Anyways, Ive found a new shopping haven… guess where?

Industrial Estates!!!!! Haha, yup, not kidding at all.. it’s actually quite fun exploring these “god-forsaken places” with all that driving and interim stoppings.

Like wholesale food places in Woodlands area, which my family loves big time! 

Like hotels’ furniture at dirt cheap prices at Tai Seng area, and my all-time favourite shop which sells vintage and upholstered pieces in Bukit Batok… Love love love!

Yep, Im always on the lookout for good bargains & quirky finds! Haha.. n ive already bought a couple of stuff =)

Seriously, it’s so much fun than shopping at Courts or Best Denki or those big furniture chains. I literally walk through these shops without eyeing anything or stopping to check out something. I prob just go there to buy TV and fridge. Period.

I really hope to start documenting down my renovation journey (in photos!) soon.

Cant wait! Cant wait!

Love the MV concept.. the creative use of the cassette tape is just ingenious!

Lyrics

[p/s: no photos cos im blogging in office, using office laptop.. heh]

One of the many things that’s keeping me busy. Busy because we gotta finish up all the renovation works by end July before BF goes for his knee operation for the 2nd time. BF is the supervisor of our renovation project cos he’s more aware of all the construction stuff since he studied Building previously. If it’s me, I think I wont even know if workers dont do a good job =S

Renovation (in general) 

No major works to be done. Thank goodness for the good condition the house was in when we bought it. Anyway, was really lucky and super fortunate to have so many lucky stars helping us out! Some stars include

a) BF’s father who was in the construction line and could converse with the maintenance agent (MA) in a language that permitted us to do the types of works we want to do. It’s all about cham siong-ing. Heh. I think if it’s us who do the talking, it will be ‘No.No.No.” all the way. Not forgetting, the MA agreed to help us with some repair works although it’s been way past the warranty period. =)

b) BF’s 4th Uncle who is an electrician and he will be doing re-wiring and fixing of fittings for us FOC. =)

c) Aircon man (BF’s father friend) who came to our new place twice just to take a look at possible areas to house the aircon compressors (the current location takes up 3/4 of our outdoor area. boo!)  He readily gave us a discount despite already quoting a lower-than-market price =) [and we got the MA to ok-ed the new location, though he said "open one eye, close one eye"!] 

d) BF’s mum who has been helping to sweep and clean the house (I did my part too!). She also helped to test the induction cooker to make sure that it is in working condition. She also bought 蚂蚁药to get rid of ants in the house (there werent many of them crawling around, but nevertheless, her intentions were much appreciated!] =)

Outdoor Area

Tiles are staying for good. Cos wood, even the best wood, are prone to termites since they are exposed to all types of weather.

Thinking of buying an umbrella, but oh my, are they expensive! The ones that we like cost between $800 to $1200 during GSS now. Anyway, they are a little too big for our little space so no brollys anymore. Shucks.

Cant wait for outdoor steamboat and bbq sessions, and cny & x’mas celebrations on the rooftop! =)

Bed

Too early to be shopping for bed frame and mattress now but how to filter these when all furniture shops sell beds and mattresses????

Anyway, both of us have set our eyes on the Slumberland TempSmart II 3600 mattress. Slumberland mattresses are so inviting!! And the pretty pretty bed frame which you can only find in Slumberland stores (not the subcontracted ones and definitely not those you find in exhibitions.)

But the whole thing cost $4k+. The mattress alone is over $3k.  How???

BF, nevermind the cost lar. We buy Slumberland ok?

Sofa & Cushions

Major headache of the entire renovation project. Need to speak to specialists. But I think my proposal will work. =) *fingers crossed*

Sponsors

We already have sponsors for some of the home electrical appliances! How very very nice of them! Thank you very very much in advance for your promised contributions people! Heh! =)

Ok, time for lunch now. Will be back with before-after photos soon!!!!

“Though we witnessed the destruction and nature at its worst, we also saw humanity at its best.”

He totally gave a different dimension to the destruction which we read about/heard of from all the media reports.

He shared how the New Zealanders stood united during this ordeal, and helped one another despite suffering themselves. The aid contributed by several contries also showed the friendship and willingness to help amongst humanity.

He also shared with me that a  female New Zealander, who despite losing her home, was working alongside him tirelessly at the mortuary to help identity the victims of the earthquake. He admired her selflessless, for she continued to do her part, to contribute, to help her fellow New Zealanders, instead of dwelling in her own sufferings/misery. What breaks my heart was when he said that she went to her destroyed home, thinking what was it that she could and should retrieve.

What COL(Dr) Tan shared was truly enlightening. It taught us that nothing was eternal, and we should not take things for granted. And with it, it taught us to treasure and savour every thing and moment we have.

As what DPM Teo said in his speech at the Overseas Service Medal (OSM) ceremony yesterday, Singapore is fortunate that we have never met with any natural calamities. It is true. So true. But how many of us actually count our blessings?

When you hear of all the instabilities in the world today, you realise that your Prada and Chanel bags are inconsequential. These are not the things you will take it with you when destruction struck. But why are we still pursing these?

I guess, it is difficult for those who have never experienced such loss before to understand and practise the art of treasuring.  

But that said, we should always keep this in mind, and really try to put this in action. Do it, if we do not want to have any regrets.

I, for one, still have my endless desires, be it material or not. But I do (and will!) try to practise all the good values which Ive learnt and have been taught to me since young. To be level-headed, to be humble, to put others before self, to be appreciative and to give back to society whenever we can.

I hope whoever read this post will learn something from it.

Athens and Santorini?

Ok, it’s just an idea  …….. For now =)

Yay or Nay?

I say Yay!!!

now, we can start planning rather than basing it on our memory =)

The real DEAL definitely looks much better =) 

We are meeting the banker tonight to discuss about the repayments, so fingers crossed!!

*clapping hands in glee & skipping around in circles*

Definitely a huge load off our mind.. No more propertyguru.com or flipping of Classified sections everyday!!! Yeah!!!

So next step,  we need to settle the bank loan and the remaining $$.. if nothing goes wrong, we should be able to get the keys in late May =)

Cant wait  to furnish the house n invite family and friends over!!

Yeah again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, have you heard about the Total Defence campaign? Well, there are many ongoing activities (visit www.thisishome.sg for more details), but there’s one thing that each of you MUST do.. you JUST have to… all you need to do is visit the website, download the HOME music video (it’s a remake featuring 39 local artistes from the 60s to now.. yes, there’s stephanie sun, olivia ong, JJ Lin.. and of cos Kit Chan! really cool MV!!).. it’s that easy.. every download will be matched with a $1 donation from various organisations.. This is a fundraising effort by ComChest to raise funds for the benefit of two of its programmes – “Dignifying the Lives of the Elderly” and “Keeping Families Together”.

Yes, the money doesnt come from you!  So what’s holding you back? Click away, my friends! Oh, and spread the word! =)

p/s. im not inserting the MV here.. so you’d better download it yourself.. haha.. The campaign will end on 31 Mar 11 .

Will be posting my europe peektures soon! [yet to sort them out yet... til then! =p]

Received an unexpected call from Prologue @ Ion SC this afternoon, and the rest was history.. the salesperson told me that I was really lucky cos I wasnt the first on the wating list but I guess, if it’s yours, it will be yours… Mind you, this was from the first production. The release date of the reprints was still unknown.. So imagine my elation of being one of the privilege few to own this book “smug =)”

Was really excited about it. It’s not for me. It’s for my mum. She had made a reservation with Popular Bookstore, but no response from them cos the reprint hasnt arrived. She wanted this book so badly, she has been eyeing it since Sunday Times ran an article about it before the publish date.. she even cut out the article and pasted it on the fridge! I went to a few bookstores to enquire but it was sold out everywhere… Til today when the lucky stars shine on me =) Mum was very shocked (& pleased!) when I gave it to her this evening.. she was even game for pictures without her make-up on!

All’s worth it. =)

^Brunch @ Hatched (Bukit Timah, near Botanic Gardens)^

Whatz brunch without eggs right? Aptly named “Hatched”, BF and I headed down for a hearty brunch (we had 5 eggs in total!) but as we didnt make any reservations, we waited for about 45 mins before getting a table.. by then, it was already lunch time.. lucky for us, we were seated by the bay windows which make the entire meal a pleasant experience.. love the laid-back atmosphere, and the chalk-scribbled boards, and the dangling light bulbs.. Yumz to the waffles and ham.. defintely a nice place to start your day with =)  

^Dinner @ Black Angus Steakhouse (NUS Bukit Timah campus)^

Brought BF to Black Angus for his bday dinner cos he’s such a fan of steaks.. There were two outlets and I decided on the semi fine-dining at NUS campus.. Well, Black Angus did not disappoint us and really lived up to its name.. the steak was tender and it was a joy to see the beef critic chomping down the steak.. since I get to pinch the steak from BF, I thought I should try something different and settled for the codfish..  it’s yumz to the max.. I love the seasonings and the creamy smooth mashed potato… calamari was crispy nice and so was the beef stew with the generous helpings of beef chunks and assorted veges.. it was absolutely a satisfying meal! *rubs tummy*

^Dinner @ La Strada (Shaw – Lido building)^

Beef cappacio was yumz! Cant remember what pizza we ordered but it was yumz too. But not so for the clam spaghetti though.. but the company makes up for it!

^Dinner @ Garden Slug (Telok Kurau Lor N)^

Always love places tucked at places you never imagined.. portabello mushrooms was good.. so was BF’s bangers and mash… oh, this place sells unique ciders.. how cool is that? not many places sell ciders.. will try those one day.. the different flavours and bottles look pretty on the menu.. and check out the chili and ketchup bottles.. love these lil details that make this place so different from the rest.. definitely a nice chill-out place with friends & a good alternative to dempsey.. will be back to try out more of their dishes!

^Dinner @ Ministry of Beef (Serangoon Gardens)^

Tasted wagyu beef for the first time.. portion was huge.. hmm I thought wagyu beef is not cheap? Whatever the case, steak was really tender and it’s an economical place for good quality food =)

Yup, this is a quick summary of where I dined and my verdict of these places.. To more Yumz places!

*hungry again*