A Post Thanksgiving / Early Christmas party brought the scent of roasted turkey and cranberries at home last weekend. The reasons behind this event are; To celebrate a friend's birthday, to entertain new friends from South Africa visiting Dubai and to spend my last weeks with Dubai friends this year before I fly to join my husband and family for Christmas in France.

It was also a perfect excuse to decorate the home for the holidays, despite not being here during Christmas. As expected, I jumped on the opportunity to decorate and roast my very first turkey. Now I understand the hours of painstaking effort described by friends in the U.S. in preparation for this much awaited meal.

Each friend brought their own dish. My favorite Quinoa alternative fried rice

As flags of the UAE dominate the landscape everywhere today and fireworks continuously light the sky every night since this weekend, I can't help but admire the pride of the local Emirati for their country. With the double celebration of their victory for Expo 2020 and discount sales in all of the shops throughout the city, shopping is inevitable! 

 

These are just some snapshots I've taken on my way to my meeting at the man made island, Palm Jumeirah.

 

 

 



Happy National Day UAE!

Have a lovely week!

Can you believe it's December already? 

What are your plans?

 

Love and light,

Arni

Greetings everyone!  Breathe in, breathe out while waiting to baste that turkey. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! 

We don't really celebrate it in this part of the world.  Though I'm sure UAE has a lot to be thankful for now that they have won the bid for World Expo 2020. I heard lots of shops are giving away freebies to celebrate. That explains the long queue at Baskin Robbins today giving away free ice cream. Yay! Big congratulations to this wonderful country!  

I always enjoy the spirit of this occasion. I like the idea of being thankful for all the good and not so good things that have come our way this year.   

 

Apologies for my long erratic absence on the blog.  I have been running around like a headless turkey chasing deadlines. Thank you for all of your messages and warm wishes in my previous post. I am incredibly thankful for this bun in the oven and for the adventurous experiences in my career.  I am on my second trimester and due in April. Now I'm off to visit your blogs to see what you're up to this Thanksgiving. :)

 

 

What are you thankful for this year?

 

 

Love & Light,

Arni

 

 

P.S. For a pregnant coffee addict, the cup of jo is a decaf.  :)

As the world watched the devastation in my home country, as the strongest typhoon ever recorded, Haiyan, wreaked  havoc on the provinces along its trail, one of the many struggles of being an expat is to watch everything from a distance.  

Before the storm { Photo Credit: Allu de Rivera}

Typhoon Aftermath {Photo Credit:  Coron Mayor's Office Page}

Visiting "The Rock", the island prison more than a century older than Guantanamo, has been a memorable one for me. The history, the eerie feeling being inside a cell during an audio walking tour of the complex. The lovely skyline of San Francisco can be enjoyed during the ferry ride and during a short stroll outdoors on the island.