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Christmas Cane Bark Recipe
For The Home

Christmas Cane Bark Recipe

The festive season always gets me in the mood for baking and creating delightful things. But it’s been a scorcher leading up to Christmas and to be honest, I do  take my hat off to those bake-a-tonners that manage to make amazing festive treats in this heat! This year I went for a super easy festive treat, and one that doesn’t require standing in front of an oven or working with sticky dough! Say hello to my so-easy-a-five-year-old-could-do-it Christmas Candy Cane Bark… Literally, this is the easiest thing I’ve ever made, and probably one of my faves. All you need is; White Chocolate Candy Cane That’s it! You can also use dark chocolate (or a mix of both), but I wanted to stick with the red and white theme for my treats. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler (so that you don’t burn it). While that’s melting away, crush up your candy cane. You can go for large chunks or smaller ones, it’s completely up to you. I like a mix of chunky and smaller pieces because the chunkier ones allow you to see the red and white stripe, and the smaller pieces just make it look fuller. Once the chocolate has…

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December 24, 2015
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A Festive Feast with Woolies
For The Home

A Festive Feast with Woolies

The festive season has crept up on us once again! Are you ready? Have you planned and planned for months? Have you got everything you need? Don’t stress if you haven’t gone into major planning mode for Christmas, because Woolies has your back! Back in August, I attended their Christmas media day, and let me just tell you, that besides the fab gifting options, the food is out of this world!!! Serve it up in your most stylish dinnerware, and your guests will think you’re a rock star, gourmet cook! We were treated to a delightful menu of fabulous food cooked up, prepared and presented by the talented Woolies food team… For starters, I had the Norwegian Salmon, cured and marinated in lemon and pink peppercorn. Salmon and Trout canape with gold spray and salmon and prawn terrine with salmon row. Is your tummy rumbling yet? Mine sure is! For mains I had the free range leg of lamb with cranberry sauce, served with ready to eat de-boned gammon, (smoked in beach wood) and served with toppings of crispy bacon, finished with delicious veggies and potatoes. Oh yum! And for dessert, which is always my favourite part of the meal,…

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December 23, 2015
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Make Your Christmas Crackers More Exciting This Year
StyleScoop

Make Your Christmas Crackers More Exciting This Year

I don’t know about you girls, but I have a love-hate relationship with Christmas crackers! On one hand, no festive table is complete without a beautiful cracker on your place setting and Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without the fun of pulling on crackers with loved ones. But, on the other hand, they are so pricey and the goodies inside are almost always a disappointment. I don’t mind spending on crackers, but I’d rather put my money where it matters… in the fillers! I guess you could say, I’m the kind of person who would rather you spend more on the gift itself and minimal packaging (but still pretty), rather than the other way around. So what do you do? Well, I got a brilliant idea thanks to my sister in law. Make your own Christmas crackers! Now I know what you thinking…. I don’t the have time, I don’t have the energy and where on earth do I get everything I need? My answer is simple! Buy any old cracker with the cheapest, crappiest fillers and replace them with something more exciting! I’ve never technically “made” my own crackers from scratch, but for the last three Christmases that…

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December 14, 2015
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Festive Fragrance Sets from Stuttafords
StyleScoop

Festive Fragrance Sets from Stuttafords

I popped into Stuttafords the other day and I couldn’t resist sharing their beautifully displayed fragrance court at Sandton City. They’ve created a pleasant shopping environment and a little piece of heaven for fragrance lovers like me, filled with lust worthy fragrance gifts sets that will make very festive presents for all this year! As a self confessed perfume hoarder, I always smile when I unwrap a gift to discover a beautiful fragrance, and my smile grows when it’s packaged in gorgeous gift set for the holidays. If you’re looking to add to your collection, or you want to make a special guy or girl in your life a very happy person, be sure to check out these beautiful gift sets on offer this year from Stuttafords… Of all the Armani Si fragrances, the original EDP is my favourite. It’s a non seasonal scent that is everything, and this years’ Armani Si EDP Gift set from Stuttafords is high up on my wish list. The Armani Si EDP gift set, retails for R1795 and includes the EDP as well as a lovely scented shower gel and body lotion. A great way to take the Si experience to a whole new level. Ahh Gucci! I have the Gucci Premiere EDT and…

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December 10, 2015
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The Ultimate Gift Guide For The Woman Who Seems To Have It All
StyleScoop

The Ultimate Gift Guide For The Woman Who Seems To Have It All

I don’t know about you girls, but the older I get the less I want! Is that weird? It’s not that I dont want “stuff”, I do, I just don’t want random stuff that serves no purpose in my life, know what I mean? The funny thing is, more and more women I speak to have said the same thing. They want cool shiz that makes their smiles grow and hearts flutter. So instead of doing OTT Christmas wish lists, I thought I’d put together some small, but inexpensive gift ideas that you can hint-hint for your list to Santa, or if you’re looking to buy a fabulous friend something she’ll actually love this Christmas. And, don’t worry, I’ve covered various price brackets too, starting from R60! Here goes… my Ultimate Gift Guide for the woman who seems to have it all … Beauty Blender & Bling Ring (R600) – This is the ideal gift for the girl who loves makeup and pretty things on her vanity. Two birds, one stone. Stockists, call 0861 11 22 22 Le Creuset Mini Mills (R360, on sale at Le Creuset for R288 ) – If she isn’t already craving some Le Creuset in her life, you’ll be buying her…

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December 7, 2015
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Shop Online Smarter with MasterPass
Shopping

Shop Online Smarter with MasterPass

With the festive season looming, and chaos levels at malls already on the rise, online shopping for the holidays is looking good! And I found the best way to shop online more efficiently, shop smarter, shop safer and shop with peace of mind thanks to MasterPass. MasterPass is an awesome digital wallet app for your mobile phone. It will save you time and hassle in having to enter your credit or debit card details every time you purchase online (at selected online merchants). You’ll need to register your cards the first time, but these will be saved for future online splurges. Although I know online shopping is pretty safe these days, I still get nervous every time I have to input my credit card details. The mere fact that I have to type these out freaks me out! That’s why I love the MasterPass App, freely available to download from the App Store, Google Play Store, Windows Store or Blackberry World. You can download any bank’s MasterPass App, even if you don’t bank with them. I downloaded the Nedbank MasterPass App, even though I linked my FNB and ABSA cards to my MasterPass App profile. On your app profile you can store a number of credit cards and even debit cards and when you…

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December 1, 2015
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Looking for Festive Gifting? Look No Further than Foschini
Beauty

Looking for Festive Gifting? Look No Further than Foschini

Can you gals believe that in exactly one month, it will be that time of year again? Pretty soon, we’ll be waking up to bellies full of last night’s turkey and opening presents… YAY! Which brings me back to today’s festive post. How are you doing with your Christmas shopping? Need a little help? We’ll Foschini for Beauty have a great selection of gifts, starting at only R89.95, which means you too can afford a little spoil for yourself! From chic and classy fragrance and cosmetics gift sets and special offers for her, to seductive manly scents for him, Foschini even have a great range of celebrity fragrance gift sets for that teen in your life or cute little gifts you’ll love for yourself. My personal favourite… The Designer or Luxury scent boxes for him or her! In a nutshell, each box is filled with samples of a selection of up to 13 different scents, plus a voucher, which the receiver can use at Foschini to redeem a full sized fragrance. How cool is that? There are four scent boxes to choose from: Deluxe Fragrance Gift Box for Her (R1050), Luxury Fragrance Gift Box For Him (R995), Designer Fragrance Gift Box for Her (R665) and Designer Fragrance Gift Box for Him (R790). So, you’re basically…

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November 25, 2015
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Beauty Bytes – Fun (New) Makeup Stocking Stuffers
Beauty

Beauty Bytes – Fun (New) Makeup Stocking Stuffers

Disclaimer… From here on out, there are going to be a ton of festive posts, so brace yourselves for festive season overload 🙂 I’ve received some totally fun makeup goodies these past few weeks that would make really cute, affordable and very loveable stocking stuffers to boot. Most of them are under R100, with a few exceptions, but nothing more than R400! Blotterazzi by the Beauty Blender Let me first just say, that I absolutely LOVE my Beauty Blender. It’s the most amazing makeup application sponge on the planet and yes, although it’s pricey, I’ve had mine for at least 2 years and I use it every day (read my review and an affordable dupe version here). With that out of the way, let me tell you gals about the Beauty Blenders’ new little guy, the Blotterazzi.  A cute and compact on the go “blotter” and a fab alternative to blotting papers. If you have an oily skin that constantly needs blotting, or you’re like me, and your makeup likes to move around over the course of the day, then the Blotterazzi will be your new BFF! This clever little sponge, designed to be used dry (unlike the Beauty Blender which is best used damp), is thirsty…

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November 11, 2015
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Festive Fashion Passport – Your Ticket to Massive Festive Savings
Shopping

Festive Fashion Passport – Your Ticket to Massive Festive Savings

Ho Ho Ho! The holidays are knocking on our door, and what better way to get in the festive spirit than with fashion vouchers and amazing discount offers for all! This holiday season, Edcon is spoiling customers with mega choice and an opportunity to score big with their amazing Festive Fashion Passport. A free booklet loaded with vouchers and huge discount offers that can be used to splurge on international brands including; River Island, Jigsaw, T.M. Lewin, Salsa, Vince Camuto, Lipsy, Dune London, Lucky Brand, Tom Tailor, Calvin Klein, Dr Martens and Express. From shoes to handbags, party dresses to tailored suits, basic wardrobe staples to the widest selection of the hottest denims and apparel; The Fashion Passport is your ticket to festive savings and holiday smiles. From the 1st November 2015 until the 24th December 2015, you could save between R150 and R2000 when you shop using your Festive Fashion Passport! The more you spend, the more you save, so why not give the gift of fashion to all your friends and loved ones this festive season? Get your hands on your very own Festive Fashion Passport available and exclusively redeemable at: Calvin Klein flagship store in V & A Waterfront. Dr. Martens flagship store in…

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November 10, 2015
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