Merry Christmas from the Jungles of Bali!
Here we are spending our Christmas up in the village of Ubud in Bali. On Christmas Eve Day we checked into a lovely villa up here in the middle of the rice paddies of Ubud. Our little home away from home is just lovely. The first thing we set out to do was determine which one of our villa’s lush trees would make for our jungle christmas tree. Once decided, we set upon dressing it with the most specialist of ornaments–those that make it are the most cherished. Each of us gets to choose two. Our sparkly bearded Santa is always a winner as is the homemade painted ornament from Nie Nie. “Woof” with Rani printed below also made the roundup as did the sparkly ruby present and peacock bulb. I was sad to see that the sparkly home that my mom passed on to me has cracked. This was my favorite ornament growing up; it is no longer going to make it as a travel ornament and will be wrapped away carefully in hopes that it can be preserved for many more Christmases despite its hole.
I found a Sequin Dress
How funny, but of all the places I found the perfect holiday sequin dress at a beach mall in Bali! This mall even had a Zara. Wow, Kuta has changed since Kevin and I visited over 15 years ago. There’s a Zara, on the beach! What!?! Oh, I already said that. Anyway, I loved the color of this shift dress. It seemed so appropriate for a special Christmas Eve dinner despite the laid back hippy vibe of Ubud. Kevin said I was “nouveau hippy.” He’s so nice to me and my extravagances!
Dinner at Indus
We’ve been to Bali with the kids before, but this time around there are a couple of stops that we are repeating from when Kevin and I came here when we were first married–namely Kuta and Ubud. Kuta has totally changed–we didn’t even recognize it. There’s a Zara there for goodness gracious. (I know; I already said this, but I find it both absurd and awesome. I’m just not sure which one I feel more strongly….) For Christmas Eve dinner we decided to revisit one of our favorite restaurants from fifteen years ago: Indus. It’s a elegant old mansion turned restaurant perched above rice paddy fields. Granted before there was nothing out there, and now it’s filled with business, it was still a very magical spot to spend our Christmas Eve meal. We had delicious beetroot quinoa, spicy fishcakes, perfectly cooked salmon, and Indonesian beef rendang. Everything was scrumptious and it was fun to share this special dining experience with the kiddos.
Jungle Christmas Trees
When we arrived back to our villa, Vincent and Gigi exchanged their gifts: a 2015 almanac and a compression long sleeve shirt. They both gave each other the perfect gift–it was real sweet. Then a storm ensued, and so it was time to switch up our tree situation from outdoor to indoor. What we came up with was the four pineapples that we’re in the kitchen. They perfectly held our ornaments and we entwined the battery pack lights amongst the pineapples.
It worked! Santa Found Us!!
Well the pineapple tree worked because Santa found us out here in the middle of Bali! Vincent scored an XBox. He’s wanted one since he broke the one my brother Nicholas gave him this past summer. He plugged it into Hong Kong voltage and it instantly zapped it. Gigi received a pair of roller blades–I am so excited for skate sessions along our boardwalk in Stanley! Kevin received a Kindle. He’s been wanting one for a while.
And I got my first little blue box under the tree!
Call me silly, but I’ve always wanted a Tiffany and Co’s little blue box. It’s probably all because of Audrey and the iconic movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The anticipation of looking inside had me so excited, and I was not disappointed. Kevin gave me the daintiest pair of little silver earrings. They’re so pretty and intricate, and they feel very special on me ears.
I miss you Family!
Christmas is such a special time…I love that I am able to spend such amazing quality time with my three Krembs, but I will also admit to a longing that craves time back at home in Spokane and Seattle Washington with the rest of our extended family. Maybe one year…In the meantime we are thinking of you back home and miss you all.
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