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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.

Some SA Fashion Week popup photos

One of Team HP’s favourite things about doing what we do is that it puts us in touch with so many amazing creative people from around the country. And after the SAFW Pop Up Shop, we can confirm that Pretoria is no exception. We were lucky enough to be able to invite some guests to the launch party, and our friends from the I Love Pretoria blog came out to enjoy the evening with us. The lovely Nadine from ILP took some stunning shots of the crowd and the fashion on display. There was bubbly, stylish people, and an all-around great vibe. Not bad, Pretoria. Not bad at all.

If you want the skinny on what’s happening in PTA, I Love Pretoria has got it. The two lovely lasses who run it are both designers and photographers, so they have a keen eye for pretty things - no wonder we like them! You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.