D is for Decoupage

Some of the regular social clubbers have been asking us what Decoupage is so we thought that we should write up a quick blog explaining. Here goes….

The name: Decoupage originates from the French word découper which literally means to cut out.

The beginning: The origin of decoupage can be traced back as East Siberia. From here the art moved to China and finally entered Europe through Italy during the 17^th Century.    

The whole idea: The aim is to create an ornate and original object by gluing layer upon layer of cut out material onto it. Pieces from magazines, newspapers and other random materials are usually cut into various shapes and stuck down to revamp old and tired boxes, seat covers and furniture pieces. Each layer is usually sealed with multiple coats of varnishes or glue – traditionally about 30 to 40 layers of varnish were used to get a glossy finish.

People who decoupage: Whilst mostly seen as a hobby or past time – there are a select clan who carry out the traditional practice for a living.Someone who does decoupage is known as a decoupeur, or "cutter".

Haven’t tried Decoupage but really want to?  
We are going to decoupage a laser cut out heart that you can take home with you.

Join us on Wednesday, 3rd of September at I love my laundry, 14 Bree Street, Cape Town at 18:00 - 21:00 for an evening of the crème de la crème of all things French including decoupage – bring yourself and a pair of scissors s’il vous plait. See what else the night will have in store here. Buy tickets here.

written by Zeenat Moosa - Social Club Blog contributor

Social Club #18 - Women's Month Rendez Vous {Event details}

Make sure you are attending our next Social Club.  Why oh why I hear you ask? Well not only is Rendez Vous gathering the 5^th Social Club gathering of this year,  but it also promises to be THE social club for aspiring ladies across the Mother City. 

As you already know - the aim of social club is get a group of random ladies talking, eating and enjoying the company of other random ladies in a cosy setting with yummy food and great service (that’s why we never tire of I Love My Laundry on Bree Street). It goes without saying that social etiquette is at the heart of all that we are and all that we do yet flawless social etiquette seems to be something that we ladies know so little about but what to master so so well.

In celebration of Women’s Month - Social Club has decided it is finally time to breakdown the complexities of this mindboggling skill-set and help make every woman be a graceful and leading lady.   

From desirable dinning decorum, building the best business banter to being the hottest hostess with the mostess – we have got social etiquette covered down to a finely coiffured capital T. Never make a blunder at dinner ever again and know what to do if you do, know how to keep dinner party conversations flowing just as easy as the champagne is and be the greatest guest one could ever ask for.

Set against a backdrop of all things French because after all, the French are known the world over for their savoir faire (that’s social grace, exquisite mannerisms, the French know-how to me and you), social clubbers can enjoy some tasty hors d'oeuvres, fine wines par excellence and in depth etiquette master class from Rose Murdock from Performher Business Etiquette Academy.

Just remember not to commit a faux a la grande and not adhere to the dress code – all social, clubbers are asked to dress as Parisian Princesses in blue white and red.      

Social clubbers will have the chance to put their newly acquired social skills to the test – undertaking a sticky, gluey, messy but thoroughly fun decoupage task, in the most lady like way off course! Goody bags and prizes are in abundance, consisting of the crème de la crème of French gifts.Buy your ticket now HERE.

Social club is offering two ladies free tickets to next Wednesday’s event. To be in with a chance simply do the following:

1. Like us on Facebook here.
2. Follow us on Twitter here. (If you have a Twitter account)
3. Follow us on Instagram - @socialclubza (If you have an Instagram account)
4. Then tweet this: Can't wait to escape to France at the next @Socialclubza #FrenchRendezVouz, excited to decoupage & the etiquette tips http://goo.gl/tA2NaQ
5. OR share this event on Facebook and update your status to: Can't wait to escape to France at the next Social club #FrenchRendezVouz, excited to decoupage and for the etiquette tips! http://goo.gl/tA2NaQ (note: make sure you tag Social Club on Facebook)

 We shall randomly choose two winners by Tuesday, 2nd September at 12:00.

 written by Zeenat Moosa - Social Club Blog contributor

A movement called Social Club by Hipstyler, Pretty & Ginger

Leana Henke from Hipstyler, Pretty & Ginger (www.heygorgeoussa.wordpress.com) shares her Social Club experience with us:

A couple of weeks ago, I got invited to attend a Social Club gathering at I Love My Laundry in Bree Street. The theme: Day to Night

What is Social Club?

At first glance of their Twitter bio (We break dance out of our comfort zone, push our boundaries and have a jol! Join us if you dare! Socialise and learn a new skill, craft or hobby at our events) you still can’t quite figure out exactly what it is that they do, but after daring to join them, I found that it IS just one big jol!

Basically, every month, they’ll set up an evening of fun and get someone who is experienced in a skill to teach this skill to 30 other people. The one I attended was a Day to Night look transformation, which was really helpful. So, while you’re feasting on food, sipping on wine and having a great time with your friends, you’re learning a new skill. And if all of this isn’t incentive enough, you get a goodie bag too!

What makes Social Club so special?

There’s a similar sort of thing going on called Secret Eats where you pay an amount and then you book a seat to dine at a “to be announced” venue. It’s actually pretty rad. Social club is almost the same thing, except for the fact that you know what you’re getting and where you’re going from the go.

Why you should try it… at least once.

I was quite excited to try out this “Social club thing” but it totally surpassed my expectations. Yes, there was wine and it was fun but I did NOT expect to ACTUALLY learn something. I also did NOT expect to meet some amazing people either. I met Natalie Vice, who I can totally see myself getting really drunk with, and some really cool chicks who I didn’t know, but got along with like a house on fire. Sometimes, you need to step out of your comfort zone – nothing good ever happens there anyways.

Suddenly, the Social Club Twitter bio makes a whole lot of sense :D you’re welcome!

Click here to visit the site, Facebook page, Twitter page and Instagram page and make sure to book your seat with your besties for the next round!

Social Club #17 - Day to Night Styling {event}

It was that time again, to get social, meet new faces, drink lovely wine, eat great food and the most fun part: learning a new skill.  #socialclubza time!  Wednesday was a cold and wet evening, but the laundromat was warm and cozy inside and was buzzing with energy from the lively ladies chattering on.

Everyone grabbed a seat, a glass of wine and settled in.  Juan took us through the Beau Belle range of wines and Jenny told us more about Doran wines.  Beau Belle is a French inspired wine and you can only do wine tasting by appointment, as the lovely French chateau is actually the wine owners house.  The wines were really magnificent and Juan also added that their wines sulfate content is half of what other wines contain.  Which in laymen's terms means, gives you less of a hangover.  That fact totally makes me want to buy all their wines.

Social Club #17 - Day to Night Styling {details}

Social Club is partnering up with Fiona from Inspired Living SA to bring you another fun night with your girlfriends, socialising and learning new skills. Personal stylist, Dominique Luck and Makeup and hair stylist, Kirsty Murphy will be teaching us how to transform your look from DAY to NIGHT with your hair, clothes & makeup.

Have you ever been in a situation where you get called for drinks after work or you have a busy day and you need to don't have a lot of time to get ready for a dinner party?  Well I'm sure that most of you answered yes!  So at this Social Club we are going to address those elements and by the end you will all be pros!

You should bring one piece of clothing that you are clueless about how to wear - we will see what Dominique suggest we do with it.  Perhaps there is a second life for the garment or no hope at all.  Will be fun to see what everyone brings along!  Don't forget your makeup bag, you will use it to transform your day makeup to a gorgeous night look.

Here's the event flyer with all the details:

Social Club #16 - Pesto & Pasta Details

Hi all the socialites out there! There is just a week left before it's the next Social Club event and I don't want you to get FOMO cause you didn't come!

Desree Pierce (aspiring chef and foodie) will be teaching us how to make pesto and pasta from scratch! Last night we went to I love my laundry to scope out the venue and then afterwards Desree made us the pasta and pesto. I have never eaten such amazing pasta before!  I don't think I want to ever buy store pasta again.

Social Club #15 - Drawing a Live Model

 Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. - John W. Gardner

That quote about sums it up.  We sometimes try too hard to live perfect lives, when what we should actually do is just let go. Live life as if you were drawing without an eraser.  This was my objective with drawing a live model at Social Club - I wanted everyone to let go of their inhibitions and have fun.  That is exactly what we did.

Everyone arrived at lovely Alexander Bar, some new and some old faces.  Everyone introduced themselves to each other and made new friends.  That's what Social Club is about, meeting new faces and catching up with old friends.

Social Club #14 - Cocktail Party

Moscan Mule and El Diablo, these were the amazing cocktails that we learnt to make with El Jimador tequila at Alexander bar two weeks ago.  This was our first Social Club event of the year and it was loads of fun.

All the beautiful ladies arrived at the Parlour room in Alexander Bar and we caught up with each other as we sipped on our Tequila Sunrise cocktails.  The group was divided into two and whilst the one group went to the bar to learn how to make the cocktails, the other group stayed behind and snacked on the canapés. 

Kyle the barman 

Kyle was the lovely barman who showed us how to make the cocktails.  He was very patient with us and a few of the ladies went behind the bar and made the cocktails themselves.  All of the girls looked like naturals behind the bar and by the end of the night everyone mastered making cocktails.

Claire

Natalie

Alexander Bar is such a beautiful space, decorated with antique furniture, ambient lighting and vintage rotary telephones at every table.  You can use the telephones to call another table, or dial 9 for the bar.  How cool is that?  Thanks Alexander Bell for inventing the telephone, I can't imagine life without it!  Ironically Mr. Bell thought of his invention as an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.  Don't think he'll be impressed with cellphones then, haha!

Nina

Sarah

Sarah rocking behind the bar

Liezel

Thank you to Karma from Karmajustfar Photo for capturing all the beautiful moments on the night.

Everyone received a certificate for being able to still be standing after making and tasting cocktails. 

 We had such a great evening, can't wait for the next one where we are going to get the creative juices flowing, we are going to draw a live model. Exciting times!

Social Club #13 - Braai Broodjie Bonanza 2013

It all started with my friend Joe from France who was coming to visit for a few months and I wanted to show him how we as South Africans have a typical braai.  Living in the city can seriously lack enough braais for my liking.  I started inviting a few friends that also live in Cape Town CBD who I knew would love an escape to suburbia and before I knew it the guest list got a bit out of control and we had about thirty five people confirmed.  The last event (Let's go fly a kite) where we had some male friends / partners join us too, which isn't the norm at a Social Club event was so much fun and such a success, so I was super excited for this big event with loads of wonderful friends!

My favourite thing to braai is definitely braai broodjies and I thought that a fun element to add to the day would be to have a braai broodjie bonanza competition.  I ran the idea past a few friends and they thought it was a super idea.  Next up was the planning, which wasn't hard at all.  I already had a great venue, my moms backyard, I had 3 x braais and I had a bunch of amazing people confirmed on the guest list.  So I divided everyone up into six groups, told each group to bring a salad, booze and their ingredients for their braai broodjies.

Everyone arrived and got settled in, then I welcomed everyone and explained the order of the events for the day.  I was going to use a microphone, but unfortunately the one that my friend brought didn't work, so I opted for a PS. chocolate that my friend gave me and used it as a mike.  The next thing I knew Julia was next to me, pretending to do sign language.  Everyone was in stitches laughing as the recent event of the fake interpreter at Mandela's memorial was still fresh in everyone's minds.

Here everyone was just arriving and starting to relax with an ice cold drink in their hand:

The groups had to come up with their own team names and they were quite original.  Here's the names the teams came up with:

• Doggie Broodjie Style
• Team Awesome
• The Spring Broodjies
• Los Carnes
• Braai-in's Braai Broodjies
• The Sub Pimps

"The Spring Broodjies" even got team button badges made

Here is "The Spring Broodjies" preparing their broodjies in the kitchen

"Los Carnes" preparing their broodjies outside

Here is "Doggie Broodjie Style" striking a team pose

"The Sub Pimps" posing politely for the camera

Here is "Braai-in's Braai Broodjies" team and a dude in a speedo

Here is "Team Awesome" with their gourmet braai broodjies

We had Santa hand out shooters to the team to encourage some team spirit

There were so many different varieties of braai broodjies that the teams made and I couldn't believe what wonderful combinations they came up with.  Here's what they made:

Team Los Carnes

Team Los Carnes

Team Los Carnes

Los Carnes:

Their braai broodjies was made on a ciabatta bread and the toppings were a mild French cheese, red pepper pesto and Spanish chorizo served with caramlised onions and green salad with feta and strawberries, paired with Merlot.

The Sub Pimps

The Sub Pimps

The Sub Pimps

The Sub Pimps:

They had a braai broodjie with peaches and peanutbutter - sounds strange, but was a lovely combination and they paired it with a pasta and biltong salad.

Team Braai-in's Braai Broodjies

Braai-in's Braai Broodjies:

This team had three courses of braai broodjies.  The starter was pesto, mozzarella and bacon.  The main was onion marmelade, smoked chicken and mozerella.  The dessert was phyllo pastry, nutella and marshmallow.

The Spring Broodjies

The Spring Broodjies

The Spring Broodjies:

They made a Spring Broodjie which is like a Springbokkie in honour of Mandela and traditional South African style with a bunny chow flare.  They made a green curry mince with potato and sliced up veggies on freshly baked bread from Knead.  They had a foil stencil with the numbers 46664 (Mandela's jail cell number) cut out of it and then placed that on top of the bread whilst braaing it and that made the exposed area toast the numbers onto the braai broodjie.  Brilliant!

Team Awesome

Team Awesome

Team Awesome:

They made a vegetarian version braai pie which consisted out of phyllo pastry with jalepeno relish, caramelised onions, smoked mozzarella, rocket and black sesame seeds served with micro greens and a carrot, apple and beetroot salad.  

Doggie Broodjie Style

Ettienne minced duck breast to add to one of the braai broodjies that their team made

Doggie Broodjie Style

Doggie Broodjie Style

Doggie Broodjie Style:

Three French guys was part of this team and first I had to explain what the hell a braai broodjie was and then they were like: "challenge accepted" They were the winning team!  They made three kinds of braai broodjies, here Etienne explained what they made:

1. Fig & Duckbreast Broodjie , with Rocket and Slices of Fairview Brie Cheese. (To do the meat: first, peel-off the fat of the duck breast and only put the fat in the freezer. Once freezed cut cubes of both (1cm) and use it in the grinder adding chopped garlic and parsley. Then recompose in one piece) 

2. Eggplant Broodjie (toasted eggplants and rolls (put olive oil all around before placing them in the grill - prevent over baking) and add after grill cube tomatoes/mint/basil salad and parmesan on the top, a bit of olive Oil) 

3. Revisited French croque monsieur (Butter basted toasts grilled/Dijon mustard/Very thin slices of ham/Melty cheese)

Yes I know your mouth is watering hey?  It was YUMMO!

I had three judges that had the difficult task of judging each team, but the fun part was tasting every braai broodjie.  The judges that had various credentials, such as inventor of the EC Braai, spit roast champion in Argentina and VERY regular braaiers.  They did an excellent job of going around and making notes on each team members participation, cleanliness of the work area, ingredients and cooking methods.  Then the most decadent moments which I'm sure they enjoyed the most: tasting all the creations!

What a fun day with the most amazing people who made it insanely phenomenal! 

Thanks to all the teams, all of you gave a 150% and I am really glad that I wasn't a judge, as everyone's braai broodjies was unbelievable mouth watering and original and I think every team should have won.

Congratulations once again to Team "Doggie Broodjie Style" for winning. The rest excellent efforts was put in, thanks to you: "Team Awesome", "The Spring Broodjies", "Los Carnes", "Braai-in's Braai Broodjies" and "The Sub Pimps".