My Valentine hat

I have to send a love shout-out to my Valentine's Day hatterer, Merlyn M. I met Merlyn at a SecretsEats dinner. She was the only one in the room wearing a hat and I was immediately sorry that I hadn't thought to wear a hat myself that evening. I wasn't going to miss an opportunity like that again. So when I received an invitation to a special Valentine's Day dinner party, I seized the day and gave Merlyn a call. No stranger to wearing a cocktail fascinator on Valentine's Day, I commissioned Merlyn to create one for me to wear to the party.

@ Foil with another (not Malcolm) hat-topped hair stylist

My hair stylist Malcolm insisted I come to the salon so that he could affix my fascinator before the party. Turns out I wasn't the only one at Foil Salon in the Grayston Shopping Center who was wearing a Valentine hat!

To commission your next hat or fascinator, call Merlyn at 0835707795.

Summer Love at Valley Lodge

 Homegrown Valentine's Day bouquet!

Happy St. Valentine's Day from Valley Lodge!

Valentine baobab tree

I ♥ Toni the cheetah!

dining room table set for Valentine's Day brunch

un bijou

Brunch in the garden instead of the dining room ... because we can!

Eggs Benedict with asparagus, a Valentine berry compote with pomegranate and passion fruit seeds. Mango & Orange juice. Bloodies. Bellinis. Kenyan peaberry coffee.

The Thorntree Farm free range eggs from Jackson's in Bryanston's Riverside Shopping Center are the best. The yolk is that European dark orangey-yellow.  De-lish!!!

My Graffiti Valentine

V - ILYF - D

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day in Joburg than with a commissioned piece of graffiti art?

Happy Valentine's Day from Joburg!

Looks lekker!

Valentine Roots

un dîner en tête à tête

We had our pre-Valentine dinner at Roots Restaurant at the Forum Homini Boutique Hotel in the Cradle of Humankind.

Dinner began with a red rose and some bubbly in the boma.

special Valentine's menu

The food was divine and the wine pairings were superb! All South African except for the French Purple Malbec (!) with the main course. I want to remember them all!

Happy Pre-Valentine's Day!

Fini.

Pop art!

"First Love" by Justin Abelman

Pop on over to Killarney Mall to see a popped up art gallery through February. The ArtZone pop-up art gallery is coordinated by Shani Krebs, artist, author and survivor of a prison sentence in Thailand. Shani's art is exhibited and his book, Dragons & Butterflies: Sentenced to Die, Choosing to Live which describes his ordeal in prison, is for sale.

Another artist and author, Capetonian photographer Gené Gualdi is represented in the gallery as well. Gené was the former kept mistress of a big Bollywood producer in India for six years. She later escaped and moved to London to produce films herself. Her book Bollywood Blonde describes her journey. And her photographs of India on display are stunning!

Cathy and Justin

We visited the pop-up gallery however at the invitation of Justin Abelman. Justin has a pretty interesting story himself. He started life as a professional flamenco dancer (!) and met our friend Cathy on a South American cruise ship where they were both performing.

American-born Cathy was a professional singer and is now a theatrical producer with her husband Tim Plewman in South Africa, as well an Education Manager at the Mamaearth Foundation and the Director of Making Your Mind Up. Busy lady!

Justin studied graphic art in school and worked in the advertising industry in London and Johannesburg before focusing on his painting and art. He opened a frame store after advertising and started exhibiting his work in the corner of his shop. His admirers grew and grew and he sold more and more paintings and for the past few years he has been concentrating solely on his art.  

His international travels and Eastern European heritage have greatly influenced his Naive School form of painting. His paintings have graced the covers of Readers Digest and 16 of his works have been reproduced as a series for upmarket greeting cards. His is writing the forward and providing the cover art for a soon-to-be published book on Naive Art. 

 To view more of Justin's work, you can like him on Facebook and follow him on his blog.
 

a corner of  "The Lime Tree"

PS If you haven't picked up a present for your Valentine yet ...  shame on you! But lucky for you, Justin just might be your savior. He hides a secret heart in all of his paintings. Some are easier to spot than others. You and your special Valentine could look for it together!

Jane!

Last night I had the honor to meet one of my idols. Dr. Jane Goodall, Dame of the British Empire, Explorers Club Medal recipient, United Nations Messenger of Peace, ground-breaking scientist, etc., etc.  ... her awards and accomplishments are just too extensive to list.


 





Jane came to Joburg to speak at the Rand Park Primary School in Randpark Ridge. (I actually helped out at the check-in and sales tables and was invited to stay afterwards and have tea with her!)

Jane has an exhaustive travel schedule, speaking all over the world on behalf of her Roots & Shoots campaign. An estimated 300 days a year! And she is about to turn 81! After she leaves Joburg, she will be visiting Chimp Eden on Saturday for another talk and book-signing before heading up to Tanzania.

Jane and Juliet Price from Roots & Shoots

Jane presented Rand Park Primary School with a "tree baton" and challenged the young people at the school to come up with their own projects to help our planet before passing the baton on to other schools in Joburg, challenging them to do the same.

with the Principal and Governing Board Head of Rand Park Primary

Jane with some of the students of RPP

selling merchandise to raise funds - photo by Shanice Naidoo, The Randburg Sun

a dream come true!

For more information about the evening, The Randburg Sun published this article and pictures.

PS: And now I am volunteering permanently with the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots and Shoots program in South Africa! Follow us on Facebook.