After a week and a bit sitting on my parents' terrasse au soleil, I am now 100% relaxed and happy about the wedding.
We have great food, drinks, music, a bride and a groom - that's makes a good wedding already doesn't it? Anything else is a bonus, and I'm even going to try to stop thinking about the weather. The predictions are not good, but what's the point worrying about it, eh?
Right, back to the sunshine I go - at this rate I'll be the poppy at the wedding...
See you next weekend in *that* dress!
30 May 2009
18 May 2009
D-19, uh oh
Tonight I leave for France and I can't believe it has gone so fast. I have spent the last few weeks feeling tired, old, fat, stressed and I am now having a huge crisis of confidence... What if the wedding is rubbish? What if it rains? What if my family has a huge argument on the day?
Unfortunately it is exactly this sort of paranoia that leads to me drinking wine, which leads to me forgetting about the diet that was very much part of the to do list but never seemed to kick off, which leads me to feel low and self-loathing because I am 300kg heavier than I wanted to be, which leads me back to paranoia about the wedding.
I started this process almost a year ago not understanding why brides get so worked up about their wedding. I now completely understand, and in fact wonder why anyone bothers to go through with the whole thing in the first place. What a nightmare! I am sure organising the entire thing alone, on a tiny budget, and from the other side of the planet has not helped one bit, but I can see the obstacles even for the bride who is struggling with them on her own turf.
Let's see how I feel when's it's all over. I'm really looking forward to just getting there, finally, and enjoying one of the supposedly best days of my life. Then again Krusty has asked for there to be a room set up where he can nap during the day (yes, NAP...), so I'm not sure how stress free I'll be...
Hormone overload here I come!
Unfortunately it is exactly this sort of paranoia that leads to me drinking wine, which leads to me forgetting about the diet that was very much part of the to do list but never seemed to kick off, which leads me to feel low and self-loathing because I am 300kg heavier than I wanted to be, which leads me back to paranoia about the wedding.
I started this process almost a year ago not understanding why brides get so worked up about their wedding. I now completely understand, and in fact wonder why anyone bothers to go through with the whole thing in the first place. What a nightmare! I am sure organising the entire thing alone, on a tiny budget, and from the other side of the planet has not helped one bit, but I can see the obstacles even for the bride who is struggling with them on her own turf.
Let's see how I feel when's it's all over. I'm really looking forward to just getting there, finally, and enjoying one of the supposedly best days of my life. Then again Krusty has asked for there to be a room set up where he can nap during the day (yes, NAP...), so I'm not sure how stress free I'll be...
Hormone overload here I come!
13 April 2009
D-57 to D-54, joyeuses paques
I spent the beginning of the Easter holiday sulking about how we weren't travelling anywhere exotic, but it has turned out to be a great long weekend after all.
It began at trendy resto Duo on Thursday night, where we celebrated Celine's birthday and shamelessly took over her present of a wine scent kit to guess the smells ourselves. Each of the 45 vials have a distinct aroma that can be found in wine, and it's actually quite fun to try to find a smell without knowing what it is. Once you know the answer it seems obvious, but before then some of the guesses can be rather amusing. For example, Krusty thought that the vial of "toast" smelled like formaldehyde. Don't know where he's been having breakfast!
The next day we relaxed at home quietly for the first time in ages, and then made our way to the amazing frozen meat shop on Jervois Street to buy cheap but great quality lamb racks for the next day's bbq. We then went off to discuss grilling recipes with Paola and Ignacio over xiao long bao dumplings at Crystal Jade. Krusty, of course, had to go for a crazy order as usual (this time it was crispy eel) but apart from that the meal was great. It's a real tourist trap type of place, right in the middle of the ifc mall, but I still think their traditional Shanghainese dumplings (filled with a soup that explodes in your mouth when you bite down through the dumplings' skin) are the best in town.
On Saturday the food frenzy continued as Ignacio, Paola and John came over to share Moroccan lamb racks, tabbouleh, tzatziki and lemon cake – all home made. We rounded the day off with a documentary called Mondovino, about the wine industry, and slept with full minds and fuller bellies.
Krusty – who claims "not to be a cake person" – asked for a rerun of the lemon drizzle cake on Sunday, so I quickly granted his wish so that we could bring something to Lantau, where our friend Dominique had invited us to spend the day. Her family have had a long history with Hong Kong since 1945, and their house is just behind the Giant Buddha, in an old nunnery in the middle of a tea plantation. It was a fantastically colonial day, and we walked the six dogs through the private forest in our tea dresses with mugs of wine at hand. I can't believe this kind of place still exists, it's amazing. The government is actually trying to take some of the land back, as they are not being used to farm tea anymore and therefore can be taken back for agricultural purposes, but for now it's just extraordinarily peaceful. After the walk we feasted on roast chicken, played croquet on the lawn and jumped in the pool, shouting in our best rah rah voices and feeling all imperial. Very un-pc but oh so satisfying!
Having spent the evening playing charades around the fire, we just couldn't bring ourselves to travel the hour and a half back to Hong Kong Island, so we extended the fantasy until the next morning, when we had to go back to reality to meet Meko and Dave, who came over for lunch with baby Jayden.
Now they are gone, I am looking over the pile of washing up that Krusty has before him (only fair) and feeling smug and satisfied with the way we managed to spend our "staycation". And Krusty managed to limit his work and Blackberry usage to just two mornings out of four. Very smug indeed... Take a look why!
It began at trendy resto Duo on Thursday night, where we celebrated Celine's birthday and shamelessly took over her present of a wine scent kit to guess the smells ourselves. Each of the 45 vials have a distinct aroma that can be found in wine, and it's actually quite fun to try to find a smell without knowing what it is. Once you know the answer it seems obvious, but before then some of the guesses can be rather amusing. For example, Krusty thought that the vial of "toast" smelled like formaldehyde. Don't know where he's been having breakfast!
The next day we relaxed at home quietly for the first time in ages, and then made our way to the amazing frozen meat shop on Jervois Street to buy cheap but great quality lamb racks for the next day's bbq. We then went off to discuss grilling recipes with Paola and Ignacio over xiao long bao dumplings at Crystal Jade. Krusty, of course, had to go for a crazy order as usual (this time it was crispy eel) but apart from that the meal was great. It's a real tourist trap type of place, right in the middle of the ifc mall, but I still think their traditional Shanghainese dumplings (filled with a soup that explodes in your mouth when you bite down through the dumplings' skin) are the best in town.
On Saturday the food frenzy continued as Ignacio, Paola and John came over to share Moroccan lamb racks, tabbouleh, tzatziki and lemon cake – all home made. We rounded the day off with a documentary called Mondovino, about the wine industry, and slept with full minds and fuller bellies.
Krusty – who claims "not to be a cake person" – asked for a rerun of the lemon drizzle cake on Sunday, so I quickly granted his wish so that we could bring something to Lantau, where our friend Dominique had invited us to spend the day. Her family have had a long history with Hong Kong since 1945, and their house is just behind the Giant Buddha, in an old nunnery in the middle of a tea plantation. It was a fantastically colonial day, and we walked the six dogs through the private forest in our tea dresses with mugs of wine at hand. I can't believe this kind of place still exists, it's amazing. The government is actually trying to take some of the land back, as they are not being used to farm tea anymore and therefore can be taken back for agricultural purposes, but for now it's just extraordinarily peaceful. After the walk we feasted on roast chicken, played croquet on the lawn and jumped in the pool, shouting in our best rah rah voices and feeling all imperial. Very un-pc but oh so satisfying!
Having spent the evening playing charades around the fire, we just couldn't bring ourselves to travel the hour and a half back to Hong Kong Island, so we extended the fantasy until the next morning, when we had to go back to reality to meet Meko and Dave, who came over for lunch with baby Jayden.
Now they are gone, I am looking over the pile of washing up that Krusty has before him (only fair) and feeling smug and satisfied with the way we managed to spend our "staycation". And Krusty managed to limit his work and Blackberry usage to just two mornings out of four. Very smug indeed... Take a look why!
09 April 2009
D-58, fail
The shoes I am having made for the wedding weren't quite right, my professional printer is mocking me because the menus I want are too complicated to produce and the printer at home ran out of ink after just the first namecard I printed...
I sense Bridezilla is on her way to town...
I sense Bridezilla is on her way to town...
08 April 2009
D-59 15.27, pathetic
I snapped out of it, put my running shoes on and went for a run. As I saw myself run past the shop windows, I thought I looked really great, really pro, really fit.
1 minute and 30 seconds later and I was a sweaty, panting pig, missing only a spit roast to complete the disgusting picture.
I have been going to the gym this whole time thinking I was sporty spice, but when the ground isn't moving for me I can't even run for 10 minutes.
So. Pathetic.
1 minute and 30 seconds later and I was a sweaty, panting pig, missing only a spit roast to complete the disgusting picture.
I have been going to the gym this whole time thinking I was sporty spice, but when the ground isn't moving for me I can't even run for 10 minutes.
So. Pathetic.
D-62 to D-59, veg
I don't know if it's the rush and restlessness that came just before it, but my time off work has a distinct khaki-trouser-and-sweatshirt-hoodie tinge to it. I am having to find myself precise tasks to do outside the house just to stop myself from spending the whole day in my pyjamas.
Snap out of it lagitane.
Snap out of it lagitane.
04 April 2009
D-70 to D-63, this week in Hong Kong
Krusty's mate Andy (or Flipperhead as we like to call him, as he is on a worldwide diving tour of oceanic proportions) is in Hong Kong at the moment, and being a hostess has distracted me from my blogging duties.
Here, then, are two images that summarise the past week in the fragrant harbour - the first is a look at popular bar area Lan Kwai Fong on the Saturday night of the Sevens (the annual rugby fest that attracts hordes of men dressed as women, chickens, priests - you name it - and compels them to buy, drink and throw liters and liters of beer over three days) and the second is a scene of protest against the Bank of China, including the pithy comment "Mini skirt is skirt, mini bond is no bond". While Westerners booze it up in stadiums and break windows in London, the Chinese sit in orderly rows of silent protest.
Sorry for the camera phone quality.
More importantly though, Krusty's brother gets married today, and thanks to brilliant, brilliant modern technology, we are going to be able to watch it via webcam!!
Here, then, are two images that summarise the past week in the fragrant harbour - the first is a look at popular bar area Lan Kwai Fong on the Saturday night of the Sevens (the annual rugby fest that attracts hordes of men dressed as women, chickens, priests - you name it - and compels them to buy, drink and throw liters and liters of beer over three days) and the second is a scene of protest against the Bank of China, including the pithy comment "Mini skirt is skirt, mini bond is no bond". While Westerners booze it up in stadiums and break windows in London, the Chinese sit in orderly rows of silent protest.
Sorry for the camera phone quality.
More importantly though, Krusty's brother gets married today, and thanks to brilliant, brilliant modern technology, we are going to be able to watch it via webcam!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)