Redmart.com Review, Online Grocery, Online Supermarket Shopping in Singapore

The first thing I did this morning after getting my coffee is to shop away! Online, that is. Redmart.com supermarket shopping for pasta coking this weekend. Even before I got my own place, I've always relish the thought of online grocery shopping. So, within the first 2 weeks of getting my keys, I've already given Redmart.com a try.

Secure Packaging

What a treat for my miserly arm muscles!

It used to be free delivery for purchases of $79 and above but there's a current promotion that delivers for free with every $49 and above spent. Valid until 31 August 2013 only. 

Of course, I jumped at the chance and ordered 2 more rounds. Haha..

What's more, enter the promotional code of likeredmart and get to enjoy additional 10% of your purchase and this 10% applies to even items already on sale!

You'll get to select your preferred delivery dates and the next day slot is usually available.

Payment is also a breeze with online credit card option,  credit card upon delivery or through Paypal and you're done! Easy peasey and hassle free.

The past 3 deliveries were pleasant and on time. Once, the deliveryman was running 10 mins late and he called me on my mobile hone to inform me beforehand. This is what I call good service! Redmart's pricing is like other supermarkets. Some thing are more expensive, and some are cheaper, especially those on sale.

I'm so glad that grocery shopping is made so much easier these days with online shopping. I'll no longer need to lug heavy household items, especially detergent, rice, oil and such. I'm loving it and getting hooked!

Mid Century Modern, Vintage, Wood Furniture, Designer Chair in Singapore Review

So, I have been furniture hunting. Fiance and I started out agreeing that we do not want the modern and contemporary kind of look that feels cold to us. We both love wood, he is more of a retro and vintage guy who loves the curves of things. "Sexy", he would call it. :P As for me, I am more of a traditional person who love warm furniture like wood and fabric. It was a breeze agreeing on what would go into our new house. We both dislike metal and glass so material was readily agreed upon.

Since we have been spending so much time going around searching for our ideal pieces, I thought I'll share where to get some of the mid century, vintage and wood pieces that we've came across.

Furniture pieces that caught our eyes were mainly mid century pieces like the following:

Grant Featherston Contour Lounge Chair

The first piece of furniture that caught my eye even before we got the keys to our place. The sky blue colour is just so cute!

Jeremy Pyles Glass Lights

Ok, so these lights aren't exactly mid century pieces but they do give off the vibe, yah?

So, you get the idea on the pieces that move our hearts. Here's a list of the places we went to and a brief review for each one.

.WOODY WOODY, ALL THINGS WOODY & LOVELY.

1. Journey East

315 Outram Road, #03-02 Tan Boon Liat Building S(169074), 

Tel: 6473 1693

Journey East at Tan Boon Liat Building has a collection of refurbished vintage pieces and also new teak furniture which are more rugged looking. The pricing is reasonable and the pieces are cute. They remind me of my grandparents' homes. An era long bygone, our childhood past.

We got this 1950's teak dining table from Central Java. The legs show Scandinavian influences, probably by the Dutch. 

Pieces here seem to be more from Asia due to the material, teak. I'm not sure whether they have pieces from Europe. Anyway, when there, you can help yourself to the coffee and drink by the counter and speak with the friendly people from Journey East to find out more.

2. Mountain Teak

315 Outram Road, #07-02 Tan Boon Liat Building S(169074), 

Tel: 6244 7176

In the same building, there's another teak shop called Mountain Teak on the 7th floor. As the name suggests, it's mainly teak pieces in there. New pieces, not pre-owned ones. Pricing is also reasonable and there's many simple and classic pieces available.

This is one cool bookshelf that we're drooling at.

3. Originals

896 Dunearn Road, #02-03 Sime Darby Centre S(598472), 

Tel: 6471 9918

We also traveled all the way to the West to take a look at Originals. The wood furniture here has a more modern feel. Many are also in the distressed wood style. Sturdy and good quality pieces but pricing is on the high side for us.

4. Like That One

2, Bukit Batok Street 24, #01-02 Skytech S(659480), 

Tel: 6560 9168

Even further westward was a charming shop called Like That One. You won't miss it as you drive in with its brightly lit signage. A great place to hunt for vintage accessories and small pieces to pull the look together. In addition to wood pieces, they have many interesting mid century industrial furniture too. Pricing may be a tad higher than what we were prepared to fork out but they do have a few snazzy pieces that may tempt you. All pieces are refurbished and pre-loved. By the way, they also serve great coffee. 

It was here that we fell in love with an extravagant piece. Our 1960's Maple Wood Mobile Bar retrieved from the UK. It is now serving a dual function as our console table and mobile bar to make our money's worth. Hehe...

Isn't it a cute, gorgeous piece? It's real cool with secret compartments that made us swooned. The wood grain is oh so pretty. It's my favourite piece at home now!

5. Franc Franc

1 Habourfront Walk, #02-41/42, VivoCity S(098585)

Tel: 6376 8077

And there's the store that many knows about in VivoCity, Franc Franc. It is a Japanese store and I only found out when I decided to buy 2 pieces of Ashwood furniture there. Most pieces are interesting, cute and contemporary. With a burst of colours there, you can easily pick  out something that'll add a splash of brightness to your home. Service is good and pricing is reasonable when they have sale. :P

Most pieces are made of MDF but there are some others that are a few made of solid wood. 

We wanted the TV console in lighter wood and Franc Franc ordered it al the way from Japan for us. Check this place out if you're looking for fun pieces with clean lines.

6. Restore Living

124 Tanjong Pagar Road S(088533)

Tel: 6222 3105

For small vintage pieces like chairs, stools and coffee table pieces, you may want to check out Restore Living. I find this store more of a place to go if you want to get that 1 interesting piece of chair. They do a lot of refurbishing of old furniture. And the items available here have a pretty local feel to them. It is also a cafe by the way.

7. Commune/Koda

9 Raffles Boulevard #02-51/52 Millenia Walk S(039596)

Tel: 6338 3823

Another great place with contemporary wood pieces is Commune at Millenia Walk. Delivery is prompt and service is good. the delivery guys even have feedback forms for customers to fill in! I find the furniture there easy to match and very likable. Too bad the extendable dining table we wanted in walnut colour was made of veneer. Hence, we settled for the sofa only. 

Of course, there are many more shops that we didn't have the time to visit even though we shortlisted them. Some just weren't suitable.

8. Others & many more...

Mid Century/Vintage

• Room of Woods - Furniture looks good but didn't get a chance to go.
• Lorgan's - Heard that it is pricey so didn't make our way to the other side of the island for it. All new items I heard.
• Second Charm - Looks good too and they carry vintage furniture.
• Hock Siong & Co. - I want to check it out one of these days still. Carries vintage furniture too.

Contemporary Wood

• Ethniccraft - Very helpful and responsive people but somehow didn't get a chance to visit them due to schedule. Need to make appointment before going over.
• We Love Air - Some pieces are nice but out of budget too.
• Grafaunkt - Out of budget and didn't really find anything that caught our eyes.
• Pomelo Home - Beautifully designed contemporary pieces but really way out of our budget.
• Scanteak - Safe, expected pieces, good for basics. They have a range where they worked with a Japanese designer and that's quite cute. 
• Picket & Rail - There's wood pieces and designer inspired pieces too.
• Air Division - Looks nice on website but didn't manage to find time to make it there too.
• Barossa Furnishing - Didn't manage to travel to Woodlands for a visit for teak dining table. Read that the furniture are solid and of good quality. 

For my Grant Featherston chair hunt, we went to quite a few shops. It was a pretty tiring hunt where I was about to give up. Mainly because most of the shops in Singapore use wool or wool blended material for the chairs. Fiance and I definitely do not want to sweat in our lounge chair so we went on and on asking about colours and material. We were insistent in getting a blue lounge chair.

In the end, I resorted to calling the shops and asking about the material and pricing before heading to the store to take a look.

.DESIGNER CHAIRS THAT MAKE US GO OOH-LA-LA.

1. Comfort Furniture

10 Eunos Ave 7, Comfort Design Building, S(409573)

Tel: 6747 4809

Comfort furniture has 2 storeys of furniture and numerous designer inspired pieces. This is the shop where we finally found the right material for our armchair. Sadly though, they didn't have it in the cute sky blue we wanted so we ended up with a darker shade of blue.

We choose the 2nd blue from the bottom. Didn't want our chair to have the faded look so we kept to a brighter blue. I think the chair is slightly smaller than the original design but we're cool with it. It also has the best pricing among all the shops we went to.

The best thing about this place is that the material are more suitable for Singapore's warm and humid weather and they have a wide variety of products to choose from.

2. Lush Lush

73 Upper Paya Lebar Road, Centro Bianco, #03-01, S(534818)

Tel: 6858 5882

Lush Lush had the chair we wanted and many more other designer inspired chairs. But the Grant Featherston chair only comes in the hot wool material. We were willing to buy from here if we couldn't get the piece we wanted in mind. They also have many contemporary and lively art pieces.  

3. Standard of Living

34, Khandahar street, S(198892)

Tel: 6298 2349

Standard of Living may be a small shop but it carries a wide range of fabric. I was shown several plain and print fabrics and had the option to choose from polyester, nylon etc. This may be the ideal shop if you want a upholstery that is unique and not so commonly found.  Their selection is indeed wide.

The journey of home building for me is not over yet. It's exciting to hunt for the ideal furniture. And even more exciting when you discover a gem that is pre-loved. I find myself wondering about its history. Vintage furniture has a mysterious charm to them, don't ya think? 

Anyway, I hope my feedback has helped and do share more in the comment box below.

Men 100% Leather Messenger Bags - Vagabond Traveler Review

It's hard to find a nice men genuine leather messenger bag in Singapore that doesn't make you feel like you're paying through your nose. And it's even harder to find is one that is well built, looks rugged with a raw finish that cost below 500SGD. I couldn't even find anything I like at this budget.

I have cracked my head for more than half a year before I realised I have yet to explore my online options. Somehow somewhere, Vagabond Traveler caught my eyes on ebay.com. Good reviews were posted on other sites and replies were prompt from the seller.

I decided to go ahead since it'll only cost be less than half the price (inclusive of shipment) of what I was prepared to pay. I opted for Fedex shipment tracking since Vagabond Traveler ships by Fedex.

And eagerly waited....

And got impatient at times...

When it finally arrived in about 2 week's time!!!

It was neatly packed into a flat box.

Ta-da!!! The bag I hunted for so long in the rugged leather finish I wanted.

It is made of oil tanned leather and is in freedom style.

Vagabond Traveler even packed a holder along with it to make it more presentable for gift giving.

Am I a satisfied online shopper of Vagabond Traveler? Yes, I am. At a fraction of the price in Singapore, I am getting a quality product made of genuine leather.

Vagabond Traveler even packed a holder along with it to make it more presentable for gift giving.

The only drawback? My fiance's light coloured pants get chocolate stains when he uses it. At first, we were perplexed and thought the stains came about from his greed in chomping on chocolate bars. Later on, he figured that bag rubs off brown stains on light coloured pants.

We were told that since this is an oil tanned leather that was tanned with colour and wax in raw leather finish, we would have to wait it out for the bag to stop bleaching eventually... :( For now, my fiance just keep to dark coloured pants.

If you intend to purchase from Vagabond Traveler, it may be worthwhile to note that it's cheaper to buy directly from their website instead of from ebay.com or amazon.com.

Good luck in finding the perfect messenger bag!

Sweep Me Off...

Sweep me off..

Bratislava Trip & Skaritz Hotel & Residence Review

It's always nice to blog about my trip 'coz it gives me a chance to relive my happy-away-from-home moments. Sadly, I don't seem to have much time this year to do so and this is inversely proportionate to the amount of travelling I've done the past year.

Well, at least I can squeeze some time out for Bratislava, Slovakia, only because there was nothing much that caught my attention to write in detail.

Town Square

This lesser known city was a last minute insertion to our itinerary since we were only going to 3 other cities in 2 weeks. We thought that Bratislava is en route from Krakow to Budapest and we could just take the overnight train and wake up in Bratislava. Wrong! It was, in a way... but we had to change train in the wee hours of the morning at 2am at a station called "Bohumin". Bad idea as I was woken up about 5 mins before arriving at the transfer station and all toilets were closed for the day. There was only 1 seedy looking snack-BAR at the deserted station.

At least we saw 2 policemen patrolling and the connecting train arrived 20 mins earlier. What a relief to board the train early and head back into slumber land. 

We arrived in Bratislava around 6am and it was rainy and cold. The weather in Central Europe was still bad and I was pretty reluctant to head to our hotel in the foul weather.

To reach Skaritz Hotel & Residence, we had to buy a 70-cent ticket each (from the yellow ticketing machine at the bus stop) at the bus station located right in front of the rail station and board Bus No. 93 which comes every 10 mins or so. After validating the ticket in the ticket marker on the bus, just alight at Hodžovo nám which is 2 stops away and walk to the hotel. The map can be found here: http://goo.gl/maps/cQisI

It was such a joy when we found it! Warm & toasty it was and we were offered coffee and hot tea while waiting to check in.

And the best thing was they allowed us to check in at 8+am once the room was ready! This is the earliest I've ever checked into a hotel. Naturally, I was happy. It was the only hotel we stayed in for this trip as Slovakia has the cheapest accommodation comparing to Prague, Krakow & Budapest. We stayed in apartments for the other 3 cities.

2 thumbs up for Skaritz Hotel & Residence service and stay!! It is located in a convenient location in the heart of the old town, near to the various tourist attractions.

Summer Archbishop Palace in Sweet Pink

For the 1st day, we visited the castle, ate some good Slovakian traditional cuisine like dumplings with sheep's milk cheese and Kapustnica (sauerkraut soup with sausage), which is now my fav. =P~~

Potato Dumpling with Sheep's Milk Cheese

Kapustnica

Here's some pics of the castle which we found sterile and a tad boring.

Stairs to the Castle

Bratislava Castle Grounds

Castle Courtyard

This was how bored we were when we started to pose in front of the mirrors in the castle.

It was only on the highest level that we read that parts of the castle were destroyed by a fire in early 2012. There were only some exhibits on display; so little that they could all pack into a room. We headed back to the old town for coffee and went back to laze in the hotel before googling for good dinner spots in town.

The next morning, we went out early to The Church of St Elisabeth which is on another side of the old town. When I saw the cute blue church, it brought a smile to my face.

Designed in Art Noveau architectural style, the curves and colour look really adorable for a church.

It was well worth my morning walk before we left for Budapest.

One day in Bratislava was enough for me. The old town is small and it is pleasant to stroll around. One thing stood out was the high number of Sushi bars in this small area. After reading about their economy, I realised they must have quite a few business dealings with Japanese for their car manufacturing &  electrical engineering industries.

Weird take away info for my Bratislava trip...

My Best Poker Session Ever: Marriage Proposal From My Love!

Bf proposed last night! And in the way I absolutely love love love, which is original and filled with surprises!

It was meant to be a regular poker session and I felt so lucky to have pocket Queens in the first round. The 1st three cards on the table were Queen, X & Jack.  As it went on, 3 players went all in with bf being 1 of them. *Woo hoo* The pot was getting big enough and gave me an adrenalin rush!

When it was my turn to make a call, I hesitated before going all in. I really didn't want to lose all our chips in the first hand even though the odds were in my favour. And so the showdown began... with 2 pocket Queens from me and 2 pocket Jacks from bf and 1 other player that was significant. Hehe....

My heart was pumping when the 4th card opened and it showed a Jack. "That's fine", I thought, "at least the money is going back into bf's pockets" and I still stand a minute chance. With poker, there's always this element or luck, no?

The trash talk went on and when the last card opened, I was stunned for a while. It was a Queen and I've won! But.... why was my winning card so dirty with all those scribbling?? Huh???

It was a split second before I caught the word "MARRY" and I beamed away. What a way to propose! A climax on top of a climax! Bf is so cool!!! :D

He went down on his knees, took out the custom made ring and gave me the flowers. Of course I said yes. Yes, yes, yes and a million times yes!

The Lovely Bouquet of White Roses

It was a moment of blur and flurry. His thoughtfulness and effort makes me beam from ear to ear. The thoughts that went into the ring design, the flowers he got me, the way he orchestrated the whole poker session with friends.... Yes, I'm truly touched. 

❤ Thank you baby! I really do feel so so lucky to have met you and have you in my life. ❤

The ring is designed with an infinity love symbol on the side. BF insisted on having this on the ring and he used my tattoo drawings months ago as the reference.

Infinity Love Design On Side Of Ring

I was still contemplating getting the tattoo yesterday when I eventually feel up for it someday. Now, I'll wear it on my engagement ring instead. How meaningful! 

I have not told bf this before. He was my inspiration for the infinity love design and I felt so strongly for him at one point, I almost added one more tattoo to my body. But my rational mind got the better of me. Tats really aren't cool when I am older. Haha...

It wasn't the easiest allowing myself to fall in love with him, to bare my soul and just let the feelings flow. I had hoped that our relationship will go on forever but I was hesitant. I wasn't sure he felt the same way then and whether he wanted the same things in life as me.

Yes, this isn't the end of our journey and I know it'll get better because we both want it so.

Last Pic For The Lovely Night

❤ Baby, you're the best bet in my life. Muacks! ❤

Permanent Laser Hair Removal - Lumenis, Most Effective Hair Removal I've Tried!

I've been so busy lately but I just have to review my most recent hair removal experience coz it was really good! By that, I meant the effectiveness and the comfort level throughout the session.

Ok, so here it goes...

About 2 months back, I was invited for a trial laser session using the LUMENIS LightSheer Duet machine.

I didn't know what to expect and whether it would feel any different from my regular underarm and bikini line IPL sessions at Musee Platinum.

When I arrived at the location, I was asked to go into the treatment room which was neat and filled with several machines.

I was also given a loose-fitting navy satin gown to wear as I was doing a bikini hair removal :P

This was my view while lying down and waiting for my treatment to start. I felt a little nervous not knowing what to expect. And of course, not knowing whether this form of hair removal will hurt a little, especially it was at a sensitive area. 

Somehow, the treatment bed with the extra support at end, near my feet there, made me feel like it was more professional. It seemed more comfortable placing my feet on the support to prop my legs up.

I had to first put on the goggles below before starting my treatment. Looks funny eh?

I was informed that the treatment was about to begin the moment the machine hand-piece was placed on my skin. Immediately, I felt this weird sensation on my skin but I couldn't quite make out what it was. Every 1-2 seconds, the hand-piece was moved. After a while, I badly wanted to know what was giving me that unusual sensation and found out that the Lumenis LightSheer Duet machine has a vacuum assisted technology that gently pull and stretch the skin before applying the laser energy. So it was a suction feeling on my skin. No wonder, I didn't feel much pain from the laser. 

I was told that the vacuum suction allows for a better and smoother hair extraction as the hair follicles are pulled closer to the surface with each suction. I think the suction distracted me from feeling the laser at work too, hence the distraction/reduction in discomfort. It was a plus point for this hair removal treatment! Not only does it reduces discomfort, it also increases efficiency since the vacuum assisted technology reduces the amount of hair removal time required.

At one point, I felt a slight pain and a slight burnt smell. I voiced out my discomfort and a shave was promptly given. Apparently, I didn't shave cleanly and this attracted more laser energy to the area, causing the pain. So, take note to shave properly on treatment day itself. ;)

Well, the whole process was really fast. The whole session was over in less than 10 mins!  There was no need for gels or whatnots. Just the shaved skin and the machine, so it was really much less messier than my regular IPL. This is one of the reasons why the whole session was so speedy. Time is shaved off from applying numbing gel before the session and from applying the post treatment cooling pad and soothing cream.

You can do lunch and have your hair removal session all done with no hassle. It's that convenient and speedy.

Yes, this is the wondrous machine....

My verdict? Hair did not grow out for a month after the treatment in most areas. I was almost hairless! Now, after 2 months, the hair growth has slowed A LOT for most areas and I'm impressed by the results. If this goes on, I think I'd only need a few more sessions to be completely hairless! It's more effective than the other bikini IPL I've tried. It's fast, not messy and the discomfort level is low. Moreover, there's no need to remind myself to shave a few days before treatment. 

If you want to find out more, drop me a note or email me at mei.journey@gmail.com. Give it a go and experience the effectiveness yourself.