A few of my favorite things

We were listening to The Messiah as we went to bed last night. Russ fell asleep immediately, but I listened to the entire Part I. In doing so, I got more and more excited for Christmas; I could not fall asleep. I really love this time of year. Over the weekend, we watched "Sound of Music" which was equally enjoyable. Hence, a "few of my favorite things" at the moment.

Right when we get home, I turn on the Christmas lights, and start streaming the music as loud as either of us can stand it. I have instrumental Christmas music streaming all day at work too.

I love making these gluten-free pumpkin muffins with ground oat flour. They take about 30 minutes total and the ingredients are always on hand. Russ loves them too, and I just added dark chocolate chips which makes the recipe perfect.

Curried roasted cauliflower and lentil soup are some of our go-to cold weather comfort foods when we are not eating Lebanese food. We could definitely live on the warm chewy Arabic bread alone, but not if I do not want to gain weight.

There are these Arabic cookies with date paste and cardamon that are so delicious. They are hard to find, which is probably a good thing.

I picked up a milk frother at Ikea and that is the weekend morning treat in my tea, along with reading the International Herald Tribune.

I feel like I have said this a hundred times already but it is such an integral part of my life. The gym and yoga are my physical and mental outlets, and I look forward to them each week. I may actually be in the best shape of my life presently, and I feel strong.

One cannot underestimate what a manicure and pedicure can do for one's state of mind. I always feel much more put together. Ditto on having someone else blow your hair out.

I enjoy our moss green walls in the apartment. It is a much softer and comfortable place to live in now. Yankee candles somehow make the room warmer too.

While some things are new discoveries, none of these are Kuwait-specific, so I will take the ideas with me when we leave and add them to my rather long list.