Headaches, Champagne & Jelly Beans: Our Expat New Year 2026 in Córdoba

 2025 is finally over.

I can’t say I’m convinced 2026 will be better, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Every new year I tell myself this will be the one that breaks the cycle in a good way—yet somehow, each year arrives with a fresh batch of headaches. That’s life, I guess.

We rang in the new year in our usual way, minus one tradition. First came dinner which included homemade beer rice, pepperoni pizza, and cornbread. 

Yes, the menu sounds a little chaotic, but we were going for comfort and simplicity. We weren't trying to please Martha Stewart. The hubs adores rice—especially beer rice—and cornbread. I’m more of a pizza guy myself. So we made things we knew the other would enjoy. This was a good thing because we needed comfort food badly. 

As I mentioned in my Christmas post, both our mental and physical energies have been in the gutter for months. Then came the news that two of my closest friends—one in the U.S., one here in Argentina—are dealing with serious health issues. It’s hit me hard especially given the number of genuine people in my life.

I don’t need hundreds of friends or thousands of followers to feel validated. I can count my circle of friends on one hand, and that’s more than enough. I’d rather have a few loyal people than a crowd of half-hearted connections. At the same time I can't afford to lose anyone.

If I sound bitter, it’s because I’ve been burned—repeatedly—by people I once considered close. Some demand endless care but never return it. And I know I’m not the only one who’s experienced that.

The hubs has had his own wake-up call too. After years of showing up for others who never showed up for him, he’s ready to cut ties with anyone who doesn’t value his heart or his time. The biggest sting for him this year? Only two family members wished him a Happy New Year—and those two almost never interact with him otherwise. No likes, no comments, no check-ins. When they do reach out, it’s just GIFs. No real conversation, no “How are you?” or anything of the sort.

Some seem to think that because we moved abroad in 2012 and never went back—we somehow turned our backs on them. We didn’t. But if that’s the story they need to tell themselves… fine. There's nothing we can do about that.

Anyway—back to New Year’s Eve.

After dinner came dessert which included apple pie with “NYE” baked right into the crust. This was the hub's idea. We also had homemade pudding, fruit salad, candy and brownies. 

When midnight hit here in Argentina, we didn’t leap out of our seats. We were deep into disaster movies. But we did pause long enough to clink glasses and say “Cheers!” before returning to the cinematic destruction.

Speaking of movies, here’s what we watched and recommend:

• Geostorm

• The Day After Tomorrow

• Greenland

• Armageddon

• Skyscraper

Around 2 a.m., it was finally champagne time. I may have accidentally launched the cork directly into the hubs’ back—equal parts hilarious and terrifying. He survived but was stunned for a couple of seconds.

Then came our real New Year’s countdown. If you’ve read my previous New Year posts, you know the deal. We don’t officially celebrate until midnight Eastern Standard Time back in the States, because we’re both Floridians. So we streamed the Times Square ball drop, and that’s when 2026 truly began for us.

As soon as I hugged the hubs, the tears came. Not cute little movie tears. Full emotional waterfall. This has become a thing for me the last few years. Maybe it’s my system finally purging the year. Maybe it’s exhaustion and depression. Maybe it’s grief or hope colliding at the same time. I don’t know. But the breakdown seems to grow each year.

Thank goodness for champagne. Liquid emotional support as I call it.

The one tradition we missed? The grapes. Every year we each eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each wish or intention for the new year. This year, the grapes at the store were either bad, overly priced, or nonexistent. So we found an alternative.

That's right! Jelly beans to the rescue. And let me tell you: every single bean carried a fully emotionally-charged, Wiccan-blessed intention for 2026. Because sometimes magic is less about ingredients and more about intention.

No resolutions this year either. I never keep them, so why set myself up for failure? But I did promise myself this:

• Get out of the house more

• Stop pouring energy into people who don’t pour any back

And that’s enough.

To anyone reading this—if your 2026 is off to a beautiful start, I’m genuinely thrilled for you. If it isn’t, I hope whatever you’re carrying gets lighter with time.

Until next time…

Creepmas, KFC, and Love: A Very Different Expat Christmas in Córdoba

Like a lot of people, I struggle during the holidays—both financially and emotionally. It feels like every year things are stable until December hits, and then everything goes sideways. This year was rougher than any we’ve had since my husband and I moved to Córdoba City, Argentina in 2012.

Between my parents’ declining health (and their very toxic personalities) and nonstop headaches with tenants and the rental properties we own, I honestly considered canceling the holidays altogether. My husband—aka “the hubs”—has been battling his own physical and emotional slump, too.

But here’s the thing: I love the holidays. The second one ends, I’m already mentally planning the next. There was no way I was skipping Christmas this year. We just had to improvise a little.

We planned to celebrate Navidark—our own tradition blending Christmas cheer with horror aesthetics. Think “deck the halls,” but spooky. Unfortunately, two Argentine stores we usually count on for eerie décor—Ghostly Store and Kripta—didn’t deliver anything worth ordering. Even the local Halloween goldmine, Cotillón Chialvo, came up short in the ornament department when I checked for Christmas. 

They promised ornaments would arrive later in the month, but a second trip just wasn’t in the cards financially.

Still, I managed to snag a few gems:

• Santa and Grinch masks

• Festive eyeglasses

• Holiday plates, napkins and straws

We love masks, goofy accessories, and taking photos together, so this accidental haul became a highlight.

Our Christmas tree is always the star of Navidark. We call it our Creepmas Tree, and while this year’s version was less intense than previous years, it still delivered the vibe we love.

Although not feeling so great, the hubs surprised me by adding a few more decorations to our living room while I was out getting some last minute supplies.

As for dinner? We went rogue—but strategically. I headed to the new KFC location at Nuevocentro Shopping in Córdoba City. Instead of a classic 8-piece bucket like last time, I ordered 11 wings and 11 chicken strips, plus:

• Popcorn chicken

• Bacon & cheddar fries

• Onion rings

• Four drinks

It cost 64,000 Argentine pesos (about $43.99 USD), and none of the online deals applied in-store. But hey—holidays, right?

Since KFC here doesn’t offer the sides we’re used to back home, we made our own American comfort classics:

• Coleslaw (using a mix and pre-made bag from JUMBO supermarket)

• Mashed potatoes with homemade gravy

• Corn

• Garlic bread—arranged into a Christmas tree shape, which actually turned out adorable

Dessert was where we really leaned into the dark side of Navidark:

• A Dirty Santa drink with rum, crushed ice, and grenadine for a splash of Christmas red

• A large brownie cake transformed into a reindeer using:

  • Pretzels for antlers

  • Edible candy eyes

  • A cherry for the red nose

  • Green icing for the mouth

We also made reindeer donuts using pretzels and edible eyes. We tried icing for the noses, but the donuts were too warm and the icing melted. So naturally, we rebranded the runny red dot as… a bullet hole. In our version of the story, the reindeer had a tragic run-in with hunters. Festive? Yes. Horrifying? Also yes.

To complete the theme, we molded homemade peanut butter cups into brains, hearts, and skulls, using melted white chocolate tinted with red food coloring. The color was more pinkish-red than blood-red, but the results were equal parts grotesque and charming.

To cut down on all the sugary stuff, we made a makeshift charcuterie board or rather a charcuterie tree using salami, cheese slices, cucumber and crackers. It wasn't as big or as fancy or as full as we envisioned it but we were running low on items and it was too late to order anything or go to the market. But we'll definitely do better for our halfway to Christmas in July or Christmas 2026.

We had grand plans for:

• A Christmas tree-shaped pudding decorated with Rocklets (Argentina’s budget M&M cousins)

• An apple pie

But the December heat and our emotional exhaustion won this round. We postponed those ideas to New Year’s Eve instead.

To get into the holiday spirit, we kept our favorite December tradition: one Christmas movie a day leading up to the 25th. We mixed classics like Home Alone with holiday horror flicks like Violent Night. I’ll share this year’s full movie list here, and trust me—there were some unexpected surprises.

1. Black Christmas - A classic holiday horror film

2. Silent Night - This was a pretty decent holiday horror film too

3. Better Watch Out - The main kid was annoying. Never again.

4. Jingle Bell Heist - It was a Christmas Rom-Com but watchable.

5. Oh. What. Fun - It wasn't. Michelle Pfeifer needs to go back to the 90s when she was actually good. 

6. The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge - The characters were dumb as fuck but Scrooge was okay.

7. My Secret Santa - Rom-com - Mrs. Doubtfire Meets the Associate

8. Krampus

9. She's Making a List --- Everything barfy that you would expect from Hallmark plus a shitty ending 

10. Home Alone 2 - Decent but why couldn't Kevin help the homeless lady out?

11. The Running Man - Not a Christmas film but we needed something new.

12. A Mom for Christmas - A 90s TV classic. Sappy but a tear-jerker.

13. ATM - Scary.

14. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas - It was watchable.

15. A Carol Christmas - Shitty faith based studio film. Tori sold out.

16. Dashing Through the Snow - Shitty movie that failed to be everything Violent Night was.

17. Violent Night - This helped wash away the memory of movie 16.

18. Jingle All the Way

19. The Great Flood - Technically not a Christmas movie but both mom and son were the key to restarting humanity so kind of.

20. Tinsel Town - Kiefer Sutherland in a Christmas movie and he was actually funny.

21. Elf

22. It's a Wonderful Knife

23. P2

24. While You Were Sleeping

25. The Associate

So that was our Christmas this year. It wasn’t extravagant. It wasn’t flawless. But it was ours. We made it work together—as partners, as a team, and honestly? Our love carried the magic when everything else felt heavy.

Now we just need to crack the code on New Year’s Eve. I’ll report back… in early January. Let’s just call it a cliffhanger.

Until then, I hope you all had a warm holiday season, and I’m wishing you a wonderful New Year ahead.

From False Alarms to Fried Chicken: KFC Opens in Córdoba at Last

In early November, I wrote about how false Google information led me to Nuevocentro Shopping in Córdoba City in search of a newly opened KFC. Unfortunately, the place wasn’t open yet. The only sign of hope was a construction wall hinting that a KFC would open there someday.

One of our Argentine friends was surprised when we told her about the whole ordeal. She didn’t really get it. The first thing she asked was, “Why the rush?” We tried explaining that it wasn’t just about the fried chicken—KFC represented home for us. She still didn’t understand and gently suggested that we try to find other things in Argentina that made us happy instead of getting so attached to one restaurant. Although her words stung a bit, we knew she couldn’t truly grasp what it feels like to miss home. So we let the conversation go.

Jump to December 11th—and our dreams finally came true.

KFC, which until recently had only operated in Buenos Aires, had begun expanding into other provinces, and Córdoba was finally getting its turn. So, just like before, I rushed out of the house to see it for myself—and, of course, to bring home a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

When I arrived at Nuevocentro, I headed straight to the food court, which was surprisingly empty. For a moment, panic hit me. Was I really about to be disappointed again? Thankfully, no. All I had to do was turn the corner—and there it was.

KFC was officially open for business, and customers were already digging into their fried chicken and sides.

There was also a huge line—something you usually only see at Burger King or McDonald’s here. I jumped right in, but the wait wasn’t bad at all; within 15 minutes, I was at a touchscreen menu placing my order.

The staff was incredibly friendly and helped answer everyone’s questions, which was great because I had a few of my own. For instance, I didn’t see cole slaw or onion rings on the menu. It turns out they’d run out of onion rings, and cole slaw wasn’t available at this location yet.

Also missing were mashed potatoes with gravy and warm biscuits—staples back home. Apparently, they’re not offered anywhere in Argentina, not even in Buenos Aires. But honestly, I came for the crispy fried chicken, so I wasn’t too heartbroken.

I ordered an 8-piece bucket, two medium fries, two bacon-and-cheddar fries, a large popcorn chicken, and four medium drinks.

Since I was paying in cash, I had to finalize the purchase at the register. Before doing that, I asked one of the staff members to take a photo of me in front of the giant fried chicken bucket display. She happily said yes, snapped the pic, and sent me on my way to pay.

The area was loud and chaotic—people were placing orders faster than the kitchen could keep up—but it made sense for a grand opening. I wasn’t expecting perfection; I just wanted a bucket of chicken to take home to the hubs.

When I got my order, I noticed they’d given me four small drinks instead of four medium ones. Normally, I might have said something, but since I had a ton to carry and was taking the bus, I figured smaller drinks meant slightly less odds of spillage.

If I had one complaint, it’s that they were extremely stingy with sauces. My huge order came with exactly one honey-mustard sauce, and I had to buy barbecue sauce separately at the register.

By the time I got home, we had to reheat everything, but it was still delicious. We were just grateful we no longer had to travel all the way to Buenos Aires to satisfy our KFC cravings.

In the photo above, the hubs decided to mess with me and completely “Tiny Tim” my plate—if you’ve seen A Mickey’s Christmas Carol, you know the reference. Tiny Tim’s family was so poor they could only afford the tiniest meal for Christmas Eve dinner. Thankfully, that wasn’t our reality, and he filled my plate properly after he finished laughing. Even after we ate until we were stuffed, we still had leftovers for the next day.

This year has been emotionally and financially tough for us, so having a simple moment—something as small as enjoying familiar comfort food—felt like a much-needed break from everything. I guess that's not the kind of thing every will understand. But sometimes it's the little things, like a bucket of fried chicken, that remind us joy can show up right when we need it the most.