Restaurant Review: Cafe Jiran

Cafe Jiran...what a little winner!

I love going for breakfast on the weekend....it is probably in my top ten things of all time to do!  So this Saturday I went with Janie and Jameson to check out a new a little spot called Cafe Jiran....and it was AWESOME!

For starters, their coffee was GREAT!  The little hearts on top of the cappuccino and the cafe mocha reflected the love that was stirred in my heart!  Upon further researching, I see that they have been voted "best coffee in Durban"....well let me just say, I whole heartedly agree!

After a delicious coffee, we settled into brekkie...and that rocked my world as well - nothing like a full English when all the bits are cooked just right!  You know a restaurant is doing something right when all three plates look like something you want to tuck into!

Ten out of ten guys.  Loved it.  Will definitely be back!

Haylea Hounsom is my Idol

It's Saturday morning and there is so much of excitement in Durban today, shooo weee!  I am sitting at the Moses Mabhida stadium amongst some very excited people who are auditioning for Idols Season 7 - which is to be screened on MNET in a couple of months time.

Most of the people sitting in this room are never gonna make it to the "big time" (shame, they don't even know it), but I'm here because my friend, and SA's next Idols winner - Haylea Hounsom - is auditioning.

  

There is no question in my mind that Hales is going to absolutely rock her audition today.....you can check her blog out here....just so that you are familiar with her vibe before she gets famous and is on TV all the time :)

Good Luck today my friend!  

Enjoy the ride - it's gonna be fantastic - those judges are going to love you!

xx

Hales getting ready for her audition

Note it and vote it (when the time comes that is)

Hop-A-Long-Maddie

Shame guys, my poor Maddie had a mare this week..she got hit by a car and broke various parts of her leg.  I was really upset about it when it happened, but not that she is back from the vet, and all in the clear, I can't help but laugh at her with her hop-a-long leg all bandaged up!

Mr Mac Dadddy....welcome to my family

Look what I got today....isn't it the most beautiful thing that you have ever seen! :)
New job = new computer = me VERY CHUFFED!

The Very Best Thing About Durban...

Given that I have only recently moved back to Durbs (from the beautiful Mother City), it won't come as a surprise that I am looking for good reasons to be home again.   Leaving Cape Town at the peak of the summer silly season was not an easy thing to do.....beautiful people, awesome parties, lots of good food and wine, not to mention all my besties live there....lets just say that I've made easier decisions in my life!

I have been in Durbs for nearly 2 months now, and although I miss "my people" terribly, I have happily settled into a new house and a new job and am slowly finding my feet.  It's probably fair to say that I even have a routine, part of which includes season tickets to Absa Stadium.  So, on the days when I pine after CT and the goodness that it offers, I  like to remember one thing.....

While Cape Town may have "my people", that gorgeous mountain, and a more vibey social life (or so they say...but I am on a mission to disprove),  Durban has something so much better....The Sharks (or Niki's Sharks as I like to refer to them).  How can a girl be sad when she has her Sharks right here in her back yard!

A terrible photo of Meg and I at the rugby on the weekend

Project Pink Weekend Away....five star treatment, five star style!

This past weekend I was in Cape Town (again), but this time I was now bouncing from couch to couch....no, no,no.....this weekend I was living it up at the Crystal Towers with all my Project Pink girls! :)

On Friday they flew us all down to CT spoiled us absolutely rotten with sunnies from the new range as well as five star spa treatments at the Crystal Towers Spa....massage, hot mud treatment, dead sea bath....it was INCREDIBLE!  Then on Friday night we had

On Saturday morning we woke up early and went for a trail run with Ryan Sandes.....ya, the hectic and famous, been on Top Billing a million times, ultra marathon running extraordinaire.....you are thinking of the right guy!  It was AMAZING!

Thanks Oakley for another rocking experience!  As per usual you have outdone yourselves!  I feel so privileged to be part of the team! :)

Cupcakes for the ladies...compliments of My Favourite Cupcake

Riz and Debs enjoying some drinks in the sun

Cocktails at the pool

Loving my new sunnies - Oakley Fringe

Spa treatment....absolute Heaven

Trail running at Constantia Neck

Group photo with Ryan Sandes

I'm Officially Employed...(again)

Good news!  Somebody in Durban wants to hire me....can you believe it!  I'll be starting work next week....on Valentines Day to be exact.  Just in case you couldn't tell....I'm very excited about it! :)

Lazy Maddie

A couple of weeks ago, you will remember a picture of a rather pathetic looking cat who was cowering away in the back of her travel basket at the airport.

It's a mere month a half later and you will barely recognise Maddie - she is clearly loving her new home and is lazing about in every inch of it that she can get her paws on...it is little wonder her full name is Miss Madame!

On my bed

On the couch

On Meg's bed

I've been cheating on Durban...with Cape Town

This weekend I was in Cape Town, and what a fantastic weekend it was!  The Mother City did not disappoint....she pulled out all the stops - sunshine, new restaurant to try out and quality time with all my bestieis - she was clearly in it to win it!

I was in CT to bake for a wedding - you can read about that here - but that was really just an excuse to go and see all my mates.  I won't get into the detail of the weekend, there is simply too much to share in one post.  What I will say though is that if you are in the CT area, you should definitely check out a restaurant called The Woodlands Eatery....it is amazing - great homely vibe and very tasty food

Here is my weekend in pictures....
Warning: these pics may cause feelings of extreme jealousy

Restaurant Review: Moyo

Tonight I went with my sister and some friends to Moyo at Ushaka Marine World.  I was hoping to be wowed by the amazing entertainment and awesome cuisine, instead I was left wanting.

We arrived and headed out to end of the pier where we planned to have a chilled cocktail - the setting was idyllic, the perfect summer's evening - flat sea, great sunset, no wind....but the drinks took 45 mins and they got the order wrong!

Determined not to let that ruin the rest of our evening, we put that out of our minds and headed down to the main restaurant for dinner.  My goodness but it was hot inside!  So hot that the heat was all that you could think about....it felt like we had stumbled into an actual inferno, sweat dripping from our bodies!  (Seriously, have these guys never heard of aircon - even a fan would have been nice!)

Our waiter did do his best to accommodate us, and helped us to move the table as close to the window as he could get it....thank God for that!

Admittedly, the food was pretty good (I had a steak with pepper sauce), and the face painting and dancing were a nice touch.  It is just a pity that the service was so rushed and the restaurant was so hot!

Rating:  6/10.
Comment:  Far below par for a franchise like Moyo that's for sure!

The movers have arrived!

It's official, I have completed the move to Durbs - this week Meg and I moved all our things up from PMB and met the delivery truck with all our stuff from Cape Town.  

We are now living in the suburbs of the greater Glenwood area.  Our flat is directly above a bakery...which is awesome when you run out of bread or milk on the weekend, but not so awesome when you wake up to go for a run during the week and all you can smell is sweet pasty!

The flat itself is great - big and spacious - typical old Durban flat that has been refurbished....the place is a bit of a tip now, but I promise to post some pics once I we have properly unpacked

House warming prezzie from Hales

The movers van...before the unpacking started...we had 

no idea what was to follow - we have far to much stuff!

All the boxes after the unpacking had begun

First thing we did was put the wine in the fridge...priorities are important!

I'm not one for resolutions but...

Happy New Year everybody, I hope you all had a festive evening last night and that everyone is not feeling to bad this morning :)

New year was rather a chilled affair for me this year - I spent it in Kokstad on a friend of mine's farm....such a beautiful place.   A couple of us drove up to the farm on the 30th and we had a chilled weekend with delicious food and lots of wine....my kind of weekend!  On new years eve we had a braai and even bust out some moves on the dance floor (read: lounge floor) which were blaring from the surround sound system (read: ipod docking station)...such a rad night!

But after new years eve, comes new years day, and with new years day come new years resolutions....and if I am honest, I have never been very good at either setting or sticking to these rules!

So, instead of trying to dictate the direction of my year in the hungover state that is the essence of new years morning, this year I did some forward thinking and this is what I have come up with...

Images from We Heart It

Quite nice hey?  The plan is to remember these little gems and try to make good on them during the year ahead....there are only five little thoughts, that's only one hand - it can't be that difficult can it?  Maybe we will have to have a "halfway-through-the-year-check-in" in about July or so....just to get a feel for how it's going.