yo shorty!

Photos: NASTY GIRL and pagesixsixsix

Scalloped shorts are definitely on my spring "it"-list already! Yoh I can't wait to show off a bit of summer skin again. I found this lovely pair of scalloped shorts from NASTY GIRL and then, better yet, found a "it looks pretty easy" DIY tutorial on how to make your own pair. Click here. Hmmm, if not, why not??

homemade iced tea

Photos: heysweetie8

I'm fully aware of the fact that earlier this week, I promised to share plenty fantastic recipes on my blog (thanks to that lovely mama of mine). But this week turned out to be extremely busy, with lots of changes happening in my life. Moving on though - here is my mom's iced tea recipe I expect you to copy down and keep in a safe place. You are never going to want to lose this recipe! 


That said, it's SO simple, you'll soon know it off-by-heart after trying out the recipe for the first time. Quick, easy, perfect for when spring decides to show his happy face. 


3 rooibos or green teabags
1 litre boiling water
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 litre fruit juice (any flavour will do)
sprigs of mint (extra)


1. Steep the rooibos or green tea teabags in 1 litre of boiling water.


2. Dissolve the brown sugar in it.


3. Once cooled, remove teabags, and add 1 litre of any fruit juice of your choice. (I use LiquiFruit).


4. Add a sprig or two of mint for some decoration. Done!

people, meet my mom.

Photos: heysweetie8

How is everyone doing today! I got back from Durbs-by-the-sea yesterday, after spending a weekend catching up with my family and friends. One of the things I begged my mom to do before my arrival was bake some of my favourite favourites, so I could photograph them and then put them in my mouth, for, you know, quality control. My mom is so awesome, she did exactly that|! She also packed a few biscuit-filled containers into my luggage so I could enjoy them when I got back to Joburg. I can't wait to share her recipes with you this week!

mama's fat-free muffins

Photos: heysweetie8

Hello ladies. Today I'm sharing with you a magnif recipe passed down by the Health and Fitness Guru, that is my mom. If you're feeling like a detox after seeing some of my somewhat indulgent recipe posts, this one is for you. I'm thinking I should be doing a weekly recipe that's completely HEALTH-Y, tried and tested recipes passed down from my mama that are not only good on the booty but good for your well-being too. Hands up if you're game!

Makes +- 10

Ingredients:

3 cups Nutty Wheat flour

2 cups soft brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 cups buttermilk

½ cup raisins or sultanas

For the topping:

Rolled oats

Sunflower seeds

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Stir in buttermilk and raisins. ** Mix lightly to a soft batter.

3. Pour into non-stick muffin pans. Add a sprinkling of rolled oats and seeds on top of each muffin. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

4. Serve hot with a drizzle of honey or syrup.

Variations:

APPLE MUFFINS

Add 1 cup tinned pie apples and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

BRAN AND DATE MUFFINS

Add 1 cup finely chopped dates and ½ cup digestive bran. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture seems too dry.

BANANA MUFFINS

Add 1 cup mashed banana.

** I added a handful of chopped dried apricots to the mix.

 

lust list no.2

Talk about gilty pleasures! I've spotted these beauties in and around the interweb and I think they would do fantastic things for my kitchen and lounge.

This is where you can find 'em:

1. Ivory Heart-shaped Umbrella (In case it rains in my kitchen) from Buggy Brolly

2. Gold Glasses from One Kings Lane

3. Mojave Coasters from SupermarketHQ

4. Fornasetti Wall Plate (Remember that awesome wallpaper they came out with?) from farfetch.com

5. Gold Skull Sculpture from Amazon

:-)

Photos: tumblr

For anyone who needs a pick-me-up right now. 

Images from this tumblr and that.

kid's cookbook giveaway!

Book cover: Nicole Long

My lovely friend Nicole has published a children's cookbook called "Little Chef". Don't be fooled though, this cute and quirky book brings just as much excitement to an adult too! I have made her thumbprint cookies from the book, and they were super easy and super tasty. From breakfasts and light snacks, to simple dinners and sweets, this book has got it going on. How do lemonade scones sound to you?

If you would like to win yourself a copy of her cookbook, here are the deets:

1. Become a follower of her blog here.

2. To gain more entries, either tweet about this competition (@heysweetieblog) or simply leave a comment on this post.

We will be drawing the winner of the competition on Friday, 27th July. Good luck! :)

**Having problems becoming a follower on her blog? Simply leave a comment on this post then - I will count it as an entry. COMPETITION OPEN TO SOUTH AFRICAN RESIDENTS ONLY.

have you been to parkhurst

Photos: heysweetie8

On the weekend, Roxy and I went to check out the Jozi Food Market in Parkhurst. It was my first time visiting Parkhurst - I'd never really had a reason to venture into that neck of the woods. But now I do... It's called 4th Avenue.

The food market, which is held at Pirate's club, was slightly disappointing in terms of size. But never-the-less, we didn't leave empty-handed! We took home some freshly baked cinnamon donuts (Roxy) and chicken croissants (me). Both were a delight to the taste buds.

We then hit some of the cool decor shops on 4th, where we ogled plenty of pretties. Must-stop shops: House and Homewear, as well as green grass shop. I bought a wooden laser cut stencil/ruler in the font of Garamond from green grass shop, and I can't wait to use it when I next put pencil to paper. 

how i met your style

Photos: How I Met Your Style

First and foremost I need to mention what a lovely evening we had at Wolves Cafe in Illovo last night. Angie of Lucky Pony, along with a few other lady bloggers, organised a #JoziBloggersMeetUp - a chance for all us Jozi blog geeks to finally meet in a non-virtual way. Unfortunately I committed quite a crime - I left my camera behind at home. But look out for emmajanenation and citigirl's pics of the evening on their blogs. Angie, we gotta do this more often. Thanks girl.

Now this post is of the fashion kind again. Sorry. I've been crushing on this blog ever since I found it, so I had to share... How I Met Your Style. Think The Selby and The Coveteur, but with a heavy focus on style. Yes. They've entered the homes of you're favourite fashion bloggers and stylistas. (think Sincerely, Jules) 

Happy browsing.

sprinkles on toast

Photos: Deruijter

Would you? I'm not so sure... Ok I won't lie this looks strangely appetising but when it comes to crunch-time (excuse the pun), I'd probably not be able to put a piece of toast with sprinkles in my mouth. But Dutch company De Ruijter think you should! For more sprinkles flavours have a lookie at their website here.

a little fash moment

I've been seeing a lot of sporty, varsity-inspired looks on Tumblr lately, and I am liking! I think I would turf out all my coats just to have one football jacket. I have an NFL-crazy boyfriend, so he would definitely give me the thumbs-up on this one.

Images from EmilyAfricaa, stylescrapbook, and veckorevyn blog.

mini custard pies

Photos: heysweetie8

This weekend I got baking with my all-time favourite cookbook, Seasons by Donna Hay. It was a gift from my boyfriend when he went on tour to Australia last year. He knows how much I love this lady Donna Hay. She's the Martha Stewart from Down Under, check her out here. I made her mini custard pie recipe and I suggest you do the same. I will put the recipe up on this post tomorrow... 

chocolate pound cake

Photos: heysweetie8

Whoa, has this week been busy or what? Between the long hours of work I managed to squeeze in a little bit-a-bakin'… (Of course). A fantastically dense chunk of chocolatey goodness. What I enjoy the most about this recipe? The fact that you don't have to smother it with frosting or ganache in order to enjoy it. 

The yellow knife in these photos was a gift from Yuppiechef when I went to the Woolworths TASTE Experience with my mom a few months ago. Ok seriously this is the sharpest knife I have ever come across! I recommend it to anyone who's ever been upset over a blunt knife. With this bad boy, those days are over.

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 tbsp boiling water

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

185 grams butter, softened and cut into pieces

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 20 x 10 x 8 cm loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl mix the cocoa powder into the boiling water until smooth. Let cool to room temperature and then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add the butter and half of the chocolate/egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake's structure.  

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for  50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 25 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

5. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan, re-invert, and cool completely on a lightly buttered wire rack.

Will keep, well wrapped, several days at room temperature, about one week when refrigerated, or it can be frozen for two months. Recipe from here.

nutella choc chip cookies

Photos: heysweetie8

Winter has made himself really comfortable up here in Joburg recently. I'm like, "Excuse me dude, don't you wanna just back off a little?!" He makes things particularly hard for me when it comes to shooting the things I bake. I have zero experience in photography so I can't just quickly fiddle around on my camera to adapt to this gloomy, winter lighting. Maybe one day, when I'm really bored, I will Google my problem and get an answer. Just not today.


Recipe from here.


Makes +-24


Ingredients:


½ cup butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup Nutella
1 egg
½ tsp Frangelico (if you have it, if not vanilla will work just fine)
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cream butter with an electric mixer about 1 minute until smooth. Add in both sugars. Beat on high speed about 3 minutes until light & fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3. With the mixer on low, add the egg and Frangelico (or vanilla). Then add the Nutella and mix well.

4. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Using a small ice cream scoop (or a teaspoon) form the dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

6. Bake 6-7 minutes. Let cookies cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

a right royal affair

Photos: heysweetie8 (Image on the right - Myself, Kristy and Roxy at the July)

On Friday last week we roadtripped down to my hometown, Durban. The reason? The Durban July horseracing event. I hadn't been in 3 years so I was excited to dress up and have a little party-party with my sistas again. We were in the Miller Dark Horse tent the whole day, and, being the clumsy person that I am, I purposefully left my camera behind at home so that I wouldn't have to have any responsibilities... besides having to look after myself. Ha ha. So... these are the only snaps I have (from my iPhone) - the rest are on my friends' cameras. I bought these lovely shoes (pictured above) for the day but BOY did my feet squeal by the end of the evening! Luckily I packed a pair of flats which simultaneously slipped onto my feet as soon as the pain began to set in. Sjoe. I could write for days about the event and how fun it was, but I won't. I would just like to say that if you haven't gone to the Durban July, DO IT. Do it do it.