IKEA Strikes Again

Before I got pregnant, the Husband and I would regularly visit IKEA. OK,  it wasn’t so much for the stuff but more for their meatballs and curry puffs (which by the way they discontinued for the longest time and have thankfully restarted again) and whilst there we’d stroll around visualising our future home in every room layout. We do not like their wood. Really poor quality wood IMO and people may argue that it’s cheap but I don’t think so. Not for something I need to assemble and transport myself. I do however love their textiles, kitchen stuff and ideas. The one section we never ever browsed was the baby/kids section (except for the soft toys, we’ve adopted quite a few from there – my favourite being Muji the Hippo)

During this whole pregnancy, we’ve hardly had the time to make the trip. It just didn’t seem worth the effort travelling there. And their loos are horrible. So definitely not a place a pregnant woman wants to spend much time in. Three days ago, when I saw their SALE mailer in my post box I was tempted. So this morning, after feeding the boy, expressing some milk and handing over to my mum I rushed out the door hoping I could make it there and back without disturbing the Boy’s schedule. Gosh, so much has changed! They have the sweetest things for babies. Grobag like sleeping bags, really sweet bed linen, cutlery and changing pads…so much of stuff I’ve never noticed before! And before I knew it I was making plans to come back with the Husband to shop some more. IKEA, you’ve been missed!

(On a small note, I don’t think their meatballs are that awesome anymore and why did they discontinue the offer of a cold drink for family? now we can only get a hot beverage – and I think that’s not really a good move)

Can Singapore Really Be Hotter Than Dubai?

Or is it just me? We felt it before we went to the land of sand but we are feeling it even more now that we’re back. What ‘is’ it with this heat and humidity? I only have to sit stationary with the fan/aircon switched off inside the house and I start to sweat profusely. It’s beyond uncomfortable now. It’s just plain icky.

So we’re trying to do stuff that revolves around air-conditioning. 😉

• Watched Iron Man 3. Enjoyed the movie but didn’t quite get the hype surrounding it. It was strictly OK
• Went shopping – a lot! Malls are cool and you get a wee bit of exercise with all that walking about. In fact I’d been on my feet for a straight 6 hours once trying on clothes and walking orchard road
• Went to the Library. My favourite place! Besides Bishan Library which is my neighbourhood lib, my second favourite one is the Central library at Victoria St. I grab my books and sit outside in Hanis Cafe with a nice Tuna sandwich (which is delicious BTW) and life is wonderful again 🙂
• And this one doesn’t really count as a cool place in terms of temperature, but it’s definitely a fun place to spend hours browsing – Far East Flora. We got ourselves some ‘more’ plants for the home. Love them! now fingers crossed they grow healthy and happy and don’t wilt away

Love the names! Maidenhair fern, Lipstick Curly, Superbelles and these funky lil vibrant green fern like chaps with big afro hair! hehehehe..love ’em!

And we also got our first Frangipani from a really lovely lady – now hope it loves us just as much as we love it and grows happy roots in our home!

 

Cheers to Waking Up Happy :-)

We needed a mattress. We’ve been sleeping on a King Coil. It’s not a super expensive one but it was the one that felt most comfortable and fit our budget  when we first came to Singers. Flash forward about six years to today and we’ve realised we really could do with another bed for the guest room. (We have a sofa bed in the guest room which is super comfortable but just not a real bed) So we decided to move our existing bed into the guest room and get ourselves a new one – and a better mattress. The bed wasn’t a problem. The mattress is a whole different ball game.

Everything and everyone says we need to lie on a bed before we buy the mattress, thats the only way to tell if it works for you or not. And they are right. It is only when you lay down that your body tells you – this feels good! All that talk about pocket springs, latex, pillow tops, memory foam, blah blah washes over you and is not really relevant. But lying down and trying on mattress after mattress can get tiring and very confusing. So I’ve made a list on how to make this whole task a bit easier.

• Decide your budget (and be prepared to exceed it by a bit if required because trust me – you will find beds that are ‘slightly’ beyond your budget but much more comfortable that will make you want to spend more)
• Firm or bouncy – you need to know your preferences. This is one of the first questions the sales person will ask you.
• Dont hesitate to lie down on as many beds are you need to. And get comfy. Sleep on your side if you usually do and take your time. Most mattresses feel awesome for the first 5 minutes but the comfort starts to fade after that. So take your time.
• Go with your partner. You share the bed at home so you need to try it out together before buying as well. Plus it helps that while he/she is talking to the sales person you can take your time lying down and taking in the feel of the mattress. And vice versa.
• Dont get carried away by jargon. All that talk about springs, horse hair, latex etc can get confusing. Ultimately the prices are more or less the same. The brands all over 10-15 years warranty and are all known to have strict return policies. No one offers to exchange the mattress just like that. So it eventually is the same thing.

We tried Slumberland (loved the Royal Excellence – $3300? and the Tempursmart II 3600 – $2900) Sealy (dont remember the names but realised Sealy is way too bouncy for us), King Coil (The SS Plush was good -approx $2500 I think), Simmons (The Sea Breeze was too hard, the Dreamscapes Summerville was divine! $4900) and Serta (New Sophistication – $4309 and Sophistication – $3500)

We narrowed down to the Slumberland Tempursmart 3600, the Simmons Dreamscapes and the Serta New Sophi. Loved all three. Slumberland offers a 15 yr warranty with a one for one exchange for the entire period (the only brand that offers that) It had horsehair, was very comfortable and the lowest priced of the three.

The Simmons was wonderful, but the price too was high. I had concerns about Simmons mattresses as I had read online that they tend to collapse and sag after a few years. The salesperson at Robinsons (Sheila) clarified that this was mainly for US models sold there and not in Singapore. Well, maybe she’s right.  But the price was still a bit high for us. We needed to think.

The Serta was actually the only mattress that the husband tried and loved almost instantly. It was very very similar to the previous two. but I think what sweetened the deal for us was the amount of freebies we were being offered.

So after a quick coffee, we decided to go with Serta. Loved the way it made us feel. Hopefully it keeps us happy for years to come 🙂

And if you’re just starting your mattress hunt, take your time and if required – sleep on it for a bit 😉 G’luck!

The Counting Sheep from Serta (I miss my braces!) Image courtesy – serta.com

The thrills and trials of a new house

We’ve moved! From a big huge roll of bubble wrap, seventy brown boxes, a ridiculously heavy stack of newsprint and about 7 rolls of brown tape thrown in for fun…we used them all up…we are now working our way through dismantling and destroying all our hard work. But it feels so good!

We’re down to about 20 boxes now but they are all mostly just curios and figurines along with books (lots of those) and some odds and ends. The kitchen was the first room we unpacked…and with that out of the way, the rest slowly fell into place.

One of the first things we realized was that we just do not have enough space for our stuff (ESP the clothes) in spite of throwing away tons and donating a couple of boxes it’s still never going to fix comfortably in the wardrobe space we have here. So we may have to go furniture shopping again for some dressers or something. I’m not complaining…I love furniture shopping.

Today we got our two Japanese console tables delivered….they look fantastic! and as soon as they were placed, we looked at each other and though- this is beginning to feel a lot like home now 🙂

It’s been 5 days now and I can safely say that a few of my concerns have been dispelled
– there are no mosquitoes swarming around (as some people say is common in landed houses)
– the rooms are not dark and gloomy ( yes, the inner rooms do get darker than the outer ones but not enough that you need lights on all day)
– no cockroaches! Ya yay! And I intended to keep it that way.
– no noisy neighbors. In fact it’s so peaceful and quiet that I feel like I’m in a resort or in Goa. And one of our neighbors is really sweet- he dropped off a jar of chocolate cookies as a welcome to the neighborhood gift! I thought that was really nice.

So we’re both really looking forward to living here, it’s completely different from what we have been used to but we’re extremely excited to experience what lies ahead 🙂

And I thought I’d end with a pic from littlefriendsphotolittlefriens. Just love Seth Casteel and all his work! And this one is a bit like how I feel right now, excited, tired and very very hot! What’s with the weather? Nothing like sticking your head in the pool right?

Its Hump Day

Yesterday was happy sad. Happy because my braces are off! And the strangely weird feeling of running my tongue over smooth teeth after 28 months of feeling metal there is very very nice indeed. In fact when I brushed my teeth last night my brush actually slipped and hit my lip, I’m so used to feeling resistance when brushing that my hand slipped when I didn’t get any…hehehehe…I could get used to this 🙂

But yesterday also got me stressful news. The husband will be travelling the day after we move. Which leaves me to spend the first week in a new house alone. And deal with everything that goes with a moving into a new house on my own. I will try and be positive and think about the good stuff (and there is a lot of that – just need to remind myself) and hopefully the days will fly by and he will be home soon. I know he doesn’t enjoy this any more than I do.

Image courtesy : johnshellysjournal.com

 

Last Day of Getting Grilled!

After 28 months of being braced, today is the day I get them all off! Am I excited? A little bit…stressed -quite a bit!

To be honest, I’ve wanted braces for such a long time that when I finally got them I was thrilled – and the thought of getting them off never really crossed my mind – until a couple of days ago when I realised it’s time.

For me it was always about “having braces” rather than “getting a perfect smile” so I’m kind of sad to take them off and would honestly keep them longer if I could. But it would be nice to eat bread without getting it stuck everywhere…and not having to brush and floss 1800000 times a day or gargle ‘constantly’ when drinking water (esp at Din Tai Fung..those veg dumplings are delicious but those green things are nasty for people with braces!) So in less than two hours I’ll be sitting in Dr. Tan’s chair and on my way to smoother smiles.

Fingers crossed it goes well and there is no pain. I hate pain. 😦

And since I’m trying to not think of the discomfort involved, I’m going to think of the gorgeous view from Tan Boon Liat Building where we went furniture browsing the other day. If you are looking for good wood and refuse to buy IKEA, this place is worth a look. It has some lovely shops like Mountain Teak, The Shophouse, Pomelo, Red House, Journey East and Fairprice Antiques.

Some were expensive, most were decent. We will definitely be going back! So glad I’m discovering these places…and to think when we first moved here my only shop to get wooden furniture was Barang Barang! Enjoy the view!

Manic Monday Madness!

Wake up! Wake up! it’s a shiny new week!

I open my eyes and I can no longer put it off. Today is the day I must start packing up my very intimidating wardrobe. Intimidating because I shudder to think of the junk I will find hidden there once I start pulling out clothes to pack away for the new place. But, unfortunately I have avoided doing this for way too long and I can procrastinate no more. That was me at 7am this morning.

Well, 9.5 hrs later I am now proudly looking at my neatly rolled up clothes in two very nice and organised huge brown boxes. Yes, this is still not my entire wardrobe – only my “casual, to wear outside clothes” But it’s a huge part of it and I am pretty thrilled that I got it all done. Not only that, I’ve got another (smaller but what the heck – it’s still there) box filled with all the stuff I will not be using anymore (too small, too old, too weird) to be disposed! yay! It’s usually not easy for me ‘at all’ to throw away stuff. I am not a hoarder. But I do tend to hold on to things way longer than necessary and so for me to be able to actually pick up a blouse and admit that it’s too old to wear is huge!

So to reward myself, I’m off to make this delicious thing – surprise the husband when he’s back 🙂

Khari!

A Week of Last’s

Didn’t really have time to think about it until now, but this week will be a week of lasts for me for two very significant things.

One, the obvious – the last week of us living at our current place. It’s big because we love this place, and it’s been home for four years. I will miss so much!

• The squirrels scampering right outside my kitchen window every single morning…giving me such a brilliant visual to the term “bright eyed and bushy tailed”
• Birds chirping. Lots and lots and lots of chirping!
• Big, huge windows, that overlook lush green trees…and windy days
• Our wonderful neighbours. Who we admit, we haven’t interacted with much but who are wonderful people, easy to live next to and friendly
• The proximity to church. I mean honestly, it simply cannot get closer than it is right now. And even though we aren’t moving far (I can still walk it in under ten minutes) I will miss my days of waking up 20 minutes before mass and still making it on time
• Spikey (or at least that’s what we’ve been calling him for the last 4 years) who lives right across my window. The sweet golden retriever who we’ve watched grow older and loved so much from afar. Will miss the boy
• Our wonderful “no cockroaches” apartment. Moving into a landed house brings with it the terror of roaches and I am praying very very hard and arming myself with all the roach baits I can to prevent them from moving in with us. Ever.
• Our huge living room. The place where we’ve had our friends play the xbox kinect group games with ease, had at least 7 couples jiving at the same time for parties (along with 4 kids darting between them playing games) and like one of them commented “guys we can play cricket in here”! I will miss the space
• My big, bright, sunny kitchen. Yes, it does get hot in there sometimes but I have loved the huge windows and the view. Besides, I discovered I really enjoy cooking while I was here
• My walk in wardrobe. *sigh*

Two, its my final week in Braces!! how could I have completely forgotten that? Dec 2010 was when I got them on.And it’s been over two years since then. I still don’t think I’m ready to take them off (Personally I love them! wish I could keep them on longer…strange I know but seeing how I’ve wanted braces for years, I’m very reluctant to get them off now)

Well, like it or not, they come off on tuesday. And I will really really miss them. 😦

Add to that another dental appointment for the retainer, cleaning and descaling, Maundy Thursday and Good friday and the fact that I still haven’t packed up my wardrobe, shoes or kitchen – I definitely need a crash course in time management and getting tasks done!

See you on the other side! 🙂

..makes my days just a wee bit nicer!

A New Home Needs New Furniture ;-)

Or maybe just an excuse to buy some. We’ve been meaning to get a console for the entrance to our living space for years. And a couple of really large mirrors too. Now that we’re moving, we decided not to wait around any more and just buy them so that our new place will have most of the stuff we’ve visualized for our home right away.

After a very productive morning of packing about three boxes full of crockery and glasses and cooking lunch – we decided to go furniture shopping. The last time we visited The Helping Hand, we really liked a few of their pieces but when we wanted to buy them, one of the very friendly guys there advised us to wait. He said that we had just missed a huge discount offer they were running by a day (unfortunately) and that if we were willing to wait for bout 15-20 days we could possibly catch the next sale. Of course we weren’t in any hurry then so we waited, called them today to check and yes – the sale is on so off we went to Kovan!

Got ourselves exactly what we had wanted a fortnight ago but about 40% cheaper and so very thrilled with our bargains, we headed off to do some window shopping at a place we’ve been mildly curious about called Hock Siong.

I first read about Hock Siong in a magazine, they apparently sell second hand furniture that has been sourced from Hotels and show flats (so basically rarely used and/or fairly good condition) The good thing is that you’re probably going to get something unique, different and beautiful. You can bagain, get them to modify it a bit if required and get it delivered for free if you purchase over 300$ worth. The drawback? there is no real guarantee as to what you will find when you visit, stuff you may have liked could have been sold out or simply not available and there is no guarantee when they will be able to restock.

We basically didn’t need anything specific, this was our first visit there so it was just to browse. Lots and lots of beautiful lamps and lampshades (but a bit to ‘hotel-like’ for my taste) and some very interesting pieces of furniture (loved some retro bar chairs that they had and a very unique long piece of driftwood that was stunning)

Image courtesy – Hock Siong Facebook

Image courtesy -Hock Siong Facebook

Got ourselves some adorable blue and white porcelain jars/bottles and some in the shape of conch shells – thinking of using them to grow plants for my kitchen or around the home. Will hopefully make another trip back there once we move and buy some knick knacks that I noticed but I’m still unsure about fitting in our new place. Besides, it’s such a fun place to browse through away so it’s definitely worth another visit.

Very excited about the move now and can hardly wait till it’s April!

Do We Really Need To Go To Another Ikea Sale?

Maybe not, but we still did.

Gave ourselves the excuse that we’re moving in less than a month, of course we will be needing ‘things’ for the new place. Doesn’t really matter that we have two truckloads of ‘things’ to move with us to the new place or that we never really got around to discussing what exactly those ‘things’ actually were, but off to Ikea we went.

To be honest, I went there because I was in the vicinity for work, literally 5 minutes away and seeing how it was the first day of the sale, I was tempted. So tempted that I went there at 2.30 and managed to kill 4 long hours aimlessly wandering around (with the occasional half hour of eating cake and reading an ebook) waiting for the husband to meet me there after work. Which only happened at 6.30.

As tiring as it was for me, I discovered a million new things I could use as potential planters for our porch, found some nifty retractable clotheslines (interestingly called Dumpa) which will come in handy at the new place and cost just 2.90$ and fell in love with a shoe cabinet.

We have a shoe rack at the moment. It takes a lot of shoes! Got it in Takashimaya years ago and it’s still in great condition. The only hitch, its a rack. In our current place there really isn’t a problem as we keep in in our storage room which has a slatted door (nice and ventilated) and since the storage room is located just near the entrance it fitted our home perfectly. The new place has a storage room just off the kitchen. And we couldn’t possibly use that for our shoes anymore. But to keep te rack outside our home would mean exposed messy shoes for everyone to see. Not happening. So we toyed with the idea of a shoe cabinet of some sort but not really actively looked for any until we saw this.

The husband is a great lover of wood. (In fact, so am I) But real solid durable wood. Not that rubbish ply compressed stuff that you get in Ikea. And while we love Ikea for it’s ideas and its brightly coloured kitchen stuff, we detest the wood there. Just too tacky and flimsy for our liking. But this darn shoe cabinet – yes it’s made of exactly the same type of wood I’ve been running down, but its just so beautiful! And besides, it’s not like we’re going to sit on it, sleep on it or eat on it. So it should be fine right? So we went ahead and bought it. Now it will stay in it’s pretty flat pack until April when we can finally install it in its place.

And oh, packed my first box today! yay! Felt a wee bit dejected when I realised that it didn’t even form a dent in my wardrobe. I really do have way too many clothes. *sigh*

Image courtesy – Ikea.com