I heart Lonny Mag

I cannot tell you how much I adore Lonny Mag - the amazing and inspiring online decor magazine launched by ex-staff members of the now defunct Domino magazine in the US. It is so on trend and great reading - although I wish I could hold it in my hands, the online mag is fantastic! Have a look at the latest issue (it comes out every 2 months) - and make time to go through the past issues too! Perfect weekend reading, or Friday time-wasting at the office! Happy weekend. x

Cuddle while you fly

Although at heart I feel like a business class traveller, my budget does not agree. (Oh husband, how I envy your work trip tonight to London on Virgin Atlantic Business Class - enjoy the snooze pack and sleep suit !) I was spoiled with business class tickets to Argentina for my 30th from my parents and it is more than I could hope for, including the glass (or two) of Moet. However, now I just know what I am missing out on! This is a good compromise though - Air New Zealand has created a "cuddle-class" seating arrangement in its coach cabins: a couple can purchase three seats next to each other for a small premium (an extra 25% per passenger), whose footrests come all the way up to the seats in front, forming a lie-flat couch where fliers can recline together. SAA take note.

Oh no, I've been saying broo-SHEH-tah!

Source: Photo by Jennifer Rocholl via Epicurious

I love food - eating it, making it, thinking about it, reading about it. So I like to think I at least know how to pronounce it. But to my dismay, I came across this list of the top 10 mispronounced words in the foodie world. I have to admit, I have been saying broo-SHEH-tah and not broo-SKEH-tah.


PLUS I only knew what 5 of the 10 actually meant - here are the 5 I didn't know, but now do:

• Gyro: A Greek dish, consisting of meat, tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce, and is served with pita bread
• Huitlacoche: Also known as Mexcian Truffle, it is a fungus eaten usually as a filling in quesadillas and other tortilla-based foods
• Poilly-Fuisse: A dry white wine made from Chardonnay
• Paczki: Polish pastry, a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with confiture or other sweet filling
• Pho: A Vietnamese beef and noodle soup, including noodles made from rice and is often served with basil, lime, bean sprouts and peppers that are added to the soup by the consumer

So now we know.

Source: Definitions from Wikipedia

Potholes are pretty

Gosh, 16 days since I last posted - not exactly blogging as planned! I have been running around with my plate fuller than ever! Lots on the go ... so I have been driving around a lot and of course, being in Joburg, falling victim to potholes, often. Am I the only one who can never remember where they are?

So I just had to share these Pothole Gardens - a public installation by Bristish artist Pete Dungey. He is going around planting pretty gardens in bristish (yes, you ready correctly)potholes! There are a few reasons why I love this:

• In Joburg we are so critical of our city for not keeping up our roads, we're not alone!
• He's adding a little joy and brightness to something everyone hates and moans about!
• It's so funny and strange!
• People out there do the craziest things!

Be a Sport

If, and it's a big if, I was part of a national sporting team I would want the outfits to be designed by Ralph Lauren - just the right amount of sporty, chic, preppy, national pride and style. Most recently, Ralph Lauren is the official outfitter of the US Winter Olympics team - I think it's awesome!

Sunday Toast #1: Mushroom & Feta

Toast is the perfect meal, I use the term loosely, for Sunday evenings. By then I've probably enjoyed a big family lunch on Sunday not to mention the usual eating out or takeaways over the weekends. So toast is often the order of the day, or evening. The Woolworths Cafe at Hyde Park makes a delicious mushroom toast, which I often imitate for these Sunday meals of toast. Yum!

1 piece of Low-GI Seed Bread toasted + Button Mushrooms fried in olive oil and some herbs + Crumbled Feta

Lovely Labels

One thing I love about the internet and blogs in particular is how generous people are with their talents and creativity. There are so many gorgeous free downloads available - I download ones I see and love and save them for when inspiration hits. As you know we are mid-renovation (well, hopefully passed midway) and I have visions of myself being extremely domestic goddess-like as we move back in - everything in its place and a place for everything, every space pleasing to the eye. I know I will absolutely not achieve this but I will try to limit the number of scary do-not-open-ever drawers and I will report back on my mini makeover projects such as this one for the herb and tea shelves.

 

I adore these free tea and herb labels from one of my favourite bloggers, Amy Moss of the lovely Eat, Drink, Chic. While I won't go the whole way and make my paper look vintage, I think they will look great printed on a plain textured white paper applied to standard glass jars (I will look at the Consol Shop as a starting point).


Click here to download the tea labels and the herb labels.


Hmmm, this would make a lovely DIY gift, don't you think?