… I re-edited a paper for the 27th time. And it’s finally done.
… I travelled to Portugal for a pre-Christmas visit to my family and to my (their) dogs, Lola & Conchita. They are very cute and energetic. We say they should work in the circus because they jump a lot and can stand up on two legs for a long time!
… I bought and wrapped many, many gifts. (Honestly, this picture is just about one-fourth of them!)
… But Christmas shopping aside, I stayed at home with my family most of the time because the weather was really miserable. 7 days of rain and cloudy skies.
… I had to replace my Shiseido multi energising cream (which I liked a lot) and decided to pick up Chanel’s Hydra beauty gel creme at the duty free. I’ve used it for over a week now and so far so good.
… Also bought a new Hipanema bracelet (from here). Can’t wait to wear it.
…My mother organised a little pre-Christmas dinner with some of my close family while I was in Porto. Giacomo wasn’t there but we brought a little bit of Italy to the dinning table having pandoro with mascarpone cream (recipe here, in Italian) for dessert.
… I got several pictures sabotaged by Conchita
… I arrived with a suitcase full of English gifts and I left with a suitcase full of Portuguese gifts, Nestum (my favourite cereals) and other delicacies (Port wine, and lots of salted codfish, obviously, which is the ‘official’ Portuguese Christmas food).
…Back to the airport
…And ready to board back to London.
… where I fell sick with labyrinthitis. Absolutely horrible.
… As soon as I recovered a bit (and I’m still not fully recovered) I put on my new Flavia shirt. Finally, after months of lusting I got it and I love it!
… I also went to the Hollywood Costumes exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum with my husband. I really didn’t want to miss it because we booked the tickets several weeks ago and most of the dates are now sold out. Fortunately, I felt I recovered on time!
… And since we’re in the neighborhood, we took the opportunity to visit Harrods as well.
… I hardly ever go to Harrods. But I love their Food Hall! We got ‘inspired’ by it and ended up buying some fresh pasta and seafood while there…
…For a bit of home cooking!
… I sent out several Christmas cards and I’ve received a few. My favourite is this one, drawn by my 5-year-old friend Maria. (yeah, that’s me and her on the cover.)
… And I’m now ready for my very first Christmas in London. Just me and my husband. Exciting :)
Wish you all very happy holidays!