Rcaffe

Last week was another installment of Coffee Club. We ventured to Rcaffe in Long Street to get our caffiene fix on.

I've been here before but I've passed it a few times on a pub crawl. As it's open super early (06h30 peeps) it closes relatively early. Probably because the staff need to get to back around 20h00 to wake up that early. So I pass it but I've never gone inside.

 

From the first steps in, it seemed like the place to be. For 7am on Friday. It was pumping. It's quite big and almost every table was full. Service is kinda hard to explain. It was hard to get our waiter's attention, granted that the place was booming but it was efficient. Not the most friendly staff, it all felt a bit brisk. I realise they had lots to do and no one particualrly likes one of those too-friendly waiters but it was lacking.

The coffee was quite delicious I thought. The perfect way to start the day. Some of us ate breakfast. The food menu was extensive. But a little bit pricey. On the plus side, the food came out quickly. But I think I still overpaid for my teeny, tiny english muffin. And at the end, when we asked for the bill we were slapped with a service charge. I get that a lot of places have service charges for more than 6 people but this was breakfast. Also no heads up? We are not el cheapos but come on? For a table of 6 when half of us don't eat? Not a reason to go back.

If you're up super early and just keen for a coffee - and have a small party ;) - then definitely try them out. If anything, the place is pretty, quirky and has a mean cuppa.

Rcaffe
07h30 - 17h00
138 Long Street

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An Open Letter To The Boys of Cape Town

It is a truth universally acknowledged that men in Cape Town are either taken, gay or always say or do the wrong thing.

Over the past year I have been subjected to various interactions that have had me grimacing, speechless and on the verge of tears. And if it’s happened to me, there’s a chance it has happened to other girls. So if any of those single boys who may be cute, dress well, have a job and are nice to homeless people are wondering why their beds are empty, here’s some insight. I have put together a list of things you really shouldn’t do or say based on all my personal experiences.

*Please don’t try to impress me by telling me about your car. I don’t know much about cars and while you’re talking about mags (is that the right term?) I’ll be nodding off. I don’t care about your suspension or zooped up sound system; if your car doesn’t break down daily, you’ve already got me interested. If it has aircon and smells nice then I may need a fan as things are about to get hot in herre.

*If you want to try and make an impression by telling me I look like someone famous, go all out. If you say I’m like Kylie because we’re both short or I’m a brunette like Eva Longoria; I’m smile and maybe even giggle. You’ve obviously overshot your landing but I like your ambition. Telling me I look like Snooki, which has happened twice by the way and only one was a drunk gay guy, is one way to make cry in the bathrooms. Seriously, how can you think being called her twin makes me feel fabulous inside.

*If we’ve been at the club for a while and you’ve tried to hit on both of my friends who have turned you down, that is not a sign to hit on me. This happened recently and I witnessed one rather cute Australian try and get it on with Bestie 1. She would have been interested if maybe he spent say more than 5 minutes trying to impress her. Guys, we realise it’s a club and you’re here for a very important reason but girls still need to be wooed. So if you’re not sure of the vibe you’re picking up after a few minutes, maybe keep trying and you’ll notice a change. Don’t try and move on to her friend and then even worse the other friend standing next to her. Also asking if “I’m not your type” after this doesn’t help matters.

*This next part is a bit weird, I’ll admit. But please don’t ever mention feet to me. I’ll explain. I have a foot phobia. Like I cannot handle looking or touching adult feet. Saying that, I absolutely love baby’s feet. Especially when they’re chubby. Cannot. Get. Enough. But grownup feet, shut the front door. Because of the way other people’s feet make me feel, I take the utmost care to ensure my feet are fabulous. So when I’m waiting outside on the street for a taxi that doesn’t look like it comes straight out of Dogdeville and you compliment my toes, I’ll naturally not trust you.

*As a girl with curves, I can tell your life is hard. Thanks to magazines and those Marilyn Monroe pictures, we have genuinely started to believe that men prefer women with curves. Well I’ve found that that is based on the individual guy’s preference I have noticed more boys are ready for this jelly. What I’ve also found is that they have to tell you. And it’s never in a subtle way. The good way to approach a girl with curves is to treat her like you would any other girl you think is hot. Do not, for instance, as a random recently told me, “I believe big girls need loving too.” Firstly thanks for calling me fat. Secondly as much as I appreciate your attempt to compliment my body, telling me “I love how you girls can keep warm in winter” doesn’t do you any favours.

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*Images from here.  

Brew Coffee Shop

This morning we went all the way down to the bottom of Long Street for our Coffee Club. Or the top/start. Depending on how you view it I suppose. We all live in Gardens so this was down to us :)

Brew is situated at the building at 2 Long Street. it's bit hidden away but once you find it, you'll wanna go again and again. The baristas are really friendly, there's lots of seating and despite lots of peeps walking in and past you can still lose yourself on one of the couches.

We ordered our lattes and also indulged in some cheese muffins. Hello thigh circumference, you're about to be increased.

 

 The coffee was by Deluxe so straight up you know it's gonna be good. The muffins were all kinds of bad. I mean that in a good way. Love a good savoury muffin. There weer also cupcakes and brownies for sale not to mention sandwiches and fudge. It took a lot of willpower to resist.

All in all, a very successful and fun Coffee Club meeting.

Brew
2 Long Street
07h00 to 17h00

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Yours Truly

The fabulous coffee club met again. This time at Yours Truly in Long Street. There's something so weird about being in Long Street so early in the morning. There's no noise, there are no people pub crawling, all the neon lights professing Open! Bar! Shots! are switched off and there are no scantily-clad ladies. In fact there are no ladies even doing a walk of shame. Which I did expect. It was all sort of peaceful.

Yours Truly opened up in 2010 and you'd miss it if you weren't looking for it. There is a bench outside with loads of plants and even a hatch which I assumed is for take-aways but there were loads of creative types have a sit-down. Oh that's one thing I noticed it's full of well-dressed, hipster type peeps, girls in brogues and advertising boys with arm tattoos. So very interesting to people watch.



We were helped by very friendly baristas and had some delicious Deluxe coffee. Seriously it was amazingly good. I had another latte that day and I couldn't even begin to describe the disappointment when I took a sip of the inferior stuff. They have a lovely food menu and loads of freshly baked goods my thighs would never recover from.



They open up nice and early in the week and from 09h00 on a Saturday. So go on down and get a cuppa. It's so worth it!

Yours Truly
175 Long Street
021 422 3788

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Crazy Girl on Balcony

What a weekend. And I mean that in a good way. Well, almost. It started out great but then there were some weird moments. And now, I'm sitting in Blue Eye's cubicle while she is working and I'm pretending to offer to help her. I keep muttering shame, you look busy, yet I never get up to actually do something. ;) Since I'm clearly not going to help with her advertising admin, I'd better recap the weeken starting with Friday...

Friday was abosultely fabulous as we had our first official dinner party in the flat. But I do use those two words loosely. Basically The Gays came over for dinner and we watched Will & Grace! On Saturday we all got up at the crack of dawn to join a friend for a birthday breakfast. The best part was the weather in Cape Town. It was sunny and warm and we got to walk to breakfast. Good times. After breakfast we strolled around town, did a little shopping and then headed home.

Blue Eyes left to go and gamble her next rent cheque away at the casino and I stayed home. Everything seemed fine and rosy until 5 the next morning. This is where the title of this blog Crazy Girl on Balcony comes from. I was awoken to the loud banging of what sounded like a crazy person outside my bedroom window. On closer inspection, in my blurry-eyed state I thought I saw Blue Eyes standing on the balcony demanding to be let in. It was only later that I realised, Crazy person was in fact not Blue Eyes but a terrified and hysterical girl seeking help. Firstly I have to admit, I was weary I had heard of scams where they prey on woman using another woman to enlist sympathy. I had premonitions that Blue Eyes was going to come home, find me knocked out and most of our posessions gone. But nevertheless I opened the door and that's when it all began.

Turns out this girl was from Ireland, she was a volunteer and she had gone home with a guy she had met at a club despite her friends better judgement. She had blacked out, woke up and started to panic. The guy got aggressive, she got scared and legged it. She left her bag in someone's garden, she couldn't find her shoes and still she ran. Without sounding too preachy, ladies please do not ever do this. if you really want to get laid, do it at the club or at your place where there is someone you can call on if things go bad.

For the next hour I tried to calm her down, we called the police, the Irish embassy, her brother, the police again, her brother again and then we were picked up by the police. I had no desires to go to a police station. In fact the only time I had ever been previously was when I needed my ID certified for my matric exams. I'm so afraid I go there and they all look at me accusingly. I have catholic guilt and trust me, if I'm there too long I will confess to something. Saying that I couldn't leave her alone, so this was around 6.30 in the morning, I left to go to the Cape Town police station. After a couple of hours, dealing with many detectives and captains, some nice and some not nice at all, we managed to get somewhere. We also managed to get hold of her friends who were staying at a nearby hostel and they came to visit and comfort her. She turned out to not be so crazy in the end. I called her a couple of hours later and she was doing much better.

After 4 hours of weirdness I left the police station and went out for breakfast. French toast was very welcomed after all of that. The best part of the day, however was coming home to Blue Eye's cooking. She is amazing and her sunday roast was awesome. Thanks roomie. Today, we decided to inject a bit of culture into our lives and had fancy coffees, planned our housewarming and a trip to the museum. For all those in Cape Town, it's free on certain public holidays but only on the actual day. And now, we're chilling at her offices. She is working, I'm regaling my weekend tales. Good times.

Hope everyone out there had a tres eventual weekend too.

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Final 2 Contenders in our Flat Search

We've finally found two contenders for our new home after us both seeing them and discussing our decision tipsily over Cosmo's at Neighbourhood. Those 2-for-1 cocktail specials are amazing. It's our thing. Us Skinny Bitches like to hit neighbourhood where we have a heart-to-heart coversation over cosmopolitans, nachos' and hong-kong chicken wings. I don't think we could get any happier when we're doing this. But back to the matter at hand.
YES, we've found two places and we're going to essentially apply for both on monday. We've decided on the Arnold's place as our no: 1 contender and Belaza as our no: 2. They are both pretty much the same, the only difference being the proximity to Kloof St and Long St 'our hood'. So for that reason, and that reason only, we are applying for Arnold's place. Cross your fingers please because us Skinny Bitches do not need more heartache right now.

SB

A La La La La Long

As I've mentioned before, The Soapbox is a great blog where anyone can contribute their opinions about any topic under the sun. Please do not be scared away by all the political talk and real issues! I certainly am not and therefore I contribute articles about relationships and Long Street. You know, the important stuff in life. Read my latest piece here. And contribute as well!