A Salvadorean Christmas dinner

Not a turkey or brussel sprout in sight! The cylindrical thing is a chicken tamale which is really hard work to make but so delicious! D's mom wrapped masa around flavourful chicken shreds and cassava. This is done in a leaf and foil to form the cylindrical shape, stacked one on top of the other in a giant pot and boiled. D's Tia (aunt) made the rice and potato salad, both bursting with flavour and his mom also made the beef stew. I've never had any of these before but they were so good sprinkled with lots of cilantro and hot sauce.

Santa trap

Little M walked up to me with an enlightened, excited grin on his face today. 'Hey do you know how to get Santa to come to our house?'. I said no I didn't know. 'You put cookies and milk out!' he replied. Apparently, someone in elementary school told him. So his mum bought some colourful Christmas cookies and let him pour out some soy milk (silk) because the Santa that visits his home is lactose intolerant. Personally, I found the green and purple colours quite off-putting. But sugar cookies are sugar cookies and they are yummy once you get over the unnatural hues.

Good news, bad news

Good news: I found the perfect puffer Coat - matte, machine washable, faux fur detachable hood, down-filled, tie belt - it ticked all my boxes. The Gap ones are super shiny.

Bad news: It's from Hollister and retails at $140

Good news: It's 30% off

Bad news: it's still $98, and there's a Calvin Klein equivalent (online only) reduced to $78 albeit without belt. And since the CK one is online only I can't try it. So am I paying $20 for the belt, the right to try it on, and the HCO logo which I actually don't want to be associated with as I'm not a teenage Betty surfer girl but instead a lawyer working in a chic and tailored English city?

Good news: I like the Hollister coat and unlike the CK, I dont have to pay shipping. After converting to GBP, it's cheaper than the closest M&S equivalent I could find (which isn't great).

Bad news: it's Hollister. And what if there is a further reduction in the next few days?

Good news: it looks and feels perfect on. I don't have time to track the prices of puffer coats. I spend enough time tracking securities and financial trends.

Bad news: side distraction, Betty size M?? Yes I chose M for some room for thick jumpers but I used to be a Betty S!

Good news: I'm not a teenager any more and I love the present and look forward to my certain future.

Bad news: aiihhh seriously, Hollister?

Good news: I bought the coat!

Manchester-London Heathrow-LAX

I'm now in LA! My previous experiences flying from Manchester to the US with Delta and American Airlines weren't too good. The three major issues were:

1. The airlines had layovers in a city on the East Coast, such as Philadelphia and Chicago. Connection times are often pretty tight and it's mandatory to pick up your luggage at your first US stop and then re-check in for the onward flight. Praise God I have never missed a flight but I've cut it seriously fine sometimes.

2. After 7 hours of flying, it's awful to know that you have another 5 hours to go. The flight from Manchester to London was under an hour long and then it was 11 hours straight to Los Angeles.

3. In flight service on the British Airways flight was SO much better!

Will post photos very soon once D gets off the computer. I'm blogging from his iPad. I love LA so far, and seem to have brought the rain with me from England. It's been raining a lot, which is totally out of character for the sunshine state.