Lovely & local

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

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1.  Sleevless 50's style dress - by Doreen Southwood (available from 36Boutiques)

2. Grey, leather clutch bag - by Chimpel

3. Silver, heart ring  - by Collect Jewellery

4. Silver and Quartz floral earrings - by Shelley & Harry

5. Leather lined, T-bar pumps -  by Coast and Koi (available from 36Boutiques)

Celeb style: Mila Kunis

This week, Mila Kunis rocked a Elie Saab Fall 2011 couture dress and heels for the Friends with Benefits premiere in Moscow.

I think this ballerina-esque dress is so pretty and looks just as good on her as the Elie Saab dress she wore to the Oscars.

What do you  think of this outfit?

Vintage giveaway

Today I am happy to announce the start of another lovely giveaway sponsored by Vintage Lifestyle Magazine.
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The lucky winner will receive ALL of these vintage pretties - 

A bit about the items: A new, vintage-inspired beaded sling bag (sourced overseas) - perfect for an evening out or even strolling around markets. A vintage glitter brooch - perfect for your coat, cape or blazer this winter. Vintage bracelets that match every outfit and a butterfly necklace, on a silver chain, to brighten up those winter days. 

Note: Being South Africa's first ever vintage magazine, Vintage Lifestyle feels it is important to give back as well as to promote vintage/recycled in today's society.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Be a follower of this blog/twitter, THEN please trot over to Vintage Lifestyle mag HERE and tell me (in the comments section) what you loved most.
2. For an extra entry, "like" TheVintage Lifestyle facebook group HERE & comment on the wall "I love Vintage Lifestyle Mag" OR  tweet the following phrase: I just entered the lovely @vintageLMag giveaway on @beingbrazen over here http://bit.ly/omWYjF -you should too.

Giveaway notes: *Anyone may enter this giveaway * the winner will be chosen randomly *This giveaway will end on Monday, 08 August and the winner will be announced on Wednesday, 10 August. Good luck, darlings

 - THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED -  

Yummy baked goods

During a recent roatrip to Hermanus, The Boyf and I discovered a lovely bakery/coffee shop called Yves's Pudding & Pie.

Not only is this shop decorated adorably, with a mix of shabby-chic and vintage, but it's also filled with yummy baked goods and friendly staff.

While we were there, we tried the chocolate mud cake and the cheesecake - both were ridiculously good (if you get the chance,I highly recommend you try them). Next time we are in Hermanus we will definitely be going back to try some more treats :) 
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Yves Pudding & Pie, 87 Marine Drive, Hermanus - Tel no: 082 924 0929

Note: all photos taken by The Boyf 

Happy Weekend!

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before." - Albert Einstein

 Have a wonderful friday and a very, happy weekend 

Elegant, dark & white home

 

 

 

 

This Los Angeles home is so beautiful. I love the dramatic contrast between the white decor and the dark floors....and how awesome are all those chandeliers?

see more images of this home here

Celeb style: the belted denim dress

Recently, both Reese Witherspoon and Pippa Middleton stepped out wearing denim dresses and  "sensible" shoes.

I think both outfits are relaxed yet classy -  perfect for casual work days, trips to salon/mall and lunch with mom. (Note to self:  get a cute, denim dress asap).

Left: Reese wore a chambray shirt dress (Chambray is technically not denim, but it has a denim look) from Billy Reid, red & wood wedges, and a leather Chloe satchel.  

Right: Pippa wore a belted denim dress from Whistles, leather bag and leather espadrilles. 

What do you think of denim dresses?

And the winners are...

The winners of the awesome, WeWood watch giveaway are.... *drum roll*.... Luca Vincenzo and Jordan ! Congrats, please e-mail me soon :)

A big thanks to everyone that entered and WeWood watches. I hope to have another cool giveaway starting on my blog soonish :)

10 things I learnt this weekend

 Image from tumblr

1. Getting away from the city for a weekend is nearly always a good idea 
2. Having no cellphone signal is sometimes a blessing
3. Unexpected,  summery days in the middle of winter can be so uplifting
4. If you make the right "clucking" sound, chickens will follow you
5. I'm quite addicted to coconut chocolates right now, especially loving these
6. The more often you go away the less you feel the need to over pack 
7. The Burgundy restaurant in Hermanus has great seafood
8. Overweight dassie's (aka earless rock rabbits) are hilarious 
9. My new, Skechers pumps are awesome (I posted a pic of them here)

10. This is so very true: “If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.” -  Win Borden
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What have you learnt recently?

Happy Weekend!

"We must use time wisely and forever realize that

the time is always ripe to do right."  - Nelson Mandela

Have a wonderful Friday and a happy weekend.



Ps - Dont forget it is International Mandela day on Monday, 18 July (Nelson Mandela's birthday). About the day: "The Mandela Day campaign message is simple: Mr Mandela gave 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity. All we are asking is that everyone gives 67 minutes of their time, whether it’s supporting your chosen charity or serving your local community. Mandela Day is a call to action for individuals – for people everywhere – to take responsibility for changing the world into a better place"  - To read more about this day and what you can do to help, click HERE

Street style inspiration

Absolutely love this pretty, feminine outfit (wish I had those legs)

Picture found via Elle.com

On my bucket list... by Taryn Leigh

Taryn Leigh is a lovely blogger, who loves good food, good shopping and a good glass of wine . She currently lives in Cape Town and blogs over here. Today she will be sharing a few things from her bucket list. Enjoy...

1. Travel to New York with my mom and spend a week sightseeing and shopping - she would absolutely love it!

2. Own a Range Rover Sport by the age of 30 - this is probably not going to happen but I refuse to remove this point from my list!

3. Sail around Croatia with a big group of friends on a yacht

4. I really want to build my own home from the ground up - I love the idea of being able to choose each and every finishing for my home from the type of flooring, to the tiles on the roof as well as of not having to try and re-do or make-over what someone else started!

5. 10 years ago I promised my Dad I would run his 10th Two Oceans Full Marathon with him and that time has arrived - the 7th of April 2012 is D-day! Although I have run several half marathons, this will be my first Ultra (or anything over 21km's for that matter!) and I am really hoping I can make good on my promise!

6. Learn to ski - I spent 2 months in America back in 2007 working at a ski resort and although I persevered with snowboarding I was a shocker and so learning to ski is a definite must on my bucket list.

7. Be a director at my company - I work at a huge corporate so this may take many more years but I love my firm and hope to achieve this!

8. Have my dream wedding - enough said!

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

Strawberry cream cheese frosting

On Sunday I baked some simple vanilla cupcakes and jazzed them up with a decadent strawberry cream cheese frosting. Here is the recipe I used: 

• 230g (8 ounces or 1 tub) cream cheese, softened  
• 1/4 cup real butter, softened
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups icing/powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup mashed, drained strawberries - preferably fresh ( if you use frozen, like I did, make sure they are fully thawed before using)

1. Blend together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer on low speed until nicely mixed together.
2. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, gradually, as well as the the mashed strawberries. Blend the frosting until the sugar is mixed in well.
3.  Continue to blend the frosting on a higher speed, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar to make your desired spreading consistency. ( if you want thinner icing, just add a few more mashed strawberries with their juice)
4. Spread, or spoon, frosting over cupcakes/cake and decorate with strawberries :)

A few notes: The above photo is of one of my cupcakes, taken by The Boyf (amazingly one survived long enough to be photographed). Original recipe found over here.

Celeb style: Emma Watson

Recently Emma Watson rocked these two stunning, feminine outfits -

Left: A lace, Rafael Lopez cocktail dress and black Chanel pumps.
Right: A silver Elie Saab dress and satin peep toes

Currently I am loving...

 Here are just a few things I am loving at the the moment -

1. Angus & Julia Stone - I am really enjoying the folk/indie music of this brother-sister duo from Australia. I just ordered their 'Down the Way' CD (yes, I still buy CD's from time to time).

2. Stella McCartney's first ever Bridal Lingerie collection - I would love to have the floral set (pictured above). To see more from her 2011 Bridal Lingerie collection, trot over here

3. Paul & Joe Cat lipstick -  I just spotted these puuurrrfect lipsticks online and I could not help but love them ( I also could not help but use the word puuuurrrfect). Don't you think the packaging is just so adorable and silly? You can buy them online at Urban Outfitters

4. This decor image - adore the eclectic, bold mix of these few items

5. Awesome, floppy hats - I just got a nice one and I can't wait to wear it.

6. 'Duchess' glitter wedges from Juicy Couture - sparkle radness

7. Bold & bright print scarves - I am really like the the tribal print scarf pictured above. (unfortunately I cannot find any reference to where it comes from).

8. The yellow, Topshop dress that Olivia Palermo wore recently: It's so pretty and sunny - I want one.

9. Macarons (again) -  After my last macaron "overdose" I thought I might over them, but I was wrong. I blame my mother, who just recently bought me a bunch back from Paris... now I'm hooked on them again. My favourite flavour right now is vanilla. yum.

10. Chanel's fall 2011 nail colours - I am especially coveting 'Peridot' and 'Graphite'

What are you currently loving?

To see past "Currently loving" lists go here 

Happy Weekend!

"Nothing about my life is lucky…
a lot of grace, a lot of blessing, a lot of divine order….
but I don’t believe in luck.  To me, luck is preparation meeting the moment of opportunity.There is no luck without you being prepared to handle that opportunity" – Oprah Winfrey

Hope you all have a stunning Friday and a very happy weekend x

WeWOOD watch giveaway

Today I am happy to announce the start of a really awesome giveaway sponsored by eco-friendly watch brand, WeWOOD

For this giveaway, two winners will be chosen and each winner will recieve a watch of their choice (very rad). Here are some of the watches available from WeWood:

A bit about this brand: WeWood has emerged out of Florence, Italy as an emblem of eco-luxury and design, committed to the health of our planet. These watches are also feather-light, beautiful to wear, natural, hypo-allergenic and completely free of toxic materials. Currently there are 11 different watch models available , all crafted with 100% natural wood.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Be a follower of this blog/twitter, THEN please go look at WeWOOD's Time Pieces HERE and let me know(in comments section) why you need to wear wood.

2. For an extra entry, "Like" WeWOOD SA's Facebook page HERE and and tell them on their wall what you would do if you won a WeWOOD Time Piece by finishing this sentence. If I won a WeWOOD I would...

Please note: *Anyone may enter this giveaway * the winners will be chosen randomly *This giveaway will end on Monday, 18 July and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, 19 July. Good luck, darlings ;)

For every watch bought, an indigenous tree will be planted for you by WeWOOD SA.

 - - - THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED  - - -

And the winner is...

The winner of the fabulous, pleated skirt giveaway is....*drum roll*.... Lana! Congrats lady, please contact me soon.

A big thanks to Lollyloves and everyone who entered. A new, really super giveaway (for guys & gals) will be starting on my blog a bit later today.

Image found on weheartit

A mini update and it's for you...

Darlings, how are you all doing?  I have been well and on the verge of quite a few life changes -  The biggest of those changes being my job - I am pretty excited to share with you that from next week I will be working at a fabulous women's magazine. I will admit, that I'm a tinsy bit nervous , but I also cannot wait to take on a new challenge and make the most of this great oppurtunity :)

Anyway, today I noticed that it has been a very long time  since i've done an "its for you" post  - So I thought I would...

How it always works: I will answer the below random questions - then you answer the questions as a comment. Why? cause sharing is caring *winks*:

1. Today I feel... very optimistic  and happy to see some sunshine
2. Last night.... I trotted around the Waterfront mall,  bought a smoothie recipe book, ate some vegetable soup and watched some Stargate Universe
3. This week I still plan to... go to gym at least once, be happy, go out to a few dinners, get my hair blowdryed and make some smoothies
4. Right now I would love to have... some new music, a shellac manicure (it apparently lasts 2 weeks), a bottle of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle perfume, a black leather clutch bag, more time to read and a romantic weekend away with The Boyf.
5. My current ring tone is... 'The dog days are over' by Florence & The Machine
6. Who do you think is cooler/more dateable - Superman or Batman? Well, Batman clearly has the better outfit, an awesome car and he is a billionaire, BUT Superman has real super powers, can fly and comes from another planet. I'm on the fence ;)

Lovely, converted farmhouse

 

 

 

This stylish American home is actually a converted 160-year old farmhouse -  Isn't it absolutely fabulous? I wish it was mine.

This home appeared in Rue Magazine and photos were taken by Emily Gilbert

10 things I learnt this weekend

1. Getting macarons from Paris is wonderful (thanks for these, mom)
2. There is a little mouse hiding in my kitchen and it's a sneaky ninja - I will catch it
3. Sutherland is ridiculously cold in winter (feather-filled puffer jacket required)
4. The biggest telescope in the Southern hemisphere is located in Sutherland
5. Caramel vodka is rather tasty and smells amazing (great dessert drink/mixer)
6. Walking in falling snow makes me feel giddy
7. Leighton Meester got a new hairstyle - click HERE to see it
8.  I am so lazy and unproductive in winter - I need to stop hibernating
9. The  Proviant restaurant in Paarl is very nice and has delicious food (try the rump steak with cheddar, bacon & mushroom - yum)
10. Sometimes the scenic route is a longer option, but its usually alot more interesting

What have you learnt recently?

Good advice

list from Baubauhaus