a little bit of snow

it snowed last week. just for one day but i was excited nonetheless. i took these photos quickly on my way to work. but as soon as it arrived, it was gone.

i'm procrastinating. i need to wash the dishes and tackle the huge ironing pile but i can't seem to get off the sofa.

my weekend

well, another weekend that went by in a flash. and i totally forgot to take photos.

what you can see is a view of part of the hofburg palace (taken whilst walking through the city), some takeaway sushi (lunch on saturday), sleet (we got caught in it late on saturday afternoon) and my first attempt at making a victoria sponge (my baking skills are bad. i definitely need lots more practice). i also attempted to make chocolate brownies but they were a complete disaster!

what the photos don't show are a lovely evening i spent drinking prosecco and catching up with mimie on friday, shopping in the city and a couple of beers on saturday in our local cafe/bar, and the tasty cheese scones kev made for afternoon tea on sunday when we got to hang out with dorte, bjarni and the very cute silja.

a run tonight was very much needed to work off all the cake consumed!

my weekend

wow. it got a lot colder at the weekend. i had to drag kev for a walk just to get out of the apartment on saturday. the weekend went by so fast. i'm not really sure what we did the rest of the time?

i did eventually try out the polaroid camera and discovered that it has something wrong with it. as you can see, they came out with random brown blobs on them. but i stuck the photos to the wall anyway as i like the abstract blurry quality of them.

oh and i cooked jerk chicken on friday and saturday night. see, told you. addicted.

my new favourite thing to eat

so, a bad picture... but i am totally addicted to eating jamie oliver's 'killer jerk chicken' from his 30 minute meals book. it is SO good. served with rice and beans, a refreshing chopped salad and yogurt. (okay, i've realised i might be a little bit obsessed with jamie oliver! ha).

i'm on a bit of a health kick at the moment (isn't everyone?). trying to lose a few pounds in desperation before our trip to australia in mid february (think i may have left it a bit late but i have to try!). the thought of wearing a bikini at the moment sends me into a complete panic.

i've also signed up to take part in the vienna marathon this year. don't worry, i haven't completely lost my mind. i'm in a relay team with work colleagues and i'm running the shortest part of 5.7 km (someone else has to run 16.1 km! eek!). however, i'm really not a running person and i'm struggling to run 1 km at the moment without needing to stop. so this is going to be quite a challenge!

my (long) weekend

so, friday was epiphany meaning it was a public holiday here in austria. bonus! the extra day was kinda handy as i was still feeling a little under the weather and kev had caught the dreaded lurgy from me.

the weekend was spent mostly at home resting, but i did manage to get out to the cinema to see jane eyre (totally brilliant adaptation). i cried (lots!) which was rather embarrassing at the end when they switched the lights back on. i also ventured out on sunday for afternoon tea at a friends place. delicious home baked cakes and earl grey tea helped to revive me!

i received two new cookery books for christmas and this weekend we tried piri piri chicken from jamie's 30 minute meals and beef tagine from jamie does.... i loved both. really great recipes.

oh, and i bought some new sparkly shoes in the sales!

hello 2012

i've been ill at home in bed for the past few days. really not the greatest way to start off the new year, but it has given me the opportunity to look back through my blog at what has happened over the past year. it reminded me of what wonderful times we've had in vienna, amazing meals, great times with friends, visiting new places. i hope that we can do lots more of that in 2012. there are so many more restaurants to visit! and cafes, museums, art exhibitions, shops..... i really want to keep exploring this city.

when back in england over the holidays i started to get a little homesick. it surprises me sometimes how much i crave and miss familiarity. but i need to keep focused on the new and what the future holds rather than looking back.

i considered the goals i made last year at the start of 2011 and they haven't really changed. i still want to lose a few pounds, read lots of books, take lots of photographs, cook new recipes and learn german. but i think my main goal for this year is to get into shape! (its going to be tough!) that, and start thinking more about the things i do have here rather than the things i don't. also to stop giving myself such a hard time that my level of german is still completely basic (and really rather rubbish). i need to get over my lack of confidence with it. i'm really not sure how to do that.

new year celebrations

we spent new years eve with our friends at their place drinking red wine and lots of champagne, eating raclette (which was super fun!) and watching fireworks down by the canal with sparklers. it was a wonderful evening.

before midnight we saw a little of dinner for one. i was amazed that i had never heard of the short comedy sketch before yet it appears to have obtained cult status in some countries, including austria, and is shown on tv every new years eve!

we also discovered another new years eve tradition of melting lead shapes over a flame. once the lead has melted you pour it into a bowl of water and the new shape predicts the coming year. mine made a very odd shape which we couldn't seem to decipher!

the last day of 2011

despite me feeling full of cold on new years eve we ventured into the city in the afternoon for an hour or two. it was super busy but good to see what was going on. there were lots of stalls selling pigs again, lots of people enjoying a glass of beer or sekt (including us!), and people were also waltzing in the afternoon!

new year came with a bang!

there are so many fireworks in vienna at new year! i love the abstract shapes they make.

a little late, but happy new year!