Christmas presents!

Is quite cute that we put our shoes under a christmas tree
and presents are left on top or beside our shoes
to be opened at midnight of 24 December.
The fiance and I received presents as a couple
as well as individual gifts!

Cacao set from the sisters
(Shower gel, lip balm, hand lotion)

Chinese tea cup from China
and tea leaves
from my in-laws

H&M Scarf and hat set
from my in-laws
I was looking for a thick wool scarf
but didnt want to spend money
my in-laws seems to be able to read my mind
and gave this to me!

The fiance got me a pandora bracelet!
Actually, i recommended for him to get it
so that if he has no ideas what to get for me
during anniversary, birthday etcs..
he can always head to pandora to get a charm
and i love it!

Before i left Singapore
I prepared small gifts for my nieces and nephew
didnt get much feedback about their responses
except my sister said that they were more engrossed in tearing 
away all the wrapping papers!

In any case, im blessed to have many presents
but the greatest gift will be having my lovely fiance
and celebrating christmas together....
<3

Comfort food

Had always been a fastfood fan
for the longest time.
Nothing makes me happier 
to see familar brands in Paris.
Have not tried KFC yet
but will try soon...

 
 

Is been 21 days!

is has been 3 weeks that i am staying in france
feels like the longest holiday i had
for 30 years
just that is not only a holiday
but soon my new stage of life

im settling down well
for the past 3 weeks
hmm im think im quite adaptable
 
as compared to the first week
my skin was really dry and peeling 
due to the cold wind
whenever i put make up / BB cream
the fiance thinks i look like a zombie
and now skin is better
with low temperature and less humid
there is no need for make up
just some facial cream and go

the average temperature is about 10deg and below
my wardrobe are mostly summer clothes
at first i thought im strong
and didnt thought of wearing more clothes
then i start piling more and more clothes
i think max i wore 4 tops, 1 jacket and 1 coat
now, my body seems to be able to better handle cold
so is more the appriopriate amount of clothes
as the average person on street

one of my greatest fears
was to lose my independence in france
such as losing the ability to be aware of the places
and where i can get things i required
although im still not an expert
im getting familiar with places nearby

apart from wedding planning,
it can be stressful when people ask:
whether im learning french
ask about my daily activities at home
have i been to xyz or abc places
what i intend to work as
am i bored
etc etc etc

i admit im not super active
and can be lazy and unmotivated
to achieve whatever i want in my life in france
but i guess i should just take my time
and not to be too bothered..
hehe..

will write about our apartment soon!
bisous!

Random streets around our apartment:

Random lunches

Since im often alone at home
for lunch
i normally heat up leftovers 
or make something simple
Is still quite difficult for me to have my lunch outside
due to language barriers and is expensive
I did had french fast food (Quick) and macdonald alone
but have not tried others
Anyway making my own lunch is great

I found my favorite french food!
Confit de canard (Duck confit)
Basically is persevered duck
taste similar to our canned braised pork  
Anyway it comes in a canned form
and its frying in its oil
very sinful and fattening
but taste great
Since i had leftover, 
I made a simple duck confit salad
Think i overcooked the duck
is a little dried but crispy
Yummy!

Wasn't feeling well for a day
so i made a porridge
with dried scallops, chicken, salted eggs
later for dinner, added a century eggs
fiance is a great fan of chinese preserved eggs
During lunch, the porridge was cooked to perfection
For dinner, I added too much water when heating it up
and it became more congee 
but still taste good

As usual
Made sushi for dinner and leftover for lunch
I think my sushi were better in my last trip
this time the rice was a little too soft

Leftover mushroom ravoilis (ready made)
bottled bolognese sauce

Hmm im hungry now
after writing this blog.
Bisous!

Shoes rack

Fiance has been staying in the apartment
for the past 6 or 7 years
as a full time homemaker for now
i guess is my job to make the appartment
more couple-friendly 

So, this was how we kept our shoes
in a random corner in bedroom
while shoes for daily wear
were just left at the entrance

Being a hardworking homemaker
i sourced around for a proper shoerack
and finally i found it
carrying it back from a supermarket
5 metro stations from home
this is the time where i miss singapore
with shopping malls everywhere
here, shopping is like playing hide-&-seek 

After carrying it all the way back
and fixing it
finally, we have a proper shoe rack!

There are still boots and shoes left in the bag
however, with a christmas tree at home
space is limited
i guess, i shall wait to see how it will be after christmas

More changes coming up!

Food taken for granted

Top 2 things that are hard to buy in paris:
1) Minced pork 
- Not minced beef
2) Instant noodles (That are cheap)
- Cheapest for now - Euro 2.50 (S$4) for 5 packets

My preciousssssssss

 

Our first Christmas Tree

Is the first time celebrating christmas together
and the fiance decided to buy a christmas tree!
i think we are a little late to buy christmas tree in mid december
but we are excited to have a real christmas tree at home
although we didnt buy too much decorations
we had fun decorating the tree
while listening to christmas songs..
is nice to come home and see the tree
going to be christmas soon!

The Search for wedding venue...Part I

Previously we decided that the wedding will be in versailies
so, after the townhall signing of papers
we will need a venue to have lunch and/ dinner with the guests
and we finally started our search for the venue
yes, we are really late to start our search 
with last than 2 months to our wedding
the good news is i think french dont really get married
and definitely not in winter (february)
added that our wedding is before valentine's day
we are glad to know that most places are still available

just that now is winter and year end
most people are away for holidays
hopefully we can still book what we want in january

anyway fiance's sister was really nice to help drive us around
for the whole saturday 
even when she was not feeling well
it will be impossible for us to view any venue
without her around
since all the venues are in suburb
and is definitely helpful to have extra viewpoints 
on my rate the venue scale: 1 - bad to 5-best

it was the first time i went to the suburbs
the drive seems to be movie scenes
long winding roads with trees by the side
okay, is winter so no trees with leaves
along the road we can see field patches and nice cottages
so different from paris.

 
































The first venue was like a cottage B&B
Glass-walls function room with nice greenery view 
and a fireplace!
The bedrooms are cozy and cute
the only concern is the rental price
is a little over our budget 
since we need to hire a caterer for the venue
and there seems to be a lot of hidden costs
eg to use fireplace will be 50Euro more
oh and we need added charges for decoartions
For now, we are waiting for the owner to email us the overall quotation.
Rating: 4 / 5

The second venue was a restuarant
The rental price is within budget
and fiance is thrilled that everything is made and cook by the owner
a few concerns arises:
1) no nearby hotel for guests
- i dont want any drunk-driving incidents
2) it has to close early at 3am
- our wedding is suppose to end at 5/6am
3) the room has only small windows and the colors are so dull
- i think i will feel depressed to be in there for many hours
i think the place will look better in spring and summer
but now the garden and plants are just dull
Rating: 2 / 5

The third venue was a restuarant
Fiance was not keen 
when he saw advertisement signs on the side of buildings
added by a not so nice owner
but the place was beautiful
it looks like is ready for a wedding
with no additional decorations 
however,
1) the toilets will be shared with the restuarant 
- i will need queue for toilet in wedding dress
2) nearest hotel is a 2** hotel
- fiance think is sad to stay in a 2** hotel for wedding night
3) it has to close early at 2am
4) fiance thinks the menu is just average
Rating: 4.5 / 5

The last venue was in an industrial area
i didnt even take any photos
because the place was really unsuitable
it looks like an office extended pantry area
or a function room in an old condo
Rating: 1/5

I guess we havent found the perfect place for our wedding
pray that we will find the one soon.

Joys in kitchen

Growing up in asian families
most daughters should have plenty of chances 
to learn cooking from their mothers
to start cooking since young

for my family,
the kitchen was my mother's guarded castle
we rarely have the chance to be in kitchen
even when she was not around
i remembered having my sister and brother 
heating up prepared food
when i was young

when i have chance to cook
it was always simple instant food
like instant noodles, frozen and canned food
so at 30 years old,
i can say i dont have much knowledge of food

In my past few trips to Paris
I did have the opportunities to cook
since i was normally here for a week
we still spend more time eating out
although i did noticed i have some talent in cooking
haha
i think all thanks to internet for simple recipes
and watching too much of gorden ramsy shows

since now im here
i really enjoy the fun of planning for meals
shopping for grocery
cooking new dishes
praying that it will be fine
i do hope it will get easier as time comes!

Random lunch pasta i mde
with leftover pasta
and an instant soup as sauce

















The beef was on sale for 1Euro
So i tried making my first steak
but it became overcooked and tough
the herbs potatoes were nice
so it went for dinner menu

Last night
Im very proud of my dinner
-Pan fried salmon
-Herbs potatoes
- Salad with tomatoes and tangerine
















I guess what i made have been really simple
but i think is really small steps of achievement for me
Shall watch more cooking shows!

Its Christmas soon!

Its the first time I am truly celebrating christmas
in singapore? it was usually a simple party with family
or going dinner with friends
so i am really excited about celebrating Christmas in France.

Fiance bought me a cute gift
is actually something his parents will give him
on every christmas
is a christmas countdown calender!

So from 1st to 24th december
i am to open a window for a chocolate!
i think is so cute
maybe we have it in Singapore
but i never seen it
Something new for me :)

 

Home Sweet Home

Yes..Im finlly home!
Is strange how unreal it is to be home
after 6 months gap

i was really nervous on the day of departure
i cant sleep
and panicked about my luggage
whether my wedding dress will be fine in luggage
so i repacked my luggage at 8.30am
before going to sleep

when my friend saw me
with 2 luggages
he asked how much to check in extra luggage
and i panicked
because my boarding pass didnt show that i have extra luggage
and i begun to think did i really buy extra luggage
or it was my imagination
as i cant find a reciept for the purchase
 finally i found an email indicating 2 checked-in luggages

at the check-in
the person checked whether i was flying back in march
and checked again whether i can do that
panicked again but all was fine
i was still worried for my dress
and the person offered to put priority tags 
on my 2 checked-in luggages

my phone was going low batt
and i was worried that when i arrived france
i have no phone to contact fiance
if i cant find him

i remembered that my last flight
had an usb port
so i should be able to charge my phone
but end up there was no usb port

as fiance need to be at work at 930am
 if my flight was delayed
i will need to get a cab home alone
and bring 2 luggages up 3 storey

I arrived on time
made it to custom fast
before the rest of the crowd
and the priority tags worked
my luggages came out fast
thank god everything went well

i am still not used to the cold weather
but the fiance was able to leave work early
and we went for late lunch, grocery shopping.

So, after all the panicking, anxiety, worrying...
im glad its all good.
and today, i start my routine of making breakfast

6 more days..

More than a year ago 
 I never thought I will be married 
And definitely never expected to marry a french.
Life works in strange ways. 

I was speaking to a close friend, 
laughing at how we always mentioned 
that marriage is not for us. 
Yet, he registered his marriage this year 
and will be having his chinese wedding in January 2014. 
So, we concluded.. 
Marriage and love comes naturally, 
we cant force it to happen. 

This year has been tough 
In my job 
In our days apart 
and im glad that end of tunnel is finally here! 

6 more days, 
Ill be leaving on a jetplane 
to start a new life and a new stage of life. :)

Wedding preparations

Finally is coming real soon!
And im glad to complete the required..

Something old: 
My mum's bracelet & necklace

Something new:
Wedding dress sponsored by sister

Something borrowed:
Necklace from rosita (my classmate)

Hmm what should i get for something blue?

Start of unemployment

Since my graduation from university
I think the longest i ever been unemployed was a month
I never had the chance to take long holiday
or not worked for a more than a month.

And today marks the start of my unemployment.
I dont know when it started
but my worth seems to be tied to my career achievement
and now on,
i will be zero.
Its a scary thought
but i believe my self worth is more than just about job.

Uncertainty of the future
for now, i shall just follow the flow
and get used to having monthly allowance
haha.

last look of my empty office

Marriage application documents..Part V

On my 30th birthday
I gave myself the best gift!
That is to complete the painful process of
marriage application documents.

Despite my bad experience and phobia of France Embassy
It was quite a smooth procedures to certify the french documents.
Thursday morning was the only day for consulate services
and no appointment was required
that was what the website said
and i was fearful that i need an appointment 
when i arrived
however, I did not required an appointment.

So, i went into an empty waiting room.
It was more like an office.
When a staff came out of the office,
she did not spoke a word,
a man who was waiting before me went in.
I start wondering where is the queue system
how will i know is my turn?

as more people came into the waiting room
i think everyone was having the same thoughts as me
how will we know is our turn?

Then the smart thought came to me
i realised the security card that was handed to me
had a number!
and it was in sequence 
when i compared to people who arrived later.

So, when the staff stepped out
I just went in
without her speaking
hmm, i must made others curious about 
how i knew it was my turn
haha

anyway it was rather fast
she asked why i required the documents
and i mentioned is for my marriage application.
She just looked at the translated documents
without comparing to the original English documents
and proceed to certify them as true copies.
thereafter i made payment 
I paid about S$30+ per document 
It was rated at Euro18 per documents
but the embassy charged based on the exchange rate for the day
and it was done!

Finally, all documents are ready!

1)Birth certificate
-  new copy from ICA
- Translated into French
- Certified true copy (English) 
- Certified true copy  (French)

 2) Single status
- Certified search result from ROM
-  Translated into French
- Certified true copy (English) 
- Certified true copy  (French) 

3) Marriage laws statement
- Fiance collected from Singapore Embassy in Paris

4) Proof of residence
- My bill with address
- Copy of my identity card
- Copy of passport

5) Witness detail
- Copy of identity card
- Copy of passport

It started as a long scary journey
and now im still anxious whether in left out any documents
whoever says marriage is a easy process
Tell them to try marry a French in France.

The week when I arrived
We will be applying for the marriage
hopefully it can be on the 8 February 2013
and all is well.

Wedding bands

We always seems to have strange luck
Everytime when we tried our best to search 
We will not find it
When we feel we will settle for second best
We will find what we want

Maybe fiance is the one with strange luck
He always managed to appear at a right time
To skip queues...even at disneyland
To walk when rains stops 
To catch a bus
Always at right time and place
Hmm...to meet me? Haha

like how we found my engagement ring in paris
It was quite a nightmare
Is not like in singapore 
where a mall have many jewellery shops
Each shop is just so far apart
And shopping hours are short
But every ring we saw was just not right
Too expensive
Not worth the prize
Poor quality diamond
Ugly design
No size
Etc etc

Ordering online takes too long
And uncertain about quality
Just when we were thinking to give up
Maybe settle for 2nd best or delay purchase
We went to an unlikely street 
The "branded" champs les elysees
On a sunday
Where shops are unlikely to be open
And at a shop where we thought its too expensive
We found it!

A little over the budget 
But both of us just feels its the right one..
Other rings always made us think "is okay"
But this was different...
And everything went well...

Fast forward to now buying of wedding bands
I persuade the fiance to buy them in singapore
Since more shops and
Should be cheaper with exchange rate and tax refund

Okay i am wrong
Its not really cheap and we cant find the one
Too expensive
No sizes
Wrong cut
Wrong color
Bad designs
Etc etc

It doesnt help when we have a tight budget
Fiance has huge fingers
I want a diamond-less plain white gold ring
Its fiance's first and only ring that he wants it comfy
And we were like searching everyday -,-"

Same thing happened
Going to different shop
Thinking there is something wrong
While we were thinking to settle for second best
Or even getting different-similar design rings
We found it...

Although mine has diamonds..
It was on 50% sale that made it cheaper than his
Although they dont have his size..
They can resize the ring

I thought of a white gold ring
But it was rose and white gold..
However i like the design and diamonds..haha

but the mosy deciding factor..
when his first immediate response was
"I like it... it represent the union of us.."
And i knew it was the one...

We had strange luck again. :)

101 days later...

When the fiance was in singapore
We briefly discuss our wedding date
Although we can only confirm the date
After we apply it at townhall in december 
But we planned for 8 feb 2014
Thereafter most of our discussions
was planned at this tentative date

Today i set a countdown on my phone
I have plenty of countdowns on my phone
Ranges from last day of work
To me flying off 
To my birthday

So i set a countdown to 8 feb 201
4And it shows "101days left"
I think its a good sign :)

Wedding Colors...Part I

We never had a proper discussion about our wedding color
except that we both liked the idea of a grey suit for him.

My "something borrowed" friend has asked me the same question
so that she can lend me something of the color scheme
but I have no answers.

Anyway, with his sisters (bridesmaids) helping out for wedding preparation
the question return: what is our color theme?
For now, I do like the idea of a black and white theme for the restaurant
but with dash of red (roses?) so that is not too funeral lookalike

But for the bridesmaid and best men, they do need a color theme to work around
Maybe because in Singapore, with summer throughout the year
the color theme tends to be pastel (spring/summer colors)
where bridesmaids wear pastel colors
but with my wedding in winter
it seems a little strange for them to be dressed in pastel colors
and should be in dark colors (winter colors)

 

Im texting everyone for their comments
it seems that most people actually think dark colors are better
with consideration that is winter

My sister says that if others wear dark colors
I will stand out as a bride in white
Being the only Asian, with twins as bridesmaid and smaller size than me
I think I don't really need dark colors around me to let people know im the bride..
haha

GQ Magazine: The Groom's Edition

The fiancé was in Singapore for around a week
We were very efficient in shopping!
Well, most things will be cheaper in Singapore
due to us being the city of shopping, the exchange rate
and the important reason of me helping him to shop!

Is interesting to see how the fiancé was resistant about shopping
and end up modelling around in the store in suits
and excited that he can fit into "slim-fit"
hehe

And for the wedding the groom is almost done:
- Suit (Yes)
- Shoes (Yes)
- Socks (Yes)
- Cuff-links (Yes)

But we have not decide whether he should wear:
- a tie or
- a bow- tie or
- a vest

Considering that the suit is not really thick
Nobody will sell winter suit in Singapore
and our wedding will be in winter
I guess he can wear a not sexy thermal wear inside!
haha.

 

Marriage application documents..Part IV

Today I had some time off from work
so i decided to be a good bride to be
and went to alliance francaise to translate my birth cert 
and single status cert (cert of celibacy)

Recalling my experience at the france embassy
i assumed that it will be the same boring process in alliance francaise
(Well, its a french institute so i guess they work the slow french way)
To my surprise, the process was quick
There was no queue
They looked at the documents
and i paid (S$60 each)
then photocopied my documents
Got my contact details 
told me it will be ready next week
and i was done in less than 10 minutes!

Now is just to certify my english documents at Ministry of foreign affairs
and to certify the translated copies at france embassy
photocopy my passport
Bring along a singapore bill for address verification
get my witness's passport photocopy
and im basically ready for the marriage application! 

Oh 2 days ago the fiance got me to fill up the marriage application forms
It was all in french and i wondered whether maybe he is trying to trick me to sign off my life and money
haha

Week in Singapore

I can't believe how time can flies
Fiance was here for 10days
and i just sent him off last night

Although it was only 10days
we were really productive
Bought the grrom's suit and shoes
Officially announcing to my family about our wedding 
Fiance asked my mother for my hand but i think my hand still belongs to me..haha
spent time together as a couple
quarrel a few times...opps..
Getting our wedding rings (still in the factory because of his big fingers..)

When having the farewell dinner with my family
i realized that 7 weeks later I will be doing the same!
7 weeks later I will be flying off to a new country and new stage of life
well...at least for 3 months for now....

I wish the next 7 weeks will pass quickly too...

Preparing for the big day

 

Finally collected the dress and almost all is done..

 

Completed:

Dresss

Veil

Gloves

Shoes

Vest / Jacket 

Earrings

 

To be done: 

Fix the veil

Necklace

Hair & makeup accessories

 

Tradition:

Something new - wedding dress

Something old - my father's watch

Something borrowed - hmmmm...

Something blue - ??

 

Now is the fiancé's turn...hehe



 

 

Marriage application documents..Part III

Some good updates...
All the documents required are given 6 months validity.
(As per the application date: December 2013)
Which means, I can start preparing my documents now!


Just photocopies:
1)Valid passport
2) Valid Identity card
3) Latest bill indicating my address in Singapore (Just in case)

Birth certificate:
- Apply extract from ICA (Done)
- Translate at Alliance Francaise
- Certified English copy at MFA
- Certified French copy at France Embassy

Certificate of celibacy
- Request marriage search record from ROM (Done)
- Translate at Alliance Francaise
- Certified English copy at MFA
- Certified French copy at France Embassy
 An Affidavit of law (Document stating marriage laws are the same between France & Singapore)
- Fiance to obtain from Singapore Embassy in France

As compared to the previous stress about validity and documents required,
is great that we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel

:)