GIVEAWAY!

So I've got daughters right? You've probably picked up on that ... And as everyone will tell you (even those without girls, hell even those without kids - everyone), one of the funnest things about having girls is dressing them.
Fun, but not always easy if you're looking for something beyond the standard pink 'n frilly branded fare. So how much do we love this:

Made by the lovely Little Fire Company, Miranda is offering a reader this cutie-patootie little set for the lively fire fly in your life. My girls are loving a flouncy skirt this summer, and I'm sure yours will too!

Right, rules:
1. This giveaway is open to anyone (as in we will ship anywhere). We're global like that.
2. To enter you need to 'Like' the Little Fire Company and C is for Cape Town on facebook and then email me at cisforcapetown[at]gmail.com confirming you've done that.
(Psst, y'all know when emailing to use the @ sign right? The silly brackets thing above is just to avoid spambots. Don't tell them okay?)
3. Competition closes 30 November and a winner will be drawn that weekend.

The little set is available in size 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7.

All Little Fire Company goodies (there's SO much more than clothing) can be purchased from their website, and Miranda will be at the following pre-Christmas markets in and around Cape Town too ... the Doilie Market at our favourite Little Stream Restaurant this Saturday, 25 November, and Cavendish Square's Made in the Cape market on the first weekend in December. She also has an open morning at her Observatory studio on the 2nd Saturday of every month.

Spread the word, like the stuff, win the things!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED - WE HAVE A WINNER! Thanks everyone who played along.

muizenbosch: outdoor films in muizenberg

There's so much still to discover about our new 'hood - places to see, food to eat, friends to make and not least of all: events to attend!
The first Muizenbosch outdoor film screening happened while we were all in fug from the 'flu but this time ... this time I wanna be there!

Taking place on Saturday 1 December on the Muizenberg Public Pool field next to the Putt-Putt course from  7-9 pm the venue promises to be wind-protected and safe with loads of easy, free parking, hot dog vendors on hand and even a playground next door for kiddies with ants in their pants.

And what's screening? Well that remains to be seen ... local film company Substance Films is curating this one and they've put out a call for filmmakers to submit their work for consideration. Doccies, dramas, shorts, animation, music videos, the theme is 'In Love with Local' so if it's Cape Town and it's good: send it in!

Here's the promo, you got the info, bring your R30 per adult (under 13 free) and come watch a fliek under the stars on the lawn next to the beach ... in my new 'hood.

one city block: east city

I had half an hour to kill in Cape Town's fabulous East City district during the week. This is the part of Cape Town instrumental in winning us the 2014 Design Capital bid over a year ago, and with good reason.

In one short block, 30 minutes and 50+ photos I came across more creativity then I could properly absorb. Here are some of the highlights ...

World famous Charly's Bakery.

Someone at Charly's was clearly having a less-than-awesome day ...

I couldn't see a tag on this, anyone know whose it is?

Funny little car.

Magnificent Woodheads.

Funny big car.

One of Faith 47's masterpieces. She is genius.

Home of the magnificent Design Team. How lovely is this building?

And just as lovely on the inside.

So much beauty in just one tiny corner of this lovely city. Cape Town, you inspire me endlessly...

fear factor

I caught a little bit of a fascinating talk on the Redi Thlabi Show about the different roles mothers and fathers play in their children's lives. It was interesting because her guest (whose name I didn't get!) had some pretty unique and fresh input, more than the staid 'mothers teach you to nurture and fathers to throw a ball' kind of crap.

One of my best things was he said that an important role of fathers is to teach their daughters to be fearless. He expanded: fearless to hammer a nail/ trust a man/ jump off a high rock/ stand by her convictions/ argue a point/ be vulnerable/ be pretty.
And then I got to where I was going and had to turn the radio off. I wish I could have carried on listening.

But I've been thinking about it a lot since.

I think Husband's doing pretty well on this. He gave Friday the fearlessness to take on that big swing, and she regularly enjoys a little adrenalin rush on the back of his bike (in the road outside our house, going really slowly...).

She's proving to be strong and confident pushing herself off on a borrowed paddle-ski last weekend with nary a fear or hesitation.

It does my heart proud to see my girls being courageous. And I think I'm not bad at encouraging their bravado myself.

There's a very steep pedestrian bridge near our house and it was on my watch that the girls started careening down it on their black plastic pushbikes, screeching down at heart-stopping speeds all screams of delight and burning rubber off the soles of their sneakers, drawing appreciative glances from the teenage skate-boarders milling around.
I was thrilled with my little daredevils.

Ironically though the first time their father witnessed this activity he was horrified. As the girls flew down the bridge towards us he couldn't look - crouching on the ground covering his face babbling about skin grafts and hospital stays.
I was forthwith stripped of my title of Super Cool Mum and instead branded Negligent Parent of the Week, and a new rule was decreed:
Helmets!

I guess it's all about finding that balance between their fearlessness and our own ...

toilet roll crowns

Like a princess in a fairy tale, a cardboard toilet roll rises from its humble beginnings to become a bejeweled and wondrous thing of beauty ...

I loved these teeny-weeny crowns since I first saw them on Pinterest, and now the girls do to. We started off just making a couple for them to play around in, but got into full production mode for a recent family birthday gathering.

I don't have enough decent in-process shots but I can tell you they're super easy to make - cut rolls, paint rolls, bejewel rolls, tie elastic - and give you one helpful tip: clip a laundry peg to the roll to make a handle while painting it.

Ta-dah!

Ridiculously small, ridiculously cute, we're starting to think about themed ones for Christmas Day ...

girls will be boys will be girls will be boys

I've been fretting recently about how often I notice mothers saying 'Oh, you're such a boy' to their sons. As we know I don't have sons so this is possibly one of those things I should just leave alone ... but, just briefly, I won't.

I don't like gender bias as a rule, and it makes me particularly uncomfortable when people do it to kids. What does 'such a boy' even really mean?

We all know what 'such a girl' means. And that's why I never say it. There's a negative connotation right? An implication of softness, or squeamishness, or (horror) being over-emotional.
I don't say to my girls, when they're dressed all in pink or pushing dolls around in prams or freaking out 'cos they got duck poo on their feet, 'Oh, you're such a girl.' Just as I wouldn't say it to them when they're smashing rocks (ja, all those pretty rocks ...) or kicking a ball around the lawn or pulling wings off flies.
And when they're being unreasonable, or farting in public, or punching each other I certainly won't say 'Don't be such a boy', although I've had mothers admit to saying the opposite to their sons when they've thought they're being 'girlie'.

Yes, I have been intrigued to see how my youngest girl has embraced dolls and playing 'baby' since she could just crawl, I watch in equal parts fascination and horror as my 5 year old totally falls for the pink marketing so rife out there. No doubt if I had a son I'd be as amazed to observe his undeniably male character traits, and I'm sure I'd be proud of his boisterous bravado, or ability to quietly play Lego for hours (I'm particularly disappointed to never experience that one!), but I like to think I'd never voice his gender specificity to him directly.
I like to think I'm conscious about not engaging in any gender stereo-typing when talking to the girls at all (although out of their earshot I've been known to accuse my husband of 'screaming like a girl' - the spiders in this house are really, really scary!).

But maybe this is a concern for mothers of girls more than those with boys. Maybe this is purely my baggage about the world they're entering and the optimistic belief, like so many mothers before me, that somehow what I instill in my daughters before leaving home will reflect in the world they'll inhabit. That maybe this generation will be the one to experience a different gender paradigm.
Maybe this is all my own hey-sho-wow hope that if we don't pigeon-hole our kids at home they'll be freer to be themselves in the world? Girls can be tough and boys can be soft. Hurling rocks at ducks is not 'being a boy', pretending to change the nappy of the same rock not 'being a girl'.
Maybe our kids can just be kids and deal with all this complex gender crap as it comes, 'cos it will, without any prodding from their mothers.

When discussing this with my husband however, his parting shot was this, 'So what do you think the long term effects of calling them 'disgusting creatures' will be? Because you seem to do that pretty often.'

Oh, oops.