What's in a BAG? & Purses

One can never have too many bags. I love bags, beautiful bags that is, and I do go out of my way to buy a bag for every occasion.  When one has a collection of handbags, clutches and purses it becomes easier to select a bag according to outfit, mood or occasion.

 

I have this gorgeous handbag from Afore Studio 2015.   Afore Studio sells quality, affordable handbags. Most of their merchandise are of the finest quality PU leather you can find.  Afore Studio handbags are fashioned and stitched to perfection, the bags are made to last the customer a long time. It may be too soon for me to judge the durability of this handbag since I have been carrying it for  four months, a friend who purchased the same bag from Afore Studio has been  carrying it for over six months  - could be too soon to tell still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Besides the exquisite colour this take-anywhere bag is versatile and preppy. It is a two-in-one, I don't know what is better than that. On the inner part of the main bag  you will find a suede lining. The second bag which you find inside the actual bag has a centre zip compartment, which allows for easy internal separation. Plus, you can carry this bag for three occasions/ with three outfits.



 

Look, I get that not everyone is into the whole "matchy-matchy" thing but I love taking out a purse that compliments the bag that I am carrying.  This Fossil purse looks great together with the bag, the colour is not exactly the same shade but it is a perfect match.

 

This genuine leather purse from Fossil is classy and spacey. If you are like me and have too many cards it is perfect as it has enough card compartments. What I don't like about it is the fact that the inner part of the bag is not genuine leather despite the label saying that it is genuine leather and for its price it is a pity that some parts of the purse are not leather.

 

 

Check-out Afore Studio on instagram:  @aforestudio

Or email: AforeStudio@gmail.com  

Please note that lighting may have slightly affected the colour shade of the bag in photo 5 & 6.

*All photos are mine unless otherwise stated*

 

 

 

Greek Experience at MYTHOS

*On a quest to try out different cuisines, find new restaurants in and around Pretoria*

 Image: Tripadvisor

Mythos is a Greek restaurant with a few branches in South Africa. The restaurant I visited is at the Brooklyn Design Square, Pretoria. According to their website, Mythos, is described as a contemporary Greek restaurant with décor and an ambiance that is stylishly elegant, but also appealing to those who enjoy a quiet romantic setting for two.

When the menu came I decided not to have a starter and went straight for the main, besides it was too early for a three course meal.

 I ordered SOUDSOUKAKIA – Home-made meatballs cooked in a fresh tomato sauce & flavoured with herbs, a touch of garlic & oregano, served with rice.

On the meal:

The meatballs tasted differently from the sausages/ meatballs I usually eat or ever had in my life. I would say they were made at the restaurant with very little seasoning, additives or colourants. They were not fatty at all.  It was just minced meat and herbs. The rice was cooked just right, not overcooked. The grains were in an edible state not mushy. 

The tomato sauce tasted fresh, I would be disappointed if I were to realise that it came from a bottle.  It had that sour taste that tomatoes have and less seasoning and other additives.  This meal didn’t make me think, I am going to pile on some kilos after having it.  It was tasty, healthy, no oil in sight just starch from rice.

For dessert I ordered BAKLAVA, and it came with ice cream.  Ice cream was normal vanilla ice cream.

  

Baklava had layers of pastry; the bottom and top crust were a bit hard to break even though I was using a cake fork. I could taste the nuts and the syrup. It was so sweet - it was almost sinful.   So sweet I couldn’t finish it, I ate all the ice cream though.

Their service is okay, food came quick after ordering I can't fault it really. I left around 15:00 PM and the restaurant was quiet compared to when I arrived.  Lunch time is very busy on a Saturday, choose another time to visit the restaurant if you prefer to have your meal in a quiet surrounding.  

* All photos are mine unless otherwise stated*



ARTFLUX Exhibition 4 June - 3 July 2016

This past weekend I attended the ARTFLUX Opening Exhibition.

Poster by Pretoria Art Museum 

 

 

The exhibition curated by Capital Arts Revolution and hosted by the Pretoria Art Museum is currently showing works of three artist; Reatile Maolusi, Gert Potgieter and Stompie Selibe.

The exhibition will run for a month with a seminar planned for 25 June 2016. I managed to speak to two of the artists about their beautiful work.

 

Reatile Maolusi:

Reatile’s inspiration came from the accidents on our roads and the increasing number of roadside memorials.  Having lost a relative in a car accident also contributed to his series of "Roadside Memorials".  This is four years of his work but he started working on this particular series last year. Already he is working on the next series concentrating on mementos, things that loved ones leave behind,  like watches, shoes, even body parts left behind after clearing of accidents. Reatile has exhibited in many collective exhibitions and he currently has body of work showing in France.

The Pretoria Street Photography co-founder from West Rand is a Photography student at the Tshwane University of Technology.

 

Gert Potgieter:

Gert’s art has always concentrated around contemporary South Africa, he looks at day to day problems faced by ordinary South Africans. Matters concerning the poor, inequality, generally social issues. His current body of work deals with South Africa's poor who still find themselves at the same place they were 20 years ago.

This interesting piece is a tree made out of human limbs, Gert explained that this work is a follow-up on the work he did on the Marikana incident, he went on to explain that after the Marikana experience he was left feeling morbid as one would after such a sad situation. To lift up his spirits he started working on this tree symbolising rebirth. He also wanted to depict how close life and death are.

 

     

I was interested in the bottom piece, Gert  explained this piece as addressing the disillusioned in the community.

  

 

Gert  a sculptor with a studio in Pretoria, studied Art at the University of South Africa in the late 80s and specialises in welded metal.

I didn't get a chance to speak to the third artist, Stompie. Below is his work, I love how he  played with  the splash of colour complementing the distorted part of this piece.

 

Stompie who works from his studio in Johannesburg is described as a visual artist and a musician who is very involved with outreach programmes.

 

I found all three works intriguing and challenging.  I moved from Reatile's photos to Stompies paintings and worked the gallery to the middle where Gert's sculptures are.  Three set of emotions can be evoked as you recognise loss of life from the roadside memorials to three pieces with a splash of colour that will immediately colour your mood without even understanding the intended meaning of the collection to abstruse sculptures.

 

If you have time,  do visit the Pretoria Art Museum in support of the three artists but more especially in support of the young artists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* All photos are mine unless otherwise stated*

Skin Essentials this Winter

Do not forget to take care of your skin during these cold weather months. Make sure your skin is hydrated and nourished, see below a variety of products perfect for your skin this winter.

Your Face:

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil for face - You will not go wrong with this cocoa butter enriched oil. It is blended with ten different oils (see bottom photos), including coconut, almond and argan oil, as well as retinol and vitamin C & E. It will relieve your skin of any dryness and leave it moisturised and luminous.   

Pond’s Flawless Radiance BB Cream with SPF 30 – BB cream is a good cream to own when you don’t like applying make-up. I prefer BB cream over foundation any day. It is light, blends in well with my skin tone and has SPF. I do not see why I should wear foundation on top of this besides I find foundations messy and time consuming. Applying BB cream is easy and fast, and it will hide your blemishes just as well. SPF is the real reason why I keep BB cream.  Protecting your skin against the harmful sun rays is a very important daily requirement for everyone. Regardless of your race, gender, age and skin tone, YOU NEED SUNSCREEN.

Eucerine Sun Fluid Mattifying SPF 50 – The winter sun is very harsh and everyone needs to protect themselves from the skin damaging and aging UV rays.  This particular sun screen works best for those who hate the idea of a shiny grey looking skin after applying sun screen.  It is mattifying and will not leave your skin oily.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - I love this cream and I use it solely on my lips as a lip balm. I am a Vaseline girl that I will not hide. Under my lip gloss or lipstick you best believe there is Vaseline. There are times when even Vaseline cannot rescue me, like during this season for an example. Apply Eight Hour Cream to chapped lips and in no time you will have smooth lips. PROMISE.

 

Your Body

E45 Cream and E45 Intensive Recovery Body Lotion - E45 is a good cream for dry skin. I am currently using the E45 cream but in the summer I use E45 Intensive Recovery Body Lotion because it is lighter. The cream is much thicker; I find it suitable for winter months. E45 is a non-greasy cream suitable for dry sensitive skin. It is clinically proven to help improve skin health.

 

Eucerine Extra Light Sun Lotion SPF 50 – Everyone must have sunscreen in their cupboard, this is not negotiable. This particular product is suitable for the face and body. It can leave one very shiny so I prefer it on the body (arms/ legs) than on my face.

 

 

 

Your Hands:

 

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Concentrated Cream – In summer I wouldn’t wear this hand cream as it is dense and suitable to use in winter.  It doesn’t only intensively moisturise your hands, leaving them feeling soft and smooth but it also lasts. It is not the kind of hand cream that you must apply every 30 minutes as it can get greasy. Enriched with cocoa butter, Vitamin A, C and E it will soften and relieve rough dry skin on your hands. It is also suitable for elbows, feet and knees.

Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail & Oil Cuticle - A few weeks ago I posted a blog post on this oil . Apply this vitamin E rich oil to your nails and cuticles at least once a day, preferably when going to bed.  When I remember I  apply it during the day too.  With this intensive moisturising oil say hello to soft cuticles and bye-bye to dry, brittle nails.

 

 * The products on this post can be found at Dischem, Clicks and any other supermarket's cosmetic aisle in South Africa.

 

 

 

 *All photos are mine unless otherwise stated*