Last weekend was chilly yet sunny – some would say Spring is here, but the weather at the moment is anything but. Grey, misty and drizzly, with bursts of sunshine now and then, it feels like we’re back at the start of winter. Let’s look back at the sunshine instead…
Friday, 31 August 2018: Bizcommunity and Cinemark’s Cannes Lions feedback session
Some of the scenes from the Cape Town version of the Bizcommunity and Cinemark feedback from Cannes Lions morning – see Proteas and French flags alike at the food table to depict a taste of France (Cannes) in SA; as well as some of my favourite moments from the presentations of the morning. Click here for a more comprehensive overview.Proof I was there! Networking with a lovely attendee from Doctors Without Borders – her boss bought her a ticket to attend the event as a birthday present.
Saturday, 1 September 2018: Spring Day braai at the in-laws
Beautiful palm tree-lined street in Melkbosstrand, and just look at the cute little bench.We got to Damhuis in Melkbosstrand just as they were opening on Saturday morning, so that’s where we breakfasted. See our cappuccinos with tiny rusks to dunk; as well as my scone topped with jam, whipped cream and grated cheese; and Husband’s banting bacon eggs benedict served on a mushroom.Bertie was in the Spring spirit later that morning, merrily sniffing flowers in the garden. Such a sweet boy.Beautiful crashing waves and view of Table Mountain at one of Husband’s favourite swimming spots that afternoon.Lol! Pictures on the right are there to see if you’re paying attention – it’s my caramel treat milkshake and husband’s beer, obviously. This is outside at Doodles on the beachfront in the early afternoon. Just lovely.Later that day, we headed to my parents-in-law’s house for an evening braai.Pretty flowers blossoming at my in-laws’ house.Little Miss Bassie did a heckin’ explore of the long grass in the garden. What a cutie!Bertie boy sitting patiently on the couch while we braai.Sweet little Bassie wanted to see all the foodies on the table. Teehee at her facial expression.Some of the foodies Bassie was interested in – assorted braai meats, salads and chocolate mousse for dessert. Yum!Aww. Bassie having a moment with her father-dad.Such pretty clouds above!
Sunday, 2 September 2018: Brotherly breakfast at the Pink Olive
Spec slept over at ours that night, so we breakfasted at the Pink Olive the next morning. Big smiles once our coffees were downed.The Pink Olive should be called the Blue Olive with this decor, really. See our coffees, the boys’ ‘bacon banting basket’ breakfasts (yes, Husband’s second banting brekkie of the weekend) and my toasted chicken mayo with red onions and gherkins. Yum!
Monday, 3 September 2018: Sunrise from the bus window
Sunrise on Monday morning, as seen from the bus window on my commute to work.
Wednesday, 6 September 2018: I always feel like somebody’s watching me
This is how the doggies stare at me when I’m trying to work. That’s when they’re not jostling for spots on my lap, of course.
That’s all, folks. Keep warm and dry this weekend!
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 🙂
Hi everyone, we hope your Good Friday has been great! 🙂
Last weekend we took a misty trip along Chapman’s Peak drive for a change of scenery on the rather long trip to visit Brother-in-Law Spec in Fish Hoek…
Saturday, 24 March 2018: Extended family breakfast at On the Rocks, misty trip along Chapman’s Peak
Various non-Capetonian family members were visiting on Saturday so we met up for breakfast. Beautiful view of Table Mountain from On the Rocks, but the wind made it just a tad too chilly to eat outside.Coffee and family, such a good way to start the weekend.I had the French toast with berry coulis and ice cream; parents both had the Alaskan – scrambled eggs with salmon and mushrooms; Husband had the kassler breakfast. I even ate the strawberry slice once the rest of my plate was clean.After a bit of weekend admin it was time to head to the other end of the Cape to see Husband’s family. It’s now R45 for a single car to travel along Chapman’s Peak drive, which we hadn’t done in ages so happily paid the price. We could just make out the sea from the scenery below.You can just see the sea peeking through in the bottom right here. It was like something out of a horror movie!The sea looked so inviting all along the coast, especially once it started raining gently. See various scenes of the resulting braai.For dessert, braai cones! The marshamallow-chocolate-caramel filling melts on the fire – delicious.There was still a chill in the air that eve so the doglets snuggled up on the couch.
Sunday, 25 March 2018: After-work dins at Moyo
Bassie had a sweet moment snuggling with her dad on Sunday morning, before he left for work.Bertie was equally sweet, showing us various angles of his sleepy face.Mmm, we had milktart as a treat that afternoon.Sweet doggies again at their grandparents’ house that afternoon. So much love.I just couldn’t get enough of the clouds this week! This was the view when we arrived at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay that evening, for dins at Moyo.Teehee. I had a hazelnut latte and my face painted. Husband had a carafe of wine and we shared the pulled-lamb linguine, no pics as we had a ‘Lady and the Tramp’ fail. 😉After dins the sky was still bright but the sun was leaving.A surfer strolling along the sea sand.Clouds, sea and sun.
Monday, 26 March 2018: Dins at Burgundy Bossa
The weather was lovely when we got home from work on Monday, so we dined at Bossa in Burgundy Estate. See my creme brulee shake and monkeygland burger with sweet potato fries (burgers are just R59 on Mondays) – also see Husband’s draught beer and pizza. Yum.
Wednesday, 28 March 2018: Streaky clouds at work, pink sky at night
See the streaky clouds from my office during the day and pink sky at home that night.
Thursday, 29 March 2018: Creative Mornings Cape Town at Friends of Design
On Thursday morning I attended the March 2018 version of the Creative Mornings Cape Town talk. Coverage will be on Bizcommunity next week!Loved the decor at Friends of Design, so very student friendly – as are the coffee prices!
That’s all, folks! We hope you’re having a lovely Easter weekend, filled with chocolatey smiles.
Last week was one of my busiest work-wise for the year, as we attended Design Indaba 2018. But of course, that’s not all we did…
Wednesday, 21 to Friday, 23 February 2018: Design Indaba at the Artscape
You know you’re in for a treat when you arrive at the Design Indaba Festival and feel a sense of wonder before you even enter the Artscape. This year, we were encouraged to ’embrace the unknown’. Click here for a reminder of the 2017 version.These colourful rhinos also brightened up the cold concrete, while raising awareness for their cause.Decor inside the Artscape was just as appealing. See various signs and posters.If you had a full Design Indaba conference ticket, this is what you came for!Considering all the running around we all did, it’s amazing that we managed to stop with Design Indaba editor-in-chief Neo Maditla for a quick snap. You may recall my interview with her late last year. If not, click here for a reminder.I loved exploring the emerging creatives’ displays in the tea breaks, too. And that outdoor swing-relax area was amazing.I finally got the chance to swing my troubles away on the final morning of Design Indaba. Such fun!One of my personal highlights this time around was interviewing Lebo Mashile. She’s amazing, click here and here for more!Husband snapped this shot of the sky while I was putting last week’s blog post together. Pretty clouds, and we actually had a spot of rain the next morning.Aww. Bertie was such a sweetie on the couch that all our pics are of him, this week! Bassie was there too, I promise -she just slunk away before these pics were taken.
Saturday, 24 February 2018: News Cafe breakfast, work, Moyo dins
We both had a busy work day ahead of us on Saturday, so stopped off at News Cafe on Marine Circle to start the day the right way – with the earlybird English breakfast special – and cappuccinos, of course.All that for R35, if you order before 10am. It’s delicious!Once we were both done with work for the day (tragic to say that for a Saturday, where you both worked all week, too), we stopped in at Moyo at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay for an early dins. See Husband’s curried mussel starter, my hazelnut latte, and the pulled-lamb linguine starter we shared.Spending some quality time with Bertie biscuit that evening.
Sunday, 25 February 2018: Primi breakfast, Saint’s afternoon treats
We had Sunday morning breakfast at Primi on Marine Circle. See my eggs benedict, the large cappuccinos (actually served in latte glasses/mugs) and Husband’s Primi power stack.We stopped in at Saint’s at Eden on the Bay for our Sunday afternoon treat. See my Insomniac shake (chocolate, espresso, Amarula and Kahlua) and Husband’s Painkiller cocktail (Bacardi, Malibu, orange juice, pineapple juice, coconut, nutmeg).
Monday, 26 February 2018: Design Indaba newsletter
Snip snip! We sent out our special edition Design Indaba newsletter on Monday, so that’s the true mark that Design Indaba is done and dusted for the year. Click here to read through the newsletter – it’s packed with galleries and videos.
Tuesday, 27 February 2018: National Milktart Day
Of course we indulged in a slice of milk tart with coffee on Tuesday, as it was National Milktart Day.
Wednesday, 28 February 2018: Team lunch at Hail Pizza
Design Indaba done and dusted, we had our first team lunch of the year on Wednesday afternoon, at Hail Pizza on Bree Street. Their R50 midweek lunch meal special is amazing – I had the rooibos-lemon-mint ice tea and large margherita pizza, and brought home more than half of it for dins. All that for R50!And surprise! We invited former team members Rod and Bev (both bottom left) to join us. Was a lovely afternoon!
You can also finally read my full review of the new Friday-lunch offering at 95 Keerom that I sampled a few weeks ago. That’s all, folks! May your weekend be relaxing and restorative.
It was another working weekend for Husband but the good news is, we’re about to see the last of them (and his stint as Marvin) as he’s back on normal shifts! Celebrate with us! But first, scroll through our latest favourite moments of the week below…
Friday, 14 July 2017: Christmas in July and the Quarterdeck buffet
Our Entertainment committee rustled up a very festive ‘Christmas in July’ table to enjoy after our monthly staff meeting on Friday. Look at all the food and drink, you’d swear it was snowing outside with jingle bells a-ringing.We even dressed to theme!How very ‘Western Christmassy’ – a mug of hot chocolate and choc-chip cookie.Remember I attended the IMC a few weeks ago? Well, I won a dinner for two at the Quarterdeck Restaurant in GrandWest Casino for my tweeting during the event (yay). That’s where we dined last Friday evening. It’s just like a buffet on a sea-going ship, so go prepared with an empty belly! The doors only open at 7pm but we were early eager beavers, clearly.Behold the colourful mini salad bowls. You could also create your own, but I went with one of these as a pre-starter.Many plates later, it was time for dessert! The choices take up a whole side of the ‘ship’ restaurant (that’s the one inside GrandWest Casino, not the pirate ship in the parking lot) – boy, was it hard to choose what to add to our plates. See the waffle station, the mini desserts, the ice cream counter with all sorts of toppings and Husband’s caramelly ice cream bowl.My first dessert plate – a red velvet waffle topped with toffee and chocolate sauce, mini Astros and tiny marshmallows; a fudgey chocolate cake slice; a profiterole; a soft pink coconut marshmallow; and mini tiramisu.
Saturday, 15 July 2017: Italian Club gnocchi
T’was a cold day. I spent much of it reading and sorting our taxes while Husband was at work. Note to self: A creamy coffee and salted caramel nuts make such a good snack while reading!As it was such a cold Saturday, the moment Husband was done with work we headed off to the Italian Club for bowls of gnocchi bolognese. Perfect winter comfort food, especially with a coffee shake or glass or red, depending on your preferences.
Sunday, 16 July 2017: More local Italian treats
I went for a quick treat with Mum and Dad at the newly opened Trescatelli on Blouberg beach front Sunday morning. It was packed! And no wonder, with the cannoli so fresh and crisp, the coffees strong and the cafe crema, a lovely coffee ice cream blend. Yum!Mum had also whipped up a batch of these chocolate-rose water delights when we went over for lupper. They had a lovely Turkish Delight taste.The doggies snuggled up under a blanket on the couch for most of the evening.
Tuesday, 18 July 2017: Mandela Day posing
Tuesday was Mandela Day, so a few of us dressed in Madiba-themed clothes at work and posed for a ‘Madiba shuffle’ Boomerang and pic. We also encouraged donations to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
Thursday, 20 July 2017: Yo Yoga Cape Town’s 21-day yoga challenge
My colleague Ilse joined me for Yo Yoga’s 21-day yoga challenge on Thursday morning, where I bumped into another conference friend, Jenna – read all about the challenge here. We survived 40 minutes of bikram yoga in 45’C heat!A few pics of our time in the studio. That’s me tweeting away before we got down to business.Post-yoga treats – Vita Coco coconut water and all sorts of Superfood snacks – even dark chocolate! Mmm.Weather on the way back to the office after the yoga session – cloudy and cold!
Husband had to work last weekend so we don’t have many snaps of him to share this time around, but we still had a fair deal of fun…
Saturday, 18 February 2017: Muratie Harvest Festival
Husband sent me this snap of the cloudy sky when he left home around 6:30am on Saturday morning. Beautifully flocked against the duvet of blue sky.With Husband office-bound until 6pm, I was off to the Muratie Harvest Festival in Stellenbosch with my parents. These are some of the outside sights. See the vroue orkes top left, the Kitchen Jammin Blues Band top right, packed seating area bottom left and youthful, friendly staff bottom right.Old bicycle and wooden barrels in the main wine cellar on our way to the tasting.Looky looky in the cellar. Muratie is known for its 40-year old cobwebs and stained-glass windows.I present to you my first ever attempt at grape stomping. It’s cold, squenchy, and surprisingly satisfying!Mum and me having a time while suitably hatted. It was quite windy so I kept my jacket on.Dad was also hatted and the sky was still patterned with cloud.A number of these bread baskets were dotted along our table, filled with crusty bread, dark grapes, soft figs and cheeses, dips, koeksisters and brownies as the surprise in the white paper package.Full to the brim, everyone headed off towards the tractors for a tour of the grounds. We decided to head home instead for a nap.On our way through the parking lot we spotted a sleek, stealthy BWM i8. Of course we did our subtle not-quite-leaning poses (dad wasn’t quite as subtle when we spotted a ‘flaming’ car parked in front of a ‘no parking’ zone a few years ago, click here for a reminder…)
Sunday, 19 February 2017: Hot cross buns for breakfast, waffles for lunch and boerewors rolls for dins
Yip, Husband had to work on Sunday, too. If I’m eating Sunday morning breakfast alone, it’s going to be chocolate hot cross buns, milk tart-filled pancakes and fudgey tea. Bertie was Very Interested.All was not lost though, as a lazy morning of napping and reading was followed by a visit to the Big Bay Waffle Company. I had a caramel latte and the old-fashioned waffle topped with lemon curd. Husband had sushi next door.Boerewors rolls and potato salad were on the menu for lupper at mum’s that eve. T’was just perfect for the weather.And for afters? A rich coffee-chocolate-coconut cake (homemade, of course) and coffee. Mmm!
Wednesday 22 and Thursday, 23 February 2017: Crucial conversations training at the Cullinan Hotel
Having thoroughly enjoyed their #influencerchange training late last year, I was booked onto the crucial conversations training by Human Edge mid-week. On the first day, lunch was served poolside. Yes, really.I dithered over the menu as everything looked so good! Remembering a colleague’s recent review of the Stella Cafe’s food I knew I couldn’t go wrong with the pork belly starter. Oh my GOODNESS it was delicious. See here, with a fellow attendee’s angry duck curry on the right. Loved the copper pot presentation.Then we had mains. I went for the cheese burger, could barely finish, but it was so good, especially when smeared with these tiny condiments – whole-grain mustard, tomato sauce and mayonnaise.Lunch on day two was a buffet in the Peach Tree restaurant. So much to choose from, the big round bowl top right was actually cheese for the pasta. Not a bowl of cheese, the entire thing was cheese. Gobsmacking. And look at the gorgeous purple and yellow dessert plate I ended up with! 🙂Teatime treats across the two days included waffle segments, florentines, mini chicken kebabs, crunchies and lots of coffee. Trust me, we did learn lots, too – it was intensive with only 8 of us on the course and filled with role-playing, so we hardly had time to check in on emails back in the real world. A refreshing change!
That’s all, folks! Click here for my official review of the Muratie Harvest Festival on Bizcommunity.
*Disclaimer: Obviously our entry and eats at the Muratie Harvest Festival were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
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
