so...

It's been an action-packed week, people. Tuesday night we went to dinner at a Bar Noon, a Lebanese place, with our new friend Nicolas, and it was TASTY. Between the three of us, we ordered the giant spread-o-everything menu, which included no fewer than ten small plates, three skewers of meat, and a giant dessert. I absolutely cannot tell you with certainty what all we ate, but off the top of my head, it included potatoes with lemon, chicken wings, hummus, an eggplant dip with pomegranate, a tzatziki-like dip, parsley salad with coriander and tomatoes, green beans with lemon and butter, chickpeas with eggplant and tomato, falafel, and bread on the side. And that's all I can remember. The meat skewers were chicken and two ground items I couldn't identify, but all tasty as well. Dessert was mascarpone cheese and something like a cross between tapioca pudding and panna cotta, all topped with whipped cream, sliced plums/mangos/strawberries/bananas/kiwis/apples, and crushed pistachios. Good food and truly pleasant and good service.

Naturally, it being a Tuesday night, there was more greatness to come. The three of us showed up a little early for Karaoke from Hell, and--I'm assuming since there was no opening band--the place was EMPTY. (Thankfully, once it got a little later, the place started to fill up, 'cause it would have been a little awkward to fully rock in front of the eight faithful karaoke fans who were there when we arrived.) The sparse crowd meant, naturally, that all of us got our names on the list to sing. And sing we did. Nicolas sang 'Come as You Are' by Nirvana, I did 'Hysteria' by Muse (one of my favorite songs of all time + fronting a rockin' band = rock star fantasy fulfilled!!), and Mike COMPLETELY ROCKED 'White Wedding' by Billy Idol. He had all the yowling and the rock star stance and everything. It was entirely fantastic. This is absolutely, positively, something we will DO AGAIN. I have been informed that there exist videos of our amazing performances; however, due to the extremely loud nature of the event, and the fact that the place is dark and full of rock band-style lighting, not only can you not hear us singing, but you can't even really tell who's on stage. Thank goodness.

In other news...we picked up our speaker stands last night, and then had Dave and Jen over for Mexican food and Springer-style margaritas, and BOY, did it all taste like home. We broke into our stash of real, actual pinto beans, and even managed to find cheddar at a specialty store, and between those tasty items and our homemade guacamole and salsa, it was REALLY good food and a really good time. (Apparently, Dave and Jen have just about been everywhere: we are just surrounded by interesting and fun people!)

Last, but certainly not least, our coffee table arrived today. It is ridiculously beautiful and awesome and around 200 years old, and MIKE LOVES IT. I can't even imagine how he'll be when we get our dining room table. But I digress. Without further ado, I give you...OUR LIVING ROOM (as it is now, anyway.)

Luscious, awesome coffee table.

Speaker stand no. 1. (Yes, it's an n. And I even like the color.)

Speaker stand no. 2. (If only the umlaut lit up...!)

From the couches towards the movie wall, with speaker stands in lower corners. 

From the movie wall, towards the back of the room. Complete with lazy cats.

Our little bar attached to the kitchen. 

So it's obviously still something of a mess, but it's coming along. And once we get our dining table, we'll have seating for 12, not counting couches. At this point in time, I fully expect our little apartment to become THE SOCIAL HUB OF EAST ZURICH. Or at least a comfy place to sit. Stop on by if you're in the neighborhood.   =)