My First Xmas

Well, this is my first Xmas here, I still enjoy the same although it did not snow. I was so very excited triggered by the atmosphere here which is so much different from Singapore..

Few weeks back, we have been rushing up and down getting presents, the xmas tree, candies, chocolates and last the xmas decorations for both the house & the tree.

Our frends have gone to Paris for the weekend, we did not join as we have our own programs. On Xmas eve, Mr L brought me to a famous Japanese rest Toro, you will love the same I do if you have a love for Jap food.

We join my in-laws and their frends to church for the mass and then headed home at almost 2am to open our presents we made for each other :)

Every year its a tradition that we go to Robert's house for long lunch on both Xmas & St. Stephen day.

Here, I share with you guys some shots of my xmas experience here on Dec 25:-

We get ready the gifts we got for my in laws, the kids - Elisa & Nicole, Matteo, Robert as his birthday falls on Dec 28..

I have cooked some food to bring along to the pot luck lunch..I decided to cook some Asian food since they love it so much..and they are gone off the plates in 5 mins..

Teriyaki Chicken

Spring Rolls

Below are pics of our lunch at Rob's house, and look at the looong table which sits around 16 people...

Table full of food & wines...

Of coz, lets not forget the small table meant for the kids - Matteo, Nicole, Elisa (From left)

After the long lunch, now its time for the kids (including us :p) to open the presents: -

Matteo looking at his Lego present

Elisa, we got her all Hello Kitty gifts, she has a floating HK soap, a watch, a soap dispenser. See below..

Look at her very happy face, ahhhhh so nice is all that comes out from her mouth...

She is such a sweet lady I came to know and she keep insisting she wanna take a pic with us...

How I enjoy my Xmas here, how about your Dec 25?

Our Home Sweet Home

Eversince we moved into our house in Aug, we have been very busy going in & out of Ikea, home furnishing stores in order to finish setting up our house before Xmas's arrival.

Today, we have finally complete it and enjoying every sip of it in view of the big efforts we both put into..

I know we have promised lots of people pics of our home and I guess they are getting very very impatient..as good thing always come last, right? :p

Let's begin :-

Our main door with a newly bought carpet

Next up is our living room..














This TV cabinet takes up 30% of the room space and wonder if you notice that 47" TV right in the center?? Tht's Mr L's new "wife"

Our dining table caters mainly for guests..

At the entrance, we have this consol table which Mr L has chosen from Ikea ..

This is our guest room. We have chosen white for both the sofa bed and the library shelf..you know we actually spent 3-4 hours in setting each of them up..but its all worth...

Behind those curtains is the balcony where we hang our laundry and enjoy the sun during the summer.

Mmm..this is our cozy bedroom, and the painting right behind us was a wedding gift from frends...
Big big mirror on the wall, am I the prettiest of all ? :)

Just beside our bedroom is the..

Toilet. The word small is just perfect to desrcibe our toilet :)

Here's our kitchen.. White again :) Here I can say 98% of people have a TV in their kitchen which I can never understand why... :) Mr L told me that I can watch it when I am cooking, like as if I can handle that..

Here's our big american fridge, which very few people here own one..everyone who come to our house are so envious of it..they were pretty shock and said the food inside feeds 4 and not for 2 !! :)

Finally here's my working station and eating station for Mr L..well he do offer some help at times :p

We are really so proud of ourselves in having this capability to set like a warm, cozy home all by ourselves..

Who's the next guest after my parents ? :)

The Dead-Tired Week before Xmas

It has been a busy week for us as Mr L is out of office distributing the Xmas gifts to his main clients since Mon and will only end tomorrow and me working my ass off in office, so overloaded with shipments, everyone is booking due to Xmas is coming next week :(

We reach home almost at 8.30pm everyday and still have yet to eat and shower..so we has rushed our dinner these days with pizzas, or simply some pasta. We simply have so little time for each other as we are both dead tired by then.

Also, finalizing the Xmas tree since we always have different ideas, wrapping up the gifts and some little deco to our house..

Yesterday, we both have a craving for Pasta al Proscuitto cotto & Funghi (with cream & cheese of coz)...I remembered Mr L singing his praise for this dish when I first try cooking it...so I did again yesterday, it was so awesome (maybe we are damn hungry i guess, anything goes... ! :)

Here is the recipe to all who loves pasta and (to my agent frend Adeline in Taiwan), you can try it out :-

Pasta al Proscuitto cotto e funghi

Ingredients at a glance

Ingredients Serve 2:

Pasta - 100 g of Fusili (can be replaced with any type)

4 pcs of White button mushroom (can increase as u wish)

6 slices of Proscuitto cotto ham (you can replace with bacon)

1 tbsp of cooking cream

30ml of milk

2 cloves of garlic (Chopped)

Fresh chopped parsley

2 tbsp of Olive Oil

1 slice of Cheddar cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tsp of salt to boil pasta

2 tbsp of white wine

Method:

1) Boil a pot of water. When boiling, add salt & pasta and cook till al dente.

2) When the pasta is halfway cooking. Heat up the olive oil in a pan.

3) Add garlic and stir for 3 mins (but do not brown it)

4) Add in mushroom and stir till water runs dry

5) Add in the ham and stir a while. Do not overcook.

6) Add the white wine and stir till it evaporates.

7) Put in the parsley and season with salt & pepper.

8) Now, we can add in the milk and cream, let it boil for a while.

9) When about to serve, add in the cheddar cheese and let it melt

10) Add in the pasta into the sauce and stir.

11) Serve hot

Hint: Pasta is best eaten hot. Hence, always ensure the sauce and pasta are done at almost the same time.

Still hot in the pan...yum yum...

Tonight, we are having something quick again...hamburgers & french fries ::::)))

Feel so Good .. !

It took me 4 months to make this decision to get a new image as I love my long hair very much.

A lot of friends are surprise when I told them I wanna get my hair cut...

Definitely it feels so much lighter and less hassles in blow drying my hair everynight after shower. It becomes even more difficult as winter approaching.

What you will see after I finished blowing my hair is a bathroom floor full of my hairs and nothing else and its really a chore...

When I tell my hubby I wanna cut my hair...he was like.... '' Thank god...u finally decided to do that after 4 mths ??? '' He like my long hair but he says hair does grow u koe, u will have ur long hair again by next Spring ...

So here are the before & after pics...

Before: Taken in Sep 2008 @ Porto Antico


Taaa daaa !! The after...how do I look?? It took me huge huge courage to get some fringe..Pic taken in our guest room..














By the way, I promised as well some pics from the weekend market pic we went on Sunday called Mercatino al Brignole...we did not manage to take any pics as it was too dark and crowded and the pics turn out sucks... so here are some from Flickr.com...the below pics will tell :)



Tell me how is it possible to walk through this crowd...we are both saying 'scusarmi..scusarmi' all the time..means excuse me, excuse me..













This stall sells the most beautiful Xmas deco stuff we can find throughout the market, all those little little and very detailed decoz...







This stall is the most crowded stall of all..u name it, they have it..btw we bought our wreath here after we found nothing interesting @ Ikea ...




At the end of it, we got so hugry and cold, just wanna get out of the crowd. Also, we are pretty late for the football match & pizza session at Marco's house (Mr L's cousin)..

Cannot Wait For Xmas to Arrive....

Time seems to fly so slow especially when we are all so eager waiting for X'mas to arrive. This will be my first winter Christmas, it will be even better if there is snow...

Finally this weekend, we shall start our X'mas shopping since Dec 08 is a national religous holiday here..

I can tell you I am so excited that tomorrow we will be going to Ikea, there will be a super huge crowd there and Mr L will be more worried than excited as his wife will make him broke...

Call me a 'mountain tortoise' all you want, but if you are here you will be like me, so many choices right in front of your eyes and you cant help not to put them into your trolley :)

Will take this holiday to set up the X'mas tree, getting X'mas gifts for everyone and also cut my hair...

Yes...I am cutting my hair for sure now, as it's too long (almost touching my butt) and blow drying every night is a mess..further I can have a new image..so why not?

On Monday, there is a X'mas market nearby our house and Mr L say its a must to go as there are chocolates fun fairs, candies, biscuits & cookies made just meant for the season and its a waste not to go and take a look (even better to buy) !! :p

Stay tune for the next blog as I will update with pictures...

P/s: Beng Keong, I know you are very excited already, so start saving $$ so you can come to Italy and visit jie jie & Uncle L...

Love u all...muuuaaaacckkkkk!!!

Brrrhhh !!!

It's what we are feeling right now..today is only Nov 22 and its already 4 degrees outside as shown on the thermometer in our house..This will be my first winter here since I never ever experience the real coldness of winter..except aircon.

However, it seem to arrive into Genoa too early this year...lucky Mr L insist that we should start my winter clothes purchases early so as to prepare myself for the coming cold season.

Snowing is seen everywhere now in Italy especially at the North...the forecast says it will be in Genoa soon .. :(

Instead of going out to the weekly Saturday market, we decided to spend the whole of our morning doing housework since we are already half dead during weekdays to do anything.

While Mr L is doing his own portion of the housework, I should say he is really good at it (we split our housework chores in fact), I decided to sneak into the kitchen and cook a pot of beef stew to reward him and which at the same time it also warmed us too !

Serve only 3 :

3 tbsp olive oil (also ok with normal oil)
300g of beef chunks
2-3 garlic (chopped)
2-3 small onions (sliced)
2-3 medium size Carrots (sliced)
Celery 200 g (Sliced)
5-6 White button mushrooms (sliced)
2 tbsp Tomato paste
1 can of whole tomato
4-5 medium size potato (cut into bite size cubes)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Paprika
2 tbsp of flour
Black Olives (as u wish)
Chopped Parsley (as u wish)
2 tbsp Green peas
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooking cream (if you want thicker soup), if not cornstarch works too!
Water / Vegetable stock enough to cover the ingredients


Method:

1) Prepare all the ingredients as above
2) Coat the beef chunks with flour and shake off extra flour. Set aside
3) Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil (better in a non-stick pan) and add in the beef to stir fry till brown. Remove and set aside
4) Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil, add in garlic, stir for 2 mins, add in onions..
5) After onions are little brown, add in the beef.
6) Add the tomato paste and whole tomate and stir for 5 mins. Do not let the pot stick.
7) Add in potatoes, celery, carrots, peas, mushrooms, parsley (leave some for garnish) & black olives, salt, pepper, oregano & paprika. Cover and let it boil for one hour.
8) Stir and taste and season more if necessary.
9) Its done & ready to serve !

From this face, I can tell he is enjoying as he keeps saying 'Mmm..buono, buono...ciccia' !

Also made some la frittata di banana..(also known as banana pancake), a twist & an easier recipe to banana cake..

Ingredients (Serve 2)

60 g all-purpose flour
1 g salt
25 g white sugar
60 ml milk
2 eggs
2 large bananas, sliced
30 ml vegetable oil
7 g butter

Method:

1) In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly, until a smooth batter is formed. Add the eggs, one at time, stirring well each addition. Stir in sliced bananas.

2) Heat oil and butter in a nine inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour the mixture in by spoonfuls, spreading the mixture evenly across the pan. When the bottom has turned a golden brown turn the frittata and cook over low heat until golden brown on the other side. Sprinkle with icing sugar or Nutella. Serve warm.

Here is the end product..

Now, I feel less stress after cooking as I no longer need to handwash all the dishes anymore, as my sweet hubby has bought us a new dishwasher so that his wifey can have an easier life....muuuaccckkkkss to you ciccio...ti amoooo tanto !!!

All I have to do is to rinse everything with water and phew, phew and phew (means throw :p) into the dishwasher and all will be done in approx 1.40 mins time..varies depending on the load.

I told my mamma and I think she is already very tempted to get one....my poor daddy, his pocket will have another big hole soon...coz he just bought a vaccuum cleaner for her after their visit here early this summer and witness how easy is to clean the house with a vacuum cleaner...

Mmmm...so happy now as we are full, warm...and housework is complete!!

Can't be more satisfied than this....

Our Summer 2008 Holiday @ Tiglieto

Tiglieto is the place which we will go for every summer of the year for 3-4 days.

Basically, we just eat, drink, play cards, pinpong, sleep and eat and eat again :)

Every year, Mr L will share with me the pics of Tiglieto he has taken since I am still in Singapore and could only envy..

I was lucky this year as I arrived into Genoa on Aug 14, so we set off around 9am on Aug 15 together with my inlaws and our dear dog - Charlie. It was so amazing, the view, the air and of coz the endless food.

The moment we reach there, we 'check-in' to our rooms and what awaits us is FOOD!!! which is the antipasto (appetizers) before the long lunch will start..

While waiting, I took some pics around the serene place..this year I miss the strawberry picking in the woods as the season is not right yet..

Introducing my in laws :-

Franco - I must say he is a very very sweet guy. Always worrying about me if I eat well, sleep well and cover well...of coz that cutie beside him is our lovely dog - Charlie..always wag his tail when he sees us...

Up next is...

My mother in law - Fanny. Well its not easy getting ready all the food for the 21 of us..if u see the below next pics..

Cin cin or kum bai or yuuumm seng is more familiar...note the super big bowl with the cocktail !

These are only appetizers.. !!

Pasta al salsiccia (Pasta with sausage)..this is a yum yum..I had 2 portions .. !

How can we forget the dessert right? Well this is especially made by Tizziana - Pine Nut Tart...its sooo..mmmm... !?!

Mr L decided to take a pic of us in the kitchen after our lunch...:)

I am already now looking forward to our next trip in 2009, if we were lucky we might meet up with Little Fabio again....too damn cute to miss..

Do you all agree with me ??!!

Here I am...Finally

Finally have decided to have a blog of my own to keep my frends & relatives from all over the world updated of my daily life here in Genoa, Italy..

Life for me really took a big change since the day I said yes to Mr L and decide moving to a totally different country with different cultures, weather, language which is outside of my own comfort zone on August 14, 2008.

The fact is I never regret making this choice, to live under the same roof with your loved one is the bestest thing on earth :)

Having dinner together, watching a good movie on the sofa couch, do food shopping on weekends and of coz Mr L do help me out on some house work too!

I bet Mr L's eyes will be redden after reading such 'dramatic' lines.. :)

Right guys and girls, stay tune for more updates..

Now is 9pm and I gonna go watching the football match with Mr L as Italy plays tonight..have to give my least support, ya?

Ciao and till the next...