Valentine's at Hard Rock Café at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre

Entrance to Hard Rock Café at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre

February is the month of love. This sucker loves all the schmaltzy Valentine's hype. Menlyn Park Shopping Centre went all out with an unforgettable Valentine's Day experience for 100 lucky couples, with dinner and The Muses entertaining at Hard Rock Café on February 14th.

“This month is a very special time for Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, and we are thrilled to have offered such an amazing experience to our loyal customers. We always encourage families to spend time together and as part of this we wanted to be a special moment in celebrating their love for each other,” said. Olive Ndebele, General Manager at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre

Birthday at Hard Rock Cafe in Johannesburg - Such a treat!

We celebrated The Eldest's birthday two years back at Hard Rock Café in San Antonio. We have never been to Hard Rock Cafe in South Africa, and this year we decided it was time! It's a thing to buy a t-shirt in a Hard Rock Cafes whenever you visit a city worlwide. The Eldest has a nice collection already, and she is planning to get some more... (*Thumbs!*)

We love the vibe and the food! It's an experience. They have a kiddies menu as well.

The poses!

Happy birthday with a cocktail!

Hard Rock Cafe interior! Such a treat with all the musical legends and paraphernalia

We had the Paul McCartney booth

Paul McCartney signature

And of course, the obligatory selfie with the great man, Madiba, on Sandton Square!

Nelson Mandela statue on Sandton Square

Related post: A birthday at Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio

Still not sure what special family activity to do this holiday? Go see The Wonderful World of Disney on Ice!

#DisneyonIce

We saw a Disney on Ice two years back, but we are absolutely in awe of the most recent production of The Wonderful World of Disney on Ice! It's better, bigger and more entertaining (for the whole family!) than we remember the previous show we saw!

Little Miss all excited!

Maybe it was because it was the evening just before we left for our adventure to San Antonio. Maybe it was because of our seating. The previous time we had seats high up in the air. This time we were seated to the front and more level with the ice-skating rink. Maybe it is just because it IS BETTER and just so much more entertaining! Most probably! Dad, Little Miss and I had the greatest time on Friday night!

The Wonderful World of Disney on Ice

The extraordinary lineup of Disney stories that come to life in The Wonderful World of Disney On Ice! Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy on a walk down memory lane with Dory, Nemo and Marlin from Disney•Pixar’s Finding Dory as well as Anna, Elsa and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen. There’s Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and your favourite Disney Princesses plus Buzz and Woody; Simba, Timon and Pumbaa; Jasmine, Aladdin and Genie. Make unforgettable memories as you explore The Wonderful World of Disney On Ice these July school holidays.

All the favourite Disney characters are here, and we love the most favourite snippets from our Disney shows!

Check out the elephant in Aladdin! @disneyonice #disneyonice #disneyonice2017 https://t.co/5p19Zl8TmD pic.twitter.com/QOatIJatcE

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) June 30, 2017

The Wonderful World of Disney on Ice was absolutely magical last night! #DisneyOnIce Highlights from all our fav Disney and culminating in #Frozen was the best! Even the parents enjoyed it! (Yes!) The production was much better than two years back! The production, the skill, the wardrobe, the characters and the skaters are top class!!

A post shared by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Jul 1, 2017 at 2:42am PDT

If you are still not sure what to do with the kids, this is the show!

The show is still on until 9 July at Ticketpro Dome, before it moves to Durban and from there to Cape Town. It seems the tickets are flying fast on Computicket, and it is better to book sooner than later!


Facebook: Disney on Ice
Twitter:  Showtime Management
YouTube: Disney on Ice
Instagram: Disney on Ice


Disclaimer: We got tickets to the opening night, but I was not paid for this blog post.

iOS 10 Memories - Great for Throwback Thursday

St Fredericksburg in Texas
San Antonio visit 2015

How great is the new iOS 10 Memories with the new update on iOS? It comes with the most recent update on iPhones, iPad and the Mac. It opens up great memories.

I am only discovering it now, and loving it!

I am able to see group photos, place photos, "Best of the last 3 months",  as well as certain dates on my photo album.

The throwback Thursday is from last year's visit to San Antonio in America.
Good times, and good memories!

Wordless Wednesday #296 - Goodbye, San Antonio

San Antonio River Walk

San Antonio was placed second in Budget Travel's list of best budget places to travel to in 2016.
(What is the odds that I had my first overseas travel experience to a place that gets second best for this year?)

We visited my brother in San Antonio last year, and it was an unforgettable experience. San Antonio is a vibrant, beautiful and very friendly city soaked in history.

The San Antonio River Walk is one of the well-known city features with a 15 mile long river path alongside city restaurants and buildings and historical sights!

The well-know Texan accent of the guide was a real treat to us during the cruise.

San Antonio sightseeing near the River Walk

Walking in San Antonio city streets

The Student, Little Miss and my brother on the cruise

Statue of the patron Saint Anthony

This year marks the 180th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo and the 125th anniversary of the arts-and-culture celebration Fiesta! San Antonio, and with those come a slew of free music festivals and parades!

This is definitely a city worth placing on your bucket list!

Read more: Budget Travel

I would LOVE to go again, and this time spent even more time at the River walk, as we did not cruise the whole route, or explored more of the sights on the route!


Related posts:

- Initial thoughts about America

- Things we love about America - tourist  insights about San Antonio

- A birthday at Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio

Random questions to the Blogger

I was tagged a while back by Stiletto Mum.

Here's my answers:


1. Are you named after someone?

I do not have a family name, but Karen Muir, the swimmer was huge during the time I was born (Don't Google the year, please!)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday! - A cute video on Facebook...

3. Do you have kids?

Duh! Yes, two daughters, 15 years apart

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

Yes! I am a good friend to have!

5. Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Chocolate, wine, coffee, toasted cheese!

6. Do you like handwriting?

Would love to write in my own handwriting, but it is unintelligible!

7. What is your favorite cereal?

Don't eat cereal! Feels like eating carton!

8. What is the first thing you notice about people?

A friendly smile

9. What colour are your eyes?

Blue-grey

10. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings all the time! Don't watch scary!

11. Favorite TV show?

Now it's Castle, but love comedies such as Modern Family and

12. Summer or winter?

Summer

13. Hugs or kisses?

Hugs! Of course depending on the person/situation...

4. What’s the furthest you’ve been from home?

San Antonio in Texas



You are tagged if you are reading this!!

Let me know if you have answered the same questions?

The time we needed a personal loan badly - some good advice

Don't we all consider a personal loan one time or another? Or maybe it's just us?
But this year has been one of those years...

We first tried to get a student loan, but were caught in the catch-22 of a student loan. You first have to show your registration form from university before the student loan can be approved. We wanted to get the loan to be able to afford that first hefty registration fee...

We also had the wonderful holiday in San Antonio earlier, and we were really worried that we would not be able to afford everything that goes with a holiday with our Rand/Dollar exchange rates! I also shared this scenario before we went on our trip, and that we were seriously considering taking a personal loan...

I am glad to say that both times we were able to get by without going the route of a personal loan!
Because it is still the best way to go! Not getting that personal loan!


But if there are no other options available, there are 5 ways to use personal loans wisely that is worth exploring!

A birthday at Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio

The Student celebrated her birthday in San Antonio. She knew what she wanted. To have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, and to buy herself and a friend Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts.
The Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio is situated on the River walk.
Each Hard Rock Cafe the world over has their own t-shirts with the name of the city printed on it!
It is a a thing: To collect Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts from all over!

Inside Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio

In the Janis Joplin booth

Little Miss got a whole booklet with colouring pencils to keep her busy

And a kiddies meal in a guitar (guess what she brought home?)

The birthday girl with her drink.
She also got the Hard Rock Cafe glass as a souvenir.

Little Miss was not impress with this birthday celebration. She thinks each birthday should be like the 21st birthday party we celebrated the previous year. We could not convince her otherwise!

Little Hoots

Next time we want to check out the Hard Rock Cafe in Sandton.
(Why have we not been there yet?)

Winter is to blame for all the sniffles

We were all battling colds when we left for our holiday in summer. Johannesburg was going through a nasty frosty spell, and it was lovely to walk out from the San Antonio Airport in hot humid weather.
We had a holiday of two weeks of summer, and all our sniffles disappeared after only two days.

I have come to the following conclusion: Winter is definitely the culprit of most of our sniffles!
I wish that we could migrate to warmer climates like the birds.
Not even the jet-lag prolonged our colds!


I got this Karvol package delivered with the Woollies slippers after we came back.

The Karvol Decongestant Chest Rub has always been a favourite since our Little Miss was small.

I was not aware of the Karvol Decongestant Capsules, nor the Karvol Decongestant Room Spray.

The Karvol Decongestant Capsules can be used for the whole family from as young as three months old. It contains a unique combination of natural aromatic oils, including menthol, cinnamon and pine to gently relieve nasal congestion, head colds and bronchitis.


Karvol Decongestant Room Spray is suitable for children over the age of two. It is used to spray in a room just before sleeping.



I can't say that I can't wait to try them out, but it seems like a great arsenal of winter necessities to keep handy in the cupboard!


(Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this, but I received the package as shown above.)

Things that are not so nice about America - travel insights from San Antonio

I

- The heat in summer. You can't spend too much time outside. With temperatures of over 30 degrees it gets very uncomfortable! A braai (barbecue) outside for the whole day is not possible! The heat and the mosquitos make it impossible!

- As much as there is the most wonderful food options available, I found myself saying "disgusting" many many times to all the processed and packaged options that are available! Where have you heard of a hamburger with a waffle on top with syrup accompanying it?

- Most of the coffee in the restaurants are not good! They also don't do cappuccinos very well. Starbucks gets my best vote!

- There were fireworks each and every night. The poor animals...

- The president did not deliver on his promises (say the locals).

- Although they celebrated their independence there were a lot of discussion going on in the blogosphere about the fact that they are not free!

- The education system is also not of the greatest. Teachers are not paid decent salaries, and home schooling and private education seem to be the way to go!

- They are still debating gay rights, although gay marriages are allowed since only very recently!

- The air con in all the buildings is a necessity, but it detaches from the outside world.


This is the best negative list I can come up with. The positives of America that we experienced in San Antonio still far outweigh the negatives.

It looks like a great lifestyle to be living!

Things we love about America - tourist insights about San Antonio

San Antonio residential suburbs from the air

We are still jet-lagged after we arrived back in South Africa from our two week holiday in San Antonio. We visited my brother who is staying and working there.

It has been a fantastic holiday and we had so many great experiences!

I feel the same way about America after I have watched Avatar and walked out of the movie theater. Earth did not look as great as the planet portrayed in the movie...
South Africa looks a lot less inviting now...


10 Things we love about America

1. Everything is BIG. The houses, the cars, the shops, the products, the food...

2. There are no fences and no security gates. It is safe there! We could walk in the middle of the city without eyeing every passersby with suspicion that they are going to grab our bags.

3. The streets are clean. They even had a campaign "Don't mess with Texas!", which are still reflected in badges and t-shirts and advertisements.

4. The people are extreme friendly, and a "Thank you!" is always met with a "You're welcome!" (No, we are not as friendly as they are, although we think we are!)

5.  The weather is HOT in summer, but there are air-con everywhere! (It's a hot humid temperature!) The sun also sets at about 9 pm in the evenings, which gives them a very long summer's day each day!

6. Everything works there. There is wifi in every restaurant, shop and even the cars have wifi. We stayed connected the whole time!
Online orders get delivered the next day, and you pick it up on your porch.

7. The shops have a huge variety to choose from. The biggest sizes imaginable are available!

8. The highways are going everywhere, and they are big! (No signs of tolls there!)

9. It is green everywhere in summer, and it feels like bush veld when you drive out of the city.

10. There are restaurants everywhere, and it seems the locals like frequenting them. We even had to wait early on a Monday morning to get a table at a favourite breakfast spot, The Pancake House!


They really have a great lifestyle going on there!



Related posts:

- Initial thoughts about America

- Wordless Wednesday #274 - NASA in Houston

Things a little girl gets upset about, or when she's an asshole

Little Miss has been extremely good on the flight to America. We have been preaching her for months about not throwing tantrums in that confined space... 

The in-flight movies and games and Ouma's colouring book helped tremendously! She also slept quite a bit during the 24-hour one-stop trip. (Huge sigh of relief!)

There has been a few episodes here that got her upset: 

- Not getting anything/something in the shops that she wants. (A couple of times! We are working on it!)

- She had to spend her pocket money immediately. It burned her pocket until it was finished! 

- She does not have anything to wear. (Although she packed the biggest selection of outfits!)

- She cannot decide on the shoes she wants to wear! (She is Six, people!)

- She HAD to put her stuff in a handbag, but not the one she has. A plastic shopping bag saved the day!

- She was upset that her sister did not have a "real" party on her birthday! She said Big Sister did not turn 22 after all. Although it was her sister's wish to celebrate at Hard Rock Café in San Antonio and get a special t-shirt from the shop. It has also been our most expensive restaurant outing so far.

- She accidentally dropped glow sticks at the Rodeo that we could not retrieve...

- She could not play in the stunning children's area at Bibliotech, the first digital library in the world with no books! It is only available to the locals. 

A work in progess...

I hope I do not have to add that much more!

We are also not making excuses for her any more. When she's an asshole, we say so! 

Little Miss, you keep us on our toes! 

(And humble / and feeling like bad parents all the time!)

Initial thoughts about America

We are visiting my brother in San Antonio, Texas. It is such a treat!

It is an one-in-a-lifetime experience, and Little Miss keeps on saying, while hitting her head: "Word wakker! Word wakker!" (Wake up! Wake up!)

It feels like a dream...

The Riverwalk in San Antonio. 

With my brother at the Statue of the patron Saint Anthony. 

1. The Americans are very friendly! You always get a "You're welcome!" When saying "Thank you!"

You do not feel as if you are doing them a favour while visiting their establishments. Exactly the opposite!

2. The Texan accent is a bit difficult to get used to. I only caught half of what our River Guide told us yesterday. 

2. The food is definitely bigger here! It is lovely and delicious as well! We are sharing our orders at restaurants. 

I am surprised that the Americans are not bigger because of this! I don't know how they eat that much and stay as thin! 

A lovely quacomole that was prepared in front of us.

3. Pancakes here are what we call flapjacks. Rusks are scones. They don't have Ouma Rusks. 

3. It is hot in the summer here! But there's luckily aircon everywhere! It is especially great since we left a cold South Africa coming here.

4. You drive on highways whenever you are going anywhere. (We tend to avoid our highways because of the e-tolls.)

5. The houses are big, without being fenced in.

6. The cars are big.

7. Everybody is walking around with an iPhone 6.

 8. There's wi-fi everywhere, and it works! Fast! It's the first time I am seeing videos playing automatically on my Facebook feed. I was not aware it was supposed to be doing it! 

9. The cosmopolitan nature of the people here makes us feel very welcome. 

10. The sun sets at half past eight in the evenings in summer! 

We love it here! 

Happy holidays! The 4th of July is coming up!