Lifestyle - Inspired Living SA

Cape Town Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Wine Farms

Warwick Wine Estate Gourmet Picnic

Summer is the best time for alfresco dining and I love nothing better than picnicking on a beautiful wine estate! I was delighted recently when an email popped into my inbox, inviting me to attend a Warwick Wine Estate Gourmet Picnic! The best part is that I could take my family along 🙂

After a very successful picnic season last year, Warwick Wine Estate re-launched their ‘Gourmet Picnic’ for 2013/14 at the beginning of September.

I must admit it was a real treat to be invited to the estate, as we had not been before(shocking I know!) and we are always on the lookout for new places to picnic, especially places that are kiddie friendly.

We were all suitably impressed with the very warm welcome we received on arrival, which can make such a difference to your overall experience! The weather was not the warmest but the sun did eventually decide to peek its head out.

Although we have never visited the wine estate before, we are all to familiar with Warwick wines. I especially love The First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon but we started the day off with a vibrantly fruity Sauvignon Blanc, a perfect summer wine!

The Gourmet Picnic Basket is extremely generous, beautifully presented and jam-packed full of decadent goodies. The menu will please any discerning foodie! There is also a Vegetarian Picnic Basket and Children’s Picnic Basket available. The Warwick Gourmet Picnics are by reservation only, so it is vital to book in advance! You can book your picnic online or you can call 0218844410 or [email protected]. The Gourmet picnic basket is R350 per couple and the Kids Picnic is R49.

Warwick has earned a well-deserved reputation for Gourmet Picnics and their Executive Chef combines the highest quality ingredients, from locally sourced artisanal suppliers. These delicious picnics are perfect for a special occasion, or just for a lazy-day-out in wine country. It is the perfect place for families, as their delicious children’s picnics, are designed by parents who ‘get it’.

There are various picnic areas dotted around the estate, which include:

Picnic Pods
What a novel idea! The Picnic Pods have been created with privacy in mind, the 8 picnic pods provide a combination of sophistication, high-end design and rural country ambience.

The picnic pods are the perfect escape for your small group or family party with tables seating up to 12 people in shaded comfort.

The Forest Courtyard
Where we sat is modelled after the historic Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, the classically inclined forest Courtyard, provides a relaxed ambience under the shade of beautiful trees. This area is also perfect for functions – a beautifully intimate wedding, under the trees would go down a treat!

The Lawns

As with most picnic venues the lawn area is the most traditional space and perfect for relaxing and just chilling out. The lush picnic lawn, is a child-friendly area with a jungle gym to entertain the kids. Sitting back and relaxing under the umbrellas on over-sized cushions, sipping wine and enjoying scrumptious food – it could not get more perfect than that!

The Penthouse
Situated high up in the mountain vineyards at Warwick, the Penthouse offers breath-taking 360 degree views of the Cape Winelands. This unique open-air venue is ideally suited for private group picnics or corporate functions.

Big 5 Vineyard Safari
Visitors from around the world keep coming back for our wildly popular ‘Big 5 Vineyard Safari’. This fun educational Land Rover Safari takes you on a mountain journey through Warwick’s vineyards where we compare the ‘Big 5’ animals with our ‘Big 5’ grape varieties. The ‘Big 5 Vineyard Safari is perfect for all ages. For the more adventurous, our ‘Big 5 Vineyard Safari’ is now also available on horseback. Booking essential.

Contact Details & Location

Warwick Wine Estate is located on the R44 between Stellenbosch and Klapmuts.

Telephone: +27 (0) 21 8844410

For bookings: 021 884 3144 or [email protected] Fax: +27 (0) 21 8844025 Email:[email protected]

Warwick Tasting Room – Open 7 Days a week – 365 Days a year

Sunday to Thursday 10:00 – 17:00
Friday & Saturday 10:00 – 17:00

Child Friendly Travel, International, Lifestyle, Travel

Thailand Travel Koh Samui

Last week I shared a few of my photographs from our family trip to Thailand, and as promised, today I am sharing my Koh Samui photos. Some of my readers have asked for a few more details regarding where we went etc. So I thought I would give you a brief idea of some of our adventures on Koh Samui!

[Read more…]

Design & Decor, Trends

Bathroom Decor Inspiration

As well as being in the process of redoing our dining area, I have a few additional decor projects in the pipeline! One of which is redecorating our bathrooms, starting with our guest loo. Most of the rooms in our house have very neutral decor, which is great for resale and how we bought the house but I have decided that change is needed! I have enjoyed scouring interior mags and websites for Bathroom Decor Inspiration. [Read more…]

Design & Decor, Lifestyle

Event Workshop

Last week I was invited to attend a Spring inspired Entertaining Workshop, hosted by the lovely ladies from Event Workshop.

Event Workshop run exclusive workshops for the entertaining enthusiast. If you have a passion for entertaining, run your own event or catering business or simply need to brush up on your table decor skills, then you will love their workshops! Mandy and Liz, who run the workshops, have many years of experience in event planning, design and decor and are always searching for new and fabulous ways to make entertaining an art!

The workshop I attended was Spring inspired and featured unique table decor ideas, to help you create the perfect dining experience, regardless of the occasion. We were treated to demonstrations which displayed simple techniques to transform ordinary parties into fabulous ones. In their own words “Think Martha Stewart meets Masterchef!”

At their workshops you can expect to learn simple decor techniques using everyday items, such as florals, fruit and glassware, which you may already have in your home. They shared unique ideas such as displaying lemons in a glass vase, filled with water or making a table center piece using strawberries. You can even spray-paint real fruit and dust with glitter for a more elegant centerpiece.

One of the vital things I learnt, was to not use scented candles on your dinner table, as it confuses the senses – not something I would have ever considered 🙂 Another valuable lesson is that you no longer need to conform to strict table decor etiquette, the more creative you are the better but most importantly you must never over crowd your table.

For an added bit of fun and a bit of practical know-how, all the ladies attending the workshop, had to take part in the Mystery Box Challenge. Much like the Masterchef concept, we received a Mystery Box, but this one did not contain food! Instead we were given a selection of crockery, glasses and table linen. We where then divided into teams and had to come up with table decor ideas using our Mystery Box items, to create a table setting for six guests. We were also given access to an open “pantry” filled with many additional decor items, as well as a bucket filled with spring flowers. It was a great way to put into practice what we had just learnt and to help get our creative juices flowing! I must admit, table decor is definitely not as easy as it looks but it was loads of fun!

We were also treated to a wonderful espresso and nougat pairing, which was seriously yummy and a rather naughty lemon mojito!

Last but not least Liz and Mandy revealed a Tuscan Inspired Table, which they had prepared the day before. This table setting would be perfect for a rustic Italian style luncheon, enjoyed alfresco with friends and family!

The Event Workshops are ideal for:

A girls pamper/treat day

A gift to yourself- a wonderful way to fill a morning

A gift for someone special

A fun alternative option for a hens party

A corporate incentive programme

A wedding planner/event manager to get inspired

Thank you to Mandy and Liz for a wonderful morning! To find out more about the upcoming workshops you can pop over to the Event Workshops website by clicking here.

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the Event Workshop but any of the opinions expressed here are my own.

Healthy Living, Lifestyle

RealXGear

Summer is on its way and we all tend to spend more time outdoors in summer, whether it is for exercising purposes and part of healthy living or just to enjoy the beautiful weather. The most important thing to remember when spending more time outdoors, is to be prepared for the hot weather. It is vital to protect the delicate skin on your face, from the sun’s harsh rays, especially when exercising! I ensure that I wear a peak cap whenever I exercise outdoors, as well as sunscreen.

I was recently sent a few goodies from RealXGear to try out. RealXGear is 21st-Century Cooling technology made for the extreme performance needs of athletes, sports fans, workers – in short, anyone who needs to stay cool, particularly in the hot summer sun!

The cooling towel I received has a rather unusual texture, much like that of a car chamois but does absorb well and if you are like me and overheat after excising, it feels really cooling on your skin. Unfortunately the weather has been abysmal lately and I have not had much chance, to try out my visor yet but I thought I would share more about the products with you.

How does the cooling technology work?

In addition to the passive evaporative cooling benefits of a wet towel on hot skin, RealXGear cooling technology also involves active cooling through a chemical reaction. Inside RealXGear towels and caps are chemical beads that drop in temperature rapidly when wet, and stay cool for hours. These chemicals are completely safe and environmentally friendly.

Using Cold Water

Obviously the best and fastest results will come from using cold water. Our cooling gear has proven to keep a person’s outside skin up to 20 degrees cooler when using cold water to wet a RealXGear cooling towel.

Using Ambient Temperature Water

If you’re using water that’s about the same temperature as the air, your outer skin will be at least 12 degrees cooler in just a matter of minutes. The towel will then remain cool from 2 to 8 hours depending on the saturation of the towel and outside conditions. For example, a biker wearing our towel may only remain cool for 2 hours as a result of the wind drying out the towel and the beads inside. A gardener wearing our towel, on the other hand, will remain cool up to 8 hours because the outside conditions are not as extreme in drying out the towel.

Using Hot Water

To really put our claims to the test, our product launched on QVC and the demonstration showed the towel being wet with 194 degree water and within three minutes the towel cooled down to 71.9 degrees. Even using almost boiling water, the cooling beads were able to actively cool the towel down to a temperature where it can keep you cool, too! ~ RealXGear

As well as the cooling visor, you will find cooling caps in various colours and the cooling towel in various colours and sizes on their website. To find out more about RealXGear or purchase any of their products click here. As a special offer Inspired Living SA readers, can receive 20% off online orders, if you enter rxg20 at checkout.

Info Source: RealXGear