Victim of Beauty

Yes. That would be me. :P

I have fallen. Hard.

For this absolutely gorgeous TV console in oak that I saw at Grafunkt yesterday. I couldn't get it out of my head last night and it was the first thing on my mind today. (Don't tell the bf lol)

It was like our sofa all over again...

I had to have it. Or risk losing sleep over it. (And lack of sleep makes a grumpy Mummy.)

It's all kinda strange... Things you say may come back to haunt you. It was only a few days ago when I said I wouldn't be buying a TV console that soon. The shopping intended yesterday was for a 1-seater armchair. There were only 2 stops on my original route - the Grafunkt showroom was never on it. But my friend's bf (the designated driver) suggested it since we were in the area, so I figured why not. And boy, was that an expensive why-not indeed, haha.

It was love at first sight. I could just see it in our living room. The right corner where the back board ends is right where the electricity plugs are on my wall. The asymmetrical shelves would be the perfect playground for Bailey (pretty sure she would love the little nooks close to the floor below the shelves too). I gushed over it for a whole 30 minutes. But the price was a huge deterrent even with the 5th anniversary 15% discount. We had to hussle since we had other places to go and a movie to watch. But unfortunately for my bank account, I left my heart there.

This afternoon, after checking with my ID on the possibility of having it done with carpentry (yes, it would be cheaper but still a no-go cuz there are too many edges and laminate won't look good like solid wood does) and then told to can wallpaper plans till carpentry is done, I made a beeline for the Grafunkt showroom instead. The anniversary discount is for May, so technically today was the last day.

My friend and I sat and stared at admired the console for another 30? 40? minutes again (sitting exactly where the photo was taken) before I finally managed to convince myself to put good money down on it. $1637.10 to be exact. Original price was $1926! And it was already on pre-order (eta August/September), mind you. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to spend such an amount on a TV console. But I'm a sucker for aesthetics and this was simply a thing of beauty.

I'm sorry, Mr Wallet. Please trust me when I say... I feel your pain. But still, I can't wait for it to be delivered. Love is a wonderful thing! :)

Hello long weekend!

Gonna take full advantage of Vesak Day so this weekend will be a busy busy one... 

Early morning will have me calling Starhub to postpone my fibre installation appointment. Would have been nice to receive a reminder sms/call (no thanks, Starhub!) and I was too caught up at work the last couple of days to remember to. When it finally occurred to me to do so after dinner just now, it was too late and the general customer service hotline was already closed for the day. The helpful CSO on another team told me my appointment was scheduled after 12pm, so I'll need to call first thing in the morning at 8:30am.

After breakfast, I'll be heading over to Choo Chiang Marketing (which has a branch just across the road from our new place) to check out Legrand Mallia switches which comes in matt classic white. Seriously contemplating changing all the glossy white ones from my ID's electrician. Besides a personal preference for matt over glossy any day, I really do not like how the switches feel when you press on them. My ID has agreed to change them for me, if I provide all the switches (at my own cost, obviously). Need to watch my budget though so still mulling over it...

Following switch shopping @ Pioneer Junction, I'll hop back to our place to meet with a sales representative from MagicSeal for a no-obligations quotation. Saw a group discount thingie going on on Qanvast a week or two back, so I sent in an email to register my interest. We don't have grilles on our windows (asked my ID to remove them since I prefer an unhindered view and having one less thing to clean) but I need it to be cat-proof for Bailey's sake so will need insect screens for her safety. Not that she jumps much - she's more of a bush dweller (ie. prefers low-level hideouts, namely under the bed) plus the fact that she's been a little unwell from what I suspect is the onset of arthritis. She's getting on in age just like her Mummy. :(

From our place, it's directly off to Lush & Mula Mu to shop for a wooden frame + fabric 1-seater sofa/armchair followed by Pitch Perfect 2 in the evening and then dinner with a couple of friends.

Sunday will see me back at our place for DIY wallpapering in the foyer, with a friend's help. Fingers crossed that it'll all go well and easy! Hoping to get some cleaning in too, if we can manage it - since carpentry will be going in the coming week. Finally. :P

Monday is chores (laundry) day back at my parents' place and also Bailey's monthly shower time. Poor girl needs a shower really badly, with clumpy fur that she hasn't had the mood to maintain these few days.

Busy indeed but hopefully, a fruitful weekend!

Furniture Front Runners - TV Console

Been checking out furniture lately, now that my renovation is 75-80% done... These are a couple of TV consoles I've been eyeing of late... I honestly thought the Baxton TV Entertainment Unit at Courts was the one when I spotted it a few months ago (while looking at my sofa) but after putting more thought into what I need etc, I realise that this may not necessarily be the best option for me (too short = not enough storage). Still on my list though, cuz I adore the look and feel of that oak! :P

Baxton TV Entertainment Unit 

L122 x D37 x H59 cm

$699 @ Courts

Touch Of Class TV Console

L180 x D40 x H40 cm

$1239.90 @ HipVan

Hold TV Console

L170 x D32 x H51 cm

$1953 @ HipVan 

MIA TV Entertainment Unit 

L150 x D40 x H45 cm

$299 @ Courts

Leaning towards the Touch Of Class for now and HipVan has a 15% Pre-GSS sale going on until the 30th of May, which makes it about $1050. Still a little on the ex side for me, so I may very well end up buying something from the IKEA Besta range. 

In any case, a TV console still falls under the 'luxury' column for now. Haven't bought a TV yet so there's no need for a TV console - since TV is also under 'luxury' lol.

Live simple.

When can we go to bed, Mummy?

...says Bailey at 4 in the morning, blatantly making her unhappiness apparent by lying over our floor plan and disrupting my work lol.

Oh well. Guess it's time for bed after all since I did spend a large part of Sunday mopping and cleaning over at our new place.

Oh WC WC, where shalt thou sit?

Was over at our new place in the afternoon to meet the plumbers. After much discussion with the friendly, young plumber (Malaysian Chinese who looks to be in his 20s), we agreed to install only the following:

1) Toilet bowl (WC)

2) Bidet valve - position based on his recommendation - slightly above WC seat height

3) Bidet spray - position based on his recommendation - same height as WC tank

4) Instant water heater - position based on my mark-up - slightly below standard height (to make up for my height, or lack thereof)

5) 2-way tap - position based on my mark-up - but he recommended that we move it slightly outwards from the wall for ease of repair / maintenance in the future 

The basin will wait till after carpentry is done since I prefer to have it aligned exactly to the mirror cabinet above it. Likewise with the toilet accessories (toilet roll holder, robe hook). Plus I'm still missing a line of hooks for the bathroom door to replace the ugly, existing one left behind by the ex-owners, which is already missing 3 out of 6 hooks. :P

The bathroom door that bashed my right toe in, has also gone back up again in the connecting doorway to our bedroom. With both bathroom doors in place, we finally have complete privacy once again in our bathroom lol. 

Also done today - bathroom glass panel, bathroom swing door and glass for the cut-out wall in our kitchen.

Doesn't feel much different from when it was an open air cut-out. Phew! Need to stay in the house a little longer to be able to know whether it'll be stuffy though. Didn't managed to get shots of the bathroom cuz the plumbers were already in there by the time I got there, so I didn't want to get in their way.

Finally went thru my VO (variation order) today and my total renovation shortfall is about 10k. :( Stressed out about where to find 10k. Grow on trees? Fall from the sky? Kill myself and fulfill it from my life insurance payout? (Not sure if it applies for suicide, haha.)

In feline news, Bailey had her monthly shower tonight and she is definitely not a happy kitty. Just look at her grumpy face, half-mast ears and still damp fur. I'm a horrid mummy for laughing at her now lol. As usual, she ran away to hide the minute she realised it was bathing time - I had to drag her out (whining and all) from under the bed, after I've closed off all but one of her escape routes. And then she complained the entire time, throughout her shower. 5 years of monthly showers later and still, she hates it. Poor darling...

Bedtime for (wet) Bailey & Mummy...zzz... Goodnight!

'Happy' Labour Day

Spent the entire Labour Day weekend painting and cleaning over at our new place. That's 3 full days of hard labour. After each day, I can clearly feel every single bit of my age - the old body felt battered, like it has gone thru a crazy hardcore workout. Is that what all my weekends will be like once we move in!?

Results from this weekend:

1) Sanitary ware delivered by Heritage Bathroom

2) Bathroom bi-fold door installed by Doctor Doors

Slight imperfection (printing issue) on my bathroom bi-fold door, right smack in the center fold at eye level. Pointed it out to the door installer after the installation was done but he said this was unavoidable. Struggled with whether or not to complain back to the Doctor Doors office about this defect but eventually resigned myself to fate. Will look for wood grain wall stickers or something similar at Daiso to cover it. Sad...

3) Painting by me, myself and I, with the help of a good friend whom I'm very grateful to have - we finished 1 main door frame, 2 bedroom door frames and 1 fat water pipe in the kitchen, with matt white paint from Nam Tai Choon. Met the helpful Auntie again, who gave me tips on what I need and what to do before I start actual painting.

Price: Nippon Bodelac @ $18 / 1L (total damage: $30+ with paint and accessories etc.)

4) Clean up - we cleared out the u-channels where the glass panels will be placed into (the ID told me glass will be going in tomorrow). Also gave the bathroom a light scrubbing to prep for sanitary ware installation.
5) Sanitary ware mark-ups in the bathroom - to indicate exact placement in the bathroom.

 

There were a lot more mark-ups than this but I was too exhausted from all the work that I forgot to take photos of them all, haha. Told my ID that I'll go down there tomorrow when the plumbers are there for installation to go through with them personally, for fear that my mark-ups aren't concise enough. After all, we did work on them close to 9pm in the dark (with the aid of a mobile phone torchlight, lol).

Good thing I'll be on leave tomorrow! 我的劳动节还真劳累啊！