HOME: My sister's bigger fatter Korean wedding
PREVIOUS: 07/04 Groom's family; 'ibaji' food
NEXT: 07/06 Finally set free!
PREVIOUS: 07/04 Groom's family; 'ibaji' food
NEXT: 07/06 Finally set free!
Today, I visit Nami's new home! Mom was the one in charge of renovating,
decorating and furnishing the new home. She's been talking my ears off how nice
it is now -- now it's time for me to see with my own eyes! This is the
apartment building. Mr. Lee's parents chose it right next to Nami's hospital,
so she can commute in no time.
It's early evening, and Nami and Mr Lee have been spending their first day in
their new home in a much leisurely fashion... up until now, that is! Their
social duties resume, they have to make a visit to Mr. Lee's mentor/boss's
house in a couple hours.
Nami sitting in front of her dressing table. Nice oak -- or is it cherry
wood -- finish. Mom did a good job picking out this piece! I
especially like the big square mirror, wide table top with plenty of
room, and many, many cute drawers!! And what is that thing
glimmering on her finger? Must be her wedding ring...
Nami, flashing a happy smile, shows a framed photo of their wedding photo.
Again, Mom's picking and arrangement.
In the mirror you can se Mr. Lee sitting on their new bed. And that's my mom's quilt on it! You can see it better in the photo below. The pattern of overlapping circles is called, appropriately, "the wedding ring". A long, long time ago, my mom asked us to pick a design for our bed spreads for our wedlock beds. I replied: "meh!" My sister picked "the wedding ring". So here it is, her bed spread, made stitch-by-stitch by our Mom.
I first found the placement of this bed in the room a bit awkward. But
there was a perfectly good reason behind this positioning! Still a lot of
Korean people have this firmly-rooted belief that one should have his/her
head pointed to East or South when sleeping. Otherwise bad, bad things
happen. My Mom doesn't care, but Mr. Lee's mother apparently does. So,
this is East-ward. Damn, my bed in Philly has always been pointing to West
and nobody even cared!
Hmm... wonder if the 100% goose down comforter I brought back from USA is a tad too big for the bed...
Their living room. Love the couch! Simple but elegant design, nice cushion
and fabric! Boy I can't stand leather couches... They are smelly,
ugly-looking, and stick to your skin in the summer. And what a gorgeous
curtain hanging there!! Mom made it herself. The fabric came from...
surprise, surprise -- Philadelphia. Mom and I went to the fabric row in
Philly, and bought yards of this nice lily-patterned fabric. It's nice to
see that it found a perfect use.
The kitchen. Mom had it remodeled. And isn't the shiny new fridge
a perfect fit in the place?? The color and shape perfectly complementing
the space? That's the fridge I picked out, people! :-)
China sets in an armoire. I have no idea where the fruit-patterned tea set came
from, but the white china with green rim on the bottom two shelves look
familiar. Wait. These are one of the two Wedgewood china sets that Mom bought
for each of us back when I was still in college... which is what, 10 years
ago?? Those two sets had an identical design except for the color scheme. It
looks like Nami took the green set. Which can only mean: the blue set is still
waiting for its day tucked in a dark corner somewhere, gathering dust... Good
thing these things are not perishable.
Nami and Mr. Lee at rest... Mr. Lee is kicking-back, poised to enjoy his new
kick-ass home theater system...
And kick-ass it does! The pull-down screen and the projector on the ceiling
worked quite nicely, producing superb picture quality. And is that a scene
from Star Wars Episode 1, Phantom Menace? The pod-racing bit was a perfect
vehicle for demonstrating the kick-ass-ness of his home theater system.
At the bottom is a TV that Mom bought from our trip to a department store a couple days ago. It's not a small TV, with the 28-inch screen size, but looks rather tiny compared to the projection screen. Yow! Hmm. A tech buff and audiophile... I have a feeling that I and Mr. Lee will get along just fine.
My parents and I were going to go eat nice dinner -- and the newly-weds wanted
to come along. At a restaurant famous for 언양불고기 /en yang bul go gi/, a
type of "bulgogi (Korean barbecue)" with house-special marinade sauce on very
finely minced meat. One of my favorite dinner destinations!
We're waiting for my parents to arrive from home. In the meantime, I show
them my bounty to bring back to U.S. -- little refrigerator magnets that I
and my sister made out of paper clay back in college days. Mr. Lee marvels
at the superior craftsmanship!! All the little sea creatures -- little
fish, flounder, clams, crabs, and squids! He's pleased that he brought this
artistic talent into his gene pool.
Mom and Dad have arrived. We order food. Tons of food. Although tasty like
nothing else, 언양불고기 /en yang bul go gi/ has a fatal weakness: its
unbridled garlickiness. Like any civilized and considerate Korean person, I
decided to forgo this tasty dinner treat and order regular sirloin roast, for
those passengers who will be sitting very, very close to me for the 14 hours of
flight to New York JFK airport the next day.
Sirloin steak is roasting... Dad and Mr. Lee look very satisfied. It was a
tasty dinner!
After visiting Mr. Lee's professor, Nami drops by to pick up some of her
stuff still in her bedroom at my parents' house. I asked Mr. Lee to take a
picture of the two of us. We're standing in the corridor of the second
floor. Behind us is my tiny room, and before us my sister's big bedroom.
On the wall is my mother's quilt.
Nami and I, sitting in Nami's room. The Han sisters.
HOME: My sister's bigger fatter Korean wedding
PREVIOUS: 07/04 Groom's family; 'ibaji' food
NEXT: 07/06 Finally set free!
PREVIOUS: 07/04 Groom's family; 'ibaji' food
NEXT: 07/06 Finally set free!