So it's been a week in Dubai and it has been awesome! It hasn't been anything less than 30 degrees and dusty (from all the sand) but lots of fun nevertheless. 

I thought I would tell you about all the cool places I have been. One of the best things about here is the photo opportunities I have wherever I go. 

I have been to two very cool restaurants/ cafes so far and they were both so cute and really good to eat at. 
The first one we went to was Salt on Kite Beach. 

I am very lucky to be able to travel to Dubai on a regular basis (you might've read my very, very early posts) because my mom and sister live in Dubai. They moved just over two years ago and are absolutely loving it. I decided to stay back in SA and finish school... That's a story for another day.  

I get the opportunity to come to this very weird and wonderful place very often to visit mom, almost like a second home. I decided this time to bring you guys along with me. This is just a little introductory post and a blog catch up considering I haven't posted in ages (Sorry guys!). 

If you are anything like me and love brands and shopping this is the place to go! The vast malls that are EVERYWHERE make for some incredible experiences, that is, if you can afford it and some wonderful eye catching ad campaigns and clever window art, something I love to look at. 

Although a very interesting place, one of great experiences and adventures. I will take you with to all the fab restaurants and places we go as well as show you all of the amazing things I have managed to pick up along the way. Please let me know if you would like me to film any of my experiences so you don't have to do all the reading. 

I can't wait to share my thoughts and experiences with you. 

Lots of love 

Soph

<3 

So as you may have read in the title of this post, this is an attempt to be productive/creative in some way. 

Maybe this is a good opportunity to just have a good old conversation with you guys, maybe a bit of ideas will spring from it... such as how to NOT procrastinate!

Today, this is my beautiful picture (in my opinion) that I am choosing to grace you all with. This is my number one way of procrastination! YouTube and browsing the web for rubbish is everything when it comes to something I don't want to do. 

People I am absolutely loving recently on YouTube are The Michalaks. They are a family who live in London and they are so nice! I am crazy about their videos because they are so beautiful, they make videos that are so lovely to watch. They have all this stunning equipment that I am so envious of! Go check them out when you have a chance. 

Another way of wasting time, I realised today, is to paint your nails. So with the long weekend this week, I decided I would paint my nails blue. If I do paint them over the weekend then I paint them a really lame light pink colour so if I don't take it off in time, school doesn't notice. Don't break the rules... it's bad! 

 I was going to take this opportunity to tell you about what is yet to come on this page in the next couple of posts but considering I am really bad at posting on time, I will just let you all wait and see. What I can tell you is that there is going to be a bonus post either tomorrow or Sunday just because I like to express who I am and what I do with my life (keeping in mind I am in matric so nothing very exciting).

I just thought I should inform anyone that may have asked why, in my older posts, you would've noticed my images are all weird and horrible. This is because of the new format of the page and the old format of the images. I am trying hard to fix it and will probably do that after I am done with this post. But if anyone asked why, that's the answer. 

Just a cool thing to remember is that it is Earth Hour tomorrow from 8:30 - 9:30pm. It is a really cool initiative, if you want to read more about it, visit the webpage.

I hope you enjoyed this chatter that I was procrastinating with. If there is anything you would like me to post about please let me know. Have a great weekend and a very festive Human Rights Day on Monday. 
See you all soon,
Lots of Love 
Soph <3 
xx

So, as we hang onto the last weeks of summer, there is no better way to celebrate sunny days and friends than with some delicious summer coolers. 

Here are a few recipes that will help you make the most delicious drinks, whether in company or just relaxing by yourself. 

These can have alcohol in them but I made them without alcohol, if you feel like a bit of a punch, just add what you prefer into the drink. 

Two of the recipes require simple syrup, so we'll start with that:

Ingredients

1 cup of water 

1 cup of sugar 

160g of raspberries to add later

Place a saucepan over high heat with the water and sugar and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then turn the heat right down and leave it. 

1st Cooler: Strawberry Limeade

Ingredients

Fresh Strawberry slices

2 Fresh Limes

Fresh Mint Leaves

Simple Syrup (made above)

Sprite or lemonade

You may add some cucumber if you like

Cut your limes in half and squeeze their juice into your serving glass with a tablespoon of the simple syrup. Mix well. 

Add some ice, stir and add the Sprite or Lemonade. 

To finish off, slice up strawberries and add a sprig or two of mint to garnish. Add a cute straw for fun! 

2nd Cooler: Raspberry Virgin Mojito:

Ingredients

1 lime, sliced

6 or so mint sprigs, plus garnish leaves

2 - 3 raspberries for garnish

Lime flavoured sparkling water

Place the simple syrup back on low heat and add the 160g of raspberries. Let simmer for 3 - 4 minutes, stir well. 

Strain the syrup from the pulp and allow to cool for a few hours. 

Carefully pour the cooled syrup into the glass just less than half way. Add some ice and stir well.

Fill the rest of the glass with the flavoured water. Garnish with a few mint leaves and raspberries. 

3rd Cooler: Watermelon Breeze

Ingredients

1 - 2 cups of cubed watermelon

3/4 cup of coconut water

A squeeze of lime 

Sprig of mint 

I de-pipped my watermelon, but you don't have to if you don't mind the pips and cut the watermelon into smaller cubes. Place the cubes and the coconut water into a blender. Add a squeeze of the lime and the leaves of the sprig of mint. I added one or two cubes of ice to the blender too, blend well. 

Add some ice cubes to the serving glass and pour the blended cooler into the glass and garnish with mint. Place a fun straw for some accessories. 

Here are the finished products to enjoy on a hot summers evening. I hope you all try these out, also please let me know what you want to see on my blog.  

Thank you for reading

Lots of Love 

Soph 

<3 

27 Boxes in Melville is the new hotspot of multiple trinket and smelly shops as well as some really cool shops not to mention the delicious and inventive restaurants. 

The initial idea of the centre being made of old shipping containers was at first not a very supported idea by the Melville Residents Association which made the lives of the contractors very hard as there was lots that needed to be approved by the MRA and making the process rather lengthy, however it has been much appreciated by the public and is now a buzzing spot for everyone. 
My favourite shop (for now at least) is called PremiumFrench.  




Not only is the shop decorated beautifully but it smells SO GOOD! I have a huge obsession with smelly things; diffusers, candles, perfumes... If you're anything like me than this will also become your favourite shop. Withe the most interesting smelling candles and scents you can spend hours and lots of money on getting A LOT of really nice things. 



The next most amazing place I found was a cupcakes and cake shop called Crumbs 'n Smiles. I'm telling you now, there is no place better than this one. 
This woman makes the best cupcakes I have ever tasted! They are moist and SO tasty! The cupcakes that were made for me, the ones with '18' all over them, were made by Crumbs 'n Smiles and I will never go back. 



You can order from her, whatever you like and they come out beautifully or you can walk into the shop and pick what you like from the selection of fresh goodies on display in the counter to-go. 






The next Gem I found was a beautiful jewellery store called The Jewellery Experiance. She makes the most beautiful and inexpensive things. The jewellery is all perfectly designed and beautifully executed. 





The last place that I saw that I had chance to pop my head into was called Urban Green. 



This is a really cool shop that I had a chance to look at, it has little things in it of all kinds. One of the best things I found in it was chalk pens. I have been looking for them for so long and I have finally found them! (I know that is really lame...)

The shops that I had a chance to explore are by far not the only amazing ones that are available at 27 Boxes. I think you should all go have a look at it.  

Lots of Love 
Soph
<3 

Whether or not you have a lovely valentine this year, don't forget to pamper yourself this year!

There is nothing better than jumping into a bath with your favourite ballistic and lying in there with a good book and just being you.

Hey Friends! 

This is going to be one of my most exciting blog-years yet! It is a HUGE year for me as I am in matric (my final year of school, EVER!) and I just turned 18 which means I can do a whole lot of adult things too... go to clubs, drink, invest, the list goes on. However, it is also a year I am going to explore as much of myself as possible. 

The 1st thing is my 18th birthday! Me and a group of my friends went to ToyToy in Newtown. The music was great, we had tons of fun and it was so nice to be able to be with friends and just have fun. The next day I had the most amazing lunch with close friends and family to celebrate this exciting birthday. 

Another exciting venture is that of the new look of my blog and my URL which is now mine and all mine. I am so excited to write about things that you all love and I love to show you. Please tell me what you would like to see and experience with me. I plan to make this a space where we celebrate what we have in our beautiful country to remember the positives, not only the negatives. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2016 and PLEASE follow me on this amazing journey. There will be posts up every week.

Lots of Love 

Soph <3