review – sea.ess.em.jay

Fixing My Face [A Thursday Plantation Review]

[sponsored]

I was one of those annoying teenagers: perfect skin, serious attitude, and a determined defiance of authority. Two of those things followed me into adulthood, but it’s the perfect skin I miss the most.

Before I turned 18, I experienced the excruciating pain of a pimple exactly once. Yes, one pimple, for the entirety of my teens. Before you hate me though, adult onset acne has done it for you. I had my very first wrinkle, long before my first serious zit. Firmly believing, however, that I was one of the lucky ones, I happily ignored every advertisement for skincare products…until I turned 24, became a mom, and my perfect skin did a perfect leap out of my life.

Fast forward more than a decade later, and I’ve done everything I can to try and sort it out. Bear in mind, however, that I’m not a medically suitable candidate for hormonal treatments and such so, for me, fixing my face must be a topical adventure.

I’ve used potions and products of varying prices, with varying results. The classic result is, of course, that a system or product will work for a while, clear up my skin beautifully and then suddenly, I’ll have an outbreak of mayhem on my face. Usually, stress, a change of season, or some sudden allergic reaction to something unknown will set it off, and I’m back to square one, situation: cystic acne.

Anyway, let’s go back to two weeks ago, when a beautiful little package from Thursday Plantation landed on my desk. They asked me to check out their range, and I’m always happy to try something new out, especially if it ticks three important boxes:

The products are not tested on animals. This is non-negotiable. I don’t care if your product promises to return my skin to 1995 – if you test on animals, you can get right out of my house, the city, the planet. Bye Felicia, and take your archaic animal cruelty somewhere else.
The products are eco-friendly as all heck, vegan, and contain as few chemicals as possible.
The products don’t make big promises. I like honesty better than huge promises. Nobody is going to take me back in time to 1995, but I’m willing to give them a chance to try and keep my face as it is now.

This Thursday Plantation package included:

Tea Tree Face Wash Foam
A bottle of Tea Tree Oil
Tea Tree Toothpaste
Tea Tree Cream
Tea Tree Blemish Stick

With my little arsenal of excellence, I committed to using JUST these products on my face for a few weeks. Bear in mind, of course, that I’m cynical as all heck and was, on the day I started, doing battle with a bulbous zit on my chin. Cystic acne, you’re so irrelevant. Stop trying to make zits happen, please. I was also enjoying a superb little rash of dry skin across my right cheek.

From the very first wash, my face instantly felt cleaner, less oily, and so smooth. If I was feeling that good from Wash Round One, imagine how I feel today, two weeks later. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. [There are no filters applied to these pictures. You may have seen most of these on Instagram, and yes, this is genuinely what I look like, filter-free. Sorry if that’s disturbing 😊]

But it’s not the face wash that changed this game for me. Usually, committing to a certain set of products takes time – my skin must settle into it (that usually means a fab little bust out of zits, at first); then it starts to work; then I’m happy, and then it stops working and I cry a lot. So, I waited for that settling-in breakout to happen, and it didn’t happen. In fact, within two days, that little dry patch of skin was sorted out, and my chin was quickly healing up. WHAT IS THIS MAGICAL STUFF?

Well, it’s not wizardry. It’s Tea Tree Oil. A family member has sworn by it for years, and while I love my little box of essential oils at home, I’ve never really taken to Tea Tree. I probably should’ve, sooner, because, well, I’ll let Thursday Plantation explain:

“Tea Tree Oil is distilled from specially selected Melaleuca alternifolia leaves…This 100% pure, 100% natural oil is a powerful antiseptic which inhibits a broad spectrum of bacteria and fungi and cleanses and protects skin abrasions…Has demonstrated to be as effective as Benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of mild to moderate acne*”

*Bassett IB, Pannowitz DL, Barneston RS. A comparative study of tea tree oil versus benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of acne. Med J Aust. 1990; 153: 455

Yes, you read right – this little essential oil I’ve been ignoring for so long is probably the solution I’ve been looking for, all along.

I’m going to keep using these products (P.S. The Toothpaste is fluoride-free and flipping great) and I’m going to buy my own set when these bottles run out. I went and checked on their prices at Dischem this week and HELLO AFFORDABLE WIZARDRY, COME TO ME! The blemish stick has put an immediate zing on any zit, and the Tea Tree Oil now has pride of place in my home (and dog!) cleaning routine too. Thank you, Thursday Plantation. I think we’re now BFFs.

Get it here. Read more about it here. Talk to them here.

Notes, from underneath the leaves in the Midlands.

Over the years, people have quizzically asked me why this blog has always included a reference to being from “underneath the table.” It’s taken on many forms, over time, as sometimes I’m writing from underneath the table of a whole life, or from underneath the table of parenting, or from underneath the table that I am actually hiding under.

As a young child, I used to “hide” underneath the table in our lounge. I have exceptionally crisp memories of throwing a blanket over our round table with the bow legs, and climbing underneath there to play. It was the right distance of being close to the noise and love of my family, and alone in my own world, that left me both comfortable and relaxed.

I live my life a lot like this. Hiding underneath the table is a theme that followed me right through my teen years (my dad would often find me reading under my desk, when I was supposed to be studying), and hiding under my desk when things got too chaotic at the office, was a common event. At one point, I remember plugging my laptop in, underneath my desk, when I had a massive project to conquer, and was fighting off a horrible case of heartbreak. Being underneath the table helps me focus, and feel safe. And yes, I know I am strange – I am okay with this.

Recently, my life accomplice – Jane – called me up and told me she was booking us for a night away. As it turned out, the timing could not have been more perfect for the both of us. We’d leave the day after my birthday (and yeah, I know, I didn’t write a birthday letter this year – consider the first 3 paragraphs of this that letter for this year – my re-commitment to being underneath the table) and, unfortunately, as life has her way, Jane suffered a huge loss in her life just two days before we were to make our escape.

You’d imagine, of course, that when someone loses an important person in their life, they want to invoke WH Auden and stop all the clocks. But that’s not who Jane is, and it’s not who the person she lost was. In fact, after witnessing her family wishing their beloved matriarch farewell today, I know her family do not stop clocks for anything, for life is far too fleeting, and memories – not time – are more important to cling to.

So, with the internal jangle of having turned 37 within me, and the hurt of her loss still stinging, Jane and I set off on a meander through the Midlands and a visit to Granny Mouse Country House.

You should know that I don’t travel well and (as Jane will tell you – from our drive back and me hyperventilating on the regular over trucks), it takes a lot for me to leave routine and head away for a bit. But, I need to say this: this little getaway needed to happen and it could not have happened in a prettier place.

We opted to take a slow drive towards our destination, and stop whenever and wherever we felt like it. We stopped at the cheese factory, Rawdons (thanks for my birthday G&T) and Jane had me check out a possibly haunted hut. I’m still not entirely convinced that little hut wasn’t infested with mutant spiders but, hey, I still have my head and haven’t sprung any web from my wrists. I think we’re okay.

Arriving at Granny Mouse, feels like walking back into your own family home. Now, of course, every second place you stay tries to convince you of this, but there’s something about this very particular place that gets it so right. I’d had an hour’s sleep the night before, off the back of a litany of bad, sleepless, nights, that left me with a spiky soul and droopy eyelids. But there’s something in that air, that view, and that comfort, that made me – finally – feel okay. More than okay, in fact.

We were booked in (great idea, Jane, best idea – remind me to listen to you, all the time) for a full body massage at their Spa and – well, I fell asleep very soon into it. I woke up when the masseuse asked me to turn over, and my eyelids sprung upon, where I felt like I’d been asleep for eight hours. Instead, it was just twenty minutes of slight snoring and probably drooling. I felt alive for the first time in a long time.

After my body and mind were once again re-aligned, we headed off to dinner. I’m probably going to talk about dinner a lot more often in my life, because I have this latent-but-obvious desire to become a true food critic and live out my days by reviewing eateries everywhere. I’ll tell you this much about dinner at Granny Mouse: It’s no country bumpkin menu with cheese sauce everywhere. Heck no. Each piece of my meal felt like they’d gone through my food diary, picked out the things I liked the most, mashed them together and gone “OH HEY! WE READ YOU DIARY. THIS WAS MADE FOR YOU”. I mean, who else turns blue cheese into a rosemary-crumbed gorgeousness that makes me feel quite emotional? Hah. Of course, eating dinner in the cellar was a total treat, and being surrounded by such incredible wine made me think very deeply about our selection at home…I think it needs expanding.

After dinner, we holed up in our gorgeous suite, with a crackling fire and, of course, donned our onesies. Curled into bed and blissfully warm, I finally fell asleep – and stayed asleep – for more than 4 hours, for the first time, in a very, very, long time.

Morning came round, and I missed wishing my kid a good day at school, because I slept right through the time she left the house (awful parent, awful) and rolled over for an extra twenty minutes of snoozing. A lazy morning, a beautiful breakfast, and a quick walk along the riverwalk ensued, with us packing up and driving back to Durban shortly thereafter. Of course, we stopped at every possible spot we could along the way, for coffee, shopping, and treats to take home.

Hanging out with my life accomplice (p.s. Did you know we run a business together now too? True story. Maybe I’ll tell you about that one day), in a gorgeous place, surrounded by the wonder of nature that we have somehow lucked up in living around, felt exactly like being underneath the table in my childhood home again. It was the right kind of comfortable, the right kind of quiet and, when I came back out into the real world of life, alarm clocks, and deadlines, I felt like me again, for the first time, in a very long time.

My point? It’s this:

—> Thank you, Jane, for taking me with you on this adventure. I could not ask for a better accomplice in adventure, including all Instagram Husband duties.

—> Thank you, Granny Mouse, for the incredible treat of a stay with you, and the way you shaped every detail around ensuring we had the best time.

—> Thank you, Super Shmooshy and Incredible Child, for taking care of the home life for a little bit. I think I need to trust you both a little more in being able to cover all the bases, and the 20-point list.

You enabled me to spend some time underneath the table of life again. I had forgotten how important this was. Thank you.

The Chefs Table

Suspend your disbelief for a second, and imagine you’ve been invited out on a blind date. It seems promising, and you’re pretty sure you’ll – at the least – enjoy a good meal, even if it never gets any further. Now imagine arriving at that date, sitting down at the table and the restaurant doors open, to reveal your blind date. And that blind date just happens to Channing Tatum. Or Justin Timberlake. Or, you know, whoever goggles your eyeballs.

That’s what it felt like when I ate at The Chefs Table, and Durban, you now have your very own Channing Tatum of a restaurant. I’d suggest you get to it and make a booking. If you read nothing further, just follow that instruction and you’ll end up in that same heady-weird-food-coma I experienced the first, and the second, time I popped in.

First Up
Here’s something you should know about me: I hate phone calls. Like, if I could avoid talking to people over the telephone forever and ever, I would. But a call from Head Chef at The Chefs Table, Kayla-Ann Osborn, turned out to be the start of one beautiful experience I am so very glad I didn’t miss. Followed up with a personalised invitation (in the post, mos!), I started to get a little excited over my lunch date, where I was joined by some new and some regular faces from the Durban food, lifestyle and blogging scene. If you don’t bother to read any further from here, read Shirley’s review on Cuizine, and then pop over here and make a booking. Have I mentioned that you should make a booking? Good.

The Chefs Table doesn’t just serve up your restaurant standard fare – in fact, there’s nothing standard about it. Instead, taking inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, and utilising seasonal produce that’s sourced from local farmers, The Chefs Table serves you food that will make you cry. I don’t say that in a bad way, I mean it in that – after you’ve eaten here, anything you eat at any meal thereafter, will just be disappointing. The menu changes in accordance to available produce and focuses on bringing out the best flavours, aligned with an exceptional experience.

As the afternoon meandered onwards, and we enjoyed tasting plates of a selection of menu items, paired with epic wines that brought forth the unique flavours of each dish, all I could think about was:

“Damn, I wish my family were here. They won’t believe me when I tell them about this.”

I’ll put it simply – when you read the menu, you’ll think one thing about a menu item. What ends up on your plate is not what you expected.

Coming In For Seconds
Lucky for me (and that beautiful family of mine!), I have been back a second time. I got so excited about it, that I could barely sleep the night before… I am not joking. And, of course, as I expected, The Chefs Table did not disappoint, as my kid and I giggled over her roast pumpkin tortelli and my fiance made what I call his “food noises” over his Moores-Pitt Rolled Chicken.

Saving The Best For Last
And while the menu changes as and when needed, I hope there is one item that stays stuck on it like that piece of double-sided tape you put on the wall to hang your precious Indecent Obsession poster back in the 90s and which is probably never going to come off, even if you charge a bulldozer through your house. It’s the Chocolate and Popcorn, which is the perfect example of “what you think you’re getting…but you’re wrong”. Just promise me you will add this to your Must Do Food List, and let’s be done with it.

Now, when are we going back again? Food is, aside from providing sustenance and nutrition, meant to be a positive emotional experience that engages and delights you. I’m pretty certain that, within the next few months, when you look up the term “positive emotional experience”, you’ll find a picture of The Chefs Table, right by its side. I’ll be back soon, Channing. Er, I mean, The Chefs Table.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend two dry runs at this restaurant in Durban before it opened to the public. I was not requested to create this post as payment for my attendance, but it’s just that damn good that it inspired me to crank open my blog again and get writing.

Lucky at Lola’s

I’ve known the brain behind Lola’s Bistro since she was a little sister to a rather fabulous friend of mine (spoiler: fabulous runs in their family). So it was with great glee that I, along with a selected crowd of Durban’s best blogger crew popped in for a tasting dinner menu at Lola’s this week.

Here’s the thing you don’t know about Lola’s: It’s been a lifelong dream for Lisa to own her own coffee shop. After travelling abroad and saving up, she came home and opened up Lola’s coffee shop. After an interesting turn of events, that saw Lola’s being highly successful and then shut down by the landlord, Lisa didn’t take this as a sign to kill her dream. Instead, she grew it, and snapped up an opportunity to open a full-scale restaurant at Quarters Hotel in Florida Road.

It was good catching up with her, and my fellow fun friends but, once the food came out, it was really quiet. Why? Because when you have great (not just good, GREAT) food set before you, it’s impolite to chew and chat simultaneously. Giving us a glimpse into the menu, and the thought processes that go into creating it, I’m very certain that this new eatery is in darn good hands.

The highlights, for me:

*Gin and Tonic on tap from Standeaven Brewery.

*Wasabi Mash Balls – I’m told she dreamt about this creation and now you can enjoy them at Lola’s

*Espresso Brulee – way to ruin every other brulee I’ve ever had.

*Chocolate Lava Cake – the most melty-on-the-inside-magnificent-on-the-outside one I’ve ever had.

*Watching up close as I see my friend succeed at making her dream come true, despite a range of obstacles. She’s not deterred by them – she’s inspired by them.

The lowlights, for me:

*That I woke up the next morning and didn’t have a healthy stack of Wasabi Mash Balls to feast on.

*Dinner at home the next night was terribly boring.

Lola’s sets out to create a fine dining menu that’s affordable, while guests enjoy an amiable setting that’s not frantic, but friendly. Catch up with Lola’s online here and here but, do yourself a favour and go eat there (also, invite me along, please).

Disclaimer: I was invited to enjoy a tasting menu at Lola’s along with a select group of Durban bloggers during November 2015. This is not a paid-for review.

Bratz Are Back! (and you can win one)

Today’s the start of school holidays for us so, this seemed a fitting way to start them off. We took delivery of Cloe this morning, and she’s spent today doing meet and greets with the rest of the dolls who live in our house.

#BratzInSA

The thing is, I love it when dolls “grow up”, or their storyline evolves in some way. That’s exactly what’s happened here. Nowadays, the Bratz are suiting up to go out or overseas, snapping a selfie or – like our Cloe – settling in for a big night in. She’s definitely our kinda gal!

Here’s what Cloe got up to on our first day with us:

She made friends with the other dolls in our house

20151005_152151 — And they settled in for a sleepover party!

Win one for yourself!
It’s as easy as popcorn pie (that should be a thing) to win your very own #BratzInSA doll now too! Simply tell me where you’d take your #BratzInSA doll. You can do that by leaving a comment below, or by popping me a tweet like “I’d take my #BratzInSA doll from @primatoys to Paris! @cathjenkin”

This competition is open to all South Africans and a winner will be selected after 14hoo on Friday, 09 October 2015. Don’t forget to check out Prima Toys on Twitter and Facebook too!

This competition is now closed! Congratulations to Eve – your Bratz Doll will be on its way to you shortly!

<Disclaimer: We were sent a #BratzinSA doll to review . Our doll, Cloe, is fantastic!>

The Munchbox: A review & Giveaway!

I really do enjoy the wide range of monthly subscription box programmes that have cropped up over the past couple of years. It seems like you can sort your life out in style nowadays, using just monthly subscription services and, heck, I like that idea. Anyway, let me introduce you to a new kid on the subscription box service block, The Munchbox. I’ve also got a Munchbox to give away to one lucky reader so check out those details below!

What’s in the box?
Made with families in mind, The Munchbox sends you and your kids a box a month, which contains: 3 recipe cards, a shopping list, some fun resources and some of the utensils you need to create the recipes. If you’re looking to make funky additions to your family kitchen arsenal, this could be a sweet way to do it too.

Yes, but what’s it like?
We took to trying out The Munchbox on a Saturday afternoon, after my kid had completed her exam studying for the day. Heading into the kitchen to make a delicious mess does definitely help you to shrug off the exam anxiety! After assembling the ingredients we needed, to make the scrumptious looking Apple Squares, it was pretty easy to let my kid at it, with the easy-to-follow, illustrated instructions and cute utensils to use. For the record, I did a price comparison: adding the cost of the good quality utensils the team sent, combined with the cost of a family recipe book and a puzzle or wordsearch magazine, this works out to be a pretty darn reasonable to have some kitchen fun with the kids.

What we liked about it:

First off, my kid loves to create in the kitchen, but I’m more of a box-mix mom or, you know, the type that sends a box of biscuits on cake sale day (cringe, those things always creep up on me like a surprise clown, and clowns scare me). So, for me, I liked how this recipe didn’t require any exotic ingredients and was made up of things we’d usually find in our kitchen anyway.
Secondly, the easy to follow instructions meant I could stick the recipe card up on the wall and let my daughter at it, only jumping in to help when the oven needed turning on. Also, the recipe’s simplicity means that it’s pretty easy to add your own twist to it, so we popped a sprinkling of cinnamon into the mix for that extra apple-pie-type-vibe.
And, of course, the final product – man, these apple squares are yum! I can see these becoming a regular feature in our school and work lunch boxes. I also really like that you can buy the utensils individually via The Munchbox online shop.

Where can I find out more about The Munchbox?
You can check out The Munchbox website, follow them on Twitter or check them out on Facebook here.

What’s in it for me?
And now that you know what The Munchbox is all about, I’ve got one to give away!

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED – WELL DONE TO OUR WINNER ANIB79!

Here’s how to enter:

Simply comment below to tell me the name of your favourite family recipe. A winner will be randomly picked from a hat (be warned, there’ll be a cute Flipagram!) and we’ll get The Munchbox team to send you a box as a prize!
This competition is open to residents of South Africa and entries close on 29 May 2015. A winner will be announced on 1 June 2015.

Disclaimer: I was sent a Munchbox kit by The MunchBox team to review for the purposes of this post.