It's Not Darling, It's Carling

Something awesome is happening at Rocking The Daisies this year. Well, lots of awesome things are happing at Daisies this year. And this is one of them.

My favourite beer Carling Black Label is sponsoring the event, which means that the only beer available will be the only beer I ever order anyway! Yay!

Delicious

As part of their Daisies takeover, they've decided to take over the whole of Darling too! Black Label is running a very cool campaign, petitioning for the town of Darling (where Daisies takes place) to be renamed as "Carling" for the duration of the festival.

So for 7-9 October, "Darling" could be known as the more delicious "Carling".

If you love Black Label and you're keen to get involved, like their "Carling Not Darling" page on Facebook and sign the petition here.

And if you're a boy, you're in luck because Black Label is setting up a Man Zone where you can get Black Label on tap (the best way to have it), beat your friends at darts, and challenge other boys to games of pool.

Because we all know that that's what boys friendships are about: beating each other at thing.

"Body Surfing" Also Known As "Swimming In The Sea"

Nash and I are currently having a furious debate. The topic of discussion: "Body Surfing":A Thing/Not A Thing?

To some, a man swimming. To others, a "body surfer" shredding up some waves.

When I first moved down to Cape Town, I was under the impression that boogie boarding, also known as "Body Boarding" was an activity reserved for children from Gauteng visiting Scottburgh in December. But Nash convinced me that it is, in fact an actual "sport" and I accepted that.

But then he started getting ridiculous. Claiming that so-called "Body Surfing" is a thing too.

Body Surfing is the act of surfing a wave using nothing but your body. (sound familiar *cough* *swimming*)

I call it, "Floating" or "Swimming In The Sea". Body Surfing is nothing more than a made up thing used by tanned Capetonian boys to impress/confuse holidaying Gauteng girls in Plett.

"Hey! Hey! Check me out! I'm body surfing! No, no, it is a thing!"

Body Surfing aint no thang.

Ten Weeks To Get In Shape

Ten weeks. Just ten weeks to get into shape for summer.

I'm trying to get a tan and I haven't had a carb since June, ok?!

You know how I have to have fun while I'm working out, or else I won't do it? And you know how I can't work out alone, or else I won't do it?

Cue Virgin Active and their new 80's inspired, Retro Aerobics classes!

We've already established that I'm a fan of the 80's, so this class gives me the perfect excuse to whip out my purple lycra and cropped leopard print  t-shirt.

What do you mean? Of course we always work out with our sunglasses on!

Imagine: Jane Fonda circa the 80's, lycra leotards, legwarmers, big hair and banging body!

Yes! I'm Jane Fonda! And yes! I have a banging body!

Virgin Active launches their new Retro Aerobics class mid-October. The hour-long class combines heavy cardio with general body conditioning to target your abs and bum. It's broken down into 12 songs with individual choreographed routines to each song.

Some of the awesome 80's songs that are included in the workout:

- Sisters are doing it for themselves

- I think we’re alone now

- Fame

- Walking on Sunshine

- White Wedding

- You spin me right round

- Club Tropicana

So stoked to start the first class on 10 October! Virgin Active have also opened up a Legwarmer Appreciation group on Facebook. Like it here and start sharing your 80's love.

The Cheeky Girls "Touch My Bum" The Worst Song You'll Hear All Day

You think you've heard bad music today. You think you've seen bad music videos today. You think Romania isn't the capital of bad music of the world. Well my friends, stop thinking. And start watching.



Would you believe that this song has sold more than 1.2 million copies world wide?? Me neither. But that's what Wikipedia says.

The Cheeky twins, Monica and Gabriella appeared on UK TV show Popstars: The Rivals, which had judge Peter Waterman later call them the worst act he'd ever seen. But even after that, they were approached by a record label. Which proves once and for all that sex sells. It even sells ridiculously bad Romanian music with startlingly ban lyrics.

Their songs are written by their mom, who also manages them (I see a theme here...) which is mildly disturbing considering the lyrics to this song are "touch my bum, don't be shy".

In 2002 this song was voted "worst pop album of all time" by a UK TV poll.

Unsurprisingly, in 2004, their record label liquidated. It has not been proven whether or not The Cheeky Girls are solely responsible for their labels untimely demise. (Though, we are free to speculate)

What is surprising, however, is that other record labels then stepped up to the plate with record deals at the ready. They girls declined, and started up their own label.

This probably wasn't the best move, as in 2006 it was revealed that the girls owed 130 000 pounds in unpaid taxes.

In 2007 it was revealed that the girls had had breast implants. People across the globe died of not being shocked within the weeks following the revelation.

Nothing of interest happened again until 2011 when one them was arrested for grocery theft in Sainsbury's.

A success story if ever there was one.

video via Helen Raine

Today Has Been A Very Bad Day

I've spent over 24 hours trying to book a ticket on a plane, train or bus from Joburg to Cape Town. Every bus and train is fully booked and the best price we could get on a plane is R1600,00 each. On Saturday.

Nash had to go to a bank to tranfer some money onto a card. Which then got declined anyway because the money will only refelect later.

We tried booking online twice, and both times the site went down.

Then, just as I'd given ALL my details over the phone, it got disconnected. I called back seconds later and the flights had gone up by R500 each. Then I had the wrong credit card details.

It's taken allll day, but we finally have a way back to Cape Town. 

Now, just let me cry.

Cook This: Real Tomato Ketchup

This recipe is all my own.

What's that, Darlin'? Your own?

Well, I lie. To be honest, it's 100% Jamie Oliver. 

I am a huge advocate of homemade. I make everything from scratch. One time I made something from a packet (the shame!) and Nash said it was the best meal I'd ever cooked and I almost moved out.

I saw this recipe on TV the other day and was mad excited and the next day I went out and bought the ingredients. I cooked it last night and it was a triumph.

No preservatives, no additives, just good, old-fashioned tomatoes and stuff.

Natalie's (and Jamie Oliver's) Real Tomato Ketchup


You will need:

4 onions
1kg of ripe tomatoes
2 red chillies
4 cloves of garlic
4cm of  fresh ginger
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
4 cloves
250ml red wine vinegar
200 g brown sugar
2 handfuls of basil
1 tin of tomatoes
salt
pepper

Method:

Chop your onions and in a big pot, sweat them off with some oil. While that's going on: whizz together the salt, pepper, coriander seeds, cloves and fennel seeds. Chop up the chillies, basil, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Once the onions are soft, add the chopped ingredients, the tin of tomatoes, the vinegar and the sugar. Also add the spices. Stir and allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, put it in a blender and blitz until smooth. Pass through a sieve, and bottle in sterilized glass.

Rocking The Daisies 2011: 8 More Sleeps

That's right people. Just 8 more sleeps before the first festival of the season hits! And it looks like its going to be a good one.

We'll be there with 5 Gum and apparently they've got all kinds of awesome things planned for our eyeballs and ear holes to look forward to. Read more about 5 Gum & Daisies here. You can also win tickets to a VIP Daisies experience with 5 Gum here.

I'll be posting about Daisies all next week: What to take, what to wear and who to check out. For now though, go enter those competitions so that we can all be there together.

When Good Times Become... "That Time We Were Abducted"

Are you as obsessed with that show When Good Times Go Bad as I am? Good.

Now I know you'll understand the gravity of the situation depicted in this story.

Yesterday afternoon. The weather was balmy. The mood, relaxed. Nash and I were on our way to Ushaka Beach for a bit of a swim and a tan. Not a care in the world... Little did we know the danger that lay just around the parking lot.

"Are youz kids gonna use 'em kidneys?"

We had just arrived when we stepped out of the car... and into the belly of the beast. A friendly looking man approached us. "Would you guys like a chance to win something?" Being frequent winners, we both agreed to a scratch card each. "You win a bottle of champagne!" the man said through a smiling face to me. Then, to Nash "Are you always a lucky man? You win tickets to Ushaka!"

Wowee, how exciting! "Come with me to this van, so I can give you the tickets." It all seemed quite legit up until that point. But maybe we just get free stuff too often. Because when we arrived at the van, the man smoothly and efficiently started cajoling us into it! Only once the door was firmly closed and locked did he start explaining the real nature of this joy ride.

"Just get into the van so I can take you to our offices and get some information from you and then my colleagues will tell you a little bit about our holiday packages and then we will give you the tickets for Ushaka!"

The moment we stepped into the van, I looked deep into Nash's eyes (possibly for the last time) and said "I am pretty sure we are being abducted right now". Nash's eyes darted around the van, probably locating the best exit strategy in case of an emergency such as ritualistic sacrifice of our bodies.

"How long will this take?" Nash asked. "Not long" the man replied ominously. After about 2km's we arrived at a building and were herded out of the van, and up a flight of stairs. "These are some of our previous winners" the man said, pointing to about 7 pictures taken of scared looking people holding tv's in the 80's.

The two ladies behind the reception desk looked surprised to see us. Their eyes said "How did you manage to find willing participants for our sex cult?"

We were sat down on a couple of chairs and told to fill in a form. I was quite relieved when the ink wasn't blood and I didn't have to sign anywhere. The man came back to us and said "Now remember, if they ask you 'do you have 60 to 90 minutes for us to talk to you' then you must say 'yes, we do. We are on holiday', ok?" Um...no.

Desperate glances at each other and silent plans of a speedy escape were frantically being flung between Nash's mind cavity and mine. "How can we escape?" "Will we leave this room with all our kidneys?" Those were the kind of thoughts that we had to deal with on the ONE day we had in Durban for beaching.

After a few minutes (probably preparing a collection of knives to skin us with) the man returned and told us "All our consultants are currently busy. So you'll have to wait a bit longer". I'm sure the were all busy...busy impregnating peoples brains with thoughts of joining a cult of holiday swingers!

This was our opportunity! I took it upon myself to save us and our organs and virtues. "Look, we actually only have one day here in Durban and we can't really spend two hours here. Can you take us back to the beach?"

The man made a hushed phone call (to the devil, most likely) as we left and told us to wait downstairs for the van. We didn't want to risk it, so we decided to walk back along the beach, out of sight of the man and his cult cronies. Thought of being thrown into the van by angry human sacrificers ran rampant through my brain.

I had made the wise decision not to wear shoes that day, but despite the trials and burning soles of my feet, we kept being brave. Nash gallantly offered me his slops and we battled fatigue and lack of ice cream stands to eventually find safety on the beach.

Beware of RCI and their friendly representatives who roam the beaches of Durban in search of human soles this holiday.

Beach Chic Wedding: Durban Style

Nash and I were invited to a wedding in Durban this last weekend.We arrived on Friday night to a pre-wedding braai and a view of the sea.

Saturday morning was spent in a mad rush through Gateway grabbing a few last minute wedding essentials and then we were on the beach ready for the wedding. The dress code was "beach chic" which made for nice relaxed guys and girls in flat shoes.

I wore:

Sunglasses: Spitfire
Denim Jacket: Mr P
Dress: China Town
Belt: The strap from my Missibaba bag, wrapped around my waist twice (cause I forgot my leather Lee belt in Joburg)
Bag: Missibaba
Sandals: Mr P

Nash wore:

Sunglasses: Spitfire
Hat: Country Road
Blazer: Fabiani
Shirt: Country Road
Shorts: Country Road
Belt: Lee
Shoes: Havaianas

The wedding was so beautiful and super chilled. The whole ceremony only lasted about 30 minutes, which was nice cause everyone can handle offering their full attention for 30 minutes. From there it was on to the bar and snacks, then speeches and dinner. Hours of dancing. Nash catching the garter. And everything ending in the hotel bar around 2am.

Durban people are so rad. Its all about chilling over there. Even more than Cape Town!

Congrats Gilbert and Sian! You both looked amazing and your wedding was too much fun!

Cape Town Blogger Meet Up

Half of Cape Town is invited to this awesome blogger meet up next month. I say half of Cape Town because, well half of Cape Town blogs...the other half are copy writers.

The Joburg one looks like it was a massive success! Check out the post on Emma Jane Nation.

Kodak, Canderel, Braun & Pringles are the event sponosrs and will be doing awesome giveaways!

Anyone who has a blog, or is keen to start a blog is welcome.

I look forward to meeting everyone there.

WIN! Tickets To Last Train To Nashville

I gave you a brief intro into Last Train To Nashville earlier this week, and now its time to chat about it a little more.

The Last Train To Nashville is a series with five parts. Five music events over five months. Five "stops" on a musical train journey through rockabilly, blues and country.

It's the concept of creating a music scene in Cape Town that focuses heavily on the quality of music. Quality musicians, playing real music. Concentrating on the musicality of their performance even more than the rock star antics.

The series kicks off with the first event on 1 October at Harley Davidson Club with Taxi Violence headlining a tribute to Johnny Cash.

I don't know if you've ever seen Taxi perform an intimate, unplugged show. But these guys are even more talented than you imagine. I can't imagine a more perfect band to start things off with.

This is something I'm really incredibly excited for and something that you shouldn't be ok with missing!

That's why I'm giving away two sets of double tickets for this awesome musical journey!

WIN!

Two sets of double tickets to the first event, on 1 October

How To Win:

"Like" Last Train To Nashville on Facebook
Tweet a friend, telling them about this competition on my blog, and mentioning me and Last Train To Nashville, like this: "Hey @bangersandnash, let's both enter @NatalieRoos's @LastTrainToNV competition so one of us can win! *link*"
Leave a comment on this post with your email address

Good luck!

How To Be Completely Inappropriate On Facebook

Ever wanted to send a message on Facebook but wondered if it was too inappropriate? Here's an example of a guy who should have wondered a liiitle longer.

My sister received this message from a Facebook "friend" recently. Really, I don't know what this guy was thinking.

Little Sister

Message from the world's most inappropriate dude:

"Now this is something interesting...a university student with a photo album like this....


Seeing that you don’t know me, I will have to get to the point of this message or the purpose if you will...
I have taken on a recent challenge, to observe the photo section of all my face book colleagues, and I must say, it really looks like you are having such a lekka time with your buddies – your buddies look like a bunch of characters - in a good way.


Interesting outfit in most of your pictures though...looks like something you stole from the nineties...
Love the attitude, it brings out the vibe...nice!


Please be aware that I’m not trying to offend you, I’m just trying not to fall asleep at work...and you stand out...I had to comment.


Anyway, very nice photos, advice from a stranger and guy, try wearing your hair back, the loose looks stunning, but I want to see that shy face...


Have fun, keep smiling, and don’t do something that I will do twice...cause that will be stupid :):)"

90's outfits? Pu-leese!

Here's a gallery of my sister and her friends.

Really, if anything, they look like a bunch of lesbians.

80's Revival: Houkie Poukie

I've always been a fan of the 80's. The ridiculous hair: the size of Alaska. Not to mention shoulder pads, make-up and lumo clothing and moonbags. The music: ultimate cheese and poppy beats. The movies: an endless series of montages.

Over the past 20 years the 80's have come back into fashion, and faded again, only to return a couple of seasons later. But some people are the 80's. Some people can live the 80's every season.

My talented friend Stefanie Nagel owns Houkie Poukie, a Pretoria based hand made clothing label that is aaaaaaaall about chanelling the 80's. Bright colours, lycra, and patterns are what its all about. (It is the Houkie Poukie, after all).

Stefanie's range incredibly cool, each item a once-off and the prices are incredible too. The last time I checked, nothing in her range cost more than R100. That's right, one hundred smackers!

Bring back the 80's people. Or just keep the 80's here.

Check out Houkie Poukie on Facebook.

Poor Ali Lohan: She should Have Never Gone To Hollywood

Lindsay Lohan's little sister has been causing a stir online recently with her shocking transformation thanks to exsessive plastic surgery. Despite the obvious evidence all over the poor child's face and boobs, her enabler...um, mother and sister deny that she's had anything done.

You judge for yourself.

I am really not a fan of plastic surgery. Barring reconstructive surgery, I just don't think its healthy or natural to alter your appearence with knives.

via www.awfulplasticsurgery.com

Last Train To Nashville

Nash & I are involved in this awesome series of events called Last Train To Nashville. 

Rockabilly/Blues/Country shows that are focused on real music. 

Intimate gigs that are all about the music. The way it makes you feel. 

Amazing musicians that are all about quality and performances that mean something.

The first event in the series happens on 1 October 2011 at The Harley Davidson Club

Taxi Violence, Six Gun Gospel & Long Time Citizen Feat. Trinity From We Set Sail

in

A Tribute To Johnny Cash

If you're into real music and intimate gigs you should definitely check this event out.

www.lasttraintonashville.com

Scarlett Johansson Has Started A Trend

You might have heard about the "leaked" naked pics of Scarlett Johansson. Well, it seems she has started a trend.

Barbie - Scarlett Johanssoning

It's terrible when the innocent are corrupted like that.

via @SexCigarsBooze

Cape Town: Doing Whatever The Hell It Wants Since Forever

I love Cape Town. Obviously. I love the culture and the places and the people and even the weather. I love how clean the city is and how passionate Capetonians are about being Capetonian. How Cape Town runs on it's own time and makes its own rules. And goodness me, does it make its own rules.

Here are a few examples:

Hair Salons

In Joburg, salons open at 7am. And if you want to have your hair done at 6:30am, they'll open early for you. Saturdays, they are open till whenever the last customer needs to have their hair done. My mom is a hairdresser. I know the vibe.

But in Cape Town, salons make their own rules. "We open at 9. On Saturdays? Still 9. Need to have your hair done at 7? No can do. Ok...maybe.But we are closing at 12."

Restaurants

In Joburg, restaurants are perpetually open. "You're hungry? Well that's convenient, cause we are wiiiide OPEN!" Monday through Monday. Aaaall year round. Don't feel like cooking on Christmas? We do! Bring your family. Of course we can open early for a 6am sunrise breakfast! You pay, we open! What's that? Our food is shit?? Well what do you expect! We are a franchise that is open on Christmas! We're here to make dollars not good food!"

Cape Town, however, adopts a slightly different attitude: "Yip, we're open for business. For dinner? No, no. Breakfast and lunch only. On Saturday?! Are you high?! Tuesday through Friday. That's our vibe. Weekends are for living."

Free Wi-Fi

Joburg has spots that offer free wi-fi. If by "free" you mean "for the first email, after that, you pay." Other than Wolves in Illovo, I don't know of a single place that offers free wi-fi that is actually free.

Cape Town has a slightly different approach... I use free wi-fi at my local beer spot, my local breakfast, lunch and dinner spots. Even my hairdresser! "Yes, the internet costs money. But we know that you know that we don't mind spending a bit on internet if it means you're going to hang here all day and spend money on us. Everyone wins!" Cape Town knows what's up with free wi-fi.

Distance

In Joburg, people will drive from Bedford View to Pretoria to have coffee with a friend. That's a good hours drive. But its no biggie. What's one hour in a city that spans pretty  much a entire province? Nothing.

"What do you mean you want me to drive to Hout Bay for your birthday?! To the Republic?! I don't know if I can make it. It's like, miles from Town. What do you mean you live there? Live there?! You must be insane! You don't work in Town, right? Am I right? I can't come. Can we move your birthday to Town? Its not too far from Hout Bay, really."

Fridays

In Joburg, a Friday is a work day. Until 5pm, Fridays are like any other days: Made for work.

In Cape Town, Fridays pretty much end around 12. That's if they even get going at all. "Who the hell would be phoning me at 2pm on a Friday?! Its a Friday for goodness sake! What am I going to be able to do for them now, anyway? I'm at the beach! I'm turning my phone off."

As I said, they just do whatever the hell they want.

Taste Of Joburg 2011

This last weekend my folks took us to Taste Of Joburg for a day of eating and fun in the sun. It was a typically beautiful spring day in Joburg and all around us people were lathering up their kids in 300 litres of sunscreen, eating and drinking. The vibe was rad, there were lots of delicious things to taste, and interesting demos to see. The only downside was... I didn't have R12 000
with me.

Taste Of Joburg is such a rad event. And something that I think Joburg really needs. Cape Town pretty much has "Taste Of Cape Town" every week- at the Biscuit Mill and various wine farms, markets and restaurants around the city, so I think it's really exciting that Joburg is building this rad culture too... If only it was better executed.

Tickets were R160 each, and this included a tasting glass (which remained unused) and  booklet of "crowns" (value of R5 each) to the value of R100. The fact that each "taster" cost around 8 crowns (R40), meant that by the time my booklet was finished, I was actually more hungry than before. What, with my whet appetite and all.

When we first arrived, I almost tasted a shot glass of some organic energy drink, but then it cost 1 crown (!!!) so I skipped it. I also almost tasted some wine, but that would have cost me some of my precious crowns too, and I was still really hungry, so I didn't.

In fact, all I had was the delicious pork belly from @dwchef, a Thai beer from the Singha stand, a cocktail at the Fine Brandy By Design bar and a complimentary (only because I knew the chef) baobab parfait from Le Bonne Table. Then I had to beg more money from my dad because I was still ravenous.

Bearing in mind that the pork belly was the size of a R5 coin, R40 seemed a bit steep- although it was really delicious, so ended up being worth it. The beer was R15 and so was the cocktail. And then that was it, my crowns were gone. I did find a table that was offering free olive tastings, so I stood there and vacuumed about 200 olives before promptly spending R70 (in cash, not crowns) on one of their products- something I would not have done had they been charging to taste.

I especially feel that the wine stands should have been offering tastings for free. All over Cape Town, you can go to farms and taste wines for free, and I would have been much more inclined to buy a bottle, had I been able to taste- I have yet to walk away from a wine tasting without buying a bottle or two.

I actually really did like the set-up at the Brandy bar; the staff was really friendly, and they had one of those rad photo booths. The cocktails were affordable and came with a cute little snack pairing. They were probably my favourite stand at the festival.

Always remember that it takes THREE pictures

Once I'd spent another R100 (of Dad's money) on crowns, I had the Belgian muscles with chips, which was by far the biggest serving at any of the stands-and absolutely yum. The rest of the crowns were spent on more brandy cocktails and a cupcake for my sister.

We watched a demo by a British chef, and a cook-off between Greg Gaultier - the boyfriend of the lovely Sian Rice from Pink Made It Punk - and another chef and we really did have a rad time. It would just have been much radder if you really could have a "taste of Joburg"... instead of a "taste of one chefs dish".

I would rather pay R350 for a ticket, and be able to taste to my hearts content.

As we were leaving, we walked past the Roxx Energy Drink (or something like that) stand, and one of the promoters shouted "Come taste this!" to which I replied "It's so expensive!". He looked at me with a mixture of shock and horror before shouting "What are you doing at Taste of Joburg?! Miss 'Too expensive!' 

Which pretty mush sums up the event. I definitely won't be going next year. But I would suggest it to people who haven't been. I do however, suggest that you have a hearty lunch before you go.

Did anybody else go? What did you think?

Cape Town Sub-Cultures: Part 4

Welcome back to my Cape Town Sub-Cultures series. We've covered quite a few of the city's cliques so far, and you can read them here.

I've really been enjoying these here posts, as the more I write them, the more fun I have observing Capetonians. Documenting their ways. Like an infiltrater. Or an American. Locking away their secrets and their little nuances in my mindvault.

Today, we take a look at a group of humans that make up at least 78.75% of Cape Town's popluation:

The Hipster.

While Hipsterism is rife in Cape Town, you should never be fooled into labelling every brogue-toting Capetonian a "Hipster". Oh no, there are levels of Hipsterism that range from full-scale city-dwelling, loft apartment-inhabiting, charity shop-wearing, uber-hipster, to the milder "Over 25 Hipster". And they all have their place on and around the mountain.

Let's take a look, shall we.

The Town Hipster

Natural Habitat: The Shack, Mercury, and other dark, smoke-filled rooms, their loft apartments, varsity

Likes To Wear: Brogues, duh. Vintage EVERYTHING! High waisted denim shorts. Crop tops. Yes, even the dudes.

Behaviour: When not attending lectures on Psychology, Sociology, or Communication, the Town Hipster can be found smoking in bars. Taking photos of each other. Alternatively, you can find them at each other's loft apartments, drinking Crackling and looking at photos of themselves and each other. On We Are Awesome.

The Over 25 Hipster

Natural Habitat: &Union, P&G, Tjing-Tjing Bar


Likes To Wear: Comfortable, yet trendy attire. Shirts buttoned up right to the top. Slacks in various shades of camel. Loafers. High waisted slacks. Anything that can go from "meeting" to "drinking" in 5 minutes.

Behaviour: When not working on their laptops as "freelance creatives" they might be found working for actual agencies. They drink only organic coffee, craft beer, and real tequila. They listen to real music. They don't photograph each other. Unless its for an exibition. These people love a good party, but never get too out of hand. No fists flying at these jolls. Only good, old-fashioned vintage fun...with a new-age feel.

Be sure to come back next time as we delve headfirst into the mindcave of another Cape Town Sub-Culture

Current Fashion Obsession: 50's Swimwear

Summer is just around the corner (although you wouldn't be able to tell by the weather in Cape Town today) and I am already having cold sweats just thinking about getting my body into swimwear.

But I've got a 12 week "Get my body into summer shape" plan, and I've been looking for inspiration. In all my interwebbing I have become obsessed with the swimwear of the 50's.

I am aaaaaall about understated sex appeal. Giant fake boobs, overly-bronzed bodies...that's not what I'm about. I think it's much more important to accentuate womanly curves, and keep a bit of skin for yourself.

I love the 50's silhouette because it accentuates every woman's secret weapon: The waist.

Love love love. Where can I find these?

MK MVP Bands Announced

After the success of last year's Music Video Project, MK has decided to make this year's MVP even bigger: a total of TWELVE bands will be receiving budget and guidance from MK in order to produce professional videos with a few amazing South African production companies.

Here are the selected bands and production companies:

· Ashtray Electric, Bittersweet Manipulator to be produced by Motion City Films

· Chocolate Stix, Schizo to be produced by Mannequin Pictures

· Dance You’re On Fire, Oh Love to be produced by The Now Museum

· Double Adaptor, Eat You Alive to be produced by Mustard Post Productions

· Duimpie Se Maat, Moonshine to be produced by Tankfilms

· Goodluck, Harlem to be produced by Dirty Soul Productions

· Isochronous, Destiny to be produced by Silver Lining Pictures

· Krimineel, Gebed van ‘n Reeksmoorde to be produced by The Film Factory

· Lark, Brave (Haezer Remix) to be produced by Tevi Baitz and Topher Henny

· Moses Metro Man, Samoerai to be produced by DoktrineGeontwerp

· Mr. Cat & The Jackal, Try to be produced by Cape Town Film Studio’s

· The Frown, The National to be produced by Magic Factory

I'm pretty excited to see what these kids can come up with. Watch this space for news and mayyybe a competition or two...

Cook This: Lemon Meringue (without the meringue)

So... you know how how I love to cook? And how I love to cook even more when its for people I love?

Well... Nash LOVES Lemon Meringue Pie. Loves it.

Except, he doesn't eat meringue.

So when we were at the Porters Market on Saturday, I bought a bottle of homemade Lemon Curd and set about making, upon Nash's request "Lemon Meringue but without the Meringue".

Its super easy.


How To Make Lemon Meringue Without The Meringue

You Will Need:

One jar of lemon curd (Try the one from the Porter's Market)
Half of a large tub of plain yogurt
A packet of shortbread biscuits
Two table spoons of butter
1 Lemon 

What To  Do:

Blitz up the biscuits until they are really fine
Melt the butter and add it to the blitzed biscuits
Line the dish you're planning on using with the biscuit mixture and press it down firmly
Whisk the lemon curd and the yogurt together and add the zest and the juice of the lemon
Bake at 180 for 15-20 min

EASY!

WIN! A Tasting of MCC and French Champagne For You And 7 Friends

Hello Monday.

Finally, finally I seem to be recovering from our little 12 hour Champagne tasting... on Thursday.

After the amazing tasting that Terence from Siris Vintners put together for us at Book Club, Nash & I decided that we just had to make a day of it, and on Thursday last week we headed out to Stellenbosch for a day of tasting drinking.

Siris Vintners offers an amazing experience which includes being driven to-and-from the farm in order to really enjoy your drinking tasting. So at 12pm on Thursday, Terence collected us at Constantia Village, offered us a couple of &Union Steph Weiss beers as padkos and we set out for the rolling hills of Stellenbosch.

After picking up our friends @Ramfest (Dawid) and Mrs. Ramfest (Lizanne) we arrived at Chabivin Champagne and MCC Tasting House to beautiful rainy weather, a roaring fire and a very hungover winemaker and Champagne expert named Hendrik. The vibe at Chabivin is so awesome. They really embrace the whole idea that Champagne is not just for weddings and New Year's jols, but can- and should- be enjoyed whenever you're socialising.

Hendrik is super laid back about the whole tasting and explains each Champagne in just enough detail to keep your attention. He pours enough from each of the bottles to allow you to have a good few sips, not just one, so you really get to taste the Champagne and enjoy the flavour.

Chabivin offers a tasting of three French Champagnes and one South African MCC. (If you're not quite sure what the difference is, get to the farm immediately and Hendrik will explain it) On the deep leather couches in front of the fire he told us about the French family that makes and imports Guy Charbaut into South Africa and all about the South Africa MCC as we basically just sipped away.

Hendrik even allowed Nash to try his hand at the old Sabrage... but he was not nearly as good as I
was.

Champagne is now totally my new vibe. I am absolutely ecstatic to have learnt that it's not just something that sells out on the 30th of December. Champagne is for whenever you feel like it. It makes every day special. And who doesn't want that?

Guy Charbaut Champagne is the real deal - made in Champagne, France by real Frenchmen- and is remarkably affordable (think more "couple of hundred", less "over a thousand"). Miss Molly is a South African MCC that (thanks to Terence) can be found on loads of menu's around Cape Town including Grand Daddy and &Union.

Once we'd finished up at Chabivin we headed over to Haute Espoir where Rob gave us a full tour of all his delicious wines and his Buchu brandy and allowed the boys to shoot at empty bottles with his pellet gun while Mrs Ramfest and I just sampled away. After this we made our way to a bar in Franschoek, followed by a stop at Dawid's restaurant in Stellenbosch. By 12am- a full twelve hours after we'd started with our first beers, we finally made our way home. Because that's how we roll.

I am so impressed with Champagne and especially with Chabivin and I've managed to get them to put together an awesome competition for you guys, so that one of you (plus 7 of your friends) will get to experience it too!

WIN!

- A Guy Charbaut Millesime 2002 Magnum!
- A tasting at Chabivin Champagne and MCC House for you and 7 friends
  which includes 3 French Champagnes and 1 MCC
- And you'll get to exclusively taste the Memory 1998 which is too rare to be offered at tastings under
  normal circumstances

How To Enter:

- Follow @SirisVintners on Twitter
- Tweet the link to this post including Siris Vintners, me (@NatalieRoos) and at least one of the
   friends you'd like to take with you  if you win
- This way, you have double the chance of winning!
- Example: "Hey @bangersandnash look at the @SirisVintners competition on @NatalieRoos's blog
  *link* Let's win that badboy!"
- Leave a comment here, in the comments section below, with your email address and name

*Note: Competition is only open to people living in the Western Cape who are able to attend the tasting in Stellenbosch. Competition closes two weeks from today, on Monday 26 September*