..

Weeeeee!

Our new sofa arrived 2 days back and just 2 hours after the movers took the old day bed away for its new owner.  

This new addition is really comfy and posh but cost less than $1000!  Really love 2ndlife Furniture for its great furnitures at steep discount.

We were happy that this sofa matches the house seamlessly.  And sitting on it makes me understand how a couch potato feels.Bliss~

Dardar was really bored on Monday and decided to rake the storeroom for his old trophies.  And ahhhhhh... he has so many... more than me... can't stand it...!

I decided for him that he should place a few to remind him of the good old days when he was a great runner . Not that he isn't now but we are both guilty of being lazy and havig almost zero exercise in a month.

And I am happily on leave today for my medical examination. So I decided to bake some more. It's muffin this time!

In an attempt to be a "great wife", I decided to try baking.

Bought this instant flour mix from Cold Storage and did a cheater-bug job. It's really simple but I feel really proud because I always have this impression that only a baker knows how to make cookies.

We had some fun BBQ-ing with Dar's colleagues and their kids in ICON@Tanjong Pagar.

The venue was cool and the kids were lovely and playful until we start having diarrhea  and vomitted countless times through Sunday night and Monday morning.

As I am typing this... I am still feeling queasy and vomitted a few hours back...

This is the first time in my life I feel so hungry and weak. But everytime I consume food, my body will purge it out with water.

I AM HUNGRY! I can eat a baby horse and vomit its mother!

This is the beauty of Photoshop.

I could remove the whole mirror seamlessly!!

Dear Dardar set up our workstation and a little showcase for me in the bedroom.

Now our home is finally completed!

After a week of messy house and waking up at 4 am to do my morning commentary without a table for the laptop, the completion of this workspace really makes me happy.

And I had a new showcase for my little toys and jewelleries.  One of my dream come true. Dardar is really smart; He assemble this alone. And install and nice little spotlight inside. I will drop by City Hall to buy some jellery hanger tomorrow!

I had a surprise Hen Night on Wednesday!  A pleasant surprise.

Am going on a 1-month leave soon and am going to miss my funny colleagues at work. I really haven't been going to nightspot since years ago (not joking).  But I like Butterfactory and find this place better than Zouk on a Mambo night!

***

Thursday morning, I meet my very amazing JIE MEIs to discuss the Tekan session for my dear Dardar and his unfortunate XIONG DIs.  They really don't know who they are pitching themselves against.

My 8 ladies are really determined to give the guys a hard time and, from our 2-hour morning breakfast, I know we will have fun for the big day!

And AAARGGGGHHHHHHH!!! It is only 7 days away! Will need to confirm number of seats with Chijmes and Peony Jade today. Collect our animation and Dardar's suit tomorrow. I need to get one more bridal teaset for my maternal side. 

STRESSed.....

Dardar's brother helped us make an electronic wedding invites, which comes in handy for emailing our close friends and colleagues with.

Although these 2 brothers hardly talks , they are actually quite sweet to each other.

Han San (Dardar's brother) tailored a suit for Dardar as our big day present at a sharp discount to his boss's usual pricing. 

And my Dardar also silently supported his brother today, buying about two thousand worth of shirts and pants from Han San.

Never seen Dardar like this before...  As Dardar hardly spends. Even the watch he wears to work is a less than 30 bucks plastic Casio since he started work 5 years back. He never really had new weekend tee since his junior collegue days  and we usually had foodcourt plus don't spend on movies.

I am amazed he did what he did to support his brother! I love my Dardar even more knowing this.

These are our parents in their younger days and in their wedding gowns and suits.

Dardar parents are a handsome pair and I must say that Han Lim really looks like his dad and I could almost see a little of Han Lim in his dad's wedding picture (left).

Dardar's mum used to be a poster girl for F&N and looks beautiful here.

My parents are just so cute and endearing. I like them a lot although I am harsher to my mum.  Haha... actually I look like my mum more without me admitting it.

Dad looks very young here and this picture reminds me of childhood when he used to have a full head of black hair.

But, because we kids are so noisy and naughty , my dad's hair is now 90% white and he is still thinking whether to dye it black or (easier) white for my wedding.    

One more thing settled.  I just catered a lunch buffet for our relatives after the tea ceremony.

Because of the recent spike in food prices, the caterer told me to not expect a 30 pax to feed 35 person anymore. Hmmm...  How sad.

But I am still happy for completing one more task on hand, although my stomach flu is still haunting me the entire day.  Still this caterer has been our usual family gathering provider and so the food is tasty at a reasonable price, $10++ per pax for 8 dishes and 1 dessert.

Visit Gim Tim website if you need a caterer too!   http://www.gtfood.com.sg/default.asp

And I am very near to completing my wedding guest book.

Since the Doc gave me a 2 day off work due to my stomach flu, I decided to settle some of the wedding works again.

After comtemplating amongst the providers and discussing with Dardar, I decided on WeddingCars.sg which provide a cheaper weekend package than most places.  

Nothing is cheap now cause even a wedding car rental comes at a hefty sum. For the weekend, we will pay $599. We chose the Peugeot 307CC Convertible and like the patient lady who is on the line with me. 

But since this weekend package can serve us for both nights' wedding, we have little choice but to burn another hole in the pocket!

***

We also got a bad news from CTC Travel, that our Eastern Europe trip cannot be confirmed. Which is really a late notice. The trip is schedule 1 month from now and the alternative packages are not the dates we like.

We finally could collect our wedding band from BP de Silva, which means another item is settled. 

This is definitely a tough month for me as my bosses at work still has expectation of me, yet wedding preparation and the emotional teething in to Dardar's family eats away a lot of my energy.

I was a little upset with my in-laws' quietness on the traditional bracelets, which my parents and two grandmas are expecting.  The money value isn't important to my family, but the sincerity that these golden bracelet signifies in the traditional context did make them feel uncomfortable going without.

So I had to ask Dardar for this which is really downgrading for the lady-side. Yesterday, we had to go get 2 pieces of bracelets ourselves and Dardar ain't educated about the significance and I feel very wronged having to convince him this is part of the wedding neccessity.

Feeling really wei3 qu1...

Black is back when it comes to wedding day transport. Kathy Apostolidis of Nightingales shares her expert advice and top tips.

Latest Trends

While a white car continues to be the most popular option, with classic Rolls Royce and Bentley leading the field, there has been a return to the 1930s and 1950s favourite - the black car. "These are making a comeback right now - they lend a celebrity, VIP feel to the wedding," says Nightingales' planner and stylist, Kathy Apostolidis.

Couples are choosing black over silver, says Apostolidis, colour choices that look particularly good in photos. "The choices are still based on either logistical or aesthetic aspects rather than 'trend' even though trends do make a splash for a wedding season or two,' she explains.

For something out of the ordinary, treat the groom and his groomsmen to a helicopter transfer to the ceremony or make a grand entrance at your reception by arriving from the sky with your new hubby.

Any future predictions? "Couples will continue to be more individual and specific with their choices in wedding transport," says Kathy. "The horse and carriage has laid low for a while now, so I expect that as a transport option it will start to reappear more often."

Expert Tips - Nightingale's Kathy Apostolidis advises couples on how to choose transport...

1. How many people do you need to transport and how long does it take to get where you are going?
2. The groom's transfer to the ceremony should be a treat, so let him have the Ferrari!
3. Make sure you sit in the car before making the booking.
4. Imagine yourself in your wedding dress - will you fit comfortably in the car? Can you get in and out easily?
5. What contingencies are in place if the car breaks down or is involved in an accident? Insist on an immediate phone call should these situations occur.
6. What do the chauffeurs wear?
7. Is the car air conditioned? This is a must for any weddings between October and March.
8. Is there red carpet service, champagne, soft drinks and water offered on the day?
9. If you select a car will the company guarantee that exact car on the day? If so, note the registration number and ensure this is on your booking confirmation.
10. Ensure that the car hire company you choose is insured and accredited.

Certainly feeling the intensity of the wedding. We are going for the first fitting of Dardar's suit tomorrow, meeting Coffee & Tea on the animation again on Thursday, dinner with our JP on Friday, collecting Peony Jade wedding invites on Saturday morning, meeting Chijmes at noon and collecting my evening gown at 1pm.

Woooo~ hectic and more hectic...

In between, I haven't got my smaller wedding items intact...

While buying my daily caffine, I came across 3 pairs of earrings in Thomson Plaza and so decided to buy them.

I hope these will match the evening gown.

I am glad that March is over.

The month got very difficult at work where I lost half the workforce and yet have to fulfill the branch's target.  But by God's grace I narrowly made it.

Just hope April will be a great month! Dardar bought me my month's flower again. This I think is estoria?? (Don't know the spelling).

Dear Dardar is yawning in this picture because we have a really active day.

Hiked 11km from Rifle Range in Bukit Timah to Macritchie Tree Top Walk and backed. We panted and panted but managed to finish this walk, which is a little too tedious for 2 "retired" twenty-something. 

We actually overslept in the morning and made Jason, who is Dar's buddy, wait. Nice guy did not get angry with us. And nicer thing is Dar's whole group of friend then waited at Rifle Range as we rushed down in a cab. Eventually, we were 1 hour late.

I had a really happy weekend  starting with a nice surprise from Dardar. He bought a pair of Jeff Change Concert tickets, which is sort of a childhood dream back then.

 Funny thing is that I was too poor to get my idol's concert tickets when I was still young. And when I can now afford it, I totally forget to pamper myself and finish this childhood dream.

I am just so lucky that Dardar make all this come true!

And I got Dardar a new SLR cammy, which is something he always wanted, especially before our honeymoon. This biggie is quite interesting, with lots of functions, and we haven't really fathom how to use this.

I guess we need a few more higher end lens plus a stronger flash to add to this gadget. But I am happy Dardar get to have a new toy.  He is obvios happy taking pictures everyday. See all these pictures he took of our house!

And yesterday, we went to Silhouette The Bridal Atelier and fell in love with this lovely evening gown. Hmmm... because I was hunting for my bridesmaid's gown. I wish my feet never brought me there because this gown is just so nice I cannot sleep yesterday and tonight, thinking about it still.  

And plus, I was slightly disappointed with the evening gown that Julia Wedding News has. All the gowns are so old and the designs are just so old-fashioned.

We spoke to Caroline the designer at Silhouette and really envy her. How I wish I could persue my interest in design too.  I suddenly have this urge to switch a profession and be a wedding gown designer. And I really should consider taking up a fashion design course in LaSalle since it is just beside my new home in Selegie.

I received my first wedding gift from my best friend, Huixian.  She made a really cute and sweet photo frame, which is really touching.

Didn't know I would get a handmade wedding gift, because I ain't the sweetie kind of friend...  am more the matter-of-fact and come-to-your-help friend but never really the sweet kind. So to receive such a sweet gesture is a pleasant surprise.

I decided and told Huixian this will be the wedding photo frame for Hanlim and me. We would place it at our Chijmes reception.  To show our appreciation!

And I am still very happy and facinated with this little photo frame. I love the little details like the gown and the handbag. I love the gigantic diamond ring most! Hahaha...

Over the weekend, Dardar and I went about completing some of our wedding task.  Including a final decision on which wedding band to buy.

We have decided on the Tiffany - Milgrain wedding band... but the actual thing is too expensive ... $1400 per ring. So we have decided to let our jeweller in BP de Silva (haha... which is just beside Tiffany) copy the rings at a much lower price.

This is what we call shitting in Tiffany's own backyard!

I managed to catch Lynn whom I was really close to way back when I was in Phillip Securities. She is, in fact, my lady boss back then  and we were like sisters.

Guess we drifted apart when I decided to not contact some of my poisonous  girlfriends, and she happens to be one of those in the list. By and by I get by really quite happily and going to gym / shopping / movies / quint restuarants with my other close friends make me realised how egoistic Lynn was and (sadly) I don't miss her.

Today, after months, she threw me curt replies and really is that same wilful friend she was. That makes me feel replusive against her again. The worse part was when she told me not to worry because she feels that I am friendly again closer to my wedding date in case she will forget.  

This comment makes me really angry , so much so that I have a good mind to write her off forever. I just felt a lot of bitterness in her and I am really upset with people like this: Why are they so difficult and don't know it?