Kaki Shopping

Digital cameras have certainly changed the way photography is viewed. With the advent of digital cameras, more and more people have millions of digital photos stashed away somewhere in their hard drives or external storage devices. The photos hardly ever see daylight unless they are printed out or published in websites or blogs. Photos of babies, birthdays, graduations, weddings and corporate events all hold memories that are dear to the owner.

Why not put these beautiful digital memories into good use by creating a Photo Blanket out of them? A Personalized Photo Blanket is a useful gift to present someone with and it will definitely be heartwarming to know that the recipient is hugging all those precious memories to sleep every night. With the different sizes of photo blankets available too, you can choose to have one photo or up to sixteen individual photos printed on the blanket, to create a wonderful collage.

Great Christmas gift idea? You bet!

If you recently purchased a home of your own, and have recently completed the basic renovations in it, the next step would be the most exciting one. Decorating one’s home in a style that reflects your personality is an interesting experience, and one which will result in a comfortable livable home.

One of the most time-consuming tasks is the selection of window decorations, or as some would call it window treatments. Drapes, curtains, and blinds lend a style of their own when paired with different kinds of windows for different rooms. I remember my hubby and I made countless trips to our fabric consultant to select the fabrics for our curtains and blinds and then to finalize the designs. This was not even inclusive of the fitting appointments we made with the consultant.

Of course, that was way before we heard of this fantastic DIY home decorating concept, offered by FabricWorkroom.com. Here, all selections for interior design can be done online without the hassle of traffic jams and travel expenses. They even ship for free, with no sales tax (except in CT). Is it any wonder that consumers have embraced this concept? This is definitely THE place to shop for fabric, with all the perks included.

If we ever get the chance to move into a landed property of our own, one of the first things I would be looking forward to is decorating the kids’ or baby room.  I used to watch this program on Discovery Home & Health where a team of designers remodel and create a beautiful nursery to celebrate the arrival of a newborn baby.  The new baby room will be created in accordance with the preferences of the parents, and to add a special touch, close friends and family members are sometimes roped in to help with the renovation.  The result is always a tastefully decorated room, sometimes even incorporating little thoughtful details that enable baby to live comfortably.  There’s even a safety expert that comes round to check on the safety of the room.

Well, there’s an online version of this baby room decoration committee, so to say. Parents who want to remodel their kids’ rooms will find themselves spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a bed, a crib or even a simple thing like a functional Kid’s Desk.  There are virtually endless options of Kids’ Bedroom furniture these days, but I personally prefer Wooden Children’s Furniture more than anything.  They are a sturdier option, they don’t break, they aren’t fragile and they look more hardy to withstand the test of time.  To add to the sweetness of this, everything purchased at this store online will be shipped for FREE!

My neighbor is renovating his house again. I honestly do not know where he finds the time and money to do so. Every year, there will be at least one period of time where we will be entertained with noises like drilling, knocking and more drilling. Owning a home is expensive enough, but some people still miraculously find it possible to have makeovers and renovations done fairly regularly. Oh, and on top of owning a home, home shoppers normally have to deal with other incidental so-called *hidden* costs and expenditure. These costs normally hit you when you least expect it, and no amount of makeover or renovation can change that. Sometimes the air-conditioner might just decide to stop working or the pipe might suddenly burst right before you take a shower. Been there, done that. That’s when we wished we had some form of warranty for our homes to protect against these costs, something like what American Home Shield is providing. I bet my neighbor would need a good plan like that.

For people like me with little to no knowledge on gardening (my fingers are a little less green than what I would like them to be), supermarkets with a specialized gardening section selling anything from flowering plants to leafy shrubs and some even to the extent of selling pretty bonsai plants are a dream come true.  With the right combination and of course the right amount of cash,  I can transform my garden or balcony into a glorious paradise of wonderful flowers and greenery.  Certainly most pleasing to the eye.

Gardening and landscaping is not for the faint-hearted though, and although we would probably reap the rewards of our labor in due course, it doesn’t hurt to sometimes get some expert help from professionals like TruGreen.  I’ve always dreamed of a perfectly manicured lawn with (maybe) a pristine rock garden in one corner and rows and rows of tulips and lilies surrounding a little gazebo.  Well, I’m off to tend to my plants now.  Yes, sometimes I sing to them too, believe it or not!

Purchasing a property of your own comes with a host of advantages and of course, the disadvantage is that you have to be tied down with a mortgage with the bank.  Well, most people have to be, anyway.  Only those who are filthy rich can afford a one lump sum payment on a piece of property.  So if you have decided to get a place of your own, shopping for a suitable mortgage plan comes hand in hand with it.  Commercial Mortgages are a dime a dozen these days, so make sure you do a thorough comparison and get the best rates in town before signing on the dotted line.

Boohoohoo… I am gonna miss out on the Ikea sale which starts in just TWO days!  Nevertheless, I did manage to get myself some goodies from Ikea when I was shopping there last weekend.  It’s amazing how I never manage to come out of Ikea empty-handed.  Love the Ikea Samla storage boxes…hubby says they are to be used for all my STUFF.

Got ourselves two new bathroom mats too…would have gotten more stuff had we not had the constraints of carting them home. 

I have to say this though…shopping in Ikea on a Monday is a BREEZE!  There was practically no one around, and the aisles were so easy to navigate through.  I bet it will be a totally different scenario come this Thursday!

I’m still devising the best method to clean my blinds. The ones I have in my study are the aluminum mini blinds that go out of shape if we apply too much pressure on them. Blinds, though they lend a sophisticated feel to any room, need to be maintained well to ensure they are clean and classy. Unlike curtains, they cannot be thrown into the washer to be cleaned. I have tried using a damp cloth and the vacuum cleaner too, but they don’t get as clean as I want them to be. I wonder if I would have the same problem had I opted for vertical blinds instead?

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!

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!