Wonderful Little Coffee Shop

http://www.minkiescupcakes.co.za/

Discovered a quaint little shop in Irene Village Mall, wonderful selection of cakes, HUGE variety to choose from, delicious rose milkshake and the most fantastic decorations.

We spend the public holiday Monday browsing the shops and what a wonderful reprieve this was, especially with a young lady singing in such a beautiful voice (wish I asked her name!!!), it was absolutely wonderful to escape - for a moment I felt like I was sitting in Covent Garden in London where musicians often frequent the outside of shops singing and playing music that you could listen to for hours on end.

Womans Day Treat

www.ganacheart.co.za

My hubby surprised me with a Lindt Chocolate Decor Technique class in Randburg.

With a bit of a bumpy start, the class started.  Chef Sumaiyah is filled with wonderful info on chocolate, and the class started off tasting chocolate, the chocolate bean and coco butter.

We learned how to make cake decorations in the form of roses and there after techniques like cigars, stick fans,how to work with transfers and most off all how to temper the chocolate with is key to all these lovely decorations.

This is a truly enjoyable class for a group of friends or like me and hubby, a fun filled 3 hours that just glided past!
This is not as formal as some cooking classes I had, a more relaxed environment where you can just get dirty with chocolate all over and have fun!!

One night in Bloemfontein.....

As my hubby had a bee in his bonnet to go see a sports car for sale, we drove Fri night after work to Bloemfontein.  What an endless road, miles and miles of nothing and hundreds of trucks slowing the drive to an absolute nightmare.  Well tired, I was happy to finally reach our over night accommodation, Bains Lodge.
http://www.bainslodge.co.za/

Bloemfontein seems the place to be and I tried several places before we managed to book our stay.  Normally I'd read tripadvisor before I book, but in this case, only referred to it the next morning and I was a little bit worried after the bad reviews.  The Lodge is huge with chalets to one side, express rooms, hotel rooms, 2 pubs/restaurants and one pub with a disco, all on the same premises.  The reception staff was wonderfully friendly and as this is a 24hour venue you do not feel as though you intrude arriving late.
We settled into the room, everything was clean and neat, the bathroom had a bath and shower (we stayed in the hotel room) and was perfect for the one night we needed.  We then set out for a late dinner at the pub at the entrance, it seemed a bit more quiet and it was great that you could just walk over.

The food was REALLY good and well priced, the staff so friendly, this really made our stay.

After a good shower, into bed!  This was the FIRST time EVER, and I have travelled a lot, that the bed was great,the cushions not too soft and poofy and the duvet not making a noise as you turn.  What bliss, I was seriously contemplating stealing a cushion :) (PS I did call back to get the name of the place where I could purchase one)

Yes they are busy with construction, this is going to be a seriously big place, but this did not intrude on our stay.  As people come and go, there is noise of people arriving late and doors opening and closing, but I do recommend this as a short stay and perhaps if you'd like a longer stay, the chalets seems so charming and further apart from each other.  For a night in Bloem, why not try this place:

Room (R690 per night)                                      

Lions Lair Pub (R280 for dinner and drinks)

DIY Nails final say

The peel off base works really well.  As I am not using the primer, it lasts 2-3 days, but once I peel it off, my nails look fine, no damage at all.  With previous gels my nails where a bit damaged and had to be filed, not as bad as acrylic, but still some damage.  As I am really just using this to strengthen my nails and to help them grow, this product is exactly what I wanted.  Also it is fun to keep changing my colour as my mood changes, I get bored having the same colour for weeks on end.  This is also quite fast, it took me 10min this morning!

Just a last tip, after the base and the top coat curing, the nail is a bit sticky.  It says on the package,wipe with cleanser.  As I can't seem to find any in the shops I use normal nail polish remover and it seems to work fine :)

Please feel free to email me or add comments, would love to hear from you!
thecenturiongirl@gmail.com

DIY Gel Nails - how its done...

so first step (obviously after filing etc) the base coat (if you do want to add, essence does do a primer)

The peel off base coat, apply this thinly, if you apply too thick,when you cure your nails it has a bit of a burning sensation,also applying it thinly,it should last a bit longer - cure under your LED light, Essence sells a small one finger one with USB connection.  I did not see this working for me so bought this one:

The LED light was the most expensive, the jel pearls, nail colour, base and top coat ranges from R30 to R60 but the light was R500 odd, all bought from Dischem(www.dischem.co.za)

second step, add your normal colour polish and wait for it to dry,no LED light

add top coat, cure for 60 seconds and voila

Gel Nails DIY intro

I'm sure most woman are like me, I LOVE my make up and nails and perfumes, we like to look good and feel good.  I love a pedicure, it is a huge spoil, but I can't seem to find the fun in getting my nails done.  I'm never quite happy or satisfied.  I see pics of people's nails looking awesome and when mine is done, I just see the flaws, perhaps I'm too picky...who knows - BUT I did find an alternative

DIY Gel Nails :)

I read up quite a bit on the subject and came to the following conclusions:
I want to grow my nails, not sure if it is just winter or age but my nails are chipping,breaking and    some are splitting in quite deep.  Most of the DIY gel kits have a primer or ph bond, base coat, colour coat and then top coat.
Now the ph bond or primer dehydrates the nail so the gel sticks and lasts for longer, makes sense as your natural nails have oils in them.
I decided though best for growing and fixing my nails would be to add more moisture not take it away, so I am skipping this step.

I have bought myself essence jelly pearls, this is to hydrate and fix nails, will see how it goes - I intend to use this when I take off my gel and on cuticles whilst the gel is on- rub it in at night before I go to bed

I rather like essence, it is a German brand and quite a good product and SO reasonably priced! I sometimes think it is for teenagers, but I love their colours, and their make up base and face wash is a great fave of mine too, o and their matt pressed powder...will have to do a write up on my fave face products!!

Southdowns Shopping Centre Night Market

I read about this night market - food, wine, craft beer and music at Southdowns Shopping Centre 30 July (apparently every last Thursday of each month).  This one said Christmas in July, and although I did not see anything remotely Christmas at all, this was a great little market.
There was a lot of craft beer, the new in thing , I saw some really cool flavours, though I ended up buying a Singha - which was my favourite beer in Thailand!! How cool was it to taste that again!!!!

The market consisted of just a couple of stalls to one side of the centre, quite cosily put together, and with it getting darker and the lights coming on, it was quite magical. 
One thing I get quite excited about, is if people do something that they have a passion for and when it comes to food, you can taste it!!!! There is nothing worse than going out,spending quite a bit and coming back saying, "that was nice"...I think that is the worst thing... NICE...

This was definately NOT nice.... This was awesome!

There was a Taco truck, such a cute old school VW Combi, my hubby tried that and it was seriously delicious. 
Another one of my absolute pleasures in life is cheese! I can still give up chocolates, but not cheese.
One stall had smoked cheeses, with a very enthusiastic gent telling you how it is made, so nice to see someone excited about what they do.  I bought the smoked haloumi, and wow it is great to eat just like that or fried.

The stall that impressed me most was the Chinese food one, fried foods and stir fried noodles.  Some of the best food I tasted in ages! The spices used were just a taste sensation!

For a wonderful night out, date night or to just get some friends together, have a coffee, beer or wine and great food, keep that Thursday night open...it feels like the weekend starts early!

Bring some camping chairs and make a night of it!

The music is a bit eclectic/contemporary but gives a good vibe, though I think a bit of Mumford and Sons, a bit of country, would create the perfect atmosphere. I can't wait for the next one!

http://www.southdownscentre.co.za/events.htm