Lots of fun with the Veuve Clicquot Masters Polo

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Karisa

This year’s Veuve Clicquot Masters Polo event at the beautiful Val de Vie estate just outside Paarl certainly did not disappoint. (But I knew it wouldn’t!) No expense was spared to put on a day of ultimate luxury, high fashion and regte egte French bubbly overindulgence… there’s nothing fancier than a real champagne hangover, just so you know.

Now there were rumours going around that Ryk Neethling wasn’t actually going to be able to attend this year’s event. But luckily that turned out to be total nonsense. He was there, he was looking good and he was having a great time:

I did think his interpretation of the “Whimsical chic” dress code was a little strange though… but hey, I wasn’t complaining.

Pretty soon he was just one of the gang really…

Here with Roxanne Cloete from Fairlady and journo & celeb expert, Clayton Morar. I dunno where my friend Siv Ngesi disappeared to in this pic. He was supposed to be there on the right. Hmmm…

We were lucky enough to be rocking the VIP area where we were totally spoilt. Think endless, flowing Veuve Clicquot, big tables with all different kinds of cheeses, yummy charcuterie, fresh fruit and more. Waiters walking around with trays of canapes and sweet treats. A dieter’s nightmare basically.

Oh and ice cream cones, how could I forget the ice cream cones! Bjorn and Darryn downed these babies like naughty children who’d hijacked the ice cream truck:

Hehe…

Clouds also got into the action and even made it look oh-so-fashionable as it kinda matched her beautiful Kobus Dippenaar dress perfectly:

New accessory trend? I like it…

Other people on the scene included this awesome lineup of folks:

Golden ladies on the left: actress Lee-Anne Summers & Top Billing’s Jeannie D; Always fashion perfect couple Kelly Parkhurst & Grant Paul Roy

Luxo blog power couple – Elrico & Ritza. I just loved Ritza’s dress, especially that back. It was designed by Ricci Janse Van Rensburg from CTCFD.

From left to right: Jen Su looking fresh in her slinky grey number and the gorgeous Natalie Becker with friend, Andrew.

Lovely ladies, from left to right: Jasna from Fashionjazz.co.za, Expresso’s Leigh-Anne Williams & Decleor Ambassador Thandi Kupe in a striking Black Cake hat.

Here with actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim who’s just snagged a lead role in new pirate series, Black Sails, which is being shot at the Cape Town Film Studios (you’ve also seen him in Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Hotel Rwanda) and then kykNET’s Kia Johnson who was looking striking in bright orange.

As well as designer Hendrik Vermeulen who’s partner (whom he dressed of course) was nominated for best dressed:

Loved that pink & white combo.

And on the topic of fashion, I was totally obsessed with actor Aidan Whytock‘s sunglasses. How cool are these??

I so badly want a pair too… And the glasses & bow tie combo, pure awesome. Love a guy who’s willing to have a bit of fun with fashion.

Entertainment wise we got so check out a fashion show by Jenni Button showing some gorgeous (and I have to say somewhat daring) evening wear:

As well as some great, classic silhouettes by Hilton Weiner:

Oh yes, then of course it being a “Masters Polo” event, there was an actual polo match too:

According to the announcer, this was very exciting match… but I don’t know anything about the game, so won’t even attempt to comment. All I can say is, watching horses running around with the Franschhoek mountains as their backdrop is pretty incredible.

There was also the traditional “stomping of the divots” (which always reminds me of that scene in Pretty Woman):

But I couldn’t join in as I was a bit tied up with a “fan” at the time:

OK OK, that was super cheesy, I know…

All ‘n all, this was a great day out with great people and I have to say a HUGE thank you to the team at Vivid Luxury for putting together such an amazing event and letting me be part of it.

My peeps. I love them.

xxx

A great day at the races with the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate 2013

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Karisa

I mentioned last week that the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate is one of a few events that I really do look forward to every year.

Well I’m happy to report that this year certainly did not disappoint. My feet are still sore (my one baby toe in fact will never be the same again) and it took quite a few Myprodols to get me through the day yesterday. But boy did I have one hell of a party… so I’ll take my battle scars like a man.

First off I have to say that I thought the General Admission area was really impressive this year. There were lot’s of cool chill spots, bars and splenty of seating making it a pretty amazing place to be:

But I was extra lucky to also have access to the VIP Stud Club baby!

Where the drinks were flowing…

The selection of food ensured you put some serious strain on your dress…

And you had a front row seat to all the horsing action:

Not that I can actually tell you what went down and who won etc. Hehe.

We even had a lovely team of Elizabeth Arden angels who were on hand to ensure you were looking fresh all day long and to spoil you with awesome product samples.

Really, what more could a girl want?

Now let’s talk people on the scene and what they were wearing daaahlings… First up we have besties Leigh & Clouds. Leigh was looking stunning in a royal blue peplum number from YDE and Clouds was striking in a white lace number made, get this, by her mum (lucky girl):

Journo Clayton Morar was looking fab in a bowtie & shirt from Woolies and hat from Edgars:

The lovely Leigh-Anne Williams from Expresso was dressed by Kluk with a headpiece from The Little Hattery:

Her beautiful clutch bag was a gift, so she’s not sure where it’s from, but I loved it so much it needed an honourable mention regardless:

Gorgeous couple Kelly Parkhurst & Grant Paul Roy (who recently got married – congrats again guys!) were looking amazing as always. Kelly was wearing a Tiffany blue dress by Forever New paired with a white jacket from Zara. Their lovely friend Kata (on the left below) was wearing a dress & hat designed by herself:

Grant was feeling very bummed that the ladies got all the attention while he was rocking R4000 riding boots from Paris which were not getting the shine they very certainly deserved. So let’s all take a moment to take in their awesomeness:

Oooooooh…

Regular lady on the scene, Jen Su was look gorgeous in Pallu, one of her favourite go-to labels:

It was also very cool to see her wearing a Crystal Creations bracelet just like the one I was gifted a while back:

Decleor Ambassador, Thandi Kupe, definitely stood out with her Chloe Rice dress all the way from New York and bespoke Black Cake hat:

That hat definitely deserves a close up:

Newly crowned Miss South Africa, Marilyn Ramos (who’s an absolute sweetheart btw) was wearing Anele Botha:

Associated Magazines PR intern & PE expat like myself, Bongani, was looking very slick in CSquared paired with a beaded neckpiece from Capetonian Roxanne Kalie’s ButtonNut range:

The beauiful Jo-Ann Strauss was clearly having fun in her flowy Stefania Morland number:

KykNet’s Kia Johnson was up for best hat & best dressed. Her hat’s from The Little Hattery and her dress from Victor K Designs:

Talking about best dressed nominees, I was very excited when the prize for best dressed went to Ritza van Rensburg who was styled Elrico Bellingan from Luxo.co.za. I absolutely love these two and therefore they’ve become regulars here on My Love Affair with Cape Town.

Ritza was channeling Jackie O with a Staci van Rooi design (she’s from the Cape Town College of Fashion Design), vintage sunglasses and royal blue heels by YDE:

Oh and Elrico was rocking Zara

I loved all the attention to detail, from her amazing hair by Marios Hair to her golden finger tips:

A well deserved win for sure. (Check out Luxo’s coverage of the event over here)

The judging panel was made up of the boys from Kluk CGDT, TV/radio personality Elana Afrika and model & entrepreneur Shashi Naidoo. The judges also shined on the day with Shashi Naidoo looking very elegant in a dress from Alice & Olivia from Saks Fith Avenue:

Malcolm Kluk and Christiaan Gabriel du Toit from Kluk CGDT had some fun with their sunnies. Malcolm’s was from ACNE and Christiaan’s from Paul Smith:

And recently engaged Elana Afrika was also wearing a Kluk design:

Which she told us was hand stitched by Malcolm, down to her flower headband:

Lovely…

Oooh and then I didn’t get these guys’ names but I just loooooved their great vintage looks:

Awesome right?

Friends, the “Ou bros”, were looking very suave. Benny (on left below and official #BowTieFriday ambassador) was wearing a bow tie from Robert Daniel, shirt all the way from Taiwan and shorts from Woolies. Joe (on right below) was wearing a jacket & pants from Zara, shirt from Robert Daniel and tie from Woolies.

Now here’s some other peeps who I didn’t ask who they were wearing (cause the champers had started kicking in at that point ) – but still looked amazing regardless

Clockwise from top left: Funny man Marc Lottering, style guru Duncan Pape from Style360.co.za and his lovely friend Ernst, TV mogul Alan Ford and Lifeissavage.com creator, Dylan Savage.

Clockwise from top left: Nicolas Thoenen – CEO of Lindt & Sprungli South Africa (a guy who sells fine chocolate – every girl’s dream!), former TV personality Omesh Authar and Galia Kerbel from Greater Than PR.

Right, so I think that covers all the needed mentions. Meanwhile back at “Club Champers” things started off all lady like, like so:

But quickly spiralled into this:

Muwhahahaha…

So with all that “new energy” we decided to venture out in search of the main dance floor… En route we found this guy who matched Leigh’s neon accent look so perfectly:

Ag sweet man… great minds and all that.

And once we found the dance floor we settled in, dancing the night away thanks to DJ Lora and after her, DJ Fresh. Things became a little hazy after about ~~5pm~~ 8pm, but from these pics it’s clear we continued having an absolute blast:

Party animals to the end…

Well done to the CSA PR team for coordinating such an amazing bash. This remains a top event in my book for sure. Here’s to doing it all again next year…

xxx

Belvedere Vodka throws an end of year bash at the “new” Orphanage

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Karisa

Last Wed eve I got totally spoilt with some haute couture cocktails & canapes at the Belvedere Vodka End of Year celebration which took place at the new extention of The Orphanage.

But before we get into the nitty gritty of what went down, let me first share some interesting titbits about this premium vodka brand, I mean you never know, it might come in handy one night during a particularly heated game of 30 seconds or something. And then you’ll be thanking me all the way.

It’s a Polish vodka and the name “Belvedere” was derived from Belweder, the Polish presidential palace.
It’s distributed by LVMH (that’s Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy daaahlings) which was formed in 1987 with the merger of Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy (a company which was formed back in 1971 thanks to a merger between champers producer, Moët & Chandon, and cognac specialist, Hennesy). So read “super fancy” here.
It is quadruple distilled, so it’s smooooooooth.

Right, now that we have that covered, you might be wondering what I meant by the new extension at The Orphanage. Well, the cocktail emporium I already love & highly recommend for a good night out has now expanded by adding a 2nd entrance on the Orphan St side which leads to a shiny new bar and upstairs dance area. For this event the upstairs area got a little Belvedere makeover of course, giving it a bit of a winter wonderland feel…

That’s my favourite mixologist, Nick Koumbarakis from http://alchemistsays.tumblr.com/, bottom right. He makes magic happen in a glass people.

The drinks & snacks for the evening were actually done as carefully planned pairings. For example with the Belvedere Pure Angels’ Innocence (the first drink below in the champers glass) we got beautiful steamed crayfish, on a toasted butter bun with some scallion mayo. Yum! And with the Belvedere Intense Dark Storm (the blue drink below) we got some tuna tartar with a sesame seed sprinkle on a wasabi & Nori omelette as well as some smoked Springbok carpaccio served on puff squares, drizzled with a balsamic reduction and sprinkled with micro greens. Canapes don’t quite get more high fashion that this.

Of course any good party needs some interesting folks on the scene as well:

Clockwise from top left: Me with favourites Leigh & Clouds, Kobus Dippenaar (the fabulous man who let me wear one of his creations to the SA Style Awards), the gorgeous Tanya Nefdt fome eTV News, dance expert & top choreographer Didi Moses and journo & all round lovely, Clayton Morar.

You might have noticed that I look quite shiny in the pics above. That’s because it was like a gazillion degrees that day and I was melting even though my dress had a ventilation system en als:

Hehe. Thought this would do the trick to keep me cool… but damn this crazy weather we’ve been having. It’s going to be a HOT HOT summer indeed.

People who were clearly dealing with the heat way more fashionably than I was were these gorgeous models in beautiful Jenni Button cocktail wear. Their looks were completed with striking hair & makeup by Cape Town hair extraordinaire, Marios Hair and makeup expert, David Sharp:

I would personally not be able to rock this hair, mainly because I wouldn’t fit into my Mini with it…

Other great looks were thanks to fashion power couple Elrico from Luxo Blog and his lovely girlfriend, Ritza. Seriously, they always look like they’ve just walked off the cover of a top fashion mag, like ALWAYS. I once ran into them at Canal Walk, just doing a bit of a casual shopping. They looked like perfection. I on the other hand was one step above rocking pajamas… Anyhoo, Ritza was wearing a really great short suit by Cape Town College of Fashion Design student, Julia Kimberlee. These two are planning on working with a lot more up-and-coming local designers to help them get their names out there, and I absolutely love that idea.

Loved Elrico’s awesome bowtie and bright shorts as well. Fun & colour are always winners in my book.

Thanks to Vivid Luxury for an awesome evening. It was certainly a nice way to finish off the year. And looky looky, I even made it into the City Press newspaper after:

OK yes, they misspelt my name AND they thought I was a fashion blogger. But who cares, it still counts dammit! I’ll be storing this clipping with my Huisgenoot spread OK.

xxx

Circus fun at the Marie Claire Loeries After party

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Karisa

So last Sat eve I was lucky enough to attend the much anticipated Marie Claire Loeries after party – one of the highlights on the Creative Week calendar - and I can guarantee you one helluva jol. I really had no idea that advertising folks were such crazy party animals. There was just no way I was ever going to keep up, but trust me, I gave it my best shot.

First, before I give you the nitty-gritty on the party shenanigans, remember last Fri I showed you guys piccies of some dress options by Beautiful Maverick? Genuvieve, owner of the label, was awesome enough to give me a dress to wear for the party. It was tough to decide, but in the end I went with a flirty little animal print number:

Ta da! Everyone knows you have way more fun in animal print daaahling.

So dressed to impress and feelin’ ready to cause some trouble, Bjorn and I headed over to the Zip Zap Circus tent in the Foreshore - the hot location for the evening’s events.

Partying in a circus tent? Come on, that’s pretty damn cool…

The VIP section (yup – that’s how we roll. hehe) was jam-packed with big media names, magazine people, editors, power creatives, ad folks, basically a whole bunch people I didn’t know. But at least there were some familiar faces to make things a little less intimidating…

From top left: Clouds who was also rocking a Beautiful Maverick frock, my journo/PR bud Clayton, The Boys: my boy / actor Bjorn Steinbach, comdedian / actor Siv Ngesi, Mr SA 2010 Denver Burns & The Wild actor Tyrone Keogh; then bottom left: Kia Johnson from Expresso (met her at the Palladium Pamphair party a few days before and she’s an absolute sweetheart) and lastly a cutesy couply shot. (I know, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help myself)

Obviously being in a circus tent, there was circus awesomeness all around, including some cute ladies in some crazy getups and a kissing booth! Ooh la-la…

We were also treated to a candy table filled with sweeties, lollipops, candy canes and everything else your heart might desire, a kick ass black & white dance floor (very fancy) and a fun photo booth.

The photo booth was actually a huge hit, especially as the cocktails started flowing and people became a little braver. This was my favourite shot from our set:

Love it

Now talking about cocktails… the alcohol was flowing. Ice cold Patrón was served at an actual bar made out of ice and the VIP bar was serving pretty potent Cognac coctails all night long. This I’m calling my “collage of liquid gold”:

Hell yeah…

First we were entertained by an impressive acrobat show - another great perk of having a party in a circus tent. The guys & girls from Zip Zap were definitely showing us how things are done…

After which Crazy White Boy took over the stage to get the crowd moving:

Everyone migrated to the dance floor and that’s pretty much where they stayed until the early hours of the morning. No further paparazzi photography was allowed after about 10pm for safety purposes. Sorry.

We left at around 2:30 and the party was still going strong. Like very very strong. DJ Sox (you’ll probably know him from the Sun sessions at Cafe Caprice) was putting out a good mix of old school tunes, hip hop, dance & everything in between and those crazy advertising guys & gals were lapping it up. From what I hear a lot of these people had been out partying pretty much for 3 days solid. That’s impressive stuff. I on the other hand ended up kicking off my shoes, watching an episode of So you think you can dance and passing out on the couch. Yup, totally rockstar and stuff…

xxx

A night to remember with great views, tasty food & excellent company

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Karisa

Fri evening was one of those nights where you just have to go “Wait wait, I get to do what!?” The evening was spent at the incredibly beautiful The Last Word Long Beach in Kommetjie for a 5 star dinner hosted by Bar One Manhunt winner Lushwill Rossouw. Remember the man who kicked my butt about 2 weeks ago with a Crossfit workout over at The Last Word in Constantia? Well luckily this time I could swap the workout gear & tekkies for a cocktail dress & heels daahlings…

Seriously, how incredible is this place?

AND not only were we there to enjoy sunset cocktails, dinner & good conversation, we also got to stay over for the night! Check out these rooms people:

There are 6 bedrooms, all sea-facing with either a balcony or patio for you to soak up all the fresh sea air…

The Last Word group believes in totally individualised guest treatment. Every booking is tailor-made to suit your specific requirements. If you love Fanta Grape for example, it will be in your mini-bar. If you read a specific newspaper, they will source it for you. If you’ve burn yourself to a crisp in the sun on the beach that day, they’ll have a soothing after sun lotion waiting for you… that kind of thing, and more. To add to that, I can vouch for the fact that their team is absolutely lovely and really really welcoming.

** For pricing – best to contact them directly via the website link above. They will work out a package to suit your needs. **

So Lushwill had his hands full with this hosting gig, because other ~~loud~~ flamboyant folks in attendance were Clouds (you should know her quite well by now, she of And Lollipops, celebrity journalist & social media expert Clayton Morar, model/MC/presenter Dene Botha and media “mogul” & TV producer Alan Ford.

From left to right: Clouds, Lushwill & Jackie, Ernest (American traveller who happened to be staying over as well), Alan, Nicky & Mike (The Last Word owners), Clayton, me! and Dene.

This was the first time I got to meet Lushwill’s lovely fiancé, Jackie. Turns out she’s quite the fitness fanatic as well (go figure), however her workout of choice involves a pole. Ooh-la-la! I actually did a few pole dancing classes a few years back and I can tell you, it’s no joke. After my first class I had to do that awkward sideways roll out of my bed the next morning… my body hated me for a loooong time…

Lushwill & Jackie – such a gorgeous couple

For dinner we dug into some really yummy things. First an impressive selection of canapes, then some fresh salads for starters, onto a mean piece of meat for mains and finishing off with a delectable chocolate & berry dessert.

Looking at all this food again… maybe it is time to whip out those tekkies for another round of Crossfit. But I tell you, it was totally worth every kilojoule.

With a pretty ruly bunch like ourselves, dinner conversation covered pretty much anything and everything under the sun, mixed in with a lot of laughter…

Some “happy snaps” with the gang

I think (I say “think” because I really can’t remember – thanks to my wine glass staying permanently full ) I finally got to bed around 2:30am. That’s a sign of a good night for sure. And then the next morning, I woke up to this:

Aaaaahh… That made me feel slightly better about my killer hangover…

I sadly had to skip breakfast because I had to get back into town for a shoot. I know – a shoot with a hangover from hell?! Not the best idea. But hey, I like livin’ on the edge. Hehe. I did at least manage to snap this shot of the breakfast table on my way out:

This as I understand was only the first course… ah man! Can’t believe I missed out. Then again after all the food from the night before, I already had my work cut out for me trying to suck in my little boep pens…

A HUGE thank you to Lushwill for being such a great host. Also to the team at The Last Word Long Beach who looked after us in a way I have never experienced before. It was like they were inside my head. When I though “Hmmm… could do with more sparkly…” I would turn my head and someone was filling my glass! How am I supposed to go back to my little apartment now? The boyfriend will need some training for sure.

Going back for a full weekend stay is definitely on my bucket list now.

xxx

There’s a new Vida e on the block

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Karisa

On the 1st of June I popped into the opening of a new Vida e caffé in Green Point. It’s situated in Prestwich St, right next door to Beluga and a block or so away from Trinity night club. Due to this pretty clever positioning, I’m predicting that it’s going to be quite a busy one. But then again, they all seem to be right. To me it looks like they’ve totally mastered the recipe to success and thanks to that they are just growing and growing and soon they will take over the world! The thing I really love most about their stores is their “always on” staff. They are forever smiling & laughing and you can tell they really enjoy what they do. That certainly makes me smile and want to support them as much as I can… even though the guys at my office and the BF have totally banned me from having coffee because it makes me sooooo hyperactive. Picture a little kid after a birthday party where he/she has consumed his/her own body weight in sugar… they then end up running around in circles like a crazy animal until they pass out. Well… that would be me. Scary for those around me, but I loooooove it… mwhahahahahaha.

The store itself has the usual Vida e look & feel, but what I really liked about this one is that there’s lots of indoor and outdoor seating space. So it’s perfect to snuggle up now during winter, but come summer you’ll be able to soak up some rays as well. Very nice.

As you can see the launch evening was well attended.

Oh and then I absolutely loved their “Welcome to the garden of Vida” mural. It’s so cool.

Slightly wacky and lots of fun. True to the Vida e philosophy.

I had a quick chat with owner, Priscilla Young, who was clearly very excited about this new baby of hers. Seems she’s been a very busy lady though, cause only a few days later her Newlands franchise opened their doors. Now I have that “sisters are doing it for themselves” song stuck in my head.

Me with Priscilla

Food wise of course we had only the tastiest “say goodbye to your ass” treats. There were these mini savoury muffins for example that totally rocked my world and then the rest was covered with delicious cheese & cured meats… just one word: heaven.

To keep us hydrated, Patrick (he asked me to say he’s the cute one on the left) and Brighton were there to satisfy your champers cravings:

Loved these guys. They were so much fun.

And then for entertainment we got to enjoy the musical stylings of Mr Chad Saaiman:

Also be sure to keep an eye & ear out for The Black Ties – a singing trio with Lloyd Jansen, Keeno Lee and Chad himself. Saw them perform the next evening at a birthday party and they were brilliant.

Mingling with fabulous folks is obviously part of the deal at these kinds of things and I was lucky enough to catch up with journo & celebrity expert, Clayton Morar:

As well as the lovely Jasna Zellerhof from Fashionjazz.co.za, Roxanne Cloete - brand manager for Fairlady and Survivor SA runner-up and model, Jacinda Louw-Schutte:

Jasna, Roxanne & Jacinda. Lookin’ good ladies.

My darling Clouds from Andlollipops.com was there as well and I loved how her and Clayton were both totally feeling the nautical vibe and ended up looking like they had coordinated their outfits:

You wanna be my sailor boy?

Adidas was there too with their pimpin’ All Originals bus. Inside they had a photo booth where you could get your pose on and then stand a chance of winning some awesome Adidas gear.

Piccies from the photo booth are going to be uploaded to the Adidas Originals Facebook page. Then you tag yourself and hold thumbs that free goodies are on their way to you… yes please!

I’ve been so incredibly lazy with regards to gym of late, but I could totally see myself rocking these babies on the treadmill:

Boom! Who said working out can’t be fabulous… it’s leopard print daahlings!

A huge thank you to Kirsten from Prestige Communications for the invite. I had such a great time. And to Priscilla and her team… tudo del melhor! (that’s “all of the best” in Portuguese… cause I’m all clever and stuff… OK OK so maybe I just used Google Translate. )

xxx

Sir Robert Stanford wines & Madre’s Kitchen

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Karisa

The last stop on our Overberg exploration weekend was Madre’s Kitchen in Stanford. Madre’s is situated on the Sir Robert Stanford wine estate, so of course it made sense that before we got stuck into lunch, we first did a Sir Robert Stanford wine tasting. Oh yeah…

The tasting room was honestly one of the prettiest I have seen to date. Check it out

We got to sample two of their wines. First their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc which sells for R85 a bottle. And then their 2009 Shiraz which sells for R180 a botte.

The sauvignon was very easy drinking and I can highly recommend it while we’re still enjoying the last glimpses of summer. But the real star for me was the shiraz. I don’t know what’s been going on lately, cause normally I really don’t like shiraz. But I’ve stumbled upon some really beautiful ones in the last 2 months. It’s a really nice surprise.

You won’t really find these wines back in Cape Town, but if you email Alta at wines@robertstanfordestate.co.za she can organise to get your wines delivered to you. Nice & easy.

Now Madre’s Kitchen has the most inviting outdoors dining area. With vines draped over head…

And duckies & geese playing along side you…

I really can’t think of anything better. Wait wait… I spoke to soon… freshly baked plaas brood with full fat butter, now that trumps everything.

That’s about enough for me… but shame, what about everyone else?

Madre had planned a very special menu for our group and we were treated to a full 3 course spread. At that point I figured there’s no use fighting it anymore. I had already stuffed my face with so much food over that weekend, what difference would 3 more courses make?

From left to right: Baked camembert in vine leaves, roast chicken in Hanepoort sauce and then some totally irrisitable chocolate tart with fruits & homemade ice cream. Yum!

In between meals I also quickly popped into the little decor shop which is also part of Madre’s. This little place is like a treasure chest of wonderful little goodies:

Make a point to check it out if you’re there…

So this brings us to my final pot belly update for the weekend. The damage looked a little like this:

At that point I was so full, it felt like the food was actually pushing into my lungs! hehe. My poor little body just didn’t know what to do with it all anymore…

But hey, a little extra suffering in the gym is a small price to pay for such an amazing weekend away. I have to say a huge thank you to Nomonde from Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) for letting me tag along for the ride. And then also to Bjorn Steinbach,Tanya Nefdt, Roxanne Cloete, Clayton Morar and Zane Maqetuka for being such fantastic travel companions. Mwah!

Hopefully I’ve been able to share a few new things with you guys and that you’re now planning your own little trip out to the Overberg area. Happy exploring.

xxx

Grootbos Forest Lodge

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Karisa

After a bit of an afternoon snooze (to let the wine, cheese & cured meats from our lunch with Lomond & Farm 215 settle) we headed over to the Forest Lodge for dinner. The Forest lodge is one the amazing 5 star lodges which can be found on the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve. The reserve is situated on a mountain slope overlooking Walker Bay and Hermanus and trust me, the views are like none other.

The lodge itself oozes elegance and “living the good life”…

You can tell that no detail was missed and no expense was spared to make sure that staying and eating here is a memorable experience. We luckily got there just in time to watch the beautiful sunset as well:

By this point we had totally mastered the art of getting a successful group shot. So here we all are, getting ready for the big 8 course dinner challenge which was awaiting us… lookin’ good, lookin’ strong… and lookin’ hungry!

Zane (Mr SA finalist), Sonja (Hermanus tourism), me (future princess of Monaco… what?! It could happen…), Clayton (journalist), Roxanne (Marketing Manager at Fair Lady), Nomonde (CTRU), Tanya (E News) & Bjorn (actor)

But I also had to get my own piccie with Zane. I don’t know how this boy only came 3rd in Mr SA, he would have definitely gotten my vote for a win. We begged him to wear his Mr SA scarf thingy to make sure people would know this was the real deal.

I will admit, I was standing on my tippy toes so I wouldn’t look like a dwarf next to him. He is seriously tall.

To drink we had some South Hill Cabernet Sauvignon wine from the Elgin Valley. This was yet another beautifully smooth red which I hadn’t had the opportunity to try before. Happiness. Then we jumped right into course # 1 – the amuse bouche which was a beef carpaccio with some fancy foamy stuff:

After this hot little number I thought to myself… Hmmm, this is going to be quite a ride… nice.

Course # 2 was grilled linefish with tabouleh salad & red pepper coulis:

Course # 3 was a mushroom cappuccino:

Then we had a sorbet palate cleanser as course # 4. And at this half way point, the troops were still looking strong:

Course # 5 was gnocchi with nutmeg & macadamia nut pesto:

Course # 6 was dukkha spiced lamb loin with olive oil mash & tapenade:

Course # 7 was dessert nr 1… yes, that’s right, we were in for 2 sweet treats! And the first happened to be a dark chocolate tart… it was like they knew me better than I know myself.

Then course # 8 was I think the star of the show for pretty much everyone at the table: Amarula set brulee:

Oh yeah baby…

Now the end of this 8 course super battle brings me to my pot belly update for day 2:

OK, the waist belts are no longer working at hiding the boep… some serious gym will definitely be required & poeple are starting to think I have a “bun in the oven”.

But hell, why stop there! We loved the food so much that we actually headed back there the next morning for breakfast. haha. Check out my fancy pants eggs benedict y’all:

Boom!

So ja, I’d say if you’re in the area and you have a mightly appetite, definitely pop in here. You won’t regret it, trust me.

xxx

Cave exploring @ De Kelders

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Karisa

After our forest walk on Sat, we headed over to De Kelders to check out some caves.

Now the original plan was actually to do some shark cage diving (with Gansbaai of course being the hot spot for it). But sadly the weather didn’t play along and the waves were too high to take us out. Sure, I was bummed – having packed a nice meaty steak to feed the sharks with and everything. I even considered having a “sad shark” T-shirt made, like so:

Ag shamepies… I feel your pain dude, you’ve just been given a bad rep… I totally get it.

But after like 5min I was all smiles again, cause they had already lined up plenty of other cool things for us to do. This cave expedition thing being just one of them. On the way down to the caves we stopped to have a look at what they call “wild dagga”… apparently you can smoke it, but it’s totally legal… hmmm… interesting:

Leonotis leonurus – also knows as Lion’s Tail or Wild Dagga. Native to SA and Southern Africa. Known for it’s medicinal & mild psychoactive properties. Thanks Wikipedia! I’m sure Billy (our guide) told us all of this as well, but I am really poor at paying attention for extended periods of time… I think he lost me at “dagga”…

The De Kelders shoreline is absolutely incredible. I mean just check out the perfection in this photo:

Absolutely zero post editing on this shot, I promise.

We got to check out the Drip Cave (named after the dripping water inside). We were actually very lucky to go inside because it’s not open to the public. Ooooh aren’t we fancy. I was concerned mainly about 3 things:

I’m pretty night blind. So I don’t do well in dark spaces. Luckily we were each given a little LED flashlight. Sweet.
I’m claustrophobic, so didn’t want to have to climb through any tiny holes or anything. Luckily they assured us that this would not be the case. Sweet again.
I’m not a huge fan of bats. I have this massive fear that they’re going to fly into my fair and get all knotted up in there. But apparently that’s a total myth… hmmm, wasn’t 100% sold on that one.

Upon entering I made sure I was walking behind the tallest person there (sorry Zane) cause I figured if the bats were going to attack, they’d get him first and then I’d have time to make a quick exit. Hey, don’t judge me… it’s survival of the fittest out in the bush! PLUS Zane doesn’t have looooong hair to worry about like me.

Luckily though the bats were quite chilled and I actually felt quite at ease. It was probably mostly because it’s so calm and pretty in there. Lemme show you:

Bjorn chillin’ in front of some crystal clear water…. ah bliss…

Colourful rocks… stalactites & stalagmites… (OK, I had to Google those terms – I used “pointy thingies in caves” as my search term. It was surprisingly successful.)

Back outside, Billy showed us how to make a vuvuzela out of some dried out kelp. Zane was the first one to give it a bash… he gave it all he could as you can see in this pic:

You can do it Zane!

Other peeps decided to do some serious chillin’ on the rocks…

Tanya, Lunga (our awesome driver) and Clayton… workin’ it…

We did a bit of a walk and some minor rock climbing to get to the other side of the little cliff area we were in. From here we could see plenty more caves which one could explore:

I see… I see…

Sadly we were on a bit of a tight schedule. So we had to get movin’. But at least now I know where they are – if I ever get back to that area, I’m going to check them out for sure. I mean people used to live there, like way way way back when. They have found bone tools, stone artefacts and even human remains in these caves… I find stuff like that very interesting.

Oh also good to know, this is apparently a great spot for whale watching from Sep to Nov. Just one more awesome reason to take a trip out there.

We’re only about a third through day 2 of the Gansbaai weekend now… much more to come.

xxx

Gansbaai adventure – The kick off

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Karisa

This past weekend I was a seriously lucky girl – I got to tag along for an action packed weekend to Gansbaai and it’s surrounding areas (also known as the Overberg – just FYI) thanks to the lovely people at Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) – the marketing organisation for Cape Town & the Western Cape.

How did this come about? Well Bjorn met them at an event a while back and thanks to his charismatic charm, they thought of him when putting together this weekend which was aimed at introducing people to all the amazing places to check out and things to do, without having to travel very far. Of course me being the bestest, awesomest, most fun girlfriend in the world, I couldn’t exactly be left behind.

Other fabulous folks who came along for the ride were Tanya Nefdt from E News, Fairlady’s Marketing manager Roxanne Cloete, journo and celebrity blogger Clayton Morar and hunky Zane Maqetuka who just came 3rd in Mr SA.

During the 2 1/2 hour drive from Cape Town the gang got some time to get to know each other. Actually looking back, I think that only took about 5min after which we all felt comfortable enough to let our inner craziness hang out. hehe. Love it. I could tell at that point that this was going to be one hell of a weekend.

Our first port of call was a little restaurant called B Blondes in Gansbaai. It’s a very cute little spot with a bit of a brasserie feel with lots of dark wood furniture and a really nice old school bar.

We immediately jumped into “happy snapping” mode – all in attendance clearly loving the camera.

Zane & Tanya workin’ it

Me with “laugh a minute” Clayton & Roxanne

We even attempted a BIG group shot. But as you can see, it was quite hard to get all the different strong-willed personalities to all focus at the same time.

From left to right: Glenda from Gansbaai tourism, Nomonde from CTRU, Zane, Tanya, Clayton, Roxanne, me & Bjorn

Now let’s get down to the serious stuff… the food. Bjorn was the only one smart enough to go for a starter. I love how small towns don’t do any skimping on servings, here even a starter is a whopper of a meal. Check out this beef carpaccio:

This is on a big plate people… we all had serious food envy… but I was lucky enough to get a bite and it was delish.

For mains people went for a wide variety of hearty “comfort food” options:

From left to right: Grilled baby chicken, ribs and calamari & hake combo.

More chatting, laughing & wine drinking followed. We got so brave that at one point we even considered doing some karaoke at a local pub. Ideas after a few bottles of wine are NEVER good ones. They seem to be absolutely brilliant at the time, but don’t fool yourselves, they aren’t. Luckily some sanity prevailed and we decided to rather settle in at our accommodation as the next day promised to be jam-packed.

Then this part is just to brag, but once we had checked in at our accommodation (which I’ll tell you about in my next post) we decided to play some darts. Seems I’m pretty damn impressive with wine pumping through my veins cause I busted out a bullseye. Here is the proof:

BOOM! And nooooo, I did not simply place the dart there. I was way too sozzled to think of something that clever. ha!

After that moment of pure awesomeness, I decided to quit while I was ahead and my head hit the pillow… hard.

Now this was a weekend which included a lot of eating. Therefore I decided to leave my normal eating / no eating obsessions at home (just this once) and totally overindulge. I will be showing you a very scientific depiction of how my pot belly progressed over the weekend. Here are the results after day 1:

Things are still OK at this point… it’s still totally manageable with a bit of extra time in the gym…

More to come on day 2 & 3.

xxx

Oh PS: You can follow Cape Town Routes Unlimited on Twitter here. And while you’re at it, you can follow me too! HERE. (Shameless punt for myself there as well. Cause hat’s just how I roll…)

My Love Affair with Cape Town…

Just random fun in my mother city

Tag Archives: Clayton Morar