midlands weekend.

I got to spend a lovely weekend away in the Midlands with my family recently. We attended my mom's goddaughter Che and her husband Warren Dyer's wedding at Netherwood. The place we stayed at was so quaint and beautiful, it was a real struggle having to pack up and leave on the Sunday. :( Despite the bad news that often shrouds this country, there are still a lot of things we can appreciate about South Africa. The Midlands is one of them!

P.S. Congrats again to the married couple - Che and Warren you guys are epic.

health and happiness

I recently started taking Herbalife since I'm often strapped for time and unable to make meals or snacks for work or when I'm on the go. I know, I know, I should prepare things in advance so that I have food readily available... but that doesn't always happen, does it. And it's usually when I'm in this predicament that I don't make the right eating choices.

I tried Herbalife because after doing some homework, I realised Herbalife is the most nutritionally-rich out of all the other meal replacements I have tried. I wasn't wanting something that was only low-calorie. I wanted something that would still give me the vitamins and minerals that are essential to a healthy diet.

My flava flaaav is Vanilla but I'm also a fan of the Strawberry and Chocolate. There is a Cookies and Cream flavour that I still want to try! The Herbalife Healthy Meal replacement has been so convenient for me and I take it wherever I go... I have, in turn, lost some weight, but that has been with the assistance of exercise, obviously.  

I thoroughly recommend this to anyone who needs meals (or a snack - depends on how much you have, and what you have it with) that are quick, safe, and healthy. Done properly, weight loss is just another added advantage of this meal replacement. I have tried the Red Berries & Yoghurt low-G.I. healthy meal bars too, which are also a delicious snack. 

So with the combination of cardio exercise (running, skipping, etc), Herbalife, and healthy eating, losing weight is bound to happen. I will post an exercise playlist very soon to inspire your work-outs :)

Keep it real G's :)

P.S. If you're interested in trying out Herbalife, my Durban contact is the super informative and helpful Ryan - his number is 079 795 0289.

recipe: chocolate cake pops

I've been meaning to post this recipe for at least 2 weeks now but my spare time has been limited and my internet at home has reached a whole new level of temperamentality. Anyone with Telkom ADSL may find themselves agreeing with me... HUFF!

The first time I made cake pops I used a silicone cake pop baking tray from Yuppiechef. Whilst this specialized tray may work for some, it definitely didn't work for me. My first attempt went down like a lead balloon. I wasn't ready to give up yet though, so I started over, making up my own recipe and method - instead of the using the tray, I baked a normal slab cake and rolled the cake into individual balls then dipped them into white chocolate. These were far more successful, but as they say, different strokes for different folks!

So, first up, you gotta bake a chocolate cake. Here goes.

CHOCOLATE CAKE POPS

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
275 ml castor sugar
250ml boiling water
75ml sunflower oil
75ml cocoa
5ml vanilla essence
410ml cake flour
15ml baking powder
pinch salt

2 tablespoons of cream cheese (to bind the cake mixture)

1x slab white chocolate (or white chocolate melts)
sprinkles (I used mint green and turquoise coloured sprinkles)
lollypop sticks
a block of polystyrene or oasis

Directions:

Stage 1: Baking the cake

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line cake tin with foil and grease.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Blend in remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Stage 2: Making the cake balls

4. Break cake into small pieces and transfer into the bowl of a food processor. Process until fine crumbs form. You can choose to add cream cheese or even a dash of hot water in order to bind the crumbled cake together. 

5. Roll tablespoonfuls of cake mixture into individual balls and transfer onto a lined baking tray. Once you have completed this, place the tray in the fridge for about 20 minutes or until cake pops are firm.

Stage 3: Coating the cake pops

6. Place the white chocolate melts in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until chocolate melts. 

7. Place the sprinkles in a small bowl.

8. Dip the end of 1 lollypop stick in the white chocolate then insert into a cake ball. Return to the tray. Repeat with the remaining cake balls.

9. Dip 1 cake ball into the melted chocolate, turning to coat. Roll the cake ball in sprinkles to coat. 

10. Insert the cake pop into the polystyrene block to stand upright. Repeat with remaining cake balls, chocolate and sprinkles. 

11. Set aside for 30 minutes or until chocolate is completely set.

weekend

The first weekend without my best friend Kylee.

It was only right that I made something yummy to fill the gap in my heart. So I made Turkish Delight.

these streets.

I got to photograph Georgie Rae's fffresh face for Kylee's portfolio recently. We wanted a suburban street look, taking make-up inspiration from Kat Graham and Nicki Minaj. I am slowly getting into this whole photography thing... I know that I still have plenty to learn about - from how to use my camera (yes that seems quite obvious), to shooting peeps. But all in all it is so much fun, I love being involved in something that allows me complete creative freedom. :)

Georgie Rae wears

Henry Holland tee - Mr Price

Denim waistcoat - Mr Price

Hi-waisted shorts - market find

Snapback - Mr Price (menswear)

Drawstring backpack - H&M

Hi-tops - Instinct

Make-up: Kylee Ford

Art direction, styling & photography: Camilla Grobler

recipe: the easiest chocolate velvet cake

 

 

You know how it goes... You get a craving for something and you want it NOW. Well on Sunday I had an intense craving for a dense chocolate cake. After sifting through my mom's entire collection of recipe books I came across The Australian Womens Weekly "Quick-Mix Cakes" book, which I remember being one of her 'favs' during the early nineties when I was just a yung'en. I found this recipe in the book for a chocolate velvet cake, and not only was it a quick & easy recipe, it only required one bowl to mix all ingredients!
 

THE EASIEST CHOCOLATE VELVET CAKE


Ingredients:

125g butter, chopped
1 cup (200g) firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (110g) castor sugar
3 eggs
2 cups (300g) plain flour
1/2 cup (50g) cocoa
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 cup(125ml) sour cream (you can add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to normal pouring cream as a substitute)
2/3 cup (160ml) water


Directions:

1. Grease a 23cm square slab cake pan (I used 2x20cm round cake tins instead), cover base with baking paper.

2. Combine all ingredients in medium bowl of electric mixer, beat on low speed until ingredients are combined. Then, beat on medium speed until mixture is just smooth and changed in colour; do not over-beat.

3. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake in moderate oven for about 40 minutes. (Keep checking after 30 minutes) Stand 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.

4. Spread the tops of both cakes with coffee buttercream (see recipe below), then place one cake on top of the other.

For the coffee buttercream frosting

1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 1/2 tbsp water
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla essence
340g unsalted butter, softened
3 cup icing sugar
3 tbsp milk

1.  Combine water, coffee granules, and vanilla essence in a small bowl; stir to dissolve coffee.  Set aside.

2.  Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.  Reduce mixer speed to low. Add icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for a few seconds between each addition. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

3.  Add the coffee mixture and milk; beat on low speed to combine. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Frost cake as previously mentioned.

wanderer spirit

My best friend Kylee and I decided to team up this weekend and do a creative shoot with the beautiful Phillipa Reece-Edwards, aka Fizzy. Kylee being the über-talented makeup artist that she is, put together this gorgeous indie-tribal look, whilst I took to the lens. We had so much fun, we could definitely make a habit of this! I thought I'd put up a few images to show you guys what we got up to... What do you think??

Fizzy wears a Cotton On kaftan and a necklace from Sass Diva. Makeup by Kylee Ford.

this is my friend sam, and this is what she wore.

I've never done my own outfit post on my blog, perhaps it's something to consider doing occasionally. But when my friend and fellow work colleague walked into work the other day wearing this gorgeous detachable collar along with her kitty-printed skirt and flatforms, I felt compelled to pull out my camera and document the cuteness that lay before my eyes! Sam and I both have these flatforms from Legit, and we are not shy to admit we are super-fans of the world's most comfortable shoe. Who doesn't love the feeling of walking on clouds?

Here are the deets on Sam's outfit:

Sunnies - Sass Diva
Collar - A gift from Thailand
Sleeveless top - CottonOn
Skater skirt - CottonOn
Flatforms - Legit
Mock leather satchel - Woolworths

holidaying in the transkei

I'm gonna begin with saying "HAPPY NEW YOU" to everyone... I quite like that phrase resonating in my mind! It's the time of year when we are given the opportunity to start afresh, which is always exciting.

I was lucky enough to kick off 2013 with a family holiday to a place called Tshani, which is in the Transkei (Eastern Cape). My grandfather has had this little hidden gem for as long as my mother has been alive. I was last in Tshani in 1995 so my memories of Tshani were rather fragmented. What I did remember though, was that this area of the world was very rural - and, I got to find out, 17 years later, that not much has changed. Electricity is still considered a luxury, and most homes are in the form of huts. Fortunately our cottage had running water and electricity, although many a time we would be cut off from our electricity for a couple of days. We were quick to learn that that's just how they roll there in the Transkei! But (secretly) I liked it that way. 

Here are a handful of photos from my holiday. 

Listening to: In My City - Ellie Goulding