Garden Feature: Mother's metal planter decor

My mom's garden is enormous, and the garden to which all other gardens are compared where I'm concerned! Some may have green fingers, she has green up to her elbows. She decided to bring some decoration into her garden in an area that didn't get much sun during winter, and where she was struggling to get things going. Using decorative paving stones and bark chips she filled in the beds. Then she found some stunning wooden ladder planters and metal decorative pot holders. The effect is lovely and far less hassle than before.

Time for tea; how Twinings took over my teacup

This week I have been pining because my box of Twinings Strawberry & Mango was finished in a record 4 days - after only trying it for the first time on day 1.

I decided to cut out caffeine, so as a treat I grazed in the Tea aisle at the local PnP and came across the Twinings box. It was expensive, as far as tea goes, but hey - it's Twinings, so the Queen herself endorses it, right?

It's the perfect middle ground between sweet and tangy; it goes down a treat! I escaped from work one lunch hour to hulk around the Hot Beverage aisle at Checkers and I couldn't believe my eyes when I found a special collection Twinings box. Thank goodness it wasn't the last box, 'cos I woulda wrestled that old lady in the wheelchair to the ground if she dared eye out my brand.

Twinings flavoured tea: Strawberry & Mango

Twinings Fruit and Herb Tea Collection

Product Review: I put Invisibobble hair ring to the test

If you have really long hair, like mine, it's a constant battle between leaving it down and it looking good but irritating you, and tying it up and feeling more free but also knowing that that meant the end of kinkless hair for the day.  

I've tried all sorts of hair ties over the years, and it's only important because it's something that is literally a part of every day of my life... When I dance, I need a reliable solution to keep my hair from falling down and into my face and then there's the bouncing bun that is just annoying. My point was, I'm always on the look out for something new with added benefits.

I saw the Invisibobble for the first time on the gorgeous Whimsy Is Forever blog and thought I'd try it out. The website boasts the 'product science' behind it is that it doesn't leave traces in your hair (so no kinks), helps you avoid headaches when wearing high ponies as it distributes the weight, wearable in all hair types, and that it looks okay as a bracelet (?).

Be aware that there are a number of stockists in Cape Town, but many are selling at much higher prices, I suggest Takealot because their price is the lowest and they are trustworthy. I ordered the chocolate brown to go with my hair colour. At the time of this post, you got 3 Invisibobbles in one box for R41.

Looks super cool and comes in this adorable, invisbobble box

My Review

Awesome concept - It's like wearing a phone cord in your hair! It definitely didn't pull on my scalp when I had a high pony (when I most experience this), and it went in easily and came out with very little effort. My only problem was that it didn't hold my hair tight enough when I wanted a midi pony, but did fine in a high one or in a proper bun. I couldn't use it when I trained at dancing as it just got looser and looser. I was also kind of sad that it stretched so much (it eventually broke after a couple of weeks).

Left: After; Right: Before

Cool thing is - for Summer it won't stay wet in your hair like other cloth ones do. Finally, it did leave a slight kink in my hair when I took it down but was noticeably less noticeable (funny sentence!). I imagine this works even better with people with finer hair, that won't weigh down on it as much as mine did.

I rate Invisibobble 3 and a half stars.

Photo booths are so damn cool

I am such a fan of the photo booth fad that is sweeping through every wedding and birthday right now. It's fun, and funky, and everybody wants a part of it. I've recently seen it at weddings and conferences and it is always a big hit! People love the props, it helps them come up with creative ideas for each frame. The great thing about digital is these days the company or wedding couple get a digital copy of all the pictures taken to point and laugh at for years to come.

So remember this when you're planning a birthday, wedding, or event! Oh, and don't forget the props.

Chilli Popper addiction confirmed

When your friends start tagging you in pics and sending you links to new Mexican joints then you know something's up - I think I have a chilli popper addiction. The onset was quick, the cravings unrelenting. I started planning my outings so that they involved chilli popper consumption. I feel that the only way that I can truly accept myself and this addiction is if I bare all here on my blog.

Hi, my name is Linda and I have a chilli popper problem

The Bushman's Spice shop (West Coast Village)

My love at first bite moment was with these homemade looking chilli poppers from Bushmans. Jalapenos that have been cored and filled with mozzarella and wrapped in bacon. 

Remex Cantina (Parklands Centre)

My favourite these days is still Remex chilli poppers. They're wrapped in some batter or pastry and deep fried in goodness. They come with this divine guacamole and salsa mix with cream cheese and it makes my mouth drool even thinking about it now!

Pakololos (Blouberg)

I love all chilli poppers, some more than others, but I find the Pakololos ones very oily. They're dipped in a batter and fried in oil, they are also stuffed with cheddar - which I always find too rich. Still tasty and I won't say no.

Deer Park Cafe (Gardens)

Other than the gorgeous open space of the Deer Park Cafe grounds, their menu is divine and has gems like this chilli popper dish. Very simple, also a batter and deep fried with a creamy white tartar like sauce. These were very hot!! They had left quite a few of the seeds in the cores, which can make them hard to enjoy, other than that the batter wasn't as oily as in other cases.

Cape to cuba (Kalk Bay)

Lovely atmosphere at Cape to Cuba and delicious and differentiated chilli poppers. They came with a sweet chilli sauce and sour cream.

Rafikis (Kloof nek)

I presume that the lack of a picture of the chilli poppers here says more than this blurb could. Very similar to the Remex chilli popper it is covered in a batter and crumbed, also a favourite of mine.

Cubana (Waterkant)

Very tasty chilli poppers at Cubana, although I had one bad experience at the Table View branch when the poppers were under cooked and far too hot to enjoy.

Word games with Bananagrams

A year ago I was introduced to Bananagrams, a tiled word building game that has taken over game night in my family. It's like scrabble without the stuffy confines of a board! Also, it is much faster and so keeps everybodies attention much longer. Bananagrams has been fun for the whole family, from as young as 7!

The game is simple and full of fun banana-themed nomenclature. All the tiles are placed face down on the table, each player takes 21 tiles and the 'dealer' shouts "split", at which everyone forms words in their own scrabble like formations. As soon as someone has used all their tiles they shout "Peel" and everybody picks up another tile. This continues until all the spare tiles are used and someone places their final tile and shouts "Bananas!"

You can find Bananagrams at Exclusive Books in a humorously fruit-shaped bag.

Cherry picking at Klondyke Farm

While browsing through my photos I found a few great pics from our visit to Klondyke Cherry Farm (http://www.cherryfarm.co.za/) a couple of months back when it was picking season. It was the most divine experience, one that I had last had when I was only a child. 

There are rows and rows of Cherry trees that are literally drooping with the weight of bright red cherries on their many fingered branches. Many of said cherries did not make the journey from tree to basket, many found their end in our mouths, staining our lips and fingers! 

The farm was dog friendly, so we had our canine children join us on this particular adventure; something which we so seldom get the opportunity to do. They too enjoyed many an overripe and plump cherry. 

The bucket in my arms is a 10 litre bucket of prime cherries, so you can imagine how creative we all had to get to ensure that most of them did not go to waste. My mom preserved some in brandy, as seen below, for adding something special to deserts. Others made cherry pie or jam. We ate most of our share fresh, sharing many with friends and colleagues. The few we couldn't get to were depipped and frozen for use in smoothies or to flavour yoghurt.

Throwback Thursday: Themed Printer's Tray

I recently fetched the last few tendrils connecting me with my childhood from my old bedroom to outfit my spare bedroom and one of those things was my old Printer's Tray that I started when I was 10. My theme was pigs; over the years when friends and family travelled they would bring back a new type of piggy for my collection. It took years to complete but is an absolute treasure chest of memories.

I have wooden pigs, gemstone-bodied pigs, pigs of glass from Venice, copper pigs, clay pigs, material pigs, and whole families of pigs - and they are all so different! It now hangs in my own home.

Platform heels and Paisley tailored slip

I combined my love of Paisley and my affair with platform heels for a wedding a while back - just thought I'd share how great they both go together!

And on the day:

Introduction to Annie Sloan

My first intro to Annie Sloan Chalk paint was a few months ago when I was looking for tips on antiquing with wooden furniture. Whitewashing never went well for me, so I was concerned that it would be a similar experience, I was extremely surprised when I first used it to brighten up my garden decor. There was no prep involved, I only needed one coat, and it dried so quickly.

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on a previously varnished shelf and on a veneered chair - the whole project was done in an hour. I experimented with scuffing to create the distressed look. I've pretty much been addicted to it since then!

Easy art idea for the less than talented

I love doing arty stuff but I have very little natural skill, so I surfed the net for an easy and effective idea for home made art.  I have a short attention span, so it had to be quick, and I have limited craft materials - so I needed it to be something that I could make with what I had.

I came across another blog with great ideas and I made these:

How I did it:

I used my existing acrylic paints, a household sponge and some print outs that I Googled.

1. Google birds on a wire, or tree in silhouette and print your favourite design.

2. Trace the design on some A3 paper (I had watercolour paper), I drew the design by sight because I chose a very simple design.

3. Use one dark colour and white to create several hues so that you can create your background like above.

4. Use the sponge to dab the colour from the middle of the page outward ensuring the colour gets darker toward the edges.

5. Using a fine brush, paint the silhouette in black.

Cross-stitch for your mobile phone cover

 I recently dabbled in some old school needlework when a friend gifted me a do-it-yourself cross stitch iPhone cover, and I absolutely loved it.  Typo, a trendy stationery store, are selling kits with a selection of cotton and cute patterns to get your creative juices flowing while you squint away at your phone case with needle in hand. I chose the owl design :)

The kit comes with the perforated silicon case, a needle, patterns, and all the thread you'll need.

The finished product is very cute but unfortunately the silicon case is quite floppy and the thread caused it to warp somewhat - so it doesn't actually stay on your phone. I suggest if you want more than just the experience of cross stitching you should try and find a harder plastic cover perforated in the same way. Definitely looking forward to some more projects with cross stitch!

Keep in shape, and have fun doing it

Keeping fit, and maintaining a healthy weight should not be a chore for you - if plodding along on a treadmill or doing boring solo workouts at the gym is not for you - then you should get yourself into a dance class. I've been dancing since I was 5 years old, first ballet and then modern dance, which leads me to how I keep fit and enjoy it too.

I take adult modern dance classes with the Erna Ackerman School of Dancing. We do 30mins of intense aerobic and strengthening exercises and then do a choreographed dance for last 15mins of the class.

Ladies come because they love to dance, or to lose some weight, or simply to maintain their fitness levels. I feel that dancing helps me offload some stress, build my appetite for dinner later, and tone my body. Feel free to contact me directly if you want to know more about dancing with Erna!

Enjoy yourself when you exercise, that way you keep your motivation!

What's in my appmosphere

I couldn't bee more excited about this app that I downloaded a few months ago - it was as if it was designed for car key losing, word-fumbling, somewhat distracted people out there just like me. Lumosity is probably not all that new to you either, their marketing strategy is quite aggressive but in no way annoying - their newsletter site genuinely interesting studies that have been carried out on countless individuals regarding insights into neuroscience and human behaviour (our memory patterns and thought patterns, etc). 

Let me try and sum it up for you; Lumosity is an app that has been carefully crafted to train your brain so that with daily practice you can recall faster, boost your memory, and have better reaction time. Every day the app suggests particular exercises of a couple of minutes each - it even allows you to set an alarm to do your daily exercises! The app saves your progress and provides you with a detailed breakdown of your BPI (Brain Performance Index) - as seen below left.

It's loads of fun and you will be amazed how with practise your ability to play for longer and earn more points increases - just like with most games, however this one has been designed to train and measure your cognitive performance. 

Anyway, it's time for my workout - so download this app to your iOS device and hop on the Brain Train!