Changed da house,
Changed da look.
BTW, my bathrobe's usually pink
and we don't have a fireplace.
Other than that,
it's pretty accurate...
Psst...click the words above to navigate.
Best viewed, unfortunately, in Internet Explorer.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
~ Shopped and Thank You-ed out ~
When we decided not to go with a departmental store bridal registry, we thought we were doing everyone a favour. Not only did we not fancy subjecting everyone to buying $29 tea towels or something equally asinine, we also figured we like the option of buying the goods in a variety of places. You know, save the $29 for something else and get $2.90 tea towels instead. Or something.
After opening all the wedding presents though (refer to entry on 24 December next time, when I actually get around to writing it), we realise that we were indeed cash rich, but also chocked with vouchers from a selection of places which meant that Tony had to do what he loves least - shopping. And the thing about vouchers? They expire after a point.
We know we have about a 2 year grace period, but we were also keen to make use of the present post-Christmas sale and Tony's leave from work. Most of all, vouchers tend to create the blackhole where one holds onto them for dear life, waiting for the ultimate bargain to come along and then never really spending them.
We were keen to avoid that. So keen, that we've managed to spend almost all of them today. That roughly translates to about $650 worth of newlywed goodies. I have rarely gone on a spree the way we did today. It was oddly liberating, but rather unnerving. Even though everything was paid for in vouchers - which aren't even technically our money - we both felt the pinch, and I think Tony ached particularly. I just resorted to Ostrichism, and was determined not to compare prices once we bought something.
I have to say that I'm quite delighted with the spoils, though. Until I moved to Australia, I had never owned an electrical household item; never bought one with my money and cradled it and called my own. The epilator doesn't count. I'm talking Household Goods that scream HomeMaker, like electric grillers, Maxwell Williams stainless steel, 25-year guarantee dining cutlery, Good Crockery to entertain guests with... I'm talking multi-purpose pots with vegetable and pasta steamers, non-stick saucepans of various sizes to COOK with. I'm talking serious culinary weaponry like cleavers (still looking), cheese slicers, and metal sieves. I'm talking grown woman, things-only-my-mother-used-to-care-about, WIFE stuff. I can't believe I can get this excited over an electric griller.
That is, until I have to start writing the Thank You cards.
Tony and I have just finished the last of the Thank-You-For-Your-Help-With-Wedding-Preparations cards. Tonight, we embarked on the Thank-You-For-The-2nd-Set-of-Kaki-Coloured-Towels-We're-Not-Sure-What-To-Do-With headache. We've done about 25. We calculate that we've got another 32 to go. And we haven't even had the reception in Singapore yet, which has twice the number of guests we just had.
But, as wedding tasks go, this is one of the most important. We truly are thankful for the outpouring of love and affection and monies and goodwill and all things white and pretty and mushy. I think the chief reason we're determined to finish the thank you cards before the year ends, is our gratefulness that we turned out so loved.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
~ Mrs Velle Logs On ~
I'm presently in my now-familiar pink bathrobe, seated in front of my new husband's computer screen and making full opportunity of his unusually early retirement to bed to blog to what's left of my faithful audience.
Yes, we actually went and did it! We're now Dr and Mrs Tony H. No matter how many times people have winked and called us that, it still sounds rather foreign. But in a good way.
As silly questions go, there haven't been too many because we'd just floated back from our honeymoon. The most frequently asked rhetorical question has got to be, "SOooo... how's Married Life?" There can be very few intelligent and enlightening comebacks to that rather unfair question. Here's a few angles:
Honest >>>
We really can't say. We've only been married 1/2/3/4/5/6 days.
Brutally Honest >>>
We really can't say. We've only been married 1/2/3/4/5/6 days. That was a really dumb question. I can't believe you didn't think this through.
Honest and Helpful >>>
We really can't say. We've only been married 1/2/3/4/5/6 days, during which most of it was spent on a honeymoon, which frankly isn't accurate Married Life. Ask us again in 6 months when reality hits us.
Too Honest >>>
Being allowed to have nookie is GREAT!
Fairytale-fulfilling >>>
Wonderful. I couldn't have envisioned a better time. Tony's been the perfect husband.
(After which the question-asker is sure to snort in derision and privately think, "Yeah right. Give it 6 months when reality hits you, you poor naive newlywed...")
But I digress.
I'm not too sure how to start. I am aware, of course, that there has been a HUGE silence on my end, ever since I moved to Aileen's. So much has been happening then, the crux of the wedding blog should have really been a chronicle of the final few weeks before the wedding. HOWEVER, as previously discussed, I didn't have a steady internet connection, my worldly possessions laid strewn across two houses (and two continents, one might add) and it was hard to find the time and the solitude to conjure the day in pretty colours and convert to blog.
I think if I were to do a brain-dump on this entry, it'd be such a pain for all of us. So here's what I think I'll do: I'll try and back track between this entry, and my last one which was the 26th of November. Hopefully I'll be able to give a short but insightful (and hopefully accurate) rendition of the madness that was, and in that way I won't kick myself for never having a record of all this.
Meanwhile, here's a peek at the Wedding Ceremony on the 18th. Click on pic to get a closer look at stuff:
Middle: Demonstration on Proper Wedding Smooches. None of this demure peck-on-the-cheek rubbish.
Bottom: The Wedding Party (from left: Andrea, Gail, Me, Tony, Anthony Whalen), Tony and my mum
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
~ Honeymoon Day 3 ~
Getting A Tan - it was too good an opportunity to pass up. After listening to the waves crash below us melodically for two days, we decided to get a reasonable tan at the beach.
I don't know how much sunscreen Tony slathered on himself, but he took about 3 times longer than I did, which turned out to be the wiser move of course because I came back to Canberra with my back peeling in parts. I was so eager to change my pasty white flesh into something golden and respectable and SOUTHEAST ASIAN that I didn't even bother to ask the new husband to do the honours of rubbing sunscreen onto my back. I really should have. Because I couldn't see what I was doing, the distribution of sunscreen (SPF 60!) was more uneven than I had imagined. and I swear I now have white finger marks on my shoulder blade where the sunscreen used to be. I HAVE A STUPID TAN, dammit.
Made up for it by donning a nice creamy white number and going to a chi-chi seafood restaurant later that night.
Basil's is a modest hole in the wall and took us 45 minutes (with me navigating) to get there from Waringah. I was informed however that it was voted one of the best seafood restaurants in Sydney, where the likes of the CEO of McDonalds Australia dine. (Steve and Della-Lee have since become such frequent fine diners there, that they now occupy said CEO's special guest box.) It's the kind of place where Basil himself comes out and greets you personally, where you are escorted to your seat by non-local waiters whose pastimes include golfing, and a tray of the day's appetisers, then main courses, then desserts are shown to you and carefully explained in brisk, thick accents and very rolled Rs.
I ended up with a tuna steak and Tony had a sea bass, but the appetisers and the desserts were gorgeous. We had something like fresh oysters with this crab-lobster-butter-something melted and half-baked over it, and to-die-for shellfish (I really forget which one) in this garlic cream sauce that just made my tonsils sing.
All we have left is a pic of the dessert, and I can't remember what we ate (I'm writing this a whole month after we had this meal), but do believe me when I say it was the food of kings.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
~ Honeymoon Day 2 ~
Took the Manly Ferry to Circular Quay and then a train to Central Station. I remember eating at a pretty good Japanese restaurant near Paddy's market once with my mother in April 2003, and she had the most succulent cod fish I'd ever sunk my teeth into. I'd been hankering for real seafood for a while now (Canberra's prawns are expensive and very dead) so just the thought of placing a tender, white sliver of cod on my lips was enough for me to go weak in the knees with want.
Not usually an intuitive person with geography, I was very very impressed with myself when I actually found the restaurant, which was facing Paddy's Market en route to Darling Harbour. Got there, grabbed the menu...
No cod fish.
Still, the salmon was heavenly - thick, cold, juicy, FRESH - and we ate with relish. It was a fancy teppanyaki restaurant, with the chef in the centre that does the fancy stunts. The first time he stripped the prawn bare with his frying slice in 3 seconds, I could feel something akin to reverance emanating from Tony.
The rest of the day was spent idly walking around and soaking the atmosphere, really. I knew Tony would keel over from boredom if we went shopping, so I refrained - very restraint of me, considering I've been absolutely deprived of decent shopping for a whole year. I think I was just content to be within smelling distance of a decent mall strip. I know one day I'll burst and have to go shopping for shoes like the wives of many men who have advised to Tony on the ways of women prior to our marriage. But that will happen when I get back into the workforce and I can justify the excursion on having to shop for the office.
Last few stops included Tony running into JB Hi-Fi to get me a Christmas present while I stood outside a Collector's toy shop and pretended not to notice, and just having coffee/hot chocolate at the harbour while waiting for the next ferry to arrive.
Monday, December 20, 2004
~ Honeymoon Day 1 ~
We departed Canberra for Sydney in the late morning. Fantastic weather, all around. The car didn't smack of whip cream deodorant anymore, although the windows were still looking a tad mucky even after a wipe over with hot water.
Shan't bore you with details of the car trip.
A background of our honeymoon venue: quite simply, we were going to housesit for a couple from the church in Waringah, who live next to the beach. My first impression of the apartment block was that it felt a little like a beach-side chalet meet walk-up apartments. Lugging our stuff up to the top floor wasn't fun by any means. But once I got in, whoa...
Bob and Lynne have managed to strike the delicate balance between subtle glamour and modern cosiness. There wasn't anything not to like. Soft, sand-coloured carpet with parquet floor, beige-brown furniture and a gorgeous mix of velvet, cool cotton and wood, the house was true to its beachy location, yet did without the flashy surf culture that would plague a beach such as Manly.
In the days to come, we were lulled to sleep by the crashing waves, and woke up to the lapping of water. Gorgeous. In some ways more luxurious than a hotel room we could never afford, I was convinced we got it real good, as far as a honeymoon venue was concerned.
Breathtaking seaside view from the apartments.
Don't believe me? Here's evidence of the balcony I'm taking these pics from.
Manly Beach at night
We spent the rest of the afternoon settling in, lolling about, and opening wedding presents. Once the growling began, we took a stroll across the white sands below and along the countless eateries that line the beach and face the waves. Finally, we settled on a pizzateria whose name eludes me at the moment, and I tell you... one of the best seafood pizzas to ever grace my mouth.
The rest of the evening was spent doing surprisingly mundane things, like shopping at Coles in case we didn't feel like dining out in the coming days. But overall, it was very satisfactory. After the craziness and the adrenaline of the wedding - pre and post-production - the permission to sit perfectly still and listen to the waves was a haven like no other.
Friday, December 10, 2004
~ Shock Horror ~
Up till today, wedding preparations had been pret-ty uneventful. As far as Tony and I were concerned, we were right on schedule with most things; the wedding decor was on its way over as of this morning along with his parents, my mother and Audrey had arrived, the guest list for the reception has been finalised, the general invitation to the rest of the 2 congregations had been released via email, the church newsletter, a hardcopy on the notice board and by word of mouth.
So my heart kinda sank to my knees when I decided to hike over to New Parliament House with Marcus, my mother and Audrey to show off the gardens, only to find that the blossoms had been obliterated, straw or some mulch thing was all they bothered to replace the beds with, and all that stood as explanation was an officious looking sign which read "Due to Stage 2 Water Restrictions in the ACT, there will be no annual Summer display."
By the time reality sank in, I was uuuuupset. This photo with Marcus? Taken about 5 minutes before the waterworks started. I've always considered myself to be a pretty flexible bride. No Chinese Banquet? All the better. No grand engagement party? No great loss. Tony not going to get harassed by the jie-mei early in the morning when he comes to get me? There's always Singapore. Veil full of holes and yellowing? We could always borrow. Father not in the loop about the wedding? Can't help that one.
Stripped-nekkid garden on wedding day? Crap, woe, and doom.
Tony, Towering Bulwark of Strength, Ever-Masterful Taskmeister and overall Practical Fellow got on the phone to the Old Parliament House (as opposed to the wretched New Parliament House in charge of these bald bulbs, who didn't even have the decency to warn me about the gardens when I called them twice last week). The next thing I know, he's over at Aileen's place for dinner, and then he takes all of us out on a car ride so we can recce some of the possible sites at the Old Parliament House which, incidentally, just refurbished their rose gardens and officially opened them to the public on the 2nd of this month.
One thing's for sure; as much as we realise that the wedding can still go ahead with the ceremony in the Eastern Formal Bald Gardens, we were determined now not to hold it there if at all possible.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
~ Power Marcus ~
My reunion with Marcus was first conducted over email. I can't remember if it was a result of Friendster, or word of mouth that I was getting hitched in Australia. The details aren't important I suppose. After we made contact, Marcus was determined that we should meet up... and if Mohammed won't come to the mountain, yada yada...
Next thing I know, he was on a plane from Melbourne to Canberra, and we were all blessed with 36 hours of his time and good company.
Most of what I remember include the many games of Rummykub, and shouts of laughter from who-remembers-now. I think he paid his Touristy Dues at the National Museum, and of course there was the disastrous trip to the bald gardens (refer to entry on the 10th). Marcus has always been a great ball of energy and fun - and he's an absolute sweetheart as well.
Below are pics of breakfast together at Pancake Parlour the next morning. Now, you have to understand that these are no ordinary pancakes, mind you... they can come chock full with potatos and fish, or come with the eggs done anyway you want, with the biggest helping of super-lean bacon you've ever had. If that isn't your cup of tea, the pancakes can come with ice cream, homemade chocolate fudge and bananas as well. Suffice to say, I think this was one of the more memorable outings they had:
Saturday, December 04, 2004
~ The Other Wedding ~
What I remember of this Saturday was running off to Fyshwick with Tony in the morning prior to the wedding, to get some vouchers as Thank You gifts from Canberra's Biggest Christian bookshop. (Very ironic, considering Fyshwick is Porn Destination).
I remember Penny coming up to Tony and I, and saying something rather random, about 'taking notes of other people's weddings and making mental notes to self like, "That's a good idea! We'll steal that!" or "Nope. Tacky, tacky, tacky..." And as much as we tried NOT to do that at Kate and Mark's, invariably the comparisons of our plans to their format came up now and then.
Invariably also, a combination of the following comments were directed at us, the Next Bridal Couple on the list:
"Oooh... You're NEXT, you two!"
"TWO WEEKS TO GO!"
"So, nervous/excited/organised for the wedding yet?"
And my favourite:
"Taking notes from this wedding for yours?"
"No."
(pause)
"Oh. Okay."
I think the ultimate conclusion we came to, was that the 2 weddings, though very close in date, were going to be very different in delivery on some aspects. To each her own. I think each wedding is always unique, no matter HOW borrowed from Martha Stewart. Having said that, I also staunchly believe that when all is said and done, there is never a completely original wedding.
