Out & About - Inspired Living SA

Cape Town Lifestyle, Children, Events, Family, Lifestyle, Out & About

Build-A-Bear Workshop Tygervalley Opening

Two weeks ago we attended the opening of the new Build-A-Bear Workshop in Tygervalley Centre in Cape Town. It was a fun-filled “Beary” experience all round! We each were able to select and build our own bear – my choice was Minnie Mouse, the girls each choose a fluffy teddy bear.

Once you have chosen what kind of animal you would like, you then work your way through a series of bear-making stations, where you stuff, stitch, fluff, dress and name your fluffy friend. During the bear-making process, each guest participates in a memorable heart ceremony, which involves making a beary special wish upon a red satin heart, which is then placed inside your stuffed animal.

After you have given your bear life you can shop to your heart’s content and kit your new fury friend out from a wide variety of bear-sized merchandise, including hundreds of coordinating shoes, jewellery and fashion accessories.

Joining the festivities for the morning was Heart FM personality Saskia Falken, who officially opened the bears’ new lair by performing the ribbon cutting ceremony.

A very special part of the morning was the presentation of 100 Rudolph Build-A-Bear’s to the children from Nazareth house, just in time for Christmas!

A big thank you to Build-A-Bear for a great morning and our new Beary friends!

Photography: ©FAR Photography

Entertainment, Events, Lifestyle, Movies, Out & About

Wreck It Ralph

Last week I was treated to a preview of Walt Disney Animation Studios “Wreck It Ralph”, a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping adventure.

When director Rich Moore joined Walt Disney Animation Studios and began developing “Wreck-It Ralph,” he had a big problem. “Arcade-game characters have no free will,” he says. “They’re programmed to do one thing day in and day out—they don’t have a choice in the matter. I thought, ‘That’s boring.’”

Or is it?

“I realized it’s actually a great conflict,” says the director. “Within this world, there are strict rules: you do one job and one job only. What if there was a character who didn’t like his job?”
At nine feet tall and 643 pounds, Ralph is certainly a force to be… well, wreck-oned with. He is a massive guy charged with wrecking the apartment building in a place called Niceland. Much to Ralph’s dismay, Fix-It Felix Jr. is called on to fix the building and save the day. With his magic hammer, Felix earns love, respect and a fancy gold medal, from the Nicelanders.

After 30 years of playing his assigned role of the “bad guy” Ralph decides to turn the tables, his plan is to win a medal and by doing so earn the kind of love and respect that Felix gets.

Ralph’s quest to win a medal will take him from his home in the game Fix-It Felix Jr. into the vast worlds the arcade has to offer. In his first adventure Ralph find himself in “Hero’s Duty”, a modern, first-person shooter game—it is brand new and the best game in the arcade. In this game, Sergeant Calhoun heads up a platoon of soldiers fighting off Cy-Bugs that are annihilating the universe. Calhoun and Ralph do not see eye to eye and her sole mission becomes getting Ralph off her turf. Ralph however will not let anything stand in the way of him getting his medal.

The Constantia Gift Fair 2012 Gallery

Last week I visited The Constantia Gift Fair, which was held at SARDA in Cape Town and thought I would share some of the images I took. If you missed this Gift Fair you will be pleased to know that they will be holding another one in Durbanville!

The Durbanville Gift Fair is launching from the beautiful grounds of D’Aria Wine Estate on Racecourse road in Durbanville, it is a lifestyle event full of inspirational ideas and hand-picked innovative products – a celebration of gifts with a difference.

There are fabulous home and garden accessories, stunning fashion items, and gorgeous must-have gifts. The deli section is an extravaganza of delicious and exotic food-gifts.Come and sample superb food and drink, soak up the magical atmosphere, let your children have a ball in our kiddies play area and enjoy a sensational shopping experience with friends and family.

The Durbanville Gift Fair will be held at D’Aria from the 29th November – 2nd December:

Thursday 29^th Nov: 9:00am – 17:00pm

Friday 30^th Nov: 9:00am – 20:00pm
(live music)

Saturday 1^st Dec: 9:00am – 17:00pm

Sunday 2^nd Dec: 9:00am – 17:00pm

Cape Town Lifestyle, Events, Fitness, Lifestyle, Out & About

My First Big Walk

Yesterday 31 000 Capetonians took to the streets for the 2012 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk. The weather was perfect for a brisk walk along one of the 10 routes on offer on the day.

Participants could choose a walk that suited their fitness levels from 5km, 10km, 11km, 12km and 13km walks, to the longer and more gruelling 20km, 25km, 30km, 50km and 80km events. While most walks commenced between 07:00 and 10:00 at various locations around Cape Town, the 80km and 50km events commenced at 03:45 and 06:15 respectively.

In a moment of sheer madness, I opted to do the 30km walk, which started in Simon’s Town at 09:00. The weather for the first half of the walk was cool and pleasant but it certainly heated up as the day progressed! There were plenty of refreshment stations and first aid stops along the way. I did make use of both of these to keep my fluids up and to nurse a few blistered toes! I must admit there were times when I felt like stopping and giving up but I just kept pushing myself and kept in mind the very worthy cause I was supporting.

The funds raised at the Big Walk go to CANSA, The Steenberg Foundation, Nazareth House, The Rotary Club of Claremont and Spartan Harriers to support the initiatives of these organisations.

Head of Sponsorships at Discovery, Jody Foster, says Discovery was delighted by the turnout for the Cape Town event.

“I am heartened by the enthusiasm and goodwill that was evident throughout the day. This type of initiative is firmly in line with Discovery’s vision of a more active and healthier South Africa with the population benefitting from fewer health risks and an improved quality of life.” ~ Jody Foster

Event Director, Tanya Carolus says that organising the 2012 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk required a significant amount of logistical planning and implementation, from determining the routes and planning medical points and refreshments stations to getting partners on board to help facilitate the event.

“Seeing how many people turned up in their walking shoes to enjoy the event makes it all worthwhile.” ~ Tanya Carolus

Discovery thanks all participants who took part in the event, as well as its partners, and the Cape Times for ensuring the day was such a great success.

I am certainly proud to have taken part in this event and would encourage anyone who has not yet done a Big Walk to get involved in 2013! I will be doing it next year along with my family but I may opt for a slightly shorter route!

Cape Town Lifestyle, Events, Lifestyle, Out & About, Proudly South African

The KLINK Awards

Last week I attended the KLINK Awards, which was held at the offices of DHK Architects, in Cape Town. What a truly amazing setting to celebrate some of the top achievers in the wine tourism industry. To get the evening started we were greeted with a glass of bubbles, nothing better on a balmy Cape Town evening! The waite-staff were top-notch, they kept the canapés flowing all evening! The food was certainly plentiful and rather scrumptious and the wine delicious!

On the stunning roof top terrace setting, overlooking the Mother City, Monica Alias from Wine Tourism SA, with the help of Mike Ratcliffe handed out the awards for the various category winners. As voted for by you the consumer.

The winners were as follows:

Beyond Expectations “Award for Great Food & Excellent Value” – Haute Cabriéré
Comfort Zone “Award for the Best Bistro or Cafe on a Wine Farm” – Harvest at Laborie
Connoisseur “Award the Best Cellar Tasting Experience” – Fairview Master Tasting
Country Comfort “Award for Boutique Accommodation on a Wine Farm” – Doolhof Grand Dédale
Crowd Pleaser “Award for the Best Wine Route Event” – Durbanville Wine Valley Season of Sauvignon
Delicious Deli “Award for Best Deli on a Wine Farm” – Fairview Deli
Family Day Out “Award for Best Child-friendly Venue on a Wine Farm – Blaauwklippen
Gourmet ” Award for Best Gourmet Restaurant at the Cellar Door” – Pierneef á La Motte
Happy Times “Award for Most Memorable Wine Route” – Franschhoek Wine Valley
Percale “Award for Best Accommodation on a Wine Route” – Majeka House
Tread Gently “Award for Most Green Wine Farm” – Villiera
Warm Family Welcome “Award for Best Cellar Door Experience” – Delheim
Wild Card “Award for Most Unusual Attraction on a Wine Route” – Cape Heritage Museum at Solms-Delta
Yin and Yang “Award for Best Food and Wine Pairing on a Wine Farm” – Creation Canapé Platter Pairing

Inspired by the marketing and consumer engagement efforts of the nominees, an additional award was specifically created for the #KLINK nominee with the most votes overall. The Supernova Award was presented to Blaauwklippen.

“Thank you to the thousands of domestic and international wine tourists who visited, voted for and provided feedback on their favourite nominees. The inaugural #KLINK Awards achieved our aims of using social media as a core marketing driver and important means of building relationships and engaging with potential and existing clients. Through the viral nature of these platforms, we have been able to reach a broad base of consumers. Congratulations to the winners. We hope that this encourages even more people to visit our winelands and give feedback on their experiences.” ~ Monika Elias, Wine Tourism South Africa and #KLINK Awards Founder

Thank you to Wine Tourism South Africa for a wonderful evening and congratulations to all the KLINK Award winners! Hope to see you all next year! To find out more about the winners pop over to the Wine Tourism website here.