My new *CAMERA*

I am so excited to introduce to you my very own, shiny black, taker of pretty still life pictures, Canon 60D! I am so very excited with my piece of photographic magic, that I couldn't resist a few shots. I spent many an hour online finding the perfect camera, and the age old Nikon/Canon debate held me back a few times. Farmboy swears by Nikon, but I have been using a Canon for the past 6 months, and it's the only camera that now truly feels at home in my hands. If you're in the market for a new slr, check out Ken Rockwell's site, full to the brim with useful tips and reviews on just about every camera out there!

This is the first SLR camera that actually 100% belongs to me, and I'm thrilled to bits! I can't wait to post lots of photo prettyness!

#PhotoOfTheWeek..Stripes

And we are back on track for our weekly photo challenge! The past week's theme was Stripes, and here are the submissions! Thank you to everyone who sent through a photograph, it's so wonderful to see how much you have each improved, and just how creative you are all getting :) Well done!

Taken by: Rob

Taken by: Meg

Taken by: Sue

Taken by: Roxy

And we have a new member to add to our growing team! Welcome Lisa! And what a super picture to start off this weekly challenge, well done! Looking forward to seeing you photo's Lisa :)

Taken by: Lisa

Natur Vital *Rose Water Toner*

Scouting around Dischem in search of skin care products is never an easy task. I get distracted by all the packaging, the promises of "clearer looking skin in just 10 days" etc etc etc. Farmboy calls Dischem the 'trap door of all trap doors" which lures unsuspecting girl friends, fiance's and wives, only to spit them out hours later, penny less, but armed with every kind of eyeliner, lipgloss and conditioner under the sun. Sounds like my kinda place :)

Well, it was on one of those missions, to find the perfect toner, that my eyes happened to look upon the 'no name brand' aisles when I spotted this Rose Water Toner. For only R20 I thought I couldn't really go wrong, and, well I sure didn't. 

NaturVital is a range of "products that provide natural solutions to all your beauty, hygiene and personal care needs. We have a very clear work ethic and the products we prepare for you are always of the highest quality, made using natural extracts, oils and plant essences, in exactly the right balance and proportions to provide the maximum effect in a natural, non-aggressive way"...sounds a little airy fairy to me. But I did need a new toner while I wait for my cleanser and day cream to finish, and for R20 you can't really go wrong. I would liken this toner to Vichy's Thermale 3 in 1 Cleansing Solution (click here) but without the R198 price tag.

To be honest, I think I can officially say this has got to be one of the gentlest, effective cleansers I have ever used. It's kind to my skin, whilst still removing all traces of makeup and dirt, leaving my skin feeling soft and clean. It's all use before bed, with a dab of night cream. It has a rather pleasant smell and of course, I just love the colour :). There are lots of known benefits to using rose water (click here) and up until now I didn't really see what all the fuss is about But after using this toner for a little over a month I can really see a difference in my skin's moisture levels (it's no longer dry in patches) and it feels soft as a baby's bum. I can't say for sure whether it's helped my recent outbreak of dreaded pimples, as I am on a course of Antibiotics which has worked wonders, but never the less I love this product!

If your looking for something that's easy on your pocket, looks very pretty and works pretty darn well as a cleanser, toner and make up remover, head on over to Dischem pronto!

6 Months before the Wedding {Part 2}

A little while ago I wrote this post on what you should have done and organised 6 months before your big day. There was far too much to put in one post, so here is part 2. In terms of time frame, I have used 6 months as my starting point as that is how long I have had to get ready for my wedding. But of you have longer, then rather use these as a guideline, or rather, a check list. If you have less than 6b months to plan, then get your bum moving :) But not to worry, lots of my friends have planned weddings in 3 months and under. You just have to get your 'pinterest on' (if you have not heard of Pinterest before, do yourself a favour and click here, your life may be changed forever, not to mention your internet bill!).

This was the most exciting part of planning my wedding so far. In terms of imporatnce, this was one of the first things I decided on. As we are getting married on the farm, we were really excited to incorporate a little bit of farm into our wedding (and so wooden tables were decided upon in place of tresstle tables and overlays). We are having our tables very simple, with the wood being the main feature, with lace table runners down the centre bringing in a slight Vintage touch. This not only saves money on huge amounts of overlays and draping, but I think also adds something a bit special. Poor Farmboy and my soon to be Father-in-Law have had the job of making the tables (click here to see how they are getting along) as I was unable to find the right kind of tables...fussy much I hear you asking? :)

For idea's for your theme or colour scheme, look through sites like Pinterest, The Pretty Blog and 100LayerCake which provide lots and lots of free idea's.

Your decor will very much depend on your above theme and colour palette, so once you have decided what colours you are going with, it's time to find out who can get you exactly what you want to make your special day a reality. Farmboy and I are doing a lot of the decor ourselves, a lot of people think that by doing things yourself you save a fotune in hirig costs. This is not always the case, as sourcing materials can be expensive, not to mention very time consuming. Sometimes its best to leave it to the professionals who have the most experience in dealing with suppliers. But, if like us you want to add your own touch to your wedding then be prepared for lots of hours spent researching and requesting quotes.

If you go onto sites like The Pretty Blog, a lot of suppliers advertise their business on the side, so thats a great place to start looking. Then a good old google search will help you some more. Here are a few good sites with comprehensive lists of suppliers all over South Africa:

I Want That Wedding
Celebration
The Wedding Directory
SouthBoundBride

These day's fun and creative wedding invites and Save the Dates are all the rage, and this is one area you really can save yourself a lot of money by making your own. If you are the creative type and know your way around photoshop, then why not design them yourselves. If you are wanting to go green, here is a great site that is free and allows you to customize your own wedding stationey. Paperless Post then sends you your digital copy which gets sent to all your guests. It's  alovely way to make sure those oversea's guests get your invite without the extra worry about the postman not being very reliable.

But if your budget does extend, and you are looking for something unique and special, why not get someone else to do the hard work for you?! I know my way around PhotoShop, but i haven't a clue when it comes to illustrating, so we got the lovely girls over at Ruby and the Swallow to help us out with our wedding stationey. Kim and Filipa, the two braisn behind the design colective that is Ruby and the Swallow are such fun to work with, and i thought were so reasonable, I have enlisted their help in most of my wedding stationey. Just drop them a line here if you're looking for a lovely local team to do stationery for your function. Click here to see the Save the Dates they designed for our wedding, we just loved them!

Ranking very high on our list of proirities is our Photographer. After all the glitz and glam is over, your photographs are the only thing you have left to show for your big day (apart from of course a lifetime with the one you love!). I contacted about 10 different photographers for our big day, and after much deliberation, finally settled on Jacki Brunquel. Farmboy and I are very excited to work with her, and love her creative flair.

Before you even start looking, you need to decided what kind of photographer you want to cover your big day. Here are a list of wonderful photographers we looked at (all based in the Durban area) before finally deciding on Jacki Bruniquel. They were all so very helpful, and it was a very hard decision to make, but we are very excited to have Jacki and look forward to having her cover our special day!

Jacki Bruniquel

Samantha Maber

Alexis Diack

CC Rossler

Tink Photography

BrightGirl

So there you go, another list :) If you feel I have left anything out, please drop me a comment below, I love hearing from you!

xxx

Market Purchase *Pink Teapot*

This weekend was the I Heart Market at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Buttercup Collectibles was there, with both Farmboy and myself manning the stall. Thanks to all of you that came on by to say hello and make a purchase. We are planning to be back next month, with lots more vintage collectibles in stock.

Here's a little something I just couldn't resist from Irene at the Lulu Shop. Isn't it just gorgeous?! I can't wait to have friends over for a little spot of tea!

*Sage* Ballito {Café}

I had a very quick visit to Ballito a few weekends ago, to a) fetch my lovely Save the Dates for our Wedding from the oh-so-talented ladies at Ruby and the Swallow, and b) to have a coffee and catch up with one of my oldest school friend, Sandra. She suggested we head to Sage, just on the outskirts of Ballito for some good food and a vibey atmosphere.  Here are just a few snaps of our time spent drinking cappuccino's, wandering around the lovely premises, and eating the odd slice of cake...

Sage is so much more than just a cafe, complete with garden and lifestyle decor, kiddies play area, boutique clothing store and salon, you could easily find yourself spending your whole day there. And with lots and lots of goodies to keep the kids busy, Mom can relax with a good cup of coffee and have her nails done, all without moving an inch :)

1 Old Fort Road, Fox Hill, Salt Rock
sagecafe@telkomsa.net
Tel: +27 (0)32 525 8059


**website coming soon at www.sagecafe.co.za**

#PhotoOfTheWeek...Peering

With the long weekend here in South Africa I am only posting our photo for this week now. Last week's theme was "peering", I love the varied submissions! 

Taken by: Megan

"Peering out the bushes while on the hunt" Taken by: Roxy

"Peering out from under the cover" Taken by: Sue

"Peering at fragments of a long lost friend" Taken by: Rob

Our Wedding Mood Board...

I've found a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest (you can follow my boards here) and thought I'd pop a few of them together to give you a little idea. I think a lot of people are quoting Pinterest as the source of their images, which isn't actually correct (I read a rather interesting blog post a little while ago which stated that whatever content is uploaded onto Pinterest becomes the property of Pinterest itself...a little scary really! So if you are uploading images that you have taken yourself, try and put a watermark on your photo's and attach a link back to your site! And if you are using images from Pinterest on your blog/facebook/twitter account, try and link it back to the oringinal artist, it's the polite thing to do!).

Anyway, here is a little mood board filled with prettiness and inspiration.

Enjoy!

xxx

Sources: 

1: Vero Beach Wedding by Bellafare

2:  Carmel Valley Wedding by First Comes Love Photo

3. BippityBoppityBoo

4: Threads of Love by Bunch Studio

5: Texas Apple Pie Wedding Inspiration

6: Australian Wedding by Pobke Photography

Our Engagement Photo-shoot

A little while ago I posted a sneak peak of our Engagement Shoot by our special friends Sophie and her husband Cameron. I met Sophie through Dale, while studying at Rhodes University. Sophie and Cam both live in Cape Twon, and Sophie (who is a Photo Journalist by trade) shoots weddings, engagements and a host of other things too. Click here to check out her blog.

These are the photographs of our engagement shoot from May 2012. It feels like this was a lifetime ago, as since then we have moved across the globe (for the second time) and are well and settled into life in South Korea. 

You can see all of our wedding related blog posts by clicking here.

{Pietermaritzburg} 6 months on...

I have posted these photo's below before, but I loved them so much I felt the need to post them again! And, they kinda fit in with the title of this post.

6 months ago today I moved to the sleepy town (or so I thought) of Pietermaritzburg. I was only supposed to be here for 2 months, I had a job lined up with an awesome PR company in Jo'burg, I was to be their newest Social Media Manager. Here's what changed and what I've got up to in the last few months:

1. I got engaged!! So exciting! You can follow me and all my wedding plans here.

2. I registered with the University of Kwazulu Natal to do my Postgrad Certificate in Education...loving every second of it!

3. Started Buttercup Collectibles, which has it's own little piece of the action at the I Heart Market in Durban.

4. Moved into my own little flat (pictures to come soon! )

5. Started instructing spinning class at the new Virgin Gym here at Cascades.

6. Am in the process of getting pretty serious with my camera after these pictures (here's to future photography venture's!)

7. Have made some of the most lovely and special friends (most of whom I have met through the local  NCF Church).

8. Started a weekly photo-challenge with just myself and Farmboy, and which has grown to over 15 members (if you would like to join our team, just drop me a line at citygirlsearching{at}gmail{dot}com)

8. I have nearly finished exploring every single second hand/thrift/charity/antique store in the vicinity!

So there you have it, 6 months and counting. It sounds exhausting when I look back on my short time so far here in the Capital of KZN...but I'm oh so excited for the next 6 to come!

xxx

Celebrating my Engagement with a *Spot of Tea*

My lovely friends organised my a little {surprise} tea party to celebrate my recent engagement. I say {surprise} in brackets, because I had to go an ruin the surprise by trying to control everything, as per usual (*Farmboy, I promise to curb my insatiable need to be in control of everything all the time, before we are married!) Most of these shots were taken by my very special friend, and wonderful bridesmaid, Kayleigh...thank you to each and every one of you ladies, it was perfect!

xxx

The Weekend...some snaps

A few snaps from a lovely drive through Underberg this weekend to see the Autumn leaves at Kenmo Lake, Hazeldene *Nursery/Wedding Venue/Pretty place for a picnic* in Himeville (Hazeldene belongs to a very generous couple, who planted these gorgeous tree's on their property, and allow the public to visit all throughout the year. They also have a nursery where you can buy yourself all sorts of tree's!)

Next weekend there is a picnic in Hazeldene Park, open to all to enjoy the gorgeous Autumn colours!

#PhotoOfTheWeek...Orange

Last week's Photo Of the Week Challenge was the "Orange". I love the contrasting shades of orange from each submission! Well done everyone :)

When Farmboy and I first started this PhotoChallenge we hadn't expected such a great response from my readers (and of course family and friends). Now we have a team of over 15 team members, each contributing photo's when they can...it's awesome!

If you would like to be a part of the photo challenge, just drop me a line here or email me at citygirlsearching{at}gmail{dot}come.

I look forward to seeing everyones submissions next week!

xxx

Taken by: Megs

Taken by: Natalie

Taken by: Rob

Taken by: Sue

Taken by: Roxy

Taken by: Victoria

Clarins Everlasting Foundation {Review}

It's been rather a long time since I've done a makeup review on the blog, I will blame that on getting engaged and starting my practical teaching this year for my Teaching Diploma (and of course general life that get's in the way of good blogging!). But here we are with a foundation review.

I've had this Clarins Everlasting Foundation for a while now. I use it in between other products (like my favourite Revlon Concealer and Yardley Powder which is my staple everyday base wear) but when I'm looking for that extra bit of coverage I haul it out. 

I have only given it a 3/5 for coverage, becasue I find my skin gets quite oily when I wear a heavier amount of the product. It does blend easily, but there's just something about it that doesn't make me go wow! Of course when you go to the counter and the lady there puts it on with all her fancy brushes, and fancy words it looks amazing. But when you get home and it's just you; foundation in one hand, brush in the other, it's a completely different story. And, to be honest, the only everlasting thing about this foundation is the actual product in the bottle. It has lasted me ages!

In terms of prettyness, I love the packaging. It's clean and simple (although a tad of the heavy side, being glass) but it does look nice on my shelf. Price, well at around R350 a pop, it doesnt come cheap. 

Overall, I give this foundation a 3/5. It's useful, but it doesn't really blow my hair back, and if you have even a slightly oilier skin, I would steer clear of this one.

Clyde & Candice {Engagement}

A few weeks ago, on a sunny afternoon, two friends and their fiance's headed into the Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens for a wee spot of posing. Great fun was had by all, most especially the couple in question. Dear readers, I am pleased to introduce to you Clyde and Candice, who will be saying their *I do's* in January next year.

Enjoy

xxx

#PhotoOfTheWeek...Darkness

This week we only have two entries for the Theme Darkness, well done to Megan and Rob for their submissions! I think they are fantastic! 

I am looking forward to seeing your photo's next week :)

Taken by: Megan

Taken by: Rob

Taken by: Roxy (This is one of the posters Farmboy helped me make for my Varsity assignment! Not the best photo but it does at least give you a sense of what you might see when the sky turns to dark!)

Zando Giveaway {Winners}

Well done to the following ladies for each winning a R100 voucher to spend at South Africa's most comprehensive online fashion store!

Megan

Kim

Filipa

Andrea

An email is on it's way to you with your vouchers.

Happy Shopping ladies!

xxx

Our *Save The Dates* {Ruby & the Swallow}

Dear wonderful ladies behind the charming blog, Ruby & the Swallow!

You have made both Farmboy and myself so very happy with your design work for the Save the Dates for our wedding. We both cannot wait to see what you come up with for our invitations (and of course all the other goodies we have put you in charge of!).

If there is anyone out there looking for a lovely, personal, and oh-so-creative duo to design something special, click here to get in touch with Ruby & the Swallow. The girls made it so easy for us to get exactly what we wanted for our wedding, and every little detail has been thought of...including the actual packaging that safely stored our envelopes!

Thank you ladies, you really are just fab!

Pencils...

So, what can I say when I find myself sharpening *all* my pencils at 9:35 on a thursday night...I know you want to say it. Nerd. That's right. I am a nerd. But, if it makes you happy...why the hell are you so ....ok I got a little carried away with Sheryl Crow there, but I'm sure you're picking up what I'm putting down, right? Let me leave it at that, and just post these few snaps...

And then I arranged them into the colours of the rainbow...sigh...it's been a long day teaching little kiddies who spend more of the lesson sharpening their pencils than listening to me.

#FoundationPhaseTeacherRantings

Our Wedding Tables...

Most 'normal' people look into hiring trestle tables for their wedding, especially when they are planning on having 160 guests. But I guess you wouldn't really call me normal then. In oder to fit in with our *country style/vintage feel/farmy* wedding, we both really wanted to have genuine antique wooden tables. This was slightly ridiculous considering we would be needing 16 of them! So, Farmboy and his Dad decided to do the next best thing...make them!

My Handsome Farmboy...I'm so lucky!! :)