PREPARATIONS

I'm at work in Siberian weather loaing like hell until midnight, but yesterday and this morning I prepared a lot of things and put ourselves in the Christmas mood!

With a martini and some Sinatra we decorated our small Christmas tree last night.

It's actually the first Christmas tree I've had since I moved away from home a decade ago!

I usually pack a lot of my gifts in old newspapers - saving money, saving nature. Normally I go for the daily papers I've read at home, but this time I picked up some free chinese magazines in my local supermarket (apparently Tapiola is full of Chinese readers?). I make the cards out of lace-like cake paper or left over gift paper from last year.

If you have no idea of what gifts to give, a pretty bowl (from the flea market/super market/fancy store, however you like it) filled with fresh fruit would at least be appreciated by me.

I baked heaps of gingerbreads! Spelt gingerbreads with a hint of orange and another set with almonds.

Eddi wasn't totally happy with being dressed in my apron, having to mix the other dough. But he did enjoy eating it later on.

Saved some for ourselves, while the rest is meant to be decorated and given away.

The decorated ones turned out surprisingly ugly though. For a while I considered saying it was Eddi's kids who baked them. Disappointment. But well, I'm good at a lot of other things! And they do taste good.

I also gave myself a little Christmas present!I had already give up on receiving these before the holidays, but then the delivery boy arrived only minutes before I was on my way to work. Ave Maria was playing in hte background when I opened the parcel. It was a very beautiful moment.

And very beautiful shoes!It is however minus 20 C outside so I won't be wearing these beauties for some time. Well, except for indoors.

Bonus cat-in-the-box!

How are your Holiday preparations coming along?

Ok, Edit : it's almost minus thirty, not 'just' twenty.

IN THE KITCHEN / ICING THE CAKE

I made a cake for my father's birthday (date- banana with apple yoghurt frosting) which we celebrated at our place. My sisters and their boyfriend also came over, it was very nice. The cake turned out real good but I only got a shot of the last piece afterwards.

(And yes, I know Sir Pekka is performing his evening 'grooming' procedure in the later pictures but hey, that's natural; what cats do, so no need to photoshop him out in the name of prudence or so :)

SOME SUNDAY BAKING pt.2; COCONUT BISCUITS

(I originally intended to do my Sunday baking a bit more often than once every 18 months but things seldom turn out the way you intend them to...)

I got a huge craving for coconut biscuits, such as my mom and grandmother used to make them and which I haven't had for years. I used a recipe from the web which maybe differed a bit from the ones I'm used to, perhaps, but anyway they're super easy to make. And works for those with gluten allergy too.


Fluff three eggs (I use ecological and ecological eggs only) and 1.5dl sugar together, add 8,25dl of coconut flakes and the peel of one small lime. The lime is not mandatory but is a nice add to the biscuits. I also found one recipe putting a little bit of rum in the mix. I'm pretty sure I've had versions made only on egg white also. Which of course gives a different result. Maybe one could try a version with one whole egg and the white from two-three?


Pour in 75 grams of melted butter (I felt there could have been a few grams less butter).

Mix all together and leave for ten minutes so the coconut flakes can soak in the moist and swell.

Use a spoon to scoop the biscuits onto a baking plate or into small cupcake molds. The result will be fluffy and slightly cone-shaped biscuits so you don't need to form them round or anything, but you can slightly shape them into cones.

Put in the oven (175C) for about 20 minutes until the biscuits get a nice dark golden color.


Let cool and out in the refrigerator for about an hour or so before you serve. You can alo dip the tops in melted chocolate and let cool, that makes a great combination.


Eddi does not have much of a sweet tooth, he'll have a couple or three at most and his kids don't really like anything I make by default, so that means lots of biscuits for me! And they taste as good if not even better after a night or two in the refrigerator.

FRIDAY LUNCH

Yesterday I met up Ina for lunch.


We had soup at Espresso Edge. I've been going there for years; they have really good sandwiches. Also vegan.

Armenian apricot soup and a True Veggie sandwich.


I had to spend a lot of time on the phone though, doing a lot of things at the same time, carrying around my computer and a whole lot of other stuff - things are really busy now but also interesting; our burlesque beginners class starting in October was fully booked in just 24 hours!

(The dress is Big Beautiful Barbara Brown, one of my favorite ones.)

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW

Making fruit salad for brekfast. It strange to think this little papaya grew across the world and ended up in my kitchen. (Hello ecological footprint!)

Fruit and cottage cheese salad done!


Those who virtually hang out with me on Facebook know I was searching for yellow gingham for my kitchen, which seemed impossible to find over here. But then I stumbled across some on Anttila, phew! (and thanks for the tips for my flowers, they are doing better now :)

The post office sold these cardboard Moomin prints with metal corners. These pictures and the books they are from reminds me of my childhood... I love them, but have no idea yet of where to place them so they could be admired.

DOCE BALLET

More stop motion goodies coming up; a very yummy and hypercaloric ballet mad by a very talented reader of mine; Maria!

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW (OF WHICH ONE OF THEM IS THE WINNER!)

Parmesan-walnut-lemon pasta helping us recover from the wedding last night. Should've made more...


Finally got the closet emptied of stuff (my grandfather's books and a whole lot more undefined stuff), washed and painted to be ready to filled with my stuff! Burlesque stuff mostly. Our living room is grateful to stop serving as a storage room.


My pelargoniums are dying. I don't know why. They are in a sunny place and get enough water. Any hints how to recover them anyone?


Last but not least, Miss Fortuna drew a winner of the Tyra Therman mermaid brooch and the lucky one is Paula!

OH SUMMER, HOW I LOVE THEE

I've spent some great days. in the city lately. One of them went like this:


After Eddi got his hair cut at Rody's we met up with Ina and H (or also known as Julien, well, only by me :) for a few cans of Sangria and a lot of tapas.

See what hat Ina is wearing? She got it for her birthday!




Oh, food!

Ladi dadi da. (Ina wore a sixties dress and I a fifties skirt, and a Vivien of Hollowayhairflower. Check the shoes! Oh yes I got them - comfy ad coloured like bubble gum ♥)

I continued on to Bar Moskva (going to Helsinki? Go there.) to celebrate Tinker's last night (well, almost, close enough) as an unmarried girl with a lot of champage and lovely ladies. And later on also a bunch of great guys and a very happy groom.

Oh, summer, oh love.

TWO THINGS RIGHT NOW

Strawberry-cherry-rasberry milkshake and cat playing hide-and-seek.

DINING ALONE

...is very nice sometimes.


Eddi has left for the countryside to stay for a while, I'm not joining him, yet at least, since I've had burlesque workshops to keep as well as a show to throw tonight (at Storyville! Come!) -which I was able to lure him back into town for though- plus work ahead next week. Before preparing for the evening I'm enjoying a nice dinner alone on the balcony; warm halloumi salad with fresh strawberries and walnuts and a glass of cold Reisling. Mm mm mmm!

TO TALLINN AND BACK

This morning I put on my blue bow shoes and bicycle dress and headed south with Eddi and Ina (who this time left her Mr.T at home).


We took the ferry across the Finnish Bay to Tallinn. ( It's not as serious as it looks :)


Eddi taking picures with his iPhone.


The result (hipstamatic for ze iphone. Works quite well, even though it gave me zombie arms here). The whole scenario to be seen here.


...And some more results. As you can see from me and Ina, the sub-theme of the day was taking photos.


The actual theme of the day was the Tallinn vintage and retro culture fair! Evergreens in Estionian, free Martinis and a lot of desireable furniture. I'll get in on that some more a bit later. You can also read more about the fair on Ina's blog.


Afterwards we went to Kompressor for stuffed pancakes and cherry juice (Cherry juice! That's something they don't sell at home!). And btw as you can see I cut the sleeves of the dress into cap sleeves as planned.


Mushrooms, blue cheese and garlic sour cream -they sure now how tho make pancakes in the Baltics! (and in Hungary too btw, even though different there).
I go to Tallinn about once or twice a year and have the pancakes at Kompressori on almost every visit. But I still always forget how to find the place, almost give up and then bump in to it by accident. Every time.




Coffee.



And then it was time to take the boat home. View from the window.


It was a fun day! (And we were almost colour-coordinated. Bring in the tuulipuvut! ;)

(my dress is vintage, the shoes from ModCloth and the small beret form Molla Mills, Eddis shirt is from VintageEija's and Ina's vintage dress is from Sivletto, if you're interested in those facts.)