Some Soup is So Satisfying (say that quickly!)

I know we've said it before - we love soup, especially now that the cold wintery weather is here. It's easy, made in one pot, warm and comforting. Monday's Soup agrees with us - it's a blog dedicated to soup, well mostly. And they have made a different soup every Monday for over a year already! So if you're looking to be inspired by a new soup recipe, look no further.

But if you're feeling lazy like I am post-flu (winter has its downside too) then I am sure I don't need to remind you about Woolies amazing range of fresh soups.

And if you sign up for on-line shopping with Woolies then you get R50 off your first purchase!

Rooms on View

For all you home and interior fans out there, Rooms on View is a must this week! Showcasing South Africa's finest design and interiors at the Sandton Convemntion Centre, it is sure to filled with inspiring ideas to take straight back into your home.

For more information about dates and time click here.

Insprired Finance: A Glossary of Terms

Today's post will be a work in progress. I shall continually add in terms that I use in my posts. So check back often!

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Asset: Anything that one has that is not kept for consumption

Annuity: A fixed income for a specific period of time.

Bond: A loan made usually to buy a house

Compound: The effect of investing the income earned on an investment back into the same investment

Collateral: Any asset given as security for a loan

Dividend: A share of the profits earned by having equity or shares in a company or business

Earnings: Any income earned either in the form of a salary, dividends or interest

Equity: Shares in a company

Fixed Interest: The income earned from a cash investment or loan

Forward Contract: An obligation to buy or sell something at a future date for a fixed price

Funds: The amount of money available for spending or investment

Government Bond: A fixed term loan made by the government usually to fund major projects or        

balance the budget

Home Loan: The amount borrowed in order to buy a house. The house is given as     collateral.

Income: Any money earned either in the form of a salary, dividends or interest

Income is the same as earnings.

Interest: The amount of income earned on a loan or money deposit usually expressed in a percentage of the loan or deposit

Inflation: The rising cost or price of goods and services

Investment: Any asset purchased for the purpose of gaining value

Market: A place where goods are bought and sold

Money: Any currency acceptable as a means of payment for goods or services

Mortgage: A loan from a bank used to buy a house; this is the same as a bond

Option: The right to buy or sell something at a future date for a fixed price

Price: The cost goods, services or investments measured in terms of money

Price Earnings Ratio: The price of a share divided by the earnings per share that a company makes

Real: The returns one makes taking into account inflation

Stocks: Shares or equities

Stock Broker: An agent who buys and sells shares on your behalf

Stock Exchange: The market where a stock broker is able to buy and sell shares

Trade: The activity of buying and selling goods and services

Transaction: The activity when goods or services are bought or sold

Turnover: The total income a company or individual makes by selling goods or services

Food Admiration

Today, some recipes featured on some of our favourite food blogs. Imagine, a blog (and real) life devoted to food and sharing it with others. After all, it worked for Julie Powell of the wonderful movie,  Julie & Julia.

Celeriac and Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger - perfect for winter!

Click here for recipe from the gorgeous Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini fame.

Ginger Fig Streusel Tarts with Honey Lavender Ice Cream - make good use of the luscious figs still in the greengrocers although I would cheat and serve with store-bought ice-cream!

Click here for recipe from the pretty Tartelette blog.

Heirloom Tomato and Quinoa Galette with a Farmers Market Salad - I love quinoa but never know what to do with it so love this idea and the fact that she was inspired by her local market.

Click here for recipe from the inspiring Canelle et Vanille blog

Sweetcorn Chilli-Bites with Mint Yoghurt Dip - billed as a scrumptious soccer snack and particularly appealing to me as I had a delish chilli-bite from the Oriental Plaza today!

Click here for recipe from one of my favourite SA sites, Scrumptious.

Doc Club

A documentary is always an interesting alternative to selecting a movie. I enjoy watching them but are often at a loss about which one to choose (I mean a bad doc is as bad as a bad movie). I was so pleased to find this post by one of our favourite bloggers, Cup Of Joe: a list of the top ten documentaries from her documentary club. So if you are at a loss about what to select from the video store this weekend, try one of these:

Read more about each of these here.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

Bon Appetit

How lovely are these placemats? They would make a fun addition to any dinner party. And thanks to PayPal arriving in South Africa, we can now buy straight from Etsy!

Woza Wednesday Movies

We love great value and Woza Wednesday at Nu Metro cinemas is just that - see a movie tonight for just R18 a ticket! And there are some great movies out at the moment. I'll be watching Robin Hood with Russel Crowe and Cate Blanchette, which the husband is dying to see too. What have you see lately?

Nap

We are so excited that Nap has arrived in Johannesburg. This beautiful lifestyle store, with a distinctly natural, organic feel is now open at the Bamboo Centre In Melville. Filled with luscious blankets, raw flatware, light fittings, decor objects, photographs and more, this is the perfect place to pop into when browsing for the home.

Take it away

Today was one of those Mondays when I just couldn't bear to think about cooking. And while I love Woolies as much as the next Inspired Wife, I'm not mad on all their ready meals as I've probably relied on them once to often! So instead of a recipe, today I'm going to share some of my go-to 'takeaway' places in Joburg where I can rely on picking up a home-style, convenient, well-priced meal.

• The Marketplace, 9 Grafton Avenue, Craighall Park: A freezer filled with meals from curries and stew to Chicken Provencal and good old mac and cheese. Also lots of tasty baked goods (I love the sausage rolls) and sweet treats. (011) 447 4436
• Pronto, The Colony, Craighall: I love eating at Pronto but more often I order one of our favourite sauces to go. Ask for the sauce without the pasta and one portion is enough for two. (011) 447 4346
• Service Station, Melville: Although they only do their meals in large portions (I think 10 people) if I had to entertain tonight, I would have ordered their to-die-for lasagne in one of my own dishes! And we love the waiters there! 011 726 1701
• Passion Deli, 4th Avenue, Parkhurst: Where I stopped today to pick up Chilli con Carne and Italian Veggies with Butter Beans so I will choose what to 'make' tonight and pop another in the freezer for another no-cook day. 082 073 3605

Please send us your 'takeaway' favourites - saving all Inspired Wives from time to time!

Suprette

In amongst the sweatshops, boatyards, backyard mechanics and grimy-windowed half-empty general stores of Albert Road  Salt River, a new deli and coffee shop has opened. A need arose for a place for artists, designers and business people in the area to go to so they don't have to go into town for lunch and Suprette was the answer. The furniture and decor is a gorgeous mix of vintage finds and locally designed pieces. And we hear the food is yummy! Open Monday-Saturday, 9am-4pm, this is certainly on our list for our next visit to Cape Town.

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Books, Glorious Books

For the booklovers in and around Cape Town this weekend, make some time to head to Franschoek for the fourth annual Franschoek Literary Festival.

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"The Franschhoek Literary Festival : Fourth Edition will hit the streets of this Winelands village starting on Friday 14 May, with another gathering of writers, editors, publishers, readers and assorted book fans who will be deep in various conversations until sunset on Sunday 16 May. The FLF is a celebration of books and writers with the focus on promoting South African writing and reading, run largely by volunteers and well supported by the Franschhoek community." The cost is only R60 per event with student concessions.

What a wonderful way to spend a day in the Cape - books in Franschoek followed by a lovely lunch and some wine at any one of the wonderful restaurants in this magic little village.

Coco Rouge

Mademoiselle's favourite lipstick has just been relaunched, 56 years after its creation. Technological updates have been applied but the iconic black case and gold ring packaging remains the same. We are big fans of Chanel make-up in general and can't wait to get our hands on this lipstick that comes in a range of beautiful colours, leaves your lips hydrated and appears as luminous satin. Ladies, we think the lip gloss reign is over and lipsticks are back in a big way!

Gorgeous Vanessa Paradis is the face of the product

Source: Chanel

House on the Hill

How wonderful is this HillHouse. Owner Mandy Crooks converted an old barn on her property in the Natal Midlands into a beautiful home that can be rented out to 12 people. I love the glass and concrete architecture, the open, double volume interior, the luxurious rugs and the make-yourself-feel-at-home furniture. And of course, all in a magical setting. So gather up 12 friends, load your car with delicious food and pop down there for a winter weekend break!

Source: Via here

Let Lonny Inspire You

One of my favourite online resources, Lonny, was launched at the end of last year by some of the creative minds from the now-defunct Domino magazine, much-loved for it's inspiring interiors. Lonny is an on-line magazine that is free to all! Each issue is packed with great looks and real homes, decor advice and DIY tips, and so much more. You'll want to scour through the back issues too!

Inspired Finance: The power of small numbers

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Investment and saving are not a privilege of the wealthy but rather a necessity for everyone. The terms investment and saving can be interchanged but for our purposes we will consider saving as accumulating money for specific goal. The goal may be a holiday, deposit on a house or car or for the proverbial “rainy day”. Investment, on the other hand, entails some form of formality or contract over a period of time and invariably involves the purchase of an asset that will go up in value and can be sold at a profit sometime in the future.

We all aspire to retire on day, unfortunately, very few people ever have sufficient wealth to fully retire. The sooner one can start making investments the more likely that retiring will be affordable. Three of the most important aspects of investment are: 

1) consistent investing

2) the effect of compounding returns

3) time

A misconception is that you need a lot of money to invest. The minimum required to make a meaningful long term investment is R100-00 per month, or a little more than R3-30 per day. So if you forgo that cup of coffee, piece of cake or slab of chocolate each day, not only will you  possibly lose a little weight but have sufficient to invest!

I have headed this article “The Power of Small Numbers” in order to show that by investing a little each month and allowing the returns to compound over a number of years one will be able to build a substantial investment portfolio. I mentioned investing R100-00 per month as I am sure that in some way most people earning a salary can afford that amount. The reality is if one contracts to invest R100-00 per month into an equity unit trust for ten years, at the end of ten years the investment will have grown to approximately R25906-00. If we extend the investment period to twenty years the investment will have grown to an amazing R130116-00. If you are fortunate enough to invest not R100-00 per month but can give up one coffee and a bar of chocolate each day and invest R150-00 per month, or R5-00 per day, the older, slimmer and wealthier you will have an investment worth R38860-00 after ten years and an incredible R195174-00 after twenty years. I have not used any magical returns but the long term average of a selection of equity unit trusts available to anybody wanting to invest. Needless to say the more one is able to commit to investing on a monthly basis the more the investment will be worth in the future.

Winter = Curry

I love winter food - warm, comforting, aromatic and slow-cooking. The leftovers are delish and stews, curries etc. are freezable making life so much easier! Here's a quick and easy chicken curry recipe that I tried the other day - husband and I enjoyed half and I froze the other half for one of those nights!

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Chicken, spinach and aubergine curry
Serves 4
Easy
30 minutes


15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced (I just used Woolies crushed garlic)
1 red onion, finely chopped (I forgot to buy so added in a sliced yellow pepper)
45ml (3 tbsp) curry paste
6 boneless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized chunks (I couldn't find boneless and was too lazy to debone so I just used skinless thigh portions)
6 tomatoes, quartered
1 aubergine, thinly sliced
45ml (3 tbsp) water (You may need to add more as you go)
200 baby spinach, sliced (I threw my leaves in as they come in the Woolies bag)
60ml Greek-style yoghurt
salt and freshly ground black pepper
crusty bread, to serve (I served with brown rice instead)
fresh rocket, to serve


1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and gently saute the garlic and onion for about 2 minutes.
2. Stir through the curry paste and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken, tomatoes, aubergine and water and continue to simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and the aubergine is just soft, about 15 minutes.
3. Add the spinach and cook until it has just wilted. Fold in the yoghurt and season.
4. Serve hot with bread and rocket.

{Source: Food & Home Entertaining, Nov 2009}

Design Team Sale

This is almost too good to share! Design Team, the genius South African textile and design company, is having a sale. We love their gorgeous Afro-chic prints. Make sure you pop in and stock up - some scatter cushions in any of their designs will give your home a great new pop for winter. Good luck!

Brights on your table

Carnations are probably my least favourite flower but I love how they have been used here to brighten up this table setting. I find it useful to see how bright flowers are used because when I am buying flowers for a lunch or dinner party I usually default to white lilies. The Liberty-inspired napkins works well with the bright pinks and I love the ribbon tied around the cutlery. The name tag from folded brown paper is such an easy concept but a wonderful touch that will make any guest feel extra special.

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DIY Notecards

I love stationery and greeting cards especially, but for some reason often find myself without a card when I need one. You might find yourself in the same predicament this Sunday if you've been too busy to pick up the perfect Mother's Day card, even if you're organised this time I know this simple DIY printable notecard set will save the day eventually! The striped set by A Creative Mint via Creature Comforts is so clever as it fits a business size envelope which we all usually have lurking in a draw! And I just love that the envelope seal sticker has also been included. Enjoy!

Click here to download the pink version, or here for the blue aternative.

Delightful Lights

44 Stanley Avenue is one of our favourite spots to browse in Jo'burg. It has restaurants, coffee shops, a bakery, a book shop, clothing shops, and beautiful home decor shops. La Basse-cour is a wonderful find tucked around the corner. The shop’s name is derived from owner Justine’s name, playing on the various ways the word ‘just’ can be used; 'just beautiful' and 'just basic'. It is filled with architectural antiques and reproduction and I could spend hours in their room filled with industrial light fittings, paintings and other little curiosities. While this is their showroom, they also have an online store so now you can shop there from any where in the world!

Know your wine

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Under The Influence is a wine community that loves great wine, and learning more about it. The good news is that have wine tastings in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Apart from wine, a typical wine tasting includes interesting people (there are about 40 people sitting 10 to a table), snacks (hummus and bread), and a very charming (as rumour has it) wine expert leading the evening. The cost is R100 per person and the first 10 bookings are chauffeur driven to and from the venue. What a lovely way to spend a winter's evening. 

The next Jo'burg tasting is on Wednesday, May 5: Click here for  more info.

The next Cape Town tasting is on Wednesday, May 12: Click here for  more info.