Seafood and steak at Belthazar and Tabasco’s 12th birthday

Last weekend we lunched at Belthazar at the V&A Waterfront. We also celebrated little Bassie’s 12th birthday on Monday, as you’ll see from the pics below…

Saturday, 30 March 2019: Succulent steak lunch at Belthazar

Mmm. It was a Pulp Kitchen breakfast kind of morning on Saturday as we were in Willowbridge Centre. See our flat whites as well as my coffee-dipped French toast and Husband’s ‘Mexican standoff’ mince on toast, with a poached egg rather than the scrambled standard.

Next stop, Belthazar at the V&A Waterfront for lunch. See Husband’s wine with a handy tag explaining exactly what he was imbibing, as this is the largest ‘by-the-glass’ wine bar in the world, offering 250 options. Also see the lovely view across to a cloud-covered Table Mountain.

Husband opted for the Belthazar-style avocado Ritz starter. See the bright pops of colour. He said it tasted just as good as it looked.

Husband starting on that starter. Also see the lovely ‘bread board’ complete with sausage in Napoletana sauce, Husband’s Madagascan green peppercorn-topped saucy flambeed steak, his side of baked potato and creamed spinach, and my steak roll with hand-cut chips. All lip-smackingly good!

See Husband’s glass of red book-ended by my delicious Kahlua dom pedro. Highly recommended as a drink or dessert!

A Waterfront view not often seen: Eye-catching staircase up to the castle-like Somerset Hospital.

Cupcakes galore! We popped in at my Uncle Al’s house that evening, just up the road in West Beach, to celebrate his retirement. There were yummy cupcakes everywhere we looked!

The full family contingent, celebrating Uncle Al’s retirement.

Pretty skies when we left Uncle Al’s for our own home that evening.

We celebrated little Bassie’s birthday with the cupcakes we took home from uncle Al’s, as well as a new box of baked goods from our local Spar during the week. Also see our pretty ‘housewarming sunflowers’.

Sunday, 31 March 2019: Cup & Cake breakfast and sunny skies

We started our Sunday with breakfast at Cup & Cake in Eden on the Bay. See my three cinnamon-sugar pancakes and butterscotch latte, as well as Husband’s Eggs-purtly done (bread with Marmite, avo spread and poached egg). Yum!

View of clouds over the mountains while out and about that afternoon.

Mum made pork steaks with various veggies for our Sunday lupper.

Monday, 1 April 2019: Bassie’s 12th birthday

Various stages of Bassie’s birthday celebration – snuggling under duvets and on blankets with her brother, and eyeing the cupcake I ate in her honour.

The standard family birthday shot, with the birthday girl trying not to pose under the birthday hat. Happy 12th birthday, Bassie!

That’s all, folks! Click here for my full review of our lunch experience at Belthazar on Bizcommunity and tune in for my next update next week – same time, same place 🙂

*Disclaimer: Our meals and drinks at Belthazar were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.

NOB burgers, Rocomama’s ribs and new year swims at Shark Bay

This past week has been wonderful as we’re over the ‘eat eat eat’ Christmas week of the annual December-January break, yet we still had lots of fun times before we start the new work year next week…

Thursday, 27 December 2018: Rocomama’s ribs and shakes

We started last Thursday at The Daily in Big Bay. Queues were long so we just had a coffee to start the day – the condensed milky ‘tin cup’ for me, with the now off-menu tasting tray for Husband.

And so, next stop was Cup & Cake in Eden on the Bay for actual food – the three cinnamon-sugar pancakes at R20 for me, while Husband had the hashbrown-mushroom stack.

Following a quiet day of rest, we met my parents at the new cashless Rocomama’s in Parklands for an early dins that afternoon. See the order sheets, chilli-cheese fries, BBQ pork ribs and current specials.

Milkshake mouths! Mine was espresso, the boys each had a creme brulee, and Mum had a Sprite Zero instead.

Dessert much, much later that evening – a fruit-mince pie and coffee in reindeer mug.

Bassie thought the mince pie was for her. She had one of her Christmas biscuits instead.

Friday, 28 December 2018: Enormous burgers at the NOB, Tyger Falls waterfront

Various stages of home-cooked breakfast – French toast with bacon and coffee for me, full fry-up for Husband, and hopeful doglets as always.

We saw on Facebook that The NOB (No Ordinary Burger) of food truck fame has opened a permanent eatery at the Tyger Falls waterfront, so headed that way for last Friday’s lunch. See the enormous burgers and views. Hand for size.

We needed to walk off some of that food before making our way home. Luckily the Tyger Falls waterfront is beautiful and easy to walk all the way around. It’s also surrounded by birdies, like this duck on the pier.

Saturday, 29 December 2018: Breakfast toasties at Reload

Reload is a good breakfast choice as it’s close to home, surrounded by greenery and we enjoy their coffee.

Our Saturday breakfast at Reload in Parklands comprised a ‘bacon-egg-cheese toasty’ on brown and flat white each. Coke Zero and Tabasco sauce for Husband.

Bellies full, we spent quality time at home with the doglets last Saturday morning. Such cuties!

We needed long, cool drinks after completing the Woodbridge Island-Lagoon Beach and back walk on Saturday afternoon. See Husband’s Bloody Mary and my Key Lime Pie shake at the Beach Tavern.

Beautiful blue mountain and glassy sea rolling in, later that afternoon.

Sunday, 30 December 2018: Sea swims and summery lupper

Husband coming up for air during a rock pool explore after a home breakfast on Sunday morning.

Mum put together delicious summery plates for our Sunday lupper.

Monday, 31 December 2018: New Year’s Eve in Langebaan

We so enjoyed our swim at Shark Bay in Langebaan last Christmas that we did so again with Husband’s family these holidays.

Sea swimming! Shark Bay is a magical spot between the lagoon and the open sea, as you can walk out almost to the other end of the inlet before you’re beneath the ‘waves’. We had a wonderful morning splashing about.

One of the best things I saw in Shark Bay – this doggie calmly going out for a paddle with his family.

Swim done, we took a cool cruise through town in search of lunch.

Pearly’s is a popular spot but they had a table for us, so that’s where we lunched. See Husband’s Thai fish curry top-right, the butter-chicken special bottom-left and my coffee shake bottom-right.

Er’rybody eating at Pearly’s! See Husband with his Thai fish curry, Spec and Father-in-Law with the butter-chicken special, Mother-in-Law with her snoek quesidilla special and me with the toasted chicken, chips and coffee shake. Various beers and wines for the rest. We left for home soon after and had a quiet evening in, with the doggies.

Tuesday, 1 January 2019: Happy New Year!

Loved this on the wall of Seattle Coffee in Exclusive Books at Table Bay Mall, when we stopped in for Husband to have a New Year’s Day espresso con panna.

We spent the day easing into the new year with a family braai at home with my parents, and more quality time with Bassie and Bertie. It was a scorcher, so they were happy to cool down under the fans.

Wednesday, 2 January 2019: Rocomama’s burgers and chilli-cheese fries

We had breakfast at Woolworth’s W Cafe in Table Bay Mall on Wednesday. See Husband’s flat white, Coke Zero and chorizo bowl, as well as my honey-nut latte and cakey coconut loaf with espresso cream.

After some reading under the fan, we were ready for food again. We had so enjoyed our burgers at Rocomama’s the previous week that we were there again for an early dins on Wednesday, this week. Also see my Belgian chocolate shake and our shared portion of chilli-cheese fries. Yum!

That’s all, folks! We’ve had a lovely, lazy break and luckily there’s a full weekend to go before we hit the office. Here’s to a super successful 2019!

Get into the festive spirit with the magical wonder of the Spier Light Art Festival

Last weekend was a different one for us, as we were invited to the launch of the Spier Light Art Festival on Sunday night, so we took a day’s leave on Monday so as to extend that weekend feeling…

Saturday, 8 December 2018: Cup & Cake’s pancakes

It felt like a ‘Cup & Cake’ kind of day, so that’s where we had breakfast on Saturday. See my 3 cinnamon-sugar pancakes for R20, caramel cappuccino and Husband’s mushroom benedict-style breakfast.

After a few hours at Husband’s work, we treated ourselves to ‘Ralph breaks the internet’ at GrandWest Casino. See the pretty Christmas tree just in front of the skate rink.

Sunday, 9 December 2018: Spier Light Art Festival

We breakfasted at the Pink Olive in West Coast Village on Sunday. See Husband’s ‘meaty toast’ topped with egg, my fresh scone duo and our cappuccinos.

On our way through Stellenbosch, Husband’s phone told us to detour through Vredenheim Wildlife. What a hidden gem, with lots to see, including antlered-reindeer – just the thing to get us into the festive spirit!

Some of the lovely sights in and around the Spier entry. Yes, that is Husband taking one of the bicycles for a spin.

The exploration continued inside on check-in. See the Christmas trees at reception, welcome drinks and more.

Our suite was just right, with a view over two different pools, enormous bed, and in-room coffee-making kit. Yes, please.

There are many, many pools at Spier, tucked between the walkways, but the main pool is where the icy, fruited waters were, so that’s where we swam. It was wonderful.

There was lots of shade to sit in, once you’d had your fill of sun. Loved the bright, mosaic tables.

Some of our post-swim explore included swinging around, spotting ducks in the river and crossing bridges. Wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Exploring out of the way, it was time for our pre-Festival packed picnic. A full basket awaited us, but you could also create your own from the items in the deli.

This was our picnic: Crusty bread, melba toast, butter and hummus, cold meat charcuterie, gherkins and olives, camembert, spicy coronation chicken salad, smoked corn-green pepper salad, a bottle of Spier Signature Wine, gruyere-mushroom individual frittata-style quiches, and rich brownie bricks with a tart summer berry compote. This even got a thumbs up of approval from Husband, and he’s not much for picnics.

Sipping wine through linked arms. It can be done!

Picnic packed away, it was time for the Light Art Festival to begin. First up, large puppets that roamed the grounds, capturing everyone’s attention until the sun set.

This is what we came for. It’s free entrance, every night until the end of January. If you’re in the area, I definitely recommend popping in! Click through to my official review for more info.

There was so much to see and hear and do, as the festival took place all over the grounds of Spier. A really lovely way to spend a Summer evening.

Teehee. We also made friends with the friendly kitty that was strolling the grounds of Spier.

This the the Spier version of our standard ‘gownie night-away shot’. Tick.

Monday, 10 December 2018: Eagle Encounters, Pakalolo’s and Rocomama’s

The breakfast buffet at Spier was extensive and delicious. See a few of our courses here. Husband also had a filled omelette while I stuck with the crispy, streaky bacon and fresh baked goods after my mixed bowl of cereal (including muesli and Coco Pops), and topped with pitted dates and candy-coated sunflower seeds.

We took a golf cart down to the Eagle Encounters area at the far side of Spier once we’d breakfasted, but they weren’t yet open. Luckily we still got to see lots of eagle owls, like this one peering back at us.

Husband having his ‘weekend’ dip once we got back on our home ground that afternoon.

Ahh. There’s nothing like a cocktail at Pakalolo on the beachfront to put you firmly in ‘holiday mode’, even if just for a day. See Husband’s Bloody Mary and my ‘Pakalolo Sunrise’.

We finally had an early dins at the newly opened Rocomama’s in Parklands that evening. No better smash burgers and shakes in Cape Town, if you ask me! That’s the espresso shake and creme brulee shake, as well as a portion of chili-cheese fries and our enormous burgers you see here.

Wednesday, 12 December 2018: Wacky Wednesday and Steers’ chips

We were both exhausted when we got home from work on Wednesday, so opted for Wacky Wednesday from Steers for dins. Plus this large portion of chips, drenched in all the sauces. YUM.

That’s all, folks! Read my review on Biz for more on the Spier Light Art Festival. We were back at work on Tuesday already, but towards the end-of-year holidays we will go…

*Disclaimer: Our meals and accommodation at Spier were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.

August 2018 celebrations at All in the Kitchen, El Barrio and Rocomamas

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…

Beach dogs, art galleries and a splash of coffee

The past week-and-a-bit was filled with dashing around from work event to work event, a few arty moments – and coffee, of course…

Monday, 21 May 2018: Social media workshop at Southern Sun Newlands

I spent all of last Monday at the Southern Sun Newlands, soaking up knowledge from the Vivid Engage ‘understanding social media and using it to market your business’ workshop. Click here if you missed my overview on Biz!

It was a wonderfully rainy day so we were happy to batten down the hatches, ask questions and take notes. There was a tempting foosball table right outside the conference room and also lovely conference food in the Newlands Cafe downstairs at lunch time.

Tuesday, 22 May 2018: Startupbootcamp FastTrack interview

Then on Tuesday I dashed off the Old Mutual Centre in Pinelands for a quick lunchtime interview with Phil Kiracofe, CEO of Startupbootcamp. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click here to educate yourself!

Thursday, 24 May 2018: Afternoon at Southern Guild

I’d been to Southern Guild’s gallery space once before, when they were just up the road in Woodstock (that’s where we snapped this pic of me in a Porky Hefer original), but not since their move to the Silo side of the V&A Waterfront a year ago, so was only happy to attend their ‘announcement event’. The actual content shared is under wraps for another week still, but you can take in some of the scenes so long – that’s a glass of Krone in the bottom right…

Some of the sights in and around Southern Guild. It was another much-needed rainy day, so my umbrella tagged along for the trip.

Sweet little Bassie warming herself in front of the fire that evening.

Saturday, 26 May 2018: Golden lattes and ground-splattered ice creams

We had some mall admin to do so breakfasted at W Cafe at Woolworths in the new Table Bay Mall. See me smelling my ‘golden latte’ – turmeric, ginger and cinnamon. Also Husband’s flat white in the background, his exotic shroom bowl and my Nutella French toast. Yum!

The weather had turned crisp yet sunny that afternoon, so Husband had his weekend plunge in the Atlantic.

Isn’t this the saddest thing you’ve ever seen? Luckily not mine, but it was right outside our car when we returned from our beach visit.

Sunday, 27 May: Cup & Cake brunch, Jerry’s burger’s lunch and train station collection

We had brunch at Cup & Cake with Husband’s parents on Sunday. See my creamy spiced chai latte at Cup & Cake.

Ah, pancakes! Cup & Cake’s current special is three cinnamon-sugar ones for R20. They’re fresh and tasty.

We had early lupper at Jerry’s on the beachfront as we’d only be collecting my parents from the train station much later that eve. Husband told me to pose.

The view at Jerry’s is quite something, as is the food. Husband went for a Bloody Jerry to drink and Drunken chicken burger to eat, while I opted for the peanut butter-banana shake and the ‘Heart attack’ burger with sweet potato fries. We ate it all.

Finally! Husband managed to get us onto the exact platform at Cape Town station where the Rovos rail would eventually pull up, so we were there to film my parents and their new friends as they got off the train.

Monday, 28 May 2018: Almost-disastrous day-off dog walkies

After some bike admin first thing on Monday – the reason we’d taken a day’s leave – my parents treated us to breakfast at All in the Kitchen, which is only open on weekdays. I agree that coffee is always a good idea! See the pretty foamy flat whites, my ‘nutters’ granola bowl, the bacon-cheese croissant Husband and Mum went for, and Dad’s toasted bacon-and-egg.

Such an attractive breakfast spread!

We drove the doggies up to Kreeftebaai and due to the chilly weather with drizzle on-and-off, found it absolutely deserted. The doggies had a ball running to and fro.

Sweet little Bassie running back towards me from all the way up the coast. You’ll notice her brother is nowhere in sight.

See Bassie trotting sweetly beside her dad, only to realise brother Bertie is long gone chasing birdies up the coast. We drove two beaches further up before Husband found him gazing out at sea in ‘wild dog’ mode. Bassie won’t admit it but she was slightly concerned. All’s well, though!

All tuckered out, Bertie was very content to just lie on the warm blankets that evening.

Thursday, 31 May 2018: Crystal Towers working breakfast

I met a PR colleague for our annual catch-up chat first thing on Thursday. It was yet another much-needed rainy day so the strong cappuccinos were just what we ordered.

That’s all, folks! May your weekend be happy and warm; and your ice-cream not go splat on the ground.

Perfect beach ice creams and see the new Panama Jack’s

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 🙂

Table Mountain views and tasty Forries tapas

Last weekend the weather took a turn for the chilly, as you’ll see from our clothing in the pics below. I think it’s fair to say we’re ready for winter though, hopefully with lots of rain!

Thursday, 8 March 2018: Retail marketing trends talk at FCB

Oh how I love the FCB Cape Town offices. All the bright colours and lights and views of the trees outside.

Snacks! Pencils! FCB notebooks! Trees! Click here if you missed my coverage of the session retail marketing session presented by Chicago’s FCB Red.

Couldn’t ignore this eye-catching graffiti on my way from FCB’s office after the talk to the Woodstock MyCiti bus stop that afternoon.

To mark the end of a steady stream of weekend work for both of us, we went out to dins at Doodles that evening. See Husband grinning in the sunshine, his curry-topped pizza, my nachos and latte, and the sunset. Cue heart-eyes emoji!

Friday, 9 March 2018: Columinate research presentation at The Cullinan

I covered Columinate’s ‘measure of tomorrow’ research presentation on Friday, held at The Cullinan Hotel. We were treated to a delicious brunch and there were bicycles galore ahead of last weekend’s Cape Cycle Challenge (formerly known as the Argus}. Click here if you missed the resulting article!

Saturday, 10 March 2018: Forries’ tapas snacks and Black Bull dins

We needed to purchase and price a few products at our local Builders Warehouse so ate in the accompanying Cafe Lacomia. See my chocolate-sprinkled cappuccino with not one, not two, not three but FOUR mini cookies, also my toasted chicken mayo and Husband’s sloppy joe (eggs and mince on toast). Just what we needed!

That afternoon we were on the Claremont side of the world and the weather was quite wintery so we stopped in at the Forester’s Arms for a quick treat. See Husband with his Castle 1895 draught, me with my strawberry shake and delicious foodies in the next photo…

We decided on two types of tapas – the roasted chili poppers wrapped in bacon with a fig glaze (yum) and beef satay – that peanut-chili-coconut dipping sauce is amazing!

We met Husband’s parents for dins at the Black Bull diner, which is roughly ten minutes from both our houses. See my caramel shake top left, the ‘starter portion’ Alabama ranch baked potato (there are two of them topped with cheese and bacon, with a side tub of sour cream) – Mum-in-Law and I each ordered this and each ended up taking a full potato home), the bangers and mash that Husband and his father devoured and the mushroom starter shared by most of the table.

Sunday, 11 March 2018: Afternoon treats at Cup & Cake, Eden on the Bay

Stark Ayres’ Pink Olive breakfast usually means a cappuccino and the made-to-order scones for me, with Husband downing a Coke Zero and the salmon eggs benedict.

Cup & Cake was the venue of our Sunday afternoon treat. You can just see Husband’s cappuccino and my Zoo-biscuit shake, here.

Husband also had some salmon sushi as part of his Sunday afternoon treat at Eden on the Bay.

The view of the mountain from our side of the cape was just gorgeous.

More shots of the lovely mountain that afternoon.

Monday, 12 March 2018: Cat joins Husband and Bassie in the car

Bassie hadn’t been well over the weekend so Husband dropped her off at her usual vet on Monday morning, after an emergency vet visit on Sunday evening. This three-legged black-and-white cat hopped into the car and kept them company while they waited to be admitted.

Wednesday, 14 March 2018: Chilly Cape evening

Healthy, happy doggies waiting for their dins on Wednesday evening. Blanket is another sign of the evening chill that hit.

That’s all, folks! May your weekend feel long and relaxing. 🙂

Bertie’s 8th birthday and the Cup & Cake breakfast buffet

Last week, our dear doggie boy Bertie turned 8. So despite us both having full plates of work, we made a plan to include delicious food and quality time with our furry children, too…

Thursday, 1 March 2018: Bertie’s 8th birthday

Aww! When we got home from work, I showed Bertie some of the birthday messages he’d received from friends and family on Facebook. He loved them, as you can see.

Teehee. This was the best option from a number of ‘birthday hat’ poses, I promise.

Friday, 2 March 2018: Coffee meet at Red Sofa Cafe

Did someone say ‘Friday coffee meet at the Red Sofa Cafe’? I was there like a bear, mirrored sunnies and all.

As it was breakfast time, I went for the flapjack stack. Brimming with blueberries, marscapone cheese and honey, it was delicious!

I tried the cheeseburger with sweet potato fries from the Bread Cafe downstairs for Friday lunch, once back in the office.

Saturday, 3 March 2018: Cup & Cake buffet breakfast

Husband was working again on Saturday, so I had a breakfast date my my parents at Cup & Cake at Eden, which has just moved to new premises. See some of the cakes and views here.

Also see my gingerbread latte, the sweet birdie sugar cup and more.

Table shot of all our eats and drinks at Cup & Cake.

We headed to Husband’s parents’ house for dins that eve, once he got home from work. Bassie was very affectionate with her dad.

Bertie ripped open his presents with a little help from his dad, and was delighted to meet his new TV-viewing companion, Seal. Bassie was happy to share his fancy doggy biscuits, too.

Bassie joined me while I had my post-dins coffee outside, just before the sun set. She wasn’t so sure about including Bertie in the photos, LOL.

Bertie snuggled with his seal on the couch that evening.

Teehee, he really loves his birthday seal!

Sunday, 4 March 2018: Breakfast at Village Place Cafe, Black Panther at GrandWest Casino

We all met at the Village Place Cafe for breakfast first thing on Sunday.

My Sunday cappuccino at Village Place Cafe.

Some of the food we ate. See Husband’s poached egg on a stack of sorts, as well as brother-in-law Spec’s more traditional plate of eggs, bacon, toast and tomato, with my banting flapjacks and mum-in-law’s mushroomy toast plate.

Later that morning, Spec met us at GrandWest Casino as we’d booked tickets to watch the latest Marvel movie, Black Panther. All had a fun time, as you can see 😉

Monday, 5 March 2018: Doggy snuggles on the couch

Bassie having a snuggle with her dad on the couch after another tough day at work.

It seems we interrupted an important conversation between the siblings when we snapped this photo of the doggies.

That’s all, folks! The weather looks quite chilly at the moment so perhaps we will give the beach a miss this weekend.

Happy dogwalks and house paint refresh 2016

This week was all about hard physical work – we had our house painted, so to distract the doggies over the weekend we took them for long local neighbourhood walkies, and then got stuck into some gardening. The painting is almost complete, the gardening is not – I’ll post pics of that once we’re done, but you can take a peek at the complete transformation offered by a lick or two of paint so long:

Top row is the back and front of the house pre-paint (well actually mid-paint – it didn’t look so bad before they started, that’s lots of loose bits having flaked off after the high-pressure cleaning last weekend). The bottom row shows the difference just a few days later. And yes, the bright Adirondack is the one I showed you how we DIY painted a few months ago, under the patio roof  shelter Husband installed in February 2016 – click here and here for how he did it.

And now, on to specific daily moments…

Friday, 9 September 2016: Social media training at Shift One, Eden on the Bay

As Friday dawned bright and sunny, and it was the day of the social media training I was attending with a colleague in Big Bay, I spent a long time gazing at this view. Note the walkway light was still on, as it was so early.

I always snap a pic from this spot when it’s without a queue of people waiting to pose in the frame. Last Friday the view was gorgeous, with a little ship seeming to float on the cloud below the mountain – do you see it?

Following a frantic morning of note-taking we were each given an envelope with R70 in it and told: “Go have lunch, be back here in 45 minutes.” Needless to say we got back a little late, but we’d eaten well and chatted up a storm. And this bacon-avo panini from Eden Cafe was delicious.

Training finally done that afternoon and certificate of attendance received, I had half-an-hour to spare before making my way home, so I went into Cup & Cake for a looksie. It’s the sweet little bakery directly opposite the Pick n Pay in Eden on the Bay. A little peckish by then, I couldn’t pass up their delicious homemade milktart. At just R25 for a generous slice, and partnered with a delicious cappuccino (yay, with mini shortbread biscuit to accompany), this was the ideal way to switch between work mode and weekend mindset. That’s the very edge of my book you see in the bottom of the pic.

Saturday, 10 September 2016: Neighbourhood doggy walks and Jerry’s burger treats

Setting off for walkies on Saturday morning. Just look at all that happiness!

Love how the doggies and Husband are each going in a different direction here. 🙂 We all followed the same path in the end, sort of.

Much, much later that afternoon, after hours of housework and gardening, we treated ourselves to the deliciousness of Jerry’s on the Blouberg beachfront. I had the Jerry burger (same as when I went to Jerry’s with my workmates recently), but rounded out my milkshake menu-tasting with their Chai Latte flavour. Tasted exactly as you’d expect, sweetly spicy. Gingerbread is still my favourite Jerry’s option.

Husband had the Jack D burger and a Black Label. Chips drenched in sriracha sauce, obvs. We had a lovely time and will try remember to book a booth with a view of the sea for our next visit.

Sunday, 11 September 2016: Breakfast at Lacomia, braai at Mum’s

My Sunday started with this cappuccino at Cafe Lacomia in the Sunningdale Builder’s Warehouse as we needed to buy a few gardening things. It’s one of the few places that still dusts the top of a cappuccino with chocolate powder, and note I got two tiny cookies in the saucer. Happiness.

Husband had the Bullseye you see on the left, I had the cinnamon-sugar pancakes you see on the right. These kept us going through a few more hours of heavy-duty gardening.

Look! Spring has finally reached Cape Town, with wildflowers dotting most of the grassy embankments around our home.

We stopped in at a house on show in our neighbourhood that afternoon to see if it suited Husband’s parents’ housing requirements (they’re moving down to Cape Town from Johannesburg soon, eep!) Look at the loveliness of this enclosed braai room with lots of Adirondacks…

Husband and dad were in charge of the braai for Sunday lupper – a mix of colours of food on the plate like this is always a good thing. 🙂

That’s all, folks! It’s been a rainy few days with snow in some areas as a last-minute cold front has hit, so who knows what you’ll see pictures of us doing in my next update!