No Pain, No Gain... Now SMILE

Today I truely am smiling a BIG smile...and not only because it's Friday. When I was a kid we went to our beach house (my happy place) every holiday and all of my cousins and I loved to go up the beach on bakkies (they were allowed on the dunes back then!) We would then try to dig the tyres into the sand, hoping that the bakkie would get stuck and we would then have to come to the rescue and push it out...so random I know! One day when we were far up the coastline with family friends I was digging up a storm and knocked my front tooth out by hitting it against the rim the bakkie formed around the tyre. Our family friend, 9 months preggers at the time (she gave birth 2 days later!) raced me back to my parents and all I can now remember about the long drive was thinking that I really hoped that she didn't give birth with just me in the vehicle with her!

Why am I telling you this really random story?! Well, I obviously got my tooth fixed back then and although it lasted about 24 years, it wasn't the prettiest fix seen to mankind! Last week, with much pushing and prompting from my mother (thanks mom!) I embarked on the painful process of repairing and improving my two front teeth. It took 3 dentist trips and 2 trips to the dental technician (most of these very painful) but today I can SMILE and be confident about it! The "no pain, no gain" saying really is true. So I'm celebrating this Happy Friday with a big, straight toothed SMILE :-)

Keep Calm and Carry On hits a landmark...

I've just hit 1000 views! Who would have thought?! Not me. I started this blog towards the end of last year not really knowing what I was doing (who am I kidding, I still don't really know!) but looking for something new - a creative, semi-anonymous place to get down some of the random thoughts that fill my head. In fact, I didn't want anyone that I know to read my blog and to this day have told very few people that I know about it. But it's been a constant companion to me during the past couple of really tough months. A place to air my grumbles when times were tough, a place to share my joys of my out of office hours, a place to remember and document and grow and share.

I honestly don't know who reads my random ramblings (besides my most amazing man!) or why anyone bothers too - but that has never been the point. What has been interesting is to see which of the posts that people most read as they often aren't the ones that I would have expected. Google searches clearly dreg up some weird and wonderful things! The top few Keep Calm blogs of all time are:

Keep Calm it's only your Birthday

Keep Calm and Love, South Africa

Stand up and Lead

and the very first one, Keep Calm and Love South Africa

Thank you for all the views - I appreciate them even if I don't entirely feel I deserve them ;-) Here's to some more Keep Calm and Carry on in the future! Onwards and upwards... 

Taste Cape Town

I continued my love affair with my adoped home-city by FINALLY attending The Taste of Cape Town - something I've wanted to do since I moved to the mother city! My boo and I decided to only try out the dishes that we either had never tasted before, or that we would not have generally ordered at a dinner. With an exception or two this is what we did and the tasting experience which resulted, well justified the price paid! Brasserie's deep fried egg, Savour's scallops and their Salmon Tartare were firm favourites for lunch and after those dishes and more, the best way to end off the meal was a Lindt dipped chocolate brownie cheesecake lolli! Check out all the details and the restuarants that exihibited on The Taste of Cape Town's website. 

As if eating all of that during the day was enough! We then moved on to a friends birthday celebration at the rooftop bar Tjing Tjing which not only has a great vibe but also good food and drinks. Their tapas were amazing and after indulging a little more, it was time for home.

A few days later, after I'd rested my stomach sufficiently, I embarked on my first cooking class at Chez Gourmet (I decided that their course that I mentioned in "To cook or not to cook?") I picked the Japanese Cooking class as my first and was not dissapointed! The food was delicious and healthy, the staff at Chez Gourmet were great and the evening was totally enjoyable. We even got to take home masses of food - pork dumplings, miso fish and salad, sushi, tofu stirfry and rice paper rolls. I'll definitely be signing up for another course soon.

Always look on the bright side of life

I realised yesterday while mulling over my woeful work situation that I'm so very luck and greatful that, while my 8-5 life is at an all time low, my personal life is in the best place yet. I'm so appreciatative that I was blessed with a wonderful, happy and rewarding work life during my years in the 'bay of not-so plenty.' God must have realised that it wouldn't have been fair on me to have it all at once and he probably doesn't want to make other people jealous ;-) LOL

So I'll take my happy after hours life and try my damndest not to let any deproness leak through past the 5pm mark! And it's Friday today - so have a wonderful, restful, fun-filled weekend! I plan to :-)

To cook or not to cook?

I'm always on the look out for a new pet project or hobbie to get my mind to relax after 5pm. Two of my friends have been taking pottery classes every week for the past little while and have been encouraging me to join. While I am keen for something relaxational and creative, I'm not entirely sure that I have to passion or co-ord's for clay!

The after hours classes idea got me thinking though - what would I find a useful investment of my time? Something that I wouldn't mind making a financial commitment too, knowing that it would give me long term reward? And then it came to me - cooking classes! I've blogged previously about my culinary disasters and how I seem to be constantly surrounded by chefs and Martha Steward types, so a cooking class or two sounds like a good idea to me.

In researching what is on offer in my area (Southern Suburbs, Cape Town) I found the following viable, affordable and internet friendly courses:

-  Chez Gourmet in Claremont offers varied evening classes on Thursday evenings. You can sign up for a single class (averaging R470 per class) or a course of 3 - 5 classes. Upcoming courses range from Japanese food, to pasta making to baking. Their website is not only really cute but also super user friendly
- Top Nosh cooking school offers courses that will help you get the basics covered and then move on to more advanced dishes. They also offer themed nights and can accomodate private and corporate functions

So now it's just to decide on the right option for me and take the plunge!  

Be Brave and Keep Going

My cousin, who is the closest thing that I have to a little sister, is about to embark on an amazing adventure. And as with any amazing adventure, there comes a point just before it commences that the nerves and doubts set in. I know this because I'm probably one of the most conservative, stuck in a rutt type of people you will find, and before I set off on my big adventure, I was riddled with stress, doubts and just plain panic!

My advise to my pops is this:

Everything worth doing should have a healthy dose of fear attached to it - we need to be brave enough to stick to it and move forward regardless. Your adventure may seem daunting now, but once you are there, with the world at your feet, new opportunities surrounding you, new things to experience, new places to see and new people to meet, you will look back and laugh at all the sleepless nights and moments of self-doubt that you are now experiencing.

As someone who was stuck in the biggest rutt of all time, I can safely assure you that the fear is worth it. The reward at the end of the journey is worth it. The happiness that comes with positive change is worth it. The personal growth that change brings out in us is worth it. The fear and nervous anticipation is worth it...TOTALLY worth it!

It's the belief that things can and will be better because of the decision you've made that will get you through.



Keep Calm and Love a Nerd / Jock

My man told me the other day that he can get on with pretty much anyone, because, like I always tell him, he's a bit of a nerd, but he is also the worlds biggest sports fan (apart from that silly game where they kick a round ball around for 90-minutes with not much happening at all!) He can have the deepest conversation with the most random stranger or just light hearted sports banter with someone he's just met. That's when it struck me - that's one of the reasons that I love him so much!

Deep down I'm a total nerd, but growing up with a total jock of a brother made me appreciate the otherside of life. What other 13 year old girl knew every field position on the cricket field or sat for hours every Saturday drawing wagon wheels because it was "fun." As I type this, I'm acutely aware that this in itself is incredibly nerd-like behaviour...touche!

Life is all about balance isn't it? I love that he is the guy cheering on his team and taking in all the most currents stats meticulously, but then moments later, the sensitive, caring and supportive person that I so often need him to be. I love that he has the confidence to speak to anyone in a room full of strangers and as a result make me feel more at ease. I love that he reads the menu online before we get the restuarant so that we can chat instead of taking time to decide what to eat! I love that everyone loves him because when people tell me this it reminds me just how great he is and how lucky I am that I waited for so long to find Mr Right (and that I dodged all those yucky Mr Wrongs along the way!)

Basically...I <3 you Boo!

Be a Tourist...in your own city

I love the fact that I live in a city which I get excited about sharing with friends or family visiting. Who else can boast of being a tourist in your own home town?!

My parents and brother were recently here for their annual visit and it wasn't hard to find things to keep them occupied (despite the rain.) Although, in writing down all that we did (and ate) I started to pick up two very distinct themes - I love food and I love Noordhoek! The two merged with our trips to the normal faves: The Noordhoek Community Market at Cape Point Vineywards, Cafe Roux who have recently opened for evening meals too and of course, last but very much not least, the much before mentioned Foodbarn Deli - Tapas by Night.

And then there was the family time - squeezing my flat with as many people as possible, visiting relatives, getting up at the crack of dawn to support the 2 Oceans Half Marathon runners and seemingly endless shopping (the Eastern Cape doesn't have REAL shops like we do!)

With a couple more days to go of entertaining the brother, the itinerary looks a little like this: rugby and more food at Barristers, more rugby and drinks at the famous Percy's, Steak, salad and chips at HQ and prehaps we should throw in something a little less food oriented and more cultured like a trip to Robben Island.

Busy and fun times - TGIF so that I can sleep in a little tomorrow :-)