Movie Review: Divergent

A Divergent series...

Divergent opened recently in cinemas and Warren and I went off on Sunday to watch it. Having thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games (I devoured the books in about 4.3 seconds) I was super excited to check out Divergent which is similar in genré, being a Dystopian fiction. Whereas Utopian Fictions create perfect societies, Dystopian Fictions create degraded societies (usually in a post-apocalyptic setting).

The setting for Divergent is in post-apocalyptic Chicago - the city is divided into five different factions - and people are categorised into the factions based on their inherent virtues. The five factions include -

   ,
Each person, when they reach 16, must take a test which determines which faction they should join. After hearing the test results the candidates must then choose, in a public ceremony, whether to remain in the faction of their birth or to transfer to a new faction.

When the lead character, Beatrice Prior, takes her test - it come back with inconclusive results - the test places her in several factions simultaneously, making her a "divergent". Divergents are problematic for the ruling government in that they cannot be easily "boxed" into a particular faction and they have a much higher degree of free will and thought - which in turn, may begin a collective revolt. The government are looking to eradicate any known Divergents in an effort to protect their (skewed) system, which therefore places Beatrice in danger of her life.

I spent the first 20 minutes of the movie trying to decide which faction I would place myself in and decided that I would most definitely be a Divergent. I then spent the remainder of the movie picking up tips on how to survive as an aforementioned Divergent. And trust me, it's not easy.

Apart from the amazing costuming which distinguishes the factions and incredible set design, Divergent also has a 
because what great movie is NOT complete without a little sprinkling of Cupid? I presume that Beatrice's little love interest with "Four" (Theo James) spanned way longer than the actual film -

but one cannot blame her, because watching Theo James take his shirt off - 

is a MOST welcome thing.

The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat as we go on the adrenalin pumping and dauntless ride into the destruction of a society, bent on eradicating those with free will. (There are SO many hectic themes in this movie, that I can't even begin to cover them all in this blogpost!) I absolutely LOVED the movie soundtrack - ( THIS SONG - too beautiful!) and so many other incredible tracks from the likes of Ellie Goulding and Snow Patrol.

Divergent is out now both in SA and in the UK - and definitely one of those movies that is better on the big screen -  so I suggest you load up on your popcorn pronto!

Check out the trailer here.

*sponsored post.

The Prosecco Diaries

A few weekends ago, Sarah from The Prosecco Diaries invited me to a Prosecco Tasting event. She had me at "Prosecco Tasting" but for good measure she decided to throw nail painting, girly-blogger chatting, tasty treats, hair styling and amazing goodie bags. Um. Let's just say I cancelled all my previous plans on the spot.


The event was held at The Painted Lady in Shoreditch - which is an awesome quirky retro salon and I LOVED all the epic decor including fairy lights, vintage posters, old school record players (that were actually playing) and shelves that looked like they have been gathered together by lush Magpies. Definitely pop in for a treat if you are in Shoreditch. And if you're not in Shoreditch, You should go to Shoreditch.

  
On arrival we were served Sarah's "Signature Cocktail" and sat around chatting at leisure, sipping cocktails, until we were individually called to have our hair styled. (Like real freakin princesses I tell you). 
I opted for a boho-braided style - which was a braid around the crown of my head and ended in a long fishtail plait down the one side. I don't know how those beauty-you-tubers do it, but I would never be able to pull off something like this myself with out the help of several extra pairs of arms, and some kind of Harry Potter "eyes-through-the-back-of-your-head-glasses". The staff at The Painted Lady were all so awesome and were so helpful in recommending styles that would match with our outfits -

After hair styling it was off for nails - SO MANY COLOURS TO CHOOSE FROM:

....And from all the colours in the rainbow - I went for charcoal grey. lol.

(Above left: Nicole from A life less beige - with her fancy do! Right: Some of the awesome products at The Painted Lady)

 Then, onto the treats of the evening - cheeses of all variety, cupcakes of all deliciousness and Prosecco FOR ALL! (out of dainty vintage tea cups, as you do.)

 Sarah had organised us our own scoring sheets and we took notes on all the Prosecco on offer rating them out of ten, and giving them scores based on dryness, fizz, fruitiness and any other flavours.
  
I was quite partial to the Marks & Spencer Zardetto NV - (but to be fair after the first round of Prosecco teacup tastings, My ability to describe each one went from "Mmm... Yes, Dry, fruity, peach finish, quite bubbly, good nose...." to "This one is colder the last one"

At some point in the evening The Resident Fox came out. But don't worry, it was tame.  

And it made for fabulous picture taking opportunity.

Sarah completely spoilt us with the incredible goodie bags that she organised for us all! There is no way I could do justice by describing all the goodies - so here are some snaps and links for you to see for yourself! (All these goodies are currently sitting beside me as I type, and I'm part drooling over them and part trying to not knock my tea all over them).

The magic notebook 

The vintage Cosmetic Company || The cheek of It || The Painted Lady

Inkwear || Gorgeous packaging || Lipcote

Punky Pins || Alternate Normality || Melt Chocolates

Gemma Bishop || Hampstead Tea || Davines

And loads of other awesome discount codes and vouchers for a whole host of fun competitions - (Lipcote are actually running a win-a-lipstick-a-week on their Facebook page right now!)

AMAZING goodies bags...
Am I right or am I RIGHT?!?!

So lucky!

I had organised with the husband to come and meet me after the event so that we could "go out on the town" with mah-hair-do and fancy nails - When he arrived outside the salon, I got up to leave, when suddenly all the girls ushered him in and handed him Prosecco. So there he sat, in amidst hair-styled, prosecco-guzzling, fancy nailed girly-girls listening to blogger talk. 

What a trooper. 

Eventually we dragged ourselves away from the fun (probably I was more sad to leave than the husband) to go have some dinner in Shoreditch. The longer I kept my boho-braid in, the longer it grew on me and the more attached I got to it - So I totally milked it for all it was worth, slept the whole night in it and only took it out at about 5pm the next day. (Thanks Painted Lady - i loved it!)

And THIS is what your hair looks like when you sleep in Boho braids.

* * * * *

A huge massive thanks to Sarah for organising such a fab event! To the hosts at The Painted Lady and also to all the awesome sponsors who supplied delicious treats and goodie bag gems!

You can pop over to Sarah's blog to get a full run down of all the Prosecco we devoured and also a bit more detail about all the epic sponsors!

[Review] Tasty treats from Madame Macaron!

A few weeks ago (back when I was in SA), we organised a little bloggers lunch up in the Midlands with Keri, Lauren & Jane. We had a fab afternoon of bloggy-chatting, food-noshing and wine-smashing (some of us more than others, ahem) haha. Jane organised us some delicious treats from Madame Macaron - because which blogger does NOT love a Macaron? I immediately approved of the washi-taped boxes and attention to detail presentation - how cute do they look?!


Madame Macaron has perfected a kind of "macaron-cake pop" and she's got the most incredible combination of flavours! Take "milo and peanut butter" for example - YUM!



The absolute treat of the lot is the "smackaron" which is basically a little goo-pile of indulgent red velvety macaron goodness with a cream-cheesy filling and covered in a lashing of chocolate. I mean, have you ever? Madame Macaron is launching a new taster-box, which you can sign up to and receive a little box of tasty treats to sample! I'd say that's a great excuse for a tea party... and if you desperately HATE the macarons (you won't) - I have figured out some alternative uses for them - so either way - you should just order yo' self some:

Thanks for the treats Madame Macaron - they were well received! x

{Review} Petition to Magic

A little while ago Mr Graham Downs sent me his newly penned book A Petition to Magic to review. I'm all about the Harry Potter - so was keen to see what this magic-book was all about: It begins with the death of The Queen which is somehow strangely connected with Wizard Solon who for some reason can no longer perform magic.

The Queen's daughter and successor to the throne comes into power and is tested when there is a dispute in the village amongst two farmers regarding a cow. The new Queen calls upon Wizard Solon to divine the truth in the matter and Solon is forced to choose between revealing his connection to the death of the former Queen or potentially letting an innocent man be wrongly convicted....

I enjoyed this read and it's a nice quick one for if you are on the train to work or have a few minutes before bed- am pretty sure you will finish it in one sitting! It also has a good little moral kicker at the end :) You can order an eBook version from Amazon, Smashwords, Booktango and Scribd.

Yours in magic.

Saszali Chocolates.

I was recently contacted by Sarah Jager - one of the new owners of Saszali Chocolates  in Cape Town. Sarah, a graphic designer and her sister Jane, a chef, have teamed up and taken over the running of Saszali Chocolates. They wanted to send me a little selection of their latest choccies to taste -

And let me tell you - no matter how far along in the "bridal diet plan" you are - 

when someone offers you Saszali Chocolates - 

you do not say no.

In order to share out the calories let a few others sample these luxury chocs, I invited over Keri and Andrea for a little tea party. I even toasted up some hot cross buns and baked some muffins - 

 
- although when I pulled out the chocolates, they didn't really stand a chance.

Chocolates. Girls.
It's not rocket science.

If you follow indieBerries, you will know that I am a huge fan of good packaging and beautiful gift wrap so when this gorgeously crafted box of chocolates arrived at my door - I was immediately impressed. I often do gift-wraps in brown papers - because I love the earthy/natural tones - so this brown-craft box filled with chocolates wrapped in the most awesome natural shades made me so happy!

When Sarah first contacted me, I went straight over to the Saszali Website to see what their vibe was all about - and I was hooked on the descriptions of their chocolates and all the exotic flavours they offer and couldn't wait to try them...

So when I first peeked inside the box - in my state of sheer excitement - and saw all the beautifully wrapped chocolates nestled inside, I went through a moment of absolute panic - and emailed Sarah right away with a

"HOW WILL I KNOW WHICH CHOCOLATE IS WHICH?!"

She emailed me right back to say that each chocolate is wrapped in it's own wax paper with a different coloured tissue paper around it and between these two layers is a description of which chocolate it is.

I thought this was super cool - since choosing each chocolate is then like a mini lucky-dip - and you literally have to unwrap your little chocolate-parcel to discover which one you have chosen. I'd say it's a bit like Chocolat - where the chocolate chooses you. Fun.
(There is also a colour-coded description of each of the chocolates on the back of the box  - if you really can't handle living on the edge like that.)

Saszali offers the most interesting and exotic flavours -Balsamic Chic // BerryRosa // Golden Thyme.... and if you read about them on their website - I can guarantee that you will have a hard time trying to decide which ones to try.


The chocs also have the most awesome descriptions -

 "As Ouma takes the freshly baked biscuits, hot from the oven and places them on the table, the smell rises and fills the kitchen. She smiles, her job is done. Unmistakable and delectable" - Gingerbread Flavour. 

  

"This idea originated in India and by infusing this ganache with a specific combination of spices, allows senses to be warmed and imagination to flow" - Warm Spice Flavour.

I don't have to tell you when is a good time to order chocolates (uh, anytime). But these chocs are amazing luxury occasion-chocolates. They would be perfect for birthday gifts, a kitchen-tea, wedding favours or as a delicious any-time gift for someone special. And just to clarify by "occasion-chocolates" I mean that tea-time, lunch-time, Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, After-dinner, dinner parties, Thursday, Friday, Wednesday, breakfast  - they are all occasions. In fact, I'd go so far to say that if Warren decided to dump me right now (17 days before our wedding) and he followed it up with a box of these chocolates, I wouldn't even be mad.

Look, I'd definitely kill him,

But, I'd eat the chocolates first.

Seriously.

You just need to try it.

Like, you know how they say that Charly's Bakery is the place for cake?
This is the place for chocolates.
Trust me on that.

Call me traditional or what, but my favourite flavour is the Salted Caramel. Salty, sweet and caramel-ish. But... The Warm Spice was so rich and smelled like a little spice-market! And the Authentic Rooibos flavour was unlike anything I have ever tried before - YUM! No - The Salted Caramel for sure. Although I was in such a state of chocolate coma by the time I tried it that my senses were probably a little skewed...

...Ok, I'm going to need to sample them again.

_______________________________________________

You can head over to the Saszali website to get an idea of the different packages they offer. You can also like their Facebook Page or follow them on twitter to keep up to date with everything going on and find out which markets they will be at so that you can stalk them, hunt them down and eat ALL the chocolates.


They will be at the City Bowl Market tomorrow night -
uh... did somebody say Wine and Chocolate?