Halloween Fun

Our first Halloween with all our kids in New Zealand was so much fun. We waited an entire year to be full house and it was well worth it.

Our weekend kicked off with the teens having a Halloween Party. With around 70 kids attending it was all hands on deck for food prep and tons of fun! After lots of filled garbage bags and an epic clean up we were off to an early start to the Auckland marathon cheering the youngest along in the race on Sunday morning.

With Halloween finaly here today and stocked up on lollies we had tons of the cutest little trick or treaters arrive. The kids all went out and came back suggared up with heaps of candy and smiles all round. Great fun!

Maybe next year we’ll skip the party and do a haunted tent for the neighbourhood kids 😀

List of things that never change

Some things never change…

Like you know by now… I love making lists. This is my “things that never change” list. The one I’ll refer back to when I have lost my ability to remember… That’s if I remember to actually refer back to the list 😉

Fact 1: No matter how much you wish it stays summer forever… Winter is sure to follow, and yes, each one feels wetter and colder than the previous one.

Fact 2: During winter, you’ll no doubt tell everyone how much you love summer and that you’ll give anything for a nice hot day.

Fact 3: As soon as the first heat wave of Summer smacks you in the face, you’ll no doubt curse and say how much you hate summer and need just one cold day of relief.

Fact 4: Even though you want to love all the people of the world, and be everybody’s friend… Some people are not worth having in your life!

Fact 5: You’ll no doubt forgive these people all the hurt and annoyance they put you through several times.

Fact 6: You will wake up one day and realize that it’s perfectly fine not wanting to be their friend, and feel comfortable telling them that and ridding yourself of their presence in you life.

Fact 7: No matter how carefully you eat a packet of jelly babies, if you suck them and then chew, this method will always ensure that you are left with sticky, sugar coated lips that when pressed together stick to each other. Yumm

Fact 8: Don’t believe what anybody tells you… It’s always a good idea to start your day with chocolate 😉

Fact 9: You can most definitely have your dessert before your dinner 😉

Fact 10: Whatever is the center of your life, it will be the source of your security and guidance.

Fact 11: You know you have had too much red wine when everyone around you seems beautiful and you think you suddenly sing in tune 🙂

Fact 12: It will take you a very long time to realize which of your friends are true but when you do…it’s a priceless feeling.

Fact 13: A women should always have clean fresh smelling hair, a bit of make-up on and sexy underware… It’s a sure way to feel better about yourself.

Fact 14: In moments of heartbreak or sadness when you feel you have cried all the tears your body can possibly hold, you realize there is plenty more where those came from.

Fact 15: When you have two girls who absolutely love music, you will never have silence in your car… And house… 😉

Fact 16: People might tell you that they love you or even try to convince you that they care, but sadly, that is not necessarily true 😦

Fact 17: No one person is indispensable, it’s a cruel fact of life. But you won’t really be missed all that much and can be replaced.

Fact 18: If you ever found yourself isolated on an island, just hope you are not in the company of any of the people you don’t want in your life, and hope for an abundance of chocolate.

Fact 19: If there is no chocolate on the island…. Sorry, then there is absolutely no hope for survival.

Fact 20: No matter how depressed you feel, chocolate will always make it better 🙂

It’s beginning to smell a lot like chocolate :)

As discussed in my previous post, I received a gigantic basket full of delectable chocolate surprises from my friend Andra for my birthday. I had been looking forward to her gift for days and had absolutely no idea what it could possibly have been.

Andra told me that I can pack out what is inside, but only if I commit to unpacking everything inside. I obviously did not need a second invitation!! I was greeted with a “sprinkle” of kinder joy bite sized, individually wrapped bits, kinder joy schoko bons and some chocolate gold coins 🙂 I also found some Anna Lize choc chip swiss caramels(yet to be sampled). Speckled eggs, which are soft jelly eggs in chocolate with a crisp candy shell – besides having eggs made entirely of chocolate, these are wonderfully chewy and delicious! Cadbury dairy milk GIANT buttons…melt-in-your-mouth disks that leaves your mouth with a burst of chocolate loveliness. A Cadbury Fudge bar, also not yet devoured. A selection of deliciously dark Lindt chocolate bars that included a sea salt slab, chocolate chili slab, and intense caramel slab… Yummm, absolute heaven!. A Daim milk chocolate wit a crunchy almond centre, it was a little piece of heaven, crunchy and chocolatey leaving a rich buttery caramel after taste. Toblerone, always a winner :). Nutella hazelnut chocolate spread. Then some Ferrero Rocher balls, glorious!!!

Then a carefully selected group of items which caused a lot of laughter and jokes at the table…the selection included some Sugar Mommy kissing chocolate, to be put on your lips of course. Chocolate nipple spread that came with a silver spreading knife – instructions read: “warm knife before spreading, don’t over sharpen blade”. The thought of sharpening the blade would with no doubt have ever crossed my mind hahahaha. Chocolate body paint with a note on the tin: ” a note to weight watchers, body paint loaded with kilojoules but when consumed in accordance with directions is quite likely to have a slimming effect due to simultaneous physical activity” bwhahahaha, chocolate body pens, . It also included a box of “Teenie Peenies”… Very fun and well shaped 😉

It also had some chocolate cherry biscuits that I had for breakfast on Sunday morning, they were absolutely to die for!!! Oh so moreish leaving you with a taste of delectable dark chocolate and an after taste of cherry.
Chocolate Italian kisses were also in there, wonderful with coffee…you have to get the whole thing in your mouth in one go. It was a mix of very light and airy but deeply dark chocolate shortbread.

I can now also indulge in some mouth watering recipes from a recipe book all about chocolate. The basket also include a bottle of wine labeled “the chocolate block”, chocolate incense sticks, and last but not least some absolutely fabulous chocolate scented body wash, body scrub and body butter. The body scrub leaves you feeling renewed and the body butter is gloriously scented and melts into your skin, making it feel unbelievably soft and smooth…. I can seriously eat myself after applying it, and yes…I did give myself a lick, but other than the aroma of chocolate, it does not taste like chocolate 😉 lol!

What a fabulously thoughtful, creative and blissfully delicious gift!!! Besides the mountains of chocolate in my basket, I also received another enormous box filled with chocolate teddies, a huge chocolate bunny, smooth indulgent hand made chocolate squares with strawberry fill, butterscotch fill, and salted caramel fill. White chocolate squares with rich cappuccino filling and milk chocolate squares with a creamy chocolate mousse filling from my baby sister Irene. Another irresistibly smooth Lindor slab with smooth melting filling, a Milka chocolate bar , a ripple bar and of course, glorious minstrels from brother-in-law Brad. Thanks guys!! You all paved the way to my complete chocolate indulgence and no doubt weight gain regime 😉 xx

Add some Sparkle to your wine ;)

Living so close to the Stellenbosch winelands, my husband and I decided to do a bit of wine tasting with some friends recently. On the top of our list was undoubtedly JC Le Roux. The House of JC Le Roux is a well known Sparkling wine producer in the picturesque Devon Valley near Stellenbosch.

We heard that they do a fantastic nougat tasting, and anything that includes a bit of bubbly and chocolate is a definite must in my books 😉 especially when it includes five exquisite J.C. Le Roux Cap Classique and sparkling wines!

Upon arrival we were greeted by the beautiful venue filled with natural light and surrounded my the majestic mountains and glorious vineyards. A meticulously set table awaited us with promise of a tantalizing sensory experience. The staff were all friendly and well educated in the JC Le Roux range of products and methods and our hostess explained all our wines to us beautifully.

We had a selection of handmade treats that included dark chocolate, white chocolate, cherry pecan and cashew nougat, pecan and cashew nougat and rosewater turkish delight tempting our taste buds. Every paring offered you sheer indulgence! The mix of swirls of bubbly and delectable nougat and chocolate was absolutely glorious!

Seeing as my birthday was the 27th, the outing also doubled as a bit of a celebration with friends that I wouldn’t get to see on the day. I felt truly spoilt. Amongst my gifts I received a gigantic basket full of creative, fun, heavenly chocolate treats that warrants an entire blog post on it’s own!

All in all it was a fantastic day and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the area. Go have a look also at http://www.roseshandmade.co.za for all the mouth watering treats we had and even more!