shopping shopping & shopping ooolala

another shopping day ... i thght i am only doing bathroom accessories but look at what i have bought today @_@.  7000 damage in a day wahahaha now can't wait to check out these in my new home.

washing basin

we first start with the toilet accessories .... i never imagine it can be so tough to pick a tap !!!

bathroom basin tap

bathroom 2-head tap

kitchen tap - recommended by ID
for the clean stainless look

bathroom lights
- guess which color i like *grin*

kitchen lights
- simplicity if beautiful

took me a while to pick my bedroom lights - in the end, i still decided on this hehe salesperson has to "tweak" the design for me haha stay tuned for the transformation ...

dinning lights - handpicked by my ID 

shopping @ hafary

after a few rounds of 3D design reviews, we have more or less settled on the design theme of my flat *yippee*.  to better match the color scheme that i will like to go for, my ID suggested that we should start going shopping for tiles this weekend 0_0 ...

and so we fixed it on a fine hot sunday and started out at 2pm.  we met up at his office and he then drove us out to the Hafary shop that every ideal designer has been telling me about.  what follows after is a whirl of events *whoosh* i m not entirely sure how i decided on these, but somehow i did it haha

here goes...

living room & kitchen floor tiles
- to achieve a cement & rustic look

kitchen wall tiles
- white pattern tiles to add contrast
against the dark floor tiles

bathroom wall and floor tiles
- selected with the help of my ID

after a tiring day of shopping and seeing my ID sincerity in doing up my bathrooms' design, i have finally decided to sign on the dotted line to "award" my reno tender contract to him.  

in conclusion: damage = SGD $52,000, happy faces (mum & id) = priceless  

wanted: interior designer

after saying bye bye to the dragon year, i am now all set to embark on a mission to transform my newly acquired property to my dream home :) 1st thing 1st, i have to locate an interior designer to help me oversees this major "makeover" project of mine. and so for the last few weeks, i started becoming an avid reader of renovation forum. i started buying home decor magazines. i visited serene's cousin place to check out their newly renovated place at clementi casa. i even went window shopping at ikea @_@  

in my search for an interior design, here's my findings:

space define - proposed layout

i like the idea of having a foyer as my cosy corner ... but it may not be such a good idea to have it near to my shoes cabinet *oops* 

in the end, i did not select them becos their quotation is not competitive and somehow the id i was referred to, have to postpone our apptmt twice, hmmm that's not a very good impression to start with ... call me picky loh 
(-_-)!

summit design - island kitchen + dining

the young id, a very persistent one, actually proposed an island for my kitchen area. though a refreshing idea, it does not fit with my concept of spacious living ... though their quotation on the other hand is fairly reasonable

freelance designer - recommended on forum

meeting up with the id and project manager (my mum called them the 2 "bengs") made me realised that i should exercise more cautious sourcing and contacting id from the internet. somehow i find it very difficult to trust an id without an office space and even though he did showcase quite a few beautiful workpieces, i somehow dun feel comfortable working with them. in short, no affinity la ...

add space - recommended by my ex-colleague

selling points = budget + trust since the designer is recommended from ex-colleague. unfortunately she did not sell me any interesting ideas, despite me probing a couple of times. she sounds more absorbed in fengshui ... duh another mismatch.

ideal design 

my final stop, i found my id ... so how did he buy me over??? heh here's how ...

idea of a cosy corner with extended dining area where i can host friends over for dinner

study area

freehand sketches just make me go gaga and so hurray !!! after 2 weekends meeting up with 5 ids, i found my mine !!! the journey has only just begun ...

proud owner of a 3-room hdb

18-dec-2012 marks the day when i become the proud owner of a 3-room hdb flat in ang mo kio.  it feels great being able to get a place where i spend my childhood days (even though it's rather old and run-down) ... and even eating at the nearby coffeeshop can make me feel so much more at home.  in my heart i have probably never left ang mo kio despite having moved physically to woodlands for more than 15 years :-)

here and on ... hope to be always greeted by the blue blue sky in the morning and welcomed home by the serenity of the city in the evening \(^_^)/

bye bye wellington, see you soon

after 3 weeks of adventures in "kiwi" land, i am all set to head home :) it has been an awesome stay topped-up with my buddy dropping over for a visit !

the project promises loads of documentation, will always remember staying up late and waking up in the wee hours (4-5am) to start typing frantically on my keyboard.  of course for this, i can only blame myself for having a slow start *guilty* and adding a "sickly" lead (somehow the idea of having a drink ie. booze will cure him of all illness miraculously) to that makes it even more "encouraging" haha.  aside from project matters, i m glad that my interaction with the lead is kept to the minimum especially with the visit from jc :) hmmm i dun wanna think about brunei for now…

i may not have everything jotted down for the last 3 weeks, there is just too much to write but i m sure the memories will stay with me forever.  so goodbye wellington, will miss the cute fur seals, kiwis n blue penguins, the yummy sashimi n pizzas, the beautiful theatre - embassy and most importantly the cooling weather with a cup of hot chocolate n marshmallows !

today is wellington day :)

wellington day falls on 27-May and that is today … *grin* glad it falls on my first sunday here.  so joining the locals i planned to make full use of the 1 gold coin per visit offer.   the weather unfortunately is not in my favor, it looks like it will start raining any time.  so lets see where i have ventured:

cable car ride + museum

carter observatory

last but not least, macdonald for lunch + dinner !

tat's all folks !  din do too much today due to the weather and partly due to anxiety for the upcoming week ...

first saturday in wellington

being my first weekend in wellington, i m feeling all hyped up to see the town.  after 5 workdays of waking up with the effects of jet lags, i m very super glad that i can finally enjoy my breakfast leisurely at my favorite side table with a good view of the passerby ...

mount victoria

after breakfast, i first set out for mount victoria hike (whom lookout is ranked as one of the "must do" in their tourism page).   started with a walk along the harbor that took me approx. 20 minutes to reach the oriental bay.  oriental bay is like a mini-beach where … during the walk i even spot an interesting "kitchen" that hosts cooking lesson (wonder wat they are cooking tonight, yum!).  after reaching the bay, i was starting to feel a bit lost.  somehow being a pampered singaporean, i was thinking that there will be ready signs or walkway up mount victoria.  well luckily i come prepared with my map and even before i start reading it, a kind kiwi has come along (energetic aunty who is probably having her jog) all ready to extend a helpful hand.  

after hearing all the available options from my kind "tour guide", i headed toward hay street and BUMP! dead end after climbing up a very very very steep walkway (sweat ah) … how nice (-.-!).  i even attempt to venture into the forest until i saw a danger sign warning of poisonous plants ahead phew… well at least the weather is cooling, so down the hill i strolled (so tempted to just roll hah)  shortly after making my way down lazily, i started going up again, this time towards oriental tce.  the walk is quiet and most of the time i felt like any minute i will be caught by one of the residents as a trespasser.  luckily my fear was unfounded and on my way up the stairs (many many of them *panting*), i even run into a lady smiling and wishing me good day :) like any other kiwi here in wellington.  

after climbing for dunno how many steps, ha finally a signage !!!  i felt assured that my walk up was not as fruitless as the earlier attempt.  i was up at the church that i can see from my hotel room … it never occurs to me that it can be that far and high by foot.  during then i thought i was near the lookout, but … only later i found out that i was only halfway up haha.  the solitary walk up is definitely one of my treasured memories not because of spectacular sceneries but because it is mixed with anxiety (how far more to the peak?), fear (huh, am i lost?), fatigue (breakfast fully digest le), thirst (dehydrated le), relief (yey there are people!), realization (am i taking frodo's walk) and finally awe (i did it!) as i conquer the peak by foot !!!  surprisingly there were quite a bit of people up the lookout compared to those i ran into when climbing up.  orhhh… they are the lucky ones coming up by cars, how nice hah.  the lookout is probably the highest altitude point in wellington, i can get a pretty good view of the town, where i "lived" … the sky can be brighter that day but in the end, what's really makes one happy is not the beautiful pictures taken, but simply the the fact that i have did it on my own and by foot !!! 

i would have stayed longer up the lookout if not for an appointment with the lead to visit zealandia … well anyway i m sure i have seen enough.  and so i start my way down, this time taking a slightly different route.  instead of the forest walk that frodo and sam have tramped, i decided to go with civilization this time taking the routes for cars haha.  top up with previous experiences, i have now learnt to walk guiltlessly down the stairways next to residences (shortest way down the hill).  so by 1pm or so, i m back at oriental bay :)

zealandia

after meeting up with our dear fren who probably just woke up and looking grouchy :p … we set out to find the i-site visitor centre.  the place is huge n very friendly to visitors i must say with the amount of information they can provide.  there are heaps of brochures about group tours, suggested hikes and walks, bus schedules.  we gather wat we need and check out on where to hop on the free bus.  the free ride to zealandia takes approximately 15mins, the bus is empty asides from us.   reckon its not a great idea to venture with the weather outlook :(  zealandia is like a natural sanctuary to … so unlike the zoo, we can't really spot the wildlife as easily since they are free to roam.  the best way to spot them is probably during feeding time when they will gather at a common place knowing there is free food.  unfortunately the feeding time is not in our favor :(

so most of time we are taking nature walks, enjoying the greens around us, abit of overdose for me after the mountain excursion this morning.  

finally dinner 

finally time for dinner, we visited matterhorn … i have decided to start with sashimi, followed by waygu beef as my main together with red wine recommended by their staff.  they also serve very nice hot bread yum !  after the main, i was full to the throat … despite the sweet temptation of their dessert, i will have to forgo it.  sigh  … 

that ends my first saturday in wellington :) a workout day … i was dead beat when i reached the hotel, i sure hope my legs are up to it for tomorrow