A – The Audi A3 cabriolet.

B – The Falling Cloudberries cookbook by Tessa Kiros.

C – C is for clone. Three would be nice.

D – A dedicated personal executive who loves doing admin.

E – Endless time with the people I love. X

F – My family, all in one place.

G – A GHD IV styler and a stylist to go with it.

H – A holiday. A trip to Turkey would be just perfect.

I – An iTunes account.

J – A juicer. The Breville 800 class juicer is what I have my eye on.

K – Knowledge and an endless capacity to store and retrieve it without the use of a hard drive or search tool. I.e. get my brain to function at optimal capacity.

L – A London High Street shopping spree with an unlimited credit card. And a personal shopper, because I hate shopping but love new clothes.

M – Money. Enough to live comfortably and enough to give away in and attempt to change lives.

N – The 18-200 Nikon lens aka AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR Ⅱ

O – A new shiny office in Johannesburg with the perfect team to run it. (And a private jet for the once a month commute.)

P – Prada L’eau Ambrée (black)

Q – To never queue again. (Or to have to drive over a speed bump.)

R – Rest and relaxation. A week at a seaside spa would do the trick.

S – S is for a salad spinner. Yuppy Chef have a great one.

T – A personal trainer and a tan.

U – An unlimited supply of fresh flowers. One day I would like to give someone a gift of a weekly bunch of flowers for a year.

V – A subscription to Vanity Fair.

W – … and world peace.

X – The ‘X-factor’. Somehow mine has gone MIA.

Y – To know the why and be rid of this existential crises once and for all.

Z – More ZZZZZ…

It was a fantastic experience (the bits I can remember at least considering that nine is fairly young) except for the camping. Crazy bugs, foam mattresses, bush loos, washing your hair in glacier water (think permanent ice cream headache for two days), being squashed between two older brothers while braving the Patagonian winds in a three man tent… suffice to say I have been put off camping and any derivative thereof for life.

The one good thing about not growing up in 5 star luxury, is that you get to appreciate it so much more when you do have the chance to experience it. Of late, I have been very lucky. Last year for our three year anniversary Parri and I stayed at the Vineyard Hotel and just two weeks ago we stayed in the 2Oceansvibe Suite at the Cape Royale in Green Point – a real treat considering I had just returned from camping at the Oppikoppi music fest the weekend before.

My most recent rendezvous was at an African Pride establishment, the Melrose Arch Hotel, during a business trip to Johannesburg. I follow @ProteaHotels on Twitter and have entered almost all their competitions without any luck. So when my super hero cheekily asked his contact if I could spend a night in one of their hotels and they obliged, I did a cat-in-the-cradle move and jumped over the moon.

My favourite bits:

• Being greeted by name when I reached the reception desk. The sneaky doorman got me to pronounce my surname when I checked my car in for valet parking. It is pronounced Look-hoff and not Luck-hoff for those who bother with that kind of thing.
• Checking in with a Mont Blanc pen. Have I mentioned that all I want in life is a Mont Blanc pen to go with my stationery fetish?
• The complimentary olives, mixed nuts, Ferrero Roche chocolate and bottled water. Perfect at 6pm after a long day and a dehydrating flight.
• The suite. Plush, stylish, understated, beautiful, quiet, with all the bells and whistles you could ask for including a king size extra length bed; cloud soft duvet and pillows with the covers tucked in just right so that your feet can move; ample closet space with lighting, a minibar to die for; tissues; a coffee and tea station that includes hot chocolate and biscuits; the latest girly magazines; slippers; built in speakers and a dvd collection ranging from Zoolander to yes, you guessed it, Barely Legal.
• But the bathroom is the best. Heated floors so your toes don’t freeze; a bath that could fit four and yellow ducks to keep you company; a shower with a handy step up when you need to shave on the run; a thermo water flask by the basin; a phone in the loo (I’m still trying to figure this one out) and lighted candles to go with your turned down, rose petal adorned bed.

The not so good bits:

• Spending a night alone in a luxury suite.
• Dinner at The Orient across the square. The waiter was rude, the food was average and when your bill arrives itemizing a glass of Pinotage at R75 that noone warned you about, it’s enough to get your blood boiling.

The extras:

• The Library Bar is fantastic. Clearly all the Jo’burg suites like it too and I could imagine a Lost in Translation moment if I was single.
• The lifts. Star gazing or retro lumo – take your pick.
• The pool looked inviting despite the weather not playing along. I hope to go back in summer to try out the Moroccan inspired day beds and the in-pool dining.
• The menu. Although I didn’t order room service and left bright and early for a breakfast meeting, the menu looked scrumptious. I even managed to pick up a brochure for the March Restaurant that details the recipes for some of their signature dishes. 10 points for great interactive marketing.
• Location. It’s just a hop skip and a jump away from OR Tambo if you know the back roads, and Melrose Arch itself is as convenient a location as you can get in Jo’burg.

A BIG thank you to @ProteaHotels for a fantastic experience. I promise I paid for the duckies!

Next goal: Drive enough blog traffic so that I too can have a permanent suite in some swanky 5 star hotel.

Some of these pics were taken with my iPhone the rest are courtesy of Protea Hotels.

So as the crusts assembled on my plate I came to realise that the one thing I really love about being a grown up is that I don’t have to eat my crusts. Naturally I tweeted my epiphany and hence forth received a number of responses.

At this point I could start a debate about people who like the crusts vs. people who don’t, but I’m more interested in listing the other things I like about being a grown-up and then hearing what you enjoy. So here goes:

• I like that I can buy my own clothes and toiletries.
• I like that I can go to bed when ever I choose.
• I like that I can drink red wine and get drunk without the risk of being expelled from boarding school. (I speak from experience.)
• I love that I have my own phone.
• I like that I can eat dessert whenever I want to.
• I like that I can spend an entire day in my PJ’s eating junk food and watching movies.
• I like that I have my own car and can go where ever and when ever I want.
• I like that I can swear.
• I love that I don’t have to go to school or where black tights.
• I like that I can learn about anything I find interesting without having to write an exam to prove I understood it.
• I like not being accountable to anyone in terms of my where abouts.
• I like that I can hang with my friends without having to ask permission.
• I like that I can have sleep over parties and that booze forms part of the equation.
• I like that I only have to eat the food that I enjoy and that if I don’t finish dinner I still get dessert.
• I like that I can choose when I go on family trips.
• I like that I can play my music as loud as I like when ever I like.
• I like that I can choose what colour my hair should be and how I can wear it.
• I like that I can choose to be who I want to be without peer pressure.
• I love that I can bake chocolate brownies and eat the whole batch.

I’m sure there are a dozen more, however being a grown-up I also have to work – a part of adulthood I’m not so crazy about. But that’s a topic for another post on another day.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s back to work I go…

The hearts below have all been photographed in the last two months.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. The photo below was taken in Albert Road just below the Whatiftheworld gallery:

This heart is part of some guerrilla marketing campaign in Cape Town – the meaning or purpose of which I am yet to figure out:

I have uploaded these love apples before and I still think they rock. I found them at a fruit and veg market in Bonn, Germany:

While crossing a bridge in Venice I came across this tiny little heart randomly drawn on a step:

The next heart was contained on the walls of an alley in Ghent (Belgium) that has been assigned to graffiti artists. This is the only place in the city where they may legally spray paint the walls.

Next on the list is the I ‘LOVE’ X T-shirts and tops that you find in any tourist spot worth it’s weight in Chinese cameras:

This heart was given to me by the MANGO-OMC team two birthdays ago and now hangs on my bedroom wall:

I found the last heart on a wall at The Shack. A very unlikely place if you have ever had the pleasure to go there.

I have never been to Boo Radleys before and was really surprised and impressed with the place. Not only was it jam packed on a Wednesday night, but it reminded be of the Amsterdam bistros I fell in love with just a little over a month ago.

What surpised me the most was how lively lower Long Street has become. The once quiet lower reaches of Cape Town’s party street was buzzing with people and music and Cape Town ‘goema’. Boo Radleys, Daddy Cool, the Newspace Theatre, the Intimate Theatre, AnyTime Trattoria, Mungo and Jemina and many other chic-cool places now form part of this revived section of Cape Town’s CBD.

Upper Long Street favourites such as Neighbourhood and Julep will still feature on my social list, but for the next few months I’m heading down stream.

I’m no Nigella Lawson so enjoy eating out when the opportunity arises and since our return from Europe, we seem to be on a culinary whirlwind.

A while back I did a post on One Hit Wonders listing some of the places I go to for specific dishes. Lately, it seems I have been more interested in the company and the restaurant/bar rather than the food, however as we all know a restaurant is only as good as its last meal.

My new favourite places:

Il Leone in Green Point (dinner)

Although pricey, this establishment does Italian better than the Italians (and I’ve just come from Italy). Their food is superb – do try the aubergine and parmigiana starter followed by the lemon butter veal for mains and the heavenly panacotta for dessert – their wine delicious and even with the notable absence of a load Italian Mama, this place has ambiance and comfort all rolled into one.

For other reviews check out Relax-with-Dax or Eat Out.

Manos in Green Point (lunch)

Minimalistic white decor, delicious food, great service and the perfect venue for a business lunch in terms of location, free parking and the brown paper sheets that cover the tables which are ideal for scribbling notes. There’s also a car wash around the corner in the undercover parking if you prefer spending your weekends with family and friends rather than polishing your pride and joy.

Make sure you book though, they are popular.

Go to Eat Out for another opinion.

Lazari in Gardens (breakfast)

A firm favourite among Cape Town’s über cool not only because of their famous pink cup cakes with sprinkles, fantastic vibe, great view, ever present and super nice owner, but also for their scrumptious breakfasts. Do try the eggs benedict (weekends only) or croissant french toast with bacon and fruit salad.

For me of course the plus is that it’s just around the corner, perfect for a lazy Saturday morning brekkie with the regulars.

For more reviews click here.

Cape Town is a big small place and I have many more kilos to fill, so feel free to add your suggestions.

Bon apetit!

- Excerpted from Toast by Nigel Slater