Happy weekend!

Have a wonderful friday and a very happy weekend!

photo found via tumblr. words added by me.

Me, today

Today I ...

... am one year older (happy birthday to me! la la la... )
... started the morning off by having breakfast in bed
... got a pretty bunch of  pink and purple flowers
... went to get my hair blowdryed at my salon
... will definitely be having some champagne to celebrate
... feel very happy and loved
... plan to have lunch somewhere with a seaside view
... won't let the fact that I'm a bit flu infected get me down
... might just have to buy myself a little present
... hope it doesn't rain too much, for my hair's sake
... must remember to take photos
... have to have at least one piece of cake
... may be away from computer a lot (will tell you about the rest of my day soon)

How are you doing today?

* Image found via tumblr

Breath Of Life

Since hearing that Snow White and The Huntsman was being made, I have been eagerly awaiting it's arrival at my cineama. Not only am I a fan of Charlize Theron (got to show support for our South African lady) and Kristen Stewart (yes, even despite that annoying lip bite thing she does), I am also keen to see a new take on this great fairytale.

To further add to the film's awesomeness, Florence + The Machine (one of my favourite bands) has recorded a song especially for the film's soundtrack. I have been playing 'Breath Of Life' a lot lately and I absolutely love it. Listen to the song and check out some clips from the movie below:

   Snow White and The Huntsman will released in South African on 1 June (yay!)

What do you think of the song? Are you excited for the film?

'Love' pillows giveaway

Today I am happy to announce the start of a lovely giveaway sponsored by the Smitten Home & Life  store (which is based in Cape Town).
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The winner of this giveaway will win two, sweet 'LOVE' cushion covers (they are available in 4 different colours):

 A bit about Smitten Home & Life: Opened in October 2011 by sisters Tracey and Charlene, this store is full of things to be smitten with. The store stocks a wide selection of ceramics, clothing, jewellery, decor items and a select range of kids accessories. Visit the store at the Farriers Centre, 53 Constantia Rd, Wynberg in Cape Town.

   

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Tell me, in the comments section below, what are you currently smitten with?

2. For an extra entry, you can either,  "Like" the Smitten Facebook page and leave a comment on the wall mentioning this competition  OR tweet about this giveaway and include @beingbrazen in your tweet ( please let me know you did). 

Giveaway notes: *This giveaway is open to SA residents only * the winner will be chosen randomly * This giveaway will end on Monday, 28 May and the winner will be announced on twitter & FB on Tuesday, 29 May. Good luck, darlings.

Celeb style: Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey often rocks a casual jeans and t-shirt look, but lately she has been glamming it up on the red carpet. She  recently wore these two fabulous outfits:

Left: For the premiere of Moonrise Kingdom , at the Cannes film festival, the singer wore a black chiffon gown by Alberta Ferretti and subtle make-up (so lovely)

Right: Lana donned a stunning, silver Altuzarra gown to the Met Gala. She teamed the gown with cape and dark lipstick (I'm not totally sure I like this lippy look on her)

What do you think of Lana's red carpet looks?

Lovely & local: room online

Roomonline.co.za is a new South African online store and it's fabulous. Here are few lovely (and local) items I am coveting in their store right now: 

1. Tree cup set - by love Milo
2. Key heart pendant - by Starbright girl
3. Lace porcelain vase - by Lisa Firer
4. Handprinted deer cushions - by Mia Widlake
5. A4 print
6. Heart ring - by Starbright girl

Happy weekend!

Hope you have a great Friday and fabulous weekend :)  

* Image via tumblr. Words added by me

Light & modern living room

I am loving the living room in this cool, Brazilian apartment. I want almost everything in it.  I'm especially smitten with the wall of bookshelves, complete with a ladder.

To see more photos of this apartment you can trot over here

My top 5: scented candles (right now)

I'm a bit of a scented candle junkie. I like to burn mine as often as I can (especially in winter, when I spend a lot more time indoors and keep most of my windows shut),  I even like to travel with travel-sized ones, and I am always buying new ones to try out. 

While it would be very hard for me to list all the scented candles I love, I thought I'd share my five favourite ones at the moment:

1. Yankee Candle in 'Clean Cotton'  - I love so many  of the Yankee Candle scents, but this is a firm favourite. The clean smell makes me think of  freshly washed laundry.

2. Airwick's Ribbons Touch luxury candle in Vanilla  - If you like vanilla, you should give this candle a try. It has a rather intense vanilla scent and is well priced.

3. SoyLites candle in 'Harmony'  -  This candle is made locally with 100% soybean wax and essential oils. The calming scent is made with a combination of geranium, jasmine and rose ( I currently have the travel-sized version of this).

4.  Jo Malone candle in 'Red Roses'  -  This intense, rose-scented candle is made with a blend of seven different varieties of roses, violet leaves and lemon.  It's a pricey candle (at about R650 for the 200g size), so it's definitely a luxury buy. 

5. Wellness Warehouse soy candle in 'Lemongrass' - I love the fresh, uplifting smell of this candle. These candles can be bought here.

What's one of your favourite scented candles?

Music crush: John Mayer

I've always been a big fan of blues/rock musician John Mayer and have really liked all his albums so far ( Room for Squares, Heavier Things, Continuum and Battle Studies). So, I was pretty excited to hear that his fifth album, Born & Raised, will be released later this month (22 May in US). 

It seems that John has gone through some changes between his last album and his new one (and no, its not just that he is rocking more hair and a hat). Apparently he has moved to Montana, did some soul searching and had vocal surgery (You should check out his latest interview with Ellen over here). I'm interested to hear how these life changes are going to come through in his music.

The first single released from the upcoming album is 'Shadow Days'. It's pretty cool ( bit of a country vibe), you can check out the video for it below:

you can visit John Mayer's official website here

Celeb style: Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton looked really stunning on Friday evening when she attended the Olympic gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a gorgeous teal gown by Jenny Packham (which was embellished with Swarovski crystals), a matching clutch bag and had her hair in a braided updo.  I really loved her whole outfit.

What did you think of Kate's outfit? 

10 things I learnt from my mother

above pic: Me (when I was 1 years old) and my pretty mom

1. Be weary of gossips-If someone gossips to you, they will probably gossip about you.
2. It is better to be honest and hurt someone, than to lie and save their feelings.
3. Use the "good" stuff now - Don't save your fancy clothes, candles, chocolates or crockery just for special occassions. Life is short, everyday is special. 
4.  Confidence and good posture are the most important accessories for any outfit.
5. Noone should ever be there to complete you, you need to be whole on your own.
6. Travel is essential. It will teach you more about yourself and the world.
7. While you are young, start exercising and eat healthy - It will make things a lot easier on you as you get older and your metabolism starts to slow down.
8. No relationship is ever perfect - but you shouldn't ever settle for an unhappy one.
9. Never be afraid to speak your mind or ask questions.
10. You will end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did -  you can never get a missed opportunity back, but you will hopefully learn from your mistakes.

Ps: Dear Mom (I know you will read this at some point), just wanted to tell you how much I love you. Thank you for constantly teaching me things, telling me the truth (even when i don't want to hear it) and always supporting me. Happy Mother's Day for Sunday.