Celebrate With Choco Bath

My colleague and I planned for a noon-out shopping for florist and tailors for my wedding day today. We went to this huge warehouse florist in Bangsar by the name Floristika, where they sell fresh flowers in a refrigerated room. And I’ve decided on the type of flowers for my maids. Yay! They’d be beautiful! :)

Next on, we were supposed to go down to town to shop for something Indian (shh, it’s a surprise!), but stop over at an organic eatery. I was rather hesitant about organic food; carrots, bean sprouts, soy and wheat germ were all I can taste on my imaginary taste buds. Bleurgh. So I was of course, quite pleased to see that they actually serve chicken! Not that I can’t live without meat, I just can’t live with green bean sprouts, that’s all. I ordered a country free range chicken goulash. To my surprise it was really good with its toasted organic wheat bread! So yeah, worth a try, this organic eating lifestyle, but pricey to maintain though.

It was disappointing though that the minute we hit KL roads, it started to rain and the jam began. So we detoured to KLCC for me to take LRT home. What bummer. But the historic moment was this: I went over to Equatorial Hotel at Bangi-Putrajaya instead with my brother, met up with Jason, and we made down payment. The place is officially ours on the wedding day! So to celebrate such significant moment, we treated ourselves to their buffet dinner. Hehe.

It was fantastic as we sat there, and watch the chocolate fountain cascaded in a pot. Yes! They serve chocolate fondue!!! Oh boy! I could stuck and bath my tongue under those flowing chocolate and be there forever! I was seated right in front of the fondue, and that’s all I remember seeing the whole evening :D Ooo, I love their desserts, the bitter chocolate mousse was incredible! Darn, I should’ve started my meal with the dessert first!

Gym. Gym. Gym! I’ve been eating as if I’ll be wearing jeans and t-shirt to my wedding, got to work on the gym darn it! =_=``

Being Woman

I've never appreciated fabrics as much as I do now. Look at those colours and the lines, so lively, so soft. Every flip of the skirt seems to be yelling "feminity" at the top of their voice! Simply fabulous!

Gowns are from Jim Hjelm, Watters & Watters, Melissa Sweet, Alvina Valenta, Amsale, Lazaro

Let's Play Dolls

I'm now looking for cocktail dresses for my bridesmaids. They've got to be practical and easy to move around in for them. I like 'em apple or olive green, I'd consider soft butter yellow too, but at the moment I'm quite settled with greenish-aqua blue, to freshen up the otherwise hot afternoon.

Ooo, I love yummy, edible colours, they just make you melt a thousand times!

Did Some Window Ogling

I found some really gorgeous gowns after hours of net crawling. The one on the far left is my favourite, for its ethereal, silky, classy, doll-like look; the third one is my favourite too, for the ribbon/sash plus its lacey body; oh and the fourth gown is also a favourite, the tube-like top really set my heart a-thumping; and the chiffon train on the far right, oh my, I could wear that everyday!


I've chosen my gown from the boutique, in a way too bad for that, else I'd have it tailor made! Mine has an empire-cut tube like the first gown, except it has nice beading on and under the bustline, and the skirt is of chiffon and trails off like the gown on the far right. Can't wait to bring her home and sleep in it. Hehe.

Lost & Happily Found

We both did something good yesterday. Hehe. In fact, I feel so good now I’m fluttering on my imaginary cloud! Praise God!

Well, see, Jason spotted a wallet off the street last night, and we found cash, IDs, credit and bank cards in there, belonging to a girl, with no trace of phone numbers. But thanks to her meal card, I was able to track her at the company where she’s working for, found her colleague, and then got her number. Yeah, it was all very thrilling! :) I wouldn’t mind doing this again. Maybe I should consider a Lost & Found business (which come to think about it, ironically, we all are in This business, if you get my flow ;) Praise God!)! Heh.

Paving Silk Road

Don't you just love these shoes? I know I do! The colours are so rich and smooth, I could almost feel 'em on my bare fingers. My wedding pump's gonna be the same colour as the one on the left, champagne gold, nice. Did I tell you how much I like these shoes? Oh man! I love 'em!

One Kind Heart, Two Helping Hands, Many Happy Shots

Photography can be ticked off the list! Thanks to a photography freak cum long distance colleague cum friend of mine. Jason and I “will have the privilege of being photographed with easily a RM30k camera kit (together with the lenses). Don't play play ah!” How blessed! :)

Yo, Mr. Photie Shotie, many merci beaucoups!

For The Record

The bestest comment by far: you still look like you in your bridal shots (as compare to MOST people who look like a different person after the make-ups). Kekekeke!

Ok anyway, I like it for a compliment so beat it.

Last evening saw us driving from Melaka to PJ in the rain and traffic jam. Jason and I had a nice long chat albeit the intermittent you-ass-I’m-pissed-you-suck-I-pout tantrums (don’t ask!). The conversation was steered to the direction of parenting, and we’ve got a few things straightened, namely our preferred style and… well, stuff like that.

On the subject of ways to bring up boys, I had this coming from Jason:

You know what is the beauty of a man? The beauty of a man comes not from his muscles, nor how strong he is, nor how tough he is; rather, the true beauty of a man is shone when he willingly does what normally is classified as women’s job, i.e house hold chores; when he is not ashamed to cry; when he admits his wrong-doings, repent, and change for the better; when he takes up the leadership roles with a humble heart, if he can not humble himself and go down to the lowest ground, he doesn’t fit to be a real leader; and a real man is also protective of the weaker folks and stands up for them and for the truth.

At this point you’d expect to see me going all mushy limbs and starry eyes looking into the man who just spoke those manly words, ooh-ing and ahh-ing away. Alright, that’s a lil drama, BUT! I am glad and proud too, to say the least, to see that coming from the man who is going to father my children (I still get a lil twinge in the stomach every time I remembered that I’m going to be a wife and later, mom! Yikes!). I’ve met enough guys who “prefer sons to daughters, and have the whole works of plans and visions for sons, and basically eat, sleep, dream about having sons, and daughters are, well, yeah daughters, we love ‘em too, they are important you know, without them, no one’s gonna do our dishes!”

So seeing Jason speaks like that, I was, pretty amazed, not to mention relieved! I thank God for His match, really, He knows better what type of partner suits us best; this applies to our everyday life too. I’m sure glad I’m walking on the road carved by Him! It may not be one smooth sailing journey, but at least I know I’m in good hands and His grace sustains. Thank you Lord!

It Is Also Confirmed That...

The venue is at EQUATORIAL HOTEL, BANGI.

They have this lovely glassed foyer, that’s where our wedding ceremony’s gonna be :)

It Is Confirmed That The...

Seventeenth of the Ninth Month, Year Two Thousand and Six is the date to block.

It’s going to be a day where the sun shines coolly, birds chirp happily, angels sing joyfully, and basically, everything will be something-something-ly. So block your calendar and come join us for a memorable afternoon – Jason & Leishia’s wedding.

The Whole Vrooming & Zooming Business

Alright, the long awaited, non-relevant post is here finally (was there anyone waited in the first place? Hehe). I’ve got the pass to go on a F1 pit tour on the 16th of March 2006. Although I’m not much of a F1 fan, but it all was pretty cool.

We toured the Renault team’s garage; chatted with Heikki Kovalainen, one of the Renault team’s driver which reminded me of a friend from the past; and then we spotted Alonso in the tiny cafeteria; found Jensen Button doing a press interview; snapped pictures of Fisichella and Alonso’s helmets and tires; generally doing all the touristy things, oh and we were given a goodie bag with lots of, well… goodies! There’s this super cool miniature F1 race car to which every one of my colleague was hopeful to buy it from me. I’ve got one of them who’d offer a couple of hundreds for it. Nah, I’d keep it for myself, so that I can brag about it to my grand children later. Hehe.

In His Times, All's Perfect

Perfection 101

By Jill Baer Illustrations by Brina Schenk
Vol. 4, Issue 1, No. 6 May 2004

ON THE MORNING OF MY WEDDING, I DISCOVERED A TINY HOLE NEAR THE BOTTOM OF my ivory, cathedral-length veil. The sighting threatened to steal my vision of being the perfect bride.

All I wanted was a perfect wedding. And who could blame me? I had dreamed about it since I was old enough to make my Ken doll kiss my Barbie. And promises of perfection seduced me everywhere I turned. From bridal web sites to every five-pound bridal magazine, they all guaranteed me the perfect dress, the perfect hairstyle, the perfect cake. No other life event lures a woman into the expectation of flawlessness like a wedding.

My dear and spiritual bridesmaid, Cheryl, compared the hole to the purposefully woven flaw in every Persian rug—a talisman of humility and a reminder that only God is perfect. But I am neither Persian nor humble. Just purposeful.

So there were things that nagged at me for months before the wedding. We couldn’t afford all the flowers I had hoped for, including the elaborate chuppah I’d had in mind. And the magical butterfly release I’d pictured to cap off the ceremony wasn’t in the budget either. Then there was my sister, the maid of honour, who complained she’d look tubby in the champagne silk dress I’d so carefully chosen for her. My then-fiancé (who loves the mountains) and I (who love the sea) squabbled over our honeymoon plans, and I fretted about our differences.

And now there was this hole in my veil. Suddenly I recalled the lithograph created by John Lennon that hangs above my stereo. It depicts the artist staring at a whirling black vortex with a bemused smile, and bears the inscription, “The hole of my life flashed before my eyes.” My hole was perfectionism. Cheryl helped me don my veil, and what came next was totally unexpected.

For all the years I had imagined this moment, I was unprepared for the world seen through a sheer swath of tulle wafting in the summer breeze. Everything took on a mysterious, ethereal glow as I started down the aisle to our guitarist’s moving rendition of “Fields of Gold,” the song that played the first time my future husband and I declared our love. The veil gave me a new sense of vision—and just in time to see that face, brimming with emotion, beaming at me as I approached. This man named Ken, like the plastic icon of my childhood ideals—but of flesh and blood—stood before me as a revelation. And soon our love and commitment would be sealed with a real-life kiss.

I had a “perfect” vision of my wedding—and it ‘s good to have a vision. But the “perfect” part isn’t up to us. Always, there is a greater Artist at work. And weddings, like marriage, and like life, are a collaborative effort. What I never anticipated during all my efforts to control every little detail, were these strokes by the Master…

Just before the ceremony, I ventured into the building’s courtyard for a moment of meditation. Out of nowhere, a pair of butterflies encircled me as they fluttered in a bewitching mating dance.
The florist surprised us with a surplus of my beloved Leonida roses, which my bosom-buddy bridesmaid Leesanne used to festoon our chuppah. Since I had decorated the canopy at her wedding, this favor reflected the history and symmetry of our lifelong friendship.

As my favorite nephew and I posed for pictures, the guitarist serendipitously played the very song I used to sing to comfort him when he was just newborn.

My sister Ellie borrowed back a magnificent shawl she once gave me and draped it over her fitted dress. We have shared so much magnificence as sisters that sharing that shawl with her felt exactly right. She looked ravishing and slim, though she still believes she looked too fat. Some people are such perfectionists!

On the last morning of our honeymoon my new husband received the news that his elderly Aunt June, who had traveled thousands of miles to be at our wedding, had passed away. No one in the family had known the gravity of her illness. Through their grief, her family expressed their gratitude to us for creating an opportunity to see her again and enjoy a wonderful final memory. The last photograph ever taken of her, blowing bubbles from a wand during our first dance, captures her joy.

Shortly after receiving the sad call, we headed out to a scenic restaurant called “Nepenthe” (Native American for “No Worries”) before we started for home. The famous view we expected to see was totally obscured by mysterious veils of fog. We were advised that the route we intended to take south to L.A. was socked in, and that we would need to make an alternate plan.

As we drove north into our future, the sun suddenly burst through the mist to reveal a glorious mile of yellow flowers on a mountain cliff above the sea. We pulled over to the roadside and got out of the car… and we walked in fields of gold.

Jill Baer began her career as the youngest staff writer on TV’s "The Love Boat," and has penned over 200 hours of prime time television and several screenplays. She also writes fiction and contributes to various magazines.

Over The Weekend

I’ve been keeping my posting low for the past 1 week even with my coming up with incredible wedding ideas lest it’d be just another “you-say-only-lah” thing. But then do you know how difficult it is to contain genius ideas, do you?! So I was very glad after the sun set last evening, because I’m going to pour it all out! Hahaha!

So the genius idea was this: I found a photo studio operating in a cottage somewhere in Ampang from a magazine, and I thought, this’d be cool, we can rent the studio and have our ceremony and reception there, and we just need to bring in our own caterer. But seemingly, Jason wasn’t too impressed with the idea but nonetheless complied with the idea with an open heart. So I looked it up on the net, found the address, and finally waited for Sunday to come, and off we went to check that place out.

Now being a very excitable girl with her own *ahem* genuinely genius ideas, Jason knows I’m all for the idea, as in ALL, I couldn’t stop yakking about it the whole time through out the journey; to a certain point Jason had to prepare me for the worst case scenario. “Dear, we don’t need to be disappointed IF we can’t have our wedding there, okay?”

So much for support.

So we arrived at the quaint little cottage house set right smack in the bustling city. And yeah, it was nice, like, really nice, except for some part of the ceilings were holed, the wallpaper comes in 3 different patterns in the same living room, the piping of the central A/C was naked and rusty, the garden was not so accommodating, and the glass house was run down, but hey I can take it all! I can do some decorating job and the place will be revamped; as I say it best: “all those imperfections make it perfect!” Oh how I say it best!

But deep down, I know, it’s not going to work. If my I’m expecting a 200 pax crowd.

So still high in spirit, we went off and drove along the city aimlessly, and then I called a colleague-friend of mine, who’s so kindly came out from her house on a lazy Sunday afternoon to show us around the city.

First she brought us to Tamarind Hill. A very… interesting place, what with the pebbled filled stair cases from the main entrance, and big leafy tropical plants, and mosquitoes; I can only imagine aunties and ah mahs cursing us from the first step all the way up the hill.

And then we went to some Japanese restaurant which was closed and undoubtedly a no for us too.

And then we went to this Italian restaurant which, get this, Jason fell in love with! So madly in love with! All because the garden was so quaint and comfy, and beyond the garden was a few acres of jungles and monkeys roaming around. Jason felt very at home. :) hehe In any case, it motivates me a lot to see his dampened enthusiasm was revived after those tiring months we went through in getting a place which suit our date and requirements.

So after laying down all 3 of our obvious choices: the above restaurant, or KLGCC, or our church. We are pretty much set. A few calls shall be in order today, and then the rest, like they say, will be history.