Five: A random blog survey

Hello all!  Last week, my former Swiss running buddy Ashley wrote this post on her blog.  I really like random bits of info like this, so I decided to copy her!  My survey answers aren't as fun or cutely photographed, and I changed up the categories a bit, but maybe you guys will at least find it a little bit interesting?

Five Places I Want to Visit
Croatia (the last place left on my Swiss bucket list)
Japan (the last place left on my Singapore bucket list)
Montana
Patagonia
NYC (soon!)

Five Foods I Eat (Nearly) Every Day
Eggs
Coffee (does this count as a food?)
Yogurt
Cheese
Leaves of some sort

Five Talents I Wish I Had
Singing
Fixing things
Hand-eye coordination
Drawing
Styling myself more fashionably

Five (Mostly) Healthy Food Bloggers I Wish Would Cook for Me Everyday
Heidi Swanson
Tracy Benjamin
Deb Perelman
Kath Younger
Jen DeCurtins

Five Things I Wear Almost Everyday
My watch
Black Cole Haan flats
Deodorant
Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom Cologne
Contact lenses

Five Songs I Listen to on Repeat
Ride wit Me - Nelly
Valerie - Amy Winehouse
The Mother We Share - Chvrches
Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift
It's My Life - Bon Jovi

Five Beauty Products I Use Everyday
Vaseline lip balm
Trish McEvoy blush
Mascara
Cerave moisturizer
Peter Thomas Roth CC cream

Five Podcasts I Subscribe to
The Economist All Audio
Slate Political Gabfest
NPR's Planet Money
NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour
Freakonomics

And again!

Man, these blog posts are becoming fewer and farther between huh?  Sorry about that.  I'm struggling to find a balance between multiple competing priorities these days :(

Anyway!

Apparently, the Interlaken area has become a favorite of mine.  This past weekend was "Friends Ski Weekend" in Grindelwald!  After the awesome fun we had at Mallory and Keith's Irish wedding, the gang from Zurich and I chose to meet in the middle for a weekend on the slopes.  And what a great time we had!!  We rented a big chalet for all of us and spent our team hanging out on the slopes, in the spa, and in the kitchen.  It was so great :)

This just makes me laugh.

Aside from that, it's more of the same, except for the notable (to me!) fact that I have actually gone running this week!  As I've mentioned several times before, I have really struggled with the motivation to hit the pavement, but apparently, March is when I will get back on board!  Hooray :)

Winter routine

Hi friends!  How is everyone?  I know my blogging has been infrequent (at best) lately, but thanks for continuing to check in!  Living and working in Switzerland, this time of year is very busy for me.  During the week, work is pretty demanding, and on the weekends, I try to spend my non-working time in the mountains skiing.  It doesn't leave a lot of free time for other endeavors, like blogging.  I guess we all make choices on how to prioritize our time, and for now, working and skiing are higher on the list than blogging.

A sunny day in Chamonix!

A snowy day in Chamonix

Sunrise in Tallinn

On top of that, my winter routine is fairly repetitive, so it hasn't felt like there has been a lot to write about!  I did go back up to Tallinn for a few days this past week, and happily, it wasn't as cold as I was expecting!  Interesting things I heard while in Estonia this week...

1)  One of my colleagues is very musically inclined.  When was talking about how he learned to play various instruments, one of the comments he said was, "well it was easy because I already knew the grammar".  I've never heard of "reading music" referred to as grammar, but it makes total sense, right?!

2)  One morning there were tons of little sandwiches all over the office.  Since it was well before lunchtime, I was curious why there were so many sandwiches everywhere.  "It must be someone's birthday."  Apparently, in Estonia, on your birthday, you bring sandwiches to the office to feed everyone.  (And in return, your co-workers are supposed to bring you presents.)

Little tartine in Tallinn.  Smoked fish!!

And finally, here are a slew of random photos of food that I have on my phone.  Because I am an Asian who takes photos of my food.  Obviously.

Shakshuka!

Shredded brussels sprouts!

This recipe

My favorite!

This recipe

Indian food yum!  (But not Dishoom ya'll...)

 

Veggie burger at MBC!

Snowy hello

Hi friends.  It is snowy and slushy in Geneva today.  Sort of represents the mood I've been in as of late.  Just blahhhhhhh.  Hope to snap out of it soon.  Enjoy the weekend all!

Per usual

Per usual.. I am behind in blogging.  Sorry guys.  This time of year is tough.  It is hard to sit down in front of the computer when I'm not at work.  I'd rather be sleeping.  Or skiing.  Or just staring at the ceiling.

Per usual, I am drinking a lot of coffee. 

Per usual, I am eating take-away dinners at work.

Per usual, I want pizza and wine by Friday evening.

Per usual, I should be eating more salads.

Two-fer

Oh hi.  Remember me?  Sorry for the slow posting, but I'm sure you guys have figured out that I suck at blogging right now.  My bad.  Anyway.. let's catch up a bit.  Basically my life right now consists of working during the week and skiing on the weekend.  Not bad!

Remember when I went hiking in Wengen at the end of the summer?  Earlier this month, I returned to that same area to do some skiing with Emily!  We stayed in Grindelwald, which is a different town than Wengen, but it's in the same general Jungfrau region.  I actually ended up in Wengen for après ski on Saturday night!  It was fun to see the mountains from a completely different view point this time.  And of course, always good to spend time with friends :)

Other than that, the past week at work was pretty busy, as is typical for January.  But luckily, we all had something to look forward to!  A team weekend of skiing in Verbier!  This was my first time in Verbier, but it has definitely been on my list of places to visit since everyone raves about it.

All in all, it was a great weekend.  The skiing in Verbier is tough, but it was really nice as well.  We were really lucky with the weather, and I can definitely see why so many people love Verbier.

This week is another big week at work, but unfortunately, I am sick :(  I may have blogged about this before, but I definitely think that I get sick way more often living in Geneva than I ever have before.  I'm loading up on liquids, vitamins, and meds now, so hopefully I am back to normal soon!

Hope all of you who got snow are staying warm and safe.  Have a good week everyone!

In the kitchen

Hi friends!  As previously mentioned, this year I'd like to spend more time in the kitchen cooking.  It's kind of a two-birds-one-stone deal.. not only does cooking for yourself save you money, it can also help ensure that you are eating healthy meals!  Plus, I enjoy cooking, so it's a good way to unwind, particularly when life outside the kitchen gets stressful.

In an effort to get the new year started off right, I spent a  lot of time in the kitchen last weekend!  Since I am pretty busy at work during the first few months of the year, I don't normally have tons of time to do anything elaborate during the week (if I manage to get groceries, I am happy), so I was happy to have a couple of days to relax and spend time by the stove.  Here is what I made!

Herby Barley Salad with Butter-Basted Mushrooms - anyone who has been to my apartment knows that I have a special love for grains.  Barley is no exception, and of course, mushrooms are absolutely my jam.  This simple salad was super delicious and came together in no time, so I will definitely be making it again!

Marcella Hazan's Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup - this simple and delicious soup was the perfect thing to eat on a dreary Sunday afternoon.  The smothered cabbage takes a while to make, but it's totally worth it.

I also made a Kale Caesar salad with a Greek yogurt based dressing that I saw on Instagram.  The recipe was a bit heavy on the garlic, but otherwise super yummy and easy.

Do you guys care about what I eat?