Trinket Trove {Giveaway}

A while ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon the beautiful sisters of 'Trinket Trove' at a launch I was invited to. Tamara and Cassandra make exquisite jewellry and their range has become rather extensive. Everything from braiding, beads, crystals, trinkets and inspirational words are included in their designs.

The words they use in their jewelry are meant to give whoever wears them a little 'lift' in their day to day lives. This is what attracted me to their products as I'm always looking for ways to inspire and bring a smile to someone's face. Something as simple as looking down at a bracelet and seeing the words "believe" or "love" can touch someone just enough to get them through a tough day.

This is ONE of the reasons I love Trinket Trove.

When I first saw the sisters at the launch, Tamara had to stand up and give a speech.

Here, I've taken a few extracts from her inspiring speech:

"My fetish since a young age has been jewellry and accessories."

"Casss came over to see what I had done and fell in love. She said 'Make me 100 wraps, I am going to sell them."  "What I did not realise is that the order of 100 wraps was the first of many to come."

"If there is one thing that has stood out the most from working with my sister, Cass, she truly has taught me that anything is possible. I believe that with our passion and as a team our dreams will become a reality. We will never stop dreaming." 

Tamara (left) and Cassandra (right)

She was noticeably nervous but got up in front of everyone and delivered a beautiful speech. I knew then, by watching this small act of courage that there was more to these ladies than simply makers of beautiful jewellry. 

I decided to pay them a visit at their Studio and get to know them and their products a little better. They share a studio with their dad who designs modern, rustic furniture for The Industrial Revolution @ Light Bulb Studio and is equally as talented with his craft as his daughters.
The studio was a gorgeous, spacious, rustic, vintage, industrial and homely space all thrown into one.

Tamara is the talent behind all the designs, while her sister, Cass, is the business woman. It's so beautiful to see sisters working so closely together on such a special project! Their business has gone from strength to strength and has continued to grow, with the girls working harder and harder to keep up with all the orders that come through.

Trinket Trove products are currently in stock at The Crafters Market. Their stores are in the following shopping centres:

The Glen Shopping Centre (Oakdene, Johannesburg),
Mall@Carnival (Brakpan, Johannesburg),
East Rand Mall (Boksburg, Johannesburg),
Cradlestone Mall (Roodekrans, Johannesburg),
Clearwater Mall (Strubens Valley, Johannesburg),
Atterbury Value Mart (Faerie Glen, Pretoria East),
Woodlands Boulevard (Woodhill, Pretoria East),
The Grove (Equestria, Pretoria East)
Kolonnade Shopping Centre (Montana, Pretoria North)

If there isn't a store near you then you can contact Cassandra directly on 082 625 8780 or email cassandra@trinkettrove.co.za. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.

Here's a quick Flipagram (Of course) of some of their products.

Tamara and Cassandra were kind enough to give me a crystal wrap as a gift and I absolutely LOVE it!! Thank-you girls so much!!


Their generosity didn't end there as they also gave me a bracelet and another crystal wrap to give away to one of YOU!!!! I've decided to do two giveaways because I'd rather spoil two of my readers instead of one =)

The competiton runs from 1st-31st July and the winner will be announced on the 1st of August.

Both Giveaways are open to anyone living in South Africa AND Zimbabwe!


The first giveaway is the Crystal three in one wrap (Retails at R149.90). To enter all you have to do is use the Rafflecopter widget below and it will do the rest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The second product I have to give away is a beautiful Multi-cord bracelet (Retails at R69.90)

To enter this one you need to be a little more creative. What I want you to do is post a photo on my Deer Delights Facebook page OR instagram it and tag me @fawn_rogers. The photograph must be of something that you feel represents one of the following words-

• Faithfulness
• Peace
• Love
• Joy

Good Luck everyone! 

A huge thank-you to Tamara and Cassandra. Your sisterly love, business drive and kind hearts are truly inspiring! 

Zucchini Fritters

Fritters can be made using a number of different bases. You can do potatoe, sweet potatoe, sweetcorn and so many other different kinds. I decided to try make zucchini fritters and they came out rather deliciously! 

Firstly, the basic difference between baby marrows and zucchinis are simply that marrows are younger and smaller whereas zucchinis are older and bigger. For this recipe I used baby marrows but 'Baby marrow fritters' doesn't sound as catchy as 'zucchini fritters'.

Ingredients 

1 punnet of baby marrows (+- 400g)

1 egg

1/4 cup flour (or gluten free substitute) 

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 Tbs corn flour

Salt,pepper and other seasoning

Chopped garlic is optional but I didn't use any.

Method

• Grate the marrows and sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt on them then let them drain for about 10mins
• Mix together rest of the ingredients
• Dry the marrows using a kitchen cloth or paper towels. The dryer they are the crunchier the fritters will be. 
• Add the grated marrows to the rest of the mixture.
• Sprinkle some flour on a chopping board and form the fritter shapes out of the mixture, as if you were making burger patties. Don't worry if they're not pefect!
• Heat up some cooking oil in a frying pan (on quite a high heat)
• Fry the patties until lightly browned (It should take +-3mins per side)

I made lamb chops and a simple side salad to accompany the fritters, which I served with a sweet chilli sauce. Here's what I put into the yummy side salad- 

"5 Ingredient Salad"

• Avocado 
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Basil
• Strawberries
• Bean Sprouts 

Serve with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Doctors Orders - How to gain weight.

Last year I was asked by Lisa Raleigh to do an interview about my weight. She wanted to know what kind of struggles I faced and what food I typically ate on any given day. She then gave me some fitness and nutrition advice.

When this clip was done 1 -

• Still had my feeding tube.
• Was a lot more under weight than I currently am now. (I hate looking at pics/vids of me so skinny!) 
• Was still eating a high carb diet which wasn't getting me anywhere. 
• And I still had my little pink car ;) 

Behind the scenes

I've done a few articles now for various media but this was the first tv production I have been in. VERY different! I'm not a photo person at all so even at photo shoots I struggle. With this, I had a camera on me constantly and I think I was shaking the entire time. Luckily they do about 3 takes and then edit a lot so you don't see all my mistakes. I was told to nod a lot and as you can clearly see, I did a good job of that! 

There were a few uncontrollable aspects when we were filming, which were quite funny. There was a fly that kept hovering around us and for a nutrition programme that isn't really ideal. There were also hadedas screeching in the background so we kept having to stop and wait for them to fly by! 

The crew was great, Lisa was absolutely lovely and then there was the camera guy, the sound guy and then the production manager. We shot the first part in my flat and then went to the Raphael Hotel gym in Sandton. Very fancy hotel but a surprisingly small gym facility! 

It was the first time I had been in a gym in YEARS let alone pick up a weight or do any form of exercise. As I said earlier they do about 3 takes for each section so you can imagine after 3 takes of dead lifts etc how 'dead' I was. I know the weights were relatively small (We actually couldn't find any smaller weights) but for someone who was bedridden for years, it was quite a strain! By the end of the shoot I was fully exhausted and went back home to finish eating the packet of Doritos I was made to eat. Oh yes, eating with a camera watching you is very hard! I've never been so self conscious of myself chewing!

Hopefully some of Lisa's tips helped those of you struggling to put on weight. I'm sure this is pretty much only my fellow CF'ers but for the rest of you, appreciate the fact that your weight, even though it may not be perfect, isn't a health struggle every day!

Paleo Paella

Seafood Paella was one of my favourite dishes before I gave up carbs. I was a bit hesitant to attempt a cauliflower version as spicy rice makes up most of the flavour of paella. However, I gave it a go and..... I think it came out pretty darn good. Look, aesthetically it's not hugely pleasing, but in your tum it's yum! 

Ingredients

Fish

1 tin of mussels 

+- 5 chopped crab sticks (ready to eat)

+- 200g of prawns (mine were precooked but with fresh prawns just lightly fry in garlic and butter)

                  

If you don't enjoy seafood you can use chicken. Just chop chicken breasts into cubes and marinate in lemon and herb or a peri peri sauce. Then fry along with the onion. 

Veg

1 chopped onion

1 chopped carrot

Chopped mushrooms

1 chopped red pepper

Olives (de-pipped)

2 cups grated cauliflower 

Remember you can freeze grated cauliflower and then defrost whenever you need it. That's what I did here.

Spice                                                                                                                 

1 chicken stock cube (dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water)

1/2 cup lemon juice

Dash of sweet chilli sauce

1 Tbs jeera seeds

1/2 Tsp tumeric

Salt/Pepper/Other Spices

Method

• Fry chopped onions and the jeera seeds in some olive oil. (add a little bit of garlic if you'd like)
• When lightly fried add in cauliflower, the dissolved chicken stock and the tumeric.
• Mix well and then add all of your veg.
• Add the rest of your spices and then the fish 
• Let everything simmer for a short while until veg is cooked but not too soft.
• EAT. 

Chocolate Coconut Squares

I've been wanting to make these Chocolate Coconut squares for ages now but every time I set out to make them I find that I am short an ingredient or 2!

My sweet tooth was particularly bad today so I decided to "Adapt or Die" and I made them using the ingredients that I had.












Ingredients

Bottom Chocolate Layer
1 cup of nuts. I used almonds that were already pre-chopped.
8 large medjool dates (+- 225 grams), pitted. I used dried cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 Tablespoons of cocoa powder

Coconut Layer
1 1/2 cups grated coconut unsweetened and finely shredded
2-3 Tablespoons honey
1/3 cup almond flour (I did this but I'm pretty confident you can do it without) 
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
Pinch of salt


Top 'Decorative' Layer
25 grams of 70% dark chocolate. I used 1/4 of a bar of Lindt 85%
Handful of Almonds






Method

Bottom Chocolate Layer
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until a 'paste' is formed. My blender is broken (Of course) so I just mixed everything together and added 3 tbs of melted butter so that it would bind.
Grease a Baking dish and press down the paste/dough at the bottom. You may want to use a spoon or this because it's VERY sticky.

Coconut Layer
Mix all ingredients together. Make sure you have melted your coconut oil in the microwave.
Spread coconut layer on top of chocolate layer in dish and press firmly.

Top Decorative Layer
Melt chocolate slowly over a low heat. If you're impatient like me, do it in the microwave on a low heat but watch it carefully!
Spread or drizzle melted chocolate on top of the coconut layer and sprinkle some finely chopped nuts (Almonds) on top to decorate.

Now put it in the refrigerator for an hour (or the freezer for 15-20 minutes) before using a knife to cut into squares.

Enjoy your tea time treat =)

#MeatlessMonday Omelette

I have been terrible at #MeatlessMonday and it's something I really want to commit to!

To kick-start my #MeatlessMonday eating regime I decided to make an omelette. As a "foodie" who cooks every day it may come as a bit of a surprise that I have never made an omelette. The reasoning for this is simple - before my transplant I didn't eat eggs. I tried because they are a healthy source of protein, but my body wouldn't have it. There are a number of healthy foods I couldn't eat before my transplant, another one being avocados, which I now love!

I have always had a very close relationship with my body and I feed it what it wants. For some reason, before transplant, it couldn't handle these foods but now, it loves them and has allowed me to experiment with a bigger variety of foods!

Anyway, back to the omelette!

Ingredients 

• 2 eggs
• milk (I literally just poured a dollop in but +- 1/4 cup)
• seasoning (salt, pepper etc)
• butter for frying
• grated mozzarella cheese (You can use any cheese +- a handful)
• filling- I chose gherkins, onions, tomatoes & pepperdews 

Method

• Beat eggs, milk and seasoning together
• Heat butter in pan on med high heat
• Pour mixture in pan 
• When omelette looks about half cooked add your filling to one side
• When omelette looks about ready, add cheese  
• When cheese has started to melt, fold omelette over and voila! 

Serve with a relish or sauce of your choice!

Enjoy =)

Paleo Pizza

Another Fast food treat that people have to 'give up' when eating healthy, is pizza! I have never been a big pizza fan but did enjoy it once in a while and so I decided to give this cauliflower base pizza a go.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Grated Cauliflower 
• 2 Egg Whites
• 1 Cup finely grated Cheese (I used Parmesan)
• Spices (I used oregano, mixed spice & a dash of tabasco) 
• +- 1/2 cup grated cheese for topping (I used Mozzarella)  
• Toppings (I used mushrooms, ham, pepperdew, olives & sun-dried tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup marinara/pasta sauce

I made my own sauce by heating tinned tomatoes comined with tomato puree (or sauce) and some bottled peperdew relish (which can be substituted for any relish or sauce)

Method

• Put grated cauliflower in a bowl in the microwave for about 6 mins 
• Dry cauliflower with a kitchen towel after microwaving (this will make your crust crunchier) 
• Mix cauliflower with eggs, cheese and spices. Use a blender for a smoother base.
• Preheat over to 180-200 degrees Celsius
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease. 
• Spread dough thinly over paper to make a round pizza shape.
• Bake for about 15mins and then add sauce, toppings and cheese.
• Bake for a further 15mins or until cheese has melted.

Yum! 

Banting Burger

Burgers were one of my favourite fast food treats but just because I have given up carbs, it doesn't mean I have to sacrifice all my guilty pleasures! 

Substitute the burger roll for over-sized mushrooms and voila! Admittedly these are a little messier to eat but then again, what delicious food isn't?  

Enjoy! 

Nerine Gardiner - Girl With Cake

The Story

I took this insert off of Nerine's blog -

Girl With Cake

"There's something about a beautiful, over-the-top, delicately frosted cake that, for a few moments, makes all the bad go away.

Maybe it's the time and care that goes into planning, baking, frosting and perfecting. Maybe it's because we associate cake with celebration and joy. Or maybe it's just the idea that something delicious is waiting for us.

Whatever the reason, cake brings a unique happiness that everyone deserves to feel.

So, for those less fortunate, for those who've been dealt a raw deal in life, and for those who just deserve some more love, I'll find them. And, for a few moments, they too will feel the joy of cake."








I stumbled upon this amazing girl quite some time ago and my heart was instantly warmed!

I've always believed in the below quote-

- and I think that Nerine is a great example of this. Her random acts of kindness, in the big scheme of things, may not seem like much, but to those less fortunate that receive one of her beautiful cakes, it could possibly be the kindest gesture they have ever received.

As someone who has been in a position of need I cannot tell you how amazing it is when a stranger shows you kindness, in any form. It may be a bunch of flowers or simply a compliment but when someone makes you smile on a day that you are struggling to find a reason to smile, it is the most precious gift!

Giving something you don't need or want away, while still much appreciated, isn't quite a selfless good deed. We are giving away the old blanket because we don't want it so it's a win for you and a win for the person that get's it. Nerine bakes the most beautiful cakes solely to give away to a stranger. She could quite easily eat/give to a friend or sell the cakes but once they're done she goes out and finds someone to give them to! A selfless good deed indeed!

Such an incredible girl and an inspiring project! I don't know about you, but her story has definitely made me feel like I need to do more to give back to the world.

Some of Nerine's beautiful cakes

With Youth Day coming up on Monday the 16th of June (in South Africa) perhaps we can all take a little time out of our day to make someone else's day a little easier! 

Please go read more about Girl With Cake HERE and let Nerine's story inspire YOU to bake a cake for someone less fortunate. 

She also posts all of her cake recipes which are well worth looking at!  

​

Nathan Charles - Cystic Fibrosis Rugby Player

Melbourne - Wallaby hooker Nathan Charles says he wants to be judged on his performance rather than a genetic disease he has defied to make the national team.

Story taken from The Australian

So here are the facts:

When Charles was three months old, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, for which there currently is no cure. People with cystic fibrosis develop an abnormal amount of excessively thick, sticky mucus within their lungs, airways and digestive systems. As a consequence, lung failure is the major cause of death.

Charles relies on his lungs more than most. He is a professional rugby player and on Saturday at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, his lungs will be swelled to busting point when he sings the national anthem, because he will sing it with his arms locked around his Wallabies teammates. And then he is going to really need his lungs when he comes off the bench to make his Test debut against France.

All of this is way more than he is comfortable with. There was a time, only a few years ago, when he kept his condition a secret because he didn’t want to be discriminated against, didn’t want to be known as “that person”. When he joined the Western Force in 2010, he even kept his coach, John Mitchell, in the dark about it. The first time he found the courage to speak openly to his teammates about it, he didn’t get past the opening sentence before breaking down in tears.

Over time, he has learned to speak more freely about it and come to accept his story can have a powerful effect on the lives of young people with cystic fibrosis.

“It’s very humbling to know it does inspire people to achieve more,” the 25-year-old hooker said.

But the problem is that each burst of publicity takes him further away from who he wants to be and how he wants to be seen. His hope is to one day be recognised as a great rugby player, not as a great rugby player who had cystic fibrosis.

“I guess there is always stigma attached,” Charles said. “Every interview you do, there is a question or questions about it. The thing I want to be judged on is my performance on a weekend rather than the disease I carry or rather be judged on how I’ve overcome it rather than it weighing me down and people saying you can’t do that because, excuse my French, that’s bullshit. The only limitations on yourself should be placed by yourself, not by anyone else.

“I want to look back and know that I did this on my own accord because I’ve worked hard to get here, rather than just being a sob story, because that’s not what I’m about. Some people see me as that and that’s absolute rubbish.”

Ask him how cystic fibrosis affects his life as an athlete and he answers, honestly, that he doesn’t know.

“The way I’ve been brought up and the way I live my life to me is normal. I manage this outside of playing, outside of training, outside of rugby. It’s just a matter of taking a few extra pills each day than the other guys, and hygiene.

For a “few extra pills”, envisage a cereal bowl full of them, taken every day. For “hygiene”, think unceasing vigilance. If a teammate has the sniffles, Charles unobtrusively will remove himself to the other side of the room.

“A simple cold can turn into quite a complicated chest infection, so I’m just quite cautious.”

This is a man, remember, who on Saturday night will pack down in the middle of the Wallabies front row, 786kg of Australian beef behind him, 900kg of French muscle opposed to him. His lungs will be bursting, but so will the lungs of the other 15 players in the scrum.

Judge him by what happens next.

Read more about Nathan on Sport24.

27th Birthday

My Birthday card from Shendl.

It was my birthday on Sunday the 8th of June and to celebrate I decided to have a girls night out! Because I believe in putting in a little extra effort to make things more special, I decided to do a theme. I told friends that this was the dress code -


A few friends came over to my flat and we had a couple of sneaky drinks and naturally, a bit of a photo shoot!

I have the most amazing friends, new and old! I got absolutely spoiled rotten spoiled rotten by everyone and even though I really appreciated all my gorgeous gifts, what was even more special was spending my birthday with such amazing people! I love you Friends! 

After drinks, and love...

We got a taxi to Movida to meet up with some other friends and dance the night away! I've only ever been to Movida one other time but I thought the 'Moulin Rouge' style club was perfect for a night of fun with my girls! 

"I'm so Fancy"

You know you're not in Zim anymore when there's a grand piano in the Club! 

Later, the tables are moved and this area become the dance floor.

Juss, Sash, Me, Tish, Lee

Unfortunately, what happens on girls night, stays between us girls (there's good reason for that). But in summary - we danced, we laughed and we danced a little more. 

Last year I got out of hospital just before my birthday so I couldn't really celebrate it much. I did have a lovely time with my family and being my first birthday with my new lungs, I was very grateful! 

This birthday however, was evidence of just how 'normal' my life is now. Yes I still pop hand-fulls of pills and have to go for regular check-ups but there is nothing really that I can't do! I don't think it will ever stop amazing me how a surgical procedure can take you from death's door to having a crazy girls night out. I know I say this often but I really am grateful each and every day for all the things that my transplant has allowed me to do. 

I am living my dream and loving EVERY minute of it!

Thanks again to the friends that made it to party with me and to those who didn't but sent through lovely birthday messages! I love you all so much!! 

Fitspiration

Whilst I was stuck in my flat waiting for my transplant, my room-mate and friend - Justine, was busy getting FIT! I'd wake up hours after she had already gone for her morning run and on the weekends I'd be lazing in bed while she was off to set a new personal running record.

Not everyone has the motivation or dedication that Justine has and I wanted to know more about her fitness journey and what motivated her to keep it up.

#WhatTheFit??

What made you decide to get fit?

I was tired of being fat instead of phat, I knew that if I was ever going to be happy I was going to have to make some serious lifestyle changes.

What kept you motivated?

Buying my entry into the Two Oceans Half Marathon and telling my whole family and everyone I knew that I was going to be running 21kms!

What was one of your biggest challenges?

My biggest challenge still is weight, I think about it daily it's an obsession.  

What is your favourite part of working out?

I can't choose 1, my favourite parts of working out are when I can feel my muscles working and I start to break a sweat and then post workout where I feel like I am on cloud nine. 

What is your least favorite part of working out?

Being disrupted by someone or something when you are 'in the zone' 

What was your goal and has it changed? 

My goal was to lose weight.  Nope, not really I am still carrying about 15 -20kgs that I need to lose. Hopefully my will power will kick in again one day soon and I will be a lean mean weight loss machine again! 

What advice to you have for ME and anyone else that wants to start getting fit?

Set a goal, tell everyone about it (so that you're accountable) give your goal a time limit! 

What a transformation and an absolutely amazing person to inspire others to get fit! Justine's story is undeniable evidence that perseverance is key to reaching any goal. 

To date Justine has lost 50kgs and is still going! It didn't happen over night or by doing some crazy diet that promises instant weight loss. It took hard work and a lot of time but the results speak for themselves! #Fitspiration

                                                         Check out her blog -

                                                      JustineJoyIt