Chocolate French toast, straddling the sea and two Big Bay markets

Yip, you read that right – chocolate French toast, and two separate market visits in Big Bay. I’ll let the images below speak for themselves…

Saturday, 24 October 2015: Chocolate French toast breakfast at Rococoa

When you agree 100% with a sign like this there’s nothing you can do but take a photo in front of it.

Ah, Rococoa. They may be known for their chocolate, but their coffee is just as good. Click here for a reminder of their wonderful hot chocolate I had last year…

For me, the French toast with bacon, grilled banana and lots of chocolate drizzled on top. Ate every last bite, just like last time. Nom nom nom.

For Husband, the eggs benedict on cocoa-English muffins.

“Listen here, Mommy says we mustn’t lie on the brand new bedding. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear her.”

“Oh hello Mommy, ignore us – nothing to see here, we’re just statues, move along…”

“Oh hello Mommy – it’s OK I’m under the new bedding, not on top.”

And so to distract them we took them to the seaside. Look at this dear little head.

The biggest smile from my little boy when he realised we were almost at the beach.

Little Miss Bassie looking deceptively calm as we reached Kreeftebaai, one of the few doggie-frendly beaches in our area

This is how they veer whenever we go to the beach: Bertie for the birdies and the water, Bassie for the safety of the dunes. ❤

Post-beach walk. There’s Bertie in the back seat barking at all the birdies and telling all the other doggies he’s been to the beach, while Bassie offers her nose to the camera.

Sunday, 25 October 2015: Exploring Big Bay morning market, straddling the sea at Silwerstroomstrand

Little did we know that there was a market of sorts at Seaside Village in Big Bay – complete with petting zoo, R6 cake slices (lemon meringue for me, #thankyouverymuch) and all sorts of pretty bunting and decorations. How gorgeous does this tree look?

I got Husband to pose under these ‘birdies’ in the CTFM. He then wanted to be at a real beach…

So off to the sea we went! Here is Husband roughly knee-deep in the sea at Silwerstroomstrand, between Melkbos and Langebaan

We walked about halfway down the perimeter wall before sensing danger and turning back.

“Oh, you’re busy on your computer thingie? It’s OK Granny, I’ll wait here behind you”.

Wednesday, 28 October 2015: Ferrero Rocher in the office, cloudy Table Mountain and the I ❤ Big Bay Market

A sweet treat that arrived at the office for me this week to celebrate my new title.

On my way to the bus that afternoon I snapped the ‘table cloth’ over Table Mountain.

One of the first things I did at the I ❤ Big Bay Market that evening, held at the Lifesaving Club: sampled the cookies n cream icecream. T'was lovely.

Oh my goodness. Best thing at the market? Well I didn’t try everything on offer (there were some amazing-looking brownies, fudge and wraps)… but we opted to share the ‘chilli cheese’ NOB (No Ordinary Burger). Only an 8-minute wait for us luckily, as friends who went later waited an hour for their pork bun!

They delightfully sliced the burger in half for us, for easy sharing. Husband grinned his approval…

Here’s my half – almost as big as my face!

That’s all, folks! Hope you have a relaxing weekend ahead…

Hotels by the sea, mini mussel pots and summery sunflowers

What a week it’s been! With it being week 8 of my 10-week GetSmarter SEO course I’ve not attended many events after hours in the past few weeks, but this week there was one I just couldn’t refuse, in walking distance to work. And of course we packed in as many fun activities as possible around my weekend assignments…

Friday,  16 October 2015: Local Spur dins

It all started with a continuation of the ‘milkshake love‘ from earlier in the day. I was still so full from my Bootleggers burger that all I had room for was this Bar-One shake. It was just as good as it looks.

You can just see a bit of Husband’s bacon-chicken-avo salad. I helped him finish.

Saturday, 17 October 2015: Blueberries breakfast and RWC victory

As Saturday was the quarter-final leg of RWC2015 we simply had to wear South Africa/Springbok gear. This is me pouring my espresso into my frothed milk at Blueberries in Table View Shopping Centre – we’ve lived in the area for almost 3 years now and this was our first visit!

You’re probably wondering what on earth Husband is eating. That’s how his eggs Florentine was served, with toast on the side. Despite being a bit runny, it was good, he said.

And for me? Of course I went for something decadent – this here banana-and-caramel stuffed pancake is just what the doctor ordered!

Skip over some shopping, gardening and assignment stress – here we are watching the Springboks slide into the RWC2015 semi-finals!

Sunday, 18 October 2015: Pricy breakfasts, exploring Lagoon Beach hotel and enjoying the  afternoon sunshine

If you’re charging me R25 for a short cappuccino, it had better come with a shortbread biscuit, like this one at Bread & Butter.

My rather amazing flapjack stack included grilled banana, crispy streaky bacon and lots of extra syrup on the side. Just perfect.

And for Husband? Eggs benedict, of course. He wishes they’d serve on plates instead of breadboards.

Then we went on a little explore, as the weather was just so sunny. We headed to Lagoon Beach Hotel to have a looksie.

This is Husband at the (cold) outdoor pool overlooking the beach. There are supposedly warm pools on the premises too but we didn’t spot them… and we’re pretty good at being hotel spies!

Gorgeous display of assorted flowers indoors. Yes, they’re real.

Not yet ready to sit indoors, we headed to our weekend afternoon favourite – the Driftwood. I kicked off my shoes, obvs.

Husband enjoyed his mussel pot starter.

So many assorted birdies were around that day.

A curious feathered friend nibbled gently at Husband’s fingers

Wednesday, 21 October: Oats-so-easy in a pot and interesting local art

Wednesday was set to be a busy day as I was attending an art expo near work once the clock struck 6pm. To get me through, I tried the new Jungle Oats so easy ‘apple cashew’ easy heat pot. Very tasty but not something for every day, at R10.

I’ve been to the Bright Space on Albert Street a few times now but always find something new to marvel at. This painting is what caught my attention on Wednesday evening on my way to see the ‘Poem painting project’ – click here for my overview..

Of all the art on display, this was my favourite, titled ‘Rage’.

Thursday, 22 October 2015: Beautiful flowers at Design Indaba offices

Thursday was another busy day with an afternoon planning meeting at Design Indaba’s offices in town. Have you ever seen a more summery sight than this? They’re almost ‘minion yellow’, one of this year’s two Pantone colours.

That’s all, folks! Hope you’ve had a wonderful week 🙂

Bad bronchitis, belated braai day braais and messy kokedamas

“What’s a kokedama?” I hear you asking (unless you work with me, of course). All will be revealed, dear reader. Scroll on down through the past week’s highlights and ignore the coughing noise in the background – that’s me on my third day of antibiotics for this bad case of bronchitis…

Saturday, 26 September 2015: Oats for breakfast

Waking up on Saturday with my cough in full force and muscles aching from the strain, I wanted something creamy and comforting – oats was it. But not just any oats. The bowl from Greens in Plattekloof Village is enormous, packed with cinnamon, flaked almonds and banana. Did the trick.

And for Husband? Beneath all the pepper you’ll find the best mushrooms he’s had thus far as well as baked beans, fried eggs on toast, bacon, sausage and chips. Breakfast success. The rest of the day was taken up with some heavy-duty gardening for Husband and assignment completion for me…

Sunday, 27 September 2015: Belated braai day braai

For breakfast on Sunday I had health on my mind so went for the fruit cup at our local Foodlover’s – chopped fruit and grains topped with yoghurt and honey, with a side of tea.

Funny shot but the best we got, I’m afraid. Husband braaied his ginger chilli pork ribs, Mum made her famous potato salad, dad provided delicious cheese griller tasters to start…

What a happy boy! We finally had our belated Braai Day braai that afternoon – Bertie was in his elephant over all the attention from his Granny. He loves her lots.

And me? Oh, I just rustled up an orange-cashew ring cake, my favourite from the Marian Keyes ‘Saved By Cake’ cookbook, to celebrate the parents’ 37th anniversary. Alas the cake broke on exiting the bund pan, but still tasted delicious.

Sad sulky dogs once their grandparents had left.

Friday, 2 October 2015: Kokedama moss balls and pretty sunsets

The plant I chose to ‘kokedama’ at work – “Go with something small,” I cleverly thought.

Hard, messy work but we loved it.

The end product, maybe two hours after starting. First you mould the soil into a (big enough) round shape, then you add more wet soil to bulk it up, keeping it tightly packed as you go. Next you add bits of moss around the outside, which you thread all around the ball so that it’s secure and holds together. Then you add hanging string to the top and voila, you’re ready to hang your handmade hanging plant ball.

Like so – see how pretty they are?

The view on my way from the office to the bus this eve – beautiful sky, little flock of birds to the left, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill directly ahead of the Woodstock stop.

Bertie greeting his dad after work.

Bassie not too impressed that The Other Dog got to Daddy first.

That’s all, folks. No promises for this weekend’s coverage, but it’ll definitely involve some rugby supporting, breakfasting and assignment-ing 🙂 Thank goodness it’s ‘Oktobermaand’, just a little longer to go till year-end…

Pre-Christmas week 2014: Breakfasts with kitties and new housie DIY

Christmas 2014 has been and gone, but before I can blog about it I have a week’s worth of photos from ‘the week before Christmas’ – Husband was on leave so lots of DIY went on around the new housie, as you can imagine. See below…

Close up of one of the original lights in the lounge, dining room and kitchen. Functional, but not very pretty…

Here is Husband, sitting on the ladder to install the lounge ceiling fan. I watched Love, Actually to distract myself from worrying he would fall off.You can just see the new crystally dining room light fitting at his knee and the new kitchen light behind that

The lounge fan in all its glory, with crystally dining room one in the background and kitchen light a blur as it’s on. You’ll have to take my word that it’s pretty.

In the main bedroom, Husband replaced ugly light fitting with a ceiling fan, spray painted glow-in-the-dark paint onto its blades in a spiral shape, removed doors from the centre bedroom cupboards, installed TV and hi-fi AND used bits of the cupboard doors he removed to make new shelves. He deserves to look proud!

Husband installed this handy corner shelf in the kitchen and added key hooks. Genius.

But of course, that’s not all we did…

Saturday, 20 December 2014: Breakfast at McPherson’s with a non-shy cat

While breakfasting at McPherson’s garden centre, their resident cat hopped into our booth to watch

He then sat on the table when our food was gone, clearly adoring the attention

Sunday, 21 December 2014: Breakfast at Bayside Cafe, lupper at Captain’s Kitchen

We breakfasted with mum and dad on Sunday morning at the Bayside Cafe in Blouberg. This is my flapjack stack with mascapone and cinnamon fruit.

Husband enjoyed his full English, as you can see. Unfortunately no photo of parents as the light blocked them from behind

Much later, we decided to try non-breakfasty food at Captain’s Kitchen in Eden on the Bay. Soooo goood. See burger in more detail below

Wonderful burger and chips at Captain’s Kitchen, Eden on the Bay. You can substitute the chips for salad

My Blue (green?) Hawaiian. Even ate the pineapple garnish

Tuesday, 23 December 2014: Delicious work treats

My owlie mug looks quite jealous that I got to eat this mini red velvet cupcake to celebrate a colleague’s birthday

Wednesday, 24 December 2014: Christmas Eve waffles and drinks at Craft House Eatery, Woodbridge Island

Delicious double waffle stack at the Craft House Eatery in Woodbridge Island to celebrate Christmas Eve

Husband had a jam jar of Long Island Iced Tea, I had a peppermint crisp milkshake.

That’s all, folks! Next update will feature Christmas and our Woodstock Cave walk…