Escape Caffe

Our last Coffee Club outing took us to Escape Caffe in Bree Street.

I started hearing things about this place a couple of months ago but never found the time to drop by. As I found out, I’ve also driven past it almost daily without evening knowing it was there. It looks like a little hole in the wall and when we arrived, bright and early at 7 I was worried it wasn’t even open.

But we took a chance and lo and behold, it’s all types of fabulous inside. And crazy big. If you’ve heard of this place, you’ll know the big draw card is that it’s owned by a Nobel Peace Prize winner. That is great and all but I think the big pull should be that it’s exactly what a coffee shop should look and feel like.

For one it’s spacious yet still feels cosy and comfy. So lots of peeps can sit, work, enjoy a coffee or chat without feeling like they’re disturbing others or their space is being encroached. There’s light music in the background and some bustling behind the counter so if you’re alone in there  the atmosphere won’t feel creepy.

TRUTH!

Now for the coffee. We had our usual lattes and they were delicious. It’s interesting to note they have many more types of coffees up for order. Apologies if these are common knowledge and I’m just a cretin ;) For instance you can get a mini latte or a Piccolo, there’s a Macchiatone and also an Aussie Magic. No idea what the last two are but my fave has to be a Sleep Suicide which is a 40 whole grams of coffee. This would have been handy when I was a final year student. 

 

 

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh! 

Escape Caffe

Manhattan Place

130 Bree Street

Open Monday to Friday 07h00 to 16h00

This Month...

...has been a hectic one. 2012 in fact has been pretty hectic. There have been some amazing moments in this month, one I cannot blog about yet but soon. There have also been many, many downers.

So far this month:

*Lost the oil cap for my car and had to get a new one. Plus had to have my car engine cleaned. Did you know there's engine shampoo?!
*I have gotten sick and went three days looking like crap
*Had to repair my car exhaust pipe
*Put on weight (technically my own fault but still)
*Walked outside to find my car had been knocked and my bumper was on the ground. Thanks to the douchebag who did that btw.
*Scheduled a dermatologist appointment the day before payday and without finding out the rates.

And after all of that, this is how I feel:

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Dermalogica's Pamper Party

WARNING: This post contains a lot of self-portrait pictures. Mainly to show what went down on the night. Also I had to leave early so there are various steps in the process I missed out on. And if you think I'm gushing a lot about the products here is why.*

Last week Thursday I was invited to a blogger's pamper party at the Dermalogica store at Wembley Square. The event was organised by the fabulous Leozette (go check out her blog here) from Red Carpet Concepts. I, along with some of my favourite lady bloggers in Cape Town, were greeted with flutes of champers, had our way with amazing snacks and then the pampering began.

Leozette, Leigh from Lipgloss Is My Life, Clouds from And Lollipops and Karisa from My Love Affair with Cape Town. I look like I've been Photoshopped in at the last minute.

All of us had a little consultation with the beauty therapists from Dermalogica (sidenote, where are all the ugly, plump therapists hiding? seriously I've only ever seen the gorgeous, skinny ones). They examined our skin and performed a Face Mapping consultation. This is where each area of your face is divided into zones so they can analyze each section and problem area instead of  just your face in general. This is great when trying to treat different problems in different areas like my dehydrated forehead and or congested chin as I was so lovingly informed.

Once we knew what we were dealing with, we took a seat the party table and got to work. (Sidenote, you can book your own pamper party for R100 per person. That includes champers, snacks, Face Mapping, advice from a trained therapist, the Dermalogica products to use for your facial and a goodie bag). We started with the Pre-Cleanse which at first sounded like way too much work. Can you imagine coming home at 3 in the morning and having to not only wash off your make-up but wash it off twice. Nevertheless I used it and have to admit it helps a lot. Bugger.

After cleansing, the second time and a bit begrudgingly, we moved onto exfoliating. I used the magic that is the Daily Microfoliant whilst Clouds and Karisa used the Daily Resurfacer. Look at that cute finger glove.

Next up masks. Apparently after very exfoliation you need to do a mask.Whoops a daisy. That could explain some of my dryness. I was given two masks. The first was the Multivit one which I applied everywhere except my chin. on my chin I used the Skin Hydrating Mask. And don't they both make for some fabulous faces.

This is the part where I had to rush off. So I sped up the process. I cleaned off my mask and slapped on some moisturiser. As I had to go somewhere else, I was worried my face would be all red and scary. I was very happy to see that it was nothing of the sort and that it even had a glow. I know how that sounds but I've dealt with acne and bad skin for years so small victories.

Then the best thing happened. I was given some tinted moisturiser. Normally I'm not a fan as I never seem to get the right shade and it always feels heavy. But then again i hadn't tried Dermalogica. It was light, there were no streaks and it felt more like a moisturiser rather than a foundation. And the result, voila! That is a mother-effin' glow people.

Before I left I was given a lovely goodie bag with the samples to try out and some mini products. They definitely put the rest of my beauty cabinet to shame. We also got an energy drink and some Lindt balls which never even saw the light of day.

Thanks again to Red Concepts and Dermalogica for a fabulous evening. As I mentioned you can book your own party. They last for about 2.5 to 3 hours and include all the above. You can contact Red Concepts for more deets.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

*Now, here's the thing, I used to work in a beauty salon. So I know a fair amount of Dermalogica. I used to use their Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque and I was a huge fan of their Medicated Clearing Gel. Trust me, when I had that gel, there was no pimple or blemish that could stand in my way. So as far as the brand is concerned I am a fan. I hardly ever heard clients complain and I know these products work. Unfortunately as far as my wallet was concerned I was a frenemy. These babies are definitely an investment. That is probably why I don't use it as my regular skin regime. Saying that I am testing out their youth range Clean Start. I still deal with problematic skin so this range is perfect for me. Also it smells really nice and my bank balance is still normal.

TRUTH Coffee Hatch

A couple of weeks ago we did a mini Coffee Club outing to what will soon be the new TRUTH Coffee HQ. It's expected to open on 1 September. In the meantime, they're serving up some caffeine-y goodness from a side hatch.

This is how excited I get with R10 coffees.

Like the other TRUTH stores, all coffees are R10 between 07h00 and 08h00. If the fabulous-tasting coffee isn't enough to get you down there, that price surely will.

 

If you're looking for other TRUTH venues, there's the flagship on Prestwich street at the beginning of the Fan Walk and a depot at the V&A Waterfront.

These are fast becoming my fave new heels.

 TRUTH HQ
36 Buitenkant Street

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Add Some Sparkle

You know when you spot something fabulous but not sure whether you should buy it? Sometimes because it's too expensive or if you're not sure you can pull off the look.

I have had that for the past several months. I was doing my weekly browse on 36Boutiques when I came across this pair of heels. Glitter, platform, fabulous. Some of my favourite words.

As far as price goes, they were not expensive. And they're from G Couture. I've got a pair of heels from them so I know they'd be comfy and durable. But I wasn't sure if I could really rock this heels the way they deserved.

And then the shoe gods smiled down upon me. 36B is celebrating their birthday. With a sale. Ding! Ding! Ding! Jackpot.

Ignore the glam surroundings.

I placed my order last Tuesday and then on Thursday they arrived. Happiness is! I spent last night breaking them in, an absolute must for new heels. And today I debuted them.

This pose is why I'll never make it as a fashion blogger.

 Oh so shiny and fabulous.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Ps. The 36Boutiques Birthday Sale is still on if you want to treat yourself. Or myself :)

The Internet is Hilarious

Of course we all know the interwebs are funny. They keep me out of work daily ;)
But did you know it could be this damn humourous. And it's all thanks to the Skinny Gossip that I'm ROTFL.

 This blog was originally started as a gossip site with a "snarky counter-view to a culture that glorifies excess consumption" according to its owner. So basically she (I'm guessing it's a girl) wanted to provide satire on a subject that is touchy. This would have worked if the site wasn't so shamelessly Pro-Ana, in my opinion anyway.

The blog post that has peeps up in arms - and me dying of laughter - is the one concerning Kate Upton. Want to know what the SG thinks of her? She's fat, y'all. And that's why I giggled.

"She looks thick, vulgar, almost pornographic – and she is a solid 30 lbs too heavy for this outfit.""

"Huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition – she looks like a squishy brick. Is this what American women are “striving” for now? The lazy, lardy look?"

Look at this "fat ass"! Are you kidding me?!

I'm not trying to be a douche here but when you have forums like "Starving Tips of The Day" and headlines such as "Britney Spears Chunks Out Again" and "Barbara Palvin Has Gained Weight" I start to wonder if you are providing social commentary or just being a troll. I have read the posts listed above but haven't read the entire site. The forum above is currently closed because the owner wants to review, edit and possibly rename it. So I cannot say that I know all of what's going on in there. The problem to me is that instead of providing satire and snark alà Dlisted or The Supercial, it comes across as vitirol.

The owner has updated the blog to say it will be changing. And that she too suffered with food issues. As someone who constantly has weight issues and a food obsession, I can understand why she prefers to attack rather than jest. It's easier that way.

If she does continue with her blog, I just hope that there's no more of this nonsense and she actually puts the inspiration into thinspiration.

OKAY, rant over.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Images from here, here and here.

Open Mouth Insert Foot

When I was younger all I wanted to do was meet celebrities. The problem was, when I did meet one or two I'd act like a total spaz. Not starstruck but I look and act like I'm having a stroke. My words get all jumbled and I make weird hand gestures and then I have to shooed away by security.

I resemble these people when chatting to celebs.

These days I have things a lot more in control. That's not say that I don't embarrass myself or say the wrong thing. I just do it in a much more refined manner.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who makes a fool of themselves in the prescence of celebs though. Or who they think is someone famous. I happened to be at media event recently where the champers was flowing and inhibitions seemed to be disappearing. At this event was the lovely Tanya Nefdt, who some of you might recognise as a journalist for E-TV. According to one guest at this launch, she is also CeCe from New Girl.

There is no way to describe the sound of an overly drunk woman shouting out "CeCe" across a room filled with people to ensure readers know just how funny and crazy it all was. But trust me it made many people's nights. And the best thing about it? She wasn't all wrong.

Here is CeCe from New Girl.

Here is Tanya. Mind blown!

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Images from here, here and here.

DIY Fun

For some reason, the office I work in is the worst place for a mug to survive. Seriously, over the past couple of years I've seen mugs of all sizes, colours and with company branding either break or disappear.
I'm not sure what is the reason but this place is where mugs either commit suicide or are put to death.

Now this time, instead of paying a fancy branding company to put our company logo and our names on mugs, we're doing it ourselves. I know that sounds like something awful you'd find on Regretsy but it's a lot more fab than that.

Thanks to Buzzfeed, I found that if you use a magic marker on a mug and then bake for 30 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees, you can personalise your mug. How awesome - and easy - is that.

So armed with all the supplies, the peeps in the office have been busy customizing our mugs.

 

And I couldn't resist.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Red Sofa Cafe

Soooo it's been ages since we've been able to do a Coffee Club meeting. Last Friday, we changed all that. We drove away from our usual Gardens and city centre haunts and made our way to Vredehoek. Not exactly that far away but still a little different.

After hearing about a place that makes and sells a whole plate of bacon. Yes, you read that right. A whole plate of just bacon, we were very intrigued.

Red Sofa Cafe is in Derry Street, Vredehoek. You may recognise the name as Red Sofa is apparently the business when it comes to renting DVDs. I've never tried it personally but I've it's awesome. Now back to the Cafe...It opens early, it serves Deluxe coffee and I don't think I need to mention the bacon plate again. Apparently it's only been open since earlier this year but from the amount of peeps streaming in, you'd think it's been around for ages.

It's big with a nice outside patio section, if it wasn't so nipples cold we probably would have sat out there. It has a large bar and of course, a big ass red sofa.

love this!

Since it was Friday and we were in no rush to get to work, we ordered some breakfast. Despite the whole plate of bacon being the sexiest thing I've heard we opted for other breakfast items like the bacon, cheese and rocket roll and bacon and scrambled eggs on toast. Both tasty, both filling and both relatively cheap. The coffee was delicious and came in red mugs. Who doesn't love a red mug. 

Red Sofa Cafe
Corner Exner and Derry Street
07h00 to 19h00

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!