“Hello, I’m Rambling Litchi and I have a milkshake addiction.”
That’s probably no surprise if you’ve been following my blog over the past 4 years š And if you follow me on the social medias, you’ll likely have already seen the amazing milkshake my parents treated me to as a pre-birthday surpriseĀ earlier today. T’was such a monster that it came topped with its own ice-cream cone and donut fritter balanced on top. It’s definitely up in the top three of my ‘super large’ milkshake experiences – click here for a reminder of the salted caramel-cheesecake dessert version we tried at Craft in Parktown earlier this year, and here to see the chocolatey brownie deliciousness at My Sugar in Sea Point. As it’s my birthday weekend (yes, that’s why I’m on leave) I predict another sweet treat or two will make an appearance in next week’s blog.
But for now, here are the past week’s highlights…
Saturday, 6 February 2016: Sleepy doggies, Village Square brekkie
My littles looked so sleepy when we woke on Saturday morning I had to snap their sweetness.Awww. So cute we smooshed them together for hugs. They didn’t protest too much.I was fairly sleepy myself so needed to get coffee down my gullet, stat. One of the closest options was Village Place Cafe in West Coast Village – it’s technically walking distance but we went by car as had to do groceries and the like thereafter. This was a delicious cappuccino with toffee flavouring. And of course a little heart-shaped shortbread nugget in the saucer to make me smile.For Husband – the salmon eggs ben, and a large Cola. Kept him full for most of the day.For me, the granola, berry, banana jar – with a bowl to toss it all into and mix properly.Husband suspended the bike from the garage ceiling to get off the front wheel so we could replace the wheel bearings. Quite the mission!
Sunday, 7 February 2016: Wimpy brekkie, Catch 22 drinks and doggie photo fail
This was my Sunday breakfast – Wimpy mega coffee and toasted cheese on a stick. I think I ended up with more chips than toast on the plate!Yes yes, another milkshake. Shhh. This was the gingerbread version at Catch22, a treat for spending a good few hours on Husband’s web dev stuff earlier in the day.For Husband, a Long Island Ice Tea – they no longer make the Robben Island version that came with vanilla Coke/toffee liqueur flavour. Sob.The doggies were VERY excited to get to their Granny’s house later that evening. Bertie hardly ever climbs onto my lap like this and just look at Miss Bassie tilting her head out the window!The doggies were sitting so nicely on the couch when we got home, just like little bookends, so Husband tried to snap the three of us. Of course Bertie jumped up right then to look out the doggie door and Bassie decided to sneak away. Sigh…
Midweek work highlights
On Wednesday a colleague and I took a little road trip for a meeting. This is the pretty reception area at Primedia Broadcasting in Sea Point. Loved all the bright colours.Thursday was a busier day than usual as I knew I’d be off Friday and Monday. It was also the day my trusty box of oats ran empty, so I trotted downstairs to the coffee shop for this chocolatey croissant, stat as we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Dangerously good at just R12…
Friday, 12 February 2016: Monster milkshakes at Festive Underground Eatery (FUE) in Marine Circle
Finally, the day of my birthday long weekend leave had arrived! Unfortunately Husband had to head off to the office, but I was still most entertained – mainly by my funny doggies who sat on the back of the couch just like cats for a good half hour or so after Husband left. Look at them being all nonchalant as though they’re saying: “Yes mommy, this is what we do all day when you’re at work”.Soon thereafter the parents arrived with treats for the doggies and an early birthday present for me (a new computer connecty cord so I no longer have to delay the weekly blog update, lol!) We set off for the Festive Underground Eatery that’s only open during the week. Dad was most intrigued by the sound of a ‘cruffin’ (it’s a croissant-muffin, much like the doughsant/cronut I tried at Jason Bakery last Winter.) This one had lemon curd filling and was warm and fresh. We shared it between the three of us.They warned us. “It’s 1,3 litres”, said our waiter. “It costs R72”, said the chalkboard menu. And still we ordered them. This was Dad’s banana-peanut butter bomb version, topped with caramel popcorn, a fresh sweet fritter and a full icecream cone, filled with ice cream, upended on top. Look at how happy he is šMom was smart. She ordered the ‘small’ version – chocolate peppermint Aero flavour.You can see my cocopine version’s little ice cream cone hat here and piece of passion-fruity pie. Somehow we managed them. All delicious. All highly recommended. I will try their berry blast and coffee flavours at some stage…Yes yes, ice cream is a core component of milkshake, but this here is literally a full ice cream cone to pull out of the shake and eat before continuing with the milkshake slurping. What will they think of next?!This is Panda, the very friendly doggy one of FUE’s regulars brought with on his breakfast run.Mom loved Panda. Panda loved Mom. So much that he came and gazed adoringly at her – or at the milkshake/ice cream.Love that the mirrors on the wall mean you can see exactly where Dad stood to capture this snap.
I am still full. Probably no more milkshakes for me this weekend… but never say never.
Before you go off and start your 2016 with a bang, scroll through our highlights of the past week, which includes our new ‘Boxing Day hike’ tradition (click here for a reminder of last year’s hike to the Woodstock Cave).
And even though I was working this week, there’s been a fair deal of excitement because if you’re perceptive, you’ll have noticed from the blog’s title that this week’s edition is coming to you live from our former hometown. It’s true, we’re in Joburg to spend some time with the in-laws and old friends – what a treat it’s been to see them again after many months by the sea with our little family. Bless…
Saturday, 26 December 2015: Boxing Day hike to Elephant’s Eye Cave in Silvermine, Toad in the Road’s pizza
Look at that ‘Who, me?’ face. Bertie so loves his chewy rope toy his Granny & Grampa gave him for Christmas that he carries it around the house with him, from bed to lounge to outside and back.After a quick brekkie we set of for Silvermine National Park. It’s R45 per person to enter, but really beautiful with a few hiking paths to choose from as well as a large dam to picnic around. This is some of the scenery in the park.We found the beginning of the designated path and set off…We stopped to observe the view from the Fireman’s Lookout, a few steps away from the cave. You can see all the way to Muizenberg from there.The standard ‘jump up and touch the ceiling’ shot once we’d reached the Elephant’s Eye cave. That’s me, of course.Scary selfie. Lots of greenery in the cave as water seeps through.After the hour-and-a-half or so hike we took a quick detour to see the much-talked about Silvermine Dam. It’s pretty and lots of picnickers were about.Hike complete, we stopped at the Toad in the Road for a quick treat.Husband celebrated with a foamy moustache.Our pizza, the Josephine, was worth the wait and R90 price tag. Thin, crispy base and topped with feta, bacon, avo and pepperdews.
Sunday, 27 December 2016: Black Bull brekkie and festive massages
We noticed a few cars at the new local Black Bull steakhouse so stopped in to to try their breakfast. Here is Husband with his R24 special…I went for the ‘French toast’ kiddies’ option, drenched in syrup.Pic is a little blurry as my muscles were so relaxed, teehee. Husband had booked us in for couple’s massage at the local Thai massage salon. We each had a full 45-minute back, neck and shoulders massage which actually covered everything from ear tips to toes and tiny people standing on our backs!
Monday, 28 January 2015: Crashing sea
Once I was done with work for the day we set out to see the sea. The wind was super strong and the tide was strong, so we just looked without getting in.
Tuesday, 29 December 2015: Tall agapanthus
Have you ever seen an agapanthus as tall as a man? I have. These are in the parking lot of Sandown Retail Crossing.
Wednesday, 30 December 2015: Flying to Cape Town
Coupled with a 4.30am wake-time so I could get a few hours of work in before our 9.30am flight, we were full of excitement. Here we are sitting on the tarmac in Cape Town, about to head off…An hour-and-forty minutes later we landed at Lanseria! A super-smooth flight despite turbulence warning as it was set to be 40’C in CT that day.Once collected, the parents took us home where we unpacked. After a quick light bite to eat with Husband at the table outside I was back to work mode for a few hours.When I was done for the day we went on a quick nostalgic trip past our old houses and to see some of our favourite sights. Look how sweet this fluffy chinchilla is, he was grinning back at me before Husband took this shot.We headed back to the parents for a quick dip in the pool before setting off for Husband’s best friend’s house for a quick pizza dins.You can’t see the pool but we’re sitting on its edge here. Is so lovely.Husband ‘having a time’ in the pool.So good to see some of our favourite people!Proof that Husband ate a caramel Italian Kiss!
Thursday, 31 December 2015: My last work day and New Year’s Eve street braai
It was so hot on Thursday that I went swanning about in my cossie. This was a slice of apple pie with cream and a mega coffee at the local Wimpy.Work done for the day I noodled around in the pool. Was pure bliss.That evening we were invited to a street braai in the complex where my brother-in-law lives – the very same unit we lived in when we first moved in together yonks ago. Note the neighbour’s white reindeer.Look who is often in our old unit 81 Fairbridge! This gorgeous little ginger boy is called Aladdin. He often visits my brother-in-law, who now lives in the housie.The brothers, united!The first Weber-load of wors. About 17 of us had wors rolls, potato salad and more for our New Year’s Eve dins.The Andrews four at the New Year’s Eve braaiBack at home just before midnight, we toasted 2016 with sparkling wine and watched some fireworks. Husband was in charge of popping the cork.
Friday, 1 January 2016: Happy New Year!
T’was a humid day when we rose, so Husband made me a floral iced coffee to start the day. Delicious.Husband examining just how much the ‘little trees we had for Christmas and then planted at the gate’ have grown.
That’s all, folks! We’re here for a few more days of catching up, then back to CT to our little ones and a final week of leave. Hope your batteries are recharged and that you’re ready to tackle 2016!
What a week it’s been! Over and above the usual doggy-parenting, working and remembering to eat, this past week was the final one of the UCT GetSmarter part-time online SEO course I’ve been busy with for the past 10 weeks. As a result the assignments we had to complete were the most comprehensive yet and I only really finished on Sunday, so we have fewer pics than usual for you to peruse, but rest assured everything will be back to normal from this week! Yay! Relief! š
Friday, 6 November 2015: Reputation Matters conference treats
I should have mentioned I’d been out conferencing last Friday but my brain was frazzled so IĀ forgot to tell you anything about it! It’s hard work live-tweeting (especially if the Wi-Fi’s spotty and your phone’s 3G doesn’t play along), while also taking down notes, networking and taking in what’s being said, but someone has to do it! These teatime treats make up for it…
Saturday, 7 November 2015: Wimpy breakfast, Jerry’s burgers dins
We had lots of errands to run last Saturday morning so wanted a fast breakfast – Wimpy did the trick. That’s my toasted cheese (on a stick) with chips and a Mega coffee. You can just make out Husband’s streaky bacon breakfast at the other end of the table, by the Tabasco sauce bottle.We’d heard that a branch of Jerry’s ‘burgers, craft and shine’ (that’s craft beer and moonshine) had opened in our area so went to have a looksie once I’d done as much assignment-ing as possible that eve. Here is Husband, hiding behind the menuThat’s my apple-pie milkshake treat. Delicious and oh-so-sweet.We enjoyed munching on hot, salty crisps while awaiting our burgers (they didn’t take that long to arrive)Tadaah! Husband had the drunken chicken, which was ‘nice’, and had to help me finish my Jerry’s Original with Swiss cheese.
Sunday, 8 November 2015: Breakfast at Stodels, celebratory milkshake at Mike’s Kitchen
We wanted to do some garden nursery things on Sunday so started off with breakfast at Lisa’s in Stodels. Here is Husband with his double-lemon slice Cola.For me, a tall cappuccino. I was either at table 5 or table 27. Not sure how the waiters knew.One of the glossy chickens we’d seen huddled up on the doorstep the previous week came over to ask for some scraps. Alas, we were all done by the time he reached us.This is what we’d been to the nursery for – jasmine to grow along a trellis! Husband created this (it involved sawing the roof off of the unused doggy house) while I was sweating over my final assignment. I was pleased with the outcome, as was Bertie, as you can see.And much later that afternoon, I clicked ‘submit’ on my final assignment. Yay! We headed off to Mikes Kitchen where I tried the Oreo-caramel treat milkshake. It was goooood and I needed a long spoon to dig out all the bits of biscuit and caramel globs. Yummo.Later at mum’s, we had strawberries with ice-cream.
Tuesday, 10 November 2015: Lentil bobotie and pink skies
Mum created this wonderful lentil bobotie for our dins on Tuesday eve.The sky that evening was spectacular, with lots of our neighbours posting amazing photos of sunset over the sea. I snapped this quickly while looking out the bedroom window.
Last week a dear friend who is moving to Cape Town herself soon posted an image of the most amazing-looking milkshakes to my Facebook wall – they’re from the new hole-in-the-wall in Sea Point called My Sugar.
Warning: don’t click this review by Eat Out unless you want to drool. Unfortunately it seems everyone and their best friend also read the post, so when we eventually got there mid-morning Saturday they were closed for a private function of sorts, using all three of their inside tables. Never fear, we’ll try them again soon, and still managed a lovely weekend as the sun decided to come out at long last – see some of my highlights below…
Friday, 9 October 2015: Bertie sleeps upside down
Bertie fell asleep in his dad’s arms, watching TVThis photo’s not upside down, the dog is (see Husband vaguely behind him is right way around).
Saturday, 10 October 2015: Sea Point road trip, home and garden work
Excuse the very wind-swept hair, nearly got blown off my feet in Sea Point and Husband didn’t point out my hair was a little mussed. This was my huge bowl of very yummy granola and a Bootleggers’ flat white at La Vie.Here is Husband with his large Cola and eggs ben with lots of salmon.On finding My Sugar closed, following our lovely breakfast we walked around Sea Point a bit, stopping at a bench to watch the sea – and a seagull decided to wish Husband ‘luck’ by plopping on his foot. He went down to the sea to wash it off.
Sunday, 11 October 2015: Milkshakes in the sunshine and doggy walks in the suburbs
Sunday morning breakfast was a Wimpy local. This made me happy – toasted cheese (not on a stick) with lots of chips, a mega Wimpy coffee and the Sunday paper to read.Later that afternoon we stopped off at the Driftwood Cafe for a treat. It was so delightful sitting in the sun. Here is Husband with his beer.For me? My favourite peanut butter-custard milkshake!I insisted on a photo of both of us against the greenery.When we got home, Husband got to work painting our front gateIt was a busy afternoon as our first reed panels also arrived, to be placed behind our water feature. These are deceptively heavy!Mum also decided to make the most of the sunny weather by making picnic-food for lupper, with lots of potato salad, chicken schnitzel pitas and more.Not one to be left out, Bassie jumped onto my lap and gnawed a finger.Later that afternoon we took the doggies for a walk around Mum’s neighbourhood. Bertie enjoyed all the purple wildflowers.
Wednesday, 14 October 2015: Press preview breakfast at the Netherlands embassy, day of tasty treats
On Wednesday, I attended a press preview of the new Dutch-SA #CoCreate design initiative. This is the rather tall front door of the Netherlands embassy in Strand Street. The Dutch are known as a very tall nation, so…Once I got inside I was met with a lovely assortment of breakfast eats, like these fruit skewers, club sandwich-type triangles and salmony things.And when I got back to the office it was time to sing to a colleague celebrating her birthday – she baked these delicious cupcakes, as well as coconut hertzoggie types. Mmm.When mum and dad came for dins that evening, she surprised us with these mini milktarts she’d baked. Yum.A pretty pink sky that night…
Friday, 16 October 2015: Department lunch at Bootleggers, Kenilworth
Bootleggers coffee company, our venue of choice for lunch. Note how very full it was.Always tricky choosing what to drink at a place known for its excellent coffee, but when I saw ‘toffee milkshake’ on the menu I had to give it a try. Good choice as it was an amazing flavour. See other assorted colleagues’ drinks on the table, including a flat white exactly like the one I had at La Vie on Saturday.To eat? The triple cheese chili burger and fries. I’d cheated and looked at the menu before we left the office so knew what I was having before we got there. Ate every single mouthful. Pricy at R95 but very good.Time to smile – and pay. Best group of colleagues, most present but some past.
Early morning dog walks are best undertaken in Summer, when the sun is up before 6am – unlike Winter, where it’s often still dark and foggy come 8am. Nevertheless early morning dog walk we did, this past weekend. In addition to other things, as you’ll see below…
Saturday, 18 July 2015: Fancy coffee, local rugby cheering
My short white chocolate-peppermint latte from Reload, Flamingo Square. Should have had a tall instead, it was delicious!My fancy onion-and-herb breakfast bagel with aubergine, hummus, avo and more. Kept me going for most of the day.Later that afternoon we ventured out for more food. Husband tried the burger-and-beer special at Beach Tavern, Woodbridge Island, I had two of their bacon-and-cheese stuffed poppers, not pictured.Little bit of rugby, lottle bit of cloud. Yes, that’s now a word – lottle. We watched Uni Mil win against Maitland on home ground at Theo Marais sports grounds.Even our shadows came along to watch the fun on the field.Taking a local rugby selfie, as we do… that’s a beer for Husband and a cappuccino for me.
Sunday, 19 July 2015: Early morning dog walk, games arcade fun, milkshakes at the local Wimpy
Sunday dawned cold and misty – not that you can tell from Husband’s attire – but we’d promised the doggies, so dog walk we did.Doggies happily back home after their walkies, we headed out for breakfast – Here is Husband, sipping his Joe’s Easy Diner Cola while I waited for my cappuccino to cool…Not something we do often, but fun to spend some time in the games arcade after breakfast. I liked the spider-tap dance game, Husband enjoyed riding a speedboat of sorts. This is clearly a different game involving a ball and hoop.Victorious! If you look closely you can just about make out all the tiny blue Fizzers in my hand that I opted for in exchange for our winning tokens.A coffee-Bar One milkshake at Bayside, much later that afternoon, once we’d done groceries and had a nap. We’re not as young as we look, you know…
Monday, 20 July 2015: Half-price curries for Husband’s half birthday
Pretty sky at sunset, taken from Eden on the Bay in Big Bay, where we popped in after work for a quick celebration.The precious half-birthday boy. Look at that curry. Mmm, especially good after a long Monday in the office, from Inside, of course.My latte was lovely.
Wednesday, 22 July 2015: CEM Conference day 1 at the Cape Westin
My first time in the foyer of the Westin – the two-day conference I was attending was in the surprisingly large, surprisingly jam-packed (ham-packed? lol) ‘B2’ lower level.Tea break at the CEM (Customer Experience Management) Africa Conference.
Thursday, 23 July 2015: CEM Conference day 2 at the Cape Westin
On day two I had more time to take in my surroundings as had already registered for both days of conference, so I took in the floral arrangement.Morning tea on day two – the choc-capped toadstool was a bullet of banana bread.
But wait, there’s more:
For a reminder of my blog post detailing our first live viewing of Uni Mil playing rugby, click here.
Ramblings, rumblings and random ruminations. Also reviews, recommendations and alliteration. Based on living the good life in the fairest Cape. This is not a food blog.
Rambling Litchi 