Lounging on jumping castles, doggies explore gardens and impromptu day trips to Atlantis

Ah, weekend. “You are so beautifullllll, to meeee.” I know I’m not alone in saying that no matter how much you enjoy your workdays, there’s no denying the important rejuvenating effect of the weekend. Maybe my stint a few years ago of working weekends – so that I ended up with roughly three months, close on 100 days of working every single day – helped colour the picture a little more brightly. That’s why I now relish the thought of coming home on a Friday and changing into my comfortables, not having to be up at a set (early) hour the next day. Unplanned weekends are the best – where you can simply do as you wish, without having to do a specific thing at a specific time with specific people. My weekend rambling’s been aided by the fact that I was on leave today, so I’m already ahead of you on the “I love weekend’ stakes… but don’t turn green with jealousy as we have a 4-day weekend coming up next! So I recommend you use this regular weekend we’re on the threshold of to stretch your weekend ideas. Come up with something wonderfully relaxing to do over the double-length one just peeping over the horizon at you. For now, here’s what we’ve been up to recently…

Saturday, 21 March 2015: Foodlover’s breakfast, Wembley Roadhouse lunch, Driftwood Cafe jumping castle

Lately Husband’s breakfast Colas just say the nicest things

I loved my breakfast cappuccino at Foodlover’s Market right back.

Husband lunched at the Wembley Roadhouse – their Whopper with egg is always a winner, no matter how long the wait

See? Nom nom nom! The foil wrapper adds a tasty touch (not that you should eat it, kids)

And then, much later, we dropped in at the Driftwood Cafe to quench our thirst. Here is Husband with his Black Label…

And me with my peanut butter-custard shake. The most amazing.

Then Husband decided to show me he still has what it takes to bounce around a jumping castle

Teehee. Best.

Sunday, 22 March 2015: Driftwood Cafe breakfast, doggies explore new front garden

In fact, we enjoyed our Driftwood snack so much that we stopped in to try their revamped breakfast menu the next morning. Success, with Husband opting for the salmon eggs benedict (and very large portion of chips)

For me, a Cafe Latte and toasted chicken mayo – not pictured but went down a treat!

Morning selfies with mom.

The wall, she is up! Just needs to be painted in home owner association-approved colours this weekend, and for the gates to be installed.

As I said, the new gates are only being installed this weekend, but Husband cleverly barricaded the gap so the doglets could get a sense of their new garden. They must have spent 45 minutes with their noses down smelling every little inch!

Love this dog. Exploring deep in the bushes.

Excitedly peering through the non-gate.

Bertie in bed, exhausted after his afternoon of exploring.

Thursday, 26 March 2015: Early morning view, office hot cross buns, Liquorice walls

Beautiful morning view out the office window.

You know I ate this hot cross bun in the office as you can see my owlie mug jealously eye-ing it. Teehee.

Such a cleverly painted office wall at Liquorice, where I attended an event in the afternoon.

Friday, 27 March 2015: Pre-sunrise trip to train station, road trip to Atlantis

One of the reasons I took today off – we were transporting Mum and Dad to the train station. They sent us this pic at 6.50am from the Blue Train lounge at the station, where they had coffee before departing.

We got from the station to Husband’s work in record time so stopped off for a quick bite first – yes, that’s a cappuccino each!

View of Lion’s Head from the new Vida just opposite the harbour, just after sunrise.

Ha. Husband took this photo of a colleague’s breakfast when he got to the office.

Later in the day I met up with Husband again as he was travelling to Atlantis to drop off some large prints. The clouds looked like they’d been tossed in a line low on the horizon.

Of course I packed road trip snacks.

In case you’re wondering, this is the formal dins on the Blue Train, courtesy of mum and dad. We had a more low-key braai at home – just the two of us with ribs, potato salad and sweet corn, mmm. Pics next week, p’raps.

See how much you can do in a weekend, even if you spend the bulk of it relaxing? Hope I’ve inspired you 🙂

Family fishy lunch, best beach ice cream and conferences at the aquarium

Is it just me or is time really going faster? Can’t believe we’re almost at the end of March already. A quarter of the way through 2015. Wasn’t Christmas just a few days ago? No? I guess I can always scroll through my past weekly updates to see that’s not the case. Speaking of scrolling through, I hope you enjoy scrolling through my highlights of the past week…

Friday, 13 March 2015: Best sunset yet

Everyone and their dog posted their sunset photos last Friday after I’d finished updating the blog for the week. I held this pic over for your viewing pleasure today, as the skies look rather dull and dreary in contrast

Saturday, 14 March 2015: Lunch with all sorts of parents at Panama Jacks

Mum and me in Panama Jacks for Saturday lunch. Can just see my chocolate milkshake in the shot

Husband and dad, waiting for husband’s dad and his friend to join us

My chocolate shake, on the mappy table

Mum had the always impressive peri peri prawns with rice

Not sure why I’m the only one looking at the camera here

Italian kisses for dessert

Bertie watched a birdie show on TV while we napped

Precious darling doglet who always manages to look sad/worried/concerned

The almost-as-lovely-as-Friday’s sunset on Saturday – the sea is just beyond the row of cars, under the streetlamps

Sunday, 15 March: Swimming in Fish Hoek, lupper at Woodbridge Island

My ‘sweet treat’ breakfast at Bread and Butter – French toast with a layer of brie sandwiched between, and bacon and syrup on top

Husband had the breakfast burger. It’s a burger without the bun, skewered on a stick, with a side of toast

While walking through the nursery with dad-in-law and co, I spotted this mirror. So pretty. It’s price? Not so pretty, at R435. I love it though.

The shark net was out at Fish Hoek beach, so it was safe to swim

These two seagulls watched all the action in the sea then took off sadly, as though they wished they could have had a paddle. Wet feathers are no fun

This icecream on the beach. Perfect.

Husband driving us home, past Muizenberg’s bright blue sea

Husband driving us home, past all sorts of trees

Teehee. We giggled at this sign outside the Lighthouse Tavern at Woodbridge Island

Husband kindly showing the camera where we stopped for lupper on the way home

Husband showing his dubious dad how you eat the bacon-and-feta-filled jalapeno poppers at Ilha

My iced coffee was finished! My hair was blowing all over my face!

Tuesday, 17 March 2015: House of Monatic factory tour, very late St Patrick’s Day dins

Some of the fabric swatches on the ‘suit jackets’ floor of House of Monatic in Salt River, where I attended a press launch day

Have you ever actually been inside a clothing factory? It’s fascinating to see exactly how seemingly simple items are put together. Row and rows and rows of machinists at work

The table decoration at House of Monatic

All the pretty shirts precisely sewn, buttoned, steamed, packaged and ready for distribution.

Poor Husband, finally eating the wonderful Guiness-y Irish stew mum brought over for dins on St Patrick’s Day. He only got home from work at 12.35am as had so much to do

Thursday, 19 March 2015: Internal branding conference at Aquarium

How I started my Thursday, at the Employer Branding Masterclass at the Aquarium

Imagine how distracting this view was. So amazing to be almost among the fish for the day. The orchid in front of the mirror is delightful, too

Morning tea break wander through the Aquarium. So many fish, so little time

Conference dessert. A cakey, moussey, ice-creamy concoction.

Now that’s how you stay alert and focused through the afternoon session of a full-day conference – with Twinings Chai tea and a homemade crunchie cookie

That’s all, folks! We’ve had quite a few late nights this week, so looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Hope yours is just what you need 🙂

Charly’s Bakery, Argus cyclists and the many faces of Bassie Andrews

This past week? Whoosh. A blur. Can’t believe (but thanking my lucky stars) that it’s Friday again. To get you and me in the mood for the next weekend that’s just inches away, let’s have a quick recap of what I’ve been up to in the past week…

Saturday, 7 March 2015: Mugg n Bean coffee, Charly’s Bakery, parental beach visit, Catch22 dins

The easy cappuccino at Mugg n Bean always goes down a treat for me as it’s extra milky. That side biscuit was a treat.

Definitely, coffee saucer saying. I agree.

Finally got to visit Charly’s Bakery with fellow Joburg-transplant Kat, to see what all the fuss is about…

Look at the pretty heart-embellished seats! Look at the delicious cupcakes! We had a lovely time, and can cross that off our ‘Cape must-visits’ list…

Then we went to the beach with the visitors. Stepping out of the wave’s path, just in the nick of time

Husband and his dad took a LONG walk across the beach

Haha! Here is dad-in-law blowing his nose on his towel post-swim, me holding his Argus 2015 race shirt, and racing friend taking in the view

Ha. Love these three so. Husband is tired of posing for photos, Bassie is wary, and Bertie is distracted by the telly, as usual

What Husband ate at Catch22 – super jumbo oysters (R25 each) and the Calypso’s Catch salad, positively brimming with all sorts of goodies from the sea

I opted for the deceptively plain-sounding Buccaneer beef burger, which comes topped with bacon and cheese, as well as a side of skinny fries and huge onion rings

Sunday, 8 March 2015: Doggy beach walk, family braai at ours

Love the pink orchid decorating the eating area at our local Foodlover’s Market. And Husband, obviously.

If you take me for breakfast where the running special is a slice of cake and a cappuccino for R28, that’s what I’ll have.

Bassie is very cross with mommy for some reason…

Another beach visit, this time with the dear doglets. Bertie had a long paddle, even Bassie was tempted in

See how she’s gazing off contentedly?

Oh my goodness this is a funny sandy face! Looks like the Phteven underbite dog

Then I noticed Bertie was waiting for his photo to be taken. First he made a solemn face…

Then he grinned widely to show how much he loved going to the beach. Such a sweetheart.

When we got home, Husband finally had time to hang my hammock chair. Bertie was then coaxed onto my lap

Then, when Husband adjusted the height and tested it himself, Bertie sat on HIS lap, too.

Yay, the Driftwood Cafe has reopened! New management means my favourite milkshake’s off the menu but they were happy to make it for me (that’s chocolate ice cream, peanut butter and custard. Delicious)

Husband had a draught, as he does. Note the patio roofing above us, ours at home will eventually look like so

Argus medal 2015, check. Would you believe my friend Kat, who I was merrily sharing tasty cakes with the previous morning, entered the race on a whim after she met with me, as a friend of hers had a spare ticket, and she completed it too? With no special training. Huh.

Bertie had a chair to himself during the braai

Bassie prefers to share a seat – here she looks pensive again

Indifferent Bassie on her Granny’s knee

Bassie telling Grampa a story while Husband tends to the meat. Rose quartz holding down tablecloth as it was that windy

Let’s eat! All enjoyed the spread – you can just make out Bassie begging at her granny’s knee

Of course Husband had to teach his dad how to play cricket on the XBox. Hmm.

Husband called me to capture these pink streaks just before they vanished

Monday, 9 March: Dins at home with the cyclists

Bit blurry but you can see the six of us – that’s my dad-in-law, his friend who came down for the Argus with him, Bassie in my arms and Bertie in his dad’s

Worried Bassie, sprawled on the bed

Thursday, 12 March 2015: Thursday cupcake

Belated birthday cake in the office is a surefire way to uplift a Thursday. These Woolies cupcakes were divine

That’s all, folks! Dad-in-law and his cycling friend are still with us this weekend, so expect a few more pics of them next week. And with that, I bid you good night…

Bertie’s fifth birthday and lonesome Durban beachfront delights

This past week has flown by in the blink of an eye for me (literally flown, as you’ll see). Not only did I spend many hours last weekend working, finishing off the bulk of my article’s from the previous week’s Design Indaba, but I also had a 6a.m. business flight to Durban for a special pre-Loeries sightseeing tour on Monday morning, back in the lovely Cape on Tuesday afternoon. We also have dad-in-law and a friend of his staying with us at the moment, as they drove down yesterday from Joburg for this weekend’s fire-shortened Argus. Lots of fun, but rather exhausting, and so, without further ado…

Saturday, 28 February 2015: Col’Cacchio breakfast, Buena Vista Social Cafe drinks

Did you know Col’Cacchio at Canal Walk now serves breakfast? Neither did we. These flapjacks were delightful.

Loved the table setting at Col’Cacchio on Saturday morning – brown paper and cheekily labelled salt n pepper

I believe Husband’s was called The Classic, with extra rashers of bacon.

To celebrate being ALMOST done for the day with work, we popped out in the afternoon to visit the Buena Vista Social Cafe at Eden on the Bay – that’s a chocolate-y something cocktail.

Husband went for a Long Island Ice Tea, his standard cocktail

Gazing out at all the kite surfers at Eden on the Bay – they really love the windy conditions

Sunday, 1 March 2015: Bertie’s fifth birthday, pink skies at night

Both doglets getting attention from their grampa on Bertie’s birthday, when we visited for brunch instead of the usual lupper as I had to be in bed almost before the sun set for my flight the next morning

Bassie acting like a meerkat, standing up to lick the left-over dregs from the yoghurt tubs. So sweet.

Bertie reading (and licking) his birthday card from Granny and Grampa when we got home that afternoon

The standard ‘birthday hat’ Andrews family pose. Bertie grinned, you can’t really see it in this shot though, but the others were all blurred so this will have to do!

My Old Fashioned Waffle at the Big Bay Waffle Company, accompanied by a banoffee shake for me and a white chocolate one for Husband

Ha! Funny shot of me tucking into my waffle

Look how tiny Husband’s mostly-eaten schwarma for Sunday dins looks at this angle. I love the cartoon sheep of our local Schwarma Express…

The first pink-streaky sky I’ve photographed from the ‘new’ house (even though we’ve lived here over 3 months now. Oops). This was just before I went to sleep.

Monday, 2 March 2015: Flight to Durban before the sun came up

See how dark the sky was behind me, when Husband dropped me off at the airport on Monday morning? My first ever flight by myself

This photo doesn’t do it justice – you’re looking at a giant whale mural when you finally walk into King Shaka Airport.

You know by now that I love a good cappuccino – this version, served with a skinny biscotti on the side at the Durban ICC, was just what I needed after the early flight and excitement of being in another city had sunk in…

There’s a tree growing through the middle of the Durban ICC”s parking lot, did you know?

It’s the recently renovated Southern Sun Elangeni-Maharani – the wave-shaped one on Durban’s main beachfront

I loved the flowers in the hotel lobby

Oh look! A welcome note with complimentary bottle of red grape juice and pack of dried fruit and nuts was waiting for me (and Hemingly rabbit and Nelly the Eelie) when we finally checked into our room on the 20th floor of the Southern Sun Elangeni-Maharani

Then we looked down at the view…

The view from my room. Not too shabby, but definitely different to the Cape coastline

When in Durban… spiced pineapple, just one of the lovely finger foods I ate on Monday night

Tuesday, 3 March 2015: Hottest day in Cape Town in 100 years

Some colourful Durban graffiti I noticed on a pre-breakfast walk to dip my feet in the sea the next morning

That’s not the white icing sugar/small pebble-type sand I’m used to!

What a wonderful breakfast setting – on the second floor of the Elangeni. It’s poolside, with a view of the beachfront just beyond the edge of the infinity pool.

Homebound! Flying’s not my favourite activity due to airsickness in years past, but I was so excited to be heading home to my loved ones that I had to take a photo or two once we were allowed to switch on electronic devices

I was just behind the wing, so got to marvel at all the shades of blue from roughly 30,000 feet above

The first thing we did that evening was hit the beach, as Cape Town was the hottest city in the world that day, recording temps of 42′ C in some places. Here is Husband at his favourite swimming spot…

Everyone and their dog was at the beach. Along with stacks of seagulls on the rocks. That’s the smoke of the awful Table Mountain fire just under the cloud to the left

Dazzling sunset – that’s Husband waving after jumping in from the rocks.

That’s all, folks… lots of relaxation on the cards for this weekend, watch this space! 🙂