Get your scrolling finger ready to see how we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary last weekend, amongst other things…
Wednesday, 22 August 2018: Future Females at Workshop 17
Last Wednesday was the Future Females monthly evening event, which coincided with their first birthday celebration. Click here if you missed my overview.Some networking snaps and oh my goodness, look at that cake!
Thursday, 23 August 2018: SheSays ‘side-hustle’ event
Last Thursday, I attended the second ever Cape Town SheSays event, held at GetSmarter’s offices. Watch for my overview of the event on Bizcommunity early next week!Unicorns, barista-brewed coffees and local bestselling books make good waiting companions.Group shot! We snacked, laughed and chatted away before the main panel discussion began.
Saturday, 25 August 2018: 11th anniversary dins at El Barrio
We had some mall admin to kick off our weekend so it was another Mugg & Bean breakfast for us. See our flat whites, my choc-chip flapjack stack and Husband’s basic fried breakfast.The sea that afternoon was the picture of ‘winter in Cape Town’ – grey sky, green water. Husband did not venture in.We stopped in at The Daily for a mid-afternoon treat of ‘tin cups’ (cappuccino with condensed milk, served in a tin cup). We dunked our heart-shaped shortbread biscuits in them. Yum! ❤We had our anniversary celebration meal at El Barrio in Eden on the Bay. See a selection of the tacos we ate. All delicious!See Husband with his glass of red and me with my ‘Drunken Mexican’ cocktail, complete with roasted marshmallows and cinnamon stick.If you sit inside at El Barrio, you’ll see some of these things, including a super-cute bulldoggy.I finally got to try a ‘pastel caramel-custard rainbow cake slice’ from Velvet Cake Co in Canal Walk that evening. It tastes even better than it looks, and that’s saying something!
Sunday, 26 August 2018: Breakfast at The Hart, cappuccinos at Bread & Butter
We breakfasted at The Hart Bakery in Melkbos on Sunday. See my single eggs benedict, Husband’s chorizo rosti and our flat whites.Handsome Husband! My coffee date at Bread and Butter on Sunday afternoon.Mmm! We had veggie soup with bacon-flavoured croutons for lupper at Mum’s on Sunday. Just the thing on a cold afternoon.
Monday, 27 August 2018: Growing Greatness book launch at Ruth Prowse School of Art
Monday was cold and rainy, and also the evening of the launch of Joe Public United chief creative officer Pepe Marais’ book launch, at the Ruth Prowse School of Art. Click here for my interview with Marais, if you missed it.
Tuesday, 28 August 2018: Networking Vietnamese coffee bowl at Hemelhuijs
I started my Tuesday with a quick coffee catch-up at Hemelhuijs, and finally tried the Vietnamese coffee bowl. It costs R50 and tastes like heaven – with vanilla and condensed milk added to the bowl.A networking selfie together with the founders of the Voyc.AI transcriber, in front of some of the pretty things on display at Hemelhuijs.
Wednesday, 29 August 2018: UCT Unilever Youth Report launch
The weather on Wednesday was crisp and fresh, with blue skies and light clouds everywhere. I snapped this at the Sports Science Institute in Newlands, where I was attending the launch of the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing’s Youth Report 2018.Key moments from the morning.Sweet doggies snuggling on the couch that evening – both with me and without. Also see before and after snaps of the Checkers’ ready-to-cook master chef meal that Husband whipped up for dins. This was the sweet-and-sour pork.
Thursday, 30 August 2018: Love Milo’s Spring design Magnolia launch
On Thursday afternoon, I popped into Love Milo on Hope Street in Gardens for their Spring design trends Magnolia launch. It was just lovely.The snacks and treats were all pinky purple to match the Magnolia trend, with pomegranates in the flutes of pink bubbly and mint leaves and raspberries to garnish the ice tea.This table setting is just so pretty with the ombre napkins, touches of gold, wood and floral.
That’s all, folks! Here’s to a relaxing weekend. 🙂
Loeries 2018 is done and dusted but no need for FOMO: if you missed all the fun you can scroll through my pics below. This is a super bumper edition post as it also includes pics of our stay at the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga last Sunday night. So make sure you have a hot drink at hand, your scrolling finger is ready and go, go, go!
Wednesday, 15 August 2018: Fly to Durban, lunch at the Versailles restaurant
Once I’d checked in at the airport on Wednesday morning I had time for a quick coffee and to snap the sunrise before meeting up with my colleague Angie for our flight to Durban. Good way to start the trip!Once we landed at King Shaka Airport, adjusted to the humidity and found our hire car, we made our way to the Blue Waters Hotel on the Snell Parade. After checking in, we had time for lunch in the hotel’s Versailles restaurant before sorting out some work in our room. See the lovely setting, as well as my berry-topped cheesecake and strawberry milkshake. Angie went for the fish and chips with veggies and said it was delicious.We were so busy working in the evenings that we didn’t leave our room, alas. These are various snaps of room service meals we ordered over our stay at the Blue Waters. Those snack baskets are lovely, the chips are delicious, the hot chocolate has real chocolate melted into the pot and that club sandwich could easily feed two!
Thursday, 16 August 2018: Moderating the Women in Marketing: Africa masterclass
We woke bright and early for our first big day on Thursday – see my ‘The future is female’ tee from Foschini, so fitting for the themes we covered on the day. Also see various stages of breakfast at the Versailles restaurant in the Blue Waters hotel, and the enormous tree guarding the Durban ICC, just five minutes from our hotel.My Loeries fun kicked off with something different – I moderated the Women in Marketing: Africa launch masterclass. Click here for an overview of the topics discussed, if you missed it.Probably one of the most delicious moments of the Loeries – stopping on a swing to try the chocolate-chilli ‘spicecream’ by Robertsons.More about Thursday. Luckily all the Loeries events are held at the Durban ICC, so once you’ve registered it’s pretty easy to find your way around. See the registration desk, where we were pleasantly surprised to be told we were VIPs for the week. Also see me with Loeries CEO Andrew Human, and the lovely Nkgabi Motsau of Think Creative Hub – I’ve interviewed her a few times over the phone and email, so it was wonderful to bump into each other. Also see Angie and me enjoying our ‘spicecreams’ on the Instagram ‘head in the clouds’ swings when the seminar was finally over.
Friday, 17 August 2018: DStv Seminar of Creativity and Loerie Awards night one
Stages of sunrise as seen from our room, and breakfast downstairs in the restaurant.A few of our Friday highlights – it was time for the DStv Seminar of Creativity, so we made sure to have a filling breakfast in the hotel before heading back to the Convention Centre (this is part two). It was ‘build-you-own-bunnychow for lunch – with authentic Durban curry, so these were fantastically hot. Also see the Convention Centre all lit up for the first awards show that night. We rushed back to our hotel room to change out of our casual outfits, then were ready for lights, camera, action!A few more snaps from Friday night’s Loeries award ceremony at the Durban ICC. See me with Slo, who now works at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris. I met HER when I first covered the Loeries in Durban a good four years ago, and see Angie and me in all our Foschini finery.Our posed snap from Gallo, on the red carpet with the Loeries and this year’s Wakanda-themed picture prettiers.The award nights flew by in a whizz as we were tweeting, posting to Instagram and making articles live as the nights went on. No wonder we were exhausted by the time we got back to our room!
Saturday, 18 August 2018: Brand SA VIP Brunch and Loerie Awards night two
Saturday morning was the Brand South Africa VIP Brunch, held at California Dreaming on the beachfront. We were happy to sit and watch Durban life go by on the promenade beyond, while sipping away and munching on delicious snacks.After a strong cappuccino we were ready to fit in some networking, too!Saturday night version of the official Loeries red carpet team snap – this time in our own clothing with Foschini accessories (love that neckpiece!)More from the Saturday night red carpet! See me with the big gold loerie, Angie and I at the logo wall and saying hi to Nkanyezi Masango of King James Group (they did really well on the night!)Husband also kept me in the loop of how things were going back at home on Saturday. See the doglets snuggled together on the couch, cheersing his mom’s birthday, and breakfast with my parents. Also see Bassie, very interested in his dessert.
Sunday, 19 August 2018: A night at the Oyster Box Hotel
Husband also sent me snaps of his early morning at the Cape Town airport, where he waited for his flight to join me for a night. See the Cape Town Slow Lounge, his Kulula flight and view from the window.Husband found the ‘loo with a view’ in the Cape Town Slow lounge hilarious!Angie safely dropped off for her flight home and Husband collected for part two of my time in KZN, we hopped into an Uber and headed to Umhlanga. See some of the sights along the way.Ahh, the Oyster Box. We loved everything we saw when we first arrived, including resident kitty Skabenga who let me pet him as he napped on a couch.The main reception area is just gorgeous, with ornate red carpets, glass, mirrors and orchids everywhere you look.If cakes are your thing, don’t miss high tea at the Oyster Box. We had a huge dinner to come so gave it a miss, but there’s also a slightly smaller ‘evening indulgence’ option if you have a spot of space left after those curries. We didn’t, sadly. Will have to return for it!Our room was a pink, red and white delight. See the robes in the bathroom, the red-and-white lighthouse in walking distance and enticing private balcony.Cheers! We clinked drinks once we’d had time to unpack and get over the gorgeousness of the view from our balcony.It’s not a proper seaside stay if Husband hasn’t had a dip in the sea, so we trotted along the beach to the pier and of course he dunked himself in the Umhlanga waters – my first time on the KZN beachfront too, despite having arrived in Durban on the Wednesday! Note cute ‘sand brush’ for when returning from beach to hotel.We even spotted a vervet monkey wandering the grounds!Sunset from our balcony.Don’t forget to explore the upstairs floor of the Oyster Box – we found the Clock Tower Room, host to a selection of toy soldiers, as well as the movie theatre stocked with sweets and soft blankets. Lots to do if the weather keeps you indoors!A lovely nautical corner of the Oyster Box.That night, we sampled the curry buffet in the Ocean Terrace. Proper review of the curries to come on Biz, and see my very chocolatey shake – with striped paper straw, of course.All the colours deepen at the Oyster Box at night. We were quite exhausted after dins and ready for bed.Wow, the Oyster Box room fairies went all out in our absence, decking the bed with towel swans, rose petals, chocolates and gowns. Here’s the resulting gown pic.To a Capetonian, this is absolute heaven due to water restrictions in the province. The staff had sprinked more rose petals all around the edge of the super-large tub, and even left us scented candles. Bliss!
Monday, 20 August 2018: The Oyster Box breakfast buffet and King Shaka Airport Slow Lounge
The breakfast buffet spread is simply unbeatable. Look at all those cheeses, and you could eat oysters to your heart’s content! I think Husband stopped at 14.Also see Husband’s Oysters Mornay bottom right, a selection of the cereals, the full breakfast menu and the pancake I topped with chocolate syrup, cream, banana slices and mini Astros. That’s how you do breakfast! And then…The spa at the Oyster Box is open to guests, so we headed straight there after breakfast to spend some quiet time digesting and erasing some of the past weeks’ stresses.I can’t tell you how relaxing it was the spend the morning hopping between this jacuzzi-like plunge pool and the Turkish hammam steam room. We left feeling ten times better than when we arrived. Us waterbabies could have easily spent the day there!We spent a little time at the main pool (there’s another close to the spa) before it was time to check out. I can see why this is a firm Umhlanga favourite!More shots of the gorgeous pool. See how we both bravely got in (that’s me in the bottom left shot) – and what a wonderful spot it is, to take your morning coffee.We had enough time to spare before our flight to visit the Slow Lounge at King Shaka Airport – my first time. See the curry that made Husband’s eyes light up, the chocolate croissant and cappuccino that made me happy, and various other snacks.Another snap of the Slow Lounge, and the British Airways plane that brought us home.
That’s all, folks! Hope my snaps did our whirlwind stay justice. We’ve both been a bit ill this past week, so it will probably be a quiet weekend on our side. Enjoy yours!
*Disclaimer: Our Loeries’ outfits and accessories were sponsored by Foschini, while meals and accommodation at the Oyster Box Hotel were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
Apologies for the slightly delayed post, loyal readers. As you probably know, I’m in Durban this week covering the Loeries so making do when I have a spot of free time.
And you’ll see the past week and a bit has also been busier than usual as we had the the Women’s Day public holiday, as well as both my parents’ birthdays.
See how we celebrated this and more below…
Monday, 6 August 2018: Media networking at Expresso Studios
It was an odd feeling to see all the settings that are synonymous with the Expresso morning show. We also met the six new SABC3 presenters, so click here if you missed my interviews with them.Husband and I enjoying a flute of bubbly in front of the tropical wall at Expresso Studios.
Tuesday, 7 August 2018: Future Females’ women in leadership breakfast
I attended my first Future Females women in leadership breakfast session on Spin Street, all about better communication in the workplace. Click here for my coverage on Biz, if you missed it.
Thursday, 9 August 2018: Women’s Day breakfast at All in the Kitchen, Mexican dins at El Barrio
We started our Women’s Day on a delicious note, with breakfast at All in the Kitchen. See my bacon-egg croissant, the salmon-poached eggs-avo ‘omega breakfast; the others went for, and our flat whites. Also pretty roses, cakes and shots of Amaretto.We tried El Barrio in Eden on the Bay for dinner that night. See the lovely decor and Husband’s ‘Mexican Flag’ tequila shooter.The menu design is just gorgeous, and everything we ate and drank was delicious. See my Mexican chilli hot chocolate (you melt the chocolate into the hot, spiced milk); also our taco bowls – mine was pork, Husband had beef) – and also sunset.
Friday, 10 August 2018: Dad’s 68th birthday treats
Last Friday was my dad’s 68th birthday, so we popped in to wish him in person once we were done with work for the day. See some of the sweet treats Mum created, and the doggies loving all the attention.Such a bright, pretty sunset in the suburbs.
Saturday, 11 August 2018: Daily Cafe breakfast, Panama Jacks lunch
We breakfasted at the Daily Cafe in Seaside Village on Saturday. See Husband’s coffee tasting tray and breakfast wrap, as well as my condensed-milky tin cup and ‘waffle pop’, topped with caramel and bananas.The doggies had a heckin explore later that morning when we took them for a wander close to home. See Bertie in the water, curious Bassie and the mountain behind us.We stopped in at Panama Jacks near the harbour for lunch after Husband popped in at work for a quick half-hour. See some of the sights we saw.Lunch! Husband had the Thai fish curry with a glass of red, I had the duck starter and a ‘cookie’ shake. Yum.Sleepy sweeties on the couch.
Sunday, 12 August 2018: Rocomama’s burgers, dogs and shakes
I went for three cinnamon-sugar pancakes for R20 and a butterscotch latte for breakfast at Cup & Cake in Eden on the Bay last Sunday, while Husband had a flat white, Coke Zero and the salmon eggs benedict.We headed out to Rocomama’s Durbanville for a between-parents-birthdays treat. Their burgers and dogs are always a treat!See the beer- and cider-drinkers at one end of the table, the milkshakers on the other, and the ‘ plain half waffle’ we shared for dessert.Speaking of milkshake… I made my way through this fantastic freak shake – the ‘Surprise Me’ on the day was an Oreo cookies/peanut buttery-caramel concoction, dripping with dark and white chocolate. Delicious!My precious doglets. Probably wanting some of my coffee that evening. Or rather, the biscuit.
That’s all, folks! Watch for my Durban Loeries highlights in next week’s blog post. Wish me luck…
Last weekend saw us in Stellenbosch, where we had the most wonderful time. I’ll let the pictures do the talking so you can see for yourself…
Saturday, 4 August 2018: Lunch at Majeka House’s M Bar, chocolate pairing at Waterford Estate
We had some weekend admin to sort out first thing, so Saturday’s breakfast was enjoyed at W Cafe in Woolworths, Table Bay Mall. See Husband’s eggs benedict and flat white, with my poached pear-topped French toast and vanilla-cinnamon cappuccino. Yum.What’s a road trip without caffeine? We ended up with a cafe mocha for me and a Coke Zero for Husband, and enjoyed watching the scenery become all woodsy the closer we got to Stellenbosch.What a welcome! When you see that tree in the middle of the road, you know you’re in whisper distance of Majeka House. Also see one of the quirky pig ornaments (they’re everywhere at Majeka House), and the herbal infusion from Majeka’s own herb garden, served in the prettiest floral cups.The M Bar at Majeka House is beautiful, with gold touches and pops of royal blue everywhere. There was a toasty fire blazing inside, but we opted to eat out in the elements, amongst the unusual cacti.Our lunch choices from the Majeka Menu. We opted for just a main each – the line fish for Husband and the pasta for me, with the vanilla creme brulee for dessert.There were no burgers in stock and the menu was quite seafood-heavy, so I the coriander-chilli-broccoli-bocconcini pasta was my best bet, especially when paired with a gingery rose martini. Also see husband’s asparagus and the linefish – Cape breem on the day, cooked to perfection, as well as the vanilla creme brulee topped with a cookie and paired with a cappuccino.Strong, rich coffee, a crisp breeze, bird song and blues and greens everywhere you look. That’s Majeka House!Bellies full, it was time to explore our room! We were in one of two with access to a private (very cold) pool. Also see the pretty pink and grey birdy theme, even on the glass doors on the bathroom.I won’t tell you how many takes we took at getting it to look like I was wrapped up in the flamingo birdy. 🙂See the beautiful but chilly pool. The base is striped and would be good for a few laps! I didn’t brave it much more than this, alas. The coffee was much needed, and even that didn’t do the trick so we decided it was time for a quick explore of the local wine farms. What a good idea!Waterford Estate is like something an artist imagined and brought to life with a magic paintbrush.You just can’t go wrong with visiting a wine farm in the Western Cape, but Waterford Estate has a special touch. From the game viewing vehicle to the pretty trees…To the classy country setting with lights and log fires everywhere you look…To the chocolate-wine pairing, which is complementary if you’re staying at Majeka House. Waterford Estate was actually the first local wine farm to offer a chocolate-wine pairing, and we can see why it’s been such a success. The chocolates are specially crafted and can only be bought at the Estate. We highly recommend this activity if you’re visiting Stellenbosch!But the best part, for us? The tiny fruit dotted on trees in rows and rows across the estate. They were sweet and seedless, and left our fingers orange-scented.Dornier is on the same road as Waterford Estate, so we stopped in for a quick visit – see why I say you can’t go wrong with visiting a wine farm in the Western Cape?Some of the things we saw while travelling those semi-rural roads of Stellenbosch.Juice and dessert! We’d just returned to our room when there was a knock on our door in the early evening, and we were presented with fresh, spicy juice and a yummy berry-chocolate panna cotta.Later that evening we made use of the fitness centre and the steam room, sauna, indoor pool and jacuzzi. This is bliss!This was the best option from our standard gown photo shoot. I promise. Not seen: Just how fluffy and soft and warm they were.Night time! See the sky at sunset and how the Majeka House archways light up once the moon rises.
Sunday, 5 August 2018: Breakfast buffet at Makaron
The moment Husband’s eyes were open on Sunday morning, it was time for breakfast in Makaron. See the hot breakfast menu, some of the treats to choose from the continental buffet, and tea equipment.This little piggy guarded the breakfast buffet.The seating arrangements at Makaron restaurant in Majeka House are quite something. Look at these fancy chairs!We had bowl after bowl of beautiful assortment of food. See our strong coffees served with hot milk, clusters of honeyed muesli with nuts and yoghurt, the American pancakes with hot, jammy blueberries and Husband’s full breakfast including tomato, mushrooms and sausages.Suspicious Bassie, once we were safely home again that afternoon.Bertie having a snuggle with his dad.
Monday, 6 August 2018: Sunrise in Woodstock
The most beautiful citrus-streaky sunrise when I got off the MyCiti bus at Woodstock Station on Monday morning.
That’s all, folks! We hope you have a relaxing weekend ahead. 🙂
*Disclaimer: Our meals and accommodation at Majeka House and Waterford Estate were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
Can you believe we’re already in August! This past week has been busy on all fronts as usual, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Friday, 27 July 2018: Birthday cakes at work and Petiscos dins
Almost as soon as I’d sat down at my desk on Friday, it was time to leave for the monthly Creative Mornings Cape Town talk, held at Friends of Design on Bree Street. The talk was on the theme of ‘intention’ – watch for my coverage on Biz this coming Monday.When I got back to the office there was a selelction of cakes and sweet treats to celebrate my colleague Gail’s birthday. T’was lovely!It had been a long, hard work week so we treated ourselves to dins at Petiscos last Friday night, as we had so enjoyed the chicken fillet xai xai the previous weekend. It was delicious and came fast! Husband had his with a glass of red again, I went for the wild berry shake.
Saturday, 28 July 2018: Small dogs and Sea Point curries
We had weekend admin to tick off our lists at Table Bay Mall on Saturday, so we started off with a quick breakfast at Mugg & Bean. See Husband’s bacon-egg-tomato toast and my triple-choc muffin, That’s a flat white for me and a serious cappuccino for him.My sweet girl enjoying the sunshine outside on Saturday morning.Sometimes Bertie sits in a way that makes him look tiny (he’s a hefty 10kg ‘medium’ according to doggie food charts). Bless.The doglets on the couch together that afternoon. Little Miss Bassie looks concerned, Bertie not so much.On Saturday evening we made the long trek past town, to combine a colleague of mine’s farewell dinner with my brother-in-law Spec’s birthday. We went to Ninety One in Sea Point and had the most delicious curries – the butter chicken with peshwari (desiccated coconut and raisin) naan bread as amazing!The girls! Some have since left the team, but we’re always good for a curry dinner catch-up.
Sunday, 29 July 2018: Baconville breakfast, Moyo sunset dins
We treated Spec to breakfast at Baconville on Sunday morning. See my large Flake-topped chocolate latte catching some sun.It was sunny and there was coffee and bacon, so we were happy.Choc-chip birthday queen cakes Mum whipped up for Spec, eaten at my in-laws’ house on Sunday afternoon.Bertie was a sleepy sweetheart that afternoon and slept on his dad’s lap, almost on top of his sister and spreadeagled on the sun-warmed carpet.We decided on a shared bowl of the lamb-shank linguine at Moyo in Eden on the Bay for our early Sunday dins. Also see my hazelnut latte and lots of heaters and interesting pink lights.We had the full Moyo experience with gas heaters and drumming music and my face-painted, and were lucky enough to catch the sun setting over the sea just as we were leaving.
Tuesday, 31 July 2018: Farewell cakes at work
Such beautiful cakes! These were in honour of Ilse’s formal farewell lunch at work on Tuesday.
Wednesday, 1 August 2018: CEM Africa conference day one
Wednesday was the first day of the annual customer experience management or CEM Africa Summit. I’d not been to the CTICC for a while so enjoyed taking in the scenery before the conference sessions kicked off.The food during tea breaks and lunch was as good as always at the CTICC, with fresh pastries and mini muffins, as well as sticky doughnuts, assorted desserts, and lots of small round foods easy to eat with the hands. I approve!
Thursday, 2 August 2018: CEM Africa conference day two
The food choices on day two did not disappoint!Some of my favourite keynote presentations included these slides. You can read more about them here, here and here.Of course I stopped for a photo at the BrandLove booth, they’re my favourite CX team!
That’s all, folks! Here’s to a relaxing weekend all round. 🙂
Ramblings, rumblings and random ruminations, version ii. Also reviews, recommendations and alliteration. Based on living the good life in the fairest Cape. Eating is my favourite pastime. Updated weekly
Rambling Litchii 