Lifestyle - Inspired Living SA

Be Inspired, Gift Ideas, Lifestyle, Product Reviews, Reviews and Features

Lucky Dog Gift Services

Last week I got to try out a new kind of monthly subscription box, from Lucky Dog Gift Services. By now you are all aware of the beauty and baby, monthly subscription boxes, which you can order on-line. Well Lucky Dog is somewhat different! It is a gift service especially for dogs. You subscribe and they will send your best friend a gift box filled with hand-picked, tail-wagging surprises every month.

From tasty treats to novel toys and gadgets, Lucky Dog gift boxes feature an exciting variety of dog products and brands that have been given the ‘paw of approval’ by their canine connoisseurs.

Our pooch Daisy was the recipient of the Lucky Dog box, she was rather intrigued by the plush squeaky dog bone, from Westpaw, which was included in the November box. It has fast become her favourite toy and she carries it around wherever she goes. Other items in the box included Healthy Rooibos Dog biscuits, Wag a Lots Biltong Treats, Dogz@Home Beef Chew and Bags on Board Dispenser and Bags.

Lucky Dog offer three subscription options: Lucky Box – 1 month for R199 per/month, Luckier Box – 3 months for R189 per/month, Luckiest Box – 6 months for R179 per/month. If you would like to find out more about Lucky Dog Gift Services or order one for your lucky furry friend or gift on to a friend, you can head on over to the Lucky Dog website by clicking here.

Cape Town Lifestyle, Events, Fitness, Lifestyle, Out & About

My First Big Walk

Yesterday 31 000 Capetonians took to the streets for the 2012 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk. The weather was perfect for a brisk walk along one of the 10 routes on offer on the day.

Participants could choose a walk that suited their fitness levels from 5km, 10km, 11km, 12km and 13km walks, to the longer and more gruelling 20km, 25km, 30km, 50km and 80km events. While most walks commenced between 07:00 and 10:00 at various locations around Cape Town, the 80km and 50km events commenced at 03:45 and 06:15 respectively.

In a moment of sheer madness, I opted to do the 30km walk, which started in Simon’s Town at 09:00. The weather for the first half of the walk was cool and pleasant but it certainly heated up as the day progressed! There were plenty of refreshment stations and first aid stops along the way. I did make use of both of these to keep my fluids up and to nurse a few blistered toes! I must admit there were times when I felt like stopping and giving up but I just kept pushing myself and kept in mind the very worthy cause I was supporting.

The funds raised at the Big Walk go to CANSA, The Steenberg Foundation, Nazareth House, The Rotary Club of Claremont and Spartan Harriers to support the initiatives of these organisations.

Head of Sponsorships at Discovery, Jody Foster, says Discovery was delighted by the turnout for the Cape Town event.

“I am heartened by the enthusiasm and goodwill that was evident throughout the day. This type of initiative is firmly in line with Discovery’s vision of a more active and healthier South Africa with the population benefitting from fewer health risks and an improved quality of life.” ~ Jody Foster

Event Director, Tanya Carolus says that organising the 2012 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk required a significant amount of logistical planning and implementation, from determining the routes and planning medical points and refreshments stations to getting partners on board to help facilitate the event.

“Seeing how many people turned up in their walking shoes to enjoy the event makes it all worthwhile.” ~ Tanya Carolus

Discovery thanks all participants who took part in the event, as well as its partners, and the Cape Times for ensuring the day was such a great success.

I am certainly proud to have taken part in this event and would encourage anyone who has not yet done a Big Walk to get involved in 2013! I will be doing it next year along with my family but I may opt for a slightly shorter route!

Cape Town Lifestyle, Fitness, Healthy Living, Lifestyle

Discovery Cape Times Big Walk

“The Discovery Cape Times Big Walk is happening this weekend, so I thought I would share this press release with you, in the event that you are participating!” ~ Super Mom Blog

DISCOVERY CAPE TIMES BIG WALK

COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS TO THE DISCOVERY CAPE TIMES BIG WALK

By Dr Craig Nossel, Discovery Head of Vitality Wellness

With just five days to go till the 2012 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk on the 11^th of November 2012, it’s time for the Cape Town community to make sure they are fit and ready to make the most of this active and fun walking experience.

Improve fitness and strength training

Improving your fitness ahead of the Discovery Cape Times Big Walk can include walking up hills, as this is one of the best ways of performing cardio training; it boosts your fitness levels, burns kilojoules and gives your buttock muscles a work out.

Before performing such training, make sure that each session includes a warm up and ends with a cool down and stretching. Structuring your training in this manner will help you avoid injury, improve your performance and get the most benefit from walking.

Warm up exercises are crucial, as they are designed to increase blood supply to your working muscles and to prepare your body for more vigorous activity. Warm up for five minutes before walking briskly. You can do this by starting out at a relaxed, leisurely pace to prepare your muscles for more intense activity, and then pick up the speed.

Suggested hill session

After warming up, preferably choose a route that includes three to four 300m hills,
When going uphill, lean forward slightly and pump your arms
Walk briskly and try not to slow down too much
Do expect to be a little breathless, but you can recover on the flats or downhills. After finishing your main walk, continue to walk at a very leisurely pace for five minutes to cool down and assist the body in returning to its normal, resting state. Once the body has cooled down, perform stretching exercises. This may help improve your physical performance by increasing your flexibility, lowering your risk of injury and improving your coordination and balance
If this type of training is new to you, do no more than one hill session a week

The Importance of stretching

Most people make the mistake of stretching before they walk, but by stretching cold muscles you risk straining or tearing them. You should do static stretches after your walk, while your muscles are warm.

“Golden rules” to keep in mind when stretching:

Always warm up before stretching – It’s best to do static stretches after your walk or any other cardiovascular workout
Static stretching should be slow and controlled, with no bouncing
Always hold each stretch at a point of mild tension for 20 to 30 seconds
Repeat each stretch twice
Do not greatly extend, flex, twist or lock any joints
Do not stretch through pain – release the stretch if you feel any pain
Try to stretch four to five times a week

It is extremely important to prepare correctly for any exercise-focused events, such as the upcoming Discovery Cape Times Big Walk. Doing so will go a long way to prevent injury and will also afford you the best chance of a strong finish.

Free health screenings will be offered from Wednesday, 07 November until Saturday, 10 November at the Good Hope Centre, leading up to the actual walk which takes place at Rhodes High School on Sunday, 11 November 2012. Vitality members will be able to earn up 26 000 Vitality points, with bonus points rewarded for results that are in a healthy range.

To find out more about the Big Walk and visit their website click here.

Image: My Cape Town Stay

Cape Town Lifestyle, Events, Lifestyle, Out & About, Proudly South African

The KLINK Awards

Last week I attended the KLINK Awards, which was held at the offices of DHK Architects, in Cape Town. What a truly amazing setting to celebrate some of the top achievers in the wine tourism industry. To get the evening started we were greeted with a glass of bubbles, nothing better on a balmy Cape Town evening! The waite-staff were top-notch, they kept the canapés flowing all evening! The food was certainly plentiful and rather scrumptious and the wine delicious!

On the stunning roof top terrace setting, overlooking the Mother City, Monica Alias from Wine Tourism SA, with the help of Mike Ratcliffe handed out the awards for the various category winners. As voted for by you the consumer.

The winners were as follows:

Beyond Expectations “Award for Great Food & Excellent Value” – Haute Cabriéré
Comfort Zone “Award for the Best Bistro or Cafe on a Wine Farm” – Harvest at Laborie
Connoisseur “Award the Best Cellar Tasting Experience” – Fairview Master Tasting
Country Comfort “Award for Boutique Accommodation on a Wine Farm” – Doolhof Grand Dédale
Crowd Pleaser “Award for the Best Wine Route Event” – Durbanville Wine Valley Season of Sauvignon
Delicious Deli “Award for Best Deli on a Wine Farm” – Fairview Deli
Family Day Out “Award for Best Child-friendly Venue on a Wine Farm – Blaauwklippen
Gourmet ” Award for Best Gourmet Restaurant at the Cellar Door” – Pierneef á La Motte
Happy Times “Award for Most Memorable Wine Route” – Franschhoek Wine Valley
Percale “Award for Best Accommodation on a Wine Route” – Majeka House
Tread Gently “Award for Most Green Wine Farm” – Villiera
Warm Family Welcome “Award for Best Cellar Door Experience” – Delheim
Wild Card “Award for Most Unusual Attraction on a Wine Route” – Cape Heritage Museum at Solms-Delta
Yin and Yang “Award for Best Food and Wine Pairing on a Wine Farm” – Creation Canapé Platter Pairing

Inspired by the marketing and consumer engagement efforts of the nominees, an additional award was specifically created for the #KLINK nominee with the most votes overall. The Supernova Award was presented to Blaauwklippen.

“Thank you to the thousands of domestic and international wine tourists who visited, voted for and provided feedback on their favourite nominees. The inaugural #KLINK Awards achieved our aims of using social media as a core marketing driver and important means of building relationships and engaging with potential and existing clients. Through the viral nature of these platforms, we have been able to reach a broad base of consumers. Congratulations to the winners. We hope that this encourages even more people to visit our winelands and give feedback on their experiences.” ~ Monika Elias, Wine Tourism South Africa and #KLINK Awards Founder

Thank you to Wine Tourism South Africa for a wonderful evening and congratulations to all the KLINK Award winners! Hope to see you all next year! To find out more about the winners pop over to the Wine Tourism website here.

Be Inspired, Inspiration, Life

Finding Your Passion

I am not entirely sure if this is an age or a stage-related issue but I am finding it more and more difficult to know exactly what I am meant to be doing with my life! Perhaps finding my passion has become important it is because I am on the cusp of turning 40! Yes, only a few months to go, or it may it is part of the woes of being a SAHM.

Finding My Passion

Of late, I find myself in a situation where doors are opening but am not sure whether I should walk through them. Fear maybe – but my biggest dilemma is what if I become too busy and my children suffer. I am not sure if anyone else has had these same issues but I thought I would share this post I wrote a while back on “Finding Your Passion”. Reading it again has helped me realign my thoughts and have a better perspective on where I am going or at least how I am going to get there!

After having to spoken to a few, close, friends recently, I realised how difficult it can be, for people in general but especially women to make “life changes” after a certain point in their lives. I think it is particularly difficult, as a mother, to make life-altering changes without first having to consider how it will affect your family. This motivated me to write this post, to motivate you on “how to find your passion”!

How To Find Your Passion

I think I am definitely more aware of this with 40 looming in the not too distant future but I think it has less to do with age and more to do with the expectations and dreams I have for my life. We all make certain life decisions, early on in our lives and mine was to settle down and have a family. Being a SAHM {stay at home mom} means that there are certain sacrifices you are required to make and usually your career is one of these sacrifices. I know that there are a great many moms who do both but our own personal decision was that I would be a full-time SAHM; fortunately for us, we were able to do this. I feel that young children, benefit hugely in the early years of their development if you are able to be at home with them.

The only dilemma that quite a few moms’ find themselves in is that once their children are of school-going age, they tend to have more free time on their hands. So this begs the question – “What Now?” and this is especially true if you did not pursue a career path BC {before children} because you could then simply continue on that path. Well, I guess this is where my need was born to find something” that I could do that would be primarily “for me”. This is not as easy as it may sound when you have spent the better part of 10-12 years teaching children to eat, walk and sleep. Which is a completely different focus and although physically and emotionally challenging, it leaves you rather lacking intellectually.

Self-fulfilment versus Monetary Reward

In my search to find my passion and purpose, I was given some very wise advice from my man, to find something that I am passionate about and not, if possible, chase money as a reward. I do understand that some families require both parents to work but if you can follow your passion before you follow the money all the better. “It is so hard not to want to follow the financial reward but ultimately it will not bring you self-fulfilment if that’s all you chase after!”

So now that you have established your need, to find your passion how do you go about deciding what your passion or purpose actually is? Simple really, get out a pen and paper and write down all the things you love to do and the things that you would love to do. Remember these are generally the things that keep you awake at night and you have always dreamt of doing. Then comes the tricky bit, you need to eliminate the probable or possible ideas, from the impossible ideas. It’s not that you cannot achieve whatever you set your mind to but more about the practical application of these ideas. For instance, the prospect of becoming a world travelling photojournalist, although exciting would be near on impossible with kids and hubby in-tow.

My Passion for Blogging

For me, a mom of two school-going children, finding my passion resulted in me starting my blog. I have always loved photography, fashion and cooking, pretty much anything that is a creative outlet and writing and sharing about these things on my blog is greatly fulfilling. The one factor I had not banked on was how much I actually love writing, this came as quite a surprise to me but I guess I am writing about the things I am passionate about! For you, it may be as simple as taking a photographic or art course or as big as taking the first steps to a degree.

I believe that it is not necessarily about what you decide to do but more about recognising your need to do something and that it is never to late change the direction you are travelling in!

Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion. ~ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Passion and purpose go hand in hand. When you discover your purpose, you will normally find it’s something you’re tremendously passionate about.” ~ Steve Pavlina, Blogger and Author

“So remember to remain focused on the end goal and no matter how other things may try to distract you do not let them stop you from realising your passion and full-filling your destiny!