Photos from Amsterdam

Amsterdam for New Year? 

Best Idea Ever!

Pilansberg National Park

One of my favourite things about South Africa are the national game parks!

 This weekend I joined my family on a whirlwind trip to Sun City. Even though I was only there for  a night it was great to get out of Joburg. This morning we went for a drive through the Pilansberg National park and while we didn't see loads of animals, we saw a rhino, lots of elephant and buck.  

I took a few photos while we were in the park, if you have never been, it is a must see! My favourite is  the Kruger Park and I am planning a trip where I travel from the bottom all the way to the top of the park.

Pilansberg National Park

Elephants

Hippo

Kingfisher

Lillies

Rhino

Tsessebe

I've decided that I need to add another place to my travel bucket list: The Serengeti... definitely need to get there sometime soon!

Cape Town #2

The last weekend I spent in Cape Town was rather busy! My mother and brother came down for his half term and I tried to pack as much into the weekend as possible!

Morning tea at the Mount Nelson

Wine Tasting at Meerendal in Durbanville. I really enjoyed their  Heritage Block Pinotage and Pinotage Rose.

I took my brother and cousin on a boat trip around the Simon's Town Harbour

Finally, we went through to Kalk Bay for a seafood lunch and walk through the harbour

My not so baby Baby brother

Cape Town is a beautiful city with loads of interesting places to see and experiences to have. That said, I am thrilled to be back in Johannesburg - life just happens here at a faster pace! 

There doesn't always seem like there is as much to do as there is in the Cape, but my friend El is on a mission to prove that wrong! But I'll keep my "Jozi" adventures for another day! 

Paris!

Macaroons from Laduree

Picnics in the parks

 Christmas market along Champs Elysée

Sunset boat ride on the Seine

Exploring Montmartre

These are some of the things I did in Paris a few weeks ago when I was there with my mom and my sister. We had a lovely weekend and I'm really looking forward to the next family trip we all go on! 

Once again, I took hundreds of photos! I could never include all of them here but I do hope you enjoy the ones I have posted below.  My favourite photos of the set are those where the famous Paris landmarks are not the main focus, but rather captured in the background against which everyone goes about their daily lives. 

Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

Eiffel Tower

Tuileries Garden

Notre Dame

As its getting closer and closer to Christmas, I have started thinking about what presents to buy for my friends and family. Once again I think it is likely to turn into an Internet shopping spree - as I am not sure when I'm going to find the time to make my way to the shops. I will be updating my pinterest boards with any cute ideas I come across :).

I know I have mentioned the following singers quite recently, but I just wanted to share  some more of their music. I have been listening to these singers/bands on repeat for a little while now. I've also included the new single from the Black keys - I have listened to their music for a while  - but have only heard their new single in the past few days! Amazing!!

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (Album out on 31 Jan - think it will be my birthday present myself!) 

Florence and the Machine - No Light, No Light (Fantastic Album! and stunning video)

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy (I will buy this album this week! I think this will be amazing to play really loud when I'm driving again next month!)

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and if you have any new music suggestions/gift ideas or things to do in London before I leave, drop me a note!

Southbank and Red Velvet disaster!

I'm loving the mist that has settled over London at the moment, and was quite surprised that it hadn't extended to Southbank where my sister and I spent the afternoon. We walked around the Tea and Coffee Festival and bought  some yummy treats from the Outsider Tart stall. I had a Pumpkin Brownie and Kelly had a Congo Bar.... the brownie was divine and I bought their cookbook as soon as I got home! My sister had mentioned this bakery earlier in the week so I thought I better check their website and ... cutest thing ever... they have a 'Barkery' where they sell dog biscuits as well! I might need to buy some for my pets back home!

In search for an ATM, we walked closer to the river and came across a Christmas market selling all the usual German sausages, Christmas decorations and Gluhwein! It took me back to the week I spent in Dusseldorf last December exploring the markets in my time off. While walking along the Thames I managed to get some stunning photos of a hazy Big Ben and Parliament. 

After a lovely afternoon, it was time to head home and bake some red velvet cupcakes! After a rather stressful week, I decided this would be the perfect way to relax before the week coming up..... I was wrong! 

I used too much bicarbonate of soda (recipe said 1 tsp - I read 1 Tbsp) .

Because of this, the first batch I made tripled in size and all moulded into 1 giant cupcake while cooking. (Luckily there was enough batter for a second batch)

As I don't have an electric beater, my icing has chunks of icing sugar in it.

And possibly the worst thing about them is that they are not red but brown! 

They look like normal chocolate cupcakes - I was so upset! But at least they taste good and when I take them into work tomorrow I might just tell everyone they're chocolate and the icing is meant to bits of icing sugar in them. 

I wont post any pics of them just yet - it will just depress me even more! I will though when I perfect the recipe and produce RED cupcakes as soon as I am back in SA in my mom's fully equipped kitchen!

On a final note, one of the blogs I've been reading recently, has been talking about an accessories shop called Barberry and Lace. If you click on this link you will get a 20% discount when you buy something from their store! Go check out their website - their necklaces are beautiful and ideal for Christmas presents! I can't wait for my goodies to arrive in the post!

London Borough Market!

Borough Market is one of my favourite places to go on a Saturday morning! Definitely worth a visit if you are in London over a weekend!

 I dream of hosting a dinner party where I have bought all the ingredients from the stalls you are able to find there.

Weekend in Rome

Last month, I spent a weekend in Rome. Instead of describing how amazing it was, I would rather just post loads of photos!

 I can definitely see myself living there one day.