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. :)