Week 2: 10 Things I Live For {or can't live without}

1 - My husband
I could not imagine my life without this darling man in it. He makes everything worthwhile and he is my absolute all. And did I mention how extremely good looking he is ;)

2 - My Family
 My family is both wonderful and weird which makes them an absolute delight to be around. I am constantly entertained by them, loved by them, supported by them and comforted by them. Love them to bits!

3 - My Friends
My friends are incredibly important to me. This year I have grown much closer to my closest friends as I now have more time to spend with them which I cherish.

  

4 - My cellphone
I cant seem to go 5 minutes without looking at my cellphone never mind living without it. I like to know that I can chat with all my friends and family within seconds, I also have some cool apps that keep me entertained like Timehop, Wordpress etc. My husband calls it my 'magazine' and my iPad mini my 'newspaper' and brings either one to me when he brings me my morning coffee in bed (what a gem!)

5 - Exercise
I am slowly but surely getting addicted to exercising again. I am an all or nothing kinda person but when I get a bee in my bonnet, you will see me to great lengths to achieve what I set out to. At the moment its a 12 week bootcamp which involves personal training 3 times a week, as well as having entered (and run by the time you read this) a 10km race so do running training 3 times a week too.

6 - My GHD hair straightener
Well for those of you who know me, this doesn't need much explaining but for those of you who don't, my hair is WILD to say the least. I was blessed with lovely thick hair that grows like a weed but unfortunately the texture is that of steel wool. Luckily for me GHD is an absolute saving grace and can turn my steel wool hair into beautiful luscious locks in a matter of minutes.

7 - Gloria
Gloria, the poor old soul, is my darling cleaner who I most certainly could NOT live without. I have lived in London for a few years where the cleaner was yours truly, and I absolutely hated it. I have no attention for detail and can be best described as a bull in a china shop so you can only imagine how my cleaning antics went down . . . a lick and promise and hope no-one can see the mess/dirt. Not a day goes by where I am not grateful for Gloria and how privileged we are to have a cleaner.

8 - Wine/Champagne

The golden nectar of life . . . I am inlove with wine and champagne. My husband and I have a glass of
wine every . . . single . . . day, and we enjoy every sip. It gives a chance to sit down and catch up after a long day and it dissolves our stresses of our busy lives.

9 - Dermalogica Moisturiser
What an amazing product! My skin gets super dry, as I jump out the shower I begin to feel my face tensing and tightening and there is no better feeling that lathering on this  miracle product and feeling your skin soak it up and become plump and glowing.


10 - Sunshine
Sunshine is one of my most favourite things in the world and I could never again (in London I most
certainly lived without it) live without it. Summer is my absolute favourite season of the year as you get to spend time outdoors, ideally relaxing by the pool feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, seeing my skin turn golden as it soaks up the rays. Sunshine makes me happy and its as simple as that. I have made a promise to myself to never again live without this marvelous creation!

July Recipe Challenge - Wk 1 Chicken

Simply Delicious - Chicken Curry Soup
 

 

Serves 4
1kg (2.2 pounds) chicken pieces, poached with skin and bones removed and meat shredded
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp each nutmeg and cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp crushed chillies / 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp sugar
1.5l chicken stock
100ml (3.38 fluid ounces) cream
salt & pepper to taste
Naan bread
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1tbsn Sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
4tbsn Oil
5 tbsn Melted Butter

1. In a large pot, fry the onion, carrots and celery in a bit of oil until soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another minute before adding the tomatoes and spices. Allow to cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the sugar and stir into the spicy mixture.
4. Add the shredded chicken and stir to coat the chicken in all the spices and vegetables.
5. Carefully pour in the stock and allow the soup to come up to a simmer. Simmer gently for 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the soup looks rich and fragrant.
6. Add the cream and season to taste. Serve with the Naan bread.
7. For the Naan bread,Pre-heat the oven to the hottest setting you can. (I have a fan-assisted oven that I put on 250 and I switch the grill on)
8. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.
9. Mix the sugar, milk, egg and 2 tbsn of the oil together.
10. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and add the fluids.
11. Mix well and then turn onto a floured surface and knead well.
12. Add the rest of the oil and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and all the oil is incorporated.
13. Place back into the bowl, cover and leave to rest for 2-3 hours.
14. Divide into 8 balls, roll and shape into ovals with the palms of your hands.
15. Bake until puffed and brown.
16. Brush with melted butter the moment it comes out of the oven.

So this was the recipe I chose to try out this week. I left for overseas on Monday night so quickly tried to throw it together before I left and unfortunately didnt have time to make the naan. 

It came our very nice and from the bit I tested, tasted great. The hubs was lucky enough to have it for dinner on Monday night and even took some for lunch on Tuesday so it must have been good ;) 

Link up with Purple Lips and Perfect Smiles: July recipe a week challenge: http://purplelipsandperfectsmiles.blogspot.com/2013/06/july-recipe-week-challenge.html

July Recipe a Week Challenge

I just read Purple Lips and Perfect Smiles: July Recipe a Week Challenge and it sounds absolutely fab!

The challenge: for the month of July - cook a new recipe every week from the Simply Delicious Blog

I love cooking and trying new recipes so I'm going to give it a bash!

Keep following to see how successful I am x

 

1 day closer to Summer

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year which means today we are 1 day closer to Summer :) 

With each day that passes we will enjoy more and more glorious sunshine as our days become longer and longer! 

Time to get those bods bikini ready so watch this space for motivation! 

Teacher Tates Hens Party

One of my most precious friends is getting married on the 6 July and I am honoured to be one of her bridesmaids.

Myself and 3 of the other bridesmaids organized her Hens Party for her which was this last weekend and what a party we had!

Jane (the bride) is a school teacher so we decided to go with a school theme. All the girls were asked to dress as school girls and we dressed Jane as a sexy Teacher.

 

 

 

Week 1: Who Am I

So who exactly am I? Quite a complicated question when you really think about it but the easy answer is, I am the following:

I am a wife - this is one of the most wonderful roles I have ever had to play in my life. I feel gratefully daily that my precious chose ME to spend the rest of his life with and I will do my utmost to ensure he never regrets that's decision. I love looking after him, supporting him, motivating him and just spending every minute I can with him.

 

I am an entrepreneur - this is an exciting and stressful role but something that I am convinced I was born with or born to be. From selling popcorn with my cousin, to hiring out my services as a clown at children's parties to tuckshops out my school locker, I knew I would always be my own boss one day and I am having so much fun doing just that. My 2 little businesses (www.roxstarbikini.com and www.belo.co.za) continue to grow and flourish every day and its so great to see my hard work paying off.

I am an infertile - this is one of the toughest and most heart breaking roles I play at the moment. "Infertility means not being able to get pregnant after one year of trying (or six months if a woman is 35 or older)" - definition of infertile My husband and I have been trying to fall pregnant for 18 months so are well into our journey of infertility and it is the most devastating journey we have ever taken. What started out as great excitement and expectation ends monthly in huge disappointment and heart ache. Each month we morn the child we didn't have and start again on the rollercoaster of hope and expectation and so the cycle goes on. This is the one role I cant wait NOT to be.

 

I am a faithful Christian - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", no valley is too deep and no mountain is too high with God by my side. I have such faith in God's promises for my life and the many blessings he has in store for us. God is an Almighty God where nothing is too great for his power. What else can I do but trust in Him and his Word and pray that His will be done in my life.



I am all of these things and more . . .much, MUCH more x

Remember to link up with 

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose

I have been extremely slack with my blog of late and decided that I need some direction to get back into the swing of writting up a storm and filling these pages/posts with meaningful information.

I came across the 52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose post by  Ellie Love who is following From Mrs to Mama and I decided to jump on the band wagon.

Lets see if I can stick to the 52 weeks guidelines and find some interesting topics to write on.

Keep following to find out more x