Hello, I'm back!

 

Well, hello again! Welcome to 2013. Welcome to Abacaxi & Hortelã!

It's been a while!

 

Enjoyed a short break during the holiday season.

 

Of course I prepared a nice diner for my parents and some friends for Christmas Day.

I chose for a bit of an unusual combination of colours to decorate the table: aubergine (eggplant colour) and turquoise.

As I was the cook, I, unfortunately, didn't have time to take pictures of the food I prepared...

 

 

But this was on the menu:

 

Trio d'amuses: goat cheese/apricot bite, mascarpone/macadamia nut crème brulée & quick roasted scallop with sesame seeds and soy sauce

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Beetroot soup with wodka, sour cream and mint

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Filet of duck breast with roasted figs and a red wine - forest fruit syrup

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Monk fish with mango salsa, mashed parsnip/potato, grilled green vegetables

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Lemon cheesecake with speculoos and blue berries

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Coffee/tea & some sweet little indulgences

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Yes, it was pretty good if I may say so myself ;)

 

 

 

And between Christmas and new years Eve we visited Berlin...

But that story will have to wait till next time :)

 

Have a great new week in this New Year where everything is still possible!

 

 

 

 

For all of you!

 

What's next?

We had a good time...

Christmas Eve: with friends in Amsterdam

Christmas Day: relaxed, quiet, some preparations for diner on Boxing Day (2nd Christmas Day it's called in the Netherlands)

Boxing Day: more diner preparations & a very nice & calm diner with my parents

This is what the table looked like:

Forgot to take pictures of the actual diner... too busy ;)

And now it's time to prepare for the New Year...

What are your plans?

For New years Eve?

For 2012?

Any resolutions??

Wishing you a nice last week of 2011!!

Christmas Group Hug

Lynda, who writes the blog Un petit morceau de moi, did it again this year... Last year she organised a Christmas Group Hug, which was an enormous success. And this year she decided to organise it again.

I think she deserves a huge applause!!

What is the Christmas Group Hug? All participants make or buy something for someone (secretly, only Lynda knows, she makes the pairs) and make sure that the present is received before Christmas, just something nice & sweet in this time of the year...

And look what I received this week:

From Lia who writes the blog http://ifoundmyhome.blogspot.com.

What a beautiful pillow cover, handmade by Lia!

I'm soooo happy with it, thank you so much Lia, I really appreciate it :)

Have a nice week!

THE tree...

It took me some time...

Our living room is not that small, but still...

I couldn't find THE spot for THE tree!

I moved chairs, sofas & tables, but put them back in the old position again

(positive about this is the fact that I finally cleaned the floor under the furniture!!)

Still not totally happy with the location of the tree, but I'm afraid there's no moving anymore,

it's completely decorated now, too dangerous!!

Red & white it is this year...

Have a nice week!!

Knuffelen/Hugging...

Als zij iets in haar hoofd heeft en een blogje schrijft over haar idee, dan is er maar één optie: meedoen!
Dus dat deed ik. Mijn knuffelenvelop is inmiddels onderweg en vandaag ontving ik mijn knuffel! Hij is afkomstig van Marjolein.

When she has something in her mind and writes a blogpost about her idea, then there's only one option left: join it! So that's what I did. My envelop with 'hug' is already on its way and today I received my hug! It's been sent to me by Marjolein.

Zo leuk, zo lief en ik heb er al een plekje voor gevonden. Hartelijk dank Marjolein!!

So nice, so sweet and I already found the perfect spot for it! Thanks so much Marjolein!!

En hier hangt 'ie nu:

And here it is at its final spot:

Ik wens jullie allen een knuffelig weekend!

I wish you all a weekend full of hugs!

Bisous,

Slowly, Christmas is entering our home

Although it's only the beginning of December (and according to the Dutch traditions - St. Nicolas on December 6 - you're not supposed to even think about Christmas until after the 6th) I couldn't resist starting to decorate for Christmas. I added some touches of Noël and even bought a tree, a real tree. Why? Because it's been 8 (EIGHT!!) years since we had a real Christmas tree, that's why!!

A real Christmas tree doesn't exist in Brazil and the only little bush they sell there as a Christmas tree can't even handle one ball!

So, a real tree it is this year!

Sweet little Angels, made out of recycled cans and some made of dried corn leaves (bought in Brazil, they're pretty inventive & crafty there!) and some feathered balls and wooden birds, hearts & stars.

Some little balls with candlelight atmosphere...

And a glimpse of the tree, decorations in red & white this year!

 

Have a wonderful week & enjoy this sweet time of the year!!

Bisous,

Getting into the Christmas spirit!

The end of November already, hectic times here at the Abacaxi & Hortelã-house & change is on its way...

But the end of November also calls for getting into the Christmas spirit, don't you think?

So we headed one night to the Champs Elysées to see all the lights and visit the Christmas fair near the Place de la Concorde. Such a pity I couldn't capture it all in pictures, but I gave it a try:

Hotel de Invalides, such a remarkable building.

One of the restaurants went crazy...

The most beautiful Avenue of the world.

Also entertainment for the small ones.

Time to warm up: such a nice hot chocolate spoons in all kinds of flavors & preferrable combined with:

Don't they look good? And I can confirm: they taste good too!

This weekend will be dedicated to decorating the Christmas tree, hot chocolate and cookies ready? GO!

Have a wonderful, thankful weekend!

Bisous,

  

Planned a lot... did little today.

Biggest mistake: I went to Etna (a sort of IKEA, which doesn't exist here - yet??). Didn't need anything... bought too much!

This weekend, at least, I finished this Christmas star (for which I cut my buxus...) and the little 'Noel' sign I bought this morning.

These candlesticks I couldn't resist either, the little angels I bought some time ago already at a Christmas fair (they're made out of recycled material such as soda cans).

Have a nice week!

Chantal

A Christmas tree in Brasil

Yes!

I decorated the Christmas tree... finally!

It took me about a week to finish it. Not because it's so much work, but I just had so many other things going on that I only had some spare minutes a day.

But now it's done and I'm happy with it.

It's definitely not a classy one... some lights yes, some balls? No!

Since we have a big dog with a big tail that is constantly in motion, I decided to use the 'bonfim' (good luck) straps from Bahia (north east of Brasil), if you use them, they bring you luck (at least that's what the people in Bahia told me!). So, looking at the tree, we'll have a lot of luck these coming weeks!!