The Twedding of the Year

Wow, a busy busy weekend ... as a precursor to what will be another insanely busy week! But, I have decided to do *nothing* next week as preparation for Peru. After all, there are less than 10 working days left till I leave!

Friday started with after work drinks at Cappello's. We haven't done that in ages ... not since before the World Cup (when we were going to watch games together at a pub instead). Was very cool, but the service was completely shocking :P

After drinks, @jarredcinman, @bengis_khan and I decided to go for dinner at the Vegan restaurant in Greenside called The Greenside Cafe. I was completely amazed. The food was really really delish. I had their Nut Bake with a side of sweet potato and honestly I would go back there to have it again! They don't serve alcohol, but we had some really strong ginger tea which suited me just fine (although I don't really find tea an suitable meal-accompaniment). And for dessert some serious chocolate brownies. I know most people would be completely put off by the idea of going to a Vegan restaurant, but I'd honestly recommend trying it at least once (@jarredcinman also recommends their Tofu Tagliatelle).

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On Saturday I went and had a completely painless experience at FNB getting my new Cash Passport card and some USD for my trip. What a relief after Wednesday's experience! And then there was some running around trying to find some more hiking socks (I find the Cape Union Mart Outlet Store in Woodmead the best place to buy these overpriced items!) and then ended up at a proper Cape Union Mart buying myself a new sleeping bag (before I only had one of those old ones, from the 80s that my folks bought my sister & I when we were kids - not ideal for snoozing at high altitudes!). I wasn't going to buy a whole sleeping bag, they say you can rent sleeping bags for the trail but you must bring your own sleeping bag inner (I'd never heard of one either!) because they get used by so many people. And then when I was looking at them on Saturday I realised it was only like R150 more to get a 0 to -5 degree sleeping bag instead (they were all on special) ... and it only weighs 800g anyway so why not get a new one.

And then I went on my Weekend Neighbourhood Trek ... this time with more of my gear - apparently I have to get used to my backpack and the added weight of the full 2L water bladder etc. After having done it twice this weekend (once with a brick in the backpack as well, on Sunday), I can definitely see the benefit. Although the cars driving past must think I'm a total loon. So far I absolutely adore my gear! And I'm quite enjoying the walking too (I am surprised by this). I measured it yesterday and it's about 3.4km, not too shabby I don't think. Anyway, only one more weekend left ...

And then there was time to grab some lunch and hop in the shower before heading off to Angel & Glugster's wedding with Bokkie. Oh my word, what a lovely lovely wedding it was. The bride looked amazing (no surprises there), the dress was so unique and so typically Angel :) The ceremony wasn't too long and I absolutely loved that it was in both English & Afrikaans (it was the first time I've seen them do that and I thought it was perfectly appropriate). I loved that they did the "cake bit" immediately after the service so that people could snack on Angels *divine* cupcakes while they had a few more photo's taken. The speeches weren't too long, the menu was delish and the photo-booth was freaking *awesome*. I've been to weddings before where they've had a photo-booth before, but the way it was done here was so much better! We got a print out of the pics to keep ourselves and we got one to paste into their guest book to write a message with. Now that is going to be an amazing keepsake! To see some gorgeous photos of the wedding, visit Jeanette Verster's blog.

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Sunday was a pretty laid back day. Got my neighbourhood trek out the way fairly early on and then headed to Monte Casino to meet up with HelloKitty for lunch and a movie. We had a delish lunch at Gourmet Garage (which we discovered was a favourite for us both!). I had my usual: Peanut Butter Burger with Chili Cheese Fries. Yummm! And then we watched Eclipse. HelloKitty was dying to see it and needed a partner in crime ... and well, I haven't been to movies in *ages* so thought what the hell, it couldn't be worse than the first Twilight movie! It wasn't. I mean, don't get me wrong, as movies go it is no Oscar winner, but it wasn't nearly as dreadful as the first one. Perhaps because it's been so long since I read the books. Meh, I am still definitely still a member of Team Neither.

Spent some time with the Buns when I got home, things there are very up&down. Coal does not seem to have gotten any less aggressive, in fact almost more so (she bit me on Saturday!). But then on Sunday evening when I let them out they seemed a lot calmer ... She hasn't been home a week yet so am not quite sure yet what normal is going to be for these 3.