Kaki Shopping

When I was in school, there was a teacher who had really bad body odour. For teachers’ day, the students in her class presented her with a bottle of perfume. Whether it was a subtle hint or a genuine present from the heart, I think the gift of perfume is a splendid one for any occassion, whether it is intended for a guy or a girl. That is why the gift of fragrance never goes out of fashion, and what better time to give it than this Valentine’s.

I, for one, love perfume. I have bottles and bottles of perfume and I love collecting the empty bottles too. My hubby would certainly disapprove, but some of these bottles are too gorgeous to be thrown away.

In any case, you will never go wrong with perfume as a gift this Valentine’s. Choose from either a single bottle of perfume or a coffret consisting of a selection of products packed in a beautiful box. StrawberryNET has a wonderful selection of fragrances, all with major savings specially for Valentine’s. Here are a select few:

Dolce & Gabbana

Light Blue Coffret: Edt Spray 100ml+ B/Gel 200ml+ S/Gel 200ml+ Mini 4pcs

Light Blue Coffret:   1x Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml   1x Body Gel 200ml   1x Shower Gel 200ml   1x Mini

rec. retail: US$ 160.00 StrawberryNET price: US$ 112.00 (save 30%)

Nina Ricci

L’Air Du Temps Coffret: Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml + Body Lotion 100ml + Shower Gel 100ml 3pcs

L’Air Du Temps Coffret:   1x Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml   1x Body Lotion 100ml   1x Shower Gel 100ml

rec. retail: US$ 110.00 StrawberryNET price: US$ 63.00 (save 43%)

Kenneth Cole

Signature Coffret: Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml+ After Shave Balm 75ml+ Deodorant Stick 75g 3pcs

Signature Coffret:   1x Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml   1x After Shave Balm 75ml   1x Deodorant Stick 75g

rec. retail: US$ 118.00 StrawberryNET price: US$ 59.00 (save 50%)

As an added bonus, all orders with a Valentine’s Day message included will be wrapped in special gift wrapping paper!

If you’re still scurrying around looking for Chinese New Year clothes to get your kids, why not head on down to The Baby Loft where there is a wide selection of gorgeous clothes for kids? Okay, I admit that we can never buy enough clothes for kids, but who’s to say that’s wrong huh? Here are a few that caught my eye:

You will find that you are really spoilt for choice, especially if you have a little daughter. They’ve got stuff from Guess, Carter’s, OshKosh and even Zara. Best of all, the RED sale is on now till February 18th, where you will get an additional 18% off for all apparel which are in red, orange or pink. I am not sure if the discount will be valid if part of the clothing item is in red, orange or pink though. But do check them out It’s an offer not to be missed!By the way, the kids’ apparel are all listed under the Loft Exclusives section.

My hubby was just saying the other day that the walls of our house are too bare. Actually I know he was hinting that I should complete my cross stitch project soon, so that we could frame it up and put it on display. I would love that very much but I have difficulty finding the time to complete the project.

While waiting for my finished masterpiece, I would certainly like to adorn our walls, especially the one right above the sofa, with a piece of art, a masterpiece, a conversation starter for my guests, something I know I would be able to find from Park West Art Gallery. And maybe while I am at it, I can find something nice for our shelf too?

Folks in Penang who are J Card Members are in for more rewarding shopping experiences. Jaya Jusco is now extending an exclusive privilege only for Jaya Jusco Queensbay Mall. On the 1st day of every month in 2008 (except May and December), J Card Members will enjoy special discounts on selected items. That’s not all: for every purchase of RM100 and above in a single or combination of 2 receipts (on the same day), members are entitled to redeem a Jusco gift voucher worth RM5.00.

I’m not really sure why May and December are excluded months though, maybe because May 1st is a public holiday (Labor Day) and December 1st coincides with the Year End Sale.

So people from out of town, if you’re coming to Penang for shopping, make sure you adjust your trip to coincide with the 1st of the month. Whichever way you look at it, it’s a mighty good idea to mark the 1st day of every month on your calendars this year (except May and December), because you can either drop by Jusco Queensbay really early in the morning to make use of the idiom “the early bird gets the worm”, or you can choose to steer clear away from the mall, because believe you me, the crowd will be just huge, knowing Penangites!

When my hubby travelled to India on business the last time round which was a good 2 years ago, he almost bought a beautiful silk rug for our home. In fact, he sent me some photos of the rugs he considered buying then, and although they were all breathtakingly beautiful, the price was exorbitant! So we gave it a pass.

Then after he came back, my hubby and I visited his manager’s home where I personally saw, felt and sat on one of those 100% silk rugs his manager bought from India too. And I tell you, I was completely blown away! I had never felt anything like it before…and I loved it even more because the rug goes perfectly well with our timber strip flooring. Turns out though that the price of the rugs in India weren’t all that expensive compared to the price we would have gotten if we had got them over here instead. Regretting a little for not buying ourselves one of those rugs at that time, we could do nothing but admire the one in his manager’s house.

Well, since we do not foresee any more business trips to India, this means I will have to rely on internet sources to get ourselves a rug if I really want it. I know for a fact that there is a splendid collection of Oriental Rugs and even Area Rugs available online. Rugs that will change the demeanor of a room or a home in just a blink of an eye, literally. And I bet I can find some treasures in the clearance section too. There are rugs to suit every whim and fancy, from the traditional kinds to some that are conventional and modern. Now to find myself some moolah and get one of those gorgeous rugs to adorn our living room floor in time for Chinese New Year!

Hey, when you shop for your new clothes for Chinese New Year, don’t forget your innerwear as well.  The latest innovative bra from La Senza comes at the most appropriate time.  The ITEC bra (did they make it rhyme with hi-tech on purpose?)  - Is this bra as good as it sounds?  What better way to find out than now… don’t miss out on the 15% discount promotion all ITEC bras from Jan 21-Feb 20 2008.  Go ahead, get a red one.  Works for Valentine’s too.

I have been yearning for a new mop for a really long time, because the current one that I was using had a rusty handle and the retractable portion of it was not working well too. Is it weird that I like mopping floors?Anyway, as I was out shopping one day, I spotted Scotch-Brite’s High Performance Micro-Fibre mop on sale in the supermarket. I was eager to try it out because it claimed that this mop can pick up dust particles which were not able to be picked up by any other conventional mop. After some deliberation and some days later, I walked out of the supermarket RM49.90 poorer, armed with a new mop in my arms. Let me tell you that I have never in my life paid so much for a mop! And I have no regrets doing so.Yesterday was the grand opening ceremony of the new mop. I unwrapped it eagerly, read the instructions and tried mopping the floor with it. Apparently it was not necessary to put any detergent while mopping unless you wanna remove a stubborn stain. So I dampened the mop with just some water and mopped away!

And you know what? After mopping with my new micro-fibre mop, the timber-strip flooring in my house really felt way much cleaner! Smoother, slidable and best of all, it didn’t leave any water stains on the floor. Well, some mops do that after the water has dried up, but not with this mop. I also like it because the swivelling action of the mophead allowed me to reach narrow corners with so much ease!

The one thing I have against it though is that there is no lever for me to squeeze the mop dry. At first I used my hand, but that was uncomfortable, so I became Miss Innovative and started to step on the mop to squeeze the water out before mopping. Worked like a charm!

The micro-fibre portion can also be removed and washed and then left to dry. I noticed there were also refills available for sale once the micro-fibre piece wears out.

Bottom-line is the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages of this mop. And if you have yet to begin spring cleaning for the Chinese New Year, this is one item you would certainly find handy!

MPHOnline is currently having a DVD Bonanza, where more than 50 live concerts and performances captured on DVD are going for unbelieavably low prices.

The collection is rather impressive I would say. I was pleased to note that they have got DVDs from Andrea Bocelli (Under the Desert Sky), Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses and even Engelbert Humperdinck. Definitely worthwhile entertainment at an affordable price.

Remember to check out their exclusive online deals on books too. I have shortlisted Cecilia Ahern’s P.S. I Love You, which is now going for an unbelievable 30% discount. Don’t forget, online purchases of RM80 and above entitle you to free shipping.

I first noticed Katherine Heigl in Roswell. In that show she was playing the role of Isabel, an alien, but a very beautiful one. And now I get to see her in Medical Scrubs every week on the telly. If you are an ardent fan of Grey’s Anatomy like me, you probably know Katherine Heigl as Izzie, the very pretty intern who somehow manages to look gorgeous and immaculately groomed even while she is merely dressed in scrubs. In Grey’s Anatomy, Izzie fell in love with her dying patient, got engaged to him right before he succumbed to his illness, and now Izzie has to deal with the loss of someone she loved with all her heart and soul. Of course, that’s her onscreen life. In real life, Katherine just recently got married and is having the time of her life! What with her new movie, 27 Dresses, about to be released soon and all!

Grey’s Anatomy is proof that every single item we wear can be made into a fashion statement. Medical attire like peaches scrubs and nursing uniforms look so cool there, they make you wanna just go out and get some so you can scrub in with the team! This is why Katherine Heigl has her own collection of scrubs available now. I wonder what Mom would say if I wore one of these on the first day of Chinese New Year?

After waiting for a week without any sign of a parcel from StrawberryNET, I decided to track my parcel online. This would also give me a chance to check out the parcel tracking system for StrawberryNET (one thing about online orders that keeps me coming back for more is the fact that I am able to track my orders. Well, some sites offer them but some don’t). I entered my order number under the Shipment Status section in the site and that brought me to a page detailing when the order was received and when it was shipped. It also provided me with a tracking reference number with a Details button.

I clicked on the Details button and that took me to the mail tracking page of Hongkong Post (StrawberryNET is a Hong Kong based company). Apparently the parcel was already shipped out on January 10th. I was then instructed to select the destination country for further tracking. Upon selecting Malaysia, I was rerouted to our very own Pos Malaysia site’s Track & Trace section. Since I knew this was a registered parcel, I clicked on PosDaftar, and keyed in my reference number. This in turn provided me with a local tracking ID, and when I clicked on this ID, I learnt that the parcel had already arrived at Cawangan Serahan Bayan Lepas on January 15th.

That’s weird. That’s a whole one week ago and I have not received it yet. So yesterday I obtained the number for the Cawangan Serahan Bayan Lepas from the Pos Malaysia site and called them. It was actually the number for the Bayan Lepas post office that I called, so the guy on the line gave me another number to dial for the Cawangan Serahan. I don’t know why they could not redirect my call. Maybe Pos Malaysia phone lines don’t work that way.

Anyways, I called up and provided the tracking number and the guy informed me that the parcel had already been delivered to its destination, in this case, my office. Usually, I would receive an email from my office’s reception informing me that a package had arrived for me, but up till yesterday I had not received any such notification.

There was only one thing to do. I emailed the reception and even called up. So the hunt for my parcel began. At about 4:30p.m. yesterday, my receptionist told me that the parcel had been delivered to the mailroom instead of the reception. And in fact, they had received it last Friday evening. What a relief! At least I knew my parcel was safe and sound. I called the mailroom up, and made arrangements to collect it the next day.

And I just did! So here I am sitting at my desk… looking at a medium-sized white box, containing the items I had ordered. The customs had opened the box up for inspection, apparently, but everything looks intact and in order. The products were all wrapped nicely and packed with little styrofoam pieces. Some of the products were even wrapped in silver paper too!

I just can’t wait to go back home and use the products! Wheeeeee!!!!

And if you are wondering if I will make subsequent orders with StrawberryNET, you betcha! After all, I get to enjoy a host of additional discounts with the loyalty bonus they provide:

Special Loyalty Discounts

Automatically calculated from your second order onwards.
2nd order extra 1% off
3rd order extra 2% off
4th order extra 3% off
5th order extra 4% off

Extra 5% off your 6th order (6th until 9th order)

Extra 7.5% off your 10th order (10th until 19th order)

Extra 10% off your 20th order (and all future orders)

And not to mention, I also get FREE shipping on all orders!