That Blog

Those of you that have been reading That Blog for a while now, are familiar with my lamenting over the Barren Manscape in Cape Town. I have decided to test the waters in Jozi and see if the Manscape is any less barren.
I took the bold step of signing up for internet dating…

The responses to my profile thus far have varied considerably (which indicates that there have been responses, so that is a good thing). Whilst there have been a limited number of suitable looking gents (whom I hope to meet up with soon…reports to follow), I can report that there is also a healthy collection of nutters out there! Maybe my standards are just too high??

Married girls, please take this moment to thank your lucky stars for the man in your life…because even when he is driving you completely bonkers, or comes home late from a night out with the blokes, he almost certainly doesn’t describe himself like this…

Pation – could he possibly be referring to passion??? Actually, am really hoping he has misspelt Patrón, my new favourite tequila! If that is the case…he might suddenly come back into the mix and I can overlook his lack of a fancy, little, nerdy car!
Tame nudist – what exactly is that? 

Or perhaps this guy:

Anyone else getting the feeling that he might be a little needy or perhaps desperate? Or maybe he is just casting that net far and wide to see what he finds!

Then, it all looked a lot more promising…there was a guy, that on paper, looked every part the suitable candidate…the picture was acceptable, he could spell correctly and seemed to be looking for similar things to me. We exchanged some banter on-line and arranged to meet for a date. Much excitement!!! If I were in London, I would definitely attribute the heavy snowfall to this event…anyway, date went well, no sign of axe murderer/psychotic tendencies and I was rather excited about it all. Imagine my surprise when I got an sms a day later along the lines of “it’s not you, it’s me”…blah, blah, blah…”I’m just not ready for a relationship right now…” blah, blah, blah.
Mmm…I know, if that is the case, may I suggest you give dating sites a wide berth??!! Oh well…

Anyway, I am going to persevere with this avenue of adventure and shall keep you posted on how it goes!

Please let me know if you have any good tips or suggestions…or single friends !

A few years ago, my family discovered the amazing meal that just keeps on giving…The Tur-duck-en. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it is a  deboned turkey, stuffed with a (deboned) chicken, stuffed with a (deboned) duck, stuffed with stuffing…or if you find it easier to say, Tur-duck-en. (I prefer to hyphenate the word, as it seems that some people are a little put off at the thought of eating something that has the word Turd in the name.)

So, as you can well imagine, this is a gargantuan amount of bird to get through and if your family is as small as mine, not even a post-Christmas Turkey Curry buffet will save you from Turkey/Duck/Chicken sandwiches for days to come!

So, if you aren’t up for putting together the old traditional Christmas feast and can’t be bothered with constantly having to peer into a hot oven to see if that little red thing has popped out the Turkey’s rear, why not get the good peeps at the Mount Nelson to do it all for you.

Check out the variety of Christmas meals they are hosting…

CHRISTMAS EVE

Planet Restaurant
Date: 24 December 2010
Time: 19h00 onwards
Price: R890 per person. We regret – no children under the age of 12
Menu: Festive 5-course Table d’ Hôte Menu
Dress: Elegant

Oasis Restaurant
Date: 24 December 2010
Time: 18h00
Price: R495 per adult / R195 per child under the age of 12
Menu: Extensive Festive Buffet Selection
Dress: Casual
Entertainment: J Russel Instrumental Jazz Duo

Join the choir for Christmas carols around the fountain from 18h30 to 19h30.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Oasis Restaurant
Date: 25 December 2010
Time: 12h30 onwards
Price: R695 per adult / R220 per child under the age of 12
Menu: Extensive Festive Buffet Selection
Dress: Casual
Entertainment: Enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the company of the B3 Jazz Duo.

Planet Restaurant
Date: 25 December 2010
Time: 12h30 onwards
Price: R730 per person. We regret, no children under the age of 12
Menu: Festive 5-course Table d’ Hôte Menu
Dress: Smart casual

The Ballroom
Date: 25 December 2010
Time: 12h30 onwards
Price: R730 per adult / R280 per child under the age of 12
Menu: Extensive Festive Buffet Selection
Dress: Smart casual
Entertainment: Mike Perry’s 4-piece band

Good news is that the Planet Bar will open on 25 December from 12h00 onwards for festive pre-lunch and dinner drinks…to ensure you get the whole family in the Christmas spirit, or is that drinking the Christmas spirit?

They will also give you a complimentary sparkling wine and Pimm’s on arrival!

If you are looking for something completely different to do on Christmas day, what about…

Afternoon Tea in the Lounge
Date: 25 December 2010
Time: 14h30 onwards
Price: R185 per person / R95 per child under the age of 12
Menu: Festive-inspired Afternoon Tea buffet
Dress: Casual
Entertainment: Resident pianist

No need to slog away preparing that massive Christmas lunch/dinner in Cape Town this year (and dealing with the mess afterwards)…the Old Mount Nelson can do it all for you! Although, I can’t guarantee that they will have Tur-Duck-en on the menu,

By the way, these prices are inclusive of festive novelties and service charge.

For reservations, contact restaurantreservations@mountnelson.co.za or +27 (0) 21 483 1948

www.mountnelson.co.za

Yes, that’s right!! That Blogger is back and hopefully here to stay! I know a few of you have commented on my absence, but the good news is that I am back and if my new corporate employer can tone down a little on the deranged work hours, I will be blogging a little more often that I have been!

So much has happened since I last wrote…not sure where to start….

I returned from a lengthy 4 months on the mud island and started work in Jozi…I am still in denial about the fact that I am not spending my week days in Cape Town, so like to think of this as a very temporary measure and if anyone asks where I live, I still answer Cape Town. I have to admit that this does get the occasional side wards glance from people who see me at work every day in the heart of Sandton…but so what. In my mind, my return to Cape Town is imminent…so why let anyone else think differently!

I will do my best to keep you updated on the exciting happenings and news from both cities for now!

Not that dissimilar to an Atlantic Seaboard sunset is it?

Jozi girls, do I have a treat for you…

One of my favourite boutiques in Cape Town, Habits,  is making their bi-annual trip up country and you need to get there…I know that when I lived in JHB,  I always used to get VERY carried away at the Habits Trunk Shows, but if you think that you are saving yourself the cost of an airticket to Cape Town, then you are actually saving by spending!! Makes sense doesn’t it??

They will be bringing some great crushed linen numbers for summer, 7’s jeans (oooh, we love those!!!), the core travel wardrobe (because being the international jet setters we are, we all need a core travel wardrobe), a new safari story, all the brights, stripes and and and… 
Check out the website www.habits.co.za to see what other little treats they are packing into their trunks for their trip to Jozi or email joburg@habits.co.za for an invitation to this one and a half day affair

Where:  The Wanderer Club, Illovo
When:  Wednesday 15th September (07h30 – 17h30)
                Thursday 16th September (07h30 – 12h00)

Happy shopping Girls!! Tell them that That Blogger sent you!!

That Blogger has the interests of her peeps in Cape Town at heart and knows that one of those interests is definitely vino! So…when I saw this little advert pop into my mailbox, I knew it had to be shared with you.

This is a great opportunity to stock up your wine supplies with some amazing wines at AWESOME prices.

Wine from really good wine estates for less than R20 a bottle is not something to sneeze at!!!

I was sent a link to this great music video the other day and have subsequently seen it on a couple of other fab Cape Town blogs.

I just love this video and thought that just in case you hadn’t seen it yet, you might want to check it out…

Doesn’t it just make you want to live in Cape Town??? Oh wait, I do…Lucky Me!!! Long may that last!!!

That Blogger and friends managed to tear themselves away from the Soccer for an evening and headed off to the Chef’s Warehouse & Cookery School for an evening with the unbelievably talented, award winning Luke Dale-Roberts from La Colombe. May I remind you that La Colombe has just been voted 12th out of the top 50 restaurants in the world by the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. I think you can safely say that Luke knows his way around the kitchen!!!

I do enjoy cooking and eating A LOT, but have to say that I realised fairly early on in the demonstration that I was probably just there to watch a Master at work rather than pick up any menu ideas for my next dinner party. Food that Luke prepares is an absolute taste sensation, as well as a total visual treat…and I am not sure I have the patience or the time to try and pull that off on my own!! I suspect that it might be INFINITELY less stressful and possibly even cheaper to go and enjoy the meal at La Colombe rather than try and prepare it myself (especially if the Winter Special is on!!) Nevertheless, it was a wonderful evening and on the off chance I ever want to dedicate many hours of my life to preparing something spectacular for friends or family…I do have the recipes!

These were the culinary delights that we were treated to through the evening:

Carpaccio and Seared tartare of Springbok or Venison, Black Pickled Celeriac, Semi Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Baby Marrow Cannelloni, Basil Mayo, Pine nut and Lemon Thyme Gremolata.

Next up was a Tiger Prawn and Grapefruit Salad with warm Vanilla and Parsnip Puree.

and then to finish off it was the unbelievable medley of desserts…Chocolate Collar filled with Vanilla Creme Catalana and Caramel Foam, Mini Apple Tart Tartin and Salted Caramel Popcorn.

Each course was paired with an amazing wine and so it really was a true epicurean experience. My only complaint about the evening was that the portions were really not very big and so some of the group were still a little peckish by the end of the evening. Other than that, it was incredible…such wonderful food and wine and learning something too!!

Chef’s Warehouse have a few other courses that they will be running and they look awesome. There is the Artisan Baking Course that runs for 6 weeks, then the Imported Wine tasting evening and the Champagne evening. Click on the links to read more about them. These really do sound awesome and I think the wine and champagne evenings would be a great thing to do with a bunch of friends. Book now!!!

That Blogger is actually on tour at the moment…well, if you call heading up country to Jozi “On tour”. Yip, I am lucky enough to be heading to Soccer City to watch the Opening Game live!!

Anyway, I would never forget my lovely readers and always have their best interests at heart…that is why I thought I might mention a great special you might want to check out.

The über cool, Planet Bar at the Mount Nelson Hotel is getting into the World Cup Spirit…yes, they too can feel it!

There very talented team of mixologists (you may know them as barmen) have come up with a series of awesome new cocktails. With exciting names like ‘Italian Glimpse’, ‘Golden Goal’, ‘Berlin Martini’, ‘Slovenian Tea’, ‘Benny’s Kick’ and ‘Hemingway Special’, the thirteen cocktails sound as exotic as their ingredients, and are bound to get you into the swing of things!!!

Also, it is a well know fact that SERIOUS A-LIST celebs luuuuuuuuuuuuurrrve the Mount Nelson and the Planet Bar…so why not print out your list of WAGs and set off for a snifter or two.

A friend of mine introduced me to this beautiful sterling silver jewellery range the other day. My first thoughts were that it really is so pretty and different.

There are so many beautiful designs to choose from that I really struggled to choose a few that really showed you what I meant, but these were some of my favourite designs.

A Few Examples of Blackbird Jewellery

Aren’t they just lovely? Just makes me want to go out and treat myself to something new and pretty…

They are created by designer Chloe Essery, right here in a studio in Cape Town.

If you would like to see some more of the designs, you can have a look at their website www.blackbirdsa.com or if you want to have a closer look, they are sold at various spots around Cape Town and for you Jozi readers, good news…you can find them in Jozi too.

Or contact:

Kath who looks after Blackbird sales on 082 7023257 or mail her at info

That Blogger and a team of friends, eager to escape Cape Town for the weekend, set off for the Agulhas Wine Festival hosted at The De Hoop Nature Reserve late on Friday afternoon. That Blogger was attempting a whirlwind trip to JHB on Friday morning and due to a dodgy starter motor on the British Airways plane, managed to delay the departure for Agulhas by a healthy amount of time…however, we got onto the road at last and after an easy, uneventful 3 hour drive were greeted by the friendly staff of the De Hoop Collection in the Reception area.

We were shown to our accommodation and given a tour of the house. Wow, what a nice little spot! There were 3 spacious bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, new bathrooms and an outside braai area. The ever-patient, Boy in the group whipped up a roaring fire in the fireplace and before we could say “Chardonnay” we were all kicking back and enjoying a glass of wine and relaxing in front of the fire.

On Saturday morning, after a yummy breakfast, we set off to explore the reserve. There really seems to be a good amount of game around and within a few minutes of leaving our house, we had spotted Bontebok, Eland and LOTS of Ostrich! We headed for the beach and to check out Koppie Alleen, the beautiful little cottage that is set right on the beach and nestled in the Fynbos.

Bontebok

The view from the beach was just breath taking…the sea was a beautiful turquoise colour and the beach seemed to stretch on forever and the setting for Koppie Alleen is just magical. I will definitely be returning to De Hoop to stay there!

Koppie Alleen

After all that adventuring, the Team decided it was time to do some wine tasting. We headed back to the main reception and were guided to the hall where the wine tasting was taking place. Some quality time was then spent tasting some of the most wonderful wines from the Agulhas area – including Napier, Elim and Gansbaai. We tasted some incredible wines from the estates Strandveld, First Sighting, Quoin Rock, The Berrio, Jean Daneel, Lamond, Lands End, Black Oystercatcher, Zoetendal and Brunio. What a wonderful treat to have so many awesome estates gathered in one place!!!

Fast forward through a rather disappointing rugby game (for the Stormer’s fans obviously) and it was time to sit down to the specially prepared 6 course dinner in the lovely Fig Tree restaurant. The Chef, Bruce, had carefully prepared a meal that could be paired with wine from the estates showcased at the Festival. What a treat!!

The Team gingerly made it to breakfast back at the Fig Tree restaurant on Sunday morning and whilst the croissants with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs were wolfed down, I noticed that there weren’t too many takers for the bubbly-I suspect that might have something to do with the generous quantities of wine paired with the delicious meals the previous evening!!

The Beach and Sand Dunes

We headed back to the beach after breakfast for a stroll and were lucky enough to spot some Whales in the bay! We were told that in Whale Season, there have been nearly a 100 Whales sighted in the Bay! (We spotted 2…but it is still very early in the season!)

It really was an absolutely wonderfully relaxing weekend, made even more so by the almost non-existant cellphone reception throughout the reserve! Yes, the world did survive without us!

If you are looking for a great weekend away with family or friends, you really should have a look at De Hoop Nature Reserve. There is accommodation to suit all budgets and there really is SO much to do. The De Hoop Collection are also running a winter special of 25% off accommodation in June, July and August

For further information, call the De Hoop Collection on 0861 33 4667 or the Cape Town reservation office directly on 021 405 4587 or email res@dehoopcollection.co.za.

You can also visit the website for more info www.dehoopcollection.co.za

De Hoop Collection

There are so many deserving causes in South Africa that it really is difficult to decide which one you should support if you do actually want to support a charitable cause. I happened upon a great initiative, that donates money to a really wonderful cause and the more you shop, the more that goes to this great cause…can you ask for a better reason to shop?

Habits boutique in Claremont has been working with Noah for two years now. Noah‘s vision is to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa have an opportunity to grow up into emotionally, psychologically and physically healthy adults. Their mission is to empower communities with knowledge, skills, strategies and self-confidence to care for their orphans and vulnerable children.

The team at Habits were inspired by this vision and mission and so started a campaign to raise money for Noah. The Noah campaign run through Habits has been so successful, that the Habits team have decided to extend the campaign to this year. This time, they will be donating 10% of the price of all the lace trim stretch cami’s sold up until the end of the year. The cami’s are extra long (which is something I love…I can’t stand it when they creep up over your tummy or above your jeans) and come in a whole heap of stunning colours (including black and white). Lovely cami’s really are a wardrobe essential, so why not buy them from Habits and do something great for the community at the same time? If you don’t live in Cape Town, you can order one of these lovely little essentials on-line from the Habits website.

If you would like to read more about Noah and the wonderful work they do, click on http://www.noahorphans.org.za/

Lace Trim Cami

Sales of Pond’s Cold Cream have soared after Kylie Minogue attributed her youthful good looks to the old faithful pot o’ Cold Cream.

Kylie, who turns 42 on Friday, admits that she has had a few botox injections too…but apparently it is actually the Pond’s beauty treatment that really has given her such a beautiful skin. She says she has never had any cosmetic surgery, she just followed her Mum’s advice and Mum was right (isn’t she alway )…so apparently a dollop of Cold Cream every night and perhaps the occasional Botox injection and look what your skin can look like! Pretty flipping good actually!!!

Kylie Minogue (Photo: REX FEATURES)

I suspect that a marketing/advertising person or 2 somewhere in the world with the responsibility of managing the rather lack-lustre brand of Pond’s Cold Cream must of got quite a shock when the so-called “Kylie effect” hit the world because I can’t recall the last time I even saw an ad for the product.

Mmmm…I don’t know about you girls, I am not completely convinced. Waddaya reckon? She does look fab, but I am not sure I am dashing off to the local Clicks to stock up on a tub of the stuff that reminds me of School Plays and Drama class. I think my skin would probably benefit at LOT more from making use of a few of the great winter specials available at the various spas and salons!!

That Blogger hit the Sunglass Hut sale today and can safely report that there are some SERIOUSLY good deals to be found and some beautiful sunnies to be purchased.

I was unable to limit myself to just one pair and in fact got completely carried away with the whole event…so needless to say, I have gone from being the owner of one rather scratched pair of sunglasses (that were brought out of retirement after fav pair were nicked) to probably being able to wear a different pair on each sunny day we will see until November and not have to use any pair more than once! (OK, maybe that is a slight exaggeration…but not far off, if we have a bad Winter!). At one point in the purchasing process, I had so many pairs in my hand that if you had put a flag or a vuvuzela in my other hand I would have done a very good impersonation of someone standing at a major traffic intersection!

Anyway, so what I am saying is that you REALLY need to get yourself to the North Building, Black River Park, Fir Street, Observatory as soon as possible because the sale ends on Saturday 29th May (open all day Saturday). Ray-bans are selling from R370.00 and Pradas, Chanels, D&G, Miu Mius and DKNY (amongst many other names) are selling at a serious discount!

My favourite purchase...the DKNY pair

Happy shopping Gals!!

It is a fact universally acknowledged that a single woman (over the age of 28) living in Cape Town is lamenting the barren or dire state of the man-scape (apologies to Jane Austen for the misquote).

However, when I spotted this pic I had to laugh and thank my lucky stars that things aren’t quite so dire that you might feel the need to respond to, perhaps, the worst personal ad EVER written!!! And when I say written, I mean it….because it is actually hand written!!

I particularly like the part about meeting “Tina Turner’s Son in person 7 times”…

I have to be honest and say that That Blogger LOVES a wine festival! This is why I was very excited to hear about the upcoming Agulhas Wine Festival being held from 28th to 30th May 2010 at the De Hoop Collection in the De Hoop Nature Reserve. The wine festival will showcase some of the award-winning wines from the Agulhas area – including Napier, Elim and nearby Gaansbaai. De Hoop is described as the “Jewel of the Western Cape” and really is such a beautiful setting for this festival and this is a great opportunity to taste some of the most delicate and decadent wines on offer from the area.

Wine estates on offer at the festival include:-

• Black Oystercatcher, Jean Daneel, The Berrio, Zoetendal, Strandveld Wines, First Sighting, Quoin Rock, Lamond, Brunio, Ghost Corner and Lands End

How exciting is that? Those are really some of my favourite wine estates and now they will all be gathered together in spot for tasting!

The festival begins on Friday evening with sundowners and snacks overlooking the De Hoop Vlei, where you can relax and enjoy the tranquil beauty of the surrounding wildlife and fynbos. On Saturday, from 11am to 2pm, the wine tasting starts and just to make the whole event even more decadent, you will be able to sample the freshly prepared canapés on offer. Later, from 6pm-8pm, another wine tasting will be held, followed by a sumptuous dinner at The Fig Tree restaurant, complete with wine pairing. On Sunday morning, the festival will close in style – with a luxurious champagne breakfast at the Fig Tree Restaurant to celebrate the area’s local bubbly.

Whilst the Reserve is open for day visitors, this is a fabulous opportunity to make this a “Weekend away with friends” type of event (Aren’t we always looking for a reason to get out of town?) There are plenty of accommodation options to choose from that suit all budgets. You can choose from the affordable campsite rondavels, an assortment of self-catering cottages and larger houses or the Opstal Manor House (which incl meals catered for at The Fig Tree Restaurant). If you are looking for something really special and more private, there is the beautiful Koppie Alleen set on its own overlooking the bay.

De Hoop Koppie Alleen Cottages

The Reserve is a World Heritage Site and really has so much to do if you are looking to take a break from the wine tasting. You can do some mountain biking, hiking, birding, animal spotting, snorkelling and even some whale watching! You are welcome to leave your vehicle at any time and wander around the reserve.

Black Oyster Catcher

De Hoop Nature Reserve is about 3 hours drive from Cape Town. It is in the Overberg region near the Southern tip of Africa can can be approached from either Bredasdorp or Swellendam. Reserve gates open at 7am and close at 6pm (7pm on Fridays). Late and early arrival can be arranged with Management at a small extra cost.

For further information, call the De Hoop Collection on 0861 33 4667 or the Cape Town reservation office directly on 021 405 4587 or email res@dehoopcollection.co.za.

You can also visit the website for more info www.dehoopcollection.co.za

De Hoop Collection

That Blog is bringing you a Winter Specials List with a difference…this is a list of the Winter Specials offered by Salons and Spas in Cape Town and the Winelands.

This list will be updated constantly and so it is good to check back regularly and see if there are any new exciting specials on offer.

Click here to view the full list….

Come on Girls, treat yourselves, you deserve it!!

If you are a Spa or Salon owner and would like to have your Winter Special listed here, please mail me at thatblogger

This does not relate to the trashy 90′s song that will probably be stuck in your head now that I have mentioned it…this relates to the REAL DEAL. Yip, Prince William and Prince Harry are heading to SA for that Soccer Spectacular that we are all getting excited about…the 2010 Soccer World Cup!!  So, Girls, I have told you who you can be watching for on the field, now you know who to be looking for in the stands!!!

Prince William is President of The Football Association and so he is  visiting South Africa on their behalf and then I am quite sure, purely co-incidentally, Prince Harry thought that some time in June 2010 was a good time to go and check out some of the charity work he did in Lesotho in 2008. They will also be stopping off for a visit to Botswana, where Prince William is involved with the wildlife charity Tusk Trust. The visit to South Africa will be the first time that The Princes have carried out joint engagements overseas.

The Princes will attend the match between England and Algeria…which, in case you didn’t know is being played in Cape Town!! They are also expected to be attending England’s first group C match against the United States on June 12 in Rustenburg. We know that certainly the younger of those two boys is not adverse to a nightclub…so Girls, you will need to keep a serious look out!!