jun, 10th - grand daddy....

day 486:

if you're South African then Grand Daddy needs no introduction. there's been plenty written about this fantastic hotel in Cape Town. the building itself, right in the middle of downtown,  is a gem. according the the Grand Daddy facts, it was designed by a Dutchman called Mello Geradus Damstra, who settled in the Cape in 1895. and this gabled building certainly looks like a grand old dame.

painted gunmetal grey on the outside and filled with thought-through pieces inside, it makes a press-worthy statement but what actually gets the bloggers, visitors and magazines twitching is the trailer-park roof terrace....

up in the sky amongst Cape Town's office blocks, is a lager of Airstream caravans. with a backdrop of blue skies and grid windows, these shiny metal hotel rooms look even more like a fantasy place to stay. Limi loved running around the circular deck. for her the idea of a playground in the sky is perfectly normal.

and there are even regular movie night, shown on the big outdoor screen (my idea of heaven) with winter settling in down south at the moment, the films come with blankets, hot wattle bottles, gluhwein and heaters. 

i haven't ever stayed at Grand Daddy but i certainly recommend it to everyone, along with another hotel that was the first daddy in their group: Daddy Long Legs.

but next time we are down South, hopefully we'll get a chance to head to the countryside and try their latest offering called Old Mac Daddy.....a luxury trailer park that is my idea of what caravanning should be.....

jun, 9th - to last a lifetime....

day 485:

it's hard to remember back to those first 6 days when Limi had no name.....we were so very-very sure that she was going to be a boy.....no science.....no strong desire for a boy....not even the old-wives'-tale ring test......we were just sure....our families were sure....strangers were sure, hey, even the midwife in the labour ward was sure. we had a boy's name all lined up....first name + second name (well that one was under a bit of debate and i was hoping to sway the vote with my labour bravery) + surname.

girls' names on the other hand....well we had a few....but nothing figured out and it's not the type of thing that you want to announce and then say...actually, changed our mind, she's really called.....

so, we took our time. and it didn't feel strange to call our brand new baby 'bump' for 6 days as we'd been calling her that for 8 months already. looking back it seems strange but at the time, it felt good to get to know her, try out a few names....we even did the calling-out-to-another-room test.

and then on the sixth day, we named her. 

naming a person is really pretty daunting. they have to live with it forever.

but now, after 16 months, i can't believe that there was ever a time when Limi wasn't a Limi. 

we just have to remind ourselves every now and then that she's actually also a Lissom {see day 317}.....which will probably come in handy as soon as we have to attempt the stern-parenting-discipline voice.......which to be honest, is proving difficult so far when her current tantrums involve waggling her finger and saying no-no-no with a huge grin......

think we're toast on the discipline front.

jun, 7th - jae....

day 484:

Jae {Limi's nanny, see day 389} needed some pics for a specific project....in between shots, i managed to snap a couple of her and Limi......

these two have a huge amount of fun together and i love that our home is full of laughter, music and lots of dancing.....

Jae trained for many years as a dancer before deciding that kids were more fun.

jun, 6th - gen's baby shower....

day 483:

it was our lovely friend gen's {see day 479} baby shower yesterday. we snuck it in as she's due in just one week.....i love how our makeshift photobooth turned out.

gen, hurry up, we are all too excited to wait any longer.

jun, 5th - paddling pools....

day 482:

saturday was another glorious day........we are now doing a tour of all the paddling pools in London.

jun, 4th - late night at the v&a....

day 481:

friday night was a gorgeous summer's evening in London.....not one to be wasted......so we bundled Limi into a black cab and headed to late night at the Victoria and Albert Museum {we last visited on day 378}

late nights have now been extended to every friday...excellent.....so we had a brief look around the exhibitions...very brief....quite a race around really.....

there's a current exhibition on South African photographers at the Museum, it features 17 photographers who live and work in the country. i've been desperate to see it.....there's also a separate exhibit by David Goldblatt one of my all time favourite South African photographers.

we got to see glimpses but really we'll have to come back sans Limi to fully appreciate these exhibits. we did get to enjoy a drink from the bar in the main foyer....

i am seriously in love with the tile work at the V&A.

on previous visits, we've also spent time in the inner courtyard....sitting on the grass, appreciating the magnificence of the building. every year the V&A hosts a village fete where the courtyard gets turned into an art fair....it's worth a visit.

 never before have I paid particular attention to the huge splash pool in the middle.....Limi did........

and was devastated when we had to go.....

a lovely evening and a fantastic start to the weekend.....

jun, 3rd - a thing of beauty....

day 480:

it's weekend again.....the sun is shining in London, the birds are tweeting, the trees in our street are sprouting and i've been inspired to dust off the Rollei and have a play....it's been ages since i loaded film into a camera and even longer since i cranked a medium format.....the idea of film has me tingling with joy.....literally smiling inside.......the anticipation of what the film might show.....the concentration in trying not to waste a frame......let's just hope that developing the film will reveal something....after all this time spent relaxing with digital, i'm not sure that i still remember how.

if not.......then i will just sit and grin at this camera.....i am completely smitten by it.

hope that you have a marvellous weekend. x

jun, 2nd - birds boutique cafe....

day 479:

i promised a whole post dedicated to this cafe in Cape Town {back on day 436} and it's not a hard promise to keep......it's one of my favourite places in the world. there's seriously nothing slick or pretentious about this spot....but every visit manages to surprise: butter served in a kitschlystylish swan vessel, filled crepes tasting of old-fashioned farm stalls or new desirable covers on the cushions......the creative family who run this place are always strongly evident.

started by a mother and her two daughters, the Stegmanns are originally from Namibia (hence the strong-pick-you-up-and-shout-in-your-ear coffee)... Mathilde and Heike own the cafe, while Frauke Stegmann fills it with her beautiful, fine porcelain ceramics. 

A. has never been to Birds and he couldn't resist the sound of the simple crepe...although, it's a pity that we weren't there for lunch, as the chicken pie is seriously jet-lag-worth-it.

it never disappoints and so glad that we got a chance to pop in this trip.

you can find it on Bree Street.

jun, 1st - any day now....

day 479:

our friend gen is ready to pop any day now....{i showed you their lovely country spot on day 392 and day 420}. now that she's on maternity leave, i have a deep longing to be in their garden, on a quilted rug under the branches of one of their many trees, musing over who's chin the baby will have, who's ears and who's eyes.......

i'm very excited to meet him or her.......