Tag Archives: Shopping

Hammer Time

20 Mar

Last week, I had a short respite in the middle of the busy work week and escaped to the mall for a nice lunch with hubby. And after the meal, we took the opportunity to scout the place for a little bit. I am not quite the shopaholic for clothes and beauty stuff but I love browsing through the handyman aisles at the hardware store.

And I had to buy a hammer to use with my big chisel set! With all that supply of Meranti wood, I felt it was necessary to have a hammer to add on to my tools. Whee….hammer time!

Dinky Takes Shape!

9 Jan

Now that M1 has gone back to university, the home front is back to normal. In other words, no trips to the mall for shopping or eating out to check off a To Eat List on a weekday. I can go back to carving, hubby can tend to his air plants again and amazingly, M2 has even started doing her revision without being told.

The first thing I did was to finish up Dinky the Dinosaur. Chopstick limbs were added (with ice cream stick feet) and over the weekend whilst tracking her flight path flightaware.com, I gave it a gesso base. And Dinky will be given a good sanding down before a second gesso base and colors are added to bring it to life.

Finally, Dinky is taking shape. Next in cue, a whole new batch of Citizens and perhaps some new species.

Dinky

Happy New Year

1 Jan

Happy New Year folks! A brand new year and a brand new outlook. Does it feel any different? Honestly, no. I have stopped making resolutions because I know I cannot keep them, so no point in trying to kid myself.

We had a quiet lead-in to welcome the new year. Nothing out of sorts, the girls and I spent quality time together whilst hubby was with his friends for a bit. We actually went shopping and as usual, felt overwhelmed by the crowd. Then dinner was at my sibling’s home, a simple home-cooked meal, nothing elaborate.

We even managed to reach home on time to watch some fireworks display within and afar from our neighborhood in the comforts of the house. Unlike last year where we were at a friend’s place for a party and caught some dazzling displays up close but after that, was stuck in a traffic jam upon leaving the place.

A quiet usher-in, let’s hope 2018 will be an exciting and positive one more than anything else.

HK Day 4: Tsim Sha Tsui 

16 Dec

Time flies when you are having fun. It is our fourth day already and I feel like we’ve done so much yet not enough. Today we will go across to Kowloon to do some serious eating and shopping. After yesterday’s 6.7km effort, look out Tsim Sha Tsui!

The last two days, out of the blue, my iPhone5S acted up. Frozed several times whilst I was taking pictures. Aargh. Why? Why now? I noticed the camera app has been a wee bit slower than normal. Maybe it can’t take the holiday stress with so many pictures? Hmm… I hope nothing serious. I don’t need to change to a new phone although the huge Apple stores here have been very enticing.

Multi levelled and so brightly lit, the Apple stores were also packed with customers. Yesterday at IFC, a lady stood outside the store offering to sell an iPhoneX that she just bought. And of course one would pay for it at a much higher price. No, I don’t need this. So my phone better behave so that I can take more memorable pictures for today’s outing.

HK Day 1: To the Airport

13 Dec

Everyone woke up by 3.00am and got ready without being pushed. Our pick up came at 4.30am and got us to the airport by 5.15am, way too early to check in. But it’s okay, better to be early than late for the 8.45am departure because KLIA2 is huge and the place was packed with travellers. By the time we walked to the gate, I have walked 1.8km already and the day has not even started!

The AirAsia flight was on schedule and we took our time, not rushing with the crowd at HKIA. We even ate at the airport before taking an Urban Taxi into Hong Kong island. This trip, we are staying at an AirBnB instead of a hotel. A cosy two room with a little kitchenette, it is located on Jaffe Road at Causeway Bay, very central to food and shopping.

After checking in, a short rest and we were out again. By the end of the day, a good one I must say, I have done more than ten thousand steps or 6.0km. By 9.30pm, we were all dead tired, so best to call it a day as tomorrow, it will be another fun day ahead.

A New Dress

14 Nov

I must say I am not one who would go out of the way to buy a dress, let alone wear one. All these years, dresses are not my typical wardrobe. But when I was invited, middle of this year, to attend a nephew’s wedding dinner towards the end of November, both M2 and I decided we should go shopping. Specifically for a new look. A new dress.

After all, wedding dinners are the only occasions that I would wear a dress. For once, I thought it would be nice to have an addition to my wardrobe. And the fact that we would be meeting up with the aunties, uncles and cousins all the more makes the new look and attendance necessary.

However, we didn’t act upon it immediately because of our busy schedules. Furthermore, during that time, I was in fat-mode, having grown sideways so it’s not a good time to go try on dresses so early on.

Finally when we went shopping last week, it took us two visits to the mall before we made our choices. I’m happy we both chose well. Zara, my choice never fails while M2 opted for Cotton On.

IMG_1147.jpg

Online Shopping, Part 2

21 Sep

After waiting patiently for 11 days, my set of carving tools from Lazada finally arrived yesterday! Yay.

Carving from now on will be so much more fun.

Online Shopping

12 Sep

As you know, I am not an avid shopper. Put me in a mall for hours, I would be drained of energy and feeling super lethargic. I simply cannot stand the noisy crowd, the screaming kids and the lack of oxygen in an enclosed environment.

However, sometimes a trip to the mall is necessary but only to buy and do the necessary. No window-shopping excursions in other words and I avoid those mega-sales extravaganzas like a plague.

Recently, this dinosaur discovered the joys of online shopping! No crowds, no kids, no lack of oxygen and at the comfort of my space, it’s kinda nice. And thrilling to a certain extent when I am able to find something that I like and need.

It’s not amazon.com that I am talking about but a local portal, lazada.com.my. It’s truly mind boggling what one can find on there; a true definition of a one-stop for all your needs.

But I am selective. Most purchases are things at a great bargain and useful like a bean bag and golf club covers or even useless, like the fidget spinner which I still don’t get it until now.

My most recent purchase, a set of carving tools to complement my existing set, will definitely be a useful one to grow my Gigglesville township.

I look forward to the package arriving.

Shoe Queen in the Making

1 May

Sometimes when you think the child is different or even difficult, they are actually a reflection of one’s self.

I’ve come to realize that M2 is a reflection of me. A mini me. A little shoe queen in the making, she has just as many shoes to rival my tally. That’s scary when you think that she is only 16.

Recently, she convinced us to order online a pair of shoes for her! So the mini is better than me, buying shoes online that is. But we did go to the physical store to try the shoes for size before we agreed as the savings was quite substantial with the online purchase.

The shoes arrived last Friday and she was in shoe heaven. Pretty cute pair of sneakers I must say.

So shiny!

After Ben Thanh

28 Dec

The air con at Takashimaya was very refreshing and we were reenergized so the mall rat in us explored the place a little bit. Although we felt that purchases from outside were better, hubby did buy a pair of Doc Marten’s which were 60% off.

We went back to Saigon Square soon after and felt more comfortable there compared to Ben Thanh Market. I think the reason for this preference is that the vendors are not too pushy and the lanes between the stalls are wider, easier to navigate without being pushed from behind. Plus it’s cooler with air conditioning. We bought some fancy soap this time.

By then it was slightly after two and we stopped by the Street Food Market again for a late lunch. We had two bowls of Pho, a spicy noodle and a rack of ribs, something different from this morning’s Bahn Mi, Sticky Rice with Mango and dessert, eaten here too.

Sated we went back to the hotel to rest and be fresh again by 4.30pm. Such fun we are having!

 

I’m gonna love smelling like grapes!

  

Pho with shrimp

  

Spicy beef noodle

  

BBQ ribs

  

Sticky rice and mango

  

Mung bean dessert