Kataifi

I had this dessert at Mythos at Atholl Square in Sandton on Thursday night when I went to the Joburg Tweetup.

It is listed as “Kataifi” on their dessert menu and is priced at *R35.00 per portion. This dessert is filled with delicately spiced pecan nuts and cinnamon, wrapped in phyllo pastry then covered in syrup.

My Thoughts
Considering the filling is similarly made to that of Baklava, I thought the taste would be similar too – syrupy sweet with lots of nuts. The filling was similar in taste, on it’s own, but because of the way the phyllo pastry was used, the taste very different. But not in a good way. The entire taste was overpowered by the blandness of the pastry. It could have been doused with more syrup or used less pastry.

Rating: 3 out of 10

Try it and let me know what you think!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

*The price is correct at the time of publishing

10 things I learnt this weekend

1. Being a social butterfly really is good for my soul – flitting from a breakfast to a bachelorette party.
2. Sleeping late and then getting stuck into household chores really makes you feel accomplished by lunchtime.
3. Washing the doglets is a task that leaves me breathless…literally.
4. Spending a Friday night with a new friend starts the weekend off on the perfect note.
5. Black Swan is awesome. Everything people told me it would be, and more.
6. Walking barefoot in the garden and feeling the sun on my face calms me.
7. #CupboardCottage is still too small but at least it feels like home.
8. Any unhappinesses can be set right by one hug from my fiancé.
9. A simple ham and cheese roll is a wonderful lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
10. It’s the small things that make the biggest impact.

*Picture credit

Girl Guides: Review of the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX

At A Glance
- Comfortable fit for all hands
- Teeny tiny USB connector
- Thumb buttons for ease of browsing
- Suitable for Mac and Windows
- Runs off 2 AA batteries

When I first received this mouse I wondered what on earth I would have to say. Surely all computer mice are the same – they scroll, they click, they right-click, right? Then I got to know this little gem and suddenly there was so much more to say. Let’s start off with the design…

Take a look here for the full review…

10 things I learnt this week

1.

2. These ready-made-just-heat-up meals that Gary organised for us have been a blessing.
3. Catching up with school friends is not what it used to be.
4. But having a girls night out (read “dinner”) is fun.
5. I am really blessed to be in the industry I am, especially when a lot of things for my wedding come in at a reduced rate.
6. Waking up to builders hammering at walls is not a nice way to start the day.
7. Spending days at the office with builders hammering walls causes a headache from hell.
8. Having a new favourite handbag’s strap break is heart-wrenching.
9. Having a laptop for work is amazing because it means I have my own laptop to play on in the evenings at home.
10. Realising how truly awesome my fiancé is. Who else would allow me to bitch and moan, and then agree with me!

*Picture credit

Auntie Who?

Auntie Jess of course! Twice again in fact!

My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby, a little boy already named Andrew Noah. He’s due towards the end of this month/beginning of March. Now I’m not sure when I’ll get to meet him since they emigrated to the UK in September last year, and that makes me quite sad. Also quite saddening is that they probably won’t be able to attend my wedding because they’ll have a newborn and thus won’t be able to travel. On to happier times, my sister, my other brother and I are putting together a “care package” which will include all the gifts we would have given at the baby shower. Hopefully I get a chance to go shopping soon so I can include my gift in the package.

Then my step-sister and her hubby are expecting their second baby, a little girl already named Paige Madison. She’s also due towards the end of this month/beginning of March. As it is their second baby, they organised a baby shower themselves, and also since it’s baby number two, everyone was invited for a joint shower – husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, etc. The baby shower was held a few weekends ago and I was really impressed with the gift I found – a Hello Kitty blanket (the theme of the shower), and two outfits (one for 3-6 months, and one for 6-12 months). It was a very chilled shower held at a park near Northgate with a small play area for the bigger kidlets (seesaw, slide, merry-go-round, swings, jungle gyms, etc). What made it so chilled was that the park wasn’t busy – especially considering it was a Sunday afternoon. I’m looking forward to meeting this little one soon.

I promise to post pics as soon as I have them…

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

*Picture credit

How I Met Your Father

Continued from part 9…

First a recap…
In the late November of 2009 I had been whisked away by His Sexiness for a weekend away. Little did I know though that that particular weekend had been planned for months before. Little did I know that that particular weekend was not just a weekend in Cape Town to surprise a friend. Little did I know that that weekend away was going to be the weekend we’d get engaged!

As soon as we were back from our weekend away, the bride-to-be-slash-event-planner bug in me took hold of soft flesh, and bit down hard! I used every conceivable free moment at work to trawl the internet in the search for the perfect wedding venue. I wasn’t just looking for anything, I was looking for charm, out of the ordinary, affordability, something that no-one knew of, something that spoke to me… A walk in the park? You can bet my butt it wasn’t!

I trawled and I surfed.

And I browsed and I googled.

I knew the perfect place was out there so I searched some more.

I managed to find quite a few options and put them down on the list. I showed this list to His Sexiness and he gasped. Could there really be that many venues to look at, he asked me with tears in his eyes. (There weren’t really tears but you get my drift.) So I relooked at the list. And the list got shorter. Again I showed it to His Sexiness and this time there were less tears but still he enquired as to the number of venues we could possibly be interested in. And again I relooked at the list and managed to get it down to a handful. And this was where the “fun” came into things…

During the December of 2009 and the January of 2010 we went to look at my handful of venue options. I was on holiday. His Sexiness was on holiday. So we took our time in seeing each venue.

We started our viewing at The Bridge. Now, this place looked and sounded absolutely perfect from the website. And with such hopelessly high expectations and thoughts that this venue was The One, I was quite disappointed that it was far from perfect when we arrived. Now obviously all your thoughts are “but how could you expect to find The Venue on your first viewing?” But picture me, screaming and screeching in delight because, oh my word!, we found The Venue on the first try. It was stupid of me and my overly positive thoughts and over active imagination. Onto venue number two…Everwood…

Again Everwood looked like it could work well. But given my experience from venue number one, I didn’t trust the website and what it said or showed. We arrived at this venue on a particularly hot day. We stepped out of the car and immediately the smell smacked us in the face. The smell of horse manure. Not quite the smell you want to have when you’re walking down the aisle. Not quite the smell you want to have when you’re promising to love one another forever. So we took the five steps back to car, hopped in and drove away…with the outside aircon button switched off.

We had a quick look at The Moon and Sixpence but found that it was a bit too commercial for our liking. We had a look at Oakfield Farm when I dragged His Sexiness to a bridal fair that was being held there. And again, it was too commercial. Not out-of-the-ordinary enough.

It was at about this stage that we went to look at one of the last few venues on the list. And it was as we were going through the front gate that I knew this venue had more than just a fighting chance. It was quaint in an old English countryside kinda way. It was big enough but intimate enough at the same time. It was rustic and modern. And the honeymoon suite would be thrown in for the night of the wedding. Score! Unfortunately you don’t get to know the venue’s name. Not until the invitations go out…

Continues in part 11…

Wedding Bells

Can you believe my wedding bells will be ringing in just over 14 weeks! I remember when it was 14 months away and I was thinking how long we still had to wait. And now it’s just around the next corner.

We’ve done a lot in the way of preparations:
- the wedding venue was booked and deposits paid in January (last year)
- my wedding dress was found and ordered in November
- my shoes were found and bought in January
- in one week I booked a trial for my hair and make-up, booked our minister, and ordered Gary’s ring
- decided on what the invitations will look like
- decided on what the wedding cake will be and what it will look like
- And the guestlist has been finalised
- I’ve also met with my boss in terms of what we’ll be doing for the decor in the chapel and reception room.

There’s still a lot to be done though… And I am worried that I won’t get it all done. But isn’t that what all brides think?!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

P.S. If there’s anything you think I’ve forgotten about or not thought of, please comment. It will help my over-worked brain!

Girl Guides: Review of the Logitech s125i Portable Speakers

Coming from a very ungeeky upbringing of regular Hi-Fi systems without fancy connections and adaptors, I was very excited to try out this set of speakers. And living with an Apple-freakazoid fiance, I was able to try out a range of Apple’s music devices (a 2nd generation iPod nano, an iPod classic, an iPhone 3GS and an iPhone 4) with the system. If the fiance’s iPad had fitted, I’m sure I would have tried that too!

Take a look here for the full snapshot review…

Imogen Heap

It was Gary’s birthday a few weeks ago and a few days before, his mom phoned me in a panic as she wasn’t sure what he wanted or needed. Being the know-it-all thoughtful person I am, I easily suggested a few things that he needed or would like. One of these was tickets to Imogen Heap’s concert. And Gary was over the moon when he unwrapped them because he’s always been a fan of her music. And so began the countdown to her show this past Sunday at Emperors Palace.

To be honest I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I have only heard a few of her songs. Any worries I had of not enjoying myself though were quickly put to bed when she came out on stage to introduce her supporting act, Yoav.

Yoav was amazing to say the least. He uses his acoustic electric guitar to produce the base, beat, etc aspects of each of his songs. He records one aspect, then another over that, and another over that, etc until he has the right elements to sing the lyrics with. It was awesome to hear how all the different sounds came together. And he was the perfect support act for Imogen as she too records different aspects of a song before singing the lyrics.

She was awesome! So charismatic and quirky and down to earth. There was one point where she was halfway through a song and stopped because she was singing the wrong verse. And the stories she told, and the way she told them, made me feel like I was a friend and not just a member of an audience. It was a most entertaining and enjoyable concert.

If you’re going to the show in Cape Town this weekend and have specific songs you’d like to hear, then you may want to take a look at her website because you’re able to vote for the setlist.

So thank you Gary for having a birthday! And thank you Gary’s mom for taking my advice on present options! And thank you Imogen for coming to South Africa and giving us such a memorable afternoon.

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles