the journey of making a dream home (part 1 )

you definitely wants someone who is reliable , responsible from a reputable and established company to design and build your house right ?
we are definitely one of them .
we are even serious when friends recommend interior companies to us . and because its through recommendation , interior designers try to be flexible in whatever way they can . however , at the end of the day its US who make the decision which one of those that we want .

our ride began on 30th december 2010 when we decide to go to Home & Lifestyle exhibition at the Expo where we met Design36 . and what do you know ? we were totally lost . we dont know what we want for our home . we know nothing about tiles . we have no idea what concept we want but Jason was professional to design and quote for us on the spot . finally we had an idea of what our house gonna be and use his quotation as a guideline for us to do a comparison to the rest of the interior companies.

my appointment with Kartini of Hamid and Sons was a pleasant one . we decide to bring my mum along , knowing that she had a couple of experiences with contractors and such . so having her around would definitely be an extra bonus as i have someone to post queries and guide us along the way . and im glad that mum love to accompany us throughout the whole journey of making our house a beautiful one , from choosing the interior designer to sourcing out furnitures . lucky am i to also know that the mother-daughter taste were almost 98% the same . pheew ! ok ive side -track already .. Kartini who was recommended by a friend , deliver good service and i like her way of dealing with customers .Not only did she design and quote but she ensure that this customer of hers knew what type of material is being used . She knew exactly what she's doing . We had to consider her quotation because going over to Kartini was only the second interior that we had surveyed . and you know that we need to be extra careful and choose the right one wisely , base on customer service , workmanship and definitely price !

pop over pulak to Home Success and meet Mr Jimmy Goh at Bukit Timah Plaza where the showroom was . He was also introduced by a friend of mine who had her house beautifully done (as she claimed) so , we suppose Jimmy must be skilled in his field . we were utterly disappointed , much to our dismay . shall not elaborate here more , maybe we had high expectations not ?
Kartini was still on our 1st top priority here .

as you may have known , i am one magazine junkie . i refer to them for the latest whats-in store and also guidelines , tips , dos and donts . i couldnt wait for no time less to get a copy of Home Decor magazine . and up to date , i have these for us to somehow gave us an idea of what we would like to have in our home .

i noticed Square Rooms magazine or any that was by Square Rooms was so much better that Home And Decor ones . More visual pictures and gave alot of tips and ideas too !

We then met Hisham ,also from Hamid and Sons from a different outlet and had our quotation done . Again , words of mouth was the best way of any business to grow . What say you ? i always believe that when someone recommend us a good food , a good seamstress or whatever you named it , it was definitely GOOD . Hisham was averagely okay for me but the husband and mum prefer him than that of our first choice , because of a good deal he made for us as it was through a recommendation .

I wasnt much satisfied until we randomly head to the well known Chew Interior at Toh Guan . (we were supposed to have our dinner at IMM but terpesong kat Chew ). for two and half hour there , we discussed further . Barry who served us was prompt , creative and pleasant . Hamid and Sons & Chew was on par with each other but what made us finally settled for Chew was because Barry won our hearts by giving free gifts .

as much as comparing interior companies are concerned, i think one should not survey every each companies in this Singapore because by doing so , it will only made you more headache !

Interior Designer SETTLED !

both of us had no idea what concept and theme for our home . it was only after deciding the furnitures we want that we knew it was Modern Contemporary . since the taking of possession didnt take place yet , we have ample time to look around (if possible the whole Singapore) the furnitures and other electrical items . we took time to make a comparison of the refrigerator , washing machine and dryer between Best Denki , Courts and Harvey Norman . We went to various places from Ikea to Furniture Mall both at Pasir Panjang and Beach Rd , Courts , Nova Furnishing Centre to search for the right sofa and coffee table and finally settled at Mondi and Univonna instead . loved the sleek design ! and up to date , i enjoyed the entire journey . Off to Balestier to find what else but lights ! served by a very friendly and nice lady , Jenny at Lights Arcade , we got lights for a good deal .

The husband and myself are still searching for a errmm ... nice ceiling fan and a good mattress . you have any place to share with me ?

back for GOOD

i have never thought that i am part of the Leonard Drake team again . it was two years ago that i left as my passion for cosmetics grew big and thats where i joined Yves Saint Laurent but unfortunately i didnt stay for long .
for four years i learnt alot about skin and its function , not to mention my all time favourite skincare Dermalogica . the place where i grew to become a better person in and out . its just as good as returning back home after so long .
venturing other opportunities made me realise that my second job was still the best for me . hence , the return .

this was at ang mo kio hub dermalogica pod in 2007 .

i planned to stay for long , if God forbids me .

a castle of my OWN

Looking around for the right interior company , making appointments , choosing the right furniture was what we did as a start for the year 2011 . and ... i enjoyed every session of it . what was your dream home ?

i am spoilt for choices ! dont ask me whats my theme in decorating my crib because i simply refuse of   having such idea as one will only be restricted base on the theme .  what we did was just follow our liking and of course budget to make our nest a place not to just rest but eyes widely smiled .

thank you Home and Decor magazine for your advertisement in one of the pages . we actually head down to Eunos distripark to see something that could play around in our living room .

    

                                    and we never regret going because it was indeed HUGE !!!

                    and my think-alike husband (thank god he is ! ) , tried and tested on one of the chairs .

this wasnt the end of our journey . will continue in the next entry .

whats in and not 2010

in just a few hours time , we are moving forward to a new year . the year of the rabbit where my mum and sister was born . i shall not make any resolution for this 2011 because i knew listing down  , will not fulfill at anytime . lets just move with the flow .

flashback of 2010 :-

1) the passing on of my beloved one and only grandfather on 4th February 2010 in National University Hospital . god knows how much i missed him . may he rest in peace . ameen .

2) our trip up and down from Jakarta to KL

3) my big time crazy over shawls gone really huge ! thanks to all the online sellers who really had a good taste in choosing the best for their customers and one of them was ME !

4) going back to work after a year stucked in the house , making myself experiencing two jobs in a year . That's enough for me to go back to my beloved beauty industry .

5) arrival of my little nephew , Qazi Idraki , whose now at eight months , i am sure you will grown up to be not just a handsome man but someone that the society will loves .

6) my independent trip to Surabaya all alone !! alhamdulillah i am safe .

Looking back , i never thought that 2010 was a bad year for me . Afterall , i am still here surviving and bless am i to have gone through all these .

2011 comes and i am so much looking forward to our OWN nest which is making its way to us REAL SOON , new prospect and career growth in my new job and a short trip to Thailand or Hong Kong maybe , would do us good ?

Goodbye Tiger , Welcome Rabbit !!!

Now i shall leave you with a sneak preview of my photoshoot with Sutra magazine to wrap up my whole blog entries for 2010 .

floss no teeth .

you know how frustrating it was when you wanted to try the taste of it , but you cant because its not Halal ? it was , at least for me .

my friends told me that the floss over at the Breadtalk was very sedaaap and popular among the bread lovers , but i had to hold my tongue and hang on to it because i definitely couldnt eat them .

what was so nice about the floss ? does it melt into your mouth ? i just dont get it lor . until ....
i strike upon a photo in facebook of this CHICKEN FLOSS PRATA . goodness , for once i just felt like jumping for joy in the car when my mister decided to go for it .

come on ...just admit to me that you are salivating now , dont be shy !

the prata was crispy and they didnt stinge on their flosses, maybe because they knew that its my first time trying them so i guess no harm pouring a lot on the prata *beams*

i love love love love what i ordered . and what i also love was the ambience. i felt like entering someone's function when i first had my feet into the indoor cabin of their cartel . just take a look and you know what i meant. 

even their outdoor looks appealing to me . maybe because it was already night and those who chose to sit there , also enjoyed the breeze while chatting with their friends. the bonus part was this place opens 24hours . so yeah , just in case your tum tum are making noise , head down to Big Splash .

oh Yeah , how can we not order something that they are known of ?

Teh Tarik !!!

so now you know , the obvious place we went to . MR TEH TARIK @ Big Splash !!

i shall surprised you the taste of chic floss until you head here . before i forget , their chic floss murtabak was doubly awesome !!

spendin a day on Xmas

unlike last year's Christmas where we made full use of our public holiday at the Wild Wild Wet , this year we spent it wisely . another way to spend without so much guilt was to opt for a PICNIC . you heard me ?
it was a decision made either between West Coast Park or East Coast Park and of course we chose the former , knowing that it was nearer to our home and perhaps without much human traffic .

we brought home cooked food , even mum contributing by cooking for us vermicelli noodles even though she had to be on guard at work .
our Spiderman kite that was hidden in our car for so long and dying to get out, was finally up in the sky . the chocolate scrabble which surprised us by only few letters made the husband kept wanting to eat them instead of playing .
all in all , we definitely had fun  and well , lets continue to have family bonding . till the next Santa !

the little vain Q

being a 2 year old little girl , Qaseh Nur Nayly has all it takes to be a hot chic model . she's becoming more chatty , oh ..just like her mommy and recently surprised me by dolling her face up !! how could i not be more than awe when she could just took the powder and swipe on her rounded cheeks ,just like how I apply my blusher on . pandai betol si kecik ni , tak padan !  all thanks to the mommy and this aunty , each time we do some touch-up , Qaseh would stand beside us to see what either one of us was doing .

 when asked to strike a pose , she would run over to her beloved brother and smiled for the camera . genius !

                                                          just look at how shes always ready for the camera ..

and i asked her to pose again , this time she went solo .

tsk tsk tsk ... i rest my head off ...