Last weekend we celebrated St Patrick’s Day with my dad, as it’s his name day, and also had a mid-week day off in honour of Human Right’s Day – but still did lots of work in between…
Friday, 16 March 2018: BrandLove potent digital storytelling workshop
I spent my Friday attending the Brand Love ‘Potent digital storytelling’ workshop. It was intense, but I loved it! Coverage to follow on Bizcommunity soon…The Bothas’ BrandLove house/office space is lovely, and they made all the food we ate for lunch – even the bread was baked that morning!
Saturday, 17 March 2018: St Patrick’s Day drinks at Brazen Head, parents braai at ours
We decided on a fast, filling breakfast as we had many tasks to get through on Saturday. so went for the News Cafe early bird. It did the trick.Husband exploring the rocks and tide was very shallow that morning.We met my parents at the Brazen Head in Seaside Village for a St Patrick’s-themed drink when the clock struck noon. See various green/clear/black drinks, here.Dad and Husband. Both in green, both with a Guinness.T’was our turn to host the Andrews’ family braai. Husband went with a lamb roast on the Weber, with smashed potatoes, roast veg and a S’mores type braai pudding. Yum!There were lots of happy ‘dog on couch’ moments.Sometimes our dining room looks like a sushi restaurant, what with the fish tank and shiny black table.
Sunday, 18 March 2018: Melkbos Kitchen breakfast and beach wander
We only set out for breakfast around 10am, and decided on the Melkbos Kitchen (formerly known as Ritzi’s). See my latte, as well as Husband and Brother-in-Law Spec’s cappuccinos.After a fair wait, our food arrived, and it was delicious. Husband went for the salmon benedict, Spec the ham, and me the apple-ginger flapjacks. Yum!We went for a brisk walk along the Melkbos beachfront to work off some off those calories after breakfast.Bassie was happy to sit with mommy and the reheated breakfast with yet another coffee, later that afternoon.We stopped at Saint’s in Eden on the Bay for my favourite Insomniac shake for our Sunday afternoon treat. Husband had one, too.
Monday, 19 March 2018: Taking a break with Kit-kat
Monday. What. A. Day. Yes, note all the full stops. And then suddenly my sweet colleague dropped a Kit-kat on my desk and things looked a little brighter 🙂
Tuesday, 20 March 2018: International Happiness Day
Part of the reason for my manic Monday was that I was completing an online masterclass in ‘happiness‘ through 42Courses, ahead of International Happiness Day on Tuesday. Click here for my overview!
Wednesday, 21 March 2018: Human Rights Day
We slept in late on Wednesday as it was Human Rights Day in SA. See my much-needed cappuccino at On the Rocks, where we breakfasted.The rest of our breakfast – French toast with berry compote, kippers with scrambled eggs, and lots of mirrors and light. We sat inside as it was a tad windy.Later that morning I had some quiet time napping, reading and dunking cinnamon biscuits in coffee with sweet Bassie.Later that afternoon, we headed off to Jamaica Me Crazy for an afternoon treat. I had the Muddy Monkey shake, which is a blended banana and brownie, while Husband had the honey-ginger-whisky ‘penicillin’.Loved the wall art, and we found a corner outside table that was semi-sheltered from the chilly wind.Next stop, Forester’s Arms, AKA Forries. It looked particularly wintery that afternoon!We shared the roast chilli poppers starter, the each had a burger – lamb for Husband, chicken for me.I had to give the sign about females being allowed in pubs a big thumbs up!
Last week was one of my busiest work-wise for the year, as we attended Design Indaba 2018. But of course, that’s not all we did…
Wednesday, 21 to Friday, 23 February 2018: Design Indaba at the Artscape
You know you’re in for a treat when you arrive at the Design Indaba Festival and feel a sense of wonder before you even enter the Artscape. This year, we were encouraged to ’embrace the unknown’. Click here for a reminder of the 2017 version.These colourful rhinos also brightened up the cold concrete, while raising awareness for their cause.Decor inside the Artscape was just as appealing. See various signs and posters.If you had a full Design Indaba conference ticket, this is what you came for!Considering all the running around we all did, it’s amazing that we managed to stop with Design Indaba editor-in-chief Neo Maditla for a quick snap. You may recall my interview with her late last year. If not, click here for a reminder.I loved exploring the emerging creatives’ displays in the tea breaks, too. And that outdoor swing-relax area was amazing.I finally got the chance to swing my troubles away on the final morning of Design Indaba. Such fun!One of my personal highlights this time around was interviewing Lebo Mashile. She’s amazing, click here and here for more!Husband snapped this shot of the sky while I was putting last week’s blog post together. Pretty clouds, and we actually had a spot of rain the next morning.Aww. Bertie was such a sweetie on the couch that all our pics are of him, this week! Bassie was there too, I promise -she just slunk away before these pics were taken.
Saturday, 24 February 2018: News Cafe breakfast, work, Moyo dins
We both had a busy work day ahead of us on Saturday, so stopped off at News Cafe on Marine Circle to start the day the right way – with the earlybird English breakfast special – and cappuccinos, of course.All that for R35, if you order before 10am. It’s delicious!Once we were both done with work for the day (tragic to say that for a Saturday, where you both worked all week, too), we stopped in at Moyo at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay for an early dins. See Husband’s curried mussel starter, my hazelnut latte, and the pulled-lamb linguine starter we shared.Spending some quality time with Bertie biscuit that evening.
Sunday, 25 February 2018: Primi breakfast, Saint’s afternoon treats
We had Sunday morning breakfast at Primi on Marine Circle. See my eggs benedict, the large cappuccinos (actually served in latte glasses/mugs) and Husband’s Primi power stack.We stopped in at Saint’s at Eden on the Bay for our Sunday afternoon treat. See my Insomniac shake (chocolate, espresso, Amarula and Kahlua) and Husband’s Painkiller cocktail (Bacardi, Malibu, orange juice, pineapple juice, coconut, nutmeg).
Monday, 26 February 2018: Design Indaba newsletter
Snip snip! We sent out our special edition Design Indaba newsletter on Monday, so that’s the true mark that Design Indaba is done and dusted for the year. Click here to read through the newsletter – it’s packed with galleries and videos.
Tuesday, 27 February 2018: National Milktart Day
Of course we indulged in a slice of milk tart with coffee on Tuesday, as it was National Milktart Day.
Wednesday, 28 February 2018: Team lunch at Hail Pizza
Design Indaba done and dusted, we had our first team lunch of the year on Wednesday afternoon, at Hail Pizza on Bree Street. Their R50 midweek lunch meal special is amazing – I had the rooibos-lemon-mint ice tea and large margherita pizza, and brought home more than half of it for dins. All that for R50!And surprise! We invited former team members Rod and Bev (both bottom left) to join us. Was a lovely afternoon!
You can also finally read my full review of the new Friday-lunch offering at 95 Keerom that I sampled a few weeks ago. That’s all, folks! May your weekend be relaxing and restorative.
Yay, last week was my birthday! If you’ve been waiting to find out how we celebrated it since then, rub your hands in glee and get scrolling below!
Thursday, 15 February 2018: Birthday breakfast at All in the Kitchen, dins at Saints
My parents treated me to breakfast at All in the Kitchen on Thursday morning. I love the ‘Chocolate doesn’t ask questions, chocolate understands’ sign!See me with mum and dad and our lovely food at All in the Kitchen.A close-up of that lovely food – Mum squeezing lemon for her avo croissant, Dad’s Omega breakfast with poached eggs and avo, with my nutty, fruity granola bowl bottom right. Love those berries!All in the Kitchen owner Ally sweetly gifted me with a birthday cupcake! It was chocolate ganache-y delicious and even came with a lit candle.My afternoon looked much like this – napping with the doggies, colouring in, reading and taking coffee breaks with my gorgeous new owlie mug. Birthday bliss!Once Husband got home from work, we headed to Eden on the Bay in Big Bay for my birthday dinner. We decided on Saint’s where I had the Insomniac shake (the BEST ever, it’s a chocolate-espresso base topped with Kahlua and Amarula and it hardly kept me awake) – also see Husband’s glass of wine and our delicious burgers and sides. Happy birthday to me! 🙂We stopped off for a photo of one of my favourite things – the lovely sunset over Table Mountain after dins.We did a few of our standard ‘kiss on the cheek while wearing the birthday hat’ photos that evening. The doggies don’t look impressed.
Friday, 16 February 2018: Day off coffee at The Daily
One doesn’t take off a Thursday from work and then go in to the office on the Friday – no sir, catching up on all the work is Monday’s problem! One of the things I did on Friday was join my parents at The Daily Cafe in Seaside Village for a morning coffee.See our coffees and laughs and breakfast plates.
Saturday, 17 February 2018: Solitary coffee at Peacocks, early dins at Bossa
Husband had to work on Saturday so we had a quick breakfast together at Mugg n Bean Bayside before he went to the office. See my iced mocha and croissant, with Husband’s decidedly larger farmer’s breakfast.I stopped in at Peacocks at Bayside Mall for a quick coffee break following a spot of birthday retail therapy. This hazelnut latte was just what I needed!Work done for the day, we had an early dins at Bossa in Burgundy Estate. See Husband’s Castle draught and ginormous Big Elvis chicken burger (with bacon, avo, hashbrown and melted cheddar) on the waiter’s recommendation, with my Feel Good pizza and Colada shake. All hit the spot!Another beautiful sunset over Table Mountain, this time on the way home from Bossa.
Sunday, 18 February 2018: Family birthday breakfast at Cassia at Nitida
Sunday morning was time for the full family birthday breakfast. We’d chosen Cassia at Nitida as it’s not too far from all our homes and the breakfasts are delicious and affordable. See various family snaps outside.Just look at the wonderful eats and drinks! See my cappuccino with the marscapone-bacon-blueberry flapjack stack ordered by Dad and me, as well as the salmon eggs benedict ordered by Husband and Mum-in-Law.Delicious food = happy faces.We had sausages and salads for lupper at Mum’s on Sunday evening, with an amazing nutty-bacon-broccoli salad, too. Yum!
Monday, 19 February 2018: Birthday cakes in the office
As I’d last been in the office the day before my birthday, I took in a selection of treats when I returned to my desk on Monday.
That’s all, folks! You can expect an update on the mind-blowing madness and mayhem of covering Design Indaba next time.
We’ve successfully ticked off the first work week of the year, so there are fewer pics to scroll through than over the past few weeks, alas…
Friday, 5 January 2018: Wimpy brekkie, doggy beach walk and litchi milkshake at Black Forest Cafe
A final Wimpy breakfast for the holiday – see my super-large Wimpy coffee and croissant, with Husband’s streaky bacon breakfast plus cheese griller.That’s the happy face of Bassie after beach walkies.Bertie singing a happy song about his beach walkies.And Bassie again. Aww!Bertie biscuit had some quiet time on the couch post-walkies.Little Miss Bassie also napping on the couch after beach walkies, with her ears flapped up.That’s a litchi milkshake topped with sprinkles for me and a small butter-toffee for Husband, to mark our last ‘work day of leave’ together.
Saturday, 6 January 2018: Breakfast at Brocka, swimming in Blouberg
We stopped in at the newly opened Brocka in Canal Walk last Saturday morning. They’re the ultimate in fast-food – even if you order from a table, your food and drink is served takeaway style.I spy Table Mountain.It was another beach-weather day. Here is Husband, literally ‘testing the water’ at the beach.Gazing at his favourite swimming hole.
Sunday, 7 January 2018: Sunday lunch at Bossa, final holiday treat at Saint’s
My parents were attending an event on Sunday afternoon so we met them for lunch a little earlier than usual at Bossa in Burgundy Estate. The food was fast and delicious – we’ll be back!Teehee. Love the faces they pulled!Final treat of the weekend before my return to work was an afternoon at Saint’s, Eden on the Bay – Husband went for a Toblerone cocktail, I had the Cafe Capri (latte with chocolate and coconut). Delicious!
Wednesday, 10 January 2018: Mid-week dins at the in-laws
As we’d not seen Husband’s parents last weekend, we popped in after work on Wednesday evening for dins. The doglets came with, as you can see.
I had a mini-staycation at the start of this week. Perhaps all the sunshine we’ve seen this week was the reason for the relaxed mood that lasted even after I returned to my desk, as you’ll see from the pics below…
Saturday, 25 November 2017: Irish nachos at Saints
We started our weekend with breakfast at our nearest Foodlover’s Market. See my crumpet-looking French toast and Husband’s halloumi toast stack.Ha. Not sure why I find this snap so funny, but I do. Makes me laugh.We had decided on an afternoon treat at Saint’s on Eden on the Bay, and soon decided to add the Irish Nachos (potato skins) topped with pork belly to our drinks as the platter is made for sharing. Note my Insomniac shake (chocolate, coffee, Amarula, Kahlua) and Husband’s Fat Mary (bloody mary topped with candied bacon, hence his skeptical look). All delicious and a wonderful way to spend a late-afternoon over the weekend.
Sunday, 26 November 2017: Tall cappuccinos and airport collections
We met Husband’s parents at the W Cafe in Woolworth’s at the Table Bay Mall on Sunday morning. Note Husband’s very tall cappuccino and my vanilla cinnamon latte top right.To eat, I went for the Nutella French toast, a favourite as the banana is rolled in peanut-butter brittle with hazelnuts adding crunch. The other three all went for the eggs benedict served on mushroom, with Husband adding a side of bacon to his.On Sunday afternoon we collected my parents from the airport – they had been in Umhlanga for a post-anniversary break. Various shots of the runway here – you can just see their green Kulula plane coming to a stop in some.As mum had been in the air most of the day we decided on a Steers drive-thru deal en route to their house – this box of four burgers with chips along the side went down a treat! Yes, my purple nails did match the box.
Monday, 27 November 2017: Breakfast at All In The Kitchen
I’d decided ahead of time that my days off were for relaxing and spending time doing what makes me happy. First up was breakfast with parents on Monday morning at All In The Kitchen as it’s not open on weekends so I rarely get to visit. See our happy faces and tasty coffees.The blue plates offset the bright, fresh food perfectly.Coffees top left, Dad’s granola with fresh fruit top right, Mum’s avo on toast bottom right, my nutty apple-cinnamon muffin topped with raspberries bottom left.I spent the rest of the day with two more of my favourite beings on the planet. The doggies were at their cutest, with Bassie napping under blankets and coming running for treats while Bertie did a few laps around the garden.
Tuesday, 28 November 2017: Love Sandwiches at The Kitchen
This striking graffiti adorns the wall just around the corner from The Kitchen in Woodstock, our destination for that morning’s adventure.The Kitchen is a charming fresh deli-style food stop that rose to fame when Michelle Obama’s taxi driver accidentally dropped her off there instead of at the more well-known The Test Kitchen. She decided to stay, loved it, and the rest is history. Little wonder when you see the ‘Love Sandwiches’ they’re famous for…See Mum and Dad’s entirely different Love Sandwiches, a cappuccino and my fruit-topped French toast – it had slivers of apple, pear, toasted pineapple and pomegranate seeds. One of the best!Various shots of the sky that day. Top right and bottom left were near Woodbridge Island and passing the MyCiti bus on the way to The Kitchen, top left and bottom right were at sunset.
Thursday, 30 November 2017: #DigitalMarketingLIVE at Red & Yellow
We’re already halfway through these sessions at Red & Yellow. This week was especially interesting, all about using the language of design to solve problems, brands talking to their ‘tribes’ not customers, and a jaw-dropping water-saving idea that might just be the answer the drought-stricken Cape is waiting for. Also, tasty biscuits and red-and-yellow themed things.
That’s all, folks! The DIY project I worked on during this staycation will be revealed in my next blog post…
Last weekend we took Bassie for an explore around Leadville doggy park in Sunningdale. It has a Reload on site so you can swig some coffee while your doggies trot around the grass, making friends.
See snaps of that and other top moments of the week below….
Saturday, 18 November 2017: Ilha breakfast, windy braai
We’d not been to Woodbridge Island in a while so headed that way for Saturday breakfast. Without planning it, we were both in matchy-matchy grey in front of their grey-blue wall.See Husband’s full English breakfast with mushroom and pork sausage, and my well-sauced scrambled eggs on toast.Bertie spends about 30% of his time perched atop the couch back like this.Cold, rainy days are all about relaxing with the doggies indoors.Scenes from the braai at Husband’s parents house, later that afternoon.Last week you saw Bassie with the pudding cups. This week, Bertie allowed a few pics before he ran off to chew his in peace.Bassie and I braved the chilly wind to sit in the sun by the braai fire for a while.
Sunday, 19 November 2017: Leadville doggie park, Saints treats
We’d heard that our local News Cafe offers a few more breakfast specials for the early birds, so tried them out on Sunday morning. I went for the standard English early bird top left, Husband sampled the ‘spinach and feta’ eggs benedict for R45. Very good value.An ‘action shot’ of Husband peppering up his plate.This is Leadville. Bassie had a fun time trotting around in the fenced off area for ‘small dogs shy dogs’.Later that day, beach walkies! Bertie splashed about in the sea and had a lovely time.We went to Saints at Eden on the Bay for our Sunday afternoon treat, and ended up with two drinks each. See my Snickers shake (with chunks of actual chocolate bar swirled throughout) and Cafe Capri (coconut chocolate latte, very yummy); then there’s Husband’s Smooth Criminal shooter – caramel vodka with creme de banana top, and his Kiss and Say Goodbye shake, with Scotch whisky, Kahlua and Oreo cookie bits. Yum.Mum outdid herself with a summery feast for Sunday lupper. I think we ate everything between the four of us (six, with the dogs).Mum made these gorgeous individual trifles for dessert.
Monday, 20 November 2017: Evening doggy snuggles
I worked from home on Monday as had lots of transcribing to tick off my to-do list. T’was still chilly that evening so Bertie curled up beside me on the couch.
Wednesday, 22 November 2017: Meltwater interview in Green Point, burgers and shakes at Bossa
I interviewed the global CEO of Meltwater at their Cape Town offices in Green Point on Wednesday afternoon. This was the view from the ‘interview room’. Click here for the interview.That evening we headed out to Bossa in Burgundy Estate – where we used to go for paella at Espana. We sat outside and I was delighted that their boozy shakes are included in the R40 happy hour. See my ‘mud pie’ shake with vodka, Nachtmusik and Amarula. Husband looks zen.Here is Husband’s cheese bomb burger – mozzarella, aged cheddar, bacon and jalapenos – with large onion rings and chips.All the foooood. Husband had a burger, I went for the nachos with mince. That’s a half portion you can see, which I only finished the next day.
Thursday, 23 November 2017: Red cup, yellow chair at Red & Yellow
My brownie bite and colour-coordinated red cup of strong coffee in front of a yellow chair at Red & Yellow for the third week of ‘digital marketing live’.
That’s all, folks! I’m having a mini-staycation at the start of next week so looking forward to relaxing and having happy moments with the doggies.
What a busy week it’s been! In addition to Cannes Lions’ week of advertising awards kicking off with a bang, it was Father’s Day last weekend, Husband’s turn to be Marvin again and last Friday was a public holiday so that meant doing five days of work in four – make that 3.25, as Thursday was also our office teambuilding day, which we spent swinging through the trees of Constantia. I’ll explain in pictures, so you can see exactly what I mean…
Thursday, 15 June 2017: Teambuilding at Acrobranch Constantia and Eagle’s Nest Wines
You really get a feel for the beautiful mountains and ancient trees of Constantia at Acrobranch. And while we didn’t rely on each other to complete the circuit in any way, it’s now a fun shared memory.Some pre-circuit team jumping shots on the harness mat, the blue band shows we were doing the most complicated course (eep) and the medal-looking object in my hand in the orange-framed photo is actually the harness used for ziplining. We can pretend it’s a medal though.Ha. I seem hesitant top left but persevered throughout (we didn’t touch solid ground for almost two hours after we started.) No wonder most of us were still complaining of stiff muscles and sore arms when we reconvened in the office on Monday. Sadly, this is the only proof I have of me ziplining. Some sections were much longer/higher off the ground/scarier than this!Tummies rumbling from all that physical exertion we were more than ready for a late lunch at Eagle’s Nest, just up the road from Acrobranch. If you’ve never been, go go go! While the food menu is limited to platters and soups, they are truly amazing and worth every penny. Plus, gorgeous setting in the Constantia Valley hollow, surrounded by greenery and doggies and even heaters if you choose to sit outside – I’ll be back!
Friday, 16 June 2017: Youth Day French toast and Saint’s Winter menu
I’m not sure why I tend to think of Tables at Nitida in Durbanville when we want a late breakfast on a public holiday, but it’s yet to disappoint. A late breakfast it was as Husband got in from night shift at an hour most are getting up to start the day. We celebrated having some free time together with cappuccinos, the smoked salmon-cream cheese open omelette, the brioche French toast with bacon and caramelised banana and a soul-resetting view.After a lazy day of napping we ventured out to Saint’s in Eden on the Bay to sample their new Winter menu. I ended up with their enormous serving of chili con carne-topped cheesy chips and Husband had the Comfortably Numb chicken burger with sides of sweet potato fries and salad.All the food and drink fairly filled the table. That’s my empty latte mug and Husband’s non-ginny Rocknrolla Cola.Perfect spot for viewing the sunset over the sea from Big Bay.Taken just after sunset. I think we snap a similar photo each winter. You can see the pinky-red of my last-week hair quite clearly here. (If you’ve seen me since Sunday you’ll know this week it’s purple).
Saturday, 17 June 2017: Petiscos family brunch and Cannes Lions 2017 begins
My hair looks quite gingery red here but it’s just the lighting. We had time to pop out for a quick bite to eat before I’d need to take my seat in front of the laptop on Saturday morning. We got it all at our local Village Place Cafe – see my cappuccino with shortbread biscuit and the bacon eggs benedict we shared. Just right when you know you’re having a big lunch later. That’s just what happened…Some Joburg rellies were down in Cape Town for a few days so mum arranged a family lunch at Petisco’s. I did a little bit of work right at the table. That’s my Lindt Flake shake top left, Dad’s full chicken a cafreal and mum’s peri-peri chicken xai xai (my favourite, but I order it lemon-herb to be safe). Also see skull of their own brand of hot sauce. I love it! (The bottle, not the sauce. It’s delicious but guarantees your tastebuds are singed for hours.)Still chatting away after eating, you can see almost everyone left with takeaway boxes.My in-laws were up in Joburg sorting out the last few house-sale items so we joined brother Spec for a braai later that evening – just the three of us (plus the doggies, of course). I was still so full from our Petiscos meal that I only ate what you see on the left – potato salad, pasta salad, a bacon-wrapped cherry skewer and garlic bread. Plus a third of the ‘caramel chocolate malva pudding’ you see on the right, because my dessert stomach was ready to roll. Teehee.And so it begins… I marked the first late night of Cannes Lions week with this enormous mug of Milo. The tissue box is a permanent feature, am neither ill nor crying. Poor Husband has been very generous with hugs and hot drinks!
Sunday, 18 June 2017: Father’s Day breakfast at Stacked Diner, high tea at Mum’s
We fetched my parents bright and early on Sunday morning to treat them to Father’s Day breakfast at Stacked Diner. Dad ended up with the plain dog topped with gerkhins, Jalapenos and hot English mustard as well as a stack of blueberry flapjacks. Well-balanced tastes!The rest of us ate the following: Banana caramel waffle top-left and bottom-right (me), the Parmesan French toast with ham top-right (Mum), and the hash brown stack with extra avo bottom left (Husband). Delicious!Father’s Day ❤ Sadly I had to rush home after this to do still more urgent Cannes Lions work, but we saw dad again much later in the day, when Mum treated us to all sorts of delicious afternoon tea goodies instead of our usual lupper.Mum whipped up ALL the goodies you see on the table, luckily brother Spec was invited to help us polish it off. See mini scone topped with jam and cream on the right. Yummy.These pics were all taken in the space of an hour at Mum’s that evening. Pretty winter sky.
Work week coffee treats during all hours of Cannes Lions work
Two of my much-needed office treats during the week – warm croissant while unimpressed elk mug looks on (the jealous owlie mug was retired after it got chipped). And on the right, the lovely Angie who popped an unexpected coffee on my desk on Wednesday morning. Just what I needed to keep going this admin-intensive week!
That’s all, folks! Cannes Lions comes to an end on Saturday evening and Husband is working all of this coming weekend, so wish us luck!
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
