Welcome to an all American Science Fiction film with a touch of drama, beautiful imaginings of space travel, another grumpy, fiery red-head. and a ton of dust (even some space dust). If you join today you can phone home with an added fifth dimension absolutely free!
Elie Saab Spring 2014 Collection
There is definitely nothing better than a bit of gorgeous fashion to uplift and inspire.
As I was filtering through Pinterest I stumbled upon one of Elie Saab’s Spring collection dresses. As soon as I visited her website I absolutely had to compile the collection in all of its glory. I’ve included the haute couture from the Elie Saab website and added a few backstage snaps from Pinterest.
I absolutely love Elie Saab’s designs. I’m not all that fashionable at the best of times, but the elegance and femininity in her creations make me dream sweet dreams of haute couture. Thus, for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere experiencing Spring I’ve indulged in this year’s Spring palette. While the difference in Pantone’s colours are meager, year to year, their names get more and more elaborate. This is the official Pantone Spring 2014 palette:
Sand
Freesia
Celosia Orange
Cayenne
Magenta Purple
Radiant Orchid
Violet Tulip
Purple Haze
Placid Blue
Dazzling Blue
Comfrey
Hemlock
Paloma
And, as promised, here are some cherry-picked backstage photos. The Elie Saab models are an exceptionally beautiful and elegant bunch – with, it seems, a couple of playful beauties too. The makeup choice for the models is also stunning – it showcases the natural beauty of each individual, irrespective of skin tone, by using natural contouring tones (lilacs, purples, etc.). Purples work for all skin tones because, to be blunt, that is the nature of blood against skin.
Amazing Halloween Costumes
As someone who grew up in South Africa, I’m not all that familiar with Halloween dress-up traditions. I am, however, a sucker for costumes that recreate familiar concepts and creatively make those concepts wearable. These are some of my favourite Halloween costume ideas for 2014.
Halloween Costumes for Kids
Alex from A Clockwork Orange
This is definitely one of those costumes that the child most likely does not get the reference to – or, at least, I hope not. I absolutely love this movie, so, naturally, seeing a little Alex with his milk and everything made my day!
Edward from Edward Scissorhands
I can only imagine how exceptionally cute it must be seeing kids running around in beasty Halloween costumes. This adorable fellow, however, is too awesome as one of my favourite anti-heroes!
The Joker from Batman: The Dark Knight (DC Comics)
Speaking of anti-heroes, my favourite loon is captured perfectly in this tyke’s expression. The lollipop adds just the right amount of innocence.
Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings
I know hobbits are small, but my word this one is the cutest of them all! This is by far one of my favourite Halloween costume ideas for kids because the best part about the shire is the hobbit children. Pippin comes as a close second. If you have Halloween in Spring, like we do in Cape Town, dressing your young ‘un up as a hobbit is probably much more comfortable and definitely a lot more fun to play in.
A Weeping Angel from Doctor Who
Possibly one of the most chilling antagonists in the series, this Weeping Angel costume will have your eyes locked because it’s seriously cool. Granted this gorgeous little kid might inflict some other horrible fate – like stealing your heart or turning you to mush with such high cuteness levels. The detail on this costume is gorgeous – though it’s not a costume I’d put on a more active child.
Awesome Halloween Costumes for Students
Disclaimer: I’m not a huge fan of “sexy” costumes. While I appreciate cosplay of characters that where created showing a lot of skin, and I believe these “sexy” costumes are a huge part of sexuality and rather awesome at time, I’ve included very few of this year’s sexy Halloween costumes.
Barbie and Teresa
I love this idea as a great childhood flashback (or cosplay for those who still play with Barbies). Actually pretty easy to do with a bit of cardboard, makeup and a glue-gun.
Grumpy Cat
Besides the fact that this makeup is amazing, I love the pop culture reference. As young adults, memes are a part of daily life, so why not make your 2014 costume something current?
Social Media
If you’re not a fan of memes there are other options. While I love the way these ladies have made the icons the centre of their costumes, I can’t help remembering this:
The Powerpuff Girls
While I’ve seen really awesome “sexy” Powerpuff Girls, I rather like these kids-show-friendly Halloween costume interpretations too. I think that this Blossom looks a little less Type-A personality than I remember, but Buttercup seems to have gotten it right.
Lego People
We all need a bit of Lego in our lives. At lest if you stand on these it won’t hurt (you).
Let me know what you’re dressing up as – I can’t wait to see what the Halloween-celebrating parts of the world come dressed as this year.
Images from Popcandy and Sad and Useless Humour
The Creamery
The Western Cape is an exquisite portion of South Africa. Its diverse landscapes capture the hearts of residents and visitors alike. One heart in particular, proves that the essence of this province’s natural beauty can be experienced in more ways than one. Kate Schrire, owner and founder of The Creamery Ice Cream, understands good food and that for food to be at its best, it needs to be made from the very best that nature can supply. As a passionate supporter of local business, Kate knows the power that home-grown cuisine can have. Sourcing ingredients from local farms, fields and gardens, The Creamery has high standards for the produce that they receive.
With moral standards often compared with what is considered “organic”, The Creamery does not compromise when it comes of the wellness of the animals and wild fauna and flora associated with the producers that supply ingredients. Produce is only accepted from farms whose domesticated animals have high welfare lives and crop is sprayed with organic herbicides and pesticides. Kate and her team go to great lengths to ensure that the ingredients that go into their artisan ice cream are up to their moral code. Many of the farms are inspected, and, when approved, enter into a power symbiotic relationship with The Creamery.
The Creamery’s range of ice cream flavours is based on the seasonal produce of the Western Cape. Summer brings flavours like chocolate cherry and apricot honey. In the cooler weather, from March to May, one can expect toasted almond, lime curd and cream swirl, and chocolate and orange curd swirl. By winter the Cape produces guavas, for a delightful bright pink ice cream. However one of their most exotic ice cream flavours, available only for a very short period in spring, is jasmine blossom.
The three flavours available all year round at The Creamery are 75% chocolate, vanilla bean and peanut butter, for which the ingredients are also sourced locally from small business who are also interested in the beauty of high quality food. Kate and her team constantly experiment with flavours, but maintain their stance that “we take what the seasons give us, when they give it to us”. Because of the limited supply of the more unusual ingredients, The Creamery has started an Ice Cream Club – a group of ice cream enthusiasts who commit to buying ice cream for a specified duration as part of their membership. These members are prioritised when it comes to distributing the flavours that exist only briefly from season to season. An ingredient calendar, allows those members to anticipate the coming flavours and take part in the excitement Kate and her team feel when new fruits, nuts, herbs and flowers begin blooming.
Based in Mowbray this inspiring team of food zealots welcome all visitors with a smile. Their superb ice cream is available for purchase online and may be picked up from their headquarters or any one of their scoop stalls.
Visit them here
Images from The Creamery
You’ve got a (girl) friend in me!
I’m not accustom to the perfume inhaling, hair-holding, breast-comparing, clothes-sharing phenomena associated with girl friends. Even from a very early age I’ve found the company of my male peers more satisfying and more comfortable than any foreseeable alternative their might have been. If there was a comparison of clothing, it was in the hilarity of having much smaller shoes than my friends; breasts, well that wasn’t really a noticeable feature anyway; hair was only held when it was pulled; and perfume was only worn for admirers.
But, now that I’ve breached the cusp of young adulthood for good, I find myself attuned to the longing for sorority. My priorities in potential companions have changed as I’ve matured – but not so much to claim that the resultant selections aren’t still men. It is the women who resist the pressure of the societal requirements of women; requirements I had to accept I would seldom, if ever, be able to fulfill; the ones who have scooched into the same multi-sex brand of fraternity, I made a home in, who catch my eye.
It must be the mere insertion, more likely development, of confidence that comes with age that allows these young women, like myself, to talk (most often) and sometimes fight their way into the world that favours big brains over big breasts, charm and charisma over curls and beauty over booty.
Between men and women there is a roughness, a tension that can, possibly, only be recognised as hetero-normative presumption of sex. Between women, like between men, there is an extreme softness. When I recall the times I’ve felt or witnessed it I imagine this intimacy between people to be filed under “kittens’ fur” or “marshmallows”.
So; here’s to sorority, may it always continue to amaze and warm us all.
that Romanov Girl 