A week away

Good morning everybody!

I have not fallen off the face of the planet, just incase you were wondering...

Blogging for 31 days in a row was quite a challenge, in the beginning I really didn't think it would be that difficult but we all know that blogging does take a bit of time so that ended up being my biggest challenge because October is always a busy month for me. This October was extra busy - I baked my first 3 tier wedding cake! It was delicious!

Last weekend we went to Sun City for a mini-break and on Sunday I was off to Durban for the week, I've been here since and although it has been quite overcast it's hot and humid as always! I'll be going home tomorrow and I can't wait, I'm missing my better half like crazy!!

So that's just a little catch up for now, I haven't had a chance to edit any pictures and to be honest with you I haven't really taken too many pictures. There are a few snaps up on my Instagram account if you want to see what I've been up to.

On Sunday I'll be posting my first sponsored product review so stay tuned for that, I was quite excited when approached because it's a first for me!

A Weekend of Wining and Dining

Ok so I was so busy this weekend that I didn't even get a chance to bake! Bummer!! But I did get a chance to do was spend some quality time with my amazing hubby and our awesome friends!!

Cheers!!

On Friday afternoon Riaan had to work late (sis! I mean, who does that??), so once he was done we decided that we were in no mood for cooking and that we should go out for dinner on a mini date night - we haven't done that in ages!!!

So we missioned off to Emperors Palace for some delicious Col'cacchios Pizza, they seriously make the best pizzas if you are into loads of toppings!! Which I am!

For me a pizza should be less base and more toppings...the more the merrier! So a half-half pizza is right up my alley! If you know Riaan, you would know that (and I am saying this in the most lovingly way possible) he is the most indecisive person EVER when it comes to ordering food at a restaurant! Which is great actually because we usually end up ordering 2 meals and sharing!

We started off with some frozen margaritas, YUM!

Closely followed by delicious pizza! I obviously opted for the half half option, both which had lots of chicken and avo (best combination ever)!

As you can see, they are not shy with the toppings!

On Saturday we woke up to an overcast sky and miserable raindrops tapping on the window, not the best weather for a river-side wine tasting adventure!

We met up at about 12 and we set-off on our 100km road trip to the Vaal!
The first tasting venue was a kind of heritage museum, with a few interesting displays of what the old school Vall Triangle was like!

After tasting 6 wines we decided to move on to the next venue, it was so lovely there last year, we sat alongside the river sipping on wine in the sunshine. This year however we were not allowed to sit outside due to the impending rain! Ah Damn! But that didn't stop us from venturing down to the river for a few photos!!

The venue had quite a cosy feel to it, I can just imagine sitting there around a roaring fire roasting marshmallows in the middle of winter. Since we aren't partial to white wine we decided to only taste the red wines at this venue.

As it would happen, we enjoyed ourselves so much at our first two venues that we didn't make it to any more thereafter!

Until next time...Peace Out!

A weekend of good food and good company

Well the name says it all! It was a weekend filled with good food and good company!

We started off the weekend with Kota Joe's on Friday followed by a Doctor Who mini-marathon.
Doctor Who...the latest tv show addiction of ours while we wait for our other faves to start again!

On Saturday I was up early to bake my famous chocolate cake for a friend's baby shower (Bragging Rights...It really is famous, it's won an award and been in the Sunday Times!! Awesome right!?! I know! LOL) Then we hurried off to the Futura Craft Market where craft beer, gourmet burgers,  pancakes, vetkoek and mince and day-drinking awaited us. (Day drinking is so much fun, seriously!!)

We met up with Cindy and Marcelle who were early and eager (as usual), they got us the perfect spot - right in the middle of the food and drinks! The boys went off to get some craft beers and Cin and I got wine, we lounged in the sun sipping on our drinks, catching up and waiting for the rest of our friends to arrive. Cindy and I spent a while wandering around the craft market, wine in hand and eventually found our way back to where the guys were sitting. 

Riaan & Melanie - Selfie with a twist!

Melanie and I - Another selfie with a twist!

Riaan & I - Love this man!!

Cindy and I

Melanie and I

Selfie time!!

Some of the friends, the others must have been getting more beer!

Cindy's gifts for her mom-in-law - supporting the cause!

After a couple of hours, burgers, pancakes and a few drinks, the London style telephone booth inevitably became a prop for our photos - some admittedly lame ones too!

 

As the sun started to set the groups of people started to disappear, and we all said our good byes....until next weekend! All in all I think it's safe to say that everyone had a good time, all while raising money for a good cause!

Sunday saw me up bright and early to decorate the chocolate cake, after we dropped it off at the baby shower we were on our way to the good food and wine show, all in the hope of meeting Cake Boss - Buddy Valastro! Unfortunately he wasn't at the show on Sunday = very sad Simone. But we did see what was left of his giant Rhino cake as well as a few awesome cakes at the cake boss stand.

Cake Boss Cake

Frozen Theme Cake - Amazing!!

Frozen theme cake from the back.

Buddy's life size rhino cake

A life size Peugeot cake

Beautiful wedding dress cake

Cake Boss Circus Cake

The show was packed, people shuffling around through the food stalls stuffing their faces with different foods and drinks from around the globe.

Riaan and I had a taste of the five roses buttercream tea, its a blend of rooibos and vanilla in a silk tea bag, it was delicious! We didn't buy much when it came to food because the stalls were so busy, a friend of mine stood in a queue for 45 minutes to get a chicken kebab!! Cray cray!!!

We wandered through the maze of stalls admiring the beautiful cakes on display and marvelling at all the interesting dishes on offer. We had some frozen yogurt from the smooch van, one of the toppings they had for the fro-yo was popping bobas, they are very interesting little translucent balls that are made of seaweed and are filled with a fruit juice goo that pop in your mouth when you eventually manage to bite them. I had apple bobas, they were very sweet and had a weird texture but tasty either way! 

Strawberry frozen yogurt with speckled eggs and popping bobas

So that concludes this weekend's adventures, until next weekend...We will be going on the Vaal Wine Route...Again! I can't wait, we have some pretty high expectations for this year's wine route!!