Seasons Greetings!

Have a wonderful christmas everyone.and hope we will all have a fabulous 2012!

xoxo

15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and all about the weekend!

kenzo jungle!

l'eaupar kenzo and more sweets!

my new lucky earrings!

christmas and the germans part 4

this will be the last part of my christmas experience in bavaria three years ago.

we went to the marienplatz, my favorite munich spot.

christmas and the germans part 3

just a few kilometres away from fussen is the fairy-tale castle that inspired walt disney to create cinderella's castle in disney theme parks - the neuschwanstein castle.

it looks very, very romantic from afar and from up-close.the neo-romanesque castle was commissioned by king ludwig of bavaria as a retreat and homage to richard wagner.

christmas and the germans part 2

this is a recap of our 2008 december mini-break in munich.

like i said previously, germany has one of the most romantic and charming christmas celebrations in the world.

christmas and the germans part 1

no offense to the christians, myself included, but i have a feeling that the germans invented christmas. well, how to properly celebrate it, anyway.

there's no tackiness, no plastic trees, just real, fuzzy, christmas-feeling.

12, 13, 14 and more events!

schnapps!

more sweets!

more facial masks!

***

santa, baby!

there was a christmas tree lighting ceremony at the nearby rotana so the t family and nanny all marched to the hotel.

we came right in time as the choir was just starting to sing.

10, 11 and the uae national day!

a piece of chocolate and uh, a face paint kit? hee.

a lucky magnetic charm from ireland! baahhh

**

the uae celebrates its national every december 2. as it fell on a friday which is the official weekend in the uae, the government granted december 1 as a holiday.

7,8,9 and oma and opa's visit!

cucumber face mask!

a christmas ornament (my favorite item so far) to add to our family's ornament box!

parfum d'ete by kenzo!

**

oma and opa came a-visitin' for about 10 days. baby was very, very happy, surrounded by all these people who love her.it pays that she is already able to say "oma" and "opa."

6!

happy saint nicholas day!



i am definitely familiar with good ol' santa claus, but not with jolly ol' saint nicholas.in europe, he is more popular than santa. anyway, they both spread good tidings and cheer, so what's the difference, ey?

mr t tried hard to look for an old saint nick's chocolate, but he could not find one here in dubai so we will pretend that he is saint nicholas, ok?

what i find fascinating is this little creature called "krampusse."

he accompanies santa claus and frightens off kids who were naughty. he does look very, very scary so i'm not even posting an image of him here.just google him.

**

only 18 days to go...

i don't think i've ever gotten so excited for christmas like now. could it be because we will go to somewhere cold and very christmas-y? *wink*

and having a baby just triples the fun.oh how i wish she would enjoy her very first (hopefully) white christmas.

3,4,5

flower by kenzo!

sweets from my sweet! (baby nicked one of these.hee.)

ireland fridge magnet! (we have a collection of fridge magnets)

thank you...

uae - for being so good and generous to me and my family and to all those who call you "home." thank you for the opportunities and the blessings. HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY to you!!!

coca-cola - for making me cry! this one hits the spot.



mr t - for my advent present for today - an irish blessing christmas ornament! something to add to the family chistmas tree for this year and for the years to come!

this is it!

it's december! yahoo!!! cartwheels!!!

and what's better, today is declared a holiday in celebration of the islamic new year and the uae national day which is officially celebrated on the second of december.

mr t is starting a tradition of having advent calendars at home. i am not quite familiar with this as i'm guessing it's mostly a european or german tradition, to be specific.

advent calendars are used as count downs in anticipation of christmas day. the one that we have has 24 cloth sheets with pockets that has to be filled in with chocolates or small gift items. ours is shaped like a (hostaged) bear.kyot!!!

since baby is still too young to appreciate the relevance of it, mr t is offering it to a very willing and captive audience member - me! hahaha.

it's hanging by our kitchen door...

today i took out my first treat, much to my delight! yes, i'm very easy to please, as you may know by now...

winner! hahaha. lovee eett!

thank you, mr t! dear friends, watch this space for daily updates of my advent treats! and lest we forget, christmas is not just about material gifts, ok? ok. just so we are clear.

p.s. oma and opa also brought an advent calendar from munich for baby. here it is, hanging by her cabinet:

oh hello there...

oma and opa are here and thank goodness, baby is showing off her good side.haha! more gramps and gran stories...next!

mr t is in dublin for a five-day work stint.ireland is one of these countries that has always been in my someday-i-will-go-there list, but just thinking about the visa application process just makes me want to crawl under a rock.

so mr t, have some guinness for me and if you see bono, please send him my regards.nyahahahaha.

**

and yet another sprinkling of christmas music dust...



p.s. how cute was sting??? o sige na nga, si bono na din.

my favorite holiday

...hands down, is the christmas season.

how can you not love christmas?

aside from the spiritual and religious aspect, there is just something about this holiday that cheers you up and makes you feel like a kid again.

i am just thankful that although we are living in a muslim country, different religions and celebrations are tolerated here.

so the christmas tree is up, the advent calendar is waiting to be filled, baby is starting to say "mas" for "christmas" and "noe" for "snow." yes, we are in the desert, but one can pretend, eh? anyway, we have ski dubai and the weather now is just gorgeous.

there's also a festive mood in the neighborhood- a beach soccer game, an open-air market, tourists in their warm clothes...

and more christmas songs!

thank you!

something beautiful happened in boracay a year ago

oh wow.however can we relive that day? i don't think we ever can. sigh. i'm just forever grateful to our friends who made it all possible.you all know who you are.

thank you so much for everything.

i was in the salon when i heard this song over the radio.i've forgotten how much i used to love this song. kinilig ako.hihi.so i thought it is just apt to post this and be reminded of that beautiful day in boracay.
 

weekend round-up

we set up our christmas tree last night. hopefully, the trimmings and the overall look of the tree will improve in the years to come, but for now, this is our christmas tree.and we are happy to see it all glittering and shimmering.baby even had a comment on it, "it's nice!"

yes?

oh no! oh yes!

i think i just deleted a whole folder of our roman holiday photos.

cr**.

not that i needed a reason to go back there because frankly speaking, i do not want to. it was one of those trips where we had a tight schedule and where we had to change trains and planes like there was no tomorrow.

and it's just not that.

eid mubarak

we were given a very long weekend  due to eid celebrations! so that's friday until tuesday for all of you, my non-uae readers.

here's a catch-up from last month and last week:

zombies

dude, mr t and i are hooked on this.

oh, the irony

well, what do you know.

my husband has been called off to work for two weeks in...(cue suspense music) p-a-r-i-s!

right smack in the middle of paris fashion week.

this has got to be one of the greatest ironies in life.

when the going gets tough, the tough gets going...

i’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. i’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled christmas tree lights. i’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. i’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” i’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. i’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. i’ve learned that whenever i decide something with an open heart, i usually make the right decision. i’ve learned that even when i have pains, i don’t have to be one. i’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. people love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. i’ve learned that i still have a lot to learn. i’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

- maya angelou

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (munich)

so our last day in munich was spent at the city centre.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (munich)

we left the house with opa with the sun shining, and we arrived in tollwood with rain pelting us like there's no tomorrow.

we ran to the nearest tent with a band playing jazz music.there were lots of people, and of course, baby was fascinated with her surroundings.

she was wearing her pink dirndl (a traditional bavarian costume).too bad she could not really show it off as we had to cover her up.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (munich)

first stop of the day was in the munich zoo!

oh, how i loved that zoo.come to think of it, i was more excited than baby.it was her first time to be in a zoo of this proportion.

i've been to a similar zoo concept in singapore, but the one in munich is bigger.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (munich)

so we spent the remaining days of our summer holiday in munich.

oma and opa have this camping van which is so convenient for us as baby has all this ample space.it was a nightmare to park, but it was mr t's dilemma.not ours.hehe.

like i said before, the weather was strange.it would be sunny then it would be rainy in no time at all.

a li'l intermission

oktoberfest!

today marks the start of the annual oktoberfest in munich.as much as we want to be there, we just can't.

wah!

why?

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (bavaria)

we were back in the bavarian region.

we stopped by at this magnificent church called basilika vierzehnheiligen or the basilica of the fourteen holy helpers in the town of bad staffelstein.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (gotha)

and this was the reason why we drove for hours to go to a quiet east german town...

to watch nena live in concert!

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (gotha)

we went back to munich and had a bit of rest.then off we went to...east germany! gotha, in particular.i was a bit taken aback with the surrounding as it almost reminded me of tuscany.

and what brought us to the east? you will know if you continue on reading.hee.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (toscana)

i cannot believe that it was our last day in tuscany!

after a late breakfast and a comical farewell with alessandro (we even met the equally charming owner of the hotel!), we decided to drive around a bit and absorb whatever beauty we can possibly intake.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (toscana)

florence is the capital and most populated city in tuscany.it is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful historical cities in the world.

it is just not a place to be with a toddler.baby got overwhelmed with the number of tourists swarming the tourist spots.she was screaming and was just...uncomfortable.

a li'l intermission

i friggin' love this song.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (toscana)

we were already spaced out on this day.so we decided to take it easy and just stay put.

mr t and baby went swimming in the pool while i caught up with my books and magazines.i wished i had these with me to read!

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (toscana)

before i begin let me apologize for the grainy quality of the photos.

i forgot to bring my camera charger during this trip.

so we were in one of the most beautiful places on earth and there was no decent camera to capture it!

i sulked for about five minutes.then i realized that what the hey, i will not be consumed with clicking my camera every other minute.

i will just absorb everything that my brain can hold.or so i thought.

tuscany is magical, and my mind cannot do magical.otherwise, it will go bonkers.

and can i please add (sour-graping aside - heh), that there is no way to capture the beauty of this place.it was beautiful beyond words and images.

i used our 2 mp handy camera to take photos.we had a lot of videos though!

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (toscana)

we arrived in the tuscan region late in the afternoon.

we stayed in the most perfect, most charming, most beautiful hotel in signa.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (italia!)

passing by some amazing landscape on the way to italy

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (starnberg-austria-switzerland)

finally, it was the day to start our road trip from munich all the way to tuscany in italy!

but first, we met up with good couples friends c and j, m and i, in starnberg, an upmarket town near munich.

we went to this lovely restaurant for a breakfast buffet.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (bavaria)

i can vaguely remember our few days in munich as i think i just slept most of the time! haha.it was drizzling and the skies were dark.sometimes when the sun would peep out, we would head out to the playground near oma and opa's house.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (wuerzburg)

we took a train to munich, but not without stopping at wuerzburg, a baroque old town.we saw an interesting wedding shop with a "bride" casually for waiting her groom, probably.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (frankfurt)

zeil is a main shopping street in frankfurt, complete with designer and high-street shops.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (frankfurt)

experience.

mr t and i are both suckers for travel experiences.we may not have the latest gadget or the most luxurious fashion item, but we have countless experiences that are simply priceless.

i cannot speak on behalf of my husband, but i am sure he has thousands of stories to tell.as for me, i thrive in experiencing little things.

power of two

i've totally forgotten about this song, until now.

memories! haha.

weekend roundup

it was a weekend just for us! friday was beach day as we took baby out to the sea.and oh, how she loved it!

we were quite surprised as it was not hot as we thought it would be.we went out at around half past seven in the morning, and went back home two hours after.we would not have gone home yet, except that baby swallowed some sea water and we did not have her water bottle with us!

fujairah lovin'

so this time around, mr t and i decided to spend our special day in fujairah.

fujairah is one of the seven emirates of the uae.it is about a two-hour drive from dubai.it's a popular getaway among residents because of its mountains and beaches.

hey you

yes you, dear readers.all 3 of you.heee...

just a li'l inspiration to get us moving.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

hey mr t

this sweet poem which i wish i have written myself is all for you.

Having a coke with you… by Frank O’Hara

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary

it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them
I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time

and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank

or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully
as the horse
it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

**

so thankful that you understand my definition of love - crazy, irrational, yet beautiful

because isn't love supposed to be like that?

**

here's to more wonderful, blessed years together! xoxo

ramadan kareem

have a blessed ramadan.

summer!

*warning: video heavy.don't say i didn't warn you!

yes, the temperature is somewhere in the 40s. thank god for air conditioning.thank god for summer.contradictory much? heh. that's pretty much our life here.

and thank god for happy summer songs

exactly

so sad with what's happening in the world...

baby update

baby was a handful during our trip, but we would not have it any other way!our li'l family bonded to the max, and baby just developed socially.it was amazing.

now, she can name parts of the body like head, nose, eyes, mouth, teeth, ears, chin, hands, feet.one of her favorite songs is, you get it, "head, shoulders, knees and toes."

things i'm grateful for: tuscany

tuscany is *love*

if tokyo assaults your senses in a wonderful way, tuscany lulls you in the most relaxing way.

its gentle rolling hills, golden fields, endless rows of vineyards, magnificent cypress trees, stunning churches and picturesque villas are enough reasons to just stop, and let your surroundings take your breath away.

look who's back!

let me get back to reality.

meanwhile, here are some of my favorite photos from this remarkable trip:

st moritz, switzerland

munich, germany

tuscany, italy

disclaimer: we have not (yet) won the lottery, we just work our a**es off.and i'm also shouting my gratitude to the entire universe for this wonderful opportunity.that is all.

and what's worse than forgetting your camera on a trip to tuscany? well, it's actually taking the camera with you, without the charger! WTF. anyhow, our video camera saved us as we were able to take decent (but grainy) shots.could this be another reason to return to possibly the loveliest place on earth?

seriously, i left a piece of me in tuscany.

this is the place i can stay in forever.

off we go

our li'l family is off to get some bavarian/swiss/tuscan sun.so excited to see how baby will react to these new surroundings now that she's more aware and she's physically stronger.

see you in three weeks' time.

**

meanwhile, i leave you with this. would you rather be an octopus or a mermaid? hee.

whoops...

there's an iceberg in the sea!

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (denmark)

our next stop on the next day was a romantic summer residence park called liselund.it was buit in the 18th century by a french nobleman for his wife.

there were houses like this manor