Monday's Meal: Stuffed Peppers

This is an easy, delicious and unique recipe. It's hearty but has a light feel to it due to the fresh baby spinach and avo. Try it!

Stuffed Peppers (for 4 - 5 people)

Ingredients:

- 4 - 5 bell peppers

- 1 onion, chopped

- 400g mince meat

- 4 garlic cloves, crushed

- 1 jar salsa (I make my own out of a can 'tomato and onion mix', a dash of lemon juice, herbs and spices)

- 1 cup rice

- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

- baby spinach

- 1 avo

- sour cream 

- spices

- beef stock

1) Heat the oven to 200C. Boil the rice.

2) Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds and stalk

3) In a large pan over medium heat fry the onion with the garlic, then add the mince. Spice with salt, pepper, barbecue spice, chilli powder (or anything else you like on mince) to taste

4) Add the salsa and cooked rice to the mince mixture

5) Place the cut peppers in an oven proof dish and divide the mince mixture among them. Top with the grated cheddar cheese and pour about 400ml of beef stock into the bottom of the dish. Bake for 30min.

6) Serve with baby spinach, slices of avo and a dollop of sour cream on top!

Have a blessed week!

Love,

Ms. V

A stop motion experiment

Stop motion videos have always fascinated me so I decided to try it out myself. I used my iPhone and an awesome free app called iMotion HD. This here is my first try. It literally took me 5 minutes but I am rather happy with the result! And it was so easy!!

And here is one of the first stop motion videos I ever saw. It's really amazing. I love it. So beautiful! 

I hope this put a smile on your face just as it did on mine.

Love,
Ms. V

No place like home?

Despite being at a disadvantage in terms of speed, snails have one big advantage in life - they can take their home with them. But there's hope for us humans! While reading one of my favourite blogs, My Scandinavian Home, I came across this: a house which can be transported on a truck and then placed almost anywhere! Moving has never been easier ;) 

Imagine living on a piece of land in the city the one day and then just moving your entire house to the woods or a field! 

And look at this beautifully designed interior....

Dream <3 For more houses with incredible interior design visit My Scandinavian Home. You wont regret it! Or maybe you will... ;) 

Love,

Ms. V "Dreaming of my own house"

Acoustic vibes

Something I'm really into right now is acoustic music - specifically acoustic worship. It just has such a unique and personal feel to it which I really love. I also think acoustic music emphasizes the essence of the musical instruments and it often has a somewhat unpolished sound. It's almost like its less perfect but more real and intimate.

We had our own little acoustic worship session in our garden last weekend. Sitting round the bonfire, grilling marshmallows, singing and jamming. My brother even tried out his new ukulele. It was a special evening and it will definitely be repeated.

Have a look at this video from Hillsong united for some awesome acoustic inspiration. They did a live session in a cafe....great vibe! They are also releasing an acoustic album soon....

Love,

Ms. V

P.s. Today is our -1 year anniversary! 1 year till our wedding and 1 year till I become a Mrs ;)

Will you be my bridesmaid?

What do you do to get stuff done? I use to-do lists. I just love the feeling of ticking something off as done. So I write lists on paper, I make lists in my head, I write lists in my diary and I create lists on my phone. Recently I've also been using several 'to-do list' apps. My favorite is Wunderlist. It's simple, allows me to make several lists, I can make an item as important, I can access the lists on my phone and any PC and I can have shared lists with other people (like for instance my fiance). Go check it out! 

Something that's been on my to-do list for a while was to officially ask four special ladies to be my bridesmaids. So I got to it the other day. I had decided to make them little boxes with the question  as well as a few little gifts inside. I actually stole the idea from pinterest. It was a lot of work but also really enjoyable. I haven't been able to give the boxes to all of them yet as one stays in Capetown and one is currently in Europe but  the other two got their boxes and I think they felt the love :) 

Here are a few pics of my endeavor:

This project has also again made me aware of how much I enjoy crafts and how I really need to start that craft club some time soon... That's another thing on my list :)

Love,
Ms. V

In Retrospect: Oppikoppi

I know this is bad... I haven't posted anything in forever. The fact is, I wrote this blog post over a month ago but my internet on my PC was down so I couldn't upload it. So this is rather outdated now since Oppikoppi is over a month ago...but hey.

"Last weekend I was at Oppikoppi with my best friend. She’s already been twice but it was my first time – a crazy, fun, weird experience. Here are my top 10 tips for anyone planning to take on the Oppi experience next year (it will probably be a big one – 20 years of Oppikoppi!)

1) Arrive EARLY on the morning of the day when the bands start – we got there on Thursday at 9am and already it was a challenge to find a suitable camping site. I wouldn’t have wanted to arrive any bit later... And then leave early on the Sunday to avoid traffic.

2) Don’t just choose the first open spot to pitch your tent. Make sure that your campsite is not too far from the toilets since you will be making this walk (tent – toilet – tent) MANY times. Also scout out your neighbours. Do you like the music they are playing from their cars? You better, because you will be listening to it 24 hours a day. Also don’t loose your campsite! Many people wander around lost in the middle of the night – you DONT wanna be one of them. Remember which road you are on and remember obvious landmarks.

3) Make sure you have a comfortable, warm bed to crash on at the end of a long day. Take many blankets and (this is essential) a HOT WATER BOTTLE! Remember this means you need to bring a gas boiler and a kettle along. This is in any case useful since you should also...

4) Bring your own coffee. We did and there’s nothing better than a good cup in the morning – I hear the coffee they served there is pretty gross.

5) Be brave and take a shower every morning. The water is FREEZING but you will feel clean, energised and revitalised. Its best to go shower before 8am as the cues tend to be long thereafter.

6) Bring wet wipes! They are a lifesaver and can be used for everything from wiping the dust off your face, cleaning cutlery and wiping down your tent at the end of the weekend ;)

7) Learn a foreign language. It’s really useful to speak to your friends without other people understanding you.

8) Print out a schedule of who’s performing when. We didn’t do this and regretted it. An app with a schedule is available for your phone but you won’t always want to have your phone on you.

9) Bring cash to load onto your festival card. The cue to use cards to load the festival cards takes forever while the cue using cash is MUCH quicker.

10) ENJOY and be safe! Enjoy the music. Enjoy the food (waffles on a stick, pizza, stirfry, subs!). Enjoy the people-watching – do lots of it (it’s actually inevitable)."

I have a few more posts planned - hopefully I manage to put them up in the next days!

Love,

Ms V.