Thursday, March 29, 2007

Love and Romance in Kommetjie




This weekend saw the wedding of Nic Kinghorn (the executive creative director at our advertising agency) and Lisna Erasmus (a cool designer and Nic’s lovely lady!) in Kommetjie, Cape Town. Three people from our agency were invited so we decided to make a holiday of it in the fairest Cape.
We flew out super early on Friday morning (Mango Airlines, Dbn-CT return for just ±R500!), had a disappointing breakfast at the beautiful Rhodes Memorial (my Spanish omelet was full of eggshell, - cringe!), bummed around Cape Town for a bit and then braaied and crashed at an old mate’s place. We would have done the B&B thing, but these mates insisted that we crashed with them for the three nights that we were there, and I’m so glad that we did! We were just so comfortable and we had our very own tour guides for the entire duration of the trip! (Thanks Jason and Lea! You guys rock!)
After a good sleep, it was off to The V&A Waterfront for coffee and then to The Goatshed for brunch. What an experience! Fairview dairy has opened up a stunning restaurant and farm shop to showcase their awesome range of cheeses (and a few of the local wines). And boy are they doing it well! Everyone’s favourite seems to be the cheese platter, - R28 for 6 cheeses; R35 for 8 cheeses and R42 for 10 cheeses, served on a wooden cheese board with some preserves and warm freshly baked bread rolls... Yum! They had more than TWENTY THREE different kinds of cheeses to choose from, allowing you to choose which 6, 8 or 10 cheeses you wanted to sample on your board. Seeing as I’m not eating bread anymore, I decided to give the cheese board a skip and had the roasted veg quiche and salad instead. It was a fabulous choice and I was ready to explode by the time we hit the farm store for a quick browse! From there, I slipped away (to Cavendish Square) to find some pretty beads to wear with my dress for the wedding the next day and then it was a quick freshen up for dinner at a quaint pizza place around the corner from Jason and Lea’s place. I ordered the bacon/feta/olives/avo/chili number, - perfection! And so ended day two.
Day three saw me tucking into rusks and coffee for breakfast, basking in the morning sun and sighing over the beautiful view of The Mountain from Jason and Lea’s backyard. We then bundled ourselves into the car and headed off to Sinful for some toasted coconut icecream with a scoop of hazelnut icecream on the side (drool!) and a long brisk walk on the beach at Hout Bay. The little puppies galloping on the shore were just too cute and it took Lea and I way longer than it should have to finish our walk. We kept stopping to scratch behind some furry pup’s ear, or to ruffle their soft fur! Too cute. We then took a lazy drive along Chapman’s Peak and got back to the house in time to get dressed for the wedding at 5pm.
Nic and Lis are quite unconventional, so we didn’t know quite what to expect, except that the wedding would be very special and different. All we knew is that we would have to wear easily removable shoes because the wedding itself was on the beach. If you’re South African, the name “kommetjie” stirs up all kinds of pretty images, and yes, it didn’t fail to deliver. Kommetjie is so small, if you blinked while driving through, you might actually miss it! It’s not a fishing village, - not smelly enough! It’s not just a seaside village, - you’re only 2 streets and a factory or two away from the “town”... It’s all of these things and more, with its sun-bleached wood and walls and powder soft white seasand. They couldn’t have chosen a lovelier place to finally tie the knot, ending an 11 year courtship. The pics on this post are taken from my cell phone so you can’t see very much and it doesn’t do the beautiful bridal party justice at all, but they’re all I have anyway...
It’s funny how my horoscope said that romance was in the stars on Sunday 25th March. What could be more romantic than a beach wedding, under the stars in Kommetjie... Sigh!
We eventually found our way back around the mountain in the dark and settled in for a wonderful, last night’s sleep before we reluctantly had to hop on a plane to Durban.
With a calamari and sushi brunch from Panama Jack’s filling our bellies, we boarded at 3.30pm and were back in Durban by 6pm, where it was already dark and gloomy. Our cell phones hadn’t stopped ringing all afternoon with calls from work and by the time we unpacked and got ready for bed, it was like we’d never left Durban at all...

Thursday, March 15, 2007

If you just can't bear to stash your Prada bag under the dinner table...


... then this one's for you!
The very clever people at Luxe Link have designed this elegant little toy to hold your designer bag to the table, while you casually sip on your champagne and tuck into your lunch!
It's just what every fashionista needs. And it's yours for just $45 if you order online, otherwise you'll have to fly to LA and fight Lindsay Lohan for the last one on the shelf! (She's apparently a big fan, if anyone cares.)
I WANT ONE! ... NOW!!

Now THAT'S hot...


Boy!
That Ryan Reynolds has come a LONG way from that silly "Pizza" sitcom...
He's lost his shirt in this pic, and quite frankly, I hope he never finds it!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Sandra's rocking the grey...


Now this is how you wear this season's biggest colour trend.
Well done, Sandra. You're normally one of the most boring people on the planet when it comes to wardrobe, but this time you got it right!

Monday, March 12, 2007

"The Queen" vs "The Last King of Scotland"



Where do I begin to compare the 2 latest movies that I've seen? The Queen vs The Last Kind of Scotland.
How are they alike?:
1. They're both about controversial "leaders".
2. They both document turbulent times in their relevant countries.
3. They've both produced Oscar Award winning performances from their lead actors.
How do they differ?
Well... in a nutshell: one was completely unforgettable and outstanding, and the other was quite "blah", for want of a better term.
Sure the attention to detail on The Queen is phenomenal, and yes, I'll admit it, I got a little choked up when I saw the actual footage from Di's funeral. Read more about it here. But, if you want to watch a movie that will change your life, you simply cannot afford to miss The Last Kind of Scotland! Pretty much everyone seems to agree that Forrest Whittaker gives the performance of his life in this terrifying story set in Uganda and recounting a few months in the life of a doctor working for Idi Amin. I was literally on the edge of my seat and you will be too, I can guarantee it! I happened to catch an interview with Forrest on the E-Entertainment channel the other day, where he talks about his portrayal of one of the most feared and hated men of all time. He was saying that he is very aware, as a fellow black man, of how black leaders would have been vilified and demonised by the West in a time when black people around the world were fighting for their freedom from colonial rule and western oppression. Yes, he knows that Idi Amin as a dictator and killer, but he wanted to show the man that Uganda loved and put into power first, before we see what we already know about him, - the paranoia, the ruthlessness... Forrest was going for a multi-dimensional portrayal of a man that everyone only knew one side of, and he's achieved it. He more than deserved the Oscar for best actor. I doubt that he will ever find a role like this one again, but even if he doesn't, believe me when I say that Forrest Whittaker's work is done here, people. He can quite happily retire, knowing that he has nothing more to prove to the world!

Friday, March 09, 2007

"Perfume" Patrick Susskind ****


Amazon.com says: Upon its publication last year in Germany Susskind's first novel Perfume immediately became an international best seller. Set in 18th-century France, Perfume relates the fascinating and horrifying tale of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a person as gifted as he was abominable. Born without a smell of his own but endowed with an extraordinary sense of smell, Grenouille becomes obsessed with procuring the perfect scent that will make him fully human. With brilliant narrative skill Susskind exposes the dark underside of the society through which Grenouille moves and explores the disquieting inner universe of this singularly possessed man. The translation is superb. Essential for literature collections.
I say: Geez... And I thought that Running With Scissors was messed up! Patrick Susskind has taken "sick" to a whole new level, but in a completely unimaginable way. And the worsed part is that you totally empthise with the murderer and you completely want him to succeed. (A lot like American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis, where you so want Pat Bateman to get away with it all!) This book gets top marks for creativity and imagination. And it has to be one of the best researched book of all time. Only after I read it, did I read the bit about the author... turns out that Susskind is a historian. That would certainly explain the attention to detail. I've also got to give top marks to the translator. If you've ever tried to translate something from one language to another, the first thing that you realise is that a literal word-for-word / phrase-for-phrase translation is simply insufficient in getting the message across. Certain parts of language rarely mean what they actually are written as anyway (proverbs, sayings...). Any literary theorist (like myself) will tell you that language is an ever evolving means of communication that is loaded with social implications that are specific to where/what/why/how it's used. To cut a long story short... you can't just translate a book to get its meaning across. You have to rewrite it using "the language of the people/time". What a special book! Just read it, - trust me!

Durban at night



These are just 2 images captured from the Roma Revolving Restaurant, showing off my great city at night.
Who thought Durban could ever look so cool?

Books, babes and breadsticks


Wednesday night saw our second book club get together, and this time Maria chose to host it at the Roma Revolving Restaurant. She chose it for the awesome 360ยบ views of Durban. Breathtaking! What a fabulous night! The final 2 members (Terri and Sacha) signed on officially, bringing our number to a perfect eight, and they’ve both thrown in some incredible books for us to devour!
For those of you who’re wondering why we have our book club get togethers at restaurants, I can’t remember if I’ve explained why in my previous book club blog. Anyway, here goes a brief summary anyway. Seeing as not all of us have our own places, or want to be bothered with preparing a meal for 8 on a weeknight, or are tired of complaining that we live in a city that we know very little about, - we’ve decided that we will each have a turn to choose a different Durban “hot-spot” that we could visit. We meet on the first Wednesday of every month and so far it’s been great! Now when people ask us if we’ve been to “that cool new place they featured in this month’s Glamour magazine” we can answer in the affirmative.
We’re quite chuffed with ourselves that we ‘re killing several birds (not each other!) with one stone:
- awesome company
- the sharing of great books
- brilliant conversation
- entertainment at a different venue everytime
... And now we can also add Maria’s positive community project to the long list too.
I’ll tell you more about it when we stop talking about it and actually make it happen.
This time I’ve borrowed Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” and a book called “Mao’s Last Dancer” (I’ve forgotten the author) and I started reading IMMEDIATELY!
Watch this space for my reviews and inane observations...

Ag man!


WHY won't Sabina wear a sweater and just make me, her loving mother, happy?
Just once?!
Just look at how cute this little guy looks. His mother made it for him and he wears it in Winter to keep his old bones warm. I WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING FOR MY CHILD TO WEAR!
... But unless I want to get mauled and have to go around looking like a recovering heroin addict who's just tried to slit her wrists, I better banish the thought.
Forever.
People always talk about the joys of motherhood, but nothing ever really repares you for the pains for motherhood...
I guess you just have to realise eventually that, even though you've loved and raised them, you must know when to let them be the people that they really have to be.
("Ting!" - the sound of the light bulb in my head suddenly switching on.)

I'm trying to figure out how to do proper links...


... so bear with me as I get it right!

There are loads more awesome pics of Paolo Nutini on his official website. So check him out when you get a chance. He's just beautiful, don't you think?

Lemme know if that damn link works, m'kay?

Who is this Paolo Nutini?!


And how is it possible that his cover of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" is actually better than the Any WInehouse version?!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uV0yeeP1X2E&mode=related&search=

Do yourself a favour and check it out...

Monday, March 05, 2007

When you're good, you're good!


It started out as a simple dream really, - to create a mouthwatering hummus that any Middle Eastern babe would be proud to put on her table. Several botched attempts later... Tah dah! The dream came true!
But I couldn't keep it to myself... Oh no! I've decided to share the joy with my friends and family, starting with the girls at my friend, Debbie Veldman's, baby shower this Saturday. It was a hit! (Debz even asked if she could keep some for her dinner later that night...)
Thanks, Noodle, for taking that beautiful pic. Now I have proof that I really am a living legend.
Tee hee.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

It’s official: The cutest dog in the world lives in Umhlanga!


Look out beyotches and ho’s!
His name is Reggie and he’s the hottest bachelor in Durban.
Reggie’s only 4-5months old, but he’s already turning heads as he strolls/sniffs around the park. Maybe it’s the twinkle in his eye… maybe it’s his debonair almost regal look… it could even be the way his belly hardly ever leaves the ground? But whatever it is, Reggie is Poochie Heaven!

Reggies turn-ons:
- bulleting around the park, top speed
- toes
- a comfy lap to nap on

Reggies turn-offs:
- being sent outside
- having his toys taken away
- being ignored