(no subject)
In all my years living in Stockholm up till yesterday was the most consistent snow we have had on the ground. It only just melted yesterday completely weeks after it first snowed. It was so lovely and I hope it comes back in time for a White Christmas but I won't hold my breath!
On November 15th we hopped on the train to head to Småland for the first time this year!!! I can't believe we only made it down there once this year but at least we got 5 nights and to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thursday after lounging in my PJ's all morning I realized I had left half our clothes back in Stockholm! Not my finest moment. At least I had packed underwear. That afternoon whilst hubby finished working I headed to the train station to pick up our neighbours who were coming down to spend the rest of the week with us. It was a no brainer to invite them for Thanksgiving. That evening the 4 of us went into Växjö to have dinner with one of my favourite regulars at the hotel. I do believe it was my first time ever going out to dinner in Växjö. The regular and his partner had chosen a fabulous restaurant. We had a really lovely evening. Friday hubby took off from work. We ran some errands, I thought for a brief moment my phone was kaput, had drinks with more Thanksgiving guests who had arrived and started to prep some food for the next day. As usual we celebrated Thanksgiving on a Saturday. We were 25 people this year. It all went really well and it was just a wonderful evening. I said this year I was thankful that all my family and friends are healthy. When we got back to Stockholm a couple of days later I was poorly! I should have taken a day off of work but I pushed through and now I am sick again as I write this. I will scream bloody murder if I am sick again for the third year in a row on my birthday later this week!!! On the 23rd I went to my first Julbord of the year. I had been invited by Stromma Boat Company. It was on a beautiful boat, good food and terrible acoustics. That weekend we were invited to Pingry's and Jakob's for a Friendsgiving. We had not had pumpkin pie at the Thanksgiving the weekend before so I was delighted to have a slice this time! On the 28th my concierge colleagues and I were invited to an "Alternative Julbord" at Brutalisten. The food was fantastic and I loved the wine pairings. On the 29th some friends and I had our biannual Clothes Swap! I had missed the one in the spring so was looking forward to this one. I succeeded in coming away with less than I brought! And I love when I get things at the swaps that I would never buy for myself.
December 1st we had our Annual Bishops Christmas Dinner. As we were such a big group this year they had us in the back room which I was not thrilled about. But the service was great and they even gave me a free beer after I spilled one on myself. A few hours in our friends who had been living in America for a year made a surprise appearance. We were all shocked to see them and delighted to hear they have moved back to Sweden. The rest of the weekend hubby and I did almost absolutely nothing. After an intense few weeks at both work and in our free time it was much needed. The only time we made it out of the flat was for a walk around the lake and stopping into the Greek bakery for fika. Truly a much needed weekend off, off. On the 5th we had our last concierge board meeting and event of the year. I had arranged for us to have it at the photography museum which was a great venue. The food was a let down but the evening itself was nice! The next weekend was busy with work and catching up with friends. On the 9th we had the chance to see our Irish friends (who live in Canada) for the second time this year. They were in town again and this time with R's sister who we got along with fabulously! I also adored my pumpkin risotto. The next night after work we met the newlyweds for our third annual Julbord together. We had booked an Italian one. The food was absolutely fantastic but the service was painfully slow. We had to wait an hour between the first and second course which is not okay! I provided them feedback the next day and eventually got a generic thank you from them. It is a shame as the food is really good but felt they could have handled my feedback better. On the 13th hubby, Pingry, Sol and I had an early dinner together before going to see First Aid Kit. I was back to seeing them where I saw them 11 years ago at the beautiful Cirkus Arena. I can't believe I got to see them live twice this year and many times over the last decade. They truly never ever disappoint live. The next day was our Front Desk Christmas dinner. Just before Werling and I went to a Christmas Mingle for one of my hotel guests. The dinner with my team started with drinks at the always reliable KB and then onto one of the oldest or perhaps the oldest Chinese restaurants in Stockholm. The food was good but it was a bit of a strange evening. My Greek colleague who I have worked with for years both at HK and Hilton got silly drunk and was acting poorly all evening. It was not very pleasant. This past weekend we cashed in on a voucher my colleagues had gotten me as a birthday present last year for a restaurant we had been wanting to visit. We booked their Saturday lunch. One of the best meals of the year! We absolutely loved our food. That evening we went to church for our friend's 40th. We met lots of nice new people and ate delicious chocolate peanut butter birthday cake. Yesterday we met with Intercruises Kat for fika who was in town for a few days. We told her the bad news about not being able to go to her wedding next year.
And there you have it. Busy season has been truly busy and I am counting down the days till we leave for Asia!!!!
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