Happy Chinese New Year everyone!
This is the first year that im away from Singapore and my family
for the whole period of CNY
Is strange not to hear the constant CNY songs in shops
or to eat bak kwa and all the CNY goodies
and its the first time im not wityh my family for reunion dinner
even though i came paris last CNY period
i took the flight after the reunion dinner
so is going to be our first reunion dinner together
and first reunion dinner i prepare
im glad that most years, my family had steamboat
and not complicated dishes
so i made a steamboat for us
it was tough to gather the different ingredients
from local supermarket
and the asian supermarket
lots of sore back and aching legs from the buying
and the fridge was stuffed full!
Anyway im glad fiance loves steamboat
as much as i do
sadly the portable electric stove didnt worked
so we shifted the table to our stove and have steamboat
still a wonderful feeling to eat something so warm and familiar
and is really different having steamboat in winter!
I look forward to the many reunion dinners to be spent together...
PS the day was started with skype at 830am
with my family
to join (watch) them having reunion dinner...
i ate potato chips while watching because i became hungry
and is crazy to start a steamboat at 830am
I think it was last year
that i saw the hurom juicer introduced
on a taiwanese talkshow
thereafter i googled about it
so i told Aven that it will be great to have at home
and, unexpectedly he bought it as my wedding gift!
he was supposed to handcarried it when he comes
but it was approx 10kg
too heavy for handcarried so it was fedex
its the first time i receive a delivery in france
was not a present experience
first, they delivered on Wednesday
and they didnt even get into the building
because there was a pin code at building door
they didnt left any note or call
so i didnt know about the delivery
second, they didnt try to deliver the next day
i read on their website that they were to try the next working day
but they didnt
anyway on friday i called them
lucky they had the option of english speaking operator
so i requested it to be delivered on Monday
but the operator did try to persuade me to pick it up from their centre
which is crazy!
i read on their website that they were to try deliver 3x
befrore we need pick up ourselves
and is 10kg
i wont want to carry it on a train to bring back!
they cant tell me an exact delivery time
except for 8am to 6pm
and indicate tat the deliecery man will not call me when he arrives
well, in any case it arrive safely at 830am
the juicer is really great
i can juice anything from orange to carrot
just that i have no idea what to do with the residue
i guess i need learn what to do with the residue soon!
a wonderful gift from aven
and the fiance and i enjoyed fresh juice daily
i guess i will be spending more
on fruits
its more expensive than a carton juice
but its more natural!
We decided on our wedding colors:
White, grey and red..
so we started to prepare for our table decorations
and my idea will be similar to:
In terms of my bouquet,
i did not want it to be flamboyant
with ribbons etcs
so i opt for something like:
Unexpectedly,
it is quite expensive for car decorations
at the florist, they quoted 100euro
for a bouquet of flowers on the car
i will be happy to have a couple bears on the car
however, i cant find them in paris..
we shall see what happen..
Unsuccessful gratin
& lemon chicken salad..
It was Christmas
and Fiance wanted to give us a special treat
so we bought caviers from the supermarket!
30 Euro for such a small tin...
to me, it tasted like salmon roes..
but in anycase,
for now, we wont be feeling rich
to spend on cavier till Christmas 2014...
We were invited to taste the wedding dinner
so we invite the future parents-in-laws along
we were provided two menus
and to decide what we wanted
Starter:
Fish dish:
Meat dish:
Cheese dish:
It was nice to have a meal with the future parents-in-laws
and having discussion about the menu
thereafter, a short walk around the garden.
and finally,
we decided on our wedding dinner menu!
After finding instant noodles
for my noodles craving
they are expensive
and not the usual brands i know
but why so little noodlesin a packet!
Apart from many wonderful gifts
my future parents-in-law gave us a voucher
to be redeem at a nice restuarant..
Me: Avocado & crab
Fiance: Foie gras
Me: Shrimps risotto
Fiance: some braised stuff
Overall, the food was great
and we enjoyed an evening out
just that we probably wont return to this restuarant
because its quite expensive eg risotto was euro 30+
and it was quite out of the way.
nevertheless,
it was a great gift from the future in-laws..
Being unemployed and want to personalise our wedding
also, to reduce wedding spending
we came up with ideas to DIY wedding stuff
eg Make my own hair and makeup for the day
to making videos, table decorations..
Sometimes i do feel the pressure
Not really that confident in my creative arts
but fiance is nice to always assure that what im doing is nice
just that it can be stressful to create things on my own
especially when i dont know where to buy things i need
Since we are requesting guests to give angbaos for the wedding
we need a gift box for the guests
again, it was difficult to find a box we like
so is DIY time!
It was crazy to draw with my fingers' injuries
but quite pleased with the end results!
Bisous..
It started with my idea to create our own invitation card
so that it can be personalise
i created a email version to be sent out to our guests
to book the date
Which was not too difficult
just microsoft words & PDF
a few versions were created
and we chose this
Translated:
18.07.12 - He stole her heart
31.05.13 - And popped the question
15.02.14 - So, she stole his last name
After we confirmed our wedding venue
the fiance had the idea
for me to draw our invitation card
finally, it is in process of printing...
However, the photo seems grey
despite our attempts to take a better photo of it
like holding 2 lights
under the window etc etc
that i toyed with the crazy idea to draw all the invitation cards
lucky the fiance is still dane to send it for print
hopefully the hardcopy will be fine..
During Christmas i sprain my foot
when going down the stairs
and now i injured my fingers
at the Asian supermarket's entrance
it is really silly
i was alone
as i entered the supermarket
i got distracted by the security guard saying
"Bonjour, Xdghfurzhrzjrkhfruzdu..."
I have no idea what he was saying
but i think it was about being careful of the door
so, in a moment of distraction
my fingers got caught by the heavy metal door
i thought nothing of it
except maybe a bruise
after awhile i realised i was bleeding
fiance thinks im a little crazy to continue shopping
and not left the place to return home immediately
Just some cuts, bruise on knuckles and swelling
but i got an off day from cooking and washing!
Haha
Finally, we decided on our wedding venue!
it was the last venue that we were visiting
as usual strange luck brought us here
initially i didnt want to check the prices for this venue
it was a chateau
definitely over our budget
however, fiance went ahead to call them
and to our surprise, it was within our budget!
As the chateau was closed for christmas
we can called them only on the Saturday morning
that they reopened
initially they rejected our visit appointment
as the staff was busy
but end up they squeeze an appointment for us in 1hour
so we quickly prepared and went down
The exterior was beautiful
and 2 rooms for our selection
even before going in,
we were hoping that all will be fine
Room 1
it was a big room
that if we used it
a partition will be used
to make it into 2 rooms
which will be strange and noisy
if another function is happening
the room has many animal heads on the wall
it was the first time i see heads on walls
my future mother in-law informed that is common in chateau
okay, i hope no deer or beef for the dinner
else the animals will be staring as we eat!
Room 2 is smaller and more suited for us
but hunters have priority of the room
lucky, it was available for 15 feb
the room was with lesser animal heads
attached toilets
and a fireplace!
it really fit into our expectations...
Fiance was happy with the menu
and we loved the place
not much hidden / additional costs required
In addition, there was a beautiful garden
and we can add a tour on the wedding day for the guests
So, we immediately decided
and paid for deposit to reserve the room!
And they had a beautiful hotel opposite the road
With the wedding venue decided
we finally can breathe better!
next will be preparing the invitation card and food tasting...
Bisous!
