Glossary

Hair "care" for lazy louts like me!

2012-02-08T09:55:00.000+02:00

Ok people. This is the best product I bought in 2011. I've always wanted to try dry shampoo and then Nads told me you can get it at Clicks. HELLO. This stuff has saved me on many a mad morning! I am LOATHE to wash and dry my hair. Obviously I do but it's such an enterprise. A blitz of this stuff and my hair is revived. Seriously, sign me up for the telly commercial now! I LOVE it. Obnoxious capital letters to prove it. Today, I noticed my blonde streaks were looking a bit orangey so I spritzed some on and they looked normalish again. A miracle product indeed, eh?!

001 Spring Flower

2012-02-07T22:30:00.000+02:00

I'm not one of those people that erm, people come to and say, 'Oooh, nice hair' or 'Nice eyes!' There are some lucky sods that get that alot. But...people do often ask me what blush I use, ha. Quite often total strangers will come up to me and say 'Hey rosy cheeks, what blush do you use?' And then we lol. So yeah, pink cheeks have become a bit of a signature for me I suppose. Pink is actually the only colour that suits me blush-wise I reckon. I've been using a Rimmel one for years and then I bought this guy the other day. It says it's new on the packaging but hells, I thought this was the one I've always been using. And it's pocket-friendly for fellow scrimpers like me! Enough rambling - it's 001 Spring Flower. And look - three shades - fun!

Roses for 7 days

2012-02-06T00:27:00.000+02:00

I bought these roses a week ago and they've lasted brilliantly!

The rest of the bunch lives in my bathroom.

PS: Someone asked me why I've stopped posting outfit pics. Sheer lack of time! Will try snap something outfity next week. Not that I'm some snappy dresser but we all love to see what everyone's wearing in blogville! Wishing you all a great week. x

Giselle's Baby Shower: Decor Pics

2012-02-02T22:30:00.000+02:00

Howdy guys. I'm a bit too tired to string a sentence together but last Saturday, Nads and I went to Giselle's baby shower. It was such a lovely day. I'll scribble more about it when I post the pics of Giselle which I haven't got round to editing. But I wanted to share these with her and of course, you!

Work Space Inspiration: The Pencil Factory

2012-02-01T10:18:00.000+02:00

We fell in love with this office space that we spotted in Spaces. We will probably aim for a more streamlined look as per the first two images. These guys are called the Pencil Factory and they're based in Brooklyn. I'm so thrilled we've found a similar Art Studio style space in Durbs. I'll bung up my Pinterest inspiration next. x

New Work Space: Before Pictures

2012-01-31T21:03:00.000+02:00

A bunch of white walls and open windows? This is what I'm living for at the moment. We move into our new office space on Friday and I beyond psyched. The timber floor is being laid down and soon the air will smell of hot coffee and freshly printed pages. I can't wait to unpack our books and set up our new trestle table desks. I'll bung up some of our look and feel inspiration next. And of course, the 'After' pics will follow when we're all settled in. That epic crate book display lives in the agency that will soon be our neighbour. Best part is? We're still close to my beloved deli. x

Terrible Blackberry pics - NOT Instagram

2012-01-30T20:53:00.000+02:00

This is a ridic post I teed up the other day....actually have quite a few pics to blog but don't have my SD card on me...blah blah blah...let's look on at the randomness, shall we?

I keep going on about how badly I want an Iphone and when people ask why, I sheepishly reply, 'Erm, for Instagram.' Ha. I would freaking Instagram EVERYTHING if I had an Iphone. Would be seriously obnoxious. So as a crummy substitute and to take the mick a little, I downloaded my grainy BB pics and edited them ala Instagram. Haha, so lame.

If anyone is remotely interested, aka: bored to death, this is what we're looking at here: My granny hangers, Biscuits from my local deli - had had to WEAN myself off them, Easter Egg loot last year (shame, I did get more than two eggs), took the day off work and dressed my dog up for the Royal Wedding (I know, I know), epic Easter display at the mall, daisies on my desk, an exhibition I went to one morning when it empty (and epic), my dog wants her own blog, notebook from Nadia, a blogshop package I mailed off, my deskmate Cathy bought me Jelly Tots!, I bought Tracy candyhearts and a vintage kerchief for myself, Cathy bought me roses when I was in Marie Claire - bless, last year's pinboard, I got the kids combo when I went to watch Pearl Jam 20, Cathy got me cakepops for my 29th!, Saturday night skirt, new cushions in my flat, practicing my reading for Tracy's wedding - I shook so much, the pastor had to hold it for me!, an epic storm in PMB - I live for stormy nights, there is a beer called Laurentina! And that's that!

View from a roof

2012-01-26T17:59:00.000+02:00

On Saturday I went to a mini rooftop party and it was epic. Durban looks celestial at night.

I wish to spend many more nights on rooftops in 2012. x

60 Things

2012-01-25T09:32:00.001+02:00

I nicked this list off Sandra's blog! Some of the questions have odd phrasing - think it's the translation from Swedish to English. Us girls love listing random things, don't we? x

1. How old are you in five years? 35 (gulp)
2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? My desk mate.
3. How tall are you? I vaguely remember someone measuring me as 157cm.
4. What is the last movie you saw? 30 Minutes or Less. Had to pause it I was cracking up so much.
5. Who called you last? My boss
6. Who did you called last? My boss.
7. What was the last text message you received? “You are the best pre-paid deal at the moment.” Had previously texted my boss to say I’d got him the best pre-paid 3G data deal on the market and that was his reply. Ha. We kid!
8. Do you prefer calling or texting? I get so far with BBM and Whatsapp and then I end up calling people when it comes to plans!
9. Are your parents married or divorced? Married
10. When did you last see your mother? Last Friday
11. What color eyes do you have? Green
12. When did you wake up today? 7:07 and snoozed five times!
13. What is your favorite Christmas song? All I want for Christmas is you – from the Love Actually soundtrack.
14. What is your favorite place? Hmmmm, any leafy London park. Or my bed. Or my parents backyard with my dogs in my lap.
15. What place do you prefer the least? I used to panic in open spaces funnily enough. Couldn't bear to go to the country cuz I thought I would be bored senseless. My heart longs for big bustly cities but suddenly I’m craving trips in snowy mountains.
16. Where do you think you will find yourself in ten years? Hopefully living in a bright, lofty apartment with lots of natural night, a timber staircase and a tall library crammed with books. And hopefully a glossy white Labrador will follow me around between rooms and sit by my feet while I make tea.
17. What scared you about the night as a child? Geckos falling me and bad guys coming into attack me. Think life in South Africa will do that to you.
18. What made you really laugh last? Anslyn bemoaning his pizza delivery guy. Haha.
19. How big is your bed? Queen
20. Do you have desktop or laptop computer? Laptop at home.
21. Do you sleep with or without clothes on you? TMI – ha.
22. How many pillows do you have in bed? Three but only sleep with one beaten down relic which I whip out the cupboard every night.
23. How many provinces have you lived in? Two in South Africa.
24. Which cities have you lived in? Durban and London.
25. Do you prefer shoes, socks or bare feet? Socks
26. Are you social? Mostly but can also be shy and awkward on occasion
27. What is your favorite ice cream? Wakaberry is the new ice-cream!
28. What is your favorite dessert? Erm, wakaberry these days.
29. Do you like Chinese food? Sweet and sour prawns!
30. Do you like coffee? Occasionally, the good stuff we have at the office.
31. What do you have for breakfast? Fruit/muesli/toast.
32. Do you sleep on a particular side? Mostly on my back.
33. Can you play poker? I’m actually terrible at all card games including drinking games! Get alotta eye-ball rolling from my mates. But give me a game of 30 Seconds and I’m a happy camper.
34. Do you like to cuddle / snuggle? Who doesn’t?
35. Are you a dependent person? Much more independent these days.
36. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? Not off the top of my head
37. Do you have children? No
38. Do you know any other languages than English? A bit of Afrikaans. A smidgen of French and Zulu.
39. Have you ever driven an ambulance? Ha. No.
40. Do you prefer the ocean or a pool? I’m pathetic in the ocean! Just scream the whole time and embarrass everyone around me. So probably better at lazing in a lilo in the pool.
41. What do you spend any money on? Hair, deli lunches and clothes.
42. Do you have precious jewelry? A beautiful celtic-inspired engagement/wedding ring which is sitting in a special box. Sad.
43. What are your favorite shows on TV? Always Sunny in Philly, South Park, Mad Men….was literally obsessed with Lost for years. Joined forums and everything.
44. Can you roll your tongue? No idea. Ha.
45. Who is the funniest person you know? All my friends slay me.
46. Do you sleep with stuffed animals: Not anymore. Occasionally Hamish the stuffed dog. Ha.
47. What is your ringtone? Crazy for You by Best Coast. Used to be the Office theme song.
48. Do you still have clothes from when you were little? Yup, thanks for keeping ‘em mama.
49. What are you closest to you right now that is red? Ha. I’m eating raspberries.
50. Do you flirt much? I think us girls are often just being friendly but it translates as flirty. Been rapped on the knuckles for that before.
51. Can you change the oil on the car: Nope
52. Have you received speeding ticket ever: Yup
53. What was the last book you read? Busy reading a book on digital media.
54. Do you read a newspaper? I skim the front pages every morning and read more of the detail while waiting at the deli most days. Also tend to read the Yahoo homepage.
55. Subscribe to a magazine: No
56. Are you dancing in the car: Dancing and driving? What? Lols. No, but always singing.
57. Which radio station did you listen to you last? Can’t stand the local radio stations but loved the rock ones in the UK.
58. What was the last thing you scribbled down on paper? Some 3G details.
59. When were you at church last? Last Sunday
60. Are you happy? In some areas of my life, very - yes. Long to be happier. It’s a work-in-progress.

I Heart Market Street Style for Glamour

2012-01-23T22:49:00.000+02:00

Howdy guys. These are a couple of shots I snapped for Glamour. Had the fun task of wandering around the Market and snapping some pics. They're by no means profesh but I had fun. Thanks to Casey and Nicola for juggling my Pimms and Lemonde while I was grappling with the cam! (After this, I realised how to set my camera to focus on people's eyes. But only after - le sigh! PS: Turns out it's a simple setting. Ha.) The rest live here. How adorable and smiley is everyone? Bless 'em.

Twenty things I’m grateful for today

2012-01-20T10:20:00.000+02:00

An oldie but happy pic of me in Cambridge.

This morning I awoke from a 12 hour sleep. 7 till 7 people! 7 till 7. Feel somewhat reborn today!
I fell asleep to the sounds of trees rustling outside my little flat.
Since, November, I've been living in a road I’ve always wanted to live in.
I always said, if I ever lived there, I would walk the tree-lined streets of the neighbourhood and now I get to do that and it’s awesome.
I'm blessed to work with a wonderful group of creative people who are not only exceptionally talented but down-to-earth as well.
We’re moving our agency to new premises and I cannot wait to dig in with the decorating!
My friends and I are turning 30 this year and I hope this means the gals abroad come to visit and throw some beeeeg parties.
Winter is coming (Ok, it’s about 4 months away) but I’m amped!
So far, I've stuck to all the resolutions I could stick to! Been walking, been more punctual, been eating better, spent more time outdoors and have thrown myself happily into work.
BBM and Whatsapp has changed my life. I love being able to hear from my friends at all hours of the day. And I'm very grateful for Tammy’s calls from Oz and Bridget’s ‘Cartman’ impersonation sound clips from the BVIs!
Every morning, I wake up to the gentle sounds of kids being dropped off at the church playschool next door and their little morning chatterings make me smile.
I had always hoped I’d make it to New York by the time I was 30 but due to living a zillion miles away on a copywriter’s salary, it looks more likely that I’ll be lucky to make it to Cape Town. None the less, I’m psyched!
Nadia and I have some exciting freelance projects planned. It’s just a matter of finding the precious time to do ‘em. Yoh, wouldn’t we all love more time.
I’m grateful for my blog readers! I feel like such a one-sided blogger these days but you guys still check in on me and I really appreciate it.
In 2011, I was reminded that people are truly awesome. My friends and family have played such an important role in my life over the past year and I love ‘em to bits.
There is a cranberry Brutal Fruit waiting in my fridge. Ha.
I learnt to make a bad-ass Thai curry this year and it was epic.
There are always people walking their dogs around my block. I am getting to know them quite well. Particularly fond of the brother and sister Jack Russel pair!
I hauled out my electric guitar! Just gotta find some loot for an amp but I'm keen to start twanging again.
My sweet mother re-strung my classical guitar. What a dahl.

And that’s my little list of happiness. How is 2012 treating you guys? Very well indeed I hope.

One of those (annoying?) 'sorry for not blogging' posts

2012-01-17T00:23:00.000+02:00

Oi vey. Sorry for the lack of updates. Living and breathing work at the moment. In the throws of some epic projects. May have to start blogging about the adrenaline-filled world of advertising! If there's ever a reality show for the ad biz, I am signing up for that puppy. I live for nailing deadlines! x

PS: Ah ya hadn't noticed Gloss had simmered down? Ha. That's cool too.

The Mama and Papa to be.

2012-01-12T22:43:00.000+02:00

Here are some more pics from the Maternity shoot I did with Giselle and her hubby, Stu. I don't have alot of experience snapping people and it's not something I often dabble in because my lens isn't really up for it but Giselle asked so sweetly, I said I would give it a bash. Her and Stu are one truly, blissed-out couple! It's been a joy getting to know these guys. Thanks for the epic afternoon my lovely new friends. A few more coming soon. x

Yummy Mummy

2012-01-10T00:09:00.000+02:00

Just a little peek at a maternity shoot I've been editing. Snapped sweet Giselle and her hubby on Sunday. Once I've given her the disc, I'll post some more. x

'So little time to get the right words out'

2012-01-05T08:27:00.000+02:00

Lols at the dinosaur!

There are no words to describe how much I love this song! Saffers, I know I am late to Aking but man, I am catching up quick I hope. I always thought Aking were a South African hip-hop band - I dunno - something about the name! Haha, sorry Aking. But then Bobby declared her undying love for them on her blog and seeing as her and I have identical taste in so many things, I thought, 'must make an effort to hear this band.' Then they came to Durbs the other day and the gig was rad but I was too pre-occupied with getting gum off my dress - maddening and embarrassing! Then a mate of mine gave me their first album and I've fallen head over heels completely in love with it. It feels so good to just LOVE a local band again. Ah, this song is so lovely. Give it a spin if you fancy! x

PS: The lyrics are "I'm in love and I'm tamed" - not, "I'm in love with duct tape" ala Lauren version!

A special Christmas box

2012-01-04T08:39:00.000+02:00

The last of the prezzie posts! I don't mean to be all like, 'Check out my awesome gifts guys!' I just know you love pics of pretty things as much as I do! Nads and I did thrifty gifts for each other this year and this is what she gave me. Totally adorable! Excited to get my bake on. x

New Year's Eve

2012-01-03T12:53:00.002+02:00

I used to LOVE New Year's Eve when I was younger. My friends and I would traditionally jump in my parent's pool at the stroke of midnight while blasting the Macarena. Eeesh! But since everyone has been scattered around the world over the past few years, I've tended to do low-key NY's. I found out that Nads usually also does something chilled but she suggested we just lower our grand NYE expectations and go out for drinks like we would any other night. After I had repackaged my thinking, I was like, 'Yes, let's do this!' So we went to a bar called Amsterdam and it was the most loltastic night ever. We had bought glitter canons and sparklers which I think the crowd appreciated! Trust us bloggers to bring props to the bar. Nadia - thank you for encouraging me to go out and an extra special thanks for bouncing about to Audioslave and Metallica with me - was totally epic!

My very own 'Woodnewz!'

2012-01-02T19:32:00.000+02:00

This was another amazing birthday gift and it's only part of it! Nadia spoilt me rotten by giving me this stunning mini table which her husband made. (Hiz biz is Woodnewz.) Tied in a big bow on top of it was this adorable vintage metal box. It was packed full of cute things and I'm using it to store ribbons now. Nadia, thank you again for this amazing prezzie. Will cherish 'em both forevz. x

World's Smallest Scissors

2012-01-01T19:34:00.000+02:00

Happy New Year one and all! Hope you had a goodie? I do have some NY pics to share but first I wanted to post some goodies that I've been meaning to blog for aaaaages. Kicking off with this epic necklace that I received from Bobby! She sent it to me for my birthday in October and I'm completely in love with it. Bobby, thank you soooo much. Still can't believe we've never even met! x

Rose petal sarnie anyone?

2011-12-30T11:25:00.000+02:00

There are few things more exciting than collecting brown paper packages from the Post Office. Yesterday I opened one to discover The Vintage Tea Party Book! Thank you Taryn and Steve for this amazing Christmas gift. I am so in looooooove with this book. These pics don't begin to do it justice. Every page is positively dripping with rose petal cakes, Union Jack flags and chiffon lemon squares. There are chapters on sourcing props, playing parlour games, making a hat and picking the perfect vintage dress - aka: heaven! Nadia, I know you're coming for tea today but don't get too excited. I just have Spar chocolate rolls for you but give me time friend, give me time. x

New Year. New Hair Colour.

2011-12-29T11:06:00.000+02:00

It was time to lighten up! After more than a year of being a brunette, I felt like venturing back to blonde. But I'm going to do it in stages and try out a couple of shades along the way.
As always, lols at the posing - I've lost my nerve with these things!

Tinsel and puppy paws

2011-12-28T15:43:00.000+02:00

Merry merry everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas? Ours was utterly chilled. We bunged the chickens on the Weber, roasted the veggies, lazed on lilos, napped under palm trees and watched our fave Fawlty Towers episodes. Or everyone else did. I sort of passed out after the meal. Can't handle my food! My mom wrapped my prezzies in Ralph Lauren ads - how totally epic! x

Happy holidays you lovely lot

2011-12-21T14:57:00.001+02:00

Guys! I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year. I hope you all get some time to relax with your nearest and dearest. Some of my girl friends have flown in and will be flying in from abroad which is awesome. Tonight, I'll be lounging round the pool with 'em, sipping wine and talking nonsense. Can't flippen wait. In a way, this no-net enforced blog break has been quite nice! I've been listening to loads of music, watching doccos, playing guitar, visiting friends and getting inspired in other spheres of life. So I hope to return to blogville feeling refreshed and rejuvenated! I have, however, thoroughly missed reading your news but I am following many of you on Twitter and poking my head in to your blogs when I can. Thanks so much to all of you have supported me this year. Thank you for your kind comments, emails and tweets. Thank you for the encouragement and lols along the way! Alot went down in my life behind the blog this year. Some good, some sad and some downright crazy. I still haven't figured out what to share and what to keep personal but I want you to know I really appreciate you guys. Sometimes life gets in the way and I battle to reply to emails and tweets promptly but I read and value every one. Here are some of my fave pics from the year. They're floating around in the Gloss archives. Here's wishing us all a safe and happy festive season. Big love, Me x

Louis

2011-12-19T08:45:00.001+02:00

Owing to being ill and not having any internet, I've been grabbing any spare time to just chill in a bid to rest up. Bit hard when there are final club nights and weddings to attend! Anyway, a mate of mine lent me a ton of doccos to watch and among the batch were some of Louis Theroux’s. Oh my goodness. How amazing is Louis?! I’ve heard so much about him and now I get the hype! For those of you that don’t know, Louis is a British journalist that makes doccos about sub-cultures like swingers and thai brides and crazy religious types. He interviews all sorts of oddballs and the stories are just fascinating. Plus he looks a bit like a British Jim Halpert – dreamy! He cracks me up because he’ll be talking to some white supremist or something and he’ll say ‘Don’t you think that’s just a little bit weird?’ Haha! So British. He’s dead intelligent though and brilliant at extracting these shocking, honest nuggets out of people!

Oh, and this is what I ended up reading at Tracy's wedding – it’s from When Harry Met Sally. I also said a bit about our friendship through mascara tears – what a wreck.

I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

PS: Promise to upload some pics during the holidays. Only three and half more days to go!

Giselle's 30th Birthday Tea Party - continued!

2011-12-16T23:45:00.000+02:00

A few more pics from Giselle's 30th Birthday Party. As you can see, there were plenty of pretties to peruse! I've spent a glorious evening in bed watching the final season of SATC - can you believe I'd never seen the ending? It was epic! Hitting the hay now to hopefully sleep away this cold. x

Saturday November 30th

2011-12-14T23:13:00.000+02:00

"What did I ever see in Pandora Braithwaite? She is an opinionated, arrogant ball-breaker. An all-round nasty piece of work. Compared to Bianca, she is nothing, nothing. And as for Leonora De Witt, I can hardly remember her face.
      I never want to leave this room. I want to live the whole of my life within these four walls (with occasional trips to the bathroom, which we have to share with a fire-eater called Norman).
      The walls are painted lavender blue and Bianca has stuck stars and moons on the ceiling which glow in the dark. There is a poster of Sydney Harbour Bridge on the wall between the windows. There is a double bed with an Indian bedspread covered in cushions; a chest of drawers that Bianca has painted white; an old armchair covered in a large tablecloth. A wonky table, half painted in gold, and two pine chairs. Instead of a bedhead, we have got a blown-up photograph on the wall of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Bianca’s hero.
      Every morning when I wake up, I can’t believe that the slim girl with the long legs who is lying next to me is mine! I always get out of bed first and put the kettle on the Baby Belling cooker. I then put two slices of toast under the grill and serve my love with her breakfast in bed. I won’t allow her to get out of bed until the gas fire has warmed the room. She catches cold easily.
      I want to please her more than I want to please myself.
      This morning, ‘Stand By Me’, sung by Ben E. King, was playing on Capital Radio.
      I said, ‘I love this song. My father used to play it?
      Bianca said, ‘So do I.’
      We danced to it, me in my boxer shorts and Bianca in her pink knickers with the flowers on.
      ‘Stand By Me’ is now our song."

_________________________________________________________

I have to do a reading at a wedding on Saturday and I came close to reading this scene from Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years. It's my absolute favourite scene from a novel and the ultimate picture of love in my books! Adrian in his boxers and Bianca in her knickers. Thought I might get a few squiff looks if I rattled this off so am going with something a touch more traditional. Been down with a dreaded cold so taking a blogging break till I'm feeling a bit better. Hope you're all well. x

"You can always come 'round and listen to it at my spot"

2011-12-09T09:35:00.000+02:00

I just love this scene when Sydney surprises Alison with the soundtrack of her favourite movie and they dance around his poky little flat. Reminds me of my fave scene in one of the Adrian Mole books. Just loved this movie – How to lose friends and alienate people.

Screencaps by me

Giselle's 30th Birthday Tea Party

2011-12-07T20:55:00.000+02:00

Giselle is another new friend I've made through blogging. She emailed me, gosh, probably about a year ago and asked if I'd like to pop round to her mom's house to see her collection of Christmas decorations and vintage dolls. To be honest, I was a little surprised that a total stranger would invite me over, haha! Due to a ridic schedule, I've only just been able to visit Giselle's mom's home. And WOAH. I have never in my life seen so many dolls and decorations! We were celebrating Giselle's 30th birthday and she threw the most amazing tea party! Nadia and I planted ourselves beside a pile of pastries and chatted away over pink punch all afternoon. Giselle is a total dahl and I'm so glad to have gotten to know her - even if mostly online. Thanks for having us Giselle. It was a fab!

Two cheap and cheerful Christmas buys - bam!

2011-12-06T08:18:00.000+02:00

Ceramic Takeaway Cup from Mr Price Home - R39.95. How fab is this? A gift from me to me!

Vintage-inspired scarf - R4.98. Yup, R4.98 - Ridic! Get one in red, blue, green or yellow from Meltz.

It's hot as heck in Durban but scarves and hot choc for me!

You guys feeling the Christmas vibes? Bring on the hols and lols, eh? x

Crafty Christmas Prezzie: Scrabble Shuffle Ring

2011-12-05T00:16:00.000+02:00

I know scrabble rings have been featured on loads of blogs and Etsy shops but heck, I wanted to make my own! Nads and I found an awesome old-school Scrabble set at the SPCA and we very diplomatically divided the set up between us, haha. I also spotted an old Shuffle set and thought, hey, this will be perfect backing for some Christmas scrabble rings. They're nifty little gifts because you can personalise them - this one is for Haley, my Package Project partner. I gave Giselle a 'G' for her birthday on Saturday. Just hope they last more than a day! Happy scrabbling friends. x

Thrifty Christmas Prezzie Idea: DIY Notebooks

2011-12-02T08:34:00.000+02:00

My mom made HEAPS of notebooks for her friends this year. This is a great idea as you can customize the cover with images your friends would love. Plus notebooks are always handy things to have. All you need is a notebook, some magazine cuttings and some contact paper to stick the pics down. A nice task for doing in front of the telly!

Thrifty Stocking Stuffer: Vintage Buttons

2011-12-01T08:37:00.000+02:00

And keeping with the button theme! You can often find vintage buttons for cheap at thrift stores.

When tied up with ribbon, they make such cute stocking stuffers. I can't sew for toffee but this is still the sort of thing I'd love to receive as buttons have a hundred uses. They're great for crafts, erm, sewing onto clothes, plus they just look cute in a jar.

Thrifty Christmas Prezzie Idea: Jar of Buttons

2011-11-30T08:28:00.000+02:00

I'm definitely one of those people for whom giving is the fun part of Christmas! I love finding the perfect prezzie for someone. This year however, my family and I are giving the gift of presence rather than presents. Last year they suggested that and I was like, 'Lame! Presents are awesome!' but owing to my skinty state this year, presence it is! Here's a cheap and cheerful idea I assembled for a certain friend - I'm sure you can all guess who this is for! I think glass jars are great because they're practical and can be used forever, and jars of things are well, always just plain fun! I decorated mine with some ribbon, a playing card and a Scrabble letter. A few more thrifty gift ideas to follow soon. x

PS: Thanks for your comments yesterday! I think a few of you may have been a bit horrified at me dismantling a board game. Never fear - I am anti-board game cruelty! Just used that old set as it had pieces missing and it was a bit poked but I am framing and cherishing the surviving street cards.

DIY: Monopoly Tags

2011-11-29T08:33:00.001+02:00

My folks gave me their old Monopoly set a while ago and I've been dying to do something crafty with it. I was flicking through the Chance and Community Chest cards and I thought, hey I could attach some Monopoly money to these and turn 'em into fun gift tags. Some of the cards feature really cute wording as you'll see below. I'm giving Tracy R10 to go with a 'Drunken' fine for her hens party soon! The tags are also great for attaching rings and hair clips to - I've seen that on alot of crafty blogs and it always looks super cute. I'm saving the Street cards to frame but those would also work a treat for tags. You can often find old board games at Thrift Stores. Hope you enjoyed this little DIY!

Happy Wedding Anni Nads

2011-11-27T21:06:00.001+02:00

Nadia and Daniel celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary this weekend. 365 days of flaming hot love! Congrats you two - I wish you many more years filled with love and lols!

Here are some (re-edited) snaps I took at their gorgeous wedding last year.

Some of the profesh pics are up on Nads' blog. x

Happy Birthday Kit Cat

2011-11-25T09:07:00.000+02:00

It's my mama's birthday today. The fam has taken to calling her Mama Gloss - haha!

Mumsie, thank you for letting me pillage your nail polishes, your biscuit tin and your closet.

Thank you for teaching me how to make home-made gravy and letting me watch E-Channel marathons on Sunday nights. Thank you for letting the dogs come inside, for reading this blog everyday and for going to the Electric Ballroom with me in London. I love you lots Cat. x

Badly edited pics from our London holiday in 2008!

Meet my Package Project Partner

2011-11-23T08:31:00.000+02:00

I recently received an email from my Package Project partner, Hayley. My oh my, but did Nadia pair us up perfectly! We have soooo much in common. I absolutely adore Hayley's blog, Indie Thrifter. It's such a blast of colourful, thrifty inspiration! Hayley - I cannot wait to exchange parcels you!

All these awesome pics are from Hayley's blog. x

A sunday afternoon

2011-11-22T09:04:00.000+02:00

I've been a busy bee workwise lately so I haven't really had a chance to photograph anything pretty for the blog. Any spare time has been spent mooching about in my PJ's, eating roast dinners and watching E Channel marathons. Ha, that really is as good as it sounds! On Sunday I took a trip with my folks to see my grandparents - here's a little glimpse.

Blueberry snack on the way up. Gotta balance out of the roast spuds.

Opening up a birthday prezzie from Bobby. It's so cool - will show you soon!

And a pamper hamper from Laura - just what I need! Thanks Laura.

My gran has so many awesome tins and things. And literally everything is labelled!
EXCEPT the carton of milk which turned out to be red juice. That was nearly a cuppa ruined.

Nice cake plate gransie.

Obligatory, pointless mirror shot.

Which results in looks like this. My little lamb. Hope you had nice Sundays too. x

PS: Blog comments are working again - wooo! Cheers Disqus for sorting it so quick.

New in my Blog Shop

2011-11-21T18:58:00.000+02:00

A few new bits in my blog shop including this dress, some skirts, two vintage bags and

an awesome retro curtain which would be perfect for a DIY. x

Disqus Dramz!

2011-11-21T11:04:00.000+02:00

Friends, it would appear that my Blog Comments are on the fritz.

I am receiving your comments and if you click on the comment link below each post, you will see them all there but for some reason every single post is displaying ‘0 comments.’ It’s quite comical really! To new readers, it must look like I’ve blogged for over two years with zilch replies! Ah bless, the loneliest blogger on the interwebs. I haven’t changed my HTML or Disqus settings in yonks so I can only imagine something has been updated on the Blogger or Disqus side. Is anyone else having this prob as well? I’ve tried fixing it but no luck. Hopefully Disqus can help me sort it soon.

Cute 'lil pic found here.

Baby Eleanor (a lil' blogger in the making!)

2011-11-17T20:58:00.000+02:00

I am utterly besotted with little Eleanor Davis. Isn't she just a treasure?

I can't get enough of her pics and the cute getups that Naomi and Josh dress her in.

Dressing your kid must be one of the funnest things ever.

I have a great weakness for teeny shoes and sweaters. x

Two crafty ladies

2011-11-16T20:45:00.001+02:00

I just wanted to introduce you to my new blog sponsor, Roxies and Monies.

They're two crafty sisters from Jeffreys Bay who make the most adorable goodies.

I'm in love with their Tote bags! The slogans and designs are 'super me!' Ha, if I do say so myself.

The girls are all about spreading cheer and helping out their community. Nice one gals.

Find 'em on their blog, Facebook and Twitter. x

Fave Male Movie Characters

2011-11-15T17:44:00.000+02:00

Ha. Everyone is so pensive except for smiley Heath.

Some of your faves here too?

Andrew in Garden State / Patrick in 10 Things I Hate About You / Troy in Reality Bites / Richie in The Royal Tenenbaums / Joel in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind / Gilbert in What's Eating Gilbert Grape / Noah The Notebook

Spot of tea, anyone?

2011-11-13T13:04:00.000+02:00

I had heaps of thrifting luck over my birthday! It sort of made up for the times when I'd especially carved out a day to thrift and came home empty-handed. Well, this is a teaset I spotted in a second-hand store and snapped up imediately. I just love the pattern and colours. I've got one more find from that trip to show you. You guys thrifted any gems lately?

Happy Friday

2011-11-11T10:24:00.000+02:00

Love this sweet smiley that Angie Pants tweeted me the other day. Thanks Ange!

Wishing you all a shiny, happy, weekend. x

Kitchen Pen Pals: Crustless Savoury Tart

2011-11-09T18:30:00.002+02:00

Huzzah friends! Sian sent me this scrummy little recipe for making a crustless savoury tart. I've always thought a tart would be a delicate enterprise but this was actually a doddle to prepare. And, it's yummy enough to feel like soul food but light enough to feel like...well, not like a stuffed tart yourself! I'll spare you the usual marathon of a read but I will say this - canned asparagus tastes delicious but looks disgusting. My pre-cooked tart literally looked like a bowl of...human fingers - grim, I know! You'll see below that Sian sent me three filling ideas. I went with asparagus as it sounded the yummiest and I'm enjoying eating more veggie these days. Hope you'll enjoy this cheap and cheerful dinner idea!

"Basically use anything your heart desires...roasted butternut and feta (and some bacon), chicken and mushrooms and thyme, a tin of asparagus, whatever...bung it into a pie dish and cover with a mixture of 2 eggs, 250ml milk and 2 heaped tablespoons of flour that you have whisked together. Top with a bit of grated cheese and a sprinkle of paprika if you have and bake at 190C for 1/2 an hour." Thanks Sian, I loved this! More cooking ideas on my Kitchen Pen Pal's blog and more about Kitchen Pen Pals here. Will be hooking you lot up with Pen Pals in 2012. Tis on my 'to-blog-and-do-list.' x

PS: The bowl did not magically morph from a round dish into an oval one. I forgot to spray and cook the round one so my mom advised me to bung it into a sprayed-and-cooked oval dish. Moms, ay? So clever.

Market Day!

2011-11-06T15:22:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, I was stationed behind Nadia's Cupcake Couture stand at the I Heart Market. I had such a fab day noshing on waffles and catching up with friends - and meeting some blog readers for the first time! Pictured below are goodies from Cupcake Couture, Hey Cherry and a lovely new vintage stand but I've forgotten the name. Also pictured are Nads, Mel, Pippa and Moi! x

Scribbles from a duvet (or doona as the Ozzies call 'em!)

2011-11-04T23:12:00.001+02:00

Been having a mad couple of days. We're accelerating up to Christmas, rather than slowing down at work! I've been hauling my belongings around Durban but am now snuggled up under a fresh duvet with some crackers and Pretty Woman on the telly - bliss!

These are just a couple of thoughts that have been rolling around my noggin if anyone fancies a bit of a random, weekend read.

Picture from A Beautiful Mess

Umero Numero: My parents are saints. We've had our ups and downs but their recent support which has included cleaning my crumb-encrusted laptop, packing a hundred ornaments in newspaper and buying me new eyeliner has seriously helped me through a bump in the road.
Said parents have also got me hooked on the Jackson trial! Walgren for lyfe! He's such a class act this guy, I think somebody oughta get him a Hollywood agent stat. That said, we do have a soft spot for Flannigan's beady expressions!
Found myself in a huge but almost empty Checkers the other day. Wondered into the Christmas aisle which was essentially a tunnel of twinkly lights and ornaments. Got totally swept up in the Christmas spirit and bought fake snow and glitter-covered high heel ornaments! Obz high heels belong on Christmas trees.
I'm a big believe in spelling "Christmas," not "Xmas." Looks nicer as well.
Julia Roberts is too cool in the opening scene of this movie. She makes being a prozzie look seriously profesh! (Just re-read this entire post and realised that was a leap in topic!)
I am soooo bored of my hair. Am going with boring colour and cut while trying to get it healthy and longer.
Clarins make the most amazing goodies. My mom saves up samples all year and gives them to me for my birthday. So I have great-feeling skin for one month a year and then it's back to al-cheapo Clicks' specials.
I need to prepare a reading for my friend's wedding. I keep joking I'll just read Hugh Grant quotes but I will seriously have to if I don't research something soon.
God works in mysterious ways. Like super mysterious. But in a good way.
I love the vibe in Durban at the mo and I LOVE my job but sometimes I wonder if I should live in Cape Town for a bit. I also think Joburg is great but that misty mountain calleth my name some days.
I should get some Zzzz's now. Giving Nads a hand at the market tomorrow!

Thanks if you read this ramble x

My friendly gang

2011-11-01T22:37:00.000+02:00

A couple of snaps from my birthday drinks.

I had such a lovely night and was set behind a pile of prezzies like Lady Muck! Thank you so much nice friends - I love you more than a Sunday night E Channel marathon. Ha, you bladdy expect so I'm sure! Friendies not pictured below, I will bung the rest of the pics on Facebook soon. x

Anyone for some crusty old cereal?

2011-10-31T20:39:00.000+02:00

Huzzah gang! These are two tins I bought with my thrifting birthday loot from Miss Molly. I'm a bit knackered from another weekend of moving (yes, again, but will be settled soon!) so all I can string together is "Me buy tins. You nice for reading." Will reply to blog emails this coming weekend. x

Part 2: Feel better tips from my blogger buds

2011-10-27T21:02:00.002+02:00

Here is the follow-on from this post! This series turned out to be rather short and sweet - I think all of us bloggers are busy bees at the mo. Thanks to all the ladies that took part. Your blogs always brighten my day. x

Sally / Louder Than Silence

I cannot get enough of Sally and Ross' blog. It just too lovely! They really help me to feel connected to London. If I ever get a chance to return to the Big Smoke, I'm ringing these two up. How awesome is their Happy Picture?!! My heart!!! Too adorable!

1. Make yourself a fancy cocktail, preferably one that contains a large measure of gin!
2. Put some Roxy Music on and dance around your room. Bryan Ferry = instant mood improver.
3. Invite your best gal pals over for a sleepover complete with girly movies, face masks and silly games - I thoroughly recommend Dreamphone.
4. Go for a long walk or bike ride
5. Bake a cake. If the making process doesn't lift your spirits, enjoying the fruits of your labour with a steaming hot mug of earl grey should do the trick!

Melissa / Miss Molly Fashions

Mel has become a dear friend of mine. She's like this full-on fashionista and so beautiful, she could grace the catwalks of London Fashion Week and yet she is so down-to-earth with a wicked sense of humour! I'm so glad I've gotten to know her through blogging and jaunts around Durbs.

1. A hug from Mathew ( my boyfriend)
2. Watching ‘How i met your mother’
3. Walking. I walk to work most days and it feels awesome. I start the day feeling energized with a clear head.
4. Sweets (especially the ones in the big Woolies tubs)
5. Cuddling my Bunny

Me!

1. Playing with my dogs
2. Taking a bubble bath, followed by a cuppa tea
3. Watching SATC with some yummy treats (Such a girl!)
4. A visit to the SPCA - puppy love and some cheap and cheery thrifting
5. A good sob and a snuggle under the duvet!

Gosh, I have so many pics that make me happy but this is a fave. It's of us girls on New Year's Eve many moons ago, just before everyone headed off abroad. We're all dripping in sweat after running around a house party like lunatics!

Our little lamb

2011-10-26T23:07:00.000+02:00

This is one Mary, one of our family dogs. I snapped this picture of her last Christmas. Like many animals in Durban, our dogs suffered through the fireworks going off in Durban tonight. Mary had a traumatic experience but she's okay now and I'm so proud of her. I love you my little lamb. x

Kitchen Pen Pals: Tomato, chilli, caper and olive sauce pasta

2011-10-24T20:35:00.001+02:00

I'm sorry I've taken this long to get this post up. A slew of late nights, my belongings being in boxes and the disappearance of my camera charger meant I just wasn't able to get this puppy up until now. But enough excuses! There is so much I wanna say about cooking but I'll save it for a non-recipe post. Long story short - I am loving it! And I am so grateful that Sian has helped me to repackage my thoughts on the matter.

The last dish I made was a creamy asparagus pasta and it was delish! Sian thought it would be a good idea for me to learn a basic tomato pasta aswell so that I can have both a creamy and tomatoey base up my sleeve. Good thinking Miss Sian.

Below is the recipe and as usual, my rambling side notes accompany it. I realise these posts are always marathons to read so here are my thoughts in a nutshell: this dish is WONDERFUL! It's fresh and wholesome, light and clean....if that makes any sense?! It's also colourful and nutritious and perfect for our approaching South African summer. Oh, and it's a treat to prepare as it's so aromatic. Ah, I can't believe how much I'm getting into cooking! So pleased I'll be able to cook some proper, edible meals before I turn 30!

What you need

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 small onion - finely chopped

1 fresh chilli - chopped (optional)

I used a chili that was rated 9 out of 10 for hotness! Despite it's raunchy rating, it gave the dish a subtle kick which I really enjoyed. Haha, 'really enjoyed.' I sound hilarious.

1 tbs capers - chopped (optional)

Ok, for some reason I always thought capers were little fish! I think I once asked what they were and some wise-guy thought it be would be hilarious to tell the cooking noob they were little fish. And I fell hook, line and sinker! Oh dear, this is terrible writing. Anyway, turns out they are baby plant buds or something and they are delish! They look a dreadful sight but they don't stick out visibly in the sauce. I had no idea where to find them in the grocery store but Sian told me they would be near the olives - and that they were!

1/2 cup calamata olives

Right, so, a bit of trouble here. Was confronted with five hundred olive types on the shelf but eventually spotted a pack that said, 'Calamata Olives.' They were purple, not sure if you get green Calamatas? Luckily I attempted to snack on one while cooking and discovered they had pips in 'em. Wasn't sure how to de-pip them so just sort of ripped 'em out. You're charmed, I'm sure!

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 sprigs rosemary

handful of fresh basil leaves

Was ridiculously hard to find a Durban grocery store that had basil and rosemary. And yes, I tried Woolies! I was running around Pick 'n Pay ten minutes before they were closed, huffing, 'Where the eff, is the effing basil!?' Ala Bridget Jones looking for tuna in her fridge! The grocer guy was tossing me lemons and onions as I raced through the recipe out-loud!

cook 250g pasta according to packet instructions

heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion

It's official, nothing smells and sounds as promising and exciting as onions sizzling in a pan. Gone are my days of teary onion-chopping thanks to Sian!

cook until soft and golden

add the tomatoes, chilli, sugar and lemon zest and rosemary sprigs and

simmer for 15 minutes

I said it before and I'll say it again. I now TOTALLY get why TV chefs bounce around their kitchens as if they've just won the Lotto. Sugar caramelizing in a pan of bubbling tomato is like...I dunno, art in a pan! It's awesome! Also, lemon zest - grating that stuff was a happy little exercise! The zingy scent is heaven. I found myself cooing to the dogs, 'Ah, look at this glorious citrus mist raining down into the pan.' If we were in some talking-dog Disney skit, I'm sure they would have replied, 'Easy there Nigella.'

add capers and olives and allow to simmer for 2 minutes

season with salt and black pepper (if using capers, be cautious with

the salt as you could over season)

remove rosemary sprigs and add chopped fresh basil

toss with pasta and garnish with herbs

Easy, easy, easy! And so delicious! I can't wait to cook the next recipe - a crust-less, savoury tart - sounds scrumptious! Don't forget to check out my Kitchen Pen Pal's blog to see her version of this recipe. Sian is the master behind the meals! x

Other yummy things we've made: 1. Flatbread with hummus 2. Creamy asparagus pasta

New picture-snappers!

2011-10-23T17:17:00.000+02:00

Here are some new additions to my little camera family. It's actually not so little anymore, my camera obsession is showing no signs of simmering down! But I keep telling myself that's okay because I never spend alot on cameras and they'll make for one epic collection to pass on to the kidlets one day! When I get some free time, I'm gonna snap the whole lot so I can remember 'em forevez incase they fade or whatnot throughout the years. What sort of things do you guys collect?

Thank you Mom Heather for the Polaroid - I absolutely adore it, the box and the camera bulbs. Thank you Mel for treating me to some thrifting loot so I could get the Brownie! Nadia spotted it and I'm so thrilled with it. And thank you to my other girlfriends for spoiling me rotten on my birthday - I got the practical things I needed but I couldn't resist this vintage video beauty as well! x

Part 1: Feel-better tips from my blogger buds

2011-10-19T09:47:00.003+02:00

A few weeks ago, I emailed some of my blogger pals and asked them if they’d kindly share five ‘Feel-Better’ tips. I also asked them to share a photo of themselves that makes them smile. Reading their tips certainly made me smile and I’m so pleased to feature these ladies here. I hope you enjoy this little series. x

Sandra / Niotillfem
Long-time readers will know that I have been a fan of Sandra’s forever! We have spoken via email a few times and she is as lovely on email as she is on her blog. I sort of live vicariously through Sandra and I hope she never stops blogging!

Sandra’s five ‘feel-better’ tips:
1.Sweet liquorice
2.Spaghetti with cream sauce
3.Glee
4.Johnny Cash
5.Calling my boyfriend and mom

Harriet / Where is Harriet
Harriet has been such a loyal reader and friend to me on Gloss. Her blog is as delightful as she is and her outfit pictures are the cutest ever! I imagine that if we ever met, we’d be chatting away like long-time pals in no time.

Harriet’s five ‘fee’-better’ tips:
1.Look at pictures of baby animals on the internet
2.Watch the West Wing in bed
3.Drink a cup of tea in the bath (a hot bath solves everything)
4.Put on my makeup and my favourite party clothes, even if I'm not going anywhere. When in doubt, wear a tiara.
5.Tidy up. I'm a firm believer in the phrase Tidy House Tidy Mind. I find a good sort out very therapeutic!

Kaelah / Little Chief Honeybee
Little Chief Honeybee is another blog I’ve been reading forever. Kaelah has such a positive outlook on life and her blog is always a blast of inspiration. She recently started a mobile thrift shop with her fiancé, Mike and they have the cutest pair of English Bulldogs.

1. Clean the whole house (top to bottom!) while listening to my favorite records.
2. Take my bulldog babies to the puppy park to play for an hour
3. Curl my hair and put on my most favorite dress
4. Hop on my bike and cruise around my neighbourhood
5. Watch a Felicity marathon

Paula / Pink Bow
Two words come to mind when I think of Paula – Class Act. She is also a total sweetheart and her photography is amazing. She was one of the bloggers who really inspired me to start taking more pictures.

1.Wearing a favourite special item of clothing or accessory that always makes me feel nice
2.Saturday afternoon lunch or tea that turns into early evening cocktails
3.Painting my nails, something pretty to look down to
4.Listening to a favourite record
5.Spending time with a loved one

More to follow soon...x

DIY: Make your own belt!

2011-10-17T22:51:00.001+02:00

This post is brought to you from a sleepy haze in Bedfordshire! Aka, my bed. Cheers for that gem Bridget Jones. So this is the DIY I mentioned to you the other day. Nadia kindly showed me how to make this here belt and now you can make one too if ya fancy. Thank you Nads! I borrowed Nads' belt like this for a fashiony do and I thought the belt was just genius as you can make it to fit you exactly, and you can adorn it as you wish. Plus it gives black skirts a swish border and any outfit a vintage-inspired twist! I hope the steps below are self-explanatory?! Sorry the pics aren't the best - was having an off day with the light. If you have any questions - please feel free to fire away. x

You will need:

Elastic, Velcro, Black Thread, Buttons, Sewing Scissors, Pins, Needle, Craft Glue or Glue Gun

A special thanks to Nads for modelling and making this!

I'll try to incorporate it into an outfit photo soon so you can see the effect.

Looks a bit erm, flat on the table!

Edit: Just remembered we accidentally sewed the one piece of velcro on the the wrong side of the elastic so I'm not sure if our folds above are correct! Haha! Can't offer any helpful advice except to say make sure you sew your velcro in such a way so you can stick it together. Poor Nads had to unpick the one side and start over but you must know we were distracted by Big and Carrie dramz in SATC while making this!

Birthday Cuppies

2011-10-16T22:49:00.000+02:00

These are the cuppies I made for my birthday. I wasn't planning on making any but I bounced awake with excitement at half past five so I decided to crank some Pearl Jam and get my bake on! Sorry to be a bit cryptic but I just wanted to thank my friends and family again for being so supportive over the past couple of weeks. Life has been stressful but I am grateful to know such kind and caring humans. Apologies again for my tardy comms and blog commenting - hopefully I'll get some more affordable internet soon so I can plug back in properly. Thanks for bearing/baring (!) with me.

I need you robotic boxes!

2011-10-14T08:22:00.001+02:00

Images Source

Apologies for the haphazard blogging! I am in the midst of a second move in 5 weeks - not fun!

Hope you're in for a more relaxing weekend than I am. x

Nadia's Craft Room

2011-10-12T08:50:00.000+02:00

On Saturday, Nads and I worked on a cute DIY tutorial which I’ll post soon. Rather, I should say, Nads worked - I glugged back Vino while watching S*x and the City! (Birthday privileges!) But I did snap some pics of Nadia’s craft room because I now know we all like nosing about other people’s homes! Don’t you just love her little donkey-lamb hybrid of an ornament – ha! So sweet x

Birthday Thriftin'

2011-10-11T09:23:00.000+02:00

I had such a wonderful birthday weekend. Thanks to all my friends and family who made it so special. And thanks to you guys for all the birthday wishes! Part of the fun was a thrifting adventure with Nads. I got some cute goodies which I’ll show you soon. Here’s a peek at our morning. x

Bloggers' Homes: Part 3

2011-10-10T08:32:00.000+02:00

This is the final installment of this mini series. I hope you've enjoyed it! I for one have hated it. Ha. No, I just wish I was Miss Moneybags so I could thrift, shop and decorate all day. x

1. A Beautiful Mess 2. Here's looking at me kid 3. A Beautiful Mess 4. Love Made Me Do It 5. Elsa Billgren 6. Smile and Wave 7.WishWishWish 8. Niotillfem 9. The Cherry Blossom Girl

PS: Sorry I haven't posted the latest Kitchen Pen Pals recipe yet. I misplaced my camera battery but I have since found it so I can cook and snap again! x

Today's Tip: Get rid of sticky price tag marks (and I'm 29!)

2011-10-07T08:37:00.000+02:00

Another tip! I'm always reading helpful blog posts and thinking, 'Why don't I have any useful tips to blog!?' But today I remembered, I do have one other non-toast related one. I learnt this tip when I worked in a gift store which was probably the most un-me job ever as I am clutz supreme and this place twinkled with crystal and china. Anyway, at some point you've probably bought stuff which has a sticky price tag mark on it. Or you've tried to remove a price tag but you can't get the sticky mark off? Well, all you need is a teensy spritz of Mr Min! Yes, that dashing, suave character from the 80's South African telly commercials. Mr Min just eats the glue up in seconds. Then you give your item a little wipe and voila, le stain is gone! Not exactly rocket science but handy none the less, I hope x

An unrelated pic from A Beautiful Mess which is fill of handy tips.

PS: It just occurred to me that overseas people may be thinking, 'What on Earth is Mr Min. You South Africans have a man that eats sticky glue?' Haha, it must sound mad! Basically Mr Min is a furniture polish...I think! Have forgotten it's actual use as I've only ever used it to get rid off sticky marks. Hope you have your own Mr Min wherever you live!

PPS: I've aged! Yes, I'm 29 today. Thanks to everyone that has wished me this morning x

Bloggers' Homes: Part 2

2011-10-06T08:33:00.000+02:00

Here is the second part of this home inspiration series.

Who doesn't love a good nose around someone's home, eh!? You can read part one here. x

1. Elsa Billgren via Niotillfem 2. The Cherry Blossom Girl 3. Elsa Billgren 4. Love Made Me Do It 5. Lucky Pony 6. Wonderful Clara 7. WishWishWish 8. Here's looking at me kid 9. Smile and Wave

Two easy brekkie tips

2011-10-05T10:20:00.000+02:00

Image courtesy of Pinch my Salt. Lols at that name!

I have two simple cooking tips to share with ya today! Now remember I am a beginner when it comes to cooking so tips as basic as these are revelations to me. Tip 1: Bridget taught me this when we made Scrambled Eggs the other day. Crack an egg into a little bowl, check if it's okay, then add it to your mix. If your egg is a dud, you won't spoil your entire mix. Genius! Tip 2: This is a personal, hilarious tip of mine involving the toaster - naturally! If you are cooking four pieces of toast in a two-slice toaster, toast the first two pieces till they're 80% toasted. Then, while you're cooking the other two, pop your first two on top of the toaster. The heat will finish toasting them and all of your toast will be hot! I bet Jamie Oliver had wish he'd thought of that one. Sorry Jamie - 'Twenty ways with Toast' is gonna be my first cook book. Have you guys got any toasty tips to share?

Woodnewz: Retro-Inspired Furniture

2011-10-04T08:38:00.001+02:00

If you follow Nadia's blog, you've probably heard of her hubby and dad's business, namely Woodnewz. With a 'Z' ya'll! Well, they make the most amazing retro-inspired furniture. It could be straight off the set of Mad Men! A while back I snapped a couple of product shots for them including these guys below. Please note they aren't in the business of alarm clocks and books! That was just Nadia and I running wild with props as per ush. The great thing about Woodnewz is, you can order custom-made pieces and choose the colours you fancy - and the workmanship is outstanding. I didn't see this range on their website but they have taken it to fairs and markets before. You can get in touch with the guys here.

Bloggers' Homes: Part 1

2011-10-03T08:09:00.000+02:00

Thanks for all the blog birthday wishes! And thanks to everyone who tweeted me to say Happy Birthday – haha – mine is actually on Friday, it was Glossary’s birthday last week. I knew I wouldn’t feel much like blogging this week so I prepped some fun posts, commencing with this guy.

_______________________

I LOVE it when bloggers share pics of their homes. And I'm forever bunging their pics into a folder on my laptop. I thought I'd give myself a blast of inspiration by laying out the pics to view in a post. I have heaps more so stay tuned if you enjoy this one. All the bloggers are linked up below the pics. x

1. Mademoiselle Robot 2. Niotillfem 3. Love Made Me Do It 4. Smile and Wave 5. Elsa Billgren 6.WishWishWish 7. Here's looking at me kid 8. Lucky Pony 9. Stefanie Alves

Happy Birthday Gloss

2011-09-30T13:04:00.000+02:00

It's Glossary's second birthday today. Happy Birthday al bloggo. I'll probably die a death of cringe when I look back at all the awkward posing, ridic ramblings and sketchy photo editing but at least it's been fun! I've never been able to keep up with diaries so I'm chuffed I've kept up blogging for two whole years. To be honest, it's a bit of a strange time for me to be blogging as I'm going through a sad season in my personal life. I won't be chatting about it online but I wanted to mention it by way of explanation if I seem, well, not all myself for a while. I thought about closing Gloss for a bit but I know this blog brings me a lot of joy and I love sharing inspiration and documenting the good times. My Tumblr on the other hand, will probably be fill of emo quotes and pics! I think fellow bloggers may agree that sometimes blogging can also be, well, a nice distraction from the weightyness of real life. And in light of Gloss's birthday, I've given it a little revamp. Thank you to everyone who has commented and tweeted to say you like it - I'm so chuffed to hear it! Owing to what will also be a skint season in my life, I have decided to add a couple of blog sponsorship spots. Please feel free to email me about those. And yeah, thanks to all of you who pop in and reply with comments. I appreciate every one of them. These pics are oldies but here's to future snappin'!

Interpret Durban (my un-entered snaps)

2011-09-28T18:31:00.001+02:00

Last Friday was the 2nd annual Interpret Durban Party/Exhibit at the City Hall. I blogged about last year's one here. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend this year's event but these are two pics I snapped the day before submissions were due. To be honest, I hadn't realised there was a photography category this year until a week before...probably due to laziness on my part. By then I had run out of time to plan a shoot of shorts but as I was driving home on Sunday, I saw these kids playing about with a public telephone on Umbilo Road. The theme for this year's event was Rediscover, Reconnect, Reveal - and I thought these cute kids using a phone sort of spoke to that theme. I hopped out of the car to snap them but unfortunately, I didn't get the best pics - the kids were adorable but my lighting and compositions were off. Spontaneous snaps on sketchy roads aren't the easiest I guess! I was a bit shy to enter them because I knew the standard would be really high. Silly of me really because the spirit of the event is more celebratory rather that judge-tory! I believe the proceeds of the event auction went to Umthombo Street Children which is awesome. Anyhow, here are the pics. The kids were wonderful and sweet to let me snap 'em. Props to everyone who entered and helped co-ordinate the event. I think it is a brilliant thing for Durban to look forward to.

Rachel's DIY storage gem

2011-09-27T20:04:00.000+02:00

I absolutely LOVE this record-storage/seating idea of Rachel's.

She posted some pics on her blog and the full tutorial on Elsie's blog.

These girls probably have tool boxes to rival those of the huskiest men!

All images from Smile & Wave

Kitchen Pen Pals: Creamy white wine and asparagus pasta

2011-09-26T18:29:00.002+02:00

Howdy guys. Sorry for the delay in getting this recipe up. Thing is, my Kitchen Pen Pal has been busy getting engaged! Congrats Siân. I am so happy for you girl. Like I tweeted ya, the next recipe will have to be some sort of wedding tower of treats! I'm pretty sure after kneading that dough, I'm ready to tackle three tiers of eclairs?

Well today's recipe is a heavenly bowl of steamy, creamy goodness! <------Doing my best to channel Nigella vibes. But seriously, this pasta is flippen amazing. It could actually be one of the scrummiest meals I've ever tucked into - I think!

Like last time, I've scribbled my notes throughout the recipe below. It occurred to me that if you wanna print the recipes and shop for the ingredients, you surely won't want the extended-Lauren-rambling version so I will bung the original recipes from Siân somewhere on Gloss for you to download. Just need to figure out where...ok, let's begin!

CREAMY WHITE WINE, DILL AND FRESH ASPARAGUS PASTA (Oh yeah)

500ml fresh cream
½ cup white wine

I went with Woolies' Zesty White because I quite liked the idea of some 'zesty' wine bottle coming to life and dancing 'round the kitchen! Ridic but true. Was also pleased to discover my months of working in an Irish Pub (in South Africa) during my college years have paid off. I can still uncork a bottle 'o plonk!

1/2small onion – finely chopped
I followed Siân's tips on chopping an onion and I am pleased to report there were no waterworks this time! Just knowing how to chop an onion has reduced my cooking anxiety by half.
1 bunch fresh green asparagus
Spar - my initial shopping destination - didn't have any so I bought pre-trimmed stems from Woolies. Convenient, yes, but I can definitely see the appeal of grabbing a handful of fresh stuff rather. I felt a bit snobby paying for my pre-trimmed stems. To posh to trim, ha.
Half a handful of fresh dill
Woolies had everything but dill - maddening! Had to drive back to Spar and rummage through a million herbs. None of them were labelled so I had no choice but to ask the veg lady what dill actually looked like. Turns out there was none on the shelf but they got me some from 'upstairs.' Didn't know there was a herby upper level at Spar!
Half a handful of fresh chives
Again, the posh packaged stuff at Woolies.
Salt and black pepper
250g of your choice of pasta – tagliatelle, penne, fusilli, linguine etc.
I went with penne because I love when sauce does it's saucy thing in the tubes! That sounds a bit sick but you know what I mean, fellow penne lovers. Haha, that sounds worse! 'Penne lovers.'

Cook pasta to packet instructions.
Trim ends off asparagus and cut into 2cm lengths
I had to google this! Wasn't exactly sure how to cut asparagus so I followed a video tutorial - forgot to bookmark the link though - soz.
Place asparagus into a pot of rapidly boiling water and cook for 1 minute until bright green
Easy enough
Remove and place in a bowl of ice cold water
Easy easy
Drain and set aside
Gently fry the onion in a small saucepan until soft and golden
Felt all smug after chopping my onion ala Siân.
Add the white wine and reduce until there is about 2cm of liquid left
This part smelt glorious! I've always wanted to cook with wine because I have visions of French chefs casually chucking it into big steaming metal pots.
Place cream in a saucepan and boil until reduced by ½
WARNING: Do not be an idiot like me and boil the cream on the highest heat. It will scald into minging bits. Fortunately I was able to whip mine off the heat in time and salvage the rest. Turns out cream can quite happily boil away safely on the gentlest heat. Also, Siân, please can you teach me the ways of reduction!
Add the onion and white wine mix once the cream has reduced and finally add the asparagus, chopped dill, chopped chives and fresh black pepper.
This part is lots of fun! All that greenery bubbling away in the cream - I can see why these TV chefs get so jacked up in the kitchen.
Season with salt.
Mix with pasta and enjoy!
I surely did. Thanks so much Siân! I would be proud to cook this dish for dinner guests.

I also just twigged that this is another veggie meal. I think Siân is surreptitiously trying to turn me into a vegetarian. Been there. Done that. Got busted eating a burger! No seriously, I would prefer to eat less meat and these recipes are proving to be just the scrummy alternative.

A while back, I asked if you guys would be keen to hook up with a Kitchen Pen Pal too. A couple of you replied, 'Ay, hook me up!' So I will try to figure out the logistics of that. In the mean time, happy cooking and don't forget to look out for Siân's version of this recipe on her blog!

Oh my word, I just remembered I burnt a till slip while cooking this! Told ya I was a hazard in le kitchen.

Spring Break

2011-09-22T23:17:00.001+02:00

Howdy guys, I'm going on leave for a bit. On my to-do list: Catch up on everyone's blogs!

Also received my second Kitchen Pen Pals recipe today so will try and blog that when I can. x

Pearl Jam Twenty

2011-09-21T00:35:00.000+02:00

Just got back from the premier of Pearl Jam Twenty. Wow. Wow. Wow. I haven't seen alot of big bands in my life but even though it was a docco, I feel the same as I did after seeing The Breeders. Just - mind blown. For those of you that haven't heard about it (I hadn't till a few days ago), it's a two-hour docco/film about the band's career, written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Afterwards, everyone was talking about how their teenage memories just came flooding back. Cue my personal indulgent flashback! I vividly remember buying my first Pearl Jam cassette. My folks and I were strolling through this random market that used to take place beside the bay (harbour? I shamefully no nothing of Durban's erm, watermarks) at the end of Point Road. Anyway, I was thirteen and just loving life! Not. Up until then, I'd only heard a handful of Pearl Jam singles but I knew they were one of the cool bands to know. Not cool as in, impress the popular kids at school, but rather, cool as in, impress the couple of kids that were into alternative culture. This market was seriously random but there was this guy flogging cassettes at a table. I spotted Pearl Jam's Vitalogy and asked my mom to please buy it for me. I think it was eleven bucks. Honestly, I felt like I'd stumbled upon a piece of secret gold. On the way home, we stopped at a garden nursery. I stayed in the car to listen to the cassette and it was just...disturbing and dissonant and great. That cassette sleeve with the anatomy diagrams freaked me out! While Pearl Jam never became my all-time fave, Vitalogy was one of many albums that got me through the first few years of highschool. But enough rambling, I just wanted to tell you that if you are a Pearl Jam fan, you should definitely watch this docco. I had no idea what down-to-earth sweethearts these guys are. I'm too knackered to go into the detail but every scene was one awesome surprise after the next. Alot of these band doccos tend to sensationalise the drug-fuelled dramas of the time but this one was quite the opposite. It's just really moving and interesting with a couple of lols thrown in to break the tension! There's also HEAPS of incredible backstage footage including snippets of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Nirvana. Gonna be erm, jamming to them (sorry) all week now!

Getting my kilt on (I guess!)

2011-09-20T00:01:00.000+02:00

Super, SUPER, sneaky camera angles ahoy!

Wish I could have all my pics snapped from ridiculous, flattering heights.

Thrifted this lot recently at one of Durban's sketchiest thrift stores.

The lengths I'll go to for a cute collar, eh.

Oh ya, my mom is chuffed with all your kind blog comments - thanks guys!

One last thing - fancy a laugh? Check out "How to be a Hipster" if you haven't already.

Just about lolled myself to death - so many hipster cliches in my life!

I bet there's a little Garden-State loving hipster in you too!? x

A wooly rainbow!

2011-09-18T19:14:00.000+02:00

At last...the transition from 28-year old to granny is complete. Yes, my friends. I am now the proud owner of a traditional granny blanket. About two weeks ago I walked into a little haberdashery and bought about every bright colour they had. Then I decided that was probably going to make for one helluva mad blanket and went back and scooped up some pastel bundles and some beige for the edging. My sweet mother spent two weeks crocheting this puppy together for me and yesterday I picked it up! Isn't it a masterpiece?! It's better than I ever imagined it would be. And I'm sure I will cherish into my years at Shady Pines. Thanks Mama Mia - I absolutely love it! If you would like to make one too, here's the tutorial my mom followed. It's from the Yvestown blog which is full of amazing food, decor and craft ideas. Enjoy! x

Friday drinks anyone?

2011-09-16T00:17:00.000+02:00

How marvellous are these guys!? Only want voddies in a carton now.

Reminds me of the good old days when Yogisip came in a carton.

Images found here.

Kitchen Pen Pals: Flatbread with Coriander & Lemon Butterbean Hummus

2011-09-14T22:25:00.001+02:00

Two girls. Two countries. One recipe. Here we go! Siân emailed me my first recipe yesterday. I must admit, as soon I saw there was yeast involved, I had a mild panic attack. "Where in the world does one buy yeast from?" I thought. Also, I didn't know you could buy actual "fine sea salt." The thought of me kneading dough was down right hysterical but Siân assured me these flatbreads would be a doddle to make. Fancy a peek at the recipe below? Peek away friends!

So off I went to Spar clutching my recipe! I must say, it was quite nice being able to walk around the store with a plan. Usually I just wander around aimlessly like a bewildered kid. A couple of lols along the way - I nearly started cursing Spar for not having any Parsley or Coriander. Then I discovered they have great big troughs of the stuff a little further from the neatly bagged herbs. I had no idea what to do with the herbs so I asked the Fruit and Veg lady if I had to weigh it. She replied, 'No dear, you buy it by the bunch.' Who knew! I wasn't sure what to do with handfuls of greenery so I stuffed 'em into those plastic packets you put potatoes in. I didn't see anyone else do that but you surely can't chuck fresh herbs into a minging basket! Oh, and the flour. I must have manhandled just about every brand and type on the shelf! Finally I found a brown bag of organic looking stuff and hoped to heck it was 'unbleached.' Oh, and yeast comes in tiny purple packets - not giant ones like flour!

Usually I hate it when people take nosey peeks into my basket at the till (the shame of the Caremello Bears etc) but I was feeling quite proud yesterday! The little voice in my head was saying, 'Yeah, check out this yeast. I'm gonna bake actual bread from scratch when I get home! There's gonna be a whole lotta kneading going on.' Dare I say, a vision of me and James Martin chuckling over a mound of dough flashed before my eyes!

The whole lot (including Olive Oil and other things that regular cooking folk probably have to hand) came to about 80 bucks. Not bad considering I wasn't going to use 'em all up in one meal. But onto the cooking! I have scribbled in purple next to the steps below so let's continue this thesis of a post!

Le Recipe

200g unbleached strong white bread flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 level teaspoon dried yeast
170ml tepid water (I used cold tap water - Soz Siân! Guess I should have run warm water in hindsight.)
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 230C

Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the water (woops, forgot to dissolve!) and then pour the oil into the water. Now pour the water into the flour, a bit at a time, while mixing. (I used a whisk. Bad call! But my wooden spoon was caked in scone mix. Scandalous!) When all the water is added, transfer to a floured board and knead well. Continue kneading for about 5 minutes until the dough is ever so slightly tacky, but soft, elastic and smooth. (That's alot of adjectives! Wasn't sure what 'tacky' is supposed to feel like but hopefully that's what it became.) Let it rest for 45 minutes covered by a tea towel. (Emailed Siân and said I was too hungry to wait that long. She said 20 minutes would be fine. Excellent! Also, bought a new tea towel. Was certain mine were too toxic for such a delicate task!)

Divide the dough into four, and roll into balls. On a generously floured surface roll each ball to 3-5mm thick. You should have rough circles 15-20cm in diameter. (I don't know if I duffed my dough but it was kinda hard to flatten it out but I think it flat enough.) Top each round with a little olive oil. (Just realised I didn't do that!) Place on a flat oiled baking tray and bake in the top of the oven for 5-10 minutes. Each bread should partially bubble up and colour slightly yet not be totally crisp. (One of mine started to resemble a vet koek more than a flat bread but hey ho!)

These can also be made on a stovetop. Fry each bread in a little butter until golden bubbles form on each side.

Le Hummus

1 x can butter beans ( I went with Koo - 12 Ronds - because I figured I needed all the help I could get but the Spar brand was only 8 bucks. Any profound difference between the two? Anyone know? Please share your beany knowledge!)

1 small onion, chopped (I LOATHE CHOPPING ONIONS! I'm like Alice Cooper after one slice. All that eyeliner running down my face. Does anyone know how to prevent the waterworks or know how to get that awful onion smell off your hands?)

2 cloves garlic, crushed (Didn't have a garlic crusher so tried to smash 'em with a knife. Was a pretty futile task but got there in the end.)

15ml lemon juice (The one thing I didn't buy cuz I thought we had a full bottle but lo and behold, there was literally only 15ml left.)

50ml olive oil

2.5ml salt (Had no idea how one measures 2.5ml of salt but Siân tweeted me to say it's half a teaspoon.)

15ml finely chopped parsley (Again - the mls perplexed me. I think Siân said it's about a tablespoon. I do not own knives with the ability to finely chop things so I hacked about a tablespoon's worth of herbs - maybe a bit more.)

15ml chopped coriander (ditto)

Saute the chopped onion until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the drained beans and simmer for 5 minutes or until warmed through.

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (CRISIS. Do not own a blender! Siân said I could mash forth with a potato masher. Nothing like a chunk of straight garlic in one's hummus - haha!) Remind me to tell you about the time Cath and I attempted to make Nougatini's in her blender. Oh the lols. And blade destruction. And yes, that would be a Nougat cocktail - delish!

So yeah, the whole fandango was quite an amusing education! After I made the hummus, I chucked it in the fridge for a bit. I think one is meant to cut the flatbreads and dip them into the hummus but after the no-blender debacle, I decided to slather my chunky dip onto the breads. They were surprisingly moreish and tasty! "Surprisingly" because I was expecting my version to be a bit of an inedible mess. I did look at the flour-covered kitchen to ponder if the meal was worth the effort but then I decided, hell I kneaded my own flatbreads - the mess is worth it!

Are you still awake? Anyone still reading? You're a sport if you are! Siân will try to post her version of this recipe too so do keep an eye on her blog. I'm so chuffed to have made a Pen Pal in Siân. Thanks friend! And thanks to Craig for snapping some of these pics, indulging another one of my sporadic cooking attempts and asking if there were any more flatbreads to eat!

Oh yes, please don't hate on my irregular onion and garlic bits. I have yet to master the art of le chop!

That one time at band camp

2011-09-13T20:28:00.000+02:00

Crumbs, you know I'm reaching for content when I dig into the box of old photo discs! Here are some pics from my band days - note the inability to pull a moody muso face! Cheesy grins all the way. Why I choose a stripy top is beyond me. Not the most flattering! I'm really popping in to tell you that I cooked my first Kitchen Pen Pal recipe tonight - and the outcome was edible! Have a zillion pics to edit and a camera to deflour. Ha. That sounds so wrong. Currently buried under a pile of freelance but will get the Pen Pal post up later this week. Stay tuned for coriander madness!

Pictured above is Ian, Stef, Moi and Craig. Cheers Nick for these old chestnuts!

Scones

2011-09-12T22:13:00.001+02:00

All I have to blog is this ginormous pic of the Woolies Scones Mix. But by jove, this is one good mix. And they're made in a moment. According to Woolies, 20 minutes is a moment. For scones this good, I'm cool with that. The tin is another new thrifted find. Tins and Scones. If anything, this random post should boost Glossary's granny readership!

'Ello

2011-09-08T23:56:00.000+02:00

My Kitchen Pen Pal hasn't had internet access for the past couple of days

(life in third world Africa!) but we'll do our best to blog a recipe next week. Chat soon friends x

Snapped this pic at Nadia's Birthday Brekkie Buffet. It was such a cute affair!

Fave Things

2011-09-06T00:02:00.000+02:00

This post is really just an excuse to show you my new tin below! Love the smiley pup.
All the other home bits you've seen before but they're new pics edited with Lightroom.
It's a great program to play with once you get your head around the work flow steps. x

Typewriter for sale! SOLD

2011-09-05T08:31:00.001+02:00

I came across this cream typewriter in a recent thrifting adventure and I had to talk myself out of not keeping another one! So I'm selling this fella on for 80 bones. Heh. I got that sayin' from Busy Bee Lauren. I don't know how well this typewriter would travel in the post so I suppose it needs to go to a Durban home. It also comes in it's own black suitcase. I've done my best to clean it up but it does have the odd mark here and there. I'm also not sure if it needs a new ribbon but it came with a tag that said 'Tested and Working.' Pop me a comment if you'd like to buy it - first come, first serve x

PS: Gave it an extra clean after postin' this!

Cupcake Couture Goodies!

2011-08-31T20:03:00.000+02:00

Huzzah! So these are some of the shots from our day of happy snapping. Let me tell ya - editing these puppies was a mission of note! I did the entire batch in Photoshop, went to print some to check the colour and realised they were totally over-saturated. Cheers to my screen not being properly calibrated! Then I re-edited the whole lot in Lightoom and under saturated 'em. Grief! I tinkered a bit more and even tonight I was still tinkering with the colour on some of them. Anyway, sweet Nadia said she was happy with them so that's good. I love taking photographs but man, I do not cope well with the pressure of shooting for other people. Fortunately Nads is like my little cheerleader! Speaking of Nads, she is making so many wonderful corsages at the mo...corsages for every occasion including weddings, birthdays, you name it! If you're ever after some vintagey, whimsical ideas, Nads is your girl! You can find Nadia on Blogger, Twitter and Facebook. x

The gang (or the 'groep' as we referred to ourselvelves as!)

2011-08-30T11:07:00.000+02:00

I just gapsed this pic off Bridget's facebook! It's a rare thing to have the highschool gang together for a photo. The photographer snapped one too so hopefully I can get a copy framed. x

Introducing...Kitchen Pen Pals!

2011-08-29T00:09:00.001+02:00

Siân's Blog: pinkmadeitpunk.blogspot.com

Aloha! I'm super psyched to tell you guys about a new joint blog feature called Kitchen Pals! A little background before I dive into the deets: To put it simply, I can't cook. Friends have kindly tried to teach me over the years but I'm a bit of a disaster in the kitchen. Burnt Pots. Fire Trucks. Soured Fondue. It's one calamity after the next.

See, I come from a family of grazers. Healthy, gym-going grazers. But I can't bare raw nuts and the like! So I tend to eat a lot of processed junk. 'Tis no good, I know.

But I am determined to cook once and for all. And I'll tell you who inspired me to officially challenge myself before the year is up.

I was recently reading Siân's blog and I thought, 'Heck, if this girl can cook these amazing meals with a handful of ingredients picked from her veggie garden in Zimbabwe, I can muster up a meal with store-bought stuff!'

Siân used to live in Johannesburg where she owned a successful boutique catering company called the Pink Kitchen. As fate would have it, she's since moved to Zimbabwe for love! I read with intrigue how the grocery store is miles away from Siân's country home and that even when she does visit the store, she can't buy much because the ingredients are so expensive. The Zim currency has gone bananas! So Siân's been making scrummy homemade meals with just a handful of ingredients - many of 'em picked from her own garden. In Siân's words: "I love knocking up quick, healthy, yummy food. I bake bread nearly every day and we eat out of our veggie garden."

Wholesome and delicious - sounds good to me!

I wrote to Siân and told her how she'd inspired me to give cooking one more bash. I asked her how she'd feel about sharing one recipe with me per week and she kindly obliged to help me out of culinary ruin! Once a week, I'll blog my attempt at cooking one of Siân's recipes, and if time and internet permits, she'll blog her (profesh!) version too.

We're aiming to do it for eight weeks but we'll see how we go. I'm so chuffed to have made a Kitchen Pen Pal in Siân! And it's kind of serendipitous that we're the same age and living in Africa. We both love a good shopping sesh too!

I was also wondering how you guys would feel about having a Kitchen Pen Pal? It could be fun to hook up people in different countries, or even provinces. Let me know your thoughts if you'd like to partake in something like this. Maybe we can all blog our cooking escapades once a month, or if you have time, once a week like Siân and me. There needn't be any hard and fast rules. I could link us all up and create a little blog badge of sorts. These are just some thoughts...feel free to weigh in! I'll blog my first recipe from Siân next week. And all her recipes will be the sort of dish that you can whip after work with a couple of items bought from a regular grocery store. I can't wait to begin! x

PS: Excuse ridic posed pic of me! Only one that would fit in that area. (I don't cook with sunnies on. Promise.)

Some press bits and pieces

2011-08-26T00:02:00.001+02:00

Cant believe I'm scribbling this but I'm in the September issues of Marie Claire and Cosmo - eep! The grungy teenage me would have had such a laugh at the older me in the "Style Council" section! Oh, if only you guys knew what a scruff I really am. I did the one inty yonks ago and both just happened to be published this month. Thanks to everyone who tweeted and texted me about the articles - so sweet, you lot are - and a special thanks to Bronwyn who bought the mags and carted 'em back to London - haha! The other day Bridget said, 'Remember in high school when you started every sentence with, "I read in a magazine that..." My mom and I were magazine junkies. And now I'm in some - crikey. Thanks to every one of you who pop in everyday - I truly appreciate it. x

Edit: I also did a little inty here a while back. Thanks Sara for the chinwag!

Bridget's Wedding - Happy Snaps

2011-08-24T23:39:00.000+02:00

Huzzah friends. Thanks for all your feedback on the previous most. I want an Instax more than ever now! These are just some happy snaps from the wedding. I should have put my camera on auto and snapped, flash and all, but I had it on the no-flash setting (hoping my hand was steady enough) but alas, many of the pics came out a blur. I was running about like a madmin most of the time! Ah well, I think there's enough here to give Brij a feel for the day from our point of view. Been having a blast with the overseas gals but the last one flies back tomorrow. This weekend, I sleep!

(Friends, if your pic isn't here, 'tis only cuz it was a touch blurry. Soz. x)

Bridget's Wedding - Fuji Madness!

2011-08-23T00:01:00.001+02:00

Bridget and Barry hired a Fuji Instax and bought boxes of film so we could snap instant pics to pop into their wedding guest book - such a great idea, hey!? There was also a dress up box and we went absolutely mad with the props and camera! They also made life-size Jenga and handed out Bubble Guns which were an all-night hit. Oh, there was also Zulu dancing so while the couple were off having their pics taken, we had plenty of funtivities to occupy ourselves with! A Fuji Instax is now at the top of my wishlist. I see a pack of film for the 210 model (below) is about R110 for ten sheets. Pretty pricey but Polaroid film is R279 for ten sheets. That's just madness! And why I have yet to use my 'roid. Have any of you got an Instax? The photos come out so great - I'm guessing the occasional splurge on film is worth it? Do tell Fuji fans. I'd love to plaster a wall with pics! x

Bridget's Wedding - Gettin' Ready

2011-08-22T00:20:00.003+02:00

Crikey, it's just after midnight but I wanted to post a few wedding pics for Bridget before her and Barry head off on a honeymoon dive! Their wedding was so wonderful. An easy, breezy, lols-filled affair! We danced the night away in a bubble-filled dance floor. More pics coming soon. x

PS: She had a profesh photographer. I was just a happy-snapping bridesmaid!

Nearly time

2011-08-18T08:57:00.000+02:00

We're headed into the bush for Bridget's wedding on Saturday and I'm going for my first ever spray tan today - quite terrified! I'm super pale and praying they don't lobsterfy me. Fingers crossed. x

Bridget's Bridal Shower in Black and White

2011-08-16T08:39:00.000+02:00

Thanks for your comments in yesterday's post! Will reply as soon as.

Here are a couple more pics in black and white. Hope you enjoy 'em x

Bridget's "French" Bridal Shower!

2011-08-15T00:01:00.000+02:00

Huzzah! On Saturday, us bridesmaids and the mama-of-the-bride threw Bridget a French-themed Bridal Shower! It was such a wonderful day. These are just a handful of the snaps - eep! What these pics don't show is just how much food we had. Bridget's mum and sister had catered a full-on French tea with cupcakes, cheeses, tarts, mini sandwiches - it was epic! We decorated her mum's home with French flags, streamers, balloons and I crudely photoshopped Bridget's face onto a Mona Lisa poster - haha! All the guests arrived in French colours, stripes and berets and our waiters served 'em champers and punch. Bridget knew there was a party going down but the theme was a total surprise - score! After an afternoon of games and a video interview with her fiance, we had a Lingerie Party and then a prezzie-opening sesh. Following that, we all dressed up as French Maids and headed for dins at Bangkok Wok. Bridget bravely completed all her dares and then we headed onto a dance club. I have to confess, I bailed after half an hour at the club but the rest of the gang partied till 4am! All in all, the party was a huge success and it was so nice having the girls back together again. Even more pics coming in black and white tomorrow. x

"IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!!"

2011-08-12T10:46:00.001+02:00

Oh my goodness you guys, have you seen "Despicable Me?" It is the most adorable movie ever!!! Craig and I were literally 'rewinding' bits throughout the whole film. This (edited) scene above at the funfair killlllllls me. "It's so flufffy!!!" I suppose you need to watch the whole thing to appreciate the hilarity. Anyway, if you haven't seen it and are looking for something cheery and loltastic, I say take this puppy out the DVD store. Well, have yourselves marvelous weekends and we'll chat soon! x

Miss Zeva

2011-08-10T23:07:00.000+02:00

How's this for some clobber, eh? Frightfully OTT but as Patsy would say, 'Fabulous dahlin'. Fahbulous.' I've been following Bebe Zeva's blog (Bebe Zeva!!) for a while now and it's always a feast for the retinas. My brain isn't quite sure what to make of all these teenage style bloggers dolled up to the nines but I do think Bebe could have herself a career styling the likes of Vogue. On an unrelated note, I'm hopefully gonna have some mad Hen's Party pics to post on Monday...if I've recovered enough to edit 'em! The bride-to-be knows there's a party going down but she doesn't know the dirty deets - muahahahaha. Rest up Bridget! You're in for a cute albeit cracker of a razzle!

My pal, Nads

2011-08-09T13:31:00.001+02:00

Last week this lovely person celebrated her birthday. I know I mention Nadia a lot on Gloss and it's really because we have become such great buds in the past two years. She is one of the kindest and most creative souls I have ever met and people always remark to me, just how sweet she is. In some ways we are both so similar - we share a love for all things colourful and retro and we're terribly sentimental. And on the other hand, we are quite opposite - Nadia is the picture of poise while I am a bit of a whirling dervish! Nads was styling vintage getups when she was seven while I was skulking around school in ripped jeans and green hair. But she is the sort of friend who will text you to wish you luck for a meeting, who will invite you up for tea on a bad day, who will run down in the rain with meds for you in the middle of the night and who will generally be an awesome pal, really. Nads, my friend. Thank you for everything. For all the chats, lols, skypes, BBM's! Thank you for always cheering me on and entertaining my histrionics! I know this year is going to bring you every joy and success that you deserve. See you later for a Chick's Day cuppa.

A happy surprise!

2011-08-08T08:53:00.000+02:00

The past 48 hours have been...intense! They involved dress fittings down the coast, hair cuts, winning a giveaway (!), suddenly becoming super nauseous, helping some poor soul who had been held at gunpoint (mad and sad), late night visits to Nadia to get meds, downing said meds, attending her birthday breakfast, spending time with a football legend in a township and napping in a bid to get better. Thank goodness it's Women's Day on Tuesday because I'm feeling a bit off kilter from all the highs and lows! So...on Saturday, the Hey Cherry girls told me that their last giveaway prize was never claimed so they redrew and I was the winner! I can't even tell you how I chuffed I was. I absolutely LOVE their range of accessories, books and knick knacky goodness. Below is a peek at all the lovely things I won - can't believe my luck. Thanks Hey Cherry gals - you totally were the cherry on the cake of one mad weekend. Hope your weekends were filled with less dramz? x

PS: Thanks for those hilar comments on the previous post! Toasted Chicken Mayo fans unite!

“The world must know…about chicken mayo.”

2011-08-05T09:13:00.002+02:00

So the Bride-to-Be, Bridget, one of my old mates, has descended from the BVI’s! We went out for this mad dinner last night and she told me something crazy. I thought I’d just try and recapture the convo rather than try and explain this random but necessary nugget that the world needs to know about. Because the whole world does read Gloss right? Not? Ah, well hopefully this mayo-filled gem will be a revelation for some of ya that live across the seas.

{Skimming through the menu}

Bridget: I’m totally craving chicken mayo. You know you cannot get a toasted chicken mayo in the States? They don’t even call them toasted sandwiches. They just have Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese and Ham which they flip on a press.

Lauren: No chicken mayo? No toasted sandwich?

Bridget: No. They look at me like I’m mad when I try and order a toasted chicken mayo sandwich.

Lauren: But it’s just chicken and mayo. It tastes so good. How is America not eating this?

Bridget: I dunno. The weird thing is, they have the snackwich machines but they don’t use them. They don’t even know what a snackwich is. Just using the press.

Lauren: The machine but no snackwich.

Bridget: No snackwich. Just subs and Grilled Cheese.

Lauren: Do you know that you can get Chicken Mayo pies here now? I thought it would be gross – warm mayo in a pie but it’s like Manna from Heaven.

Bridget: No, that sounds flipping good to me. After the wedding, I’m getting one.

Lauren: We also get cheese burger pies. A patty, relish and cheese in a pie.

Bridget: NO WAY!!!!!

Lauren: Yes. You have to sample all the new pies.

Bridget: I’m going to. You know in America, they don’t call Chicken Burgers, “Chicken Burgers.” They call them Chicken Sandwiches:

Lauren: But it’s on a bun.

Bridget: I know.

Lauren: I love that in France, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is called a Cheese Royale. Sounds so classy.

Bridget: Yeah.

Lauren: Still shocked about the mayo.

Bridget: Yeah, you should blog the mayo. Tell the world about the toasted chicken mayo sandwich.

Lauren: I’m going to.

Bridget: Grill chicken, mix with some mayo, throw it on two slices of bread buttered both sides and put in the snackwich machine.

Lauren: Yeah. I’ll blog it.

Bridget: Cool. Anyway, what should be order?

American readers, is this true about the Toasted Chicken Mayo Sandwich? I’d love to hear more about your snacky traditions! In South Africa, we refer to Grilled Cheese as a Toasted Cheese Sandwich. I also hear you guys eat a lota tuna?

The Blog Shop has turned into an Open Day!

2011-08-03T18:19:00.000+02:00

Huzzah! Since posting about my blog shop, I've received a flurry of emails which has sparked me to have a little re-think about it all! Herewith a ramshackled thought stream off the top of my head....

Unrelated image. Just needed to pretty up the post!

So long blog shop - hello open day!

A natural concern for you guys is the clothes fitting you - totally fair enough! When I thought of the shop, I thought, hey, I'll drop a few jackets off - it'll be a breeze! Ha! Not really. It's turned into a bit of a logistical nightmare - lolz! Ugh, "lolz," I irritate myself when I write that these days. So, anything that isn't sold by Friday will be saved for an Open Day of sorts! That way, you can try stuff on and rummage through everything else on sale. The whole thing is done and dusted within two hours - easy! Naturally, this little shindig will have to take place in Durbs. Unless I win the lotto in which case, it's taking place in Central Park and I'm flying all of your sweet faces there. Nay, it might just be easier to throw all my clothes off the balcony and buy the whole of 5th Avenue. Apparently, they sell nice clothes there.

More on this...day of open.

It will be a HUMBLE but sweet affair. Assuming, I don't win the lotto and all. I will probably team up with a certain accessory queen so there's more lovely things for you to shop through. I'm not putting any pressure on myself to do this regularly. It's essentially just an opportunity for me to pass on some pieces to new loving homes while throwing back a Pimms with some kindred folk!

You'd like me to flog some stuff for you?

A few of you emailed me to ask if I would buy old clothes off you. So sweet you lot. Thing is, I don't really have time to put into a full-time shopping-selling-swopping extravaganza. I know alot of girls (well, not all personally) who buy clothes off people that are scattered around South Africa so I will put you in touch with them.

But you really have something super sweet and vintagey that you think I would love for myself or to sell?

Ok sweet! If you'd like me to buy those sweet threads off you, I will arrange a day when everyone can drop off clothes with me but you must forgive me for being extremely selective and snobby! I think the afore mentioned Open Day will only be worth everyone's time if I only sell 'super sweet vintagey' stuff or high street stuff that doesn't show much sign of wear and tear. Hope that's cool with ya? You can always donate the stuff I don't buy to charity or sell them to another one of my thrifting friends who do this sort of stuff for a living/full-on hobby!

"Ok so, what the frig did you just say Lauren?"

No more blog shop. Instead, there's a "Buy Day" where I buy your sweet old threads if they're still in good nick and then an "Open Day" when I sell all the goodies in one spot and you can try on stuff to your heart's content.

I will keep you posted of the dates for the terribly named "Buy Day" and "Open Day." Do not hold me to any of this. I don't have the time to commit to anything more that the odd fun day of flogging old clothes. Thanks to everyone who has an expressed an interest in selling/swopping/buying from me. Tis much appreciated!

Closing panicky thoughts: I really don't have many things to sell at present. There's probably only two souls out there who would come to such a thing. I will probably be sat at some venue with a case full of clothes feeling more foolish than I did today when I chucked a cup of tea over my keyboard, followed by a spectacular trip over a phone cord. Oh well. It's a risk of shame I think I'm willing to take!

PS: Lols at me categorising this in "Fashion." Hardly. Ha.

Shop le blogge!

2011-08-01T20:35:00.000+02:00

'Sup guys! I recently decided to start a little blog shop (never one to be left off a bandwagon!) for those days when I'm feeling skint or just in the mood for a spring clean! Usually I donate stuff or sell it for a smallish price to thrift shops but I wanted to have a place where I could sell the items that have been a bit more special to me. I'm only flogging pieces that are still in good nick - not a broken button or zip in sight! I've tried to give as much info as possible as far as brands and sizes go. Where possible, I've also included the original price I payed for an item. If they sell, sweet, if they don't, I shall take it as a sign to keep them! I've decided to post anywhere but that'll cost ya a bit extra. We can arrange delivery/collection over email. I can't promise to update it often but hey ho, we'll see how we go! You can have a browse around here. Thanks in advance for taking a peek!

A colourful day!

2011-07-31T20:42:00.000+02:00

The internet is fixed and for the first time in an age, I have some pics to post! I've actually really enjoyed taking a break from snapping and blogging (as much as I used to) because sometimes it's just nice to take a break from things... but on Saturday, I whipped out le Canon for a fun shoot with my sweet pal, Nadia. We shot and styled our little hearts out for a new project Nads is working on. Let me tell you - Nadia has the life! And I say this with love and perhaps, just a peppering of jealousy! Nads spends her days crafting in the most beautiful flat and Elle recently did a dreamy feature on her. I'm very proud of my friend. Love ya Nads! With regards to the shoot - I'm pretty chuffed with how the pics turned out and I think we did quite well with our first attempt at styling - stained table clothes and all for backgrounds! These are just some happy snaps from 'behind the scenes' - I hope you enjoy 'em. And yes, we did nosh almost all the props, haha! x

Peachy Keen and wonky internet

2011-07-29T13:11:00.000+02:00

Huzzah friends! And hello new visitors who have swung by from Meg’s blog! Gloss in such a shambles at the mo – I feel a bit like I do when people ‘pop in’ and the flat is a state – haha! It has been pouring in Durbs which has wreaked havoc with our internet connection. As soon as everything is fixed, I’ll be back to ye old blog. In the mean time, feel free to rummage through the archives although not too far back to the era of cringe! The guys below are a Cape Town band called Peachy Keen - caught them at Unit 11 a while back - they have such a fun Rockabilly vibe. Last but not least is a picture of my friend Taneal who I am trying to persuade to become a stylist because this girl could make a bin bag look amaze. (She doesn't actually smoke, I just posed her ala Mad Men because I am Cheese Central.) My friends descend from all over the world for my bestie's wedding soon so hopefully I will have some mad Bridal Shower pics to post. Things may be sporadic but hey ho, such is life right now! Will have a blog reading catch up as soon as pos x