Well, we certainly enjoyed a very different weekend this weekend past. Monty and Cheryl had been missing Jessica and so asked us if they could borrow her for the weekend. After a lot of careful consideration, Chantelle finally decided that she would be able to survive a weekend without Jessica’s cute little face, and so on Friday afternoon the handover commenced, meaning that for Chantelle and I, date night was on! :)

A quick change after work and then it was off to Somerset Mall, where we enjoyed some fantastic pizza at Panarottis (so high class, I know :P), before dashing out to catch Captain America, my movie pick for the night which ended up being fairly enjoyable, though certainly not a movie I’ll need to see again any time soon. (Chantelle also enjoyed it to an extent, particular the parts where Evans didn’t have a shirt on after receiving the Super Soldier serum!)

Saturday was our first sleep-in in literally months, before we eventually roused to make our way through to the Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, where Chantelle treated me to breakfast at the Lourensford Deli on what turned out to be a stunning morning in terms of weather, fully complemented by the quite beautiful surroundings I might add! With our omelettes being no more and our tummies sated, we then strolled out towards the Lourensford Family Market that conveniently happened to be held this weekend, where the locals were having some fun with plenty of little stalls selling all sorts of odds and ends neatly set out, a giant bedouin tent to provide some shade as well as shelter for a pretty monotonous singer and loads of families out and about enjoying the sun and eats to be had (hint, the pancakes were delicious).

On our way back to Gordon’s Bay I popped into Mountain Streams nursery, the first time I had been to this little floral paradise in our own backyard, and must admit to being pleasantly surprised by what I found in this little unassuming operation. As it was, I picked up some cobblestone pavers to add some decoration to the cement slab work that I was planning on doing on my return home, the end result of which is actually pretty pleasing if I say so myself! :) (Chantelle slept through the whole thing!)

Outside of my epic long phone call with Candice all the way from Potchefstroom (as Chantelle was unavailable at the time), the other mission that was achieved was a fair bit of weeding, the first time our garden has seen some action in weeks! (It really did help that Jessica was away for the weekend – so much more time to do all the necessary chores and work around the house!)

Anyway, the wind eventually started to whip up, forcing Chantelle and I to call it quits and pack up for the day, prompting the decision to make it two date nights in a row, the end result of which was another trip through the mall, Simply Asia cuisine for her and Subway for me, followed by Conan the Barbarian in 3D, Chantelle’s pick for the weekend, but possible only because she wanted to lick actor Jason Momoa’s nipples.

Unfortunately for us though, the movie did drag on a bit and ended up not engaging either of us, ending up by just sapping up what remaining energy we had and sending us straight to bed!

Sunday it was an early up and at them, compared to Saturday morning’s lazy pace, as we got ready and set out on a detour to pick up Michelle Oosthuizen’s Respisense device that she had purchased from a guy out in Strand (plus a long overdue phone call to Claire to find out how life on that side of the world is treating Riley and herself), before hitting the N2 and heading out to Bellville to join up with the Montgomery Clan, where Chantelle got busy preparing the epic pork belly roast which was to be the highlight of the upcoming lunch. I in turn popped out to spend some time with Ryan, fitting in a quick three tight games of FIFA in the process, before spending a bewildering bit of time in the completely unnavigable Tygervalley which is currently undergoing major renovations in search of a cheap HDMI cable and some extra necessities for lunch that Chantelle hadn’t yet had a chance to pick up.

Back at the Montgomery stronghold it was a return to my daddy role as I played with a very joyful Jessie who is now actively rolling from her back to her tummy, clapping hands, holding her own bottle and reaching out for toys if she spots them. Lunch was served, consisting of a delicious mix of pork roast belly, pork chops, crackling, roast potato, savoury carrots and salad, followed by ice-cream, strawberries and Bar-one chocolate sauce!

It was a pretty late lunch and the day stretched into Idols which of course Chantelle needs to religiously watch, but eventually it was time to pack up the Getz, retrieve our long lost child and head back home, all without incident, before going through the usual Sunday night chorelist and at last, hitting the bed hard! :)

(P.S. For the rest of the Lourensford Wine Estate visit, check out the gallery here.)