Guest Post

I am guest posting on Jenna's blog today, so hop on over to A Home Away From Home to see what I have to say about Amazing Mozambique! Whilst you're there, check out some of Jenna's awesome travel moments!

See you there!

xxx

Wedding Pumps

Today I found my wedding shoes! Basic white pumps with a little sparkle that cost me a whole R95 from Chanson; and the most fabulous part of them all...the second I put my feet into them I knew I would be able to dance the night away! Wedding shoes, check!

Recently I was lucky enough to taste these DIVINE cupcakes. Available in all sorts of flavors and toppings and with or without fillings, for a mere R10 - R12 each! Perfect for gifts and parties, these are definitely something I would recommend. The fillings were heavenly and had to be eaten with a spoon! Flavors I sampled were caramel, chocolate mousse, passion fruit and blueberry. My favorite had to have been the caramel. It was simply a beautiful moment for my tastebuds! Rita runs her business from her home based in Ruimsig, Johannesburg but is hoping to move to Clearwater Mall next year. She is one talented lady!

Social/Collective Buying Websites

I'm sure you have all come across some form of social/collective buying website in the last year or two. I am addicted to getting these daily emails in my inbox and scavenging for cash saving deals on eating out, gifts, weekends away, beauty treatments, books etc...

Some things I have bought

Plenty of meals out - all delicious

Wall climbing experience - still to be used

Salsa lessons - in the process of completing 5 lessons and having a ball

Hair cut - very happy

Christmas Lights - still being delivered

All the wine for our wedding - delivered, delicious and saved a ton of money!

This weekend away to Bushman's Hide  where we got engaged :)

So here you go, I have trawled the net, and have compiled this list of all the social buying sites that I can find (in SA) at the moment. I've sifted through them and chucked those that are no longer trading or look a tad shady. I'm sure there are some I have missed but have a look and see what gems you'll find!

The ones I mostly use and have purchased from

Wicount

Groupon

City Slicker

Collective Cow

Others that I have discovered and will be checking out

Ubuntudeal
Daddy's Deals

24 Hours Only

Onedayonly

VuvuPlaza

SA Coupons

CityMob

YouDeal

Whatadeal

Savemedeals

dealclick

citymob

wekidunot

VoucherTrader

Aggregators 

(Collects all deals in one place, meaning you only get one email)

Alldeals

Deal Africa

DealZone

DealScout

So far I haven't met anyone who has had a bad experience with the websites that I use, or has been dissatisfied with their purchase; however there is always a risk and I have found it helpful to check the seller out first to ensure they are legit and to see whether their deal is in fact a good deal, and not their regular prices. 

Advantages of these sites are: they save you time and money by sending emails straight to your inbox and you can shop from your PC. 

Disadvantages are: they can tempt you to buy things that you wouldn't usually buy and forget to use the vouchers before they expire. 

ALWAYS read the fine print on every deal before you buy and put a reminder somewhere so that you will remember to use your voucher before it expires.

Let me know if you have had any bad experiences and also if you know of any other great websites like these.

Happy shopping!

Time-saver: Summer Couscous Salad

This was delish!

So, last night I decided to get creative and make something new and healthy for dinner. I ended up throwing together this Summer Couscous Salad (BBC GoodFood's Simple Summer Food).

Not only was it healthy, vegetarian and delish, it was all done in under 30 minutes. A fab time-saver!

Here's the recipe (serves 4)

250g/9oz couscous

250ml/9fl oz boiling water or vegetable stock

400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1-2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil

300g/10oz courgettes/baby marrows, sliced at a slant

300g/10oz small vine-ripened tomatoes, halved

250g pkt halloumi, medium slices

For the dressing

125ml/4fl oz olive oil

3 tbsp lime/lemon juice

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2tbsp chopped fresh mint

1/2 tsp sugar

What to do

1 Tip couscous into a bowl, add the boiling water/stock and stir, cover the bowl and allow to sit for 5 min. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together. Fluff up the couscous with a fork, stir in the chickpeas and half the dressing. Pile onto a large serving dish. 

2 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan, fry courgette slices over high heat for 2-3 min until dark golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Fry tomatoes on high heat for another couple of min. Add to couscous. 

3 Fry halloumi for 2-3 min until crisp and sizzled brown. Pile on top of the couscous and pour over the remaining dressing.

Enjoy!

PS Great for work lunch - tastes even better the next day :)

The Best Things in Life are Free

The Western way of living is one of excess, status, earn more, spend more, show it off. We find it embarrassing to say something is out of our price range, we equate our earnings with our self worth. How much fun and freedom we have is often tied up with how much we can spend and how much we can spoil ourselves. We all know the old adage, 'Stop and smell the roses', but when was the last time you actually did that? How much 'stuff' are you accumulating, lusting after, insuring, taking care of...and how much of that is really necessary? How much of it really gives you joy? How much of that do you actually use?

 How much of that does your soul love?

I truly believe, that the best things in life really are free, we just need to remember the original definition of best; those things that are wholesome, healthy, good for the soul, good for the planet, and great for the wallet.

I'm bringing simple back...

The Best Things in Life are Free (or very very cheap)

• A cup of coffee at home with a great friend
• A walk in the beautiful outdoors (get out of the city!)
• Homemade cocktails (and so deliciously glam)
• Games evening with friends (just don't put couples in the same team lol!)
• Curling up on the couch with a DVD
• Playing with your dogs

My babies, Zola on the Left, Tex on the right :)

• Listening to music (it's one of the most powerful emoters)
• Gardening (when last did you feel the earth beneath your manicured hands?) 
• Building a puzzle
• Hiking
• Window shopping (what if I told you...you don't have to buy something every time you go to the mall..I know, shocking!)
• A chat over the phone/email/skype with someone you haven't spoken to in a while
• Dancing in the rain (okay, let's be serious, I probably wouldn't do this)
• Watching a sunrise or sunset
• Flowers...
• Devouring an excellent book
• Cheese and wine evenings
• Picnics
• Hugs
• Kisses
• Taking photos, and looking at them afterwards
• Spending time with those you love and love you back

My better half, Byron, and I - together for 9 years and getting hitched in April 2013 :)

• Doing absolutely nothing
• Lying in a hammock and doing absolutely nothing
• Disconnecting from all technology...and doing absolutely nothing
• Baking cookies
• Eating cookies
• Listening to a thunderstorm
• A candlelit bubble bath
• A home spa day
• An afternoon nap
• Walking barefoot on the grass
• A fabulous home cooked meal and lingering around the table
• Watching/playing a good game of sport with friends
• Time in the bedroom....ooh la la
• Sleeping late
• Exercise
• Teaching yourself a new skill
• Stargazing
• Riding a bike
• Dancing
• A good laugh

The list goes on and on but you get my point, all it takes is a little time to think and a bit of practice to appreciate the simpler things in life and suddenly, a new type of abundance opens up to you. Money is fabulous, and it's hard not to love, but it can rule your life and add to your stress and leave you feeling like a 'have not'. It is difficult to truthfully admit to yourself, and to your friends, that something is just beyond your means, or, "Not this month", but as they say, 'The truth shall set you free', and more often than not, your friends are in the same position as you are.

Here's to all the simple, wholesome, and fabulously inexpensive!

"Some people are so poor, all they have is money." - Unknown

                                                           

Wedding Invites: Saving time, money AND the planet

I am getting married in April 2013 and when I first began wedding planning I was astounded by the amount of time, money and wastage it takes to pull off this special day (astounded face). If it were entirely up to me we would have eloped or gotten hitched on the very very cheap. Unfortunately it’s not entirely up to me and my fiancé does have a say in the matter (I did say unfortunately) and hence we are having the big family wedding (130 guests). So even though I didn't get my way there, I was determined to save as much of anything as I could in this very involved process. Unlike many others, I don’t take naturally to wedding planning; I find the amount of small details and decisions overwhelming. However, I have taken it one step at a time and so far so good.

One fantastic idea I happened upon, and I know this is not new to everyone (except me living under my wedding-free rock), is the whole wedding website invite. When I realised that this is not only an easy way to do invites, totally free AND they don’t end up in the bin, I was hooked! This is one of those rare things that ticks all the right saving boxes –time, money, planet :)

I used the offbeatbride.com website, clicked on WedSites, signed up and I was A-for-away. The whole process was so easy and pain free (well, except for getting everything checked and approved by my fiancé {rolls eyes}). It didn't cost us a cent, there was no time spent approving invitation layouts or waiting for them to be printed. There were no postage costs involved only to have them get lost (in SA this happens A LOT) and no trees had to die in the process (big smile).

The sites are really user friendly as well, guests can RSVP directly on the website, send you messages and even post song suggestions. You can view your website stats and change details whenever you want. Security is not a problem either as you can set up a password entry as well as delete your website when it is no longer needed. 

And the best part is…our guests totally loved the invite!

Below is a sneak peak into my actual wedding website.

This is the first page our guests see once they have entered their WedPass. On the  left you can see all the other  pages we added (there are tons more to choose from).

This is the cute timeline I added just for some romance (it is a wedding after all!)

The WedPass screen - no stalkers here!

A Christening Gift?

My Fiancé and are invited to a christening this coming Sunday. Now, I have attended bridal showers, weddings, baby showers and birthdays, but never a christening (guess you know you’re getting long in the tooth when you get these types of invites!). So the first thing that went through my mind when I received the invite was, “Do I take a gift? What gift? Where do I find this gift!?” Needless to say I was quite perplexed. Of course, I turned to trusty old Google and here is what I found.

Some suggestions were: 

• Jewellery (e.g. engraved pendant/bracelet/ring)
• Jewellery box
• Toy chest
• Money
• Bank Account to deposit into each year
• Bible
• Cross
• Silver engraved picture frame
• Photo album with pictures & messages from family
• Book sets (e.g. Peter Rabbit/Wind in the Willows)
• Silver engraved spoon
• Engraved decorative plates

Just FYI - A few moms commented on forums that their babies christening gifts ended up just gathering dust and recommended gifts of a more practical nature. Perhaps asking the mom might help.

It seems that, when it comes to christening gifts, think:

• Silver
• Valuable
• Sentimental
• Investment
• Heirloom
• Religious
• Educational
• Collectables

So what did I end up getting? Well, I must say I am pretty chuffed with myself. I found this ultra-cool, silver, helicopter money box (it’s obviously a little boy’s christening). 

From Birthdays in Clearwater Mall, West Rand, Johannesburg.

I even managed to get my hands on a 90^th anniversary South African Reserve Bank R5 coin to add to it. 

All wrapped up...

Finished product

Hopefully my gift will be appreciated! You never know maybe this will stick somewhere in your subconscious and SAVE you a lil’ bit of TIME if you ever get a christening invite! Happy shopping!

I would, but...

Some excuses reasons why we (okay, okay - I) fall off the saving money/time/planet (MTP) bandwagon:

 

1.      Too ______ (you fill in the blank - lazy/busy/naïve?) to bother

 

The fact is - saving anything requires some sort of planning and then sticking to the plan. Some of us are either just too lazy, busy or just plain naïve (or all 3 [me – Yikes!]

We also lack patience, everything is bigger, better and faster and if we can’t get results/info in a nanosecond…we lose interest faster than Usain Bolt. We live in a happy bubble of ignorant bliss, as long as we aren’t aware of what is happening to our bank accounts, our planet or our time, then everything is A-OK and it’s someone else’s problemo.

 

2.      All or nothing

 

Like any other habit, saving (anything) takes time and practice. I am very much an all-or-nothing girl and it doesn’t take much for me to cry “Bore SNORE!” and throw in the towel. If you’re anything like me, you freak out at the thought of going totally vegetarian {or worse the dreaded Vegan [which I have been before okay, Vegans out there, tighten your leashes this is not an attack on you ;) in fact I salute you!]}, we scream in horror at the thought of wearing hessian dresses [although quite stylish and ultra-cool in summer ;)], we faint at the thought of saving HOW MUCH a month (face of horror!) and we get tired (we are human after all), and then decide to skip those plans to get ahead on the washing, cooking a week’s worth of meals to freeze etc. We are creatures of habit and comfort; things that threaten scare the banoodles out of us!

 

3.      You hypocrite

 

Similar to point number two, I feel we feel we need to be 100% perfect in every category and if we do things that contradict each other then we are hypocrites. For example, how can you worry about saving water when you enjoy a candlelit bubble bath, how can you say smoking is a waste of money when you drink that bottle of wine every night. How can you preach about recycling when you buy ready-made meals. We feel guilty and then avoid it all together, and stick our heads in the sand, which only makes us feel guiltier.  Well if we had to only do something when we could do it 100% we wouldn’t do anything at all. Believe me, the extremists out there will find something to criticise you for, but in my book, even if you do only one thing positive to help you save MTP, you are making a positive change to your life which is helping you feel happier which is sending out positive energy into the world (ooo how tree huggerish of me!).

 

4.      Your environment is not geared for it

 

Humans are social creatures and tend to follow the crowd. Yes there are those who don’t conform but these are not the norm (hence – nonconformists). We experience a certain degree of anxiety when we are not part of the group (I don’t care how much you say you don’t). Therefore, when your environment is following a certain trend and encouraging that trend you are more likely to move with the movement. Here in SA, we still have a long way to go in terms of living green and recycling. It is not easy to find somewhere to recycle and many times it involves a huge growing mountain of material in your back yard until someone finds the inspiration (or time) to drop it off. We also love credit (okay who doesn’t love the magic world of imaginary money) and every second day we receive retail account cards with our name on it, or bank calls offering more credit. The temptation is as persistent as a Jozi traffic light vendor.

 

5.      Saving doesn’t go with our image

 

We are a shallow generation, unfortunately, if something isn’t fabulous, awesome, expensive, amaze-balls, unique or branded we are just not interested. Who wants to care about saving money when you need to splash it around in the form of dinners, clubbing, clothes, cars, and holidays. Who wants to save the planet when it means “wasting time” growing an organic garden and cooking in bulk (which could break my newly manicured nails doll!). Blah! What a bore snore! We are training our brains to believe if we want it, we can damn well have it, and pity the poor soul who gets in the way of my Jimmy Choos!

 

I’m sure there are hundreds of other reasons why people as a collective, and you and I as individuals prefer the happy place of denial. However, I am not going to waste precious blogging time (see-saving time!) on excuses. I know that for a long time I have felt I need to hop on the saving bandwagon (especially for the planet) and this blog is in a way my effort to stay on track. So, I dare you to dare me to stay on track!

So Why This Blog?

Life is busy, and here in Johannesburg, it’s not only busy but also stressful. With the traffic, crime, striking, constant price hikes etc. this place often brings out “Survival of the Fittest” mentality. For some time now I have thought, and heard people say, “Is this it?” I feel that there is this constant pressure on myself and others; time and money constraints, living for the weekend, hanging on by our fingertips, trying to make ends meet, running on credit, racing from A to B…and all the time living for that moment where we feel we have “made it”; when life FINALLY settles down; we beat the rat race; jump off the hamster wheel. You get my drift? But sorry to burst your bubble sweety, unless you win the lottery, and the UK lottery at that, this is it…this is as good as it gets.

 

“So why this blog?” I hear you ask (amongst when will she stop waffling and making me depressed)? Well for one, I am an ordinary person, no one special, not rich or super successful, just a normal 28 year old girl trying to build a career, some savings, a life for herself. And two, I feel I could be doing something positive for the world.

So I am faced with all the obstacles “normal” people are faced with yet I want to somehow make a difference…no matter how small. And so I have decided to start this blog about saving time, money and the planet whilst still trying to live my life (effortlessly) and be as fab as possible. Not many girls (especially me!) want to hear that we need to save the planet, so we should bath in a bucket! No sir, I want to hear, save the planet, eat these chocolates that save the rain forest!

So as of today, I am on a mission to find all the tips that will best save time, money and the planet. They won’t necessarily be mutually exclusive, nor complementary of each other, but I figure, if only a handful of people like and try my tips I am making a positive difference in the world and changing my life in the process….not exactly wonder woman…but close enough!!