The countdown to the festive season has begun! YIKES! If you haven’t started your festive shopping, then you better get cracking! Nobody wants to spend their year end leave trawling around shopping centres hunting down their holiday find. I know that’s the last place I want to be! I’d rather be sipping on cocktails by the pool, catching a tan. After all, isn’t that what Christmas in South Africa is all about?
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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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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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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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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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This Nails Inc Chelsea Embankment polish is, without a doubt, the most intense, most glittery-glitter polish I’ve ever come across. It’s absolutely gorgeous and perfect for sparkly, holiday nails! I received it the other day with Nails Inc Basil Street polish, which is a true nude and since I’m feeling festive, I wanted to try a little ombre sparkle on my nails. The results came out beautifully! I love it! Another look you could try with combo is painting all your nails with Basil Street and then adding Chelsea Embankment to your ring finger only for a a glamours, subtle sparkle effect. Get your Ombre Party Nails On! Start by applying two coats of Basil Street (allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second). Next, using a glittery top coat with subtle sparkle, apply over Basil Street on the entire nail. You can use Chelsea Embankment, just be sure to wipe off as much product from the brush as you can. The idea is to create just a hint of sparkle at the base of the nail and this product has serious glitter. Once that has dried, dip your brush into Chelsea Embankment and wipe it a few times. Then apply it on the middle, bottom half of the nail and spread it down and across. Lastly, apply a coat…
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This year we hosted Christmas day in our new house and had (almost) the whole fam over. It was a blissful day in Durban, and we really couldn’t have asked for better weather! Sun, food, family and fun, it was the perfect Christmas day… For starters and pre-Christmas-Lunch-snacks, we did a huge cheese board. I decided to do this after seeing it at the Woolworths Christmas Media day, where they had the most amazing cheese board on display. It looked so festive and so indulgent! It was a good choice and everybody loved it! I made mine a little more Christmassy by decorating it with tinsel and LED star lights. My mom in law makes the most amazing bacon rolls and she made a whole batch for Christmas. We added these to the cheeseboard, which I think made it look even more festive! Then it was decorated with glazed fruit, grapes and I even made my own caramelized almonds. Stanta made a huge drop under our Christmas tree! After opening our presents, it was time to dig into the food. We made a huge glazed gammon (I lie, we pre-ordered it – shhhh), roast beef, two over-sized roast chickens, potato…
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