Heritage Day 2019 at Carlucci’s, GrandWest Casino and Petisco’s

We’ve had many happy moments in our new home over the past week, as well as many lovely experiences out and about, as you’ll see from the pics below…

Thursday, 21 March 2019: Human Right’s Day movie and munchies

We slept in a little later than usual last Thursday, as it was the Human Right’s Day public holiday. Our tummies wanted feeding even though loadshedding had kicked in by then, so we made our way to our local Carlucci’s deli for my favourite combo – a dirty chai latte and almond croissant, while Husband had the salmon eggs benedict with a flat white.

Next stop, the Captain Marvel movie at GrandWest Casino. It was packed but I found a quiet spot: The view from inside GrandWest Casino, looking out.

There are new ‘Strike a Pose’ camera stations all around GrandWest, which take a few tries to get right, especially in terms of how far to stand from the camera booth. Lol!

We were quite hungry by the time we got out of the movie, and exited only to find it was time for loadshedding at home. Luckily, Petisco’s in Parklands was fully operational on generator power so we could have our favourite chicken fillet xai-xai, with a pint of Super Bock beer for Husband (lol, he’s drinking a Super Bok in his Springboks tee) and a Lindt latte for me. Yum!

The sky was having a pastel-magic moment over Table Mountain when we got home.

Friday, 22 March 2019: Chicken pie and fiery sunsets

Chicken pie, roast potatoes and veg for dinner at Mum’s.

Gorgeous fiery sunset, as seen from home. Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight!

Saturday, 23 March 2019: Breakfast at The Hart Breadhouse

I just caught the sunrise from our kitchen window on Saturday morning. Also see the doggies exploring the front garden in sunshine.

Melkbos was top of the list for Saturday morning excursion, and though they were being loadshed at the time, the queue outside The Hart Breadhouse wasn’t bad at all, and the food was delicious. See my banana-Nutella French toast, as well as Husband’s lip-smackingly good mackerel plate. Not seen: Our equally good coffees.

Hubcap contemplating a swim in the deep blue sea. Table Mountain is to the left, this is a slight variation of the usual ‘Husband swimming in sea’ pic.

We have lift-off! Here’s the one you were waiting for, Husband diving in for a refreshing dip.

Sunday, 24 March 2019: News Cafe breakfast and new balcony lights

We started our Sunday with super early errands at Willowbridge in Bellville, but first, coffee! See Husband’s flat white and my stirred honey-nut latte at Ou Meul.

Our next stop was breakfast at our local News Cafe with Husband’s parents. We ordered before 10am so our the ‘full English’ was just R35, with Husband opting for the ‘chilli mince’ bowl and his mom trying the mint-apple super bowl.

We had wors rolls topped with slap chips for lupper at Mum’s on Sunday afternoon.

Husband finished his light work outside my parents’ balcony that evening, so beautiful – lots of twinkly purple and blue solar lights, so we can see where we are going even when there’s loadshedding.

Various snaps of sleepy doggies taken over the last week.

That’s all, folks! See you in the same place, same time next week. 🙂

Conferencing, sunsets and St Patrick’s Day 2019

This past week has been a blur of conferences, sunsets and good food, as you’ll see from the pics below…

Friday, 15 March 2019: Afternoon tea at home

I worked from home last Friday so took a quick afternoon tea break when my in-laws popped in for a visit. See the tea and stack of egg-mayo sandwiches Mum made.

Saturday, 16 March 2019: Breakfast at Park’s End, Catch22 cocktails

We needed to do some weekend admin in the Southern Suburbs on Saturday, so stopped in where Cafeen used to be – it’s now called Parks End. See Husband’s salmon eggs benedict, my creme brulee latte and various interesting things in store.

The name may have changed, but the menu basics are the same. See my French toast topped with bacon and bruleed banana, as well as syrup, cinnamon sugar and lemon curd. Yum!

Lovely scenery on the way back home from Constantia side.

We had our Saturday afternoon meal at Catch22. See the palm-tree light and my tiramisu shake. Yum!

Also see my buccaneer beef burger topped with bacon, cheese and onion rings, some of Mum’s sushi and Husband’s coconut bay fish curry.

Of course Husband had a dip in the sea that afternoon.

Sunday, 16 March 2019: St Patrick’s Day 2019

Some of the themed balloons we saw on display for St Patrick’s Day. We always celebrate as my dad is Patrick!

We met Husband’s mum for breakfast at the Pink Olive on Sunday morning. Note all the green outfits, for St Patrick’s Day.

Some of the Pink Olive decor as well as the flat whites, egg-and-mince on toast, and fresh scones with jam and cream.

Sunday evening’s fiery sunset.

Monday, 18 March 2019: Women in Tech Africa Conference

On Monday I popped into the first Women In Tech Africa conference, at the Century City Convention Centre. See some of the treats that were on offer…

Proof I was there, as well as the much-needed coffee and some of the sessions taking place. Watch for my coverage highlights in Monday’s #FairnessFirst column on Bizcommunity!

Tuesday 19 and Wednesday, 20 March 2019: eCommerce Africa conference

Tuesday and Wednesday this week were all about the fifth ever eCommerce Africa conference at the CTICC. See some of the eats and views here.

These were some of my favourite moments of eCommerce Africa 2019, click through to my overview articles of the best talk on day 1 and day 2.

Sweet Bassie napping with her grandpa.

That’s all, folks! Have a relaxing weekend. 🙂

Allee Bleue’s #MayDayMeander preview, Dinner on the Crystal Serenity and family housewarming

This past week has been jam-packed on the work and home front, as you’ll see from the pics below…

Thursday, 7 March: #MayDayMeander at Allee Bleue

After a brief stint in the office before the sun had fully risen, I met a friend at Tasha’s at the V&A Waterfront for a quick work-related chat, over Nutella-marshmallow hot chocolate. Yum!

Next stop, a media tour for the day in Franschhoek. Welcome to Allee Bleue! This translates to ‘blue avenue’ and makes sense when you take in all the blue Eucalyptus trees and touches of blue dotted throughout the grounds.

Taking in some of the scenery at Allee Bleue.

The drizzle was on and off, which made for lovely Franschhoek landscape photos.

Freshly plucked herbs feature strongly in Allee Bleue’s tasting options.

More of the herby bites and sights along the way as we continued our May Day Meander preview around the grounds of Allee Bleue.

Mmm. Even more of the stops along the way – keep in mind the whole ‘meander’ only takes an hour or so, meaning we were taking in lots of food, drink and information in that time.

Finally all meandered out, it was time for lunch. See the blue hydrangeas on the table and some of the lovely eats we were treated to. Not seen in these pics – the sweet grey squirrels that roam the property.

Friday, 8 March 2019: Table View sunsets

You can just see Table Mountain popping out a very blue shoulder behind our yellow house here – view on my walk home from the bus…

Husband happily putting the gas stove to the test.

Such pretty sunsets, as seen from home on Friday evening.

Saturday, 9 March 2019: Family housewarming braai

It was a ‘breakfast at Reload’ type of Saturday, as we’re now walking distance from the Flamingo Vlei branch. See my peppermint-choc latte and smashed-avo bagel, as well as Husband’s cooked breakfast with triple-shot espresso. Love the kudu-painted wall.

The boxes are all unpacked so we held a housewarming braai at our house that afternoon.

Various snaps as the sun went down on our housewarming braai.

Braai food! See the cheese and crackers, strawberry mousse and Don’s famous lemony chicken wings.

Bassie prefers to sit on a lap when there are many other folk around. Her uncle Spec slept over but the rest all made their way back to their own homes as all live nearby.

Sunday, 10 March 2019: Carlucci’s breakfast

We set off for Carlucci’s, just down the road from home, for Sunday breakfast. See my dirty chai latte and Husband peppering his plate.

Our full table of food. See my dirty chai latte and chocolate croissant, the brothers’ flat whites, Husband’s Coke Zero and egg-topped mince on toast, as well as well as Spec’s classic breakfast plate.

We sampled some of our housewarming gifts on Sunday afternoon – see the dry Prosecco and assorted De Villiers chocolate slabs.

Little Bassie hasn’t quite figured out all the ins and outs of the new house yet so will often wait outside until we see her and let her in.

Tuesday, 12 March 2019: Six-star dining aboard Crystal Serenity’s Waterside Restaurant

Cheers! We got to the V&A Waterfront’s Cruises Terminal a little earlier than necessary for our six-star dining experience after work on Tuesday evening, so had a quick drink at Panama Jacks first, as we could see the Crystal Serenity clearly from our table outside. See Husband’s carafe of red blend and my blueberry shake.

We got to explore most of the nooks and crannies of the Crystal Serenity. There’s so much to see! Note the local bagpipers behind Husband in the bottom-left pic. They were boarding for the night’s performance.

Some of the lovely sights we saw onboard the Crystal Serenity.

Even more things aboard the Crystal Serenity.

As seen on the wall of the kiddies’ room of the Crystal Serenity.

We were also treated to dinner at Crystal Serenity’s Waterside restaurant. See my parma ham-topped gnocchetti, Husband sipping away at the endless supply of wine, food being professionally snapped, as well as Husband’s starter of ‘Ahi tuna tartare and scallop crudo, and main of broiled corvina on a tomato rice pilaf.

Six-star dins? Don’t mind if I do! See my roast duckling, Husband’s vanilla creme brulee, and my coconut-chocolate trifle and cappuccino.

Wednesday, 13 March 2019: Heavy Chef’s ‘Instagram for Business’ masterclass at Workshop 17

Wednesday was gloomy and wet, which made some of the sights around Workshop 17 all the more eye-catching. See the turquoise-and-gold striped rhino, as well as snacks and treats in the Heavy Chef masterclass. Click here for my overview of the event!

That’s all, folks. Click here for more on the #MayDayMeander, here for more on our Crystal Serenity experience and here for more on Workshop 17’s ‘Instagram for Business’ masterclass. Over and out! 🙂

*Disclaimer: Our meals at Allee Bleue and at Crystal Serenity’s Waterside restaurant were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.

Bertie’s 9th birthday and moving day 2019

Last week we finally moved into our dream home here in Cape Town, along with the doggies and my parents. It’s a process that we started back in June, so we can’t quite believe it’s real!

As you’ll see from the pics below, all are now settled in and happy – especially as the move coincided with Bertie’s 9th birthday…

Friday, 1 March 2019: Moving day, Bertie’s 9th birthday

Bye bye, Bishops Bend! We’ve loved our four years here in the first house we’ve owned, but the time has come for something different. After everything was packed up, we said our final goodbyes last Friday evening.

Hello, Giraffe House! So many things make us happy about our new home, as you’ll see from the pics below and more to come in the next few weeks – two separate houses, one enormous garden for the doggies…

More of the pretty corners of our new home.

There are beautiful blossoms and trees everywhere you look here, and the doglets love doing laps around the garden. It’s so tropical.

Amongst all the unpacking that evening, we even managed to fit in a mini-birthday celebration for Bertie boy.

Moving in celebrations! Some of Bertie’s birthday-party snacks, his new giraffe rope-toy, split shooters to celebrate the big move, as well as a beautiful vase of flowers and thoughtful muffin-and-coffee welcome gift from our new neighbours. We feel loved!

Bertie receiving his ‘Giraffe House’ birthday present – we’ve had it hidden away since starting the house purchase process. He has pulled out most of the stuffing and now watches TV with it. So sweet!

Saturday, 2 March 2019: Celebratory cocktails and tacos at El Barrio

We were drenched in sweat from unpacking boxes on Saturday afternoon as it was such a hot day, so as soon as we had a gap we hit the beach. It was just what our aching feet needed. Husband said the water was less icy than usual so he had quite a long swim in the sea, too.

We also stopped in at El Barrio in Eden on the Bay for a celebration of tacos and cocktails. See our tacos, Husband’s blueberry-filled ‘Mexican hipster’ and my strawberry, lime and mint frozen margarita. Yum!

We all had a braai together that evening. Also see Husband testing out my hammock chair.

Finally, a tree shady enough to swing from my hammock chair in peace!

Sunday, 3 March 2019: Blueberries breakfast

We stopped in at Blueberries in Table View Shopping Centre for a quick breakfast. See my banana-caramel pancake and Husband’s hash-brown plate.

Beautiful star-shaped buds caught in a fine spider’s web in a hidden corner of our new garden.

Monday, 4 March 2019: Rocomama’s waffles

The doggies watching their Granny’s every move while adjusting to the novelty of living together. Such sweeties.

Husband was back at work on Monday but I had one more day to unpack all those boxes, so unpack I did – then went for a treat at Rocomama’s once I was done. See Dad’s waffle sandwich, Mum’s Hey Joe saucy hot dog, and my espresso shake.

My half-portion Cookies n Scream waffle was just what the doctor ordered. 🙂

Tuesday, 5 March 2019: Sunrise in Woodstock

We’ve had quite a few early starts to work this week, arriving at the office before 7am. See the sunrise as I walk towards my office from the MyCiti bus stop in Woodstock.

Wednesday, 6 March 2019: Interviewing CEOs at YPO

I popped into the CTICC on Wednesday, to interview a few of the members and speakers of YPO, the world’s largest gathering of CEOs. Click here if you missed my first overview.

That’s all for now, folks! 🙂 Check in next week for more pics.