Donuts, doughnuts everywhere!

It’s Freedom Day today in SA, so we’ve had a lovely day relaxing and spending time with family. But more of that in next week’s update.

Last week, you’d think I just sat and ate donuts (or doughnuts, depending on your spelling preference) from the pics you’re about to see. I promise I did lots of other things in between…

Thursday, 19 April 2018: SheSays CT launch at Red & Yellow

Last Thursday, I attended the launch of SheSays Cape Town with my colleague Clarina after work. It’s the largest global network of females working in the creative industries. Click here if you missed my coverage!

Evening skies over Devil’s Peak.

Cloud-flecked sky as seen when looking towards the harbour from the Red & Yellow School rooftop.

Friday, 20 April 2018: Dunkin Donuts while working from home

I worked from home last Friday as had a huge amount of work to do before Sunday evening so decided to save time on the commute. My parents popped in with a sweet teatime treat – Dunkin Donuts! The heart held a raspberry jammy filling and the smiley face was filled with a chocolate mousse. Delicious!

Saturday, 21 April 2018: Father-in-Law’s 75th birthday braai

We started our weekend at Driftwood Cafe as we were conveniently having our car washed next door. See the coffee and weekend breakfast special minus toast as they were in the middle of a power cut, so this was all cooked on gas.

After a bit of weekend admin we stopped at The Daily Cafe in Big Bay’s Seaside Village for a mid-morning treat. See Husband’s con panna and my ‘waffle pop’ topped with caramel, banana and a cup of soft serve.

Father-in-Law held his official 75th birthday braai on Saturday afternoon, with various friends and extended family members in attendance. See the train-topped birthday cake and lots of smiles.

Bassie got lots of attention from her other Grampa and dad during the party.

Bertie was all tuckered out after entertaining everyone at his Grampa’s party by running around and greeting animals on the TV screen. He curled up on the couch and rested for a bit once we got home.

We see you, Bertie boy…

Sunday, 22 April 2018: Village Place breakfast, Milky Lane treat

We both had quite a bit of work to do so started off with a quick breakfast together at The Village Place Cafe last Sunday. See my vanilla cappuccino with heart-shaped biscuit, Husband’s mince, eggs and cheese on toast and my French toast with bacon, banana and nuts.

Once we were both done with work for the day we stopped in at the Milky Lane at Table Bay Mall for a quick Sunday afternoon treat. See my ‘Bubbles crunch Sunnydae’, very similar to the promo pic and looks and just what I needed. Husband had an ice-cream sandwich, not pictured.

Monday, 23 April 2018: Belated birthday cake at work

My colleague Juanita had been on leave for a few days to celebrate her birthday and spoiled us with cake in the office on her return. I had a slice of the ganache-y chocolate, it was delicious! The caramel and Black Forest disappeared before I could even think of trying a slice. I’ll be faster next time 😉

Tuesday, 24 April 2018: AfricArena media launch at InvestSA

Cape Town time, front and centre at the InvestSA one-stop shop.

Such a nice work environment at InvestSA – it’s a coworking space, so you’re encouraged to pop in if looking for government assistance with any aspect of your businesses!

I was there to cover the press conference for the second AfricArena tech startup pitching competition and conference, taking place in Cape Town later in the year following a brief ‘world tour’. My overviews will go up over the next few weeks, as it’s Africa Month on Bizcommunity.

Mum brought over delicious meatloaf with veggies for dins that evening. We ate up every last scrap!

Wednesday, 25 April 2018: Good Hope FM #donuttouchthatdial DJ line-up remix at Grand Life Cafe

It was time for even more donuts at Good Hope FM’s first trade media event in five years, their new DJ line-up reveal held at Grand Life Cafe at the V&A Waterfront on Thursday. Was a wonderfully sunny day with bright blue skies.

Oh you know, just hanging with the Good Hope FM DJs.

These vibrant purple flowers looked fake but were definitely the real deal. Also see the two ‘candy stations’ offering an assortment of red and blue sweeties.

Beautiful pink and red and orange cascading blooms.

There was a printing station so you could have your face printed on a donut if you so desired, and guests were free to sample as many as they liked. These were all absolutely amazing, glazed with caramel, chocolate, coffee and pretzels in all the right places.

Lovely sushi and fishy eats too, if you weren’t a fan of sweet things (who are these people?!)

This is what we came for – My Sugar created special donuts to go with each DJ’s personality.

I got to take home my favourite – the DJ Ready D. It had a peanut butter-choc ganache topping, nuts and a mild milk chocolate centre that oozed out when you bit into it. Delicious!

That’s all, folks! We hope you’re having a wonderful long weekend so far.

CTFM sunsets and Father-in-law’s 75th birthday breakfast at McPherson’s

Last weekend we celebrated Father-in-Law’s 75th birthday with a family breakfast at McPherson’s, amongst other things…

Friday, 13 April 2018: Cupcakes and braais

My favourite moments from last Friday – office birthday cake, also a small home braai and the doggies coming to fetch me from the bus stop after work. Bless.

Saturday, 14 April 2018: 75th birthday breakfast at McPherson’s

We all met up at McPherson’s for breakfast on Saturday morning to celebrate Father-in-Law’s 75th birthday the day before. See Mother-in-Law with the cutlery top-left, my parents with strong cappuccinos bottom-right as well as the R25 ‘bacon-eggs-toast’ breakfast bottom-left and the French toast with bacon and grilled banana top-right. Delicious and such good value, in a pretty setting.

The McPherson’s cat looked much orange-r, fluffier and larger than the last few times we’ve seen it – perhaps a different cat?

Full family photo with the birthday boy front and centre. This is best version of the many attempts we took, take my word for it 😉

Later that afternoon we soaked up some sunshine in and around the V&A Waterfront. This was taken while looking around the cruise terminal at the harbour.

Gourmet milkshakes, yes please! I had to work that evening so we went out for early dins, and decided to finally try the CTFM at Seaside Village – we’d popped in a few times but never ordered anything. See the gourmet shakes – I went for the caramel pop. Yum.

To eat, Husband had a salmon handroll and the East Coast mussel potjie, while I went with the lamb croquettes.

Lights and driftwood and birdies make up the pretty decor inside the Seaside Village branch of Cape Town Fish Market…

Just in case you didn’t know where we were eating, I branded my finger.

Precious doglets pretending they just happened to end up asleep on the couch together by the fire while I was working later that night.

Sunday, 15 April 2018: La Rocca breakfast

W.e were meeting Brother-in-Law Spec at the movies in Canal Walk later in the morning so decided on breakfast at La Rocca. See my latte and toasted chicken-mayo with rustic fries, as well as Husband’s Mexican eggs benedict topped with prego sauce.

We had pork roast with roast potatoes for lupper at Mum’s that evening.

For dessert, slices of berry ice-cream ‘cake’ Mum whipped up.

Monday, 16 April 2018: Sunset burger special at CTFM

We’d enjoyed our meal at CTFM so much that we returned for dins on Monday. Glass of red wine and choc-cookie gourmet shake with sunset-over-sea views after a tough day at work? Don’t mind if we do!

Pretty pink clouds at sunset, as seen from our table.

To eat, this time Husband had the ‘salmon poppers’ starter followed by the fish curry, while I had the choc-cookie gourmet shake and the R55 Monday burger special.

That’s all, folks! It’s definitely Autumn here in the Cape so I’m looking forward to lots of hot drinks and hugs for warmth.

Autumn Risotto Pop-Up Experience at 95 Keerom and Gords’ visit

Last week was really busy and quite chilly but filled with happy, delicious moments, too…

Wednesday, 4 April 2018: Autumn Risotto Pop-Up Experience at 95 Keerom and Gords’ visit

I’d been invited to review the Autumn Risotto Pop-Up Experience at 95 Keerom on Wednesday afternoon, so of course I accepted the offer. Each bowl was delicious, especially accompanied by Steenberg Wines’ finest.

The food and the drink. Yes, I ate all this. Click through for details and full descriptions in my official review on Bizcommunity.

Gords, one of Husband’s oldest friends from our Joburg days, was in Cape Town on business on Wednesday so we jumped at the chance to see him at Husband’s parents’ house. See various happy moments below – yes, the doggies were there, too.

Husband’s Mum cooked up haggis, chilli con carne, potatoes and various veg in honour of Gords’ visit. See how thrilled Bertie was to greet Gords, also see my Mum with Bassie (my parents popped in for a quick visit, too).

Friday, 6 April 2018: Doggies warming themselves at the fire

The doggies warming themselves at the fire last Friday evening.

Sleepy sweethearts.

Precious little Bassie peeping out from under her blankie.

Saturday, 7 April 2018: Coffee-filled breakfast at The Daily

The Daily at Seaside Village in Big Bay had revamped its menu so we went for a quick taste. As it was first thing in the morning, we started with coffee! See various shots of Husband’s ‘con panna’ (espresso topped with cream) and my latte.

To eat we went with old favourites – toasted chicken mayo in white for me, eggs florentine for Husband. See shots of how they were served on the left and after we’d doctored them with sauces on the right.

After a fair deal of weekend admin we decided on an early dinner at The Orient in Eden on the Bay that evening. See various hand rolls, sashimi and maki consumed by Husband, and my cashew chicken dish bottom left.

Sunday, 8 April 2018: Coffee at Reload, breakfast at Tables at Nitida, liquid treats at Pakalolo

We were up earlier than necessary on Sunday so stopped for a fancy coffee treat first thing. The outside seating area at Reload in Parklands is inviting.

See my peppermint-chocolate latte and various weekend newspapers. Sunday morning bliss.

As we’d not seen them the day before, we met Husband’s parents at Tables at Nitida for breakfast. It’s such a pretty spot!

Love the mosaic tables at Tables (lol) – also see my Milo shake;, the general ‘bacon-eggs-mushrooms-tomato’ brekkie ordered by Husband’s parents; my brioche French toast with jar of scrumptious caramelised bananas and nuts; and Husband’s Italian-style chorizo-pepper-feta-spring onion open-faced omelette. No wonder their tagline is ‘For the love of food!’

Tables at Nitida always makes us feel welcome. “May all who enter as guests leave as friends.”

After we’d ‘left as friends’, we stopped in at Klein Rosboom for a look around. The entry table is just so pretty. Insert heart-eyes emoji.

Some of the lovely sights at Klein Roosboom. We found ‘die hang gat’, where you can sit in a swing chair while tasting wine. Such fun!

You can see us peeking into another of the tasting room ‘caves’ at Klein Roosboom in the mirror here.

Much later that afternoon, after lots of manual labour in the garden, we stopped in at Pakalolo on the beachfront for a liquid treat. It was a frosty Castle Light draught for Husband and raspberry virgin daquiri for me. Delicious!

You can just make out Husband behind my virgin raspberry daquiri here. Lol.

Ahh. That’s how you spend a Sunday afternoon. Sipping daquiris and staring at sea views.

Mum outdid herself with homemade gnocchi and a crunchy salad for lupper that eve.

Wednesday, 11 April 2018: Overcast fiery skies at night

Overcast sunset sky at night…

Thursday, 12 April 2018: ‘Feel better’ pastries from Trescatelli Bakery

Cloud-flecked sunrise sky in the morning.

There was a bus strike on Thursday and I wasn’t feeling 100% so worked from home that day. Day made when my parents popped in with delicious pastries! See huge mug of coffee with chocolate and vanilla-cream cannoli from Trescatelli Bakery here. Mmm.

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

Bassie turns 11 over Easter long weekend 2018

Little Bassie is now 11 years old and we had a wonderful time celebrating her special day last weekend, as you’ll see from the pics below…

Thursday, 29 March 2018: First fire of 2018

It was rather chilly last Thursday evening, so we lit our first fire of the year in the fireplace. I warmed my bare feet while the doggies happily huddled nearby – Bassie is on the couch, if you’re trying to spot her.

Friday, 30 March 2018: Cup & Cake breakfast on Good Friday

After a leisurely lie-in we decided on Cup & Cake in Eden on the Bay for breakfast. See my caramel latte to start the day.

The food was so good! I had the French Toast sandwich with banana, sweet fried onions and cream cheese while Husband had a classic eggs benedict.

It was a cold day, overall, as is usual for Good Friday – note the Winter grey sky and green sea. Note that Husband was just exploring along the coastline, he did not take a dip.

We picked up some Good Friday treats, to last throughout the long Easter weekend.

Bassie pretended to not be interested in the chocolate hot-cross buns. See her ‘not looking at the foodies’ face on the second shot.

Saturday, 31 March 2018: Musselling in Bloubergstrand

Surprise! We’d just ordered our food and drinks for breakfast at News Cafe with brother-in-law Spec on Saturday morning (he’d slept over at ours) when Mum and Dad walked in! See our various coffees topped with foam hearts and elephants, early bird breakfast specials and the City Slicker eggs benedict Husband ordered for a change.

Proof we were all there.

Then it was time for musselling with Husband’s family, just down the road at Bloubergstrand. All equipped with permits and a suitably low tide, they were ready to wade in.

This lovely golden retriever doggie came bounding over to sit with me after his dip in the sea. His name was Charlie.

You can just make out the mussellers near the rocks here.

We decided on liquid treats at Saint’s in Eden on the Bay later that afternoon. See Spec’s blueberry mojito, my Insomniac shake and Husband’s ‘Fat Mary’ – a bloody Mary topped with candied bacon. Yum!

Husband finally had his proper dip in the sea that afternoon.

The mussels had since been cleaned and cooked, and were eaten as a starter by the others at the braai at the parents later that afternoon. There was also a ‘rosbif’ (roast beef) braaied on the Weber-spit with taters, and lots of veg.

Of course there were all sorts of Easter goodies for dessert. Also see the doggies sitting sweetly.

Bassie was very interested in all the Easter treats but received her own doggy treats as it was the day before her birthday.

Sunday, 1 April 2018: Easter Sunday and Bassie’s 11th birthday

Bassie got lots of special birthday girl attention on Sunday. See Bertie just under Husband’s arm, not willing to move out of the photo.

Surprise (again!) We had just ordered our food and drinks at Mugg & Bean in Table Bay Mall on Sunday morning when Mum and Dad appeared! We moved to a bigger table to eat together. See dad’s ‘serious cappuccino’ and blueberry flapjacks on top, my banoffee French toast bottom left, Mum’s avo egg toast in the middle and Husband’s M&M Classic.

We stopped in at Eden Cafe for our Sunday afternoon treats. See my passionfruit shake and Husband’s Castle Lite.

Various attempts at getting the birthday girl to look happy in her birthday-hat pic this year (her hat is smaller than the one the rest of us wear, but still a little big for her).

Mmm. We’d brought along a malva pudding-style sticky-toffee baked pudding for Easter dessert.

Monday, 2 April 2018: Family Day doggy beach walks

We breakfasted at Cafe Lacomia in our nearest Builder’s Warehouse on Monday. See Husband’s sloppy joe, my toasted chicken mayo and my cafe mocha.

The weather was finally right for a doggie beach visit late on Monday morning.

Doggies running eagerly towards the sea with Husband.

We really kept things local this past long weekend. For our Monday treat we decided on an early-dins at Doodles…

See Husband’s linefish of the day (angelfish) with veg and baked potato, as well as my melt burger with pepper sauce and Bar-one shake.

The sea was crashing over the rocks with Table Mountain under a light cloudy duvet as we took the scenic route home.

I had a belated Easter treat with a cup of coffee in a reindeer mug that evening. Delicious!

That’s all, folks! Keep your eyes peeled for next week’s update, which will feature a visit from special friend, Gords. Have a happy weekend 🙂