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.

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.

Cool To Be Me | Review

As a parent, the thing that keeps me up the most at night is worrying over whether or not I am adequately equipping my kid with the necessary skills and self-confidence to roll with the punches of life (I think we ALL do this).

Two boxes from the Cool To Be Me range appeared on my desk last week and we set about working through them over the weekend. An education-focused set of boxes and resources that are categorised according to age and theme, Cool To Be Me helps kids and parents discover and reinforce social and emotional skills, with a view to creating self-confidence and bringing children closer to a better understanding not only of themselves but of other people too.

Each box includes a set of enchanting story books, an activity book, worksheets, puzzles and games. Using a comprehension exercise type approach, each storybook is read (spoiler alert – these stories are really very cute!) and then activities relating to the stories completed. We loved the crosswords, games and short quizzes that were included. Oh and the fridge magnets and stickers are fun too, serving as little reminders of what we have talked about when going through the boxes.

But, aside from the fun activities, the Cool To Be Me resources work as a communication tool, whereby parents and children are sparked into conversations about important topics. My daughter was ill over the weekend so we spent a lot of time cuddled up in bed with these books and resources, and chatting away about the concepts we uncovered. It’s really been a great way to not only spend a little quality time, but also help her better feel confidence within herself.

So, if you’re (like me!) always looking out for cool ways to conquer your late night worries and help your child get a better grip on emotional and social intelligence, the Cool To Be Me range could be just up your street! Oh, and it’s made in SA!

This is a review post. The Cool To Be Me team sent me two sample boxes to use and explore the programme for review purposes.

Beauty in a Box | RubyBox

I’m not much of a beauty gal. Heck, I picked up a bargain Toni & Guy hairdryer from Clicks the other day, purely because it was on mega-special and because my trusty Clairol mini-travel hairdryer that I got from my parents for my (believe it!) thirteenth birthday is starting to wobble a little. Yes, really, I have a twenty-one-year-old hairdryer. Seriously, it’s so old I can’t even find a link or pic for it online. LOL. It still works, but just not as well as it used to! But, yeah, it was time for me to upgrade a little.

But, because time is marching on and it shows on my face, I am starting to pay a little more attention to what goes where and my regular skin routines. I feel pretty proud of myself for sticking to a skin routine for almost a full year now, and it’s working well for me!

The folks over at RubyBox sent me a little gift via courier this week, and I’ve been pretty excited to try the products out. The whole concept of RubyBox appeals to me, because I am a lazy shopper (especially when it comes to beauty products!) and because I like surprises that are gifts (but not parties – I live in fear of surprise parties. I’ve had one thrown for me before and am still recovering. LOL)

So, what did they send me?

Natural Lab SPF30 Natural Face Cream – this stuff is actually pretty darn awesome. Goes on smoothly and I don’t feel like I’m wearing anything at all. Plus knowing that it’s keeping my old skin safe from the sun today is a bonus! It’s slightly tinted so that does away with me needing foundation for the day

RubyBox Super Seamless Foundation Brush – haha, I SUCK at applying makeup. I generally get it right twice a year. This helped, as I used it this morning to test it out. Am now having a good make up day and I won’t see anyone but my dog until this afternoon. I’ll use this often, I can tell!

Africology Body Butter – yum. Yum. Yum. I used this after a shower last night and my skin still feels good. Like beautifully good. I would add this to my daily life!

Mavala Cuticle Remover – my nails are, well, I’ve been a nailbiter since I was three. I gave up once, successfully, and then it fell apart with matric exam stress. One of the things that nailbiters have to deal with though, is really horrid cuticles and this worked well to sort out two of mine. Mmm. Maybe I could quit the incessant finger chewing again?

Anyway, even though RubyBox is a subscription service, I like how they also make the products available for purchase via their site. So, when you find a favourite product, you can buy more quite easily! Check it out here and you might just surprise yourself!

/I received a small box of gifts from RubyBox to review for this post/

And that’s a Pop!

There’s a new player in the online printing market that I am a little bit smitten with. Hello world, meet PopTex.

An offshoot of Durban company, Kleen-Tex, that’s been around for almost as long as I have, PopTex is a new division that’s focusing on helping users find nifty new ways to decorate their homes and office spaces.

Because I have that ridiculously talented personal photographer in the family, services like this excite me no end. I am always looking for new ways to display her work and finding new services like this actually makes me need a little lie down because, as the team at PopTex will now tell you, I get a little excitable.

So, how does it work?

It’s pretty simple really! Pop along to their website and choose the size and shape canvas you’d like to create. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be popped straight into their rather fancy online design studio, which allows you to import images from your computer, hook up photos from your Facebook account or make a selection from one of their pre-designed line images, which you can use on their own or utilise as accents for your photographs.

Here’s the fun part

You can add filters and edit your images within the online design studio, something I really enjoyed doing on the fly, as I created both a collage and an individual print. I can only show you the individual print at the moment though, as the other one is going to be a gift for a very special set of people this year.

Submit, send and deliver!

Not going to lie, I kinda expected a quick turnaround time from PopTex, because we’re in the same city. And by quick turnaround time, I mean, “cool, it’ll be ready in a few days”. But, less than 24 hours later, my orders were delivered to my front door!

The Canvas

Here’s the important part I wanted to tell you about. Whenever I use a photo service like this, I always get antsy about canvasses. So far, I haven’t been disappointed but, there’s a significant difference that sets PopTex apart from the others – and it lies in the canvas. When they say it’s lightweight, they mean it. Lifting my treasures out of their beautifully packed boxes, I was really surprised at how weightless they are. This means we can stick our pictures up in the new house with ease – heck, even Prestik would work with this! They call it FlexiCanvas, but I reckon they should just call it FantastiCanvas. A fully biodegradable canvas, you won’t even need to hammer in a nail to hang up your masterpiece!

So there you have it folks – my feelings on PopTex. Oh, and by the way, if you swing your way across to their website, you’ll see they’re offering everyone 25% off their first purchase – you know how I feel about bargains when it’s gift buying time!

Dinner Time with Mandy Collins

My friend Mandy…what can I say about my friend Mandy? In short, everything. She’s a multi-skilled human with a huge heart. And, for the sake of our communal kitchen sanities, she’s taken some of her culinary skills and combined it with one of her other great talents – she’s written a recipe book, Dinner Time!

It’s not your usual recipe book though, that calls for you to ferret out some sort of exotic ingredient and then skilfully apply them to a gourmet dish that’ll take you ten hours to cook and leave you yelling “I hate cooking! We’re living on takeaway until 2050”. No, Mandy makes it easy for us plebians who just almost make it to the dinner table with some semblance of a meal created in the kitchen.

Lucky for me (and for my family, who are probably still scarred from that time I “got experimental” with rice), Mandy sent me an electronic copy of Dinner Time! to take a look at, and perhaps even try out a few recipes, before it launches on 1 December 2014.

Mandy’s approach is bloody clever. Instead of foisting us into the world of artisan ingredients, everything contained and mentioned in this book is easily available at your local supermarket. And, most importantly, Mandy actually scripts out an entire month of dinner time meals for the reader. See?

This makes it mega-easy for you to plan meals in advance and do your weekly or monthly shopping with a list that makes sense, and means you won’t end up with 67 bunches of random vegetables rotting in the back of your fridge because you thought, while you were shopping, that “maybe you’d have time to make a meal with them”.

So far, I’ve tried two of her recipes – one as a main meal and one as a side dish (although, be warned, the side dish could actually be a meal – yes, it’s that good and no, she didn’t pay me to write this).

First off, I tried her pasta bake recipe, which you’ll find in Week One of her detailed monthly meal plan. Because time is of the essence when it comes to making meals, Mandy also lists with each recipe a hands-on time and full meal prep and cooking times – useful, because sometimes I only get half an hour to make dinner (and sometimes less…you all know how it is!) Aside from using Mandy’s white sauce recipe and chucking in my own mushroom spin on it, with some olives, I stuck to the recipe. And, guess what? My family scored it as a 100/5 on one side and a 4/5 on the other. The 100 being a big score, because we get enthusiastic about food round here. Ridiculously easy to make and scoring highly with the family = winning.

When Mandy was tweeting pictures as they were being taken for the Dinner Time book, she showed off this side item. It’s called “cheerful corn” and, while she lists it as a side item, I’m actually eating leftovers for lunch today. This was the recipe I was most excited to try, because I’ve never really put a spin on corn before…

I had to substitute a few things for it though, as we were out of red peppers and red onions, but that didn’t matter at all. With a little butter, corn, baby marrows and onion, this fantastic little side dish became the star of our dinner plates just last night. It scored an all round 4/5 with the family, who quite like this idea of me getting creative in the kitchen, but with some sort of guideline that prevents them from ending up with charred rice and weird casseroles.

In summary, I feel like these recipes and meal ideas are going to become the kinds of things I’ll hand to my kid one day, when she’s a busy human trying to keep up with the demands of her life. It’s these kinds of recipes that make dinner time memorable, and I know she’ll probably turn to Mandy’s book (as it is now termed in our house) herself one day.

So, there you have it. Dinner Time! makes dinners easy and the meal plans aren’t just adaptable, they’re excellent. It’s published by Clockwork Books and you can pre-order now by emailing info@worktheclock.co.za or buy online via the Clockwork Books website from 01 December 2014. Oh, and price? It’s R180 for the e-book and R300 for the soft cover, printed book.

More on Camden031

I’ve written about Camden031 before but today was a pretty extra special day so I’m writing about them again (more on why I popped in at a later stage…). I’m writing about them this evening because, after a morning of fongoolery (it’s a word!) on all fronts, I popped in to get a little inside look at what makes this little black and yellow place tick, and they turned my Tuesday-that-was-all-too-much-like-a-Monday into a sweet day. Just for the record, because I get asked this, this is not a sponsored post nor was I asked to write it.

By now, thanks to a riproaring trade during their first few weeks of being open, you’ve probably heard the words “comedy”; “cuisine” and “good times” bandied about. But, as I learnt today, Camden031 isn’t just your typical night out (it’s open during the day too!)

I’ve known one of the brains behind it, Glen, for years. The other brain behind Camden031? Dave Boyter, who I met today. What’s become very apparent to me after chatting with both of them is that they have not ventured into the insane world of running an establishment with an “eyes closed and hope for the best” approach. Glen and Dave share a deep love for making fine food, and I fear that when I take my kid down there for lunch, she’s probably going to give me a speech about how my culinary skills could do with some work (Thanks guys :P). More than that, they plan for and actively participate in every facet of the establishment’s operations.

20140422_131958 — The Stanhope. This might just be one the best pictures I’ve ever taken.

Whilst their lineup of events has been, up until this point, primarily focused on stand up comedy and related entertainment, they’re not stopping there. Glen told me today:

“We’ve got a venue that can offer Durban a diverse set of entertainment. We’re looking forward to hosting musicians, comedians and a bunch of events that’ll give our city’s people a unique place to have a little fun”.

In chatting to Dave, his extreme (he’s not just an excellent chef, he’s also into extreme sports!) devotion to getting things right and creating good in the world is evident. When I asked him about his approach to food, he said:

“Food is life…and life is life. We have to take the tumbles, try everything and confront risks. A lot of the time, very exciting things lie beyond taking that first step!”

As for the food (because, let’s be honest now, I like being fed…), that’s where the Camden031 team like to take risks. I enjoyed an incredible fig-grape-roasted-almond-camembert dessert that I’m currently daydreaming about it again, and sampled some of Dave’s incredible ginger vanilla vodka. He makes it himself, using vanilla pods brought in from Madagascar.

As for the rest of the menu, Dave and Glen create new menus each week, making use of fresh seasonal produce and experimenting with what’s available locally.

20140422_144540 — I want to eat this every day, for the rest of my life.

Maybe the best part for me about Camden031 is that it’s not just a night-time outing. It’s also open during the day for coffee, lunch, cocktails and – yes – there’s free WiFi. Many people have said that Camden031 will be the home of Durban’s comedy scene and I believe that too. But I think it’s becoming a little bigger than just a comedy venue – for me, who is not the late night joller she once was, I see this place as being the “nightclub that’s grown up”.

Camden031 has quite an event lineup over the next few weeks, including Thursday’s Diners/Drive-ins & Dinner, comedy events over the weekend and a scrub-up Sunday lunch too.

I’m looking forward to spending more time down at Camden031 and, if you’re in Durban, I think you should too.

Smart or suddenly essential? The Mecer Smart Life M785

Our family has become one of those multi-connected, communicate via text and email types. Because our individual schedules have been a teensy bit mental the last couple of months, it’s pretty common nowadays for us to plan our lives via our mobile devices. Juggling all of our busy lives has meant we’ve been missing out on quiet dinners round the table quite regularly and, well, living like this is how it needs to be for a while. We are, however, starting to slow down a bit as we head towards the middle of the year, which is the exact time it seems everyone has a birthday and our schedules go mad again. Haha!

But, I digress. Why am I mentioning all this stuff? Because a little something sent to me to review recently made a big difference to this mad mishmash of schedules and quickly went from being a “device I’m reviewing” to “thing I need before I leave the house, like my keys”.

What is it? It’s the Mecer Smart Life M785. A 7-inch tablet that runs on our favourite OS, Android 4.2.2, it’s impressive Quad-core processor proved itself more than capable of keeping up with the pace of our life right now.

I’m pretty used to my 10-inch tablet, which gives me a lot of functionality I’m well accustomed to and would deem pretty necessary for getting things done on the go. So, I was a little hesitant about the “downgrade” to a 7-inch screen. Within the first day of use though, I realised that I had nothing to worry about. Also, this lovely little gadget fits way more neatly into my handbag than my usual 10-inch and it packs just as much, if not more, punch.

My kid, who is pretty much the biggest user of tablet devices in our house, quickly got her hands on the Mecer device and thoroughly enjoyed downloading a bunch of her favourite apps for it. Soon after I had handed it to her for a look-see, she’d curled up on the couch with it and was saying things like “Mom, I think we need to replace my tablet and buy this one”.

Well, a little look at the retail price means we may just do that. Whilst this tablet sits on a par with other 7-inch and even some 10-inch tablets in terms of specifications, it retails for far less than others. I found it on Takealot for less than R2000! That makes it a damn fine device for someone wanting to shell out for a tablet for kids to play on.

20140411_201100 Don’t let its little size fool you, by the way. This tablet is quite hardy, with Gorilla Glass display and folio protective cover. Just so you know, the tablet comes packaged with this cute cover, so that’s not an accessory – it’s in the box!

More than that, I have found this Mecer tablet an excellent asset for my work! I took it with me to a few meetings and a seminar. Super fast on startup and so easy to use, I really enjoyed taking notes with it and then being able to share them with others on the spot.

We’ve really enjoyed being a Mecer family for a fortnight. So much so, that, maybe we will just go with my daughter’s plan! Her birthday is coming up soon. Mind you, so is mine!

For more information on this fab little gadget, check out the technical stuff here and you can order one via TAKEALOT here.

This is a review post. I regularly review products that my family and I would purchase and make use of in our daily lives.

Lenovo Does Yoga – The Yoga 8 Tablet

I’m a sucker for technology – but then I think you knew that about me already! But, more than that, I’m a sucker for technology that works and works beautifully.

So, it’s no surprise that I’m smitten with the Lenovo Yoga 8 Tablet. Lenovo’s lovely PR peeps sent me this sweet little tablet to review and, well, it’s not just me that’s fallen in love with it – the whole family has!

Why have we fallen in love with it? That’s easy!

20140325_084240 — It’s as thin as a good cracker!

The Lenovo Yoga 8 Tablet is small, but powerful. It’s easy to lie in bed and read on it, or slip it into my handbag for on-the-go staying in touch. It’s thinner than you’d believe, so it slips right in to my bag and leaves me space for everything else that goes in there – and, let’s be honest – my life is in that handbag!

I exhaust batteries on my mobile devices like infants go through diapers. But the Lenovo Yoga 8 Tablet packs a full 18 hours battery life. I only had to charge it once during its time with us!

It’s zippy-quick. Startup takes about 10 seconds, and a super-smooth transition between applications means my usual manic attack of emails-social-networks-typing-something-up can continue unabated. The tablet runs on a very competent quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex A7 processor, and it’s graphics are handled by a PowerVR SGX544 GPU. To test real-world performance, I spent some time playing Temple Run 2, and was very impressed by the fluid lag-free performance.

The 8″ 1280 x 800 IPS LCD display looks great at pretty much any viewing angle (and if the kickstand is used, there will be many angles to view from, but more on that later…). Colours are vibrant, and the display’s brightness is more than sufficient.

A feature worth mentioning is the front-facing stereo speakers, which makes watching videos a delight. Sound quality through headphones is fantastic, most likely due to the Dolby Digital Plus sound enhancement on board.

We’re an Android family. You know this. The Yoga Tablet 8 comes with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), and is lightly skinned with Lenovo’s basic and very clean user interface. It is worth mentioning that the launcher does not follow in most traditional Android launchers’ footsteps in that there is no ‘app drawer’. Similar to iOS, all applications are placed on one of the main homescreens instantly upon install, but can be arranged into folders. Performance is great, and there is little-to-no lag when swiping from screen to screen.

20140325_205123 — Book mode makes me happy.

But why did they choose the name “Yoga”? Well, simply put, the tablet’s main feature is the 3 modes that you can use it in, thanks to its cleverly hidden kickstand. When flipped out, this kickstand allows the tablet to stand up on its own. This ‘stand mode’ is ideal for watching YouTube videos while you work, making Skype calls, or even cooking while reading recipes. You can also have the tablet in ’tilt mode’. You turn the tablet upside down so that the kickstand is at the top, and the screen rotates accordingly, allowing it to lie almost flat, slightly propped up. This mode is great for web browsing, gaming or typing. Using the tablet normally (without the stand) is considered ‘book’ or ‘hold’ mode, and feels great when you hold it by the more weighted/cylindrical side, as suggested. My favourite is Book mode, because it magnificently emulates your normal book reading position but, with a far more beautiful perspective to gaze on.

The one thing I had to get used to (but which I now ADORE) was the two notification dropdown areas. Now that I’ve seen it though, I’d like that on my own tablet too! Separating out app and system notifications and settings like that is pretty darn useful!

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 is a great little device, and the whole family agrees! With its solid build quality, unique aesthetics and low price, it’s a sensible choice for anyone looking to invest in a great mid-range tablet.

I’ve got big love for Lenovo after reviewing the Yoga 8 Tablet. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website for your own look at the Lenovo range of tablets!

*this is a review post*extra special thanks to my P&C for adding in their perspectives and experiences with this tablet. This review was a full family job!*

Another Spiga = Another Smile.

My family are wannabe foodies. In fact, we all share a common dream that if we could be restaurant critics, we’d have the ideal career for all of us. Spiga d’Oro – or, as us Durbanites know it best – as Spiga – is a firm favourite on our list of places to eat.

So when we heard they were opening up a second branch in Durban North, we jumped at the chance to try it out, on a quiet Saturday evening with a couple of other Durbanite food-lovers.

Spiga D’Oro Florida Road is renowned for it’s late night hustle, excellent service and hearty food. Spiga D’Oro Durban North does not depart from that atmosphere, though. It expands upon it.

With the same menu as is served at the Florida Road branch, and the same smiling service we’re accustomed to, it was easy to settle in and select our dinners for the evening. But what is different, is the venue. This venue lends itself more to a relaxed vibe, and I can foresee it becoming a favourite family spot very soon. With it’s large deck and ample space for bigger tables, I think it’ll also be excellent for functions.

Simply put, it’s gorgeous. Airy, with an interesting ceiling and skylights to let the sunshine in, it still retains that signature Spiga cosiness we all know and love. They’ve got big plans for this space, that will see them growing their operations into a variety of interesting things (you’ll have to wait and see – trust me, it’s worth the wait!)

For the meantime though, go there. Go and enjoy that same Spiga love you’d expect and relax in their gorgeous new Durban North setting. You’ll find the Durban North branch of Spiga D’Oro in Mackeurtan Avenue.