Happy Weekend!

 "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius 

and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous 

than absolutely boring." -  Marilyn Monroe

Hope you have a super Friday and a fun-filled weekend.

On my bucket list... by Robyn

Today the lovely, vey funny, blogger Robyn (from Scribblings of Robs ) will be sharing a few things from her bucket list - Enjoy...

1. During my career I hope to try often, fail occasionally, succeed eventually and inspire many.

2. Run a bakery that makes incredible cupcakes. 

3, 4 & 5. Own an R8. Wear Vera Wang to my wedding and have a labradoodle called Charlie. 

6. Travel - See New York in Winter, Monaco in Summer and Venice in Spring. 
7. Live near the Sea. 

8. Try my hand at stand up comedy - At least once. I love my own jokes, so at least I'll be laughing. 

9. Get nominated for an Oscar - Failing this please just nominate me for something... Gosh, anything. Nominate me to get the coffee (and people say actors crave the limelight.. puh... what crazies *winks*)

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

And the winner is...

photo via Tumblr

The winner of the Closet Space giveaway is....*drum roll*....MymindisAlice! Congrats lady, please contact me soon.

There will be another fabulous giveaway starting on my blog next week :)

It's for you...

Image from tumblr

I thought today would be a great time for a little 'Its for you' post, so here goes...

How it always works (in case you forgot): 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... Good, but  I could use a few more hours of sleep

2. This week... is the slow pony on the racetrack

3. Last night... I went to gym, ate some vegetarian pizza and had bizarre dreams

4. Song of the moment? 'Shake it Out' by Florence and The Machine

5. Favourite beauty product right now?  Gelish nails (You have it done at a salon - it goes on like a polish, but hardens like a gel and lasts about 20 days)

6. Currently enjoying... so many good TV shows (like Zooey Deschanel's  new series 'New Girl'), my daily cappuccino, spring weather, my job, baking and finding gifts to send to my 2 overseas friends for a "package exchange" we are doing.

7. If you could travel anywhere right now, where would you go? Well, to start with, definitely somewhere peaceful and coastal with The Boyf -  preferably a Mediterranean island -  where we could sail around on boats and eat yummy fish every day.

10 things I learnt this weekend

1. Starting the weekend with a big 'ol fry-up breakfast and a cappuccino is a good idea (I took the above pic of the Wellness Warehouse breakfast I had on Saturday)
2. I love making my own playlists on Pandora internet radio
3. The Secret Circle is a cool, new teen TV show thats rather addictive so far (quick fact: it's based on a series of books by L. J. Smith, who also wrote Vampire Diaries) .
4.I really don't like it when a book's cover is changed because of the movie.
5. My neighbour's cat is learning to speak whale - Well, that's the only good explanation I have for the awful sounds it keeps making.
6 .My closet is too full of dark colours - summer's coming, time to get some brights
7. Salt grinders shaped like bunnies are awesome (click here to see the one I bought)
8. If you go to gym really late on Sunday night, you will probably be gyming all alone
9. Fragrance diffusers are so much better than scented candles.
10. Love is often not as easy or uncomplicated as it should be

What did you learn this weekend?

Gossip Girl, Season 5 - outfit spotting (sneak peek)

Gossip Girl, Season 5 will be starting tomorrow night (Monday, 26 September) in the US. I don't want to give away any big spoilers, but you can expect to see the above two outfits in the first episode, titled 'Yes, then Zero'

Left: Serena looking hippy-chic in Rag & Bone top and skirt with a Valentino bag

Right: Blair looking perfectly ladylike in an Oscar del Renta ballgown and a coral clutch

Happy Weekend!

Have a happy Friday and fabulous weekend, darlings :)
(SA peeps - happy Heritage Day for tomorrow)

Closet Space giveaway

Today I'm happy to announce the start of a giveaway from Closet Space, a locally-based online store that  specialises in finding new homes for previously loved clothing. 

Closet Space will be giving one reader a R150 store credit

A bit more about Closet Space: All clothing is sold via a bidding process and bidding usually starts at really low prices. New items are loaded on the site at the start of every auction (auctions seem to run for about 9 days and you must register before you can bid on items) .

 How to Enter: 

* Trot over to the Closet Space Store and leave a comment, on this post, telling me what you like best

*  For an extra entry, tweet about this giveaway and let me know you did

Giveaway notes:  Only SA residents may enter this giveaway * the winner will be chosen randomly *This giveaway will end on Wednesday , 28 September and the winner will be announced on Thursday, 29 September.

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Above pic: what  my super yummy cookies looked like

I'm quite the cookie monster and lately I've been craving some yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies, so I decided to bake some. 

After alot of searching through recipes (I really wanted to find a cookie recipe that made cookies that were not too crunchy, but were not too chewy), I decided to try a "cakey"  chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Martha Stewart website. To my surprise the cookies came out rather perfectly, were just as cakey as I had had hoped and impressed The Boyf (extra added bonus)  

Here is the recipe I used  -


Ingredients

•     2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•     14 tablespoons (about 210 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
•     3/4 cup granulated sugar
•     1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
•     1 teaspoon salt (I left this out of mine)
•     2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
•     2 large eggs
•     2 cups semisweet and/or milk choc chips ( I used two slabs of cut up dark & milk choc)

 a few behind-the-scenes photos

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 Celsius). In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the choc chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (aka baking paper).
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. 

Note: Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Celeb style: Nina Dobrev

Nina Dobrev looked super pretty & glam at this years Emmy Awards and was definitely my top choice for best dressed.

Dobrev wore a red Donna Karan gown,  a Judith Leiber clutch and sparkling Neil Lane Jewellery. She kept her make-up classic, yet striking, with smokey eyes and sparkly blush lipcolour. 

Her Vampire Diaries co-star and boyfriend (aka her arm candy), Ian Somerhalder, accompanied her to the Awards ceremony and looked handsome in his Giorgio Armani suit *swoon*.  

Who do you think was the best dressed celeb at the Emmy's?

Happy weekend!

"The way I define happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, 

right now, regardless of the circumstances, 

while being the best you that you can be." -   Leo Babauta

Have a wonderful Friday and a very, happy weekend.

Music crush: Lana Del Rey

Right now I am really loving Lana Del Rey (aka Lizzy Grant). The sultry, 24-year old singer seems to be taking the music world by storm via YouTube and I'm really looking forward to listening to more of her stuff in the future (apparently she will be releasing her debut album soon). 

Her track 'Kinda Outta Luck' was recently used as the soundtrack for the Gossip Girl, Season 5,  promo trailer. Is it just me, or don't you think her songs would work well in a Tarantino movie?

One of my favourite songs by the singer at the moment is 'Video Games'. You can watch the music video below:

 

To hear more songs by Miss Del Rey, visit her official website  here

Cleansed & polished

 Photo by The Boyf

Not too long ago I got a cleansing & polishing tool from Sigma and it's pretty cool.

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A bit about it: The cleansing &  polishing tool can be used to exfoliate away dead skin cells (on face or body), cleanse skin and smooth skin. It comes with 3 interchangable brush heads (soft, medium and firm) that rotate and have two speed settings. It takes AA batteries, is water resistant and comes in a cute case. 

Thoughts: First off, I have to say that I love the pink packaging and the retro look made me feel like I was using some 1950's "wonder" beauty gadget. 

When I initially used the tool it felt odd and it made my face tingle alot, but after another use or two it actually started to make my skin more radiant (sounds cheesey, but it's true). I have found that the soft brush is the only one I can use on my sensitive facial skin, but the medium and firm brushes are great for exfoliating my body. The tool is super easy to use and quick (its recommended that you only use it for under a minute). I'm looking forward to seeing the results over a longer period of time.

The cleansing & polishing tool is available from HERE  and costs $39 plus shipping

10 things I learnt this weekend

  photo from Garance Dore

1. It's already been 10 years since the shocking 9/11 attacks happened in the US

2. A box of Tim Tam cookies does not last very long around me

3. Gelish nails are so cool -  I doubt I will be able to use regular nail polish again

4. The Opal Lounge is a well decorated, intimate place to have dinner .

5. I don't handle strangers in my space bubble very well- especially drunk strangers on a dancefloor (so annoying!)

6. I can't seem to stop myself from buying floral scarves (they pep up an outfit )

7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is just as good now as it was when I first watched it.

8. Often the best photos are the candid ones.

9. Life's too short to save all your good clothes and wine just  for special occassions  ;)

10. This is so very true and not always ideal:  "People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for." - Harper Lee

What did you learn this weekend?

Happy Friday!

 "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, 

and the winds long to play with your hair." -Khalil Gibran

Have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend ;)

Celeb style: Keira Knightley

While I'm not usually a fan of Keira Knightley's style, I have been liking her interesting fashion choices for the Venice Film Festival.

Left: Wearing a silk Mary Katrantzou dress, black shades and blush pumps.
Right:  Wearing a gold, Valentino gown with pulled back hair

What do you think of Keira's Venice style?

 

Dinner at Nobu

On Friday night The Boyf and I went to the One & Only Hotel for dinner at Nobu....

 The big sushi bar and pretty lights

On entering the restaurant, we were greeted with an "Irasshaimase!" (aka Welcome) by all the staff and led to our comfy booth-like table. The first thing I noticed about the venue was the ultra high ceiling, ambient lighting and how big the restaurant was. Though the restaurant did not have an intimate setting, it still had a very relaxed and comfortable feel about it.

On the recommendation of our friendly waitress, Noxy, we started out with a little cherry blossom infused sake (which smelt great but didn't have much of a taste). Then we moved onto sampling two of the menus off the winter specials menu  (there are three different menus to choose from and all contain 5 courses) . Every course was interesting, tasty and beautifully presented. 

Above is just some of the food we ate - from top left, clockwise:  New style sashimi (tuna), 

Nobu Sushi (yellowtail), Beef toban yakii, and a very yummy white fish dish with edible fish bones.

After dinner, we enjoyed dessert and then I discovered an awesome, pink cocktail called the 'Fizzy Shu' (if you like citrus drinks, I highly recommend you try it sometime)

The whole experience was good from start to finish - I really enjoyed the food, especially the fish dishes, and the service was brilliant. If you are looking for great Japanese food, you should really give Nobu a try.

The inside of Nobu -  Awful picture of me and my 'Fizzy Shu' cocktail

 For reservations contact: +27 21 431 5111 or send an e-mail here . Nobu restaurant is open daily for dinner from 6pm to 11pm 

And the winner is...

The winner of the Joya jewellery giveaway  is.... *drum roll*..... Kierryn Goodwin! Congrats lady, please e-mail me soon :)

A big thanks to Joya and everyone that entered. I will hopefully be starting another lovely giveaway super soon.

 - picture found via tumblr-

Happy Weekend!

“.. dwell in possibility.”  - Emily Dickinson 

 

Darlings, what are you up to this weekend? This weekend I plan to go for a lovely sushi dinner,  watch at least one good movie (any suggestions?), attempt to de-clutter my closet, go to gym at least once and possibly catch up on some blogging (I have been rather slack lately) - but since the weather's been chilly and gloomy here,  if I just end up reading in the bed the whole weekend, that will be ok too *winks*.  

Hope you have a lovely weekend, no matter what you get up to :)

Lovely & local

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

1. Floral playsuit - by Habits
2. Moisturising & massage candle - by SoyLites (also available from here)
   
3. Reversible, leather fan earrings - by Missibaba
4. Organic skincare products - by Mioja
5. Ceramic bowls - by Token
6. Prehnite and silver ring - by Thula
7. Leather sandals - by Tsonga