Happy New Year :D

Good Lord, I’m stuffed.

At the beginning it was planned we’d go out and have dinner, but since the restaurant we were planning on visiting unfortunately was closed today we had to come up with some new plans. So mami came up with the solution to make smörgåstårta (= like a sandwich layer cake), which eventually ended up in a three course meal, haha. It was really good but also very fat, haha.

Appetizer: kavring with Parma ham & cucumber; with skagen & prawn

Main course: smörgåstårta

Dessert: Panna cotta with chocolate for me; with blackberries & raspberries for mami and sis (these mami didn’t make though, haha)

Oh, soon it’s time for the toast with champagne, so I’ll wish you all a Happy New Year and the next time I’ll be back is in 2010...

Strawberries and champagne

I know that this probably will sound a bit weird, but I can’t stop sniffing at myself. Haha…I’ve always been the “touchy” girl, but afer using Victoria Secret’s Strawberries and Champagne body lotion (great combo, huh?) I can’t resist sniffing on my skin. I smell so good, haha! :D

However, that’s just good from my point of view. Smelling delicious is a top priority on New Year’s Eve, haha…

Lots to do

My first look out the window this morning...

Oh dear, there is so much that needs to be done today considering the fact that it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow. First of all I have to give myself a facial, followed by a full body treatment and then I’ll try to do something about my nails…I know I sound very shallow, but who doesn’t want to look and feel at her/his top when it’s New Year’s Eve? - I know I want to at least.

Then we have New Year’s resolutions to write and hopefully (if I have time) a lipstick to buy from Helena Rubinstein. They have 50% off on her stuff at Kicks! :D OK, got to get cracking. I have no time to lose.

Tuesday

Today, I haven’t done very much. It has been -11°C so I didn’t feel like going outside at all. Instead I’ve been sitting inside with a cup of tea reading Eclipse. Yes, that’s right. I’m on book three now, which I started yesterday :D Well well, it’s soon 8.00 p.m. which means Ugly Betty time!

Hope you’ll have a great evening…=)

In my shopping bags ;D

The reason why I love sales is simple. Lots of stuff. Lots of savings. Here is what slipped into my shopping bags the past two days...

The biggest saving was the tweed jacket from Vero Moda...SEK 400 (!!!) I saved for that one.

This übercute skirt is from H&M makes me longing for spring time.

Last but not least I bought a set of three pairs of panties from Sonia Rykiel (blue/black/pink), and a pair of "msiadollish" ones from Gina Tricot. :)

Altogether I saved SEK 678.50 to be precise, so see why I just looooove sales! :D

Poor feet

Finally I am finished with Gränby Centrum. I can't say that I am over and done with the "after Christmas sale" (come on, I haven't even been down to town yet), but it truly has its effects on my poor feet. Lucky for them I got to sit down for a while when having coffee with my godfather and his wife this afternoon. That was pretty nice actually, haha. They are both going back to Budapest tomorrow, so they just thought that they would come by before they left. Even though we didn't sit there very long, he did mention that they were planning on moving to another apartment there, so that when we go there again, we will live somewhere else...Hmm, that sounds kind of promising huh? Haha...

I mean, I didn't love Budapest, but I don't mind going there again (with hopes of the temperature being close to 30 °C and not freaking 10 °C!)

2009's Christmas gifts

Yesterday I had no time for blogging so I didn't put up anything of what I got for Christmas, but now I am here and this was 2009's Christmas gifts pour moi...

I wished for one sort of chocolate from Lindt (the smallest package) but mami obviously wants me fat and bought me three! Haha...

I still know that there are quite many gifts even though I wrote earlier that I wouldn't get as much this year. Instead I would get money so I could shop whatever I wanted after Christmas. But in our family we are quite generous when it comes to gifts so...hehe.

Well well, I am off to bed early tonight. Deadly tired somehow. So good night little blog and little readers out there!

Time for Christmas presents

Evening already. But the night is long and that implies that it is time for opening Christmas presents. Weeee! Haha...However, mami said that we were going to go light on them this year. Not because of the economic crisis, but because it's so much more fun to get money and then go and shop till you drop on the "after Christmas" SALE. If I remember I will put up some pictures of what I got tomorrow sometime, but until then hasta la vista, baby :D

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I know that it's not international Christmas yet (that is tomorrow), but here in Sweden we simply love Christmas so much that we celebrate one day before, the 24th of December. So far I've only had some risgrynsgröt and a cup of tea but later there will be a lot of ham, salmon and herring going down my stomach; not to forget chocolate. Because Christmas isn't Christmas without some chocolate, haha...

This year Christmas is being spent at home again. Actually we were invited to celebrate Christmas with auntie Katherine and her family (one of mami's best friends), but even though they are like family to us, I like it best to be at home with our little family. Haha, gosh it felt so egoistic to write that! However, we will meet them soon anyway since uncle Bob, auntie Ivette (auntie Katherine's sister) and their son and wife are coming to Sweden from the US over Christmas...So, luckily it's not the end of the world if we don't meet them today.

Okidoki, I'll probably come by again later. Ciao for now :D

Hot chocolate at Café Storken

Today I had a huge crave for hot chocolate with marshmallows, and I got the hot chocolate but unfortunately not with marshmallows in it. But on the other hand I had some good company to enjoy the treat with, so it wasn't that bad. All in all, I spent three hours at Café Storken with my long lost friends and it was three very nice hours, haha. I really feel guilty for not staying in touch with them for 1.5 years (?). Of course I've been thinking about it from time to time, but I've just had so much going on and as the months just passed I didn't know whether or not it would be a good idea to meet after all. Maybe we had all just grown apart...

Luckily, I ran into Yasmine at Sensual Red last weekend, and we agreed on getting together for coffee someday. Not was I prepared that the coffee with Yasmine would turn into coffee with Winnie and Sofia as well. But that was what it was, and it was really great meeting the girls again. I've missed them, and what I know now is that I will never let another 1.5 years pass without meeting them again.

Yasmine and Sofia
Yum yum hot chocolate

Little Winnie

Freedom...kind of

Finally I'm off duty for three whole weeks!!! - Or at least kind of...When you're in the IB there is not really such a thing as "pure freedom " since you always will have some kind of assignment to plan or a subject to improve in. Anyway, today I refuse to let such issues occupy my mind. It is only two more days up until Christmas and as soon as mami gets home from work, I will follow her Christmas shopping at Gränby Centrum. Mostly it will be grocery shopping, but if I'm lucky I might find some last minute Christmas gifts, hehe.

Today's dress-for-success was a knitted cardigan from Bondelid (it's like my new favourite cardigan nowadays :D), jeans leggings from Lindex and brown boots from I don't remember (as in I don't remember, not the store's name, haha...Gosh, my humor sucks).

Today's makeup was all about the eyes...and I got pretty satisfied with the result myself, haha...

Thank God for friends :D

Today was the last day of school before Christmas break and the lessons never seemed to end. It didn't exactly get any better when I found out that Callie was sick, so my economics class was cancelled. (i.e. meaning that I missed out finishing off our Monopoly game from last week ;(...)

Well well, besides the never ending lessons I had some dear friends to enjoy the day with...

On our super long Monday lunch, our little professional pianist smuggled us into the Assembly Hall...

Maria has been playing for many years and she's simply awesome on the piano, haha...


Don't ask me what they were thinking, haha...

Since there was no economics, we decided to go grab some coffee (or chocolate cheesecake for my part)...yum yum...

My darlings Shilan and Lewar at Café Cappuccino; apparently Shilan was hungry...


Uppsala, when it is most beautiful.

Christmas baking

I decided to stay in today since my feet still are a bit soar after all the dancing at my friend Sara's Sensual Red party yesterday. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera, but if I find some pictures on Facebook later I'll put them up. Haha, don't we just love Facebook for such reasons? So, as I said I spent the day inside instead of being out in the snow. So, that gave me the opportunity to do some Christmas baking with jie jie (big sister in Chinese). Or she was the boss that did most of the stuff while I was the...

...staff. ^^

It was actually the first time I Christmas baked at home and it was so much fun. We made Rocky Road Fudge (told you I would!) and Mozartkulor, but right now they're still in the refrigerator so I haven't got a taste of them yet. If they become a success (which they probably will be), I will seriously consider pursuing a small dream I've had floating around of jie jie and me opening a café some day in the future, haha.

Melting chocolate for Rocky Road Fudge

Then in with the peanuts and marshmallows

Me in the process of making Mozartkulor

But then there was that part when jie jie had to take over

Tata! Ready for the refrigerator :)

Finally some laughs over Macbeth

Good morning little blog.

It has been quite some time since I posted something this early, but the thing is that I was sitting and reading Shakespeare's play Macbeth just now and the funniest dialogue so far popped up from no where.

From Act 4 Scene 2 (even though I don't really expect anyone to own a Macbeth...haha)
.

Son: Was my father a traitor, mother?

Lady Macduff: Ay, that he was.

Son: What is a traitor?

Lady Macduff: Why, one that swears and lies.

Son: And be all traitors, that do so?

Lady Macduff: Every one that does so is a traitor and must be hanged.

Son: And must they all be hanged that swear and lie?

Lady Macduff: Every one.

Son: Who must hang them?

Lady Macduff: Why, the honest men.

Son: Then the liars and swearers are fools, for there are liars and swearers enough to beat the honest men and hang them up.

Lady Macduff: Now God help thee, poor monkey, but how wilt thou do for a father?

Slowly panicking here...

On Tuesday next week it's finally Christmas break, but to be honest I really don't know how I should react to that. In a way it is scary, because I know I have tonnes of stuff I have to do, and by that I don't only mean school stuff but also friend-time. But at the same time I have to find the time to relax and just enjoy my life. - And not to forget, make bargains on the biggest SALES of the year! Well well, I guess I have to make a To Do list because that is something I am really good at, haha. But then also, I tend to make my lists quite long...hmm...aargh...we'll just see how it turns out. Priority number one at this point is to buy Christmas presents for mami and sis; yeah I know, I shouldn't be buying Christmas presents last minute but it just didn't occur to me that I should have thought of that earlier. So now when all of my friends are so happy about having bought all of their presents, I am slightly panicked. Or maybe I have already bought something for sis, I seriously don't remember. Shit, is that a bad sign? -.-

It was - 8 °C today so my cozy Bondelid hood went on. Too bad I don't have any hood with the print Malaysia though, haha :P

Snow has arrived

This was what I saw looking out the window this morning.

Beautiful to look at but quite horrible to be out in.

The snow has finally found its way to the part of Sweden where I live and it has been snowing non-stop ever since this morning. Hopefully it will last until next week, because that would mean that we will have a white Christmas for once...Many people might think that just because Sweden lies very far up north on the continent, there is always snow during Christmas. Well guess what? It never is. Unless if you live in the northern parts of Sweden, like my little friend Maria. Then the snow arrives earlier and stays on since it's like - 20°C during this season. Gosh, I just realized I am so happy I don't live there! I would freeze to death.

Anyhow, when it's snowing it is always more cozy to hold something hot in you hands, so if you excuse me I am going to go and make myself a cup of Earl Grey now. Ciao.

Vaccinated

Now it's done. I am finally vaccinated against the swine flu and I can add that the procedure was quick and painless. Or at least for the moment. Now, after a couple of hours, it has started to really kick in. But as long as no one accidentally bumps into my left arm (or if I were to stupidly walk into a door or something), I will be fine. I think. We will just have to wait and see if the pain is gone by tomorrow. Alright, right now I am going to go and enjoy some mango waiting for me in the couch. It is the first night in decades (?!) that I haven't got any homework...=)

3rd Advent

It's already 3rd Advent today, and not to forget - Lucia! I still remember those old times back in like 4th grade when we all dressed up for the yearly Luciatåg (it's like a small parade or something) which was an event that our parents were "forced" to attend, even though I think they quite gladly did, haha...However I did not dress up for a Luciatåg today, but I did have a lot of Christmas candy and mulled wine with the taste of blueberry/ lingonberry and another one with vanilla flavor. Yum yum.

So good...my lovely sis baked everything herself :)

We have all the three flavors in our house - it's the only mulled wine I actually like, hehe.

Bye bye sudoku

Sadly enough I might have found the explanation to my exhaustion. Sudoku.

This morning I read a small article about what impact sudoku and crosswords have on you, and obviously I have to stop doing six in a row. - Unless I want to end up fat and with a brain-burn out. I've heard that a sudoku or a crossword a day only does one good, since it makes your brain cells work. And that is not a lie, if you do ONE a day, so to say. However, the article says that it is so challenging to our brains that it makes us super-tired, even though we haven't moved an inch...And that is exactly what I have been feeling lately.

So, from this day on I am limiting myself of doing two sudoku and one crossword a day - at maximum. Because I don't want to become fat, and I really need to keep my brain shape if I am going to be able to continue the IB.

The article, but in Swedish though.

Poor grandpa

Horrible mami. Usually, she calls grandpa almost every weekend, but then she one time forgot, and then forgot it again, and again...And again; even though I reminded her several times! She has simply been too busy focusing on other stuff up until yesterday, because that was when a phone call came at 6 a.m. from my eldest cousin (those people never look at the time before calling, haha!). Apparently he called to check if we were still alive on the other side of the world, since grandpa had started to worry. And who can blame him? When he is so used of hearing from us almost every week, and then all of the sudden, nothing for eight (?) weeks. No wonder he started to think we were dead in some way...Poor grandpa. Awful mami. But at least she called him later yesterday; that's a good start.

Art exhibition

I am surrounded by a lot of talented people these days and one of them is my cutie friend Taraneh. She is studying Higher Level Art, and she definitely lives up to the reputation of doing so. In other words, she's a super great artist, and no matter how self-critical she can be when it comes to her work, I absolutely love her art and envy her skills. Today she had an art exhibition in school; of course had to check out some of her work and here are some of it for you to enjoy...

Starting from black and white...

Going into colors...

But then changing direction...into handmade flowers. (I love those!)

Last but not least, the very talented artist herself. Very proud of you girl. :)

My perfectionist side is apparently showing...

I didn't have a very good hair day this morning and therefore decided to tie my hair into a bun. Then I looked at my schedule realizing that it was Thursday, which means that I only have two lessons. So, I put on some things I just had lying in front of me (not on the floor if that's what you think! I can never throw clothes on the floor and just leave them lying there until they go into the washing machine, it's gross). Anyway, this was how I looked when going to school:

Pairing it off with my super beloved pink bag, which dresses up every outfit. (Even a tracksuit. Suck on that! :P)

Then, as I was taking my seat in TOK (Theory of Knowledge), one of my favourite teacher Ric Sims asked me how I was doing today.

Me: I'm fine, thanks! How are you?

Ric: I'm good. But it's just that, I can't manage to figure out how you always seem to have everything so perfect...

Me: *smiling*

Ric: There's this perfection around you. You never have a bad day, not even when it comes to hair, clothes, shoes...or even the bag you're wearing. It's rather amazing actually.

Me: *Smiling even bigger now*...Hey, I had a bad hair today. That's why I tied my hair into a bun.

Ric: Yeah, but even the bun looks neat.

Me: Naah, but you look like that too.

Ric: No, I don't.

Me: Yes, you do.

Ric: No, I really don't.

YES, HE DOES. Everyday he wears a buttoned shirt under a suit (and that's not looking proper?), and if I didn't know him and I were to pass him by on the street, I would think he was some kind of manager with an eye for philosophy (the fact that he teaches philosophy somehow has its effects), haha. Anyhow, that comment really boosted the perfectionist side of me. So, thanks Ric! ;D

Irresistable Rocky Road Fudge

Puuh. I can't put words on how nice it is to come home to a quiet home after spending a couple of hours with wild children that are running around everywhere, and screaming all the time. I am so happy I don't have any small siblings. I would make a terrible big sis to them, haha. But besides all the noise and wild games all the "small people" were occupying themselves with, I had a great time. Especially with that Rocky Road Fudge...I was suppose to take two pieces, but somehow I just happened to double the size, and now I am guilty as charged, hehe. But even though they must be huge calorie bombs, I have to learn how to make those. Trudi said it was really easy, and that I could just google it. So regardless of how much I have to exercise afterwards, I will make those because they are simply too good to resist.

Risgrynsgröt

Vicki was the cutest sister ever this morning. While we all were still sleeping, she sneaked down to the grocery store to surprise us by buying risgrynsgröt. You guys have no idea how much I love risgrynsgröt, but it's a lot of love I can say...I think it is one of the major reason why I love Christmas - because then you can eat a lot of risgrynsgröt without people telling you "why do you want to it risgrynsgröt all the time? It's not even Christmas yet!". Anyhow, today is Första Advent and I have to start getting ready since we are invited to Trudel's yearly Adventsfika at 3.00 p.m. We'll see how long I'll be stuck there...

Oh by the way, have a great Första Advent!

Uppsala Christmas market

Even though it was 5°C and no snow, a tradition is a tradition. So mami, sis and I went down town for the yearly Christmas market, which is always held the weekend of 1st Advent here in Uppsala. I don't think that that many people outside of Sweden (OK, Scandinavia) are that familiar with the term "Advent", but basically it is the four Sundays counting down to Christmas; it is also the time when you are suppose to drink glögg (mulled wine), eat pepparkakor (gingerbread), and of course indulge in big amounts of lussekatter! (Which has the funny translation of Lucia cat!? Haha.) I'm not that found of glögg, but for the sake of Advent and the whole Christmas spirit, I can endure a cup from time to time. After all, it makes the approach of Christmas more like - Christmas.

Another thing that brings me into the Christmas spirit is all of the Christmas songs that they have started to play everywhere. However, I know through experience that this feeling of coziness won't last up until it is Christmas for real. Because then, the same songs playing over and over and over and over again EVERYWHERE have started to get on my nerves, and all I want to do is throw up at it. Nevertheless, that isn't the case yet, so I am just going to enjoy all of it for now. Because regardless, I do like Christmas.

Mami and me

Found this cute and wise statement in a small boutique "It is not important of where you are heading in life...what you do...or how much you own...the important thing is who you have by your side".


Vicki came home with a "Salmon bomb" as a surprise yesterday which made a perfect Saturday snack for today ;) Dangerous, dangerous but delicious, delicious...