South Africa

When life gives you lemons… make margaritas, baby!

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Who doesn’t love the tart taste of lemon and tequila?
(I just had a shiver, my saliva glands squirted and my mouth puckered)
Let’s do this!

Lemon Magaritas, Baby! (yield 4 drinks)

1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup silver Tequila
1/3 cup Triple Sec
2 cups crushed ice
Ice cubes
Coursely ground salt for rimming

Dip the rims of 4 long-stemmed glasses in the lemon juice and place them in the freezer.
Combine the Tequila, Triple Sec, lemon juice and crushed ice. Shake together until the ice is almost melted.
Remove the glasses from the freezer, dip them into the ground salt to rim them.
Fill the glasses with ice cubes, divide the margarita mix between the glasses
Relax and enjoy your hard work.
Repeat.

P.S. Yes the photo is my own

When life gives you vrot bananas… make banana bread!

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Vrot (this is the Afrikaans word for rotten or overripe – pronounced “frot”).

Overripe bananas have loads more flavour than fresh ones do. The browner and smooshier, the better!

Vrot Banana Bread Recipe 

2.3 cups mashed vrot bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
125ml soft butter
190ml brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celcius. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Sift dry ingredients together.
In a separate jug cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and banana to the butter mixture. Mix well.
Pour banana mixture into flour, mix until the flour is all moistened (not too much or the bread will become too dense). Pour into the loaf pan.
Bake for 60 – 65 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out.

P.S. Yes the photo is my own

Baby?

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To have a baby or not
to have a baby: THAT is the question!   

Yeah, so this “baby thing” has been on my mind lately. It seems like everywhere I turn there’s another one popping out and the parents’ lives are changed forever.

It’s such a huge decision to make though. Once you have kids you can’t exchange them, take them back or ask for a refund. Your life will never be the same.

My personal list of pros vs. cons to having a baby is as follows:

Pros

Cons

Your family and friends will stop nagging you about when you’re going to have
kids.

Your body goes through horrendous distortion that it may never recover from.

You won’t be considered to be selfish.

You are moody and hormonal for 9 months.

You will have a little bundle of joy that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You can no longer eat or sleep when you want to.

You will fall in love with an über cute face that loves you back.

You lose friends.

You lose sleep.

You lose your savings.

You have no more spare time.

You are always tired.

You have puke, poo and pee to clean up all day

You have to deal with crying.

Your house will be trashed.
You’ll have temper tantrums to deal with.

You’ll soon stop being able to watch R18 rated movies.
You can only travel during school holidays.

Overseas trips are a dream of the past.
School fees, stationery and uniforms will have to be bought
You’ll be petrified that an accident happens and your child is hurt

You have the responsibility of raising and protecting a human being.

Yikes!
Looks like my cons way outweigh the pros!

 Check out my hot paintings at http://www.artworkbylisa.co.za

“…I’m gonna puke!”

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The pressures of the cycle of life:

*you get born,
*you spend your entire childhood wishing you were bigger/taller/older,
*you grow up and get bigger and life is good for several years,
*you are old enough to earn and spend your own money and carve your own path.

Then the pressure starts.
Every person you know asks: “so when are you going to get married?”
So you get married.

Then: “so when are you two going to have a baby?”
Fair enough, we have been married for over four years. Everyone in my generation (my sibling and cousins) have started families in relative age order and my hubby and I are finally starting to feel like we are ready, but honestly, it feels like if another person asks me when I’m going to have a baby I’m going to puke!

Why do people feel the need to ask?
Are they asking because they are just making conversation?
Are they asking because “it’s about time”?
Are they interested in me and my life or are they just damn nosy?For whichever reason, I continue find it ever more taxing to answer.

So in an effort to sidestep this very personal question I have come up with a list of potential responses.

Option 1:
Ask: “Why do you want to know?”
This may prompt them to realise that it’s a very personal matter they’re asking about and you may not wish to discuss it.

Option 2:
Say something funny like: “We still enjoy waking up late on weekends so it won’t be any time soon.”

Option 3:
Say something to put them off like: “We’re putting together our baby-sitting schedule first, are you available on Tuesdays?”

Option 4:
Just answer: “When the Lord blesses us…”
It’s plain and simple, no room for misinterpretation, no deadline has been promised and it’s not rude. An all-round great answer.

Option 5:
Another vague answer is: “when it happens, it happens”
(This is my current favourite.)

I will continue to use one or more of the above answers until everyone eventually gets tired of asking. That is, until I get those with the audacity (as if asking the baby question isn’t enough) who ask “so are you trying?”

REALLY!?!?

 

Would you trash your wedding dress? I DID!

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Ruined forever...

Ruined forever…

Trash your wedding dress?

The very words conjure up horrifying images of your dress splattered with food or set on fire! How could any bride even fathom the idea of ruining the dress she walked down the aisle in? To create controversial yet stunning photographs to keep forever, of course! While some brides actually do ruin their dresses forever to create that shock factor, I chose a much classier way to do it.

Was my dress ruined forever?

No, my dress was never actually “trashed”. There was no food, paint or fire involved. I did, however, do things to my wedding dress I would never have done on my actual wedding day so that I would create the shock factor that made the photographs special.

How did I do it?

I had a well-organised photo shoot with professional photographers AstraPics who helped me with props and locations. We decided on Ballito Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as the perfect spot. The props included a bridal bouquet, a bottle of champagne and glasses and I brought along a stunning pair of turquoise stilettos I knew would add pop colour to the shots.

On the day of the shoot I had my hair and make-up done and my husband, Gareth dressed up in his suit with waistcoat and cravat so that we both really looked the part.

…and this was the result…

All in all, the experience was relaxed and fun; there was no pressure to finish quickly because wedding guests were waiting to be fed, there was no fear of ruining my dress on my wedding day and the resulting photos were absolutely exquisite!

So, instead of forgetting the dress you paid so much money for and only got to wear for one day, take the opportunity to doll yourself up again and have a stunningly daring photo shoot taken. The dress can go back into the cupboard (really, what were you going to do with it anyway?) but the photos will remain for you to show off forever…

I suggest you contact Bruce at AstraPics to set up your “Trash the Dress” photo shoot at:
Email: bruce@astrapics.co.za
Website: www.astrapics.co.za
Cell phone: 082 802 1050

I want a discount!

Tell AstraPics you heard about them on my blog and qualify for a R500.00 discount on your photography package!