That time of the year

That time of the year by t-i-v-a-s-u-r-a-d-e-j 

Comme le titre

It's not exactly Christmas yet, but as the title says, it's, quite literally, that time of the year. The time when we take out our warm winter woolies out (or in my case, some nice turtle necks and my amazingly-warm padded coat from Aigle <-- it's like I'm wearing a portable heater, literally) and put away our easy-breezy and light summer clothing. The temperature hasn't dropped dramatically but, despite the nice sunny weather, you can definitely feel that it's a lot cooler, if not colder, than before. If I manage to get all my warm clothing out soon, you'll definitely see me in a woolly scarf, beanie, coat and gloves pretty soon - the walking abominable snowwoman is coming to town :-)

Winter wishlist

For me, normally I'd say something along the lines of clothing, baking utensils (I REALLY, REALLY want an eclair tin - hint hint to parents, relatives and friends ;-), books, stuff for drawing, Betty's (I am that obsessed with it, don't judge) etc. But I think that, having been away from home for exactly one whole year already (and that's the longest I've been away from home), all I'm really looking forward to is spending time with family, be it through watching movies, baking/ cooking at home or simply catching up through a good chat - and of course I'm looking forward to catching up with friends too! And since I'm come from a shopper's paradise, window shopping for Christmas gifts and other quirky things with family is definitely another brilliant (and productive! I mean - we're getting stuff for people we love! Family fun and thinking of others - what could be a better activity?) family excursion during the weeks leading up to my favorite holiday of the year.

Be it for family or for friends, shopping for gifts is always a hassle. That's why I try to give it a more of a personal touch and unique by making something - expect homemade cookies and cakes with DIY boxes to come flying to everyone's households once I get back home, people! (recipes for all these treats to come soon :-) baking should be enjoyed by all - so why keep a good recipe a secret?)

First bitter, then sweet

Not exactly the most elegant phrase in the whole world but in Chinese, it's the pinnacle of proverbs and it's been drilled in my head (not literally of course!) by my family for as long as I can remember. There are loads of things that are fun to do in life, but sometimes, we have to commit to things that maybe slightly less exciting and somewhat boring before we can enjoy everything else. Christmas doesn't come without a semester of university and hardcore studying. As much as I like learning, if I had to compare academic work to being at home with family and friends with strong emphasis on the fact that it is during Christmas, I'd have to place my cards face down on the table for the latter. But like I said, Christmas doesn't come without working hard beforehand, and for that, no matter how difficult the work will be (esp. since this will be my second year, not first -- I'm getting old >__<), I'll just have to get it done and over with and not to stress out too much. 

And I know that it will definitely be worth it :-)