buds on the bay

Went for lunch at Buds on the Bay yesterday. It's a cool little place in Grunters Gulley in Maydon Wharf, that is slowly becoming very popular. It's owned by the okey from the Prawn Shack and so they do the prawn bunnies and zulu sushi. Its laid back and unpretentious, and they do good red wine in 500ml bottles. They are open most evenings, but phone first, they are getting quite busy.

One bottle of juice and one bottle of wine please!

I had nearly demolished my chicken enchilada before I remembered to preserve it for posterity. Nice portion, but the seasoning tasted like it came out of a Knorr sachet.

what city do I belong in?

You Belong in Barcelona

When it comes to Europe, you don't want to decide between culture and fun. You want art by day and a big party by night. Barcelona is ideal for you. You can check out some Picasso, eat some tapas, take a siesta, and then dance all night!

What European City Do You Belong In?

I waaant one!

My sister is lucky enough to still have contacts on the inside and gets all the british christmas catalogues mailed to her each year. This is so that we can punish ourselves looking a loads of beautiful things that we will never own. I really enjoyed the Boots catalogue, they have some really gorgeous stuff.

I was drawn to this range by Ted Baker - I'm loving turquoise and chocolate brown at the moment and it has a nice vintage feel without being too fussy.


But this pink range is my favourite, I love the retro scandinavian-ish pattern. Also I don't know what it is about passport covers, but I am crazy about them! I think they evoke feelings of a Wallpaper-esque jet set lifestyle that I have yet to experience. Santa, if you are listening - send passport covers!

Green & Black's

Good news all you chocolate lovers! Green & Black's Organic chocolate is now available in South Africa. I've seen them in a few supermarkets now, and if you haven't tried it before then now is the time to treat yourself. I think it retails for about R19.99 a slab, not bad if you compare it to Lindt. I LOVE the 70% dark, love it, love it, love it!

system failure

I collected my car last week and I can officially say that I really don't like dealing with cacky panelbeaters. It's nasty business, and no matter how good they are, they will find a way to bugger up your car.
As I found out on thursday evening, what could they possibly do to make an ignition work intermittently? They found a way, and had a desperate moment at Gateway shopping centre stuck in a car that won't go. When I did eventually get home, I managed to watch TV for 5 minutes before it died. Snap, crackle, pop. I was really having a good week up till then, which is saying a lot.
So can you imagine my weekend? No car, so no popping out to the shops. No television, so no veging out to E! Entertainment. I had to resort to housework. I think this is nature's way of forcing me to get off my ass. Thanks for the lesson, but I would really like my car to start working again. Please!

21 NOVEMBER - UPDATE: Well, it seems that my car battery is dead because I failed to top up the battery water EVER. Oops. Not the nasty panelbeaters fault after all. TV still bust.

BBB Picnic

It was the long awaited annual Bean Bag picnic this past weekend, and the theme was 'Black & Bling'. Very different from the usual all-white. The turnout was a little bit lame this year, and I think it was the threat of rain, not because Will Young was in town!
We all sat around in the park, dressed in black, eating finger snacks and getting drunk. In Carmen's words, very much like a funeral… but a fun one nevertheless. Gail sorted me out with my first drink - a triple vodka and red bull - and I got VERY drunk VERY quickly. It was one of those days that starts off with slurring and cursing and ends with a civil chat over a lime and soda. A reverse party. In fact, I was so drunk that I forgot to take pictures until 5 minutes before I went home, pretty lame excuse hey?

I managed to get a few snaps though…

Trysty and a few mates from the park, Mommy Gail & Trysty
Sue and her musician mate, Me - on my ace


I got a foody pic too, no gourmet pizza's, mezze, sushi and calamari salads though. It was the plate of hot chips the boys ordered. Posh.

lipfusion

We are nearing the festive season and I'm sure a lot of you fabulous people out there are looking for clever ways to spend your year-end bonsela. This is the first of a series of gratuitious product plugs.

For those of you who haven't heard of Lipfusion, is the hottest lip plumper out there. Basically the closest you will get to Candice Hillebrand without the use of a needle. It is HUGE in Hollywood and I happen to know the laydee who is distributing the range in SA. At the moment you can only really get it at the very big Red Square stores. They also do a Liftfusion which helps to plump out fine lines, and again, no needles necessary! Mwah!

tick tock

How do you like my new watch? Okay, it's not exactly DKNY or anything, but it was on sale and it will do the job quite nicely actually. My old watch stopped ticking the day my dad died and I needed a replacement. My dad has been gone 2 months already… and time just keeps ticking on. The world doesn't stop when these things happen, time just moves on. I know I must take the time I need, but at the same time I am aware of wasting time.
Time is the most valuable gift we have, so try to use it well peops.

book

For thirty-six weeks, a sketchbook was sent in random order between 4 artists: two in Brooklyn, two in Belfast. Every Wednesday, one participant would receive book. The following Monday it was sent out, giving each artist five days to complete a spread in response to the one that preceded it. A small portion of each entry extends on to the following page. Beyond this, there was no communication between the artists concerning the content of book during its making. book's first trip across the Atlantic was on 2 June 2003. Its final trip was on 2 February 2004. By the time it was completed, book had travelled over sixty thousand miles.

I love a good journal, these artists are really talented.

favourite things

We babysat the boys last night and whilst trying to get Taylor to go to sleep, he said that I must ask him a question. One question led to another, and I ended up learning quite a bit about him.

Taylor - Age 4 and a half - Favourite things
Colour: Blue / Green
Animal: Zebra
Sea Animal (or as he calls it, Beach Thing): Dolphin and a whale and a shark
Friends: Ciara, Dre
Game: Superman
Food: Fishfingers, Custard, Ham and 'mato sauce sandwiches
Fruit: Green Berries (grapes!)
Movie: Anastasia, and the one with the 2 bunnies and the wolf
Ice Cream: Bunglegum
Toy: Fantastic Four - the fire guy

toad in the hole

About a month ago I realised that we were almost into summer and I hadn't had my annual toad-in-the-hole. Panic mode! The last time I made it my dish was too deep, and I ended up with a bit to much soggy batter. So I roped my sister into making me some. Little miniature ones - like yorkshire puds. With an oniony gravy. Yum.

death sentence

Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death, and it makes me feel uneasy. Don't get me wrong, he did some terrible things and a lot of people lived in fear of him, but hanging? Does the world still do things like that? There are plenty of former dictators on this planet that committed crimes against humanity - yet only Saddam is sentenced to death. And only the US have openly voice their happiness at the decision. It just doesn't feel right, and I don't think this action will give anyone peace. Is this REALLY the best solution? Surely a lifetime of imprisonment is enough punishment for such a proud, stubborn man. I dunno. It just doesn't FEEL RIGHT.

Mango gogo

SAA has launched it's new low cost airline to compete with 1time and Kulula, and at first thought it sounds great. More competition can only benefit the consumer. But SAA is government owned, so will tax payers money be used to support this new venture? And is it fair for SAA to try to monopolise the market even more?

Here are some News24 articles on the same thought…

No Mango for Me
Low Cost Airlines Set for War
Kulula Boss: Mango will vrot