Aktiviti Hujung Minggu - Balik Kampung

Bulan lepas penyewa aku di Bintulu pindah rumah. Lepas berbincang dengan Suami Terchenta, kiteorang decide lepas ni dah tak nak sewakan rumah tu dekat sesiapa supaya senang kiteorang nak balik ke Bintulu masa cuti sekolah yang panjang. Alhamdulillah, rumah tu dah selesai hutang bank jadi dah takde komitmen bulanan yang memerlukan aku untuk cari penyewa semata-mata nak cover loan rumah. 

Tiga minggu lepas, kiteorang balik ke sana sebab nak tengok condition rumah sebelum aku pulangkan deposit penyewa dan jugak sebab Suami Terchenta nak pasang CCTV dekat rumah tu. Memandangkan balik hujung minggu je, anak-anak tak ikut dan bermalam di rumah kakak aku. 

Tak jemu tengok langit dan lautan biru dari luar tingkap pesawat

Cantik kan pemandangan awan ni? Nampak macam awan ni terapung atas air sebab bayang-bayang yang terpantul atas permukaan lautan

Sampai je kat Bintulu, perkara pertama yang aku cari ialah sarapan pagi. Semestinya la mee sapi Ahim yang menjadi pilihan hati.

Gerai mee sapi Ahim tu dah pindah ke restoran Jom Ngeteh di Tanjung Batu, betul-betul sebelah Boulevard Mall Bintulu

Akhirnya dapat lepas rindu dengan mee sapi Ahim ni 🫶🏻

Dah setel bersarapan, kiteorang terus gerak ke rumah. Sebelum balik ke Bintulu, aku dah siap-siap buat temujanji dengan Wan, tukang rumah yang biasa aku panggil bila ada apa-apa kerosakan di rumah tu. Lepas diperiksa, ada beberapa kerosakan di tandas yang perlu dibaiki. Dinding pun nampaknya perlu dicat semula dan aku mintak quotation untuk repair kabinet dapur jugak. 

Suami Terchenta beli beberapa CCTV untuk pasang dalam dan luar rumah. Ni dia tengah test CCTV dari apps yang dia dah install dekat phone

Alhamdulillah, sekarang dah ada rumah semula untuk kiteorang balik ke Bintulu lebih kerap. Anak-anak tak sabar nak balik cuti sekolah / Raya Haji ni, suka la dieorang dapat balik melawat Mak Yeng (mak aku) selalu lepas ni 🥰.

OK dah, jom balik ke lubuk rezeki...

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Wordless Wednesday - Dah Hampir Siap...

ID rumah

Alhamdulillah... segala pujian bagi Allah. Selepas beberapa bulan menunggu akhirnya rumah kami 70% dah siap. Kalau dibandingkan dengan ideabook yang aku buat sebelum ni, memang jauh berbeza dengan rekabentuk dalaman idaman sebab kekangan bajet. Malah bilik anak-anak cuma ada katil, almari terpaksa tumpang dulu almari bilik kami. Kata Suami Terchenta, kalau ada bajet lagi boleh la panggil kontraktor untuk buat built-in wardrobe dan meja belajar di bilik anak-anak. Takpe, pokok pangkalnya rumah dah pasang lampu, aircond dan kipas so dah boleh la kami duduk di sini dengan selesa.

Lagipun kami pun nak cepat pindah masuk supaya tak terbeban membayar sewa rumah dan jugak bulanan rumah baru ni, jadi buat setakat termampu dulu. Yang penting banyak ruang menyimpan barang-barang supaya takde la semak mata memandang. Aku memang sukakan konsep minimalis - senang untuk mengemas dan menjaga. 

Barang-barang kami dah mula angkut sedikit demi sedikit - minggu lepas kami sewa perkhidmatan Lalamove untuk mengangkut barang-barang besar. Jadi sekarang rumah sewa dah nampak lapang, takde lagi kotak-kotak memenuhi ruang tamu dan bilik tidur. Hujung minggu ni Insha Allah sambung lagi mengangkut barang-barang kecik lain. 

Barang-barang di dapur, mesin basuh dan TV kami plan upah khidmat mover sebab Lalamove takde perkhidmatan membungkus dan menyediakan kotak-kotak untuk pindah. Aku dah pun survey khidmat-khidmat yang ditawarkan di luar sana, ada satu ni yang agak berpatutan harganya. Berpindah ni pun satu kos yang agak besar jugak, jadi kami cuba untuk berjimat dengan angkut sendiri barang-barang kecik yang boleh disumbat dalam kereta Exora kami. Insha Allah, 7 Oktober ni kami akan pindah sepenuhnya ke rumah baru, ada la seminggu masa untuk membaiki apa-apa kerosakan di rumah sewa dan mencuci apa yang patut sebelum serahkan balik kunci kepada tuan rumah.

Sekarang tinggal kontraktor dapur je lagi belum siapkan dapur. Nampaknya lepas pindah masuk ni kami kena makan di luar selama 3 minggu. OK jugak, tak payah masak hihi #thinkpositive

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House Renovation - Before & Work-In-Progress

Saya sangat banyak WIP (work-in-progress) sekarang.

WIP di ofis (of coz, yang ni tak penah abis la kan).
WIP dalam perut (teruskan membesar anakku!)
WIP projek rumah.

Haruslah topik ini berkisar projek rumah. Sebab. Projek kerja adalah sangat bosan. Projek dalam perut ialah sangat sulit. Kita tunggu saja kelahiran budak kecik *sekali lagi, sila doakan kelahiran beliau tanpa apa2 masalah*

Anywayyy...

Projek rumah sekarang sudah berjalan. Petang tadi lepas balik dari library, kami singgah melawat tapak projek. Saya expect tak de apa2 yang berlaku lagi. Tapi, to my pleasant surprise, sudah ada beberapa progres (itu bermakna harus mengeluarkan duit lagi dalam waktu terdekat. Huhu...).

Ok, let's have a look at some of the progress:

1. Ruang tamu:

Sebelum (Ruang tamu)

Selepas

2. Next, ruang dapur yang comel:

Ruang dapur sebelum renovation

3. Bilik air utama:

Selepas:

Buat masa sekarang, kiteorang masih kekalkan jubin dinding dapur sebab rasa rugi pulak dah pasang jubin tapi lepas tu nak tanggalkan. Tapi seriously. Arkitek apartment ni ketinggalan zaman ke apa?? Dah la jubin dapur hodoh dan low quality (kalau tak pasang pun tak pe, bazir duit je), tile dinding pun warna yang tak memberangsangkan & pasang separuh tinggi dinding je.

Sedang serabut kepala fikirkan nak buat apa dengan dinding dapur itu. Haruskah dibuang saja tile nya dan cat semula, atau tambah duit tile sampai siling? *sel2 otak sedang bekerja keras*

Maybe lepas dah tengok ruang dapur dengan tile baru, hopefully dah ada inspirasi untuk ruang dapur yang comel ittew :)

Lepas exam --> kena start packing barang dan concentrate Projek Baby!

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I Want This Bathroom!

Saya terasa nak ubah bilik air rumah baru daripada ini:
 

The bathroom in the master bedroom

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Mari Mengemas Stor

Tahun baru. Azam baru. Azam baru pertama saya ialah...

Mengemas stor.

Lihatlah stor kami. Serupa tongkang pecah. Lantai pun dah tak nampak.

Oleh kerana kehidupan kami yang ultra sebok, jadi stor kami agak tidak terurus. Sebenarnya ini ialah satu alasan yang hampeh. Kami sendiri yang malas mengemas stor.

Jadi, sempena tahun baru, semangat waja & perkasa tiba2 datang menyerap. Apa lagi jualan Ikea menghasut minda kami yang sememangnya suka dihasut untuk membeli rak ini:

Gorm Shelving Unit, by Ikea

Sepanjang hari kami bekerja sampai mati keras membuang barang2 dan kotak2 yang tak diperlukan lagi. 

Lepas beberapa jam bekerja, barulah kami perasan yang:

1. Kami ada beberapa hadiah kawen yang belum dibuka.
2. Kami ada 2 toaster & banyak pinggan-mangkuk.
3. Kami suka menyimpan sampah-sarap.

Bila barang-barang yang tak perlu dah dibuang, tiba masanya utk berkemas2 & bersusun2 barang. Sebelum tu, let's go to IKEA! Yeaay! Dan beli rak! (muat2 je dalam CLK kami, cayalah CLK!).

Kami kerja kuat lagi sampai malam, kemudian pasang rak dan letak di dalam stor. Lepas tu, barulah mula menyusun barang. Hasil usaha gigih kami:

Akhirnya storku comel semula...

Boleh gantung beg2 tangan jugak...

Mari kita lihat berapa lama stor ini akan comel sokmo! Hahahaha!

p/s: Saya semakin heart IKEA. Bila la saya boleh beli satu IKEA. Satu ketamakan haloba yang tak boleh dimaafkan.

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Shelf, by Ikea

If someone read the title again, it sounds like a perfume. A brand new perfume - fresh, intoxicating, alluring. Sniff it, and the only smell you can smell is the pages off new books.

And they are my new books which I bought from MPH Warehouse Sale last week (Omigod! I MUST visit the sale next year, because even well-known titles are incredibly cheap!):

From fiction, to lifestyle, to brain food - pick your choice.

Can't believe meh?

I'm a die-hard of Tintin and I collect almost if not all of Tintin series. At normal price, the comic sells at RM40-ish. During MPH Warehouse Sale, I got it at RM16. Plus, none of the books above are priced more than RM30. Altogether, I only spent RM120+ for those 5 books (they are also tax-deductible!)

Now that I have grown my books collection, the bookshelves at home are practically overflowed with books. There are books stacked on the computer table, strewn by the bedside (my side of the bed, to be precise), and on the side table beside the sofa in the living room.

It became too much that my hubby decided that we definitely have to add a bookself pulak. One day, he just woke up and told me, 'I'm thinking of going to IKEA.' And I had to straddle him and demand identification to know whether he's an impostor. It's just not his nature to initiate the plan to raid IKEA (usually, I'll be the one dragging him to that part of Damansara!).

He had a budget of RM100 to buy a decent-looking shelf but then we returned home with a shelf that saves us RM45. That's why I love IKEA! For letting me have a bookshelf which is both gorgeous and cheap:

The bookshelf, RM55. From Ikea.

At first glance, I'd mistaken this shelf as a ladder, used to retrieve books from one of those 10-ft build-in bookshelves. It is made of light metal, but very much sturdy and stable. Its narrow frame allows us to be parked in a small space. It certainly adds character to my living room now as it doesn't resemble a traditional bookshelf too much. If we decided to get a bigger bookshelf later, we can put this shelf in the kitchen to stack all those ketchup bottles, containers, etc.

Another plus note: It complements our TV rack most wonderfully, they are practically old chums by now. Tonight after we go to bed, they might even plan to go to mamak stall and watch football together.

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Solution to Storing Away My Headscarves!

The last few weeks before I left my previous company, I was really, really busy and under a lot of stress. After leaving, I badly needed a retail session to de-stress, and as everybody knows, de-stress session means a visit to IKEA Damansara. Hehe.

This time, I'm looking for something to organise my wardrobe. Every morning when I need to find a headscarf to wear, I will always mess up the piles of tudung in my wardrobe as mornings are always hectic. In the end, my wardrobe looks less & less like how I prefer it to be, so I need a solution to that problem.

So I bought this:

KOMPLEMENT multi-use hanger, RM28

Having this means I don't have to dig into my pile of headscarves anymore, i.e. no more messy wardrobe :)

Just slips in the scarf in one of the loops...

No more messy piles...

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Probably More Excited About A Couple of IKEA Stuffs Than I Should

To begin this ramble, this posting is where I make a love confession with a swanky, practical foreigner from Sweden. The name is IKEA. It's a long-lost, twisted love, born out of my endless desire to put everything in a context and a context into everything. Well, basically, I have a psychology condition which is called 'compulsive obsessive nature to be organised.' (read about it here and here). Therefore, when I found out IKEA has all the solutions to an organised life, I fell madly, deeply in love with it. So much so that I am short of naming my kid IKEA. Ikea bin Junaidix. How totally rowks!

Recently, we decided that our store room required a massive spring-cleaning job. I am too ashamed to post the 'before' image of our store room because it was really cluttered and untidy. Boxes stacked haphazardly. Some boxes were in too poor conditions that the contents were half-spilled on the floor. Most boxes were overflowed with things. Raincoats on the floor because we have nowhere to put them. Some files and papers were also placed on the floor. There were many paper bags containing wedding door-gifts lying around. In short. It's. Total. Chaos.
The solution to this problem? A complete tour of the IKEA store where I found these two useful items that change my life the store room's look:

Habol, Box with Lid (left)

Portis Hat Rack (right)

With mountain-high enthusiasm, we reached home and immediately set to de-clutter the store room. Our stuffs were divided into three categories - junks, items rarely used and items used more often. Junks were thrown out. Rarely used items packed in one of the box (top) and labelled according to whose items they belong to. Those rarely used are stacked at the bottom. Items used more often are placed at the top of the stack.

The results:

Ok, so it may not look pristinely tidy because the boxes are still stacked haphazardly but papers bags are no more on the floor, little items stored away in boxes which no longer overflowed. We have made 70% progress on improving the tidiness. I am hoping to save enough money to buy a racking system (also from IKEA) to solve the stacking problem.

Next:

This is by far, the solution that delighted me the most. No more raincoats on the floor! No more helmets lying around! No more jackets on the sofa / on the bed! The world is now warded off evils, corruptions and environmental problems!

This feeling of achieving tidiness is why I never fail to be excited at the sight of IKEA.

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