After more than ten fulfilling, magical years beginning in the good old days of 2012, Hello Pretty is retiring and heading off to the beach with a drink with a tiny umbrella.
Read our goodbye letter
So Pretties, as you fly out the door towards the long weekend, we would just like to wish you a safe and awesome Easter. Bunny kisses for everyone!
So Pretties, I'll admit. My job is pretty image heavy. Which is awesome, since I basically get to look at and for pretty things all day every day, but it's very easy to get "image saturated."
However, much like last week's petal explosion, sometimes the interwebs throw out something so fun that I can't help grinning like a lunatic and spamming all of my contacts with it. (Watch yourself. I have an unlimited supply of cat pics, gifs and videos. You may want to think twice before adding me to your contact list, because I'm *that* person)
This Pantone colour wheel of celebrity hairstyle awesomeness was one such thing. I mean. It just makes me want to dunk my head into a vat of something pink and go buy Skittles in bulk afterwards.
For your viewing pleasure:
Found here.
We are smitten with all things Easter this week!
I adore the bunnies showing their faces all over the place, but the one thing I love even more is the resurgence of all things pastel this time of year.
I've put together some of my favourite pastel goodies from the site for you, and you can pop over to our Pinterest boards for some more milkshake coloured goodness.
Clickety click, down the ice cream coloured brick road! Speaking of which, in keeping with all things delicious, take a peak at the Happiness Is Ice Cream note cards while you're at it. Even with winter starting to stretch out its sneaky fingers, I maintain my life mantra: It's never too cold for ice cream.
My latest obsession is all things black and white. One of the rest of the planet's latest obsessions is the triumphant return of gold, after its long exile in I'mnotsilverland. I for one couldn't be happier. I'm draping myself in my grans old jewellery and am unleashing my inner magpie. (I have a keen eye for all things shiny.)
Naturally all this obsessiveness leaks out (ok gushes out) into my decorating style. And my decorating style is obviously fabulous so I'm sharing it with all of you! I've chosen all of my favourite monochrome and gold goodies from the site for you here (How nice am I? Right?):
Pretty great no? Go on, clickety click!
You guys. Sony ads just get me.
Remember this incredible ad with all the bouncy balls and the frogs leaping from gutters and the feels it gave you?
They've done it again, but with flowers. Millions and millions of flowers.
From The Huffington Post:
"While the rain of petals over Costa Rica was all part of a shoot for a Sony advertising campaign, the beautiful display stood out in its own right for the explosion of color.
Organized by international advertising agency McCann, the idea was to cover the area near the Irazú Volcano -- located in central Costa Rica -- with a flower petal for every pixel in Sony's 4K Ultra HD TV.
With the help of local residents, the team collected the most vibrant and colorful flower petals they could find in the region. In all, it took them more than two weeks to pick the 3.5 tons of petals used to flood the streets with color, according to behind-the-scenes coverage posted by Sony UK.
McCann enlisted photographer Nick Meek to capture the colorful explosion."
The cynic in me can't help but wonder, much like with the bouncy ball ad, who the poor sod that had to clean all that up was. However, the child in me drowns out the voice of that cranky old codger and allows me to watch in wide eyed wonder at the spectacle that can only be described as epic. Watch the whole ad over here.
I'll let you in on a little secret: Promise cocktails to Team HP, and we're pretty much putty in your hands. So when Consol invited us to join one of their Mixology classes at Taste of Cape Town last week we were beyond thrilled.
(Side note: Mixology is, basically, the science and art of making fancy cocktails. No tequila sunrises here!)
After a tough week, we were all more than ready to get stuck into some delicious beverages. Here's the bit about the Mixology Theatre that's both a blessing and a curse: While you walk away with three very delicious cocktails, you do have to make them yourselves!
When you arrive, you find a spot at one of the many stations - they're all equipped with standard bartender's tools, cubed and crushed ice, Consol bottles and jars, jars of fruit and garnish, and several bottles of interesting things ranging from wine to a buchu cordial. A quick overview of what's what, and you're off!
Let me tell you, I have newfound respect for bartenders who make cocktails. It's exhausting. Between the shaking, and the muddling, and the having to keep track of half a dozen different things at the same time...people, tip your bartenders!
Can't take him anywhere.
We learned how to make 3 delicious cocktails: The Blue Dissolve, the Citrus Burst, and the Vinfusion. The awesome guys from Thirst were there both as teachers, and as a helping hand when you got stuck. Team consensus? The Citrus Burst was our favourite.
Looks good, right? Want to know how to make one? Sure you do. Here's what you'll need:
Put the lime, naartjie, and lemon into a Consol jar. Add a single shot of elderflower syrup, and a double shot of Absolut Citron. Then, use a muddler to gently crush as much juice as possible out of the fruit. If you don't have a muddler, try using a fork - but gently does it!
Once you've got a good amount of juice, fill the jar up 2/3 of the way with crushed ice. Use a bar spoon to mix the juice and fruit segments into the ice - go slowly, and use lifting movements. If you don't have a bar spoon, a regular tablespoon and a delicate hand will do the trick.
For the last stage, add even more crushed ice - you want to aim for a little heap going over the top of the jar. Gently pour the Red Espresso over the top of the ice. Then, add two straws to the side, and garnish with a lime wedge and a sprig of mint. Ta-da!
We walked away with slightly fuzzy heads, as well as the jars we'd used, and a nifty booklet with tons of great cocktail recipes. Huge thanks to Consol for including us! We can't wait to get our mixology on at home (where no one can see us drop things and spill).
You can stay connected with them on Twitter and on Facebook, and see more of our photos from the event here.
Hello Pretty frequently sends out an update to let our designers know what's cooking, what's new on the site and where to find it.
This is the update email for April.
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Pretties, we're slowly inching towards winter. Sartorially though, we're still channeling summer - and what better way to do that than with this gorgeous leafy thing from Jewels & Lace topping your tresses?
We're giving away one of these pretty things this week, and it could be to you! Here's how you can enter:
Entries close at midnight on Thursday 10th April. Please note that Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply.
