Slurping JHB’s priciest dessert milkshakes & seeing CT from the sky

We started 2016 with a bang – a messy, salted-caramel-cheesecake dessert milkshake-shaped bang, that is. See it and other highlights of the first week of the year below…

Friday, 1 January 2016: Monopoly braai at the parents

As it had been ages since ‘the gang‘ was all in one space at the same time, mother-in-law arranged a braai at theirs on New Year’s Day. Husband and I caught up on some lazing around in the lounge before everyone arrived… look at those frown lines!

To celebrate, mother-in-law made sangria. It went, fast.

The gang, all in/around the pool!

Relaxing on the lawn between bouts of Monopoly and swimming.

Saturday, 2 January 2016: Joburg hail storm and dessert milkshakes

Our big task for Saturday was braving the sudden hail storm and travelling to 4th Ave, Parkhurst to meet up with my bestie for amazing-sounding milkshakes. The expected hail storm hit with full force and we stopped for shelter, but were soon on our way again.

Folk were photographing milkshakes left, right and centre – and little wonder. Just look at it. There were layers of creme brulee inside, that’s a ginormous chunk of cheesecake on top, Rolos around it and the caramel sauce dripped everywhere, but it was most delicious. We slurped up every last drop, as it cost an eye-watering R95.

Michelle and Daryn had the fancy R46 shakes – hers was a Ferrero Rocher, his had swirls of marshmallow fluff.

This year’s attempt at ‘the friend photo’ was one of our best yet. Seems the guy at the table behind us agreed. 🙂

We couldn’t just have a liquid lunch, so Husband and I also shared this cheese-and-bacon stuffed and wrapped hot dog with pink slaw. At R95 (yip, same as the shake) it’s one of the priciest, but also one of the best we’ve had.

Bellies full-to-bursting, we went for a stroll down the street. Parkhurst pups get special signs to read, teehee.

Later that afternoon we went on a quick sightseeing trip with father-in-law. We stopped to look at the Skybar bungee/rockclimbing effort that’s sprung up in the Fourways area.

That night we had a ‘family farewell’ dinner at Greek Sizzler in Banbury Cross, just up the street from the parents. Here’s a group shot the waiter took of us all.

Husband spoiled himself with the R150 ‘platter for one’. He finished every last morsel on his plate.

Sunday, 3 January 2015: Gramps visit and flying home

We started the day with breakfast at Vigour & Verve in the outdoor eating area at Silverstar Casino. The parents treated me to this enormous waffle topped with grilled bacon and banana, Husband went for a ‘full house’ omelette filled with chillies, cheese, mushrooms, bacon and more.

We were so, so full we had a quick walk around the water to stretch out legs after brekkie.

The reason we went to Silverstar? It’s walking distance from the retirement home Husband’s Grampa lives in. You can see the four of them in the upper right of this photo – I was impressed by the teatime spread. But too full to sample any. Sob.

Final swim at the parents. Husband dragged me in, as you can tell from my face. So glad he did!

After our final swim in their pool we bade the parents farewell at Lanseria and trotted off to our flight home – it was delayed 20 minutes as an unidentified bag was added to the hold and had to be placed on the correct plane before take-off. Here is Husband trotting across the tarmac.

A few minutes into the flight husband snapped this impressive anvil-shaped cloud.

Much, much later Husband woke me to this pretty sight – Cape Town at sunset. Home, sweet home!

Tuesday, 5 January 2016: Enjoying the pool

Monday was a day of adjusting back to the heat of Cape Town, so on Tuesday we spent much of the day in the pool. Mum and me having fun here.

Bassie showed off her latest ‘trick’ – balancing upright under Grampa’s chin. What a sweet little girl!

Wednesday, 6 January 2016: Colouring, baking and more

Husband and dad played pool on Wednesday morning with dad’s regular team so mum and me spent the morning reading, colouring-in and baking.

Poor Husband had a tummy bug much of this week – here he’s being comforted by Bassie.

Thursday, 7 January 2016: Local eggs ben and funny doggie poses

On Thursday Husband was well enough to stomach some eggs ben – with ham at our local Village Cafe in West Coast Village.

The doggies sprawled in the lounge with us under the fans for most of the day. Just like this.

Friday, 8 January 2015: Golf breakfast and windy beach

We celebrated our last day of leave with breakfast at Espana at the Burgundy Estate Golf Course, then mum and I chatted while the boys played a quick 9 holes.

Mum had this interesting flat bread breakfast option.

The rest of us had the prettily-painted Piquino/golfer’s breakfast – just enough to get you going for the day.

We went to the beach later in the day to dip our toes. Note all the kite surfers to the left of Husband.

That’s all, folks. It’s back to work for both of us this coming week so expect lots of relaxation to take place this weekend! 🙂

Blissful long weekend in Citrusdal

In a word? Our weekend in Citrusdal was just magical. We were surrounded by nature, had the huge hot pool to ourselves the day we arrived, and a private jacuzzi right on our verandah’s doorstep. For a pair of Aquarian water babies, that’s the ultimate in relaxation. Here’s our (long) weekend away, in pics…

Friday, 19 November 2015:  Goats, tortoises and hot pools

Lol! Work made a cardboard cut-out of me to take along on their end-of-year boat trip. I look happy but cold here. In real life, we were just packing and getting ready for our road trip at the time.

Roadtrip faces!

We stopped off when we saw a padstal, but more interesting were the little goats.

Isn’t he just the sweetest little thing? Odd horizontal pupils.

Almost at our destination, Husband noticed a tortoise trying to cross the road. We stopped the car and picked him up to help him across and prevent an incident. He hid in his shell and peed on Husband’s hand.

Our destination! The Baths is about 170km from our housie so didn’t take long at all to get there.

We were a little early for check-in so stopped for a quick snack in the restaurant on site, McGregor’s (R20 toasted cheese with a mound of chips? Yes please!) before exploring the grounds.

Husband was almost too tall to walk through the entry way.

We spent most of the afternoon in the enormous outdoor hot pool, filled with the same water. There’s also a cold pool on site but only Husband was brave enough to briefly test it out.

Much later we enjoyed our verandah and the spectacular view. So much greenery. We were in the Wild Olive chalet. I was munching on crunchies Mum made us as padkos.

All the pretty colours, taken from our verandah.

One of the private ‘Victorian baths’ on the premises. You simply lock the doors and run the natural 43’C water, then press the button for bubbles and it’s time to relax! We only tried this one out the next morning during a sudden rain shower though.

Saturday, 21 November 2015: Rainy morning, Scrabble evening

The next morning dawned cold and dreary.

That’s me on our chalet verandah.

After a quick soak in the Victorian covered tub we dashed through the rain to the restaurant, where Husband finished off this breakfast.

I opted for a pot of tea and bowl of muesli, yoghurt and berries.

We then headed into town to buy some meat for a braai later that evening. The rain stopped on our way back and we noticed these well-groomed horsies on the way.

After a nap in the chalet we went to explore the natural rock pools on site. They’re tiny! Here is Husband looking into one. We then had another swim in the hot pool.

We’d thought to bring along our Scrabble board so got set up and played a long game all evening, with breaks to sit in the Jacuzzi and glance at the view.

Heating our toes at the braai fire.

Sunday, 22 November 2015: Breakfast, hike and home

Sunday dawned bright and sunny. Husband quickly cooked up some bacon, eggs and toast and I had a Woolies’ instant honey nut latte sachet – great idea if you’re a coffee addict going away for the weekend, as all you add is hot water 🙂

We had a final soak in our private Jacuzzi before checkout.

We stopped off to explore a different hiking trail on our way out of the grounds. Husband was interested in this aquaduct.

So lovely to be so deep in nature, surrounded by bird tweets and dappled sunlight.

Thanks for the wonderful break, Citrusdal – we’ll be back!

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…

Husband’s 35th birthday cocktails, night bus trips and dog walks to survive the loadshedding

I know, I know. Hanging head in shame as am a few days late with this blog update. The reason? We misplaced the connecty cable that’s the easiest way to transfer photos across, and it would have been too labour-intensive to email or Bluetooth the pics across as I cut down my selection from 118 options to around 35. 35 being a special number as Husband celebrated his 35th birthday this week! 🙂 And so, without further ado, I present to you my highlights of the past two weeks…

Saturday, 24 January 2015: Discovering what’s really worth ordering when breakfasting at Mugg & Bean

Breakfast at Mugg & Bean, Bayside. Note suitable biscuit in saucer and shape in cappuccino froth. I also chose the ‘easy cappuccino’ which is a little milkier than the strong standard. T’was just right.

The whole point of this breakfast excursion was to try the Mugg & Bean eggs benedict, advertised with the ‘true generosity’ tagline. See here, Husband wasn’t overly impressed. He said it was “tasty but not very filling and not good value for money.”

Luckily, my choc-chip flapjack stack WAS good value for money – could not finish so about half of this went into a take-away box and I finished it that afternoon for tea.

Sunday, 25 January 2015: Cheaper lunch options

For his Sunday brunch, Husband had a wors roll from the stand at our local Builder’s Warehouse. Look at all the different colours of sauce on it!

I went for my KFC favourite – a box of dunked wings (they’re deliciously coated in sesame seeds and a spicy honey soy sauce), with a Very Berry Krusher. All this for less than R40.

After lupper at Mum’s, Dad and I took a photo. See the resemblance?

Monday, 26 January 2015: Morning coffee at Naspers, evening dog walks during loadshedding

Last Monday dawned cold and grey, after such a sunny weekend. This is my table while waiting to attend an event – coffee, check, reading matter – albeit in Afrikaans – check, nice view – check

Setting off for our walkies when we got home from work only to find we’d been loadshed. Note Bertie’s running far ahead on his leash

Bertie jumped in the second he saw how close he was to this mucky water. He rollicked and frollicked…

Just look at those mucky black legs, usually a pristine white! And so…

Bertie had a shower. Note his legs are still a little grey in this shot, took a while for him to get really clean again.

She looks sad, but this is Miss Bassie’s ‘relieved not to have had a shower’ face

Bertie shivered and quivered so after being towelled dry that we wrapped him in a blankie with his favourite teddy bear to watch some telly.

Thursday, 29 January 2015: Cocktails at Cubana to celebrate Husband’s 35th birthday

Mum and me with our very pineapple-y pina coladas. Note there’s a pineapple slice in the glass, a thick wedge around it, and a slice garnishing the top.

Dad demonstrating the slice of lime that adorned his margerita glass

The birthday boy with his Castle Lite draught. He had a Sly Devil cocktail to start

My two best boys cheers-ing the camera

When we got home, I made Husband wear the birthday hat. He’s not exactly thrilled here…

But he let me do the standard ‘kiss on cheek while wearing the birthday hat’ pose, so wasn’t too glum

Saturday, 31 January 2015: Husband shows us how to jump into the icy Atlantic sea and we take a night bus trip to see the SunStar sculpture

He leaps off the rock… Splash! He’s in!

Then holds onto said rock so as to not float away

Dad, Mum, Husband and me on top of the red sightseeing bus. Highly recommended at just R100 for the night tour, with earphones so you get to hear all sorts of interesting pieces about haunted hospitals and the like

Husband and Dad took a short hike to see the SunStar once we’d picnicked to our hearts’ content on top of Signal Hill while waiting for the sunset

Husband reading up on the SunStar and how it was made. You can read it too if you zoom in

Of course we took a photo in the National Geographic frame on top of Signal Hill

Here’s me and dad’s version – I wasn’t strong enough to jump up onto the frame again

Yes, it had been a hot day, but the evening – especially on top of Signal Hill at dusk – was decidedly chilly. Here I am sipping a cup of coffee while wrapped in a blankie and wishing I had on a scarf, ear muffs, etc etc…

My lovely Lion’s Head beneath puffy clouds as sunset approached

Wispy pink clouds streaked the sky above the sea

And at 8pm on the dot, the SunStar lit up. So very pretty, and we could see it all the way back home

Sunday, 1 February 2015: Braai-ing in the new month

You may recall we braaied out the old year, braaied in the new, and so we braaied in the new month of February too 🙂 These are cherry-marinaded chicken sosaties, pork armadillos wrapped in bacon, pork sausages and cheesy bacon wors

We tried some pina-colada pre-mix too – not very creamy but had a nice flavour

After another doggie walk I made this rather fancy looking iced coffee concoction – cold filter coffee, lumps of carmel icecream, and lashings of whipped cream from a spray can. Served as my ‘milkshake’ for the week as you’ll note we didn’t go for any others, oops!

Monday, 2 February 2015: doggies take over our bed

Note how sleepy, regal and entitled Bertie looks, having just got out from under the covers. Bassie’s there too – look for her tiny little head on the pillow above Bertie.

Only noticed today that there’s a little penguin face printed on my train ticket – see it about midway down the left?

That’s all for now, folks – expect a few more birthday celebrations next weekend as this weekend was too packed to get to everything we wanted to…

Two braais in a week, tongue-disrupted doggy walk and the ‘no photos of Bassie’ fail

And so, 2014 came to an end and 2015 began. How did we celebrate? As all South Africans do of course, with a braai. And another braai. And a doggie walk that was just so long Bertie decided to sit and smile and loll his tongue halfway through. See this unprecedented behaviour from the world’s most energetic doggie below…

Wednesday, 31 January 2014: Braai-ing out the old year

Look how lovely and relaxed Husband is here – the coals are lit and ready to go. The vest he’s wearing has since been lost in the sea, alas… long story.

Really looks like Bassie’s trying to tell me something here…

Figured it out. This is beautiful Bassie pleading with me to stop taking photos of her. I tried but failed, as you’ll see.

Dinner is served! Look at the dear sweet doggies hoping they’d get some. Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #1…

Thursday, 1 January 2015: New Year’s Day brunch and a long doggie walk

Love how Husband captured our New Year’s Day brunch at my parents in this photo

Bassie begged her Granny for some treats. Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #2…

Look at my sweet family, all watching magician shows on the TV reflected in the mirror… Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #3…

After a nap, we took the doggies for a wander around McPherson’s – here you can see Bassie trotting along at her dad’s side, and Bertie quite a way behind them. Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #4…

They really love trotting through long grass! Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #5…

Then, after about 20 minutes of walking, Bertie saw a shady spot under a tree and made a flying leap for it. And sat and sat and sat, with his tongue lolling happily. Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #6…

Look at that tongue!

Later that day I had some of the lemon curd Mom had made, spread on her citrus-cupcake creations. So delicious!

For early dins that night we went to Earth Cafe, near our old house. The sweet n sour chicken was delightful

Husband thoroughly enjoyed his seafood noodles, too, despite the blinding sunlight

Saturday, 3 January 2015: Blustery beach visit

We’re so lucky to live here

Despite the sunshine it was really chilly out

Husband’s always up for a dip in the sea, no matter how blustery the day

Here is Husband, having his dip

Cooling himself down in the rock pools

Sunday, 4 January 2015: Braai-ing in the new year

Bassie gave her Grampa lots of love when he came to our housie for a Sunday braai. Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #7… She’s probably whispering to him that he should watch out, I’m taking yet another photo

Husband deftly braaied using his new grid for our second ever braai at this house, in the space of a week. Not bad when you consider we only braaied once at the old house, the whole of last year

Bassie jumped onto her Granny’s lap and rested her head on the table. Oops, ‘No Bassie photos’ fail #8…

Mum and me, enjoying our meal

Monday, 5 January 2015: Spur’s two-for-one burger special

Spur’s ‘two for one’ Monday burger special comes in handy when you’ve just had your first day back in the office. That’s why I look so tired, yes

That’s all for now, folks – You’ll note with the first two un-numbered photos of Bassie, she appeared 10 times in this blog post… oops.