Antique route

We've been looking for some decent Vintage/Antique shops in Pretoria. The Husband, Detective Kotze, investigated and stumbled upon this site. It features 12 Antique shops in a radius of about 5km just north of Church street. There are many more in this area so keep your eyes open. We found the raddest items in the vicinity including two stunning chairs, an old shop display case (which we've been after for years), a sauce boat and some old Empisal sewing machine parts. Now that we are completely broke, it's your turn to investigate and lose yourself in nostalgia.
Here is a screen shot of the site. Click on the image to be re-directed to the home page:

Also, here are a few Instagram shots of the desirable items and some of the loot:

Yes, these babies now reside at house Kotze in Sunnyside.

a week in words and images

Well, it was my birthday on the 15th. I decided to make cupcakes for the peeps at work and being my un-domestic-self I scavenged for a good (non-googled) recipe. I discovered this book that my mom got me when I was 6 or 7 with aspirations of a well-mannered domestic goddess for a daughter...
Things didn't quite turn out that way but I still enjoy making these cupcakes from scratch every now and again. So, why not on my birthday?

Do you remember this book? All you South African girls growing up in the 80's, being members of the Daan Retief book club? Those were the days... *sigh*

After a lot of hand mixing (since electronic mixers don't agree with me...I've broken about five in my life) these lovely golden cakes popped out of the oven...mmmmmm

Schnuki also contributed her bit by being under my feet all the time and licking up all the icing and flour that found the way to the floor, resulting in a funny looking Dalmation-Dachshund

We went to Isabella's cake and food shop (as if the cupcakes weren't enough) for lunch. Had a lovely time and it was also quite a laugh having the very manly colleagues there against the very feminine, pink backdrop. They serve a killer roast lamb sandwich there if I could make a recommendation.

We also went to Bellbottoms this weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with this amazing little place, it is an antique / vintage shop in Pierneef street with the most amazing quirky vintage finds. It is always nice to go there and get completely lost in nostalgic feelings and things. 

There we go - a lot of local for the week. 

What I love about living here

This is the list. It will most probably change and expand, but let's start with this...

• The way the city glows after a perfect African thunderstorm.
• Saturday morning coffee at Tribeca (Hopefully they will update their site soon)

Awesome coffee. Photo by Riette Basson

• Walking to the corner cafe instead of taking the car.
• Sunnyside street fashion (more about that later)
• Cafe Riche on Church Square. Amazing space with a rich history.
• Skyscraping - a new-found adventure where we try to access rooftops of tall buildings. Amazing vantage points.

View from above: Photo by Riette Basson

• Walking the dogs in the local park.

This is Jux. Photo by Riette Basson

• Toni's Pizza. According to me, the best in the world. Go and see for yourself.
• Discovering hidden gems in the city: Beautiful International style buildings, details, history, people.

Nuwe Nederlandsche Bank. Photo by Riette Basson

• Off-the-beaten-track and Vintage shops like Bell Bottoms in Pierneef Street.
• Food markets. Hazelwood food market and the old favourite, Die Boeremark.
• The mild winters we have here.

The list goes on and on. But this is me for tonight. Why do you love living here? Send some ideas and comments.