Author: Nicole – The Little Guru

  • PH Awareness Month

    PH Awareness Month

    The 1st of November marks the beginning of Pulmonary Hypertension month.
    This years Awareness Month theme is ” Lighting the Way for a Better Tomorrow”

    Too often, a pulmonary hypertension diagnosis feels like being shoved into a dark corner.
    Who can see that your sick? Who understands what your’re going through when you’re having a bad “sick’ day? Each time one person tells another about PH, they dispel a little of that darkness. I can certainly vouch for that. The more I talk about it, the better I feel.

    Lets be PHaware!
    Show your support and wear something purple on the 1st November!

     

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  • Honeymoon Destination: Seychelles- Praslin Island

    Honeymoon Destination: Seychelles- Praslin Island

    How lucky am I! Mike set up a real honeymoon adventure where we got to spend 4 nights on Mahe Island and 4 nights on Praslin Island. Our part 2 of our honeymoon was just as amazing as the first.

    Praslin is the 2nd largest Island of the Seychelles. It was named Isle de Palmes, because of its beautiful palm trees. The leaves of the trees itself are huge, reaching growth of 7-10m in length.
    Vallee De Mai is the gorgeous Nature Preserve to these gorgeous trees and for their  fruit called the Coco Der Mer, otherwise known as the Sea Coconut. We were quite lucky to still has seen a few Coco Der Mer as this precious Gem of the Island is going extinct.   

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    Map of Praslin Island
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    The Coco Der Mer

    We stayed at the gorgeous Paradise Sun Hotel situated on the Cote d’Or Beach. We were welcomed with a warm smile to this breathtaking little peace of heaven. Every single person at that hotel was so friendly and so helpful, well if you think about it, who wouldn’t be happy living on an island and waking up everyday in paradise- *sigh*

    Our stay was incredible. We have made a rule that every destination that we visit, we do all that we can so that we can say that we have done everything there is to offer in that specific place. So that’s exactly what we did In Seychelles

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    View from the little plane that we took from Mahe Island to Praslin Island
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    Touchdown on the beautiful Island
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    The Beach

    Our first day was all about settling in and getting familiar with the Hotel so we unpacked and walked around the hotel to see what was on offer. We met our go to entertainment guy Jimmy- He was the guys that has all the snorkeling gear, kayaking gear, you name it he has it all. Straight away I told Mike that he was the Matthew McConaughey of the Island. Very awesome guy. So we got our snorkeling gear, booked our catamaran trip and took a dip in the big blue sea.

    Day 2- Catamaran excursion was a whole day trip. The trip consisted of visiting 3 islands
    Cousine Island- Nature Reserve to Tortoises and Bird life.
    Curieuse Island- Marine National Park to Tortoises and lastly
    St. Pierre Island- Snorkeling

    We cruised along the breathtaking coastline of Praslin to the Island of Cousin, home to Seychelles rarest birds. We were accompanied by an island guide that told us about these gorgeous birds and the interesting environment. There are absolutely no predators on the island,  so the birds next on the ground in hollow trees. It was unreal to be so close to these gorgeous creatures. We hopped back onto the boat where we cruised to our next island.

    Curieuse Island and National Marine Park is home to a tortoise-breeding colony. There are hundreds of giant tortoises roaming the soft sands of the island. This is where we had our delicious barbecue lunch and chilled with the tortoises.

    Our last Island visit was the tiny island of St. Pierre.
    Mike being a Dive Master, was super keen and ready to just dive into the water. Me on the other hand, I was pretty nervous as it was my first time snorkeling in the sea and I was so scared that a shark would swim beneath me and eat me. The Kaleidoscope of marine life in the clear waters was magnificent, I lasted a whole 10 minutes before Mike had to rescue me from drowning. I was smiling so much at the beauty beneath that water got into my snorkel so I lifted my head to catch my breath and a wave crashed into my face causing me to have an absolute frenzy and nearly drowning Mike himself. I was still the best 10 minute of snorkeling of my life!

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    Catamaran Trip
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    Cruising
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    Cousin Island
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    Barbecue Lunch
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    My Tortoise Friend
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    Curieuse Island
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    Snorkeling at St. Pierre

    As our Holiday was drawing near to the end, we fitted in as much sight seeing as we possibly could.
    We rented a car for the day and toured the Island. Dining out at the local restaurants to visiting every single shop the island had to offer. Every store is practically identical, but we visited each one anyway just in case we missed something. I have never witnessed such exquisite beaches in my life.

    The last two days became rainy, indoor days so we spent the last days basically walking into town, purchasing last minute goodies and enjoy our time together. On our last night we were treated to an amazing dinner on the beach. It was a a 3 course meal consisting of Prawn Tails, Lobster Soup and Grilled Fish Kebab- It was the perfect ending to an amazing holiday.

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    Paradise
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    Island Life
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    Bad Photography
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    Fine Dining
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    Seychelles, you have captured my heart- Until we meat again.
  • Honeymoon Destination: Seychelles- Mahe Island

    Honeymoon Destination: Seychelles- Mahe Island

    We jetted off to Paradise straight after our incredible day. With just 5 hours of sinking my toes in the soft sand and diving into the incredibly turquoise water of the Indian Ocean, we couldn’t wait. Mike planned the entire honeymoon, so I was super excited to see what awaited us.

    Seychelles being an archipelago, is a 155- Island country. Some of these islands can been seen at eye-distance and can even, if your fit enough, be reached by simply swimming
    We started our magnificent holiday on  Mahe Island.

    Mahe Island Map

    Stepping out of the plane, you immediately get hit with the immense heat and humidity, It was winter time for them with temperatures reaching 29-30- In Winter! Can you just imagine summer time?! Hot, Hot, Hot! Anyway, so it was quite an adjustment for us but by the second day your good and acclimatized. We stayed at the gorgeous Kempinski Seychelles Resort. This Luxury 5 Star Hotel is situated in Baie Lazare, it is a tropical paradise.

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    Reception area of Kempinski Hotel
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    Turtles carved
    Photos just do not do justice. It is simply incredible. The People are so friendly and make you feel so welcome. The hotel itself is absolutely stunning! It has a pool situated in the center of the hotel with beach chairs scattered everywhere and well if you decide to take a dip in the ocean, its just a 5 steps away. I have never seen waters so blue in my life- Its breathtaking!

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    The beautiful blue sea

    We arrived quite late in the evening, about 10pm local time so we couldn’t really tour the hotel and  we were famished! So we settled in to the dining area called Cafe Lazare. Every night had a different theme and lucky me, that night was Italian cuisine. I love pasta to the point where I could most probably eat it everyday. The selection was amazing. From about 10 different selections for each course of meal, You are really treated like royalty. After that we settled in for the evening in our luxurious sea view suite and to our sweet surprise, a bottle of bubbly and chocolate cake to end the day- Simply amazing.

    For the next 3 days, Myself and Mike toured the Island with the lovely tour guide David  and took part in most of the activities that the Hotel had to offer. From Kayaking out to sea to visiting the tortoise farm- being an animal lover, this was my fav, to chilling by the poolside. Chilled to the max. Kempinski Resort definitely deserves its 5 star rating if not more- Our stay was incredible!

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    Dining at Cafe Lazare
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    Within the Resort
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    Kempinski Resort Suits
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    This is Johnny- 155 Year old Tortoise
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    Touring the Island
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    Our Tour Guide- David from Mason Travel
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    Gorgeous Buddha Temple in Victoria
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    Mike Eating a local delicacy- Fruit Bat (Ew!)
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    Fruit Bat
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    What an incredible place!

  • My Happy Ever After Begins…

    Its official! I am now a Mrs! 🙂
    Here’s a sneak peek of my amazing day – Enjoy

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  • Au-pairing Around..

    Talk about having an awesome job. I guess every job has their perks but when it comes to au-pairing, I would have to say that my job is pretty sweet!

    OK! I wont lie sometimes I feel I could rip out my hair or sit in a corner rocking myself back and forth thinking to myself-  why, oh why did I get into this industry.I’m surviving and really enjoying it now.
    So life is good.
    I think the worst thing for any Au-Pair would be school holidays. You thought that would be the best time because we get to relax and sit at home and play all day right?. You are SO mistaken.
    It starts off great, watching some movies eating popcorn to building puzzles to even riding bikes outside. All the fun things have been done and dusted and kids get bored quick. So it eventually ends up a week into the holidays and we have nothing to do! All you here is I’m bored or nah we’ve done that already. This is that moment where you will find me in that corner I mentioned earlier.
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    So to help my fellow Au-pairs here is some fun activities for you and the little people to enjoy:

    Pinterest to the rescue. Gosh I love Pinterest.
    Here is some arts and Crafts Ideas- Its always a hit with the kids. Just make sure you cover the tables with news paper. Don’t want to get into trouble with the parents- Kids Activities
    Go old school.
    Play Hide and Seek or Stuck in the Mud.
    This game never looses its appeal with kids- The more the merrier!
    Chalk It!
    When I initiated the idea of drawing on the walls (Outside of course) with chalk, the little people were so excited and couldn’t wait to get started. It took up most of the day and the best part was no mess! Perfect outdoor activity.
    If the sun is out- Swim!
    This is by far the least effort for maximum fun and you can join in too!
    Remember to be safe and protect them from sunburn- Wear Sunblock.
    With school holidays drawing near I’m feeling good and  prepared and ready for some fun!
  • Rubybox – Jozi Beauty Night Out

    Rubybox – Jozi Beauty Night Out

    A night of beauty and pampering, Rubybox.co.za came to Jozi for an evening full of spoils for the ladies!

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    We arrived at the incredible Katy’s Palace Bar. The set up is incredible. It has a super rustic feel with a little glam to it overlooking the city of Joburg, simply amazing. On the way in we grabbed our arrival drinks and headed into the beauty affair.

    There were 4 Stations that were set up:

    Rubybox.co.za for a little gift bag which you could select from an array of beauty goodies
    Dermalogica for Face mapping & thier incredible skin care range
    Morgan Taylor  for Manicure any colour that you desire
    Gosh Cosmetics for a complete make over.

     

     

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    Katy’s Palace Bar
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    View of our Beautiful City
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    Rubybox goodie bag
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    Myself, Nicci & Clauds
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    Morgan Taylor Manicure Station
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    Beauty Hamper
    At the end of the evening, online store Rubybox announced that they will be opening up a store!
    Now I can shop online and pop into the store for some extra indulgence.  If you want to get your hands on some beauty essentials then check them out out here
    A night of beauty and pampering indeed!
  • Getting Hitched..

    The countdown to the wedding day finally begins!
    It didnt feel real until we recieved our wedding invites, then the  tingly feeling started happening. I sat here staring at them thiniking, “oh my gosh, this is really happening” In a good way of course- I am super excited.

    Getting enageged almost 1 year and a half ago, I couldnt be happier. I was never the girl that started planning my “dream wedding” at the age of 10. Im the kinda person that goes with the flow, so what ever happens, happens.

    Planning a wedding is pressure- alot of pressure. From picking the perfect day to selecting your bridemaids, deciding on a dress- Its alot of research and alot of decisions- Not just your decision but that of your partner as well. Lucky for me, my Finace is very opened minded and is pretty much keen on anything.

    Google is a magical place and with me being a neat freak and being super organised, I probably printed thousands of wedding pages. Checklists, after checklists, images of dresses, E-session inspirations, you name it, I had it all.

    Slowly but surely we ticked off the important parts of planning a wedding from our checklist and just months away we have almost completed the list.

    I really can’t wait to be a Mrs.
    Exciting times await.

    Here is a sneak peek of our E-Session shoot we did with our amazing photographer Ryan Parker.

     

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    I couldnt live my life without him