CHRISTMAS EVE WISHES AND PICTURES FROM DUBAI

I want to wish all of you a lovely Christmas Eve! In my home country Finland today is the day of Christmas celebrations. Here in the UK we have to wait for one more day! However we have such a lovely day ahead of us today that it feels like Christmas already. We are meeting friends for lunch after which we are heading to my Mother-In-Law's for the Christmas period. Tonight we are having gammon for dinner, which is the traditional, Finnish Christmas dish. It's my absolute favourite so I can't wait!! 

Here are some not so Christmassy pictures from Dubai where we spent the last day of our holiday. You can see from our clothing that the temperatures have started to cool down over there however it was still as sunny as ever.

My favourite outfit on Little M at the moment.

Happy Christmas everyone! Hope you have a lovely, lovely time!

Minna x

OMAN PHOTO DIARY PART II

Our Oman holiday is coming to an end. We have a nice, last Zighy Bay dinner ahead of us still and a stop in Dubai too. There might be a few of you who have followed my blogs from the very beginning and those few might remember that I've been to Dubai once before, a couple of years ago, and that it wasn't so much my cup of tea. However I'm heading there with an open mind, hoping that this time it will be!

As we haven't left our resort even once this week we've been able to wear our usual beach wear with no problems. However if you want to walk all the way to the end of the beach there is a sign stating that one must wear a cover up over their swimwear when exiting the hotel resort. Fair enough!

The kids have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. However today Little M said that she misses London and her friends at the nursery. Guess that means that she's holidayed out and that we selected the duration of this trip right!

I will still do a proper post about our hotel, Zighy Bay. I just need to go through those hundreds of pictures that I've taken to select the ones that do it most justice.

Happy Friday night everyone!

Minna x

WHAT I WORE: IN OMAN

I didn't pack that great for this holiday. Had I known better I would have packed nothing but maxi dresses that are suitable to wear both day time and in the evenings. To go with them I would have packed flip flops for the day, smarter flat sandals for the evening, a beach bag, lots of bangles to smarten those dresses up for the evenings, one evening bag and a biker jacket and / or pashmina to throw over maxi dresses as the evenings can get a bit chilly. I would have not packed high heels, cocktail dresses, big day time leather handbags, skinny jeans and leather leggings. I don't know what I was thinking... It's just that we don't often do holidays that are just that; pure holidays relaxing on a beach. But I now know better! Luckily I did pack a couple of the right sort of items, like this dress :-) (Please excuse the unbrushed hair and the makeupless face... that's been my "look" every day whilst here!)

Dress: Missoni / Sunglasses: Dita / Bag: from Zighy Bay 

Minna x

SANTA GONE SURFING

Happy Christmas Zighy Bay style! If this doesn't get you in a Christmas mood what does? ;-) To be honest I had pretty much forgotten that it's nearly Christmas as there were no signs of it here. But this morning this handsome little guy greeted us on our way to breakfast. 

This is a great time to go on holiday as you have a lot to look forward to even when the trip is over. We'll be back next week just in time for Christmas celebrations.

It's time to go to the beach, again, but I'll see you guys later! 

Minna x

OMAN PHOTO DIARY PART I

This holiday has been extremely relaxing. The only thing you have outside the hotel area is sand and mountains, for as far as you can see. The weather has been as perfect as it gets. High twenties with not so much as a cloud in the sky. The heat is the opposite to the humid type. It's dry, which makes it feel even more pleasant. The kids are having an amazing time. The whole area is like a never ending sand pit. Even the surface around the pool is sand. We've hardly worn shoes! Good job I packed four pairs of high heels, as you do! ;-) I've lost a count of days. That has got to be a sign of a great holiday!

Minna x

WELCOME TO OMAN

Let's move on from Paris... to Oman. Some could call it an unconventional holiday destination. When we were choosing a beach holiday for this winter the duration of the flight was a factor that weighed quite a lot. Therefore we opted out of eg. the Caribbean or some Asian destinations. The reason for this is that Baby M is at the worst possible travelling age and whereas with just one child I never minded with two I do. Also having an older child I now know that this time is fleeting; next year this time I probably won't mind a longer flight again. 

To get to this particular part of Oman you take a flight to Dubai, which is six to seven hours from London. From Dubai it's a further two hour car drive but at least you break the journey up plus any young child is bound to sleep the whole car journey after being tired from travelling. So this is the view that faced us upon our arrival on the Oman side of the border. Beautiful but totally different to anything I'd ever seen before.

 

I'm glad we chose this destination. We've had a really lovely time. Quiet, relaxed, family time.

I'll tell you more about the hotel in a separate post but it's called Zighy Bay and so far I have nothing but positive to say about it.

Minna x

HOT CHOCOLATE

This velvety chocolate drink is a great substitute for the real deal. It's so creamy and delicious. Now is the season to serve it hot but it's equally yummy enjoyed cold.

You need: 

• 1 large cup of coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
• handful of cashew nuts

Optional:

• 1-2 pitted dates 
• pinch of cacao nibs on top

Put coconut milk, cacao powder and cashew nuts in a blender and blend until smooth. If you have a powerful blender you can heat up your drink by blending it longer, for about 5 minutes or you can just use warmed milk. Sprinkle with few cacao nibs on top. 

I like mine a little bitter. If you prefer yours slightly sweeter throw 1-2 pitted dates in the blender.        

Heidi x