ORIGIN!

Origin Music Festival is one of the highlights of my year, definitely! But then again, I am most certainly a trance addict to the point of insanity, my friends, new friends and all of the vendors at Origin will agree that my constant foot-tapping and swinging hips are a testament to my dedication.
Only R250 for a weekend pass to absolute bliss...
Unfortunately we were only able to set off on the second night, but we made our way there early on the saturday morning. I did find that the lack of reception was a breath of fresh air, and the welcome into the gates by a flower power hippies just heightened the excitement.
The venue itself, Helderstroom is absolutely beautiful! An oasis in the middle of craggy and dry hills, the abundance of trees and dams made for a beautiful spot. So we set off and erected the tent and immediately went for a bit of a wonder about, the Aztec inspired trance stage was magnificent and the crowds had already formed and were ready to go, so it was only a matter of inserting our home-made apple sour slash go-juice into our lumo-ed up bottles and we hit the dancefloor!
I was so pumped up for Avalon, that I barely noticed how tired I was, and after a short hour, we headed back to the tent, making some new friends as we went and then eventually settling at our tent again, for a short power nap.
Later....
The power nap worked wonders and sooner rather than later, we headed back to the dancefloor, AVALON, was in full swing! I was utterly blown away by the energy that this DJ extraordinaire was creating and we continued to trance the night away.

The DJ's kept on coming but at this point I must admit to being slightly 'sloshed' and losing all sense of time. Simply divine.
I can't wait for the next series of trance adventures, Easter Vortex to be exact? I hope to see you all there... I'll be in the Captains Hat, with a thing of papsak.

http://soundcloud.com/avalon-2/cosmic-relationships/   <---- Go and check this link out... NEOW!
http://soundcloud.com/avalon-official/he-basement-avalon-remix

G-Zis was Here

G-Zis was here.
Well, at Assembly.

Well, he turned my ear-drums into mush and then he decided to go ahead and try convert me to christianity.
Not that I have a problem with that at all, but you can definitely agree that most of the club was rather surprised to hear a blasting of baby-jesus music coming from the overhead speakers, heck! I think even the bloke that was fixing the speaking was shocked for a second.
But then came the bass.

The entire club went crazy with a break that actually has a similar sound to more European dub but hey, I didn't see anyone complaining! The sound was quite intense, and most of the people in the audience, myself included, as was my group of mates, were jumping wildly in the air, sloshing drinks... EVERYWHERE!
It was like a vodka-lime-water shower.
Mmmm... Vodka lime!

Here's a sound clip from last night for those of you that decided not to attend SYNW student night at the assembly and missed out.
Daddy Warbucks also just brought it all home in the end, making up for how bloody packed the club was.

This is a bio taken directly from their spot on The Assembly website as possible SYNW regulars..

"G-Zis is the DJ duo of Alex Fourie and Adriaan Louw. Already established in their own rights - Fourie as the keyboardist/trumpeter of Afrikaans indie band Foto Na Dans, and Louw as a prolific music photographer - G-Zis was formed as an outlet for their eclectic musical tastes for symphonic/melodic electro. Making their debut as the featured act of See You Next Wednesday in May 2011, G-Zis is set to ascend through the ranks as a DJ duo comfortable in any scene".

http://soundcloud.com/g-zis/xmas-rave-sokkie-mix

That song just pumped my up, I'm still a bit delicate, but I'm already getting ready for another SYNW.

The Dollhouse Clothing

Dollhouse Clothing is an indepedently owned company that is simply beautiful!
The clothes are all sold online then you go to a cutesy out of the way warehouse to go fetch them.

The whole idea of this company that I find so incredible, is that each and every article of clothing is done to uniquely express the creator, no two pieces are alike in any way, the highly vantage and hipsetr styled clothes are all the rage and absolutely cater for all shapes and sizes.
One thing that I absolutely adore is that all of the clothes are fairly cheap!
For a flattering pair of high waisted jeans that are perfect for all occassions, especially during Cape Towns hormonal and indecisive weather, something that can be warm with a nice cardi or cut off top, you can't go wrong.
Have a look at some of their latest range:

This is perfect for the more daytime, chilled and somewhat stylish look. BUT
This can also work for going out, you know how Bold prints are in fashion.

This is what I meant by the clothes are for every occasion. Owing to me being a simple girl, for me this is perfect. I Love just slouching around, but fashionably slouching around and then it being comfortable to go out in is perfect.

This for me is absolutely divine! The delicate floral pattern and heeled brogues are definitely in fashion at the moment, with many foreign fashion houses choosing to use pastel and simplistic colour palettes.














Finally... Just something cute and summery!
I love how the model pulls this off.

I really hope that you enjoyed this brief look at the Dollhouse Clothing.
Go have a look at some of their other collections at http://www.thedollhousect.blogspot.com/

Rafikis - more than the local watering hole

Rafikis in long street is one heck of a great place to stop over at. Literally I am not kidding you, every single time I go there, I either see mates from years ago, most of which are highly successful or complete bums, or I end up making some incredible new friends.

Located on Kloof, you can't miss this gem of a bar, restaurant and all of the bits in between that you never, ever want to talk about again.

I decided to ditch the diet and have a snack that included the onion rings off of their very basic, but still practical menu. They were fan-bloody-tastic!

The batter around those suckers is so perfect, it's as though they took a majestic cape and covered themselves whilst listening to opera. I'm getting that metaphorical guys... But don't turn down the burgers either whilst a nice draught is at your side.

So I did the cheeky girlfriend thing and decided to have a few bites from people around me, say I wasn't hungry anymore, and when his food came... Well it became my food at that point.

With their special drinks and BURGER specials on a Tuesday night, I had a great time making tipsy comments at people poker skills and had a great time on the balcony, overlooking the CBD.

It's a definite for a chilled night out with friends, and the budget is also worth it, not a cash strapping venue in the slightest. Go Rafs!

Beat the Heat - Drink cocktails!

These are some drink recipes that are perfect for any party or get-together: Cheap, and tasty.

Home-made Sangria:

What you'll need is a bottle, or two, of white whine. I tend to lean towards the Drostyhof white, it's cheap and not dry like most white wines. But you can also use red wine, that's the more accepted version.
Some cut up fruit, I usually do 2-3 granny smith apples, 2 nectarines, a pear and some pineapple. Chuck some cherries in also!
Leave the fruit to soak in the wine for about an hour or two, and then add half a bottle of lemonade or Sprite.

Ta dah! Home-made Sangria.

Mojito:

You'll need some clear rum, mint, sugar, lime, soda water.

• 2-3 oz Light Rum
• Juice of 1 Lime (1 oz)                  <-- Approximately what you'll need for one drink, so do the math.
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 2-4 Mint Sprigs
• Soda Water 

 Lightly muddle the mint and sugar with a splash of soda water in a mixing glass until the sugar dissolve and you smell the mint
Squeeze the lime into the glass, add rum and shake with ice.
Strain over cracked ice in a highball glass.
Top with soda water, garnish with mint sprig and serve!

 Mai Tai: 


You'll need: light rum, lime juice, orange curacao, orgeat syrup, dark rum and a glazed cherry for garnish.
This one'll be a bit more costly than the others to buy the ingredients but worth it. Oh yes it is!

Pour all the ingredients except the dark rum into a shaker with ice cubes.
Shake well.
Strain into anold fashioned glass half filled with ice.
Top with the dark rum.
Garnish with the cherry.

 
So I hope that some of these will be at the next braai or night out with the ladies/lads.
A tip:

Vodka and whiskey have the least calories in a drink but reduce fitness.
Beer will add carbs but not make you loose fitnesss. Good for the boys!

Paulaner Brauhaus

Going to Paulaner Brauhaus during the week is definitely something that every Cape Town resident should invest in, the authentic German atmosphere creates a feeling of home for many of the foreigners situated in the Cape as well as create a perfect home for beer-lovers and enthusiasts.

 

Located at the V&A Waterfront, by the Clock Tower, the Brauhaus supplies everything gemrna that see in the movies, from home made giant pretzels to self-brewed beer on the premises, you can expect a fantastic night of sing-alongs and drunken promises.
I, personally am not the biggest beer drinker but from the multitude of my friends that don't stop raving about the taste special, where you get to sample some 6 local and foreign beers before getting to choose your preference. I did however, indulge in the schnitzel, the pretzel and the pork rack that were all equally delicious, but not when you're trying to maintain a healthy life-style.
Paulaner is a lot of fun, I had a great time and I look forward to their 'Oktoberfect' where drunk Germans around Cape Town join with those that want to sing and dance to German rock and folk music.

All and all, a great place to spend some time with friends.

The Body Shop

The Body Shop has got to be one of my favorite places to go and get some essentials, the constant smells spilling from the shop onto the outside porch is simply heavenly and I do so enjoy the open mosturiser that you can have a quick glance at.
I went ad decided to treat myself to some well-earned hand moisturizer that will showcase my signature strawberry scent. I tend try and find different and unique smells to wear as I simply cannot wear the generic stuff off the counter if everyone else is.
The pint-sized hand lotion is strawberry adorable and is half finished, already a hit with the boyfriend as he prefers nice smelling but not too heavy on the nose.

You can get this sweet little thing for a decent price and for a nice bargain, you can even try and have a look at their summer 50% discount sale.

My little tip: I buy the Strawberry home fragrance, only R50 and then use that as perfume, only one or two drops and you're sorted for the whole day. Those of you who are reading this and who know me, you'll attest to how perfect it is, subtle and so delightfully delicious smelling.