Two of Us - Part 1

My food passion had early beginnings...

Nicky: I actually can't remember the first time I met Tiff. It was at a kinda reunion dinner in the late 1990's with my husband's old high school friends. Both our hubbies were friends in high school and they had only recently caught up with one another again. So I remember the occasion and the place, but don't remember Tiff being there. It's really funny, cos I'm normally very good at remembering these things and people I meet!

I know Tiff will mention this & of course, I've never forgotten it! Tiff wasn't invited to our wedding in 2000...only Stan was...cos I didn't even know she existed (as explained above), let alone that she was engaged to Stan! I only found out when opening our wedding presents and seeing a card signed by both Stan & Tiff. Oops!! Benny & I later received confirmation of their engagement & subsequently felt really bad when we were invited to their wedding 6 months after ours! We laugh about it as it's so ironic that we're such close friends now.

So then, my 1st real impression of Tiff was on her wedding day, resplendent in a hot pink fuschia number & matching these-are-killing-my-feet heels, with flowing tresses & a flower in her hair. And who could forget their "bridal waltz" - a very original martial arts routine!

I'm not sure what happened next, but somehow our hubbies had been talking about reliving their high school sporting days & decided to take up squash again. With wives in tow, Saturday afternoons were spent at various university squash courts, giving ourselves the biggest workouts of our lives! These were usually followed by dinners together & over time, we realised we had a lot in common...a passion for all things related to food, fashion & travel!

Thanks to the ever-entrepreneurial Stan, he talked the talk, planting ideas in our heads that we didn't have to continue with the humdrum of our jobs (I was a manager in a project management training co. & Tiff was an orthoptist)...that we could actually do something we enjoyed! And after a lot more talking, planning and umm-ing & aah-ing, our t-shirt label Art Can Save the World was born in January 2004. We're enjoying the journey...learning so much about having our own business. Tiff & I have a great rapport & we're always laughing about something or talking nonsense! We also have our different strengths...Tiff is very creative, coming up with the designs & cool ideas; I'm the more organised one, trying to piece things together & work out when they need to get done! My nickname is the Timeline Nazi...

Oh, & it hasn't been all work & no play...we're currently both in awe discovering the world of crafty & foodie blogs out there & on the constant search for new foodie & shopping experiences. And we continue living out my "quality fat" philosophy...if you're going to eat fat, make sure it's Quality Fat eg. a fabulous artisan/home-made pastry vs. the mass-produced variety...otherwise you're wasting fat space! N