things i'm grateful for: al ain!

this year is a very busy one for my husband, so a staycation in the uae comes as a blessing for us.

it was sort of a pat-in-the-back gift for ourselves as we managed to keep the household sane as nanny went on three-week holiday.

so amidst summer camps, weather in the 40s, sicknesses, work duties, we emerged triumphant!

we got ourselves a good hotel deal, and off we went to al ain, an oasis in the desert.

it was a very-much needed boost.

don't you just love mini-holidays? they make you anticipate of lovelier things to come!

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

kenzo jungle!

l'eaupar kenzo and more sweets!

my new lucky earrings!

12, 13, 14 and more events!

schnapps!

more sweets!

more facial masks!

***

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.

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:

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!"

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:

hatta

hatta is about an hour away from dubai.it's a popular destination among dubai residents because of its heritage and cool temperature.mr t and i visited it about 3 years ago, right smack in the middle of summer.

al ain

i've always been blogging about dubai and other cities in the world.let me blog about somewhere close, about other cities in the uae.

the best things in life are free: film showings!

can i just say i love where we are now?

i just watched an open-air (free) film screening of "the king's speech" while laying on a bean bag with sea breeze breathing through my hair.the dubai film festival opened today, and part of the event was an open-air showing of this wonderful film.the venue was just a mere two-minute walk away from us, so i just have to go.

colin firth, i thought you will always be mr darcy.pwede din palang king george!

**

tokyo saga to be continued...

31 Photos in 31 Days: Days 5 and 6

i know, i know.i missed day 5, so i'm making up for it.i have a valid excuse, though!

mr t and i celebrated our anniversary.teehee.*sweet* he surprised me with a stay at the emirates palace hotel in abu dhabi.*swoon*

will blog about it once i'm back to the real world.believe me, that hotel is luxury at its best.

thank you so much, mr t.together forever, xox.


the view from our room. that's the entrance gate to the hotel.it's only open for vvip's.so we used another entrance!


hotel beach

day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry

"just like a pill" (pink)



gigil!

day 19 - a song from your favorite album

"hand in my pocket" (alanis morissette)
(jagged little pill album)



it basically the album of my life.funnily enough, i don't own this album.mr t and i both like alanis (and i guess anybody else who grew up in the 90s).i think he even got to watch alanis in a concert when she was not that popular yet.it's still my dream to watch her, though.is she still giving concerts?

day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love

whoops, i missed day 14!

well, lemme think...i actually can't think of any! i guess i'm pretty predictable when it comes to my choice of music.

**

gotta live that dream away

when i was young i used to dream that someday i will live near the sea, where i can see turquoise waters and it would calm me down, where i can feel the seawind on my face and it would excite me, where i can taste the tang of the ocean and it would indulge me.

who knows that i would realize that dream a thousand miles away?