And there was much eating and drinking

Yoh. What a crazy weekend that turned out to be. I think it'd definitely be safe to say we ate and drank excessively! Haha.

On Friday I stayed at work for @dice0777's farewell. Got home around 7pm. The Trucker had gone to gym (how impressive is that?!) but then he grabbed us a quick Steers take-out and headed off to help one of his trucks that had broken down. I was quite happy to laze on the couch watching series.

When he got back, we decided to watch We're The Millers. What were we thinking?? I was in the mood for something light, not crime solving (the alternate option was Red 2). When I tried to re-revoke The Trucker's movie-choosing privileges, I was informed that this had been my choice, on a technicality o_0. He picked the options, I chose which of the 2 we actually watch. Robbed!

Yeah, anyway, it's pretty rubbish and fairly predictable. I wouldn't recommend it.

On Saturday morning we were actually up pretty early. Off to test drive some more cars before breakfast! I wanted one last try with the Honda Jazz, since everyone raves about them. As I've mentioned, I really don't like the older models. In fact, if a car has a silver plastic dash-area, it's pretty much a no-go in my book and gets immediately scratched off the list. Last week's 1.3 wasn't great either, but my mom bought a 1.5 this year and is pretty chuffed with it, so I figured trying the 1.5 was worth a shot.

And I really liked it. This one has taken Honda Jazzes to a whole new level for me. From a car I wouldn't touch with a barge pole to the one I'm likely to get (!). It's a 2011 1.5 Elegance and the dash is vastly improved on from the giant child-like dials in the 1.3 that were really putting me off (aside from it's slowness ... I didn't think it'd be so bad since my C2 is a 1.4). And, most importantly, it's in a colour I like ... I am not a fan of the primary colours on a car.

Then, we test drove the Polo 1.4 Comfortline again. The Trucker is likely gonna trade in his GTI for a Polo now too. So it was a morning of me trying to figure out what I wanted in order for us to find a deal for both cars. I really like the Polo as well. I'd be happy to upgrade to either.

Anyway, so since both cars are on sale at the same dealership (used), it's looking likely that I'll get the Jazz and he'll take the Polo ... if they go for the deal he's planning. Might even find out today (eep!). More finger crossing, peeps!

After that we had breakfast at Vovo Telo (they seem to have changed their menus). And then headed to Fruit & Veg to stock up on a million billion apples and other bits and pieces so that The Trucker can try his hand at some cider now. And pickling things.

We came home and had a bit of a snooze till 4pm when we headed off to the Museum of African Design to check out the Kit Kat SA Chocnology Exhibition. I'd read about it online and it sounded kinda interesting, sculptures 3D printed from chocolate. Unfortunately you couldn't eat them tho - haha!

So, while I enjoyed the exhibition (I think there were about 12 sculptures), the venue was a bit weird. Being all the way out at Maboneng, we made a special trip there. But the entire museum was empty aside from the sculptures (apparently it only opened on 24 Oct, so understandable, I guess), so we weren't there for more than 20mins. The Trucker was disappointed that there weren't any videos playing there showing the actual printing process, which I think would've interested him more and encouraged us to stick around for longer ...



On the plus side, we weren't the only people there. But still. Anyway, I'm glad we got to see it :) Unfortunately it was only showing till Sunday, so if you missed it, you can't go see it anymore.

After that we headed to Hyde Park for the Sanlam Food Wine Design Fair. I miss Taste this year (still bummed about this!) so figured this might make up for it ... Meh, not so much. It was like another Market on Main or Collective or Neighbourgoods Market. Which I didn't mind at all, but The Trucker wasn't expecting so many designer stalls.

We were pretty hungry when we arrived (last ate at breakfast!) and headed straight for the food, got distracted at the drinks stall ... Everson's cider for me! And then it was straight to @MegPascoe's The Counter stall. I can't really believe this was my first taste of her delights. We ordered a burger to share (super quick and already cut in half) which I adored! I think it was the cheese she used ... and the patty, I inhaled my half and licked my fingers!

Sufficiently sated, we took a stroll thru the design stalls. Saw Wren's stall and bumped into @PastExperiences. Then headed back for more foodies bits. We tried a Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream Sandwich (tasty but hard to eat / share). I'd actually had my heart set on the Salted Caramel Popcorn flavour, but they had just sold the last one when we got there.

Then we bought some Belgian Peach Beer from The Griffin. It was divine! Bought one for our fridge at home too - haha. Seriously, I would definitely drink this more often, if it wasn't R40 for a 250ml (! at least when you pay this for a Bone Crusher, it's a 550ml).

We discovered Bacon of the Month Club ... I know a few people who this would be an ideal gift for ;) We bought a ton of cured sausage from them and Richard Bosman & The Charcuterie (Truffle infused!). Will definitely have to make some pasta this week!

And, of course, before we left, we had to swing past The Counter for a brownie to take home. Yum!

It was early when we'd tried everything that interested us, so we headed to Toni's Pizza Co since we were so nearby. Thank goodness they offer petite 15cm pizzas cause while I could still eat, I could definitely not still eat a huge pizza!

It's a great little spot, where ami used to be. It was quite empty when we first arrived, but all the huge reserved tables had arrived by the time we left. I tried their very decadent-sounding Salmone e Fragola (with creme fraiche, tomato base, smoked salmon, sour cream and chives, strawberries, rocket, mint, caviar and lemon, right?) It was superb (aside for the very confusing lemon wedges which I removed - are you supposed to eat the rind?). And the little size was perfect. Still didn't leave me space to try any of the dessert pizzas tho :(

I reckon we'd go back.

*exhausted*

Thought we'd get a bit of a snooze on Sunday. I woke up in the early hours of the morning feeling like their was something stuck in the bottom of my throat / base of my ribs. I don't know if that was heart burn or not, but it was horrible! And then The Gypsy Cat decided it was time for breakfast. Pftt, I am the only one she wakes to be fed o_0 Guess it's cause I feel guilty and get up for her, The Trucker just rolls over and continues sleeping - haha.

We started the morning by moving my voter registration district (sheesh, I don't think I've voted in the same place twice!) and then a quick breakfast followed by the grocery shopping. We tried a new Pick n Pay after getting completely fed up with the queues every week at Northgate. The queues were better here, but the shop is tiny and it was packed! Can't win.

Then, before we headed out again, we made our first batch of apple cider. We'd started by juicing the first bag of apples on Saturday, and panicked a little when 1.5kgs made 700ml of juice o_0 After a little online research, we discovered the trick is to boil the apples first. Winner!

In 6 weeks I'll let you know how it worked out ;) Haha. Still the red apple and pear batches to make tho. And it is pretty messy!

In the afternoon we headed to friends for a braai and took along a variety of the 4 batches of beer The Trucker has brewed. We got our first taste of his Porter and Bone Crusher. They are awesome. Well, the Bone Crusher, the Porter tastes like real beer to me, which is not a win, but it was for the boys ;)

We had a fantastic afternoon and then went home to collapse. Shew. Even I'm not even sure how we managed to fit all that in - haha!