Finally get what LMFAO means!

Okay – I’m not usually one to use ‘text speak’ but LMFAO has taken on a new meaning for me when that is what I literally did at 6am this morning after clicking onto a funny webpage…

Couldn’t sleep, so resorted to my favourite method of entertainment, playing on le iPhone… Checked out Facebook (as you do) and saw that a friend (Keith Moore,  writer of blindsiderugby.com blog**) had commented on some link or whatever, and curiosity killed the cat while I discovered a gem!

Well – thank you Keith, and whoever it was that posted the link to you wall – that was seriously the first time in my life that I have Laughed My Fucking Ass Off (sleeping hubby next to me not impressed with pre-dawn guffaws though…)

Here it is people – admittedly some (particularly the first few) are pretty lame, but there are some real goodies in there, keep scrolling…

50 People You Wish You Knew

My personal faves include:
15. Free Shrugs
21. Hilarious Bassets
26. Smiling dog – seen this one before but it killed me this morning – love a good dog photo
29. Booze smuggling – gotta be in SA right?!
47. Sports fan

** Keith is somewhat of a comedian himself at times and had me ROFL’ing (?!) with THIS POST on his blog, thoroughly enjoyable, love the use of yet again another brilliant dog pic ;)

Today Is The Day music video – by Black Porcelain

Clearly Im adopting an ‘African’ theme with my blog posts today…

This has been doing the rounds on Facebook and Twitter – always keen to promote a fellow South African (who was also in my Journ class at Rhodes!) when they show fierce talent like this! Pretty impressed, WELL DONE Carol! Have a listen…

“With her music now play-listed in over 36 countries, Black Porcelain is working on her debut album. Her previous 2 EP’s helped her find a sound that showcases her talents as a singer and songwriter.” – Facebook page

To find out more about Black Porcelain, visit her blog, website and/or follow her on Twitter:

http://msporcelain.blogspot.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/blackporcelain
http://www.twitter.com/blckporcelain

AFRICA SMILED – A poem by Bridget Dore, dedicated to Madiba (Nelson Mandela)

My friend Kelly posted an excerpt from this stunning poem on Facebook and just had to share it. Beautiful words – much appreciated I expect  by anyone from Africa who is currently living abroad… x

(PS. Anyone who likes the poem below, should also read THIS)

AFRICA SMILED
- A poem by Bridget Dore, dedicated to Madiba (Nelson Mandela)

Africa smiled
A little
When you left.
“We know you,”
Africa said,
“We have seen
And watched you,
We can learn
To live
Without you,

But
We know
We needn’t
Yet.”

And Africa smiled
A little
When you left.
“You cannot
Leave Africa,”
Africa said.
“It is always with you,
There inside your head.
Our rivers run
In currents
In the swirl

Of your thumbprints;
Our drumbeats
Counting out your pulse,
Our coastline,
The silhouette of your soul.”

So Africa smiled
A little
When you left.
“We are in you,”
Africa said.
“You have not
Left us,
Yet.”

© Bridget Dore

World AIDS Day – spread the word, not the virus!

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Originating from a country (South Africa) that is not only pretty rife with HIV and AIDS, but also rife with misconceptions about the virus, how it’s contracted how it can be treated – HIV/AIDS is something many of us have grown up thinking about and seeing the effects of on a daily basis. It’s very uncommon that someone in SA does not know at least one person who has been affected by AIDS in some way or another…

I myself have seen many of the people who have worked for my parents, suffer and die from AIDS related illnesses. The last time I saw our gardener, Surprise, was the day of my wedding just over two years ago when he came to my parents house so that he could see me in my wedding dress, and waited patiently for most of the day, until the chaos and flurry died down and until I was almost ready to leave for the church, so that he could congratulate me… I returned to the UK soon after our wedding and a few weeks later my mom called to say that Surprise had passed away, leaving behind children and an unemployed partner to fend for themselves as is so often the case… Some statistics to make it all ‘real’…

So, today is World AIDS Day 2011, I’m doing my bit here to help spread the word, I truly believe that education and awareness are the key to improving this tragic, worldwide problem…

“Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 34 million people living with HIV. During 2010 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus, including an estimated 390,000 children. Despite a significant decline in the estimated number of AIDS-related deaths over the last five years, there were still an estimated 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths in 2010.

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in low- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.” {source}

Some light amongst the gloom and doom...

“AIDS-related deaths are decreasing: The number of people dying of AIDS-related causes fell to 1.8 million [1.6 million – 1.9 million] in 2010, down from a peak of 2.2 million [2.1 million – 2.5 million] in the mid-2000s. A total of 2.5 million deaths have been averted in low- and middle-income countries since 1995 due to antiretroviral therapy being introduced, according to new calculations by UNAIDS. Much of that success has come in the past two years when rapid scale-up of access to treatment occurred; in 2010 alone, 700 000 AIDS-related deaths were averted.” {source}

Why is universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care is the key to ending the global AIDS epidemic?

WATCH THIS VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwTGEsMgLOw

What can you do about it…

- Spread the word! Share the information! Educate!
- You can raise money to help HIV/AIDS charities with awareness and medical research
-  Wear a red ribbon today to show your support! (I didn’t think ahead and havent organised a real one, but I have displayed my digital red ribbon on all my Social Media profiles – Facebook, Twitter etc…)
- Dont have unprotected sex with someone who has not been tested (recently!)
- Get tested! Know your status!

FOR MORE INFO, VISIT: http://www.worldaidsday.org/ and  http://www.avert.org/

Body Thrills – bath & beauty

Unfortunately, due to the fact that I am a meeelllliyon miles across the globe from SA right now, I haven’t had a chance to try any of these de-lish sounding products for myself – YET! I’ve just been informed that by special request, the lovely Tamaryn Watkins of Body Thrills will happily ship overseas! Now I just need to decide what I want (it’s so hard!)…

Body Thrills is a range of homemade and organic bath and beauty products that are “natural, preservative-free and entirely delicious. Made from the purest essential oils, fresh, organic ingredients and wholesome, homegrown herbs Body Thrills products are safe for even the most delicate skin to use.”

Together with gorgeous branding, who can resist ‘flavours’ (just scents – you can’t really eat these, although you might be tempted!) like chocolate pudding, citrus explosion, cupcake frosting, mint mojito, lemon nougat & honey coconut, and rooibos, ginger & honey just to name A FEW!

Alongside products for the general populous,  Body Thrills caters for specific markets with ranges for mums-to-be and men in particular. Have a look at the Special Packs available for good deals and complimenting product sets.

The Body Thrills online shop went live today, so get  shopping people – great products for you, and fabulous gifts for friends and family – Christmas is JUST around the corner! (Frightening, this year has gone so fast!)

Well done Tamaryn and creative team on a stunning site, wishing you all the best x

{pics in this post are from the Body Thrills website}

Today’s Twitter Hilarity: #AskHelenZille

I have not been able to tear myself away from Twitter for the past few hours as the #AskHelenZille jokes keep rolling in! (If you are South African and if you tweet, do check it out…)

The #AskHelenZille topic is currently trending worldwide and we have to give credit to the lady herself (Western Cape Premier and Leader of South Africa’s Official Opposition Party: The Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille) for her cool and calm response. All she has replied so far is: “Can’t you guys make vote@helenzille trend too? Lol” (yup, she really said ‘Lol’) – so we’ll give her props for an apparant sense of humor and for not freaking out like other SA politicians / ‘he who shall not be named’, by calling us “bloody Twitter agents” and threatening to “shut down Twitter” ;)

Just checked again and Helen has made another response: “With a little more effort you can get @Helenzille #askhelenzille trending 1 worldwide” – she’s on board! (Some people reckon it’s been seriously disrespectful, but hey, all exposure is good exposure right?)

It’s actually too funny – and I’m not sure how or why it all started – but basically people all over the show are asking really amusing and mostly unrelated (to anything!) questions to H-Zille, like the following:

Dear @helenzille, are we human or are we dancers? #askhelenzille (@eZulu)

@helenzille Who let the dogs out? #askhelenzille (@simmiareff)

@Helenzille – Every day are you shuffling? #AskHelenZille (@Vodacom)

Dear @helenzille what happened in Vegas? #askhelenzille (@Jay_Maz)

@helenzille Do you see dead people? #askhelenzille (@ZeKaiser69)

Dear @helenzille Are you the stig? #topgear #askhelenzille (@Crass_Tash)

Dear @helenzille Who you gonna call? #askhelenzille (@RobynMcC)

What would Jesus do? #askhelenzille (@littlelisaZA)

Dear @helenzille, What if God was one of us? #askhelenzille (@marcusolang)

Dear Helen, Who the fuck is Alice? #askhelenzille (@Chilled_Oke)

Dear @helenzille, do you, in your personal opinion, believe that toilet spray makes poo smell better or worse? #askhelenzille (@exoticmelonhead)

Ya, some people are trying to be funny, it’s not to everyone’s taste, but these were just a few of the ones that appealed to my humour (obviously there are some totally lame ones too) so check it out for yourself if you are interested.

I couldnt help but jump on the bandwagon myself and some my contributions included:

Dear @helenzille , howcome when I make milkshake, all the boys show up in my yard? #askhelenzille (inspiration for this from my hilarious friend Amy!)

Dear @helenzille , what is it that Meatloaf wouldn’t do for love? #askhelenzille

Dear @helenzille , where IS Wally? #askhelenzille

Dear @helenzille , how do you solve a problem like Maria? #askhelenzille

Dear @helenzille , guess who got it all this morning? #askhelenzille

Dear @helenzille , are you a Belieber? #askhelenzille

PS – HELEN HAS NOW STARTED ANSWERING QUESTIONS, THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING!

Fascinating Julia Dress

Best. Bridesmaid. Dress. EVER!

Imagine ONE DRESS that can be worn in AT LEAST 30 STYLES, if not more? Impossible right? Negative ghostrider – THIS IS IT! (South African brides-to-be, take note!)

The Infinite Wrap dress by Fascinating Julia! I first came across this when I saw a blog post about it on The Pretty Blog (a gorgeous, handy and inspiring blog dedicated to weddings and wedding planning, check it out) – it was the answer to my prayers!

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I’d been trying to help my bestie, Sarah, find us bridesmaids dresses to wear for her big day but it was proving difficult (especially as Im based in the UK and the rest of the girls are scattered across SA). Dressing five girls in the same dress is always going to prove tricky when people generally come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. This dress is amazing because it comes as one-size-fits-all. Not the usual one-size-fits-all-except-if-you-are-bigger-than-a-size-10, but the real deal! According to the website, it caters for sizes 2-16 which is a pretty impressive range. (I REALLY wish I had known about these when I got married!)

These little numbers, as I’ve already touched on, can be styled in numerous ways by simply changing the position and way of tying the two long thick panels that make up the top/bodice/sleeves part of the dress (basically the dress is the same from the waist down and it’s the top part that is adaptable)…

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Sarah went to check the dresses out at Julia’s place in Jozi and reported back positively on the style, flow of the dress (it’s super flowy and feminine) and the material itself (which is non-crease {yup!} but not static or clingy – we don’t like clingy threads, do we ladies?)

Orders were made in navy (there are lots of colours to choose from) and Sarah preferred a longer style which Julia happily accomodated. On the big day, each of us wore our dresses in a different style (instructions on how to wrap them supplied) – they were amazing and I feel like I need to do every bride-to-be a favour by telling them about these phenomenal dresses!

Think I may just need a mid-length black one just to keep in my cupboard in case another special occasion pops up – the ultimate LBD!

More more info on, visit Julia’s website here

Dresses from R650.

A Beautiful Midlands Wedding

My beautiful friend Sarah (whose Alice-themed hen party I recently blogged about) and her fabulous fiance (now hubby!) Craig, were married a few weekends ago in the stunning Natal Midlands, at a great church + reception venue called Providence. I was honoured to be part of the special day as one of her bridesmaids, and thought I would share a few of the visual details in a post…

The beautiful bride before the ceremony, while we were all getting ready – this is my favourite photo of the day (of my own photos), Sarah just looks so happy and relaxed and STUNNING of course <3

Bride & Groom after the ceremony – the whole wedding party was photographed in an amazing tree-line field (with some sheepies in the background – awesome rustic vibe!)

Bride & Bridesmaids – I will be blogging separately about our amazing dresses because they deserve special mention.

Stunning draping and lights in the venue

Tall silver centrepieces with candles, chrystals and green + white floral displays on each table – breathtaking!

Vintage floral table runners and unique floral arrangements on the main table

Detailed place cards and napkins, and my gorgeous bridesmaid’s bouquet, handmade by one of the girls mom’s who happens to be a favourite teacher of mine from school – very talented!

The INCREDIBLE desert spread! The food at this venue was very impressive.

Alice in Wonderland Themed Hen Party

First installment of photos from my recent trip home. Had to blog about my special friend’s Hen Party because we had so much fun organising and setting it up (and lots more fun on the night of course!)…Will run you through some of the focal points visually but have left out quite a few of the pics due to their sensitive nature ;)

Firstly – the reason we chose to do this specific theme… Sarah is my oldest friend, I have known her since I was 11 when I first moved to Howick from Johannesburg. We started off at Junior School together, moved on to High School together, then went off to the same Uni and even managed to find ourselves living together in London at one stage. She is a truly amazing person and an incredibly beautiful, loyal and wonderful friend – I miss her every day and wish that we lived in the same place (country even!) so that we could hang out more often!

Anyway, in Std 5, our school put on a production – yup, you guessed it, Alice in Wonderland, and guess who was Alice?! So it was a natural choice to have a party for Sarah with the same theme, especially seeing as I still have video footage of us all in action – played some of it on the night – something special I tell you! (I was the Queen of Hearts and laughed to see that I was actually wearing fake boobs on stage – first and last time they were required in my life I’m sure…)

Back to the party, some pics and comments below – enjoy, and perhaps you will find inspiration to host an Alice themed party of your own <3

“Tea with a twist” – teapots filled with punch and our table of snacks – chocolate coated strawbs, tea sarmies, cupcakes, snack skewers, pretzels, veg + dip cups, marshmallow skewers, cheese pastry pinwheels, cheese and biscuits, rolo-pecan-pretzels (see how to make here), and lots of sweeties!

Party decor included: clocks, bunting, cards, hearts etc and we stuck to a general colour theme of red, white and black… (The White Rabbit was a guest.)

“The Bar” area – drinks, punch and shooters

Consol Jam Jars filled with fruity punch – delish!

Homemade cheese pastry pinwheels, marshies, wafer straws, sweeties and teapots of punch

Veg + dip cups – a healthier alternative to many of the other sugary/fatty snacks: paper cups with a dollop or two of humous or cream cheese based dip at the bottom, filled with sliced carrots, cucumber, celery and red peppers YUM!

Cucumber and cream cheese sarmies + Chicken mayo sarmies

Homemade vanilla cupcakes

We hired a couple of things (bunnies, bird cage, cake stand, bar sigh, table clothes etc) from this awesome shop in Jozi called In Good Company – great for part accessories and decor

A few of our wonderfully dressed-up guests

The obligatory penis – not Alice themed we know, but all good Hen Parties need at least one! Sarah later beat the crap out of this sweet-filled pinata that we ordered from It’s A Date – fun times!

‘Alice’ getting her groove on – this was when things were still civilized!

Casualties from the evening included:
1 x lost cell phone
1 x lost set of car keys
3 x ladies dancing on the bar at club
1 x bridesmaid left at club
1 x bridesmaid in hospital on a drip the following day
1 x sick bride-to-be the day after
Lots of dignity misplaced all around!

SA National Anthem (for all of you out there who ALSO dont know the words!)

The Twitterverse, Facebook and SA news sources are abuzz with mixed opinions on Ard Mathew’s national anthem stuff up last night. It wasn’t ideal, but let’s throw the guy a bone – he has shown more than enough embarrassment and remorse for an unintentional error (let’s be realistic, he would never have accepted the role of singing it if he really didn’t know the words…)

Would love to take a poll across the nation to see how many people out there actually DO know the words (I know my parents probably don’t!)… Mmm, thats what I thought – here’s to all those who don’t, maybe this will be a lesson to everyone who calls themselves Proudly South African: learn them!

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land.

{ Dont worry Ard, we still love you – Just Jinger playing at the Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg was probably the highlight of my my early teens! }