Dress Up: Trick or Treat

Whether your a fan or would rather board up your windows to avoid Halloween, truth is, everybody loves a dress up. It's a chance to be a whole other character for a night, to escape reality and pretend just for a few hours that you are this magical creature, who does't have to worry about taxes.

A few inspirational pics of ordinary people, with a little make-up and great ideas.

And if you want to go all out, there is always Zombieboy to look at for inspiration as his tattooed self.

And don't forget about the little ones.

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread: Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Bread

Blueberries and bananas keep the bread moist, walnuts give it some crunch, applesauce replaces oil or butter for a healthy substitute - has Christmas come early?

It will only steal an hour of your time to make a loaf and boy, is it worth it! Stuffed with fiber, potassium, anti-oxidants and plain deliciousness, I cannot think of a better way to start your day

Ingredients:

1 cup oats
1 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 heaped tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup walnuts(or any type of nut you prefer), crushed
1 cup fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius, grease a loaf pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. In a separate bowl mix together eggs, applesauce and banana.
4. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and carefully fold in the blueberries and walnuts.
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.

Serve hot or at room temp with some peanut butter and honey, plain or with butter.

Isabel Marant pour H&M 2013 - Meet Isabel Marant

Isabel Marant pour H&M

On my recent travels, I fell in love with every H&M store I laid eyes on, for their easy to wear, stylish gear and reasonable prices.

Needless to say, I was very excited, when I heard that Isabel Marant was collaborating with the brand.
The Isabel Marant pour H&M collection will be available in stores worldwide and online from the fourteenth of November.

The campaign features an array of famous faces, including Sam Rollinson, Saskia de Brauw, Alek Wek, Lou Doillon, Milla Jovovich, Devon Aoki, Malgosia Bela and was shot by Karim Sadli.

A mix of urban attitude, boho elegance and rock and roll spirit, the collection features, leather pants with lace, wool coats and baggy t-shirts all the while staying true to the well-known style of the Isabel Marant brand.

A sneak peak from the lookbook:

 If you had any doubts, now you know what I want in my stocking filler for Christmas, thanks. 

Snack Time: Roasted Honey Chickpeas

Instead of grabbing the family sized pack of Lays or the greasy bucket of popcorn for a Saturday night movie, try these tasty guys instead.

A good source of dietary fiber, protein, copper, folate and manganese. Chickpeas are low in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium. It is the perfect low fat, high protein snack, packed with nutrients - what can't chickpeas do, except your taxes, off course?

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas, drained

1/2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius and line a wide, flat baking sheet.

2. Rinse chickpeas in a colander and leave on a paper towel to dry.

3. Spread chickpeas on the baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 45 min  or until crispy.

4. While the chickpeas are still hot, toss them in a bowl with the oil, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

5. Place them back into the oven for another 10 min.

6. Let it cool slightly, before digging in.

nomnomnomnomnom

This recipe was adapted from POPSUGAR fitness

Photograhy: Prendre deux blanc et noir

'In photography there is a reality so subtle, that it becomes more real than reality.' - Alfred Stieglitz

'Good photographs inspire us, but remember there are no bad photographs, that's just how your face looks sometimes.'- Abraham Lincoln

Let your hair down

With October, the windy days settle in Cape Town and what looks better in the wind than your slicked back do, just flying around everywhere? Uhmmm, anything and everything looks better than your mop head just bobbing around, clinging to a lamp post, trying to stay upright.

Luckily the new trends are all about keeping it a bit messy and natural looking, so no fear, come sun or mini hurricanes - you my friend can still look like a million bucks.

To achieve this look: Brush hair with a wide paddle brush. Gather in a low pony, twist into a loose bun and secure with bobby pins. Pull a few strands loose to frame your face. Five minutes and your set, looking all casual and chic.

I love braids in my hair, it adds interest to an otherwise boring ponytail. No need to brush your hair for this one. Do one or more tiny braids , gather with the rest of your hair and tie in a low ponytail.

These feathers are fantastic and range from natural browns and greys to exotic teal and purple. You can get them at the Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay. The market is open from Friday to Sunday and is situated in 31 Harbour Road, Hout Bay, Cape Town.

You will need longer hair for this look. Tie hair in a low pony, braid and tie end. Twist into a bun and secure with bobby pins. Decorate your noggin with fresh flowers for spring.

These gold hair clasps will add a touch of glamour to your look. They are available at Diva and Lovisa stores nation wide in gold and silver.

This is the perfect look for festivals. When hair is still damp, spray with a salt water spray(mix sea salt, with luke warm water to let the salt dissolve and let it cool before using). When your hair is dry, tease slightly with a wide toothed comb and top it off with a flower crown.

You need two loose side braids and you simply pin them in the opposite direction, secure with bobby pins and pull a few strands loose to frame your face.

Go to bed with damp hair, secured into two side braids. In the morning you will have slight waves. Braid a section of hair on one side of your head and twist it with the rest of you hair into a low pony.

Take sections of hair and twist inwards, pushing it forward and creating messy bubbles, secure al around with bobby pins and you might need some hair spray to keep this look together. This look also works with a headscarf or head band.

And finally my favourite. To achieve this look, I go the bed with wet hair and in the morning I pull a wide toothed comb through it and take a section of hair on one side and pin it back with a bobby pin.

Hope you have a hair stress free weekend.

Tuck in Thursday: Fast Raspberry Scones

A beautiful day calls for a beautiful breakfast. Serve these scones for breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice or for tea with some earl grey tea.

Ingredients:

2 and a 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 and a 1/2 cup fresh raspberry(you can also use strawberries, blueberries or apricots)

1. Preheat oven to 200 Degrees Celsius
2. In a food processor pulse together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add butter and pulse until pea size pieces form.
4. In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk.
5. slowly pour mixture into processor and pulse until the dough comes together.
6. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle raspberries on top.
7. Knead three times to fold in raspberries.
8. Gather and pat dough until a 2cm thick square forms and pull apart into 4cm pieces.
9. Place pieces on two lined baking sheets, about 4cm apart and sprinkle with 1 tbs sugar.
10. Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 min, rotating sheets halfway through.
11. Serve warm or a room temp.

This recipe is from the Martha Stewart website and has been altered slightly.

Hope you have a lovely day.

Event: Summer Heat at Affinity presents DEAN FUEL sponsored by PUMA V&A

Summer is heating up

The cool kids from AAA school of advertising and the guys from PUMA V&A are bringing us the best warm up for summer.

This Friday 25 October at Affinity in Claremont, Western Cape, South Africa

A massive line-up : Jak Skandy
                             Josh Horwitz
                             Pixel Pop
                             Scotty D
                             Embrace One      
                             DEAN FUEL

Drink specials from 21:00 till 23:00

And just to spice things up PUMA V&A Waterfront has decided to sponsor some sick kicks for three lucky guys/girls to the value of your choice-yes that includes the Mc Queen for Puma range, that I have been salivating over.

If you still have questions/queries or just want to tell us how excited you are, check out the event page on facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/162219023978368 or drop me a mail lana.francis47@gmail.com

Tickets are available from PUMA V&A Waterfront, AAA School of Advertising in Bree Street, Cape Town or from me and they only cost R 30.

Hot DJ line-up, drink specials, PUMA sponsoring the giveaways. . .uhm what more do you need on a Friday? So make sure you join this end of year bash - to party it up - we are going big for this one!

Tegan and Sara - Closer [OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO]

It just doesn't get old

Fashion Update: Sports Luxe

Seeing as the past week and the one ahead will just be filled with sportswear and futuristic fashion, I thought I would share some of the pictures that inspired me for our style lab.

This trend is all about mixing sheer and solid fabrics. Fabrics that give a hint of metallic or lend a pvc-ish feel also works well with the sports luxe theme. Try cut out leather and sharp structure if you want to wear this to the board room.

And some motivation for the week to come.

Will do adidas, will do.