Life via iPhone

Wow, things have clearly been quiet when what was a weekly post consisting on 12 photos, is now 3 weeks overdue and I only have 8 pictures to share.
That is about to change thank goodness and I am creeping out of hermit-mode with a bang! It is the Vodacom Durban July this weekend and I am flying up on Thursday for a weekend of Durban sunshine and parties.

I have enjoyed the down-time however. It has given me time to relax, have a mini technology detox and letting the body recover. If you missed it, I have been off after having an operation, the recovery from which was crippled by a bout of flu. So what should have been one week off turned into almost three and made life more than a little difficult. On the upside, I got to spend time walking along the promenade and really getting stuck into books by local author, Maggie Orford. Go and get hold of a copy of Like Clockwork. You won't be able to put it down!

Luckily I had already planned to stay off the event and party scene, and only had a baby shower or two and the odd dinner date planned with friends and family. But before I went on leave, I did a little interview with the lovely Jen Sanasie at News24 for their Blog of the Week feature. I was so honoured to be asked, and incredibly excited. That was until I arrived to find myself in an actual studio, with lights, a sound room, and a few cameramen staring back at me. I managed to muddle my way through without piddling on their couch, and after all the nerves subsided, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Thanks again for having me Jen!

So after three weeks of pity parties, sympathy cupcakes and taking it easy, we are back baby! I have tons of fabulous content to share with you, and a fabulous little Revlon giveaway this week. So keep coming back daily.

xx
Leigh

Winter Romance

A few weeks back I was invited to Tintswalo Atlantic in Hout Bay for their Winter Wedding event, and to spend the night in their ultra luxurious resort. I don't think we were there even 10 minutes and I turned to Dave and threatened him with either a vow renewal ceremony, or I was going to start working on husband number 2, just so I can get married at Tintswalo.
That is how quickly I fell in love with the place.

We had sundowners on the deck overlooking probably one of the best views in South Africa, surrounded by gorgeous blooms set out everywhere, and fairy lights dripping from the trees and coating the evening in the most ethereal and romantic haze.

Our gorgeous hostess, Melissa, then gathered us together for a very unique Tinstwalo Atlantic tradition. We were each given a pebble and were asked to write our name on it. We then were told to make a wish, and then line up at the edge of the deck and think hard on our wish as we tossed our pebbles over our left shoulder and into the ocean below. It was such a quirky and personal touch and something that sticks in your memory forever.

We were then taken on a tour of the rooms, pool deck and honeymoon suite and also had a look at a few of the spots where they have hosted some of the most romantic weddings - again Dave was jabbed in his ribs and given a menacing side-eye.

After our tour we took our seats at a lavishly decorated banqueting table, and then the wine and conversation flowed, all beautifully accompanied by the most amazing live music by Angelo Thomas.  We then got to dig in to a feast. Five exquisite courses were presented with such love and care and our hosts and wait staff were like ninjas, topping up our glasses with fabulous wine without us even noticing. My headache the next morning can attest to this.

After a heavenly rest with the ocean crashing right outside our room, we got up and enjoyed a glorious soak in the huge bathtub before getting ready to say goodbye to Tinstwalo. But not before fattening up for one last time. Breakfast was only topped by the incredible sunrise view overlooking the Atlantic, with another set of multiple courses spanning fruits, granola and yogurt, to cheese and cold meats, and finally, whatever hot breakfast you could dream up. Any place that can whip up a great Eggs Benedict and a great cappuccino are top in my books, and Tintswalo absolutely nailed both.

We made some new friends and discovered new travel and lifestyle blogs to pour over and the entire experience was such a delight. Thank you to the wonderful people at Tinstwalo Atlantic and Nicky Arthur PR for hosting us, and inspiring my second wedding.

For reservations and enquiries, con act Dumi on res3@tintswalo.com and check out their website, Twitter and Facebook pages.

5 For Change - Cape Town's chicest annual fundraiser

I am going to go on and say it, 5 For Change is THE must-do Cape Town gala event of the year. It is the one night that Capetonians actually pull finger and attempt to actually adhere to a black-tie dress code and pull out their finery for a good cause.

Sadly, I was unable to make it this year as I was away that weekend for another celebration, so I sent my bestie, blog correspondent, and total hottie Tarryn and the fab Claire from The Studio Group to check it out in my place. This is what went down. Word and photos from Tdog.

I personally look forward to 5 for Change every year as it’s the one time that you get to really go all out and dress to the nines. We're talking black tie here, proper "New York Charity Ball" Black tie, long gorgeous dresses for the ladies and penguin suits for the guys. Now some people in Cape Town get this perfectly right, others clearly didn’t read the memo, which is a little disappointing, but this year most people seemed to make a wonderful effort and it was truly an event to remember.

5 for Change is an annual black tie fundraiser dedicated to raising awareness about five inspiring social enterprises which are changing the way Cape Town gives back.

This year the 5 Beneficiaries involved truly tugged at the heart strings, each one unique in their own way and using the resources and people around them to encourage development through various ways of skill providing and interaction. Everyone deserves a helping hand along the way! Do yourself a favour and check them out.

Milkshed

http://www.milkshed.co.za

I Am Somebody

www.iamsomebody.co.za

Earthchild Project

http://www.earthchildproject.org

Girls and Football SA

www.girlsandfootball.org

Rock Girl

http://www.rockgirlsa.org

The night involved getting to know some of the beneficiaries a bit better and then it was onto the gorgeous canapes and some great entertainment from Louise Day and The Kiffness, the bubbles flowed and the auctioneer spoke too fast for me to understand a word he was saying, but the bids kept coming, I even had a friend who bid on his own bid, he beat himself in the end and took home some amazing wine ;)

All in all 5 for Change 2014 was an amazing night, I danced until the lights came on and the heels came off! I will definitely be back next year!

 

Jewels and shiny things

I am stuck inside recovering from my op and have got some serious cabin fever. All I have as a window to the outside world is this laptop of mine. So what else is there to do but peruse the internet for pretty, shiny things?

Statement necklaces aren't going away so you always have an excuse to add more to your collection. Here are a few I've found this week.

1) Crystal Necklace, R250 at Spree
2) Gen Statement Chain, R79,99 at Mr Price
3) Resin Splice Necklace, R399 at Witchery
4) Cabochon Torque Chocker Necklace, R199 at Spree
4) Pendant Necklace, R150 at Spree
6) Silver Necklace, R130 at Truworths

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A full make-up kit for under R1500

About 4 years ago, I was unhappily surprised by some arse-hole at the robots who decided to smash my car window and whip my handbag from me. Firstly, I will admit that it was partly my own fault. I had both my laptop bag and handbag sitting pretty on my front seat and I was lucky that the thief didn't see the laptop bag. This isn't unique to South Africa. In any urban area, crime happens and you just need to be smarter. So ladies, if you are not already locking your valuables in your boot before hitting the road, I am begging you to start doing so.

The reason for my little story above, is that in my beloved handbag was my entire collection of MAC makeup that I had built up over a few years. I was devastated. And considering handbag insurance covered about 5k worth of lost items, I managed to replace my sunglasses, specs, the handbag itself and a new wallet - it didn't stretch enough to cover new make-up. Seriously, as a not-so-fun exercise, tally up the value of what is in your handbag right now. You might puke.

So there I was, starting over again. I know a few friends who have had a similar encounter and found themselves in the same position. So while you start building your collection up again slowly and beg everyone you know to buy you Edgars gift-vouchers for your birthday, I thought I'd share my drugstore favourites with you. These are all you need to create a flawless face, and a simple and classy day-to-day look. I carry all of these in my handbag now and never take my good stuff out with me. That way, if anything happens to my bag, I am not at a huge loss. In fact, you could easily carve out a portion of the 5k handbag insurance to cover these as the entire collection comes in at under R1500.

• Full Brush Set, R420 from 27Pinkx
• Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream, R159,99 from Clicks (I LOVE this stuff. Amazing coverage and colour correction and lasts all day!)
• Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer, R210 from Clicks
• Maybelline All In One Powder, R79,95 at Clicks
• Essence Get Big Lashes, R38 from Spree.co.za
• NYX The Curve, R264,99 at Clicks (This solves your liquid liner problems. Just go get it. Get two.)
• Revlon Baby Stick, R99 from Clicks (Get "Pink Passion" and use on lips and cheeks. So pretty. Limited edition product so may be hard to find.)
• Revlon Age Defying Concealer, R159 from Clicks (Covers dark spots and blemishes like a dream.)
• Maybelline Baby Lips, R25 at Clicks ( I use these during the day instead of lipstick or gloss.)

Life via Iphone

The past week involved plenty of road tripping, quality time with friends and also making new ones.
It also involved a lot of coffee because it has been busy! And with a few life changing decisions being thrown into the mix, I managed to do a Vida E Caffe tour of Cape Town, pulling in for a comforting chai latte at every turn.

Top left and bottom right photos by Livvy Russollilo

The past weekend was heavenly as we spent a night in Citrusdal, cosying up with plenty of wine around a fire and enjoying some amazing company. The resort was tucked away in the mountains and each chalet was equipped with a jacuzzi on the deck. It made for the perfect winter getaway. Nothing beats quality time with great friends and while the boys managed to turn civilised card games into a drunken stupor, us girls managed to catch up and have a good skinner in the tub.

Top right image borrowed from Natasha of Raising Men

While spending time with old friends is perfection, making new friends is such a warm, fuzzy feeling. The wonderful people at The Cullinan Hotel generously hosted myself, Natasha from Raising Men, and Candice from Gorgeous Blog for dinner and a wine tasting. The sommelier was one of the most charismatic people I've ever met and the food was to die for. I ate like a total guts and didn't get to the waffle station, so I fully intend to head back for a breakfast date soon. You may not think to eat out at a hotel if you're not staying there, but the Star Bar is idyllic for drinks, and the Peach Tree restaurant is wonderful. The service is outstanding and the chefs proudly assisted us in choosing each meal.

Enough about the food, what I really went for was to meet some of the people I consider friends online. I suppose Twitter and blogging can end up being like online dating in a sense.  After endless chatting on Twitter, 'favouriting' tweets and commenting on blog posts, we decided we liked each other enough to meet face-to-face. And lucky for us, no disaster date story - it felt like old girlfriends catching up and chatting away about the blogging industry, love, marriage and kids - and everything in-between.

Thanks again to Garry Reed and The Cullinan for hosting us, and spoiling us with such thoughtful gifts.