Burger King arrives in Durban…

Friday I attended the launch of the Burger King store in the new Pavillion Food Court. I loved the mystery of bein ushered into a store which was all blocked off.

The store offically opens on Monday (14/04/2014) to the public and boy are you in for yummy treats.                               

Most of us in Durban have been suffering from serious FOMO after seeing all the BK pics/Tweets from JHB and CT. The store has opened 18 weeks ahead of schedule which is fantastic.

I learnt some interesting facts on BK :                     

1. All staff employed have never worked before.
2. Most of the food items are sourced locally.
3. Staff are promoted internally.
4. More stores are planned for KZN.

5)BK offers a bottomless Soda Fountain which has a range of Pepsi drinks and ice.  We were allowed to sample everything on the menu. I opted for onion rings and the world famous Whopper Burger – totally divine, well flavoured, huge portions with crispy chips.

Dessert proved to be very difficult for me to choose so eventually I opted for the choc brownie with ice cream and a vanilla milkshake. Gooey chocolate oozed from the centre – such a treat and a super thick vanilla milkshake.

I left BK a happy camper totally full as I headed off to work.I will defo be returning to BK to try out more of their menu especially the chilli products.

So Durban, treat yourself to the yumminess that is Burger King which opens on Monday the 14th April in the new Pavillion Food Court and is Halaal.

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The #DBNbloggermeet event.

In January 2014, I was asked about arranging an event for Durban lady bloggers. Having worked on Cookie Swap last year, I do know how much of time, work and effort goes into an event. I sat on the fence until I approached Michelle and Nicola to come on board as part of the team. It was a constant arrival of emails, tweets, whatsapps on a daily basis and now that the event is over I miss it 😦

As soon as we tweeted about the possibility of an event did we get the Durban ladies saying yes and how excited they were. Our next point of business was picking a date and a venue (read about Hashtag).

The team pooled our contacts together and started working on sponsors. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would have so many generous and amazing sponsors come on board for our event. It was only when we got to Michelle’s house to pack did we realise how much stuff we actually had. And yes it was like an Oprah moment creating 25 bags of treats/gems for our bloggers.

The status quo is that Durban and Durban bloggers are not considered for product launches BUT after this event this weekend I am sure its going to change!  The hashtag #DBNbloggermeet trended in South Africa as well as #LoveYourLenovo.

 

The much anticipated day arrived and Durban pulled out all stops in terms of fab weather. Joining us for the event were 3 of our sponsors and Mandy from Kitten Action the charity we decided to support. Our venue hosts, Hashtag were so generous that we were not charged anything for our food and drinks and it was then we decided to support Kitten Action by donating kitten food and R50 per blogger to her charity.

Prior to the event Uber ran a twitter competition and gave away a luxury VIP pick up and drop off to the event. This got all the ladies tweeting and wanting to be spoilt. Little did the ladies know how much spoils they were in for. At the start of event, Mandy told us about the charity we were supporting and how our contributions would help. This was very touching and thank you to all our lovely ladies for supporting especially Shirley who was very generous.

Then Carly and Monique from Lenovo who had flown in especially from JHB to join us chatted to us. Carly explained to us about the amazing giveaway they were going to run at the event and give away their new Yoga Tablet. We were asked to tweet what would we do to win. For once it was not considered anti social as we all were glued to our phones. I will be reviewing the Yoga Tablet soon, so I won’t be sharing any info on the product now. The response and tweets were amazing that Lenovo surprised us by giving away not 1 BUT 2 Tablets.

Brett from Frys Foods joined us telling us about their products and importance of meat free Mondays.

Karen from Philospica Botanic spoke to us about their products and soon to be opening Spa in Durban.

Then it was time for food, laughs and lots more talking and tweeting. Throughout the morning, giveaways were taking place and every lady went away with a gift. And then the most anticipated moment our hidden huge LeCreuset bright orange goodie bags were brought out.

 

It was heartwarming to see how excited the ladies were and their squeals of joy discovering LeCreuset goodies. The #DBNbloggermeet was a great event meeting new and old blogging friends.

A big thank you to all our generous sponsors and finally a bigger than big THANK to Michelle and Nicola my Dream Team for all your hardwork and support in making this event a success and a great day for all much love and gratitude.

Ciao xxx

#HashtagDBN

Us Durban bloggers were rather spoiled when Michelle found us this rather quirky and amazing venue #Hashtag. I was invited to the launch of Hashtag but due to work commitments I couldn’t attend. BUT I knew I would be there for the #DBNbloggermeet. I kept seeing the tweets about Hashtag and couldn’t wait to visit.

Having spoken to Brendan, one of the owners on the phone prior to the event, my interest in Hashtag was even more heightened.

Brendan told me about the concept of designing your own pizzas and burgers using …wait for it – A Tablet. This instantly appealed to the gadget girl geek within me. So on Saturday morning I found myself outside this gorgeous blue building as we started unpacking and getting ready for our #DBNbloggermeet with Michelle and Nicola.

The staff were amazingly helpful and helped us lift, carry, move and hide the enormous bright orange goodie bags. Hashtag was kind enough to give us the exclusive use of their venue. I loved the quirky signs found in Hashtag especially #SelfieZone.

Check out the pics.

Our kind hosts Nasrin, Brendan and Trushin sponsored all our food, drinks and amazing coffees.

Ronaldo the very talented chef came out and spoke to the ladies about the menu and we all were told to order any pizza we wanted off the menu!!! WOW free choice of the pizzas on menu or design your own. Most events I attend one is just given finger food and not to pick our own choice.

A friend of mine, a vegetarian had visited Hashtag a few weeks ago and raved on about the amazing vegetable pizza he had, and trust me he is a very fussy eater. So I defo knew I was in for a yummy treat. After consulting Nasrin on the popular pizzas Michelle, Nicola and myself opted for the Lamb Mint. I got my cousin Maheshree to get the Chicken and mushroom so we could swap (greedy me). Our divine pizzas created by Ronaldo arrive on these gorgeous boards with the cutest lil blackboard pegs with which pizza it was.

The pizza was a feast for the senses it smelled divine, looked divine and yes you guessed it tasted divine. I am not a pizza fan but loved the thin crust pizza with lots of toppings of lamb , mint and cheese. My senses were in a total tizz and loved every bite of my pizza and Maheshree’s chicken one.

As the day was rather warm the staff kept us all hydrated all the time with glasses of iced cold fizzy drinks. I didn’t stay for dessert which I believe was all sorts of yumminess in the form of chocolate, chilli and bananas.

Will I be returning to Hashtag most definately for my birthday on the 20th to treat my senses to more of Ronaldo’s divine creations including desserts this time.

The atmosphere, vibe and service is great at Hashtag, and I know its going to be a place my friends are sure to enjoy for my birthday.

Michelle and I joked with Nasrin about taking Ronaldo home with us actually Nasrin, Michelle and I were serious 😉

See you guys on the 20th Hashtag and once again a big thank you for playing a huge part in making the #DBNbloggermeet a success.

For more info on Hashtag checkout their site and follow them on Twitter.

Ciao or should I say Bon Appetite xxx

#DBNbloggermeet…

Saturday was the 1st Durban blogger meet for ladies. I worked with the amazing team of Michelle and Nicola in arranging this very successful event which Trended in SA on Twitter.

The event was held at the uber trendy #Hashtag. I decided to just share a few pics. Full blog posts will follow shortly.

A great day of fun,amazing food seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

 

Girls Night Out…

Last night I won tickets to the Lux Girls Night out at the movies. I invited my friend Megan to join me. With my crazy work times and since Megan got married last year, we haven’t spent much time together.

We have a lot in common and can chat for ages. So it made perfect sense. We arrived early and chatted non stop on our way there.

Soon as we arrived, we popped into the new Filo Frozen Yoghurt shop and tried out their delicious offerings.

 

Then it was off to get checked in to the event – champagne and orange juice awaited us. We were treated to Lux goodie bags and had a dress up photo booth.

I, the typical poser had to do those pics. It was at this point we both realised we didn’t even know what movie we were going to watch. Typical us chatting – up a storm. We both were unsure about the movie “The Divergent” but were rather surprised and loved it.

The soundtrack is amazing with great eye candy and amazing ink work. Before the movie while sitting there stuffing our faces with popcorn, we recalled dramas and craziness from other movies that we had watched and were hysterical.

I totally loved my evening spent with Megan. It reminded me about friendships and several lessons :

1. Just because I don’t see/speak to you often doesn’t mean you are special to me.
2. Friends will always have your back regardless.
3. Only friends will fight to pay.
4. Friends are memorykeepers .
5. Friends care regardless situations.
6. Laughing and crying at the same time over crazy moments with friends.

Dearest Megan, I thank you for your friendship, care and advice. Strange that we gelled instantly at work with so much common ground.

Though we don’t see each other much I appreciate the time we do spend together.

Here’s to more days out with fun, laughter and crazy stories…

Hugs and Kisses V…

 

ciao xxx

5 things you didn’t know about me…

5 things you didn’t know about me:

1. I lived in the lil town of Ixopo for a year and taught at a boarding school where Alan Paton was once the Headteacher of.
2. Crazy me took up Archery for 6months when I was in London. I wasn’t very good at it but loved the history, and the thought of being a female Robin Hood.
3. I slept on the road to get tickets for Centre Court at Wimbledon. Great night with friends, meeting new friends and I got to watch Andre Agassai in centre court while eating strawberries and cream and drinking Pimms.
4. I had my passport stolen while on holiday in Switzerland.
5. I can’t eat apples but can drink apple juice.

Go on share 5 random things about you with your readers…

 

ciao …

Rain Africa Durban Event

On Saturday I attended a gorgeous event hosted by Rain Africa at Makaranga Lodge.

Makaranga is breathtaking and is defo a must visit. Gorgeous grounds and even a Japanese Garden which Megan and I walked through before the event.

Our hosts for the day were owners of the Gateway store Yusuf and Ryan and all the way from Cape Town, Tanya and Ronel.

Durban bloggers were gathered together to be introduced to the Rain team and to learn more about their amazing range of Handmade products. As a blogger/storyteller, I love the stories behind a range. We were told of the humble beginings of Rain by Bev Missing and the business was created to create job opportunities. The touching stories of the workers touched me knowing regardless that there are ordinary people out there doing extraordinary things.

Treats and pampering were the order of the day with Ronel providing divine hand massages. As it was super hot, I was spritzed on my face with the Facial Rehydrator in Kalahari Melon. This cooled me down and has great benefits to the skin from rich in antioxidants to promoting suppleness and elasticity. A highlight of the day was seeing my blogging friends Michelle(@Ordinary_Misfit), Nicola (NicolaLMeyer), Faeema(fayinthemaze) and Inge(Inge_Loker). Its always fun to attend events knowing your friends will be there.

Tracey from Tsonga joined the Rain event and told us about their beautifully hand crafted leather goods. We each were given a sandle to sew but trust me I don’t think I will be taking up that hobby anytime soon.

Why I love Rain Products :

1. No products are tested on animals.
2. No children are used as child labour.
3. They belong to the World Fair Trade Organisation.
4. Endorsed by Beauty without cruelty.
5. Give hope, love and a sense of diginity to those who need it.

Thank you Rain for a beautiful event in Durban, us Durban bloggers thank you for making us feel so special.

ciao xxx

The Art of Blogging disected ….

A few days ago I received an email from Social Media Blooms. The newsletter contained handy tips on how to improve your blog and increase your readership. All of the tips are pretty simple and easy to do and yes I will be doing them.

I decided to share them with my reader/fellow bloggers …

1. Use a fabulous title. You want your readers to salivate over that tantalizing headline of your blogpost + you want to engage them from the very start.

2. Blog for your audience. That means you’ll have to find out who they are. It will help you to understand what they need and it will help you to write better blogposts, your readers will also love you for it.

3. Use big & beautiful images. It will add some colour and pizazz to your posts. Invest in a good camera if you make use of your own pictures. And remember to give credit to rightful owners where needed.

4. Seduce your readers. Make use of delightful, beautiful words. Your readers are a bunch of highly intelligent individuals and they want to be treated as such. They want to see researched, well written blogposts and good graphics.

5. Engage with your readers. Respond to blog comments + keep it polite and respectful.

6. Be original. You have a better chance to make it big + stand out if you stay true to yourself. It will take some time to establish your brand but in the end it will all pay off, thereby proving your trustworthiness.

7. Stay humble. Do not become the dreaded “me, myself and I blogger.” Give back to newbie bloggers. Support them in whatever small way you can, be a mentor. A comment from a well-established + successful blogger will mean so much to someone that’s just started out. We all know the saying; with great power comes great responsibility.

I hope these have got you thinking and doing.Have an amazing weekend wherever in the world you are …

Ciao xxx

Au revoir Love Month…

Well second month of 2014 with fewer days you proved to be rather interesting. It was the month I changed the type of posts I wrote, taking on a more personal approach. I shared a very personal post in Love Actually and Comfortzone).

The last few weeks have been totally busy working on #DbnBloggerMeet with my amazing team of Nicola and Michelle.

This month also held the launch of the @IluvDBN media launch of #welovedurban campaign and included in this month was us nursing Gran and Zara back to health.

As I write this post today I feel :

1. In a good place in my life .
2. Happy.
3. Excited about new projects.
4. At peace with my soul.
5. Loved by my amazing friends who have stood by me during this rollercoaster month and never left my hand.

Thank you Love Month for your life lessons and amazing opportunities.I look forward to Marvelous March and all the wonderment it holds.

Ciao xxx.

How has love month treated you ?

Durban Polish Party 2013

The super amazing Michelle @Ordinary_Misfit – yes the lady with the pink hair arranged this fab event.

 

The venue for this event was the beautiful Blue Zoo at Mitchell Park.

 

Michelle used this event to teach us some great nail art techniques and we got to play around with what seemed like a gazillion bottles of Polish.

 

Our cover charge was sent to the Movember challenge showing our support for the men in our lives.Michelle got us this rather fab mustaches to wear.

 

The goodie bags we each received were WOW ! They included products from Original Iced cocktails, Coverderm, Revlon , Essence , IceBox , Chic cosmetics and Carribean Tan.It was a great girly day out and I got to meet some of my blogging friends.

Thank you to all the great sponsors and Michelle for this event 🙂