Year End Parties, Celebrations & Food!!!

This month has been filled with food, food, food and more food! Not many pictures though as I could not/forgot to take photos before the food was devoured...

1st Wedding Anniversary (10.12.2011)
We celebrated by having dinner at a Michelin star restaurant, Le Bon Accueil. Too shy to take out my camera to take photos. It is after all a Michelin star restaurant...

Appetizer

• Cheese puffs
• Pan fried scallops with peppers

1st main meal

• Cabillaud fish with mushrooms

2nd main meal

• Farm chicken in yellow wine

Dessert

• Cheese platter
• Variety of cakes and ice cream
• Coffee

Beverages

• White wine
• Bottled sparkling water

Work Party (22.12.2011)
The party was in the same place as last year. Did not take photos because I did not want to explain what the photos are for. Let's keep this blog between family and friends for now!

Appetizer

• Brioche
• Foie gras
• Smoked duck

1st main meal

• Fish... (can't remember anything else, but it was good!!)

2nd main meal

• Some meat... (can't remember anything else, but it was good!!)

Dessert

• Cheese platter
• Coconut ice cream
• Variety of cakes
• Coffee and tea

Beverages

• Champagne
• Red wine
• White wine
• Bottled water
• Juice

Christmas Eve (24.12.2011)
We were invited to a friend's home for dinner, and so we celebrated with the friends family and had a really good time. No photos again...

Appetizer

• Olives
• Miushroom pie
• Scallops in mushroom sauce

1st main meal

• Grilled octopus in olive oil and paprika
• Steamed potatoes

2nd main meal

• Braised leg of pork with bacon, chestnuts and baby carrots
• Green salad

Dessert

• Variety of cakes
• Chocolate truffles from Guignard
• Coffee and tea

Beverages

• Champagne
• Red wine
• White wine
• Bottled water

Christmas Day (25.12.2011)
We celebrated at home and instead of having a big meal, we decided to have many appetizers instead! It worked out quite well as we did not feel stuffed at the end. Totally forgot to take photos!!!

Appetizer

• Foie gras on mini toasts
• Tuna, corn, peas & carrots vol-au-vent
• Ginger & onion fried frog legs
• Fried mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese
• Fried sesame chicken with sweet chilli sauce

Dessert

• Chocolate Christmas log cake

Beverages

• Red wine
• Water

Celebration with Friends (28.12.2011)
We hosted a steamboat party for some friends to celebrate the end of the year! Aihhh... again, forgot to take photos... only remembered after when the food was gone.

Appetizer

• Japanese crackers
• Sesame flutes
• Anchovies stuffed olives

Steamboat ingredients

• Chicken
• Beef
• Pork wantan
• Pork balls
• Fish
• Scallops
• Prawns
• Quails eggs
• Bean sprouts, lettuce, chinese cabbage
• Rice noodles

Dessert

• Blackberry cake
• Homemade chocolate truffles
• Coffee and tea

Beverages

• Red wine
• Sparkling blueberry drink
• Water

Presents received from the steamboat party!

New Year's Eve (31.12.2011)
We will do what we did for Christmas day again! We will be Skype-ing with our family in flamenco land especially for the 12 gongs & grapes at midnight! I got some photos! Thankfully evil saint reminded me!!!

Appetizer

• Foie gras on mini toasts & cream of cauliflower

• Chicken & mushroom vol-au-vent

• Cheese, onion & corn pancakes with guacamole

• Fried mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese & devil chicken wings with blue cheese sauce

Dessert

• Apple crumbles made with ginger bread

Beverages

• Christmas beer
• Sparkling lychee drink
• Venezuelan rum

The Makings Of a Nursery (Part 2)

It has been over a month since I updated photos of popcorn's nursery. I must confess that when I started thinking about the nursery, practicality and necessities were my only goals. And so I have always had the disapproving thought when friends who are parents tell me the amount they spent. And then came December... in my defense, I am after all, a shopaholic who is not required to go to work anymore...

The collapsible-travel playpen.
This will be popcorn's temporary cot for his first 2 months as he will be rooming with mommy & daddy.

The inside of the playpen.

• Football soft toy from Ikea courtesy of evil saint. Football brainwashing from daddy...
• Dragon soft toy courtesy of evil drow. Fantasy world brainwashing from mommy...
• Rabbit in the hat, plays a lullaby when the rabbit is pulled out of the hat.
• Blue monkey sleeping bag from Ikea.

Lighting for the nursery, a wooden toy aeroplane.

Hard to resist with Christmas sales and 25% off!

popcorn's bath & changing trolley.
The cheapest item in the nursery!

• This trolley used to be my steamboat/barbecue party trolley. All it needed was a little fixing up and cleaning and voila!
• Shampoo and moisturiser bottles courtesy of popcorn's grand mommy.
• Cotton balls and squares from my manicure & pedicure stocks.
• Everything else (except for the musical toy, hair brush & bath thermometer) are freebies from dr cool and pharmacies.

Dangling circus from Ikea. Hangs over the changing table to serve as a "distraction".

The wardrobe, diaper bin, changing table & mat, dangling circus toy and bath & changing trolley.

popcorn's real cot.

• My collection of Looney Tunes toys from evil saint 4 years ago. Could not find Daffy Duck...
• Blue bear sleeping bag.
• Caterpillar toy from popcorn's little cousins in flamenco land.

And finally, my Xmas gift from evil saint...

• Graco automatic swing with 6 different speeds.
• Portable enough to be moved around the apartment.
• Also doubles are a rocker with vibrating features.
• 4 seat and 3 reclining positions.
• Plays a variety of sounds and songs.
• MP3 plugin allows playing of personalised favourites.

Couples Counseling in Basel

And so evil saint and me spent 3 days in couples counseling in Basel earlier this week. The course was fun and I truly enjoyed myself. I discovered that,

• I truly have the Chinese genes in me. My instinct to demolish the other party in a negotiation is uncontrollable.
• Collaborative negotiation can only be theoretical. Why would you trust the other party that you are negotiating with? Would you buy a house without a transfer of ownership?
• Cross-cultural negotiation is something that me and evil saint do everyday. We must be experts...
• I am still an introvert. evil saint is an extrovert. Was there any doubt?
• In every training course, there is always a clown.
• 5-star hotels can have uncomfortably hard beds with pillows that are so soft they are non-existent.
• I can eat a lot of Rösti (high class hashbrowns) in 3 days.
• Christmas is still my favourite time.

The start of the Christmas market

Christmas lights decorating the city streets

Right in the center of the famous Basel Christmas market

5-carriage pumpkin ferris wheel for little children

Another "Gift Box" from My Pre-natal Class

I say "gift box" because I actually have to pay for my pre-natal class. This Baby Gift Box was given to us (4 moms-to-be) on our last day of the class. If I remember correctly, I should receive another one of these either from dr cool or the hospital once popcorn is born... in any case, here are the goodies

• Long sleeved baby tee for popcorn sponsored by La Halle!

• Short sleeved baby tee sponsored by Oeko-Tex.

• Baby feeding bib sponsored by La Mobilière, i.e. public transport people...

• Can't really figure out what this one is... its quality is like cloth diapers but its size is like a big handkerchief. Cloth diaper? Handkerchief? Sponsored by Nestlè.

• Toothbrush sponsored by Colgate.
• Baby and nappy cream sponsored by Mustela.
• More nappy rash cream sponsored by Bayer.

• New baby diapers and baby wet wipes sponsored by Pampers.
• More Filetti baby laundry powder.

• A bottle of Rivella (malt drink) to boost mommy's milk production.
• Breast pads and more milk boosting instant drink sachet from Milupa.
• One serving of body balance (my favourite muesli!!) muesli from Familia.
• A "Baby on Board" car sticker from Nestlè.

• Put them all together and... VOILA!!!

Remember my free baby bag gift coupon from the Sun Store pharmacy? I went back to the branch that was in the same building as our office to buy my wrist brace last Friday. bad mood pharmacist was not there and so I shamelessly flashed my coupon to the lady behind the counter and got another free baby bag Thing is, she did not take my coupon after giving me the bag! I am out of control... just take the coupon from me before I am buried in baby bags!!

A Taste of Bvlgari

And I mean it literally... if you cannot afford the jewelry, try the water

Why would San Pellegrino do that??? Would you drink more San Pellegrino because the label now has Bvlgari on it?

I had it with my pizza... classy...