tell me about it

I thee wed.

We’re custom making our wedding bands with a friend of ours whose family business is gold and jewels. What an exciting friend to have :D We’re planning on having matching bands of 18k matte white gold, with teensy diamonds set into the bands.

Should we go with a square-cut diamond?

Source

Or should we go with baguette cut?

Source

C likes the square. Initially, I did too – but now the baguette cut is starting to grow on me.

Which do you like?

My aunt and cousin are here for J’s wedding and they brought my packages with them!

Joy!

I bought myself an extravagant present today.

My engagement ring obviously supersedes my independence ring, and I went into Citigems today to trade in my independence bling for something else.

Lacking a pair of nice diamond studs, I traded in the ring for a pair of matched four-prong set solitaire earrings, both of equal size to my independence diamond, and only had to top up $182 for it.

Sparklies!

It shall be an early birthday present to myself – this year is a lovely year for early presents, seeing how C bought me a lower grandstand ticket to watch my Pool boys play!

from lylasweetheart on etsy

Planning to DIY one of these for the wedding! I might do a matching two-strand necklace, or alternatively Mom has a single-strand pearl necklace that could be the “borrowed” item from the old proverbial wisdom.

This is my inspiration:

from luxedeluxe on etsy

I’ve got a set of pearl earrings already, from Chalone, and Fleurettejo has kindly thrown in a pair of her luscious fleurette pearl earrings with the custom pieces, so I’ve got two pairs of earrings to match and choose from. I’ve had a recent thing for pearls :)

from fleurettejo on etsy

Time’s a tickin’!

Oh – one more thing – Chupes, are you stalking my blog? Own up!

Tscd! Guess who I bumped into today in Wheelock?

Fleurettejo!

Out with her daughter!

We beamed at each other and said hi and her extremely adorable baby squirmed away from my enthusiastic greeting! It was…(for lack of a better word) exciting to serendipitously meet someone that I only know online.

So, tscd…I wonder if I’ve ever bumped into you? You know what I look like ;) If you ever do see me…please say hello :)

I’m downright proud about getting married on a tight budget. I’m upfront when people ask about the honeymoon – “Oh,” I reply, “we haven’t really thought about that yet. We’ve spent most of our money on the wedding and the house. We’ll see.” And then I almost always catch that flicker of uncertainty on the other person’s face, the hesitation when they say, “Oh…oh, well, that’s nice,” but they don’t mean it, and they hastily change the subject because they perceive it to be an embarrassing topic.

Balls. I find no shame in declaring that we are finding all ways and means to have our dream wedding without splashing out. We don’t have the money to splash out. Our 15k COV means that our wedding budget has to be nominal – and really, for all I adore weddings and want my own to be absolutely dreamy, the scrooge part of me just cannot justify spending tens of thousands of dollars on five hours of one day, when I would much rather invest that money in the rest of our life together. I’m not embarrassed to declare that so far, we have kept our wedding ceremony budget as low as we can – half of it is catering, and a quarter is our wedding rings, and the rest is everything else. How’s that for a budget!

It’s not just that we’re simple folks. It’s that we simply do not have the financial wherewithal to make it a big, fussy event. Come on – of course if I were rolling in money I would love to have fresh peonies, and a garden reception, and a mermaid gown from Monique Lhullier – but you know, I think gerberas and Dunman Hall and my lovely rental gown will do just fine. I’m DIY-ing much of my own stuff because 1) I don’t like having what everyone else has, and 2) I cannot reconcile forking out $120 for a wedding guestbook when I’d rather make something that has more personality, more pep, and costs $20. Seriously.

So you can take your pity, and your snide remarks about our “cheapness”, and your dubiousness, and you can just shove it where the sun don’t shine. We’re a young couple just starting out – did you expect us to be rolling in cash? We’re not just doing this to save money – we don’t have the money at all. We’re just praying hard that the generosity of our guests can help cover our costs so that we can find some money left over to furnish our house. And if we don’t? Well then, we’ll furnish slowly, and we’ll find pieces to add to our place as the years go by. And that’s no skin off our noses but yours.

Because I’d rather be a poor churchmouse, just as we grew up appreciating the value of money. Thank God we’re poor. Because we’re able to thoroughly appreciate what we have.

Although it’s been tough for me lately with all the buzz, I guess what I do love is that we’re really doing this all by ourselves, and we’re keeping to our insanely, INSANELY low budget! And at the end of the day, it’s about independence, and taking ownership of our own wedding, and because our marriage is so much more important than our wedding, I’m glad we’re doing this our way :)

Lately I’ve had my mind on veils – I’m having my second fitting on June 10, so I can try on the veils and such and see what matches my dress. Right now I’m desperately in love with birdcage veils – but at the same time I can’t let go of the fantasy of the unveiling part of the ceremony where C lifts my veil to kiss me after we’re pronounced man and wife.

*beams*

So I can’t decide what I should pick!

Birdcage veil by Trendygirl480 on etsy

Ivory birdcage veil on etsy

Cage-cap veil by Velvetowl on etsy. This is what it looks like worn as a cage-cap…

Don’t they look chic and sassy and updated? The hair accessory I’m custom-making with Jo from fleurettejo isn’t quite as exciting and fussy as the ones shown here – but I like going the simple route. I don’t quite like the thought of drop veils because, well, they look old-fashioned and fussy and a bit…dated. But that veil flipping fantasy! Mawr.

22 inch veil by Simplebridalveils on etsy

The thing is I don’t even know if my gown supplier has a birdcage veil available. So if I do go with the birdcage or the cage-cap veil, I will end up having to DIY my own. A fun prospect, really, except for the fact that I will need to hunt down some French netting and I’m not sure if I can find that in Arab Street.

The DIY part of my wedding prep is coming up soon – my guestbook, angpow box, ring pillow and possibly birdcage veil will be done by my sister and I. The favors are also going to be designed by C!

Kop grandstand sold out in a day.

We’re aiming for lower grandstand tickets now, on the VIP side. No free scarf but at least we get the shelter…heh.

GERRARD, BABY, UP CLOSE!

:D

I had my first wedding nightmare last night. I suppose this is some sort of milestone – instead of waking up panicked I was rather amused that my fevered brain was producing this sort of subconscious signal that I’m worried about the wedding.

So I dreamt that for some reason we were having the solemnization on Friday evening, the church wedding on Saturday, and the wedding lunch on Sunday. And I turned up Friday evening all ready for it. I supervised the caterer as he set up. And then, I realized they’d printed the wrong names on the menu. Horrified, I alerted the caterer who checked his books, and as I peered over his shoulder I saw that our entry was actually for Saturday’s catering, and realized that I’d completely forgotten to order a catered buffet for Friday as well! The buffet the guy was setting up was actually for someone else!

Minutes later as I mentally reshuffled plans and wondered if I should just hide the menus and pretend that the buffet belonged to us, my sister came up to me and told me I had to go change, because the ceremony would start in about fifteen minutes.

And then I realized I’d forgotten to bring my gown. I looked at my watch, debated rushing home to collect it, debated wearing my quite presentable white top and jeans for the ceremony, and felt quite like everything was falling apart in my lap.

Then I woke up and laughed at myself. My subconscious must be continually running through the list of things I have to do. Which reminds me – I need to settle Joel’s wedding stuff too. 2 weeks to that one!

Mushroom Stroganoff (and keep it off!)

* 1 package fettucini-style Shirataki noodles, drained
* 1 can condensed, reduced-sodium light cream of mushroom soup
* 1 package mushrooms, sliced (I like crimini or portobello style best)
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 2 diced chicken breasts, or 1 package faux chicken strips (unbreaded).
* Salt, pepper, red pepper to taste
* A few splashes skim milk or unsweetened soy milk
* 1 splash soy sauce

Warm olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add chicken and mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook until browned lightly. Add Shirataki noodles and soy sauce and cook for a moment, to let the noodles absorb the liquid. Then slowly add the cream of mushroom soup. This part is all a matter of taste – how soupy/creamy do you want it? Once you’ve added enough, splash in a few hits of milk to thin it a bit and let come to a simmer or warm through. Check for seasonings, add red pepper for kick if you like, and enjoy!

You could try this one with beef, or no meat at all. Experiment with adding other vegetables, like spinach or kale, or diced peppers.

Diet Coke Chicken (yes, Diet Coke) with CauliMash

* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or fake chicken breasts or strips)
* 1 can diet coke
* 1 cup ketchup
* 1 sweet onion, sliced thinly
* 1 tsp. olive oil
* 1 head cauliflower, or bagged frozen florets
* Butter or butter substitute
* 1/2 c. soy milk or skim milk
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Red pepper (optional)

Gently sweat the onions in the oil over low-medium heat, then add chicken and brown for a few minutes. Pour Diet Coke and ketchup over chicken and onions, turn heat to simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through. Optional: remove chicken and boil sauce for a few minutes to reduce for a thicker topping.

Meanwhile…..
Prep and steam the cauliflower. Make sure its uber-tender, but be careful not to burn it. Add butter, and mash through a ricer, food mill, or just with a fork in a bowl, to desired consistency. You can even puree it in a blender for a smoother mash. Slowly add milk until you reach the desired consistency, season to taste.

Enjoy! The CauliMash is a wonderful substitute for mashed potatoes and packs far less carb punch, but everyone loves this tasty treat. The Diet Coke Chicken can be made with any other diet soda you like – I personally endorse the brands made with Splenda which is more natural than Nutrasweet/Aspartame. For you WW brides, this one has approx. 4 points per serving!

Kitchen-Sink Egg Scramble
This one is great for whatever you have around the house. I’ll present it with what we generally have around, but don’t be scared – everything goes with eggs!

* 1/2 package mushrooms, sliced
* 3 handfuls fresh spinach, or 1/2 package frozen spinach, drained
* 1/2 can black beans, drained
* 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
* 1/2 onion
* 2 wedges laughing cow light Swiss cheese
* 5 egg whites, 3 full eggs
* 2 tsp olive oil
* Salt, pepper, red pepper and soy sauce to taste

Sautee onion and mushrooms over medium heat, seasoning along the way. Add black beans, tomatoes, spinach, eggs, a splash of soy sauce and a dash of red pepper, and reduce heat to low-medium. Stir occasionally. As the eggs begin to set up (about 3/4 done) add the laughing cow cheese in bits. Cook until eggs are set, and enjoy! This one is delish with some orzo-style Shirataki mixed in, or in a low-carb tortilla wrap, too!

These are all low-carb, high protein and fiber filled ways to eat great but still lose weight. They’re also easy on the bank account, which is a double-bonus! Speaking of double, I always make double batches of recipes to take with me for lunch or to defrost for a quick meal-on-the-go. Make sure to pre-package them into smaller serving containers to control portion size and save some time on your way out the door.