Foodie

How to be a Pretty Insomniac

Pretties, I have a confession. I am a raaaaaaging insomniac. Some nights it can just all become too much, and I have to abandon my attempts at nailing down some shut eye, flying out of bed in frustration to try fill the time in some other manner.

Recently, on one such night, I was casting about for ideas of what to keep myself busy with - my eye caught a reflection off a packet in the kitchen, and I remembered the Lindt powered hot chocolate that I was gifted with from Italy in December. Molten chocolate in a cup at 3am? Absa-freaking-lutely.

And naturally, since you're all part of the family, it had to be documented for you, so you can see what it is that greases our engines and keeps us going!

How to be a Pretty Insomniac - how to make hot chocolate

I'll admit, I felt pretty fancy making hot chocolate in a saucepan.

After furiously translating the instructions on the Google machine, I started stirring away at the powder and hot milk. If you find yourself in this situation, I have only one tip: DON'T STOP STIRRING. No one wants lumpy hot chocolate.

And voilà! There you have it!

It was delicious, and made me considerably less cranky. (Also, please spare a moment to imagine me stirring and pouring like a one handed fiend, awkardly snapping away with the camera with the other hand - the awkardness, the pretzelness of it all. Just because I love you guys and had to share this goodness with you.)

On that chocolatey note, have you SEEN these nut butters from SOMA on the site? Hazelnut Chilli, Cashew Almond Chai, Peanut Butter Vanilla and Pecan Pie flavours - camaaaaaan! Nutella's got nothing on this stuff. Omnom.

Girls' night in with Hello Pretty!

There are few things as fun and indulgent as a girls night in. Whip out those mani/pedi sets, bubbles and a Sex and the City box set, as well as some lush goodies from Hello Pretty - it has the makings of a fabulous evening!

Send us pics of your Hello Pretty sleepover! Use the hashtag #HPsleepover - we would love to see what you got up to on your ladies night in!

Entertaining with Hello Pretty!

Hosting dinner? Be the best hostess in town with some of our site favourites!

Good Friday and hot cross buns

To kick off Easter celebrations, I'm immersing myself in all things Hot Cross Bun. Diets are banned from the blog today!

I won't waste your time by asking you to read lots of things when there are treats to be had, so please sit back and relax, drool a little, and enjoy these great interpretations of this traditional indulgence. And then go eat them all.

Daniela's Deliciously Decadent Hot Cross Bun Macaron

First up: this little beauty is a to *die* for piece of fancy biscuit heaven, from Daniela's Deliciously Decadent.

Hot Cross Bun ice cream from The Creamery

I was fortunate enough to stuff my face with hot cross bun flavoured ice cream from The Creamery recently. Aah-mazing.

Hot Cross Bun nougat from Ma Mere Masion

Hot cross bun nougat from Ma Mere Maison. And yes. That is speckled egg nougat lying next to it.

Jason's Bakery Hot Cross Buns from www.pardonourfrench.co.za

Jason's Bakery is kicking butt and taking names in the hot cross bun department. The peeps over at www.pardonourfrench.co.za have done the research, and they give them a big thumbs up.

*Clears throat*

To quote:

"Jason’s is doing two delicious hot cross bun breakfasts. Number one is the Hot Cross Bomb: A hot cross bun with Emmenthal, bacon, and a poached egg. Number two is hot cross bun French toast with apple compote and bacon. I have done the selfless deed of testing both of these and they get two thumbs up for sure.

For the ultimate hot cross buns:

Head to Frankie Fenner for some bacon hot cross buns baked by Jason himself. You can’t go wrong."

*Passes out in a hot cross bun coma*

Pretty Mexican

Ai Chihuahua!

Now Pretties, as you all know we’re into great design here at HP HQ. And even more into great branding. And even more into great pink branding. You get the idea.

So it should come as no surprise that the recent Chihuahua Mexicatessan pop up restaurant in Durban ticked all the right boxes. Armed with sombreros and greeted by Señor El Jimador himself, we knew that this joint was going to give us the Christmas party we needed (and felt we deserved) - we love our jobs with all of our little hearts, but the internet never sleeps (and if it did we’d be pretty screwed), so we just get a little tired sometimes. Our solution? Take our dilemma to an awesome venue and dissolve it in tequila until we can walk away feeling re-inspired.

With the faux grass flooring I was awfully tempted to just wing it barefoot, but I managed to reign myself in for the sake of my coworkers. (It was tough guys. I’m just a farm girl from Bloem on the inside.) We were handed a gigantic bowl of nachos and guacamole, and settled in amongst the chock-full restaurant’s other patrons - it was pretty festive all around, and I found myself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Skullboy, Miss Molly and Sol-Sol. Clearly the place to see and be seen, no? (I had just cut off all of my hair - I totally wanted to be seen.)

So while this post veers somewhat drastically off our usual blog topics, it is relevant, I promise. The brain child of foodie genius Neil Roake, who has also been responsible for the original Craft Trattoria, Freedom Cafe, The Concierge Hotel and Larneys, Chihuahua Mexicatessan showed off SA talent at its best - both in the design and in the kitchen. It quickly became a hub of awesomeness for talented Durban creatives, making it the ideal place to get our creative juices kickstarted again.

We had pulled pork, nachos, Coronas and churros until our waiter had to kindly and gently nudge our round bodies out of the door like (the collective noun for) slightly unruly yoga balls many hours later. All in all it was a great experience that brought out the luchador in us! It left us feeling refreshed, and excited for what 2014 will bring. We’re an awesome team that’s become like family, and sometimes just to spend some quality, non-work time together is a great reminder of that.

So thanks y’all, we heart you the most.