Le Creuset

I have been resisting this for a while and waiting for a post-Christmas sale to get my hands on one. Yet to see if a Le Creuset iron enamel ware lives up to its name in terms of cooking but the kiwi green is tempting enough to melt my resolve especially if it comes with a good discount.
I have never been particular about cooking ware except for my Kitchen Aid cake mixer but the range of Le Creuset cooking ware and its beautiful vivid colours speak to me. A treat for myself this Christmas. Hope to try out more receipes with this green baby in 2010.

Christmas Day

Today is Christmas Day and I threw a dinner party for a few friends. It's a joy going about buying and preparing the food and putting touches to the home to make it more Christmasy. With some fairy lights, the house takes on a warmer glow and the festive mood goes a notch higher.

I can never remember to take pictures during the course of the party as I am busy serving and making sure everyone feels right at home. It is only after the last friend says goodbye that I flop onto the sofa and then it suddenly dawns on me " I should have taken some pictures ".

So just a few pictures of the house at Christmas before it all goes down and another year comes around again.

Gingerbread Cake

I love the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven. A whiff of cinnamon and ginger gives a warm fuzzy festive feeling. I personally prefer baking gingerbread cake to biscuits as they are softer and richer due to a generous scoop of luscious golden syrup. The cake mixture is very wet indeed but what comes out of the process are trays of lofty high, golden, sweet smelling gingerbread. I do make it at other times of the year but there's never a better time than at Christmas :)

Beautiful Winter

As I was leaving for Heathrow airport in a cab, the cold winter landscape had its beauty in the most unexpected ways. Even for one brief moment, a brightly lit carousel against the grand majestic beauty of London's Museum of Natural History was quite breathtaking. Despite the cold, I wished that I could have stayed a little longer in this city.

Christmas window display at Selfridges

Selfridges is the biggest department store along Oxford Street in London and its window displays are like the Rolls Royce of window art . What they have for Christmas 2009 is based on fairy tales but with a twist. The mannequins seem to possess a certain eccentricity and in terms of style, it was very much like Lady Gaga meets Vivien Westwood meets Alexander McQueen. To have it fairy tale sweet would have been too predictably boring and forgettable but this was bizarre in a good way. Loved it though I couldn't capture them properly as the human traffic along this stretch made it rather difficult. Fairy tales featured includes Dick Whittington, Peter Pan, Cinderalla and her wicked step sisters, Snow White, The Three Bears and Red Riding Hood . Along with each display were special typography in neon lights. Expressions include "Who is the Fairest ?" " At the Stroke of Midnight POOF ! " What I loved most - the iconic British bulldog with a crown, the mice that scrambled along and became horsemen in the Cinderella tale and of course the wolf wearing Grandma's bonnet.

Christmas in London

Was in London for work for 3 days and boy was it cold ! My body was freezing but my spirits were bright and warm with the sight of beautiful Christmas displays everywhere. Decorations were never over the top and it could only be just a simple wreath set against an iron door but with the backdrop of Victorian or Georgian houses, the effect was stunning. There was a Christmas tree at Claridges hotel that had white roses in glass test tube vases and though it was simple, it looked fabulous.

Traditional type fonts

Do you still remember the days of the traditional typewriter before computers took over ? I love the rhythm it made during typing. It was also the days before the invention of the photo copier and making an extra copy meant having to place a carbon copy below the paper. Extra copies could also meant extra smudges :)

As a kid, I was intrigued by the typewriter and wondered how my dad was able to memorise the placing of the keys so well. I love the lettering that the typewriter gave - imperfect and scrawny yet beautiful in its own way. So when I came across some stamp lettering with the type letter font just the other day, I just had to get it. Also bought some of the tiniest, cutest stamps of Russian dolls, cup cakes, teapots and biscuits as well. They had a very vintage feel to it and I was looking forward to doing some personalised gift tags the old fashion way. My daughter Chloe wanted to "play" too and helped me with the cards. She was unhappy as she could never get all the letters in perfect alignment. Told her that it was even better that way just like the days of the old typewriter where you may not be able to get some letters in a straight line due to some faulty keys. Imperfections can be beautiful.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree !

Christmas is all around and I love looking at the decorations all around town. Love this little Christmas tree display at a shop window at Centrepoint, Orchard. No ornaments, no lights but oh so chic !

Das Erzgebirge-Haus

There is a quaint little wooden toy store at the corner of the third level at Raffles City Mall and it has been there since 1998. It reminds me of Santa's little workshop and gives a feeling of Christmas all year through. Das Erzgebirge-Haus - Singapore carries a wide assortment of wooden crafts from the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) in Germany for retail. Little men and women are crafted to look like cooks, ballon man, traders, hunters etc. Another familiar Erzgebirge tradition is the guardian angel. Each Angel conveys different message, be it for love, to wish someone good health, for housewarmings, for newborn babies or mothers-to-be, for friends traveling away, and many more. Think they make beautiful Christmas gifts.