Playmobil, Oh Dear Childhood Friend....

Bling Princess

Bling Princess - Backview

Flower Princess

Flower Princess Backview

My friend gave me a Surprise Playmobil bag for Christmas! <3 I was lucky enough to get the prettiest princess one. I feel so blessed. ha ha ha, since I could have gotten pretty much anything in all the weird stuff they had. The gift I recieved from my friend is actually the second one, the "Flower Princess" as I call her. She is the one I made by following the model of the bag. Later on that day, others of my friends were jealous of my awesome gift, so she went to the store and brought back some more for everyone. 

We were with a guy friend who picked out the exact same princess, and was quite sad about it so I swapped it with my new one: a redhead holding a stereo... I feel like we both got lucky out of that swapping. I personally figured that having two princesses would look much better in my bedroom than having a redhead punk with her stereo.... I decided to decorate the second princess otherwise however, since it would have been too boring. I personally like my creation better teh he :3

I went to the pharmacy today and bought some make-up brushes and highlights, plus nail polish items. My nails have been in bad shape for the past few months, which is the first time it happens to me - and to my mother as well, oddly, so I guess it's one of my new polish that we might both have used, that was of bad quality. Thus, I decided to get a base coat to try to put both our nails in shape. I also got one of those crackling color. Never figured out if I liked or not, so I finally decided to get one and try it. Why not anyways?

There is a brand store that is closing, for the owner is going to a formation in Paris and will be in all sorts of important fashion programs and TV shows, so she's leaving for good. Good for her too. But I'll be sad her store'll be gone. At least for now I get big discounts on her stuff :3

Silk and Cashemere Lacoste shirt $97.50

BB Dakota Cashemere and whool large sweater $90

Eve Gravel dress (looks awesome when worn) - $79

This was another gift from my friend who gave me the playmobil doll: cute bow <3

Bedroom and Pink Xmas decorations

On December 12, and the following week I moved my bedroom in the other house, so that we could finally change the floor on the second floor of the main house. The result is really really nice, I like the warmth of cork tiles on the feet, when waking up in the morning, nothing to compare with the cheap floor we had before. Trying to make my bedroom look nice again after we got the new floor put on  probably is the only constructive thing I've been up to since I got to rest from work. I'll give you a little look, but it is constantly changing - not big big things, but still, I keep on changing little details, making it look more 'natural' and trying to fix the empty spaces. 

Notice that on this photo the bedroom is really stretched - mine is not a big bedroom - and we don't see the wall behing the head of my bed. Reason is, that it is really boring, and all beige, and well, I'll try to fix this before I show that... My bed looks quite flat because it is: since the ceiling is really low, having my Japanese style futon really helps with space management. To give you an idea on how much the picture is stretched, you might like to picture the fact that the two doors - left exterior door and right passage-onto-the-second-floor door, are actually facing each other. I don't know about having two doors facing each other in the 'Feng-Shui tradition, but I sleep quite alright in that bedroom. Head facing west instead of East, but then, if I were to turn around, I'd be right in between the two doors, plus right in front of the window (door being a window). I guess I'm not that bad with things placed this way...

The white dresser and chair are new, I got them two monthsish ago, and really love them, there is even some wallpaper-like traces inside the drawer. So pretty.

-> Sorry about the boxes and the clothes on the chair beside the right door, I'll find out a way so that it looks more neat one day....

I went to Canadian Tire the other day with my father to buy Xmas decorations - they were all on sale, so that was quite a catch :). The only things is that is took me hours to get them because the ones I wanted were sold out, and the only left were in the demo trees. This resulted in me bringing them all to a sales clerk who, in despair, had to look them up one by one in their stocks, to find the right prices. Poor lad. I'm really grateful he did though, I love them all.

Those decorations will be going in my bedroom somewhere until I move out and buy myself a Xmas tree. I mean a big one. Until then, They'll be my bedroom friends <3

Olive & Basil

Yes it is still Xmas... in my head anyhow. I realize I had not posted pictures of my bedroom Season's decorations. I realize now that the quality of the picture itself isn't this good, but I guess that will have to do.

Laziness obliges.

This is the Xmas tree I had bought for my apartment when I was still staying in Montreal. Both the tree and the cupcake decorations were bought at Urban Outfitters last year when I went shopping with Lovely Xuan Ying <3 around Xmas time. I had come to the realisation that I had had no Xmas decorations for the two years I had been living over there...Lame. Silver. Sparkles. Cupcakes. Flowers. That is my definition of a perfect Christmas Decoration tree.

I suppose many may beg to differ. Let them beg.

Notice the picture of my daddy and my baby niece on the right - perfect fit in the $1 pink frame I found at the dollar store, proof that cute stuff does NOT need to be expensive. People just need to learn to open their eyes and look a bit longer than 3 seconds when they enter in cheap stores. They are far from being nasty places where people judge you for lack of money. Why would they judge you? (trying to convince myself here <3... cuz it's true anyways, it's only rich people who judge).

I had lunch at Olive & Basil the other day with my daddy, where Fura was working. Last time I had been there was with my ex, when I did not know how much of a jerk he was :). So I had not really wanted to remember him by going again. Shame, since this place, along with where I work, are, IMO, the best restaurant in my town. 

Now that I know that the slut who's with my ex will leave him and go to Korea - let both of them suffer a bit and I'll feel a bit better with myself- I decided that I could manage to remember. 

Food was good.

I had a double expresso and marinated olives while I waited for my dad to meet me up, and then I ordered a mini pizzetta with salad whilst my dad took a pear and goat cheese salad - we both kept having huge meaty meaty dinner for the past weeks, so lunch needs to be light. ha ha. happy Xmas.

They redid the interior decoration 2 years ago (?) and the restaurant is really nice to be in.

Daddy's Salas - He did take a pear mousse for desert actually tho :3 

Happy Pizetta - proscuito, manguos, cheese, reducted balsamic (?)...

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas time at Bistro Jezz is quite the thing. We are closed from december 24 to january 3rd inclusively, but appart from that we had the restaurant booked from early september for the weeks before Xmas. This already meant a lot of work for all of us waiters and cooks, but an accidental death in my boss' family pretty much messed up all the plans. We had a literally crazy Xmas time at work and the last week before Xmas I worked everyday, up to 14 hours a day. So basically no life, no life. My after shift wine tasting and cheese eating were rare calm moments I enjoyed the best I could, right before crawling in bed, my body being sore everywhere, especially in the thighs. I miss belly dancing  classes that stopped for Christmas time, as they represented a great relief from work and school, plus a sweet time spent with my mom and sister...

White (Saint-Clair) and Red (Monasterio de Las Vinas Crianzas) wine

Cheese, my love. I live the middle one "Cendrillon" - Cinderella - most

The second weekend of december I made the Xmas decorations at home, and the Christmas Tree, while parents gone

Red and Gold, my own personnal Xmas Gryffindor pride XD

My house with the light decorations put up by my daddy, with Xmas snow - now we have way more tho :3

 This year my dad bought huge decorations to hang up in the big pine tree in our backyard, and it is really pretty up close. Was a hard work putting them on, but the result is stunning in real life. It might be easier to figure out the task if one pictures the fact that the tree house is already pretty high up in the tree....

Evening snack with mommy, English Tea, nuts and oranges

Bistro Jezz and Xmas decorations - Merry Xmas!!!

On the next to last day of work, we had our first -30 degrees here. After 2 minutes of walk on my way to work, I had both my lashes and hair frozen with a good layer of frost. That was quite funny, you know, me turning into the nine tail fox :)

We made the Christmas meal for all the family at my brother's place yesterday and ate tons of goodies. So much I had no place for the awesome Christmas cake my dad had brought. I am sure I'll get other occasions to eat it this winter...

I will not elaborate on how wrong this cheese covered sausage looks to me....

Cheese plate, dressed up asparaguses, sausages and dried meat, foie gras...

Smoked salmon roulés made by my sister <3

Confit de Canard in Whisky applesauce and Cranberries: bliss

My niece had trouble understanding that there is no place for hands in a poncho...

Félixe having a hard time with her cute poncho, gift from her godfather from Argentina

 Merry Xmas to you all, and the Best for the coming next year!!!! <3

Toronto and JLPT

Beginning of December brought on me pretty busy and stressing times, with a Japanese Language Proficiency Test right on december 4th, that I had to take in Toronto. I took some days off of work to go there by bus - plan was out of the question, it is ridiculous how much money it costs to travel from my hometown to Montreal, just as much as a two-way ticket to France - so I had a pretty 12 hours back and 12 hours forth bus ride to look forward. Happiness. As I cannot really read or concentrate in a car, gives me headaches most of the time, I did not really look forward to studying for the exam while on the way, but that was the plan. I had had no time to study for my exam at ALL so I had to try at least while on the way. It is hard to figure out what to study, so I pretty much lazed out in the bus, faking study... ha ha I am a lazy bum. 

The bus was not really full, so I sat in the very back, where, luckily for me, there were three side by side seats, on which I just lied down like a bed, with my pillow and my blanket. That was sweet.... but God, the ride was long and boring. After a while, it becomes quite annoying to lie down and wait...

North Bay Bus Station

North Bay was much warmer than my hometown - by maybe 5 degrees - and I bought myself a coffee and studied for 2 hours, while waiting for my transfer to Toronto. It was boring time, but it was the beginning of the trip so whatever, I had to deal with my stress getting worse and worse as time passed and the exam drew nearer. There  were pretty decorations of Christmas everywhere, with flowers and window paintings of "Season's Greetings" all around, and it made me happy. I like Winter and Christmas time, because everything is pretty, but even more so in English Speaking areas. Why? Because they care more about making things pretty. I don't know why, but French Xmas decoration never held anything inspiring to me when compared to English ones. Always like that. We have to give them' English people the praise they deserve. Here. Said.

Christmas Tree in the bus Station

 I got in Toronto around 9h45PM and on the way to my Hostel, I saw a Ramen Shop, and hungry as hell, I decided to go before cheking-in. Good idea. They closed the shop 5 minutes after I entered, so had I gone to the Hostel at first I would have gone hungry. Love my instincts sometimes...

The ramen was awesome, but then, being famished, everything would have been. Can't compare to Japanese ramen. Staff was mainly Korean, but did not take time to try any of my Korean, as I was too worried I'd mix things up with my Japanese exam coming up. I took a beer. The waitress found me weird ordering that, as I was on my own a Saturday night. I needed one, That was pure bliss. I did not give a damn about her. I remember trying to understand the conversation of a chinese couple beside me; they were switching back and forth with canto and mandarin, so I failed, but was good to stop thinking about Japanese Exam and stress.

RAMEN <3

 The Hostel was nicer than I thought, and really downtown - far from the exam place, but afterwards, I hoped I'd get to shop around and go to sleep early, so I liked the place. I loved the view from my bedroom, and the nice church right in front of the building. There were funny things written at the back of the room door, dunno if it's readable... things about horse carriages...ha ha ha

Church in front of the Hostel, morning before the exam

View from my room window, cannot remember if it was morning of night...

With the room, came meal vouchers I could use in their 'Cave Coffee', a sweet place in the basement where they had basic food for free. I had two vouchers, ended up taking a breakfast before the exam, and a meal before going to bed. Pictures can't render the looks of the place with much accuracy, but it was lovely.

 

Morning Tea, with white bucket to put the teabag <3

Cereals, fruits and Yogurt, quite decent Breakfast to have for free.

Decorations in Eaton Center - so pretty!!! I love Xmas

 The exam was probably the hardest shit I ever did in my entire life. I have literally no clue how it went. Sucks if I don't pass it, since I ended up paying $200 for the bus ticket - plus the horribly long amount of time in the comfy-less bus - $200 for the hostel and $70 to take the actual exam. I will not have the results before March however, so no need to stress on it right now. Useless stress is to be rid of. If I ever have to retake it, at least I will know what to expect. I focused way too much on how to write/remember characters, and that was useless. Was a A,B,C,D exam, no need to write anything. I needed to know the 1,000 different ways to pronounce words however, and a general deep understanding of Japanese idioms, spoken language and written language. FML.

 

I found my luck charm for taking exams right after I came back home, I'll keep it on me when I open the result letter...

Winter Pic <3 <3 <3

Running Man

I feel shameful for forgetting the very reason I started writing my blog yesterday. I guess the reason for that is that I needed to make an entry just for that...

I need to thank Rosemary for that, because even if I will probably waste away in front of my computer screen because of her, it might not even do me too much harm...except getting fat by eating too much shit while watching it.....  :) Love you Rosemary <3

I started watching a Korean TV Show. Never tried to watch any, because I always felt quite frustrated when I went to Japan the first time, and tried watching them without any understanding of the japanese language. This made me feel so lame, not to get anything while everyone laughed so bad around me. This sorts of marked me negatively: Asian TV shows are supposed to be fun, but I don't get shit, so I'm lame - sort of trauma. So now, breaking this trauma, after 6 years, I started watching Running Man. That's intense since there are 66 episodes on the site I watch them. I don't even know whether if the show has stopped or not... I'm not really into looking into details that much. I'll just watch them and see what's up. Anyways, they are all translated, and for the most part, well done, so you get explanations for inside jokes that white ppl would not get otherwise.