Home-ifying the Patch

When Jul came over to bake 2 Sundays ago, she said our flat looked really quite lived in. Big & I take that as a compliment. A home is not a home if it looks like a showflat.

Over the weekend (it was longer one for us as we were on leave Friday), we bought a couple more essentials, cooked 2 meals at the flat (not including breakfast), put up a clock, a small shelf and used the washing machine. We also ordered the shoe rack and a seat, and argued over whether Spooky should be confined when she's alone in the house next year.

At the same time, we seem to be embarking on some kind of personal mission to add little odds & ends to the place. It reminds me (rather embarrassingly) of what my ex-boss Charlene once said about how her shoe, bags & clothes collection grew & grew & grew when she moved to her new flat becos she had her own space, & there was no one to complain about her taking too much space. Oops.

Pumpkin cheesecake from the Pumpkin Patch

The Patch hosted its first official "gathering" over the weekend - a spurt of baking with 2 of Big's colleagues Jul & Lif, and my sister.

The idea actually begun in late Nov when Big & Jul went on a complimentary baking class at Shermay's school. They came back armed with a sheaf of recipes which called for some really posh ingredients like high quality nuts and honey and Valhorna chocolate and pumpkin puree. Big thought it would be fun to initiate the new oven by trying out some of the recipes at home. He especially wanted to try Pumpkin Cheesecake and Panforte, which is like an Xmas fruitcake of nuts, dried fruits and honey. Panforte was subsequently dropped from the list becos it is not easy to make, and Big thought it might be better to do in his own time. We decided to take on the simpler but popular all-time fav Choc Chip cookies instead.

So, we spent Sat running around Phoon Huat, Carrefour and Cold Storage snatching up baking equipment, and ingredients. Pumpkin puree was especially elusive. In the end. Big made his own puree from baked (and microwaved) butternut pumpkin. And we still missed out salt which had to be bought at the last minute by my sister.

In the midst of the mad rush, we also managed to grab a small cupboard for the master bedroom, a cheapo beanbag, a step ladder which can be used as a (rather high) stool, a magic floor cleaner (which, according to Big, I spent the whole of Sat night talking about - OMG I'm turning into my mother), and a fire extinguisher (don't ask).

Sun turned out to be a very fruitful day.

Big put up his country-styled shelf on the orange wall of the dining area. And plonked three tiny pots of cactus on it. Only to realise that he had chosen an orange cactus which of course blended neatly into the wall behind it...

The baking session was surprisingly accident-free, with the exception of one poor Pumpkin Cheesecake cup which decided to commit suicide flat on itz front. The oven is so air-tight that you can hardly smell anything baking. And it cools down rather quickly too.

So, we churned out, 24 Pumpkin Cheesecake - cup-cake style. And a nice number of Choc Chip and Pecan cookies, which, for some reason, were still bread-ish inside.

And I put together my magic floor wiper and tried it out immediately after we got it. Kinda like how Big takes his Transformers out of the box to play with right after he gets them. Talk about new toys.

Curious sights at home

Uncles bonding in the rainThere is a small grass patch in front of the block. Directly under our window. It's next to the playground, and belongs to the nursery downstairs. We've also seen senior citizens playing croquet (yes - croquet - so very Brit!) there. Last Sunday, two uncles were hanging out there. In the rain.

The Marine Parade community

We are under Uncle Goh's care. I've always had a soft spot for him. He was a very good PM, and from what I've heard, a very approachable amiable person. He's also my dad's old classmate from RI, and they always have something to chat about when they do meet.

So, although we don't get to vote, being under Uncle Goh's care has its perks. We have security cameras and monitors in the lifts and lift lobbies, the estate is relatively clean and pleasant, and there are quite a number of interesting activities. This Sunday flea market is one of them. The other is the very happening District Arts Festival whose collaterals really impressed me.

Dec - report card

The kitchen is almost done. The baking oven is in, and we inherited some nice plates and stuff, and a cutlery set from Big's aunt - all un-used. We're just waiting to turn on the fridge and pick up baking stuff.

The 'bots moved in even before we did. Shows who's the priority here, doesn't it?

A surprise visitor

We've had both sets of parents and siblings dropping by. We're planning for baking spree with some of Big's colleagues, and a house-warming of sorts for his office nearer the New Year. I'm hoping to get the Ecosystem and Capris in Jan as well.

But we had a surprise visitor even before the parents came by.

This is my friend Spot.

The Stayover

Each time the subject of staying over at the flat on weekends comes up, I have to endure a round of snide remarks before it pushes thru (IF it pushes thru, that is). The last time we tried to do a stayover, it didn't push thru, but I still had to endure snide remarks. As I've said before, Big & I may be married in the eyes of the law, but obviously not in the eyes of the in-law.

Anyway, ranting aside, we managed to do a stayover last weekend. The initial plan was to start on Thursday night since it was a long weekend. But I was (literally) running media for the event on Thursday night, and dead tired. Then we wanted to start Friday but I spent the entire afternoon gawking over Peranakan jewellery, and that lasted too long, so we didn't either. Even when we did finally stay over Saturday night, we spent most of Saturday advising the parents on which laptop to buy, and rushing to another parental event in the evening. So, actually, we didn't spend very much time at the flat.

Still, it was very nice to stay over, and to have a place of our own. It does seem like a good hideout from our daily annoyances & frustrations, and the rest of the world. Neither of us had much problems adapting to the smaller bathroom, except that we need clothes hooks in there, and we would much prefer the water pressure to be higher. We slept without the aircon or the fan, and it was nice & cool. In fact, the living room can be get windy at night with the land breeze coming from that direction. Of cos, there's all the extra noise we had to deal with - someone upstairs using the toilet/taking a bath, kids shouting in the early morning and etc. But that's to be expected living in such close quarters with everyone else.

Big shoved the oven into its rightful place Sun morning, with some minimal help from me. And we discovered our thermal flask only keeps water warm, not hot. And that we really really do need those hanging basket things for the bathroom for the bath stuff.

AND we have a flea market every Sunday nearby!

Would be a good idea to stay over every weekend. As I said, itz a really good hideout, and becos we don't have to waste time travelling (from my house to his or vice versa), we managed to get a lot more stuff done. The only issue is how much I can tolerate the snide comments.

The bed & other stories

The bed
...is in! The Serta mattress, 2 free pillows, 2 free mattress protectors and a No.6 plush sheep were delivered on Fri. Apparently, the delivery guy spent 2 minutes showing Big how to undo the plastic wrapping becos he had encountered customers who gleefully slit it open with a penknife, and slit the mattress in the process.

The bed frame came on Sat. It looks humongous in the room. We laid on the mattress, 1st unwrapping it and managing NOT to slit the mattress itself, pulled on the mattress protector, and the rather bright bed sheet, and then jumped on to test it out.

Big's 1st comment, "The ceiling looks very close (to my face when I lie down)". Actually, it doesn't. It's just lower than what he's used to. This is a flat after all. Landed property have higher ceilings.

Parental visit number 2
The second of parents finally came over to visit on Sun night, with the hatted sibling in tow. This proved to be a surprisingly mellow visit, perhaps buffered by the chilli & black pepper crabs before it.

Comments made were on the choice of wall paint colour for the front room, why the kitchen sink should not be top-mounted, how the TV is too near the sofa, how the bed should be against the wall, how much problems we would have adapting to the small size of the bathroom (and flat), how we should get Big's parents' maid over to clean on weekends, and how the cat shouldn't be brought over at all...

Not surprisingly, they came from 1 parent only. The other took a walk around, declared it very nice and sat down to watch the failure of a soccer match between Singapore and Thailand (1-3).

Further parental advice
- We shouldn't invite the neighbour into the flat yet. Or let her look in thru the door. For info, she had already gone in just after reno was completed.

- We shouldn't release too much info to neighbour. e.g at what stage of completion the house is in, what we already have in the house and etc. For info, Big told neighbour our bed had arrived that morning.

- We should, however, let the neighbour know that our parents will be dropping by now & then to check on the house. Er, right, sure...

- Before moving in, we had to have people come in to meditate so as to bless the house. This is a new one...

Hard labour

On Sat, we swung by Expo to see if there were any mega-sales, thanks to Val's tip-off. And there was! 3+ hours and $200 later, we had gotten the water-boiler (no kettles for us), a juicer, 2 sets of bedlinen, and a couple of other small items. Big almost got a luggage bag too. We're still not sure about the rice-cooker (anyone knows a good brand and suitable size?), and haven't bought the pots&pans, or crockery. Or the curtains & blinds.

Sun - Big loaded up the car with all the stuff we had bought before he went for reservist, and we trolley-ed them to the flat. That is to say, he carried the big TV, and I pushed the fully-loaded trolley which had an unfortunate tendency to list to the left.

After much sweating and grunting, we finally unpacked, stowed away and fixed up whatever appliances we had brought in. Big even christened the bathroom by taking the 1st shower there.

And he very nicely shoved the quest for bedlinen, curtains and cushion covers to me. Like I know anything about draperies...

Any recommendations for reasonably priced, good quality cloth stuff, with nice sophisticated subtle designs?????

The bed frame will be in coming Sat. And we need to call for the mattress too....

Halloween at the flat

Big is obsessed about Halloween. It seems he's wanted to throw a big Halloween party since forever but has never gotten the chance. I've had several, courtesy of my cousins who delight in dressing up in mostly-homemade costumes, and icing cupcakes with spiders, pumpkins and such.

So, when we finally got the flat, and Paul had declared it would be ready by Oct, Big got his hopes up about throwing a Halloween party at the new place.

Unfortunately, with the delays in renovation, and our very packed work schedules, this was not to be. By end Oct, the house was not ready to receive guests. The fridge was only delivered on 30 Oct for goodness sake.

Halloween at the flat was thus reduced to this:



P/S - We spent Halloween running around doing errands. I was at The Arts House briefing foreign media at 10am, and then I rushed to Orchard to meet my mum, and then back to The Arts House to see Neil Gaiman. Big was braving bad traffic from his place to Yishun, and then to see Neil Gaiman. In the middle, we rushed off to feed Spooky...

Welcoming the big boys

Last Fri, Big & I rushed down to the flat to welcome the big boys. Ok, to be fair, Big was there much earlier becos the plumber had to pass him some pipe-extension-whatever thingy for the washing machine which he (i.e the plumber) had forgotten to fix last time we met.

I got there in time to get a tutorial on how to operate the washing machine (which I already know how to operate) from the delivery guys, and to write the cheque.

You know, this is the 1st time in 30 years that I can actually look into the top shelf of the freezer without having to stand on my toes. It feels a little strange. Maybe we need a base...

The oven hasn't been installed yet. I think Big will call Paul for help once he's done serving his country. Kinda doubt he can lift the thing up on his own anyway. Here's the kitchen with the big boys in:

For info - that's a Toshiba 7kg washing machine & a Hitachi "anti-mould gasket" fridge. The box is the Cuizino oven which goes into the gaping hole in the cupboard on the right...

The Civic Ceremony

I did say that this blog was not wholly dedicated to the flat. So, now that the flat is fully renovated, and we're kinda in the almost-final stages of furnishing (well, the big boys are done), there are other things to talk about.

Big & I are actually married "in the eyes of the law", albeit not so very much in the eyes of the in-law. As Big so very honestly (and un-romantically) puts it, we ROM-ed in May 2009 (2 weeks after Val) to get the flat. Make that to ensure we got our FULL entitled subsidies for the flat. As daddy said - make sure you get (from the government) all that you are entitled too.

Prepping for the civic ceremony, otherwise known as the ROM, was not an experience I'd care to re-live.

The date
1st, we had to consult the whole world for "auspicious dates", and naturally, everyone had their own little bit to say about this. We have two sets of parents, with 1 parent on either side with overly-inflated egos, who are frankly difficult to manage (and unlike difficult bosses you can't just quit on them). Consultation for the date actually delayed the entire process. Becos one set of parents (let's call them Set A) originally decided there was no need to consult a 3rd party for good dates. So this tricky business was left to the other side (Set B). Set B came back with some dates well within the timeline given to them (amazingly). And we were just about to move on to venues when - ta-dah! - surprise surprise - Set A suddenly decided they needed to consult too!

In the meantime, we were checking with some venues - some hotels, and one quiet quaint little cafe - on budget, set-up, menu what-have-you. We were also looking at the guest list. And then there was the issue of the JP.

Of cos, you can't confirm a venue without the date, or the confirmed number of guests, and of cos, you can't speak to the JP or register without a date either. Basically, nothing could move until we got the date.

Venue & guest list
The 2nd headache was the venue & guest list. It was relatively easy on my side. Big & I had agreed this would be a small private affair. So, my guest list included only immediate family, and one branch of the extended family whom I'm very close, and of cos, the gal gang. My parents were ok with that. Big wanted to invite one aunt whom he is very close to. This was veto-ed becos "you can't invite only one! How about the rest!" This caused major eye rolling in several departments. We figured it was a case of you-cannot-invite-your-side-of-the-family-if-you-don't-invite-mine. I think this was also when we realised it might be *our* wedding, but it was so out of our hands.

Now, the venue. We were about to speak with the cafe, when - ta-dah! - surprise surprise - Set A decided they had suggestions for venues. One of these was to have a garden party at his home (!!) and get his sister to cook (!!!!!) Big threw up his hands in despair at the amount of work that would have to go into getting the house ready for this. I plain refused to even consider it. Finally, for parental appeasement, we had to make a trip to another cafe (where we eventually held the ceremony) to try the food and recce the suitability of the place.

The JP
The issue with the JP, fortunately, did not give us as much headache as we thought it would. Out of courtesy, we had asked Set A if they had any preferences (read: friends, ex-colleagues etc) on whom we should invite to officiate. The indication was no. And thankfully, there was no last minute ta-dah for this. So, we went ahead to engage a friend of my parents. She is a sweet gentle very nice lady - Dr Esther Tan. Who mercifully kept the ceremony very short and to-the-point.

Now all these would have been bearable if I had not been running full-steam at work with an upcoming major Festival, and random media briefings thrown in for good measure. And if Big had not had HIS hands full at work too. In short, we were both stressed out in the office, and further frazzled by all the crap we had to deal with outside the office. And then there was Val's wedding to prepare for. With the logistics, and "boss" management we had to deal with for our own wedding, it just felt like yet another media event (that you wanted to get over and done with).

We were married the morning of the day after the Opening Ceremony of said Festival. At 11am, after 2 consecutive late nights of running media previews and opening shows. And without caffeine. With a very grouchy and exhausted bride. And a groom who nearly had a panic attack on that morning becos his mother insisted on a change of (his) attire at the last minute.

I am still amazed we actually made it through. But all the fuss and parental management doesn't bode well for the customary wedding ceremony and dinner next April. I already hear another series of ta-dahs!

p/s - Mothers expressed shock that the bride hadn't 1) gone for manicure/facial/whatever 2) done her hair at the salon 3) gone shopping for a nice new white dress. Um, the bride is just glad she actually made it there in one piece, sane, and with enough presence of mind to say the correct thing at the correct moment.

The Big Ones

The bed
Beth, you will be glad to know that we managed to get the bed frame with the hidden compartments in the head-board!

We went back to Nova on Fri night, and wrangled almost a 20% discount out of the salesman, and got the bed frame at $850 after GST down from the original $999. It was an amusing experience with the salesman trotting to & fro to check with his boss. He had disclaimer for both times he offered discounts - "You must give me $20 tip!". This increased to a $30 tip when he delivered the final discounted price.

Anyway, the bed frame will arrive in Nov, after Big gets back from pressing the generator button somewhere in the forrested North. We need to call Serta to arrange for mattress delivery

The Big Ones
This was a relatively fruitful weekend as well becos we also got the big ones - fridge, washing machine & baking oven - in under 1 hour! We'd been comparing prices from Harvey Norman to Courts to Mega at Katong. For some reason, Big undertook the fridges, and somehow the washing machines came under my charge. What do I know about the various washing machine functions other than just using them???

On Sat we went to the famous Goh Ah Bee - all residents in the Hougang, Serangoon, Potong Pasir areas should be very familiar with this little jewel - and within 1/2 hour bought the Cuizino baking oven, Toshiba 7kg washing machine and Hitachi "anti-mould gasket" fridge - all for about $1.3K. Very pleased with ourselves.

Big also managed to re-install the TV bracket in the master bedroom, and with some minimal help from me, put up the TV.

All the way home, and the next day too, he was in jitters about whether the TV was still being held up or is presently lying face down on the floor...

The miscellaneous items
We trawled Ikea for maybe 3 hours on Sun; actually I haven't figured out exactly what we were looking for (other than their fabulous coffee) since Big said we had busted our budget (he blamed my Silgranite sink and some other stuff), and I had to resist getting my Billy bookcase and armchair and extra chairs for dining. We also got a box of six sets of utensils. Had to resist the plates...And how come Ikea doesn't sell those wonderful colourful plastic cups any more?! *waaail*

And then we went to Giant, where we picked up a standing fan for the living room (yes, there is NO aircon in the living), and a microwave. Then, when we got to my home, my mum practically shoved the toaster oven into our arms. She got it free with her fridge/washing machine earlier this year, and it seemed she couldn't wait to get rid of it so she could use the space for more shoes...

Once the big items are in, we would kinda ready to stay over on weekends. We just need to 1) furnish the two small rooms 2) get shoe cabinet 3) fill the kitchen cupboards 4) get bed linen 5) get curtains...

Beds, beds, beds

An ex-colleague of mine who got married some 4-5 years ago gave her husband relatively free rein in decorating their Sengkang home. But she had one request - a four poster bed. After she told us, she had to endure some weeks of merciless teasing about all the interesting possibilities a four poster bed could be used for. A four poster bed is really quite a sight in a HDB flat in Singapore. But, I suppose, it makes your home feel just that little bit more like a castle.

Much as I enjoy reading fantasy, and would really like a dragon in the moat, or a moat monster, as a pet (and to keep out unwelcomed visitors), I don't really want my home to look like a castle. I like a simple clean look. Especially for the bed.

Big & I spent Sunday afternoon trawling Paya Lebar for a suitable bed. We already knew that we want a bed with some storage space. Val and Mel have one that pops open (like Dracula's coffin), to reveal storage space below the bed. But considering my size and my propensity to accidentally injure myself, that wasn't very ideal for us. I would probably end up getting trapped in there myself. So, we went in search for a bed with drawers instead. And it had to be in dark wood to match the room.

Beds with drawers are so not "in" nowadays. In any decent furniture showroom, you would find maybe 1 out 5 beds with drawers. And the drawers tend to be rather shallow too. For those with drawers, there were a lot of other issues to tackle - the height, the size of the bedframe itself, and colour and design of the headboard. And I can tell you those headboards come in all kinds of strange designs! There were padded ones and non-padded ones with wooden slates (NO way!). My favourite was the one with the padded headboard with a little ledge on the top (good potential for alarm clocks - which would probably fall on someone's head after being hit in the morning), and which opened to reveal - voila - two compartments! The most memorable was a padded one in dark wood whose design looked like a chocolate bar - seriously - which was vetoed immediately.

And then we came across this shop which sold metal (probably brass) bedframes. They were really BOOMZ. Do people actually sleep in those things?!

By 5pm, only after 2 hours of looking at beds, beds and more beds, punctuated with chests of drawers and shoe cabinets, I called for a coffee break. As always, they were all starting to look the same. And I was ready to say we should just slap the damn mattress on the floor and do with the stupid bedframe.

By dinner at 9pm, we had narrowed down the choice to 2 beds. Both were dark wood, and had drawers at the front. One was the bed with secret compartments in its headboard. The other had a padded headboard with a simple design.

Big went down to do some measurements today. So, if we get a good deal on the one with secret hiding compartments, we'd probably get it.

The Pumpkin Patch - 13 Oct 2009

Big claimed his Deepavali off-in-lieu yesterday as he needed to run some errands. He also managed to get the tiered dual towel rack, the vanity mirror, and the 3M mini-shelf for the toilet. The mini-shelf was his idea - so that we (and visitors) have somewhere to put our mobile phones/novels etc when we go potty.

Anyway, Big also very efficiently assembled the extendable dining table, and the couch yesterday afternoon. Itz so good to have someone handy around the house. I remember the lengthy and painful process of helping my dad assemble his bookshelf...

This is how the flat looks like now:

Living room with dining in background

Bathroom & toilet - I did say bright and cheery...

Dining - extendable dining table to accomodate the rest of the world. Probably going to get pictures/mirror/plants/display shelves for the walls, so it still looks a little bare now.

The Bounce Test

Itz always more fun and interesting to shop for furniture (unless you're Mel, and actually enjoy shopping for taps).

But with strict instructions from Paul NOT to shop for furniture while the reno was on-going, we had to restrict ourselves to focusing on toilet bowls, sinks and taps.


Bouncing on the Mattress


Mid-way through the reno - we had already gotten the stove/hood/toilet fixings - we actually got our mattress. The usual practice, as far as I know, sometimes is to buy the mattress and get a "free" bedframe. Or to custom build the bedframe and buy the mattress to fit it. In our case, we got our mattress 1st becos there was a good discount on it. We got a queen-sized Serta for $999, FYI. Itz "only" a queen becos there isn't going to be very much space in the room if we put in a king. We did get questioned on why a queen. Well, itz for practical reasons. And anyway, we fit ok on a queen.


I like my mattress a little firmer than usual becos I have back problems. Big likes them a little bouncier and not too firm. So we settled on the Serta becos it is semi-firm, and has a bouncy top layer. Quite cool really.


Trying out mattresses in public is a little disconcerting. I felt really odd lying down to try the various mattresses. Especially becos they were on display right next to the escalator (and next to the Talking Hall) in Takashimaya, where there is a LOT of human traffic. Not an experience I'd like to repeat...


The couch from Ikea


Ok I confess. We were about maybe 55-60% decided on a couch way before reno even started. Itz not leather, and itz not fancy. And itz from Ikea.


Our first feedback on the Ikea couch went like this - "A COUCH from IKEA?!" *incredulous look*


Anyway, yesterday we went to Ikea to decide if we wanted the couch, and also what colour. The decision on WHICH couch to get was made quite fast - Karlstad 3 -seater (3-seater refers to Swedish butts; it can seat 4 Asians of average build). The stalling factor was what colour and what fabric for the covers. We initially had our eye on the red-and-white striped one. Beautiful vibrant piece. But our wall is buttercream, and the the orange dining walls are nearby - so a red-and-white striped couch would be, to quote Big, really quite BOOMZ. Our other options were a dark brown, off-white (which was a big no-no for me), and a dark grey.



The dark brown would have been better. But Big, after trying out the material for about 20 min, decided he would rather go with the grey although itz not the best colour. By the way, that is NOT the couch we bought. The material that Big was testing out was on the cushion...



So, yes, the couch is from Ikea. It has dark grey fabric covers, very comfy big cushions, and is perfect for flopping on lazy afternoons - as Ikea puts it - made for staying put. You can actually sleep on it without 1) sliding/rolling off 2) getting a stiff neck or back. The only problems are the fabric covers - any major spillage and we'll need to dry-clean it, and Spooky chewing on it. Becos the silly cat really loves fabric.

It'll be in tomorrow!!!!


The dining table

Yesterday was a very fruitful afternoon at Ikea. We got the couch, we got the lampshades and 2 standing lamps for the living room. AND we got the dining table & chairs.

We didn't receive any *incredulous look(s)* over the dining table being from Ikea, but then again, we didn't mention this to anyone.

For us, practicality is key. Brands don't really bother us, except if itz electronics or machines. Our dining area isn't very big, but we need to cater for Big's very big (yeah yeah haha) family, for entertaining the Ecosystem (5 gals, 5 significant others, 2 babies and 1 dog), and for my extended family (immediate family 3 + 3 cousins + 1 aunt + 2 spouses + 4 fast-growing kids = too many people in a 3-room flat), so the best we could do was get an extendable table. Which we found in - you guessed it - Ikea. We did look at other furniture places, but the extendable tables available tend to be rather big (without the extension). Ours sits four comfortably without extending.

And itz coming tomorrow too!!!

Whee hee hee woo hooo!

Handing Over

With a firm handshake, a flourish of cheques & invoices, and 8 dual-sided keys for the wrought iron main gate (apparently itz $10 to duplicate 1 key), Paul handed the flat over to us last Sat.

It was most satisfying.

Big had been at the flat since 12 noon Sat, becos the lighting delivery guy had moved the delivery of a replacement glass cover to an earlier timing. And then Paul did the same. While I was stuck waiting for the damn bus to get to the flat, Big was being super efficient. He did a thorough check of the flat, even discovering the "magic hole" near the kitchen sink where the water is supposed to drain out when we wash the floor. He also removed the existing door lock for the wooden front door, and got a new one after much searching, AND a new padlock for the gate.

The flat is actually fit to move into right now. Itz just missing furniture... the reno was a good experience, thanks to Paul. Just as an aside - Paul was very disturbed over our lack of a proper lamp for the dining becos we hadn't gotten the lampshade yet, and the only thing that has been hanging there since the lights went up is a bare bulb. He commented on it a couple of times on Sat - I had to fight from laughing.

He's going to bring his electrician and plumber down this Sat to finish up some bits of work. And then, we're well and throughly done with the reno.

Paul did a good job.

The Viewing

It was Big's birthday yesterday - Happy Birthday Big Boy!

So, we had dinner with his family (there are 4 kids including Big) at the Marine Parade branch of Botak Jones. We had their Massive Sunrise burger which is 220gms of beef patty, FOUR Canadian bacon rashers (wonderful), FOUR slices of cheese, and TWO sunny side-ups - we love it.

Anyway, Big wanted to drop off the shower tap at the flat so we ALL (8 of us, 2 significant others were MIA), trooped over.

The sliding doors were in, the toilet/bathroom lights had been wired correctly, and the countertop for the kitchen was in. It looks almost ready to move in to!

This is the first time his entire family has seen the flat. His mum saw it in itz original state when we first got it.

Couple of comments here from The Viewing:

"Sure not enough space." (with ref to display cabinet in living room - ah duh...)

"Why is there an aircon in the small room (i.e *MY* room), and not in the hall???" (um, becos the "small room" is supposed to double up as a kid's bedroom in future? unless you want the kid to sleep in the hall...)

"Kitchen very big!" (Thank You, Ele. It isn't really, but I suppose, it is bigger than the one in your River Valley condo...)

"How big is it?"(76 sqm, FYI pls - bigger than the corridor units)

"Is the aircon 1 HP? What? You don't know??? I think probaby not lah. HDB don't allow too powerful."(HP apparently stands for horsepower; I had no idea it can be used to refer to aircon power. I thought it only referred to car engines.)

We welcome all comments. Just, pls, make constructive ones... And deliver them with some sincerity, and not becos you feel you have to say something stupid.

SIGH

This thing about walk-in wardrobes

The cupboards are up in the flat! The ones in the bedroom, the ones in the kitchen, and the ginormous (Big doesn't think itz huge, but I do) display cabinet in the living.

I personally really like the ones in the kitchen - I think the dark wood-grain (the catalogue says itz walnut) laminate really sets off the tiles and walls. Big says it looks very "show-flat". But then again Big is also the one who keeps on and on about how *he* chose the colours. Being "Creative Director" in his company kinda equates having to have some standard for the flat so as to maintain semblance of *his* sense of aesthetics... I say - yeah whatever.

Anyway, the cupboards in the bedroom are set in an L - I'm still not sure how much stuff we have to fill them, but I think, between my big plush, and his stuff that presently fill 2 cupboards in his room, we should be able to find a space for most things. I really don't have that many clothes or bags...

Which is why I'm amused at the number of "walk-in wardrobe" comments we've gotten since the start of the reno. Including from Paul, who did an on-the-spot re-enactment of the beer ad - issit Carlsberg or Heineken - for me on Sat.

I mean, yeah I know, itz every girl's (and some guys' too) dream to own a walk-in wardrobe, complete with cushy seats, throw rugs and wall-to-wall mirrors, almost like a boudoir. Very pretty and all. But, for me, the accomodation of a walk-in closet in my house simply means that we have enough space to spare. Itz not a necessity. Itz a bloody luxury.

I don't care if itz the "in" thing nowadays (but then again, I have never aspired to be "in" all the time), or that 2 out of 3 friends with new homes have it (or some semblance of it). Not to mention, I probably wouldn't make much use of it, even if I had one. I do spend only about 15 min getting dressed (and that includes time taken to pick clothes, and look at self in mirror) and I don't have that many clothes to fill a room... But then again, I have never been the vain one in the family.

So, here's in reply to all those comments about a walk-in wardrobe - no we don't have one, no we don't intend to have one, and no I don't think we'll ever have one. I'd rather have wall-to-wall bookshelves. And Big would rather have a toy museum.

Hot water & cool air

Itz always nice to stop by the flat once a week, and gawp at the changes.

Last Sat, we stopped by to let the aircon people in. Our new gate was in, the walls had been(mercifully) re-painted to the correct shade of buttercream, and the marble floor polished to a sheen. I was too amused by the "pls take off your shoes" sign on the gate to notice the gate itself actually until Big pointed it out. Maybe we should consider just keeping it here when we move in.

Paul's people had already put up the false boards, which will be the backing of the cupboards in the master bedroom, and serve as the separating "wall" between the front room (i.e MY room), and the bedroom. So, MY room is 3m long. And frankly, it looks kinda short...I miss the huge room before the board was put up...SIGH.

We also had an interesting run-in with the upstairs neighbour - he of the pastel pink tee, beige bermudas and the strange I'm-trying-to-sound-overseas-educated-but-failing accent - who came down especially to try and find fault with us for doing "renovation works" after 1pm on Saturdays becos he had brought his baby home, and she couldn't sleep. Big pointed out to him that we were merely doing aircon installation (there were maybe 3 bangs on the wall) which was not under our HDB renovation approval permit, and would be done in an hour. Our dear neighbour, of cos, didn't want to listen, and actually continued to threaten our ID - "If I call to complain, he will lose his HDB permit!"

For him, I only have one thing to say (in my poshest more authentic American/British accent) - Darling, do check the HDB and MND websites thoroughly before hot-footing down to threaten your new neighbours and their ID.

I think he probably thought we were a young impressionable couple, hailing from Ms Ris "Rad is an American slang" Low's crowd of the population.

Ok, I didn't use my posh accent, and attitude on him last Sat. But hot-foot down one more time, Mr Pastel-Pink Tee, and I'm so giving it to you.

(This is why Daddy says I'm a fighter cock; too bad, I been standing up for my rights since I was a 7-year old demanding to be served at KFC Thomson Plaza, when the stupid counter staff decided to overlook me. You don't mess with the Pebbles, small in stature it may be).

Anyway, to get back on the reno track - we also brought in the water-heater for the bathroom (itz a 707 compact that came with a shower with some fancy settings at $176 from Jln Besar - couldn't believe Big actually paused to consider the $276 package with the "rain shower").

Paul's people are putting in the cupboards this week (they're probably already up), so this weekend will be even more interesting...

Length, thickness, height, hardness ALL matter

We spent two out of three days of our long weekend - how else - doing house stuff. This time round, we found out just how much the length, thickness, height and hardness matter.

Itz gotta be long enough to reach us nicely. Itz gotta be not-too-high or it will be most inconvenient. Itz gotta be not-too-thick or it will look damn out of place. And itz gotta be not-too-hard and not-too-soft or it won't be comfy. Oh yes, and the angle of the tilt is important too. Or it will just spray all over the damn place. Not too ideal.

We tried a couple; measured them all with finger and thumb - 11cm was too short, 15cm was too long, 13cm is just about right. But the longer they are, the higher and thicker they tend to be. But if we didn't want an obnoxious lump, we were left with the really weeny ones.

And then, there were those really pricey ones. Which looked exactly like the ones which weren't as expensive. Er, we haven't quite figured out why...

Big prefers not-too-hard ones; I prefer them a little harder. He didn't fancy the ones with the little balls, I thought they were cute. And then there was that question - to flap or not to flap.

Whoever said all those don't matter was lying.

Decisions, decisions - Librans, who take about 15min to decide on one dish from the menu - make them all the more fun to lock down.

We finally settled on the toilet sink faucet and the glass shelves for the toilet & bath from Hoe Kee, the toilet paper holder from Sim Siang Choon, and the mattress from Serta. The mattress comes with a plush sheep - Beth, you can have that when itz delivered.

OMG moments

Due to work commitments, I hadn't been down to the flat in over a week, and as always, there are already new things going on. So, I had a couple of "OMG" moments when I finally found the time to go down on Sat.

OMG moment #1 - three walls were pink. Yes, PINK. Ok itz known as "peach melba" but pink is pink huh. They were supposed to be "buttercream" - yes, as in the kind you find on cakes. My fav kind of cream. And, um, the pink looked really strange next to the yellow...the painters had better get the colour right. I am so not living in a house with pink walls.

OMG moment #2 - Big had wanted an orange wall in the dining; Paul had reciporcated with a rather bold suggestion that the entire dining be in orange instead. So, we went for that. The effect was, to quote Ms Singapore World 2009, rather BOOMZ. Orange is supposed to stimulate appetite, so be prepared to dine in an orange womb when you come over.

OMG moment #3 - the lights were all up. The ones in the living look particularly good. Very "studio apartment" as Big put it. The big fancier one in the bedroom also looked pretty good, thanks to the incandescent light bulbs, becos we want a dimmer for that. (I didn't even know there were incandescent light bulbs). I barely noticed the star patterns on the light in *my* room - was too distracted by the lights in the living room.

OMG moment #4 - the toilet lights and switches were all over the place. Well, first, the fancy lights Big chose for the bath and toilet did look nice. BUT, the light in the bath (which is on the left side) was linked to the switch on the right side, and vice versa. AND the light for the toilet (already linked to the switch on the opposite side) flicked up for "off" and down for "on"...itz one of those *smack forehead* moments, which brings to mind what my poor long-suffering colleague had to go thru with not one, but TWO stupid event partners recently.

OMG moment #5 - the wall fan in Big's room stopped at "1" and wouldn't go any more powerful...fortunately Giant has a 7-day exchange policy, so Big carted it back to them, and they were suitably embarrassed by the fact that it was faulty without even being used.

The unbearable feeling of light

Geeky Eclectic, who looks even more like her name now that she's got a super-funky hairstyle, asked me over lunch - so which part of your house did you furnish this weekend?

We did the lights. And thank goodness the house is small. Becos I really hate shopping for lights.

The fun started when Big spotted a row of spotlights on a wire at Ikea, which are adjustable in any direction, and frankly, are kinda cool - like stage spotlights you know. So we bought those, maybe 2 weeks ago. For the living room. Becos Big doesn't want lighting in his huge display cabinet, so the spotlights will have to serve that purpose whenever we need to light up the display. We'll probably need another standing lamp - found a really cool one shaped like a cactus - would have been wonderful if not for Spooky (to quote Big - hmmm the cat or the cactus - hard choice really). I predict she will topple whatever standing lamp we get...

But we had to get lights for the rest of the house so that Paul's electrican could string them up before the carpentry starts.

So, yesterday, the fun ended. We found out that Giant only sells light blubs; Ikea's ceilings lights are not very practical; and Courts doesn't sell lights period.

Balestier, on the other hand, has far too many light shops. By the third shop, my headache started. This brought back all the lousy memories of afternoons spent trailing my parents from shop to shop along Balestier, looking for 6 lights for 3 bedrooms, 2 lights for the living, 1 light for the kitchen, 1 for the study, 2 for the staircase wells, 3 for the toilets, 1 for the gate, 2 for the car porch and a chandelier for the dining...that's a good 19 lights in all for a three-storeyed house. After a while, the huge crystal chandeliers in suffocatingly small shops, the smell of electricity behind acrylic covers, and too much light entering your pupils start to overwhelm you, and you just want to turn mole and hide from the over-powering light.

We ended up with 3 lights for 2 rooms, 2 for the kitchen, and 2 for the toilet/bath (fancy ones from Ikea - Big had his heart set on them altho they will be but 5 inches from the top of his head).

I say again - thank goodness for a small house.

P/S - On a lighter note, Big got a wall fan for his room - that's the one I'm not stepping into; it will be a mess. We also got a good deal on a 37" Toshiba Regza at Comex. Big moaned for 2 days on missing out on the $800 42" one - which we could have gotten if we place it at the far end of the kitchen, and sit near the front door to watch TV...

Managing de-loo

2 weekends ago, when the flat looked like something out of a war zone, Paul assured us that we would see something new about it when we went on our weekly Sat pilgrimages.

Being the super-efficient, very enthusiastic (as Beth put it) ID of ours, he was right.

Last Sat, the first thing I saw was the (very striking) wall of red in the toilet.

When we were discussing toilets, Big & I had agreed we wanted our toilet to be cheery. We both had greys and dull blues in our toilets at home, so we wanted something different. Also, the toilet-cum-bath in the flat isn't the most palatial of loos, so we definitely needed a lighter colour scheme to make it look bigger.

It was a tough choice between normal coloured wall tiles or very mod and pretty moasaic tiles. But we're both quite happy about how it turned out. The white wall tiles with the checkered patterns are laid in such a way that it made the toilet look expansive. And thanks to Paul's suggestion, and Big's expansion on it, the white goes very nicely with the red & orange sections. The wall of red tiles behind those horrid huge HDB pipes actually do work. Big thinks it looks like something out of Hotel RE. I just think itz cute =)

The elusive toilet bowl & sink
Gushing over and done with, we had our feet firmly pulled back to the cardboard-protected marbled floor becos we needed to furnish the toilet quick. So, after taking measurements (again), we nipped back to Sparco to look at the sink & cabinet that Big liked on the last visit. It was 3cm longer than what Paul had specified, and did we really want to pay almost $400 for the toilet sink (albeit with storage space)?!

We had searched for a suitable toilet bowl & sink the previous Sat. After a while, I could name the different brands, and tell with a glance whether the toilet seat was too small/narrow. I still can't get over how many different types of toilet bowls there are, and the whole range of prices. Why would someone pay $500 for a place to shit?! And as Big declared in frustration after trying yet another similar-looking white toilet bowl - what was with all these newfangled toilet bowls! Why couldn't we just find a normal one (like the ones we have at home), with a flat, broad seat?? No, it had to be either sloping (you feel like you're gonna slip in if you don't hold on to the sides), raised (don't ask), circular (yes, circular), or too narrow (research shows people are bigger now cos we have better nutrition so why are toilet seats narrower than before?)

So, yesterday, we went back to trusty Ikea, only to find out their toilet furniture are not water-proof (?!) Much chagrin and gnashing of teeth (becos we had to circle Queensway a few times before finding a parking spot) later, we ended up with the living room lights, an Ikea hotdog and a cup of Ikea's very strong coffee (and STILL no toilet furnishings).

Then, someone (the credit goes to Beth & Big) had a brainwave, and pointed out the even more trusty IMM, since we were already "in the west" anyway. We braved the dark (it was almost 8pm when we left Lighted Pixels - our wedding photographer, THE wedding photographer in Singapore - saving this for another entry) and the unknown (itz the west, for goodness sake), and successfully navigated our way to IMM. Where we bought our wall-mounted toilet sink (and accompanying cabinet) - 50cm just nice - and our toilet bowl at a special Hari Raya Puasa price (still deciding if need to get a FLAT toilet seat) - within 1/2 an hour of our arrival. All in a day's work.

Ironic that we had to go all the way across the island to get these two items when there is a Hoe Kee closer to home at Geylang Serai... Talk about elusive...

P/S - we bought our stove and hood at Heritage Bathroom Gallery in Geylang (yes they sell kitchen stuff altho they are a Bathroom Gallery" for a rather good package deal)

The reno begins

Saturday, I went to the flat with my daddy. Actually we were supposed to meet our ID Paul, MD of Six Dimension Design & Decor, at 11.30, but I was running late so got Dad to drive me down. And since the last he had seen the flat was in darkness cos the electricity had not been turned on, I pulled him along upstairs to take a look.

Here's Paul & us - we got him to take down a cupboard door to symbolise the start of our reno before the Lunar 7th month. Better to be safe =P

Stepped into the house and got a shock. To paraphrase Val - it looked like something out of a war movie. Paul got the approval to hack on Wed. By Sat, all the major hacking had been completed. Renovation had officially begun!

Thanks to our previous (lousy) experience with contractors who did our respective parental homes, and the horror stories from the older folks, the speed at which Paul's people completed the hacking was a pleasant surprise. Also, the tiles for toilet and kitchen had all been ordered right after we met him to discuss on Wed night, and delivered by Sat, and so had the bricks for the low structure where the sink would rest. Pretty amazing.

Paul presented us with a work schedule and kinda kancheong-ed the shit out of us by telling us we needed to shop for toilet & kitchen sinks, toilet bowl AND the aircon units by coming Sat. So, Big & I spent 3 hours rushing from Marine Parade to Mountbatten to Suntec (to get the Matrix) to Changi/Telok Kurau to Geylang Serai to Geylang looking at toilet & kitchen sinks and toilet bowls...By the 4th shop, I was bored. At the same time, Big was on the phone with 3 aircon contacts - 2 from Paul, and 1 from Daniel - all confusing us becos we hadn't the faintest idea which brand of aircon is best. Big's dad is a fan of "tradition" so he has no experience with aircon units whatsoever. My experience with aircon is a bit outdated cos the ones at home have been around for 15 years now, so we had problems...

Our little outing was such an adventure too. Becos Big had to try figure out directions to the shops in Telok Kurau from both parents at the same time (each giving different directions naturally), while I sat by petting Dinky and trying not to laugh. Men and women do see things very diferently. They communicate them differently too *snigger*

Tiles
We spent last Sun morning shopping for kitchen & toilet tiles with Paul at Balestier. After a while, they all started to look the same. Fortunately, we did manage to short-list a couple, and then Paul left us to argue over whether we should use mosaic (for a more stylish contemporary look) or normal coloured textured tiles (for a more homely but bright feel). The latter won. Our tiles are from:

Lian Seng Hin, 568A Balestier Rd, DID: 6252 2222
Hafary, 560 Balestier Rd, DID: 6250 1369

The sales people in Hafary are a lot more useful than the pretty little Malaysian xiao mei at Lian Seng Hin whose only duties were to follow us around with a clipboard and note down preferences.

Next up - the boring kitchen & toilet stuff
Paul told us - DON't buy furniture now. It was quite amusing. I suppose he's had to deal with many couples buying couches when they were supposed to buy sinks. Hardly surprising really. Couches are more interesting than sinks, unless you're Melvyn.

Contrary to expectations, the 3 hours on Sat spent doing an Amazing Race of sorts in the East were actually productive, although I still think you need to sit on the bowl to test its suitability.

Thanks to the gal at Sparco (Telok Kurau), we learnt that the 6.5" that Paul told us about the toilet bowl referred to the measurement of the, er, pipe (?) connecting the toilet bowl to the sewage and not the toilet bowl itself. We did short-list at least 2 cute little sinks for the toilet. It can't be very big cos the toilet isn't exactly palatial. But then again, after a while, they all start looking the same. AND we found a very reasonably priced stove+hood combi at Geylang. AND a very reasonably priced granite kitchen sink there too. I've been a fan of granite sinks since my mum bought one for her kitchen 15 years ago. Unlike aluminium/stainless steel sinks, you don't get the teeth-grating clinks and chinks when you put china/porcelain/glass utensils in it. And you don't have to worry about scratch marks either.

Will update on the name of the shops mentioned above once we decide on which to patronise. Till then, NO shopping for couches (damn).

The hunt for the perfect patch

Big & I started patch-hunting some time last year.

Some of our friends found this amusing becos he had yet to offer the ring. But, to us, this was for purely practical reasons. We are both fussy about housing and very particular about location, so it only made sense to start hunting early.

And we were right. We spent a good 6 or more months checking out flats, first on our own, and then with Torrenn Tnay, our very patient housing agent. We highly recommend his services. He's very professional, and most importantly, not pushy.

Locations

Our very first preferred locations were in town - Waterloo, Bras Basah, Lavender, even Crawford. We gradually drifted closer to (his) home - Bedok, Eunos, Tg Rhu, Old Airport Rd, and Marine Parade. I refused to consider Tampines - too crowded. And he wasn't keen on Pasir Ris - too far.

I was all for Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon, Boon Keng, even Potong Pasir (where we would definitely get to vote!). I had grown up in Thomson, and spent most of my childhood hanging out at AMK, so there was some emotional attachment to the place. Similarly, I've spent the last 15 years in Serangoon, and quite like it there. I don't like Toa Payoh, by the way. Itz too congested.

But Big is an Easterner (to him, driving to AMK is like navigating Malaysia), and you know what they say about Easterners - once an Easterner, you never really want to move out of it - itz true.

Many discussions, and much text messaging, later, I agreed to give up the Central area for Marine Parade - altho there's no MRT in the area yet...

The ideal flat

3-room, 4-room, corner unit, corridor unit, facing units, upgraded units, seaview, high floor, low floor, mid floor...I can safely say we've seen them all....

This too was the subject of much debate. I wanted a seaview - I like the sea breeze, and I like the view. And anyway, wasn't that the whole of point of living in Marine Parade?? Big said - sea view - be prepared for lots of rust. *grumble*

I wanted a corner unit - more privacy and more space. He had to agree after our first viewing of one.

And then there was the thing about renovation. We saw beautifully renovated flats that looked like resorts; we saw those which still had the original arched doorways (with tiles). And in each of these, we had something to object to. I started to wonder if there was such a thing as the "perfect place".

There were a few instances when other people offered for flats we were keen on just as we called Torrenn to offer. And every missed opportunity was an increase in frustration, a further dip in morale, a further lowering of spirits.

On retrospect, itz quite understandable that we took so long to get a flat. We had many specifications - certain areas in Marine Parade only, corner unit, NS facing, somewhat renovated, nice neighbourhood and feel, within budget.


Our final decision was made maybe 30 min after viewing the unit. It is a corner unit, somewhat renovated, with nice marble flooring, not very lived-in becos the previous owner (a single lady)only lived there full-time for the past 2 years, NS facing. It doesn't have a seaview, but faces the main road and is just on the right level to overlook a sea of greenery. Itz right across the road from Tao Nan Primary, 10 minutes from ECP and Parkway Parade, and maybe 5 min from the library. And we have lotsa friends in the neighbourhood; I have 1 colleague in the next block, another some 5 min walk away, and Gerard nearer to Parkway. And of cos, my boss round the corner...

On the left is the living, with the previous owner's stuff. And the kitchen with the old cabinets.

It isn'y a "Wow!" flat, but it is pleasant, and it does grow on you, I suppose that's even better than "Wow!"

Ahoy Pumpkins!

You know how we all feel this urge to chronicle our experiences (or is it just me)? Some of us write, some of us shoot, some of talk, and some of do everything at once.

Welcome to the Pumpkin Patch Chronicles.

Our ardous journey to building a patch just for us.

Meet the Pumpkins:

Big Pumpkin ("Big") - the male, naturally, 31+++ years old as of time of post, creative director

Small Pumpkin ("Tiny") - the female, 3 days shy of 30 (O.M.G!), communications manager (that explains the urge to chronicle and communicate all the time)