Thailand...a few instapics

After sleeping for almost 12 hours, we were finally energized enough to start exploring the beautiful resort in Koh Samui we are staying in- Nora Buri. Here are some instapics from our morning swim in the rain and the resorts beach.

My hubby and baby girl :-)

Thailand...here we come!

As I type this, I am sitting on a Thai Airways flight, en route to Koh Samui in Thailand.  Our dear friends Gareth and Charell are getting married there in 4 days time, my baby girl is a flower girl, I'm the maid of honour and my hubby is officiating the wedding. We feel so honoured to be apart of their "I do's", and a little out of our depth too as we have packed up our 4 month old and 2 and a  half year old  to make a family holiday out of it (deep breath). Our girls are doing very well on the 11 hour flight so far, no tantrums or crying (proud mommy:-)) There are 28 in our group, all excited to attend this much anticipated destination wedding. Ill keep posting along the way, here are some snaps taken at the start of our adventure. 

On the left is my daughter Ella-Mae with her friend Alyssa on right

Above left is the gorgeous bride-to-be, I'm on the right :-)

Crunchies...yum

Over the last two weeks we have settled into the heart of winter, I find more cups in the sink than usual and trails of biscuit crumbs in all the cosy corners of our lounge.  Nothing warms your tummy and defrosts your face quite like a cup of something hot on a winters day, add a biscuit to that and you've got yourself the perfect winter warmer. In our home crunchies are a staple. There may not always be bread in the bread tin, but there are always crunchies in the cookie jar. I thought I'd share this easy and quick recipe with you to help make your winter a bit more bearable. Enjoy!

All things blue...

What a cold and rainy day we are having today, brrr! Definitely a cuddling and hot chocolate kind of day:-) This chill definitely has a way of creeping into my mood, so I decided instead of letting the weather make me feel blue I'd post some of my favorite goodies that I'm loving this month, they all have one thing in common- they are all blue!

I am loving Nescafé Gold Decaf coffee at the moment, especially in this cold weather, it's one of the better decaf brands. 

My favorite pamper products of the month have to be Dirty Works Foot scrub with its yummy minty fragrance, got to get my feet ready for the beaches of Thailand next week! Oh So Heavenly has released Lily Lovely a fresh,lightly floral body lotion with plenty of moisture. Both are available at Clicks and your budget won't even notice you've splurged.

I found this bold blue and black scarf at good-old-faithful Mr Price this month, great for brightening up a plain outfit, especially when I'm in clothing crises mode.

Hope these blue posts have brightened your day a bit, have a happy Thursday everyone :-)

Wedding nails... Nude nails

My beautiful friend, Charell, is getting married next week.  Did I mention she is getting married in Thailand!!! Did i mention that I'm the bridesmaid?  Yip, you guessed it, we are going to Thailand (happy dance)! Over the last few weeks I have been looking for wedding nail ideas, the bride-to-be wants something nude and natural to fit in with the relaxed, beach wedding vibe. Here are my favorite looks for nude wedding nails via Pinterest.

1. Essie- Limo Scene
2. Essie- Ballet Slippers
3. O.P.I nail polish with glitter by 'A first class wedding'
4. O.P.I- Second Honeymoon
5. Essie- Pink a boo

You can follow my Pinterest Glitz and Glam board here for more inspiration .

The Meeting Tree Craft Market

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend! Mine was packed with quality family time and lots of hot cross buns. On Friday we spent the afternoon at The Meeting Tree Craft Market in Shongweni, eating good food, listening to lovely music and doing a bit of shopping.

Old books...Home decor inspiration

I love anything and everything old and vintage looking.  If I happen to find something that could possibly be reused, re-purposed or displayed just to add some character to my home, I'm thrilled!
We often see things and think they couldn't possibly have any use other than to line our rubbish bins, but why not try to be creative by giving old objects a second chance.  I've given some old books new purpose in my home...

My lovely friend Meg recently gave me some old books beautifully put together with tissue paper and lace (see below). I added the crochet flower, which she made and had strung on my birthday gift bag (she is a lady with many talents!). 

Another pretty way to display old books is to stack a variety of colours together and place a vase on top of them. In the picture below, I've stacked my old books on a high wooden stand that sits in the corner of my lounge behind one of my chairs. Why not try experimenting with your old books next time you have a tea or dinner party- pile some books together and place a fresh bunch of flowers in a pretty vase on top of them. Like the idea but don't own old books? Try looking at second hand shops or charity shops, they usually go for a few rands or cents. Happy experimenting!

Dark chocolate biscotti

Over the last four weeks I find myself baking more than usual. Being on maternity leave (or maternity work, as I like to call it) I find baking to be a nice escape from nappies and entertaining my 2 year old toddler. The great thing is my family love me to put on my apron and whip up something yummy in the kitchen, so no complaints from my hubby and baby girl when they munch away on my sweet treats.

I recently decided to try and make some biscotti. The name itself sounds so complicated, but don't let that put you off, it's actually really easy and much quicker than rusks, but just as crunchy and delicious.

I was a bit inquisitive to find out where the idea for biscotti originated from, so I did some research...

Most coffee shops serve the Italian cookie when you order coffee or a hot drink, but originally biscotti was enjoyed by dipping it into an Italian dessert wine, this practice is still very popular in Italy today.  Biscotti, meaning "twice baked", was first made for Roman soldiers and people traveling long distances, as the biscotti proved to preserve longer than a normal biscuit.

Traditionally almond flavored, biscotti recipes have been altered to accommodate many flavors including chocolate, walnut, hazelnut and orange zest.

After reading through various recipes on the net and in magazines, I decided to combine everything I read and try my hand at my own recipe. I was definitely not disappointed! After seeing how they were enjoyed by family and friends I thought I would share my new biscotti recipe with you. 

Happy munching:-)

Dark chocolate biscotti ingredients...

500ml cake flour

5ml baking powder

200ml sugar

40ml butter

2 eggs

5ml vanilla essence

1 slab/ 100grams dark chocolate chopped up

Directions...

• This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes baking time.
• Heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
• Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time to sugar/butter mixture, beating well after each egg is added.
• Add the vanilla essence.
• Stir in the chopped dark chocolate.
• Sift and add flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
• Lightly flour your hands and the surface you will be working on and halve the dough into 30cm logs.
• Roll and shape logs.
• Line a baking tray with baking paper and bake for 30minutes until lightly golden.
• Remove from oven and cut dough into slices.
• Spread slices out on baking tray and bake for a further 20 minutes at 150 degrees celcius to dry out.
• Enjoy with a hot cuppa coffee.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-biscotti.htm

Introducing.... Melah Rose

Five days ago I had the privilege of becoming a mom for the second time. I am thrilled to introduce to you the new addition to our little family, Melah Rose.

Choosing a name for your baby is such a daunting and weighty task. Although exciting and fun, you also realise its a decision you make that will your child lives with for the rest of his/her life (No pressure!).  That is why I think choosing a name that has meaning, whether sentimental or prophetic, is a great idea as you speak that over your child's life every time you say their name.

Our first born, Ella-Mae, means "promise of God" and is derived from Elizabeth.

For our second princess, we loved the name Mila , (pronounced Me-Lah) and decided to look for alternate ways to spell it.

These were the options:

Melah, Miila, Meelah, Mela

We finally settled on Melah, which prophetically means "cherished of God" and is derived from Tel-melah. I love the reminder of my baby girl being cherished by God and we thought the spelling added to the uniqueness of the name. Rose, being her second name, was my husband's late granny's first name which I think makes it even more feminine (but that's just me being a biased mommy already!).

We are very happy with our name choice and even more so with the little girl it belongs too.

Source: www.babynology.com