my home

my Id and contractor is still doing up my unit..so it means i can't spend my first xmas in my house..which also means i have got to wait for a year more to celebrate xmas in my house..

hmmm..rather sad though..was hoping to put up the tree this year..but then, no choice..i'll rather let them do it at a 'non-rush' pace then doing it at a fast pace but delivering bad quality..

hubby and i bought our home applicances le..

hee...i am super-excited about my fridge!!..even more than my washing machine, tv and air-con combined..haha

here's the list:

1. Panasonic Inverter Fridge..



super love the fridge..it has lots of good points..and it's an inverter fridge!..haha, first of it's kind..
the frezzer is at the bottom too...that means i can now stand straight and take my stuff :)

but the best part was its pricing..few weeks back, i saw it at Gain City for $1099..and i also checked a few places and the price has always remained at that..

so i was having the mindset of paying $1099 for it but when i went to Gain City on my birthday..it was selling for $959!!..haha, about $140 off the actual price..super happie now..can't wait for them to deliver it..

2. Toshiba Inverter Air-con


hee...finally after so many years, i am gonna have an air-con..hee hee...dear and i decided to go with Toshiba as we need one big unit for the living room and a normal one for our bedroom..we asked for the pricing of a few brands before shortlisting Daikin, Toshiba and Mitsubishi..

Daikin is the cheapest, has a rather good name in the air-con industry and has been around since i was small..plus if you take a look at air-con units around the HDB blocks, you would realise that most have them have installed Daikin..

but one bad thing is that it not an inverter series and the parts are very costly to replace in the event that they are spolit..

Mitsubishi is good but damn expensive lor...it was priced at $2.7K+..my Toshiba was priced at about $2.4K...Daikin was $2k..

Mitsubishi is rather over-rated..plus, hubby and i are not that mad to use it everyday..thus, it's Toshiba :) plus, their compressor is made in Japan :)

3. Samsung washing machine

i have no pics of it..haha, couldn't find it online..we bought a normal one, front load, 6.5kg..it would be for washing home clothes though..since i have been hand-washing my own office wear..i think i would hand-wash dear's work clothes too..cause' the sewing is not too good..am afraid that the washing machine's spinning would tear his clothes :)

hee...there's a good bargain for the washing machine too...i told the salesman that it was my birthday and that he should lower the price more...haha, he really did leh...lowered $50 of the washing machine..

actually, i was really trying my luck..didn't really thought he would say ok..haha..ask and you shall get..

4. EF (Italian Inspiration) Hob and Hood

hee..we decided to get a hood afterall.. :)

we got a stainless steel design hob to match my stainless steel sink..plus, i think stainless steel ones are more trustworthy..hee...can take heat and everything under the sun :)

5. Sony Digi-cam..

hee hee...we didn't intend to get it initially...but after buying all those stuff, the salesman asked if we wanna get the camera for $50..haha, we both said yes lor...since it's a Sony and it's 7mega-pixals..hahaha...bye bye my old camera!! :)

that's all for my purchases...total damage is $5K plus..

hmmm...we also booked our bed, sofa, tv console and coffee table with Cellini...will be making payment soon..

my cousin-in-law introduced Cellini to us..he told us to take a look cause' they have a package thingy and more 'worth it'..

plus, Cellini has been around for quite some years and their stuff can be trusted :)

as for our dining table, hubby and i decided get from Ikea..cause' they have a one that's rather good leh...costs $295 and sits 4 persons..but it could be extended to sit 6 pax..hee hee..

now it's the lights that i am troubled about..haven't got them..but hubby and i are gonna go check it out tomorrow..

would be dropping by Jalan Besar and Balestier..since they are known for such stuff..

then, if i can't get it, i'll check it out with my Id ba...reason why i am not getting it through him is because he previously brought me to a place to buy expensive toilet stuff..so i am a bit reluctant to go with him..

my 2 toilet bowls costed me $500...with the basins, taps, sprays, rain shower set, normal shower set, stainless steel double sink..it all came up to $2k plus..

i suspect my Id made some commission out of it lor..so, this time round, i've decided to check it out myself first...he has earned quite a bit of my money..so i don't wanna let him earn more..

haha..

hubby and i have also selected the paint colour for our house...hee....the extra two rooms would be in purple :)

shall upload pics when the people paints them :)

oh...the air-con is up!...super good!..




happy birthday to me!!

heee...today's my birthday...6th December 2008 :)

happy happy happy :)

gonna go meet my hubby later at AMK for a good lunch..after that, we shall head to our house to check on the reno..then we shall hop on bus 25 to Gain City to buy our electrical appliances..then we shall hop on bus 25 again to Cellini and get our furniture..then..we shall hop on bus 25 again to bedok,then, it's a shuttle bus to Ikea..

hee hee hee...it's gonna be a shopping day for our home..

and that's how i am gonna spend my birthday..hmmm...quite different from the other years..but then, maybe cause' the years are setting in and i am a quarter of a century..celebration ain't so exciting anymore..

haha..i am officially 25 today :)

things i wish for?

well, i have come to realised that nothing's more important than health and wealth..haha..

of course health is most important..then comes my family and hubby..then comes my friends :)

wealth is impt too but it can't buy you lots of stuff... :)

such an old line...

anyways, i am feeling good today..the pasar malam downstairs my house is playing music like mad..and i am unknowingly shaking my legs to the rythme..

haha..

gonna go off to meet my hubby soon...i've decided to take a cab to amk cause' it's my birthday :)

haha,i did quite a few stuff this week and last week, all in the name of my birthday..

haha..i bought a cute little Miss Naughty top on Wednesday..gonna wear it today with my favourite jeans cause' there's gonna be a lot of walking to do..

i went for express pedi with phylicia yesterday too..her baby's gonna pop soon :)

haha..can't wait to see her son..hope everything goes as she wanted..

talking about shopping..hubby and i bought our Samsung TV, finally..we went to the Sitex Fair at Expo last weekend..last day of the fair somemore..it was crowded like mad..i swear that's thousands of people..

Jonathan was there initially..we were supposed to head down to his house to check out his new condo..but then, he called and informed that he's at the Sitex, waiting for the TV price to fall..

so hubby and i decided to check it out too..

so we walked and walked around the exhibition hall..checking out the deals..

then, jonathan decided to just purchase his TV cause' it seems to be 'still that same price'..that was about an hour before closing..

he bought a Samsung 32 inches, Series 4..3 HDMI ports..it comes with a free home theatre system, a Samsung DVD and $150 Robinsons voucher..all for $1049..

so, after the purchase, he was standing outside and waiting for us while we were still looking..

then, 15 mins before the closing time and after walking though LG, Sharp, Pioneer and many many others..dear and i decided that we couldn't get a good deal and decided to walk towards the exit..

the exit was rather near t0 Samsung..so, i was thinking 'why not just check it out a last time before we go off home empty-hand?'

and so dear and i stood there..and suddenly, the Samsung gang took out the same TV set that Jonathan bought..with all the same freebies..

and he shouted '10 sets only'..

and then he finally shouted...."$999"..

haha...i turned to dear and asked him 'so how?'..just as i was expecting him to say no, don't want, wait la..he actually told me..ok, buy lor..

hahaha..i was so ecstatic lor..i pushed through aunties and uncles to snatch my TV..haha..i am rather good leh...turned out to be no. 6 in queue :)

haha, 6 is my birth date and my favourite no. too..

and so, we got the same LCD tv as jonathan but $50 cheaper :)

hee...what makes me feel super happy is that, after the purchase, i went to Harvey Norman to check out the price of the exact tv and found out that it's selling for $1199 with only a freebie (home theatre set or dvd or $200 voucher etc.)

haha, happie happie..now the tv is sitting at my home, waiting to be fixed :)

and one more amazing thing is..hubby and i actually took a train and a bus home with the tv cause' the taxi queue was simply long like hell..

haha..we saved quite a bit :)

hope no one saw my 'un-glam' side last weekend..hahaha




Extreme Home Makeover :)


hubby and i went to check on the progress of our house renovation :)


haha, the walls and tiles are all 'hacked' to the max..hee









cement, cement and more cement



the ID/contractor's way of communication


master bedroom



master bedroom's toilet..everything is hacked..from the tiles to the basin to the toilet bowl..only left with the pipes


this is a sample of my master bedroom's toilet wall tiles..will match with the blue mosiac tiles below..


black toilet i like :)


the black tiles will turn out to be something like the pic above..


my husband, the greatest husband in the world :)


sand...duh!!


white tiles for the common toilet..with a line of red tiles..and with small black mosiac too :)


the rough kitchen floor tiles..


this is how my dining area wall tiles will turn out to be like..i chose this cause' it looks like a wallpaper design that i wanted to get for the wall :)




close-ups of the tiles..i am super excited over the dining area tiles..can't wait for it to be completed :)



and for this one above?

haha, nah..i din not get it for my home..cause' it's rather pricey and i jus can't find a good location for it..

but it's really nice...the flowers design is printed on the glass...but it's a tile actually..so it's a tile with a mirror function and with flowers design..

it's $11 per piece :) and a piece is about 30cm in length and 15cm in width :)

alright, gonna run off to catch my HK Drama on channel U :)




I won something at the Dinner & Dance..

haha..i went for my company's D&D last Friday at Furama..finally i won something!!..haha, i am one of those 20 lucky ones to go back home with an additional prize..

i won prize no. 15 which is a....

BRAUN ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH..

yes yes..toothbrush..electricde..

well..i am happy to win something la..i mean, it's in everyone to be glad to win something from the lucky draw..though what i really wanted was the mircowave oven or the Wii which i could use at home..

i was actually praying to God secretly in my heart that i get something that i realy want and need (microwave oven)..

well, i guess God really gives people what they need most..and for my sad case, it's an electric toothbrush..

even my colleagues find it super funny..

but then, i am proud of this toothbrush :)

haha, whoever wants it..i can sell it to you..it's a Braun one, selling at $39.95 at Watsons..i'll push it down to $30/- (self-collection at City Hall if you are a stranger but if you're my friend, then we'll see)..

the price is negotiable.. :)

need to get if off cause' i don't really need it..plus i am raising funds for my Panasonic Rice Cooker that's gonna set me back by $169..

hubby says no no..but i am super excited about it..cause' i can cook rice and porridge in it and in addition to all of this, i can bake a cake! :)

hee...i've taken out my piggy bank coins and they are worth $70+..so i would need to sell off the toothbrush to buy my cooker :)

buy my toothbrush will you? it's really good and nice, with pro-white brushing..comes with a warrently card, unfilled. package not opened.

will post a pic if anyone is interested :)




It's a Tiles Day

hubby cheng and i have signed on a ID/Renovation Package with Ideal House. Major and complete renovations of the kitchen, 2 toilets and wardrobe would set us back by $19K.

another super duper investment of our lives. :)

but we are happy to spend this amt though. can't wait for the reno to start and be completed and we can start moving in!

it's seems to be a little high but it's worth it cause' we have faith and trust in our ID and contractor. why? cause' my ID is in his 40s and he is a teochew (haha, same as me!!) so unlikely to cheat me...haha, but main reason was his experience and his sense of responsiblity..if it can't be done, he'll tell me it can't be done..and would give suggestions..

as for my contractor, he's ah geng..haha..ain't a gangster but he has experience and has helped hubby cheng's close friend to do reno for the whole unit so his carpentry work is good :)

i am ok and happy with everything so far..just that the pricing is a little high..but then again, i really don't mind paying a little more to have a peace of mind now and the years after that stuff would not be falling apart :)

also, i read about Ideal House in renotalk forum and they received lots of good reviews :)

so, am feeling quite safe to leave my first home in their hands :)

hee, i am gonna go select tiles today with my ID, alton and hubby cheng. he's gonna pick hubby and i from KKH. before meeting him, hubby and i are gonna go for a nice lunch at station. i am planning to have the fabulous mee rebus...slurp!

hope the tiles selection would be a fun deal..very excited actually to be choosing tiles that are gonna lay in my house..it's like a dream come true since young when i wanted to have my own place

one thing though..am deciding on whether i should have a solid surface sink for my kitchen..it's about $580 for a double sink..

and i just read reviews about how white solid surfaces would turn yellow soon..

so i am contemplating on the idea of giving up a solid surface for a sink and going for a stainless steel sink since my parents' home is using one now and it has never failed my family no matter how much hot stuff and pots i put in there and how much curry and soup i have poured in there..haha

well, it's a big difference in pricing too..for a stainless steel sink, i pay about $200+ but for a solid surface one, i pay $580..haha..i shall discuss with my husband later..

and i just realised about the CityGas water heater and the TV licence..haha..all needs to be settled when we move in...

money money money..i need to strike 4D real soon!

and since my unit is a 4 room, we have 3 bedrooms..one's gonna be our master bedroom, one's gonna be my study room while the other will be hubby's gym room..

we are gonna start a competition soon to decor our own room. hubby thinks he's gonna win but..hahaha..i'm so gonna win it lor..

i am planning to paint the room pink with a feature wall of white polka dots..i am gonna call it a Princess Corner..and it shall have a white table, pink chair, pink sofa-bed and lots of girly stuff..

haha, can't wait to start!

hubby cheng: boo boo to your gym room! hahaha




My Home

Finally, hubby and i collected the keys to our very first home on 29 Oct 2008 :)

renovation works will soon be on the way :)

this is a house we both bought, our very first big investment in life, an asset or bluntly put it, a roof over our heads :)

it's a house we bought but a home that we'll gonna work on and build our lives together


#03-3357


mr and mrs cheng


the living room





ID and Renovator Hunting

hubby cheng and i went to the showrooms of two Interior Designers we short-listed on Sunday..

the outcome was good..we were happy with the second one :)

it ain't an easy task though..before that we were looking through websites and flipping through magazines here and there..

our aim is simple: we wanted someone we could trust to do a proper job and someone who would not hack plenty of money out of our 'already depleted and building bank account'..

i have gotten 2 quotations so far...one from a famous ISO certified company and one from a normal company..

i am waiting for 2 more quotations to come in before we close our list and have further discussions.

here's a few tips i have learnt so far:

1. have on hand 2 sets of floorplan (one in it's original plan and one with your intended design)- this will come in handy when you visit your renovator, few copies would be good.

2. have a list of renovators- best to start off with friends' and families' recomendation (especially those whom they have hired for their own homes. haha, go check out their houses to view the final products)

3. short-list the renovators and pay them a visit at their showrooms (for the renovators i have short-listed, i make it a point to visit their showroom cause' i want to see for myself what kind of company i am dealing with. no point getting a renovator who don't even make it a point to deco their showroom well)

4. bring along your valuation report (this comes in handy cause the renovator often only works with the floorplan first. so bringing a valuation report would let them have an idea of the place. this is especially important for me as mine is a resale and with the report, i am able to show them my living room's cornice)

5. pictures of your intended design (if you have an intended design which you saw in a mag, you might wish to bring it along so that the designer can work towards your design. but for me, i prefer to describe the idea to my designer and have him work it and draw it out. haha, that's part of the reason why we are paying him, right?)

6. view the showrooms! (haha, do visit a few high end designers' showrooms. not to be high-class or anal. but just to see their designs and listen to their opinions. for me, visiting the showrooms allow me to explore a few designs i have never thought of and after the visit, i could jolly-well copy their design and ask around for quotations.)

listening to the designer's opinions are also very beneficial. this is from my own experience. as my unit's wastage pipe is still in cast iron, i asked for it to be changed to PVC pipes. two of the 'not so good' companies i went to jolly-well included in it in the quotation.

but two big companies i went to actually told me that i could get HDB (thru their sun-contractor) to change it and it would be better cause they have changed for thousands of households and most importantly, they are working for HDB (quality and pricing can be trusted to a certain extent)

this was something hubby cheng and i had never thought of. :)

that's why it's important to get different opinions.

and also, sometimes it's good to get 'no's from your designer instead of all the 'can do, can be done, sure can la'.

on sunday, hubby and i went to visit 2 designers. one of them is a famous one online while the other is an ordinary one.

the ordinary one said yes to my everything, including the hacking of a wall into half from the top and shifting of the water taps from one end to the other.

but..(yes, there's always a but)

the famous online designer actually told me no. he told me about how the hacking of a wall into half from the top would affect stability (possibility of not being approved by HDB) and how i shouldn't shift my water taps to the other end cause' the pipes would be very long and there is a possibility of pipes blockage.

he even told me the difference of gas heater and electrical heater as for gas heater, he might have to install extra pipes, each $100.

he brought a few matters for our consideration which i found it good. he said that things can be done but it might have a big effect years later.

haha, i superlike this guy la. he's getting back to me on his quotation. so i'll see how it all goes! :)

till then, this is my little knowledge for sharing :)

iwll be getting my keys on 29 Oct 2008...haha, 2 more days to go!!!

my house :)




Sentosa Day with my Bestie



went to the beach on saturday (25 Oct 08)..very good day with super duper good weather..

it was a super sunny day! and we had great chips and SuperDogs by the beach..







it's been ages since we stepped on Sentosa..it was a day well-spent though...with the gossips, food, sun and extremely salty sea water..haha

too bad there aren't handsome guys to add on to the great scenary..maybe next time we should give Palawan a try :)






hubby cheng was very sweet today..

while i was working OT in the office, he called me out of the blue and told me "i love you"..

haha, i asked him why and he said it was because he thought of me while he was eating dinner earlier and decided to call.

not that it's the first time. but just that it came at the time where i was tired from work and it just made everything else fall into the right place.

and i suddenly thought of the night of our Solemnisation Ceremony.

we were both lying in bed, watching Oylmpics and feeling tired from the day's rush. then i felt sleepy and decided that i wanted to sleep on the left side of the bed. and so, i started to push him to the right side but he refused to.

he insisted on sleeping on the left side, which was something weird cause' he never really mind the left or right side of the bed.

and so i was, making those kiddy actions for him to move and all along he just kept saying that i should sleep on the right side.

finally, he gave the biggest hint of why he wanted me to move. he just pointed to the pillow and said "surprise".

haha, what a spoiler. i am just so block head. he actually hid a card with his sweet sweet message under the pillow while i was bathing.

and silly me just couldn't get the hint.

haha..the rest is history. but i just thought it to be very sweet of him.

love you, baby :)









i am sick..

but the saddest part is being sick on a Friday night. that leaves me with saturday and sunday to recover and it's back to work on a blue monday.

well, i have always thought myself to have rather good an immune system, except for the weekly flu and sinus.

but yesterday night, while out with grace, i found myself to be down with a fever, bodyache and flu.

after having dinner with grace at Carousel and walking about in Far East for a while, we headed to the taxi stand.

only to find it queued with people. so, we walked towards Hyatt Hotel's taxi stand before i hopped onto a cab and told my bestie goodbye.

sad night though..because of me being sick, we didn't have a long long chat and due to the long dinner, we only made it for window-shopping.

but dinner was nice though. we had buffet at Carousel at Royal Plaza at Scotts.

was an expensive dinner at $65 per pax but i managed to get a discount with my DBS card. a whooping 15% percent off the bill. hee, so the final bill came up to about $55 per pax.

dinner was okie. they have a rather huge variety of sushi, seafood (including lobster and oysters-fresh ones i mean!), 10 different types of starters, all sorts of meat, pasta and even chicken rice!

ha..but the best were their deserts..simply yummy..especially the choc fondue :)

it was a nice meal with a bestie. too bad, jul decided not to come due to work.

we took about 2 hrs for the whole buffet.

afterwhich, we dropped by Isetan and there were so many black dresses!!..haha, i am so gonna get a few this year end. i have been searching for one for coming to a year but i just haven't found a perfect one.

maybe this is the time to get it! :)

we also dropped by Far East to walk around. too bad the shops were closed early. but she managed to show me a nice dress shop where she bought the dress she wore to my ROM.

hee, and i got my eyes on a pair of heels that were freaking high but pretty :)

but due to my fever, i actually placed the heels back to the shelfs. haha, maybe next week, when i get there and it's there..haha, it's gonna be mine!

and today, though i am sick, i managed to load my ROM video on Friendster..go take a look if you want...

wanted to post some pics on friendster but the pics are just too big in size..so, i'll see how tonight..

meanwhile, mr cheng had been very nice to me..haha, not that he's nasty but he's been extra nice to me. i got two dresses from mr cheng last month. he bought me a pink one from CottonOn and a blue one from a korean shop in AMK Hub.

super happie :)

love you darling, you are the best! :)




Pots and Pans and Refridgerators..

haha...hubby cheng and i are turning into Uncle and Auntie..

we were out shopping yesterday when we entered Carrefour and bought a non-stick wok with glass cover and a 28cm non-stick pan..

haha..both were on super sale..thus the prices were good..the wok was $22.90 while the pan was only $9.90..

super happy..

before that, we went for a lunch with my mum to celebrate her birthday and guess what?

:)

she's sponsoring our fridge!!..haha..Samsung here i come!!

after the shopping, hubby cheng and i went back to his house to drop off the pans and went for a Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang district National Day Celebration cum Upgrdading Programme Dinner..

the dinner was alright..but just kind of awkward cause it's a 'newlyweds' table and everyone simply do not know each other..

ha, but the great thing is that we took a picture with the MP..he's called Mr Seng, i think..

haha, he even gave us a 'congrats' card..

so, maybe i'll just appear in the next issue of the RC magazine..haha..

after the dinner, we went back to his house and his mama gave us a new pot with a glass cover..

haha...that's why the topic is Pots, Pans and Refridgerator..

:)

well, we kind of eyed a bed from Picket & Rail too...but still considering..it's pretty worth it..and it's the exact design i wanted..hee...

but we do need some time to think over it..cause' a bed is important..i can't just buy a bed like that..

so, anyone wanna sponsor me a washing machine?

:)

btw, phylicia..i read abt the baby bonus thingy from yr blog..haha...congats!! :)






Thanks baby for giving me a wonderful ROM that i've always dreamt of..

Thanks for the love, faith, trust and support you have given me all these while..I am indeed blessed to love you and to have you love me back..

Thanks for trusting and loving me so much as to commit to a vow of a lifetime..

Since the day i got together with you, everyone had been telling me that you're a great guy and a good husband-to-be..

And indeed, everyone was right from the start. You are a great guy in every way, a great friend, a great boyfriend and a great husband-to-be.

16th August 2008 marks the very beginning of our new journey together. A journey of a lifetime.

We signed on that particular dotted line to be man and wife. We made our vows to each other through the good times & the bad and through sickness & health. We had our wedding cake and wore our wedding bands. Took much photos and kissed for the first time as husband and wife.

And i believe, in time to come, we are going to achieve much more as a couple and have much more memories to share.

As i held your hand in mine, i see you not just as a husband, but someone whom i am going to achieve all my dreams with. Someone whom i can build a home with and return everyday with such happiness, someone whom i can travel around and see the world with, someone whom i can have 4 babies with, someone whom i can work hard with to build a dream future with.

And someone whom i can't live without.

I Love You..And forever i'll be.


With much love,
Mrs Alicia Cheng-Yang