Daily Delicious Design - My Halloween Horror Movies # 1

I'm a horror movie addict. I don't know when it started but I have it bad! I can't look at car accidents or a lion catching a gazelle but leave me with the goriest, grossest, most grotesque movie and I'm happy. As it's Halloween I thought I'd share some of my favourites.

The scariest movie I ever saw, and I'm sure many people would agree, is The Exorcist (1973). I'm not a religious person but there's something about possession that really strikes the most primal fear chord!! YIKES!

         

Daily Delicious Design - My Halloween Horror Movies # 2

The Woman in Black (2012) starring Daniel Radcliffe is a frightening piece of cinema. This film is one of quite a few adaptations of a 1983 novel by Susan Hill. It's oozing with atmosphere and there are some heart-stopping frights! Daniel looks a bit young to be the father of a 6 year old but he manages to look very frightened and harried.

Daily Delicious Design - My Halloween Horror Movies # 3

The Ring (2002) scared the bejesus out of me!! It's an Americanised version of the 1998 Japanese film Ringu and is one of the first of a whole mess of 'technology is possessed' types of films. Naomi Watts is a great actress and the movie is super duper creepy. I know film buffs will say that Japanese horror is always better but I think this one is just as effective!

Daily Delicious Design - My Halloween Horror Movies # 4

I'm not very discerning when it comes to vampire movies. If it's got fangs I'm probably a fan. Yes, that includes Twilight! But I can spot a really good one when I see one and David Slade's 30 Days of Night is definitely such a film! It has scary vampires and an even scarier premise. Even Josh Hartnett's rom-com good looks work within the eery atmosphere.    

Daily Delicious Design - My Halloween Horror Movies # 5

I think Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods (2012) is a fantastic horror movie. It starts out looking like a normal slasher but ends with a huge, epic and unexpected climax. There are loads of references to every horror genre you can imagine interspersed with a banal and creepy office setting. Winner! 

Daily Delicious Design - Wedding Ring-a-Ling

This is my wedding ring. It's made of silver and 18 carat gold and was designed by a family friend. It's original and chunky and I love it!

Daily Delicious Design - Vegetarian Pizza for Meat Free Monday

For me every day is meat free and that's how it's been for close on a decade. The transition from meat to meat-free was really easy for me as I've never been a big fan of the flesh. Even as a child I would eat my veg first and then push the meat around the plate. After much encouragement from my mother, I would relent and cut the offending fleshy food into tiny pieces to swallow whole. I'm definitely not a typical South African as my countrymen and women adore meat in all its configurations and people often comment that a meal cannot really be classified a meal until some flesh is consumed. I digress. This post is about the joys of vegetarian eating. There is so much good food out there that is tasty, healthy, filling and deeeelicious! Vegetarian pizza is a great place to start. I like to make it at home for a quick midweek dinner. I have a bread maker that makes great dough. This takes about an hour and a half but it's worth it! Easy, light and not messy. I then throw a tin of organic tomatoes in a pot, add some chili, fresh basil from our herb garden , brown sugar, salt and pepper and reduce it. This goes on the rolled out dough as a base. For toppings I use whatever we have in the cheese department and anything else that catches my fancy like raw onion, red peppers or fresh herbs. In the oven for 15 minutes and I then like to finish it off with some rocket or fresh avo, when in season. Voila, wonderful vegetarian! (thanks to SweetonVeg for the pic)

Who needs meat?! 

Daily Delicious Design - Decorating Ideas for the Bedroom

We're finally making the move towards buying our own house. It's a long, expensive and tedious process but I'm super excited about eventually having a place where I can decorate, paint and wallpaper as I choose. I'm especially looking forward to bedecking the bedrooms. Here are a few rooms with my favorite colour scheme of the moment. This is a homage to yellow and white... (Pictures courtesy of ooh_food)

Definite idea for the boys' room. I love the yellow ceiling and black wall. 

Lovely twins' bedroom.

Yellow, white and slate...lovely!

Love the accent wall!

Soothing all white and with a bookshelf big enough for all my books.

Daily Delicious Design - Fab Free Fonts

I love the fact that there are so many great designers out there willing to give away fab free fonts! I sometimes spend hours looking for typography and imagining what wonderful words I could write. Personally I like something that's quite simple but with a subtle twist or quirk. Below are my four favourite free fonts for now...

'Accent' by Nelson Balaban

'Kabel' by Mathias Nösel

'Lavanderia' by James T. Edmondson  

'Ribbon' by Dan Gneiding

Daily Delicious Design - Amster(damn), this is a cool city!

Amsterdam is a city that has many elements I love and that's why it's one of my favourites. It has water everywhere and being an Aquarian I have a natural affinity for all things watery. Canals and bridges abound. It has houses that are right on the street so I can satisfy my ridiculous curiosity to see how other people live without looking too conspicuous. I can be a peeping tom in disguise. And it has, in my mind, the most delicious and delectable confectionary ever created, namely the stroopwaffel. This tasty treat is crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside and is simply heavenly. Of course the museums, the red light district, clubs, coffee shops and the multicultural mixture of people also play a huge part in making this city wonderful but my needs in a holiday destination are quite simple! Photographer Moyan Brenn has taken some bright and interesting photos of amazing Amsterdam.

Daily Delicious Design - Wonderful Wallpaper

Wallpaper used to have such a bad reputation. Just think back to busy 1970s rooms covered floor to ceiling in obnoxious, intrusive designs in browns and yellows. Not exactly what you'd want to look at after a hard day at the office! Luckily that craze is long over and now wallpaper is a lot more subtle. But if you really desire something loud and unabashed, then covering an accent wall can have a startling but not overwhelming effect. Personally I like my paint white, my accents primary and my wallpaper with nifty patterns. Have a look at these deliciously designed wallpapers from Aimee Wilder. (Pictures courtesy of ooh_food)

Nice from far and nice from close too!

Would look great with some bright yellow.

Nifty accent wall in a boy's room. 

    

Daily Delicious Design - Yay, It's Asparagus Season!

How I love fresh asparagus and screw the re(pee)cussions! It's delicate flavour belies a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. This unassuming and rather weird little plant is a real superstar in the vegetable kingdom. As for cooking fresh asparagus, I believe that it's best served simple. Asparagus doesn't need a lot of fussing and fiddling. I like it sautéed in olive oil and butter with finely chopped garlic. I use a squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of Maldon salt and cracked black pepper to season it. As simple as that! Absolutely delicious!

Thanks to Solaisphoto for this great shot.

Daily Delicious Design - Camden Casual

There's something about emerging from the Camden Town tube station onto the street that makes you feel as if you're in another reality. Despite the requisite high street chain stores with loud signs, lustrous goods and slick interiors, everything seems a little bit grungy and grimy. Overwhelming the shiny and new are tattoo parlours, dingy cafes, vintage shops and of course the markets. But there is something inherently, casually and effortlessly cool about the place. And where better to see this reflected than in the fashion of the casual and easy-going inhabitants of this borough? (thanks to Juanjo Zanabria Masaveu for these pics)

Love his shaggy hair and his glasses and love her jacket!

I think the bow tie is such a cheeky accessory!

This girl rocks Camden casual!!

The hat and scarf give this outfit its finishing touch. 

Quite a contrived outfit but undoubtedly in keeping with his surroundings!

Eclectic athletic! 

Daily Delicious Design - Contrarian Vegetarian

As a vegetarian I'm often grilled (he he) about my culinary choices. I think that most people can't get their heads around a diet devoid of meat and I'm often not left with much variation when eating out or grabbing a quick snack. In this meat-mad country there is generally a major lack of imagination when it comes to providing fare for vegetarians. No thought is given to protein and starch is favoured as a way to bulk out a meat-free mess. But my go-to meal when I'm in the mood for takeout is the delicious falafel. Made of minched chickpeas, garlic, cumin and coriander and served in a myriad of different ways, it really is the fast food that has it all! Packed with protein and loads of flavour, this cheeky little bite can hold its own in the land of takeaway. Deeeelicious!

Check out Lablascovegmenu for more delicious vegetarian food.  

Daily Delicious Design - Imperishable Marilyn Monroe

I've noticed a fresh wave of Marilyn Monroe Mania lately. Naomi Watts stars in Blonde, Michelle Williams stars in My Week with Marilyn and the TV series Smash, which shows the conception of and preparation for a Broadway show about Marilyn's life called Bombshell, is doing smashingly. It seems that the life of this tormented star is still compelling today. I think with a universal fame fixation, most people love to see inside the lives of the glitterati and hope to catch a glimpse of their feet of clay. That's how I feel anyway and that's why I love this picture of Marilyn. I love the chipped nail polish and her natural, shy demeanour.

Thanks to Sasha065 for this gorgeous picture.

Daily Delicious Design - The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? (An ode to teenage angst)

This song never fails to elicit a bittersweet reminiscence in me. There is something about the quality of Morrissey's voice, the simple yet evocative lyrics and the wailing guitar of Johnny Marr that pulls me back, way back to my tortured teenage years. Granted it was released a decade before those tortured years, but it resonated and still resonates. How could you even try and compare this to the PerrySwift bullsh*t that is churned out today?

Daily Delicious Design - London on my mind...

My eternal and perhaps unrealistic love affair with London is captured in pictures by Garry Knight. Grey skies and  rain notwithstanding, this city is filled with a multifarious yet somehow harmonious mixture of architecture, cityscapes, parks and interesting nooks and crannies. How I miss you, London!

 

Daily Delicious Design - Sitting Sixties

I'm in such a sixties mood, mainly brought on by watching episode after episode of Mad Men. All that red lipstick and smoking is delicious! I came upon this chair which echoes the lips and cigarettes, in a way. I love the contrast of white and orange and wood and fabric. The circular cushion and back also give it an organic feel. Definitely deliciously designed!

Thanks to oranges and apples for this picture!

Daily Delicious Design - Jumping Back Slash

JBS painstakingly and carefully crafts each of his banging toons to perfection. I like good ol' fashioned house music and he delivers it with aplomb. With techno and old skool house influences interlaced with african beats and bass and uplifting vocals, what's not to like? Dancefloor filling, arms in the air wohooing, often long, sometimes really deep and always satisfying. He also has some fantastic collabs with the likes of Spoek Mathambo, The Frown and Petit Noir. Listen to this mix tape...

THE UHAMBO MIXTAPE

download his stuff at boomkat

Daily Delicious Design - The Bang (bang) Club

Looking at myself in the mirror after 'the big bang' movement of 2012, I marvel at how freaking sexy a fringe can be! I feel years younger and quite sassy. I feel an extra swagger in my gait. Loving it!! But the ultimate bang girl has got to be Bettie Page. With her blunt, short, thick fringe and her midnight jet black hair, she really gave the fringe its bang! Enough of the puns and on to the pin up. The beautiful Bettie Page, ladies and gents...rocking that fringe!

Thanks Pendula Man

Thanks Pedula Man