Season's greetings

This year I'm spending my Christmas weekend in Singapore. My plan was very clear, to sleep and clean/clear my stuff. But an unexpected decision made by an inconsiderate person has shot those to hell. Gosh, I dislike selfish AND inconsiderate people. Anyway, I am enjoying my holidays by lazing around the house and cooking Vietnamese meals. I don't even have the mood to go to the gym, geezzz...

Well, happy holidays to everyone. Here is a big Christmas tree in front of New York Stock Exchange last year.

Christkindlmarket, Chicago

Christkindlmarket is a Christmas market held annually at Daley Plaza in Chicago. It was inspired by the Christkindlesmarkt in Germany. And it has become the largest Christmas market in the United States, hosting well over 1 million visitors annually.

That is the info I have gathered from Wikipedia. Well, largest or not, I had gone there cos I love Christmas and market. The coldness didn't deter me at all. Tracy and I had a lovely time there, exploring, squeezing, eating and laughing. It's a must-go if you are in Chicago around Christmas time.






Christkindlmarket


Big Christmas tree and yes, it was a real pine tree!


In front of one of the stores








Yummy German lunch

A cold but merry Christmas in Canada

I have partly fulfilled my wish for having a cold Christmas last year. But it wasn't a white Xmas. I blamed myself for being such a human heater. But the atmosphere was amazing, first in Chicago, then Canada. My friend had put up a beautiful Christmas tree which I couldn't take my eyes off it the first time I saw it.



We spent Christmas' Eve on the road to Giang's aunt's house. Then the whole Christmas day going grocery, cooking and singing karaoke. Then Christmas night at another Giang's aunt's house for a hotpot dinner. Yeah, I know, not quite your typical Christmas dinner but the atmosphere and companionship made up for that.

2009 was my best Christmas so far...

Late night dinner...

Christmas is getting nearer and our outing is going at full force. Saigon streets at 9pm are still crowded as usual which encourages us more. And we ended up with a late night dinner in a cozy restaurant on Le Thi Rieng Street, Tiem An 48.

What had lead us to this situation while both of us are usually very bad at handling hunger and we were starved? It was a stupid grand opening of a coffee house.

As usual, our make-up learning session was on last night. When we finished, it was a little over 830pm. And our stomaches were grumbling noisily which made our priority at that time a hearty dinner. But I suggested us to go to MGM Cafe on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street which just opened on the very same day. Why, you might ask? Because I read somewhere that they would offer free fruit buffet during the first 3 days for everyone. Very kiasu of me, I know! But in case there was no buffet, I thought I could still order the cafe's food to eat and enjoy a drink over there. Anyway, when we reached, it was so crowded and noisy with loud music, the kind of coffee house that I do not like much. How does it look like?

Very grand and impressive, indeed. Actually the decoration and design inside are very modern and innovative. Espcially the menu is made into a magazine which is quite interesting. But you know what? Even though there were food in the menu, when we ordered beefstake, the answer was that they ran out of food at that moment. WTH? And you call yourself a coffee house cum restaurant. Bleh. So disappointed. But I had to admit the service was good with attentive staff. Just not my cuppa.

With our empty stomaches, we now focused on finding a place to eat. As our raving for Western food was triggered, I suggested us to go to Tiem An 48. That was where we had our late night dinner.

Don't its decoration and atmosphere look cozy and well-thought to you?

The wall is decorated with paintings which brings a relaxed feeling to diners.

We were seated at this table called Bordeaux 002. Cute right? And y'all know that Tracy and I are suckers for cuteness. What did we do? Pointing to the name plate, of course. And take photo, no guess!

This was even when we are famished! If not, you might find me walking around taking photos. Hhahaha! (Anyone sends me a good camera? It's on my wish list this year!)

Then the menu came out. The proof for Tracy's hunger was captured for your pleasure...

She flipped it quickly to see there was anything delicious. I wondered how she could read it! Apparently, she did for she ordered Com sua nau voi com va Chuoi. How about me? A vegetables pizza, please! Simple, right? But the restaurant needed 20 minutes to toast it golden. Who was I kidding? Of course I had to agree on waiting!

So here we had Tracy's order arrived first. And she was working on it very heartily...

Again, we had proof of Tracy's eating speed when she was starving. In this case, her spoon was blurring and she didn't even bother looking at me when I told her I would take her pic. When she was eating, there was nothing else mattered. Muwahahahahahah... (Her evil laugh, not mine, k?)

While she ate, I had nothing better than sitting there and dreaming about the Christmas' Eve party I was planning. That was why I did not notice Tracy took my BFF and snapped me a shot...

I was not sleeping, if that's what you are thinking. Just smiling and daydreaming. Well, Christmas was 3 days away, after all. My pizza did take a long time to come out but it was worth the wait...

Looked so delicious... and it tasted so yummy... Before I attacked the pizza, Tracy had had me posing and smiling... Did I look pretty?

Looked so demure, right? But not so when I ate my food. Because I was a firm believer in using hands when eating pizza. The food just tasted better that way.

Main dishes were finished but we still wanted to eat more. "I want some more" That was what was going around in my head at the time (Sounded like the vampire girl in "Interview with the Vampire"! Creepyyyyyyy). It was why deserts were there for us to order. This was where Tracy'd gone berserk with her fruit yoghurt...

How about my desert? It was pancake with cinamon apple and ice cream...

And I didn't go berserk like Tracy, I went for sexy look...

Hmmm... what do you think? Did I look sexy enough for y'all? I think I need to work on this pose again.

Christmas spirit is really in the air. The weather is so cooling that I can take out all my autumn wear to create a winter look. Yes, you read it right, autumn wear for winter! As winter to me is about coats and boots. But I think I've got the style well so far.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go
Take a look in the five-and-ten,
Glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in ev'ry store............

Christmas to me is...

... a lot of lights.

I'm neither Christian nor Catholic. In fact, I'm a free thinker. But Christmas to me is a miraclous time of the year. Of course, Tet is still very special to me but it will be another topic for another time (coming soon!). But I seldom celebrate christmas with my family as my parents are somewhat Buddhists. And I mostly stay in tropical countries so I have never experienced a white christmas. But to compensate for this, there are a lof lights decorated everywhere. And the weather is cooler in December which cheers everyone a little bit in this busy year-end time. Certainly, the lack of snow and lack of winter coats didn't stop me from celebrating the occasion in my way.

This year, christmas is more special to me. It's truly a time of union with my best friends being together with me on Xmas' Eve. I'm so excited that I don't mind working extra hard in order to have some stress-free time this Christmas with them. It is just 10 days left but we all hear Xmas songs everywhere.

To add some Christmas spirit to my blog, here are some pics I have taken over the years during this time

2004 - Christmas tree at Takashimaya Shopping Centre

2005 - Orchard Road on Christmas day with ex-colleagues

2006 - Xmas decoration at Takashimaya SC (yeah, it's my fav shopping mall!)

2006 - Noel celebration at Saigon Centre (HCMC)

2006 - Season's greetings at Hotel Equatorial Saigon

2006 - Christmas celebration at Diamond Plaza (Saigon)

2006 - Good old me at X Cafe (taken today)

Little girls and little boys dream of worlds full of toys. This time of the year, when christmas is near...