This past week was filled with work fun and lots of family time, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Thursday, 1 August 2019: Sampling Cavalli’s winter menu and Cremello white blend
I attended a media lunch to celebrate Cavalli’s Cremello white blend wine on Thursday afternoon. Views as seen from the deck at Cavalli. It’s gorgeous!Some of the delicious food. See my enormous bowl of cauliflower chive risotto topped with a parmesan crisp top-left, starter tortellini served with vichysoisse, pumpkin seeds and tomato ragu top-right, the springbok loin was another win, paired with fermented garlic mash, bok choi and celeriac puree with the Warlord red wine in the middle, and a selection of dessert friandes on the bottom. Yum!Liquid refreshment on offer at Cavalli…Some of the lovely sights at Cavalli, which means ‘horse’ in Italian.This is a cremello (blonde) horse. Fancy Boy lives in the stables at Cavalli and celebrated his 13th birthday on the day of our visit!
Friday, 2 August 2019: Silly sleepy dog
Teehee. Bertie sitting and sleeping in funny positions on Friday evening, after tiring himself out yapping and snapping at the garden sprinklers. See his completely vertical back leg and wide-open eyes yet fast-asleep face.
Saturday, 3 August 2019: Good Thyme Cafe brek, braai at Husband’s parents
We breakfasted at the new Good Thyme Cafe at Stodels in Milnerton on Saturday morning. See my apple-cinnamon oats and Husband’s spicy chorizo potato rosti with an extra egg, lots of rocket and Sriracha Hollandaise sauce.We’d not braaied at Husband’s parents house in a while, so that’s where we were on Saturday afternoon. See some of the food and Bassie exploring the garden in one of her warm jerseys.Precious doglets at their other Granny-Grampa’s house that evening.Tabasco was unimpressed that this bag of movie popcorn shared her name.
Sunday, 4 August 2019: News Cafe brek, Flamingo Vlei dog walkies
We breakfasted at News Cafe, Marine Circle on Sunday morning and were in time for the earlybird English breakfast special.We stopped at Bread and Butter for a quick cafe mocha while running weekend errands that afternoon.We also stopped at Driftwood Cafe for a late-lunch on Sunday. See my pink strawberry shake and toasted chicken mayo, as well as Husband’s Castle Lite draught with the chicken curry special.Scenes from our walkies with the doggies around Flamingo Vlei last Sunday afternoon. Love the one bottom-right of Bassie saying ‘Come Mom, it’s this way.”Picture perfect view of the Vlei, about 1.5km’s walk from home.Two exhausted doglets snuggled on various couches post-walkies.
Tuesday, 6 August 2019: Panarotti’s pizza special post-work
Tuesday night is the pasta and pizza special at Panarotti’s, so we ventured forth after work that evening. In addition to the pizzas, see all the milkshakes! That’s a Bar-One shake for me, lime for Dad, banana for Husband and a Sprite Zero for Mum.
Wednesday, 7 August 2019: SodaStream’s City Sightseeing red bus tour
After briefly checking in at the office on Wednesday morning, I dashed to Tasha’s at the V&A Waterfront, where I was meeting a media group for our morning excursion. See my steaming-hot blueberry muffin (they’re not on the menu, just ask!)City Sightseeing bus tour, anyone? This was another media event, for the launch of SodaStream’s new sustaianle bottles – we also sampled their non-alcoholic pina colada and pink mojito flavours. More on Bizcommunity soon!A bunch of the attendees posing on top of Signal Hill in the freezing wind.Signal Hill, as seen from the SodaStream Red Bus tour, for the launch of their new sustainable bottles.Look at that view! Cape Town, as seen from Signal Hill on the City Sightseeing red bus tour.
That’s all, folks! Click here to recap my full Cavalli review on Bizcommunity and watch for my SodaStream coverage soon. We hope you’re having a wonderfully restful long weekend. 🙂
*Disclaimer: My meal at Cavalli and City Sightseeing red bus tour were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
Last week, we spent some quality time with the doggies as the weather was chilly and grey, which you’ll see from the pics below…
Friday, 17 May 2019: Work-from-home fruit salad and doggie company
Mum let me know she had some fruit salad ready mid-morning last Friday when I was working from home, so I trotted across to her house.Bertie having a sunny nap while keeping me company on my work-from-home day.Sweet Bassie having cuddles with her Grampa later that afternoon.
Saturday, 18 May 2019: Roast lamb on the Weber
For our Saturday breakfast, we popped into Bread & Butter. See our flat whites as well as Husband’s salmon-chorizo-cream cheese omelette, and my half portion of bacon eggs benedict.Things had turned quite chilly by Saturday afternoon so we decided on a quick lamb roast on the Weber. Here’s the end result.Saturday afternoon feasting at the braai. No doggies pictured but there were right there, I promise.The end result – roast lamb fresh off the braai, with roast potatoes, green peas and a homemade minty sauce. Yum!Ha! Bassie looks very cross here. Think she was trying to leap from chair to table to meat and we stopped her in her tracks.
Sunday, 19 May 2019: Rocomama’s afternoon treats
A lone hadeda cawing in the back garden. It wasn’t there long before Bertie chased it away.T’was a Carlucci’s kind of Sunday morning – I had my go-to breakfast of cinnamon croissant with dirty chai latte, while Husband went for a flat white and the chorizo baked-egg pan.Odd clouds started rolling in later that day, with heavy rain following on Sunday night. That’s a cloud covering the base of Table Mountain, as seen from Sunset Beach.We headed to our local Rocomama’s for our Sunday afternoon treat of chilli-cheese fries, a draught for him and a butterscotch-toffee shake for her. Yum!
Monday, 20 May 2019: Homemade chocolate muffins
When I got home from work on Monday, Mum had baked a batch of delicious chocolatey muffins. Mmm…
Wednesday, 22 May 2019: Ethical reporting on children workshop
I spent my Wednesday attending Media Monitoring Africa and UCT Children’s Institute’s media workshop on ethical reporting on children, at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel. Watch for coverage on Bizcommunity soon!
That’s all, folks! I’m on leave for a few days so expect lots of pics in my next update. 🙂
This past week was quite a busy one workwise so we didn’t get out much, but we enjoyed all the small moments of joy…
Friday, 18 January 2019: McDonald’s with a difference
We stopped in at our nearest McDonald’s after work last Friday and were surprised to see the decor is completely different, with a fully automated order system. Not a yellow arch in sight!And to drink, with my chilli cheese medium McMeal? An iced coffee, further adding to the unexpectedness of the experience.
Saturday, 19 January 2019: Rocomama’s waffles
It was a Bread & Butter breakfast for us on Saturday. See our flat white and mochachino respectively, as well as my single bacon eggs benedict and Husband’s trout omelette.We decided on Rocomama’s for our Saturday afternoon treat. Seen here: My half portion ‘Cookies and Scream’ waffle, Husband’s Franken-smash burger with chilli-cheese fries, and his G-shake with shot of Jack Daniels’ Jack Fire. Yum!The burgers and fries were top-notch as always, and the waffle delicious. This is the half-portion of ‘Cookies and Scream’, which I polished off after my burger and creme brulee shake.
Sunday, 20 January 2019: Greens breakfast, Boardhouse cocktails
See how we started our Sunday: my caramelised pear, pecan and marscapone flapjack stack, Husband’s spinach and mushroom benedict, my moccachino and his flat white.Sunday morning means quality time with the doglets!We used a 2-for-1 Entertainer voucher that afternoon, for cocktails at the Boardhouse. See our cranberry-rose mojo jam jars – one each – and some of the lovely decor. Sadly, we did have work the next day!Bright, sunny decor inside Boardhouse in Table View. We sat inside as it was quite a windy day.Mmm, malva pudding after lupper at Mum’s on Sunday evening.
Wednesday, 23 January 2019: Awarding work at work and sweet evening dogs
I received a certificate of jury participation from the global Epica Awards at work on Wednesday. These are for advertising work, and are judged by journalists in the marketing industry. I judged 531 of the 4020 entries last year! You don’t vote on your own country’s work, of course. Click here for an overview of the winners.Our happy little ray of sunshine, Bertie on the couch that evening.This precious child of mine.
That’s all, folks! We hope you have a happy weekend ahead 🙂
Not only does the title of this week’s blog post refer to the sheer squishiness of my cute critters, but also the fact that we had enormous braai marshmallows last weekend, which the doglets loved. See for yourself below…
Friday, 2 November 2018: Pink office birthday cake
We celebrated a colleague’s birthday with tea and the prettiest pink cake. Happy birthday, Clarina!Endless sky views on my way home from the office that afternoon.
Saturday, 3 November 2018: Halloween braai at Husband’s parents
We started our weekend with breakfast at Green’s in Plattekloof Village. See my apple-berry crumble and cappuccino, as well as Husband’s flat white, Coke Zero and open haddock omelette.Not your average ‘Husband in sea’ weekend pics.We saw people queuing to get into Xpresso, newly opened in Table Bay Mall, so stopped in to find out what all the fuss was about. Everything costs R10! Whether you’re having a fancy flavoured coffee, a sandwich roll, pastry or cold drink, you’ll only be parting with a single green note. Husband loved the con panna so much he had two of them, and my top-deck hot chocolate was delicious. We’ll be back!Husband’s parents hosted a Halloween-themed braai on Saturday evening. See our hasselback potatoes, pumpkin-filled gemsquashes and various braai meats.Bertie and his dad, watching some rugby (TV not pictured).Such well-behaved doglets waiting for braai treats from their dad.Main meals eaten, it was time for dessert. We had a jumbo bag of jumbo marshmallows to braai (see Bassie attempting a raw one). Bertie was more interested in my slice of milktart, teehee.Lol. Look at size of marshmallow. Look at size of mouth. Somehow it worked out!
Sunday, 4 November 2018: Bread & Butter’s single benedicts, jumbo oysters at Catch 22
We breakfasted at Bread and Butter on Sunday. See the enormous bacon, avo and egg-filled croissant as devoured by Spec, as well as the cakes on display, our flat whites and the single benedicts on sweet-potato bread, as eaten by Husband and me.We stopped in at Catch 22 later that afternoon, so Spec could try the jumbo oysters. I had a gingerbread latte, Husband had a Bloody Mary and Spec an Amstel.Make-your-own gatsby lupper at Mum’s! We had a choice of spicy chicken or chilli con carne to fill them with. Mmm.Lovey post-lupper treats at Mum’s that evening – madeira cake and coffee, both topped with cream.Precious doglets in various poses on the couch, as snapped over the weekend.
Wednesday, 7 November 2018: Team lunch at La Bottega
It had been a while since our last team lunch – we’ve all been so busy that we kept postponing. Luckily, Wednesday we finally made it happen. See some of the lovely poke bowls and pizzas we ate at La Bottega – the bacon and sliced-potato version is especially good – just up the road from our offices in Woodstock. Also see my Nutella-banana gourmet shake. Yum!(Almost) the whole gang was there!
That’s all, folks! It feels like we’ve switched back to Summer for now, stay cool.
Last weekend we continued our ‘do something new’ mantra, going beyond just food to include Cape Town weekend activities over and above the expected beach visit…
Friday, 14 September 2018: End-of-week dins at Petiscos
We got the weekend started a little early by going out for dins at Petisco’s last Friday evening. We both had the chicken fillet xai-xai, while Husband opted for a glass of red and I went for the Lindt latte – you drop the chocolate discs into the coffee and drink the resulting hot mocha. Yum!
Saturday, 15 September 2018: Planetarium, museum and rugby
We decided on breakfast at Village Place Cafe on Saturday. See our various breakfast coffees, Husband had the salmon-and-egg rosti and I had a mini red-velvet cheesecake. Yum!Close-up of my mini red velvet-cheesecake at Village Place Cafe.And now, for something completely different, Husband suggested a visit to the Planetarium. It’s inside the Iziko SA Museum near Company’s Garden and we’d never been, so off we went! We attended the 1pm ‘The Sky Tonight’ show, which was wonderful.Your R60 Planetarium entry fee – R30 for pensioners and half-price on Heritage Day this coming Monday – means you can wander around the Iziko SA museum itself, too. We spent most of our time around dinosaur exhibits and the shark area, clearly.We also passed the ‘Arch for Arch’, built for Archbishop Desmond Tutu outside Company’s Garden.Next, we collected my parents and headed off to Theo Marais Park to watch Uni Mil’s next match later that afternoon.See the rugger folk on field and some of our snacks – lovely cheese-griller dogs on pretzel rolls, fresh hot chips with sauce and coffee out of my thermos. Was a wonderful 90-minutes of cheering on our winning team!Spending some quality time with my doglets later that evening.Love this look from Bassie as she snuggled on the couch under a blankie that evening. She looks smug and snug. Cue heart-eyes emoji.
Sunday, 16 September 2018: Bread & Butter eggs ben breakfasts
On Sunday, we breakfasted with Husband’s parents at Bread & Butter. We were thrilled to find they now offer half-portion benedicts, so each ordered this – except for Husband, who had a full Mexican eggs ben.Sweetheart Bertie patiently waiting to be let back in the house. He’d been out to run a few laps and soon discovered it was warmer – and drier – in than out.The view across Table Bay from Table View was just gorgeous that afternoon! Here are more of our beach visit photos for the week. See the pretty wild flowers blooming in the sand dunes, and Husband first contemplating then actually taking his dip (see if you can spot him in the pic below!)Gorgeous Table Bay.Later that afternoon, we stopped at Pakalolo’s on Marine Circle for an afternoon treat. See Husband’s pina colada and my raspberry daquiri.Precious doglets had a relaxing afternoon at their grandparents’ house that afternoon. Bertie napped in the sunshine and Bassie paid lots of attention to the humans’ treats.The ‘treats for humans’ I mentioned – cinnamon twists from Food Lover’s Market with coffee. Just the thing on a Sunday evening!
Tuesday, 18 September 2018: Mickey Mouse 90th birthday, sweet-and-sour pork
On Tuesday afternoon, I attended Disney Africa’s annual content showcase and Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday celebrations at the River Club. See my blackcurrant-scented temporary tattoo and lots of snacks fit for a mouse.Mum rustled up this delicious homemade sweet-and-sour pork with egg fried rice for dins that evening.Sweet doglets snuggled up together on the couch. They were soon under the blanket.
That’s all, folks! It’s Heritage Day on Monday so we are more than ready for a relaxing long weekend. Chat soon! 🙂
Last week Tuesday was a public holiday – May Day is Worker’s Day in SA so we had a day off work to do as our hearts desired, as you’ll see below…
Tuesday, 1 May 2018: Worker’s Day dins at Italian Club
When we finally got up, we went for a Cup & Cake breakfast in Seaside Village. See Husband’s eggs benedict and my ‘Eggs-purtly done’ – health bread smeared with cream cheese, Marmite and avo paste, topped with eggs any way you like – I went for hard boiled. Also see Husband’s ‘Quortado’ (variation on cortado, espresso with milk.)We bumped into my parents when we stopped for a few chores at The Daily Cafe in Eden on the Bay, so the menfolk each had an espresso con panna.We stopped for a snap at the ‘Lekker by die see’ mosaic on our way out of Eden on the Bay.The palm trees and blue skies outside GrandWest Casino – we stopped in to watch the Avengers: Infinity War movie. Brother-in-law Spec joined us.We were starving by the time the movie ended so decided on the Italian Club for dins, as t’was a chilly Winter’s eve. We both went for the gnocchi bolognese, mmm!Ahh. Gorgeous sunset over Table Mountain on our way home.My precious model children. They didn’t mind being huddled up close for once, as it was a chilly night.
Friday, 4 May 2018: Sunrise from the office window
Early morning sunrise over Lion’s Head, as seen from our offices in Woodstock.
Saturday, 5 May 2018: Bread & Butter breakfast, Woodbridge Island walk, Panama Jacks lunch
We had a Bread & Butter breakfast – the setting is just so quaint and cosy, with lots of cakes to drool over while telling yourself to order something healthier.Husband succeeded in going for something healthier, with the salmon scrambled eggs, while I didn’t go so far as to have cake but had a chocolate-peanut butter smoothie bowl instead. Basically ice cream with nuts and bananas but hey, it was on the breakfast menu. Also see my cappuccino and Husband’s double flat-white.We hadn’t done our ‘Woodbridge Island to Lagoon Beach and back’ walk in a while, so when we realised we had enough time, we were wearing caps and the weather was on our side, so do the walk we did. Once complete, we stopped at Ilha at Woodbridge Island for a liquid treat – draught beer for Husband and coffee shake for me.We were meeting Husband’s parents for lunch at Panama Jack’s new location, inside the cruise passenger terminal at the harbour. It’s lovely.We recommend sitting at the outside tables as you get a clear view over the harbour if there aren’t any ships waiting to dock. The inside roof is still pinned with flags, as in Panama Jack’s former location.The food was fantastic. See the large house salad we shared top left, Husband’s angelfish Thai curry top right, Mother-in-Law’s fettuccini marinara bottom left and the duck with hoisin sauce bottom right – Father-in-Law and I both ordered this. We left not a speck of rice between us.
Sunday, 6 May 2018: Ice cream on the beach
For Sunday breakfast, we stopped in at Cafe Lacomia at our Builder’s Warehouse. See my tall cafe mocha, Husband’s cafe latte, his mince on toast and my toasted chicken mayo with chips. Hit the spot.Book + coffee + dog = happy despite the winter chill.The waves and clouds came together as the perfect ‘photo corner curliques’.Sunday afternoon. should be all about strawberry swirled flake-tipped ice cream on the beach, Table Mountain in the background and clouds perfectly fluffed to cotton wool. proportions.
That’s all, folks! Winter is definitely in the air so keep warm 🙂
T’was my birthday on Wednesday and luckily Husband was off this week following his week of being ‘Marvin’, as his parents were in town…
Friday, 10 February 2017: Photoshop diploma and FUE date night
The first thing I did on getting home from work last Friday was go through the final lesson and quiz for my diploma in Photoshop through Shaw Academy. I squeaked by with 99%.To celebrate my diploma and Husband finally having a few days off work, we set off for the Festive Underground Eatery of FUE, where I had this monster shake on my last birthday, before ‘freak shakes’ were a thing. They have a Friday night date night special of two burgers, two fries and a shake to share for R199…The monster coffee shake that we ‘shared’ – Husband had a sip and no more as we were worried all that caffeine would affect his already shaky sleep patterns from working night shift.
Saturday, 11 February 2017: Airport collection and Petiscos dins
Bertie’s previous toy/TV-watching companion had become a grotty raggedy thing, so Husband presented him with a new friend – Monkey – first thing on Saturday. Bertie set about removing Monkey’s eyes, with a few licks as though to say sorry for hurting Monkey. Such a funny dog.We headed off to the nearest Wimpy for breakfast before our airport trip to collect the parents. I went for a toasted cheese and Wimpy coffee, Husband had a Coke and streaky bacon breakfast with extra cheese griller.Precious cargo safely collected from the airport, we headed back home to wait on an important delivery…A fish tank! We’d been buying accessories over the weeks and finally ordered this tank last weekend as a combined birthday present to ourselves, for delivery on Saturday. No fishies in there yet as the water is being filtered and chemically altered to be just right – another week and it should be ready.After a few more ‘Saturday things’ we were all feeling peckish and you can’t go wrong with a meal at Petiscos. Husband went for the hot chicken curry, the parents tried the hake and mussel combos, and I went for the can’t-miss chicken xai xai and Lindt Flake shake. Best!Lol. Excuse the red lighting from the plastic sun filter to the side of the balcony.We were done and dusted early enough to catch the sunset from Blouberg beachfront – note the males were brave enough to go knee-deep in the icy water.
Sunday, 12 February 2017: Braai with all the parents
If it’s Sunday and the Andrewses are around, it must be braai time. We braaied at ours on Sunday afternoon, with both sets of parents in attendance. All the food was delicious and there were lots of laughs.
Tuesday, 14 February 2017: BrandLove CX Trends talk, Woodbridge Island lunch and watering parents’ garden
Each time I attend an event held by BrandLove I feel there’s more and more to learn from them. Their latest customer experience trends event took place on Tuesday at the 360 Business Parks space in Paarden Eiland. This was the packed room in attendance.Conference complete and on leave for a few days, I met Husband and his dad at Ilha in Woodbridge Island for a snack while his mum was out meeting former colleagues. We shared a portion of their bacon-feta jalapeno poppers, with Father-in-law opting for an omelette (despite it being afternoon time), and Husband and I shared the chicken schnitzel and chips. Yes, that is yet another coffee shake you see before me 🙂Due to water restrictions in the Cape, we’re only allowed to water our gardens at certain times, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, using buckets not hoses. As the parents were here on a Saturday and a Tuesday, we popped in to water the garden and also give the doggies a tour before the official move in a month or so. There was lots of exploring!Bassie decided my lap was the best spot to sit and wait while the others did what they could to water the garden with buckets.
Wednesday, 15 February 2017: Birthday relaxing, family lunch and doggy beach walk
I’ve been taking my birthday off work for a good few years now. There’s nothing better than sleeping in, especially as the day flies by with all the calls and messages that come in. I also had the chance to read with my feet up and some caramel tea – of course Bassie wedged in beside me.Husband and father-in-law joined my dad and his weekly pool tournament with his neighbourhood friends. Here they all are at Poole in Parklands.I’d been chomping at the bit to try the deliciousness of All in the Kitchen for a while now. They recently moved from Boy de Goede circle to Marine Drive, but close at 6pm and don’t open on weekends. Seeing as we’d all be available we booked a table for lunch on my birthday. The meal of the day was roast beef with roast potatoes – see top left – the cappuccinos were strong and the coffee shakes were delicious. Everyone ordered the ‘meal of the day’ apart from me. That’s because…Look. at. that. CAKE! I’d seen a preview of the ‘cake of the day’ on All in the Kitchen’s Facebook page and just knew I’d be going for this, the Nutella chocolate cake. It came complete with birthday candle and singing – just delicious!After a brief nap it was time to walk off some of that food, and what better way to do so than at the beach with the doglets? You can make out Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Husband and Bertie in this shot from Kreeftebaai – Bassie stayed out of view with me.It was a treat having someone else along to take photos during our walkies. Love Bertie shaking himself after his swim in the sea and the contented looks on both doggies’ faces once back home again.Hehe. The annual ‘kiss on the cheek while wearing the birthday hat’ snap ❤ Click here for a reminder of last year’s version and here for the year before.
As we were both still on leave for the day, we decided on breakfast at Bread & Butter for the parents’ final meal with us before they returned home. I opted for the cheese and ham on sweet potato bread, Husband had the salmon eggs benedict and the parents each had the ‘hen’ breakfast.We ended up at Captain’s Kitchen at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay that afternoon. I tried the blue crush-topped, pineapple-y Captain’s Sunset cocktail while Husband went for his firm favourite, the Long Island Ice Tea. The perfect way to round out a few days of leave.
It’s here, it’s here! 🙂 The end-of-year holidays are upon us, and we collected brother-in-law Spec from the airport this morning, so will have fun times with him well into 2017.
Until then, here’s our most recent batch of highlights…
Friday, 16 December 2016: Bar-One poppers at I Love Big Bay market
Last Friday was Day of Reconciliation, but Husband had to work. I had a lazy morning with the doggies then went with Mum and Dad to Eden on the Bay’s ‘I Love Big Bay’ market – usually held on the final Wednesday of the month, but a public-holiday Friday works, too. We tried various fresh and fried goods, like chilli bites and Bar-One ‘poppers’.We also had some slightly healthier options, like a wholewheat shwarma with chilli, chicken and lots of veg.
Saturday, 17 December 2016: Muizenberg and Fish Hoek morning, Gibson’s burgers & shakes afternoon
We set off for Muizenberg first thing on Saturday, and were surprised to find a relatively empty beach.Some of the lesser-known Muizenberg sights – colourful beach huts as usually seen in St James, and striking giraffe graffiti.Of course we needed breakfast before further sightseeing. We stopped in at Empire Cafe and Husband opted for the ‘poached eggs on butternut rosti’ and I tried the bacon, lettuce, tomato or BLT croissant with balsamic glaze, both delicious.Husband sat in front of the coffee machine but I’m the one who tried the cappuccino. Just perfect with the BLT croissant.Bellies lined, we set off up the road to Fish Hoek. Husband swam in the sea right along the shark net, while I read in the shade.Next stop was Boulders Beach, a little past Simon’s Town. We spotted lots of little penguins far down on the beach below but didn’t have time to go explore properly.You can just see the penguins on the beach through the hollow in the trees.By then it was lunchtime, and we had a date at Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers & Ribs at the V&A Waterfront. Husband gave Gibson’s own brand of craft beer a shot.Just look at those choices! There are pages and pages to flip through, with over 40 burgers and 100 shakes to choose from. I went for the Governor burger, top left, and the peppermint caramel Freek shake, middle bottom. Both were huge and delicious.Everything we sampled: A minty mojito, the Tex-mex burger with nachos and a baked potato, the cheesy Governor burger with sweet potato fries and the peppermint caramel Freek shake. Click here for my official review!We were both so very full that the rest of the afternoon entailed spending quality time with the doggies.
Sunday, 18 December 2016: Bread & Butter breakfast, Sunningdale dog walkies
We started our Sunday at Bread & Butter. Husband had the salmon eggs benedict.I had the ‘breakfast banana split’, filled with yoghurt, granola and berries.We managed to fit in a quick beach visit early that afternoon.We took the doggies’ walkies-gear along when we visited their grandparents later that afternoon. Bertie darted this way and that, exploring the bushes.A few more snaps from the doggies’ walkies.Lots of chicken and salad for lupper at Mum’s that eve.And for dessert, a wonderfully fruity custard flan.
Monday, 19 to Thursday, 22 December 2016: Veggie gardening and final work week antics
Husband’s been doing quite a bit of gardening recently. See how his seedlings are taking off here…He also built beautiful wooden planters for strawberries and tomatoes by taking apart a pallet. And the strawberry plants are already ripe! Nothing beats the taste of something from your own garden.We had lots and lots of Christmas treats in the office this week.The last work day of the year meant a braai for Husband and his colleagues at Clarion. See his lunch plate below the pic of him cheers-ing his colleague, and on the right my own ‘final work day’ lunch of chicken briyani, noodles and Coke.
That’s all, folks! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas week and that you have time to relax and recharge your batteries before 2017 kicks in.
*Disclaimer: Obviously our meals at Gibson’s were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
We’ve had a wonderfully sunny week, with lots of time spent outdoors…
Saturday, 10 December 2016: Summer lunch review at Glenelly Estate
We started last weekend with a quick, shared breakfast at the closest Cafe Lacomia as we had a busy, food-filled day ahead. I love that I get two mini biscuits with the cappuccino there, and the Bulls Eye breakfast is just the right size for sharing. Plus, you’re encouraged to eat cupcakes (not that I did)…Glenelly Estate, our lunch spot for the day on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, has some of the prettiest vineyards and views.Nestled at the foot of the Simonsberg mountains, this is a truly lovely spot.The vine-covered pathway.The food at Glenelly’s the Vine Bistro! Heavens, it was good. You can see Husband’s cold red soup starter featuring octopus tentacles and chorizo, as well as his lemon-chive hake mains on the left, then my pork trotter starter and blueberry duck mains in the middle, and a bottle of the Glenelly Estate Chardonnay on the right. Click through to my official review for more words on these!Dessert is served… Top left is my ‘warm melting biscuit’ with poached pears and yoghurt chantilly, bottom left is Husband’s creme caramel, and on the right, my cappuccino.Tummies purring contentedly, we walked around the rest of the grounds. This is the view of the vineyards from the upstairs tasting room.More of the upstairs tasting room’s view. Such a picture-perfect spot.On the way home we passed a sign for Mountain View Piggery in Paarl and obviously had to turn in to have a look. The piggies were rather large and clean – not a surprise when we saw just how much the guy on the bottom was enjoying his shower.That evening involved lots of relaxing things. Here we are with the doggies in the lounge.
Sunday, 11 December 2016: Lagoon Beach breakfast, Woodbridge Island walk
On Sunday morning we headed to The Brasserie in the Lagoon Beach Hotel for breakfast. The buffet option was quite pricy so we were happy to order from the a la carte menu. Here is my cappuccino and Husband’s breakfast Cola.But what did we eat, I hear you ask? Husband opted for the salmony benedict you see on the left, while I went for the grilled banana-filled pancakes topped with strawberries and cream. Delicious!Next on the agenda was a beach walk to Woodbridge Island and back. We love these palm trees outside Woodbridge.We stopped a few times along the way to admire the view. Can just see the Woodbridge lighthouse in this shot.We stopped to examine the ‘wreck’ at Lagoon Beach – Husband says it’s actually from a movie set.Sunday afternoons are for milkshakes. Husband went for a Frankies’ Cinnamon Cola while I tried Bread & Butter’s ‘salted caramel’ shake. That’s a chewing-gum ball on top.
Tuesday, 13 December 2016: Pink sunsets and doggy TLC
Pink-streaked clouds like these are my favourite.The doggies got lots of TLC when their grandparents visited for dins that eve! Bassie’s expression on the right, while getting ear rubs from her grandpa, is very funny.
Wednesday, 14 December 2016: Rogue One screening at iMax
On Wednesday, we headed off the the Cape Gate iMax after a long day of work to watch the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One. We were surrounded by Star Wars heavies but fit right in as we’d worn Star Wars gear all day and even read the pre-movie book Catalyst so knew most of the characters on screen.
That’s all, folks! There’s lots of excitement in the air as we’ll finally be on holiday at the end of this week, and Father Christmas is coming (along with brother-in-law, Spec) 🙂
*Disclaimer: Obviously our meals at Glenelly Estate were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
Another admin-filled week as we’ve had to present affidavits to replace most of my bank cards, my prescription glasses and even spent the bulk of a day at home affairs applying for a new ID. That said, there were still highlights, as you’ll see below…
Friday, 30 September 2016: #AspirationsReport event and home braai
I spent most of the day at the Sport Science Institute in Newlands, right by the sweet smelling South African Breweries, taking in the findings of the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing’s #AspirationsReport 2016 – click here to find out more.The weather was delightful that evening, so Husband braaied some cheese wors for our dins.
Saturday, 1 October 2016: Malmsbury scenery
Our first stop on Saturday was home affairs in town… only to find they’d already taken their 100 ID applications for the day. We decided to also try the department in Malmsbury, +-120km away as it was also a bucket list location for us to tick off. You can just see the mountains and roads in this photo dominated by clouds.Lots of pretty lavender, rosemary and other assorted plants add a splash of colour to the countryside.This window frames the natural beauty of this scenery perfectly. This was on our way back home on finding the Malmsbury office just as crowded. We ticked off Malmsbury and decided to try again in town during the week.By then quite tired and hungry, we stopped in at the Village Place Cafe and noticed they had a new menu with intriguing items like enchiladas. Husband tried them, with a filling side salad.For me… well I couldn’t pass up the S’mores Belgian waffle, could I? Delicious. Look at all that ice cream and gooey marshmallow. Yum.After even more admin of replacing loyalty cards and buying a new handbag we treated ourselves to large milkshakes at the Wimpy in Canal Walk. Husband had the banana, I had the coffee.Much later that evening, I noticed a pair of eyes watching me munch some crisps.
Sunday, 2 October 2016: Beachy mornings and cocktail afternoons
For breakfast on Sunday we found ourselves at Bread & Butter again. This flapjack stack with bacon, cinnamon-fried banana and syrup was truly delicious. Note my cheapie non-prescription sunnies.Husband, being healthy, opted for an orange juice instead of his usual breakfast Cola. Lol at his face after 🙂 That’s my cappuccino you can see, Husband had the same Banting breakfast as last week (click here for a reminder).It was beach weather, so we went to the beach. That’s Husband running ahead of me, desperate to dip his feet in the water.I was happy to soak up some sun, doze off and read a bit while Husband splashed about.Here is Husband exploring the rocks after his dip.We stopped in at Eden Cafe in Big Bay a little later in the day. I finally got to have the pina colada I’d been waiting for all week.Husband went for his standard Long Island Ice Tea.Such a pretty floral centre piece at mum’s that evening.
Wednesday, 5 October 2016: Burger King ad premier
On Wednesday evening, Husband and I were invited to the premier of Burger King’s first ad, fittingly at the newly opened Burger King at Canal Walk (where Joe’s Easy Diner used to be). We were treated to a Whopper meal each. I’ll be writing about the ad for Bizcommunity next week!We had a bit of time to spare between eating and watching the ad (as well as the new Masterminds movie), so wandered around the mall and its perimeter.
Thursday, 6 October 2016: Home Affairs morning, Doodles evening
We had a very early start to queue at Home Affairs again, and despite a few system crashes – I had to have my photo digitally taken three separate times – all was sorted and we had confirmation that the new IDs will be ready in a few weeks. To celebrate we decided to eat at On the Corner in Paarden Island. Here’s my peri peri sauce-drenched double-toasted chicken mayo and handcut chips, with cappuccino is handle-less glass cup.Husband went for the ‘Full on’ breakfast – all this and the cappuccino in the above photo for R45!Following a nap and collection of my last few replacement cards we went to Doodles for a late-afternoon treat. Look at my Bar-One milkshake, almost bigger than Husband! Lol.We shared the nachos. Just right for both of us and one of the most popular orders.
Friday, 7 October 2016: Fat Cactus family and new spectacles
Husband met my parents at the Fat Cactus just up the road from work so he could save me some travel time home. Mum is holding up a rib, dad a margarita, Husband a beer.We stopped off at Specsavers in Bayside on the way home to collect my new glasses. Prescription sunnies, too. Silly poser, me 😉
That’s all, folks! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend, hope you are, too.
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 
