Big news...

Note** This post was scheduled for for 01/07/2015 but for some odd reason it never posted...anyway without further hesitation:

Hey guys,

I know I've been REAAALLLYYY quiet lately, but I have some big news for you guys...I am moving house!

Just kidding, actually I'm moving blogs, I have started a new blog and you can read all about it here.

I hope to see you all over on my new domain as I will no longer be posting on Our Flavourful Life.

Thank you for all the comments and blogger love!

When April rolled around

When April rolled around I said to myself "Myself, you have to write more blog posts this month, you should make time for the blog because you enjoy doing it and you always have these brilliant ideas/thoughts that pop into your head on the way to/from the office, you should jot them down and write about them."

Well obviously that hasn't happened, we are half way through April and I have only done one post! Tsk tsk!! Shame on me!!

The truth is there are things I enjoy more than blogging - like adventuring around my new city, cooking and squeezing in a workout here or there when I can. Then there are things that I have to do, that I don't necessarily enjoy more that blogging - like attending lectures, doing housework, my job, and sleeping. I need to find balance and get my groove back.

That being said, I have been working on a new look/design for the blog, and I'm working on moving the blog over to wordpress, so I'm spending all the time I would have spent writing posts on trying to design my new header, logo, buttons etc. I have a very clear vision of what I want the blog to look like, with about 2% photoshop skills to do it and approximately 231 559 pins (okay maybe not THAT many) on my secret blogging board with inspiration and tips on how to move to wordpress and create your own this and how to do that - So it might take a while.

Anyway, once I have that (and a few other, more personal things) down and sorted I will be back in the swing of things (hopefully!!). But for now, I will be content with writing sporadic posts about life and our adventures and my thoughts.

On turning 25...

Photo: Studio DIY

So I turned 25 a few days ago and the weeks leading up to this birthday have been clouded over by one simple question... Am I having a quarter life crisis?? I didn't even know there was such a thing as a quarter life crisis until mid January. I think it might just be modern day humans that like to over analyse and self-diagnose EVERYTHING!

Anyway, I had a wonderful day and Riaan did a good job at spoiling me and making me feel 'not old'. Also my Facebook and Whatsapp were flooded with birthday wishes, pictures and kind words, it certainly made my first birthday away from home a whole lot easier.

We went out for burgers with friends at GBK on Friday and decided to skip Brighton because the weather was a little crappy so we moved those plans forward to Easter weekend.

So back to the part about turning 25... The thing is, when you're younger you expect to have your shit sorted by this age, you see 25 as OLD!! Hell if this was the 90's I would have had 2 children already! I am so glad times have changed, the only children we see in the near future are those our friends will be having while we explore the world! Don't get me wrong, I love kids and I definitely want a few!

Well, here I am at the tender age of 25 and I don't think I have my shit sorted, sure I'm married (people still find that weird..."But you're so young?" "You should live your life." - I've found my person we'll live our life together, thanks!), we have a house that we are paying off and we have decent jobs, but there are days when I ask myself - Why am I doing this? Why don't I have a bakery/nursery school? Why am I not backpacking across Europe and Asia for a year? We don't know where we want to settle down, or when, but it will all happen in it's own good time. But first for now, we will explore and adventure and live!

In January I stumbled across a list of  "25 signs you're almost 25"...and I realised that they were scarily accurate and they applied to me on almost every level! Well, I know you want to know what they are (you know, just to check!), so here goes:

1. You fantasise about doing something drastic to your hair just to feel alive...
Lets rewind to late October - I dyed my hair...PURPLE! Even I was surprised - I think it was a side effect of discovering the first grey hairs...HAIRS not hair.

2. Or something a little more permanent (AKA ink)
Yip, I've been researching and planning my next tattoo since about August last year, not to mention wanting to have the tattoo I already have spruced up a little.

3. Finding out a celeb is younger than you ruins your entire day.
I'm talking to you Jennifer Lawrence and Lorde.

4. Partying is still fun but a little less spectacular than it once was, and that makes you feel conflicted.
Well this one speaks for itself. Is the hangover really worth it?

5. And you're surprise how excited you get to spend a night in.
Movies and a glass of red wine with no pants (I mean trousers) on? I'm in!

6. For the first time in your life you've thought 'Am I too old to be wearing this?'
The reason I have yet to buy a crop top.

7. You alternate between wanting to take better care of yourself and wanting to revel in the remaining days of your youth.
No comment.

8. You’ve downsized your friend group, and you’re starting to realise the ones who remain are the only ones you needed in the first place.
So true - why did it take so long to realise this?
 
9. You’re seriously considering emptying your bank account on a dream vacation to "find yourself" (whatever the heck that means).
I thought this was normal?

10. You still aren’t 100% sure what an IRA is, and it’s becoming a problem.
Haha I literally had to google what that is...turns out its the same as a RA - I had one of those, but decided it's not worth investing in, look at me being all grown up making investment decisions...

11. You get a weird sense of accomplishment from completing errands.
Hahaha yes, and housework, *pats self on back*.

12. You get blindsided by waves of general existential angst.
 I mean like who doesn't want to leave an impression on the world, make a difference, be remembered?? What was I put on this earth for???

13. Suddenly you find yourself legitimately enjoying your parents’ company. They are (understandably) suspicious of this.
This is so true, give me a cup of coffee/tea and I can chat for days!

14. You belong to one of two groups: people who can’t wait to have babies and people who are horrified by the idea of them.
Yeah I kinda have one foot on either side of the line here...you can't send babies back to where they came from!!

15. Either way, you keep doing mental check-ins: “Is this where I’m supposed to be in my life?”
Every few weeks - "Am I doing the right thing?"/"Should I be doing something else with my life?"

16. You have elaborate fantasies about quitting society and living off the earth in some unknown part of the world.
Like in a log cabin on the side of a lake in a hidden forest, yeah totes!

17. You comfort yourself by thinking you could be rich and famous if given the chance (despite your apparent lack of talent).
Just give me a chance universe, I have talent!!

18. You’ve had to Urban Dictionary teen slang juuust to be sure you knew what it meant.
Bae/Turnt...yip I had to google those!

19. There are more and more celebrities you straight up don’t recognise.
Where did they all come from??

20. Your ambition and your complacency are constantly at war. Should you sign up for a marathon or marathon-watch your favourite show?
Also, am I too scared of looking like an idiot to get out of my comfort zone and do something new? And why are we so scared of the unknown??

21. You find yourself making healthier eating choices…out of fear?
My favourite new food is courgettes, and when did I start caring so much about additives??

22. Sometimes you look in the mirror and think, "This is it. This is the best I’ll ever look."
...Unless I become famous - Yip still holding onto that one!

23. For the first time it really feels like your childhood is over. This is the point of no return. It’s DONEZO.

24. And that is mildly terrifying!

25. But also maybe — just maybe — a little…exciting?

This lead me to conclude that I may, indeed, be having a quarter life crisis...I'm off to buy some hair dye now!

Life lately - 16 March 2015

Time sure does fly when you're having fun...or when you are just crazy busy!!

Since we last caught up I had my first full pay cheque, and that only means one thing...shopping!! 30 kg's worth of clothing/personal belongings really isn't that much when you unpack it.

We ventured down Oxford Street 2 weeks ago and wandered in and out of the hundreds of shops that line the street, Primark was the most fruitful destination on that day! We went back to Oxford Street on Saturday afternoon, this time for Riaan (ok, mostly for Riaan - I couldn't resist a new handbag from Aldo, mine saw its ass this week!!)

We located the ONLY Steers in London and embarked on an adventure along the South Bank with our eye on the prize - a juicy King Steer Burger!! We ended up walking all the way to Steers (12 miles), which really isn't that bad when you're just strolling along taking in the beauty of the River Thames. It's on adventures like these that we find awesome places...like this craft beer boat!!

We have both got our NI numbers and I'm waiting for my residence card from Home Office, hopefully we get it before the end of April...we need our passports back because we want to go to the Netherlands for our second wedding anniversary, continuing the tradition (or starting the tradition? It can't be a tradition after only doing it once right?? Hmmmm food for thought!!) of going to a new place for every anniversary. *Awwww*

I started my weekend lectures for ACCA the weekend before last, which is why I've been so busy. I spent the week in Oxford, and I'm spending this week there aswell, it's such a pretty little town. Emphasis on the little!

On Saturday we went to Camden Market! It is awesome and I highly recommend this, if you have a open Saturday with nothing to do, head down to Camden Market! Take a few hours and just browse the stalls, there is literally something for everyone there! Art, antiques, food, clothing, home decor and random gadgets. I found a 60's style pin up dress that I love...I see another shopping mission in the near future!

My favourite face!!

Yummy!!!

After Camden we went to Oxford Street and after all the shopping we were ravenous! We roamed the streets of Soho and in true Riaan and Simone style it took us over an hour to decide where to eat! We eventually settled on a lovely little Italian Restaurant we found called Stefs. We had champs to celebrate Riaan's new job... he starts tomorrow!! Oh and some delicious italian food , creamy mussels, calamari, and linguine with salmon and spinach, accompanied by a smooth red of course!

Somewhere in Soho

Our plans for the next few weekends include the Portobello Road Market, lectures, Brighton for our birthdays and some random wandering adventures!

If you have any suggestions about where we should go or places you'd like to go to that we can test out for you, let me know in the comments below!!

Living in London - 5 Essential Apps

I'm a very excited girl! More than one of my friends is looking to move to London and/or the UK in general in the coming months. Some have spilled the beans recently and some we knew about before we left, either way it's all very exciting!!

So, I have taken it upon myself to help them (and anyone else looking to take an amazing leap of faith) out. I will provide knowledge where I can and share what we've learnt in our first 2 months in London.

My 5 Essential Apps

 1. City Mapper
City mapper is my new BFF...for realsies!! I just tell it where I am, and where I want to be and it will tell me how to get there (walk, cycle, taxi, tube - along with a multitude of different line options, bus), how long my different options will take and how much said option would cost. It gives you to the minute updates on train statuses, which pretty freaking awesome! It also has a "more rain safe" option, perfect for the unpredictable weather in London!! We've actually been rather lucky since we got here, but I do believe it will start raining more as it gets warmer...

2. Google Maps
When I'm looking for my nearest tesco/waitrose/sainsburys I just type it into google maps and they pop up all over my screen, little red dots of convenience! It's just as helpful when you're wandering around London, on a general explore and want to see what's in your immediate surroundings. Don't forget to zoom in and take a screen shot if you're low on battery power, GPS can drain that very quickly!

3. Whatsapp/Viber/Skype
ET phone home! Whatever your preferred method of communicating with your loved ones back home, it will become your daily go to.

4.Wingit/Hype
These nifty little apps tell you about cool/fun things happening in your area/wherever you find yourself wandering around wondering what to do on a Saturday/Sunday or any day really.

5.Word Lens
This app isn't really applicable for London, we only really used it in France, but if you find yourself if a foreign restaurant/shop in London this will definitely come in handy. You enter your language and the language to be translated and then, using your phone's camera you aim to the text to be translated (as if you were going to take a photo) and your phone will translate the text to your chosen language!

There are a few more apps that I will be trying out over the next few months as we settle in, I'll be sure to let you know what they are and how good/helpful they are.

So, that's it for now, I'll be back soon, sooner than last time, I promise!

24 of the best 90s and 00s kids TV Shows

Don't you just love getting a little nostalgic over your childhood? - The fun parts I mean - not the part where your 4 year old brother went to creche in his very loosely fitting summer pyjamas without underpants on and proceeded to run around and climb all the jungle gyms all free willy like, if you catch my drift...At the time I was horrified, such a dramatic little 7 year old!!

A while ago Riaan and I got a little nostalgic over a few glasses of red wine chatting about all the TV shows we used to watch in our adolescent years. I was quite surprised that we actually watched a lot of the same shows since a) We have a 4 year age gap, and b) He's a boy! Why does he know the theme song to Braceface??

TBH it made me laugh a little to hear him sing it.

I spent hours in front of the TV between the ages of 9 and 13 (thank you Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network!) and I feel sorry for kids these days because they will never know the awesomeness of the shows we had as 90s / 00s kids.

Here are a few of our (mostly mine) favourite shows (in no specific order):

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers


The Flinstones


Tom and Jerry


Animaniacs


Pinky and the Brain


Hey Arnold!
 

The Powerpuff Girls


Courage the Cowardly Dog

Cow and Chicken


Rugrats
 

The Magic School Bus


Dexter's Laboratory


SpongeBob SquarePants



Ed, Edd n Eddy


Johnny Bravo
 

The Simpsons


Recess


The Amanda Show


As Told by Ginger
 

Braceface



Lizzy McGuire


Kim Possible
 

The Wild Thornberrys


I literally could go on and on, I did love cartoons, and still do!
Did I miss any of the really good ones??

Lets talk about being bitchy

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now...The only thing that has been stopping me is that by writing this post I'll probably be seen as coming across a little bitchy...and I've decided that that's fine actually, because I can be a bitch, I know it and I'm not afraid to admit it. I also know that being a bitch usually does more harm than good, and after I've been a little bitchy I don't feel any better for it.

Let's start it off on a light note, according to my friends I'm a "basic bitch" for the following reasons:
I can sing to every song on the radio. Yes I can!
I talk about Yoga/any form of exercise really (but I do go)
Weekends consist of netflix/movies and wine.
I love Ryan Gosling...hahaha yup!
I have a shit ton of scarves. Aaha, it was so hard leaving more than half of them in Johannesburg!
I'm obsessed with Paris. At least now I have gone, but yes, still obsessed!
I have/had quotes all over my house.
I quote "Mean Girls" - guilty. And it goes with this post so prepare yourself!
I love frozen yoghurt and scented candles. Guilty again.
I have brightly coloured under garments. Too many!
Things I'd we'd say in a normal conversation include..."Cray", "Totes", "I love Katy Perry" and we always throw in a little "Swag, swag, swag" for Riaan just because he hates it so much! Haha!

When I look at this list I really don't see a problem with being a "basic bitch", I like who I am. Also, I'm a feminist at heart. But I'm not here to talk about me...I'm also not here to talk about the "bitches" that are blunt, straightforward, speak their mind and generally don't take shit from anyone. Being nice gets you nowhere, as a woman you need to stand your ground and stand up for what you believe in. But if that's what you're going to do then do it consistently, all the time. Not just when it's easy.

I'm here to talk about the girls that are snide, mean, hateful and malevolent. Towards each other. We live in a world where people seem to think it's OK to bring other people down to make them feel better about themselves, girls especially. When did it become OK to intentionally try and hurt someone? Is it really worth all the effort you put into it? What do you gain from it?

Society has set us up to constantly compare ourselves to one another, but instead of making a snide remark like "Oh she's so fat!" or "She should eat a burger!" take a second and think about what you are about to say...

Why?? Why would you, being a girl, knowing how hard it is to get through a day with your sanity intact, being constantly judged based on how you look, what you say, what you wear, what you eat and what you do to name a few things, think/feel that it is okay to make another girls day a little harder by taking a dig at them? I am perplexed! I just don't get it!

We could take a tip from the guy's here - they just say whatever it is that's pissing them off, they have it out and then they apologise and most times they get over it. This may seem a little testosteroney and somewhat primitive, but I still feel that it's a better way of handling a problem than by being ambiguous, deceitful and spiteful. I'm not saying bring out the claws, I'm saying get it out there and get it over with!!

Regina George, why can't Gretchen Wiener wear gold hoop earrings? Because you wore them first, of course! BUT you were NOT the first person EVER to wear gold hoop earrings!! SERIOUSLY!!! It seems to me that some girls get stuck in "high school", they just don't get past being cliquey or being a bitch behind your back and playing nice to your face. Just like in Mean Girls, the whole "I love your skirt" and "You can't wear gold hoop earrings" scenes happen over and over every day!! Why?? Why is it OK for you to do that? What makes you better than that girl? What makes you think you have the right to deprive someone of something they enjoy/like or hate on someone for liking something that you generally don't like, or god forbid, you liked first?

This is a serious problem that people face, not just girls, everyone! People are always so brave when they are hiding behind a keyboard and a screen, but 9 times out of 10 if you take that away from them they'll have nothing to say.

So now I have to quote Mean Girls, you leave me no choice - "Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter, and ruining [my friend's] life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you."

I know I have been guilty of  being a bitch, I belonged to a clique in high school. Luckily we left the bitchiness in high school and I have made the choice to stop being bitchy. I learned that you need to be happy with who and where you are in your life, do what makes you happy, be with those that make you happy and most importantly be yourself. It's highly likely that the problem isn't with the person you are berating, judging and breaking down.

So I leave you with this...

Rant over.

Travel tip/life hack - DIY wrinkle release spray

Don't you just hate stepping off a plane/train or climbing out of a car after a long trip looking like you just stumbled out of the laundry basket?? All wrinkled and frumpled up...I'm not sure if frumpled is a word but I'll go with it!

When I discovered this anti-wrinkle spray I instantly thought of a friend of mine...she is extremely proud of the fact that she has not ironed a single item of clothing, in 4 years, if I'm not mistaken...*cough* *cough*, you know who you are and I think you might just love this post!!

So I think this could be an awesome travel tip or a really good life hack for those of you with a fear/hate of ironing.

I made a little bottle of this magic potion the night before we left for Paris, if you make a small enough bottle you can take it on the plane with you, I use a 100ml bottle, it's perfect to fit in my handbag!!

This is what you'll need:

A spray/spritzer bottle, fabric softener and water. That's it!!

For every 60mls of water in your bottle add a teaspoon of fabric softener.
Close it.
Shake it up.
Aaaand you're done!

All you have to do is lightly spritz the wrinkled area.

Smooth the wrinkles out with your hand.

And that's it, you're done!

I've found that with figure hugging items it is easier to do this with the clothing on.

I've used it on Riaan's jeans, my blouses and sweaters and pretty much anything that has a crease in the wrong place. It was a life saver when we got to London late on Sunday afternoon and I had to start work on the Monday. I just took my outfit for Monday out of the suitcase, lightly spritzed it and smoothed out the wrinkles.

As a side note, deeper creases need more spray and then they need to dry, a hairdryer helps with the drying process. It doesn't work too well on very deep creases, sometimes you just need to suck it up and whip out that iron.

 So now there is ALWAYS a bottle of stuff this floating around our apartment, it's a life saver really!

Do you have any travel tips/life hacks to share??

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oat Cookies - 3 ingredients (sans optional extras)

So after Tuesday's healthy banana pancakes - which turned out to be amazingly delicious, I have been very intrigued by the idea of baking with bananas (besides banana bread)! That along with my recent lus (for lack of a better word!) for crunchy oat cookies got the gears in my brain turning.

So I thought ... surely if I could bake a pancake with banana and eggs, I could make an oat cookie using a similar method. So I turned to trusty old pinterest to see if it has been done, I went through tons of recipes, a lot of them called for apple sauce, some called for vanilla essence, flaxseed, almond milk, the varieties are endless.

So based on what I read I decided to give it a go, with peanut butter of course, that's why they are 3 ingredient cookies, but if you don't dig the PB then skip it and turn them into 2 ingredient cookies!!

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1 cup of raw instant oats (give or take, depending on the size of your bananas)
2 teaspoons of peanut butter

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Using a fork mash up the bananas in a bowl, try to get it quite smooth.
Add the oats and mix thoroughly until well combined. If you are using large bananas you'll need more than one cup of oats, otherwise your cookies won't be very crunchy but rather dense and chewy.

Mix in the peanut butter.
Once everything is well combined, add in your optional extras (apple and cinnamon, fudge pieces, dried cranberries, nuts and raisins or choc chips).
I went for the dark choc chips!

Roll the dough into balls of your preferred size and place them on a greased baking sheet. (I lined our oven pan with tin foil and sprayed it with cooking spray.)
Flatten the dough balls out, they don't spread or rise so you don't have to accommodate for a cookie spread when you place them on the tray.

Pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, the tops will go golden brown and the edges of the cookie will start browning.
Once they are ready, take them out the oven and let them cool.

The recipe yields between 12-16 cookies and the hardest part is not eating them all on the same day they were made...we did! OOPS!

At least we don't have to feel guilty about it, it was really just a banana, a teaspoon of peanut butter and half a cup of oats each with a sprinkling of choc chips!

They are surprisingly filling and would be great for breakfast on the go, or a pre/post workout snack.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any interesting variations I can try!!