Cloudy Cape Town skies and misty Chapman’s Peak

Hi everyone, we hope your Good Friday has been great! 🙂

Last weekend we took a misty trip along Chapman’s Peak drive for a change of scenery on the rather long trip to visit Brother-in-Law Spec in Fish Hoek…

Saturday, 24 March 2018: Extended family breakfast at On the Rocks, misty trip along Chapman’s Peak

Various non-Capetonian family members were visiting on Saturday so we met up for breakfast. Beautiful view of Table Mountain from On the Rocks, but the wind made it just a tad too chilly to eat outside.

Coffee and family, such a good way to start the weekend.

I had the French toast with berry coulis and ice cream; parents both had the Alaskan – scrambled eggs with salmon and mushrooms; Husband had the kassler breakfast. I even ate the strawberry slice once the rest of my plate was clean.

After a bit of weekend admin it was time to head to the other end of the Cape to see Husband’s family. It’s now R45 for a single car to travel along Chapman’s Peak drive, which we hadn’t done in ages so happily paid the price. We could just make out the sea from the scenery below.

You can just see the sea peeking through in the bottom right here. It was like something out of a horror movie!

The sea looked so inviting all along the coast, especially once it started raining gently. See various scenes of the resulting braai.

For dessert, braai cones! The marshamallow-chocolate-caramel filling melts on the fire – delicious.

There was still a chill in the air that eve so the doglets snuggled up on the couch.

Sunday, 25 March 2018: After-work dins at Moyo

Bassie had a sweet moment snuggling with her dad on Sunday morning, before he left for work.

Bertie was equally sweet, showing us various angles of his sleepy face.

Mmm, we had milktart as a treat that afternoon.

Sweet doggies again at their grandparents’ house that afternoon. So much love.

I just couldn’t get enough of the clouds this week! This was the view when we arrived at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay that evening, for dins at Moyo.

Teehee. I had a hazelnut latte and my face painted. Husband had a carafe of wine and we shared the pulled-lamb linguine, no pics as we had a ‘Lady and the Tramp’ fail. 😉

After dins the sky was still bright but the sun was leaving.

A surfer strolling along the sea sand.

Clouds, sea and sun.

Monday, 26 March 2018: Dins at Burgundy Bossa

The weather was lovely when we got home from work on Monday, so we dined at Bossa in Burgundy Estate. See my creme brulee shake and monkeygland burger with sweet potato fries (burgers are just R59 on Mondays) – also see Husband’s draught beer and pizza. Yum.

Wednesday, 28 March 2018: Streaky clouds at work, pink sky at night

See the streaky clouds from my office during the day and pink sky at home that night.

Thursday, 29 March 2018: Creative Mornings Cape Town at Friends of Design

On Thursday morning I attended the March 2018 version of the Creative Mornings Cape Town talk. Coverage will be on Bizcommunity next week!

Loved the decor at Friends of Design, so very student friendly – as are the coffee prices!

That’s all, folks! We hope you’re having a lovely Easter weekend, filled with chocolatey smiles.

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Bringing in St Patrick’s Day and Human Right’s Day 2018

Last weekend we celebrated St Patrick’s Day with my dad, as it’s his name day, and also had a mid-week day off in honour of Human Right’s Day – but still did lots of work in between…

Friday, 16 March 2018: BrandLove potent digital storytelling workshop

I spent my Friday attending the Brand Love ‘Potent digital storytelling’ workshop. It was intense, but I loved it! Coverage to follow on Bizcommunity soon…

The Bothas’ BrandLove house/office space is lovely, and they made all the food we ate for lunch – even the bread was baked that morning!

Saturday, 17 March 2018: St Patrick’s Day drinks at Brazen Head, parents braai at ours

We decided on a fast, filling breakfast as we had many tasks to get through on Saturday. so went for the News Cafe early bird. It did the trick.

Husband exploring the rocks and tide was very shallow that morning.

We met my parents at the Brazen Head in Seaside Village for a St Patrick’s-themed drink when the clock struck noon. See various green/clear/black drinks, here.

Dad and Husband. Both in green, both with a Guinness.

T’was our turn to host the Andrews’ family braai. Husband went with a lamb roast on the Weber, with smashed potatoes, roast veg and a S’mores type braai pudding. Yum!

There were lots of happy ‘dog on couch’ moments.

Sometimes our dining room looks like a sushi restaurant, what with the fish tank and shiny black table.

Sunday, 18 March 2018: Melkbos Kitchen breakfast and beach wander

We only set out for breakfast around 10am, and decided on the Melkbos Kitchen (formerly known as Ritzi’s). See my latte, as well as Husband and Brother-in-Law Spec’s cappuccinos.

After a fair wait, our food arrived, and it was delicious. Husband went for the salmon benedict, Spec the ham, and me the apple-ginger flapjacks. Yum!

We went for a brisk walk along the Melkbos beachfront to work off some off those calories after breakfast.

Bassie was happy to sit with mommy and the reheated breakfast with yet another coffee, later that afternoon.

We stopped at Saint’s in Eden on the Bay for my favourite Insomniac shake for our Sunday afternoon treat. Husband had one, too.

Monday, 19 March 2018: Taking a break with Kit-kat

Monday. What. A. Day. Yes, note all the full stops. And then suddenly my sweet colleague dropped a Kit-kat on my desk and things looked a little brighter 🙂

Tuesday, 20 March 2018: International Happiness Day

Part of the reason for my manic Monday was that I was completing an online masterclass in ‘happiness‘ through 42Courses, ahead of International Happiness Day on Tuesday. Click here for my overview!

Wednesday, 21 March 2018: Human Rights Day

We slept in late on Wednesday as it was Human Rights Day in SA. See my much-needed cappuccino at On the Rocks, where we breakfasted.

The rest of our breakfast – French toast with berry compote, kippers with scrambled eggs, and lots of mirrors and light. We sat inside as it was a tad windy.

Later that morning I had some quiet time napping, reading and dunking cinnamon biscuits in coffee with sweet Bassie.

Later that afternoon, we headed off to Jamaica Me Crazy for an afternoon treat. I had the Muddy Monkey shake, which is a blended banana and brownie, while Husband had the honey-ginger-whisky ‘penicillin’.

Loved the wall art, and we found a corner outside table that was semi-sheltered from the chilly wind.

Next stop, Forester’s Arms, AKA Forries. It looked particularly wintery that afternoon!

We shared the roast chilli poppers starter, the each had a burger – lamb for Husband, chicken for me.

I had to give the sign about females being allowed in pubs a big thumbs up!

That’s all, folks! Have a happy weekend 🙂

Table Mountain views and tasty Forries tapas

Last weekend the weather took a turn for the chilly, as you’ll see from our clothing in the pics below. I think it’s fair to say we’re ready for winter though, hopefully with lots of rain!

Thursday, 8 March 2018: Retail marketing trends talk at FCB

Oh how I love the FCB Cape Town offices. All the bright colours and lights and views of the trees outside.

Snacks! Pencils! FCB notebooks! Trees! Click here if you missed my coverage of the session retail marketing session presented by Chicago’s FCB Red.

Couldn’t ignore this eye-catching graffiti on my way from FCB’s office after the talk to the Woodstock MyCiti bus stop that afternoon.

To mark the end of a steady stream of weekend work for both of us, we went out to dins at Doodles that evening. See Husband grinning in the sunshine, his curry-topped pizza, my nachos and latte, and the sunset. Cue heart-eyes emoji!

Friday, 9 March 2018: Columinate research presentation at The Cullinan

I covered Columinate’s ‘measure of tomorrow’ research presentation on Friday, held at The Cullinan Hotel. We were treated to a delicious brunch and there were bicycles galore ahead of last weekend’s Cape Cycle Challenge (formerly known as the Argus}. Click here if you missed the resulting article!

Saturday, 10 March 2018: Forries’ tapas snacks and Black Bull dins

We needed to purchase and price a few products at our local Builders Warehouse so ate in the accompanying Cafe Lacomia. See my chocolate-sprinkled cappuccino with not one, not two, not three but FOUR mini cookies, also my toasted chicken mayo and Husband’s sloppy joe (eggs and mince on toast). Just what we needed!

That afternoon we were on the Claremont side of the world and the weather was quite wintery so we stopped in at the Forester’s Arms for a quick treat. See Husband with his Castle 1895 draught, me with my strawberry shake and delicious foodies in the next photo…

We decided on two types of tapas – the roasted chili poppers wrapped in bacon with a fig glaze (yum) and beef satay – that peanut-chili-coconut dipping sauce is amazing!

We met Husband’s parents for dins at the Black Bull diner, which is roughly ten minutes from both our houses. See my caramel shake top left, the ‘starter portion’ Alabama ranch baked potato (there are two of them topped with cheese and bacon, with a side tub of sour cream) – Mum-in-Law and I each ordered this and each ended up taking a full potato home), the bangers and mash that Husband and his father devoured and the mushroom starter shared by most of the table.

Sunday, 11 March 2018: Afternoon treats at Cup & Cake, Eden on the Bay

Stark Ayres’ Pink Olive breakfast usually means a cappuccino and the made-to-order scones for me, with Husband downing a Coke Zero and the salmon eggs benedict.

Cup & Cake was the venue of our Sunday afternoon treat. You can just see Husband’s cappuccino and my Zoo-biscuit shake, here.

Husband also had some salmon sushi as part of his Sunday afternoon treat at Eden on the Bay.

The view of the mountain from our side of the cape was just gorgeous.

More shots of the lovely mountain that afternoon.

Monday, 12 March 2018: Cat joins Husband and Bassie in the car

Bassie hadn’t been well over the weekend so Husband dropped her off at her usual vet on Monday morning, after an emergency vet visit on Sunday evening. This three-legged black-and-white cat hopped into the car and kept them company while they waited to be admitted.

Wednesday, 14 March 2018: Chilly Cape evening

Healthy, happy doggies waiting for their dins on Wednesday evening. Blanket is another sign of the evening chill that hit.

That’s all, folks! May your weekend feel long and relaxing. 🙂

Bertie’s 8th birthday and the Cup & Cake breakfast buffet

Last week, our dear doggie boy Bertie turned 8. So despite us both having full plates of work, we made a plan to include delicious food and quality time with our furry children, too…

Thursday, 1 March 2018: Bertie’s 8th birthday

Aww! When we got home from work, I showed Bertie some of the birthday messages he’d received from friends and family on Facebook. He loved them, as you can see.

Teehee. This was the best option from a number of ‘birthday hat’ poses, I promise.

Friday, 2 March 2018: Coffee meet at Red Sofa Cafe

Did someone say ‘Friday coffee meet at the Red Sofa Cafe’? I was there like a bear, mirrored sunnies and all.

As it was breakfast time, I went for the flapjack stack. Brimming with blueberries, marscapone cheese and honey, it was delicious!

I tried the cheeseburger with sweet potato fries from the Bread Cafe downstairs for Friday lunch, once back in the office.

Saturday, 3 March 2018: Cup & Cake buffet breakfast

Husband was working again on Saturday, so I had a breakfast date my my parents at Cup & Cake at Eden, which has just moved to new premises. See some of the cakes and views here.

Also see my gingerbread latte, the sweet birdie sugar cup and more.

Table shot of all our eats and drinks at Cup & Cake.

We headed to Husband’s parents’ house for dins that eve, once he got home from work. Bassie was very affectionate with her dad.

Bertie ripped open his presents with a little help from his dad, and was delighted to meet his new TV-viewing companion, Seal. Bassie was happy to share his fancy doggy biscuits, too.

Bassie joined me while I had my post-dins coffee outside, just before the sun set. She wasn’t so sure about including Bertie in the photos, LOL.

Bertie snuggled with his seal on the couch that evening.

Teehee, he really loves his birthday seal!

Sunday, 4 March 2018: Breakfast at Village Place Cafe, Black Panther at GrandWest Casino

We all met at the Village Place Cafe for breakfast first thing on Sunday.

My Sunday cappuccino at Village Place Cafe.

Some of the food we ate. See Husband’s poached egg on a stack of sorts, as well as brother-in-law Spec’s more traditional plate of eggs, bacon, toast and tomato, with my banting flapjacks and mum-in-law’s mushroomy toast plate.

Later that morning, Spec met us at GrandWest Casino as we’d booked tickets to watch the latest Marvel movie, Black Panther. All had a fun time, as you can see 😉

Monday, 5 March 2018: Doggy snuggles on the couch

Bassie having a snuggle with her dad on the couch after another tough day at work.

It seems we interrupted an important conversation between the siblings when we snapped this photo of the doggies.

That’s all, folks! The weather looks quite chilly at the moment so perhaps we will give the beach a miss this weekend.

Delights of Design Indaba 2018 and the R50 lunch special at Hail Pizza

Last week was one of my busiest work-wise for the year, as we attended Design Indaba 2018. But of course, that’s not all we did…

Wednesday, 21 to Friday, 23 February 2018: Design Indaba at the Artscape

You know you’re in for a treat when you arrive at the Design Indaba Festival and feel a sense of wonder before you even enter the Artscape. This year, we were encouraged to ’embrace the unknown’. Click here for a reminder of the 2017 version.

These colourful rhinos also brightened up the cold concrete, while raising awareness for their cause.

Decor inside the Artscape was just as appealing. See various signs and posters.

If you had a full Design Indaba conference ticket, this is what you came for!

Considering all the running around we all did, it’s amazing that we managed to stop with Design Indaba editor-in-chief Neo Maditla for a quick snap. You may recall my interview with her late last year. If not, click here for a reminder.

I loved exploring the emerging creatives’ displays in the tea breaks, too. And that outdoor swing-relax area was amazing.

I finally got the chance to swing my troubles away on the final morning of Design Indaba. Such fun!

One of my personal highlights this time around was interviewing Lebo Mashile. She’s amazing, click here and here for more!

Husband snapped this shot of the sky while I was putting last week’s blog post together. Pretty clouds, and we actually had a spot of rain the next morning.

Aww. Bertie was such a sweetie on the couch that all our pics are of him, this week! Bassie was there too, I promise -she just slunk away before these pics were taken.

Saturday, 24 February 2018: News Cafe breakfast, work, Moyo dins

We both had a busy work day ahead of us on Saturday, so stopped off at News Cafe on Marine Circle to start the day the right way – with the earlybird English breakfast special – and cappuccinos, of course.

All that for R35, if you order before 10am. It’s delicious!

Once we were both done with work for the day (tragic to say that for a Saturday, where you both worked all week, too), we stopped in at Moyo at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay for an early dins. See Husband’s curried mussel starter, my hazelnut latte, and the pulled-lamb linguine starter we shared.

Spending some quality time with Bertie biscuit that evening.

Sunday, 25 February 2018: Primi breakfast, Saint’s afternoon treats

We had Sunday morning breakfast at Primi on Marine Circle. See my eggs benedict, the large cappuccinos (actually served in latte glasses/mugs) and Husband’s Primi power stack.

We stopped in at Saint’s at Eden on the Bay for our Sunday afternoon treat. See my Insomniac shake (chocolate, espresso, Amarula and Kahlua) and Husband’s Painkiller cocktail (Bacardi, Malibu, orange juice, pineapple juice, coconut, nutmeg).

Monday, 26 February 2018: Design Indaba newsletter

Snip snip! We sent out our special edition Design Indaba newsletter on Monday, so that’s the true mark that Design Indaba is done and dusted for the year. Click here to read through the newsletter – it’s packed with galleries and videos.

Tuesday, 27 February 2018: National Milktart Day

Of course we indulged in a slice of milk tart with coffee on Tuesday, as it was National Milktart Day.

Wednesday, 28 February 2018: Team lunch at Hail Pizza

Design Indaba done and dusted, we had our first team lunch of the year on Wednesday afternoon, at Hail Pizza on Bree Street. Their R50 midweek lunch meal special is amazing – I had the rooibos-lemon-mint ice tea and large margherita pizza, and brought home more than half of it for dins. All that for R50!

And surprise! We invited former team members Rod and Bev (both bottom left) to join us. Was a lovely afternoon!

You can also finally read my full review of the new Friday-lunch offering at 95 Keerom that I sampled a few weeks ago. That’s all, folks! May your weekend be relaxing and restorative.