Mid week break of food, fun and sea

With the start of May beginning with a public holiday I decided we had to get away. So I found a quiet little cottage in Sheffield beach.

Hearing the sea when I fall asleep and wake up is probably one of my favourite things.

Today was a day for food!!! It started off with egg and bacon rolls in bed cooked by the boyfriend and then a stroll on the beach.

We then decided to go food exploring.  A seafood lunch ended off with coffee and cheesecake and a drink at one of the local pubs.

The galley in ballito serves a variety of food whilst you stare into the distant ocean. We had a seafood platter and beers.

Waterberry in ballito is still one of my favourite. Coffee and nougat cheesecake followed by a walk in the forest was a great end to our day.

And last but not least we had to stop at a local umhlali pub called the duck for a beer and there famous peanut butter and bacon sarmie bar snacks.

So dinner....sjoe im all full up!

Lauren Leigh cc

Don't you just love technology?

I have just started using a touch screen phone. I decided to go for the samsung s3 mini. Now don't get me wrong I would have loved to get the big s3 (or even now the s4) but I wanted to take baby steps....ease my way into this new way of finger tapping and dragging across the screen.
With this smart phone comes a world of apps.
As im sure most of you have noticed I have been very slack with blogging as im just to sit down and blog.

Today I downloaded the Blogger app on my phone and im writing this now as I wait in a shopping queue....how cool?

So hopefully this will allow me to chat to all of you more often....fabulous!!

Lauren Leigh cc

I am back...

After a whirlwind last 6 months and the exciting adventure of me starting work at dermalogica, I am back on my blog. There is so much to share but I wont do it all in one blog post...or we may be here for awhile.

I think sitting in the social media class this morning has given me the creative push that I needed.

So watch this space...more to follow.

Have a fabulous tuesday!

LaurenLeigh cc

The start of a new chapter...Dermalogica

For those of you that do not know...today marks my first day at Dermalogica KZN as a training specialist.
This is something I have hoped for and longed for for nearly 6 years and those of you who know me will know that this is something that will hopefully make me a very happy lady.

By now I am sure I am absorbing all of the knowledge I can from Jam ( the senior educator) and I will write a follow up as soon as I can!

Hope you all having an exciting Monday!

LaurenLeigh cc

No peanuts in my peanut butter

Everyday I am hearing of more and more people who have allergies, especially nut allergies.
And even more so, peanut allergies.
I happen to be one of those unlucky people who have a peanut allergy. And my one weakness happens to be...peanut butter!!

My wonderful friend did some searching through her recipe books and found this AMAZING recipe for sunflower seed "peanut butter".
She lives on it and you can choose how crunchy you want to make it by how much you blend the sunflower seeds.

Try it out and let me know how you enjoy it. We have it on toast, in smoothies to make our own peanut butter bomb smoothies and even on blocks of chocolate!

Recipe

375g sunflower seeds
sunflower oil
himalayan rock salt (to taste)
1-4 teaspoons honey ( to taste)

1) Bake sunflower seeds on a tray at 180 degrees celcius
2) You can grill them too. Ensure you watch them carefully. The longer they in the oven, the quicker the burn
3) Roast until golden brown and allow to cool
4) Place seeds in a blender a cup at a time and blender until a powder ( there can be a few chunky seeds)
5) While the blender is running slowly add sunflower oil until a paste starts to form
6) Add enough oil to suite what kind of spread-ability you would like
7) Add salt and honey to taste and mix
8) Makes enough for 2 nutella size jars and store in airtight jar in cool place

LaurenLeigh cc

Here Comes the Sun...dermalogica

On Tuesday I attended the launch ( or rather the re-launch) for the new improved daylight defense system from dermalogica.

For those of you that do not know...this will be my new office from 03 September. I am joining the dermalogica KZN tribe to be an educator.
This is a dream come true for me and I am sure it will live up to all my expectations.

Picture from the dermalogica website

The launch was informative, interesting and full of awesome facts, new product technology and in true dermalogica style - a product for each of us to take home.
I managed to get the super sensitive shield SPF 30 and I am in LOVE with the product ( what else can you expect?) after just one application.

Something that really hit home for me and I want to share with you; is the clip that was played to us before the talks began.
Being someone who is fair skinned, ginger haired and skin cancer prone; this clip really made me think and become more aware and I want to share it with as many people as possible!

Please can I ask you to do the same? Tweet it, facebook it, blog it and share it.
You may think now that it won't happen to you...but what if it happens to one of your loved ones?

Look out for information on the new improved daylight defense system by dermalogica here
Information should be coming onto the website in the next month or so so keep checking the website.

Please also have a look here for more information on the "dear 16 year old me" campaign.

Wear sunscreen. Everyday.

LaurenLeigh cc

Andre Rieu live in concert

Picture courtesy of the official Andre Rieu website

Last night we were lucky enough to recieve complimentary tickets to Andre Rieu at the ICC in Durban ( and 8 rows from the front...eeek!)
This was very last minute but as tired as we were; we HAD to go.

Just this last weekend we went up to Lesotho for the boyfriends birthday and on our 4x4 tour, we shared the vehicle with a dutch couple who told us that Andre Rieu was the best Dutch export they had.
So after hearing this and then being offered tickets, how could we refuse?

He was entertaining, had the audience spellbound and took classical music and opera to a completely new level.
Performing with the Sowetan Gospel Choir and a full orchestra, Andre played for a good 2.5 hours and had the crowds begging for more.

I think it is so important to open our eyes to other experiences and elightenments. Try new things, experiment and live a little bit out of your comfort zone.

This show is recommended to all ages and my favourite part of the show was probably when he played the waltz ( sorry I can't remember the name) and all the elderly folk got up and danced together. I hope I can still be doing this kind of thing when I am that age.

Live a little!
What have you done recently out of your comfort zone?

LaurenLeigh cc