Hectic September

This month has gone by in a whoosh.  Remember that job I interviewed for a little while back?

 I got it ! 

Since then, I have been energetically searching for a place to stay in Geneva.  I went down to Nyon with my lovely friend Louise who starred in the pool post.  We swam in lake Léman,  cooked some amazing meals containing wholegrain Dijon mustard, and had drinks on a floating bar on the lake in the city...Geneva, I am starting to like you a lot. While I was there I spent a lot of time walking around Geneva getting an idea of the area whilest going to viewings and visiting agencies (who aren't the least bit helpful)... and I even got a little tanned sunburnt.

In-between, I came home to ♥ for an evening and an afternoon (where I showed off my amazing new Dijon talents only to find out he has never 'really been a fan' of mustard) before being whisked away to Berlin by my dad.

My long weekend there consisted of trying two of 101 cocktails at a great little brazillian bar, eating at trendy yet quirky transit restaurant, and broadening my wardrobe with office-appropriate pieces.  On our 4 hour Sunday walk I got to see the wall and be a tourist, the mood suited the cities darker history as it was drizzling with rain and grey for most of the day.

After another day trip to Geneva with  ♥ to view a cute roof-studio, and some nervous waiting, I received confirmation that I have a place to stay (with only 7 days to spare), I call being the Lucky one this month.

It may be a little while before posts are frequent (especially smiley cooking ones) as I need to find a photographic device that can withstand my clumsiness (sadly my £4 phone although can stay alive over 3 weeks, hasn't got a camera).  I wish you a lovely week.

English Barn Sparkle

Helloo,  I'm back. This weeks been a little hectic because I popped down to Geneva for an interview and had to do my best to prepare for it.  I get so nervous at things like that and think it's the end of the world,  but my dad calmed me with his wide words via text right before, and I did end up enjoying it.

"Remember to breathe, relax and enjoy"

The wedding was beautiful and we were served delicious treats including a trio of lemon desserts and late-night bacon sandwiches English style (which were my highlight of the night).  It was so nice to spend time with all my relatives and go out for a few drinks in Bath with my cousins from Scotland, there was this great place called Opium which made a smashing mojito.

Bridesmaids with the happy couple on their way to get their photo taken

Love how the Groom & his best men are wearing kilts for the Scottish bride

Delicious lemon-themed desserts, the Lemon Crème Brûlée was my favourite

The house with the flag is where we stayed,  it used to be prince Charles' house. Poshy Posh!

The cute English country-kitchen where a pre-wedding party was held

The dress I wore to the party and my burgundy tights my darling mum got for me at the airport

Only pic of my dress I wore at the wedding,  shame I'm frowning,  maybe more to come later

Groom waiting patiently as the bride's father walks her down the isle

So much food with my auntie single-handedly prepared for the pre-wedding party

Photo of the beautiful barn venue in the middle of the countryside

Pre-Reunion Wedding

I will be setting off tomorrow for Bath in the UK to attend my cousin Emma's wedding.  I will finally get the chance to meet her new baby daughter and husband-to-be for the first time while catching up with all my British relatives.

Apologies for being rather sporadic with posts,  not having a camera of my own is the number one reason for this.  But hopefully things will change.  I had a Skype interview with an international company in Geneva this morning and am crossing my fingers that I get positive feedback and will be able to afford a camera.

Here's a pic of me in an interview outfit taken 2 years ago

Heatwave in Switzerland is making me crave these lollies we had exploring Barcelona in 2009

I'm considering this dress for the wedding, I wore it at my high-school prom when I became ♥'s girlfriend in 2006

Happy I can still fit in most of my clothes 5 years on 

My Boy's Birthday

It's my ♥'s Birthday today and as usual I bake him a cake every year.  This year, for his 24th he requested a cake with chocolate, walnuts and caramel.  I had to substitute the walnuts for pecans because the biggest coop in our region was sold out...but I think it will taste better this way.  We had a lovely morning opening presents and eating a British breakfast in bed (eggs, beans, mini heart shaped french toast, bacon...) followed by a bath and a nap.  He's very happy to be off work this week. All my jogging and chocolate resistance this week will be on hold for today.  We are just about to make the most of these sun-rays and go have a drink by the Rhine at one of our favourite places, Veronica's.

 Chocolate, Pecan Cake with Caramel Icing & Dulce de leche drizzle

 Angle Shot

 Look at all those Pecans! I roasted them myself

Too many cake photos, I'm sorry for the overdose

 On another note, we finally put up the poster of a Louisiana Tree which I printed in A3 while I worked at HP

 Ready for a cold drink

Lazy morning in bed was so cosy

I better be off, but the cake recipe is coming soon  :-) ,  have a spectacular day everyone !

Movies and Rain

We're back from Locarno (a week ago) and I can truly say I had a brilliant weekend.  Our 3 hour road-trip to this little town close to Italy was breathtaking. We took a longer route over the Gotthard mountain pass but were rewarded with breathtaking views.  At the top we were met with mysterious spooky fog which made for a dream-like experience.

Once in Locarno we walked around taking in the rustic architecture, bustling film-festival goers & enjoyed listening to everyone around us speaking Italian.  Once we realised that a few crisps munched in the car didn't count as an adequate meal, we stopped at a little café by the lake and shared a salad and the cutest mini croque monsieur while wishing we could speak better French (him) and Spanish (me). It didn't rain until about 30 minutes before they scanned our tickets to let us into the Piazza Grande so we quickly bought some bright yellow plastic ponchos which we wore while eating our pizza slices & espressos-to-go as we waited for the stars to arrive.

We werent really fans for the film Cowboys & Aliens but Drive, which was the second feature film was far more entertaining (although I had to close my eyes at the gruesome bits). The soundtrack was amazing.

 Sometimes we take Switzerland for granted: view we got while driving towards Locarno

Huge rock faces whilst we drove over the Gotthard mountain pass

We found ourselves driving through many of the tunnels pictured here at the bottom

The higher we got, the foggier it became

 Mouth-meltingly-good:  our Mini Croque Monsieur

Salad with Goat's Cheese

 Italian Coffee by the lake

 Just saying hi to my friend Craig

  Sitting in the Piazza Grande for a drink before the Films

 Locarno's massive open-air screen, it's as big as the buildings!

 Waiting in line to see if we could still watch the movies in the rain

 We could...  We did (with the help of our sexy ponchos)

We saw celebrities and the atmosphere was great, it was very much worth it

 on Sunday after a long sleep, we watched some beach volleyball in Basel before watching another open air movie

Nice seats we had with the Historical Barfüsserplatz Museum in the Background.

We ended up seeing 3 movies in an open-air setting in 2 Swiss cities within 24 hours. It was certainly an experience, but I may be watched-out for a week or so.  Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  

This Morning

This was happily waiting for my ♥ in his smartphone inbox this morning.  I am soo excited to be going to Locarno today !

Happy Birthday Switzerland

On Monday it was Switzerland's national holiday and I was lucky to share the day with  ♥'s Swiss side of the family & their friends from Geneva. The day was filled with afternoon sips of white wine, hanging lanterns, eating fondue chinoise, communicating in broken French & of course lots and lots of sparkly fireworks (many of which I was brave enough to light myself)

I made my cheesecake for the occasion which turned out festive with a white chocolate cross...which cracked upon the crowning of the cake (I was worried that would come across shady to all the Swiss) but it ended up to be a success. 

 My 1st of August outfit- was surprised I was the only one wearing 'Swiss Red'

The only shot I managed to get of my cake- on my lap in the car on the way there

 Hanging lanterns in the tree,  they looked so pretty at night, but sadly ♥'s phone isn't too good in the darkness

 When we get out own place, I need need need lanterns, the are so magical at night

 Dancing in the garden with sparklers

  You can see the lanterns we hung on the patio in the background

 Fondue Chinoise - something I had never tried before I met ♥. Must be a Swiss thing, cooking raw meat in broth

Most memorable moment of the night? When ♥ held my hand whilst we watched the volcano sparkle

On another note,  I am really excited for this weekend as we will be driving down to Locarno to go to the 64th Film Festival to see Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford & Olivia Wilde present their new film Cowboys & Aliens in the Piazza Grande open-air cinema. I also can't wait to take advantage of being so close to Italy by having lots of Gelati, Caffè and other yummy specialities whilst on our trip. And until then, arrivederci.