# 23: "PJ's"

The 23rd May-Photo-A-Day: "PJ's"

There is nothing better than coming home in winter, having a piping hot shower and putting on a clean pair of matchy PJ's and slippers. A clean pair of PJ's every night results in LARGE PILE of washing every week. 

The problem is Te and I haven't purchased the necessary washing machine as yet as we have no place to hang our washing up to dry. Therefore when we make the purchase we will also have to purchase a tumble dryer but why prioritise these non-essential household machinery when we have the most magical car boot! 

Once a week we fill my cars boot to maximum capacity with everything that needs cleaning: washing, muddy shoes, handbags, you name it! Then a couple of days later, my boot is suddenly filled with squeaky clean "you name it items" - see told you it is magic! 

Or perhaps it might be the lovely fairy-mom-boss?? Either way it is AWESOME!!

The only problem is... the magic stops in the boot as once the "you name it items" enter the home they don't pack themselves away and they make ME do this. 

I figured out the other day: 

I am an OCD-Cleaning-Freak! 

When we moved into our apartment, I went through 3 bottles of disinfectant kitchen and bathroom cleaner. My OCD stops at cleaning as I despise packing away.

 Dishes = Squeaky Clean but they will remain in the drying rack until Te packs them away. My clean, ironed, no longer wrinkle free clothes will remain in a piled state on the bed which will then be kicked to the floor until I run out of clean PJ's.

iPhone App: #ABeautifulMess

 The NEED for clean PJ's results in a packing spree as it so just happens that the other half of my chosen PJ set will be hiding right at the bottom of the pile.

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #109 days 

# 25: US

The 25th May-Photo-A-Day: "US"

Te + Me = US 

+

Orpen 

=

TheFutureMrsOrpen

The beginning of US is thanks to the "Tweety Bird" below...

How about I tell you the best part of the our story so far? 

The night I became TheFutureMrsOrpen... This is the mail I sent to my MOH:  

December 26, 2012:

We are having the most magical time in Paris! We have seen so much in the short time we have been here. We went on a five hour, 25km walk on Christmas day and saw the Eiffel Tower, explored the Champs-Élysées, the Kings palace (we think it was), the Place de la Concorde and stumble upon hidden gems as we explore the streets. I am in dreamland with all the delicious pastries and desserts - still have not found a decent cup of coffee... But we are getting closer. 

Te and I decided to get dressed up as we not only wanted to live the Parisian lifestyle but look the part too  - jeepers, these Parisians can dress. We walked past a trendy restaurant called Germain (street: Rue de Buci) and decided we should have Christmas Eve dinner there as we were not too sure what would be open on Christmas Day.

Germain (street: Rue de Buci)

We chose to have our favourite meal for Christmas Eve Dinner: tomato sauce with a side of a gourmet cheese burgersand "frites", accompanied by a good bottle of red wine. 

After our meal the waiter brought the dessert menu. Te decided that this was a good time to go to the loo as I was taking my time deciding what dessert would be fitting for Christmas Eve Dinner. Our waiter stopped by to see if I was ready to order and accidentally dropped (more like threw) the salt cylinder he was holding onto my foot. Distracted, he sneakily removed Te's phone off the table without me noticing. 

Te returned and sat on the edge of his chair as "his back was sore and he needed a stretch". I proceeded to tell him about the waiter who practically threw the salt cylinder onto my foot for no apparent reason. Laughing, he then said to me: "I want to ask you something" and knelt down. To which I responded: "What are you doing?" - not sure  as to why he was on the floor. Te pulled out a box and revealed the most beautiful ring (that he had so cleverly snuck into his pocket while I was in the same room as him at the apartment) and asked: "Would you be my wife!".

Only after I shrieked YES did I realize the waiter had been taking pictures of us, with Te's phone he had sneakily removed earlier.

Midnight mass was the most spectacular experience at the St. Sulpice church. We had goosebumps throughout the time we were there and lit  candles as we were think of our families. It was very special experience as we went there straight after Te proposed. I can't stop giggling and smiling.. It was the most beautiful moment in all of my life.

St. Sulpice: Midnight Mass 

St. Sulpice: Merry-go-round

We were far to excited to keep quiet during the entire midnight mass so we left early and strolled through the streets of St. Germain enjoying every moment of the night Te proposed to me.

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #112 days 

# 24: GO

The 24th May-Photo-A-Day: "GO"

Tisk, tisk, tisk... TheFutureMrsOrpen has fallen behind 

- it is called "May-Photo-A-DAY". 

But I did have a busy week with fun freelance design jobs that popped up: Yippee!!! 

Now that the work is nearly done, this is how I plan to balance the work with some play over the next week. 

I shall "GO" here tomorrow:

Neighbourgood's Market

 73 JUTA STREET BRAAMFONTEIN

JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA

and here:

Daleah's: 6 De Beer Street, Braamfontein

Described as a casual Chic eatery... looking forward to trying out the "new kid on the block".

If all goes well this week I would love to "GO" here and support a fellow AFDA-inian:

Air Cinema Club.

Air Cinema Club is launching on the 30th of May 2013, at the Neighbourgoods Market rooftop. ACC will be featuring 'The Angels' Share' by Ken Loach. It sounds like it will be a memorable night: great gourmet food, hot drinks: gluhwein (Yummy), bottomless popcorn, comfy bean bags and great music under the Jozi City Stars! 

In June l need to visit the homelands and "GO" have my monthly fix of this:

Foo Wah: Ranked #65 of 398 restaurants in Johannesburg

In the South of JHB - my home land , which may seem far, but you will thank me later! The great trek is worth every delicious morsel! 

Foo Wah has a cosy and warm ambiance and when you become a regular the waitresses and matradee begin to recognise you and treat you like great friends. 

Be sure to try the chicken sweet corn soup, spring rolls, sizzling-anything and the sweet and sour-anything: they have an awesome set menu which allows you to sample all of their specialities.  

Foo Wah has been around since my mom was young and has many fans so phone in advance for a take-away, or book a week before to secure your reservation. For dessert, their chocolate milkshakes are incredible!

As well as try out this:

Delicious pizza from '86 Public' - new pizzeria in Braamfontein

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #113 days 

# 22: CHANGE

The 22nd May-Photo-A-Day: "CHANGE"

change (chnj) v.  

1. To become different or undergo alteration.

2. To give or receive the equivalent of (money) in lower denominations or in foreign currency.

I was in the process of capturing the pictures for my post when:

EEEEEEKKKKKKKK:

Spiders!
 Every! 
Where! 

Well only 3 but I have almost put my hand on 2 of them in the space of 2 minutes! Not cool spider spawn... not cool! The one crawled into a kitchen cupboard and made me unpack the entire content inside to find him/her. Success... but not for very long as I then drop an entire container of tooth picks all over the kitchen counter and floor. 

I thought I would entertain myself and play my own version of "pick-up-sticks" called "count-the-tooth-picks". I picked up 103 tooth picks. Only to drop it for a second time. I swept up 103 toothpicks and threw them in the bin as I figured the "30 second rule" doesn't apply here. Just when I thought I could get blogging- the tray attached to the fridge door decided that I should have a chunk of skin removed from my finger just for fun... and now I can finally write :)

Te has a tiny wallet/card carrier thing that only has space for folded notes and a few important cards and no space for change. He would empty out his wallets and pockets of any loose change and just leave it where ever it fell. This wasn't going to work for OCD me because everything has a place and the floor is not a place... for anything. 

The solution: we now have two cute money boxes strategically placed for easy depositing of loose change - one is placed in the kitchen cupboard where the spider was hiding and the other in the bedroom. Now when ever I find a few coins laying around I stash the cash into the nearest coin box which I have official claimed as wedding loot. 

  

Can you guess how much CHANGE I will stash by the 14th of August? 

Exactly 1 Month to #TeMarriesDe I will count the change.

I will send the person who has the closest guess a little something-something.

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #115 days 

# 20: LIGHT-ing

The 20th May-Photo-A-Day: "LIGHT-ing"

One of the first projects Te worked on when we moved into our apartment in February was to rig our globe lighting and bed lamps we bought in Paris at a shop called Merci (111 boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003, Paris.)

Our lounge: Day

Our lounge: Night

Our Bedroom: Head board lamp.

"Merci's aim is to bring together, under one roof, products and customers who traditionally have not had the chance to meet : vintage furniture or contemporary creations; emerging new fashion brands or already-recognised collections; impulse buys, affordable for all or much rarer pieces, sometimes in limited editions.

Fashionistas visit Merci from all over the world, local residents, young or not-so-young, students with their appetites already whetted. Small budgets, or large projects: there's something for everyone at MERCI" 

It was because of this awesome shop that Te and I were forced to buy two extra suit cases to fit in all our glasses, lighting, magazine holder and frames. We visited Merci twice while we were in Paris and ate at two of the three cafe's: The Used Book Cafe as well as The Canteen. 

AND.... 
This is what you look like when you leave Merci... 
Te was forced to carry our purchases all the way back to St. Germain... Glass and I are not the greatest of friends. 

Merci was most definitely one of our highlights of our trip as we decided it would be a once in a life time holiday and that we would purchase great finds that we could use and make apart of our home.

4 months later: RIP three of our Merci glasses.

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #117 days 

# 19: MY FAVOURITE VIEW

The 19th May-Photo-A-Day: "MY FAVOURITE VIEW"

Everyday is an Adventure Day but Sundays happen to be my most Favourite Day because it is the one day I get to spend an entire 24 hours with Te doing everything and anything we want to do.  

Our first stop every Sunday morning is at 4th Avenue Roasters for our morning caffeine kick and a spiced, sugary biscuit treat. We then made our way to Jozi CBD to find a caffeine spot for our second caffeine stop and breakfast. This morning we ended up at "Art's on Main: Market on Main" in the Maboneng Precinct. 

We had a walk around the food court... and after our 10th lap we decided to share "The Ultimate" piping hot Rooster Brood: BBQ pork, guacamole, feta, rosa tomatoes and rocket - which was rather delicious, fresh and filled the spot. We then indulged in a Bar-One Pancake - more like over indulged but my favourite meal time is dessert time! We still have not had a pancake that has lived up to the million we (more like I) had in Paris: Nutella Crepes and Buckwheat Galette's.

Paris: Creperie's can be found on every corner

Our Favourite Creperie in Saint Germain

Galette: Ham, Egg and Emmenthal & Coke in a glass bottle ...
Our breakfast after a night of french red wine.

Next stop on our morning adventure was to find that coffee. After a roam around we decided to sit in the sun at "Uncle Merv's Original Shake & Coffee" and bask in the warm rays while we absorb some much needed Vitamin D. 

Uncle Merv's

Our View: 

My View: Organic Produce Street Vendor and purple wall art through purple lenses.

BUT...

Happens to be this handsome fella who I get to spend the rest of today exploring the land of Jozi.

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #118 days 

# 18: WANT

The 18th May-Photo-A-Day: "WANT"

I find this a pretty tough photo to capture and post to write about... You see, as cheesy as it may sound, I really have everything I want: my gorgeous Te, the most incredible family and future family-in-law, the best of friends, health, careers, dreams, a cute little apartment and over-the-moon-HAPPINESS... mmmm...  

Ok fine, of course there are THINGS I want...

How about... I will write about things I would like to put in our cute little apartment then?

Grey Towels: You can never have enough clean towels... 

Grey is best (us girls and our make-up).

 We have a lovely Grey-blue Country Road dinner service but we thought if we got the matching side plates it would be too matchy-matchy... so we opted for the dinner plates, bowls and mugs... Now to find white side plates we actually like...

We bought Louis Roederer Champagne while we were in Paris and it would be wonderful to drink our Champagne from the flutes below... the wide one being my favourite.

Mouth blown champagne glasses: 

Perhaps my baking and cooking will taste a little better if we had this little AGA hand mixer in the kitchen?

The white or grey Pedersen and Lennard recycle bins (medium or large) 

would be great in our kitchen.. our free trash bags we get are far too large for our little bin.

Pedersen and Lennard: Recycled Bins

Te's bicycle needs to find a safe space as the leaning-on-the-glass-sliding-door is not favourable. This nifty bike-shelf is just what we would like... (want).

Pedersen and Lennard: bike-shelf

Pedersen and Lennard: bike-shelf

Our balcony is a perfect size to entertain a couple of friends and in the 4 months we have been living here we have entertained once or twice and it was one or two guests at a time because... We have a lovely outside wheely-palette table that Te made for us, great little decor: flower/herb boxes (that have soil in but no flowers or herbs) and NO where to sit... One or two of these Dokter and Misses benches could.... sit well.

Dokter and Misses: Bench 

The white bench we do own (that we could be sitting on outside) is being used as our tv cabinet... So if we had this TV cabinet from Brak Furniture... two problems solved.

 White Lacquer Sprayed TV Cabinet

 Consider this my Birthday hint-hint-nudge-nudge List as my birthday is coming up anyway..... or perhaps more like in-my-Dream's wish list :)

Post # 17 to come... I haven't managed to capture a great Season shot just yet...

xxx

TheFutureMrsOrpen: De

#TeMarriesDe #119 days