EA in the West - Makeover of Our Little Corner~

Monday, 3 September 2007

Bravia Power with Precision

Over the weekend, Hb and I shifted up some of our stuff over. Stuff like books, clothes, Cds, and for me, my accessories and other small items. Kinda fun in a way to see the cabinets slowly being filled up, haha. I am kinda hoping that I can leave out all my textbooks, but Mdm Yik wants me to clear them. I told her I'll do it when we are back from our Japan trip, haha. In actual fact, I hope to delay that part as long as possible, lol. As we don't have those carton boxes to pack our stuff, we bring them over bit by bit. For me its still not so bad, since I live very near, and there is this wonderful plastic bag from Ikea that can put a hell lot of things! In fact, I managed to squeeze in 70% of my clothes into it last night, and then I found another smaller version of the Ikea bag and dumped in a lot more stuff! Packed all the 3 bags full to the brim then brought them over to our new place. Thankfully The EL was at home, so I karpo his car, no need to walk, haha!

Latest gain:

I love this model GC 4430! Its supposedly very good, and as usual, Courts is selling it for $152 while Kong Tai only sells it for $135! Wahahahhaa, what a big difference! Got our ironing board as well, haha.

We bought our MBR Tv last Thursday at Comex! It's a 32" Sony LCD Tv Bravia series. Hb was saying it might be too big for the MBR but I told him its just nice. As expected, when the guys came to install the TV on Saturday, it looked perfectly fine, lol. Liew, the guys from Gain City brought the wrong bracket and said we can make another appointment for them to come again. Liew, I told them they better install the Tv for us by hook or by crook cos the reason why we bought it on Thursday was that we wanted them to install it Asap and now we gotta wait again?? Told them we don't have so much time to play around lor and I was like,"I am sure the whole Gain City team doesn't consist of only 2 technicians right? There must be someone else who can bring the correct bracket over and that someone better come by today". Lol, thankfully the guy called his supervisor and the supervisor came down at 8.30pm with the correct bracket and completed the installation, phew. The sweh thing is, Ah Hua had thought we wanted our MBR Tv to stand, so the stupid sockets were visible! Liew. Now we gotta think of a way to hide the stupid wires as best as we can. Haiz.

- Phebe

Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Lemony Clean

29 Aug 07 - After spending several brain-cracking weeks agonising over how to get rid of water marks on our solid surface kitchen counter top, we finally have the answer: Lemon Pledge!

This was first recommended to us by our contractor, but we were initially a little hesitant as it said "Furniture Polish" on the can. And despite our best efforts, we couldn't find anywhere on the label which says that it could be used on solid surfaces.

Nevertheless, we continued to hunt around for something suitable, and received other suggestions ranging from the proverbial "magic sponge" to simply wiping the stain every now and then and it should disappear on its own in 2 or 3 months' time. It was only after a friend mentioned that he had been cleaning his solid surface with Lemon Pledge, that we felt reassured enough to try it.

Following the directions on the can, I sprayed a little on a piece of cloth and started to rub it on a spot on the kitchen counter. It looked liked wax but was strangely cold. Anyway, the amazing thing is that the moment I applied it on the counter, I could see that the embedded glittery stuff all came to life! I happily started applying it to the entire edge of the counter as you can see below:

If it were not for the fact that it was getting late, I would have continued to polish the entire kitchen counter. Now I just have to delay my satisfaction until the weekend.

- Melvin

Monday, 27 August 2007

Security In the Home

Most of us probably ain't aware of how much a padlock can cost, probably $30 at most? Anyway, we decided to invest in a Durolock. It comes in a 2-in-1 package, whereby the smaller one is given FOC. We had only wanted to buy the main lock, but then it costs $128, whereas the package price is $148. So being typical kiasu Singaporeans, we decided to make the most of our money and got the package instead. Surprisingly, its quite easy to install, and it's really very secure! The gate hardly shakes no matter how much u tug at it, lol. Really a good investment for home security! Convenient to use too, since its fixed onto the gate and you don't have to remove the whole padlock whenever you want to open the gate! I think it looks kinda cool, lol.

We spent our Saturday morning at the flat waiting for the Starhub guys to come to fix the reception thingy for our TV. So sad, as we modified the location of our TV point, we won't be able to view SCV in the living room, only in the bedrooms. But its ok lah, I hardly watch TV anyway. I prefer DVDs! Don't like the service guy's attitude, felt like smacking him upside down.

The guys from Sim Win Liang came to install our storeroom shelvings. We ordered the Made in Italy steel range. Supposed to be able to tahan 200 kg per shelve for the smaller size racks and 150 kg for the bigger one. Guess what? They brought the wrong sizes!!! Liew. Anyway, the guy came back again at night and finished the rest of the installation. It was very fast, less than 20 mins, haha. So happy manz, finally we can stack up our things nicely instead of leaving them around everywhere! Cleaned all the stuff and wrapped up all the remaining tiles as though we were wrapping up X'mas presents, wahahahhaaa. Very nicely done, cos I am freaking particular when it comes to cleaning and packing. I can bo chup on extreme imperfections in my bedroom in my parents' home, but strangely, for our new place, nothing escapes my eye, wahahahahhaa! Perhaps this is what most people refer to as "san fen zhong re du". Who knows after some time I will revert back to my "close one eye" habit, lol.

Very satisfied with this~!

The guy from Homelovers Wallpaper Centre also came to install the bamboo chicks for our balcony. I think it looks kinda cool! In fact, our future next door neighbour won't be able to look over anymore! Yay!

Inner view~

Outter view with clear plastic protective sheet~

We also got something kinda important last week - a microwave with grill. Although we don't know how the hell to use it, but its ok, we're happy with using just the heating up function for the moment, haha. Will microwave some chicken sandwich for Arsie the next time she comes over(private joke there)!

Our Sanyo microwave sitting obediently beside the fridge~

Hb set up the DVD player on Saturday as well~! Had to make do with it since we haven't buy our home theather system. Had a great time yesterday evening watching VCD over dinner, kinda comfy with the aircon on. I think it will be even cosier if our living rooms have curtains! Gonna settle the curtain thingy after we come back from Japan!

Making do with the Philips DVD player for the moment~ better than nothing haha~

After weeks of babbling about the wrapped up dining table, here it is~!

Placed an artistic vase on the small wall shelve in our study. I think it looks better after taking out the fake shiny rose, haha! See when free gotta go shop for cool clocks for the house. Very irritating to keep having to fish out our hps from our bags just to look at the time!

Some of the church members came over to see see look look yesterday. Kinda amusing to note that while so many people have viewed our place, our folks have not, lol. Thus, The Low Clan came over yesterday evening, and tabao-ed dinner for us as well, hehe.

So sweet of Meanie & family to buy us this steamboat-steamer thingy. Looks kinda "chim" to me though. It's weird in a way sometimes, when I don't know how to use certain things that I receive, but just the receiving part makes me kinda excited, wahahahhaha! It's like there MIGHT be a chance of using it, and I am kinda looking forward to the exploration part. It's like a new toy for me, haha!

- Phebe

Thursday, 23 August 2007

Simple Needs

23 Aug 07 - We have pans. And pots. And a wok and a microwave. Our cooker hob and hood are installed and the gas supply is connected. We have almost everything you need to cook up a storm.

Except that our combined culinary prowess extends to nothing more than fried eggs and instant noodles. So if we are looking forward to living beyond our 40s, it's probably time to start investing in some cook books or cooking lessons.

Now that our Corner is more or less in a livable condition, my mind has gradually turned to our lives together in future and how we can make this place as cozy as possible. Simple acts like coming home to a warm dinner may seem unremarkable when you are still living with your parents. But now that we have to set up our own home, I tend to find myself unconsciously dissecting the details behind stuff that I would have taken for granted. For example, to get a bowl of hot steaming soup on the table, I would need a few items of which I am only familiar with 2 --- the pot and water. I have a vague idea that bones and veggies are involved, but I'm not exactly keen on the idea of murdering myself and my spouse just yet.

And how about watching TV programmes after dinner? For that you need a TV, a sofa, and a clean floor. Why a clean floor? Well, when you dive into your sofa's fluffy cushions, I honestly doubt you would want to leave a trail of footprints on the upholstery. Anyway, I have the first 2 items, but my floor has this mysterious ability to coat itself with a layer of fine white powder within 10 secs after I spend 1 hour mopping the entire house. So that still remains to be resolved.

The complexity behind some of these everyday activities really boggles the mind. But at the same time, they also help to bring everyone to the same level at some point in the day. Regardless of whether you are a high flying senior manager or a new entrant to the workforce, at the end of the day, you will need clean floors, hot food in your belly and possibly, someone lovely to curl up next to on the couch. And that's probably what life's all about, isn't it?

- Melvin

Monday, 20 August 2007

Never ending shopping

19th Aug 2007 - Sometimes it kinda amazes me at the rate we are shopping. The trend has shifted from shopping for furnitures, lightings and bathroom accessories to household hardware and cleaning detergents. Not that it ain't fun, but it's kind of interesting to progress from one stage to the next. I am pretty sure after all these main things are settled, we'll be shopping for groceries. There seems to be never ending things to buy and the list gets longer and longer, lol.

Personally, I never thought that buying things like insecticide and sponges can be so... errm... interesting. You would have thought that its just a grab and go kind of thing, but no. We spent at least 10 mins on each item trying to decide which is the best type of sponge, best cockroach terminator, best looking bamboo poles (also known as "tekko", lol)...etc. Never thought the day would come when I would actually be shopping for washing bags, hangers, clips, mops, chopping board...etc. Oh, and we finally bought our kitchen dustbin at Boon Lay! Good and cheap, only $24! Need to buy another 3 smaller ones for the rooms though. Will make a trip to IMM's Sim Siang Choon to buy those pretty ones, hehe. I love the white colour metal bin!

Its amazing how much those small little stuff can add up to, or am I being too fussy? Most of the time, we end up buying more expensive alternatives as I have this Cheap-Is-Not-Good mindset, lol. I think Hb already gave up on trying to persuade me to buy the cheaper range as he knows he can't win me verbally, haha! But somehow I always brainwash him by saying its all for his own good, cos buying better quality stuff will help HIM in one way or another, be it cleaning or whatsoever, wahahahahhaa~!

Speaking about cleaning, I came to the realization recently that my girls have indeed been very supportive one way or another, with quite a few offering to come over to help Hb and I clean the house. Either that, or I get super practical gifts from them! Love ya, Arsie & Eve!

Going to start hunting for our microwave and errm, knives. I need some time to do some research, lol. That's me, the typical kiasu Singaporean~! :D

Latest gains (electrical appliances) from CK Tang :

You know, sometimes I really wish someone would invent some cheap water dispenser that can dispense hot, warm and cold water. At the moment, Elken offers such a thing, but well, its freaking expensive. No way am I gonna splurge on something like that! Not as if we are heavy drinkers anyway, lol. Bought another quilt cover set at OG on Saturday as well :)

Taken right after Hb mopped the floor sparkling clean~!

I like this dim lighting effect~

Lazy to take out the quilt cover.....

- Phebe

Thursday, 16 August 2007

Up and Running!

16 August 07 - If you have seen some of the photos in the previous post, you must have realised that Our Corner has now been officially upgraded to Up-and-Running status. The furniture have all arrive, the carpentry is completed, the glass panels are all in the right sizes, and the floor feels squeaky clean.

Finally, everything feels right. On hindsight, it feels a little strange that we no longer have to fuss over whether the painting is complete, or if the glass panels are properly installed. Instead, after 3 days of sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing, mopping, and scrapping, Our Corner finally feels like a home and not a construction site.

Nevertheless, there are still some imperfections which are awaiting the carpenter's touches. But we are not losing any sleep over those details as those should be completed without much fuss. More importantly, we have now progressed from worrying about glass, wood and cement, to detergent, mops and towels. It probably still demands the same amount of attention and effort, but somehow, we're just so much more happier doing it now that we can touch and feel the end result.

This whole experience of renovation has been rather humbling. For example, I never knew that it was so difficult to have clean floors. Who would know that the cement grouting has a nasty habit of leaving a fine powder all over the living room despite repeated moppings and vacuumings? Now I finally discover that clean floors are truly a privilege and not an entitlement.

So what lies ahead? Probably more weekends spent hunkered over stubborn stains or in supermarkets shopping for stuff to fill our shelves. Getting Our Corner ready is truly only half the battle. The next half will be fought throughout the rest of our mortal lives with lots of water, detergent and a good vacuum cleaner. Sounds daunting, but in truth, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Not because I intend to take up housework as my latest hobby, but everything just feels right when you know you're working hard to miantain your home in the best condition. Sappy but true.

- Melvin