rooted down

On a very lucky streak...I was invited to a year end function at the end of 2011 at Roots restaurant at Forum Homini in the Cradle of Humankind. This was a highly anticipated outing as my parents have mentioned this prestigious restaurant on many occasions. It was clear the envy was glistening in their eyes. The tranquillity of the environment is perfectly translated into the design and architecture of the building and the appropriate furniture within the interiors. My photo count was 200 at the end of the day and could only have wished for more time to soak up the atmosphere and snap more shots.

A six course breakfast was on the line up and will be featured further along the blog, however writing and photographing this will barely come close to justifying the real experience.

Rocking them blues...

need to get my hands on a royal blue blazer.and maxi dress. and shorts. and and and.

youve earned your wings...now fly

http://fiveftfour.tumblr.com/

no grey areas

completely in love with black and white photography. Theres just something so powerfull about a B+W image.

http://travelingcolors.tumblr.com/

http://youngmistergrace.tumblr.com/

http://zeroing.tumblr.com/

http://wonderfulambiguity.tumblr.com/

brand yourself

on the rocky road to tweaking my brand identity, i found this little piece of magic.

so bold.

and minimalist.

i like.

i like alot

Attido Brand Identity & Stationery
http://blog.vanstee.be/

12...

lana oh lana

Unforgivingly turning the channel to MTV might well have been the best thing I did all day. This intriguing little song was playing and was really quite a bizarre yet beautifull music video. Of course I had to wait for the pop up tab letting one know of the song and artist. Lana Del Rey’s video games. Being me, I googled her and her music…and what a looker that little lady is. Guess that’s a given since she’s on the cover of vogue.

 Her music has a real edge to it and I wouldn’t quite know how to classify it. It’s a bit popish but has influences if indie too. I’d go by her songs kinda outta luck and born to die..just to mention a few.

sources tell me she went by the name lizzy grant, a plain jane , then changed her entire image and name . clearly she did something right.

etsy love

i really could spend days on etsy. Loving their quirky range of "stuff"

all images courtesy of etsy http://www.etsy.com/

tra la la...

we all know what im talking about...i suppose images of  hearts, the words love and strangers french kissing in the street gave it away.

i dare not eat out at a restuarant, the price for a meal sky rockets on such events. instead ill be making my own food, aongside the red velvet cupcakes i baked this weekend.

what do have here...

just something someone threw together...

joburgs hidden gem

44 Stanley, the shopping precinct in Milpark, never fails to disappoint. On taking a out of towner into Joburgs hidden gem, I myself was blown away...and i seem to be a regular there.

Get your Cotton On..

For months now I have heard the brags and raves of the Australian Brand, Cotton On, a relatively new store in the revamped Sandton City. When first being told of the store i never quite new what i would expect...and my oh my was I blown away!

Their pencil skirts are the most comfortable  i have ever come accross and their price didnt dent my bank balance either! Their quirky range of household items range from bedside clocks to large wooden letters had me at go and have the widest range of notebooks i could have ever imagined in a clothing store.EVER.

It seems only good things can be said of Cotton On and will most certainly be kept in my good books.

A high flying musician

Being exposed to new artists is always best experienced when someone plays you their playlist or new track...with this said, i can honestly say that nobody has ever exposed me to a more talented musician as the young female artist, Birdy. Her rendition of Bon Ivers’ Skinny love is sung with such a raw and pure voice, allowing one to become fully immersed in the lyrics.

One might cringe at the thought of another teen rising from a talent contest looking for the quick and easy road to fame and a one hit wonder. What fascinates me further is how she brings through such strong emotion and passion into each of her songs, many of which a 15 year old might not even have experienced. After hearing Skinny Love and People help the people i was instantly hooked and immediately jetted off to the nearest music store. Only to my disappointment, the shop assistant had never heard of such an artist and did not even stock her self-titled album. I highly recommend each and every person get hold of her music…

Your friendly neighbourhood grocer

I could really do with a smack over the head for not getting to Braamfonteins Neighbourgoods Market sooner...i was completely blown away and had not expected what i had ( namely that of amazement and sheer joy).

 Crediting myself more not hopping over to the market in my pj's as the fashion sported by your everyday individuals at 77 Juta Street was beyond anything comarable to the fashion pages of Vogue. I managed to sneakily snap away at peoples flair for fashion...If only they knew their style was being raved about right in this very spot!

The variety of goods available is incredibly refreshing, as is a bottle of Bobs your uncle white wine! Bring some of your hard earned cash as you do not want to leave empty handed...or with an empty stomach.

Pile em on high. 8 crumpets high.

 

On new years morning I was strangely not in the mood for a greasy eggs and bacon breakfast, partially because I did not have these luxuries available at hand. I did however have a crumpet mix and a slab of chocolate, some might beg to differ that these are in actual fact luxuries whilst the eggs are a necessity. I tend to do things a little bit differently around here.

The result of these simple ingredients was what one might call a decadent breakfast of stacked crumpets (8 each to be exact) dripping in a chocolate and peanut butter sauce. The pre-mix bag makes roughly 18 crumpets and has simple directions indicated on the bag whilst the sauce is made purely from imagination. Simply pour boiling water into a saucepan and place a heat resistant glass bowl into the pot,allowing the base to just touch the water. Break the chocolate into the bowl allowing it to slowly melt. Add a smidgen of butter, peanut butter and a dash or two of milk, stirring continuously. I have quite the sweet tooth and added an optional tablespoon of castor sugar for the kick. Stack and serve, garnishing with whatever your heart desires... 

Now that’s a way to start 2012.Not with a fizzle but with a BANG!

Dishing it out

 I recently subscribed to designboom.com’s daily emailing list and was blown away at the content of many of their posts. Throughout the Christmas period, I had’t chacked my email for quite some time and was overwhelmed by emails from the site. It was rather pleasant sitting for over an hour scanning through the content of the emails, many of them focusing primarily on architecture,  a field that I have taken on a new interest on.

The architecture of The Basque Culinary Center immediately grabbed my attention. The means in which each story and floor is layered and stacked gives passerbys the impression of stacked dishes and an imaginative glimpse of what might just be going on inside. I wont preach much further as after viewing the first image, I was somewhat disappointed at the building from the other angles in which it was taken. Regardless, I can still appreciate the building for what it is and the overall design.

Many of their most recent emails have inclued top ten most viewed public spaces of 2011, top ten most viewed housing units of 2011 and top ten most viewed temporary spaces of 2011. The perfect opportunity to brush up on my architecture.

surviving 227 days being ship wrecked? easy as Pi.

Iv only just started reading the fictional novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, one that I have received many recommendations of.

The storyline explores the spiritual life of Pi Patel whilst being stranded on a boat with a bengal tiger for 227 days in the Pacific Ocean. Being faced with finishing another menoir first…a later update on The Life of Pi will have to be given

Watch this space…

bang bang you shot me down

Having heard endless raves about The Bang Bang Club, a film that came out quite some time ago, I finally managed to sum up the time (no not the courage) to watch the film. The December break usually allows one to do the things we never make time for…so a thumbs up to me.

While not having much background on the content, besides that of being based around a group of photographers, I was immediately taken within the first few minutes.

The storyline is based on the novel by Greg Marinovich, one of the characters in the film, and how they, who called themselves The Bang Bang Club, photographed what was happening during the apartheid era. It most certainly is not your conventional film and exposes what South Africa was going through at the time.

Having cringed at a few of the graphic, violent and emotional scenes…it’s hard not to hand out 5 stars for being a gripping and unpredictable film that deals with raw content…something that I strive on.