Off to IKEA I went again

Spent the entire Saturday last weekend at IKEA Tampines shopping by myself (the bf got his knickers in a twist at lunch and stomped off -that's a story for another day- but pffft, who needs men!?). This trip was mostly to get wall fixtures initially - towel rack, kitchen hangers, curtain rods etc and I thought I could bring it home by myself in a cab but I actually got told off by the cabbie when I tried to board cuz my rods were too long (2.1m in length) and they couldn't fit.

Uncle: It's too long! Cannot fit across the back seat!

Me: Ohh. How about we put it between the front seats so it goes across from the front to the back?  

Uncle: No no no! What if it goes thru the glass behind my back seat!?

Me: ...

Uncle: Or later the rod whack me in the face how!? Who's going to be responsible!?

Me: ..........

Uncle: Cannot cannot cannot! I cannot take you! You go find those 9-seater cab!

All these complete with agitated hand gestures. Not sure what I owed him previously. :P Oh well, after that episode, I decided to go back upstairs to arrange for delivery rather than to waste time trying and risk getting blistered by yet another angry you-owe-me-money-in-your-past-life cabbie.

Some of the things I bought in the 1st round:

1) UTRUSTA Pull-out waste sorting tray

2) ENUDDEN Wall shelf with 4 knobs, white

3) GRUNDTAL Rail, stainless steel

4) RÄCKA / HUGAD Double curtain rod combination, white

5) RINGBLOMMA Roman blind, white

6) FIXA Screwdriver, li-ion

After queueing a good 30-45 minutes to arrange for my stuff to be delivered and then finding out that (besides having to pay a good $55 to send those few miserable items) I had to hand carry the smaller pieces home cuz the delivery guys were afraid they might lose them, I figured I might as well check if I can add more items to my delivery order should I buy more. It actually costs $5 per add-on item after you've made arrangements, but I appealed to the kind lady handling my order by telling her how the cab driver didn't want to take me and I really only had a few items, so she took pity on me and told me they will let me do it as long as it was by that night. YES! Back into IKEA I went...

More things I ended up with in the 2nd round:

1) MOLGER Bench, birch

2) ALGOT Storage bag with stand, white

3) FILUR Bin with lid, white

Also wanted this mirror but it was out of stock when I got to the aisle. Added to my shopping list for the next IKEA trip!

Sunday saw me joining the ranks of the 月光族 handing over the final cheque to the ID... 

Monday had me rushing Bailey to the vet cuz she's not well again... She was hiding under our bed the entire Sunday and looking giddy on Monday morning. Her historical imbalance problem seems to be back. :( Dr Heng prescribed daily painkillers and nerve support supps. Not sure if that's going to help much... Will be getting a second opinion from Dr Geetha next Monday at Cat Clinic.

Wednesday was me looking for that industrial sealant at Selfix Jurong Point for my shoji door tracks in vain - they only had the rubbery finish type. Also found out that I can't vote in the area where our new place is at (gotta register with your latest address by Feb 2015) so I guess I'll just continue to vote at my parents' area, boo~

Today scored me a good deal off someone from Carousell. Bought and picked up a used (1 month+ old) 49" LG UHD TV. The size seems a bit much for my tiny living room and it was $200 past my original budget for a TV, but it was too sweet an offer at $1K with almost 5 years warranty so I ran with it. Looking forward to my couch potato days! :D

Tomorrow is family dinner.

Saturday is windows-cleaning + mattress delivery.

Sunday is painting touch-ups (postponed from tomorrow) + IKEA delivery...

Busy busy week!

Switcheroo!

When I first told the ID I was thinking of changing out all the electrical switches at our place, he said I should expect to spend about $200-300 for them all (and not to waste money haha).

But as usual, the OCD in me I couldn't stand the different shades of white going on in all the different brands of switches his electricians used around the house. To put it simply, it drove me nuts lol. I need consistency, darn it! (I do realise it's a waste of money, kinda.)

Just look at the 3 shades of white in a single spot!

Luckily for me, my Legrand Mallia switches from Choo Chiang ended up costing less than $200. And they had a retail outlet just diagonally across the street from our house too! What convenience. In case I need more. :P

I first found out about Choo Chiang from the kind folks on the Renotalk forum. Obviously, I also did a fair bit of research before I was convinced that they had the most competitive prices. I asked the kind folks (Nicole) over at Home First (whom I bought my lights from), another seller from Carousell (who is apparently one of the local distributors for Schneider) and also called up Choo Chiang to compare basic prices.

1G1W @ $  3.80 (Home First) / $2.60 (Carousell) / $1.60 (Choo Chiang)
2G1W @ $  6.80 (Home First) / $4.50 (Carousell) / $3.00 (Choo Chiang)
3G1W @ $10.00 (Home First) / $7.10 (Carousell) / $4.40 (Choo Chiang)

I was convinced. Choo Chiang it is. :P

Pricelists for future reference

Legrand Mallia (matt white)

1) Choo Chiang Marketing (prices before GST)

- 1G1W @ $1.60
- 2G1W @ $3.00
- 2G2W @ $4.00
- 3G1W @ $4.40
- 3G2W @ $6.30
- 4G1W @ $7.20
- 4G2W @ $10.00
- 13A S/S/O @ $2.80
- 2x13A S/S/O @ $5.10
- SCV @ $3.15
- TEL @ $ 3.00
- CAT6 @ $8.80
- 20A @ $6.80
- Doorbell (switch) @ $3.15

Choo Chiang accepts cash, NETS and CC, with a 1-week exchange policy.

2) Carousell Seller

- 1G1W @ $2.60
- 2G1W @ $4.50
- 3G1W @ $7.10
- 4G1W @ $14.80
- 13A S/S/O @ $4.50
- 2x13A S/S/O @ $7.40

3) Home First

- 1G1W @ $3.80
- 2G1W @ $6.80
- 2G2W @ $9.20
- 3G1W @ $10.00
- 4G1W @ $16.00
- 13A S/S/O @ $6.40
- 2x13A S/S/O @ $15.00

Schneider Electric

1) Carousell Seller

- 1G1W @ $1.80
- 2G1W @ $2.50
- 3G1W @ $4.00
- 4G1W @ $16.00
- 13A S/S/O @ $2.50
- 2x13A S/S/O @ $4.40
- 20A @ $7.90

According to the Carousell seller, Schneider is having a 40% discount for trading in your old switches (any brand) at the moment. 

Oh yeah, and the electricians are due back at our place this coming Thursday. Can't wait to see all our pretty switches in place. :) 

More damage to the bank...

With Bailey's uncertain health situation this week, I've not been in much of a mood to keep tabs on the possible changes going on over at our new place. I did stop over in the early afternoon yesterday to drop off the kitchen wire basket I bought off Carousell cuz the carpenters needed it for installation.

Afterwards, I hopped over to Selfix DIY @ Jurong Point to collect these small stackable storage boxes I bought on Qoo10. Loved the pretty pastels so I ordered 1 of each, except for blue which was out of stock. Made in China so the quality is a little questionable. One of the white covers I got was a tad bit faulty (the plastic hinges seems to be slightly off-kilter and creaks really loudly each time you flip it up/down) so I brought it in again on the same day (before going downtown) to request for an exchange.

Damage: $12.90 each

They're going into either the kitchen, in the tall cabinet next to the washer or the bathroom, between the wall and the WC. Will see how it works out after we move in... Love organised storage. :)

Then I chanced upon Japan Home having a 50% GSS clearance sale. Grabbed 3 of these solid wood stools. I wanted 4 but I couldn't find a 4th one that was stable enough, from the remaining stock in the shop. IKEA has similar plywood ones going for $11.90 each, but the make of this is so much better for the same price. 3 baskets + 3 solid wood stools = too heavy for the feeder bus home, so I had to hail a cab for it. $5 added to the cost but still a steal in my opinion. :P

Damage: $11.45 each (after discount)

After bringing the stash back to my parents', I headed over to Plaza Singapura in the evening to meet the bf for dinner and buy that Monza sliding door wardrobe I was eyeing over at V.Hive. Was told I had to pay in full for the item and not a deposit like I was expecting, so there goes my furnishing budget for the month. :( Good thing was, they've agreed to keep the item for me till end August (our move is scheduled for the 3rd week of September, after the Lunar 7th month). I'm expecting handover to be some time close to end July, so I'll have at least a month and a half to slowly clean up and decorate to my heart's content.

The Tropez ottoman stool I bought off Rakuten a few weeks back to pair with my single-seater sofa also arrived mid-week. I haven't unwrapped it but it looks like this.

Damage: $61.60 (after 30% discount)

Also added this slim dish drainer rack into the same order, to sit next to my double-bowl kitchen sink since I don't have a dish rack above it. Should be enough for me, myself & Bailey. :)

Damage: $14 (after 30% discount)

Anyways, after such a long worrisome week, all I wanted to do was take a breather and spend a quiet day at home today. According to the ID, the foyer and bathroom cabinets should have been remedied yesterday and he wanted me to go check it out today, but I didn't want to cut short my R&R time so I'm gonna head over tomorrow night after work instead.

Hopefully, everything will be spot-on!

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.

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!

[Backdated] A Place To Call Our Own ♥♥♥

Today marks the day that Bailey and I get our very own space! :D

Just a year or two ago, it had seemed so impossible - I was your average 月光族 who never spared a thought for my future. Whatever money I had, I spent it travelling - mostly to Japan (my absolute favourite travel destination) despite the many threats of nuclear radiation at large. Even after a few years of full-time work which I had grudgingly settled down to, it still seemed like an incredible uphill struggle that I would never surmount.

Freelancing was good money indeed - I really enjoyed the 2.5 years of it - I was cash rich and I only work whenever I want to. Yet, I still had the means to support my lifestyle. It was an ideal situation for me at that point in my life. But knowing myself, I would never have been able to save up much unless I was 'forced' into it (ie. CPF). Of course, this was something I knew all along, but the younger me needed a few more years of playtime. Eventually, I decided that it was time for me to bite the bullet and head back to full-time work. And so I did. It was a commitment to myself. Which subsequently, provided me with the confidence to commit to having Bailey too.

Fast forward to now, I am officially a first-time home owner. How amazing is that!?

My 2nd appointment with HDB was almost surreal. It went by in a flash. I was the first to arrive in our group (just like the 1st appointment) and we didn't have to wait too long before our number was called. The buyer gets to go first again and all I had to do was put my signature on some documents. Then I'm done! All within the space of 10 minutes! I was stunned when the HDB officer told me I can go, haha.

After HDB in Toa Payoh, I headed up to Yishun to meet a Carousell seller to collect these pretty fairy lights.

Her class ended later than she expected and she was almost an hour late (which in turn, made me late for my dinner appointment with my colleagues). Time wasted + $18 = not that great a deal. :P Got told off by the bf for going ahead with it. But it just didn't feel right to back out of it after all the arrangements made, even if she was late... A customer is always right, yes. But a customer should also be reasonable. At least that's what I think. Looking forward to draping these somewhere in the house once it's ready~

Ended the day with a yummy Thai dinner in Orchard with my colleagues.

 Life is good.