MEH.

Men are useless creatures.
Boyfriends, even more so.

求人不如靠自己。

Painting Blue(s) - Happily Ever After

Painting was scheduled to start last Friday and I had to work, so I rushed down to our place after work on Thursday night to leave instructions for the painters so they knew where to paint what. Nasty business it was, considering the sheer amount of dust in the place and no electricity. 

I was going to write notes on the masking tape that the workers tended to leave strewn around the house and then paste it wherever I wanted work done... Plus I also had to write in Chinese, mind you (the bf's mum said so) and boy, was I glad that I had my phone with me to figure out some the words that I didn't know how to write - 拆除，磨平，补洞. Yes, I know how to write them now. :P 

Unfortunately, it was just not my day that night...

1) I had a hard time finding anything in the dark. Found the one and only roll of masking tape after a good 15 mins of serious searching and there wasn't much left as it is. 

2) 2/3 into the writing, I ran out of masking tape (oh well, it was just a matter of time). I then started salvaging bits of used tape by tearing short bits from longer ones that were already on doors and walls etc. Funny when I think about it now, but it certainly wasn't at that point in time. Hungry, sweaty and dusty girl that I was. 

3) I had to decide how to divide and paint the walls of my bedroom that very moment. I kid you not when I tell you that I stood in my pitch dark bedroom (with a miserable torch light from my phone) staring at the walls and thinking. After finally settling on a solution, I drew it out on a piece of paper instead, since it would need way too much masking tape then I could scrimp to explain everything, haha. 

This was what I ended up with (note the miserable strips of masking tape I stole from elsewhere lol). I stuck it on the bedroom door.

4) The door connecting the bedroom to the bathroom was dismantled before wet works started and left leaning on one of the bedroom walls where there were nails and stuff on the wall that I wanted removed. I tried to move it but it didn't seemed to want to budge so I figured I would slowly lower it and leave it lying on the ground instead. UNFORTUNATELY! I underestimated its weight and it came crashing down midways and landed on my right toe, scraping my left knee in the process.

Hello, you gloriously black toe nail, you!

I was in so much pain, I couldn't speak nor move for a good 20 mins, simply taking deep calming breaths. For all I know, I may very well have inhaled an entire lifetime's worth of dust that very night, haha. The pain kept me up that night - I could barely sleep. And put me out of commission for the next few days after that. Thankfully, no fracture.

With my toe injured, I was excused from work and free to oversee my painting on Friday so I hobbled my way there the next morning after seeing the doctor (who was useless and just directed me to A&E). I went through all my written notes with Ah Leong and asked him to let me know should there not be enough paint. I wasn't expecting him to but when I dropped by the next day to check on the painting and pay (he and his worker couldn't finish on Friday so his worker came back on Saturday to continue), his worker told me I needed to get another 10L of white. I limped-hobbled to take a bus to what I thought was the nearest paint shop 2 stops away.

Nam Tai Choon Trading @ Blk 966 Jurong West St 93 #01-215

They didn't have Odour~less Easywash, only Odour~less Premium All-in-One and Easywash. I learnt from the nice Auntie that Odour~less Easywash is only available in Home-Fix, Selffix or shops where they have colour machines to mix the colours. Premium All-in-One and Easywash are ready colours that you can buy off the shelves. Less colour choices obviously, but if you're looking for simple colours like plain white etc, then Easywash would be the cheapest out of the premium range.

Price: Nippon Easywash @ $70 / 5L, Nippon Odour~less Premium All-in-One @ $77 / 5L

I opted for Easywash since I'm trying to keep the costs down. It's not odourless but since we're not moving in right away, the smell wouldn't really matter to us anyway. Afterwards, I made my way back to our place somehow, with pauses every 20-30 steps cuz my fingers were in pain from carrying 5L in each hand and my toe too. (I found out much later that there were probably quite a few stores/companies selling Odour~less Easywash at Pioneer Centre, just diagonally across from our new place, doh! My only explanation - you lose more braincells than you realise when you're in pain lol.) The journey sure wasn't easy but it was all worth it, after seeing my visualised colours realised. :)

Living Room (external walls of kitchen) - Clamshell 3161

Bedroom - Solitude 5035

Really happy with my choice of colours and how they turned out. They are very close to what was printed on the paint catalogue and no detectable smell from Easywash a week after painting. Big thumbs up for Nippon Paint!

Painting Blue(s) - The Prologue

Before ordering my paints, I had arranged to meet with 阿旺, a part-time/freelance painter who was recommended to me by the previous owners of our house, to get a painting quote. I've seen his work at the previous owners' new place and it looked pretty good to my layman eyes. I had already decided to go with the previous owner's suggestion of buying the paints myself and simply paying for labour cost - I can use premium paints and still save money by doing that. So my intention was to have the paints delivered and ready within that week and then have him paint last weekend. Prior to meeting him, I actually got a quote from E&K (a painting company which I found on Carousell) to get a general idea of the market rate for such labour cost.

Prepared to have him do the painting if he quoted me $100 below E&K's rates (since this was just a sideline for him), I was in for a rude shock when he told me a number that was more than double of what I was expecting - $550 is the price for E&K to do the full job, complete with regular Nippon paint! I was just telling the bf the weekend before that that if it wasn't too much of a difference from E&K's quote, then I would probably pay that extra bit more for the 'pros' to do it. Admittedly, there were a lot of drilled holes in our walls (leftovers from the previous owners) so there was a fair amount of repair required but the quote still seemed a bit excessive to me considering the previous owners paid him the exact same price for their 5-room flat. Sorry, my name is not Robert. Obviously, he was now out of the running. I didn't tell him that immediately (of course) - all I said was that I'll need to think about it since that's out of my budget and will let him know.

The next day had me surfing Carousell again for another painting quote. I then came upon Teo, who quoted me $250. He said they have no problems mending a few holes but depending on the volume/severity, they may have to charge extra. He couldn't give me a firm number and wasn't able to drop by for a no-obligations quote, asking that I take some photos of the areas that required patching up instead. I left the conversation at that cuz by then, the bf's mum had managed to get me a quote from Ah Leong (her friend's husband) and she convinced me to go with his services since his price was still within market rate and he is someone she knows. 

List of the quotes I got for painting (labour cost only):

1) E&K Global Pte Ltd - $350 (inclusive of wall repair such as hole filling, no touch-ups)

2) 阿旺 - $550 (inclusive of complete wall repair and touch-ups)

3) Teo - $250 (inclusive of minor wall repair)

4) Ah Leong - $350 (inclusive of complete wall repair and touch-ups)

Carousell sure proved more useful than I imagine! Everyone should try it, haha.

Painting Blue(s)

Yes, blue. The colour of our bedroom walls in my parents' place. It's such a cool, soothing colour to sleep and completely chill out in that I actually wanted to repeat it in our own place.

And cuz I was trying to make it for the Qoo10 Q points cashback promotion (last day 2 Sundays ago), I spent a large part of the Saturday before last checking out Pinterest and Houzz for colour inspirations and then the Nippon paint catalogue (2014). 

However, the designer in me is well aware that screen colors are largely inaccurate, often dependent on monitor calibration, colour profiles, gamma and what-nots, so Sunday morning saw me hitting some of the physical stores to check out the colours in a printed catalogue. I tried the following:

1) Kim Wah General Contractor @ Blk 84 Bedok North St 4 #01-05

Listed on the Nippon website as a Nippon Paint Shop, I was rather disappointed when all they had was Odour~less Premium All-In-One paints and a shopkeeper with a lousy attitude. I asked for a copy of the catalogue to take a look at the colours and he threw it at me across the counter like I owed him something. Ignoring that, I asked him some questions...

Q: Uncle, what's the difference between Odour~less Premium All-In-One and Odour~less Easywash?
A: Aiyah, all about the same one lah. Not much difference one.

Q: Does Matex for ceiling turn powdery?
A: Aiyah, nowadays all are emulsion paint, won't turn powdery like last time one lah. (Which was not what I've heard from many other people out there)

Obviously, he didn't seem too interested in entertaining me and walked off after that as I was going through the catalogue, dismissing me. Well, definitely a no-go for me. I won't be back again, Uncle. :P

Price: Nippon Odour~less Premium All-in-One @ $78 / 5L

2) Home-Fix @ Bedok Mall #B2-17/18

The sales person here was a whole lot more forthcoming with information, patiently answering all my questions, even with a running nose. The prices were of course, slightly more expensive than what's online but I would have gone with them if they had offered free delivery. I wanted to give him my business! But unfortunately, they don't and I live on the other side of the island so it didn't make sense for me to buy more expensive paint AND still pay for cab fare home.

I learnt that there are actually 4 bases for the whole range of Nippon Odour~less Easywash paints and prices for each colour vary according to the base number. The darker the colour, the more expensive it is. They mix the colour on the spot with the colour machine when you place your order. Apparently, colours will not vary even if you run out of paint and have to go back for more (just quote your colour code).

I spent a good 20-30 minutes staring at all the paint swatches, picking this and comparing that, until the sales person took pity on poor ole me and gave me a copy of the 2015 Nippon Paint Catalogue so I can bring it home and take my time deciding. That could be him just trying to rid the store of me but in any case, he's an absolute life-saver. Thank you, kind sir from Home-Fix Bedok Mall! :D I left the store with these swatches...

Price: Nippon Odour~less Easywash @ $74.60 (base 1) and up / 5L (dependent on base)

After I got home, I started work immediately, pouring through the Nippon Paint Catalogue all the while staring at our new sofa, curtains, wood laminates etc. and finally concluding that the cool colours I wanted initially are not going to work with my ideal theme. I ended up choosing more neutral colours to complement what we have going on in our deco.

Clamshell 3161 (a slightly warm medium grey) for our external kitchen walls and Solitude 5035 (an almost cool grey) for our bedroom (haha, is that what will happen to Bailey and I for the rest of our lives!?). Everything else will be white.

Ordered 10L of white, 5L each of Clamshell and Solitude from Estore on Qoo10 that Sunday night and after a small cart coupon discount, my order was slightly over $300 and barely in time for Q points rebate (which would amount to $30). I knew I needed more white paint but since the next tier for cashback was $500 and there was no way I would be able to hit that amount, I decided to hold off ordering more in case there were other upcoming sale promotions in the new week. However, Estore was really efficient and contacted me on Tuesday morning to fix a delivery date (I left a special note in my order to give me a call to confirm delivery time/date). That was when I had to let them know that I need to add on to my order and so later that night, ordered the additional 10L of white and 5L of sealer that I needed. With some Qoo10 member coupons, I actually managed to still get my paints at the same price and delivered together with my first order. Qoo10 rocks when it comes to rewarding loyal customers! :)

Price: Nippon Odour~less Easywash @ $72.40 / 5L (inclusive of delivery)

All my paints were delivered on Thursday afternoon and their deliveryman was kind enough to call me after that was done (since I wasn't present to sign for the delivery), complete with a MMS to show for it.

Such a hassle-free transaction it was that I would love to buy more paint from them if I ever needed it again. Highly recommended!

Recent Damage (Online Shopping +3)

Wanted to show off the awesome-ness of some of my recent online purchases. :D

Damage: $15

Brand new kitty cat wall stickers which I collected on Saturday evening. It was on clearance (originally $18) from Carousell. Aren't they like irresistibly cute!? 

Damage: $93.90

In line with my Kuche hood, hob and oven - I'm happy to announce that I now have a matchy-matchy Kuche air fryer! $103.90 including delivery off Qoo10, before the 1000 Q points cashback rebate for spending $100 (equivalent to a $10 discount, which I'm still waiting for). Fried food has always been a regular indulgence for me so this is a must!

Also ordered 3 x 5W warm white E27 LED bulbs for the lovely pendant lights I got for my kitchen. From China though so I'm a little wary... Damage: $14.20

I submitted the application for Q points cashback right after placing the order for the air fryer and LED bulbs, without much thought. On hindsight, I should have accumulated more purchases since the Qoo10 cashback promotion was for $100/$300/$500. BUT! I figured out a way to maximise my savings, which was to use the bf's account for further purchases. Haha.

More details on that in my next post!

Food & Electronics Fiesta

Got this mailer for 美食电器节 (Food & Electronics Fiesta) in the post a few days ago.

I wasn't expecting to find anything but I browsed through it anyway. Surprise surprise - look what I spotted at the back! There isn't a model number but it sounds like the Toshiba Android TV (47L5450) that I've been eyeing since October last year when it was first released. (>3<) ~♥

Based on the online research and recce that I've done since then, Mega Discount Store would have the lowest price at $839 (inclusive of free delivery) if I bought it online from their Rakuten store, with the 15% + additional 5% MasterCard discount every Tuesday. Next up would be Mustafa at $854 (inclusive of $25 for delivery). It comes with 3 years local warranty, a free Android air mouse and a HDMI cable. (Price as of December 2014) 

Now, if this is really the model that I have my heart set on, then $698 would save me at least $141! How can I not make a trip down to Expo for such a great deal?!

And so, my Saturday will be a busy one. The bf and I will be heading to Sembawang in the early afternoon for a baby shower (his good friend's baby). After that, we are off to Yishun in the late afternoon to collect some wall stickers for my new place (more on that once I've gotten them). And to top off the day, we'll be going down to Expo for my TV (I'd be totally bummed if that's not the model I wanted though, boo).

Positive thoughts! And good night!

Update: Cheap sales gimmick! Besides the fact that it was a lower end model (47L2450) - the list price at the booth ended up being $799, not $698! :( I also popped into the other hall which was having a Home & Furnishing fair since I was already in the area, but the items there were almost as dismal as the ones in the Food & Electronics one! Moral of the story - don't waste your time with these Expo fairs cuz there are usually way better prices out there! And without the need to travel even!

Online Shopping 1 : Bailey's Mummy 0

Public holidays (and any free time on my hands, in general) are a painful, terrible time for my wallet. I almost always end up spending money even without stepping out of my house, lol. Not that I'm complaining. Purchase of the day being:

Ta-da! Yes, this be our blog's profile avatar. Haha. I was annoyed with the poor quality of the original image on our profile and Google-d for a higher res one. Which led me to Zazzle (and this). The 20% off all mugs discount code sealed it for me. US$31.35 later, I'm 1 mug richer and a happier cat lady Mummy. Standard shipping will take 5-12 business days after manufacturing. It's not cheap, I know, but I absolutely adore it. See you soon, my darling mug! 

Bookmarking this for future purchases. (Zazzle is overpriced!)

Update [04/04/15] : ARGH. In my mindless crazy-cat-lady mode at finding such a cute mug yesterday, I didn't do my usual homework - I actually found to my utter dismay this morning that I could have gotten the same mug at HALF THE PRICE on cafepress! That'll teach me...

Update [22/04/15] : Finally got my mug from Zazzle today and printing quality isn't that great. Definitely not worth it!

On the home renovation front, I got in touch with 阿旺 this afternoon - a painter who came recommended by our home seller. He actually holds a regular daytime job and paints part-time on weekends. I'll be meeting him on Monday night after work at our new place to discuss and get a quote on painting. If nothing goes too wrong, I hope to start painting next weekend. :)

Setting the wheels of carpentry in motion!

Met up with the ID just now to pass him the final drafts for carpentry. At 11:20pm. (Yes, both my ID and I work long and hard hours. But him more than me, I think. Since I was out late today cuz of gym.) These are rough snapshots of what they look like until I can get these drawings to a scanner.

Bathroom Cabinet

Bedroom Platform

Kitchen Cabinets

ID suggested to frame up the shelving for the bathroom cabinet, rather than open shelves against the wall per my drawing for better weight support, which I agreed with. He also mentioned that the bedroom platform may not have as much storage as what I visualised (likely only 4 columns, rather than 5) but he will get the carpenters to redo this one for me. Plus I forgot to draw in the checkered backsplash for the open shelves section in kitchen wall #2. :P

According to him, my drawings will make more sense to the carpenters - his 3D folks need exact details and angles to generate the drawings so he needs to redraw them all. Not sure what kind of 3D people they hire but they sound very low level to me if they can't even work from what I feel are already very detailed drawings (lol). Or is that just the design snob in me talking? Anyways! 3D will take another week or two. :)

Initially, I was gonna ask if I can get a discount should I opt out of 3D drawings. But after the teething hiccups at the beginning of my renovation (the kitchen tiles fiasco being one of it), I've learnt (to my bank account's misfortune) that what I'm visualising may not necessarily be what my ID is seeing or even thinking from my attempts at description. And that's completely understandable since it's my design and not his. So this time round, I'm going to err on the side of caution since carpentry makes up the bulk of my renovation costs. Having clear visual representations of my cabinets would definitely help, to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Using matt white doors for all the cabinets, except for the bathroom which has mirrored doors and a small glossy white one for the compartment where I intend to keep the toilet paper (and which will apparently cost me more cuz it's an extra door, doh). The frames for all the cabinets will be using light-coloured matt wood laminates on the outside (which has always been my personal preference) and coloured PVC on the inside (if my budget still allows it).

Kitchen - EWP 4063M (light brazilian walnut)
Bedroom Platform - DWV 4539AE (mercury elm)
Bathroom - DWL 4532LX (segato naturale)
Foyer - EWS 9228T (beige cinnamon wood)

Matt White - ECG 0011VC (cool white-v)
Glossy White - ECG 0001CC (cool white-g)

Nail-biting time starts right about now...