Loved spending Christmas Eve at home with my boys, but if you’ve been reading for a while you know the holidays are best for me when the whole family is involved and, ideally, I get to host them. This is how this year started too, but then the dates got a bit scrambled, so this Christmas we get a bit of everyone, just at different times.​ After our cozy little family Christmas Eve, my parents were up first, whom we were (very, very) eagerly expecting on the 25th. You always feel that you miss your loved ones, but that feeling really hits hardest when they’re finally here and you feel the difference…

The Viennese hills were kind to us once again — we woke up to snowfall on December 24th! Suddenly, our home turned into a true Christmas haven despite its spaciousness, and even the boys gave in that day to my obsession with Christmas movies… It’s incredible to think that just four months ago I was still working in Hungary, and now here I am, cooking the Christmas feast with a round (and constantly wiggling) belly. There’s so much we can be proud of as a family — especially the way we’ve pulled together and shown patience with one another over the past few months. But there’s equally so much to…

There are many things I love about my pregnancy, but one of them is the time I get to spend with my family because of the baby waiting, and that I can devote to Christmas preparations. I remember last year’s Advent, for example, when weeks before Christmas I was cleaning the windows one by one in the year-end rush due to the opening of the new clinic (because as a practice manager, it seemed like a good idea to achieve the impossible). In comparison, now with a million tasks behind and ahead of us because of the move, I can still pay more attention to things like baking cookies! This…

Over the years, it has become a tradition that, in addition to the presents I buy, I also put a small tasting gift under the Christmas tree for my family members, and while I prepare and wrap it, I already feel happy knowing I can add a little extra treat to the gift‑giving.Caramelized nuts always make an appearance during Advent in one form or another, and this year, alongside the spiced orange jam, they make up the tasting package. Wishing everyone a joyful time preparing for Christmas 🎄

Well, I’ve always loved being a young mom in my twenties, and as a mother, the most beautiful period of my life so far was when Rú was little. I’m not saying I didn’t have my tired days (and time does tend to beautify memories), but basically, as a twenty-something mom, I didn’t find it hard to stay up at night, wake up early, rest irregularly, be in several places at once, and handle many things simultaneously. You learn how to bend space, time, and your own energy levels in a way that somehow even entertains you. As a mom in my thirties, though, it’s startling how differently my body…

This is the year when I won’t even see Ruben on Saint Nicholas Day… because he’s away at a competition with his new bow (which he actually won! 🙂 ), traveling on his own between countries, visiting family, and surprising friends. He’ll come home tomorrow, when the Santa spirit is already fading. But that’s the way things go—and if, during a connected upbringing, we cherish the time spent together with a little child, we must also embrace the moment when that nurturing of confidence and capability bears fruit, and the big kid wants to make his own decisions. Still, I keep and reread that Santa Claus from nine years ago…

Maintaining the birthday mood all day long wasn’t difficult, but the best part of a birthday is still the cake and the gifts! Rú and I could hardly wait for evening to arrive and for the (slowly roasted over many hours based on perfect tips from Laci’s mom) marinated beef roast to be ready, while we were already deep into baking the cake alongside it. I have a very reliable recipe that I heartily recommend even to beginner cake makers (I don’t consider myself a great baking wizard, just a joyful baker at most), because it’s truly simple, the batter behaves well—at least every bake so far has turned out…

We’ve been preparing with Rú for weeks to pamper this wonderful man all day long, feeding him delicious treats and showering him with gifts we secretly sourced, carefully selected together, and meticulously wrapped behind closed doors while whispering…! And the day turned out beautifully, just as we planned. It started with blueberry-vanilla pancakes, continued with a pork knuckle lunch, and we geared up for the evening celebration with more of Laci’s favorites and the grand finale: the birthday desserts…! Laci, we can’t thank you enough for who you are.For everything you do for us, and for how naturally you create everyday life for us that far exceeds our wildest imaginationFor…

Verona is a slow city. Not slow like when you have to wait, but slow like when there’s time for everything. The cobblestones make a dull sound under my steps, and sunlight sits deeply between the houses. A creamy espresso macchiato here isn’t anything special, just a natural part of the day — like the air or the noise. In some shops, handmade Italian hats or leather shoes line the shelves, yet my favorites are still, hopelessly, the bakeries, cafés, and bookstores. We peeked into the courtyard where Romeo and Juliet’s names meet on the wall, but for me, the best parts of Verona are somehow the balconies heavy with…