useful household items & decoration

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after shifting into our new place, i started to buy other household items... so want to share some of the useful purchases which i have gotten =)

self assembly rack

washer rack

this rack may look simple but is really useful especially when you have a small service yard & you dont have space to drill any shelves above the washer.... you can put extra plastic bags, washing powder, etc on the racks... gotten it from this seller @ $51.9 (include shipping)... is abit pricey but i think is really useful....

slim trolley

fit into small space

this slim trolley is another handy item.... gotten this from Qoo10 with width of 13cm, you can also get similar trolley from NTUC with width of 19cm..... this is especially useful when you want to make full use every single inch of space you have .... gotten from this seller @ $21.6 (include postage)

next up is laundry rack.... since trivelis doesnt come with any drying rack in the service yard & there is absolutely no space to install any in that  tiny space, your best friend will be mobile drying rack.... i gotten 2 different types of racks....

laundry rack #1

i think most people are familiar with this kind of rack, they are useful but i felt it takes longer to dry clothes since there will be limited ventilation... but it's definitely a good option for drying towels.... gotten from this seller @ $47.7 (include postage)

laundry rack #2

i also gotten this 2 poles style drying rack.... gotten from this seller @ #33.8 (include postage).... with the poles i can hang my clothes to dry using hangers.... this is also good for drying bedsheets....

next up, i wanted to give the house abit more lively feel so i bought some stickers from taobao to decorate my place..... of cause you can buy them in SG but will cost more & lesser options for you to choose from....

kitchen

toilet #1

toilet #2

since all the walls are of uniform coloured tiles, i created the "mosaic" effect by pasting a roll of stickers.... you can see the difference..... similarly, by pasting some stickers on the shower glass, it will brighten up the place...

kitchen door

since the bloody window grill guy told me that he doesnt do any design for the PD door, i just paste cute stickers on them so that it doesnt look so dull.....

i think pasting such deco stickers is a an easy way to brighten up your home... you dont have to go through the trouble of doing major renovation & if you get bored of the stickers, you can simply replace them with new ones =)

racks in bomb shelter

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i think the term bolt less metal racks shouldnt be stranger to most people... i think it is a better choice compared to the usual metal + wooden plank rack as the racks can withstand heavier weight & wont rust though more expensive.... mama recommended me this store for metal rack since she was quite happy with their services...

Bcreative
Tel: 6844 1321

this is the pamphlet, no company name or address... if it isnt because i issue cheque payment, i wouldnt have known the company name..... the price & size stated are fixed = they dont do custom made racks.... mama recommend the 84" high rack since you will make full use of the space which is also what i have gotten...

metal racks

 i gotten 5 levels for 36" rack & 4 levels for 48" rack cause i want to put my luggage below it... total price = $380 & the whole assembly took about 30min.... i would say is a reasonable price, so can consider this company =)

citimap movers

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today we FINALLY move into our new home!!! there are still lots of things to be done but since mama said today is the most auspicious date in Dec, we HAVE to move today.... *roll eyes* but whatever..... initially we thought of renting a van over the weekend then we can slowly move our things over but when we start to count the total number of things we need to move, it is better to engage the professional..... we engaged citimap movers.... there are quite a number of movers company in SG... i actually like geometra since they were super efficient in moving our lab stuff but i believed their prices are quite steep so we just forgo it...... another reason why we engage citimap because mama used their services for 3times over the passed 2years & she was quite happy with them so we just give it a go.....

the usual procedure is that you will call the company and ask the staff to come down for a quotation, if you ok with the price then you fix the moving date.... after which another staff will passed you the required number of paper box for you to put your things.... then on the actual day you will pay the movers in full.... FYI: if possible try to avoid moving in dec period cause the staff told us that they will increase the price by 30% during this period..... but since mama wanted us to move on that specific date, we just have to tahan the price.....

the total number of things we need to move = 1 single bed frame, 1 single bed mattress, 20boxes of stuff, 1 tv, 1 small shelf, 1 28'luggage & several plastic boxes.... the staff quoted us $280 including the extra 30%... he said normally for this amount of stuff, he will charge $220-250.... oh well, what to do... another bonus about citimap movers is that they are pretty punctual, if your appointment is at 9am, they will reach by 9.05am or sometimes even before the arranged timing.... if you have some auspicious timing, you can tell the staff too & he will take note....

another FYI is that the quotation guy wont write down exactly what are the items you need to move, he will only write down the number of boxes & the total price... so you can always play cheat by adding more items from the agreed list... but of cause you need to be smart & not suddenly add BIG items like extra bed or wardrobe..... so if you need to engage movers, i think citimap is a pretty good choice since they are punctual, efficient & reasonably priced =)

review: wedding lunch at goodwood park hotel

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Location: although goodwood park hotel is situated in orchard, it isnt very accessible...... if you are walking over from orchard mrt, it's a good 15-20min walk since the hotel is behind far east plaza... & there isnt any sheltered connection between the hotel to nearby buildings so it is super INACCESSIBLE in case of rain.....

Ambience: the hotel definitely looks nice from outside since i like those vintage looking building...... i cant remember the ballroom name but it's not the one near main entrance.....

ballroom

if i didnt remember wrongly, my friend had about 20 tables so it shouldnt be the big ballroom but overall the hall looks very grand... i like the idea of having extra spaces at the side for the staff to prepare food and drinks.... i also love the white x champagne theme which my friend choose, it gave me a simple yet grand feel.... 

Food & services: i think the services at goodwood was ok.... i believed there were alot of temp staff, so sometimes you might need to wait for awhile to get your drinks served....

menu

food wise, i would say is quite good... i like the choice of food & seasoning for the dishes....

Price: $1388++/table, this hotel is definitely on the pricey side....

Conclusion: personally i wanted to hold my wedding at goodwood park hotel but the ballrooms were not available during our time.... i think on the whole, it's nice to have your wedding at goodwood if you can afford it..... however, you need to pray hard for good weather since there is no way to get to the hotel without getting wet other than driving =(

furniture

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very busy week since we are expecting our furniture.... we ordered most of them from IKEA, not that we are a fan of IKEA but it does sell simple furniture at affordable prices & you have the luxury of strolling through the store without being pester by salespersons.... since all our furniture are not wall mount, we opt for the self assembly = save $...

IKEA delivery

haha so many boxes of things arrived & they were all so damn heavy!!! if you asked the staff to do assembly, it would be super fast since they do that everyday but it took us quite a few days to slowly assemble everything.... let me share the final products =)

TV console in progress

TV console

chair for study room

mini dining table

chairs + racks in wardrobe

dining area

wall mount flip table

among all the stuff we bought from IKEA, i strongly recommend the flip table... as i mentioned our service yard is pathetically small, we can afford to have more fixtures... so this flip table is really useful when you need extra space when preparing for meals... but it would be better if you get a handyman to drill the holes for you.... since hubby & I were not pro at such things, it took us quite afew tries to get the table mounted on the wall....

another big furniture we gotten is a new bed.... we ordered ours from cozy bedding at westgate.... we prefer Slumberland since my family have been using that brand for a long time.... but the store doesnt have suitable design so we gotten vono mattress which is a sub-brand under Slumberland....

bed frame

mattress

the mattress + bed frame cost $1399... reasonable price i would say... the mattress is 10"thick... nowadays the mattresses are all so damn thick due to some pillow top thing... i agree it maybe more comfortable but it is very difficult to find bed sheet for such thick mattress!!!! so i recommend 10' mattress, its good enough to provide good support =)

electrical appliances

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today want to share some of the electrical appliances which i bought for our new home..... after surveying all the departmental stores i felt that Best denki has the widest variety of products in terms of electrical items & at reasonable prices... hence, we gotten our washing machine & fridge from there... if you have seen the floor plan for trivelis units, you will know how pathetic the kitchen is... so god damn small compared to the normal 4 room flat!!!! since we have gotten the unit so cant complain & just make full use of the space....

floor plan

from the picture, the place still look relatively big but is definitely not the case... for fridge we can only fit something with max 70cm width & 180cm high as we need to give a few cm space for ventilation & to open fridge door.... after looking around for quite some time, we decided to get HITACHI fridge since it fits the area perfectly...

Hitachi fridge

if i am not wrong, the dimension for the fridge is 68cm wide x 178cm high, model is RV480P3MS.... so it sort of just fit into the space =) personally i love the stainless steel finishing so i really love the fridge =) we gotten it at $829... i would say is a pretty good price....

as for washing machine we were contemplating for even longer time.... one limitation is the size... service yard width is 80cm by 130cm (length), so if you gotten a huge ass washer, you can hardly move around..... most of our neighbours suggest us to get front load washer but i dont like the idea of having to bend down everytime to take in & out the laundry.... so after much consideration, we decided on LG washer.... we gotten 10kg washer since this is the minimum size to wash our full length curtain.... strictly speaking, there isnt much difference in size between a 8kg to 10kg washer so i do recommend bigger washer unless you are staying alone....

LG washer

the model is WFT1061DD.... dimension is 60cm x 60cm x 110cm if i am not wrong, gotten it at $749 =)

the last item i want to share is rice cooker.... i think this is also a necessity in Asian home.... there are lots of models in the market but my mama recommended us to get buffalo brand since the interior pot is made of stainless steel..... you can get the rice cooker from OG & song-cho.... they only have 3 models for rice cooker, mama gotten us the most expensive one = $358 since it's fully made by buffalo brand & she said the pot used better quality stainless steel....

smart cooker

exterior

interior

 so this rice cooker has different functions which include baking cake which i have yet to try that function.... i agreed the cooker is pretty expensive but is a good investment in the long run since you can use it for quite a long time =)

useful cleaning agent

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after we have completed the renovation, we need to clean up the place before moving in... you can always engage the professional which i do recommend since it will save you time & effort but of cause you have to fork out the $.... so cheapo us decided to do the cleaning ourselves especially when the place is relatively clean.....

cif, picture taken from here....

i believed most of you would know that CIF is a good cleaning agent.... it's quite effective in removing most of the stains BUT it's not so useful for tough stains especially due in toilets or outdoor area.... i was using cif to scrub the stains in balcony floor.... i believed those were water mark accumulated over the months.... so i was like literally pouring almost the whole bottle of cif on the floor, let it soak for like 15min before scrubbing.... it did lighten the colouration but you can still see the mark..... so i thought of what my mama used to clean the toilet....

mosaic & toilet stains remover

TADA!!! your savior to tough stains..... gotten this mosaic & toilet stain remover from NTUC... think it cost about $1.5/bottle & it works wonder!!! once i squirt the solution onto the balcony floor, almost immediately there was effervescence,  within minute, the bubbles turned yellow  & you can see clumps of black precipitate.... so i just gently scrub the floor & wash with water & OMG!!! almost sparkling clean tiles!!!! i should have taken the before & after photo of the floor.... so much difference!!!! this solvent is really effective in removing stains BUT be very careful since it contain acid.... so do wash off the area with lots of water & wear gloves when cleaning the dirty area =)