My kitchen flooring

Hi peeps..

This is the new look of my kitchen. Actually I was not so satisfied with the choice of colour of my cabinet. It is not I don't like the mocha colour, but it did not contrast with my floor tiles. My mistake, did not check the colour of the cabinet with floor colour. So guys out there, this is one of the lesson you should learn!

Anyway, I have Rm500 Floor Depot deposit that I paid almost 1 year ago to lock the current promotion price. It's going to expire on 31st March 2012. Since I don't feel any needs to replace my flooring at home and at the same time I did not want the deposit to be forfeited, therefore, I have used it to replace my kitchen flooring. That has caused me RM1400, and since I have paid RM500 one year ago, I just need to top up another RM900.

FYI, I have chosen the cheapest 'water resistant' type of material. That is not my first choice, but that is the cheapest among its range. I buat betul2 sbb taknak burn my deposit. But those yg hunting for barang rumah while waiting for your house keys to be handed over, please don't get caught over your excitement. Especially with Floor Depot. Because why, I ended up paying higher if I were to use the voucher that I paid for last year's promotion. Yes, they gave you 55% discount on the material, but you have to pay the installation fee, transportation fee etc. etc. while the current March 2012 promotion gave me only 40% discount on the material, but other fees are FOC.

So .... moral of the story, tak payah la bayar deposit to FLOOR DEPOT to lock the current price sbb :

1. You tak really sure whether you really need it unless you already move in.

2. Promotion dia maybe right, but dia exclude other charges/hidden charges which I found this ada unsur2 nak menipu customer. Sbb once we have paid, mesti ramai yg tak nak end up your money to be forfeited, so like me, terpaksa jugak buat walaupun tak rasa pun nak pakai laminated floor just yet..

3. If you wanna do laminated flooring, I heard other company gave better price and better service. One of them is LaWoodCare ....

That's all folks, jgn comment my kitchen, sbb overall, I had dreamt a much better kitchen than this, tapi tunggu lah, bila dah byk duit nanti :-)

p/s I don't know why I could not arrange the photo as I wished, to show a clearer before and after photos..







Gluten Intolerance

Hi people...

I wanna share something that I discovered that is very important to some of you. How to start? In my 2 previous posts, I shared my experiences on skincare...yes, until today I still admit Clarins is a good skincare. But despite it is good...I still have pimples here and there. Being someone you had a clear skin before, having one two pimples really made me stress.

So I googled on the benefits of homemade mask and there are many types of mask that is can be easily prepared. The homemade mask that I tried is a combination of honey, oat and lemon. I used it everyday for 3 days. The verdict : My pimples became worst! I was so stress and I believe it must be something is wrong with my body. I continued my research and found something very disturbing.

Have you heard of 'Gluten Intolerance' or 'Gluten Sensitivity' relates to acne? I don't want to discuss in detail what are the disease that relates to this allergy, because you can google it yourself as there are many articles that are very informative, but what I want to emphasize is that gluten food can cause acne. But what is gluten? Gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related species, including oat, barley and rye.

So back to my homemade mask tadi...I started get very bad acne week when I started to use the homemade mask. Then secara kebetulan, on the same week, I minum air barli setiap hari that week, makan my favourite noodle soup @ mee sup (mee kuning), all on the same week. I mmg have been suffering joint problems and on medication on and off. But on that week, I makan ubat pun, still tak relieve my joint pain. So I suspect something is not right, internally. And I have been taking oats as breakfast almost every morning!!

From my research : Symptoms of Gluten Intolerance include :

Diarrhea - My stomach is very sensitive, senang dapat diarrhea
Weight Loss  - nope
Malnutrition  - maybe
Mild weakness - Yes, I am! Always energy less
Joint and  Bone pain - Definately
Abdominal bloating (stomach swells) - Champion of bloated tummy! Esp lepas makan mee..
Acne - Yes!! Sufferer for almost 2 years

Research shows that gluten intolerance in some form affects approximately 15% of the US population. But many people don't realize it ... you know what, gluten is almost everywhere ... let me just name it few :

Bread, cake, pasta, noodle, Noodles, Oatmeal, Pancakes, Pie and pie crusts, pizza ....

You can get the list from here .

Most of the symptoms, I am pretty sure that I am one of the sufferer, but I have set an appointment with skin allergy specialist just to get official confirmation. Deep down I'm still hoping the that I don't have it, just problems with my imbalance hormones..I can't face the fact to live with gluten free diet....Tidakk!!! Takkan I tak boleh makan my kids' birthday cake? Takkan I tak boleh makan my favourite mee sup, lasagna, Big Apple doughnut, Garret popcorns, pizza, roti canai, Mc Donalds??

Skincare Review : Part 2

This is the reason I wrote this and previous entry.....read further....

Continuation from previous post ....

Kebetulan, I met somebody at work recommended me to use CLARINS products. Memang Allah nak bagi hints kat I kot, sebab masa first time met her, memang kagum dengan her skin, but takde la pulak bertanya dia pakai product apa. Tapi bila second time terjumpa, baru terasa nak bertanya...She told me that she used to have skin condition like mine...and now her skin is so clean and clear... She told me, she used  CLARINS Truly Matte collections (light green colour bottle) to help her problem skin. After her skin condition dah OK she was then advised to use the  CLARINS  Hydraquench Collection to treat hydration problem. So...apa lagi, pantang dengar org give good reviews about a product, terus pergi Isetan cari  CLARINS  counter. These are the things that I bought worth RM124 during Christmas Sale:

1. Truly Matte Hydra-Matte Lotion - 50ml - RM124
2. Truly Matte Pore Minimizing Serum - 15ml trial size (free)
3. Truly Matte Pure Radian Mask - 15ml trial size (free)
4. Cleanser - 5ml sample size (free)
5. Toner - 12ml sample size (free)
6. Lotus Oil - 2ml sample size (free)

Truly Matte Hydra-Matte Lotion @ Moisturiser

Truly Matte Pure Radian Mask

Truly Matte Pore Minimizing Serum

Amazingly, after 2-3 days using all these (and I stopped using Miracle Water, just to know whether  CLARINS alone could fix my problems), I can see that these products have gotten my pores smaller! I know that the serum and the lotion (mosturiser) yg made the pores smaller, but I think the Lotus Oil yg control the oil production and rebalance your skin condition. Eventhough it is an oil  and bila you apply to your face mmg your face becomes oily, but surprisingly, your face will become so radiance in the morning. And what amazed me, I did not get any single pimple during my period! Wow!! This is so amazing, after one and half years, I didn't get any pimples....I only applied it at night before bed.

Lotus Oil

Huh! Sudah sangat happy...then I started baca review from the internet on their cleanser and Hydraquench Collections. Supposedly I don't think I need the Hydraquench products just yet...sebab the Truly Matte Collection works fine (Alhamdulillah....bersyukur sesangat), tapi now is Christmas sale, kalau during normal days, beli satu benda dapat satu benda, but now beli satu benda dapat extra 3-4 benda....so I end-up beli :

1. HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase - 30ml
2. HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase - 2ml (free)
3. HydraQuench Cream-Mask - 15ml
4. HydraQuench Cream-Gel - 15ml
5. Clarins pouch

HydraQuench Cream-Gel



HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase

I do not know what is the actual price for every product, but I got all 5 items for only RM78. I think this RM78 is for the 30ml serum. Murahnye barang2  CLARINS  ni berbanding Dermalogica and SK-II.

HydraQuench Cream-Mask

The BA told me that if I add in another one item, I am entitled to get 2 trial size products for free, so apa lagi, I took the opportunity to buy the cleanser. So I bought the cleanser at RM92, and these are the items I got it for free :

1. Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed - 125ml - RM92
2. Toning Lotion with Iris - 15ml kot the size, not sure but I requested this since I tried the sample given earlier, it is so good to close the pores.
3. HydraQuench Cream-Mask - 15ml

Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed

They gave me Cleansing Milk With Gentian at first, but I requested to replace with HydraQuench Cream-Mask just to add my Hydraquench stock at home before I buy the full size item. Because to me, Cleansing Milk is just another cleanser @ make-up remover, so I think I can use my existing products.

So let me tell you the feeling after pakai Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed. Your face jadi super duper clean! Seriously I'm telling you....the best cleanser that I have ever used. It is a cream foam type, don't overdry my skin. I do not know how to explain, but tak pernah I pakai cleanser yg I rasa mmg puas hati gile! Selama ni all the cleansers are just a cleanser...tapi ini mmg really buat your skin clean and fresh! My hubby pun admitted that...sebab I paksa dia pakai, to confirm my statement....If you want to read further on its good reviews, go and find it here. Since dah 'terkena' dengan Dermalogica, I will ensure to read reviews first before end up beli my skincare.

Sekarang ni I baru pakai 2 minggu, and Alhamdulillah I'm very satisfied ... ye la...been searching for about 1 and half years and ada product dah pakai sampai 3-4 bulan, tak nampak apa2 perubahan...and Dermalogica lagi teruk, siap pergi facials, siap duduk dalam hot chamber @ sauna for 1 year, still tak tunjuk perubahan...menghabiskan duit aku betul!!

So CLARINS ni so far, aku happy. In the morning, I will use the Truly Matte collections, and before bed, I will use the Hydraquench collections together with its Treatment Oil @ Lotus Oil. So, todate, jerawat still tak keluar lansung, and now aku dah nampak muka dah ala-ala glowy gitu... Nanti la kalau dah betul2 confirm product ni penyebabnye...aku akan letak gambar before and after...Sekarang ni mmg dah rasa sangat confident, CLARINS adalah penyelamatnya. Since the pimples dah tak keluar, I kena tunggu for 1-2 months before looking for solutions to treat my scars. Tapi somehow, I notice my pimple scars have faded tremendously. Sbb apa....selama ni, kalau nak keluar rumah, I mesti pakai foundation and compact powder on my face to cover the flaws, but for the past one week, I only applied light layer of compact powder, in case takut muka berminyak .... So, hopefully after one month, I can go out without pakai make-up, just sunblock......

p/s For those yg nak try, click here, fill in your particular, and get the voucher to redeem the 3-pc trial pack inclusive of Treatment Oil (while stock last). They have 3 types of treatment oils (Lotus, Blue Orchid, and Santal) depending on your skin condition, but I took Lotus Oil to treat my oily skin.

p/s BA at CLARINS are very generous, suka bagi sample whenever you ask, so despite barang2 yg already on-pack, I receive byk gile the sample size toner, treatment oil and facial shaping lift cream. My friend yg recommended me this product says that facial shaping lift cream is very good, but I am yet to see the effect, as I only use it for 4 days. Will give the review once I can see the results.

Skincare Review : Part 1

I have been wanting to write a post related to skincare review. However, for the past 1 and half years, I still could not find the best or suitable product to fix my oily and problematic skin condition. I used to have a clear and flawless skin. Pakai any cleansers, guna Olay Total Effect, that's it. Kulit cun melecun...until I stop breastfeed my second child, I started to get pimples especially during my period. My skin became so oily and and pimples will be all around the face.

My clear skin with natural blusher....satu masa dulu :-(



Muka baru bangun tido, main kat taman dengan Hadif tanpa secalit mekap...I miss my skin!!

I have been trying so many products, from the cheapest to expensive ones. These are some products that I could remember using it :

1. Alken cleanser
2. Thursday's plantation cleanser
3. Thursday's plantation tea tree
4.  NV complete set (local product)
5. Tia Amilia complete set (local product)
6. Hada Labo Lotion (macam Miracle Water)
7. Rosa T Cleanser
8. Olay Total Effect Cleanser
9. etc ....

All above did not make my skin worse, but it did not help me at all...so I stop and decided to 'invest' some money for a more branded brand. Maybe due to 'aging' factor kot, I need to spend more to pamper my skin.

I registered for 1 year facial session worth RM1800 ++ at Aster Spring KLCC and product worth RM2400++ with Dermalogica. I just thrown away the receipt yesterday while do housekeeping at my office desk. That's why I still remember how much I have wasted on this!! It was such a waste investment. Went for regular facials, hot chamber sauna, and religiously follow the routine at home, but it just did not work out! One year already ended in July 2011, but my skin condition is not become any better! Membazir gile pakai Dermalogica ni! Seriously....and everytime I pergi facial, they BA always told me that I have hydration problem....but hello...I have paid you so much, so why don't you fix it during the facials. Masa beli barang, punye lah recommend itu ini ... tapi yet, still 'hydration' problem.

After one year using Dermalogica...Yes! walaupun no changes on the skin, I still dengan sabarnya pakai sampai one year, konon2nye manalah tahu, after more than 6 months baru ok ke....hampehhh!! Seriously, bengang je tgk counter Dermalogica bersepah kat KLCC ni!

Then somebody told me that Vichy Normaderm is good ... I tried the whole set...and my younger sister also tried.... again, it did not do harm my skin, but it did not improve my skin either.

After Vichy, dah ala-ala give-up lah to get back to my flawless skin. Rasa macam nak pasrah je, maybe there is no skincare is suitable for me anymore, so kena pakai make-up je lah to cover-up all the flaws ....but....walaupun give-up ... still nak try jugak sekaliiii jee for a more expensive than Dermalogica...biasa lah perempuan...

So I decided to give a last try (seriously LAST TRY!!) to my skin for an expensive brand....went and bought SK-II Facial Treatment Essence a.k.a Miracle Water during its promotion after my kaklong gave me a good review. Bought 75ml Miracle Water at RM199, and received a toner and a mask for free. The BA at SKII Isetan KLCC was very nice, did not force me to buy their product, but advised me to ensure that I use make-up remover before my cleanser. It is a must to use make-up remover before any skincare! She gave me a sample to try their make-up remover.

The verdict : It worked! It does control the oil production and I found that my pimples is much less during my period. I used consistently for 1 month and during my period, only 3 pimples came out (Yes! I did count and three are already very good for me, so just imagine how congested my face before I met the Miracle Water) ... I love it!! But... the problem is, I don't have good mosturiser and cleanser to compliment the Miracle Water. I still use Dermalogica cleansers (double cleansing lagi tu, tapi the result is the same). The cleansers are OK, however the Skin Smoothing Cream (mosturiser) is disaster! Everytime I applied, mesti keluar pimples....sabor je lah... dah la beli yg besar punye...BA dekat Dermalogica forced me to buy the big size for more value for money ....ceh...

So pergi la sekali lagi ke SK-II counter in Isetan, they checked my skin condition with their skin analyzer machine. The result shows that I have 'radiance' problem, and they recommended me to buy the Cellumination Collections @ SK-II Pitera Aura Set. Since it's near Christmas, they offered a set for RM940, with RM1600++ worth of products. Tempting jugak tu...but it's way to expensive and yet I do not know whether it will work for me or not. Yg buat I turn-off tu bila I tanye the BA, can SK-II helps my oily and pimples problems? The BA said no...that is your hormon problems and there's nothing we can do....what a bad BA...

So I continue with my routine together with the Miracle Water...but still tak puas hati lagi sbb I found that despite the oil production is under controlled, but my skin is now lack of radiance, and it's very dull. I probably need a good cleanser, toner and mosturizer for that. The Miracle Water alone is not sufficient.

To be continued....

Proposed Garden Design

I have found a simple design, but yet elegant (perasan pulak) .....however due to my budget constraint....the idea hopefully can be implemented next year.....



A minimal maintenance garden design - guna power point je, mana ada software nak sketch ni



The inspiration

My garden

Side view

Skrg ni rumput liar dah tinggi dah.....

Garden design ideas

I'm currently looking for ideas for my backyard. Initially, I wanted to have a simple garden with phillippine grass, and few plants for easy maintenance, but then suddenly teringin nak ada water features, but definately a NO NO this time sebab kids are still small. It's either jadi tempat kanak-kanak ribena baling batu, or jadi tempat diorang berendam pulak...ini mmg huge safety issue. But just to list my preferances :

i. Simple garden, with phillipine grass, with plants at the corner of the garden

I like the simplicity, but not so much on the plants kat tepi2 pagar tu....

This is more the type of plant yg I like....looks so refreshing....

ii. Garden with water features. Nice and looks luxury, but dangerous with my small kids

Hoping to have this kinda water feature but not now...tunggu kids besar dulu

iii. Modern and tiled/decking backyard - Nice and looks very expansive!

Huh! Sungguh cun dan menawan!!

iv. Zen Garden - so far, looking into more ideas on this. The reason is that to avoid using too many grass, because heard that grass is not easy to maintain.... Currently doing my own sketching/proposal to my husband because he seem not to like the idea...but a usual, I'll come out with my proposal and will make him agree ... hehe...that's me!

To me, this garden is not too nice, but I like the overall idea, i.e. to have some areas with tiles,
batu, plants, and garden lights etc....

Any ideas, appreciate if you could let me know....

p/s All photos are courtesy from Mr. Google...

Plaster Ceiling (Post)

I have been missing for a while, due to :

1. Busy pindah ke rumah baru .... it was unplanned, but Alhamdulillah semua dah settle.

2. Agak malas utk mengambil gambar and upload.

3. Busy travelling here and there .... bukan pergi bercuti, tapi pergi bekerja....

But after several people requested me to update the blog to know about my minor renovation, my curtain, plaster ceiling etc, so here I am....and as a disclaimer, the photos shown here are for experience and knowledge sharing purposes only, jauh sekali utk menunjuk2 harta dunia yg tidak kekal ini ....

So let me show you my plaster ceiling first...tapi sorry la....gambar ada yg too bright...main snap jer...then bila transfer to computer, tgk colour2 nye sangat kuning menyala....so nak amik sekali lagi with the right setting, amat lah malas nyer....

So here you are!! All 3 ceilings are similiar pattern. I'm into modern and simple design, tak suka yg ada bunga2 type, or skirting. And one more thing that I like about this design is that I can hide the curtain railing. Ala, macam kat hotel2 tu. Dari kecik lagi bila masuk hotel, suka sangat tgk the way diorg hide the curtain railing, a.k.a tak payah beli railing yg mahal tu....sbb with this design, your railing is hidden :-) Another way to save you big bucks.

My basement @ Lower Ground Floor
Notice my tv cabinet? It is 2 ft wider :-)
With potted plant next to it, will be nicer dan berseri kot...

Ground Floor



Dining Room at Ground Floor


I'm happy with the workmanship for these 2 contractors, however I don't dare to recommend to you because it will cause great headache.....

Plaster Ceiling (Contractor)

I didn't do any major renovations, only kitchen cabinet, and plaster ceiling. I don't faced any problems with my kitchen cabinet (with tv cabinet, shoe rack). Thanks to Artak Kitchen. But what I want to share here is regarding my plaster ceiling.

Initially, I had engaged one contractor, to do my plaster ceiling at 3 areas, i.e. Living Room, Dining Room and Family Room. They did the Family Room first. Then when they wanted to start doing at the Living Room and Dining Room upstairs, they noticed that the ceiling above the original plaster ceiling (by developer) was not plastered. Therefore, the initial price that they have quoted has increased tremendously! Patut lah this guy quoated very much cheaper from other contractor. But we were not happy with that, because the contractor have agreed with the price, they cannot just simply increase in between project. They have to bare the cost! Therefore, we cancelled the contract and asked them to leave after finished the Living Room!

Then we engaged second contractor, to do upstairs's plaster ceiling. This guy pulak, pergi hire sub-contractor to do the job. The commiunication between us and him were not transfered to the sub-contractor. That's not the only problems, when the sub-con knew how much we are paying to the main-con, which is double from what they received, diaorg boleh went off without finishing the job! Huh...so many dramas... Siap gaduh2 lagi between main-con and sub-con. But at the end, main-con yg very selfish ni, went missing pulak. Luckily the sub-con still baik hati, and finish their job, and luckily we have not fully paid the main-con, so we still have the money to pay the sub-con.

My family room, with TV Cabinet. I'm not very happy with the size of
this TV cabinet, in the end, Artak Kitchen has replaced to a bigger board.
Photo will be shared later.

80% completed. The T5 lighting and the downlights have not been fully installed yer.

Some may not agree with my statement here. But both contractors (in fact all 3 contractors) are Malays!!! Since I am also a Malay, I wanted to give some jobs to help our people, but they are greedy and unprofessional people. Lesson learned : To engage Chinese Contractor .... bukan taknak menolong org melayu, but they have given me hard time, which that is why contractor melayu tak maju. Dengan sesama Islam pun nak menipu.

Show House

This is the actual show house of my house. I like the simplicity of the interior, but yet refreshing. If you notice, people tend to choose safe colour for the curtain, like cream, white, brown, and even black. But not for this house....

Dining Area

Living Room

Living Room. Family room is downstairs.

And since I like it so much, that the reason I looked for Turqoise Curtain Colour, eventhough it is very difficult to find.... Seriously, it was not easy!!

Soto

Divert sikit cerita pasal rumah. Semalam menu buka puasa aku adalah soto. Bibik aku yg masak. Seriously sedap! Soto mmg favourite food aku skrg. Susah nak jumpa soto yg sedap kat kedai, tak faham aku sebab soto lah masakan yg paling senang dibuat.... Dulu zaman aku belajar dulu, rajin gak aku masak soto and ajak kengkawan makan. Kalau ajsk maksn doto kat rumah ni pun, mesti ada org tanye macam mana nak buat. So kat sini aku nak share the recipe, the simplest soto recipe ever.

Bahan-bahan utk 2-3 orang akan :

1. Ayam - ikut suka lah berapa byk nak pakai. Tapi kalau nk buat utk sekali makan, ideally pakai setengah ekor, utk dapat manis kuah nanti. And kalau boleh, biar lah ayam yg dipotong besar, senang nak dicarik nanti.
2. Bawang merah - 3 ulas, dihiris.
3. Bawang putih - 3 ulas, dihiris.
4. Mixture of rempah : bunga lawang, kayu manis & buah pelaga - separuh genggam.
5. Sebijik bawang besar - potong 4.
6. Kiub ayam - secukup rasa.
7. Garam - secukup rasa.

Cara memasak :
1. 2 liter air, dipanaskan dalam periuk.
2. Masukan ayam dan rebus selama 20-30 minit (lagi lama, lagi manis kuah nanti).
3. Masukan bawang besar yg dipotong 4 bersama-sama ayam tadi.
4. Masukan garam secukup rasa.
5. Selepas ayam sudah siap direbus, toskan ayam tadi.
6. Panaskan minyak di kuali, separately.
7. Tumiskan bawang yg telah dihiris, bersama rempah. Bila dah agak kuning, toskan bahan tumis tadi, dan dicampurkan bersama air rebusan ayam.
8. Campurkan sedikit kiub ayam, utk lebih sedap. Tapi if ayam dah byk, air rebusan tak perlu lagi dicampur kiub.
9. Ayam yg telah ditos tadi, lumurkan dengan sedikit garam dan serbuk kunyit, dan digoreng. Selepas sejuk, carikan ayam tadi. Tulang2 ayam dimasukan semula ke dalam air rebusan.
10. Dah siap!!

Sambal kicap :
1. Cili api
2. Sedikit bawang putih.
3. Tumbuk kedua bahan di atas, campurkan dengan sedikit gula. Kalau suka, boleh campur sedikit asam limau atau cuka.

Accesories :
1. Taugeh yg direbus
2. Daun sup dan daun bawang yg dihiris
3. Kacang tanah yg digoreng
4. Bawang goreng
5. Soon goreng
6. Pregedel

Kalau emergency, item 2, 3, 5 dan 6 takde pun takpe. Yg penting kuah dah sedap. Tapi aku mesti ada taugeh, my favourite! Resepi pregedel akan dishare di lain waktu. Ada tugasan yg perlu diselesaikan....

Jgn lupa rebus nasi impit tau! Kalau kuah je, bukanlah soto namanya....