Love Myrtle Park

This is the park where we walk the dogs. It's so exciting to see the neighbourhood come alive.

It promises to be an exciting evening. Perfect movie choice as well.

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Thys' birthday celebration

For Thys' 30th birthday celebration the one thing we knew is that we wanted to keep it local. Really local. As in Sunnyside local. A few things crossed our minds like a street party in El Sol (wich would've not gone down well with the Body Corporate and trustees), a picnic in the dog park or a few drinks at the Bowling club. Then a colleague told me about this guy who does home-made pizzas in his wood-fired oven on Fridays. I called him and the rest is history...

Let me introduce you to the Sourdough Bread Man, Peter Savage. This might be one of Pretoria's best kept secrets. I am weary to provide too much information because the next thing we know there will be a bunch of hipsters crowding up their backyard. But it's too good to keep for myself and the locals who know about it. Pete has a little team (obviously including his wife) who helps him on Fridays and let me tell you: The food is delicious and the vibe is great. You almost become part of the making process - everything happend around the Wood-fired oven. We hired a keg from Drayman's, a local brewery and everyone joined in for a sip, even the other patrons whom we didn't even know. I'd like to think that the evening was a great success. And we will be back for more pizza and sourdough.

As for the Birthday Boy - I hope you had a great time, liefie. I love your other-wiseness, your patience, perseverance and special ways. Hope there will be many more of these.

If you want to experience some decent Sunnyside vibes and great food, please email Peter to find out when he will host another Pizza evening:

petersavage@mweb.co.za

Their address is 131 Melville Street, Sunnyside.

Snippets of Sunnyside

the stillness of a sunday morning

the smells of congolese cooking

the prostitutes

the overcrowding

the colours of the women's dresses

the hairdressing shops

the proud street vendors

the names of the apartment blocks

the illegal immigrants

the fire escape stairs

the floral curtains

the nigerian drug lords

the kirkness bricks

the dirt and the dust

the sense of belonging

here

St Patrick's day in Sunnyside

I know this is a bit late but I would still like to share a wonderful afternoon with friends. There is no better way to celebrate an Irish holiday (which naturally involves the consumption of Guinness) when you can walk to the local pub. We first had some Guinness in our backyard and then we spent the afternoon at what we refer to as "the local" - the Sunnyside bowling club. And although they don't stock Guinness (yet) the Milk Stout is apparently amazing. And the prices are very reasonable.

So, if you are in the 'hood, come and say hi to Tom (the owner of the bar) and his Dulux dog. You'll find that you would like to return to this little urban oasis.

Sunnyside Sunday

I feel human again. Architecture had to take the backseat just for today and we had a normal Sunday: walking the dogs in the neighbourhood, taking photos, making comfort food, sitting in the sun. It was a glorious day with beautiful weather and I have some footage to share of the vibrant, rich neighbourhood we live in.

It all started with the nice light inside our house.

I will never get tired of the modernist aesthetic of the apartment blocks - functional yet beautiful, with very strong horizontal or vertical lines, protruding slabs and the use of clay bricks or the blue mosaic panels that is such a distinctive characteristic of the Pretoria vernacular.

In Sunnyside, you do whatever you can to make ends meet and entrepreneurship is not uncommon in this part of town. I think there must be at least 100 of these beauty salons in Sunnyside. They are open at the oddest hours of the day hand I love walking by, looking at braiding and gossiping taking place. 

A very tired four legged companion....

And at last...signs of spring.

i.love.breakfast.

Not too long ago, in a Sunnyside apartment, a guy and a girl had breakfast...
We both love breakfast and if we can find the time we love making it together. This happened two weeks ago and I hope to post more about our food making endeavors in the future. I like simple, uncomplicated food and the biggest reward is to use ingredients from your own garden. I'm the world's worst gardener but a friend sowed some rocket in my garden two seasons ago and ever since we have the tastiest, greenest leaves in abundance. The gift that keeps on giving!

The ingredients. Crispy fried bacon, Red peppers, loads and loads of rocket, Italian paninis fried in (wait for it!!) butter. Good old sunny-side-up fried eggs. Yes, this will most probably give you a heart attack after consumption but be sure wash this away with grapefruit juice to restore the balance :-)

The end product - need I say more?

Birthday at the bowling club

We had Thys' birthday at the Sunnyside bowling club on Friday afternoon. You sort of enter a time warp in that place - apart from the immaculate bowling greens and senior citizens there is Tom's -  a bar almost 100 years old with prices from the last decade and locals who seem like they're part of the furniture. Their opening times are a bit erratic and I really wish they had a proper kitchen. But we had an amazing time on the lawn outside with good friends and KFC.

The birthday boy on his last ever birthday as a single man!

All stars...

Grass - green and soft and good-smelling.

A few of the good friends

Cheap beverages

Benji the Easter Bunny

Benji without head

After 3 KFC wraps...

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.