Cruising Around with Mickey

Cruising Around with Mickey
Originally uploaded by ABumbleBee.

Project "Our Hive": The Heart of Our Home

Now that all the renovation work are done, we have bid farewell to Mr Peter. We've moved on to the heart of a home, which is the kitchen. Our kitchen designer, Ms S was supposed to come measure our kitchen last Friday but she was unwell. So, we've shifted the appointment to Monday afternoon.

Once she's got all the measurements, then the designing can start. However, she would need the measurement of the appliances that will be fitted to our cabinets - the cooker hob, oven and hood. The company that will do our kitchen supplies Te*ka, Fa*gor and Rin*nai appliances. After reading through the forums, many said that we should go with Asian manufacturers since our Asian cooking uses lots of oil. So, I was leaning towards Rin*nai and Fu*jioh. My mom uses Fu*jioh and also based on reviews on the net Fu*jioh hoods has higher oil absorption efficiency than Rin*nai.

Equipped with all these info, Shah and I headed to the Modern Ho*me and Life*style Fair at Mid*valley today. Alhamdulillah Fu*jioh had a booth there and there were a few reasonable offers. Suffice to say, I was already set on getting a Fu*jioh hood and hob. We also got an oven to go with it at a price that I had budgeted for. So, we've now got the measurements for our appliances to be given to Ms S.

Hopefully we'll be able to finalise the kitchen design in the next two weeks. Then we've got to get the Fu*jioh people to come measure the ducting for the hood and hack a hole on the back wall of the kitchen where the ducting ends. Once the hole is done, then only can the cabinets be fixed and finally the appliances.

So, maybe by early or mid May will the kitchen be ready. In the mean time, we'll be shopping for lights. Just before the cabinets are in and the lights are all fixed, we've got to do the first round of cleaning for the whole house. The proper clening will be done just before we move in the furniture.

Oh, and it looks like the developer is almost done with our complaints. Maybe next week they'll call us up to check the repairs. I've also put a picture of our grille and the simple cornice we've got on the ceiling. So, our main mission at the Mid*valley fair was accomplished. Next week there'll be a Per*fect Li*ving Fair at PWTC and it looks like that fair will be big. So, we'll be there next Saturday to look for lights, furniture and maybe an alarm system for our house if budget permits. We must always ensure safety comes first!

Yummy? Yes? No?

After watching a cooking show this morning making tiramisu, Shah and I decided to make one. Well, Shah made most of it actually while I just helped to beat the egg white. We also made a smaller cafeine-free version just for the little Princess. Unfortunately, she only ate just a few mouths. Maybe the milo I used instead of the coffee was a tad too sweet.

Let's Go For A Ride

This month has seen some changes to our lives. Firstly, starting from 1st March, Shah is no longer the He*ad of De*partment at the College. If you ask him, he feels like a giant boulder has been lifted off his shoulder. His new post as DDR means he no longer has to manage staff but he will have to make sure that the research and publication targets of the College are met. He's now much happier and less stressed than before.

On the other note, since our previous car had been bought by Shah's brother last December, we had been searching for a new ride. Shah initially wanted the Lan*cer and I liked it too mainly because of it's looks. The test drive was great but Shah was worried about maintenance costs and also due to the noisier engine roar. That meant the Lan*cer had been striked of the list. Sheesh! Men and forward thinking. Why can't he just be an impulsive buyer? If not I could have been parading around town in a Lan*cer, albeit in the passanger seat as I don't think I have the guts to drive it. So, on to the next option, the Al*tis. Also too big for me, a sort of 'playing it safe' car because it has all the necessary safety features, reliable but lacked the looks and the racing feel of the Lan*cer. Shah and I didn't get the exciting feeling when we test drove the Al*tis. We mulled over the idea of getting the Al*tis but we decided not to as we wanted something more suited for a young couple with a child. (hey, we are young at heart at least!)

Finally, last February, we test drove the Ci*vic. We fell in love with the looks, the features, the power. It was a match to the Lan*cer. Shah was bought over by it and so was I. We made the booking that same February day and we finally received it this month. We're loving it but Shah is itching to drive it above 100 km/hr. He can't do so yet as we have to wait for the car mileage to reach 1000km and undergo it's first service before Shah can test it to it's limits. Actually, he has gone up to 120km/hr by 'accident', but I think he purposely did so.

Hence, for the next few days, Shah will take the longest route to work and bring us on long drives during the weekend so that we'll get to the 1000km soon. So, let's get my sunnies out and go for a ride!

Project "Our Hive": Wired and Plastered Up

Peter, our contractor, informed us on Monday that the wiring works are completed. Today he mentioned that the plaster cornicing are almost done too. This means that the major renovation works to our house are mostly completed. With that, Shah and I took leave yesterday to inspect the work done. Then, we headed to The Cur*ve on our quest to kick-off the next phase which is the kitchen cabinets.

We went to Ki*an Classic's showroom there because I wanted to see if their '3 Rooms and 2 Halls' package (3R+2H) was still on. This package includes kitchen cabinets, a TV stand for the living room and 3 built-in wardrobes for the room. They also had a newer package called Golden 2+1 (G2+1) which comprised of kitchen cabinets and 2 wardrobes.

Unfortunately, the designer we met previously wasn't there as her shift starts at 1pm. So Shah and I went to I*kea to kill time and get some decor ideas as well as survey furnitures. While browsing, we decided that the 3R+2H package was too much. Our main aim was to get the kitchen done and the wardrobes for our room. So went we met Miss S at Ki*an Classsic's after lunch, we asked if we could take the G2+1 package but have both wardrobes in our master bedroom. How happy were we when she said that was ok. You see even with both the 8 feet and 6 feet wardrobes in our room we still had to add an extra 2 feet of wardrobe space.

So, suffice to say, we have placed the booking for a high gloss kitchen cabinet with additional solid surface worktop and 10 foot built-in wardrobe. Next week Ms S will come over to our house to take measurement and then do the 3-d drawings. Once we agree with the plans, it would take 3 weeks for the cabinets and wardrobe to be installed. InsyaAllah, we hope to get these done by end of May. But we can't install them until the developer has completed work on our complaints which we submitted more than 2 weeks ago. I've got to give them a call and chase them on this. But our complaint were a quite long list as we have some leaks on the ceiling and cracks high up the walls.

Anyway, with the kitchen almost sorted, we'll next move on to the next phase of lighting up the house.

P/S: I've got to take pictures of the house the next time we go.