This year for Mother's Day I am making a meringue lollipop for each guest which I will serve with some strawberry ice-cream, topped with sliced strawberries. You can use any fruit of your choice, or drizzle with a nice salted caramel dessert.

Four tips I can share:
1.  Follow the recipe to the letter.  I did and the meringues come out nice and crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.
2. You can do them using a handheld beater, I did, and all went well!

Needed:
3 Large Eggs
150gr Castor Sugar (no other sugar)
Hand/bowl mixer
Gel Coloring
Piping Bags
Wax Paper
Piping nozzles to get different patterns in the meringue.
I used a large star tip nozzle to pipe the lollipop and small nozzles to add the detail.

Recipe:
​I used the very famous recipe by the Meringue Girls. 
The 150gr sugar with 75gr egg whites is the ratio I used and will be enough to do your meringue pops..
Once the meringue is perfectly mixed and not grainy anymore, transfer your meringue into a large piping bag with large star nozzle.
Pipe your pops from left to right onto a piece of baking paper.
Once piped, press your stick in (remember to pre-soak your sticks in water, and when piping, keep in mind how your lollipops on sticks is going to fit into the oven)
Remember to keep a little meringue separate to color for your detailed elements.
Carefully fold the coloring into the meringue.  Pipe detail and then add your sprinkles before popping into the oven.
Switch off your oven when meringues are done and let them cool in the oven.
Add your gold leave and Immediately transfer to a air tight container.  

We are halfway though Autumn, and Winter is just around the corner.  This is the perfect time of the year to incorporate the color of the year,
​Ultra Violet, into your special function/celebrations' color scheme.
It is warm and inviting and really just looks lovely!

I have a put together a mood board to inspire you in planning your Winter event.  
For images sources and more inspiration, please go to our pinterest board.  

Today I am just sharing a few images of this beautiful garden, set-up. for a special bride-to-be! 
​Enjoy the pictures and your week!

Service Provider Credits
​
​​Photography | De Paiva Photography
Event Planner & Stylist | Chic Celebrations
Balloon Garland | Balloon Decor Hub 
Stationer |  Chic Celebrations

I have set this calender as my mobile phone and laptop wallpaper, and all I can say is that these tones of ultra violet and plum, make me happy every time I look at it! 

To help alleviate the Autumn blues, download and set as you wallpaper immediately. 

It is almost that time of the year where we all have a solid excuse to gorge on Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns! 

To add a bit of fun to your Easter Weekend, SStudio Stationery and Design has designed the loveliest Easter printable's for you to play around with.

Hope you enjoy them and we would love to see some pictures!  

EASTER EGG HUNT PRINTABLE SET

Includes a set of 6 signs that you can cut out, glue to a stick, and pop all over your garden.
​Download here.

​The Beauty Brand is the brainchild of Maureen Grobler, image coach and makeup artist. Linking together a host of products, services and suppliers, Maureen's ultimate goal is aimed at developing her client’s beauty and brand to unlock self-confidence.
 
Approaching image and style with an ethos of authenticity and deep-seated value, The Beauty Brand services and products look much further than skin deep, offering longevity to your personal brand, born from understanding and embracing who you are.

I have known Maureen for many years and it is truly her passion in life to unlock self-confidence in the female sex.  You will not leave a session with her untouched, inspired by her zest for life and va-va-voom.  

Remember to enter our give-away on our Instagram Page 

Pink and silver and sparkling - what more could a girl want for her 17th birthday celebration?!

Ishrat's love and passion for her work really shines through in every function that she does, in every little detail.  Thank you for sharing.

Enjoy the pictures!​

Service Provider Credits
​
​​Photography | Belinda Lea Photography
Event Planner & Stylist | Outlandish Events
Cake | Annah Fudge
Catering |  E.A.T.

​Something pretty and floral to brighten up this first month of Fall.

Thank you to SStudio Stationery & Design for designing this pretty wallpaper for us. 

I am so excited to introduce you to the new lovely lady that will be designing our free printable's for Plan Me Pretty  - Nadine, owner and creative behind SStudio Stationery & Design! 

And what a better way to kick of the year than with a free Valentine's printable set.  Perfect to help you create a beautiful hamper to spoil your loved one.  

The set includes: 
- Chocolate Bar Wrapper
- Wine Label 
- Valentine's Card
- 10 LOVE Coupons 

You will need:
- 80gr Chocolate Bar
- Bottle of Wine 
- Scissors
- Glue

Hintfull tips:
- Remove chocolate bar from packaging.  Then carefully and tightly wrap the chocolate in a piece of tinfoil before adding the wrapper.
- Soak the wine bottle in water, remove wine label.  Dry.  Take some nail polish remover to remove last of the glue residue.  Dry.  Add wine label.  
​
Enjoy your Valentine's Day - it is all about having some fun, so treat someone that is dear to your heart.  

Today I am sharing a beautiful and elegant, delft inspired, bridal shower. An old friend recently started a lifestyle blog, The Gooseberry Blog, all about what she loves and find interesting in life, travel, fashion, pretty things and her career of being a mommy. And this is where I came across these lovely images. 

Her brother got married in December, and she and her sister, owner and creative at Paper Envy, was asked to plan and style the event.  

My favorite details?  
- The Paper Wall.
- The diamond drink stirrers, which also doubles as name placecards.
​- The Crown! 

When I saw the theme for this first birthday party, the song 'Wild One' immediately popped into my head.  And how appropriate!

"Gonna break it loose, gonna keep 'em movin' wild
Gonna keep a-swingin', baby, I'm a real wild child
Gonna meet all my friends, gonna have our self a ball
Gonna tell my friends, gonna tell them all that I'm a wild one
Ooh, yeah, I'm a wild one"

​Enjoy the pictures! 

​When Josh's mommy, Samantha contacted me about his 1st birthday, I was over the moon to hear the theme! Something original & fresh with a unique colour palette. I had such fun planning this party as Sam was easy going and open to any suggestions and ideas. They celebrated Josh's 1st birthday at one of my favorite venues, Willow Feather Farm in Irene. Apart from the tribal elements we added the trendy foxes, raccoons and deers onto the party packs, which all worked really well with the venue.
All in all, I'm not too sure who enjoyed the celebration more - the party planner or Josh.

Today I am sharing a beautiful Ballerina Themed birthday, styled and coordinated by Zenobia of Blue Olive Events.

I simply love all the ballerina details that Zenobia incorporated into the decor and candy table - very clever!
My favorite details?  All of it!  But especially the ballerina biscuits, cupcakes and table center pieces.

Enjoy the pictures, lovingly shot by Photo Paige.

Sigh, this pink ballerina first birthday for little Didintle was executed to pink perfection.  I love every little, perfectly pink detail! Thank you to Karin, Karin Meiring Photography for sharing this lovely party with us.

Enjoy the pictures! 

I am so excited to officially launch our 'Win a Party' competition for 2017.  One lucky person will win Party Decor and Sweet Treats for their next big celebration worth R 13 375!  WOW!  Details and terms & conditions at the bottom of this post.  Good Luck! 
Prize consists of products and services from the following brands:  

​Ever After Events – R3280
(Pretoria)
1 x Electronic Invitation Design
1 x Party Banner
25 x *empty* Goodie bags/boxes with thank you tags
1 x Custom Bunting
25 x Custom Stickers
 
Hand Creations Decor Hire
(Centurion)
Décor worth R1000
(Please note that there is a refundable deposit of R350)
 
Fabiola Cakery – R850
(Pretoria)
1 x Themed cake to the value of R850
 
Marethe.com – R 2200
(Centurion)
1 x 1.5 Hour photoshoot on the day of the event
(Includes 40km travel roundtrip, anything over this distance will be charged at R4.00/km)
 
Nicole’s Macaroons – R520 
(Pretoria)
1 x Box of 40 Macaroons in a select flavour of your choice


Pinatas Galore – R1000
(Johannesburg)
1 x  Life sized piñata of choice, OR
2 x  Large piñatas of choice
 
Plan Me Pretty – R750 
(Centurion)
25 x Iridescent Straws
20 x Iridescent ‘Party’ Napkins
25 x Paper Plates
25 x Paper Cups
25 x Bamboo knives and forks
6 x Confetti Balloons
2 x Paper Bunting Flag Strings
6 x Honeycomb and pompom Balls in various sizes
 
S Studio Designs R 1275
(Centurion)
1x    Lasered  Wood Caketopper
25 x Lasered  Wood Cupcake/Food toppers 
1 x  Lasered  Wood 800mm sign (eg name cut-out) 
 
Sweetly Detailed – R2050
(Midrand)
Candy Table Items
25 x Cheese Cakes
25 x Cake Pops
25 x Donuts
25 x Cupcakes
 
Whiskaway Hand made Ice-Cream – R450
(Pretoria)
25 x Ice-Cream Cookie Sandwiches
 

To Enter:

1.       Follow all participating brands on Instagram for your first entry.
2.       For a second entry, like all the participating brands on Facebook.
3.       For a third entry, tag 3 friends in the comment section on social media posts.
4.       For your fourth entry, tell us which celebration  you would like to win the prize for.
5.       Let us know that you have entered by commenting in the comments section.​

​Terms and Conditions.

• Once the winner has been notified, the winner must confirm the event date immediately         with all suppliers.
• Competition closes on Wednesday, 1 November 2017
• The prizes are not convertible to cash
• The winner will be selected via random draw and the judge’s decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into.
• All prizes must be claimed for the same date and party
• Suppliers will allow small adjustments of the products, within the value framework of their prize, to accommodate your theme and color scheme.
• The winner will be responsible for the collection of all prizes, no transport/courier of items will be arranged
• The winner must be in direct communication with each supplier to arrange colour scheme, theme and collection of prize.
• Your event must be held before 31 July 2018.
• The photographer will included 40km travel in her prize, any travel over this will be charged at R4/km
• Decor from Hand Creations will require a R 350 deposit, which will be fully refunded on return of decor pieces.
• This prize is not allowed to be used for a wedding, but can be used for any other celebration such as a birthday party, engagement, baby shower, bridal shower, or whtever else you are celebrating! 

The Spring Rose Festival at Ludwig's Roses is one of my yearly highlights.  Who cannot look forward to being spoiled in such a special way? This year we were treated to a rose inspired menu paired with Kleine Zalze Bubbles and Wine.  The food was beautifully prepared by the on-site venue; The Rose Shed, led by chef Tony Barnett.
And to top it all of, each of us were gifted a 'Forever Delight' rose plant and a bottle of their Pure Rose Water. 

The official festival is on until Sunday, please treat yourself to this amazing assault on the senses, the rose smell is intoxicating, the floral decor details is something to be admired and the collection of VW cars and toy car collection is not something you will probably ever see for free in your life again (and also an excuse to drag hubby with!).

If you cannot make it this weekend, Heike (Mr. Ludwig's daughter) tells me that the roses is best viewed in the month of October, and they even have a tractor that drive visitors through the rose fields! So you can take your ouma and oupa too.

Images by:  Marethe.com ​

A Unicorn theme is always fun, no matter how many times you do it - this baby shower was done at a client's private home in Johannesburg, and captured by Becca Boo Photographic Studio.

My favorite details?
- Making the edible unicorn bark, with swirling color and lots of sparkles.
- Spending hours sticking paper circles and confetti to the balloon strings - but so worth it to achieve the final result.
- The little unicorn biscuits and cupcakes.

​Enjoy the pictures x

A cute Peter Rabbit baby shower to kick of this short week.  Thank you to Hello Love Photography for sharing with us.

Some of my favorite details are:
- The use of carrots and lettuce as decor pieces and floral centerpieces.
- The very large, wooden hare.
- The Peter Rabbit fondant cut-outs on the cake are beautiful! 
- And the food, the food looks really yummy and summary.

Enjoy the pictures.  

Name:   Urban Bistro
Type:  Coffee Shop l Bakery  l  Pizzeria 
Where:  Tucked away in a little office park in Highveld, Centurion.
Website:  https://urbanbistro.co.za
Love @ first coffee:  ♥♥♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Best Part:  Local, Free Range & Organic where ever possible!
Outside Area:  Yes
WiFi:  Yes

I had such a blast planning this bridal shower; only received two instructions from Maid of Honor, Chantelle, it has to be a mermaid theme and it has to fun! 

Enjoy the pictures! 

Lately I have been a little obsessed with the color combination of Rose & Indigo, and while working on our DONUT DIY a few weeks ago, playing around to create the chocolate brushstrokes, I just though to myself that all these elements and colors will make a beautiful theme for a bridal shower.  

And this is how the idea for our very first, officially styled shoot started taking shape.  I also wanted to use the opportunity to showcase the work of all the very, talented service providers in the Plan Me Pretty Directory, and in the end, it worked out so well.  Thank you to everyone for that! 

So I really hope that you find some inspiration (or a service provider!) from our work, but most of all, just enjoy browsing through these beautiful images. 

To all our readers, please let us know if this is something you would like to see on a regular basis. And to all our listed vendors, please let me know if this is something you would like to be part of in the future. 
​