Visit Japan

Japan will forever hold a special place in our hearts. It’s the place where the Man and I dated long distance after he proposed to me, packed his suitcases and left our tiny island to the land of the Rising Sun to start a new job. It was there where we lived for about a year straight after we got married. It was somewhat the land of many firsts for me in my life – where I learned a new language, learned to do housework properly, cooked a proper meal and of course, learned that I could be independent.

The day we received news that we had to relocate back to Singapore, I actually felt a sense of sadness. I didn’t want to leave this country that I had somewhat grew extremely fond of in a short span of time. So, we made a point to try and visit Japan at least once a year if we could.

Sadly, after the tsunami, we didn’t really get a chance to for we moved to Geneva. I missed Japan to bits – the food, the culture, the nature and the bustling city. When the pals decided that Hakuba was the place to head to for our annual winter hols, I was thrilled. The snowboarding trip was long and the stay in Tokyo was rather short. I left the city craving for another trip and guess what? My wish came true!

The Man is heading to Tokes for some business and I’m tagging along this long weekend! Woo hoo!!! And you know what’s the best part?

Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) are in full bloom!! The last I saw this pretty flowers was in 2007 and I can’t wait to see this marvelous sight! Keeping my fingers crossed that it will still be blossoming when I head there.

And vain me even got a set of Sakura nails to go for the floral viewing. Hehe… Friends said this set was rather unlike me and I have to agree for given a choice, I would go with shocking pink nails with skulls and cross.

Until then, will catch you again next week. Enjoy the long weekend break!

Happy Birthday!

to this crazy Man whom I chose to spend my life with.
You sometimes drive me up the wall with your crazy antics
But then again, it’s the crazy side of you that make me laugh.

Have a great one today!

xoxo! me and Sparky

A simple Feast with these easy recipes

Thought I better get round to posting some of these recipes of the dishes that we whipped out during our simple Christmas feast for we will definitely see most of these back on our dining table when entertaining at home.

The starter was these really delicious stuffed portobello mushrooms with chopped mushroom stems, prosciutto ham, onions, parsley, rosemary, thyme and since we didn’t have any bread left at home. The helper crushed some crackers and I threw them into the mix. Pan-fry the ingredients and then stuff them into the mushroom caps. Drizzle a little olive oil and pop them into the oven. After approximately 20 mins, these babies should be done.

Next, we always need a side of veggies to make our meal a little more wholesome. This is simple to put together. We got some pumpkin, broccoli and corn for the roast. All we did was to drizzle the olive oil liberally, add some salt and srigs of rosemary and thyme. Pop them into the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove broccoli and pumpkin from tray, pop the tray with the corn into the oven for about another 10-15 mins and it should be done.

Highlight of our meal has got to be this Truffle Butter Roast Chicken recipe that I got off from Lavishley. Simple yet extremely flavorful! This is definitely making a comeback at our parties!

Last but not the least, the Man’s favorite molten chocolate lava cake with salted caramel ice-cream that I got from Marks and Spencer.

Hope these simple recipes would inspire you to cook more for the coming year. It definitely has inspired us to come up with a New Year menu.

So this is Christmas…

Nothing fancy.  Just a simple home-cooked meal spent with my loved ones – the Man and the fur-kid.  With no plans in place, we scrambled to put together a meal.  I had no time to go to get festive florals, so I did the best I could to decorate the table as Christmassy as I possibly could.

Don’t think I did too bad putting together the setting for our dinner.  Thank goodness for candles and tea-lights that I stocked up plus the Christmas napkins that Mom gave me, they certainly came in handy.  Phew!

Made a simple meal – Truffle Butter Roast Chicken, some Roast Veggies and these awesome Stuffed Mushrooms.  Thanks to Lavishley who shared the recipes!

The Man also threw in one of my fave white Burgundy wines while waiting for the bird to be roasted and we have a winner this Christmas!    I’m easy to please.  Hehe..

And the birdie does look pretty fine yeah?  It tasted really good too!  Truffle butter stuffed in between the skin of chicken make the skin really crispy.  I usually discard the skin but I didn’t for this.  The Man perfected roasting chicken as well for this bird came out just right.  Not too dry but the meat was moist, juicy and tender.  Yums!

And what do we have here?  Though he couldn’t part-take in the feasting, he did try to join in the fun.  The Christmas carols we played in the background must have put him to sleep.  I’m pretty certain he’s dreaming of fish and bones to the tunes of ‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!’  I’m so pleased that we are back in Singers this Christmas.  Despite missing rolling in the snow, nothing beats spending time with the fur-kid!

I hope that you are having a splendid time ushering Christmas! From our little family to yours, have yourself a wonderful Christmas and a great start to the new year!

We are six

Wow… has it been 6 years already?  Felt like we just turned 2 or something?!

You don’t love someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.

Jodi Picoult

♥♥♥ Happy Anniversary! ♥♥♥
xoxo

Birthday treat at Lake Como

The last leg of our trip saw us in Milan.  We had a free day on our own to roam the city before we were joined by the BEST friends who made a special drive down from Geneva.  Before we gave up our rented car, the Man whisked me to a secret location for a pre-birthday lunch.

The secret location was only revealed on the eve of the drive and I sure was looking forward to seeing what the Man has planned.  Thankfully we had a wonderful and bright day.  Too bright, if I may add for I couldn’t quite capture the blue in the sky.

The Man booked a surprise lunch at Ristaurant Il Gatto Nero in Cernobbio – said to be one of George Clooney’s favourite restaurants when he heads down to his Italian house in Lake Como.  No celebrities were spotted during our lunch visit there but the peaceful surroundings at the restaurant perched on the hill-top made for a romantic afternoon. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be when the sun-sets and the stars come out to play.

Because the restaurant was a little more difficult to find, we kinda got a little lost and resulted in turning up at the restaurant way passed our scheduled slot.  While they didn’t chase us away, we found the lunch menu rather limited in terms of food offerings.  Having said that, what we ordered was still very good.

 

And with that, I leave a little mushy message to the Man – Thanks B for the lovely birthday celebration in the form of this amazing holiday to Italy.  You’ve been absolutely wonderful in planning everything!!! Muacks!

Another year

Today I add another candle on the birthday cake. I celebrate with joy in a foreign land with the Man and friends who made a special trip here. I’m happy but I also can’t help but feel a little homesick; missing my little fur-kid and other dear ones terribly. Then there’s sinking feeling of a pile load of work waiting for my return when I head back to office Monday morning.

But since I’m in one of my fave cities celebrating my special day, I guess no better time to indulge and go on all out to treat myself a little with this all-time fave mantra of mine! >_<