The Sucker...Minimum size, maximum cleaning

It's the Philips Carnival Sales this weekend. SN and I popped by cluelessly and ended up getting this vacuum cleaner. The colour choice was purely a coincidence but it certainly matches the design of our house. *Grin*. Most importantly, we got it at 28% OFF the actual retail price. This is a compact yet powerful 1800W motor with 340W suction power vacuum cleaner, with Reach & Clean nozzle, 5-layer filtration system with Super Clean Air HEPA filter (HEPA 12 with 99.5% filtration), telescopic tubes and rubber rear wheels. Ideal for smaller households. Did I mention we were soak in drizzle just for this bargain?

This product comes with the Reach & Clean nozzle
The innovative design of the Reach & Clean nozzle makes it possible to reach into the narrowest spaces simply by repositioning the nozzle head sideways, while offering 40% more suction power at the same time. And by completely reversing the nozzle, you quickly and easily convert it from use on hard floors to use on carpets and rugs.

No risk of scratches thanks to rubber wheels
This vacuum cleaner has rubber wheels so that it glides smoothly over hard floors without the risk of scratches.

Kiss Keys

Finally, the day we have been waiting for. Exactly 3 monthes and 18 days later, we collected the keys to our dream pad on the 19 August 2008 at 9.10am. 23 keys and 1 key pouch in total.

Steps To Save Water

1) Turn the tap outside your house - to have lesser pressure.

2) Request for free thimbles from PUB, they will drop a packet into your mailbox. Put 1 thimble in all taps, shower heads, every water outlet that you have in the house(except storage heaters). Insert them between the aerator or any water outlet to slow down the flow. It's usually the FLOW of water that makes our meter ticking.

3) Use water saving bags/bottles. Fill them with water and put into our cistern(toilet bowl water tank). Less water will be filled into the tank, which means less water will be flushed away.

4) Accumulate laundry to wash - Never wash 1 or 2 pieces of clothing.

5) Waste water from laundry can be used for washing corridors/balcony or flushing the toilet bowl.

6) PEGO - Available in homefix at approximately $8.00. Change all faucet's aerator to water saving ones. It's purpose is to slow down the water pressure without compromising on the water flow. Package claims to save water by 50%

Where can I get the water saving devices?

You can call PUB at Tel : 67313275 or 67313273, Monday - Friday (9 am to 5 pm).

Or reach their multi-contact centre, PUB-One through:

24-hour toll free hot line at 1800-2846600
email at PUBone@singnet.com.sg
SMS at 90343430 in the format:
Name:
Contact Number:
Address:
No of Thimbles required:

*Information courtesy of MACE.

The Fishes who drinks Electricity

I came across this subject from the forum. Thought I could post it on my blog spot to create that reminder. For those individual who strive to cut down unnecessary spending on electricity, this will be good. For those who are not, think...GLOBAL WARMING perhaps.

1) Any Electric Appliance that uses a transformer - OFF the switch because it is still consuming electricity even though you already unplug your laptop/hp from it.
eg - laptop power adapters, hand phone chargers

2) Any fridge made before 2001(meaning if you bought in 2001) are 90% non-energy-star compliance. This means DRINKING at least $40-$70 of electricity every mth. Buy a new one.

3) Vacuum Cleaner - a few thousand watts minimum. Use broom or feather duster, accumulate the dust then use the vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust.

4) Electric Kettle/Air Pot - at least $30-$40 per month. Use gas to boil water and use a non-electrical air pot to keep warm.

5) Microwave Oven - unplug the cord when not using - because even if you don't use the microwave oven, the clock alone sucks up at least 24 watts per day. Also try to minimise the usage of microwave oven.

6) Hair Dryer - a few thousand watts also - use the fan (average fan consumes only 30-60watts). Hair dryer uses as much electricity as the microwave oven!!!

7) Air Conditioning - never use an old aircon, lots of electrical appliances made before 2000 are known to consume a lot of electricity.

8) Electric Clothes Dryer - this one is the best - cos even PUB recommends consumers to use the free dryer (the hot sun). It was mentioned in their brochures.

* Information courtesy of MACE.

Unveiling Our Concept - Part I (Over All)

Finally, the conceptualising of our cozy pad is almost taking shape. Been making several attempts on interior software like Floor Planner, Room Planner, Google Sketch-Up and they are all driving me bongus. Before we pay up those professional to have it done in 3D, I have done up some images to satisfy my thirst for visual quest :)

The Gemini in Me…

With my long and committed working pattern, I have always been perceived as a hardcore career woman in the 21st century. Or you can say, with the rise of the cosmopolitan living in Singapore, how many women out there still carries that interest for domestic or “feminine” hobbies? I puke at myself too with the mentioned of femininity. Yucks! However, underneath that devil “power” suit, it lives a more refined personality in me who finds balance and tranquility with handy crafts like cross-stitch. Funny enough, I find inner peace and balance in two tasks!! One…shredding paper, this I can do during office hours when stress gets the better of me. Yes, laugh for all I care. I do find ‘shredding paper’ extremely therapeutic. Two…cross stitch. These two tasks could give me an unspoken element to keep my cool and not roar my frustration.

With SN prepping up this weekend for his forthcoming papers, I finally had time to add the finishing touch to my very first hand-made item for our pad. This must have been my second time stitching this, although the first one was framed more professionally as a gift for a dear friend. With budget in the way, I thought I try my luck with IKEA’s ready-made frames. Thought the design seems a little too ‘country living’ which does not suit the theme for our place. I decided I could try my luck to add a little "contemporary” note to it with a cold aluminum frame. Gosh! Have I just created a fusion? Anyway, this little cross-stitch shall find a spot somewhere in our kitchen. What do you think? Do I at least get a 6/10 for this?

You LIGHT UP my life...our very first designer piece by Ferruccio Laviani

Deciding on each purchase for our house has been like a pendulum, striking a right balance between our “wants” and our “needs”.

Like most women, I have always been the visual animal that allows my desire to over-take practicality and of course, limits. I am glad that my future better-half, always strike that balance, by pulling the brake on me.

Till date, there are still several “wants” which had been put thru endless debates and measurement. But what came as a surprised to me was when he said “YES” to our Kartell Bourgie without much persuasion. A trip down to their flagship store in CentrePoint last Saturday ended us walking away empty handed but rewarded. We were told to come back a week later!!!! All because they will be having a month long sales for Bourgie Crystal (ONLY) from 1 August 2008. I repeat…the sale was meant only for Bourgie Crystal.

Instead of having a storewide sale, Kartell runs their promotion by dedicating one product per month for these sales. Thus, our decision was just timely. We walked away with a 30% savings. Yipee!

About Kartell Bourgie: The revisiting of a classic, the baroque table lamp. The revolutionary feature of this lamp is that it is made entirely of a transparent or batch-dyed polycarbonate. On the one hand, it is classical, rich and traditional, and on the other hand, it is innovative, transparent and ironic. The quality of the material and its extremely high-quality processing lend it the resemblance of a precious, crystal table lamp. The baroque style base is composed of three decorated layers that interconnect, and the large lampshade is made with a plisse effect, to create a myriad play of reflections once the lamp is turned on. Thanks to a special coupling system on the lampshade, it can be assembled at three different heights…68, 73 and 78 centimetres. You can choose to assemble it at the height you prefer and, later, modify to your preferred use. In this way, Bourgie takes on great personality, giving the user the possibility to transform it instantly into a splendid decorative table or desk lamp.

Designer/Year:
Ferruccio Laviani : 2004

Dimensions:

370mm ø x 680mm h or 730mm h or 780mm h

Materials / Finishes:

Transparent or smooth batch-dyed polycarbonate

Colours:

transparent