Marli&Me

Top of the morning to ya!

     Again... It's been forever. The holidays have that effect on people. We have been all over the place and had a splendid 2013/2014 end and beginning. We are overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness as we continue to extend hospitality to various people. This week, we met an incredible group of leaders that we hosted during a huge youth camp. They blessed us by speaking into our lives through thought-provoking table discussions. Gotta love good food and meaningful fellowship!

     I've been planning this post because I was all tickled with my clever title. I have made a new friend and we have become like sisters in the past two or so months that we met. She is extremely creative, pleasant, servant-hearted, knows everybody, etc etc etc! We have recently gone into business together along with Morgan and a few other gals. We shall see what the Lord does with that. 

      Meet my lovely friend, Marli: 

Marli is from Pretoria. After New Year's, she took Mo and I with her where we stayed at her parents' BEAUTIFUL home and shopped 'til we dropped in Joburg, Sandton, and Pretoria. All of which were around 30-45min drives from her parents' neighbourhood.

This is a unique cafe with a great vibe. It's a chain and each has it's unique decor and traits. The food is AMAZING. I was overwhelmed by the menu because I saw so many things I liked. 

This Tashas was in Joburg. We were sitting across from it at a really really really good stone pizza restaurant (to follow shortly) and I saw that Tashas was closing. I LOVED the antique books hanging so Marli suggested I pull the I'm-the-tourist-American card... The manager told me I could take as many photos as I wanted. ;-) 

Behold.... Piza and Vino. Marli and I ordered a half-and-half pizza. We got the Al Pacino and James Brown. DELICIOUS.

Marli's parents live in a beautiful golf estate surrounded by incredibly awesome mountains. It reminded me of being in the Shire (because I have been there, right??). And nothing could beat waking up to the university professor-couple neighbours who blasted catholic men's choir music next door. I opened my eyes expecting angels to be surrounding me. To think... Heaven is better than this! 

 This is not out of order (for those of you who observed that this is a Tashas photo). We went for breakfast at a Tashas near Sandton. Their unique decor included those cloth napkins hanging behind me.  -Like the clueless look on my face?

After mulling over the menu... I decided on this delectable breakfast. Sweet corn cakes with fried eggs, bacon, feta, basil, avo, and some chili salsa. It. Was. GOOD.

Tashas staff working hard on a Saturday morning. Clearly a popular spot.

The dressing room at Vertigo... Not sure why I took this photo. 

We went to Sandton mall where I got a bunch of blurry photos of stores that I wanted to return to. Morgan and I were there for 4hrs and couldn't look everywhere. I'm taking a future mental note of this. Le Creuset is best.

This restaurant was also good. I just love food. And I love that a mall has nice restaurants. Then again, this is Sandton. 

People in Sandton/Joburg/Pretoria seem to be a little more health-conscious. I noticed on every restaurant menu that they had health sections. I was doubly impressed by the quinoa representation.

And I thought Coldstone was the bomb... 

Morgan and I read for a few hours at this restaurant. We were warmly received and enjoyed conversation with a greek gentleman who said he's from Greece, grew up in Egypt, and moved to South Africa to join business with some of his brothers. He speaks several languages and told us his brother is fluent in 9 languages just from the tourism business. Incredible.

It hurt my pride at first to take a tourist photo... But I couldn't resist. People from all of the world stood with cameras in Mandela Square. One of my favourite things about Joburg and Pretoria was the diversity. I love it.

We weren't sure where we were going to eat, so we decided to see Monte Casino. I told Marli that we had once stayed in the Emperor's Palace; but she said that was the mini version of this place.

They're so cute!

I really want this book! Marli said it is the baker's heaven. Only 347 more days until my birthday!! :D

We decided against Monte Casino and drove out to Rosebanks. Boy, am I glad we did! That area reminded of my father's hometown, Sewickley, PA. I could live there. The atmosphere was great. This is a bake shop that was also closing when we arrived. We were able to browse briefly and purchase a few treats for the family.

I never knew there were so many jams out there.

This is where we ate. Another hotspot. It was filled to the brim there. As hectic as it was, I enjoyed eating here and was glad we left the casino.

That night, we crashed on her parents' sofa and watched a movie. Lovely, hey?

Sunday morning, we took the long way home. She took us around the dam to see the view and then we headed off to Pretoria for breakfast.

Morgan is so disciplined. The girl orders yoghurt and granola wherever we go. 

I had this eggs benedict. I can't even remember the name now! It was excellent and I even liked the seasoned and roasted macadamia nuts. This restaurant- Cafe Beryt - was introduced to us by Carl and has become a quick favourite. Even though we live 3.5hrs away, we've gone enough times that the staff asked Mo and me where the rest of our family was... I still can't decide if that's a good or bad sign. ;-)

The trip home was breath-taking and the sun shone beautifully. 

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."