Auburn and Blue

Good Graffiti

24
Nov

 

Today is Thanksgiving day celebrated in America, but somehow it filtered through to the rest of the world and many people are thinking about their loved ones, counting their blessings and being thankful for life and loved ones.

Surely there was also a lot of feasting going on today and in that spirit, I want to share something you can enjoy, even on a full stomach !

Just to sit back and admire the incredible graffiti on these walls.

Creativity has no end. The talent is simply to be admired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to know which one is your favourite or if you perhaps know where any of these are?! Leave me a comment and share your impressions of these with me. Would love to hear if you enjoyed these as much as I did today.

I received these images via an e-mail from a friend.

Some of these I have seen before and maybe you too…but it was just too good to NOT share.

Unfortunately I don’t have the original source of these images or else I would have credited those. If you happen to own or know who to credit these to, I would be more than happy to do so !

Happy Thanksgiving everyone .

Ilze

Winner for Blog Giveaway 1

23
Nov

 CONGRATULATIONS!

And a big thank you to each of you who made it fun and took part in the first blog giveaway I hosted !

Obviously, without you, I can not do this kind of thing !

And I learn as I go along !

I am hoping to improve the comment section so it will look a little more pretty, be more interactive, hopefully very user-friendly, easy to find and so forth… so that you will love more and more leaving comments for me!
Unfortunately I am not that much of a techie ghuru…I will need to call in a big hand to help me a little ! Here I come, Libby (you will read about her soon).

I will also experiment and use different methods of choosing a winner. Initially I was just going to pick the comment I liked best…but then I read them all…and simply could not do that, as I love you all !!

So, today was just a luck of the draw. Purely “POTLUCK ” !

For the drawing, you could watch this video.

 

 

 

But if you just want to skip the video and straight want to dive into who got lucky….!

The recipient of a beautiful pack of stationery of own choice to the value of 50 000 Won is:  BRIGITTE 
A well deserving winner, since you were actually also the first one to comment on this post! I like that.

I will contact you ! A gift order from Corbdesign to be arranged soon.

Tomorrow I have a great tip that I found on the internet – and it worked so well,  I have to share !

Thanks again Brigitte, Saori, Elli, Grethe, Brenda. Really appreciate that you left comments on the blog!
Next time if you guys can each get 3 friends to also jump in and comment, it will just be all the more fun !

And those of you who have visited the blog but have not yet taken the courage to leave a comment… have a go next time ?!! Follow the lead of these Brave girls in the previous paragraph!
 

 

 

 

Ilze

TIPS for TIDY UP

21
Nov

Today is Monday. Back-to-reality day.
So I thought I would share with you a few tips about tidying up.

Oh..now you remember… that thing that happens in real life.

For me – it is top of mind, because that is what I did this weekend. Not ideal on a weekend, but only day that worked for me.

Because in my house… with so many people around…. a lot of things end up where they don’t really belong…

And although I let things go a bit…there comes a time where the house needs a huge spring cleaning – not that it is spring here and neither am I about to have a baby…but it was time for the house to get a good ship-shape !

I am not talking every day house cleaning in this post. I am talking about a big old house sweep, tackling everything !

Secretly – I love tidying up…probably for the adrenalin rush I get from the end result.

But be it a burden or a secret pleasure, everybody has to do it at some point.

It comes with the title…

 

Yes – you married him…and now you have kids…and the story goes on.

Like any good story – your TIDY up project needs a beginning, a middle and an end.

Take 10 minutes before you start and visualise. May sound silly, but it gives me structure, a plan, direction, purpose and a concept of how much I want and can do. I put post-it notes on the big sliding doors. One for each area that needs clean-up ..which was in this case  – a post it for every room  in the house.

Just by doing this, I already knew I could not possibly get the whole house done in one day. So I had more realistic expectations for my time-frame.

Order you mind…and your house…by moving these post-its into a “busy with” and “done ” section on the window or walls to keep your progress visibly tracked.

Usually I take the post-it with me to the room I work on and then make little notes while I am in there.

In the middle, comes the actual process of tidying up.  A few things I do that might help you too:

– I use some clean-up “tools”.

One of them being these clear and very handy sorting trays. For rooms or cluttered desk areas like the one I showed above, it is frustrating to walk ten times from one room to another…so I put out the trays, sort into them and then go drop the trays in that room…where it waits for me till I get to that room.

You make more progress this way in a shorter time span, especially if you have a house with different levels. And it makes you focus on one room at a time rather than be all over the place all at the same time,

–   Impossible to do EVERY thing in EVERY room on one given day , so as things pop up that I notice to be done, but which is either less important or would require too much time given what else needs to be done that is more important, I make another set of post-its and go stick them on the window as I finish that room.  This generates a to-do list for later.  Same goes for shopping for eg…while I empty out the kids bathroom, I notice that the body wash will be done in a few days, so I put it on the list so long.

This way I feel like I got a lot more done. At least what is not “done”, got noted and will be scheduled for later.

Almost like an over-achiever-feeling…. I know – somebody has to praise us domestic engineers!

–   Then there are those things that simply dont have a place since it is not in use all the time. But you are not quite ready to part with it. A good example for this is in box nr 1 down here. Soccer shoes…. perfectly good as hand-me downs, very expensive….but can’t sit in someone’s shoe closet for a few years till child nr 3 can use it.  But not considered clutter or charity yet. A good tip to store these are attractive boxes that can blend in in an area where you have wasted space. Like these ones on top of the shoe cupboards as you enter the house.

Frustrating part is if you later try to find something and then you simply can’t remember in which box. And experience has taught me that I usually find it in the last box that I open to look for it.

So, this time I did take the time to label and tag things as I put them away.

Here – post-its are tabboos!!

These are in sight so the labels or tags needs to be attractive.

I buy labels as and when I see them (note my stationery fettish) ,so that on days like these, I can just pull them out and put them to good use.

These ones are lovely hardboard labels that I found last year on a Christmas market in South Africa.

Since I change the content of the box with every clean-up, I don’t write on the labels as they will outlast the content.

I leave the permanent tags on the box, but make a “changeable” tag on the back – a small card with Blu-tak that I can easily change when content change, without having to re-do labels. Quick and easy.

– On a day like this, I am pretty much a “missing-in-action” person for the day, so tip nr next is to tell the family ahead of time that you have set a certain date. My family tends to get very irritated when I ask them un-announced to contribute some time in my clean-up effort….but some jobs I can’t do without them.. like fitting their shoes and coats to see which ones should stay and which ones should go.  

Some decisions are just too hard on your own and wears you down.

– When it comes to fridge and freezer, I like to get the freezer section cleared out, clean up and while I then have all content on the table, I do a quick “stock-take” for what is inside.

A nicer, bigger Post-it did the trick here. On the back, some small post-its of the individual items…

 

 

 

If you have a helper, it is easy enough for her to pull of the post-its as she uses the food for dinner. And since these post-its are on the back of another sheet, it never looks untidy this way.  I can now decide on what to do for dinner without having to unpack the whole freezer section every night for dinner.

I do this same exercise on the day I come home with a huge grocery shopping.

Put the paper with the nice front with fridge magnets on the fridge and turn over for the content. Voila – much easier than freeze labels as it is so flexible and easy to keep to date. An additional tip on this one, is to keep the post-it stack with a magnet on the fridge side so you can just add to the list if you bought new items.

Nothing spells trouble so much in my house than an open-ended clean-up exercise. Worst thing I can do is to stay busy well into the evening or even up to bedtime to keep on tidying up.

Knowing that I will have to stop at a pre-determined hour makes the family more tolerant to me being “me” for the day. See – I could carry on and on and on..untill I have pulled off every one of those green “room” post-its !

So, agreeing to end the day with a nice family BBQ made everybody happy. It felt like there was time for relax afterwards and you can go to bed feeling that you did not slave yourself to death till bedtime….

Decide on the “END” time and what you will do to relax as a reward after the day of hard labour.  Much more fulfilling – even if you only got half the job done!

 

Half the house is done. One more day like this will be needed in the near future..

But all is well that ends well… My husband got inspired and tackled those areas he also wanted to do for a long time…

(ps – do not tell that that might be one of the reasons I did it over a weekend…. others feel either guilty or inspired by watching you and join in !)… but let’s not add that to the list of tips today.

So…to re-cap my tips on tidy-up today:

Do you have any special tips that you use when you tidy up??

Tricks of the trade?? Would love for you to share them.

Have you commented on the blog post to be in line for a free giveaway of some stationery? There is still time. See here and leave a comment. Everybody loves to win, don’t you?  Come back on Wednesday to see who is the lucky one.

Untill then – happy tidying!

 

 

Ilze

Happy Children – but not all…

19
Nov

Having a playdate is my daughter’s highlight of any day. She loves company and we are just extremely lucky to have so many friends around.
She has a friend just 2 doors down and they play endlessly, most EVERY day.
Getting a call to ask her over again today, made her  as happy today as if she had never been over before.
In a jiffy, she had the sticker book she was busy with under the arm, coat and boots on and off we went as I walked her up the hill to the friend’s house.
She had time to stop for a photo, make silly faces on the way…but could not wait to ring the doorbell and I could not help but snap another shot with my phone as I watched her excitedly waiting for the door to open up a day of play… a day of happiness.

It makes me so happy to see our children happy.

And then it makes it me so sad when I come across a gift idea which is a stark reminder that not all children are living happy, care-free lives.

So, I thought of sharing with you what was on my mind  today, and tell you of a gift idea that we can consider to make a difference!

 

Quoted ftom the Redbook site:

Light up her holiday with a limited-edition candle from Hollybeth’s. The soothing blend of cool peppermint and sweet vanilla creates a rich, relaxing fragrance that will provide much needed peace and comfort after a long day. A portion of the proceeds goes to Circle of Hope for Domestic Violence, an organization dedicated to empowering and bringing hope to those affected by domestic violence

Ooh…. the idea of that warm candle in this rainy weather just sounds sooo good to me now.

You can find it here.

I want to buy one of these…as it breaks my heart to think of all the children…helpless to defend themselves in a home where happiness has probably never entered the door.

In a time of giving and thinking about Christmas gifts, maybe this is another gift idea!

The idea that it might contribute one tiny bit in an attempt to get victims of domestic violence one step closer to happiness, makes us all happy, doesn’t it?

There is so little we can do in those situations… but this is one way.

Time to go get my little one after her day of play.

Happy Saturday everybody!

Ilze

Hugs and Photos – never too many…

17
Nov

I have two things on my mind…no, actually three after I added the video …but let me start with the first two.

I am working very hard this month to copy all my photos from our desktop to a network.
Reason being space and 2 previous computer crashes. As a result of the crash, I retrieved the photos from different sources of external back-ups..only to sit now with the humongous problem of tons and tons of photos that are duplicated because they were sitting on several backups.

BUT…..at least I had the back-ups (that lesson I am not even going to cover today?!!)

Doing this photo exercise folder by folder…going through almost a decade worth of digital photos surely does take me down memory lane.
And more than just a few times I have asked myself “why, oh why all the millions of photos?!” Surely I can cut down and just save so much space if  I simply don’t take them in the first instance .  Saving space and headaches !

But then I looked at this photo again today.

It was the last one taken of me and my mom…and will forever be the last one of us together.

Taken in April 2010. Moments after that I left for the airport and only could return 7 months later for her funeral.

On Tuesday, I was too sad to post this photo (I did a post here) …but today I am happy that I have this photo.

My sister was standing right there with her camera..and like me… puts just about everything on camera.

I do believe in savoring the moment, rather than always having to take a picture. But, if you can manage to do both, I advise you to. Because sometimes, a picture is all you have left, years later on..when your memory fades on these momental occasions.

Typically you embrace somebody you love with open arms and open hands…but in this photo I was clutching in my fists, the  jewelry that I had to take from her to comply with the home’s rules on security and for safety of the patients if someone were to attempt to take it off them.
She was placed in final care for Alzheimers a few days before but we could not bare the thought of taking her wedding band and last few precious items she wore daily on the first couple of days after she arrived. Sadly we had to comply. Today me and my sister has it and hold it dearly.

Giving a hug is the closest distance between two people’s hearts…

It means a lot of things – but if you have not done so lately – give your loved ones a hug.

Or simply – to someone who needs one.

If they are not close, a virtual hug is just an e-mail or a text away. I know it is cliche, but this is just a reminder once again…

You never know when it may be the last opportunity to do so. Or simply the difference it would make in their day.

On Tuesday, many people sent me hugs and thoughts… and I appreciated each one.

I take pictures of everything !! Millions of pictures….and videos and little momentos.

I have a video recording of the last time my Mom sang a song… I have a video recording of the last phone conversation she had on Skype with my kids and saying that she loved me – in a time she could hardly keep a sentence. And way before this picture was even taken.
I did not know this would have been the last conversation
I did not know this would have been the last picture
I did not know this would have been the last hug.

But I don’t care sorting through this overload of photos and videos. Because I can delete whatever I want… but I can never get back a moment that I did not capture in the first instance.

Today, I am glad I did.

And so, I have 2 things to say for today:
1. Take a picture
2. Give a hug

No wait, I said 3 – because this video below made me think..

so, the third and last thing I want to say – give a hug… irrespective. Maybe it would not mean as much to you..as it would to the other person !

Have someone on your mind, whom you would love to give a hug…or you think needs one?

Simply copy this link: https://auburnblue.com/2011/11/hugs-and-photos-never-too-many/ and send them a one-liner telling them to read the bottom of this post!

 

Blog bling: Shabbyblogs

Ilze

BLOG GIVEAWAY

16
Nov

So many things happening…

End of year is approaching fast and everybody is getting into Christmas mode !

I am getting into the spirit of giving as well…and have a couple of blog giveaways for you to enjoy in the weeks leading up to Christmas. What’s a blog giveaway? I ask you to do something… you do it…. which means you “entered”… and I give you a gift in return !

Why not? ‘Tis the season !

And besides..I would like to give back to all of you who have supported me and my blog and encouraged me to keep writing.

Yesterday, I reflected on this day a year ago… a sad day..but one of the things that kept me going in the empty times…..was to keep on blogging and sharing and hearing from people telling me how they enjoyed reading. Knowing that my efforts and input made a difference somewhere or  somehow, kept me going with something I love and enjoy.

So – a big THANK YOU FROM ME… all those who are “fans” – in whichever way you told or showed me that!

Even if you are not particularly interested in the specific gift of the day – participate !!

a) it is fun to hear from you

b) there will be a give-away later that I will pick from entries on posts where you did not win on that specific post.

Now, I can’t just simply pick and giveaway…so, you have to “enter” …very easy  – telling you at the end of the post how to do that.

In a recent post, I shared with you the wonderful stationery and cards that my cousin designed and printed. If you missed it, do go back and catch up on it here. Maybe you are not that much of a DIY person or maybe it is just simply too busy right now to get yourself into creating your own cards or stationery – and would like others to do the work for you.

One of the first people who liked and commented on my blog was Sally Corben. She is the Art Teacher at our school. And some of you may not know that she also creates cards and stationery which you can order from her web-based business. So today I want to give a little shout-out to Sally and lead you to her website, CorbDesigns. I would like to show a little support for her and give you the opportunity to select a product of your choice, free of charge to the value of 50 000 Korean won (there is an international converter on the site ) and shipped right to your door. Eligible to any country, no need to be in Korea to participate or be shipped to.

 

You can choose any design in any category – be it for christmas cards you want to mail out, birthday invites, birth announcements, personal namecards, maybe cards you can use as gift tags for all your christmas gifts you take so much time and effort with the wrapping and want to personally add a family portrait in there…or even printing a set of cards as a surprise gift for somebody ….mmmm….we all have that person nobody knows what to give?!

I know it’s early to be thinking Christmas…but if you plan to send out cards or give them as gifts…it might not be too early to start thinking about ordering your cards or taking the photos, as these usually takes some time and it just gets more hectic. But hey – you get to tell me more about that in the QUALIFYING question for today’s giveaway.

To participate is easy:

1. You will only be considered for the giveaway if you have “liked” my facebook page or subscribed as a google follower. But SOMEHOW I need to know that you are a fan ! Let’s be honest – who wants to give away free goodies to people who “don’t like” my blog? Haven’t LIKED me yet, but want to? Put your money where your mouth is and go to the side bar now and just click “like” on the facebook button… you have to be signed into your facebook to do that. Don’t have facebook or google – subscribe to get it straight to your e-mail but tell me that in your comment.

2. Leave a comment on this post – telling me:

Are you an early bird Christmas shopper/ planner….or do you usually leave it all very last minute !?!

AND

if you win, which product would you choose from the Corbdesign range.

3. Check back on the blog for a winner – will be announced in one week, Wednesday, November, 23rd.

If you are not familiar with blog giveaways or have more questions, e-mail me via the e-mail button on the right. But give it a try even if it’s new to you…it is fun and free !!

To recap:

Good luck everyone !!

Hope to hear from you.

Now, don’t be selfish – spread the word, spread the love… TELL YOUR FRIENDS !!!

Let them share in the fun – maybe you know of someone who likes to be part of the fun.

Please note – I am still a newbie at blogging – please mail me with any glitches you have in commenting, to like or follow or subscribe and I will very happily help you figure it out…or you help  me ! I am going to experiment with different tools in selecting a winner as we go along ! Hoping to learn a few new tricks.

Blog bling: Shabby blogs – love them !

Ilze

Today, one year ago….

15
Nov

Today, one year ago, my mother passed away.

…I don’t like to make much of an anniversary of such date…but it is also impossible to just let this day pass without acknowledging that she had been on my mind every moment of it.

Her place is empty in this world.

But she lives forever in our hearts and she would have loved this song today… I just know that.
She loved singing and I miss her voice.

Click here to play – U Is Ons Lewenslied

This is who she was…humble, grateful, faithful – living each day to serve others.

We will always love and miss her.

 

image credit: WHO 2003 and apologies if you have to click in a chain with no fancy icons…just cannot be too technical today. Emotionally exhausted.

 

Ilze

11.11.11 Pepero Day

11
Nov

I hope everybody had a super special day on this momentous occassion – 11/11/11.

Here in Korea, it was Pepero Day.

According to Wikipedia, it is an observance in South Korea, similar to Valentines Day.

There are a number of explanations of how it originated, but it is named after the chocolate stick called Pepero and it is an annual celebration – on the day when the sticks placed next to each other resembles 11/11. One thing is for sure though, Koreans and Westerners living here have taken to this fun day in a big way.

Friends and romantics exchange these sticks on this day to share their love and friendships.

So, how else  then than sending  my kids each with a huge box of Pepero to school. You can imagine how many of these chocolate sticks were doing the rounds today in Korea. A huge thank you to my friend who specially brought me a pack of Pepero too so I did not feel left out !

Today, it was obviously EXTRA special since it was called Millenium Pepero Day for the unique 11/11/11 notation!

It is believed that Lotte, the huge supermarket, does currently sell 2/3 of their annual sales for this day specifically (2008: 55% of their total sales of this stick, during this week).

Around the globe this was a very special day….would be very happy to hear what you did on your 11/11/11.

I did say yesterday that today there would be some giveaway on my blog – but I did not want to distract from the uniqueness of today…so, it’s coming !!!

Ilze

Today is Thursday

10
Nov

I am not one of those people who can sit all by myself in a coffee shop without a good book to read or nothing to do other than sipping on the drink I ordered. Well, I don’t have a good book with me….

So, here I am sharing my day with you while I wait for my blondie girl having an hour of voice lessons in the studio next door.

I like Cafe bene here in Seoul  – they have a cozy atmosphere and  a good wi-fi with a number of i-macs for the customers’ use. Isn’t that cool? They even have Skype loaded on the macs if you ever find the need to contact a relative while out and about !

My day was pretty busy… but I had a great morning.

Just realizing again that I really draw my energy from people. They probably feel drained after they met with me as I take it out of them…or it works the same for people who connect, which would be a real win-win!

Having a friend drop by early morning with whom I can exchange recipes, buy jewelry and candles from, exchange ingredients for dishes to make, bringing me things I could not myself find around town and have a great chit-chat – all while still being in my pajamas and before 9 am… is certainly a friend I love having around.

Then my morning continued to be great with having my very creative friend over at my house for a coffee, showing me wonderful things to do with software programs I am not familiar with ! She is so talented with crafts and sewing projects and her blog, MOLINE, is a delight to read and visit. I can’t wait to go try some of the things I learnt !

In a foreign country…expats tend to come  up with groups to make us all feel more at home…. being amongst friends. One of those is the monthly neighborhood luncheon. It is a great way to connect with the ladies from all over the globe who found a new house in your same neighborhood. Only to find today – that despite our best efforts…we still and will remain “foreigners” and maybe we took that “make yourself feel at home”  a little too far !

As me and my friend…. and those who tagged along while we were heading down the street looking for the hostess’ house found out today! The hostess said she would leave the garage open so we would easily find the house. We got quite an unfriendly welcoming committee in the garage – from the one waving with huge gestures that I should not park my car so close to their house… on to the Korean cleaning lady (adjuma) who really shouted at us for leaving our shoes on as we were heading up a staircase we still considered to be not “in the house”. We had good intentions to take our shoes off when we hit the inside of the house, but she was leading us through the back-way and off cause we had no way to explain that to her, so we just obeyed…sneaked back down and handed all our shoes over. The unsuspecting elderly couple on their sofa watching mid-day TV… kind of looked strangely upon us as we looked around for tables to put our food and wine contributing to the potluck luncheon. It did not take us long to realize that we are not in the right house and as we scurried back out the house trying to avoid explaining in a foreign language… I tripped over the steps and almost sent my friend in front of me back to ER for another cast… as her current one is due to come off on Monday after 5 weeks recovering from her injury ! We both crashed into the wall…while the gang behind me …my friend and the elderly couple was all making their way down. Back outside… between hysterical giggles… wine and food back in hand… shoes back on our feet…it all made sense… we noticed the house one up in the street also had the garage open!

Oh.. what a great reminder today that we shall remain foreigners… untill the day we can converse with the Korean crew outside the house to check who lives there before we march up and make ourselves at home in some strangers’ living room. How weird they must think we are…

 

image: Shabbyblogs

Well – my girl is back… big smile on her face for singing a piece she did not think she could manage, before the lesson… so all is well, that ends well.

Her drink is done…she is now hurrying me to hit PUBLISH…so,

all that’s left for me to SAY on this THURSDAY, is the following:

I love my friends… they give me energy, laughs and good times… and a good giggle now and then !

Gotta go.

Back on Friday – with some FREEBIES !!!!! (my daughter is asking – what is freebies?? If you don’t know – keep checking – you don’t want to miss out !)

Ilze

DIY Cards, Cups and Dessert

8
Nov

I love teacups…. and teapots… I kind of collected them at some point.

But what do you do with all those beautiful porcelain pieces in a time where tea parties are not all that frequent an occassion ..and even then people opt for the more convenient coffee mug !

Today a few ideas on how to put your precious pieces to good use and a fun blog to visit to see how postcards are still doing the rounds !!

We all love to show off and share those things that are near and dear to our hearts.

My cousin had a very clever idea.

She turned her collection of teacups into something useful and unique. Using them as a subject matter, she had a morning of fun photographing them and then turned the pictures into beautiful greeting cards with blank insides. High quality card stock and glossy envelopes made them as good as getting them on the High Street. Just a lot more personal.

It’s almost like having a cup of tea with her in one of these when you receive one as a card or a stack of them as a gift – like I did!

I loved getting them….. but felt too sentimental about them to put to use !

Her greeting cards were nicely cut into the teacup shapes, but she also made some old fashioned postcards.

She is a wonderful cook and has a catering business…so, it is no surprise that she did some wonderful South African cuisine in a collage on the front of one of her postcards.

 

As an extra special touch, she added the recipe to one of the best traditional South African dishes on the front of the postcard, with some very appetizing snaps of the dish! Yes – that recipe and all about it, appears later in this post – keep reading to find the link to the other blog I am going to tell you about in a minute !

…and what is on the front is as important as the news on the back sometimes.

It shows the thought process of the person who sent it in the first place.

Who does not love getting a postcard in the mail?….
All of us. But one person in particular is Ellie Fortier, author of the blog, Punctutation Mark. A lovely blog indeed. When she did her post on her birthday wish of getting postcards from all over the globe… I had just the perfect postcard in my stack !

Finally it could come to good use and I mailed it off. It was so fun to see all the wonderful postcards arriving in Elli’s mailbox as she did a great post on each of them ! Mine too made it all the way to Miami and Elli did a superb job of featuring my postcard and my blog and celebrating South African tastes in her post.

I won’t spoil it for you. Best way is to head over to her blog – yes, the post is already a while back..but as I said already – never too late to get a good scoop on South Africa and what is has to offer. There is a Martha Stewart video, instructing this yummy curry dish- bobotie (the one on the postcard) and even a little on South African Wines.

It made me sooooooo homesick… as I was reading about our  lovely country on Elli’s blog. Thanks Elli !

What special things do you have in your cupboards or tucked away that you wish to dust off and put to special use? Will be fun to hear what ideas you have.

So, I guess my question for the day: If you were to make a greeting card or postcard today – what would you put on the front ? What is so special to you that you would wish to share ?

If you have those teacups, but you are not the crafty type… I leave you today with this alternative use for the beautiful cups – serving dessert in them.

My sister sent me this photo of a dessert she recently served in a variety of beautiful cups.

image credit: Sista !

For all the foodies out there… here is the recipe: (psst…nobody will stop you from putting a few ginger snap cookie crumbs with a hint of butter in the bottom of the cup first)

 

image: Shabby Blogs

People adore the taste as much as the presentation when you entertain – remember that !

It will serve you well.

Mmmm…my mouth watering…bobotie with strawberry dessert!

Enjoy Everybody !

 

Ilze

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