the one and only

THIS

It is all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self love deficit - Eartha Kitt

27

New beginnings.  I found this image and it resonated.  I'm turning 27 on Monday. Well I feel vulnerable and a little lost.  My friend says it's because I'm hitting a milestone.  I hope so.  Cos it's been raining shrieks of freaking out in my life the past couple of weeks. I did, however, feel that a big change was coming.  And so we await its arrival. 

Nneka

I must confess that I'm unschooled in Nnekadom.  I have seen and heard of her for years and last night I sat and spent an hour listening to her music on the internet.  She is simply adorable and I wish she was my friend.  She seems like a really affable person judging by her honesty in this video.  Listen to the last thing she says at the end of the video.  Oh, it doesn't hurt that she can sing really well on top of it all.  Her new album Soul is Heavy is out but I'm not sure where to purchase it, I just saw on her website and I want. 

TILDA

Photographed by Benjamin Alexander Huseby.  I saw these images in the latest issue of the brilliant English read, The Gentlewoman where there is an excellent feature on the unassuming but passionately congenial person behind the brilliance and the name.  She is someone I really wish I knew.  Sigh. 

New music. Those damn Swedes are at it again.

I just heard this song once and I was like ''I'm in''.  Her name is Beatrice Eli and she's a Swede who now lives in London.  I will be following her career from here. She sounds good.  

AN INSTANT STYLE FIX

How amazing do twins Ntando and Hlelo Masina look on the latest cover of Voila Magazine? The production is by Louw Kotze and the incredible make up is by Lesley Whitby.  I need to track her down and make her show me how to do my eyebrows like she's done them in the top pic.  And how's the hair and jewellery?  I think that if there were stylist Olympics, Louw Kotze would have to be the SA Rep.  He really knows how handle transformation.  This is the most sophisticated I have seen these beautiful girls. 

WARM AND GLAD

Jozi has a new spot y'all.  It's called Warm and Glad.  They somehow found my email address and invited me to come along for a cup of coffee.  It ended up being a delicious non-bitter espresso, some delicious scrambled eggs with cream cheese and chourico (that Portuguese sausage) and a generous carrot, apple and ginger freshly juiced juice.  

What I like most is that there is an extensive collection of international magazines and some good coffee table reads (you will find some Taschen greats) for sale.  I bought The Gentlewoman, which was one among many international titles including Love Magazine, ID, Dansk, Pop, Wonderland, Vogue, L'Officiel and a lot of travel and decor mags. 

And then you turn around and there's a grocery store - they stock some Italian and Portuguese condiments and pastas, but it's mainly different sauces, reductions and very nicely packaged olive oils, some tinned speciality foods and a drinks bar featuring your San Pellegrino's and the like.  Behind the grocery store is a mini Art Gallery.  

The Warm and Glad duo (a couple with 3 kids) have teamed up with the guys from Like Limited Editions who bring in works and prints from overseas as well as source locally and sell them at not so expensive.  You can buy the art off the walls. In addition to this, here are some really respectable records you can buy.  I bought A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders as a gift for a friend but if you fancy some Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Curtis Mayfield, this is where it's at.  

It's a grown up coffee shop that has free Wi-Fi and really good coffee.  And the wall colour really tickles me. Warm and Glad is at 357 Jan Smuts Avenue in Craighall.  It's just after the Lindsay Saker (on your left if you're coming from Rosebank) in a centre that hopefully will get more places like Warm and Glad.  Check out their blog here - It's very hard not to like it shem. 

NOW READING

Not mad about the cover but I really really do enjoy reading this quarterly.  I found it while having breakfast at this new spot in Craighall called Warm and Glad.  It should be at Exclusive and CNA too.

CAN'T COPE

I started listening to Amadou and Mariam last week and I am pretty much a different person.  I truly believe that if African music was as ubiquitous as American and European music, the world would be a better or a really different place.  I'm going to Ethiopia at the end of the month and I cannot wait to discover what that part of Africa gets down to.  This couple is from Mali. 

OH SO CHIP

I've been so bad with keeping up with these. Jay Louw's been busy looking for cool boys' stuff. Here it is. For more, go to www.ohsocheap.tumblr.com 

Do yourself a favour today and meet Sweet Brown

I have watched this at least 19 times since I discovered it on the internet.  It gets better the more you watch it.

STELLA JEAN

She's a designer from Italy. http://www.stellajean.it/

Introducing Malée

Anybody who knows me well knows that I like to belt out a tune whenever the opportunity presents itself, which is usually when I am alone in my room or in the car or in my office.  I know this is totally wack but I have a quasi anthem that I sing everyday.  It comes with a fist clench and subsequent up and down elbow to hand motion that is accompanied by the appropriate facial expression.  Lol this has nothing to do with this actual blog post but anyway. So the song I sing is For Today I am a Boy by Anthony and the Johnsons. The lyrics go ''One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful woman, One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful girl.  But for today I am a child, for today I am a boy''.  I truly believe that I am still very much a child, let alone a real woman.

I recently started using a new range of locally produced beauty products by a company called Malée.  One day late last year, a really beautiful woman came to Mememe Joburg with her equally beautiful friend.  They were looking around the store when I struck up a conversation with one of them.  She introduced herself as Zeze Oriaikh, a young Nigerian woman who owns a company that manufactures beauty products from natural ingredients, in South Africa for the South African and International market.  We exchanged business cards and she told me that she is opening a store in Hyde Park in 2012.  I lost the business card and couldn't remember the name of her company.  I spent an entire afternoon trying to trace it and her and nothing.

A few weeks ago, her people contacted me and said they would like me to attend the launch of the store in Hyde Park on 3 May.  I was so excited I somehow ended up asking them to send me some of the product to test out so that I could blog about it.  Woman oh woman is it a pleasure to use them.  They sent me marvelous citrus Solid Perfume, something you apply onto your skin like you would that non stick dry deodorant; an Ochre candle that smells like pure heaven and you can use the melted candle as a rich moisturizer; and a citrus cuticle balm.  Again, anyone who knows me knows that I have no nails because I've bitten them since I walked out of my mother's womb - I have never had my finger nails reach the end of my finger nails.  Today, two weeks later, I am a proud former nail-biter and my nails are looking stronger in their new form of existence.  Is that what cuticle balm is for? If not, it's definitely been a motivation for me to grow them and grow up.  

I'm happy to be supporting a fellow young woman doing her own thing in business but more than that, I believe in this product. The packaging is not as intimidating as say, Jo Malone or other expensive products, it's approachable, clean and very fresh as are the actual products.  They have an array of products ranging from skin to bath to fragrance and hair.  I can't wait to get their lip balm and hair products when the store opens on 3 May. 

Check out their website here and if you're looking for a way to treat yourself while supporting local, head on over to Hyde Park on the 4th of May, that will be their first day of business to the public.  Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the launch on the 3rd as I will be travelling.  

NEW TO MEMEME JHB AND COMING SOON TO MEMEME CT

Sorry for the bad quality of the picture.  These arrived on Friday from our supplier Maria McCloy.  Again, another clever use of African Wax Prints.  These shoes range from R410 to R650 and there is one of each.  She will do another delivery when they sell out, but you can order a pair.  

She looks really pretty #3

Kerry Washington in Stella McCartney

Daphne's Service

                                                                  

                                     Daphne Groenevald for Self Service Magazine                                            

Young, Gifted and it's irrelevant that they're Black.

Move over Dakota and Elle, Hollywood has new young child stars.  Ladies and Gentleman, the little lady in the top image is Amandla Stenberg (yes it's the Zulu word meaning power) and she's the 13 year old star of a film I've been hearing a lot about, The Hunger Games. Not into those kinds of films but I like her and I like the lead actress Jennifer Lawrence so we shall go and see that, but mostly for Miss Stenberg.  

Then, how grown up is Akeela from Akeela and the Bee? Look at her being all sexy with that lip pout. Good for you girl, 18 suits you well.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching her bring Kevin Spacey to his knees in Shrink.  Her next film is Virgin Mary, a comedy which she stars alongside Abigail Breslin and Carter Jenkins. These pics first appeared in the March issue of Ebony Magazine.  

A LITTLE MORE FROM SAFW

Here is the slow feeding folks. I'm a little thin on time this week, wish I could post a more edited version of this stuff but alas! Hope you like Chris' work.  Oh yesterday we had a meeting with our blog designers and because they are two very cool and very talented human beings, we have kind of decided that actually, there is no harm in fusing our talents to create something a little bigger than what we expected.  We are currently thinking of names for the blog and will revert again in a week to decide what to do next.  The other two people's names start with the letters J+K! For some of you, this is an easy guess. Have a wonderful day. 

I'm stuck working at home (what a painful existence) while 4 men in overalls fix our toilet which has been broken for about 6 months.  4 plumbers have tried to fix it before and failed so now it is being replaced and they have just flooded the entire passage with murky waters.  I just gave them a stack of newspapers and said ''see you later''.  Nana and I are hosting our friend's Bachelorette Party this Saturday, after the Feiyue Launch at Mememe. Hope to see all of you there. 

Fashion at Work: In Black and White.

This is what Chris Saunders and I got up to during the recent SA Fashion Week. He took all these photographs and others which I shall feed to you in small daily doses, but this is a taste of what's to come with our collaboration as a photo and word blogger.  We are meeting our blog designers tonight and will soon start the process of putting it together after the meeting.  But we couldn't wait to show you these stolen moments of our beloved fashionistas at work. 

THIS IS FOR ALL THE GIRLS IN THE WORLD

Uh. Er. Yeah. Jesus loves us, this I know. 

BLOG CRUSH: BEYONCE'S NEW BLOG

Beyonce has a new website and a new tumblr blog and I think it's very much inspired by her sister's clean, simple and beautiful personal blog!  I like it a lot.  Check out some of her personal pictures and some more over here. 

www.beyonce.com