Solemnization #9 - Garden Wedding Deco Ideas Part 1

Wow!! Other than flowers, I didn't know there are other things that can be used for deco!

Item 1: Latterns

Butterflies and latterns - perfect for the garden wedding!

(Credit: weddingbee.com)

Pretty bejewelled paper lattern

(Credit: suchprettythings.typepad.com)

(Credit: daveandcharlotte.com)

(Credit: daveandcharlotte.com)

Item 2: Candles

Jelly jar lanterns

(Credit: weddingbee.com)

Bamboo candle centerpieces

(Credit: weddingbee.com)

Tinted vase candles

(Credit: weddingbee.com)

Chic and gorgeous!

(Credit: moderngirlinvitations.com)

Candle and petals along aisle

(Credit: blog.weddingwire.com)

Candle and petals along aisle part 2

(Credit: bravobride.com)

Candles and seashells

(Credit: itsajaimething.com)

Item 3: Balloons

(Credit: primadonnabride.co.za)

Magical balloon clouds

(Credit: projectwedding.com)

 Colorful balloons

(Credit: casartcoverings.com)

Balloons along aisle - simple and elegant!

(Credit: theknottybride.com)

Tiffany colored balloons

(Credit: classifieds.justlanded.com)

Imagine many balloons floating above Sentosa? Hmm...

(Credit: welovelaughkiss.wordpress.com/)

White and dreamy

(Credit: bridalcookie.com)

Big bright balloons :)

(Credit: bettertowed.blogspot.com)

White floating balloons

(Credit: tackyweddings.com)

So cute!!!

(Credit: istockphoto.com)

Colorful hot air balloon

(Credit: blog.bridesmaid.com)

Rainie and balloons

Was googling for balloon deco, somehow this pic appeared. hehe..

(Credit: yldt.com)

Item 4: Butterflies

Whimsical glittery butterfly tree

(Credit: suchprettythings.typepad.com)

(Credit: bugs-n-blooms.com)

Item 5: Candies

Old-fashioned candy-filled party "crackers" to use as place cards

(Credit: suchprettythings.typepad.com)

Item 6: Bottles

Wine bottle centrepiece

(Credit: itsajaimething.com)

Plastic bottle art by Designer Michelle Brand

(Credit: itsajaimething.com)

(Credit: bunchesofbliss.com)

Blooming tea cup
(Credit: ruffledblog.com)

Item 7: Fabrics

(Credit: shibawi.com)

(Credit: shibawi.com)

Item 9: Birdcage

Looks romantic ;)

(Credit: greenweddingshoes.com)

Vintage birdcage decor

(Credit: tarynwardweddings.blogspot.com)

Item 10: Bulb

Ice Bulb Curtain

(Credit: theknot.com)

Hanging light bulb vases

(Credit: eventjubilee.com)

Botanical lightbulb place card

(Credit: ruffledblog.com)

Item 12: Windmill

Pots of windmills - happy and carefree feel :)

(Credit: thesweetestoccasion.com)

Item 13: Feathers

Feather bouquet to decorate the aisle

(Credit: the-wedding-information-site.com)

I thought this looks REALLY gorgeous!

(Credit: wedding.hand-craftedcreations.com)

Classy!

(Credit: weddingsonthefrenchriviera.com)

Item 14: Crystals

Crystal tree

(Credit: beginningtwoend.com)

Crystal tree part 2 - Bling!

(Credit: decoratemywedding.com)

Elegant crystal bouquet

(Credit: weddingcollectibles.com)

But.... all these deco seems like a hassle for us... haha..

ok, we are lazy bums.. hmm.. hee..

just to share all these creative ideas :)

Toast! ;p

X♥X♥

Solemnization #8 - ROM Dress Tryout with Bestie! :)

Went down to Vivagown, Jess Couture and Bridal Closet last week,

in search of my ROM dress with my artistically talented bestie JL.

JL is also the appointed Creative Director for my ROM event!

Hehe... i thought of that title just for her. Thanks dear!

JL's already quite pressured by my nonchalent-till-last-minute style. hehe... Sorry!

Oh ya, I also have a brilliant Royal Music & Food Director! Ha... 

Will disclose the identity soon. :)

She hasn't give me any updates since i last sent her the tentative program schedule *hint hint*.

Same style as me...hehe ;p

x

Vivagown

Pic above: Dress tryout at Vivagown

Vivagown operates in a HDB unit at CCK. The lady boss LiMay is SUPER friendly and agrees to almost all our requests such as to add beads etc. She does the sewing, alteration, makeup herself. She used to be an interior designer, then decides to opt for a change. Loves her house decor too, designed by herself. On a side note, the lady boss is pretty! :) One thing to note is the variety of dresses are rather limited.

Jess Couture

Pic above: Jess Couture

Jess Couture operates in a shophouse at North Bridge Rd. Hmm... first thing we were introduced to were the various ROM and Wedding packages, unlike other shops which showed us the dresses first. The lady persisted that the wedding package is a good deal, coz it includes a trial makeup and free rental of mini dress which can be used during ROM. Hmm... too long for me to commit. The dresses are ok. We are not given the opportunity to get to choose the dresses ourselves though. hmm...


Bridal Closet

Pic above: Dress tryout at Bridal Closet

The moment we reach there... SUPER crowded lah! There's a big room with many dresses and accessories to rent. There's a rather sizable changing room which was partitioned into 3 section using cloth. Halfway into changing, I was asked to come out to give way to another customer. Hmm... weird?!? But the lady boss Elsie is really friendly and has brilliant concepts about what to wear to match with what etc. We didn't finish trying coz waiting for the changing room took too much time, thus we booked another appointment for next weekend. The girl there Felicia said it will be less crowded in early afternoon. We went in the evening this time.

Till then :)

X♥X♥

Plus Size Dress

Have been shopping around for Plus Size dresses...

For Dear Mummy and Sis.

It's a challenge i must say.

Requirements:

1. Short sleeve (No sleeveless or the Korean type long sleeve)

2. No focusing too much on waist

Found some plus size dresses on Taiwan yahoo though, but not very ideal yet.

Not sure whether they can fit too.

The website does provide sizes, but the models are ALL skinny, very difficult to imagine leh!

And the sizes provided do not perfectly match the measurements i did for Mummy and Sis! :(

Anyone has any idea WHERE else to buy Plus Size Dress pls???

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

I quite like this one. It's short sleeve and doesn't focus too much on the waist.

But the sizes are B 45 inch, W 47 inch, L 73cm and non-stretchable.

Seems too short for Sis?

(Credit: TW Yahoo) The website states 手工量測.會有2CM的誤差... 2 cm difference means 2cm bigger or smaller? Maybe should not choose the 'Just Nice' size then? (Credit: TW Yahoo) Size doesn't fit perfectly as per measurements. Looks quite elegant, but not sure how the material will look like in real life. (Credit: TW Yahoo) Material looks thick. Wonder will it look weird if without the inner black top and boots etc? Size doesn't fit perfectly as per measurements too. :( (Credit: TW Yahoo) I like the red! Looks cheerful! :) Is it too young for Mummy? L 76cm seems short? (Credit: TW Yahoo) Looks elegant. But will it still looks nice without the belt? Hmm... (Credit: TW Yahoo) Elegant dress! But waist is a tab too small for Mummy! :( Mummy loves this though.. (Credit: TW Yahoo) No measurement on waist? (Credit: TW Yahoo) Dreamy look! Hehe.. I put this for fun only. Mummy faints when she sees this. (Credit: TW Yahoo) Too young? (Credit: TW Yahoo) Mummy said puffy sleeves will make her look even more puffy... Hmm...

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

This looks really kawaii!

But shoulder size seems small for Sis.

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

I like the color! :)

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

Likes the flowery design at the collar.

Wonder can we alter away the end tight sleeve holes?

Inner white layer seems short?

Mummy kept popping into my room...

during commercials in-between her favourite taiwanese show on channel 8...

to see whether i have got any good finds. Haha...

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

The waist area is elastic!! Marvellous!

But this dress is really short, definitely has to go with pants/legging. Hmm...

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

The really LOW v-neck is... smoking hot!! Haha

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

Waist area is elastic!!! :)

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

Hmm... Not easy to bring out the style.

Size doesn't fit perfectly as per measurements too.

(Credit: TW Yahoo)

Waist is a tab too small. Hmm...

The models are all SUPER SKINNY right?

Seriously how to imagine whether it looks nice on buyer if buyer is not AS skinny as the model?

X♥X♥

Kim Tian HDB #8 - Our HDB Second Appointment

We gotta our house keys on my BDAE!

Timing just nice right?

This day was also the auspicious day for the 'open door ceremony'!

See us tugging our barang barang for our new house.

Pic above: The logistics personnel 

Pic above: Arrival at Toa Payoh HDB Hub

Pic above: HDB insurance purchase and waiting for our queue number to be 'called'.

We are on time! Unbelievable? haha...

Professional Francis reached earlier than us, but seller was late.

So we went up to 2nd level to purchase the Etiqa Homeowners Enhanced Insurance 

(inclusive of fire insurance) first.

See the scanned doc below for more details.

Pic above: Details of Etiqa Homeowners Enhanced Insurance 

Pic above: Receipt for the 5 years insurance policy

After purchasing the insurance, we went down to 1st level to wait for seller

while Francis went to get our queue number.

Ok, our queue number is 8032, in case any friends interested to buy 4D.

My mum bought it on that following Saturday, but never win leh.

So while waiting....

Pic above: Trying to act not excited... haha

Seller was still not here when it's our turn.

Not sure whether she was having a last minute change in mind, don't want to sell to us?

Strangely, during our HDB inspection visit, she asked us a few times whether we wanna forgo the unit.

Said we first timers may be disadvantaged due to the new HDB rules.

But we were told by others maybe she regretted selling?

As she has just upgraded to private property, but the new HDB rules disallowed people with private property to buy resale HDB unit? Hmm... dunno...

Francis later told us that she was caught in a meeting.

Pic above: Getting keys for new house!

We met Derek again, our friendly and smiley HDB officer.

He doesn't frown when i snapped here and there too.

He was busy calling the seller's representative when we reached.

Pic above: Final Resale HDB Agreement

 

Yes, and we finally gotta our keys!

Most most expensive purchase in our life so far!

Thereafter, we immediately headed back to our new house.

We arranged for the utilities person to come, scared we may miss him.

But too bad, it was raining really heavily, so had to drive slow.

It was heavy rain on our HDB first appointment too!

Pic above: Heavy rain when leaving HDB Hub

Pic above: Opening door of our house first time

We didn't catch the utilities guy in time.

So we arranged for him to come the next day,

coz we need electricity for a mini alcohol party. hee...

Nevertheless, 'Mr Nice Guy' managed to on our water source

after some DIY tips from the PUB officer on phone.

Wah! Expert!

To share with future home-owners, our expenses during our HDB second appointment are:

1) Etiqa Homeowners Enhanced Insurance for 5 years = S$375.5 (Nets)

2) Pro-rated Property tax (Oct-Dec) = S$52 (Cash)

3) Agent fees

X♥X♥

Esparina Excutive Condo - Piece of gold?

Some friends have been sharing with me about this new EC project 

in Seng Kang near Buangkok MRT - The Esparina Residences.

(Credit: h88.com)

Some quick facts:

-      Modeled like a spa resort home, blending comfort and luxury. 

-      With a variety of condo facilities. Comes with 7 thematic spas (not sure what that is), as well as a lap pool and the usual condo facilities (gym, tennis court, function room, bbq pavilion).

-      All within 3 minutes stroll to Buangkok MRT station.

-      Average $750 psf 

Developer:  FCL Compassvale Pte Ltd (JV of Frasers Centrepoint Homes & Lum Chang Grp)
Location: Compassvale Bow (District 19) near Buangkok MRT station

Tenure: 99 year leasehold w.e.f. 2 June 2010

Expected TOP | Vacant Possession: 1Q2014
Expected Legal Completion: 1Q2017

Payment: Normal Progressive Payment Scheme

Status: Executive Condominium (HDB eligibility conditions apply)
Site Layout: 9 residential blocks
Building Height: 18 storeys
No. of Units: 573 units with full condominium facilities

(Credit: esparina.com)

(Credit: h88.com)

Indicative price range from main website:
2 bedrooms 829 sqft  ~S$600-700k
3 bedrooms compact 1001 sqft ~S$750-800k
3 bedrooms + utility 1066 sqft ~S$800-850k
3 bedrooms dual key 1152 sqft ~S$850-900k
4 bedrooms + utility 1367 sqft ~S$950k-1.03M
4 bedrooms dual key 1464 sqft ~S$1.05-1.1M
Penthouses 1690 to 2583 sqft ~S$1.15-1.3M

Penthouse sounds tempting! Somemore with condo facilities!
So nice and relaxing...
Hmm... but S$800k for a 3 bedroom in Seng Kang worth it???
At least it's very very near to MRT. :)

Saw the below rules on the main website too. Does this applies to all HDB flats, DBSS and EC or just Esparina?

Buying another subsidised housing

If you sell Esparina in the open market, you must wait for 30 months after the sale before you can submit an application to buy:
* a new flat from HDB
* a DBSS apartment from developers
* another EC from developers

Resale Levy

You are liable to pay a resale levy of $55,000 when you buy a second subsidised flat from HDB or take over ownership of a subsidised HDB flat after selling Esparina if you bought it under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme (after meeting the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and the 30-month period).

(Credit: esparina.com)

Channel NewsAsia mentioned that it was oversubscribed and balloting will be this friday.
(Credit: channelnewsasia.com)
Best of luck to those friends who are balloting!