IG Update v. 2.0

What's been happening lately through the eyes of the iPhone camera.

Sister comes to visit Alex and I in South Africa!  This was on her first night here at a very weird Indian restaurant/cocktail bar.  Laura and I are both sporting the new hair fad, the sock bun!

 Look at that sweet weim face!

 The many faces of my handsome husband.  This is halfway through Movember, aka No-Shave November.  

We celebrated my dad's birthday from afar, and I reminisced on this fun night we had in Norman!

 My sister told me there was such a thing as baby cologne, and I refused to believe her.  Then, while shopping for a baby gift for one of Alex's coworkers, we came across this little jewel.

 Alex and my first Thanksgiving as a married couple.  Some South African sparkling wine and a homemade pumpkin pie (made with fresh pumpkin!)

Jozi dog on her first Thanksgiving.  She is still confused what Thanksgiving is--next year she will be introduced to Thanksgiving in AMERICA!I baked some cookies for a baby shower for Alex's co-worker.  I wish I had had some baby themed cookie cutters, but I had to make do with what I had.  It gave me a good reason to practice doing letters in icing.

 Our Thanksgiving celebration with a group of Americans (and some non-Americans) in Pretoria.  There were four turkeys and an amazing amount of delicious food.

The hazards of being an au pair....a flaming heart tattoo and a chipped manicure from playing with Legos.

Alex before he shaved off his Movember mustache.  He claims he won't be participating next year.

 I'm going to miss the wonderful clinic where I volunteered.  VACCINATE!

It was our sweet niece Tali's 2nd birthday, so naturally we put Jozi in a party hat to make a birthday card for her.  (Tali loves dogs almost as much as we do.)

We leave in less than 48 hours for our big move back to America.  Jozi had her vet appointment for her medical clearance this morning and Alex is at the government vet getting the papers endorsed now.  It's back to cleaning and laundry for me!  Can't wait to be stateside again.

xoxo

Hotel Room Tour #4

Alex and I once again utilized the fabulous last minute safari lodge website, mtbeds.co.za and went for a wonderful weekend to &Beyond's Ngala Safari Lodge.  We knew we wanted to take a trip to Kruger, and when we saw that &Beyond had a lodge on MTBeds, we knew we had to take it.  (It was still a little expensive, but it was a great deal and our last hurrah in Africa.)

Ngala was no let down after our amazing experience with &Beyond in Namibia.  Ngala had the feel of an old time safari lodge, and again every couple had their own little bungalow to stay in.  The food was buffet style, which may turn off some, but it was a buffet like I've never had before.  Roasted chicken and pork belly carved in front of you, amazing fresh, unique salads, freshly baked breads, cheese boards, the list goes on.  And, in true &Beyond style, the service was EXCEPTIONAL.  Alex and I remarked to ourselves one afternoon wondering if they find the nicest people in the world to work at &Beyond or if they train them that way.

On our first two game drives we had the pleasure of getting to know Craig and Kelli, who were two former employees of &Beyond celebrating their first wedding anniversary.  (Craig was a head ranger and Kelli was a manager)  They had worked at &Beyond for 12 years and said it was a wonderful company for which to work.  They spoke of all the things they do in the communities where they are located and how well they treat their employees.  So it is pretty great to know that a place you enjoy also takes care of the people who work for them.

Without further adieu, here is a shot at the little bungalow Alex and I called home for the weekend.

from the outside, we had a little porch and a cafe table.  This was much smaller than the room in Namibia, but on a game reserve space is rather tight.

 super cozy bed.  Like sleeping on a cloud.  And the bed seemed huge, especially without our sweet grey weim taking up 3/4 of the nest.

 Small little sitting area.  I love the thatched roof!

 Waterfall shower.  &Beyond has the most wonderful bath products made especially for them with African herbs.  They smell heavenly.

I had an amazing little soak in this tub with a candle lit and bath salts and bath oil.  Oh laa laa!

We leave for our HONEYMOON to the Maldives on Sunday, so stay tuned for another hotel room tour in a couple of weeks!

xoxo

Safari Time

With our time in Africa quickly coming to a close, Alex and I decided we needed one last HURRAH before we set sail for home.

Alex took his last remaining day of vacation for the year, and we headed north towards Kruger National Park to stay at Ngala Safari Lodge (more on that later) and go on an absolutely amazing safari in Nagala.

Our guide, Dyke, and our tracker, Zup were out-of-this-world.  The knowledge these men had was beyond me--there wasn't a question we could ask about the animals, the flora, the birds, the history, anything that they couldn't answer.  And Dyke's four-wheel driving skills would easily make him the winner at an Jeep Jamboree, anywhere.

Within our first two game drives (we went on a total of 4), we saw the big 5!  For those of you who don't know, the "Big 5" got their name from being the five most dangerous animals for a trophy hunter to hunt.  They are elephant, lion, leopard, cape buffalo, and rhinoceros.

I could say so much more about all the animals, but I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Male lion, 2-3 years old.  He was recently kicked out of the pride and will roam on his own until he is 5-6 years old when he will find his own pride.

 male lion, approximately 6 years old.  He wasn't with his pride, and we were able to hear him calling for them.  I even recorded it on my iPhone.  It was so neat.

 rhino!

Sadly, rhinoceros are quickly on their way to extinction.  Poachers are very actively killing rhinos as their horns fetch a high price on the black market.  It's heart breaking.

 Momma Leopard

 and her tired son

 sweet baby elephants

LOOK AT THOSE EARS!

 We were lucky enough to see this herd of Cape Buffalo as we drove back to camp.  They were taking their sweet time crossing the road.

 Momma Hyena and her two babies.

 the babies were about 2 weeks old.

 1-2 month old hyena pup.  They are so cute!

Those are just a few of my favorite images from the trip.  If I posted more I'm afraid my computer would explode.  I am so sad that there won't be any more safaris for Alex and I for quite a while...but I am SO EXCITED to be getting back to the States.  The packers come Thursday, wahoo!

xoxo

Eating Like Queens in Cape Town

During our recent trip to Cape Town, Laura and I ate lunch at the most delicious burger place on Long Street.  It's called Royale Eatery and we both enjoyed every bite.

We discovered it as we were meandering up and down Long on our first day in Cape Town, and then come to find out we read about it in a couple of travel books later--so others also think highly of it as well!

The decor was minimal but perfect, and the atmosphere was super relaxed.  The waitresses all wore adorable vintage aprons, and L. and I found it to be a clever idea that in the menu they stated the salon where the waitresses go.  Good advertising for the salon (and probably made some money for the restaurant!

I love these HUGE dome/ball pendant lights.

Laura and I both adored how they used the root ball to turn the plants in hanging pots.  Sister determined how to do this, and I definitely want some like them in our place in Chicago.

The menu design was absolutely adorable.  They used little vintage graphics and dictionary-style definitions on title pages introducing each section of the menu.  Too cute.

We started off the meal with a drink--hey, we were on holiday!  Their cocktail selection was unique, utilizing lots of fresh flavors.  Laura opted for the strawberry-basil mule while I had the mango and coconut batida.  

 sister with her mule

so refreshing!!!

Although Royale Eatery is a burger joint, they had a large selection of vegetarian style burgers.  We actually both ate off the veg menu, despite both of us being meat eaters.  And both of our options were amazing, accompanied by sweet potato fries.  Laura had the Zelig--described on the menu has a falafel patty with blended with garlic and peppadews and topped with hummus.  (confused about peppadews?  Read more here. It looked divine.  I had the googamooly, partially because I liked the name, and partially because I rarely turn down anything made with lentils, sunflower seeds, and chickpeas, then topped with feta and guacamole.  It rocked my world.  I could have eaten a second one, and then a third.  And I want one right now.

GOOGAMOOLY

(sorry, no photos of Sister's Zelig)

I think this blog post was the Cape Town visit.  Alex and I are headed to Kruger National Park this weekend for one last safari hurrah---we honeymoon in 3 weeks and move back to the States in 4!  TIME IS FLYING!

THANKful

I may be a couple days late posting about how blessed and thankful I am, but I figure it is important to remember to be grateful ANYDAY and EVERYDAY.  So here is my list for this year...it's long, so brace yourselves.  (in random order)

-my amazing HUSBAND that I am so happy I got to marry this year!
-a wonderful, beautiful wedding that my PARENTS threw for us to celebrate with all our FAMILY and FRIENDS
-the fabulous visit I had when my SISTER came to visit us in JoBurg
-the opportunity to live ABROAD--life as an ex-pat is an adventure
-moving HOME on Christmas day
-our sweet PUPPY, Jozi
-Debi, Zac, and Jed
-discovering my love of BAKING
-SKYPE and the internet
-the chance to further my EDUCATION
-Witkoppen Clinic
-basic NECESSITIES that I am so blessed to have--a roof, a safe home, food, water, love
-the beautiful WEATHER in JoBurg
-the CROCK-POT
-my FRIENDS--both in Africa, and back home
-that getting married means getting a bigger FAMILY
-the chance I had to live in OKLAHOMA again before I got married
-how our friends and family blessed us with items from our wedding registry
-my HEALTH and they health of my loved ones
-the wonder of AIR TRAVEL
-celebrating THANKSGIVING with other Americans
 and so so many other things

Cape Town Getaway with Sister

When people heard I was moving to South Africa, everyone's response was, "Oh, Cape Town?!  You'll love it!"  The sad fact of the matter was I moved to Johannesburg, not Cape Town--but that hasn't stopped me from making two trips south to the water!

Laura coming to visit was definitely a good excuse for a visit to Cape Town--no trip to South Africa is complete without a journey to the Mother City.  And L and I are always up for a good trip to the beach.

We left early Wednesday morning and got there by 10 am.  (It's only a two hour flight from JoBurg)  After picking up our rental VW Polo, we were off to check in to the sweet guest house where we stayed, which was run by the Anglican church.

St. Paul's Guest House at 182 Bree Street

After a delicious lunch (so delicious, in fact, that it will get a blog post all it's own) we headed to the amazing Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.  The gardens were absolutely stunning, and Laura and I probably could have wandered around them all day.  In addition to the amazing flora we saw, we even saw a very professional looking photo shoot taking place, complete with a smoke machine.  

 the view when you first walk through the gates--it's breathtaking

 a special Bird of Paradise developed at Kirstenbosch in honor of Nelson Mandela

 Mandela's Gold

 sisters at Kirstenbosch

 admiring the landscape

 more sister at Kirstenbosch--yay for autotimer on the camera!

 pincushion flowers--each little spike is actually it's own flower

 another pincushion

 protea!

 proteas are the national flower of South Africa

 I love proteas--they may be my new favorite flower.

That night we had dinner at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, and walked back to our guest house in what felt like hurricane winds.  We were thankful we had split a bottle of wine at dinner or the long journey home may have been unbearable.

The next morning, the sky was bright blue and there wasn't a cloud in sight.  We took the opportunity to take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain.  Cape Town is absolutely beautiful geographically--there is an ocean when you look one direction and amazing majestic mountain when you look the other.  After a long wait in line in the bright, hot sun, Laura and I boarded the cable car for the quick ride to the top of Table Mountain where we were treated to some stellar views of the city.

 the view from before we got on the cable car

 starting the ascent!  this is the cable car station

 getting closer....

 almost there....

 the other cable car descending

 at the top!

 the doughnut shape is one of the World Cup stadiums

 Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was kept in prison

 Sister at the top of Table Mountain

 beautiful Camps Bay

the distance to my old home and my new home from the top of the mountain

After our excursion to the summit, L and I collected what we needed for the beach and headed toward Boulders Beach, where the PENGUINS hang out.  That's right, there is a beach in Cape Town where the South African penguins just hang out.  No fences, no glass aquariums--just penguins, in their natural habitat.  And you are free to walk up to them, take photos, or as Laura and I did, go for a picnic!

 these little guys are endangered.  :(

 this sweet little quintet paraded by as we were perched on a rock with our picnic.  They were so cute!

That night we went to Long Street and got beer and nachos at a bar.  While we were there, we had an interesting encounter with a 'rapper' who called himself 'Black'.  He was convinced we were sad, he said we had 'sad eyes', and he decided to sit with us and attempt to make us happy.  We were happier before he showed up.  Then we got our nachos and all was right with the world again.

The next morning we went to a wine tasting at a vineyard owned by some OKLAHOMIES!  That's right, the uncle of one of Sister's friends owns a vineyard in the Stellenbosch area, so we had a wonderful wine tasting at 10 a.m.

at Amani Vineyards

That afternoon we had a lovely long walk around Cape Town and then ate lunch at a restaurant called Beluga where Anne munched on dim sum and sushi and Laura ate Thai prawns and curry.  After we gorged ourselves, a nap was in order.

That evening, we went to Camps Bay where we enjoyed some delicious Greek salad, calamari, and vino before a sunset walk on the beach and ice cream.  The ocean is beautiful--it's my dream to have a beach front home one day.

 Laura with her feet in the cold ocean

 sister feet

 Our last day in Cape Town we checked out Neighbourgoods Market and snagged some fun clothes at a vintage shop called Afraid of Mice.  I got an amazing handmade red suede tote bag, and Laura got a cute dress with a wheat print (perfect for an Oklahoma girl) and a super fun ruffle black and white polka dotted dress.

That evening we had a flight back to JoBurg where we were greeted by Alex, whose Movember 'stache had grown tremendously during our four day adventure.

I have to go to Cape Town again--it is such a wonderful city!