My Bucket List

The gorgeously fantastical and talented Janine from Being Brazen has featured little old me on her Bucket List series, go HERE to check it out! Come on...you know you wanna!

A present...for me...how nice!

This weekend I, though I would get ahead of the game and set out to do some early Christmas shopping, it was not a success. I got totally distracted when I spotted this dress and scooped it up as a Christmas present for myself instead! I will wrap it and put it under our Christmas tree, the note on the present will read:

"Dear Chantel,
You are have such great taste, Merry Christmas
From Chantel!"

Hah!

I was so excited with my purchase and immediately hauled it out of its bag to showed my mom, the minute I arrived home...she laughed! Yes. She laughed. Apparently to her eye, my purchase resembles a nightie more than it does the ubber stylish dress that my eye sees! The nerve! Lucky for me, people’s opinions never really deter me from what I like. And I really like this one. She soon changed her tune when she saw these pics. She now approves.

I need me a Price & Kensington...or 5

Don't these just make you want to have a girly tea party and feed you face some cake? They do. Don't they? Especially the part about feeding your face some cake, the face can never get enough cake. Hee. These cutie pies are the creation of  UK based Price & Kensington, and this company has been making them since 1896. How rad is that?! Seriously, I want one in every single colour! 

I'm inspired to have a colourful tea party, where i would serve this...

oooh and these...



[images courtesy of freshbump, onedaywhenihavetime, Gilt Groupe]

You are all invited!

Love, Me

xxx

Blissful Bathers

I am a huge fan of summer and all the things that come with it, like eating ice cream, wearing fun little sundresses...and of course, trips to the beach. As much as I adore the beach, I must be honest and admit that the thought of sqeeshing my wobbly bits into a teeny weeny bikini does make me want to run back to winter and hide myself under an oversized coat. That was until I discovered the cute little bikini's that are on offer this season. Armed with these babies, no one will even notice the jingly jangly bits, they will be way too distracted by the awesomeness that the bits are covered in. These are my fave pics from the interweb. What will you guys be wearing to the beach this summer?

1,3 and 5 swimweargalore, 2 lovewaterlove, 4 Zimmerman

 I'm also in luurve with  vintage inspired swimwear, and this high waisted bikini from swimweargalore is  just the epitome of perfection...and the fact that it is perfect for hiding a post christmas paunch, has nothing to do with...well maybe just a little!

 

Love, me
xx 

Gift Girls Goodies

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my parcel from Gift Girls ever since Janine from Being Brazen announced that I was the winner of their fabulous give away! I received this gorgeous purple flower ring as well as three cute pairs of earrings in varying shades of pinkish coral, all lovingly wrapped up in this pretty little blue box! How perfect is that shade of blue?! Gift Girls is based in Malta, so I felt super special to be receiving a parcel labelled Malta on the back of it. It felt like I was in my own version of “The Sisterhood of the travelling pants”, except this would be the sisterhood of the travelling...erm...accessories?!

This weekend I wore the ring and the pinkest of the pair of earrings, the boyf got the camera out and did his thing, and Le voila!



{How awesome is the detail on these leggings! I got them from Woolies!}

Do yourself a favour and go check out Being Brazen as well as the Gift Girls website and blog, you will not be disappointed, these ladies are absolutely fabulous and stylish!

Love, Me

xx

Bird Brain

My ever growing fixation with the purdy little birdie’s began when I first clapped eyes on this adorable little yellow clutch on Etsy (number 1 in the collage). Since then it has sort of spiralled out of control into a full on obsession and has spread out into an obsession with bird cages and other birdie paraphernalia. If I were planning a wedding (*fingers crossed*), I would certainly incorporate birdie bits and pieces into the theme, there would be antique bird cages hanging from the trees, feathers in the centrepieces, and the gorgeous cupcake wrappers (number 3 in the collage), would no doubt make an appearance as well. A girl can always dream!

1.Yellow Clutch bag- FA2u from Etsy

2.Bird cage tea light holders- The Knot

3.Perfect Pair cupcake wrappers- The Knot

4.Bird and Blossom necklace - Oria

5.Gift Card Tags- Mulberry Muse from Etsy

6. Bird and flower Necklace- Etsy, cant remember designer, sorry.

Have a lovely week, you fabulous people!

Love, Me
xx

A world of Numzies

Imagine having a selection of dishes from the finest restaurants and chefs in your city, at your immediate disposal. You could have a starter from The Michelangelo, a main course from The Grace in Rosebank and a dessert at The Roots, well that's exactly what it was like when the boyf and I attended the Taste of Joburg food festival this weekend. Both of us being self proclaimed foodie’s, we were in pure foodie heaven! In actual fact we had more than one starter main and dessert, from various restaurants. The sample size of the dishes made it possible to taste an array of starters, mains and desserts before reaching full blown button popping status! I wore Jeans, which I regretted, I was so stuffed by the time I walked out of there I felt as though my pants would certainly split! Note to self, next time wear a dress with ample tummy expansion space. Here’s what I wore, saw and ate!

{Finally! The Aldo shoes that I bought on this weekend.}

{This has to be the most divine smoothie I have ever tasted, Pineapple, mint and Jasmine! I'm certainly going to attempt my own recreation of this one!}

{This is a sample of the well known Molecular Chocolate dessert from the Grace of Rosebank. Brace yourself for this description: Molecular chocolate and ricotta marshmallows with caramel and nougat sauce. Yumzies!}

{The Grace also had this divine chocolate tasting corner, where you could sample the best quality dark chocolate, I love the fact they come in cute little nibs}

We attended the evening session, and it was a wonderful alternative to just eating out at a Restaurant, I will definitely attend this event again!

Love, me

xx

My Heritage Day

In honour of Heritage day, which we South Africans celebrate this Friday, 24 September, a few fabulous bloggers have decided that we would celebrate our heritage by doing a little post about our favourite childhood outfit or toy. So here goes!

I wasn't really a fan of toys, despite having a room that overflowed with stuffed animals and a gigantic collection of Barbie’s (which I hardly ever played with). So what did I do for fun you ask...I read (well, paged through) the Colliers set of Encyclopaedias that I received when I was two years old. Yes. I would lie for hours belly flat on the carpet, legs in the air, crossed at the ankles, and devour each and every page. My family still talks about this and how weird I was am. My other favourite thing to do was to watch movies, not cartoons since I didn’t care much for those either, real movies. My Gran had my favourites which included, The Sound of Music, Salsa, Dirty Dancing, Girls Just want to have fun, and My Girl, recorded on VHS tapes, and I used to watch them over and over again, memorising the words and attempting to act out the scenes and dance routines.

My Girl was released when I was about 8 years old, and I became completely obsessed with having a mood ring just like Vada Saltenfuss (Anna Chlumsky's character), even though her friend was stung to death whilst attempting to search for the damn ring! Yes. Again. I was am strange. In any event, I searched high and low for a mood ring and finally found one when I was about 10. This was my absolute favourite toy/accessory, I would wear it whenever I had the chance, and would take it with me to school and carry it in my pocket, since we were not allowed to wear any jewellery at School.

Nope, not at all a typical child, but that’s just me!

Happy Heritage Day! Check out the other blog posts on this theme, on these fabulous blogs:

Fable Fairy: http://fablefairy.blogspot.com/
Glossary :http://glossaryzine.blogspot.com/
Bobbylicious http://www.bobbylicious.co.za/
Gorilla is my friend http://gorillamefriend.blogspot.com/
Kiss This Twice /http://kissthistwice.blogspot.com/
Lucky Pony www.superduper/lucky
Embracing Style http://www.embracingstyle.co.za/
Farm Girl http://plaasjapie-farmgirl.blogspot.com/

Love, me

xx

Sun City

This weekend we took a little drive up to Sun City for a much needed weekend away. We spent our Saturday meandering through the glorious jasmine scented botanical gardens, sipping Campari’s el fresco and just relaxing in true Sun City style. In the evening we had an unforgettable experience with Jeff Dunham, who had the entire crowd in stitched for two and a half hours, the man is a comical genius! I was just a bit disturbed that my big fat “Sweets from Heaven” packet, which was filled with an assortment of chocolate coated nuts, was confiscated at the entrance to the show. If you know me well, you will know that no one gets between me and my chocolate! I was certifiably enraged! Especially since the entire row in front of me seemed to have snuck in their little parcel of sweets undetected.  I suppose it was the fat gods looking out for me.

I wore a mint green dress from twist and gladiator sandals that I bought at Zara in Florence.

Love, me

xx

Minty Fresh

I'm hacking away at my keyboard with my mint green manicured fingers, to acquaint you all with my current colour obsession, which coincidently happened to be... mint green, or sea foam green, as some like to call it! I love its retro vibe, and I'm loving it in nail polishes, accessories and even in interiors. It’s the perfect partner to my other colour crush for this season...coral. This season I will be wearing this shade of green with accents of coral. Both of which will compliment the summer tan, that I hope to acquire, beautifully!

{In this collage: Burberry dress; earrings and ring from etsy and shoes, none other than Christian Louboutin}

{I love the minty accents in this 1940's inspired lounge}

Love , me

xx

The Wizard of Aus

Coming out of winter my lips are still slightly chapped and irritated and this is hindering my experimentation with the beautiful bright lip colours that summer has to offer. No one wants their lipstick in clumps, stuck to bits of dried skin, Yuk! A few weeks ago I received an SOS to this problem in the form of a package from Aus, courtesy of my gorgeous Australian friend Justine. The stuff she sent me comes in a bright red tube, and works as my own personal wizard at fixing an abundance of skin ailments from chapped lips to burns and cuts... the wizards name is Lucas paw paw. Justine describes it as being an emergency kit for your handbag, and I must confirm that it has worked magic on my chapped irritated lips. It doesn’t hurt that it leaves your lips with a gloriously glossy finish and looks good on its own for those days when you want your make-up toned down a bit. I am now completely obsessed with this stuff, and have demanded that I receive a constant supply. I would love to hear your secrets for kissable smooth lips!

Local is lekker

Last weekend I had a fantastical time in Knysna and George, with just one whiff of the aromatic sea filled air, I was intoxicated. The highlight of the weekend was finding some very cool local shops, stocked with beautiful locally made gems. I get all giddy with excitement when I find fresh innovative pieces that are proudly South African, so this was the highlight of my trip. I bought this gorgeous handmade leather cuff at Leather Rose in Thesen Island, each of their pieces are handmade in Knysna and each piece is a one of a kind. The top I bought at the cutest little boutique store that sources their clothes from all over the country and many of their items are also one offs or produced for a limited run. I bought two gorgeous little tops there.

Spring has Sprung

Dear Winter

It is with an eager smile and a joyful heart that I bid you farewell. I wish I could tell you that your absence will be felt, but alas this would be a lie. So off you go on your dreary way, don’t forget to pack your bags with your woolly knits and your sock and your gloves, as I have grown quite bored of these and will not require them whilst your , much prettier, sister Spring is here to visit. I wish you luck on your journey to the Northern hemisphere and welcome Spring with open arms.

Best Wishes
Me xx

This sunny season I plan on:
 
 

{Having lots of Picnics}

 
 

{Frolicking around in a costume, hopefully by the sea}

 

 

{Making lots of home made Ice cream}

 

{Wearing brightly coloured lips}

 

How do you envision your sunny season?

Images Courtesy of runway hippie, a cup of jo, country living and love annd vintage

Flavour of the month

My propensity for the sweet stuff has been shared with you all here, here and here. At the moment the fairest of them all is still the red velvet cupcake. I’m a bit surprised at this fact since I tend to be a bit fickle when it comes to sweets, and the flavour of the month rarely occupies my heart for as long as the red velvet has. Last weekend I tried my hand at baking a batch of these delicious beauties. I was a bit disappointed with the colour, as it turned out a brick red colour instead of the vibrant red that I was after. I will keep trying until I get this right. In the meantime if any of you have any tips on how to get the colour right, please do share!