What to pack in Carry-On luggage

Here is a list of my favourite things to pack in my hand luggage bag when I'm flying long distances (ie transatlantic for 30 hours).  

1. Most importantly, I usually have this comb with me at all times, no matter what I'm doing.  With my long hair, it's just the easiest way to make sure I never have a problem with any tangles.

2. As soon as I'm ready to put my seat back and sleep through a long flight (or try at least, anyway), I take all my make-up off.  The easiest way to do this is with face wipes.  Seriously, whoever invented those was a genius.

3.  I'm not a gum-chewer.  To be honest, I can't stand gum chewers, munching on that gum for the world to see.  GROSS!  To ensure I have fresh breath throughout the flight, mints are my little friends.

4. I absolutely love hand creams.  Especially vanilla scented hand creams.  The airconditioning on aeroplanes can really take its toll on the moisture of your skin so I like to keep my favourite Woolworths Cashmere hand cream with me to prevent this.

5.  Again the airconditioning can cause discomfort as it's often quite cold during the flight.  Wrapping up with a cute scarf can help.  It's a really versatile item that I don't think anyone should travel without.

6. Headphones are a good idea to add to your hand luggage.  I like to listen to my favourite playlists on my iPhone while I'm waiting for the hours to fly by.  This rose gold pair is a lot of fun!

7.  You know those people that fall asleep with their head tilted back and their mouth flops open?  Or worse yet, they start snoring?  Don't be one of those.  They always wake up with a stiff neck and an itchy throat, most often after having been laughed at by a couple people.  A neck cushion is the solution to this problem.  I never travel without mine.

In addition to this, I always have a jacket, a book and an umbrella (you never know what the weather will be like when you arrive).  Do you have anything particular you like to pack in your carry-on luggage?  I'd love to know so please leave a comment below!

xxx

Baseball Cap Trend

Today Irina and I are bringing you ways to wear a fun new trend: baseball caps. This sporty trend is so great for casual glamour, those days when you want to be comfortable but still chic and it's also a fabulous way to looks great on bad hair days! Have you tried it out yet? 

Be sure to pop on over to Irina's blog She's just too gorgeous for words!!

Fall outfit {Bordeaux}

Zara blazer | Mr Price vest | LEGiT pants | Mr Price booties | Sass Diva necklace | Forever New bracelets | Forever New bag | Michael Kors watch | LEGiT sunnies

Today's post comes to you from the airport.  I'm about to leave for America and I'm so excited.  Soon I'll be carving pumpkins for Halloween, visiting the Bay area in San Francisco, sipping wine in Napa Valley and lunching in  Los Angeles.  I'll be in transit for 30 hours but I'd say it's well worth it.

Do you have any trips planned?  I thought I'd share what I'm packing in my hand luggage so stop by tomorrow for some packing tips!

La post d'aujourd'hui viens à  vous à partir l'aeroport.  Je vais voyager en Amerique pour vacance.  Bientôt je serai découper de citrouilles, visiter le Bay Area à San Francisco, boire du vin à Napa Valley et déjeunais à Los Angeles.  Je me rendrai pour 30 heures mais il vaut le peine.

Demain je vais partager des conseils sur les bagages à main d'emballage.

xxx 

Green Sweater Weather

Cotton On sweater | LEGiT pants, flats and sunnies | Michael Kors watch | Sass Diva bracelet | Blackcherry bag

We had a massive storm here on Saturday and I loved every second.  I'd just bought this sweater from Cotton On so I threw it on with these leather pants for a pop of colour.  

This week I leave for California.  I'll be gone for three weeks but I've scheduled posts for while I'm away. I'll be writing up travel posts as soon as I'm back but in the meantime, keep an eye out on Instagram (@ArumLilea) and Facebook for updates on where I am and what I'm doing. 

Happy Monday!

Je viens de acheter ce chandail de Cotton On et je l’ai mis pour une touche de couleur.

Ce semaine, je vais aller à California pour vacance. Je serai parti pendant trois semaines. J’ai ecrit les postes pendant que je suis loin. Je vais ecrivé les postes vogager quand je reviens. En attendant vous pouvez lire Instagram et Facebook pour mise à jour.

Avez une bonne journée!

Banana Bread Recipe

One of my favourite home-baked goods is banana bread.  The smell takes me back to my childhood instantly.  Here's a great recipe for this traditional loaf.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs lightly beaten
5 large bananas (mashed)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (350 degrees F).   Grease a loaf pan; set aside.  In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg,  and ginger.  Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, mashed bananas, sugar and oil.  Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture.  Stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Spoon batter into prepared pan.

3.  Bake for 60minutes.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for ten minutes.  Remove from pan.  Cool completely on wire rack.  Ideally store overnight  before slicing (however, I can never wait this long).

That's it! Quick and easy  xxx

Denim Jacket {& Lindfield Museum}

Jay Jays denim jacket | Woolworths tee | Mr Price tube skirt | Cotton On flats | Sass Diva accessories | Michael Kors watch | Forever New bag

On Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the Lindfield museum in Auckland Park with my Gran.  It's the most amazing private Victorian museum in Johannesburg.   Katherine Love, the owner, took us on a tour around this quaint doll-like house.  She has the most incredible amount of knowledge of the time period so she was able to answer any questions we had.  The museum is fascinating!  After the tour, we were given a high tea overlooking her beautiful garden.  She does the tour and high tea for the small fee of R60.  If you are looking for something interesting to do on the weekend, this comes highly recommended.  Grab your mom, sister, gran, neighbour, friends and pop round to the Lindfield museum.

To make a booking, call Katherine Love on 011 7262932.  The address of the museum is 72 Richmond Avenue, Auckland Park.  

Preppy Chic - White Skirt

Hollister cardigan | Mr Price blouse | Mr Price skirt | Legit flats | Longchamp bag | Ray Ban sunnies | Michael Kors watch

This weekend was yet again another incredible one.  I'm often taken a back by how lucky I have been the last couple weeks.  For starters, Irina and I met up for the Grazia magazine (South Africa) make up event at Melrose Arch on Thursday for some make up tips and a great mixer.  From there we went to the Marie Claire Trunk Show for their fashion event.  It was so much fun sipping champagne while shopping with the girls.  By the end of the two events we were starving and we went off in search of pizza and ice teas.  It was the most perfect girls night out I could have wished for.

Saturday I completed my first 10km run, the Nike We Run Jozi run.  I like to keep fit so I gym quite regularly but my gym routine generally comprises of cycling because I'm really not a runner.  I had always wanted to do the Jozi night runs, though, and I suppose this year I added it to my bucket list.  I entered le BF and I much to his dismay.  I just need to mention here that he plays professional basketball and works out an average of 4 hours a day... but WOW you should have heard the complaining I had to listen to.  Anyway, we arrived on Saturday evening (accompanied by more complaints in the car ride), stood at the start line, and ran....until the finish line.  At 7km I did get a bit tired but le BF (can you believe the turn of events) turned into my biggest cheerleader.  He kept me going and I couldn't have done it without him.  We made such an excellent time too so I'm quite proud of both of us.  Go team! 

Sunday I had expected a nice relaxed day, perhaps a braai (BBQ) by the pool.  Le BF went to gym (after the run the night before...crazy person) while I met up with some friends for breakfast.  Out of nowhere, le BF got a phone call to say that we had been given RIHANNA tickets for that evening.  Can you believe our luck??  So off we went to Rihanna's Diamond world tour concert last night, which was incredible.  It was such an amazing show and we had so much fun dancing and singing along to all her best songs.   Wow, what a weekend!

Little Black Dress {LBD}

Factorie dress | Aldo shoes | Forever New bag | Legit sunnies | Mr Price necklace | Sass Diva bracelets | Michael Kors watch

Excuse my very pale skin, unfortunately emphasised by the black dress and heels.  I love both these heels and the dress which was given to me by one of my best friends for my birthday.  Speaking of birthdays, it is my Gran's 88th birthday today.  I would say that's quite a big birthday and definitely one worth celebrating so I took her out for lunch and we've just sat down to tea and cake.  She's been such a remarkable person in my life so I'm so glad I could celebrate with her today.

Beauty Essentials

1. Rimmel make up remover | 2. Essie Bordeaux | 3. Johnson's body cream with cocoa butter | 4. Aussie 3 minute miracle deep conditioner | 5. Bio-Oil

As you know, I will be leaving to California in two weeks time.  I've already started restocking my favourite beauty supplies for the trip.  These products are my Top Five beauty products so they will definitely have priority in my suitcase when I start packing.  If you're looking to change up your beauty routine, I highly recommend all of these products.  

1. To begin, I've just recently discovered Rimmel's make up remover.  Before, I had been using make up wipes but these left an oiliness on my skin that I really didn't like.  This make up remover doesn't leave any residue on my skin but rather leaves it feeling clean and fresh which I love.

2. This nail varnish is my all-time fave.  It's made appearances on my blog a couple of times and as I was listing my Top Five beauty items, I couldn't leave it off the list.  

3.  This specific Johnson's body cream is new to my collection and it quickly became a favourite moisturiser.  It leaves my skin feeling so soft and the smell is amazing too.

4.  As I have super-long hair, it's really important for me to keep it looking healthy.  I'm deathly afraid of being that girl with the long rats tails for hair.  The key to avoiding this is conditioner.  Lots and lots of conditioner.  This Aussie deep conditioner smells incredible.  Better yet, it will leave your hair feeling nourished.  My hair wouldn't be the same without it.

5.  Finally, Bio-oil forms part of my nightly beauty regime.  I use it under my eyes, on my neck and on my hands.  My Grandma swears by this oil as the ultimate skin protector and I tend to agree.  If it's good enough for scars, it's good enough for preventing fine lines and wrinkles.

What's on your Top Five list?  Do we have any similarities?

xxx

French Lessons

Mr Price top | Legit skirt | Woolworths heels | Mr Price bag | Forever New bracelet | Michael Kors watch

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that started French lessons again.  I have just finished my masters’ degree and I only start working in January so now was the perfect time to take lessons.  I did French at school and in my first year at varsity but since then I think I had just about forgotten everything I ever knew.  It was very disheartening.  Luckily it’s been coming back quite quickly.  I thought today I might attempt a post written in French.  Forgive me, Frenchies, it’s probably going to be full of errors.

Il ya quelque semaines j’ai commencé les classe français.  Je viens de terminer m’etude et je vais commencer à travailler en janvier donc maintenant c’était le moment idéal pour prendre les cours.  J’ai appris français à l’école mais j’avais tout oublié.  Heureusement sa me revient.  Désolé pour mes erreurs.  

Xxx

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Fashion Show

 H&M dress | Forever New bag | Europa Art shoes | Sass Diva bracelets | Michael Kors watch

These snaps were taken on the balcony of the venue for the LEGiT fashion show last Thursday.  It was so lovely to be able to see the Nelson Mandela bridge directly from where were sipping our drinks.   I bought this dress in New York and I’ve only ever had a good time in it and that night was nothing different.  Thank you so much Anja for taking these pictures!

Xxx

DJ Zinhle x LEGiT

 Anja, Talya, Raya, DJ Zinhle, myself and Brett.

As promised, here is a closer look at some of last week’s shenanigans.  Yesterday I mentioned that as part of the new LEGiT launch, a bunch of bloggers including myself were invited to join DJ Zinhle, the new brand ambassador, in her studios where we were given a crash course in learning how to mix.  We very quickly realised that it is a LOT harder than it looks.  My career as a DJ lasted a little more than 30 seconds.  I’ll be sticking to law thank you very much.

On Thursday, the LEGiT team took us shopping!  I picked up a couple pieces that I’m super excited to share with you in upcoming outfit posts.  After shopping to our hearts content, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the evening.  The launch was scheduled for that evening with a fashion show showcasing the latest range.  The bloggers arrived early for the event to see what was happening behind the scenes.  We went backstage to witness the hair and make-up preparations and a quick rehearsal before having drinks on the balcony overlooking Nelson Mandela Bridge.

The fashion show was fabulous.  There was such a fantastic vibe.  South African celebs and personalities filled the room and I was thrilled at the fact that the bloggers were seated in the front row.  The party continued into the evening and everyone had such a great time.  Thank you again to LEGiT for having me as a part of such a wonderful event!

Xxx