Halfpom

With a little help from his friends....

Last week my very dear friend, Vaughn Barkhuizen, chose an extremely auspicious day for the opening of his first retail store in Cape Town, Linen & Home....my birthday!! After months of planning, weeks of putting plans into action & last frantic hours his masterpiece was ready for the unveiling.....& absolutely marvellous it is looking too! For those wanting (no...NEEDING) fabulous bed linen, the store is located at the bottom of Wynberg hill opposite Farriers....may I recommend the 400 threadcount.....after that anything else feels like you're sleeping on sandpaper, darling!! For those needing a helping hand with the decorating of their homes...Vaughn's your man....what can I say, he is a multi-talented guy with excellent taste...

 

  
Surrounded by friends & family, the store has well & truly been christened.....we're not going to mention quite how many cases (ahem, yes cases...did anyone say 29??) of champers were consumed in our efforts to do justice to the occasion. Ambrosia Catering provided the seriously yummy food & I also thank their very patient staff for allowing me to photograph (almost) everything that came out of the kitchen.

 
 

CONGRATULATIONS Vaughn & Carmen (I feel it should be pointed out here that behind every successful man there is a strong & successful woman.....) - may the business go from strength to strength - you deserve every success!! 

Vintage Craft Fair...

A friend mentioned that there was going to be a second Vintage Fair In Worcester on Saturday and I had missed the first one as I was laid low by the dreaded swine flu so decided to check it out. Overall it was delightful but as my friend commented - some people who are very talented hide their light under a bushel & don't have the confidence to exhibit at something like this whilst others are super confident and have vastly overrated their talents.....Simon Cowell comes across quite a few of these types on the X factor too!! So most stalls were a hit but some of them you could definitely miss....and I do feel qualified to make this judgement as a veteran of many years of shopping...........

 

It was held at St Helen's Church right in the centre of Worcester's shopping area so a great location.

After a bit of browsing & shopping, it is nice to be able to take the weight off one's feet & have a nice cuppa and a great big HIT was the Royal tea shop.....

Yummy cakes and good coffee - what more can you ask for....

and the next Vintage Fair will be held in the same venue on the 12th December....

Fresh Goods Market - Stellenbosch..

By now you all know my penchant for a good market. Another one to tick off (and go back to in the future) is the  Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market at Bosman's Crossing behing the Oude Libertas theatre. An amazing vibe....everybody chilling out in the winter sunshine with steaming latte's or cappuccino's and tucking into their preferred breakfast...from suchi to crepes filled with Nutella & bananas. No prizes for guessing which option I chose.... Nice music too!

 

 

And then back home for one last braai with the family! I can't believe my 6 weeks in South Africa are nearly over...& i've still got so much I want to do.

My new nephew (okay nearly new) is displaying worrying tendencies - the change that came over him the moment someone points a camera in his direction...definite camera tart....maybe practising for later in life???

 

And his big sister is no slouch either..

Starting out

My first picture on my new blog......taken to celebrate Easter! A wonderful weekend spent with my cousin & family - lots of good food, conversation and a bit of wine thrown in to the mix. I was introduced to two lovely shops in Nottingham that Saturday. The first was Le Chien et Moi - what a gorgeous shopping experience - full of lovely goodies that tempt you to part with a serious amount of moolah & the best part was the owner's bassett hound, Mulberry, who personally greets all the customers.

After a serious amount of drooling and some purchases we proceeded to lunch at Edin opposite the Broadway art cinema in Broad Street - very yummy & very continental with an electic menu and music. The sort of place where you can spend the whole day with a newspaper working your way through breakfast, morning coffee, lunch & afternoon tea before they finally throw you out after dinner.....