Going to the chapel – love and marriage in wine country.

Posted on June 12, 2013 by sofagirl

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Our friends got married in Tulbagh over the weekend. In a beautiful chapel, on a wine estate, in the pouring rain. We didn’t get to the church on time because the road from the farmhouse to the highway was under … Continue reading →

Tuscan Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart – love on a plate.

Posted on June 11, 2013 by sofagirl

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Guilty pleasure #56 is watching Masterchef Australia: partly because I have a secret crush on Matt Preston – one of the resident judges. He makes me smile every time I see him: decked out, as is his wont, in matched … Continue reading →

“In the years before we were married, we were ‘just dancing’.” The Moral Indefensibility of the Defence of Marriage Act

Posted on June 10, 2013 by camparigirl

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Text by sofagirl My first, openly gay pal was a guy called Mark. We worked together at an Advertising agency in Johannesburg. I was 19 and the Creative Department secretary. Mark was a budding art director. I was fascinated that … Continue reading →

Till Death do us Part

Posted on June 9, 2013 by camparigirl

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A few days before July 10, 2009, Sir Edward Downes, Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Philharmonic, and his wife, Lady Joan, travelled to Switzerland. Lady Joan was in the final stages of cancer and Sir Edward was completely blind and … Continue reading →

Thought of the week #38 – A different kind of love

Posted on June 8, 2013 by camparigirl

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When in emotional doubt, it’s not Carl Jung I resort to but Leo Tolstoy. Leo and I have been conducting a love affair of sorts since my teens, when I first opened a four-volume paperback of “War and Peace” and … Continue reading →

How to speak fluent Swimsuit – a guide to summer from the campari sofa

Posted on June 7, 2013 by sofagirl

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Camparigirl: I open the drawer that holds my five bathing suits and I honestly can’t decide which one to wear. Memorial Day week-end, glorious weather and my first day at the beach. And my attire choices are all so sad … Continue reading →

Feeling the heat – India looks for ways to chill out.

Posted on June 6, 2013 by sofagirl

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A blistering heatwave has hit stretches of India, with temperatures reaching 45C/112 F. Until the rains come – in the form of seasonal monsoons, millions of regular folks are taking to the streets looking for ways cool down. As winter … Continue reading →

No need to stop exploring – Just bring the little ones along

Posted on June 4, 2013 by camparigirl

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It might be a bit presumptuous of me to give advice to parents, as I am only half a parent myself – I raised two step-children which, let me assure you, is a very different ballgame than having children of … Continue reading →

Thought of the week #37

Posted on June 1, 2013 by camparigirl

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Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. John Lennon   Image of John Lennon doing nothing much with his dog Nigel found in the public domain  

A nest worthy of an elephant – weaving fantasy in the Kalahari.

Posted on May 30, 2013 by sofagirl

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These fantastical bird’s nests reminded me of Horton the Elephant. One of my favourite Dr Seuss characters. Horton is a game fellow, who meets Mayzie, a bird who thinks she needs a vacation. What happens next always made me smile … Continue reading →

What if everything you thought you knew about love was WRONG?

Posted on May 28, 2013 by sofagirl

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The young woman who washed my hair at the hairdresser today me told that she is in love. And this time it’s for real. I asked her how she knew? And she listed her new fella’s virtues – he doesn’t … Continue reading →

The new business of old age.

Posted on May 26, 2013 by camparigirl

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“Really, it’s like being on a permanent cruise”, the nurse in charge of rehabilitation remarks. I look at her skeptically: if she were trying to convince me, she hasn’t found fertile ground. I hate cruises and their veneer of forced … Continue reading →

Thought for the week …#36

Posted on May 24, 2013 by sofagirl

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To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart. Phyllis Theroux (Image found here)

Keeping house – who does it anymore?

Posted on May 24, 2013 by camparigirl

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When the urge strikes, or a sense of guilt takes over, I become a fury: the patio floor will be scrubbed clean; the closet will be emptied, sorted and vacuumed; the garage will be reorganized; the kitchen drawers will be … Continue reading →

Practical Feminism: How to have a Successful Marriage. Tips from 1913.

Posted on May 21, 2013 by sofagirl

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I was at my favourite coffee spot the other day – which is attached to a bookshop – when I noticed these two little books that made me smile. “Don’ts for Wives” and “Don’ts for Husbands” were written by an English woman called Blanche Ebutt in 1913 and I … Continue reading →

Thought of the week # 35

Posted on May 18, 2013 by camparigirl

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Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. F. Scott Fitzgerald

Olive Oil and Chardonnay Pound Cake with a Sharp Citrus Drizzle

Posted on May 15, 2013 by sofagirl

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Baking has always seemed like a science to me: I’ve heard stories of epic fails – and tasted epic successes – so entering the arena always felt daunting. And unnecessary. Sofabrother is a great baker, my mother Glenis is too. … Continue reading →

Ladies who lunch – 90210 revisited

Posted on May 12, 2013 by camparigirl

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If you are new to LA and have noticed that women you  just met and briefly socialized with bid their farewell with “we should do lunch sometimes”, let me break it to you: don’t count on the lunch invitation ensuing … Continue reading →

Thought for the week …#34

Posted on May 11, 2013 by sofagirl

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“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn” David Russell

Green grows the graffiti – Moss art.

Posted on May 9, 2013 by sofagirl

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We love urban art at campari & sofa.  Show us something beautiful created by a hip young thing with a spray can – and we will happily walk past a fancy gallery, grab a coffee and sit on the sidewalk … Continue reading →

Beyond challah – finding common ground with Orthodox women

Posted on May 7, 2013 by camparigirl

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With the corner of my eye, I saw the rabbi, standing on the side of the road, flailing his arms, trying to catch my attention. I stopped. It’s not the beginning of a rabbi joke – I was actually on … Continue reading →

Food and Wine after 50 … friends or foe?

Posted on May 6, 2013 by sofagirl

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When I was in London late last year I was stunned by the amount that people were drinking. I had honestly forgotten that it was perfectly ok to have two or three with lunch, a couple of cheeky cocktails pre-meal, … Continue reading →

Thought of the week… #33

Posted on May 4, 2013 by camparigirl

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If you can think of life, for a moment, as a large house with a nursery, living and dining rooms, study, and so forth, all unfamiliar and bright, the chapters which follow are, in a way, like looking through the … Continue reading →

Chocolate-Peppermint Shards

Posted on May 3, 2013 by sofagirl

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Sofabrother likes to try his hand at confectionary every now and then. Mark works fulltime with Knead Bakery – so baking when he gets home is the last thing on his mind.  But we had some friends around for supper … Continue reading →

Seeing what could be … Thomas Lamadieu fills the sky.

Posted on May 1, 2013 by sofagirl

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Thomas Lamadieu is inspired by slivers of space, the shards between skyscrapers, reflections in puddles, chinks around corners. He takes the photo, adds in a few lines, shifts perspectives and what you thought you saw then is not what you see now. … Continue reading →

Extraordinary women: Anna Merz, the rhino angel

Posted on April 30, 2013 by camparigirl

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The roar of the helicopter breaks the silence of the otherwise undisturbed plains. A man leans out and fires a couple  of tranquilizer darts into the thick hide of the rhino. Dust kicked up, grass blades flattened, a handful of … Continue reading →

Are we dressing appropriately for an epidemic?

Posted on April 29, 2013 by sofagirl

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I was standing in line at my local supermarket the other day when the man behind me gasped. I looked up from the mag I was browsing, to see what had got his goat. At the check-out till ahead of … Continue reading →

Tired of being good

Posted on April 28, 2013 by camparigirl

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Recycling is second nature. I haven’t kept the tap running while brushing my teeth in 20 years. My toilets have been upgraded to low flow; the water I drink is filtered rather than bought in plastic bottles. I don’t microwave … Continue reading →

Thought for the week …#32

Posted on April 27, 2013 by sofagirl

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“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” Plato (This beautiful image  ”Kenyan Children at Tribal Dancing Competition” is by Sheila Davies and was sourced here)  

“Childless at Fifty? What is wrong with you?”

Posted on April 26, 2013 by sofagirl

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There are two questions I get asked with an annoying regularity. They come as a pair. The first is: “Why aren’t you married?” This one I despatch easily – I either go for the laugh – “still waiting for that … Continue reading →

The Happy Show – Stefan Sagmeister’s take on how to get to “happy”

Posted on April 26, 2013 by camparigirl

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“Research psychologist Jonathan Haidt describes the mind as a small rider, the conscious, sitting atop a giant elephant, the unconscious. The rider thinks he is in charge and can tell the elephant where to go, but the elephant has his … Continue reading →

Are we what we eat – or have we made an enemy of food?

Posted on April 24, 2013 by sofagirl

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We have a ‘normal’ history with food in sofafamily. We sat down to dinner together every night: with instructions to finish what was on our plates. Most times that wasn’t a problem. But  there were certain things we hated. Most … Continue reading →

A florentine from Florence

Posted on April 23, 2013 by camparigirl

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The year I spent studying in Florence is a blur of long nights in an old shared apartment in the center of town,  walks along the narrow streets to the University building, the ice-cream cones from Vivoli and the double orders … Continue reading →

This much I know – Graziella Arcovito

Posted on April 22, 2013 by camparigirl

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This is part of an occasional series of interviews in which we ask older women to look back on their lives and pass on some words of wisdom to younger women. Graziella Arcovito, 78 years old Some boyfriends come with … Continue reading →

Monkeys with money and guns.

Posted on April 21, 2013 by sofagirl

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The last seven days have been filled with the horrors of humanity on it’s worst behaviour. We’ve taken to throwing bombs at our problems – and during the past week we exploded a marathon, decimated a wedding party, destroyed a … Continue reading →

Thought for the week …#31

Posted on April 20, 2013 by camparigirl

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world” Margaret Meade

Of Law and (dis)Order

Posted on April 19, 2013 by camparigirl

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Since becoming an US citizen, I have been experiencing all kinds of treats previously not open to legal aliens: voting, volunteering in the Presidential election, whipping out my blue passport when re-entering the country, by-passing the immigration lines (alright, I … Continue reading →

Tuna, tomato and basil with peas: the no-cook, rave-review pasta sauce

Posted on April 17, 2013 by sofagirl

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When the Nieces and Nephew come for dinner – I try to cook something they like, will eat with the minimum of fuss, that allows us to sit easily around a table and chat, that gives them good nutrition … … Continue reading →

….it’s what we do that counts. A further thought on Marilyn and us

Posted on April 15, 2013 by camparigirl

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Last Summer, my mother suggested a strange outing: “Will you take me to see Marilyn Monroe’s gravesite? I think she is buried in Los Angeles”. It turns out Marilyn is buried in a pretty, small and serene cemetery just behind … Continue reading →

Apple Crumble for Breakfast?

Posted on June 5, 2013 by sofagirl

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I woke up to a torrent of rain – it was still darkish, at 7.15am, and my plans to take Jack out for an early amble and breakfast evaporated. He was sticking firmly under the duvet at my feet – … Continue reading →

Letting go of the D word

Posted on June 3, 2013 by camparigirl

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Last week I had lunch with one of my best friends, who happens to be a chef, and about a decade younger than me. “I have been trying to eat better” she mentions. As we kept on talking about her … Continue reading →