Our Lil Paradise

[RimBlock 0]

Yeah, I get teased almost daily... today the joke was how come this vietnamese bride speaks such good English. I feel sorta guilty that I spend so much time (& $) on my reno/furnitures and none on my ROM/wedding.

Financially you are much better off spending the cash on your property than on the wedding as the wedding will come and go and if you are lucky you will have some good memories and some nice photos.

Saying that, I was aghast when my ex (Taiwanese living in New York) suggested that for marriage we should just get the legal requirements out the way in citihall (ie. the US town hall) and nothing else . Financially it makes sense but there has to be a little romance, surely....

RB

[adidaem 6]

Hmm... dunno... I normally shy away from the camera... guess no choice during weddings plus I think having loads of 'warpaint' on helps.

9 years ago? OMG Sleek that is young! As in I mean a young bride. And nice to be captured for posterity in the prime of your youth huh? I feel like a terribly old bride-to-be TBH.

what has wedding photos gotta do with having or not having a wedding la??!?! mutually exclusive, i say 150% go for the photos. people having babies, dogs or even a fling are taking photo packages to document memories, what more for a wedding which is a once in a lifetime thing. i had a photographer do some journalistic style photography wedding photos which was quite a new thing way back when i got married 9 years ago, lol yah married long time liao okay, too deep into aunty-dom

i think csingeu is resigned to us women hijacking his thread liao, lol

Oh sounds lovely Ely! Can I see your wedding pics when they are ready?

Poor csingeu indeed. Maybe we should move the discussion to either of our T-Blogs instead so he can continue his reno discussion?

Let me brush the dust off my list of atas photographer names...

I agree, sleek. Adi, I was going to get some pictures done by Eric Er (quite a veteran in the photography business) when I first hit 30 (Saturn Returns and all that~) but in the end was too shy to do so. Having photography in lovely white gowns has nothing to do with the wedding. The dinner is more for the family and parents; the pictures are for us Sometimes I wish I married younger so at least I'd be captured in "my prime"~

We're having an old-skool photographer as the 3rd photographer on the actual day - completely black and white photo-journalistic style in FILM and developed by himself. He's a personal friend so we're grateful for his offer.

Adi, I don't think it's sick at all! How is it perverse for us to secretly yearn to look perfectly airbrushed in a gorgeous Vera Wang gown, looking whimsical and thoughtful at a gorgeous handheld bouquet of peonies?

My only brief to the chief photographer (also part of that secret photographer list) is nothing cutesy or gimmicky or happy and cheery. Yes, he did give me a strange look when I said that, and insisted there should be *some* shots of me smiling at least~ I then tried to negotiate how many full-frontal face shots I should have (read: none) ! I really pity my photographer, I'm going to be extremely difficult to work with since I go spastic every time a camera is pointed in my direction. We're hoping some wine prior to each shoot would help, and perhaps, I'll be Vogue-ing my way through the clicking.

We had a simple sit-down lunch for ROM - nothing too fancy, only for immediate family, held at garden-themed Halia in my eBay buys: white satin BCBG dress, Vivienne Westwood chunky pearl bracelet, green satin heels

Don't have to feel guilty Adi - just do it as simple as you wish, and have your photographs too! I never understood the saying "having your cake and eating it too" - if I have cake, I'm definitely eating it, wth?

- Ely

P.S. Poor csingeu

Ha! I'm having mine done at a steel factory, complete with workers doing welding works and containers and I'm trying to negotiate being on a forklift ! The designer is simultaneously aghast at the prospect of oil stains and the novelty of the idea! It's not just to be different - the factory has personal meaning for us, and I bet it would delight and surprise many of the guests at the dinner I also plan another shoot at luxury boutiques at Sands or Orchard (hellooooooo Chanel!) - I think this captures Singapore more accurately than standing on break-waters at man-made beaches Still a long way to go yet so I anticipate more changes to be made

- Ely

Hmm... it's just too stressful to plan for my wedding AND renovate the house at the same time. If you guess how much COV I paid and I suppose can guess at the amount I'm spending on reno n furnishings... you'll understand why. Plus I'm just as picky about gowns n ballrooms/restaurants/photographers as I am about furnitures and appliances.

Not to mention that I just changed my job too.

Financially you are much better off spending the cash on your property than on the wedding as the wedding will come and go and if you are lucky you will have some good memories and some nice photos.

Saying that, I was aghast when my ex (Taiwanese living in New York) suggested that for marriage we should just get the legal requirements out the way in citihall (ie. the US town hall) and nothing else . Financially it makes sense but there has to be a little romance, surely....

RB

I know it's just one day, but I do not want to regret when I'm even older n more wrinkled that I did not have a proper wedding or take some nice pics when I was younger.

Think it also stems from the fact that I think I'm too fat now to look good in a gown. Need to go on some major weight loss/exercise routine/beautification routine.

Think I'm starting to sound like a bridezilla, how scary is that???

[marshmallow 0]

But in a sick way, I actually want to take some wedding pics... I even have a secret shortlist of wedding photographers that I like... can't imagine how to get those pics unless I have a wedding, but then I don't want to have a wedding. Haiz, contradiction, I know.

hey what's wrong with taking some nice wedding pics for memory's sake? just that i disagree with spending an excess amount on it well u can still take up photography-only package if there is no wedding dinner. this kind of package is quite affordable...

Agree with the photography. People should just book a session any time just to take pictures with hubby or family. Have a second wedding package but just take the photography as it may be cheaper than just paying for portrait photography. I really wanted to go to Keppel container docks and have some pics by the cranes with the wedding attire but the photographers just looked at me funny.

RB

my friends (a couple that work as designers) really had their wedding photos taken in some construction sites with containers in background. the photos look great!

[RimBlock 0]

I know it's just one day, but I do not want to regret when I'm even older n more wrinkled that I did not have a proper wedding or take some nice pics when I was younger.

Yes agreed but what I think people, including myself, are saying is that proper doesn't need to be super expensive. If, to you, proper means a couple of hundred people at a big banquet then that is fine but now days it seems a lot of people do not 'need' this sort of massive glitzy affair and would rather save the money for a once in a lifetime honeymoon or as an investment in their future (property, investments etc). Bottom line of course is that it is your day and your money so do what makes the two of you happy .

Think it also stems from the fact that I think I'm too fat now to look good in a gown. Need to go on some major weight loss/exercise routine/beautification routine.

So do something about it. I have lots of time for those who see something they don't like and try to change it. Unfortunately too many people moan about not liking this and that but refuse to do anything about it stating that they "will start tomorrow" or "it's just too hard". Weight loss is a hard process but the rewards can be great if someone sticks to it both in health regards and in self image. I have first hand experience of this going from 20Kg overweight (based on BMI recommended which is flawed but will do as an example) to about 5Kg over but have bounced back up to a very embarrassing weight again. The worst is that being tall I can wear it quite well until it becomes very obvious and then it takes a long time to get it sorted out.

Please try to stay away from the crash diets are they are really not very good for you and in order to loose the weight and keep it off you need to understand the changes in your body that happen as you get older and adjust for them. With a decent diet and some regular exercise, you will not need to totally cut out the fun extravagant foods as you will be able to tune your body to burn it all off. Diets involving carb blockers are likely to see you loose great amounts of weight and then put it all back on and find it even harder to loose later if your diet and exercise has not significantly improved. Loosing weight is not just about diet, you need to get the exercise too but that doesn't mean you have to join a gym.

If anyone is serious about wanting to loose some weight, either a little or a lot, then just PM me or whatsapp me or reply and I am very happy to help steer them in the right direction that doesn't involve drugs or crash diets, just healthy food, a reasonable exercise plan and suggestions / encouragement on how to maintain the momentum and keep it all going.

RB

[potatoes 0]

Wah Csingeu, I have not visited your blog lately.... Thx for allowing us to visit your place. U have given good ideas for my coming reno. Now, reno is amlost over for u, now planning for wedding ... Wish you have a smooth marriage.

Edited June 15, 2011 by potatoes

[csingeu 0]

Updates! (Day 74 - 16 Jun 2011)

After a few days of "wedding talk", which I was just "listening" in to, but not contributing much...

Just some quick sharing + thoughts...

We did our ROM ceremony some time end-Feb this yr, at House @ Dempsy (venue was chosen & decided by my wife)... the ROM date was our anniversary date... which is very gd for "lazy", "forgetful", and mostly "bo-chup" guy like me...

It was a simple lunch and saying of vows (which was in Chinese, and we almost fainted)... The JP was asking whether we wanted it in Chinese or English... thinking that both our mums don't understand English, we thought it might be gd to at least have the intro in Chinese... but i guess it was some miscomm... the whole procedure was done in Chinese... and I missed the chance to say "I will" and "I do"... but had to listen very hard at what was being asked... and answered... "我会" and "我愿意"...

yes... followed by a simple lunch with 12 other immediate family members, close relatives & some friends.

Our customary wedding lunch will be next year... some time in March though...

given a choice, I rather skip the traditional chinese wedding dinner thing...

but like many has mentioned, it's more for the parents... and their "face"...

in fact, I will be having 2 wedding dinner/lunch...

one will be near CNY, in which we'll be in Msia to host the relatives from my dad's family...

while the one in SG (in March), will be for my wife's family and our friends...

oh well...

as for the bridal package for photography, etc... we are sourcing now (though not too actively)... but we don't intend to spend too much too... We sort of agreed not taking any... is not a gd idea... but we should not be "lured to the dark side" and pay thru our noses... so maybe a basic package... and given that nowadays wedding photography cum travel package is quite popular... we might just go that route...

i'm "mr boring" and i like "cookie-cutter style"... i like to lie low and blend in the background... and not be centre of attention... i tend to shy away from the limelight...

somehow, i got a feeling, my wife is the complete opposite of me... i guess maybe that's why we are "attracted" to each other... opposites attract... LOL...

you shall see how she's going to "ruin" "accessorize" our new place, with dashes of colours... (though i pretty much prefer them subtle, soothing and neutral...)

anyway, back to the house renovation topic...

the kitchen solid surface top and the laundry system was done last Sat...

Installing the laundry system!

This contractor is a pretty nice chap. Very friendly and responsible too. he did share with us some tips on maintaining the system and to prevent mis-use, etc...

And it's done...

my after-thoughts abt this is that...

whether i should have installed it parallel to the kitchen windows instead...

and also after learning that my friend has gotten a pulley-type laundry system, which is using steel cable and gears... while mine is a nylon string and some plastic gearbox thingy...

my mum commented it's a potential hazard... (and it seems like she's complaining about everything in the house... zzz)

Kitchen solid surface top

working on sealing the joint ends of the solid surface pieces... and the results after that...

we initially chose "iceberg"... but the off-whitish, light greyish particle pattern... seems a little off-ish... it looks like it's not clean... and there's like smudges of dirt ard...

so we decided to be really boring... and gotten the normal white kind... at least it's "timeless" (or that's how we "self-consoled")

personally, i thought friends78's one was quite nice... it's white but with some bit of sparkle here and there... and everywhere...

anyway, the piece of wall on the left side of the kitchen entrance... seems like a gd place to hang some interesting piece... one of the tracklights is in fact pointing at it...

if i had my way, i would put some zen-like buddha face wooden craving or painting...

but i think my wife has something else in mind... bleahz...

[csingeu 0]

Updates! (Day 74 - 16 Jun 2011)

Solid surface top for common bathroom

Solid surface top for MBR bathroom

previously, it was already installed; but the washbasins were placed too far in... and the holes were cut... so they took it back to the factory.. and had just replaced it, either ytd, or today.

we kept our original choice of "iceberg" for this one... maybe we should have changed it to plain white too... to be consistent...

Mirrors

we were arranging for the plumbers to come fix the bathroom accessories tomorrow, once the solid surface top are done...

and one of the last few items to be fixed were the mirrors... and i insisted that we wait til the solid surface top was done, so that we can do a better measurement and agar-ation of the size required.

And we went down to IKEA ytd to buy our 3 mirrors... (not too sure of IKEA's mirror quality though).

the left one is for the wash area on level 1... it's the Fullen mirror

IKEA FULLEN Mirror with shelf

Measures 50cm (W) x 60cm (H) at $19... and comes with a 14 tempered glass shelf... I couldn't ask for more... it's like the perfect fit for the area, at a very low price... not sure abt quality though...

the middle one is for the MBR and the right one is for the common bathroom.

both are from the GODMORGON series

MBR bathroom: 80cm (W) x 96cm (H) at $55

Common bathroom: 70cm (W) x 96cm (H) at $49

[csingeu 0]

Washing machine

Electrolux EWF 8586

Specifications

8kg front-load WM at $990...

my wife's still pinning for a front-load WM... after so many yrs of using top-load at our own parents' place... finally we can have our own place and make our own choice abt electrical appliances and stuffs... she just cannot forgo the chance of not trying out a front-load WM...

but that's like a almost double the price of the Hitachi 9.5kg top-load we were going to buy...

Our first choice for front-load was actually the Samsung WD8804... but apparently it's discontinued...

and the shop-owner was recommending us to get either bosch or electrolux for front-load...

my boss at work is using electrolux... and after reading some other gd reviews on electrolux WM online... we decided to just get that... without doing much research... i hope it's a gd choice though.

Aircon problem

earlier, i mentioned abt my new Panasonic aircon system not being cold... and in fact, last weekend, when i was over at my place with my wife to do the "coolness" test... it was totally not working... it was either the compressor was faulty, or the refrigerant gas leaked... coz there was no air blowing out from 2 of the other rooms... and for the MBR, it was only normal air...

called up Aron and arranged for his guys to come down to inspect today... and it was confirmed that there was a leak in the cooling coil of one of the unit in the guest bedrooms..

i was half-suspecting it, coz that day, after the installation was done, i was testing the aircon... and even though, they were all switched off... i could hear a faint hissing sound from one of the units... i thought it was normal behaviour of new aircon... so i didn't bother much...

my dad, who was helping me to oversee the "repairs" today, mentioned that they had recharged the gas and fixed the problem... i have not tested it yet... will do so over the weekend...

my mum was like saying, now that the new compressor has all the refrigerant gas leaked and re-filled... would it be totally "refilled"?

hmmmm...

oh well...

[sleek 2]

Updates! (Day 74 - 16 Jun 2011)

previously, it was already installed; but the washbasins were placed too far in... and the holes were cut... so they took it back to the factory.. and had just replaced it, either ytd, or today.

we kept our original choice of "iceberg" for this one... maybe we should have changed it to plain white too... to be consistent...

Mirrors

we were arranging for the plumbers to come fix the bathroom accessories tomorrow, once the solid surface top are done...

and one of the last few items to be fixed were the mirrors... and i insisted that we wait til the solid surface top was done, so that we can do a better measurement and agar-ation of the size required.

And we went down to IKEA ytd to buy our 3 mirrors... (not too sure of IKEA's mirror quality though).

the left one is for the wash area on level 1... it's the Fullen mirror

IKEA FULLEN Mirror with shelf

Measures 50cm (W) x 60cm (H) at $19... and comes with a 14 tempered glass shelf... I couldn't ask for more... it's like the perfect fit for the area, at a very low price... not sure abt quality though...

the middle one is for the MBR and the right one is for the common bathroom.

both are from the GODMORGON series

MBR bathroom: 80cm (W) x 96cm (H) at $55

Common bathroom: 70cm (W) x 96cm (H) at $49

always nice to see progress photos. And surprisingly ikea mirrors are quite good for the pricepoint. I've been using a normal ikea mirror for years in my bathroom, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/15302600 - similar to this type but with wavy sides, low maintenance and easy to clean with just some soap and water. Of course the edges do corrode but it's acceptable for the price tag and easily changed too.

[footprint 0]

u manage to get this (IKEA FULLEN Mirror with shelf)!

i went a few times and it was oos...

good buy, for the price. hee.

btw, nice kitchen, esp all solid top is up!

next pending photos of kitchen when all "accessories" are in.

[Soichiro 0]

Things looking good bro!

I have the same Godmorgan mirrors from IKEA too, big as **** and brightens up the bathroom very well.

How much was your laundry system? I'm looking for one, may do pulley instead also, coz the length is very short and not suitable to remove the bamboo poles.

[Ely1 0]

Things looking good bro!

I have the same Godmorgan mirrors from IKEA too, big as **** and brightens up the bathroom very well.

How much was your laundry system? I'm looking for one, may do pulley instead also, coz the length is very short and not suitable to remove the bamboo poles.

I love how Ikea names their products It actually means "Good morning" so pretty apt for a mirror to greet you after you just rubbed the sleep from your eyes Ikea is one of my Happy Places, I love looking at the product names and having a chuckle to myself.

My laundry system is pretty similar to yours, except mine looks bulkier hmm. Can't help with price, Soichiro, sorry - we had it custom made to our wall length and in white/silver to match the laundry. Will have pics of mine soon.

Great progress, csingeu! Coming along very nicely indeed. I'm sure whatever your wife picks will be gorgeous

- Ely

[csingeu 0]

D-a-m-n... The plumber broke my biggest mirror for the MBR bathroom... Argh... Have to go down an get it tmr morning from IKEA again...

>_<

[marshmallow 0]

bro did you get the laundry system at the same place as me?

D-a-m-n... The plumber broke my biggest mirror for the MBR bathroom... Argh... Have to go down an get it tmr morning from IKEA again...

>_<

oh dear will they pay you back for the damage?

[adidaem 6]

So sorry to hear about the mirror accident. Hope you manage to find the stock at Ikea.

The reno seems to be progressing well. Any firm move-in dates fixed?