Lovely & local

Here are some lovely, local things that have caught my eye recently...

1. Long, green dress - by Lunar

2. Silver heart earrings - by Ida Elsje

3. Leather & silver bracelet - by Joya

4. Glass carafe's - from Deep Dark Africa

5. Rustic heart ring - by Thula Jewellery

6. 'Azetha" leather bag - from Tsonga

7. Love Green Food cookbook - by Larissa Green (available from Yuppiechef)

8. Cotton & brass necklaces - from Deep Dark Africa

*click on green words to visit websites

Pleated skirt giveaway

Today I am happy to announce the start of a lovely giveaway sponsored by local online fashion store, LollyLoves.

The lucky winner will receive this pretty skirt:

Description: A classic, black, pleated maxi skirt. Great for any season.
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HOW TO ENTER:

1. Be a follower of this blog/twitter, THEN please go look at the Lollyloves online store and let me know (in the comments section) what you like best.

2. For an extra entry, follow Lollyloves on twitter HERE and tweet the following phrase:  I just entered this pretty @LollylovesSA skirt giveaway on @beingbrazen - http://bit.ly/ioUekd

Please note: *Anyone may enter this giveaway * the winner will be chosen randomly *This giveaway will end on Wednesday, 6 July and the winner will be announced on Thursday, 7 July. Good luck, darlings ;)

- THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED -

And the winner is..

The lucky winner of the fabulous, Missibaba bag giveaway is.... *drum roll*... Tales of a mermaid! Congrats lady - please e-mail me soon.

A big thank you to Missibaba and everyone who entered. There will be a brand new giveaway starting a bit later today.

 - above image from Vogue.com -

Corn fritters

Last night I decided to make corn fritters for dinner - mainly because I was trying to do the meat-free monday thing and I also thought it would be cool to try out another recipe from my Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook, Notes From Kitchen Table.

The above photo is of my corn fritter's (they came out pretty well, don't you think?) - as you can see I served them with some rocket on the side. Next time I think I will also add some sweet chilli dipping sauce. Here is the recipe I used:

What you need:

• 4 fresh corn cobs, husks removed (uncooked)
• 1 organic large egg ( Note: I found my mixture needed almost 2 eggs)
• 35g Parmasan cheese, grated
• 25g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 spring onions, the white and green parts, finely chopped
• 25g unbleached plain flour
• 1 and a half teaspoons of cornflour ( I forgot to use this)
• 1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, Plus some for finishing
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Optional: 10 fresh basil  leaves and 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves

What to do:

1. Cut the corn kernels off the uncooked cobs and discard the cobs.
2. Combine the corn, egg, cheeses, spring onions, flour, cornflour, pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of salt together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
4. Spoon about 4 tablespoons of the fritter batter into the pan and fry for 2 minutes on each side, or until  5. dark golden brown and very attractive.
5. Drain the fritters on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and keep warm while you repeat the process with the remaining batter.
6. Roughly chop the basil and coriander leaves and scatter ontop of the fritters.

My notes and thoughts: This recipe made about 8 fritters. The corn fritters were tasty, and were more filling than I expected - though I definitely think they are probably better to have as a side dish or for a light lunch (The Boyf agrees). My first fritter fell apart, but then I added some more egg to the batter and they came out much better. Some corn may explode while you are frying it (just giving you a heads-up). I would definitely make this recipe again.

Draw a penguin

Author and illustrator, Oliver Jeffers did an adorable "How to" article for the Guardian... Trot over here to read all 12 steps (go, it's awesome).

Happy Weekend!

“I’m passionately involved in life:

I love its change, its color, its movement.

To be alive, to be able to see, to walk,

to have houses, music, paintings – it’s all a miracle.”

 - Arthur Rubenstein

Hope you have a great Friday and a very happy, weekend

Image from here

Celeb style: Blake Lively

The other day Blake Lively wore an interesting white Chanel dress, but it was her hair that really caught my attention - She had a sort of loose pony/side braids thing going on and then added a big, sparkly flower into the mix.

While this almost messy hairstyle might not suit everyone (especially with a fancy dress), I think Blake managed to pull it off with her gorgeous mane of hair.

What do you think of Blake's hairstyle?

Flashback - 80's films

This week I discovered that there is a Footloose remake coming out (why, oh why, did they make it?) and it got me thinking about how much I loved the original one. Then, that thought got me thinking about how many other films I loved from that decade - So,  I decided to make a little list...

Here are some of my favourite 80's films (in no particular order):

1. Say anything (1989) - Seriously, how rad was the scene when John Cusack holds the boombox over his head and Peter Gabriel's "in your eyes" is playing?
2. Dirty Dancing (1987) - "nobody puts baby in corner". For a while I think every girl in the world wanted to be Baby, so we could dance with Patrick Swazye.
3. Ferris Buellers Day off (1986) - The best movie about sneaking a day off school...ever!
4. Footloose - the original (1984) - "Footloose, footloose, kick off your sunday shoes....." - Man, Kevin Bacon really danced his butt off in this film.
5. The Lost Boys (1987) - I think this is a must-see for vampire movie fans. Also there's plenty of cool 80's hair and fashion to cringe at look at.
6. The Princess Bride (1987) - Filled with everything a good fairy tale needs
7. Splash (1984) -Darryl Hannah and Tom Hanks were so great in this film.  After watching this I desperately wanted to be a mermaid. 
8. Back to the Future (1985) - Michael J Fox + a time machine car = awesome
9. Better off Dead (1985) - A funny, very quirky, John Cusack  film (he rocks).
10. Steel Magnolias (1989)  - A classic chick flick

What are some of your favourite 80's films?

Colourful & modern apartment

This cool apartment belongs to vintage furniture boutique owner, Sylvie Rochon. It's 1000 square-feet and located in Montréal, Canada.

I am especially loving the lounge with it's colourful collection of throw pillows and retro coffee table

All the above images found here

On my bucket list... by Idonette

Idonette is a lovely blogger, who is  madly in love with interior decorating and all things pretty. She currently lives in Cape Town and blogs over here. Today she will be sharing a few things from her bucket list. Enjoy...

1. My husband and I went to Paris on our honeymoon. We loved it so much that we had to return a year later to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. I would love to own a small apartment there one day and spend half the year here in South Africa and the other half in Paris. I would then love to travel all over Europe from there.

2. I want to buy and renovate a really old house and then blog all about the journey.

3. Have kids and teach them to appreciate the small things in life.

4. Learn to speak French. You know, so that I can get around Paris one day.

5. For my blog to become successful. I would love to blog full time.

6. Attend either Paris or New York Fashion Week one day with my sister and mother.

7. Own a tea cup piglet. Sounds strange right? But I have been wanting one for ages.

8. I lived and worked in Aspen, Colorado a couple of years ago. I fell in love with the town, it's people and snowboarding. I would love to take my husband there one day, maybe own a little condo and go snowboarding everyday.
 
Note: "On my bucket list..." is my current guest blogger series. Most weeks a lovely blogger will share things from their bucket list. to read other bucket lists, go HERE

Chloe resort 2012

Chloe's resort 2012 collection is lovely. I'm currently in-lust with quite a few of the floaty dresses and I would not mind owning a pair of those black shoes in the above picture (so pretty!).

To see more of this collection, trot over here

Lunch with dad

Today The Boyf and I took my wonderful dad to Steenberg wine estate to have lunch at Catharina's restaurant for Father's day.

In spite of the gloomy weather, it was a truly fantastic afternoon - There was a jazz band playing, a delicious buffet (with a dessert table that almost put me into a sugar induced coma *winks*), comfy chairs, attractive surroundings, helpful waitors, fabulous wine (I discovered Steenberg's Catharina 2007 red wine, it's a winner) and a fireplace to keep us toasty.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a lavish, sunday buffet lunch and a great dining experience.  

What did you get up to this Father's Day?

To make a reservation at Catharina's you can call: +27 21 713-2222 or mail them at: reservations@steenberghotel.com

 - All the above photos by me - 

Happy Weekend!

"The world is full of magic things, 

patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." 

 - W.B. Yeats 
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Hope you all have (or are having) a truly magical weekend

A music mix

Since I mostly spent the first day of my 4-day weekend (aka today)  relaxing and filling my head with good music,  I decided to share a little mix of some of the songs currently swimming around in my head -

1. Mumford and sons -  The cave
2. Civil Twilight - letters from the sky  
3. Regina Spektor - Eet 
4. Rosie and me - Bonfires   
5. Florence & the Machine - You've got the love
6. Lykke Li - I follow rivers  
7. Brooke Fraser - Something in the water 
8. Angus & Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane  
9. The kooks - sway 
10. Goldfrapp - We radiate 
11. I Blame Coco feat. Robyn - Caesar  

Note: you can click on the song title link to watch the music video

Missibaba bag giveaway

Today I am happy to announce the start of a really fabulous giveaway sponsored by luxury accessory design label, Missibaba (which is based in Cape Town).

The lucky winner will get to choose one of these Cha-ching purse bags:

Description: Cha-ching purse bags are made from cow hide leather or suede and lined in Missibaba printed canvas containing card slots & a zipped coin pocket. They also have a detachable skinny leather strap. Bag dimensions: height 18cm / 7", width 26cm / 10" (each bag valued from R850 to R1150)

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Be a follower of this blog/twitter, THEN please go look at Missibaba's accessories HERE & HERE and let me know(in comments section) what you like best.

2. For an extra entry, follow Missibaba on twitter HERE and tweet the following phrase: I just entered the awesome @Missibaba Cha-ching bag giveaway on @beingbrazen over here http://bit.ly/jUgqR8 - you should too!

Please note: *Anyone may enter this giveaway * the winner will be chosen randomly *This giveaway will end on Monday, 27 June and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, 28 June. Good luck, darlings ;)

 - THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED -

Gifts for him

Still stuck on what to buy your dad for Father's Day (19 June)? Here are a few ideas...

1. A classic leather bag -  Frank bag by Gruber & Whale

2. One-of-a-kind art piece - Handmade tin car from Deep Dark Africa

3. An awesome mug - Dapper Dad mug by Kinshippress

4. A unique watch - Crono wood watch by WeWOOD (love this)

5. A digital photo frame - Sony DPF-D1020/B 10" frame

6. A cool book - Carte Blanche (the new James Bond novel) by Jeffery Deaver

7. A leather wallet - Matblac leather wallet from Spence

8. Speciality/craft beers  - Craft beers from Brewers & Union

10 things I learnt this weekend

1. Playing certain kinds of computer games stresses me out way too much
2. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is turning out to be a weird, but very cool book
3. Healthier chocolate brownies can be very yummy (see the recipe I tried out here )
4. I really need a new phone - my current one seem to have gremlins
5. If you mix Amaretto almond liquer and coke together it tastes just like Dr. Pepper
6. Someone thinks I look just like a teenage girl they knew in the 1970's (long story)
7. I really dislike meals that contain more than one animal meat at a time
8. The Game of Thrones TV series is getting more and more interesting
9.  South Africa has a great new online beauty shop - go here to have a look
10. I truly believe this to be true :"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."-Seneca

What did you learn this weekend?

*image from tumblr.com

Healthier, fudgy chocolate brownies

On Sunday night I tested out a very interesting brownie recipe that I found in my newly acquired cookbook, "Notes From My Kitchen Table" by Gwyneth Paltrow.

This brownie recipe is completely vegan and is suitable for people with minor wheat allergies (as its low-gluten). It's also pretty quick and easy - plus, as Gwyneth Paltrow said, "these are about as healthy as brownies can get, with no flavour sacrifice". Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

• 200g spelt flour
• 100g high-quality cocoa powder
• 1.5 tbsp baking powder
• Pinch fine salt
• 125ml vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 250ml  maple syrup (preferably real Vermont maple syrup)
• 125ml brown rice syrup or light agave nectar
• 125ml strong brewed coffee
• 125ml soya milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 175g high-quality chocolate chips  ( I went with a combination of dark organic chocolate chips and chopped up dark Lindt chocolate)

What to do:

* Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, gas 4. Grease a baking dish (Gwyneth used a 28 x 23cm dish that’s 5cm deep) with vegetable oil.

* Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, syrups, coffee, soya milk and vanilla. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overbeat.

* Pour half the mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with half the chocolate chips. Pour the rest of the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with the rest of the chocolate chips.

* Bake for 30 mins  - less if your dish is shallow, more if it’s deep - or until a cocktail stick has just a bit of chocolate on it when you test the cake - this means it’ll be super fudgy! Let it cool if you have the patience, cut into squares and serve.

Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 45 minutes

Serves : 8

Some thoughts/notes about this recipe: The brownies came out way tastier and fudgier than I thought they would (the above photo is of my brownies - don't they look yummy?). The only issue people might have with this recipe is the ingredients - They are not available everywhere and the syrups are a bit pricey - I found most of my ingredients at the Wellness Warehouse. I would definitely make this recipe again ;) 

And the winner is...

The winner of the Lola & Cash Bow jewellery giveaway is... *drum roll*... Amelia, Baby Birdie! Congrats lady, please e-mail me soon.

Thank you to everyone who entered - I hope to start another fab giveaway soon :)

Lovestruck Leighton

Leighton Meester looked stunning while promoting Vera Wang's new fragrance, Lovestruck,  in London last week.

She wore leather leggings, a blush pink blouse (both by Vera Wang) and a lust-worthy pair of  Brian Atwood's 'Rina' sandals in blush pink.

Trot over here to watch Leighton in the Lovestruck fragrance commercial.

Happy Weekend!

"There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under the jurisdiction. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I can read and eat and study. I can choose how I’m going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life-whether I will see them as curses or opportunities. I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts." - Elizabeth Gilbert (writer)

Hope you have a lovely Friday and a happy weekend, filled with good thoughts.

Erdem Resort 2012

Erdem's 2012 resort collection is stunning. I am loving the floral prints

Check out the whole collection over HERE 

Relaxed & cozy home

This house belongs to designer Emma Reddington and is located in Toronto, Canada.

I am loving the relaxed look/feel of this modern home and the fluffy chair throws (They really make the home alot more cozy, dont you think?).

To see more images of this home, trot over HERE

Lovely & local

Here are some cool, locally-made things I would not mind having right now -

1. Black 'Suzie' dress - by I Love Leroy

2. Cha-Ching bag - by Missibaba (also available to buy on Spence)

3. Pizza oven - by Earthfire (also available to buy on Yuppiechef)

4. Perpex bird earrings - by Genevieve Motley

5. Leather ballet pumps - from Beatnik Bazaar

6. The Chocolate Block wine - by Boekenhoutskloof

Celeb style: Emma Stone

I think Emma Stone is adorable - Lately I am really loving her style and her current hair colour (yup, she is red again). Last week she wore these two cute outfits:

GLAM (left): Bottega Veneta lace dress and clutch with Casadei pumps.

CASUAL (Right): Leather biker jacket, pointy toe heels and striped capri pants

Happy Weekend!

"This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well.
Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly.
Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature.
Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you.
Take the power to make your life happy."- Susan Polis Schutz

Have a stunning Friday and a very happy weekend x

On my bucket list... by Anna-Louise

Anna-Louise is a lovely blogger, who is fashion obsessed and loves pretty pink things. She currently lives in Cape Town and blogs over here. Today she will be sharing a few things from her bucket list. Enjoy...

1. Attend the Academy Awards

2. Have my own personal chef: and personal trainer.

3. Witness an Eclipse: especially a solar eclipse. It must be such an incredible and beautiful thing to experience.

4. Have more pets: I’ve got Jack (He’s a miniature Yorkshire terrier) He’s the cutest, happiest little dog ever and turn’s a bad day into an amazing one, just by looking at his face.

5. Live a long and healthy life.

6. Ride a Gondola in Venice: it seems like such a romantic, fun thing to do.

7. Meet Nelson Mandela

8. Travel the world: Go to all the countries I haven’t yet been to.

9. Do a photography course: I don’t think there is a better way to capture all your memories, than with photo’s. I want my house to be filled with amazing photo’s of my family, friends, places I’ve been and incredible things I’ve seen.

10. SHOE’S: Have a room full of shoes.
 
Note: "On my bucket list..." is my current guest blogger series. Most weeks a lovely blogger will share things from their bucket list. to read other bucket lists, go HERE

Street style inspiration

Spotted this cute outfit picture on the Zara website today.

I absolutely love this outfit - the leather jacket paired with the pleated skirt, The cute shoes, the cats eye sunnies, the vintage looking bag and the hair... so pretty.

Products I'm using...

Here are my thoughts on eight of the beauty products I am using right now (some are regular buys and some I am just trying out for the first time)...

1. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (for face): This is definitely one of my most favourite products ever. The rice-based enzyme powder is perfect for exfoliating sensitive skin and always leaves my face feeling smoother.

2. Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Butter from The Body Shop: A lovely friend bought me some of this for my birthday recently and I am loving it. It's got a really fabulous smell and is quite thick -which I am liking, as I have dryer skin in winter.

3. Nesti Dante soap: This ridiculously awesome soap brand comes from Italy and is handcrafted. Every Nesti Dante soap I have tried smells amazing, but my favourite one has to be the Florentine Rose & Peony soap in the 'Romantica' collection. These soaps have such strong and lovely frangrances, that some of them just end up living in my closet and making everything smell awesome  (you can buy these locally at Woolworths for about R60 each)

4. Dermalogica Multivitamin power recovery mask: This is another one of my absolute favourite beauty products. 

5. Freeman pomegranate sugar body scrub: It smells good, but i am finding it a bit too coarse for my sensitive skin - So I just use a bit on a cloth and  it helps exfoliate away all the dead skin. Not sure if I would buy this one again.

6. Johnson's Dreamy Skin night cream for dry & sensitive skin: I am really liking this night cream its very rich, smells nice and is very affordable.

7. Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: this is a pre-blended tea tree oil that you can use directly on the skin (no diluting) . You can use it on cuts, scrapes and skin blemishes. I think tea tree oil is an definite must-have beauty essential.

8. Ahava Mineral Botanic Velvet Cream Wash: I have been using the Bamboo & Pansy one for 2 weeks and I can honestly say it's one of the creamiest body washes I have ever tried. Besides smelling good and being creamy, this body wash also contains no SLS / SLES or parabens (so its really skin friendly) 

10 things I learnt recently

1. Shopping for groceries when you are hungry is not the best idea

2. Accidentally biting into a whole ball of wasabi is very unpleasant

3. My hair only seems to want to rock one style in winter -fluffy

4. Some people still enjoy using the "poke" feature on facebook *chuckles*

5. Fresh-cut flowers are always more awesome when you didn't buy them for yourself.

6. Leonardo DiCaprio is apparently dating Blake Lively (read about it here)
7. Never underestimate the importance of a good, supportive bed 
8. "Archer" is a seriously silly, but very funny, animated TV show

9. A packet of Oreo cookies never lasts very long around me 

10. Its often not what you say, but how you say it that makes all the difference.

What have you learnt recently?

photo from here