much-to-do

my Christmas wish ...

2010-12-16T12:12:00.002+08:00

guess what's on my mind ... <3

going through boxes of memories ...

2010-12-16T12:11:00.000+08:00

I have been going through boxes of pictures dated back back back ... fond memories and as a result more scrapbooking projects to start =)

Finished one of the boys three frames 2 days back =)

and also completed the my bro & SIL's Christmas present =) though have another few more to go ... counting down Christmas!!!

so much to do, so little time ...

been busy with these lately ...

2010-12-14T09:19:00.000+08:00

Christmas is just round the corner ... got my homemade cards done and sent them out already! Glad that I finally did them this year since last year had been crazy same period this time with all that renovations, packing and house moving!

and this is the time of the year where I can do intense scrapbooking ... am now working on my boys' frames for their room ... and managed to frame up some of the fond memories of holidays we have taken since 1999 =)

just with less than two weeks left to this great school holidays ... am trying to savour every bit of it =)

another 3 scrapbookies =)

2010-11-11T11:33:00.001+08:00

for a faraway friend
... did this in a day =)

for my younger son
... this took me 3 days ... photos & all

for my #1 son
... this took me a long while

Have a few more coming up ... let's see ...

my baby is home

2010-11-08T17:21:00.000+08:00

after 8 days away on a cultural immersion programme ... am glad he is home, safe and grown up =)

missing you

2010-11-03T23:27:00.001+08:00

at dawn this morning

Day 3, missing you my dear <3 ...

hiding sun

2010-06-20T21:44:00.008+08:00

this is a beautiful moment before a heavy downpour ...

love how the sun was hiding behind the clouds and

its lights reflected with a splash of rainbow colours ...

time flies ...

2010-06-18T10:14:00.000+08:00

how time passes ... love this picture ... my favourite

smell the flowers

2010-06-14T16:43:00.013+08:00

it was nice to slow down awhile and discovered a visit to the florist on an early Monday morning ... laid back quiet ... no crowd, just flowers and me is just right =) and here's what I brought back with me ... something simple and fuss free for the week

a little good break

2010-06-13T17:00:00.000+08:00

we managed to steal three days off our routine to Club Med at Bintan ... nice though it was raining most of the time there ... but a morning worth of good sunshine was great for a nice moderate tan =) looking forward to more breaks ...

enjoy the moment

2010-06-03T10:52:00.002+08:00

school holiday is on and time to take things at a little different pace and perspective. love to be home in the mornings ... the sky is so lovely today, this shot is taken from my kitchen window

and preparing dinner becomes more enjoyable ...

lemon pepper chicken and pork

with steam broccoli and carrot complete with mash potato and sauteed mushroom

... the boys "cleaned up" their plates =)

shepherd's pie and steam french beans

The boys love this and J thinks I should bake and sell them =)

something worth exploring ...

another beautiful morning

2010-05-24T09:32:00.000+08:00

sunrise from my window

nightfalling ...

2010-05-21T19:14:00.002+08:00

sunset from my window

don't miss this ...

2010-05-16T08:47:00.000+08:00

Just saw The Blind Side

... a beautiful touching story about courage and believing ...

Quote Michael Oher from The Blind Side

mother's day ...

2010-05-14T19:22:00.001+08:00

another mother's day passed quietly ... i believe it's a daily thing ... something that we make effort to celebrate and remember daily ... not just annually ...

here's a sneak peak ...

2010-03-22T16:03:00.000+08:00

yes the view outside our new place is wonderful ... especially love the sunset ... very serene ... lots of greens and birds chirping ...

beautiful after a day worth of rain last Saturday

here's a peek on the inside ...

here's the pair of chairs the previous owner left for us after being refurbished ... the lights were from before too ... had them cleaned up, new coat of spray paint and new shades ... a whole new meaning to repurposed furniture ...

my favourite garage find ... the pink princess armchair =)

the little orange stool on right in front of the frame (gonna spray paint it white ... yes) was a very broken stool from the Salvation Army Thrift Shop ...

another favourite ... chaise lounge from our garage sale hunt ... nicely retro refitted =)

we just love to mix and match ... so much fun!

not a very big house ... all filled up already ... though the walls are still rather bare ...

it's been a long time ...

2010-03-18T14:02:00.000+08:00

we have been busy moving and settling in and going back to routine ... the last 3 months since the move have been B-U-S-Y ... am looking forward to coming back to update my blog regularly ... for now ... enjoying the new home whenever possible =)

sunset view from my kitchen

a little sneak peek and repurposed chairs

2009-12-21T14:58:00.000+08:00

here's a sneak peek at the new kitchen and dining room till we are ready =) ... unpacking the last 2 of the 20 carton boxes ... always loved the idea of an island in the kitchen and cooking with an induction hob =) ... here you go ...

here's the dining room ...

these are the chairs we picked up at garage sales ... have a few more pieces awaiting delivery ...

this is my comfortable favourite ... a mini armchair that cuddles nicely in fuchsia pink denim

this wasn't for sale at the garage sale ... the owner was gonna discard it ... it was in a bad state ... love the black and white stripes complete with double black piping

see the dull pink armchairs in this picture ... this is the house we bought. the ex-owner left these chairs for us ...

okie, so much for now ... gotta get back to more unpacking =)

view from the top

2009-11-27T13:45:00.000+08:00

Didn't realise it has been a month since my last entry. Yes sorry I have been MIA. Have been busy planning for the new place and throwing and packing stuff to be ready for the move in mid Dec.

Here's a sneak peek of the new place ... the view from the top ... this is from the living room ...

and this is from my new kitchen ...

we are progressing ... =) more updates soon! 2 busy busy weeks ahead before the BIG MOVE!

befores and afters

2009-10-23T07:01:00.000+08:00

I love to follow the befores and afters at Design Sponge, there are just wonder new lease of life for old and beautiful pieces. Just look at this lovely chair ...

and on the subject of chairs ... about mixing them at the dining table ... we had spent time (plenty) deciding on the right chairs at the right prices but never gotten about the right feel till recently, we decided to put some fun and style to my other half's favourite heavy duty teakwood dining table ... and great mix like these I found at The Good Place ...

and this lovely combination from Absolutely Beautiful Things

the weekend is here again! it's time to scour the papers for garage sales for more finds. Cheers!

keeping busy with a 'flea market escape'

2009-10-22T09:07:00.000+08:00

The year is gonna wrap up c-r-a-z-y for me this year ... but am sure it's gonna be all good and fun. Reason to keep busy.

Amidst being clueless where to start packing, pulling ideas and details together for the renovation, marketing our current home (my boys do not understand why we are moving out of this nice house =) ) and getting my younger boy to revise for his exams next week ... I ventured into renewing a worn out lampshade we bought for $5 (don't know why we bought it) 2 years back during a John Erdos sale. Took a shocker when we checked lately and found out that it would cost $120 to refurbished it professionally. So I went out to get the fabric, trimmings etc to start another little project ... can't wait to post the after picture here =)

So still escaping the to-do-list, check this out at Paris Atelier... I would love to be there shopping for pieces like these ...

the white caned one and love that chair on the far right ... saw a pair similar to this at last weekend's garage sale ... owner wanted $100 each. Priced to high, as they needed much refurbishing work ... and she wasn't all willing to sell them in the first place. Would have been nice to have them renewed for our new place, though we have many, many, many chairs already =P

repurposed chairs

2009-10-21T17:00:00.000+08:00

I am currently addicted to chairs ... especially the vintage ones ... and lately I have been such a junk collector ... taking interest in others' chairs that they intend to discard ...

Just last weekend we were at a garage sale and I spotted a chair tucked in a quite corner, waiting for its owner to discard when they move next week. It looked like it had weathered what looked like many dog bites and years of usage. Though we left without it, I managed to convince my other half to take a drive back there on Monday and offered a little token for this 'broken' chair and it is now being 'serviced'. Didn't get a before picture cos' it looked really, really sad (maybe I should have ...) but can't wait to get an after picture posted here =)

Check this out ... chairs at atelier grisnez , love the many, many chairs this lady does wonders to ...

table & chairs for the new house

2009-10-07T17:17:00.000+08:00

We have been shopping a bit and here's 2 of the new items we bought for the new house ...

and this brass lamp (which we left unpolished) we bought from the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, which we finally managed to get the right shade and added the tassle trim ourselves ...

these are colour wonders!

2009-10-06T16:15:00.000+08:00

'talking' pieces ...

especially love the black frame one from their Checkerboard Collection

Josh and Louis

love the curves and colours!

2009-10-05T19:04:00.001+08:00

especially like this bench-like one ... lovely ...

www.bokjadesign.com

love eclectic finds ...

2009-10-05T18:56:00.000+08:00

Just love what's in this shop ... check this out at Adesso Eclectic Imports

Would love to see my collection grow into a business like this eventually ...

mirror, mirror on the wall

2009-09-13T13:35:00.000+08:00

remember the venetian mirror in the bathroom idea ... like this one from Not Just Mirrors

more lamps!

2009-09-13T13:27:00.000+08:00

here's our new finds this weekend ... we are still chair hunting ...

2009-09-12T20:29:00.000+08:00

the colour is so happy!

picture from a-visit-to-the-maison-objet-trade-fair-in-paris

picture from Black and Spiro

lovely details

2009-09-10T22:42:00.001+08:00

Remember the little details of the hanger, the one with the flower knob?

Look what Ellie Snow of Mint just posted on her blogspot. These lovely drawer knobs from Anthropologie ...

and these other lovely hooks for that car and house keys ...

love this <3

2009-09-10T10:04:00.000+08:00

discovered this wonderful blogspot The House That A-M Built and her other site Armchair Trader Blog which I'll be spending much time on.

Love these I found on her blogspot ~ things that I would love to have in my new place <3

I have always loved these beautiful mirrors since our very first home ... never gotten around to have one. Have seen a lot of them in the Philippines ... it will be really beautiful to have one hung on our black themed master bathroom in the new place.

I am planning an island for the new kitchen. Something we have always liked.

The Heart of the House <3 ...

Just like this one with a sink on one end and induction hob on the other. It'll look to the outside greeneries from the top from this perspective. And the TV will be on the opposite end. Woooo ...

There will be a Laundry room in the new place ... actually it's the powder room that is going to be sacrificed. Due to the layout and the ideal kitchen plan, we need to move the laundry out of the kitchen. Wished I have the space to layout my laundry room like this ... and still have a nice little powder room ...

simple yet lovely

2009-09-09T17:36:00.000+08:00

I've always liked clean lines, understated style for anything ... fashion, jewellery, home decor ...

Like these pendants with silver chains from Laurel Denise .

stylish tags & hooks

2009-09-09T08:37:00.000+08:00

love these stylish tags from Shoestring Home . Something a mummy would love to add to her collection.

and this is pretty to hang your bags and accessories ... such little details make the day... found this at
In This Instance

Orange is Cool

2009-09-08T19:17:00.000+08:00

Now I remembered these beautiful orange chairs while web searching the other day but couldn't find them on my mac book. Now they were saved here on the desktop ...

nordic scandi style, the Jens Risom rocker

beautiful sun-kissed orange chair

Now again I forgot where I found them ... I must start this remembering habit ...

like this!

2009-09-08T10:09:00.000+08:00

While searching for vintage frames, I chanced on this neat sofa on http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=htfwf#/page36/

Just love the bright and cheerful orange sofa from Heals http://www.heals.co.uk/Furniture/icat/furniture.

Designer Orla Keily just brought the retro feel back ... even in her clothing line ... check out http://www.orlakiely.com/uk/

simply love it

2009-09-07T18:31:00.002+08:00

Today is a rather luxurious day ... am web searching while having my pedicure. Found this http://www.elleinterior.no/ ... though I didn't understand a word, I simply love the sofa, armchair and ottoman featured. Lovely!

aren't they similar?

2009-09-07T18:22:00.001+08:00

Was web searching for chairs, chairs and chairs ... look what I found Design*Sponge ... isn't it similar to my great garage find? The rollers on the front is neat.

however don't think my other half would go for floral. We would go for plain classic touch of colour that would match everything and anything ... am considering fuschia or apple green.

And this is a great idea for an Ikea frame by Little Green Notebook ... it might just be the right frame I'm looking for to make a pin board for the new place ...

good garage sale

2009-09-07T12:55:00.002+08:00

We got up and out early to this garage sale on a rainy morning yesterday and got ourselves great finds.

I planted myself straight onto this chair the moment I got to there, where everyone else was digging into the boxes. The size was just perfect ... a petite wingback armchair. The spring and cushion was still in great condition ... love the way things were made in those days. They are made to last. I told my other half to go look around for great finds while I just sat there and 'reserved' the chair ... so 'kiasu' (scared to loose) ... we got it for a steal. I just got back from the upholstery shop ... it will have a new nice upholstery done ... can't wait!

Got ourselves a teakwood bench at a great price and are having it sand down and varnish to be as good as new. A brand new piece would have mean cutting down another tree! Will post a picture once its renewed.

So we couldn't fit both our great finds into the car ... we had to make a second trip back there with my little white kangoo. And just to be sure we have searched the grounds well, we scouted one more round before we left with our earlier purchase. Voila! The owner displayed new items and we got ourselves this lovely vintage looking glass lamp with a very pretty sweet shade! Lovely!

I love weekend shoppings of this kind!

having fun being busy

2009-09-07T00:25:00.000+08:00

having much-to-do can be fun when it's all cheery and colourful ...

we love mosaics ...

2009-08-31T23:24:00.001+08:00

Bathrooms with mosaics in ebony and ivory theme ... forgot to take notes on where I found these wonderful pictures and ideas to credit ... I'll remember the next round ...

chairs I love ...

2009-08-31T18:17:00.001+08:00

Lately we have been obsessed with lamps and chairs ...

I have been looking around for the perfect chair idea for the new house ... something that can be used as a side chair or a feature piece in the living room.

The chair on the left is from www.oldplank.com . They have 'I would love to have' beautiful french vintage chairs. If you take a closer look at this chair on their website where there are detailed photos of it, you can see the crack lines and how old this vintage chair is. The chair on the right is a very similar piece ... lovely isn't it?

The chair on the left is a beautiful new piece from Domicil www.domicilhome.com . A top German brand of home decorating furniture and accessories, it has many treasures. High end but very stylish and classic pieces. This beautiful chair costs a whooping $2,990 ... I would love to be the owner of this beautiful piece one day ...

what a mess!

2009-08-31T16:58:00.000+08:00

how did this accumulate to become like this ... ?!?! arrrrrggggh ... gosh!!! can't think straight now ... much-to-do, much-to-do ...

gotta get started on my bro's birthday gift ... can't find the suitable box ...

weekend hunts

2009-08-31T16:21:00.002+08:00

Another weekend just flew past though rather fruitfully. We got ourselves two lovely new lamps over two weekends.

My favourite is this Alina table lamp from Domicil retailing at $560 ... which we got at a steal.

The other is this majestic (rather big and tall) table lamp ... never imagined we can find such a grand looking classic lamp for an unbelievable price!

vintage ...

2009-08-28T19:43:00.000+08:00

I have been very much into vintage of late. Love the style of that era.

Love these vintage doilies ... pretty. Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetvintage/

ice cream anyone?

2009-08-25T00:27:00.002+08:00

We were just talking about affogatos (my two favourites served in one =) : a scoop of vanilla ice cream served in an expresso shot) and ice cream after dinner tonight with my husband's friend. I highly recommended him to have an ice cream from my freezer. Why? because it's my favourite ice cream from The Daily Scoop and it's worth it haha!

I simply loved the lightness yet satisfying creaminess in their ice cream. The freshness of the quality ingredients used is just wonderful. I am a self-confessed non-dessert person, especially cakes, pastries and mass produced ice-creams. However, when it comes to The Daily Scoop ice cream, I can finish half of a 400g tub ... which is probably almost 3 scoops. It's so homemade! You'll love the freshly made cones too - lovely!

So now my husband and his friends will be heading to Sunset Way next week for dinner and ice cream ... told him he MUST order the Simple Vanilla & Simply Chocolate ice cream on waffle for them ... wished I was gonna be there. Guess I'll tuck into my private tub of Simple Vanilla without the waffle.

My favs : Surprising Coconut, Passion Pinada, Brandied Figs & Honey, Durian Durian, Rum & Raisins, Simple Vanilla, Simple Chocolate, Cha (Earl Grey), Sunny Strawberry and Lychee Martini.

http://www.thedailyscoop.com.sg

Melissa, I'll visit you soon! Hope you'll have the hot selling Brandied Figs & Honey back in stock!

a brand new week of adventure and experiences ...

2009-08-24T23:23:00.000+08:00

Love this ...

http://greatfullday.blogspot.com/2009/08/monday-motivation.html

the finished banner =)

2009-08-23T15:11:00.001+08:00

getting creative

2009-08-23T01:38:00.000+08:00

Today has been a fruitful day getting the wing-shaped book started amidst the usual routine. Here's a work in progress shot of the wing-shaped pages.
I am also inspired to get one done for my little one ... I owe him a long overdue picture frame of him based on a basketball theme. Guess he'll get bonus for the delay ...

Managed to get around helping my little one work on his school's family day banner. What we need after the white paint dries tonight, is a bold outline and the banner will be done. He was all excited and pleased with himself that he was able to get the banner done and wanted to volunteer for future banner projects in school. ohoh ... mummy will have much much-to-do ...

as i search for ideas for our new home

2009-08-22T14:33:00.002+08:00

this is beautiful ... presentation from the heart ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL4W6NUkmc4

and this is the book
http://www.houseof3.com/create/inspiration/heidis-house-warming-book

scrapbooking

2009-08-22T13:38:00.000+08:00

I love to follow Heidi Swapp when it comes to scrapbooking. I relate to her creative style. She's so full of energy.

She worked with Creative Escape on a fund raising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. See how they do wonders to a simple black Ikea lamp - awesome!

Creative Escape 2009 Lamps from Bazzill Basics Paper on Vimeo.

why i like chinese new year

2009-08-22T00:40:00.007+08:00

I loved Chinese New Year when I was little, cos' it was full of festivities. My mum would get me everything new to wear - pyjamas, dress, undies and shoes. We would get real busy shopping 2 months ahead for new stuff and all other Chinese New Year goodies.

She would rope me in to make pineapple tarts ... that's the part I love most ... not just the pineapple tarts that I love to eat but the pineapple juice that I get to drink from preparing the jam from the tonnes of pineapples she would buy. Then there's the melt-in-your-mouth peanut cookies ... gosh ... heavenly ... she would sun the peanuts, roast them, blend them into powder to make the mix for the cookie. And not forgetting my other favourite : kueh bangkit. Pan fry the flour with pandan leaf and roll in into a dough with coconut milk. I loved to help her stuff them into the wooden mould and knocking them out, little pretty flowers and animal shapes. Loved the way they melt-in-your-mouth. Then there's the love letters I would help to roll and fold, the kueh bulu, the soft ones that are so spongy, that takes forever to fill a tin can, cos' we would be popping them into our mouths!

Then there's the candy tray filled with goodies that was to be put together after reunion dinner. And reunion dinner takes the whole day to prepare. Dishes were prepared from scratch. As Cantonese, my mum would prepare this 'Zai Choy' (another of my favourite) after reunion dinner that she would serve on the first day of Chinese New Year. It has cabbage, mushrooms, gingko nuts, homemade gluten, black fungus, black sea moss and many other ingredients. This is one dish that I've learnt to cook with success and my boys love it!

Chinese New Year today is so different, everything can be pre-ordered if not bought over the counter in nice packaged boxes, lacking the personal touch and taste. Really wished I had learnt and kept those recipes (although I wouldn't get that near to initiate a bake and kueh making party).

The best part of Chinese New Year now is the opportunity to dress up the house to the festivities, which I enjoy the most! The colours infiltrating the household, the ambience and the feeling of being at home. And the fresh flowers! Looking forward to the next Chinese New Year which isn't too far away ...

new idea

2009-08-22T00:13:00.004+08:00

This is strange ... the text editor did not show up in my window in the last 3 posts ... didn't know how to upload image ... wrote to Su Ling for advise and guess what! it just appeared!

Now this will be fun =)

With much-to-do, I stumbled on an idea for a wing-shaped scrapbook that I have wanted to make for my big boy, J, while flipping one of my old books (Your Road Map for Success - John C Maxwell). I hope this little gift will inspire and motivate him.

Much much-to-do, keep busy ... will post pictures of progress.

projects

2009-08-21T09:23:00.001+08:00

I have always love to do things on project basis ... like planning things to happen in blocks of months and periods ... from buying, selling and moving house to having baby 1 and 2 ... so the most recent project was to shop for a new place ... it's gone into a waiting period now ... hope that all will be good and finalised by end October and all ideas collected and plans can be executed. Let the flood gates open!
Started a scrapbook for this project last week, filling it with ideas and to do things ... much-to-do!

day off

2009-08-20T23:36:00.001+08:00

a day off from my regular routine ... much-to-do ... would love to spend the day online immersed in my favourite sites searching and forming ideas for the new place. My favourites, of course,
http://www.laissezfairedesign.blogspot.com/
and
http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/

a new adventure

2009-08-20T23:12:00.000+08:00

wow this is my first attempt setting up a blog (a pretty big deal with an endless do list) ... life passes so fast with much to do and this would be a great way to spend a little time each day to make a collection of interesting and beautiful ideas and things ...