Recipes: Tried & Tested (Part 1)

 Every now and then, I actually end up making something that I've seen on Pinterest, sometimes it's a hit, other times a miss, but this recipe I found was a definite winner worth blogging about. These little Hershey Kissi-Pies are not only the cutest little delicacies (I'm all about ascetics when it comes to baking) but they taste divine and area stupidly easy to make. I thought I'd share the recipe that I found at Picky Palate, especially with the holidays coming up, because these are the perfect little holiday treats; they look a lot like Christmas to me. I actually made my second batch of these tonight for a friend's birthday party, and they went down like a dream. 

Instructions:

{Preheat oven to 350F}

1.) Get out your ingredients of pie crusts and your choice of Hershey Kisses (I love the dark ones personally)

2.) Roll out your pie crust onto a surface prepped with flour and space the kisses out evenly

3.) Cut a circular shape around each chocolate (The size of the circle is dependent on how big you want to make them, your choice entirely)

4.) Fold the two opposite sides of the circle together

5.) Fold the remaining two sides together and press firmly until the correct shape is formed.

6.) Paint each kiss-pie with some egg

7.) Drizzle a small amount of sugar onto each 

8.) Space out evenly onto a greased baking tray and bake for plus/minus 20-25 minutes (until golden brown)

9.) Sprinkle with some powdered sugar and serve warm. Enjoy. 

{All images and recipe from Picky Palate}

Current Status

You know you're an introvert when having the house to yourself on a Friday night is exactly what excites you. Cheers to silent nights and the first fireplace session of the fall. 

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

In keeping with my motto for this year of 'spending money on memories not material things,' some friends of mine and I hopped in the car for a some spontaneous San Francisco shenanigans last Saturday, and what a perfect YOLO day it was. Our mission was to see The Lumineers and The Head and the Heart play at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival at the Golden Gate Park, and by the end of the day, our mission was well accomplished. The park was crazy. We estimated maybe twenty thousand people in total between all five stages, and I was claustrophobic for a good portion of the time. It was a great vibe, and all kinds of weird and wonderful folk gathered to watch the bands play. I loved seeing the festival fashion (the good, the bad and the ugly) and the different styles that everyone was rocking whilst the autumn sun came out to play. 

We came armed with snacks and picnic blankets, sat on the outskirts of the madness and swayed arm-in-arm whilst we sang along to 'Rivers and Roads.' After the show, we watched the sun go down at the Golden Gate bridge, took all your stock-standard tourist photos, and then walked a portion of the bridge whilst night was starting creep in. The view from up there is unprecedented. 

To end off the night in proper tourist style, we went to the Fisherman's Wharf, had clam chowder bread bowls at the famous Boudin bakery before singing 90's rock songs all way home to Redding like you should do on long car trips. 

I'll only be young once. Making it count. 

An Ode to Autumn

The sound of dried leaves crackling under your boots. Auburn colours splashed here, there and everywhere. Tank tops give way to long sleeves. The air gets it's bite back. Pumpkin everything. 
The USA is the place to be this 'fall.' 

Lad & Lass Wedding Photography

I am loving all things quirky and creative that are coming out of South Africa at the moment, and Lad & Lass Wedding photography well deserves a mention. Emma-Jane (behind the blog Emma-Jane Nation) and her husband Dylan Harbor have recently renamed their photography business to Lad & Lass Photography and along with the name change has come a whole new exciting and innovative brand. As someone who strongly appreciates good and tasteful band conceptualization, I thought I'd share a few of their pics because I know that this business is going to boom. I am not only a huge fan of their brand but their product is excellent too, and I'm archiving them in my memory for when I tie the knot one day. 

 

A Whimsical Wedding

Although I am thousands of kilometers away from South Africa and will be for a little while, my heart still remains will all things 'local and lekker.' An incredibly talented blogger that I follow called Emma-Jane from the blog 'Emma-Jane Nation' has recently renamed her and her husband's photography business to 'Lad and Lass Photography' which used to go by the name 'Hello Harbour.' Anyway, during the time I was back in South Africa between June and August, I met a beautiful young lady called Deb who tied the knot over the holidays, and I just had to share her wedding pictures on my blog because they are all kinds of gorgeous. The photographic mastermind behind these pictures is of course Lad and Lass Photography, and I think they did a phenomenal job at capturing the whimsical essence of Deb and Mike's unforgettable day. I think the reason that I love these pictures so much is that they exude the Durban vibe through and through. Ah, I'm so proud to have been born and bred along these shores. Proudly South African to my core. 

 {All images: Lad and Lass Photography}

Slavery Isn't Over Yet

Have you ever wondered what the rest of the world was doing while thousands of Jewish people were fading away inside the concentration camps that stole their freedom? Or where the helping hands were when slaves were being held captive and abused during the American Civil war? Where were the freedom fighters? Why didn't people help the cause of the ones that were powerless to save themselves?
Surely if we had been alive at such an hour we would have stood for freedom, we would have fought for a cause bigger than ourselves, we would not have been the passive ones pretending it wasn't a reality.
Did you know that today there are 27 million people enslaved in the sex trade globally? This is more than double the amount of Africans slaved during the Trans Atlantic slave trade, and over 100 000 of these slaves are children prostituted right under the nose of US citizens.
It appears that the dilemma of slavery did not go down with history but has been growing with every passing generation. Our predecessors were not the passive ones, we are.

Today I was privileged enough to sit and hear the plight of a powerful woman named Erica Greve who is the founder of a non-profit organization called Unlikely Heroes that is dedicated to the abolition of sex slavery and exploitation in the USA and abroad. Erica has devoted her life to seeing slavery put to death in our generation and with her team and supporters of Unlikely Heroes, they are leaving their thumbprint of freedom on the planet.
As Erica passionately shared with us today, she told stories of a trip Philippines, where her and the team rescued 11 young girls who had been kept in rooms in the back of a grotty bar and forced, night after night to give their bodies to men for as little as $1 per night. In November of 2011, Unlikely Heroes opened their first restoration home for girls previously in the sex trade, and have been changing the lives of once hopeless girls ever since.

This is their vision  "Unlikely Heroes wants to see child sex slavery ended worldwide. Our vision is every boy and girl, who has been sold for sex in America and internationally, to have access to protective shelters and specialized services needed to stop cycles of victimization and to provide them with the therapeutic treatment, education & opportunities they need to move forward into recovery."

Erica took a stand for slavery when nobody else was, but now thanks to her, people like you and I are able to partner with an existing organization in the hope to save lives that would have been doomed without our willingness to intercede. The question always is, how can I help? and I think that the biggest deterrent for people lending a helping hand is the lie that they cannot make a difference. Well, the truth is that you are the key to someone else's freedom and something as simple as donating one dollar could aid in saving a life. Unlikely Heroes is in desperate need of financial support in order to fund their projects and increase the scope of the women and children that they are able to rescue. If you are able to partner with them financially, you'd be making a life changing investment. 
Click here to find out more about how you can help or visit the Unlikely Heroes website here. 
Let us be the generation known for collectively taking a stand for freedom and humbling ourselves enough to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Thank you for your support. 

I was a bit late on the deadmau5 train if I'm honest, but with this song on repeat on my workout playlist, I'm swiftly making up for lost time. Enjoy.