falling in love with durban

Musings from nosundays who visited Durban and fell in love (with the city too).

durban is a strange, extraordinary city in a way that i cannot describe in detail. aesthetic, vicious and lonely. her way to treat different kind of people is amazingly grievous to see and when you realized that it is not her fault forced you to say sorry, i am truly sorry. she tried to take care of you but there are too many people to be taken care of, too many human beings are vulnerable in her heart, too many people spit on her face to show their disappointment and only a handful of people are willing to give her a chance to be free, untrammeled and still she tries, struggles to help anyone who lives under her sky. she is beautiful, let me assure you that. she is maybe the most exquisite and ravishing city where i have been but at the same time she is the most fragile and breakable city where i have ever been.

more…

and once more, durban!

Cool pics too.

It's so refreshing to hear an outsiders view of my hometown, especially such a poetic one…


(via durbanscouts.net)

its all in the details

I'm off to Jozi this weekend for Angel's wedding so I thought a wedding related post was in order. I'm not sure where I stand on idea of marriage, but I do love weddings. All the details and planning and fun stuff. My favourite weddings are when the couple does something uniquely 'them' instead of following the typical mass market idea of a wedding.
One of my colleagues daughter was recently married and she put together an amazing wedding. I particularly loved how she took a bunch of colours and made them work so well together. Really awesome!

pink, green blue, purple - who'd have thought?

And on the same note, Style Me Pretty is currently having an Inspiration Board contest and there are some beautifully styled soiree ideas. It just makes me wanna throw a party dammit!

ooh, silvery grey and chocolate brown. yum.

super hot joy

Saturday night I went to see superhotjoy and big idea at the kwasuka theatre. How nice and refreshing to have somewhere else in Durban for bands to play.
I was at the Battle of the Bands Quarter Finals at Burn on friday night and I think it is really insane how Burn can host a band contest when their sound is so appalling. It's almost embarrassing.
Anyhoo superhotjoy were kee-iff. Cool lyrics, foot tapping music. The Big Idea was really fab too. Kinda hiphop rapping stuff but with a full band eksé. Really talented, in fact, I swear some of those guys are from Wenties, right near my hood, fo' shizzle. Got me jumping around and it was cool to hear all the lyrics about durbs.

Sunday I did lunch at The Corner Café, which is this new little place in Glenwood. The company was great, our waiter (Al Gore) was a hoot (though not intentionally), food was nice, but it seems like mostly premade cold stuff, salads and sandwichs - not really my thing. Next time I'll have the eggs. But they do a good soya latté. Strangely enough, I had one of the guys from Big Idea serving me my lunch(?). The Corner Café gets some gorgeous afternoon sun, but beware of sweaty thighs on the plastic chairs.

nathan turned three

It was my nephew Nathans birthday party on Saturday, and he chose a spiderman theme. He also changed his mind 5 days before, but it was a case of tough takkies. He had a ball of a time, pretty much just running mad with other hooligans his age. For once, it was nice to see that he wasn't the worst of the bunch…

check out those toes!

grant hamilton

Check out this awesome flickr set, Polariods by Grant Hamilton. These pictures make me very happy. I want them to hang up my walls. Except I don't own any walls. Anyhoo.



(via swissmiss)

thai chicken burgers

I do a mean thai chicken burger, and I made some last night for the first time in over a year…

It's really easy. Mix up 500g chicken mince (or turkey), 1 egg, chopped spring onion, 2 grated carrots, 1 tbsp that green curry paste, 1 tsp grate ginger, a dash of chilli sauce, some chopped coriander, a dash of sesame oil, and a quarter cup of breadcrumbs. Mix it up and divide into patties. Grill on the a george forman and serve on a ciabatta with rocket, coriander, mayo and pineapple chutney. Insanely easy AND delish!

pizzetta

My sister was off work on Saturday night and we decided that we had a craving for some gourmet wood fired pizza. In preparation, I did some yoga (for the first time in MONTHS) and made sure I worked up a serious appetite. Pizzetta, in Glenwood, was our destination - with the Smoked Salmon, Leeks & Marscapone being our favourite. I shovelled down pizza like there was no tomorrow. And it looks like the new Parma Ham and Parmesan may just tilt the scales towards a new favourite.



BTW, Tuesdays is Ladies Night, with all large pizza's R35 and on Phuza Thursday, all cocktails are half-price. Nice!

blog action day

What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. The aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future. Go on, do your bit!


PS. The logo is cute isn't it?

shuffle

I got a free iPod shuffle when I bought my MacBook recently. They have always seemed rather feeble to me: only a 1Gb of memory, no screen, no ability to choose the next song - what is the point really? So I hooked it up and it picked a random selection off my iTunes library. And you know what? I have been pleasantly surprised!
Firstly, it is fascinating to have such a broad selection across my varied taste in music. I was delighted at each new song, often one that I hadn't heard in months. Also, the times that I have used an iPod, I find I spend more time flicking up and down the menu trying to pick the RIGHT song. So it turns out the a shuffle is rather appropriate for my indecisive ways, and my limited attention span. I can't get bored because the next song could just be my favourite song ever. Hmmm, imagine if all decisions in life could be put on 'shuffle'…

kids on the street

Here is a link to a joburg/south african street style blog. I am very impressed. So south africans CAN be out there when it comes to fashion. Though, they may just be poor students who can't afford to shop at truworths yet. I hope not.

Go check it out and get your fix of men in skinny jeans…

cruising

So I am getting used to my new car. In fact, I really like it. It is such a pleasure to drive. My attitude to towards my car can be compared to my attitude towards relationships. I was reluctant about buying a new car, aware of the possible pitfalls and problems, after all, haven't we all heard the horror stories…There was nothing about the process that I enjoyed - signing the paperwork felt like I was signing my life away. I was indifferent and aloof throughout the entire process, I just wanted the uncomfortable bit over with. Now that I have been driving my car for nearly a week, I have gotten used to things. I am more comfortable, and now that I trust that the engine isn't gonna fall out on the N3, I feel a little more secure. It is still new and shiny, but it's up to me to maintain it. I do love my car.

what gets me through some time off

• Finally saw Pan's Labyrinth. Holy cow. It's beautiful and horrific all at once…

• Went to the opening of the Apple iStore in Durban, Gail and I were there in the queue bright and early in the hopes of getting lots of free stuff. Alas it was not our lucky day.

• August winds are here. Wind sucks.

• Got my new car. I should be all excited, but its really JUST a car. Cars do not bring happiness. It is black and shiny and I need to constantly chamois fingerprints off it.

• My eating habits are all over the place. I have a dangerous addiction to NikNaks. My sister and I had big plans to get healthy this week, but we have already thrown in the towel. We spent last night in front of the TV eating pringles and getting drunk on red wine…

• Been back onto the crocheting. I made a new hat and a poo! Yes, a crocheted poo…

• Lilys heart procedure was a success which is great news as that was her final hurdle.

• I went for a back, neck and shoulder massage yesterday at Bliss in glenwood. This IS the life.

• I bought myself a MacBookPro. Yikes!

• I am desparately trying to find something sleek and chic to wear to my friend's wedding. All I can find is cheap lycra and massive ballgowns.

So what have you guys been up?