Last weekend we had many foodie celebrations as we celebrated both my parents’ birthdays, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Thursday, 8 August 2019: Winter high tea at the Table Bay Hotel
We were invited to review the new winter high tea menu at the Table Bay Hotel, so ventured off to the V&A Waterfront after work was done for the day on Thursday. See lots of happy faces and lovely sights.High tea, served in style! See our flutes of bubbly and scones and savouries, all this before we visited the main buffet table!Tea is served! After sniffing away at lovely scented options I had a pot of the Pink Flamingo tea. Also see some fruity surprise treats – read all the words of my review on Bizcommunity to find out what they really are!Seal mascots and a further course of tea-time treats meant we left with even bigger smiles on our faces. Highly recommended.
Friday, 9 August 2019: Women’s Day breakfast at Wimpy
Last Friday was the Women’s Day public holiday so we made full use of the opportunity to sleep in late and brunch at Wimpy. See my Bar-One waffle with regular Wimpy coffee, as well as Husband’s streaky bacon breakfast.After a day of napping and reading, we ventured out for lupper at Colala in Table View, See Husband’s chicken kadai curry and my sweet-and-sour chicken.Sweet doglets snuggling up to their dad that evening.
Saturday, 10 August 2019: Hart Bakery breakfast, Dad’s 69th birthday lupper at Yo Eastern Fusion
Breakfast is served! We started the official weekend with breakfast at The Hart in Melkbos. See Husband’s large cappuccino and chorizo rosti, as well as my single cappuccino and single bacon benedict.We ventured out for a coffee-time treat later that afternoon, as Husband spotted a new addition on the Entertainer app: ‘Simple Bru Coffee’ in Reef Surf shop, just off Marine Circle. He had a flat white while I enjoyed the vanilla latte, both served with bite of rusk.Happy birthday to you! Saturday was Dad’s birthday, so we went for a joint early dins at Yo Eastern Fusion to celebrate. See various cocktails, happy faces and foodies.Some of the deliciousness – Mum’s Tom Yum soup, my satay chicken and chocolate spring rolls, and assorted cocktails, from left to right in the upper-right photo: Call me A Cab, Blue Hawaii, Mermaid’s Orgasm and Pina Colada.More scenes from our Saturday feast – cocktail happiness; Dad’s sweet-and-sour prawns top-right; Mum’s assorted appetizer starter of crumbed mushrooms, crunchy calamari, chicken satay and vegetable spring rolls; and Husband’s seafood fried noodles.What’s a birthday celebration without cake?! We popped in at Woolworths for this yummy white chocolate, caramel fudge cake and munched away at sunset at home.
Sunday, 11 August 2019: Breakfast at On the Rocks, Hout Bay roadtrip
We treated ourselves to breakfast at On the Rocks on Sunday. See the chandelier glowing brightly as well as Husband’s ‘Jonkershuijs’ breakfast bottom-left, full of pork belly, avo and poached egg, as well as my Hash bowl packed with potatoes, asparagus and poached eggs.The takeaway coffee hatch next to On the Rocks is also a lovely spot to explore.Winter in Table View, as personified by this scene outside the Ons Huisie parking lot.Next stop, Hout Bay! The weather was a tad chilly but just right for a road trip. I thoroughly enjoyed my slap chips with tartare sauce from Mariner’s Wharf and we walked around looking at the seals and gulls.I was still full from my slap chip session so stuck with a cappuccino while Husband sampled the seafood curry at the Mariner’s Wharf restaurant upstairs. The slogan in the window frame says, “Our windows are cleaned regularly. If dirty, curse the seagulls or blame the weather.”
Tuesday, 13 August 2019: Mum’s 65th birthday dins at Petisco’s
Happy birthday to you! Tuesday was Mum’s birthday so we celebrated at a local favourite after work – Petiscos. See my Lindt chocolate Flake shake, as well as Husband’leaning in’ for the photo bottom-left, Dad’s full chicken cafreal bottom-right, and Mum’s birthday surprise shooter with a sparkler. The whole restaurant sang to her!
That’s all, folks! Tune in for next week’s update a day later than usual, as I’ll be in Durban covering the Loeries in the usual Friday blogging slot.
Click here to recap my full Table Bay high tea review on Bizcommunity and here for the SodaStream coverage I mentioned last week. 🙂
*Disclaimer: Our high teas at the Table Bay Hotel were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
Last weekend I was knocked down by a cold (not the flu, as I had my flu shot this year), but despite that meaning lots of rest time was required we still got out a fair bit, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Thursday, 25 July 2019: Star Wars quizzing at Exclusive Books
Look at those happy faces! Mum had seen a sign for a Star Wars quiz at the Exclusive Books in Table Bay Mall, so Husband and Spec opted in as a team on Thursday evening. They did really well, coming second out of eight teams! Dad and I went along as their cheering team.Celebrating their quiz victory with some sushi at Best of Asia.
Last Friday, I started my work day at the latest Creative Mornings Cape Town event at AAA School. Click here to catch up if you missed my coverage of Kurt Minnaar’s talk.I was even snapped by the official Creative Mornings photographer, snapping a photo at the event!Say cheese! We had our much-awaited team lunch at the Fat Cactus last Friday, walking distance from the office. Even Rod was there!Deciding what to eat was tough. In the end I went for this, the Happy Hog quesadillas, with BBQ pulled pork, cheese and chilli pineapple salsa. Yum! Washed down with an espresso shake, of course.If all goes to plan for Husband, he gets to leave work a little early on a Friday afternoon. The stars aligned for him last Friday so he got home before me for once, and trotted down to the local pub with dad for a quick beer while waiting on my bus to arrive.
Saturday, 27 July 2019: 3D putt-putt, rugby and cake for Spec’s 37th birthday
All in the Kitchen deli was open Saturday morning with a limited menu, so we popped in for the bacon-egg croissant with flat white special.Seaside Village held a Lego expo of sorts on Saturday, so of course we went along to browse with great interest. The Guardians of the Galaxy set is adorable!As Saturday was Spec’s birthday, he stayed over at his parents house for the night. Husband treated him to a round of putt-putt at Glowing Rooms’ 3D blacklight mini golf in Milnerton, along with his parents. I wasn’t up for the adventure (and luckily had played before) so opted for a nap at home instead.I was feeling a little better later that afternoon so bundled up tight to accompany Husband, Spec and their dad to the local Unimil rugby match at Theo Marais Park.We all popped in at Husband’s parents that evening for some birthday singing. Love love love the pic of Husband and Bassie in her hoodied tracksuit top-right.
Sunday, 28 July 2019: Ou Meul breakfast, Reload coffee break
It was the ‘Winteriest’ day on Sunday so we sat inside at the new Ou Meul Bakkery in Melkbos (where the farmstall used to be). See Husband’s eggy toast and my toasted banana bread, as well as our coffees – a flat white and honey-nut latte, respectively.Husband decided I was in need of a Reload coffee treat early Sunday afternoon so we popped into the Parklands branch for a flat white and peppermint-choc latte. He was right, it was just what I needed!Trying to keep warm with the doglets in the lounge on Sunday afternoon.Strawberries, choc cake and ice cream with coffee for Sunday evening dessert at Mum’s.
Wednesday, 31 July and Thursday, 1 August 2019: CEM Africa Summit at CTICC
The 8th CEM (Customer Experience Management) Africa Summit took place on Wednesday and Thursday at the CTICC. See some of my favourite moments here (yes, that is Darth Vader bottom right), and click here for my overview of how government is reducing red tape in the experience economy.Always big smiles when I run into Chantel Botha of BrandLove at the CEM Africa Summit!
That’s all, folks! Husband has since caught my cold, so we’re going to take it easy again this weekend…
This past weekend it was Husband’s turn to tackle all the weekend work so most of our pics were snapped at home while he worked, along with a few outings, of course…
Saturday, 6 July 2019: Rocomama’s BlackStar burger
We did our Discovery Health checks at Bayside Mall first thing on Saturday so popped into Mugg & Bean as soon as we’d been given the all-clear. See our cappuccinos and corner table.To eat, Husband went for the full farmhouse option, while I had the choc-chip flapjack stack – one went home with me for afternoon tea.My Saturday afternoon in a picture: Coffee, dogs, blankets and books.Pretty girl looking concerned but actually feeling nice and snug after a weekend afternoon nap.Sweet boy dog with neck extended for full warmth in front of the fire.Husband took a break that afternoon so we all headed off to Rocomama’s together for a few fast favourites. See me and Dad with our shakes, Husband and Mum with their wine and beer, and Mum’s impressive black-bunned BlackStar chicken burger. Very tasty indeed.All the burgers and fries. Yum!
Sunday, 7 July 2019: Breakfast at The Hart, Melkbos
Husband would be working for most of Sunday so we got up early to sort some weekend admin – and to have breakfast, of course. See our table at The Hart Breadhouse and Bakery in Melkbos. I had the single bacon benedict and a cappuccino, Husband opted for a flat white, Coke Zero and the breakfast salad filled with salmon. Delicious.Sweet Bertie boy snuggled up warm in his sister’s clam shell bed.My handsome, tired boys, much later that night. Insert heart-eyes emoji.
Monday, 8 July 2019: Homemade spag-bol to ward off the winter chill
Mum rustled up enormous helpings of ‘spag bol’ for Monday dins as it was a very chilly evening.
Tuesday, 9 July 2019: Conferencing at Kantar’s #GettingMediaRight event
On Tuesday, 9 July I attended Kantar’s #GettingMediaRight info-sharing session. See me with Jupiter Drawing Room MD Michelle Beh, the delicious cappuccino, and speakers for the morning Monique Claassen and Jane Ostler. Click here for my event report-back.I was delighted when I got home from work to a doughnut treat on Tuesday evening.
Wednesday, 10 July 2019: Lunchtime lecture at Red & Yellow School
On Wednesday, I attended author Michael Smorenburg’s lunchtime lecture at Red & Yellow School. Click here for my event report-back.
That’s all, folks! See you next week – same time, same place. 🙂
We had yet another day off work this week as it was national voting day on Wednesday – the last public holiday for a while, so we made the most of the chance to relax…
Saturday, 4 May 2019: Braai at Husband’s parents
We decided on a little bit of a road trip for our Saturday breakfast, eventualy ending up at Melkbos Kitchen. The coffee was delicious, as was the food. See Husband’s salmon-eggs benedict, as well as my bacon-egg buttie.The doggies enjoyed running around and taking in their other granny’s garden, as their last visit was the day we moved – Bertie’s birthday, on 1 March.Results of all the braai-ing effort.
Sunday, 5 May 2019: Kauai breakfast and honeyed lupper
We wanted something on the healthier side of the street for Sunday breakfast, so went to Kauai at Eden on the Bay. See the lovely view as well as my almond oat pot and Husband’s Mexican egg bowl. Not pictured: Our strong flat white coffees.Mum made a delicious honey-mustard chicken meal for Sunday lupper, as we still have lots of honey from our bee hive removal. Click here if you don’t know what I’m talking about.Mini doughnuts for dessert!A beautiful sky at sunset, as seen from home.
Tuesday, 7 May 2019: French toast breakfast treat
I worked from home on Tuesday as I had a very late night of work the night before so opted to skip the commute into the office. Added bonus: homemade French toast with bacon, syrup and honey, made by Mum.
Wednesday, 8 May 2019: Voting day in South Africa
We slept in a little later than normal then headed to Wimpy at Bayside Mall for breakfast. See Husband winking without his streaky bacon breakfast (plus cheese griller), and me with my regular Wimpy coffee and Bar-one waffle.We kept an eye on the queues outside the voting stations all day, then decided on lunch at the Italian Club before making our mark. See the ribs and chips, red wine, gnocchi bolognaise and my coffee shake.A group ‘thumfie’ as proof that we all eventually made our mark that afternoon.Sweet, sleepy doglets as snapped throughout the week.
That’s all, folks! Tune in next week – same time, same place for my next update…
Last weekend the weather was just gorgeous, as you’ll see from the snaps below, and the food – my goodness, the food…
Saturday, 9 February 2019: Burgers and shakes at Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers, V&A Waterfront
We were up and about early on Saturday so decided on breakfast at The Hart Bakery in Melkbos. See the pretty floral decor, also my single bacon benedict and Husband’s chorizo rosti.Bassie was very interested in my quick ‘coffee and cake treat’ later that morning – Husband’s parents dropped off the wedge of baked milktart from their roadtrip to Philadelphia. Now you have the Philadelphia song playing in your head, I’m sure… “The streets of Philadelphia, nah nah nah…” Sorry. It sure was good!Taking the scenic route meant it was all palm trees and sunny skies on the way into town.Beautiful blue skies and cloudy tops for Table Mountain on our way along the R27 that afternoon, as a table was waiting for us at Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers in the V&A Waterfront.Once seated with a view across the water, we browsed the immense flip-style menu to find just the concoctions that tickled our fancy. See Husband’s Amarula Colada and my chocolate-toffee-cashew shake. That spoon came in handy for scooping up all the cashews that had drifted to the bottom of the glass!And the food! There’s almost any combination of toppings available, which is why I ended up with the ‘onion blossom’ on mine – that’s a full fried onion, instead of a side of onion rings, accompanied by sweet potato fries, while Husband had the Philly Cheese Steak and accompanying baked potato – one of the best taters he’s ever eaten.Bellies full, we decided on a quick quayside stroll before heading back to the car. This was just before 7pm, the sun was nowhere near ready for setting…I almost blended in with the rhinos outside the Waterfront’s main quay, so bright and festive and rounded were we.
Sunday, 10 February 2019: Early morning doggy beach walks
The doglets were thrilled at the idea of beach walkies first thing on Sunday, before the humans had even had breakfast.See a very happy Bertie post-beach walkies, reflected in the rear-view mirror.Beach walkies done and doglets back at home, it was a Woolworths W Cafe breakfast on Sunday as we had mall admin to sort out. See my vanilla-cinnamon cappuccino, Husband’s regular flat white and Coke Zero, my croissant French Toast and his exotic tomato breakfast, all featuring lots of flaked almonds.A quick coffee pick-me-up break later in the day at Xpresso in Table View Mall meant a dirty chai latte for me and a double espresso con panna for Husband.One of Mum’s former work colleagues was in town last Sunday so we met up for a ‘team lunch’ with other friends at Panama Jack’s. See the Thai Fish Curry, which was ordered by most, and my starter portion of crispy sesame duck with peanut dressing.We were so full from lunch that it was just sweet treats for lupper at Mum’s later that afternoon – crumpets with syrup, jam and honey; juicy cherries, frozen yoghurt cups and coffee with biscuits. Yum!Precious doglets snapped in sleepy mode over the weekend.
That’s all, folks! Watch for my full review of Gibson’s on Bizcommunity soon…
*Disclaimer: Our meals at Gibson’s were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.
Most of our eating out last weekend was due to the 2-for-1 vouchers offered by the Entertainer App – plus, the usual R495 registration fee is free if you’re using FNB’s Banking App and earn eBucks! See some of the treats we sampled below…
Thursday, 10 January 2019: Mid-week dins at Doodles
Last Thursday evening we had just downloaded the Entertainer app for free through the FNB banking app, so decided to try it out on a local dins. We used a ‘2-for-1 mains’ voucher at Doodles – so we paid for Husband’s linefish – the angelfish served with veggies and tartare sauce – while my Cajun chicken pizza was free. Also see Husband’s glass of red, as well as his Orange Fanta and my caramel shake. A very good dins!
Friday, 11 January 2019: Work-from-home treats
I worked from home last Friday, so treated myself to the following mid-morning snack – a cup of ‘cinnamon bun’-flavoured Hug in a Mug instant cappuccino, and a pack of Hot Fudge Sundae-flavoured Pop Tarts. Yum!
Saturday, 12 January 2019: Artideli breakfast, El Barrio cocktails, CTFM family dins
We breakfasted at Artideli in Melkbosstrand on Saturday morning. See Husband’s mince-and-egg-on-toast and my caramel- and banana-filled pancake. Not pictured – our Peacocks cappuccinos, as they were already finished. Not on Entertainer app.Pretty clouds in the sky looking across from Blouberg to Table Mountain that afternoon.We stopped in at El Barrio for our Saturday afternoon treat. We shared a portion of the jalapeno poppers, with the margarita el muerte for me and the pink mask cocktail (El Jimador, strawberries, coconut water and Malibu) for Husband. Not on Entertainer app. (Yet).The margarita la muerte (death) with Olmeca black, blackberry liqueur, tamarind and black salt rim. Just look at it. Very tasty and top marks for presentation, but taste-wise I think the pineapple-habanero version I sampled the week before is the clear winner! Click here for a reminder.After a brief nap at home, it was time for dins with Husband’s parents. See the view from our table at CTFM in Seaside Village, Big Bay, just before sunset.Husband had the East Coast potjie, presented as such.See my chicken schnitzel with chips and pepper sauce, one of our free meals for using the Entertainer app again.Lol! None of us have our ‘photo faces’ ready for this photo.Sun setting over the mountain as we finished our dins. Beautiful!We only noticed the pretty lights strung up outside CTFM on our way out.
Sunday, 13 January 2019: Pink Olive breakfast, Village Place mini cakes
We used the Entertainer app again on Sunday, this time on a 2-for-1 breakfast voucher at the Pink Olive in Stark Ayres Nursery. See the pretty decor as well as one of our flat whites, my French toast with cream cheese, bananas and syrup (free, as it was the cheaper of the two meals we ordered) as well as Husband’s standard weekend breakfast: the egg- and mince-topped toast.A sunflower-themed long table outside the Pink Olive, waiting for its party to arrive.Husband standing ankle-deep in the sea that afternoon.I barely even dipped my toes as the sea was so cold, but that ‘beachy smell’ was amazing!Our Sunday afternoon treat was a shared red velvet cheesecake (mini cake) and coffee shake at Village Place Cafe. Not on Entertainer app.Little Miss Bassie decided to travel in the backseat with her brother for a change, while on our way to her grandparents. She seemed in awe of his big, lolling tongue.Mum made a sunny pineapple mousse for dessert after lupper on Sunday.
That’s all, folks! Have a delicious, relaxing weekend. 🙂
We made sure this past week was once again filled with sunshine and delicious moments, as you’ll see below…
Friday, 23 November 2018: Cape Royale meetings, Doodles dins
Last Friday I had a midday meeting at the Cape Royale hotel in Green Point.The lobby is lovely! We sat at the outdoor cafe, which was just too sunny for photos.After work was done and dusted we treated ourselves to Friday dins at Doodles on the beachfront, from their ‘Spring specials chef’s test menu’. See my caramel shake – not pictured, my tikka chicken pizza. Also see Husband’s seafood platter special – linefish of the day was angelfish, his favourite.
Saturday, 24 November 2018: The Hart breakfast, Black Angus lupper
Saturday morning saw us breakfasting at The Hart in Melkbos. See Husband’s mackerel on rosti, my cappuccino and my single bacon egg(s) benedict.We stopped in at the Black Angus on Marine Drive for a late lunch/early supper once we’d popped in at Husband’s work for a few hours. The view is just what you’d expect.See my pepper-sauce burger and ‘don of chocolate’ – a dom pedro made with Frangelico and espresso liqueur, chocolate ice cream and flaked almonds. Also see the Kriek cherry beer Husband sampled, and his ‘Madagascan Green Pepper’ steak and veg.
Sunday, 25 November 2018: Cafeteria breakfast and Christmas comes to Table Bay Mall
We had our first breakfast at newly opened Cafeteria restaurant (where Melissa’s used to be) in the Table Bay Mall on Sunday morning.Husband tried the ‘low-carb benedict’, featuring gammon and spinach on brown mushroom, with mustard Hollandaise sauce. Also see our coffees and my banana-bread French toast with dollops of peanut butter- and raspberry-cream.You know Christmas is just a few weeks away when Christmas decorations pop up everywhere in Table Bay Mall.The beach is always beautiful, but Table Mountain seemed to have an extra sparkle last weekend…Sunday lupper at Mum’s – delicious roast pork with rice, gravy, veg and salad. Yum!You can’t go wrong with these post-lupper treats.
Monday, 26 November 2018: Day-off waffles and Duke coffee
I started my day off with some quiet time on the couch with the doglets and a few new books, then went to Panarotti’s in Table Bay Mall for mid-morning waffles with Mum and Dad.See Dad’s banana-caramel-ice cream waffle top-left, my savoury bacon-banana waffle bottom-right, Mum’s traditional breakfast and our coffees.We also stopped in at the new Duke’s coffee roastery on the way home. See the rhino demonstrating what visiting doggies should do, as well as interesting ceiling , coffees and homemade rusks.Mum whipped up a saucy meatloaf, roast potatoes and veg for Tuesday evening dins at ours. We left not a crumb!
Wednesday, 28 November 2018: The Jive food-pairing taxi tour
My Wednesday afternoon was spent on a food pairing with a difference – Jive cooldrink transported a handful of Cape Town’s media and influencers in Jive-branded minibus taxis to Langa, Athlone, Observatory and back to the CBD for an experience we won’t forget. See the team here at the first activation for the day, in Langa.First stop – the New Hope Spaza in Langa, for vetkoek and mince paired with Jive Orange Krush. See some of the sights, and a sweet doggy we befriended.Our second stop of the day was Super Fisheries in Athlone. Home of the gatsby, we got to sample an authentic vienna-polony gatsby, paired with Mango Tango Jive.Next stop was Pie Creations in Observatory, for the burger pie-cream soda pairing. By now we were reaching popping point so many of us only ate half a pie and took the rest home for dins.Now see the pap en wors paired with Iron Brew at Cafe Delicious in Barack Street top-left, view of the leading taxi from our Jive-branded taxi top-right, a sneaky snap of me taking pics bottom-left and curious kiddies in Langa.A selection of the doggies’ sweetest moments over the past week. See them snuggled together on the couch, Bertie napping with both his dad and granny, and Bassie caught half-asleep (or half-awake, maybe).
That’s all, folks! Here’s to an adventure-filled weekend ahead 🙂
Last week was full of sunshine, good food and sweet doggie moments, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Saturday, 17 November 2018: Afternoon naps and braais
We had mall admin to sort out at Table Bay Mall first thing, so it was a Mugg & Bean breakfast for us. See our samples of blood-orange gingerade (very nice), the bottomless coffee station, table decor and our food, which Husband called ‘un-characteristically underwhelming’.We shared a savoury waffle for Saturday lunch at the Big Bay Waffle Company in Eden on the Bay. Also see my frozen white chocolate latte (frappe) and Husband’s white chocolate shake.Sweet doglets trying to wake their dad from his Saturday afternoon nap.The beautiful, bubbling sea – it looks lovely from a distance but was actually quite murky and foamy up close. So much so that Husband skipped his weekly sea dip!We attended a later-than-usual braai at Husband’s parents that eve, to coincide with the SA vs Scotland rugby match aired on TV after 7pm. See some of the food we ate, and the dessert Bassie wanted to eat.More scenes from the braai – Bassie smelling the flowers and eyeing the braai meat, Bertie licking his dad’s nose and sunset setting in.Bertie loved sitting wedged between his mom and grampa while watching the rugby after the braai.
Sunday, 18 November 2018: Melkbos morning
Our ‘I Love Melkies’ breakfast on Sunday morning was a win. See our coffees and the setting, as well as my bacon-marscapone-strawberry waffle.Husband’s second flat white and ‘hash and pork’ bowl, so good he declared it delicious.A beautiful lilac double-Adirondack I spotted while we were walking in Melkbos. I must have!We stopped in at Catch 22 on Marine Drive for Sunday afternoon treats. See Husband’s jumbo oysters and Bloody Mary, as well as my Ferrero Rocher shake. Yum!Table Mountain, as seen from the powdery sands of Dolphin Beach. The sea was still too choppy for a dip, alas.Mum made a chocolate peanut-butter cake that had us all asking for more.
Tuesday, 20 November 2018: R59 Tuesday pizza special at Panarotti’s
Husband had to work late on Tuesday evening, when my parents usually come over with dins, so instead we met them at Panarotti’s in Table Bay Mall for the R59 pizza special. All thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, from the pizza to the cherry cola and salted caramel shakes as sampled by me and dad. See Husband pretending to pour his glass of red into mum’s Sprite Zero.
Wednesday, 21 November 2018: Corinium’s Women in Digital and Data conference at The Forum, Embassy Hill
More scenes from in and around the venue.I’d never been to The Forum at Embassy Hill in Constantia, what a beautiful conference setting! The insights were also fantastic and will be featured on Bizcommunity over the coming weeks.
Thursday, 22 November 2018: HeavyChef’s ‘entrepreneurial grit’ masterclass at Workshop 17
One of the best cups of filter coffee I’ve ever had. Delicious and fresh, especially after dipping an arm elbow-deep into an ice bucket for almost 2 minutes for important lessons on mindset. Watch for my coverage of the masterclass on Bizcommunity, if you’re not sure what I mean by that!Some of the sights from inside Workshop 17. What a wonderful co-working space! Easy to see why so many work events are held at Workshop 17.
Last weekend we finally felt that the seasons have changed in the Cape. We even went to the beach for ice cream! And while there have been a few very chilly days since then, today was a scorcher and this weekend is set to be sunny and bright…
Wednesday, 26 September 2018: Planting vines and sampling wines at Ayama Wines, Slent Farm
Last Wednesday, I was part of a media group to visit a wine farm run by Italians – my full review of the experience will be up on Bizcommunity next week. For now, look at the picture-postcard scenery on our way to Ayama Wines in the Voor Paardeberg region, through Paarl.Soon enough, we were there. Ahh. You can just feel the peacefulness of the surroundings. There are 172 hectares in total, with the vines flown in from Italy and 95% of the output exported outside of SA, so no worries f you’ve not heard of Ayama Wines.We took a tractor tour of the land – see the sweet family doggy trotting along behind us in the bottom left pic. Also see lillies growing wild and in pots, and the protective blue booties we wore, to keep our shoes clean and the soil uncontaminated.See the new Ayama Wines tasting room, farm petrol pump and mill, some of the lovely eats we tried, and our take-home gift of artichoke (we also received a few bottles of wine, not pictured).
Friday, 28 September 2018: Creative Mornings event and end of #BI4Gov
My first stop last Friday – after a brief email check-in at the office – was taking part in a collaborative art experiment at the Creative Mornings Cape Town session for September, held at Friends of Design on Bree Street. Click here for my overview if you missed it.Next stop, the CTICC for day two of the #BI4Gov Behavioural Insights conference. If you missed it, click through to my article based on a tea break chat with MC, Africa Melane.Conference food at the CTICC is always welcome as it’s quite hunger-making work, frantically taking notes and chatting to people in the gaps.
Saturday, 29 September 2018: Coffee French toast, beach ice creams and family braais
For our ‘Yay, it’s the weekend’ breakfast, we went to Pulp Kitchen in Willowbridge Centre. See Husband’s Mexican chilli mince-filled ‘brekkie burrito’ topped with guac and salsa, our flat whites and the bicycle-themed decor.For me, the coffee French toast with maple syrup and coffee cream. So yum!Such lovely scenery, while riding through the Durbanville suburbs after breakfast.Later that afternoon we went to Sea Breeze, the ice cream place next to Pakalolo on Blouberg beachfront, as they make the perfect beach ice cream. This time I asked for a sugar cone, with mixed choc and vanilla soft serve, and a Flake, of course.Just as pretty in front of the spring flowers that cover the dunes! Delicious, too.Saturday afternoon meant it was time for a braai at Husband’s parents’ house. See the fire, the meat, sweet Bassie grinning, and our large, fresh strawberries for dessert.Sweet Bertie, all tuckered out on the couch that evening.
Sunday, 30 September 2018: Beach excursions in Melkbos and Blouberg
We decided on breakfast at The Hart in Melkbos on Sunday morning. I went for the single bacon benedict, Husband had the chorizo rosti and of course we each had a flat white, too.Our breakfast table at The Hart.Bellies full, we took ourselves for a little walk along the Melkbos beachfront. Husband went exploring for sea life out amongst the rocks, as he does, and showed me all sorts of mollusks and sea anemones.Later that afternoon, we set up camp at Blouberg beachfront. It was our first proper beach day since the weather has perked up a little. See me holding up our beach umbrella – it decided to up and blow away while Husband was in the sea, so I had to chase after it and pin it down.If you look closely, you’ll see Husband standing on the wall of rocks about in the middle of the ocean.Mum made all sorts of lovely summery foods for lupper – these are just the salads and accompaniments to various sausages and rolls.Mmm! And for dessert, we had both milktart and a chocolatey-lime mousse pudding. The doglets were Very Interested.
Tuesday, 2 October 2018: Delicious dins and drooling doglet
Mum outdid herself with a delicious gingery sweet-and-sour pork for lupper that evening, AND homemade Romany Cream-style biscuits! If you look closely at the picture of Bassie, you’ll see a bubble of drool. Teehee.
Last weekend, the weather was sunny and mild so we spent lots of time out and about, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Friday, 13 July 2018: Warding off the winter chill at work
The winter chill returned last Friday, so much so that I wore my fingerless gloves to type at work. I also gladly accepted the orange my sweet deskmate offered.
Saturday, 14 July 2018: News Cafe earlybirds and beachview burgers at Jerry’s
We started our weekend with earlybird breakfast specials at News Cafe on Marine Drive – the full English for me, the eggs benedict for Husband.Later that day we were doing weekend chores at N1 City, where I snapped these brightly coloured cream doughnuts. Was almost tempted to have one, but…I knew we were heading to Jerry’s for an early dins so kept my appetite for it. See Husband’s ‘drunken chicken’ burger with skinny fries and my cheesy ‘heart attack’ with sweet potato fries. Also see Husband’s glass of red and my wild berry shake.View from our table at Jerry’s, Table View. Chilly, but gorgeous.Aww. Bertie looked so proud of himself for getting a hug from his dad that evening.Little Miss Bassie was equal parts suspicious and jealous, but also received lots of TLC.
Sunday, 15 July 2018: Melkbos Kitchen breakfast and doggy beach walks
The weather was bright and beautiful again on Sunday so we took a little drive for breakfast. See the calm sea of Melkbosstrand.Melkbos Kitchen looked most appealing, so that’s where we ate. See our flat whites, Husband’s eggs benedict and my apple-ginger flapjack stack. Close-up to follow…Close-up of my apple-ginger flapjack stack.This was the beautiful empty road later that day – it just shouts of ‘Sunday afternoon drive in the country!’Later that afternoon the wind had died down, so it was perfect weather to take the doggie for beach walkies.Sweet Bertie at Kreeftebaai. If you look closely you’ll see he is Very Wet as he loves to swim doggy-paddle along the shore and then sprint up and down the coast, barking at sea birds.Sea birds in flight, soon after Bertie started barking at them.Sweet little Bassie also enjoys a brisk trot but prefers to stay dry, for the most part.See the quiche and mini sausages we snacked on at Husband’s parents’ house that afternoon. The doggies were delighted when my parents popped in for a few minutes, too. See Bassie nestled between me and Mum, Bertie asleep on the couch against his grampa’s leg, and the chocolate cake Mum rustled up in the microwave when we visited later that evening.
If you’ve been active on social media this week, you’ll know this also happened…
That’s all, folks! Have a happy weekend 🙂
Ramblings, rumblings and random ruminations, version ii. Also reviews, recommendations and alliteration. Based on living the good life in the fairest Cape. Eating is my favourite pastime. Updated weekly
Rambling Litchii 