Queen Bee

For Halloween this year, I really wanted to be a bee.  A Queen Bee.  And so I found a cheapie costume on-line, complete with an antenna crown.  Not bad.  David is going to be a Sexy Drone Bee.  Not too shabby.  I can get used to wearing a tiara...  more photos after the costumed festivities!

Invisalign Tray #17, bottom only

On Tuesday I began Invisalign tray #17, but only for the bottom teeth.  I finished my trays for the top teeth, but will need adjustment trays, since the alignment is still not perfect.  The dentist took impressions of my top teeth (always a disgusting, gag-inducing process), and I shall receive more trays in about 6 weeks.  Until then, I need to continue wearing tray #16 on top, while I carry on with the bottom trays.  I have 24 trays for the bottom, which is quite intriguing since my bottom teeth don't look so bad, especially compared to my top teeth.  But alas, there's something amiss about my bottom teeth alignment, since I've got 7 more trays (14 weeks) and this new one definitely hurts to wear, particularly left-back teeth area.  And so we carry on.

Staub Happiness

For a long, long time, I have wanted to buy a dutch oven.  And for that long, long time, while I agonized over details such as color of pot and size of pot, I always thought that we would get one from Le Creuset.  In the end, however, after a trip to Williams & Sonoma, we decided that what we really wanted was a Staub dutch oven.  It just felt better in our hands; I like the black interior, and the lid is fabulous, seemed better than Le Creuset.  And so we got one in royal blue, and we couldn't be happier.   I have so far made turkey chili in the dutch oven, followed by braised chili-rubbed short ribs.  It works a treat, easy to clean, and looks so handsome on our stove!  I am looking forward to a winter full of meals cooked in the dutch oven.

(Chili-rubbed braised short ribs with maple syrup glazed carrots and truffled mushroom polenta.)

Sunset Today

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Branzini for Dinner

Roasting whole branzini for dinner tonight! And I am now able to blog from my phone, which should make little snippets easier to post...

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Invisalign, 8 Months Later

Here is a side by side comparison - before on left, after 8 months of braces on the right!

Invisalign Tray #15 & #16

My Invisalign tray #15 went in a few days after my arrival in Stockholm.  Here are the photos.

And then a week ago, I went to the dentist for my Invisalign tray #16 - photos below.  Technically, I should have finished the original trays for my upper teeth.  But the recessed tooth is still not quite aligned with the rest of my upper teeth, so it looks like I will have to get adjustment aligners -- which I have read is common.  Tray #16 feels really weird on the top and hurts a lot around the tooth in question... so I hope it gets sorted out soon.  I have 8 more trays for the bottom teeth, so my life with braces shall continue.

Snapshots of Stockholm

(The day I arrived - my "rest" day before work - I went to NK, a fancy department store down the street from my hotel.  There I discovered a fancy fishmonger selling fresh fish in the central atrium, by the designer handbags and cosmetics.  Strange, but no one seemed to mind.)

As I wrote before, I ended up going to Stockholm 5 days before David.  It took me a couple of days to get used to the city.  First time in Scandinavia!  Much of my crude impressions of Sweden came from the Stieg Larsson books and IKEA, which is to explain my complete lack of Swedish knowledge.  Truthfully, my first steps in Stockholm were not pleasant: I had a terrible flight, an impolite taxi driver who picked me up at the airport and, upon arriving at the hotel, the receptionist could not find my booking (which was apparently under David's name, not mine).  That night I had dinner solo at the hotel restaurant, which turned out to be quite the Swedish drunken socialite scene on Saturday.  And although I was kindly given a table with no reservation, I was completely underdressed for the scene (jeans, sweatshirt, hair messily tied into a ponytail), which was not conducive to dining solo.  It was an exhausting experience, to say the least.  I felt homesick.

My time in Stockholm picked up the next day, however, with start of work and meeting my Stockholm colleagues.  Everyone was very friendly and helpful.  With new colleagues and new friends, my social prospects picked up, and from Sunday onwards I had a great time.  I even had a chance to catch up with Tarlan's step-brother Jamie, who now lives in Stockholm with his Swedish girlfriend.  Casting hard by day, dining out and drinking by night (in nicer outfits), I felt myself again.

Here are a few snapshots from Stockholm....

Visiting a market in a new city always makes me feel better.  Here, I found gorgeous mushrooms and berries being sold.  If only my hotel room came with a kitchen!... I did bring some raspberries to work, which was much appreciated by my colleagues.

David and I toasted our 5th anniversary via Skype.  In a way, I suppose it's fitting that we mark our major anniversary as we embark on another DD adventure, albeit over the internet.  It sucks being apart, of course, but at least the temporary distance is due to our increased responsibilities with the show.

I had a morning off one day, so I went to Östermalms Saluhall, which is a famous foodhall.  It is gorgeous, and there are wonderful selections of prepared foods, produce, fresh meats and fish.

 I joined the Stockholmer lunch crowd and had smoked salmon and a cheeky Pilsner for lunch.

 Beautiful crayfish.

And then David arrived!!!

David was a star and agreed to work on the day he arrived (at my scheduling request).  He arrived in the morning, had breakfast, had a nap, and then worked with non-dancing actresses and a contemporary dancer on some of the show choreography.  A champion, indeed!  (He of course called me a slave-driver.)

That same evening, we celebrated our 5th anniversary at F12, a very highly regarded restaurant in Stockholm.  Everything from the room, the service to the food was magnificent.  We definitely want to go back.

Some pre-requisite silliness on the Stockholm streets after dinner...

Once David arrived, followed by Eleanor, the days seem to speed by.  We had a very productive time, and we had a great time with our Swedish colleagues.  Although my experience began a bit bumpy, by the end of my 8 days I was a little sorry to be leaving.  Stockholm is a beautiful city, and I look forward to seeing more of it.

(View from our hotel room at dawn.)

October already?!

And it's already more than half way through October!

A bit of catching up to do here... and photos to load...

David and I returned from Stockholm safe and sound.  We had a wonderful time there, ate very well, drank a-plenty and work proved productive, too!  We celebrated our 5th anniversary at a beautiful restaurant in Stockholm.  All good good times!

Internet is super slow tonight so I shall post pics of the last weeks tomorrow.

Happy Autumn!