Moonbasket #74

A while back I bought these lovely crochet votives, and I just put them on my table, they look just great! So when I took the label of the votives and wondered if the company made more of these great items... so I started my research. And lo and behold it is a South African company that gives back to the comunity... even BETTER!!



Then I saw that they have these cute cute lamp shades, aren't these just adorable?? Now I have to figure out where they sell these in Joburg, because the company is based in Capetown.



Moonbasket is a project that was started by Cape Town designer and artist Dani Le Roy. It aims to both support a community-based project and create beautiful items for living spaces.

Le Roy and crochet maniac Laura Summs have created the beginnings of a range of lampshades and other home accessories. Using natural strings and braids, the dynamic team's most beautiful item created thus far must surely be the spiral-stitched ball lampshade.

Using cotton string and jute twine to emphasise the sculptural quality of the stitchwork, the next exciting leap for the team will be into colour. Crochet is one of the few crafts that cannot be replicated by machine. The unique quality of each handmade item produced becomes the most essential part of its luxury.

All components of Moonbasket suspension lighting are fabricated in Cape Town. Craftswomen hand-knit the crocheted patterns that dress the wire frames in Khayelitsha, one of the most troubled townships in the city. All of the women have an existing skill set, inherited from relatives or teachers, which the Moonbasket project helps both broaden and refine.

LOVE this!!
What do you think?

Mireille xx

The Palace of the Lost City #73

Even on holidays we wake up early, so now it was not an exception... 6am we were awake. Luckily for us the breakfast was open from 7am till 11am, so we could go early and immediately after we went to the Valley of the Waves.

A shuttle bus runs every 15 minutes from each hotel (there are 4) to the waterpark.

The garden of the hotel had some funny looking trees, so we had to pose next to them...



This was the hotel garden with a pool, so if you didn't want to go to the waterpark, each hotel had also their own pool, which we mostly went to at the end of the day, when we were tired of the waves....



At 9am the Valley of the Waves opens and we were there just a few minutes after... so as you can see not many people yet, and we had the choice of the best location to sit and relax for the day.



The only slide the girls didn't go on, was this one. It goes straight down!! SCARY!! Maybe next time... Dirk and me didn't dare either :-)



Beautiful blue skies we had, and really hot weather!



Still not that many people while JJ and Jezz are hitting the first waves...



But then an hour later and it is packed with people! Some running for their lives.. LOL



A waterfall at the entrance of the waterpark.



And a whole row of elephants and a cave with a huge lion on top. All part of the theme of the lost city.



At night we went for dinner at the Palace of the Lost City, one of the other hotels here on the grounds... and definitely the most beautiful one!!

Wow, impressive, and the girls and me decided that NEXT time we will stay here!! It was magnificent and the pictures don't do justice to the hotel. It was so ornate and fabled to be the royal residence of an ancient king. The hotel is a fantasy world conjured out of African myth. And is adorned with exquisite mosaics, frescoes, hand-painted ceilings and exquisite furniture. Which we couldn't let by and we had to sit in some of these baroque chairs with real zebra hide, it was fun to feel like a queen for moment, although JJ was so sunburned that the only thing she wanted was to go home, as quick as possible... poor thing!

She doesn't look too happy here...



This is the dining room, it looked impressive and real beautiful but the food I found a bit old fashioned and nothing really special.. a bit of a disappointment. We were the first guests, although the girls were wearing flip flops and they normally don't allow that, but because there was nobody there, they thought better one table than nothing... Later 3 other tables were occupied, not much and lucrative for such expensive hotel!



But we like it anyway... it was fun to dream of our next stay there! Prices run from $600 in low season to $1,200,- to $1,500,- in high season per room per night.



A fun long weekend! And the girls still have the whole week off from school, but they are actually happy to stay the rest of the week home. They are such a homebodies... it's actually a new trend due to the crisis everywhere... a staycation, have you heard of that already?? So the girls are right on track with trends... as usual :-)
Mireille xx

The Valley of the Waves #72

Spending a few days at the Valley of the Waves at Sun City is like being in heaven for the girls!



Being in the water, catching those huge artificial waves, going down the slides called Black Mambo and Viper is fun, fun, fun!

So there is this huge swimming pool which looks like a beach and they create these artificial golf waves, every few minutes this huge wave comes up and the whole pool/beach gets flooded and the waves end up like in a normal beach. But you have to be aware that it is not sand but just a cement floor that is painted from white to darker blue to create the sea effect.

Fun, but you have to be careful to not scrape your bud when the waves take you all the way to the end....

The girls were good in catching the waves, they would go to the spot at the highest level of the waves, where the water is still deep, so they wouldn't be swept away so far by the waves to come to the undeep area. So much fun and anticipation waiting for the waves each time....



A bit anxious waiting for the waves...



How far is it??



We survived!! Each time I had to run to the shore to protect my camera... :-)



Another one is coming!



Whoa... how fun!!



And this went on all day... the first day they stayed at this level, the next day they went into the BIG waves and went all down, but daddy had to go with them first.

More tomorrow!
Mireille xx

Sun City #71

The girls have a week off from school, it is mid-term.

Since Dirk had a real busy week ahead of him, we decided not to go away for the week, but just a long weekend, and what is better than Sun City?

Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure! And the good things is... It's only 1,5-2 hours away from Johannesburg and it is FUN FUN for the girls!!

Sun City, unique in the context of world resorts, with a combination of features unmatched anywhere, draws thousands of visitors each year. It boasts magnificent sporting and recreational facilities including 2 world class golf courses, and the magical Lost City water-park, The Valley of Waves.





The girls have been asking us for so long to go here, and this weekend we are here! We booked it through our favorite local travel agency African Surprise by Liesbeth Wijnkoop, she always finds us the BEST deals! If you are local and living here, contact her, she will create a fantastic vacation for you, no matter what your budget or price is: africansurprise@mweb.co.za Tell her you got her details from me :-)

So JJ and Jezz will be gliding and sliding of these huge water slides, dipping and flipping in and out all the different pools while mommy and daddy are having a drink in the cabanas, enjoying a good book on the pool side with a G&T or other excotic drink...

Life = good!

Hope you are having as much fun as we have!
More pictures of our own coming up....

Mireille xx

AISJ Festival of Races #70

Yesterday the girls had to run a race of 1 mile. Each year they build up their distance, so this year it was 1 mile (1.6 km).

A huge event, the whole school, parents and teachers were able to run, it was from 1/2 km to 1, to 2,5 to 5 km. Different groups starting at different times, but everybody was out on the fields in the morning.

And it was such a sunny and nice day, not too hot, and defintely not too cold!!

Just gorgeous!!

Such great events AISJ organizes!!

All the kids are waiting in groups by class... I am trying to find JJ & Jezz...



There I spotted Jasmine with Svenja.



Juliet noticing me, while I try to find her as well in the groups of kids waiting for their turn.



A quick picture before the race; FLTR: Flo, Juliet, Jasmine and Svenja.



On your marks! GO! Here are the 4th graders starting to run their 1 mile.



Agustin, a boy in Juliet's class is way ahead of everybody else! He is the 'lone ranger' so fast!!



Jasmine, her race is over and she is watching the bigger kids run now.



After the race... with a medal and a ice pop. FLTR: Rose, Flo, Elle, Kristen, JJ and Jezz.



Everybody walks toward the field for the last race, the 2,5km and 5km, mostly the high school kids, teachers and parents are running this race.



Looking down, supporting the runners and having fun being outdoors with everybody else!



Such a great event!

Enjoy your weekend! We will, because we are going to Sun City! YEAH!!
Mireille xx

No Fasion sense? #69

The girls went shopping with me yesterday at Hyde Park and we bought quite some new clothes for them at Country Road, for the first time (finally) they are chosing their own things. Which makes me happy that they are starting to put more effort and having fun in the process of choosing their own style.

So from now on it is not Blue for JJ and pink for Jezz anymore. Now it can be mixed up in any color or style, which I like!!

The only thing is in the morning it took the girls so much longer to get dressed than usually, that I have to start waking them up about 15 minutes earlier to not stress so much, because yesterday it was too much a hurry!

Although the evening before they had decided what to wear, in the morning they changed their minds... 2 times!

But finally they came out looking like this; Jasmine in her new outfit, chosen completely by herself and Juliet in an older outfit, which normally Jasmine would wear... talking about switching up things :-)



Then I got an email from the music teacher that Jasmine was crying during the class because some boys told her that her outfit didn't look nice, and her mother (ME!) had NO fashion sense!! BOYS (4th grade!)... telling ME, that I have NO fashion sense!!

I asked Jasmine if she told the boys that she picked out this outfit herself, but she told me she didn't say anything... as usual my girls are so shy and meek...

When I assured them that I DO have a fashion sense and that they both are one of the best dressed kids at school, and boys have no clue whatsoever, and that they shouldn't care about somebody elses opinion. IF you like the combination, that is good enough!! Don't let other kids tell you what to wear or not to wear!!

ARGH! Kids can be so mean!

But tell me, do my kids look like we have no fashion sense in this family??



I think they look like mini fashionistas, if you ask me! It is just that it is not a jeans and a sneaker, which is what everybody else is wearing... girl or boy.

Have a great day,
Mireille xx

International Women's Day #68

Today is International Women's day 2012, and I like to celebrate ALL my dear girl friends all over the world!! We have come far!!

International Women’s Day is annually held on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.



What do people do?
International Women’s Day events are held worldwide on March 8. Various women, including political, community, and business leaders, as well as leading educators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and television personalities, are usually invited to speak at various events on the day. Such events may include seminars, conferences, luncheons, dinners or breakfasts. The messages given at these events often focus on various themes such as innovation, the portrayal of women in the media, or the importance of education and career opportunities.

Many students in schools and other educational settings participate in special lessons, debates or presentations about the importance of women in society, their influence, and issues that affect them. In some countries school children bring gifts to their female teachers and women receive small presents from friends or family members. Many workplaces make a special mention about International Women’s Day through internal newsletters or notices, or by handing out promotional material focusing on the day.

Background
Much progress has been made to protect and promote women’s rights in recent times. However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men, according to the UN. The majority of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor are women. On average, women receive between 30 and 40 percent less pay than men earn for the same work. Women also continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide.

The first International Women’s Day occurred on March 19 in 1911. The inaugural event, which included rallies and organized meetings, was a big success in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The March 19 date was chosen because it commemorated the day that the Prussian king promised to introduce votes for women in 1848. The promise gave hope for equality but it was a promise that he failed to keep. The International Women’s Day date was moved to March 8 in 1913.



The UN drew global attention to women's concerns in 1975 by calling for an International Women's Year. It also convened the first conference on women in Mexico City that year. The UN General Assembly then invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace in 1977. The day aimed to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women. It also focused on helping women gain full and equal participation in global development. International Men’s Day is also celebrated on November 19 each year.

Symbols
The International Women’s Day logo is in purple and white and features the symbol of Venus, which is also the symbol of being female. The faces of women of all backgrounds, ages, and nations are also seen in various promotions, such as posters, postcards and information booklets, on International Women’s Day. Various messages and slogans that promote the day are also publicized during this time of the year.



Do someting fun with the women around you, go out for a drink or have some lunch or take a SPA treatment together!

CELEBRATE being a WOMAN!!

Love, M xx

A sunny day #67

The sun is shining and I just set the table for later today...



It is Wednesday and I have my LemonGrass & Lavender cooking class. We will be eating and cooking some Korean and Japanese food. Korean & Japanese food is the latest health craze around the world, so I wanted to introduce these spectacular cuisines to my friends. Some are not familiar with these kitchens beside the sushi of course!

First I start with making my own drink, I do that every week. Today it is Lavender & Honey Green Iced tea. After that we prepare a Korean Mac-Jeok a dish in the olden days made for the Queen. I also serve this as a vegetarian dish with mushrooms.

Then a Korean Spinach 'salad' called Banchan, it is so easy and so different than we Westeners are used to eat spinach but it is simply delish!

I went yesterday to the Korean market and they had the Kimchi cucumber already made, so I will serve this on the side, I am not sure if everybody can eat this spicy dish, we will see! It's called Oi Sobaegi.

Since we have a few ladies in the group who don't eat meat I am also teaching a Japanese Ginger Miso glazed Eggplant, totally yummy.

This is all served with rice.

For dessert this time I didn't plan on making my own, I bought some Mochi, Rice cakes with red bean paste inside. Mochi or Daifuku is the Japanese name but in Korea they call them Chapsal Dduk. If you never had them you should try them! I know Trader Joe's in the USA sells them as ice cream, so yummy!! I serve the dessert with some MILKY rice wine, the ladies will be surprised because normally I don't serve alcohol :-)





Enjoy your day,
Mireille xx

Tex Mex #66

Tex Mex rhimes with the ending of my previous blog post... I am funny that way ;-)

No, I am just in a writer's block and don't know what to blog about. I mean there was nothing interesting in my life the last week, so I kind of have to come up with something to keep you reading and coming back to my blog... right???

But while I was in the USA last week, as you know I was in San Antonio, TEXAS.

A lot of Tex Mex food. Which I like, BUT the only thing is that most of it is deep fried, and I DON'T like that!!

So I had those.. which sounded more yummy than they were... lime coriander shrimp tacos.

YUM YUM I thought this is what I am going to order, a real TEX MEX dish, I need to have since I am at the border of Mexico and we are in Tex Mex country!!

But then when they came, the shrimp was deep fried... ME... dissapointed! BIG TIME!

I could have known, if I had read the menu better, but I didn't, so when they came in total 3 little soft tacos filled with lime coriander shrimp I only ate one, and I didn't even taste the lime OR coriander because the deep friedness....

So now I searching the net, to RE-CREATE this dish that I am still craving for but now I am going to make it myself without the frying part, then I stumbled upon this recipe from SUNSET magazine and it looks totally yummy, so who do you think is having this for dinner??

YES, the Dijkstra family!!

And I am willing to share with you, so if you feel like you are in a TEX MEX mood, go for it! But then with a Japanese twist, because I like to twist everything with a bit of Asian here or there... you know me by now :-)

What do you think, does it sound good? Japanese fish tacos with ponzu-wasabi mayo... YUM YUM!!



Can't wait to have a bite of these!

BUT... oh wait, you didn't forget!! I am on a liquid diet (yeah, still), so I will NOT have these, but I will make them for Dirk and the girls, while I am sipping on my protein shake... I look at the bigger picture, it is all worth it, believe me, I am already losing a few lbs :-)
So who is laughing now!

Mireille xx

PS: OK ~ so now I am back on track.... gna gna

Better than sex.... #65

OKAY!

I don't want to bore you with my jetlag... my switched up hours, and my crazy sleeping times for one more day, but I also realize that I am one day behind (which I lost in air) day of blogging, so I am going to do the easy way out...

And maybe you are grateful to me for this, please TELL ME if you DO!!

But I found this recipe online with the title... and don't think I was googling sex BTW... I was NOT!!

I promise!! Jet lagged... your mind is not on SEX!!

But not to defer...

I found these CUPCAKES from the Cup Cake Project with the title: BETTER THAN SEX CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES!!



Well.. it sparked my interest, and here you have the link. Aren't these amazing looking? Wait till you read the ingredients... you will go GAGA!!

So go hurry to the supermarket, get all the ingredients and make these spectacular cupcakes!

And then DO TELL me the truth!!

I would be very appreciative!

Isn't that nice of me, or not!

And now I am almost back to my blogging schedule... I wonder what I have to come up next to do this.

Ciao my friends... you are welcome!!
Love, M xx

Dreams... #64

I am back home today and have a major jetlag!

So while I am taking it easy today, falling asleep now and then, just resting, doing a bit of reading, cleaning up my suitcase...

YOU KNOW THE DRILL...

I also lost a day while in the air, so I have to back log this post to Sunday and write this week 2 post in one day to get back on track...

But let me tell you... I have these dreams, I had them before...

NO, not the dreams I had as a child, where I could fly, did you have those? I always could fly but with tremendous effort, I really had to flap with my arms to stay above the ground, and then I would fly from rooftop to rooftop, see all those magic sights...

but I am drifting off...

NO, now I have those dreams of food... daintly little bites.

Because I started my diet again, my liquid diet! And I did it before, have to look back in my old posts, but I lost 14 lbs the last time... unfortunately I gained them all back, which I hope will NOT happen this time!! Please god help me!!

But I remember talking/writing on my blog about those dreams too, little bites, very delicate, it is more about the presentation than the food itself. I am not dreaming about Bic Macs, Burgers, French Fries... NO, little delicate and dainty bites, too beautiful to put into your mouth!

I just woke up and I thought actually that I was chewing one of those little bites, and then I thought by myself....

NO, DON'T SWALLOW!! YOU ARE ON A LIQUID DIET!!

THEN.... I realized it was a dream! LOL

I went on the internet to give you a visualisation of my dreams, but none of the pictures come close to my dreams, in my dreams the bites are BETTER, more BEAUTIFUL, more INTRIQATE, you have never seen such DELECTABLE bites!!

These little creations of ART!



Not one of these pictures comes close to my dreams... and I wish I could hold on to them... but already while I am typing this post I am loosing the pictures in my mind...

I want to hold on to them, so I can RE-CREATE!

But they are gone... just like that!

You know who comes close to my images, but only close not completely is MOMOFUKO. It is a restaurant group in NYC and they are actually more well know for their noodles, but when I ate there I got those little bites, pieces of art, presentation is BIG and I just LOVE that!!

For me food is NOT fast food, it is the LOVE and PRESENTATION that you put into it, which I so adore, and that is what I am dreaming about.

What are your dreams about?
Share with me!

Mireille xx

In the air again #63

I am flying back again today and will be for more than 25 hours on my way from San Antonio to Johannesburg...

a loong journey!!

But my heart goes out to the people who are touched by this huge tornado that is raging through the USA at the moment!!

It is devastating!!



At least 32 people are dead at this moment!! And more are missing...

So SAD!!

The Midwest and the South are hit the hardest; Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. My heart goes out to my friends who live there!!

I hope you and your dear ones are safe!!

My prayers goes out to you!
Mireille xx

Last day of shopping.. #62

Still waiting for my confirmaton and a few packages to arrive that my friends and me oredered online and still haven't arrived yet... now I get a bit nervous, because today is my last day.

I am flying to South Africa again tomorrow, so I hope that all the packages arrive between now and tomorrow morning!!

Also my re-entry to the USA is expired today, so I wonder what happens if I dont' get a confirmation??

A bit of an anxies day, but hey I am still shopping at the North Star Mall, this is my view from the hotel facing the huge mall, a boring view but inside it is looking better I promise you!



I knew this would be a boring trip, but didn't expect it to be THIS boring!!

Being alone here in the hotel, doing some shopping, watching some local TV and at least I met a few friends which broke my trip in a bit more fun!

Good to see you Kelly and Scott!!

Can't wait to come back home, probably not posting while in the air...

See you soon!
Mireille xx

A week in the USA #61

A week in the USA and what do I see which is different in SA??

24-7 TV on the Academy Awards, best & worst dresses for honestly 24/7 for how many days now??

And how much can they talk about the 2 top stories: Angelina's right leg (they made hundreds of jokes about it and 30.000 twitter followers!!) & J Lo's nipple slip (they cropped the supposingly showing nipple and enlarged the area to see if it was or not showing), they both had a twitter account... yes the leg and the nipple in itself! Did you see that in South Africa?? Well, here it was on TV constantly!! As if there is no better TV or serious problems in the world during the Oscar season!!





I just can't believe that they broadcast so so much on these dresses, hairstyles, Fashion Police = constantly on TV. The do's and don'ts.... YES, I can believe that they do it for a DAY, but now it is going on for almost the whole week I am here!! And it is not ending yet.

TOO MUCH!

Then what I re-notices is the commercials on medication... I mean that is also shown 24/7, in NO other country you will see this many commercials on over the counter medication...



NO WONDER everybody is over medicated!!

Another thing that strikes me again after living for the last 3,5 year in another country is the amount of SALES that goes on and on... every week another HUGE sale! Not only spring, winter, summer or fall sales like in most other countries, 4 sales a year.

Here in the USA it is EVERY WEEK a different sale! Unbelievable, you would think you get it for free in the end... but NO!!

It's tricky those sales, it just lures you into the shop and you end up buying not even those sale items, but a zillion other things you don't need...



And you know who is good at that... TARGET! You go in for 1 item you saw on sale and you come out with at least another $100 of stuff you didn't want or even knew excisted!!

TRICKY!!

And you know what... we all fall for it!!

EVEN ME!!

Again 1-2 days in the Mall and I need another suitcase to bring back home. Dirk will be happy that I am back in South Africa, because we don't have that many sales, so I can't go crazy like here!!

Really it saves you money if you move OUTSIDE of the USA, even paying for your own move... you could buy a bigger house and still save money, because those sales don't really save you money!!

But I had fun for a week!!
Dirk not so.... but he will get over it... I see that with my expat friends, who go to their home country and buy all the stuff they have been deprived for so long, the husbands get mad because their credit card it looted till the bottom... but then a few months later he is happy again, that the summer break is long away :-)

And then the same cycle starts over again. At least I am going only a week, some go for 4-6 weeks... can you imagine what damage can be done?? OH I know!! But I am not telling you....

I am mean like that!!... actually it depends how big your credit card limit is... really!

I haven't reached my limit yet, Dirk will be happy ;-)

So what do you notice when you travel abroad and what is different in your country compared to the visiting country??

Enjoy your Thursday!
Mireille xx