All I want for Christmas is...

To quote Mariah Carey's sugary christmas song: All I want for Christmas is You...and to add my own twist to it: All I want for Christmas is You without the cell phone on your ear!

There are of course many benefits of owning your own business, as my husband does, and working from home a lot of the time, but there are also some annoying side effects, such as the constant ring of the cell phone.. Most days it starts at 8 am and ends at around 9 pm. It always rings for sure when he's sitting down to eat dinner, having a conversation with me, helping kids with their baths, homework, etc.

So far I have been getting what I want for Christmas.. My husband's phone has been off the whole weekend and it has been great! I am keeping my fingers crossed that it'll stay off the next two weeks!

Jet lag and freezing temperatures + the Christmas present

For some reason, even though I have made the journey a hundred times, the jet lag always comes as a shock when I travel to my native Finland from New York. This time there is also the weather to give you a little jolt - it is -20 Celsius outside!! I am not a stylish traveler, I always admire those who can travel looking beautifully put together and looking fresh. I look harried, nervous and tired...and want to be comfortable over style. I am always afraid that my flights will be late, canceled or that I have to spend a lot of time waiting at the airport. I wore my Uggs (and boy was I glad I did when I stepped out in Helsinki), my full length Michael Kors down coat (perfect pick that too), skinny jeans and a cashmere cardigan.

When traveling my biggest joy is watching people, studying their styles, comparing styles between countries.. I usually also spot someone famous, this time it was a Finnish ex president and international peace negotiator Martti Ahtisaari.

I am also finding my early Christmas gift is absolutely fabulous when traveling and it has garnered surprisingly much interest - the iPad, on which I am typing this blog entry. The iPad is so much more stylish than a laptop and so light to carry. I am turning out to be a big big fan!

Damn Strike

Finnair strike, that is! Finnair happens to be the only airline that flies directly from New York to Helsinki. Direct flights are absolutely essential when flying with an infant and a two year old - and because of the strike there are no direct flights to Helsinki now. I was supposed to fly with the smaller girls on Monday, then on Wednesday.. The strike has extended longer than anybody thought that it would, and there is no end in sight. In principle I am always sympathetic to the workers, in this case the Finnair stewardesses, and I am furious and mad as hell at the Finnair bosses for letting the strike continue so long. Finnair is bleeding money as the strike continues and the workers are not getting paid. Where is the sense of that??? Both sides are giving inflammatory comments to press, the stewardess union blaming Finnair of lying to the media and the bosses saying that they will fire everyone and outsource the whole crew. Not a good sign for a speedy solution. I will keep my fingers crossed anyway and hoping to fly via London on Thursday, regardless of the added inconvenience of the connection (I may need some major retail therapy once this nightmare is over...).

Culinary delights

Foodwise this has been a great week! Yesterday I had dinner at a legendary Wall Street eatery, Harry's at Hanover Square. Harry's Wednesday special is Beef Wellington, which has been served there every Wednesday for decades, and is phenomenal. Unfortunately I did not know this as we were ordering, so I ordered a Kobe beef burger (which was absolutely fabulous in it's own right). However, a couple Wall Street old timers ordered the Beef Wellington and I got to try it...and all I can say is WOW - I have never tasted beef that tender! This dish is definitely worth making the trip to Harry's again on a Wednesday!

Then today I had a chance to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Tribeca Grill. I am a fearless eater and love trying new foods. I love seafood and when I noticed an interesting dish on the menu I had to try: red Wine BraIsed Octopus Carpaccio with shaved heart of palm and jalopeno vinaigrette. It was lovely! The octopus was not chewy or tough or crunchy, but just melted in your mouth...perfection!