Yesterday evening, as one does, I found myself in the posh office of a Sandton City diamond dealer with four lively ladies from New York City.
I’m not much interested in diamonds, although I was intrigued by the tanzanite and semiprecious stones. I’m still thinking about a pair of purple-gold amethysts that I saw, toying with the idea of an early birthday present to myself. But I digress.
As the lively ladies from New York City inspected the diamonds with discerning eyes, I wandered out onto the balcony and watched the sunset. It was pretty.
This photo reminded me of some news: SandtonPlaces, the book I co-authored with Gerald Garner and Brian Unsted, is about to be published. The book will hit store shelves in Joburg during the last week of June. Excitement.
There will be two public launch events for the book:
Wednesday 2 July, 6:30 p.m., at Exclusive Books in Sandton.
Tuesday 29 July, 7:00 p.m., at Skoobs in Montecasino (Fourways).
If you want to buy a book and have it signed by me (I can’t believe I just wrote that) and the other authors, please come to one of those events. Or just buy a book because it’s going to be awesome. The eager beavers among you can even pre-order at a discounted price and have the book delivered right to your house (South African cities only). Contact Gerald at info@joburgplaces.com for more information.
The more I think about it, I believe I really need those purple-gold amethysts in my ears for the launch. I’m SIGNING BOOKS.
Bryna the diamond lady: Thanks for letting me take pictures from your balcony. Please expect a call in the morning.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
In 2020, I published a blog post with tips for Americans living in South Africa who wanted to vote in the U.S. presidential election. I thought about simply resharing that post this year. But then I realized: 1) I want to write a U.S. election post that will be fun and informative for everyone, not just other Americans; and 2) Believe it or not, the U.S. presidential election stakes are even higher in 2024 than they were in 2020. So I’m introducing you to some really cool Americans in Joburg – one who I’ve known forever and two who I just met – and tell you a bit about who they are, why they live here, and why they vote.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.