Cavalli’s Cremello, SodaStream’s red bus tour and dog walkies around Flamingo Vlei

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.

Donuts, doughnuts everywhere!

It’s Freedom Day today in SA, so we’ve had a lovely day relaxing and spending time with family. But more of that in next week’s update.

Last week, you’d think I just sat and ate donuts (or doughnuts, depending on your spelling preference) from the pics you’re about to see. I promise I did lots of other things in between…

Thursday, 19 April 2018: SheSays CT launch at Red & Yellow

Last Thursday, I attended the launch of SheSays Cape Town with my colleague Clarina after work. It’s the largest global network of females working in the creative industries. Click here if you missed my coverage!

Evening skies over Devil’s Peak.

Cloud-flecked sky as seen when looking towards the harbour from the Red & Yellow School rooftop.

Friday, 20 April 2018: Dunkin Donuts while working from home

I worked from home last Friday as had a huge amount of work to do before Sunday evening so decided to save time on the commute. My parents popped in with a sweet teatime treat – Dunkin Donuts! The heart held a raspberry jammy filling and the smiley face was filled with a chocolate mousse. Delicious!

Saturday, 21 April 2018: Father-in-Law’s 75th birthday braai

We started our weekend at Driftwood Cafe as we were conveniently having our car washed next door. See the coffee and weekend breakfast special minus toast as they were in the middle of a power cut, so this was all cooked on gas.

After a bit of weekend admin we stopped at The Daily Cafe in Big Bay’s Seaside Village for a mid-morning treat. See Husband’s con panna and my ‘waffle pop’ topped with caramel, banana and a cup of soft serve.

Father-in-Law held his official 75th birthday braai on Saturday afternoon, with various friends and extended family members in attendance. See the train-topped birthday cake and lots of smiles.

Bassie got lots of attention from her other Grampa and dad during the party.

Bertie was all tuckered out after entertaining everyone at his Grampa’s party by running around and greeting animals on the TV screen. He curled up on the couch and rested for a bit once we got home.

We see you, Bertie boy…

Sunday, 22 April 2018: Village Place breakfast, Milky Lane treat

We both had quite a bit of work to do so started off with a quick breakfast together at The Village Place Cafe last Sunday. See my vanilla cappuccino with heart-shaped biscuit, Husband’s mince, eggs and cheese on toast and my French toast with bacon, banana and nuts.

Once we were both done with work for the day we stopped in at the Milky Lane at Table Bay Mall for a quick Sunday afternoon treat. See my ‘Bubbles crunch Sunnydae’, very similar to the promo pic and looks and just what I needed. Husband had an ice-cream sandwich, not pictured.

Monday, 23 April 2018: Belated birthday cake at work

My colleague Juanita had been on leave for a few days to celebrate her birthday and spoiled us with cake in the office on her return. I had a slice of the ganache-y chocolate, it was delicious! The caramel and Black Forest disappeared before I could even think of trying a slice. I’ll be faster next time 😉

Tuesday, 24 April 2018: AfricArena media launch at InvestSA

Cape Town time, front and centre at the InvestSA one-stop shop.

Such a nice work environment at InvestSA – it’s a coworking space, so you’re encouraged to pop in if looking for government assistance with any aspect of your businesses!

I was there to cover the press conference for the second AfricArena tech startup pitching competition and conference, taking place in Cape Town later in the year following a brief ‘world tour’. My overviews will go up over the next few weeks, as it’s Africa Month on Bizcommunity.

Mum brought over delicious meatloaf with veggies for dins that evening. We ate up every last scrap!

Wednesday, 25 April 2018: Good Hope FM #donuttouchthatdial DJ line-up remix at Grand Life Cafe

It was time for even more donuts at Good Hope FM’s first trade media event in five years, their new DJ line-up reveal held at Grand Life Cafe at the V&A Waterfront on Thursday. Was a wonderfully sunny day with bright blue skies.

Oh you know, just hanging with the Good Hope FM DJs.

These vibrant purple flowers looked fake but were definitely the real deal. Also see the two ‘candy stations’ offering an assortment of red and blue sweeties.

Beautiful pink and red and orange cascading blooms.

There was a printing station so you could have your face printed on a donut if you so desired, and guests were free to sample as many as they liked. These were all absolutely amazing, glazed with caramel, chocolate, coffee and pretzels in all the right places.

Lovely sushi and fishy eats too, if you weren’t a fan of sweet things (who are these people?!)

This is what we came for – My Sugar created special donuts to go with each DJ’s personality.

I got to take home my favourite – the DJ Ready D. It had a peanut butter-choc ganache topping, nuts and a mild milk chocolate centre that oozed out when you bit into it. Delicious!

That’s all, folks! We hope you’re having a wonderful long weekend so far.

Weekend Driftwood afternoons and Winter-warm dogs get a Spring clean

Woohoo! September’s always a happy month as we’re over the worst of the work things and the end of the year is in sight so the pressure eases off a little. Here are a few of our happier moments from the past week and a bit…

Sunday, 27 August: Post-Tulbagh Driftwood shakes and beach selfies

Ahh. Late-Winter means you often get surprisingly warm, non-windy days just perfect for sitting in the sun and defrosting. That’s just what we did after we got home from our Tulbagh weekend, with a lazy draught, shake and meal at the Driftwood.

Later that afternoon it was time for a few beach selfies. I am amused 😉

Tuesday, 29 August 2017: Pamro conference at the Vineyard Hotel, doggies get a delivery

I bumped into Mike Broom of Panel Services Africa/Infotools/Marketing Science at the Pamro conference and had a quick catch-up chat.

This picture shows just how gloomy the weather was that day – just right for having an informative day indoors while the rain beat down outside.

Conference shots. The hotel was full on the day and the food was amazing, as always. I also wrote about my learnings from the day – you can read through a few of the topics here, here, here and here.

The doggies received a Very Exciting media pack that evening – so excting that Bertie got into the box to see what it was. Oh joy, another #Dreammaker cushion from Hills! Say goodbye to the days of sharing!

The doggies have spent every chilly evening since then just like this, huddled in front of the warmth of the fire on their Hills #Dreammaker cushis.

Friday, 1 September 2017: #Cupcakeformyhero

Last Friday was Spring Day here in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as the launch of this year’s #cupcakesformyhero initiative by Mugg & Bean. For R22 you get a tangy, fluffy lemon meringue cupcake in aid of childhood cancer awareness.

Saturday, 2 September 2017: Rocomamas and braai at our house

We had lots of weekend chores to get through last Sunday still, so started off with breakfast at Village Place Cafe in West Coast Village. I had the heart-biscuited cappuccino and blueberry-topped banting flapjacks, husband had the light Village breakfast.

A meal at Rocomama’s is always a good idea. Here is Husband with his Castle Lite draught and chilli cheese bomb chicken burger. I went for the classic cheese beef smash burger and the ‘surprise me’ freak shake. It was an espresso/coffee/caramel concoction on the day. YUMMY! There’s also a sped-up video of me drinking it that we may or may not release 😉

Bassie was not impressed when her brother decided to disembowel his current bear, Elephant, on the couch beside her during the weekly braai.

The Andrews family at the braai – the doggies were content to nap on the couch in front of the blazing fire. PS: Yes, my hair looks a completely different colour to the photo from Rocomamas earlier – it’s all the lighting.

Caramel braai pudding. Sticky and runny and delicious.

Sunday, 3 September 2017: A dunk in the sea and doggy spring clean

We headed off to Greens in Plattekloof Centre for Sunday morning breakfast. Both of us had a cappuccino to start, with Husband devouring a spinach-and-mushroom eggs benedict and the caramel-banana waffle for me. Yip, more caramel!

Husband had a proper dunking in the sea that afternoon. Look at those crashing waves!

The doggies had a proper spring clean themselves that afternoon. Here’s Bertie trying to dry off in a bit of sun.

Bassie chose a cooler corner.

Lupper at Mum’s that eve – strawberry avo salad, unpictured roast chicken and jelly-custard trifle for dessert.

Wednesday, 6 September 2017: Coffee catch-up at Cassis

I met Mike Broom for part two of our coffee chat this week, at Cassis in Gardens Centre. See my custard-chocolate twist with my first cappuccino, while he went for an Americano with hot milk and a caramel apple tartlet.

That’s all, folks! Note that there won’t be a blog update next week, but the following week’s will be well worth the wait – we promise 😉 Happy weekend!

Elgin sunsets, rainbows and Sup boarding at Old Mac Daddy

While we weren’t at work for the past week in full, it sure was a busy one as we sorted quite a bit of admin, had a mini vacation and still spent quite a few long hours  in our offices…

Friday, 28 July 2017: Creative Mornings Cape Town on the Nasdak

Last Friday I attended the monthly #CreativeMorningsCT session, this time at the Nasdak. Click here to read my coverage on Biz.

Saturday, 29 July 2017: New Village Place Cafe menu, Uni Mil rugby and Orient sushi dins

We were intrigued by the new menu at Village Place Cafe on Saturday morning – note my cappuccino with heart-shaped biscuit and French toast topped with bacon, banana and nuts. Scrumdiddlyumptious, as the BFG would say.

We collected Husband’s brother and dad to support the local rugby team, Uni Mil or ‘Millies’, at Theo Marais Park. The wind was blowing away but luckily the main team had enough bluster of their own to secure a win.

We’d planned an Andrews family dinner that evening to celebrate Spec’s 35th birthday and new job, along with other things. We opted for The Orient at Seaside Village for sushi, and I had sweet-sour chicken with the chocolate spring rolls to start.

Sunday, 30 July 2017: Fancy French toast and sunny Sunday afternoons

We started our Sunday at Poplars at D’Aria in Durbanville. There was a chill in the air so we sat inside even though the outside setting looked very inviting. Note my amazing French toast.

We had our traditional Sunday afternoon treat at the Driftwood Cafe – that’s a custard shake for me and a draught beer for Husband. See the pretty birdie flying overhead and sunset from Mum’s that eve.

Monday, 31 July 2017: One night’s stay at Old Mac Daddy

Following a lazy lie-in it was time to pack our bags as we’d booked a mid-week break at Old Mac Daddy in Elgin. Lol at this photo. The wind was so strong at the top of Sir Lowry’s Pass we decided to include this photo as proof. #Messyhairdontcare.

Hidden in the Elgin Valley, Old Mac Daddy promises a getaway with a difference. Note the Airstream trailers, chilly pool and swing chairs on our porch.

The trailers are highly detailed – we stayed in The Birdie and my parents were in The Dream, which comes complete with scary naked-lady pillow.

Ahh. My favourite. Relaxing with a freshly brewed cuppa java in a peaceful setting. That’s just what we did after settling into our trailer.

Introducing the beach at Old Mac Daddy! You can swing in hammocks, sip a cocktail, take a family photo or try your hand at Sup boarding.

Next stop, off for an explore! Husband tried his hand at stand-up paddling or Supping at the Old Mac Daddy ‘beach’ – he took to it like a fish to water. Not meaning that he fell in, we’re Aquarians so natural water masters, remember?

Husband started talking about ‘bucket lists’ after seeing these bucket lights in the main eating barn at Old Mac Daddy. That’s also where we watched the sunset and had cocktails and dins.

This is the sunset I mentioned. Brittle and wintery.

The dins I mentioned – I went for the jalapeno poppers top left and apple pie-cheesecake (yes, cheesecake topped with apple pie) bottom right, mom had the Mexican burger bottom left, Husband had the chicken-prawn jambalaya curry in the middle and dad had the pizza top right.

Tuesday, 1 August 2017: Rainy doggy beach walkies

It was back to the barn for breakfast first thing on Tuesday. We then spent some time relaxing in our trailer before check out time.

It was a cold, rainy day – see the rainbow we snapped out of the Elgin Valley, and happy sandy doggies after a brief walk on the beach in the drizzle.

That’s all, folks! Have a happy weekend 🙂

Jumbo hotdogs, Intaka Island walks and teatime treats at The Vineyard

I said we’d have lots of pics of the in-laws in my last update, and lots of pics we have! They’ll be in town for a few more weeks so expect them to feature in the next few updates. 🙂 We had lots of food balanced out by lots of walks, as you’ll see below…

Saturday, 12, November 2016: Big Bay brekkie, Intaka Island and doggy walks

We started our Saturday with breakfast at the Eden Cafe at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay. That’s my latte on the left and banana-marscapone flapjacks on the right.

There’s Husband and his mum, both tucking into their Surfer’s breakfasts (salmon-and-scrambled-egg panini), with his dad’s English breakfast on the right.

Here are Husband and his parents, mountain-gazing from a chilly Big Bay after breakfast at the Eden Cafe.

We popped into Canal Walk briefly after that as we were in the area for our afternoon at Intaka Island while Dad-in-law met up with a friend. Just look at this enormous hotdog we shared! Tis a jumbo cheese griller.

Intaka Island is a real hidden gem in the heart of all those fancy buildings. Here is Mother, making her way through the walkway.

Lots of little weaver nests are dotted in the rushes at the water’s edge.

These are the floating heronries at Intaka Island. We joked they should be renamed ‘ibiseries’ as we saw just one grey heron on the day.

We stopped at the viewing hut mid-way to gaze across at the pretty view…

Such a photogenic spot in Century City, but those construction cranes framing the mountain mar the beauty.

Husband and his mum taking a break from all the walking.

We stopped at Sunset Beach on our way home. This is the view of Table Mountain from the walkway between parking lot and beach.

Blouberg looks tiny and so far away from Sunset Beach, but it’s the next stop on the bus route along the coast. Look at those tiny kites in the distance!

There were quite a few ships on the horizon and the water was freezing.

Despite having had quite extensive walkies ourselves already, we treated the doggies to an amble around the neighbourhood that evening. See how happy we all are here.

But the doggies soon changed expressions. These doggy faces are just the funniest!

That evening we dined at the Driftwood Cafe. That’s Mother-in-law and Husband with their food on the left, with Dad-in-law and me on the right. Don’t worry, close-ups of the food to follow…

Our four full plates from the Driftwood Cafe. I had the blooming onion, top left, Husband had the eisbein and mash, bottom left, Mother-in-law had the mussel pot and Dad-in-law had hake and chips.

Sunday, 13 November 2016: Primi beachfront breakfast and full family braai

We wanted a view of the sea for Sunday breakfast – and delicious food, of course, so Primi is where we ended up. I had the super-sized cappuccino (just look at that mug bottom left!) I also ate the freshest croissant with a side of bacon (top left), with Husband going for the salmon eggs benedict you can see bottom right, and the parents sharing a portion of eggs Florentine between them, top right.

When last did we have a full family braai, with both sets of parents in attendance? Probably a good four years ago, before we moved to Cape Town. Top left is all the meat on the braai, bottom left is Husband and his dad getting the fire going, me with a Strongbow berry cider and all the menfolk watching/playing/laughing at cricket on the right.

Much later that evening it was just Bassie and me on the couch with my book. She refused to look at the camera though.

Monday, 14 and Tuesday, 15 November 2016: INMA Conference at The Vineyard Hotel

I spend Monday and Tuesday this week networking and note-taking at The Vineyard Hotel at the Interntational News Media Association (INMA) global summit. The tea time treats were amazing – here are my four mini-plates over the two days. Read up on my conference coverage here and here and here and here.

Just so you know, this was the distracting view from my seat in the Vineyard Hotel ballroom at the INMA conference. It’s a wonder I got anything done.

That’s all, folks! Happy weekend 🙂

Dancing with elephants, chicnic feasts and fireworks

This last weekend was a very busy one, as you’ll see below – this selection of pics made the cut from about 250 in total! Let me know your favourite…

Thursday, 3 November 2016: IABC Africa gala dinner at the Vineyard Hotel

The sky was overcast and there was a definite chill in the air but we had a lovely time at The Vineyard Hotel last Thursday. This is to show how low the cloud was over the mountain, as well as to set the scene for how very ‘deep-in-nature-y’ everything felt in this batch of snaps.

We made an effort to stick to the colour scheme of black, white and silver, as you can see.

Such gorgeous table decorations, and fitting too as the theme for the night was ‘dancing under the stars with elephants’. Click here to read my overview on Biz if you missed it this week.

We ate a trout-y starter, lamb-y mains and assorted mini-desserts. Full descriptions here, in my official event overview, which explains how we ‘danced with elephants’.

Saturday, 5 November 2016: Pink Olive breakfast, chicnic lunch, beachfront dins

We were in a garden-y outdoors-y frame of mind all weekend, kicked off by breakfast at The Pink Olive in Starke Ayres nursery, West Coast Village. I liked the look of the Adirondack chairs out front, we had birdies coming up to eat out of our hands and my cappuccino with side shortbread biscuit was just the ticket!

My French toast with grilled bananas and syrup was just what I felt for and rather filling. You can just see Husband’s sunny Eggs Benedict in the background.

Bellies full we were ready to browse some garden centres for veggie garden ideas. This display at SuperPlants in Plattekloof caught my eye.

Soon it was time to hit the road as we had a very important luncheon appointment in Franschhoek. Loved the way this made it seem like a long, empty road lit by fluffy clouds.

Those mountains set around the Franschhoek Valley always make me feel comforted and hemmed into nature.

Another view of those blue peaks, from further up the road.

The Allee Bleue chicnic truly is an amazing way to welcome Summer. My full review is up on Biz here. Do read it, highly recommended.

The lovely tree-lined driveway from front gate to picnic area.

Nothing I love more than a line of palm trees!

Handsome Husband stepping out the car and heading towards the picnic area – through the little archway you can see.

The cheese and charcuterie board was just brimming with tasty morsels, we didn’t know where to start!

We had four jars of flavoursome spreads and smears to choose from. This chilli-tomato jam went well with everything.

My favourite – homemade mini pies filled with bobotie.

Four of the estate’s flagship wines.

Much, much later that evening we went by bike to Catch22 on Marine Drive to catch the City of Cape Town’s Guy Fawkes display on Blouberg beach. That’s me with a hazelnut latte.

Husband went for the Long Island Ice Tea – he’s sad that they no longer muddle their Robben Island version, which added a vanilla Coke flavour.

Husband went for the Calypso Catch salad, which is bursting with all sorts of seafood.

I went for the Buccaneer beef burger, topped with bacon and cheese and served with chips and onion rings. Ate every morsel.

Fireworks at sunset on Blouberg beach. It was packed and very well-run.

Sunday, 6 November 2016: Pancake at Blueberries and clean doggies

We had breakfast at Blueberries on Sunday morning as it is in the Table View Shopping Centre, where we had a few errands to run. See my lovely glass-mugged cappuccino with Husband top left, his huge amount of food bottom left and my banana-caramel topped (and filled) pancake. Bananas for breakfast all weekend!

Sunday was also the day of the doggie bath. Just look at these clean wet dogs! Both freshly emerged from a shower (with their dad). Bertie looks pleased, Bassie is very sorry for herself.

Dry, clean, happy doggies. Bertie looks surprised and Bassie says having her ears tickled is just heavenly.

Much later that afternoon we popped into the Driftwood Cafe for our Sunday treat – a draught for Husband…

I went for my Driftwood standard, the custard shake. Such a happy sunny setting.

Sunset in the suburbs was so pretty this week.

That’s all, folks! Husband’s parents have just arrived for a week of house-hunting so you have an idea what type of pics you’ll see in next week’s update…

New job seafood, mid-week beach walks and cheesecake in a jar

It’s been another busy week but an exciting one as Husband started a new job (yay!) and I ticked off quite a bit of admin that had been piling up. Here are some of the more photo-worthy moments…

Saturday, 15 October 2016: Shared breakfasts at Cubana, new job celebrations at Panama Jacks

We wanted to start the weekend with a shared breakfast as we wanted a special lunch to celebrate Husband’s new job, so we headed to our local Cubana just off the beachfront. That’s me going up/coming down the stairs.

My cappuccino and all the sugar I could possibly want. Funny as I only used one sachet.

The eggs benedict. We each devoured a mound. It has a creamy-spicy twist on the original and comes atop a bed of baked polenta. Yum.

Next stop: Waterfront. I decided to pause and hang out with this guy for a while.

Quite the eye-catching restaurant display.

And then, on to Panama Jacks in the harbour for Husband’s celebratory meal. Here he is just outside the doorway…

Husband went for the ‘avo seafood’ starter.

For mains he had even more seafood in the fettuccini marinara.

I had the lamb-and-bean soup as starter/main…

I finished off with the hazelnut-chocolate mousse dessert. It’s served on a brownie-type base and delightfully fudgey.

Sunday, 16  October 2016: Greens’ breakfasts and Driftwood’s milkshakes

One of my favourite chilly Sunday breakfast places is Greens in Plattekloof. See my hot chocolate top left, waffle with sliced banana and caramel sauce, and Husband’s full plate of cooked brekkie.

We made our way to the Driftwood Cafe for an early afternoon treat. I had the custard milkshake, Husband went with a vanilla (swirled with Bell’s).

I think that expression means Husband enjoyed his, too.

People got lucky snapping amazing pics of Cape Town’s sunsets this week. My two attempts weren’t great – see a pink-tinged cloud on the left and our prettily lit up back yard at night.

Monday, 17 October 2016: Adams & Adams advertising law event

On Monday afternoon I bussed from work to the Inner City Ideas Cartel for a work event. The clouds started rolling in over the mountains as I made my way.

I got there with a few minutes to spare, only to find out that four of the five speakers for the session were stuck in a lift. Wasn’t a problem as there was coffee flowing freely and easily accessible Wi-Fi to keep up with email.

Frantic note-taking over (watch for my coverage on Bizcommunity next week), attendees all trooped upstairs to the rooftop for snacks and drinks. I watched folks amble over the pedestrian bridge and gulped down this Cola with lemon before dashing home to find out about Husband’s first day at the office. All went well.

Wednesday, 19 October 2016: Team lunch at The Taproom, Devil’s Peak Brewery

My colleague Jess who now lives in Joburg was in town for a few days this week so of course we took the opportunity to hold our next team lunch at an old favourite of ours, The Taproom at Devil’s Peak Brewery. Here’s our ever-growing content/support team.

This time I sampled the raspberry smoothie. Thick and yoghurty, it’s a win.

To eat, you can’t go wrong with their cheeseburger and chips served with tomato sauce and a garlicky mayonnaise. Also see one of the Devil’s Wings, with a sesame-seed crust.

For dessert, I went for the ‘orange-chocolate cheesecake’ – that’s what you see in this jar. It has a biscuity base and the cheesecakey filling is piped in and sprinkled with choc chips. Certainly different.

Thursday, 20 October 2016: Post-work curries and beach walks

We dined at Punjab Express in Parklands as an ‘almost done with the work week’ treat on Thursday eve. Love their door sign top left (Keep naan and curry on), and see Husband and me ready to tuck in. We ate every mouthful.

That’s one portion of chicken tikka masala and one portion of Bombay potatoes. They go very well together!

Then it was time for an evening beach walk with the doggies. We scampered across the rough shell-type sand at Kreeftebaai.

Husband and Bertie made a beeline for the waves, as they do.

Bassie and me stayed on dry ground, as we do.

Husband and the doggies trotted far ahead. All had a fun time.

Bassie’s standard ‘happy sandy face ignoring the camera’ post-walkies.

That’s all, folks! Stay tuned for my next update…

Selfies with dogs and seafood platters at Panama Jacks

It has been an exciting week all round, with Mother-in-law, AKA Mother, jetting in from JHB to stay with us, so we have all sorts of fun activities planned with her for the next few days. See a few of our most recent highlights below…

Friday, 15 July 2016: Doggy daddy play

After work last Friday, the doggies decided it was time to ‘attack daddy’. If this was a video instead of photo, you’d see them frantically dashing from side to side, nipping at fingers and growling at anything that got in the way. They had a jolly time!

Saturday, 16 July 2016: Lacomia breakfast, Doodles dins

If you head down to your nearest Builder’s Warehouse, chances are there’s a Cafe Lacomia tucked inside. We ventured into ours last Saturday morning as had all sorts of DIY tasks to tick off our to do list for the day… but also had rumbling tums to satiate. This cappuccino dusted with chocolate did the trick for me…

Especially when washing down this delightful French Toast that looks just like a waffle. T’was dusted in cinnamon sugar and a spattering of syrup, mmm. Kept our bellies purring all day as we completed those assorted tasks I mentioned, all the way through to dins, in fact.

Husband went for the Bullseye – two poached eggs, mushrooms, grated cheese and a frank. They seem to have updated their menu fairly recently as Zomato lists all sorts of other things and not what we remember.

We returned to Doodles that evening to try out a few more of their specials. I went with the soup and pita option (R35) and Husband had his favourite – bangers and mash (R59).

Sunday, 17 July 2016: Morning at the Driftwood

On Sunday we decided on a stroll across to the Driftwood Cafe while our car was being washed. We were the only humans there, and enjoyed watching all the ducks get their breakfast. See them on the grass behind me.

We weren’t the only humans for long though as the sunshine got everyone out and about – even Mum (that’s mine, not to be confused with Husband’s Scottish Mother) and Dad popped in and joined us!

The warm weather continued to such an extent that we had fancy cocktails at Mum’s that eve – grapefruity gin drinks and Nachtmusik with ice cream.

Monday, 18 July 2016: Col Cacchio lunch with parents and doggy selfies

I had the day off on Monday, so Mum and Dad took me to Col Cacchio in Big Bay to try their new Winter lunch menu. For liquid beginnings I had a coffee shake. You can just see Mum’s Sprite Zero and Dad’s Smirnoff Storm in the background.

What a lovely lunch we had! See our starter salami pizza bottom right and Mum with her bowl of pasta. Scrumdiddlyumptious, as the BFG would say (no, have not yet seen the movie) and all at less than R60 per bowl.

After lunch I decided to read on the couch. Bertie slowly sidled closer and closer. Eventually I decided to document the doggy sense of adventure. These are some of my favourites.

My attempts with Bassie were much more cautious as she is just so very suspicious of the camera. Also included Bertie’s most serious selfie so you can see the family resemblance.

Tuesday, 19 July 2016: Airport pick-up and seafood platter at Panama Jacks

Tuesday dawned gloomy and grey. We got up late and headed towards the airport to collect our precious cargo for the week.

We met Mum and Dad at Panama Jacks for lunch as it’s a family favourite. Here’s a family shot (taken by Mother, that’s why she’s missing from the pic), so you can see the inside decor of Panama Jacks – I think every other time we’ve dined there, we sat facing the other wall.

How lovely! Mother and son sharing the seafood platter special at Panama Jacks.

Wednesday, 20 July 2016: Haggis for dins

We clearly don’t see Scottish Mother very often as she lives in JHB at the moment, so when we do see her there’s a strong chance that haggis is involved. That’s just what happened on Wednesday night, and we ate it all.

That’s all for now, folks. Tune in again next week for more of our adventures with Mother, before she returns to the big smoke! 🙂

Robben Island tour and winter sunset curries

If you’re new to my blog you may not yet know that I love love LOVE Cape Town’s Winter specials. They’re an enticing way to lure us out over those frosty, wet weekends and evenings we’d otherwise be huddled up sadly under blankets, with the bonus of usually being at half-price. That’s exactly why we revisited Inside Lounge’s half-price Winter Monday/Tuesday chicken curry special this week – scroll through pics from that and other recent highlights below…

Wednesday, 1 June 2016: Robben Island ferry trip

The month of June dawned with the annual Kantar Media TV research conference taking place in Cape Town for the first time. After a full morning of tweeting, note-taking and networking we were hustled out of the Westin hotel, onto shuttles to the various activities we’d been booked onto. Us Robben Island ferry-goers were presented with these boxes of lunch filled with juice, crackers, muffins, wraps and apples. See the closed and open versions.

All were surprised by just how large this ferry was for the trip across. Even though the sea was violent on the day we were relatively safe indoors, though a few brave souls did venture onto the open top. This was the hazy view of the Waterfront out right from Sikhululekile, the largest of three vessels that make the trip. You’re on the island for almost 4 hours at a pop so there are only 3 ferry trips a day, at roughly 27 minutes per 12km trip. Yes, I timed it. The water was that choppy.

One of the most photographed rooms on Robben Island – not Mandela’s cell but the room where political prisoner Robert Sobukwe’s children slept when granted permission to visit him in his own specially built solitary confinement prison on the island.

Robben Island touring is emotionally tiring work, and that’s before you even delve beyond the non-political history. Did you know it was a leper colony (segregated by gender to prevent further leper births – 40 or so still somehow were born there, and several of these human bones were dug up?) It also served as an animal quarantine station… all a lifetime before becoming a military base. Lunch boxes long empty, we were treated to coffee and snacks in the tiny tea room on the island.

Table Mountain went into hiding behind all the thick cloud on the day – still a pretty shot with all these Wintery blues/greys and greens.

Lack of Table Mountain aside, this is still a good group shot! Only two South Africans in this pic (both of us on Robben Island for the first time), the rest were all international conference delegates. All thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The sky brightened as we continued our bus tour. Snapped from the other side of the island, the lighthouse is so sweet and fully functional. We also saw bokkies scampering about and lots of penguins near the coast. The island is only 12km in circumference so easy to get around.

Thursday, 2 June 2016: Conference treats at the Westin

Just look at that. The Westin outdid itself with this elevensies treat on Thursday morning – fresh glazed mini donuts and the most delicious coffee. If you’re wondering if I actually got any work done at the conference, click here and here for overviews of each day’s topics.

Friday, 3 June 2016: Masterful dinner plating

Isn’t this an appetising sight? Inspired by all the fancy gourmet meals we’ve reviewed lately, Husband put his plating skills to the test with this pork rasher/mini baked potato plate last Friday eve. It tasted even better than it looks!

Saturday, 4 June 2016: Petit Fours breakfast, Portuguese lunch at Dias Tavern

We were up bright and early on Saturday so zoomed along to Petit Four on the beachfront – if you get there after 9am you just can’t get a table. Husband went for the traditional eggs benedict. At R80 it’s perhaps a tad pricey but most delicious, he left not a smidge of Hollandaise sauce on that plate.

I went for possibly my oddest breakfast choice yet. This ‘his and hers’ toast features smashed avo, feta and cheery tomatoes on the green slice, while the brown side is chunky peanut butter, roast marshmallow bits and chocolate ganache. Yes really, and no I didn’t smush the two halves together.

After a few quick Saturday morning chores we were at Uncle Al’s house in West Beach to celebrate his recent 60th birthday. That there is a tiramisu cake, into which a sparkler was placed and lit, and those caramel horns are just amazing if you have a sweet tooth as strong as mine. Back right are little cheesy scones, and this entire spread was soon replaced by mini bobotie and springbok savoury pies. We ate and we ate!

Next stop? More food! The parents had booked tickets for Kanala at the Fugard Theatre ages ago, and it always makes sense to stop in for a meal at Dias Tavern when doing so. Husband and Dad started off with catembas, which are these here mugs of Coke and red wine.

Dad went for these Portuguese specialities: grilled sardines and sliced chorizo. Mmmm.

Teehee. Mum and me posing much like Husband and I did when we last ‘theatred’ there, almost exactly a year ago. Click here if you don’t remember.

Sunday, 5 June 2016: Driftwood breakfast and Nando’s chilli hot chocolate

We had a long leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning as had dropped off the car for a thorough wash then trotted across to the Driftwood Cafe. This ‘duckling’ breakfast came to a whopping R25 – including a cup of coffee!

Husband had the pricier and definitely more filling option – there’s a minute steak under that blob of peri sauce, as well as sausages, rashers of bacon, fried eggs, sweetcorn fritters and toast (not pictured).

As a treat later that afternoon Husband took me to our nearest Nando’s to try their chilli hot chocolate. It’s only on certain menus and not available as take-away. Left just a hint of burn on the tongue.

Monday, 6 June 2016: Sunset curries at Inside, Big Bay

Sunset curries! By Monday evening Husband was coughing and sneezing but he put on a brave face so we could have our first ‘sunset curry’ of 2016 at Inside Lounge in Eden on the Bay. These were piping hot and so delicious.

We stayed for a sunset snap before heading home as I had an online lecture to attend that evening. We had left home just after 5pm for dins and we were back barely an hour later.

Tuesday, 7 June 2016: Solo work trips and sick husbands

Husband was Very Sick by Tuesday so he stayed home to rest and I set off to work by bus. That’s the tail-end of sunrise, at around 07:45am in Woodstock – you can just see Lion’s Head peeping out on the horizon.

Husband and Bertie spent much of the evening like so, poor things.

Bassie decided to get deep under the blankets. T’was that cold.

And that’s all, folks! You’ll be pleased to note that Husband is almost back to 100% functionality. Snow is predicted in some parts this weekend, so keep warm…

Parental airport returns and colleague’s Mexican (Japanese) goodbyes

This week has been a super busy one, mainly because I’m on leave next week so had quite a bit of work to tick off my to-do list, then its Easter weekend and before you know it we’re in April! A quarter of the year gone! It’s hard to believe. Here are the past week’s highlights…

Saturday, 12 March 2016: Driftwood breakfast and parents airport pick-up

We woke early and dropped the car off at the nearest car wash then trotted across to the Driftwood Cafe. I had this pleasing cup of coffee as part of my R25 breakfast.

Husband buttering toast to go with his bigger-than-mine breakfast.

We’d been tracking the parents’ planes through an app on Husband’s phone so timed our arrival at the airport pretty well. This was their flight from Joburg taxiing along the runway…

We watched them disembark from the viewing deck before dashing down to the arrivals hall.

The doggies were very keen to see Granny and Grampa again, see their sad faces when I asked “Where’s Granny Grampa?”

Later that day we were at Tyger Valley Shopping Centre. I couldn’t help snapping a pic of this eye-catching window display at Identity.

Such a cute ‘hot-air balloon’. Husband snapped me sipping a McDonald’s caramel latte beside it. Yes that is Rey from Star Wars looking at it jealously over my shoulder and photobombing me.

Sunday, 13 March 2016: Breakfast at Rusty Oak Bistro

We read up on the Rusty Oak Bistro at Ruslamere through Zomato and decided to try them for breakfast. Husband opted for the hot buffet – and promptly toppled the pepper grinder onto his first plateful, teehee.

My rather large cappuccino, just delicious

I went for the waffle topped with berry and bacon bits – ahem, and got the double. And finished it all. Kept me full till we got to Mum’s for lupper that eve (note my fancy Roo shirt from the parents’ trip).

The pretty outdoor area at Ruslamere.

Much, much later, at Mum’s that eve we had raspberries with her homemade coffee icecream. Goodness me it was delicious. Washed down with a delightful pink wine.

Thursday, 17 March 2016: St Patrick’s Day work events and celebrations

I started my Thursday at an exclusive presentation at an agency walking distance from the office. Just love the multicoloured light-sabre type lights that hang from the reception area of the FCB/Hellocomputer building in Woodstock, and the little window near the ceiling. This picture does not do it justice.

Walking to the lift I saw this interesting wall art – which I later found out was printed by Husband! Tis a very small world.

There was time for a quick cup of coffee before the presentation began. Note my stripy pants did not match the stripy carpet.

Lots of pretty clouds about on my way to the bus stop after work that evening. There’s a definite chill in the air these days – the start of autumn so soon?

We were just too tired to head out anywhere after work for official celebrations, but Husband had a Guinness in St Paddy’s honour.

Friday, 18 March 2016: Fat Cactus farewell to Meg

My colleague Megan (two down from me in this pic, she was in most of my pics from last year’s Loeries blog post) is jetting off to teach English in Japan in a few weeks, and as most people are on leave next week we had a brief farewell at the Fat Cactus across the road from the office today. I was sat at the ‘espresso milkshake’ end of the table 🙂

The Milkshake Queen strikes again! These are the espresso shakes in question. |I almost had another.

That’s all, folks! I’m going to use the next few days to switch off, reset and recharge my batteries. Hope you have a wonderful long weekend!