Turning 31

Happy New Year 2014!!!! 

Oh man, December whizzed past in the blink of an eye! We had one of the busiest Decembers ever.

We entertained 6 guests from Singapore over a span of 3 weeks!

It was an unending series of meet-ups, home-cooked meals, day trips, sightseeing and more catching up.

While it was absolutely lovely to see my friends and family whom I haven't seen in a long while, it was also pretty much a massive juggling act with 2 young kids in tow.

As a result, I simply had no down time when I could blog, reflect or do those things one does at the end of the year to wind down before the new year starts again.

Still, I want to document how my December went - one blog post a time.

First up, my birthday! I celebrated my 31st birthday very quietly on the 16th.

Ever since I moved to Germany (except for the first year), I've always thrown a party when I turned a year older.

It just felt so apt to invite a whole group of friends to warm up our apartment on a cold day. Helps to chase away any winter blues too, in my opinion.

And then we had kids.

With Sammy, I still had a big celebration with my "P- party" since it was an important birthday after all, turning the big 3-0.

Now with 2 kids, I've been craving for some me time. I just knew that I needed some time apart from the kids, with my hubby. Hubby took one day leave from work on my birthday and we invited my in-laws over for brunch.

They took care of the kids after that while we went for a 2-hour massage at a new massage parlor opened recently, Thai Jasmine.

It was bliss. It was so good. It was everything I dreamt of. And more.

Have I already said that it was soooo good? I still think of it and wish we can go for more massages together. In fact, it was so good that hubby and I were in la-la land no sooner had the massage started.

I still managed to enjoy the massage though, cos I drifted in and out of sleep while they were kneading away my sore back muscles and actually almost every muscle group that hurt with carrying a 8-kg weight daily.

We went home after the massage for a quick shower and I fed Gabriel before heading off to a nice, romantic dinner.

It was a 3-course set dinner (Twingle menu) at the Movenpick hotel. Our very first dinner without the kids since Gabriel was born.

I didn't even know how to focus on myself anymore! It was so quiet! We actually could wait for the food in peace! Without any of the constant staring at the watch to see how much longer it would take before the kids go crazy.

Anybody with kids would know how mealtimes have evolved from an enjoyment to a stressful time when one is just trying to get some food down our kids' throats without creating too much of a mess on both the table and the floor.

In short, I loved loved loved every bit of how hubby and I celebrated my birthday.

It was simple, sweet and back to the basics of a married couple sharing some 1-on-1 together time. 

I have to admit though. It was hard finding topics to talk about without revolving around the kids and hubby's job. Ohhh and since the restaurant has a no-cellphone policy, I had to literally stop my itchy fingers from checking my iPhone and relish the moment!

Looks like we need more practice in this area of being able to focus on each other and give each other undivided attention!

Love how the staff decorated our table for my birthday. The sign reads "Best wishes for your birthday"

Yummy bread basket with plain butter and this amazing spread that was just sooo good!

First starter - Salmon tar tar and fresh rosti served with fresh green salad. I could have this as my main course!

Actually managed to take a photo over dinner!

Soup starter - Chestnut soup served with smoked duck and apples. Very creamy, tasty and exotic!

Main course - Grilled venison wrapped in crepe and soaked in some red wine sauce, served with potato pasta and carrots (I think). The meat was fantastic but wayy too small to satisfy my hunger and I found the pasta too hard.

Dessert: Yummy chocolate ice-cream served with a chocolate stick

Hubby had Bratapfel - Baked apple with butter and marzipan served with vanilla sauce. Hub licked it off!

It was our first time trying the Twingle menu in this posh restaurant. Costing about 65€ ++ for a 4-course menu for 2 people, it was very reasonable and the restaurant is an excellent venue for a romantic date. The Twingle menu is changed every month so its definitely worth a visit when you're in Stuttgart!