In These Stilettos

Ok. This is it. My first ever Blog. Breathe. I’ve been threatening to do this for months now, and last night when I was falling asleep the words were all streaming through my head and I made up my mind, today’s the day.

What’s it gonna be about? Current Events, Celebrities, Recipes, Event Organisation tips.
All the things I love. But who am i? And why would you want to read my blog?
Complicated question……Zimbabwean Born, Botswana Raised, British passport holder, living in South Africa. Confused yet? I’m also a white Muslim.
That sums it up. Executive Recruiter, Current Events Fundi, Masterchef wanna-be and mostly a typical Leo, trying to find my piece of spotlight in this world.

I consider myself to be somewhat of a ‘know it all’. My friends refer to me as “Nancy Drew” (and I even have a coat to go with it). This blog is a way to share my wisdom, and my valuable opinion on matters (I know you want to hear them).

So where to begin? Perhaps a summary of the past week? Or year?
Let’s start off with the fact that I’ve been to 5 weddings already this year, 3 of which I was a bridesmaid for. Yup. Combine that with the fact I was born into an “event organisation” family, which means I’m pretty much your go-to person on any function matters.
Birthday Parties, Corporate Events, Baby Showers, Engagement Parties, Bridal Showers, Weddings; whatever you want I can organise. I keep abreast with current trends and design ideas and I’m seriously considering making a career out of it.
Where do you draw the line? When do you give up your “job” and live your “dream”?
Ok I have had COUNTLESS trainers/guru’s/psychologists telling me that you just need to drop everything and “do it”, but it’s not that simple, is it?
I’m at that stage in my life that all I want to do is going home and be a teenager again, but how can a self-respecting 25 year old go home to live with mummy and daddy again? Or can I? I also have this mentality in me that no matter what I do I will succeed? Is that an Ego or arrogance? Or is it just positive self-belief?

OK. Topics of the week:
Troy Davis execution is number 1 on my list right now. Your views? Until about a week ago I don’t think I knew who this man was but last night I was rallying like he was my brother to prevent his execution (this is coming from someone who generally supports the death penalty too). WAY TOO MUCH DOUBT to kill that man, there is much much more to the story there and I’m waiting for a mountain of shocking stories to arise now.

Number 2 on my list? Charlie Sheen / Ashton Kutcher. Personally, 2 ½ men is my favourite show of all time (I think) and I was an AVID Charlie supporter (possibly because my boyfriend aspires to be like him – Charlie Harper is his Hero, literally). Is there a show without him?
I highly doubt ratings will be so good. Maybe the first 3 episodes yes, the world wants to see whether Ashton Kutcher can match Charlie. I do feel slightly sorry for him, all that pressure but in my honest view point they will bring in on board to “wrap up” the show properly.
Your thoughts?

Number 3 I think would have to be “The Good Food and Wine Show” happening in Johannesburg at the moment.
I AM SO EXCITED! Gordon Ramsay and Master Chef Contestants, Adam and Alvin will all be there.
If anyone has a spare ticket to Gordon Ramsay’s dinner on Friday night let me know, I would happily be a seat filler! As for the event on Saturday the first thing I’m going to do is buy the Master Chef recipe book, the second thing it to ask Alvin or Adam what was the dish they made for the auditions? I want to enter, no doubt, but I think that dish is the most crucial out of the whole contest. You have to impress the judges, out of possibly 5000 dishes yours must be the one to stand out. No “roast chicken” will do that.
So what’s the creative/ unusual dish that you would make? I NEED HELP. When I get through, I will thank you personally, I promise!

The other topic I wanted to mention this week is social media. #iloveit!
Not only that but how it’s changing our language completely. Notice the #? I had had to restrain myself about 6 times already in this article from inserting # into thoughts. Pretty soon we are going to be SAYING hash tag before comments  words like “unlike” and “defriend” have entered our speech as legitimate verbs, Example? “Re-tweet” is now in the Oxford Dictionary,
• Pronunciation:/riːˈtwiːt/
• verb: (on the social networking service Twitter) repost or forward (a message posted by another user). Noun: are posted or forwarded message on Twitter”

Ok… So to summarize:

Top trends for weddings?
*) NO ORGANZA! Go for more luxurious, expensive feeling table linens, Crisp Lines, Bringing in the colour through Flowers and Linens. NO ORGANZA!
*) Chinese Lanterns – LOVE THESE. Releasing a lantern into the sky and making a wish together is a MUST!
*) Cute, personalised “quirky” things – Having your guests take Polaroid’s during the night and writing messages on them for you. Having “Props” for your guests to take funny pictures through the night (you can send these to them after the wedding as favours)
*) Brides are choosing Flowers for the tables that are in the same colour tones, but of different sizes. They are also changing the shape of the tables, mixing round with square. These trends give the reception tables a more interesting look and a less “coordinated” feel.
*) An increasingly popular trend is the “Candy Station” or “Biscuit Bar” This consists of a variety of candies or treats placed in varied sizes of glass containers and grouped on a table. Pretty silver spoons in each container allow guests to fill small boxes or bags as take-home favours.
Whatever you go for just make sure its Personalised to you as a couple.

Recipe of the day?
Lamb Shanks served with dauphinoise potatoes  Easy dish BUT takes time to cook!
The low down:
4 lamb shanks – approx. 1kg bone in
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tin chopped peeled tomatoes
3 celery sticks chopped
4 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup chicken/ Veg stock
a pinch of fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dry rosemary
A Pinch of Chilli Powder to taste
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Parsley to Garnish
The process
Salt and pepper the shanks, in a large pot brown the shanks in oil on all sides, then remove and set aside.
Soften the garlic, chillis and onions on a medium heat, add the meat and then add all the other ingredients, stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes until liquid has reduced by 1/2.
Pour everything into a casserole dish and cook in a 180 Celsius oven for about 1 1/2 hours, turning the shanks every 20 minutes.

The Potatoes
300mldouble cream
75ml milk
1garlic clove, crushed
1lbpotatoes, sliced
S&P
Nutmeg
A Pinch of Chilli Powder
Gently heat cream, milk, chilli powder and garlic. Pour over seasoned potatoes. Put into a dish and bake at 150 Degrees Celsius for an hour.

Serve and Enjoy 

That’s me! First Blog done! SHEW! Now to establish some sort of order for the next one! Perhaps my dream will be fulfilled and some magazine like Glamour/ Heat or Cosmo will notice my talent and snap me up! Until then……one step closer to living your dreams!
x