44 Stanley Ave

On Sunday morning I met up with Martina and her boyfriend Rob for breakfast at 44 Stanley Ave in Jo'burg.  I had never been there before, and while at first glance the outside of the street looks like a long row of run-down warehouses, once you duck into the little alley way the inside opens up into Jo'burg's best kept secret.  It's filled with quaint little cafes, boutique shops and used book stores that one could get lost in for hours.  We ate at Salvation Cafe and I think it's safe to say that we all found our food to be delicious.  I will definitely be taking Jurgen for a visit as soon as he gets back :)

And in super exciting news, my blog has been registered for the South African Blog Awards!  I am beyond excited and grateful.  It's open for public vote, so if you all could do a me a huge favor and click on that "Vote" button on the upper right-hand side of my page I would be eternally grateful.  Once you click it, it takes you to a page were you are asked to enter your email address to cast your vote and then an email will be sent to that address for you to confirm.  You can only vote once throughout the competition so make it count ;)  I feel so lucky to have all of your support!  Voting closes on the 9th of November at midnight (South African time).

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!

To Do List

So, Thursday evening came and went and Jurgen left for Switzerland (sob!).  I drove him to the airport and then cried my eyes out when we said goodbye and drove home knowing that it's going to be a long 3 weeks without him here.  Him and I moved to Johannesburg in the beginning of 2010 without either of us having any family or friendship groups here and we've really leaned on one another and carried each other through both good times and bad.  It feels weird to not be able to look forward to seeing him at the end of a long day or phone him in the middle of the day to tell him about something that happened.  It's really funny how doing months of distance hasn't toughened me up at all for shorter stints like this one, every time he goes I still turn into a mushy mess and then count the days until he returns.

But, enough of my sob story - I know it's really only 3 weeks and that they will go by faster than it feels like they will now.  God willing he will be safe and sound back in Johannesburg on the 15th of November.  Besides, him being gone also gives me a great opportunity to catch up on so many things I've been procrastinating on for months and will also really allow me to focus on doing well on my finals.

Here are some of the things on my to-do list while Jurgen is gone:

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Have lots of coffee dates with friends.

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Cram for finals (bleh).

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Get back into shape (this semester hasn't been kind to my gyming routine).

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Book my plane ticket back to California for December!

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Make a shutterfly book of all the year's photos.

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Organize my desk (right now it just looks like stacks and stacks of papers).

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Transform the flat into a winter wonderland (this might be my favorite item :)

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Plan a Thanksgiving day menu (South Africa style!).

Get back into my blogging groove :)

 I think it's safe to say that I will be able to keep myself pretty well occupied while the Jurgenator is overseas.

For those of you who are big babies like me, what do you do to keep yourself occupied while your spouse of significant other is away?  Do you also try and keep your schedules jam packed like I do?

On My Wishlist

Ok Ok so I'm really lagging behind on my blog, but yesterday I had my last class of the semester and now it's just three finals before I am home free!  To say I am excited would be the understatement of the century.

Ever since I started blogging earlier this year, I've made an effort to take more pictures on weekend getaways and just everyday life in general and I've loved being able to look back on photos and reminisce on all the special memories.

Up until now I've been using this Kodak EasyShare MX1063 that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago and it's definitely gotten me by perfectly.  But, lately I've been longing for something with a bit more power and greater zoom, especially since we were in Kruger where I struggled to get good, clear photos of animals which were more than a few metres away.  I don't want something overly dramatic with a massive lens that needs to be lugged around, just something a little bit more fancy which is user friendly for a novice and which I know will last me for the next five or six years.

While in Cape Town last weekend (post coming soon!) I wandered into a camera shop and started looking at all the different cameras available taking into consideration my budget, needs etc.  I'm somewhat partial to Canons and am loving the Canon Powershot SX30 which I feel is the perfect combination of specs, usability and price range.

 But, what I really want is all your opinions as I know many of you have MUCH more experience with cameras than I do.  What are your recommendations on camera brands and models considering that I will only be using it for enjoyment and am pretty much as novice as they come in terms of my camera skills.

Do any of you have experience with the Canon Powershot SX30?  I'd love to hear what you think!

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In other news Jurgen is leaving Thursday for 3 weeks to go to Switzerland and wrap up his Phd (his study leader is on sabbatical there) - sob!.  Needless to say I am devastated (ok maybe that's a little over dramatic) and am already missing him and counting down the days until he gets back (even though he's only leaving tomorrow!).  Still there's a lot for me to accomplish in terms of the next three weeks and I'm sure I'll share my mental "to-do" list with you as soon as he's gone.  For now I'm planning on spending the next 24 hours soaking up every second possible with that boy! - this is the longest we will have gone without seeing each other in about 2 years!

And for any Jo'burg bloggers wanting to meet up for coffee anytime soon - my schedule is wide open! ;)

Coldplay in Josi

Back in June my Mom and I went 50:50 on tickets to Coldplay for Jurgen's birthday and last Saturday the long-anticipated day finally arrived!  Coldplay and U2 had been on my top two list to see live and ironically enough, I got to see them both play in Johannesburg at FNB Stadium this year.  I have to say though, Coldplay officially knocked U2's socks off - they were hands down the best band I've ever seen perform live.  I'm so so so glad we were fortunate enough to get tickets!

We got there a bit early and so decided to prop our ourselves on top of the steps at the beer garden and take in the view and people watch for awhile.  I must say the view of the city from the top was pretty spectacular.

The concert itself was absolutely amazing and packed full of hits including Yellow, The Scientist, Fix You, Viva la Vida, Life in Technicolor and Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.  Not going to lie - I even teared up a little bit during their last song - it was that good! All in all it was a wonderful night filled with good music, good food and good company -  I wish I could relive it all again, but for now pictures will have to suffice :) 

What did I tell you? *spectacular*

What's the best concert you've ever been to?

What band/musician is at the top of your list? 

Next on my list would either be Robbie Williams or Ingrid Michaelson, can't choose between them.