Rosebank through the looking glass - February 2011

HMMM, Rosebank, quite possibly one of my favourite places in Joburg. I love the vibe, the diversity right down to all the old apartment buildings. I spent almost every saturday of singledom and childlessness there drinking far too much coffee, eating french toast, listening to whatever was on my ipod and writing what was on my mind. I remember the winter dress code, Skirt, stockings, leg warms and high tops and some crazy shirt with something on. Oh how I long to fit into that skirt again (:-)).

When George and I first started dating we would go usually go to Cranks in Rosebank for dinner, it became a once a week norm, never in my wildest dreams did I think Cranks, Vida-e Cafe and a Rosebank mission would become a treat, something to look forward. After Kelso was born, the visits were few and far between, but as time had gone on, George and I are getting to sit and read magazines drinking, what I believe to be the best coffee on this planet. Obrigado Vida-e cafe for your life changing Cafe Mocha's.

This day was no different to the others. Spent the morning at elevenfortyfive having breakfast  and then the rest browsing the shops, exploring rosebank, Drinking coffee's, reading magazines and then drinking beer and eating Vietnamese/ Thai food at Cranks. The people are Cranks are so friendly. There is a woman who works there that told us about Vietnam and what a wonderful country it is. She has a crazy dress sense and odd sense of humour, but all just makes for the experience.

I decided to create a little photo diary of the day. I always have my camera with me, but never make a point of getting every detail of it. The is Rosebank through my lense! Days like this come highly recommended.

 The most delicious savoury muffin at Vida, the roasted red pepper, olive and feta.

My Reginald. I love pigeons. They waddle about without a care in the world.

My Dinner - beef with peanuts and paprika. It has some exotic name that I cannot pronounce.

Jan Smuts Ave

Some Light Humour! :-) Faceless Mannequins, I need to find more!

The Inspiration

Apart from "LOVE LIFE LIVE"being a little personal mantra, so is "SIMPLICITY - IT IS MY WAY OF LIFE". I try to not over complicate things. Life is far too short for drama, I leave that up to the people of Salem!

My surroundings are small, simple and colourful. I see beauty everywhere and almost every sunrise makes me smile. and say almost because in summer, sometimes I don't see it on week ends if Kelso lets us sleep in, which I might add, is rare. But being someone who doesn't want to miss the day time, the early rising just gives us more time together in the day. Every day brings something new. Every day brings some kind of inspiration. Beauty lies in the simple things. The small things that make you smile every time you look at them, the things that you carry around in your bag for good luck, the things you have next to your bed and even the toys that give comfort to your children.

I like to capture it all. I want to one day look back and see what made me tick in 2011. And I hope that I will get the opportunity to do that for others.

My favorite gadgets

My favorite Handsome

 

My Alien Robot Son

Hariette - An odd little Vampire

Munro - The sweetest feline

Oysters and Stairwells

The title of this is goes with the day's events, there were no oysters, but there was a stairwell!

Day started at the Botanical Gardens. That place has the sickest nativity scene I have ever seen. I think I need to go there this year to see if Mary still has pipe-cleaner brows and if the creepy Lion hunter is still there. It was ANOTHER rainy Durban Summer's day and the rain stopped being fun. So off we headed to The Oyster Box in Umhlanga. What a wonderland. Toffee's and Marshmallows in the "cinema", a resident cat and some tea with a view. I don't think I have ever walked into a place and felt so welcome. The people are friendly and I bet if they knew your name, they would greet you by it. The place itself is just magnificent. A real gem. Thanks Craig for suggesting it. As for the stairwell - another random find on the way to car. It wasn't even a find, we had to walk the stairs and spent a great deal of time snapping away.

Another super day early in 2011 with not one, but 2 of the people that I have known the longest and love the most (well.... Almost, sorry Guys, George and Kelso win top spots - LOL). Days like that come just about never and it was such a treat to have good company, good conversation and an all round superb day.

And the other one with the glasses is otherwise known as myself. The eyes behind most of the photographs.