… For the cutest girl in the world. Seriously, my neice just keeps getting cuter and more fun and cleverer and prettier and and and. I’m a bit of a doting aunt, can you tell?

So when I saw this Hello Kitty sand set I had to get it for her. She loves the beach (in summer), and kids love doing useful things like scooping up dirt. I gave it to her yesterday and we played with it in the garden… So in some ways I got a gift, too – spending time with her is always such a treat.

Open-plan offices are so weird, aren’t they?

Never mind that everyone can hear your conversations, and easily deduce whether you’re working or just hanging out online, there’s also the whole hearing-other-people’s-thoughts thing. Obviously, we’re not all talking out loud as much as we would be if we had private offices (I, personally, would chat to myself all day if I had a door), but there’s still definitely an element of open thought that you don’t really get anywhere else.

So when one of my colleagues said today (in a wistful and forlorn voice), “I feel like chocolate cake”, I decided to make his dream a reality

And, okay, it was a brownie and not chocolate cake, but it’s the second-best brownie in Cape Town (from the delightful Sidewalk Cafe. The Best Brownie in Town award goes to Khayelitsha Cookies). And it tastes so many million times better than it looks!

I’ve had a realllly busy week, and I must confess that I didn’t even think about a gift yesterday – I was too busy driving to and from Gordon’s Bay for a Fresh Living TV shoot. Very exciting!

But as I pulled up to the traffic light near my house, I saw the old man who begs there every day. And while this may sound like a simple statement, the fact that I saw him was quite remarkable, because I usually drive past and don’t notice that he’s there. So, on impulse, I reached into my wallet and gave him some much-needed money. Much more than I  usually would have. Because sometimes you just have to follow the impulse, you know?

For a lovely gift-giving colleague who is always passing on delightful gifts, and who deserved one in return.

Who doesn’t love a macaroon?

Cheesy as all get-out, it’s true, but when you’re feeling sick (and have been all weekend, as a lovely friend of mine had), something this cheesy can help to brighten your day. What do you think?

She said she’d think ‘be well’ thoughts every time she drank out of it. A good idea for all of us, hmm?

I’ve been thinking, lately, about what I really want from this whole 29 days experiment… I don’t want to just spend a lot of money on last-minute prezzies or approach it in a half-assed way (and let me tell you, there’s a temptation to do that what with life being so busy all the time).

Ideally, what I want is to teach myself a new way of being in the world – always aware of other people and what they might need, open to the possibility that I could help someone in some small way. I want to train myself into a new habit, you know? Hence the apples.

I eat a lot of fruit, but I have a bad habit of buying large quantities all at one time (I feel panicky if I don’t have fresh fruit at all times) and then occasionally not being able to get through it fast enough. And then I’ll just sit and stare at it. The smart thing to do would be to recognise I’ve overbought, and share it with someone who might need some fresh fruit – one of the many people who lives on the street in Cape Town, for example. So that’s what I did yesterday: recognising that if I left the apples they would go off before I could eat them, I took them while they were still fresh and gave them away.

A small thing, yes. But if I could remember to do this all the time wouldn’t it be a good habit to get into?

We went to watch the (thrilling) quarter-final at the Cape Town Fan Park, and I handed out these cool samballoons (filled with shaky stuff) to a couple of very happy kids.

I have had the BEST day! Birthdays are so wonderful, aren’t they? One day that reminds you how lucky you are to have such special people in your life, to be so loved, to get so many presents

It’s been a day of warm sunshine, abundant messages and phonecalls, chocolate cupcakes (that appeared as if by magic) and great fun. And it’s not over yet! Time to dress up to the nines and go to Madame Zingara for a Love Magic show. Yes please!

It’s my BIRTHDAY on Saturday! And although I am turning all of 28 and should have grown out of such things, I am counting. down. the days. I absolutely love birthdays. Everything about them – celebrating, eating cake, being spoilt, presents (those above all).

But this year, in the spirit of growing older and (one hopes) wiser, I want to spread the birthday love a little further than just sitting back and waiting to receive gifts. I want a challenge.

So when I heard about 29 gifts, 29 days I was excited. Very excited. My mom told me about it, and the idea is that for 29 days you give a gift a day. They don’t have to be expensive (or even bought), they can be small and thoughtful, or homemade, or simply a kind word or an unexpected phonecall. The whole point is that you’re giving something to someone else every day. Making someone’s day, every day for 29 days! I love it.

I’m starting tomorrow, the 1st of July 2010, and as an added incentive to do one a day and not cheat and do five in one day (which, let’s be honest, sounds pretty tempting from here), I’m going to take a photo of each gift, or a representation of each gift, and post it right here, on this blog.

Find out more about the idea, here: http://www.29gifts.org/

Join me in my mission by commenting (and committing) below.

Let’s do it!

Another reason I’ve been so quiet on the bloggy front lately (aside from, oh, I don’t know, one of the greatest sporting tournaments EVER being held in my country) is that I’m spreading my bloggy wings.

You’ll now find me, once a week, over at Travelstart Street, writing about a few of my favourite things (because blogging is one of those favourites, don’t you know). And remember Just the Planet? The lovely folks who made sure my man and I didn’t sleep in airports while we were travelling all over the world? I’ll be blogging from there, too, about Cape Town and travel and some beyootiful places to spend the night.

So head on over to Travelstart Street – http://www.travelstart.com/street/
And the Just the Planet blog – http://blog.justtheplanet.com/
if you’re in the mood for something a little different.

Never fear, though, with my birthday fast approaching (one week today wooohoooo!) I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and unknotting a couple of thoughts I’d like to chat to you about… For now, though, I have a stew bubbling on the stove, a man in need of one big hug (he doesn’t know it yet, but he needs it) and another soccer game to watch!

Have you been following the World Cup at all? Or is it just me who feels as if life now revolves around the results of two teams of strangers trying to shoot a ball into a net?

That’s the tagline for Khayelitsha Cookies, the COOKIE FACTORY I visited this morning. Yip, you read it right. I went to a cookie factory this morning. Yes, it did smell like heaven mixed with oxygen. Yes, there were slabs of brownies being cut up. Yes, I did see rolls and rolls of cookies being sliced up and rolled out and cut out and and and…

It was terribly exciting.

But it was also, believe it or not, for a good cause. Khayelitsha Cookies was started as an outreach program for previously unemployed, unskilled single mothers in Khayelitsha (a township in Cape Town). The company hires these sole breadwinners, trains them in baking, packing and other skills, and together makes the most delicious cookies (and brownies like I’ve never tasted before. Ever.)

Everything is handmade, but I mean hand.made. Cookies individually rolled out and cut. Hand-whisked batter. Chocolate shaved off for the chocolate chunk cookies, instead of just using chocolate chips. They use the freshest locally produced ingredients, their hygiene standards are exceptionally high (they wash their hands every half an hour!) and the atmosphere in the factory is joyful and family-like. Best of all, not only are the ladies now employed and supporting their families, they also collectively own over 25% of the company. Incredible!

Find out all about them, and read some of the ladies’ testimonials, at http://khayelitshacookies.co.za/

And buy their cookies! They’re selling at Pick n Pays in the Western Cape for only R10 a box (cheaper than mass-produced preservative-rich cookies!) and you can ask your local store to stock them too

How cool is the box design? How much do you love this company? (This much, she says, spreading her arms wiiiide).