Crazy

They call me crazy.

At 0115 hours, it's as if I'm not working tomorrow.

I spent the whole night researching where I should be in six days time.

Venice, here I come!!

(Despite the homework I did, accommodation may be a bit of an issue. But I did OK, HostelWorld forced me to overbook two beds in two rooms for one of my body. Hopefully the hostel will cancel one bed for me)

Swedish Souvenirs

I just got back from my friend's lovely wedding.

I got back from Sweden a long time ago. Maybe 3-4 weeks now?! Haha, but anyway, here goes. 

I like to buy souvenirs on my travels these days. Before, it used to be restricted to postcards and stamps to send home. Since I started working, I have been upgraded with a bit more buying power and can afford some unique things which I like and think is worth the value it is priced at.

So, whilst at Gamla Stan - Stockholm's Old Town - I bought several items. Some for friends, most (scandalous!) for myself. Ho!

Reindeer leather coin purse
99 Swedish Krona
On the manufacturer's website, Kero.se it's 89 SK. Kena cheated 10 SK!

Pretty interesting design, isn't it?

Dala Wooden Horse
Guided by my guide book, it recommended that this is a must buy
Anyway, I think any dumbo would have figured that out as the souvenir shops were littered with these things
But at >£10 per tiny horse, even a dumbo would think twice, thrice, four times, etc...

As you can see, I spent a lot of time and thinking about how many I should buy....
There's also the cockerel which a handful of shops sold but that wasn't as pretty and mostly came in black
The wooden pigs weren't even cute 

I love this very clever little thing
It's a candle holder that causes the merry-go-round to rotate by heat convection
It comes with all different animals and characters
Even Moomins.. which I now know is Swedish in origin

This candle holder is actually not new to me as I have seen it in Ireland and got it as gifts before last X'Mas
But the Swedish company that manufactures these particular candle holders in Sweden have also taken designing it's packages to the next level.
Much neater and easier to store than the ones I got in Ireland... with a bonus candle, too!
85 Swedish Krona

Nothing especially Swedish about this
In fact, probably Made in India
But I love this choker
Really chokes... And itches...

Another thing the guidebook recommended buying was the (hand?) weaved tablecloths in traditional patterns
This isn't a traditional pattern
It is (machine) weaved
And was half-price at 79.50 Swedish Krona even the shop owner couldn't quite believe it
I had to have this crazy bargain and she (probably grudgingly) charged me 80 Swedish Krona for it
Parrots by Ekelund
100% cotton
48x70cm :-)

Liten Amanda! That's where I got the Parrots from. Sounds like just my kinda shop, doesn't it?                             

I can't remember what this scary-looking thing was called
It makes wine taste like gluhwein but isn't quite made like gluhwein
Instead on boiling spices with wine, the Swedish would add this to wine, as if it were an essence
Before pouring into a glass, they'd put almond(s) and raisin(s) at the bottom of the glass
This was a gift to YV who likes food and cooking.

Egg White Facial Care
At the back it says it's based on an old Swedish recipe and I think it's good for making the skin fair and shiny              
This was for ES whom I think likes cosmetic products! Hope u like it!

A hook in the shape of a bird
I just thought it looked pretty on the shop's white wall
Hope Z liked it , too                                                                                      

Another Dala Horse
Still haven't given it to K whose wedding was today because I am so D'oh!

We are sensing a theme here, aren't we?
For CT to add to his fridge magnet collection :-)

And, Ta-da! My Swedish Souvenir shrine
I leave you with a penultimate picture of my Dala horse army
And the animals still going round and round the little flame as I type :-) Pwetty!!
I like how the colours really go together and best of all, it wasn't pre-meditated 

Finally, a minature Dala horse for YV which she has pinned on her denim jacket and that's so sweet of her
It looks really cute there and makes good contrast with the blue fabric
:-)

Simple Things

So, I wanted to blog earlier but my flatmate had a little crisis.

Anyway, the clocks go back tonight so I have an extra hour to spend on blogging which I intended to spend on sleeping. But that's alright with me.

I have so many things to blog about but on my way back from the supermarket, my weekly shop seemed to take precedence. Funny how the simple things can be the most exciting.

Why? Look at this:

A lot of stuff

I was having a lazy Saturday, had run out of food and by 1900hours, had to drag myself to the shop. It was late and the supermarket was empty. Ah, lovely. I need not brush against other people or dodge them. There were reduced produce and strangely, most things I wanted to buy were on some kinda offer like 2 for 1, 3 for 2, 2 for £4, 2 for £5. I was constantly going, "Damn, I hope I can carry twice as much!"

Self-checked out
My heart was aching when I reached the £40 mark but I reminded myself, offer, offer, offer..
As you can see in the final bill, I got a sweet 25% off the total.
Whoopie!

The biggest bargain was this:

£4.56 per tube
On a 2 for £4 offer
I looked at it the price tag again. And again.
It said, "Take one more tube, get that free and 25% off the tube you're actually buying".
I'm not sure who came up with the price and offer but O. YEAH.

Three Halapenos
3 for £5
This one was really like.. "So heavy, but have to buyyyyy...Whyyyyy???"

It gets less and less exciting
Apparently high quality mince priced at 2 for £5
For the chilli con carne or bolognese some day (now in the freezer)

You really wanted to know I bought this...
I'll spare you a picture of the sanitary pads
2 for £4

So, yeah! I was well pleased with myself for bagging 25% off my bill and stocking up on some supplies. :-) And, I craved nachos again. We used to love eating nachos together. Or maybe, I just love eating nachos!

Nachos, X-Factor and cider containing 8.4% alcohol which I have strangely been craving
I got all whoozy and then, had to deal with crisis sitting lop-sided

And, finally. Happy Deepavali to all my Hindu friends!! This week we had our lovely S Jee bring in some amazing foooooooood for us. She should open shop and take over that damned, over-priced canteen.

Onion bhajis to die for.
The sweet of the onion coupled with the mixture of spices was genius!
o(>_<)o Genius!!!!

Warm, spicy (the way I like it) vegetarian samosas
The spicy potato-pea filling reminded me of the karipaps (curry puffs) my grandmama used to make in her canteen back in the day... :'-)
Thank you S Jee <3

Tomorrow, I'll be off to my first ever Pakistani wedding! Stay tuned and I shall blog about it one day (in the not-to-distant future)!

Good Day

I once read one of these prize winning books entitled, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. I remember the autistic boy used to determine whether is day was gonna be good on the number of black and yellow cars he saw.

Today, I saw my friend put up a photo of a double rainbow over London:

An End-to-End Double Rainbow over London
Priceless
Pow'ed from SJ who pow'ed it from viral images all over the internet

I thought to myself, "With such a beautiful occurrence, what a shame I have to go to work in my windowless place of work".

Then, another friend across the whole put this up:

A Double Rainbow over Kuala Lumpur
Pow'ed from CL

Like the little autistic boy and his yellow cars, I thought to myself, "Two double rainbows and one seen as an end-to-end, it is gonna be a good day".

Off I head to my windowless place of work. It will be a good day. And, maybe some day I will see an end-to-end double rainbow.

Contradictory

He said, "I cannot live with what I have done to you". Puzzling because I wonder why then, didn't he take it to his grave? Why is he still on the face on this Earth, telling me this?

He said, "It is not your fault" but I am assaulted by his friends, like it is my fault.

A man of his words, he is not. Never was. Never will be.

A Little Birdie Chirped

"You lost him through his selfishness".

Deep. A sentence to contemplate atop a grassy hill overlooking nature. Thoughts flowing with the gentle breeze, warmed by calm sunny rays and sooth by happy, fluffy clouds.

Only to stop thinking for a moment when the question, "Why?" cannot be answered before resuming contemplation in a different direction.

Never Gonna Bring Me Down

My happiness isn't eternal and was pretty much hanging by a thread on Friday. Nevertheless, I felt happy. It was Friday. I was with my friends. I wasn't doing my regular day job. I was drinking too much coffee.

It was all going well, until someone tried to bring me down. I have noted many to be consumed with one general idea without considering the multiple factors that come into play. They have never been there to understand all that has gone on, yet they would like to give an opinion. 

Anyway, won't let anyone stop me from doing what makes me feel better. I will not live my life the way people want me to. Do not, will not, cannot.

On Friday, I made Battenberg-style cookies.
Not going to let anyone foil my plan on making cookies

Chocolate + butter + coffee
On Saturday, I embarked on making chocolate muffins. The recipe I used was for his annual birthday cakes.
Screw him! The recipe is mine and he can eat shit (won't be surprised if he actually does, being a gay man) his next birthday.

Plain flour, self-rasing flour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa power, sugar...

The wet part: three eggs and 75 ml of (butter)milk

Mixing the chocolate, eggs and dry ingredients

Colourful muffin cases :-)

Mmmm, looks good already

Iced and decorated in all kinds of weird shapes.

Rock cake especially for those who try to bring me down
Delivered from a 10m distance, at an acute angle, at a speed of 10mph, aimed at your damned head