Lifestyle - Inspired Living SA

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

Trunk Show Launch Party

Last week I was invited to the Trunk Show Launch Party at the Tjing Tjing bar, in Cape Town. Trunk Show is not just another market it is a celebration of some of the finest local design talent in South Africa and a wonderful day out, filled with beautifully & locally made bespoke products! Do some gift shopping in the comfort of a luxury venue around the Western Cape, while sipping on some champagne and nibbling on cupcakes. It is shopping without the bustle and chaos of a mall or market and the perfect excuse for a girls or moms day out or for that anniversary gift that he’s been promising you 😉

Image by Mandi Schultz Photography

At the party I got to meet the two lovely ladies who are responsible for organising the Trunk Show every month – Francoise Brand, from Hello Nunu and Catherine Nebe, from Mr & Ms. It truly was a coming together of amazing talent, in a wonderful venue in the center of Cape Town and bubbly to sip on while you browse, what more could you ask for.

Mr and Ms is a gorgeous locally made fashion range, which is all about individual expression. The brand is not primarily about chasing current trends, but rather about taking inspiration from beautifully designed clothing from the past and applying that inspiration to today’s context.

Images by Mandi Schultz Photography

Hello Nunu for my regular readers needs no introduction! They create handmade, knitted and crochet clothing and blankets. Products also include hand knitted bed throws, linen and bedroom accessories. Such cute items for the little ones!

I love hats so you can imagine my excitement chatting to the wonderfully talented designers from The Little Hattery! They are a Cape Town based styling company that specialises in creating exquisite head-wear, accessories and custom clothing. I absolutely LOVE their hats and the waistcoats are stunning too, they are like something from another era! So if you are looking for a gorgeous headpiece for a special occasion or just to be noticed they are the ones to call!

Quiver offers handmade items, such as fabric covered rings and earrings. The fabric is sourced for its quality and design and used to accentuate these elements, to ultimately create a unique piece of jewellery. One could say that it is a method of up-cycling fabric off cuts and giving it a whole new purpose!

CosyKids sell a handmade range of bespoke linen and accessories, perfect to decorate your babies nursery or child’s bedroom. I love the little sheep – too cute for words 🙂

The designers from Anomali are truly amazing! You really must check out their website, to see more detail, my photo’s do not do justice. They have taken the boring out of jewellery design! I quote “Besides our highest regard for craftsmanship and originality, we believe jewellery is not really meant to be taken seriously, and we think that people forget this. To us, it has come to function as a type of grown-up toy and we always try to treat it as such. Instead of trying to create ‘status’ jewellery, we rather focus on pieces that will come to have value as time passes, when a person has spent time with it and have come to attach their own personal meaning.” Making jewellery pieces out of vintage spoons is certainly not something I would have thought of.

Last but not least was Luli pulani, who design and manufacture footwear and also offer footwear courses and workshops. Some of the shoes on display reminded me of satin geisha slippers and they look amazingly comfortable as well.

To find out when the next Trunk Show is happening, follow them on Facebook.

All images where not stated are property of ©FAR Photography

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

Win a Wine Tourism Handbook

Last month I posted about The KLINK Awards, which have been launched by Wine Tourism South Africa, publishers of the Wine Tourism Handbook, with the objective of inspiring South Africans to explore and enjoy the experiences offered by the country’s winelands.

A panel of industry-related professionals nominated the top five finalists in each of the KLINK Awards’ fourteen categories. Your job was to go to the Wine Tourism South Africa website , Facebook or Twitter pages, see which top wineland spots are amongst the nominees and vote. The full list of categories is available on the website and the winners in each will be announced on the 25th of October.

On the 1^st of November the country’s inaugural Wine Tourism South Africa #KLINK Awards will take place in Cape Town. Here the cream of the winelands crop will be recognised for their offerings in various categories – based solely on your experiences, as the consumer and feedback from you, received via email, Facebook and Twitter.

The event will be held at the De Waterkant Centre, headquarters of dhk Architects whose award-winning work has included several wineries such as Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch, Almenkerk in the Elgin Valley and most recently, Mulderbosh in Stellenbosch. Derick Henstra, Executive Chairman of the dhk Group, is also a wine connoisseur who has translated his love for wine into a growing resume of wine boutiques.

“The #KLINK Awards have given consumers a much-needed voice in determining which wine farms and routes are deserving of recognition based on their own experiences with them.~ Derick Henstra

As a special prize for Super Mom Blog Readers, WTSA have sponsored 5 copies of the Wine Tourism Handbook and still need to find winners for them! What an awesome guide to have while exploring the amazing wine regions of South Africa!

Please leave a comment below this post with your details and tell me what your favourite winelands spot is and you could stand a chance of winning 1 of 5 copies of the Wine Tourism Handbook! Please tweet about it on Twitter – Win a @WineTourismSA handbook on @supermomsablog 0r Post about it on Facebook – Win a @WineTourismSouthAfrica Handbook on @Supermomblog.

I will announce the winners on the 26th October 2012.

Cape Town Lifestyle, Food, Healthy Eating, Lifestyle

Lucozade All Summer Energy Challenge

As you know coffee is an important part of my everyday existence! Well, I have been given a challenge, wait for it – to try to do with out my cuppa-jo for a week (sounds crazy, I know!) and replace it with Lucozade. Lucozade is a glucose rich energy drink, with a bit of added caffeine, which promises to give me all the vooma I need. I doubt whether this will be a long-term plan but in saying that, I can certainly do with more of an energy boost, especially in the afternoon.

Lucozade is also currently running a competition, where they would like you to capture that all summer energy moment – a moment filled with good times, great friends and that beaming summer smile of yours! All you need to do is send your #AllSummerEnergy pictures in, via twitter or MMS – holding your bottle of Lucozade. There is a daily prize of R3000, all summer long. There is also a grand prize up for grabs of a cool R150 000. To find out more and how to enter visit the Lucozade website and do not forget to hashtag your entry with #AllSummerEnergy brought to you by @LucozadeZA.

So watch this space – my Lucozade arrived today but I will start my challenge on Monday, it is the weekend after all! We will see if I manage the week without coffee (my poor family!) or if it all unravels at a rapid rate! 😉

*Disclaimer: I have been provided with Lucozade Energy Drinks for the purpose of the challenge but am in no way affiliated with Lucozade or the competition they are running.

Cape Town Lifestyle, Eating Out, Events, Food, Lifestyle, Markets, Out & About, Proudly South African

The Constantia Gift Fair 2012

As I mentioned in a previous post, it is approaching the silly season, we all begin to make our Christmas lists and end-of-year gifts need to be sourced. Well I cannot think of a better Christmas shopping experience, away from the busy malls and general hustle and bustle, than The Constantia Gift Fair.

The Constantia Gift Fair is held at SARDA, in Constantia, a truly beautiful location, with amazing views of the breathtaking Constantia Valley. The Constantia Gift Fair 2012, will be held from the 7-11th November. There will also be a The Gift Fair taking place in Durbanville, at the end of November.

The Constantia Gift Fair is not only a fair, it is a lifestyle event full of inspirational ideas and hand-picked innovative products – a celebration of gifts with a difference. There will be fabulous home and garden accessories, stunning fashion items from local fashion brands, and gorgeous must-have gifts on offer.

After you have finished your shopping or if you are merely in need of extra energy to carry on shopping 😉 head on over to the deli area. The deli section is an extravaganza of delicious and exotic food-gifts. The famous Tina Bester, “Queen of Tarts” will also be at The Fair, wowing patron with her baking prowess. There will definitely be something for everyone from gorgeous sushi, flat-breads burgers to decadent cheeses and breads, so come and sample the amazing food on offer – wash it all down with a craft beer or superb Constantia Valley wines. Even the kiddies will be catered for. You can finish of your meal with amazing artisanal Ice Cream and perfectly brewed coffee. It is all making my mouth water already!

The Fair promises a magical atmosphere, with late-night shopping on Friday evening until 8pm, live music for the adults and entertainment for the kiddies as well. Kiddies activities will include art options, as well as physical fun to keep your little-ones occupied while you shop.

The Constantia Gift Fair will be held from the 7-11th November 2012:

7 & 8th Nov (Wed & Thurs) 9am – 5pm

9th Nov (Fri) 9am – 8pm (live music)

10 & 11 Nov (Sat & Sun) 9am – 5pm

The Durbanville Gift Fair will be taking place from the 29th November until 2nd December 2012. For more information or contact details you can visit The Gift Fair website.

Cape Town Lifestyle, Coffee, Eating Out, Food, Lifestyle

Coffee in the City

As many of my readers already know coffee is somewhat of an obsession of mine. I will not drink coffee unless it’s the “real-deal”, I am not embarrassed to say I am a big coffee snob, instant coffee does not pass my lips – EVER! I would quite honestly rather drink Rooibos tea or water, than drink instant coffee. That said you can also get coffee served to you that is masquerading as espresso coffee, some watered down excuse for coffee. I guess like great wine; it is all about what goes into the product that determines the outcome, as well as who is making it! It is important to know where the source of the coffee beans, as well as how they are roasted and brewed. Hence my plan to source some of the best Coffee in the City. [Read more…]