Mt Sapola's Lavender.
It's ex! But we tried other more economical ones which were not useful. So this is still the best scent for our master bathroom :)
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Sunday, January 02, 2011
The Last Week of 2010
We started Christmas shopping early & were done about a week before the actual day. So I could afford to wrap a few presents each night & got them all ready on eve of Christmas Eve. Besides attending our church's Christmas event on the eve, I'd nothing else to do! I wasn't really used to being so available as in the past, I'd be busy trying to finish all the gift wrapping... Ha! But of course we're more than happy to have a relaxing Silent Night, with some beer & DVDs ;)
Presents in the inset were for my colleagues... they're wrapped & brought to office days in advance as quite a few went on block leave the week before & after Christmas (since 24th was an official off day; same as 31st & we'd 2 days credited to our annual leave too!:D)
We're blessed with many presents... hubby's on the left:) 1 of hubby's colleagues was so generous to give us bird's nest!
Hubby gave me a very pretty handbag from my current favourite brand (Gracious Aires) & a pair of 'V' cufflinks from me to him ;)
On New Year's Eve, we went on a shopping spree of beddings again (like the past few years, haha). First visited Robinson's in Centrepoint but we're disappointed with this year's post-Christmas sale as there wasn't further discount for members. So we went on to Taka to see if there's any interesting buy. Thank God we did. There's much attractive sale & we bought 2 full sets of bedding set & many towels. We spent our New Year's Day at home & around the neighbourhood... had a great rest :)
Presents in the inset were for my colleagues... they're wrapped & brought to office days in advance as quite a few went on block leave the week before & after Christmas (since 24th was an official off day; same as 31st & we'd 2 days credited to our annual leave too!:D)
We're blessed with many presents... hubby's on the left:) 1 of hubby's colleagues was so generous to give us bird's nest!
Hubby gave me a very pretty handbag from my current favourite brand (Gracious Aires) & a pair of 'V' cufflinks from me to him ;)On New Year's Eve, we went on a shopping spree of beddings again (like the past few years, haha). First visited Robinson's in Centrepoint but we're disappointed with this year's post-Christmas sale as there wasn't further discount for members. So we went on to Taka to see if there's any interesting buy. Thank God we did. There's much attractive sale & we bought 2 full sets of bedding set & many towels. We spent our New Year's Day at home & around the neighbourhood... had a great rest :)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Some Recent Great Buys
Shower Radio, its literal name as it's designed to withstand water splashes & hence meant to be used in bathroom :)
Marks & Spencer's Fiery Ginger Beer. We love it.
Recliners for the both of us so we can watch DVDs in our room comfortably :)
Lemongrass for the living & lavender for our bedroom/bathroom... Nice!
An excellent find in Marina Square to put my favourite bags & stuff Friday, October 22, 2010
It's A Long Process - II
Due to the urgency, we met up a few times very soon after the 1st, to confirm/finalise designs, select tiles, lightings, bathroom ware in the next 2 weeks. By then, J (our contractor) & us talked & joked like old friends.
Knowing that we intended to move in before CNY, J was being very nice to volunteer to commence renovation works immediately without demanding for a deposit. And he's really fast, we received both updates from him at the same time - (1) the approval notification he got a couple of hours ago from HDB to tear the walls & (2) the walls were already gone.
Knowing that we intended to move in before CNY, J was being very nice to volunteer to commence renovation works immediately without demanding for a deposit. And he's really fast, we received both updates from him at the same time - (1) the approval notification he got a couple of hours ago from HDB to tear the walls & (2) the walls were already gone.
This was taken on the 10th day into our renovation, on a Fri, which was a Public Holiday
On Sat, a day after the PH, we called J but it's Malaysia ringtone & then were told by him that he's having a weekend company trip to KL then. We agreed to speak again on Mon when he'd be back. Mon, hubby & I had lunch together & we needed to check something with him pretty urgently. So we called him. Still Malaysia ringtone & we guessed he's driving back so we hanged up shortly. In the afternoon, hubby tried again a couple of times but it's still the same ringtone. After work, as usual hubby came & picked me up. After some small chats about my work, hubby asked me to get mentally prepared for some news. Then he said: "J passed away". Just a few words but suddenly, I was like being hit by a gust of wind... so strong that as if I lost my balance because my head swirled & heart was palpitating violently.. & so sudden that I wanted to ask "you ain't serious right???" then the "am I in a nightmare now??!?"...
The feeling was mixed... we're very sad that the blossoming friendship had to be put to a stop that quickly. We're still talking about introducing J to those we know as a good ID firm was really a rare find. Then at the same time, we're so worried about the renovation of our new home. You can see from the pic above, how big a mess we're in at that time. That night, we could barely eat & I couldn't sleep as I kept thinking what had happened to him in KL.
We attended his wake the following night. It grieved us greatly to see that the pretty wife and adorable 8-year old daughter he left behind had to cope with the sudden loss. So they're told that the cause of his passing was cardiac arrest - he felt unwell & threw up.. He then felt better so continued driving. Soon after, he felt unwell again & stopped at a petrol kiosk to rest. When the rest of his staff who were in other cars arrived & called for ambulance, he's already unconscious. Unfortunately, the ambulance lost its way & took more than half an hour to arrive. He's pronounced dead in hospital.
The feeling was mixed... we're very sad that the blossoming friendship had to be put to a stop that quickly. We're still talking about introducing J to those we know as a good ID firm was really a rare find. Then at the same time, we're so worried about the renovation of our new home. You can see from the pic above, how big a mess we're in at that time. That night, we could barely eat & I couldn't sleep as I kept thinking what had happened to him in KL.
We attended his wake the following night. It grieved us greatly to see that the pretty wife and adorable 8-year old daughter he left behind had to cope with the sudden loss. So they're told that the cause of his passing was cardiac arrest - he felt unwell & threw up.. He then felt better so continued driving. Soon after, he felt unwell again & stopped at a petrol kiosk to rest. When the rest of his staff who were in other cars arrived & called for ambulance, he's already unconscious. Unfortunately, the ambulance lost its way & took more than half an hour to arrive. He's pronounced dead in hospital.
All of us thought if the ambulance could come to his rescue in time, he could have been saved. But it's just "if only"...
At the same time, we're worried about their financial situation... as all of us know that many contractors have bad management of their cashflow.. that's why there're always cases of contractors running away after payment or delaying in completing the job. A staff of the ID firm called & asked us to give them about a week to sort out who'd take over our project. We agreed. I must say we're very worried then.
Less than a week later, works resumed. And they didn't even demand for payment. We're indeed impressed with their credibility among their suppliers as well as their finances. But the schedule of works were very badly.
At the same time, we're worried about their financial situation... as all of us know that many contractors have bad management of their cashflow.. that's why there're always cases of contractors running away after payment or delaying in completing the job. A staff of the ID firm called & asked us to give them about a week to sort out who'd take over our project. We agreed. I must say we're very worried then.
Less than a week later, works resumed. And they didn't even demand for payment. We're indeed impressed with their credibility among their suppliers as well as their finances. But the schedule of works were very badly.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
It's A Long Process - I
The selling of our previous home & the buying of the new place were a long one that took exactly 7 months.
14 Jun 09, we sold our first home. Gave up my new job to concentrate on the packing... it's for my health too.
29 Aug, we moved out. Most of our stuff went to the warehouse, mum to sis' while hubby & I went to Aunt GS. We're totally not used to it & felt so insecured at the thought of being homeless. That's when we realised that we've taken for granted what we'd been enjoying - our own home.
13 Sept, we moved from Aunt GS' to Bishan. The week before that we're busy cleaning up the room and getting all necessary items for the few months' stay. We really thank God for the provision. We didn't need to pay rent, not even utilities and could stay there for as long as we wanted to. It's a very different experience for me... it's the 1st time I lived under the same roof with a few different individuals.
Since early July when the OTP was signed, we'd been visiting ID firms to get quotes. All in all, we'd met 6 of them and each came back with a quote that's way over our budget. All of them said the same - we had expensive taste. We actually banked on Anthony, who's the ID for our first home. We paid so little then (minor works though - false ceiling in living+feature wall in living+L-box in MBR+some additional lighting points @ only $1.6K). We got in touch with him even before we bought the new place. Just at that time, he came out to set up his own company & promised to give us a very good price. We obviously had a very different expectation of "a good price". So we're extremely disappointed to be quoted a price that's even higher than the rest of the IDs! Actually we needed more of a contractor than interior designer since we've got our own ideas to do up the place. However, it's just so difficult to find 1... we're in such a desperate state that we contemplated the thought of not renovating our place (ie. not moving in 1st) till we got enough money. We're just not willing to give up the ID ideas we'd for our new home.
Then the last ID, J (he's also the 7th we approached), was actually introduced by our property agent, just when we're about to give up. He's a very nice man.. very honest and accomodative. We're so glad & relieved to have found him as his price was the lowest & it's also the only 1 that's not too far from our budget. Thank God!
Mid Nov, we got our keys & we brought him to our new place for a site visit.
14 Jun 09, we sold our first home. Gave up my new job to concentrate on the packing... it's for my health too.
29 Aug, we moved out. Most of our stuff went to the warehouse, mum to sis' while hubby & I went to Aunt GS. We're totally not used to it & felt so insecured at the thought of being homeless. That's when we realised that we've taken for granted what we'd been enjoying - our own home.
13 Sept, we moved from Aunt GS' to Bishan. The week before that we're busy cleaning up the room and getting all necessary items for the few months' stay. We really thank God for the provision. We didn't need to pay rent, not even utilities and could stay there for as long as we wanted to. It's a very different experience for me... it's the 1st time I lived under the same roof with a few different individuals.
Since early July when the OTP was signed, we'd been visiting ID firms to get quotes. All in all, we'd met 6 of them and each came back with a quote that's way over our budget. All of them said the same - we had expensive taste. We actually banked on Anthony, who's the ID for our first home. We paid so little then (minor works though - false ceiling in living+feature wall in living+L-box in MBR+some additional lighting points @ only $1.6K). We got in touch with him even before we bought the new place. Just at that time, he came out to set up his own company & promised to give us a very good price. We obviously had a very different expectation of "a good price". So we're extremely disappointed to be quoted a price that's even higher than the rest of the IDs! Actually we needed more of a contractor than interior designer since we've got our own ideas to do up the place. However, it's just so difficult to find 1... we're in such a desperate state that we contemplated the thought of not renovating our place (ie. not moving in 1st) till we got enough money. We're just not willing to give up the ID ideas we'd for our new home.
Then the last ID, J (he's also the 7th we approached), was actually introduced by our property agent, just when we're about to give up. He's a very nice man.. very honest and accomodative. We're so glad & relieved to have found him as his price was the lowest & it's also the only 1 that's not too far from our budget. Thank God!
Mid Nov, we got our keys & we brought him to our new place for a site visit.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Facelift
Finally.......... finished compiling the pictures of our new home:) It's our first major project... we literally revamped everything. So voilà! Here're the Before & After look.
More pix here .....
The previous owners painted their whole living hall yellowish brown, with yellow wallpaper. But we saw the potential in this unit;)
The color throughout our new home - black/grey/silver/white was first conceived back in last July, when we purchased our flat. We only got the keys 4 months later, in Nov, it's definitely a long wait...
Our bombshelter is hidden behind the mirror and next to the mirror is our 3-door ceiling to floor shoe cabinet:D
The previous owner tore down the wall between the kitchen & the yard. We reconstructed it & added a frosted glass door to hide the miscellaneous items. And mum can still cook while we dry our clothes.
The common toilet. We use lots of white as it's preferred by most people especially old people...
... like mum, since she's the one using it
The old kitchen cabinets were pretty run down & the wall was filled with brown stains which we believe were accumulated from years of cooking.
Gone was the ceiling fan & thin wooden strips (in the middle) nailed onto the walls surrounding the living room
The walls that formed the bedroom next to the balcony were first tore down by the previous owners to have a much bigger living room. But later they wanted back the bedroom so built the false walls (seen in the top pic). Part of the wall was already shaky when we bought it & the bedroom sliding door's mechanism was no longer working. The area without door was a dining room.
We re-erected the concrete walls (hollow blocks)... we converted the previous dining area into our study with a clear swing door. The bedroom behind our tv is mum's... we gave her a bigger bedroom by shifting the wall into the study
In fact we've rebuilt a number of walls around the house & paid quite a sum just on that.
Our bedroom. We hacked the wall between the MBR & bedroom 2. Bedroom 2 is turned into our Walk-in Wardrobe. Till now we still can't believe that I got my dream Walk-in so soon! :)
Our bedroom
The wall (where the fan was hanged) was hacked.
Bought a bar table as my make-up counter... prefer this height as it saves me lots of standing/sitting movements when in a rush. Originally wanted to custom make but due to budget constraint, we gotta put it aside.
Our all-black toilet!:D
Our Walk-in Wardrobe. Everyone visiting it thought they'd walked into a boutique. That's exactly the feel that we wanted!;)
An all-glass showcase in the middle of our Walk-in Wardrobe.
Mama has a Walk-in Wardrobe too!
The previous owners' dining area.. now our study room.
The balcony flooring was retiled too.
The color throughout our new home - black/grey/silver/white was first conceived back in last July, when we purchased our flat. We only got the keys 4 months later, in Nov, it's definitely a long wait...
Our bombshelter is hidden behind the mirror and next to the mirror is our 3-door ceiling to floor shoe cabinet:D
The previous owner tore down the wall between the kitchen & the yard. We reconstructed it & added a frosted glass door to hide the miscellaneous items. And mum can still cook while we dry our clothes.
The common toilet. We use lots of white as it's preferred by most people especially old people...
... like mum, since she's the one using it
The old kitchen cabinets were pretty run down & the wall was filled with brown stains which we believe were accumulated from years of cooking.
Gone was the ceiling fan & thin wooden strips (in the middle) nailed onto the walls surrounding the living room
The walls that formed the bedroom next to the balcony were first tore down by the previous owners to have a much bigger living room. But later they wanted back the bedroom so built the false walls (seen in the top pic). Part of the wall was already shaky when we bought it & the bedroom sliding door's mechanism was no longer working. The area without door was a dining room.We re-erected the concrete walls (hollow blocks)... we converted the previous dining area into our study with a clear swing door. The bedroom behind our tv is mum's... we gave her a bigger bedroom by shifting the wall into the study
In fact we've rebuilt a number of walls around the house & paid quite a sum just on that.
Our bedroom. We hacked the wall between the MBR & bedroom 2. Bedroom 2 is turned into our Walk-in Wardrobe. Till now we still can't believe that I got my dream Walk-in so soon! :)
Our bedroom
The wall (where the fan was hanged) was hacked.Bought a bar table as my make-up counter... prefer this height as it saves me lots of standing/sitting movements when in a rush. Originally wanted to custom make but due to budget constraint, we gotta put it aside.
Our all-black toilet!:D
Our Walk-in Wardrobe. Everyone visiting it thought they'd walked into a boutique. That's exactly the feel that we wanted!;)
An all-glass showcase in the middle of our Walk-in Wardrobe.
Mama has a Walk-in Wardrobe too!
The previous owners' dining area.. now our study room.
The balcony flooring was retiled too.More pix here .....
Monday, March 01, 2010
CNY Celebrations & A Roaring Year Ahead
LNY celebration started a week earlier, on 6 Feb, when we had reunion dinner @ Kitchener Road's Pu Tien Restaurant with hubby's family & his paternal relatives. A total of 4 tables . It's a joyous affair... 喜气洋洋!:) After dinner, Con & boyfriend, June & family & the both of us adjourned to Canelé in Shaw Center for drinks/cakes & the post-dinner session only ended past 1am. Woopz... It'd been a long Sat for us both.. Went for my gel-nail appointment in FEP @ 11am while hubby's working. Had no intention to do gel nails tis year till all my nails became brittle due to the frequent contact with water (cleaning our new place) & the last day for doing gel nails was actually that Sat as the following week they'd only do classic mani/pedi.
The Thurs before CNY was a shopping day slotted last minute. Long story: I'd bought a very nice black-laced Cheongsam which I've been trying to find for a few years. The type of design & color I wanted exactly & much to my delight, it's not ex, @ $60 only. Then my dear hubby washed it, together with all other new clothes, with the washing machine. So you know the consequence even before I say it... my lovely fitting Cheongsam had become a fishtail Cheongsam. :_(
Hubby felt so bad that he's willing to get me another dress at all costs. But it's just 3 days before CNY....... So at the end of that day, I got a striking blue dress (the only piece I'd my eyes on after shopping for hours & it's cheap!) + a short skirt from FEP + a pair of jeans from Bershka. A fruitful shopping trip indeed ;)
Nobody seemed to be working on Fri (the day before CNY Eve).. Hee... Square 2 was crowded with last minute shoppers. We're in a festive mood too! In the evening, after hubby finished work, we rushed to sis' place for our Reunion Dinner. Sis prepped some sumptuous & traditional CNY food that filled the whole table....
On CNY Eve, hubby wasn't working so we could wrap up those household chores that we would only do on the eve every year - changing bedsheets & washing toilets. We thought this year would be much lax as all cleaning & packing were already done when we moved in but turned out that the nitty-gritty took almost half of the day to finish. In the evening, back to inlaws' for reunion dinner (steamboat) :) We left for home before 11pm & we only slept @4am! It's all because of ME. Hubby took care of the outstanding chores for the night like ironing our clothes, preparing the ang paos & getting ready CNY goodies while all I did was doing a bit of alteration to the dress I was gonna wear the next day & DIYing my pedicure. I took more than 2 hours just painting my toe nails as (I don't know why!) I kept messing them so had to remove & paint again, remove & paint again, remove & paint again! Grrr! Think I'll have my toe nails done by experts next year as my back & our time certainly worth more...
大年初一. We reached AMK slightly before 1pm... we're getting later & later.. oops. Had lunch & the usual photo taking session, bantering with siblings, mingling with the aunts/uncles, idling around.. hehe.
Taking "refuge" in the coolest & quietest place in the house --> MIL's bedroom:P
Some serious business going on before the family pic ...
We left about 4pm & went to Daddy's. Then got home for a rest & had dinner at home (mum cooked porridge... something light amidst the feasting) before meeting everyone again @8pm for movie (大兵小将) in AMK Hub. This year, lil Rylie joined us & he's such a good boy in the cinema:) After movie, FIL & MIL left & the rest of us went to Upper Thomson's Hans for supper.
大年初二. We enjoyed a slightly extended slumber & woke up just in time for lunch (开年饭). Mum cooked shark's fin.. Yummy!
Soon after lunch, PY & Brian came. Much time was spent on 'touring' our place & both parties shared experience in the making of our home sweet home. Glad they liked ours;) Also finally managed to see their wedding pix after more than half a year!
After they left, took some pix with sis & niece...
Amusing ourselves in our Walk-in Wardrobe:)
A nice one (纱龙照? haha!).. that's because we've a nice walk-in :P:P
A nice one (纱龙照? haha!).. that's because we've a nice walk-in :P:P
Before aunt & family & sis left, I needed to excuse myself to get ready as we're going to meet June & family, Con & Ivan. A busy day indeed, with a chain of activities...
Before leaving home;)
We all met in McDonald's at Marina Sq for dinner then to River Hongbao. Know what? This is the very first time both hubby & I went for such carnival.. Hee... This year we wouldn't have gone as well if June didn't suggest it.
Prints, prints & more prints.. besides having a floral background, ha!
Spent about 1.5hour there & then to Evans Road's Mr Prata (24hours)... nice;) Again, we only headed home past 1am.
大年初三. The annual lunch @ 5th aunt's. She has also shifted about the same time... even later than us, just 1 week before CNY! And nearer.. only 1 train station away, in Yishun. Mum must be happy:)
After the 2nd stop @ another aunt's place, hubby & I returned home as inlaws & family would be visiting us in the evening. Con & Ivan tapao-ed dinner from Bedok hawker centre for all of us... it's a nice & casual dinner:) And our walk-in wardrobe has been a phototaking spot for our visitors;)
Look... someone's more than a Couch Potato! Haha!
The night ended early @ 9pm as the following day was a working day. So soon, the CNY holidays ended.
@ June's on Sunday (年初八). Nice pic they have from Cambodia.
Lo Hei @ sis' on 年初九 evening. We bought the Yu Sheng from The Soup Restaurant(三盅两件).. it's nice.
Lo Hei @ sis' on 年初九 evening. We bought the Yu Sheng from The Soup Restaurant(三盅两件).. it's nice.We supposed to celebrate Yuan Xiao with the sisters & their family as Sara's only back from a business trip to the US on that day morning. But Gin's mum is diagnosed with cancer so she wants to spend time with her mum. Totally understand how she feels.. we shall give her the moral support that she needs now. Talking about this, was texting Gin yesterday & got to to know that her mum's doing BRT treatment for her condition & turns out that she's a patient at hubby's centre. It's such a small world! Let's pray for God's healing according to His Will
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Our New Home
We've more or less settled in & are enjoying our new home for more than a week.
No pictures yet as the novelty is kept for quite a few who'll be visiting us during CNY ;)
We didn't invite any but guess as we moved in just before CNY so everyone coincides with the occasion to visit.
No pictures yet as the novelty is kept for quite a few who'll be visiting us during CNY ;)
We didn't invite any but guess as we moved in just before CNY so everyone coincides with the occasion to visit.
Monday, February 08, 2010
The Month of January
Last month got a lil crazy.
After the New Year holiday, hubby went for his 2-week In-Camp Training (ICT) on 4 Jan. That's also the time when our renovation neared finalising.
Thank God I was on this contract job that allowed me to take leave as & when needed to attend to the matters concerning our new home. On an average, I only worked 5 days out of the 10 working days in those 2 weeks.
Had planned some activities for the nights without hubby - catching up with friends, watching DVDs, going online.... But I nearly did none of the above. Only managed to meet up with a couple of friends - MS & a few ex colleagues from PwC:
1) MS also took the chance to visit our new home & glad we'd some professional advice, we got to rectify a serious problem with our designer. He's been such a great aid... helped to source for some accessories & also helped me to transport some boxes back to Bishan, to the doorstep even. Should have considered engaging MS to do our new place...his company does mostly high-end projects so thought we couldn't afford. But when we got the final bill from our designer, the amount was of no difference to what MS told me. He then told me he'd given me a "friendship price" (友情价) with no hidden costs whereas others quoted cheap would come with a list of additional expenses upon completion. Hmmm......
2) Met up with the 5 ladies & we'd steamboat dinner in Chinatown. Not easy to find a common date & time to meet... which is why I really appreciate lots that they always give in to my schedule. After so many months, they still kept close contact with me.. updated me with the happenings & hoped that I could join them again, for the 3rd time. Well... I wouldn't want to do so though.
Almost every night, I got home (Bishan) not before 9. I've just got so many things to do. Then after settling down & the usual 30-min chat with hubby, my energy level would start beeping. The running around was indeed tiring.
Thank God hubby completed his ICT safe & sound & even booked out 1 day earlier due to good performance :) The off day came so timely.. we'd a full day on Fri (15Jan) to clean up our new home before moving in on sat (16Jan). We scheduled our move right after hubby's ICT which explains the mad rush in those 2 weeks.
There're more rectification works done during the first week we moved in (one of them was the changing of some floor tiles) which led to lots of inconvenience & lots of cleaning up whilst unpacking. Just recollecting the situation now sends me chills.
For the next 2 weeks, we worked in the day & unpacked at night... only turned in around 2am (or even 3am!) every 'morning' & woke up before 7am. Why the rush? We were having a Home Blessing session on 30 Jan by my old friend's Reverend hubby. And dear mum wanted to invite some siblings of hers & dad's over on the same day. We're initially against the idea as we'd no intention at all to have a housewarming. But she insisted of having one.. so in order not to disappoint her, we gave in... just those she mentioned.. no one else.
We got so stressed that both of us lost about 2kg each at the end of the move & all the hassles thereafter! It's an effective way of shedding some fats before CNY huh? But meeting all the relatives & friends with a haggard & lacklustre face is definitely the last thing I want :(
Though the whole process was exhausting, we're so glad to have our new home committed to God & blessed by Him.
After the New Year holiday, hubby went for his 2-week In-Camp Training (ICT) on 4 Jan. That's also the time when our renovation neared finalising.
The weekend before hubby left, he bought me this watch to cheer me on:)
Thank God I was on this contract job that allowed me to take leave as & when needed to attend to the matters concerning our new home. On an average, I only worked 5 days out of the 10 working days in those 2 weeks.
Had planned some activities for the nights without hubby - catching up with friends, watching DVDs, going online.... But I nearly did none of the above. Only managed to meet up with a couple of friends - MS & a few ex colleagues from PwC:
1) MS also took the chance to visit our new home & glad we'd some professional advice, we got to rectify a serious problem with our designer. He's been such a great aid... helped to source for some accessories & also helped me to transport some boxes back to Bishan, to the doorstep even. Should have considered engaging MS to do our new place...his company does mostly high-end projects so thought we couldn't afford. But when we got the final bill from our designer, the amount was of no difference to what MS told me. He then told me he'd given me a "friendship price" (友情价) with no hidden costs whereas others quoted cheap would come with a list of additional expenses upon completion. Hmmm......
2) Met up with the 5 ladies & we'd steamboat dinner in Chinatown. Not easy to find a common date & time to meet... which is why I really appreciate lots that they always give in to my schedule. After so many months, they still kept close contact with me.. updated me with the happenings & hoped that I could join them again, for the 3rd time. Well... I wouldn't want to do so though.
Almost every night, I got home (Bishan) not before 9. I've just got so many things to do. Then after settling down & the usual 30-min chat with hubby, my energy level would start beeping. The running around was indeed tiring.
Thank God hubby completed his ICT safe & sound & even booked out 1 day earlier due to good performance :) The off day came so timely.. we'd a full day on Fri (15Jan) to clean up our new home before moving in on sat (16Jan). We scheduled our move right after hubby's ICT which explains the mad rush in those 2 weeks.
There're more rectification works done during the first week we moved in (one of them was the changing of some floor tiles) which led to lots of inconvenience & lots of cleaning up whilst unpacking. Just recollecting the situation now sends me chills.
For the next 2 weeks, we worked in the day & unpacked at night... only turned in around 2am (or even 3am!) every 'morning' & woke up before 7am. Why the rush? We were having a Home Blessing session on 30 Jan by my old friend's Reverend hubby. And dear mum wanted to invite some siblings of hers & dad's over on the same day. We're initially against the idea as we'd no intention at all to have a housewarming. But she insisted of having one.. so in order not to disappoint her, we gave in... just those she mentioned.. no one else.
We got so stressed that both of us lost about 2kg each at the end of the move & all the hassles thereafter! It's an effective way of shedding some fats before CNY huh? But meeting all the relatives & friends with a haggard & lacklustre face is definitely the last thing I want :(
Though the whole process was exhausting, we're so glad to have our new home committed to God & blessed by Him.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Hello 2Ö1Ö !
Dec - a joyous yet exhausting month. More so this year as we're in the heat of our renovation.
This Christmas, presents were only bought for our families. No budget & no time. So comparing to wrapping 40 over pieces last year (& I always make sure that every present we give out is nicely wrapped), this was quite a breeze.
Sis & my niece went on a 9-day holiday in mid Dec so hubby & I were a lil busy shuttling between our temp home & sis' to spend more time with mum. Also stayed over @ sis' that weekend. On 21 Dec, the whole family had the annual reunion dinner for winter solstice, a day in advance as mum had cell group gathering on actual day. On 23 Dec, we brought mum to attend the wake service of SIL's (bro's wife) dad.
Christmas Eve, hubby & I went back to my ex-church with mum in the evening... the first time after all these years. I've never ever thought I'd go back again. But I did, and with hubby. Thank God:) We guessed mum's happy. Many years ago, she had her family (except bro & family) around in church especially daddy who attended all church events with her. Then months before dad was sick, I wasn't there anymore... shortly after, so were sis & family. When daddy became very ill, mum started to go to church on her own & till now. So this Christmas, she had one of her daughters & son-in-law with her again:) And I saw many familiar & welcoming faces... they said: "you're finally back....".
Hubby & I feel very happy that finally I'm able to overcome this hurdle. This Christmas has sure given a new meaning in our lives & our walk with God and was in fact the best Christmas that I've had in the past 20 years. My heart was literally filled with love, peace and joy:)
Christmas Day morning I finished with the rest of the gift wrapping, then had dim sum lunch with my inlaws. We brought them to Tampines. This year's Christmas party was in the evening, without bro & family & no one cooked. We bought lots of good food, all from different parts of Toa Payoh, so much that we couldn't finish! Hubby & I even went back the next day to have the leftovers for dinner & we nearly couldn't finish. Ha!
The week following Christmas, there's a slight change in plan. I didn't take the whole week off, as intended. Just 1.5 day (30th & 31st). Participated in hubby's company team building event. We went Sentosa's Palawan Beach in the afternoon & we had lots of fun.
New Year's Eve we're busy with housing matters for almost the whole day & also met our banker. Then past 8pm, we left for City Hall with our car parked @ hubby's office. Nope, we're not going for any countdown party... but to Robinson's to take a look at the beddings. Seemed like it's become a tradition for us every 2 or 3 years.. remembering the New Year's Eve in 2007 we braved the crowd in Orchard after buying close to $1,000 worth of beddings & pillows from Taka... haha. Not intentionally to make it a practice though. But glad we made the trip as we bought 2 sets of bedsheets... 1 for mum & 1 for ourselves. I love what we bought... been looking for similar fabric & color for so long! And it's cheap after a 50% off.. even cheaper than what I got from Taka just a few days ago which consisted of only a quilt cover & 2 pillow shams.
New Year's Day was a day without agenda. We went wherever we felt like including Ikea (again) to return some items we bought ...
So the start of Year 2010 for us is still all about our new place ;)
This Christmas, presents were only bought for our families. No budget & no time. So comparing to wrapping 40 over pieces last year (& I always make sure that every present we give out is nicely wrapped), this was quite a breeze.
Sis & my niece went on a 9-day holiday in mid Dec so hubby & I were a lil busy shuttling between our temp home & sis' to spend more time with mum. Also stayed over @ sis' that weekend. On 21 Dec, the whole family had the annual reunion dinner for winter solstice, a day in advance as mum had cell group gathering on actual day. On 23 Dec, we brought mum to attend the wake service of SIL's (bro's wife) dad.
Christmas Eve, hubby & I went back to my ex-church with mum in the evening... the first time after all these years. I've never ever thought I'd go back again. But I did, and with hubby. Thank God:) We guessed mum's happy. Many years ago, she had her family (except bro & family) around in church especially daddy who attended all church events with her. Then months before dad was sick, I wasn't there anymore... shortly after, so were sis & family. When daddy became very ill, mum started to go to church on her own & till now. So this Christmas, she had one of her daughters & son-in-law with her again:) And I saw many familiar & welcoming faces... they said: "you're finally back....".
Hubby & I feel very happy that finally I'm able to overcome this hurdle. This Christmas has sure given a new meaning in our lives & our walk with God and was in fact the best Christmas that I've had in the past 20 years. My heart was literally filled with love, peace and joy:)
Christmas Day morning I finished with the rest of the gift wrapping, then had dim sum lunch with my inlaws. We brought them to Tampines. This year's Christmas party was in the evening, without bro & family & no one cooked. We bought lots of good food, all from different parts of Toa Payoh, so much that we couldn't finish! Hubby & I even went back the next day to have the leftovers for dinner & we nearly couldn't finish. Ha!
The week following Christmas, there's a slight change in plan. I didn't take the whole week off, as intended. Just 1.5 day (30th & 31st). Participated in hubby's company team building event. We went Sentosa's Palawan Beach in the afternoon & we had lots of fun.
New Year's Eve we're busy with housing matters for almost the whole day & also met our banker. Then past 8pm, we left for City Hall with our car parked @ hubby's office. Nope, we're not going for any countdown party... but to Robinson's to take a look at the beddings. Seemed like it's become a tradition for us every 2 or 3 years.. remembering the New Year's Eve in 2007 we braved the crowd in Orchard after buying close to $1,000 worth of beddings & pillows from Taka... haha. Not intentionally to make it a practice though. But glad we made the trip as we bought 2 sets of bedsheets... 1 for mum & 1 for ourselves. I love what we bought... been looking for similar fabric & color for so long! And it's cheap after a 50% off.. even cheaper than what I got from Taka just a few days ago which consisted of only a quilt cover & 2 pillow shams.
New Year's Day was a day without agenda. We went wherever we felt like including Ikea (again) to return some items we bought ...
So the start of Year 2010 for us is still all about our new place ;)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Last Fri ~ Sun
Last Fri after work we went to Vivo's Howards Storage World as I love their acrylic range.. expensive though. Also shopped @ Daiso. Had a nice evening walking around... looking out for stuff for the household & also for Christmas. As we'd planned for a late dinner elsewhere, we enjoyed a session of Ya Kun toast & tea at HarbourFront in the midst of shopping as "downpayment" for our growling tummy, hehe.
I've been there a couple of times about 8 or 9 years ago for breakfast. I guess at that time , it's too early (@ 7am+!) for me to appreciate the food. The only impression I had of the restaurant then was that it's a traditional dim sum place. Then recently we visited New World Centre for our housing stuff & went opposite to Swee Choon to get some snacks. They tasted good! So we decided to go there for some dim sum. It's an ideal supper venue for the late nighters... Opening hrs: 6pm-10am.
So now, we've 2 options for dim sum supper... 1 in Tampines (which opens 24hours) for nice & cheap dim sum & the other, gotta be Swee Choon which is a lil more expensive ;)
Sat morning, I went for treatment @ hubby's followed by hydrotherapy. It's so good to know that hubby was working hard in the next room while I soaked myself in the hot water (it's REALLY hot ok) & a refreshing shower thereafter :) Besides making a trip to this particular Christian bookstore in Chinatown (but were disappointed by the variety available), the entire afternoon was spent in Ikea & IMM.
On Sun, after attending service we visited our new place. Sorted out a few things & then had dinner with mum. Sis would be away on holidays the whole week... left mum alone at home... so we gonna see her more often the coming week.
That's it, another busy but great weekend:)
@ Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant(瑞春点心餐厅) along Jalan Besar (opp New World Centre). Hubby rinsing our tea cups:)
Seated in the alley behind the restaurant & it's so crowded @ 11pm.
Our fav is the 小笼包... Yummy! & not ex... The bill was $18 including tea & wet tissues.
Seated in the alley behind the restaurant & it's so crowded @ 11pm.
Our fav is the 小笼包... Yummy! & not ex... The bill was $18 including tea & wet tissues.I've been there a couple of times about 8 or 9 years ago for breakfast. I guess at that time , it's too early (@ 7am+!) for me to appreciate the food. The only impression I had of the restaurant then was that it's a traditional dim sum place. Then recently we visited New World Centre for our housing stuff & went opposite to Swee Choon to get some snacks. They tasted good! So we decided to go there for some dim sum. It's an ideal supper venue for the late nighters... Opening hrs: 6pm-10am.
So now, we've 2 options for dim sum supper... 1 in Tampines (which opens 24hours) for nice & cheap dim sum & the other, gotta be Swee Choon which is a lil more expensive ;)
Sat morning, I went for treatment @ hubby's followed by hydrotherapy. It's so good to know that hubby was working hard in the next room while I soaked myself in the hot water (it's REALLY hot ok) & a refreshing shower thereafter :) Besides making a trip to this particular Christian bookstore in Chinatown (but were disappointed by the variety available), the entire afternoon was spent in Ikea & IMM.
On Sun, after attending service we visited our new place. Sorted out a few things & then had dinner with mum. Sis would be away on holidays the whole week... left mum alone at home... so we gonna see her more often the coming week.
That's it, another busy but great weekend:)
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