So what you doing for New Years Eve??

Yes, it is that time of year again when everyone frantically sms's, emails and tweets their friends or random people to find out "so, what are your plans for New Years Eve?"

I have a theory...if you haven't planned or booked your evening in advance there are only a few options left to choose from which usually range from a braai at a mates place, a braai at a mate of a mate or one of the few nightclubs in Durban. Yes there are other functions but not everyone can afford R1000 a couple for a night out.

Now as tempting as those options sound to me, quite frankly, this year I am utterly exhausted and am rather excited about our plans for New Years Eve.

Today after a beach braai with good mates, Ryan and I decided to pop into the Blue Waters Hotel for a cup of coffee on the balcony. And then it hit us...amazing view, reasonably priced good foood, our favourite hotel in Durban and open on New Year's Eve...we have booked a table at The Blue Waters hotel.
Just the two of us for dinner, champagne at midnight and sea views. Done, dusted and booked.
And I am rather excited to get dressed up, go on a date and say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 with my best friend, at our best place in Durban and not break the bank balance.

I will be sure to post on New Years Day with details of the evening.

Have a wonderful but safe New years and final day of 2011.
See you all on the other side.

LaurenLeigh cc

Lets get proactive

I was lucky enough to be very spoilt this Christmas from my parents and I was given a very fancy laptop as my gift.
For me, this made me ecstatically happy as not only can I now focus on Culture Concepts 100% but I start studying in the new year ( brave or stupid- I am still deciding) and this laptop will help me keep everything in order.

So as from tomorrow, there will be loads of new and exciting Culture Concepts posts.

I know I have been very scarce lately but to those of you that have been following...Thank You!

LaurenLeigh cc

New post for The Bedroom

Another post done for The Bedroom....have a look here

LaurenLeigh cc

Crazy season madness

It is that crazy time of the year again where everyone hits melting point before they start to cool off again in their holiday leave ( if you are lucky enough to get annual leave) so I am apologizing now for the lack of blogging, items for sale and general all round news...I have not been this tired, exhausted or busy in my entire life.

My last day of work ( in my real job) is tomorrow. We end at 11am and then head for our year end function.
So by next week you can all look forward to new posts, items for sale and more reviews.

I hope you all keep reading and look forward to next week.

LaurenLeigh cc

Hemingway's...Another Durban eatery

My latest Groupon voucher was for Hemingway's in Glenwood. Two main meals for the price of one but we decided to add in some starters and desserts just to round the meal off nicely. This is what I thought of it and the food we grazed on...

Starters was curried butternut and feta samoosa's with plum or sweet chilli dipping sauce. We both said the filling on the inside of the samoosa was a bit sparse and lacking some flavour. Throw in some cumin and chilli if the menu says "Curried" butternut and feta samoosa.

Mains was the "famous" calamari tubes with salad and chips and the fillet with chakalaka and avocado topping. The mains were probably the best part of the entire meal. The calamari had the perfect amount of lemon, garlic and chilli and the salad and crispy chips added the perfect combination. The fillet had a whirlwind of flavours with the spicy chakalaka and creamy avocado sitting perfectly on top of my rare fillet and sauteed potatoes.

Dessert was a Malva pudding with ice cream and homemade custard in a phyllo basket. This was a sore point for me. I originally wanted the chocolate mousse with brownie but that was out of stock. My boyfriend loves malva pudd so he was only but too happy to eat the next choice of dessert. When it arrived though, the ice cream was half melted, the custard tasted like watered down sugar cream and the malva itself was as dry as a day old muffin with no flavour.

The service was chirpy and responsive with a chatty waiter who knew his menu well and was a good salesperson. Although making me wait 20 minutes for the bill and then a further 10 minutes just to settle it didn't leave me with a good taste in my mouth towards the end of the evening.

All round - I will return to Hemingway's and I do recommend it. Just don't have the malva pudding.

LaurenLeigh cc

On the other side of the world

This weekend we went away to the Buddhist Retreat Centre, so I apologise for being quiet.
I will however update blogs and things for sale in the next day or two while I wrap my head around being back in the real world...I think I may prefer the BRC where it felt like the other side of the world.

LaurenLeigh cc

P.S. dont forget the awesome goodies still for sale here

Once Loved Sale

Culture concepts has begun.

* Ideas *Styling * Sourcing

I will be selling once loved goodies for friends and family via the blog and facebook.
Part of my service is to come in and clean up your house or wardrobe. Not clean as in spring clean and dust but clean as in revamp and toss out ( give to me) goodies you don't use, won't use or haven't used in a long time.

If anything catches your eye this is how it works:

* On facebook, the first person to comment on the photo gets the item. Or the person with the highest bid
* On the blog, pls email me ( laurenleigh.gibson@gmail.com) and I will get back to you as soon as possible with payment details
* Postage will be added on ( R30 depending on the area) and this comes with a tracking number.
* If you stay in Durban I will gladly drop it off or meet you somewhere to collect.

The first lot of goodies are up...Happy shopping!

LaurenLeigh cc