Automne 2012 #2

Panpannie has very kindly sent this to me several months ago. Knowing that I always suffer from cold feet in the winter months, she thought the softness + warmness in this pair of bedroom slippers will serve me well =D 

They are really very cushy to walk around in and so warm!! Thank you so much!! 手脚冰冷的人真的伤不起！！ 

 

Hiver 2011/2012 #16

Chinese tea set as a birthday gift for one of my colleagues who will be celebrating her birthday next week.

There are a lot of January babies in the office. She will be the 3rd one this month. Do you know there are a lot of French born between the months of May - July? When I count back the months, their parents did something really romantic during summer. >>> "I know what you did last summer." (Total pun intended) LOL!! I haven't meet a French who is born in December like me. I still love December the most. =)

Since my idea won the support of everyone, I was assigned to get it. It is beautiful, isn't it? I feel like having a set myself too, but I was thinking when I will get to use it? Or, it is going to be another decorative item in the cupboard?

It comes in a beautiful box with beautiful lining inside.








From a fellow tea lover to another, I hope she will like what I've chosen for her, paid for by everyone in the office. =)

Hiver 2011/2012 #15

Winter sales started since Wed this week and I felt almost like a saint without taking part in this frenzy.

I was taking in the scenes of how people queue up in the wee hours of the morning outside major shopping centres and getting flustered in those heaps of sales items inside the boutiques. It felt like a different world when I was looking at all these while I was on my way walking to the bus stop after work each evening at a leisurely pace because this is the part of the day that I take strolling as part of my de-stressing routine.

Sales don't excite me anymore. The internet solves almost everything nowadays.

After sleeping non-stop for 15 hours and waking up in the afternoon today, I made a trip to good, old, trusty Uniqlo hoping to get some basics that I need for winter. I was telling myself that if there is a mad crowd inside, I will just have lunch nearby and heed back for a lazy Saturday, but I guessed people usually go for fancy stuff during sales time and don't think basics are worth all the hassle, it was actually quite empty today, much to my delight!

A grand total of 50 Euros off my total purchase!! - 1 cashmere turtleneck sweater, 1 basic stripped T, 1 pair of dark blue heat-tech jeans (This thing really works!! It is really warm!!) & 2 undies (Uniqlo has got one of the best undergarments!!)

Turtle-neck sweaters may not work for everyone but I find black turtleneck sweaters very flattering on me!!

Heattech products rock during winter. I've got a lot of their heattech basics.
Paris has gone below 0 degrees since yesterday.

I got everything I needed from the Sales in one shop this year. =D

I h.a.t.e. crowded places. It stresses me up and this is the last thing I need after a week long of work.

Automne 2011 #46

Souvenirs from Amsterdam. Mostly food cos' I'm a glutton. =p

Stroopwafels.

Stroopwafels are waffles made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle.They were first made in Gouda in the Netherlands, in 1784. Large versions are sold in the streets as a snack.

Source: Wikipedia.

I don't usually like caramel, but the way they do it with the rest of the ingredients make it nice. However, one piece per day is more than enough, it is quite a heavy snack and more than one piece just gives you this sickening sweet aftertaste. I eat it with green tea, or tea without sugar. Maybe, I am just someone who prefer savoury food.

The stiff batter for the waffles is made from flour, butter, brown sugar, yeast, milk, and eggs. Medium sized balls of batter are put on the waffle iron. After the waffle has been baked, and while it's still warm, it's cut into halves. The warm filling, made from syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon, is spread between the waffle halves, gluing them together.

2 kinds of Dutch cheese I brought back from the traditional market that I mentioned here.

I really like it when they wrap things up using paper. The way they fold it and such. Plastic bags are so blah... and environmental unfriendly.

The fabric I bought from the shop located on the same street where we had lunch on our first day in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam 2011 #15

Netherlands's national identity is widely recognised as clogs, windmills and tulips and I learnt during this trip that the Dutch have been making cheese since 400 AD. Nowadays, they are the largest exporter of cheese in the world.

Gouda, Edam, Maasdammer, Boerenkaas, Goat's cheese, Smoked cheese, Dutch blue cheese, Herb Cheese, etc are just a few varieties of Dutch cheese.

We saw a traditional market going on after our lunch at the Pancake Bakery and happily strolled there because all of us wanted to get some Dutch cheese back as souvenirs.

The cheese located right under the hanging tray of cheese, with specks of stuff on it is the "Carrot cheese". Very strong. Too strong for me. My French colleagues love it.

This lady boss is very nice. She was very patient with the whole group of us, let us try what we pointed at generously and recommended us some very good Dutch cheese.

The very first thing I said to her was, "Hello, we are tourists and we want to get some original Dutch cheese." LOL. I wonder what was in my head then. My colleagues were laughing after I said that.

I got 2 kinds of cheese in the end. One is Edam, I don't know the other one, but I like it. LoL. Dutch cheese seems to be much saltier than French ones.

Amsterdam 2011 #12

Some shops I like in Amsterdam.

A shop opposite the café where we had lunch, was stocked full of fabrics, ribbons, laces, buttons and anything you can associate with embroidery.

I got a metre of white polka dots on red fabric. Can you spot it in the pic? =D





My favourite genre of shop.





Macaron moulds for dummies.





I like this shop a lot. they sell well made leather bags, leather bound books, vintage typewriters, etc.

Amsterdam 2011 #9

Souvenirs & symbols of Amsterdam.

There are a lot of souvenir shops in Amsterdam, at least one in every street we went and they sell more or less the same things.

Automne 2011 #30

The marché - French open-air market, similar to our wet market concept in Singapore where things are cheaper and fresher compared to what we can find in supermarkets, but here, the floors aren't wet, or not as wet. Also, they are usually located along a street or on the pavement between 2 roads. Yes, that's right, between 2 roads with on-going traffic in opposite directions.

This is one nice aspect of France. Their agricultural products are often excellent in quality (unless the weather for that year is really bad).

This is the one near to where I live and there are a lot of local producers selling the same stuff, but I always patronise this one. 

Different varieties of French potatoes - Galante, Chérie, Monalisa, nice names. LoL.

I don't like potatoes, so I usually skip this section, except for the onions (they come from Spain, as written on the board).

(From clockwise) Green chilli, Spinach & Beetroot.

I got their big green chilli (All asians know that the smaller the chilli, the spicier and more deadly it is), this chilli I got is for my Korean side dish later. Also, I got 2 huge bags of spinach to last me for the whole week. Spinach sold here are often washed and leaves nicely plucked  for you. Not really sure why, but it saved me some work (I still rinsed them in running water a couple of times when I get back home because I am just plain anal when it comes to food hygiene).

(From clockwise) Radish, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, Paris mushrooms.


Different varieties of mushrooms.

The one in orange is named, "Girolle" - it is seasonal and is very nice when you stir fry it with just some minced garlic and salt. I like it.

Seasonal plants & flowers right next to the vegetable stall.


I find this especially unique.


♥♥ 4 big bags of vegetables. ♥♥

I got myself 2 bags of spinach, 2 bundles of watercress and 1 big green chilli for the week.