Brew Coffee Shop

This morning we went all the way down to the bottom of Long Street for our Coffee Club. Or the top/start. Depending on how you view it I suppose. We all live in Gardens so this was down to us :)

Brew is situated at the building at 2 Long Street. it's bit hidden away but once you find it, you'll wanna go again and again. The baristas are really friendly, there's lots of seating and despite lots of peeps walking in and past you can still lose yourself on one of the couches.

We ordered our lattes and also indulged in some cheese muffins. Hello thigh circumference, you're about to be increased.

 

 The coffee was by Deluxe so straight up you know it's gonna be good. The muffins were all kinds of bad. I mean that in a good way. Love a good savoury muffin. There weer also cupcakes and brownies for sale not to mention sandwiches and fudge. It took a lot of willpower to resist.

All in all, a very successful and fun Coffee Club meeting.

Brew
2 Long Street
07h00 to 17h00

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Online Love

So...as usual I have a problem with money. This time it's for something very exciting. Not as exciting as my Thailand holiday last year but still it could lead to amazing opportunities and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I want to say more but am afraid I'll jinx it. Seriously. You can make fun if you want.

Luckily my moolah worries never stop me from window shopping. And thanks to online shops, I never have to actually visit a mall to browse. These are the gems I've found online and am dying to buy. But! I must be strong!

First up is this frilly little bikini from 36Boutiques. Love this colour. Hope that if I do get it then it'll be the same in real-life. One problem with online shopping, sometimes the pictures distort the colour. I love the top half of the the bikini the mist. In a dream world, the bottoms would be those 50s style kind that cover your belly and love handles. But until then...

There's a new online shop called Utique. It's got all these lovely decor things that make me hate the fact I rent instead of own. I wish my lease allowed me to wallpaper. I have a feeling my flat's wall would be off the chain! In the meantime I'll settle for little bits of pretty to decorate the flat in. Like these LOVE coasters. Truthfully I don't make peeps use coasters but I may make them use these. Actually that's a lie, these are for display purposes only.

My birthday is in January. Christmas is before that. And before that I can start celebrating Halloween. So if you're looking for a present for me, head on over to Hello Pretty and buy these mugs. You rock!

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Ramblings and Recollections

Recently I bought a fab pair of tangerine skinny jeans from Zara. I have yet to develop the courage to wear them. I’m no wear near skinny enough to actually qualify to wear skinny jeans. But then I saw Beyonce rocking a pair of bright blue ones. And then I saw some very large-esque ladies doing the same. Apparently the key is confidence. Now, where do I buy that?

Recently I have discovered that I am good at a few things and really bad at others. For instance I thought if there was ever a time to be strong when the going gets tough, I’d be able to face any trouble head-on. Turns out I turn into a big ol’ bag of emotions. I recently found a weird mole and did the worst thing ever I Googled it. When “melanoma” came up I decided I’d call my mom and warn her that I needed an oncologist (this was all in the space of a few minutes and without seeing a doctor – in fact I didn’t move from my bed). I heard her voice and burst into tears. She comforted me, told me to grow up and see a doctor (she used to be a nurse so she’s hardcore like that). Turns out I am not as strong as I always imagined. Also my weird mole was a burst blood vessel.

Recently, the girls at work have been talking about all those bad kissers who we had the unfortunate experience of swapping saliva with. Turns out we all have experienced our fair share of washing machines, limp tongues and worse, adventurers (think too intrusive tongues or biters). What we want to know is what ever happened to them. Did they finally meet a girl who was brave enough to tell them that they are bad kissers or is their current girlfriend shrinking away in horror everytime Washing Machine goes in for the kill.

Recently, the only thing on my mind is preparing for our Christmas party. And by our, I mean us Skinny Bitches. Every year our group of friends get together and have a Christmas party. This year we’re going all out. In case you didn’t know, there is nothing more exciting to me than the season of Christmas. I look forward to these magical weeks all year long and label anyone else who doesn’t a Grinch. So as you can imagine I’ve been scourging Pinterest all the time for new ideas on how to make this year the Christmas party to end all parties.

Any ramblings or recollections?

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Images from here. 

The Little Hattery

So last Friday, us Skinny Bitches were lucky enough to be invited to the launch of The Little Hattery. 

If you don't know, TLH are the go-to peeps for bespoke, handcrafted headwear. They do everything from hats and fascinators to bridal headwear to Venetian masks. Their latest projects include doing their thang for the new Spud movie with John Cleese (yes, that was a namedrop ;)) and for the new Madame Zingara season.

They were also responsible for the Steampunk look that the staff at the new TRUTH HQ are sporting. These guys look boss and it's probably why the event dress code was Steampunk and was held at the HQ. The new place looks amazing. Sadly, there were way too many peeps to get proper photos. 

When we arrived in our steampunk chic - not very much as our bustiers and pocket watches were at the cleaners - we were greeted by this lady. Not sure of her name or why she was wearing a box for a skirt.

But she had bubblin' drinks. And she was handing them out. Win! 

The night started out with a firedancer which was awesome. I once tried to start poi-dancing lessons but right before the venue suddenly had to undergo renovations. I secretly think my friends feared for their safety and told them to tell us that. You can't really see from the snaps but this guy was good. 

 Afterwards there was a fashion show. There were some burlesque dancer types who made me regret ever eating and I cursed my thighs.

 

 

There were hotties in long-ass coats with brooding eyes that made me giggle like a school girl.

 And then there was this hat, which made me oh "Oh Em Gee, I'm gonna need to steal that." Obviously I have nowhere fancy to wear it to but who says you cannot look stylish while cleaning your flat.

You can't see it but it's amazing. Ostrich feathers and sh

Here are the entire fashion cast.

Sadly, we had a dinner to had to get to so we left straight after the fashion show. But if you wanna see what else went down and what the other peeps wore, you can check out their Facebook page. 

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Yay!

So happy this week is over! This is exactly how I feel...

Have a fab weekend!

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Image from here.

Fave Postsecret of the Week...

...the ultimate dream ;)

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The September Issue

Last month, on a rather dreary Monday I got a call that made me squeal and jump up and down. It was from Luisa at Marie Claire wanting to know if I’d be keen to take part, alongside other bloggers, in a fashion spread/challenge. It was about taking some of the more “out there” fashion looks and putting them on real people in real-life situations.

And of course my reply was like "Um, sure let me just check my diary, I think I'm shooting with Demarchelier that week." 

Obviously I was game. And this time I decided to cherish every little detail. If you’ve read the blog for more than a year, you’ll know I was already lucky enough to be featured in a bloggers fashion shoot for O Magazine.That was definitely one of my life's highlights. But I was so excited to spend the day surrounded by fabulous people (especially Robyn Cooke) and in the presence of Jimmy Choo shoes that I didn't really take photos. This time was different.

With a fully charged camera I arrived at the MC offices and immediately was beautified by Sylvie Hurford and Huey Tilley. I was going to be recreating this Marie Claire editorial:

So, cue the clown make-up. And clothes. And when the clothes are not Prada (which they were in the original shoot) have the tendency to make you look like a Bag Lady or at least an Olsen twin.

 

Nevertheless I was still having the time of my life. First up I got to watch the crew in action while shooting Leilah360 in this insane onesie do her thing.

 

Then it was my turn. We were going to redo the look at a bus stop. It may not look like it but it was freezing that day which is why I'm rocking this look with my jeans on. And we all thought the fashion world was glam!

 

 

After a couple of shots sitting down I got to do my thing and let my amateur schmodel shine. All those years doing the Vogue routine in my bedroom finally paid off.

Now the issue has finally landed. And it's the coveted September issue which makes this fashion nerd go cray cray happy.

Yes, in case you're wondering, they did use me for the cover as well.

And here is me! I have to say I really happy with the final picture they used and for making me sound awesome in the magazine. On the whole, the entire shoot is amazing and MC are clearly boss at what they do.

As you can tell, this is a very natural pose for me.

If you want to check out the full spread, it's available in shops now.

Major thanks and love to everyone who was part of the shoot especially Sam from MC who took all the behind-the-scenes pictures and interviewed me. Also check out her blog, she is awesome.

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My Olympic Highlights

Yes the Opening Ceremony was fabulous. Yes South Africa is doing well and yes these athletics are making us feel lazy and wondering "what were we doing at that age." But let's all take a moment to celebrate the best part of the Olympics: the boys. Especially the boys who spend their time in water.

First up, this is a local. Chad Le Clos, he won gold for swimming some race but more importantly his dad has won the world's hearts. He's 20, comes from Durban and cried when the national anthem was played during the medal ceremony. I want to have his babies. Mainly because I want his dad to scream "Unbelievable" when I give birth.

This is Ryan Lochte. He has also won gold. I cannot tell you what for. I can tell you he is cute. He also seems like a bit of a douche. Not intentionally but he reminds me of those guys who hang out at Tiger Tiger with white pointy shoes, ordering Jaggy Bombs and wanting to have sex in the bathroom. Know what I mean?! Not my type but if he looked at me, can't say I'd say no.

This is Nathan Adrian. He is half-Asian, which means our children will be 1/4 Asian. As I really want a fat Asian baby of my own, I will accept this. I have spent way more time researching him than necessary and I have found out I'm a year older than him, he wants to be a doctor and he has Twilight on his iPad. I just want to say 我愛你 which is I Love You in Chinese according to Google Translate.

This is Tom Daley. He has a tendency for making me feel old. Most of the time I find pictures of his legal and totally ah-mazing body. Other times when I'm doing my Daily Daley Google I find pictures of his last Olympics outing. When he was like 14. He is a diver and has been in the news because one sick mofo has been Twitter-trolling him. Personally, he should be in the news because of his abs.

This is Louis Smith. He's a gymnast. He does cray cray things on the pommel horse. I actually watched his final so I know what tricks he did. And let me tell you, the guy has stamina. My arms get tired from just straightening my hair, he manages a whole routine with his arms. From all the pictures I've seen he seems to have a bit of Gay Face but as you know I'm a Fag Hag so all are welcome in my arms.

 Anyone else I'm missing out on? Let me know.

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Images from here, here, here, here and here.

Team Sparkle

Normally when I have a bad Monday, I go home and I bake. Then I curl up on my couch with my hot water bottle, my latest obsession (It's The Good Wife these days) and eat my fill of cupcakes or brownies.

Sadly I am on a Low GI eating plan. I'm trying to change my food habits rather than doing yet another torture-like diet. So if I really wanted to I could bake but I'm trying to be good and save my cheat day for something better this week. Like the day before the public holiday. Heads up, I will be getting drunk with my girls. Since I'm eating half of what I normally do I suspect one gin and tonic should do the trick.

To comfort me because the day's not over and I still have to gym (what type of person have I become ;)) I have decided to post pictures of glitterfied things. In case you haven't met me, I love me some sparkle. I think I have written about a dozen similar posts where I nullify things with glitter. And you know what I'm not going to stop.

Here are some happy-making bits of sparkle!

Please oh PLEASE someone teach me how to do this.

If this makeup were a person I'd stalk it.

I NEED to find where these are being sold.

Enjoy your Monday!

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Images from here.

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. 

 

 

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Escape Caffe

Manhattan Place

130 Bree Street

Open Monday to Friday 07h00 to 16h00