Christmas in Norway is entirely destined to family. Whereas in Romania you´re expected to be at home during the day, but can choose go out for a drink with friends in the evening, in Norway, most places are closed and the city turns into a ghost town. It´s literally like in Oliver Twist, you can walk around peeping inside people´s apartments and see them dining and feasting and you´ll feel like the loneliest person alive. 
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friends
Sharing friends
This is my first “real” break-up. I´ve been broken-hearted before and I might have broken a couple of hearts, too, from 16 to 23. Somehow it doesn´t count until you´ve shared the same pillow, put to sleep your first cat, wore a white wedding dress and gone through the first friend´s passing away aged 41. 
I wake up in the middle of the night and can´t figure out what to do with this hole in my heart.
Yesterday I went to Julius´ birthday party, he turned 17, can you believe it?! He has a girlfriend and all and yet he´s still the cute kid I´ve known since he was 7. It was strange being there without you. They were talking about having to invite us to every second anniversary and I was thinking that I hope we could still face each other, not right away, but like in a couple of years´ time, maybe? It´s strange having to avoid each other, after spending a third of our lives together. It´s painful to see your eyes steering clear of me, I never meant to break your heart.
I´ve always found it odd when people say they want to leave it all behind and start anew, without a single thing to remind them of their shared past, but that´s exactly how I feel now. Wish I could take the cat and the dog and move to a different country entirely, never to see our vases and flowers again. They´re so familiar and yet from a completely different era.
We´ll be sharing friends. I´m hoping people will be fair, but people always end up choosing sides. Guess I´ll be the asshole.
The other day I was asked by a friend if it´s ok if you´ll be there, too, or at least if she can invite you. It´s ok for me, but you probably don´t want to see me. Let´s take it one day at a time. I´ve loved you for so long, I don´t know how not to care anymore. Kind of hoping I´ll never have to learn.
Hope you´re reading this. And that you´re moving on.
xxx, Alina
A candle-lit get-together
Yesterday we invited some friends over for a cosy dinner, to laugh away a dark November Sunday. I made boeuf bourguignon and served it with with red wine, French baguette and butter, in my grandma´s china. Now that´s big for me, since I normally can´t even remember to buy napkins, so everybody´s used to gifting me that every once in a while, or else I present them for a big fat roll of toilet paper. 😉 So there was a festive atmosphere, candle light, “magic bubble water” (we finally got ourselves one of these bubbly water machines), wine and beef stew. Throw in a couple of loud friends, a lovable crew the lot of them, Sam at our feet and Beo stealing our seat as soon as it was left unattended for 5 seconds, and you´ve got the perfect recipe for a long night with lots of fun!
American Pancakes and a Stroll in the Park
Sunday equals brunch and what better way to start your day than with an all American feast? We met my friend Kristin, her American husband and their two kids at Café Fedora in Frogner and had one of the yummiest brunches of all times! The long way there with an over-excited Sammy toggling along was worth it, even though the café itself is no big deal in terms of decor or cosiness (which score a lot of points with me). The service is friendly (Sam even got some bacon!), the coffee is good and the food is authentic, or so they say since I haven´t been to the US yet. 😉
August
August has been awesome so far! The weather is pretty on and off and makes me long for Greek beaches and cloudless skies, but our social life has been amazing. My brother is visiting with his wife, yesterday was V´s birthday and the rest of the crew is back from holidays. Later on this month a friend is coming over with her boyfriend for a short holiday and at the end of the month- my mom and auntie will be visiting us, too. 
Crappy weather and lots of baking
Summertime. Except we´re in Norway. We´ve had a couple of nice days lately, but I´ve either been working or agonising on my cheek muscles problem. (I can barely open my mouth, which makes eating very unsatisfying. And no, it´s not my wisdom tooth, I´ve had it checked.) So I´ve been baking. It´s soothing and it feeds the people. And it makes me feel useful. 😉
My brother and his wife are coming over for a week and I can´t wait to show them around and let them be a part of our regular schedule, with Sammy walks and all. Also a dear childhood friend is visiting for a couple of days from France and since we haven´t seen each other in 15-16 years, it won’t be a day too soon! 😉 Next Saturday it´s V´s birthday and we´re throwing him a party! I´ve already thought about the food, making a couple of pies, a couple of salads and a couple of cakes. Booze and bubbles are nr. 1 on the list! Take a look at those pictures here and tell me what you think! 😉
Café Sara
Yesterday afternoon we met with a couple of friends over a beer and some Mexican food. We´ve been regulars at Café Sara for more than 12 years now and it´s never disappointed us. The food is yummy, the prices- low and the atmosphere- perfect, whether you´re a broke student or a millionaire. It´s neither more, nor less than it pretends to be and that´s perhaps its recipe for success. A quick lunch, a late night dinner, a couple of beers in the backyard or simply a Friday evening with friends, with café Sara you´ve got it right! And you don´t see any slick stuck-up people as in the Western part of the city (we don´t care too much for them).
Fiddling about
I was out of town for 3 days for work and I can´t even begin to tell you how good it is to be home again! Hotel life is smooth enough if you have someone to share it with, but when you have to eat alone two days in a row and watch silly series on TV because you decided to be “generous” with your significant other and leave the Mac at home, not so much… 😉
On my way home I got to pick some wild flowers and they light up the whole house! 😉 I also might have bought a pair of high heels sandals, although the budget didn´t allow it. 😉 Oops!
A Barbecue in the Park
Yesterday we had our first barbecue in the park and it made me jump with joy! You see, in my opinion, one of the best things about Norway is being able to make use of the city´s recreational spaces- parks, forrest, waterfront, you name it. You can have a picnic right in front of the Parliament building and work on your sun tan from the Opera house´s marble shores. Not like back home where you can´t even tread on grass or else you´ll get a fine! 😉 haha!
And since the weather was sunny and I didn´t feel inspired enough to cook, I suggested a salad and some baked veggies to go with grilled sausages and flat bread (we got some Lebanese bread, from the corner shop). So I packed a bag, told Sam we were going out, although it meant following me everywhere around the house, and started on the veggies.
Atelier Asian Tapas
Our friends have visitors from the big abroad, so we thought it´d be nice to go out for a meal and get to know their sister/sister in law. We´re huge fans of Mathallen (The Food Court) and it´s quite central, too, but for some reason we keep forgetting to go there lately. And since we´re trying to show Oslo from its best side, we booked a table at Atelier Asian Tapas, where they serve delicate Asian influenced dishes. With the same owners as Xich-Lo, a fantastic French-Vietnamese fusion restaurant in Oslo, one cannot expect anything less than exquisite taste and relaxed service. Atelier has high aspirations of becoming a regular meeting place and they have weekly events promoting Vietnamese food with a twist. It´s also the place you go to for a yummy lunch and a glass of Prosecco, especially on a Saturday afternoon.
life in a bubble 