Chocolate Brownies {recipe}

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125g butter
45g cocoa powder
2 large eggs
200g castor sugar
150 self raising flour
60g chopped dark chocolate
makes 12 brownies

**I doubled the recipe and ended up making about 35 delicious, melt-in-your-mouth brownies**













**Bake in a heated oven at 180C for 20 - 25 mins, or until cooked through but still moist**






A weekend in the bush {Lindani Game Reserve, Waterberg}

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This past weekend was spent in Lindani Game Reserve in an 11 sleeper lodge, with fire roasted marshmallows, and steaming cups of coffee in the early hours of the morning, while watching the sun come up. A short 3 hours from Joburg, it was the perfect family getaway. A few photo's...




Late afternoon stroll with my brother David (dressed in blue), his lovely girlfriend Sam, and Farmboy




Sneak Peek {Wedding Invites}

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A sneak peek of our wedding invites from the lovely ladies at Ruby and the Swallow (they also did our Save the Dates too!)...we are so happy with them...I can't wait to show them to you once they have all been handed out!


#PhotoOfTheWeek...Food

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This past week's theme for our weekly photo challenge was 'Food'. Well done to everyone whi submitted a photograph! They are really great! 

Every week, the team is given a theme (each team member is given a chance to choose the theme for the week) and then each person has 7 days to take the perfect picture. It can be as edited or as natural as you like, the only rule is it has to be submitted to me by Sunday evening (South African time) so that I can get the post up asap on Sunday night/early Monday morning! 

If you'd like to join in, just drop me a line at citygirlsearching@gmail.com and I will send you that week's theme and you can get started right away!


Taken by: Meg

Taken by: Vicky

Taken by: Julia

Taken by: Roxy

{Wedding} Wedges

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With getting married on a farm, there are a few restructions when it comes to finding the perfect {and as much as I hate to admit it...practical} wedding shoes can be a bit of a challenge. Luckily for me, I had already decided I wanted to wear wedges, before we had even decided on the farm! They are practical; *and I wont sink into the mud/grass/cow droppings*, easy to walk in and look fabulous, what more could a girl want out of a shoe?!  

Here are a few of the shoes that I have seen and loved...

www.hsn.com
Aldo

www.dsw.com

Jimmy Choo



With love...from Korea

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While teaching in South Korea in 2010, Farmboy and I were both lucky enough to have really nice Korean co-teachers. My co-teacher, 정 히 (thats 'Cindy' for those non-Korean speakers among us!) became really great friends, going shopping together, and often meeting for coffee dates on the weekend. When Cindy heard that Farmboy and I got engaged earlier this year, she asked me if there was anything special I would like from Korea. As I had a rather unhealthy relationship with the stationary there, I chose a few items which she very kindly had shipped to us to help 'beautify' our wedding.


 정 히, thank you so very much. Your gifts are so thoughtful, and every time i look at them they bring back all the wonderful memories we shared!

So without further ado, I introduce to you all to the latest addition to my collection of all things stationery:







Rollin Vintage {Open for Business}

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A little while ago I did a post on Rollin Vintage's new store in Howick. Ryan and Liesa officially opened the doors to Rollin Vintage and Friends on Friday 1st June. Here is what's in store for you if you pop into their gorgeous shop in Howick:














Find then at :
Shop 10
Howick Falls Hotel Retail Space
Morling Street
Howick

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday 09h00 to 16h00

Postick {bringing back the postcard!}

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After trawling round the inter-web, (and after successfully receiving Farmboy's Birthday prezzie from one of the awesome projects started on Kickstarter, I came across Cape Town based graphic designer, Tatjana. 
Tatjana hopes to revolutionize the SA postal system, one post card at a time...

"POSTICKs are white adhesive labels with rounded corners. They're slightly smaller than your average photograph and they have the normal postcard-backing lines printed on them. The labels are easy to write on with a normal pen.

You could stick the postick on the back of a photo you took and expose it to the world (or just your friend and the postman). You could use it to recycle an old vintage postcard you bought for 10c at the local antique store, you could stick on on the back of a page from your daily planner with your friend’s birthday written in and some doodle scribbled across the page. You could stick it on the back of the first autumn leaf that landed on your head. You could stick it to the back of something you sewed last week or an interesting newspaper clipping.

The options are endless. It’s awesome. It’s super personal and it gives a bunch of unimportant things a chance at a second life as a postcard. There’s no doubt that your friend will be super happy upon discovering a hand-written piece of something fun between the bills in the letterbox.

There’s something strangely wonderful about receiving postcards. It’s hard to describe since it’s a little piece of card. But it’s much more than just processed wood and a hand written note. It’s a thought of someone that spontaneously manifested somewhere else in the world. A thought so strong that it transformed itself into hand-written words on a piece of card. That random little thought survived a complex (and fantastic) postal system, continents, human error and the forces of nature and finally made it into that exact little mailbox. It’s a miracle!"

Click here to find out more, and click here to pledge some much needed money to make Posticks a reality!

And finally, click here to send one of these extraordinary people a postcard, go on, you'll make their day.

How to build a brick book shelf {part 1}

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Having moved/downgraded into a little 1 bedroom flat here in Pietermaritzburg, I have had to be really creative with my use of space. And with my fiance moving in with me when we are married in September, I/we have had to think very hard about ways to store all my stuff (and boy do I have a lot of stuff! I'm not sure how iImanage to collect so many bits and pieces in the short space of 6 months!). 

One thing that I do have lot of is files and books (at the moment I will blame that on being a student) and Farmboy hates them! He thinks they are a complete waste of space, and no matter how many times I tell him I need them next to my desk at all times, he just won't have it. That is, until I gave him the task of building me a book shelf. And, here we are. With something that not only looks really awesome, but is able to hold everything! 






I will post the final product soon!


Now, if only I had more cupboard space...

Planning a Location Wedding...{4 months before}

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{Image Source}
One of the greatest hurdles when planning a location wedding (a location wedding being a wedding not held at a specified venue that would organize the catering side of the event) is getting a caterer that can do the following:

a) cater for your number of guests (in our case 160- 180)

b) specializes in your particular food style

c) is able/happy to cater for your function at your location

d) is available!

Let me tell you something, to find someone who does all of the above is no easy feat! I spent many hours trawling the internet to find 'the one' and, after much frustration and anguish, was referred to Sarah from Harris and Homes in Durban.

Sarah has been incredible to work with so far, with a menu that includes the likes of "cream cheese stuffed dates skewered with parma ham" and "marinated lamb cutlets with coriander and honey" I am hoping that I have enough time in between greeting guests to fill my tummy!

Farmboy and I met with Sarah last weekend when she came to see the farm and chat to us about the logisitics of catering for the number of guests we are having. She was amazing at giving us loads of practical advice when it came to the many bumps and niggles we came across, while also giving us idea's for things we hadn't even thought about yet.

 Sarah, Farmboy and I are happy that you will be catering for us for our wedding, and we are so looking forward to the food!

The Harris & Homes website is under construction, but in the mean time you can contact Sarah direct on 074 183 8745

#PhotoOfTheWeek...Worn

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This past week's theme for our weekly photo challenge was 'Worn'. Well done to everyone whi submitted a photograph! They are really great! Every week, the team is given a theme (each team member is given a chance to choose the theme for the week) and then each person has 7 days to take the perfect picture. It can be as edited or as natural as you like, the only rule is it has to be submitted to me by Sunday evening (South African time) so that I can get the post up asap on Sunday night/early Monday morning! 

If you'd like to join in, just drop me a line at citygirlsearching@gmail.com and I will send you that week's theme and you can get started right away!



Taken by: Nicky

Taken by: Meg

"Worn out Broom"
Taken: by Rachel

"Worn Picture of my Ouma as a little girl"
Taken by: Sue
"My Worn Wedding Shoes"
Taken by: Cathy
"Worn 'old man' and upon his chin, a beard is worn"
Taken by: Rob
"Nothing like a well worn pair of boots"
Taken by: Roxy
Taken by: Lisa

StayClear Purifying Cleanser {Review}

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I came across this delightful cleanser while in Clicks the other day.  I hadn't really paid much attention to the Good Things brand as it is tucked away in the 'teenage' aisle of the store. But in my hurry from Joburg a few weekends back I left my face wash (along with all my other products) in the shower. So i was looking for something reasonable to tide me over until I get my products back from Joburg. Well, I'm so glad that I did leave them there, because this cleanser was such a gem of a find! It removes all traces of makeup from my skin without over drying, is free from parabens, sodium laureth sulphate and mineral oils, {& it is also suitable for vegetarians and vegans} and the gel like texture ensures that a little really does go a long way!

The best part, has most definitely got to be, the smell. Its delightfully fruity and leaves me feeling fresh and clean all day! It sounds a bit strange, but for the whole morning I could smell {what must be the *mango & blueberry*} the extracts that are in this cleanser! 

The only *slight* let down in this product is the prettyness of it, but all things considered, for only R54 at Clicks, you can overlook the packing in my mind.

I most definitely give this cleanser a 5/5!




Click here to join Good Things on Facebook...

A Farmboy in Ethiopia...

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Farmboy got back from Ethiopia last week where he was away on business for 16 days  (he was in Sierra Leone 3 weeks ago, click here to see those photo's of his trip).

There aren't many words to aptly describe his trip to you, so I am rather leaving you with the following photographs.

Enjoy
 xxx















#PhotoOfTheWeek...Yellow

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Another week has come and gone, and with it, another photo challenge! This week's theme was Yellow. Every week, the team (which consists of 15 members from all over South Africa, and in fact, from all over the world as we have 2 members in Asia!). A new theme is chosen on Monday and then everyone has to find a photograph that feel best suits that week's theme. Then they have to send me their submission by Sunday evening, and I post them early Monday morning. We have been going for over months know and it has been amazing to see everyone improve (not just in their photographic skill, but in their creativity!). 

And a BIG welcome to our newest member, Julia! Good luck with your photographs Julz, I can't wait to see them :)

Well done everyone!

Here are the submissions from this week:

Taken by: Cathy

Taken by: Lisa

Taken by: Julia
Taken by: Ron
Taken by: Roxy

Taken by: Sue
Taken by: Vicky


TipTop *Triple Putty*

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Yet another lovely colour to add to my collection of TipTop nail polishes. I loved the deep burgundy colour of Crushed Grapes (which lasted a whole 9 days on my nails before I finally had to part with it!) and so went off shopping for another wintery shade. Grey is definitely one of my favourite colours, and looks gorgeous when paired with anything (especially apricot and baby pink, which are our wedding colours! Click here to see whats happening on that front, with just over 4 months to go things are getting pretty stressful!). 

As always, TipTop polish goes on beautifully, and gives an even amount of colour in every stroke. I did find that I needed to do 2 coats of this colour, but that just added to the richness of it.

This is  #948, Triple Putty:





You can find TipTop at most Click's stores nationwide, for R39.99 (which is just as easy on the wallet as their colours are on the eyes!). Click here to join them on Twitter, and click here to join in their fun competitions and giveaways on Facebook!

Rollin Vintage {Shop} Launch!

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This friday, 1st June 2012, Rollin Vintage will be launching their new premises in Howick, just outside Pietermaritzburg. Ryan and Liesa started Rollin Vintage at the beginning of this year, and have been an unstoppable force since then. I did a post on their pieces before, click here, when they were just starting up their business, and it has been amazing to see them grow. Their shop is just the beginning. Not only will they be showcasing their gorgeous antique cutlery jewelry, they will also be stocking a host of other South African handmade designs and crafts. If you are in the Pietermaritzburg area on Friday afternoon, why not pop by!



These are the *before the stock has arrived* photo's, just to give you a little glimpse of what's in store on Friday.

Ryan and Liesa!

How amazing is this Radio!? *Not for sale*



Ryan's pride and joy! He spent many hours lovingly crafting this counter...

I want! 





Lots of natural light make the shop a very inviting place to be in winter...


One of their rings. 

The 'Designer on Display' feature space

{From left to right} Me, Liesa, Shellen and Angela
All four of us were studying our Postgrad Teaching Certificate at the University of Kwazulu Natal, but Liesa had other idea's, and left the course to follow her dream (inspiring woman!).
Liesa!






#PhotoOfTheWeek...Eerie

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This week's theme was a very interesting one, and I've loved each and every one of the submissions! Thank you to everyone who has submitted a photograph. And, I am very please to introduce you all to our newest team member. Team, meet Cathy! Thanks for joining in our #PhotoOfTheWeek challenge Cathy, I look forward to seeing your photographs!

Taken by: Cathy

Taken by: Dale

Taken by: Meg

Taken by: Lisa

Taken by: Roxy

Taken by: Rob