Christmas treats

I hope you all had a terrific Christmas, I surely did although it was a bit hectic at times. This year is the first time we had the Christmas dinner at our place and also a couple of parties so a lot of planning, cooking and decorating was involved. In a nutshell, everything I like doing.

I have to admit that for the first time, I wasn't in a very Christmassy mood this year but all the friends, food, family and of course the wonderful presents made this year one of the best Christmases I've ever had. Who'd have thought? As I'm writing this, I'm actually filled with hope and joy. I'm not exactly sure if it's an actual transition or just all the presents talking but I'm feeling happier than I've been in ages.

I even got a bit nostalgic yesterday when we watched The Black Cauldron. It's a Disney movie from 1985 and my sweetheart got it for me. It's a rather dark, twisted and unsuccessful film, or so I gather seeing as no one I know has heard of it. The reason I so desperately wanted to see it again is because it was one of the first movies I can remember seeing in the cinema, a mere 23 years ago and hadn't seen since. Despite the fact that no one else remembers it, the adventures of Taran, Gurgi, Henwen and Fflewddur Fflam battling the still terrifying Horned King have stayed with me ever since. Seriously, he's like the scariest Disney villain ever!

The Black Cauldron wasn't the only movie we saw. We started of Christmas Eve early with Richard Donner's take on Scrooge, namely Scrooged and followed it up after dinner with the classic It's a wonderful life and to tell you the truth, it is from time to time. Santa Claus actually brought me tons of movies so I won't be getting of the couch any time soon.

Santa, probably in cahoots with my pumpkin, also brought me a beautiful Kokeshi doll. I know I've been going on and on about how I wanted a Kimmidoll and how cute they are but I have to say, now that I've got an original Kokeshi, my precious little Seiko jut fades into the background. This doll whose name is in Japanese, damn it, is just so delicate and pretty that I'm simply in awe of the craftsmanship that went into her. She's from this adorably Japanese shop in Berchem, Kupuku, which I highly recommend you'd visit 'cause they have a lot of cute and original stuff there and that's also the place where my pink kitty Snooshi hails from, again Santa's doings.

Besides watching too many movies I'll also be doing a lot of reading on the couch as Santa also schlepped a ton of books over here but one of my favorites as got to be How to be a domestic goddess by Nigella Lawson. Don't get me wrong, the idea of becoming a housewife scares the shit out of me but what can I say, I just love to bake. I love creating gorgeous and tasty cakes. Lately, that's the only time I feel I've actually accomplished something 'cause the fragrant and moist results are usually staring me in the face on their way to my mouth. I'm even contemplating taking evening classes next year to become a qualified pastry chef. It's just an idea so...
Anyway, I'm becoming a real Nigella fan. It's the second book of hers I've got (the other is Nigella's Christmas) and I really like the fact that she introduces every recipe with a story about how she got it, what it reminds her of,... It's not just a recipe book but and actual storybook, something that even kitchen phobics can treasure.