i stumbled across Lucky Pony... and hello, it blows my mind.

pretty pretty Angie is in charge over at the lucky blog; she is: a) amazing; b) the wife of the awesome Shane Durrant of Desmond & The Tutus fame; c) in charge of Wolves Cafe up in Joziville - Wolves, i have decided, is where i shall work/live some day (because it is RIDICULOUS) and d) very very inspirational. because she blogs every day.... and i have failed to find a single post of hers that i don't adore. she is funny and fantastic and finds very very lovely stuff all over the internets, which often makes me drool and/or gasp in amazement. she is so tasteful and wow! and yes... i just used "wow" to describe her. the words failed. moving on...

i'm also a beeg beeg fan of Kismet and Kate, and i'll tell you why.

Kate is BFFs with Lauren of BBL fame... and that is how i stumbled across her blog, which makes me do my happy dance. the fact that she's tight with the Busy Bee already makes her sa-WEET, but that's not the main reason i love her. seriously, her blog holds its own in the Blog Kingdom... which speaks for her marvellousness. she's in the midst of a year-long stay in Spain, where she's teaching little ones, and i adore reading about her experiences. she also blogs about her family, and how much she loves and misses them; i really appreciate this part of her blog cause it reminds me about how important MY family is, and how i ought to cherish them.

and on the subject of girls workin' overseas, teaching younguns... i must bring up +27.

the fabulous Kim is in charge of this gem; i only stumbled across this blog a couple months ago, but i'm already a huge fan. Kim is currently working in the United Arab Emirates, teaching 6- and 7-year-olds... i love reading her stories about everyday life in Abu Dhabi, about the little ones she works with and her perspective and faith which shines through each post. i love that she regularly posts about all the things she is thankful for as the days go past; i love that she is so open and honest and positive. i love that she's my sister in Christ and i love her in general!

i'm nearly done, but i still have one more blog i desperately need to talk about and it's called A Bite Of Allison.

it's not too difficult to guess the name of the wonderful chica in charge over at this blog - that's right, Allison! and my oh my, do i love her. first of all, she's a Jim Halpert fan... umm, epic WIN. any girl who thinks Jim Halpert is the perfect man already has 100% in my book. also, she's like me in that she has a slight obsession with weddings - if nothing else, check out this post of hers that left me gasping. (yep, i'm totally the same... bookmark the wedding sites and ooh and aah at the pictures of people that i don't even know, the whole nine yards.) but to top THAT off, she's smart, funny and really gosh-darn amazing, not to mention that she has impeccable taste when it comes to music. don't believe me? check her blog out on a Monday, when she usually showcases some Music Monday tunes. i've yet to listen to one of her recommendations without smiling and/or singing along by the end of the song. and that just leads me to my conclusion... she's fantastic, no doubt about it.

so there you have it, folks... the best of the best :)

aren't these ladies just fantastic?

YER A WIZARD, HARRY!

guess who's decided to re-read the Harry Potter series?

yes, indeed, friends... you have guessed correctly. it is i.

i've been meaning to do so for a while now, but being a matric student has hampered these efforts of mine substantially. (and what's up with the crazy vocab? hampered? substantially? yech... i'm scaring myself!) i know, i know - you're thinking, "c'mon, Hannah. it doesn't take THAT much effort to pick up a book and read a couple chapters a day, or even a week, does it?!" but maybe you'll understand a bit better when i describe to you my reading style.

i flatten books. provided it's written well, has a good story line and endurable characters, i am hooked and you will not see me until i'm done - or at least, a substantial way through the book. this sort of reading poses serious threats during school-time. threats which include unfinished homework and/or lack of adequate preparation for tests or exams. not really the best idea, i'd say. so, sad as it might seem, i try to avoid books which might captivate me when i'm particularly busy - which i certainly have been for the last while.

but now? now i am FREE! for a whole TWO MONTHS! and, with all the talk of Harry Potter 7.1's release in cinemas, i simply couldn't resist. i marched over to the bookshelf yesterday afternoon, pulled the first book from the shelf, dusted it off and made myself comfortable.

and flattened it.

the same thing happened with Book The Second today.

i am ADORING the magical world of Harry Potter... and am wishing more than ever that i could attend Hogwarts. even though i'm past eligible age - how depressing is THAT?! nevertheless, i'm enthralled and loving it just as much as i did when i was 8 and we read the first two books as a family, with me curled up in bed, hanging onto every word which slipped out of my mom's mouth.

please love the cool British cover illustrations our books have. they pwn the American cartoon-style illustrations, in my opinion.

oh, and by the way... it's called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. not Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

and that's final!

(rant over.)

FINITO.

hey y'all!

my post isn't going to be more than a few short sentences... but guess what?!

i'm done with high school.

forever!

i wrote my last final paper today (and boy, does that sound repetitive or what?!) which is definitely bittersweet. i've been so anxious to be out of high school - and believe me, i'm over the moon that i'm finally here - but there are such beautiful friends and memories that i don't want to ever let go of. it all seems really surreal - that five years of my life (heck, TWELVE years of my life!) have flown by so fast, and i'm definitely still getting used to the idea of being "officially unemployed", as my dear friend Kelsey so tactfully put it :)

but here's to the future!

.

The Final Countdown

*dun dun dunnnnn*

hello, everybody! d'you want to hear something scary? yes? kay, well hold on... -clears throat-

i have exactly 10 more normal school days left. of my entire life.

yeah, i told you it was scary! i have only two more 5-day-weeks of school left before i bid farewell to my high school and begin to engage in the dreaded final exams. although they'll be written at school - so technically i'll still be at school, and i'll have to wear uniform and that sort of thing - i found (when we wrote our trial exams about a month ago - hah!) that it's really not the same as a normal school day.

to start things off, you come in later than usual. plus, you only come in when you're writing - so half of your friends aren't there, unless you're writing a common paper, like English or Maths. you sit in the hall for ±3 hours, most of which you spend writing frantically... so, basically, you aren't paying attention to the fact that you're at school. and after those ±3 hours are up, you leave. no lunch breaks... no milling around the hallways between lessons... no wisecracks during Afrikaans or doodling on books during Biology. none of that.

now, i must confess... ever since my darling sister Sindi went off to uni two years ago, i've been dying to set out after her in hot pursuit. i've always been a little mature for my age - which i think comes from having a sister who's a couple years older - and so even at the beginning of Grade 11, i was itching to leave high school behind and start with uni.

being in matric (South African speak for Grade 12, in case you were wondering ;) ) hasn't really helped much. although a lot of my older friends told me that matric was their favourite year of high school, it's been a bit of a let-down for me in some respects, and i really think i enjoyed my Grade 11 year more. which isn't to say that i haven't done absolutely marvellous things this year... on the whole, i've just felt that last year, although demanding in its own way, was more enjoyable than this year. i've been planning to go off to Rhodes University since i was in 9th Grade, and i sent off my application forms at the end of August. i got my acceptance letter about a month later and just the other day was confirmed as a Rhodes student for 2011.

yes, that's right... twist and shout!

needless to say, i've been itching to get out of high school. until now.

it recently hit me how CRAZY it is that i'll probably never see some of my high school friends again after i'm done with this year. people that i've spent 5+ years of my life with, commiserating and fighting and laughing and crying and hugging... and i'll never see them again.

weird.

don't get me wrong... there are definitely things i won't miss. *ahem* like Maths. and Accounting. but there are other things, and people, mostly, that i'll really have a hard time saying goodbye to.

sigh. it's a really odd, uncomfortable feeling.

like being in limbo.

all of that said...

TOO EXCITED FOR 2011!

and watch out, Rhodes...

here i come!