this not so charming man...

i usually like marian keyes' books but this one fell very short of my expectations. first of all, i had waited in anticipation for it to come out because i had read reviews and some critiques even called it her "best book yet". secondly, i enjoy her style of writing and the way her books keep you entertained and make for light-hearted, fun reading.

this one was anything but fun. i endured 337 pages of it and then flung it down and refused to continue because i couldn't have been bothered to carry on reading it. i found it extremely boring (what with all the political carry-on); that she beat around the bush way too much before actually getting to any point; there were way too many characters in the book (and i'm not talking about protagonists but peripheral characters that called for us remembering silly little details); and the main characters were ever so slightly annoying and not very likeable.

in all honesty, i was warned by a friend (who had managed to get a copy before me) that this book wasn't like any of her other books but "it was nice". in this case, different was definitely NOT better.

so, if you're planning to spalsh out on a book anytime soon, think again before rushing out and getting this one because (i know this may be harsh), you may not want to waste your time.

kitsch cupcakes

i just tasted the most sublime cupcakes ever ! rich & moist, with a frosting that complements it perfectly. they were delicious - not that sickly sweet, artificial, industrial bakery stuff that we only seem to come by. i was really craving good cake & these cupcakes satisfied my craving completely.
the cute little store called kitsch cupcakes is located at villa 611, jumeirah beach road, umm suqeim. the telephone number is 04 395 6963.

also, as monsieur and i love eating out, we're always on the hunt for great places to eat at. we recently stumbled upon an absolute jewel at the souk al bahar (for those of you who are not familiar with it, it's around the corner from burj dubai) - it's a gorgeous japanese restaurant called momotaro. the ambiance is lovely and the food was superb. go there (even if only to see the groovy bottles of mineral water) for a lovely romantic evening or for a classy evening out with friends. the green tea crème brûlée was one of the best i've tasted. the fried ice-cream, however, looks rather like an alien and, depending on the flavour of ice-cream you choose (in keeping with the theme of the evening i chose "green tea ice-cream") tastes like one too !

otherwise, for a funky evening out for light snacks, try qd's at the dubai creek golf & yacht club. it's a jazzy outdoor place that also offers shisha. the food was good and i also particularly enjoyed the cinderella mocktail.

when i'm an old woman...

i must say, i love this poem - i always have ever since the first time i read it - so i wanted to share it. it's called "warning" and written by jenny joseph.

WARNING

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

escape for a while

the secret dreamworld of a shopaholic - i know that this book came out about 8 years ago but for those of you who are looking for some sort of escape (be it from dubai life in general or excessive holiday cheer or even an irritating roommate), it's great comic literature. it's written by sophie kinsella (whose real name is actually madeline wickham). it's actually quite a funny story about this author - you see, she was already writing books under her original name and then secretly sent the shopaholic manuscript to her publishing house under the name "sophie kinsella" and they published that series too !

what you can do is buy the whole collection (there are 5 books) and snuggle up for a good laugh. i have read 3 of the 5 and have really enjoyed them so i'm looking forward to the last 2. the great thing is that we can all relate to becky bloomwood (the main character) from some point in our life. and, as a double treat, the movie of the first 2 books is coming out at the end of the month. you can watch the trailer of the movie on dailymotion by clicking on the link : http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/confessions%2Bof%2Ba%2Bshopaholic%2Btrailer/video/x7fvwa_confessions-of-a-shopaholic-officia_shortfilms

other than that, another movie that looks interesting and that could raise our spirits this holiday season is four christmases with reese witherspoon and vince vaughn. apparently, there was lots of tension on the set of this film because the 2 actors had a huge personality clash. reese is a perfectionist and has a very serious approach to work whereas vince is more laid-back likes to "take it easy". there were even rumours that watching the 2 of them trying to get along on set was more entertaining than the movie itself ! anyway, this one's on my movie list because i like vince vaughn comedies.

ok, call me girly, but i'm always one for romantic comedies with sandra bullock. from while you were sleeping to two week's notice, i loved them all. i love the way she portrays such real-life characters that you've just got to love them. and, somehow, she always seems to "sparkle" in her roles. so, i'm banking on the proposal to be just as good as all her previous rom-coms. it's the story of a woman who forces her assistant to marry her so that she doesn't get deported to canada. okay, so the storyline isn't the most original, but lots of critics have had good things to say about it so i think it's worth a watch !

finally, even though i'm not at all a fan of angelina jolie (in fact, i even try to avoid watching movies with her in), and because rumours have it that she played her role really badly in this film, i really want to go and see the movie changeling. it's about a woman whose son goes missing and then when they find him, he says that he is her son, but she doesn't believe that the boy really is her son. the story intrigues me because it is based on a true story that happened in america in the 1920's.

so anyway, that's what looks good for some escapism this holiday season - let me know your thoughts on any of the movies i've mentioned !

december in dubai

ok, so this is my first entry as a dubai madame blogger. i have been wanting to start this blog since i arrived in dubai (6 months ago) but as time passes in light years here in the emirates, i'm only getting the chance to do it now.

first of all, let's get one thing clear and out of the way : my being a "dubai madame" has nothing to do with any sort of illegal or illicit activities, it's plain and simply because i am married - to a frenchman - hence, i am a "madame", and currently living in dubai. we chose dubai because (so we thought) it was "the place to be". but the problem was that no-one told us that it was only "the place to be" if you have over a 1 million USD in your bank account... so we came over in a real adventure and had reality slap us in the face shortly after our arrival. and now we live a regular middle-class life : we have decent jobs (nothing fancy-schpancy where we get paid truckloads or have 50 people work under us), we have a cute little car (as my monsieur says "just small enough so that if we can't find a parking space, he can fit it in his pocket" - more about parking spaces later), we live in a comfortable little apartment & we love eating out. basically, we live an average joe's (or average jacques, if you will) kind of life. but we're happy.

of course, no blog on dubai would be complete without some mention of the heat (next paragraph) or the traffic. so here goes : the traffic - we decided to live in sharjah for convenience and because the rent was less than half of what we'd pay in dubai. what we didn't bank on was the hours we'd lose in traffic everyday. it really is a nightmare. and then comes the issue of parking spaces - apart from trying to take into account the traffic when planning to go anywhere, you also have to try to estimate how much time it will take you to find a parking space. depending on where you are and the time of day, it can take anything from 5 mins to 1 and a half hours (i am not joking).

nonetheless, we've managed to live through what was the hottest weather we've ever had to deal with in our lives (the buttons on my cellphone melted !) and are now eagerly awaiting to embrace winter. just as a quick note of advice to anyone wanting to visit dubai - DO NOT COME OVER BETWEEN JUNE & AUGUST ! at 7h, one july morning, people were so drenched with sweat, that it looked as if they had taken a shower with their clothes on...

anyway, so, about december in dubai : apparently, we are in the midst of winter and apart from chilly mornings & evenings and about 5 incidents of rain, winter is being rather elusive. the funny part is that, fashionally speaking, people just refuse to miss out on winter. and so, about 2 months ago (when it was officially "autumn") - while monsieur and i were still merrily traipsing around in birkenstocks and rather light garments - people were already donning knee-length fur-lined boots and hoodies ! i rather admire their nonchalance, though. i mean, why let something as unimportant as temperatures exceeding 25°C prevent them from wearing woollen coats and faux-fur ponchos ? even when you go shopping, it's as if the stores are located in some parallel climatic universe - the coats, the jerseys, the hats, the boots, ohhhh, the boots.... all for this fantasy winter. i longingly caress the gorgeous winter gear on display (in a moment of weakness, i even bought a faux-fur cuffed tunic that i don't have the guts to wear) and i'm trying to convince dear monsieur to come with me to that ice lounge (you know, where EVERYTHING is made of ice : the chairs, the tables right down to the crockery) just to be able to feel cold (and so that i can wear my tunic without feeling like a complete idiot).

for the moment, he's not giving in, him being more of a summer person, you see. he could happily live his life being neighbours with the sun whereas i am a totally winter person : i love feeling piercingly-cold wind against my face; being caught in the rain and getting drenched; having to have to warm your hands against a mug of some hot beverage - that is true bliss for me. i recently read an article about going on holiday to antarctica (aka. the south pole) - it's the least visited continent on earth (i wonder why ?) and therefore the least explored place too. the article even included a picture of camping out on a massive plain of pure white snow, it almost looked like sleeping on a cloud. it would be my dream vacation. i mean, layers and layers of clothing, breathing in pure crisp air, and a safari with emperor penguins ! there is also an option where you can ski 2km from the edge of the continent - although i don't think i'll sign up for that activity though as the last time i attempted to ski (at 2 Alpes, near Grenoble in France - a fabulous destination for a ski holiday), i almost crashed into a group of 4-year olds, had huge fears of jumping off the ski-lift, then felt as if i was way too out-of-control when i was actually managing to move along, and, despite everyone being of the opposite opinion, found it much easier to trudge along the snow in the ski boots, rather than to actually ski. needless to say, after the first piste (as they call the "ski slope" in french), i decided to spend the rest of the day merrily eating snow (yes, i really did) and watching everybody else enjoy a sport that i was definitely not made for.

but anyway, for now, there are no ski pistes to worry about (unless you count ski dubai at the mall of the emirates), no planned holidays to the south pole, and i am still waiting to see how much colder it gets here in dubai, so watch this space, there's lots more to come...