An Indian Wedding

First of all, apologies for such a long silence - I've been crazy busy lately! I attended a wedding of our dear friends this weekend. It was my first Indian wedding ever and I was stunned by all the details, traditions and colors! Unfortunately I don't know all of the details well enough to explain to you all so I'm settling to just showing you a sneak peak of what it all looked like...

The wedding was held in China town in a temple in the evening.

 

The bride looked absolutely stunning. She was even more radiant than all the thousands of jewels all over her body! :) The ceremony was a mixture of signing the official papers and going through all the traditions that are included in an Indian wedding.

 

The temple itself was beautiful, and as in temples, no shoes were allowed. So we were all walking bare foot inside and outside!

The bride's father in traditional clothes.

While waiting for the next ceremony, I took a couple of outfit shots on a piece of grass in the middle of the temple.

 

After signing the papers, the ceremony continued with more traditions in another building.

 

Isn't she just the cutest little girl you have ever seen?? :)

Congratulations Arthy&Chandra!! I hope your marriage lots of love, experiences and many children! ;)


Dress: Vila   Necklace: D&G

X Ang Moh Chick

Immune Booster Smoothies x 2!

I came up with these recipes from the leftovers of the Chocolate Coconut Cream Cake (recipe here) and some old oranges. Both smoothies include lots of vitamin C to fight flus that are common during this cold season. Like the one we have here in Singapore... REALLY! It actually feels cold on some days when the temperature drops to somewhere close to 24°C ;) Believe it or not, yesterday my husband had to bring me a blanket while we were watching tv! :D

Blueberry Coconut Smoothie

Blueberries, coconut milk or cream (I used cream) and honey. That's all and yet so tasty! :)

Orange Banana Smoothie

1 peeled banana, 1 peeled orange, 1 tablespoon of flax seeds and honey

X Ang Moh Chick

1st of December and Tips for a Christmas Feeling

Here it is - December! It's my first time ever to spend Christmas abroad, and I must say that I'm missing the Christmas feeling of Finland. The lights in the dark, candles, music, snow, crispy cold days, excitement in the air, happy faces, present planning, and of course all of the gorgeous Finnish Christmas dishes!! 

In Finland, Christmas is celebrated on the Eve, 24th. In the morning we wake up late for Christmas porridge made by boiling porridge rice (bigger, thicker rice) in thick milk. The porridge is enjoyed with plum soup or cinnamon and sugar. In the evening the true fest begins! Mashed potato, carrot and rutabaga casserole, pork or turkey, beet/carrot/pickle salad, smoked fish, bread spiced with syrup and raisins, glögi (a hot spicy sweet drink with or without alcohol)... My favourite is the smoked salmon; I could eat it every day!!

Well, so now that I will be spending my Christmas with palm trees, I have to use a bit of imagination to get myself in the mood. I'm actually planning on making some Finnish dishes on the Eve. I won't be able to make the exact versions but something similar anyways. Singaporeans overall don't usually celebrate Christmas to that extend as Finns but there are Christmas songs playing in shopping malls and some very very tacky huge Christmas trees here and there :D

Here are a few things that get me on the mood despite the tropical weather:

1. Christmas decorations

I took some photos of tasteful Christmas decorations that were sold at a shopping mall. Looking at these doesn't make you feel like it's summer outside right? ;)

2. Christmassy foods and drinks

For me the taste of cinnamon in hot drinks also brings back the feeling of Finland and winter time. So I sprinkle some cinnamon on my sweet drinks and foods every now and then to feel like it's winter ;)

3. Christmas ideas and presents

Planning for what to get to your loved ones is a fun way to get into the Christmas mood whether it's snowing outside or you are planning to head to the beach. I think that the thought is always the most important when it comes to gifts and I can immediately see if the gift giver has spent time thinking that this present will make me happy. As for relationships, I usually go for something romantic that makes my husband feel like the gift is specifically for him. 

Here is one example of something cheap but nice that I got him during the time that we were physically apart. A key chain with our photos in it. As you can see it's been used a lot! :)

4. Pre-Christmas Parties

I love parties! And pre-Chistmas parties are usually among the funniest ones as people are on a great mood, love is in the air  - and glögi warming up the socks doesn't hurt ;)

I like how people are dressing up in an unusual way and usually trying out something more daring! These parties are sort of giving people an excuse to be a bit wilder with the outfit and make up. I attended one blogger event arranged by Nuffnang and hosted by Chic Kiss Love where a make up artist from ProAcademy gave us some good make up tips. Here are my more daring party-lips :D

Have a great time waiting for the Christmas. If you have some more good tips to add I would be happy to hear! :)

X Ang Moh Chick

These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

This is the second post of a few photos about the small happy things that have cheered up my days recently. You can find the first entry here!

Coffee isn't coffee unless it's the real stuff - espresso! And it tastes even better home-made with my cute Bialetti coffee maker given to me by my dad. We both love our cuppa but are particular about the taste. I also never take my coffee black. Cappuchino is the word and this maker is an easy and affordable way to make quality coffee at home and it brings back lots of memories. I love those coffee moments with my dad. He makes the coffee, carefully measuring the water and pressing the ground in the machine, placing it on the stove and waiting for it to make its magic. Then he heats up the milk and foams it with his small cute milk frother. The coffee is perfect but what I enjoy the most are the endless conversations about anything on earth that we share over the cups of freshly made coffee. Dad I miss you! <3

I always drink my coffee from my favourite mug that my hubby got me three years ago. You can read the whole story here.

With the coffee I always crave for something sweet! And I'm not really one of those people who eat one piece of chocolate and that's it. No, I take as much as it takes to finish my cuppa, which is quite a lot :D But my home-made chocolate is just simply sooooo good. Recipe here!

I love this Chinese painting given to me by my mum before she left back to Finland in September after visiting me here in Singapore. It's called "The Four Seasons" and she wanted to give me this because there's obviously no change of season in Singapore. This painting reminds me of Finland and how it's snowing there already by now. Mum is miss you too!! <3

 

A very small things that made me smile was when I found this in a papaya. A heart. In a papaya! What a beautiful thing! <3

What made you happy today? Noticing the small beautiful things around us just requires a bit of attention, that's all! :)

X Ang Moh Chick

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

I hardly eat soups here in Singapore because of the hot weather. I still wanted to try making a creamy pumpkin soup and it turned out to be so good that I wanted to share it with you! 

You need:

• 1/2 small size pumpkin
• 2 stocks of celery
• A handful of dried (or fresh) mushrooms
• 200ml cream of your choice
• Onion, garlic (optional, I'm allergic so I didn't use)

Simmer mushrooms (and onions) in a little bit of vegetable stock for about 30 minutes. In the meanwhile, cut the pumpkin and the celery into small pieces. After the 30 minutes or so, add in the pieces and cook until the pumpkin is soft. Add the cream and bring to boil, then let the soup cool down. When the soup is a bit cooler, blend it smooth in a blender or use an immersion blender.

Before serving, mix a handful of pumpkin seeds (those ready ones, not the ones in the pumkin :D) in the soup and sprinkle some on top. I enjoyed my soup with two pieces of bread topped with fried eggs, ham, feta cheese, olives and pesto - my addiction. Yummy!! :)

X Ang Moh Chick