CountryGlow

Our Maison De Style Champêtre ~ Featuring those of a "T" and a "B" in our KITCHEN! (Cont') One of the best things I have purchased for our country kitchen, and I am going to dedicate this post just for it... It's none other than my yellow BREAD tin to keep my favourite stable everyday! (Captured from true image below) Saw one of such similar bread tins at the Jamie Oliver section at Robinsons. I'm SOOOO thrilled to get one for my kitchen counter too! Yeah! Easy and convenient bread storage in such an old-fashioned case Who says eating bread is miserable? I would hug this tin of bread to stay happy and full all day long! Oh ya! Did I mention that the colour of my favourite BREAD tin complements our service yard that is painted yellow too? And and and...my Bread-maker is on its way where I can bake my own bread and of course again, the BREAD tin will be of awesome use! How not to love it?

Our Maison De Style Champêtre ~ Featuring those of a "T" and a "B" in our KITCHEN! Like what you are seeing above? These are the perfect accessories and decorative items deemed for our kitchen! (Lots of effort invested to search for them too *phew* ) And since we have not shifted into our Maison yet, our kitchen is still WIP which we will complete it by throwing in all the other cooking/kitchen appliances. For now, these new "T" & "B" items will take their warm seats here in our kitchen first Can't help it but to highlight on our kitchen clock. Fell totally in love with it when I saw it online and I told the Hubbz, WE GOT TO GET IT! ! ! Suits the entire kitchen theme to the "T" right?

Our Maison De Style Champêtre ~ Featuring those of a "T" and a "B" ELLOoooo! It's been another month since you last heard from us and I am back with more updates on the progress of our Maison The last month has flown by so quickly with every weekend burnt to clean, unpack and pack. But the jaded, fatigue and sacrifices are all so so worth it! Till now, my eyes will lit up whenever the weekend arrives for us to head to our cosy love-nest which was self-designed with lotsa hard work and LOVE! My mood always gets better at our new home! So much so that I've stopped going for my regular manicure because my pretty-do-up nails will be ruined by all the cleaning and intensive packing involved. Oh well, this is just temporary Placing our new house as priority and seeing what we are putting together is definitely worth the sacrifice Our Maison is still unoccupied during the weekdays as we want to complete all packing (and I really mean ALL packing) before the official move (aka the BIG Move). The common questions we have been receiving from our families and friends these days are - "When are you shifting?" "When can we come?" "I'm dying to see your house! When When When???" Hehe...to us, or rather to me, there is NO rush as I don't fancy living in a house of mess and rampaging through boxes for my stuff. Hence, we are trying our VERY BEST to pack as much as we can every weekend now so we can give a final YES to those who kept bombing us with the above questions. Our plan is to shift in by August. Hopefully. So. Geez...before we can clear all our messy stuff, we had a whole lot of new items which arrived last week...YES! My 2nd shipment of Taobao loots! This time round, I got 19 parcels weighing 110kg - all 80 items in those parcels We had a 'shiok' time un-boxing those parcels and in the next few posts, I shall share some of the items that I bought which are the Essentials for a country home First up, here are our 19 parcels which had arrived from Peeka! Although there is extra agent fees incurred, we are very satisfied with their services and absolutely comfortable with the convenience Peeka provides that enhances our shopping experience on a foreign website. We are also really impressed with how Peeka bubble-wraps and packs our items (check out the 2nd picture) as all our fragile items reached us intact and in perfect condition. Additionally, as Peeka provides the extra service to check our items for us before shipping them to Singapore, we have no issues of receiving our items in the wrong design, colour or size. And the list goes on...all in all, Peeka is worth the extra agent fees! Every item is bubble-wrapped in these good quality wraps. So much so that we have recycled some of these bubble-wraps to keep our breakable stuff in the household shelter :dancingqueen: :dancingqueen: Since we are on the topic of breakable items, let me introduce the 'new "T" & "B" members' who have joined our kitchen recently! They are none other than those pretty kitchen accessories which I always wanted! A 3-tier dessert / high tea stand adorned with intricate patterns on the porcelain or ceramic plates...Coupled with a set of Tiffany & Co-inspired cups! An afternoon tea made perfect! A peek into our kitchen cabinet, and you will see new dining plates and bowls! Same series as my 3-tier dessert stand, these pieces make me go awwww....so dainty..... Check out their intricate designs A must-have in our country kitchen and Maison!

Clownprince/princess! I just gave away few minutes of my life voting for your home! Perfect! You both have got a bunch of zealous & ardent supporters in the house!

Thanks for replying on my behalf, Khng! Think you have done a better explanation than I would

U both so cute arh...seems like a little competition going on among your toy collectibles in your lovenest!

Soon soon Hehe...waiting for my TB shipment to arrive before I update more!

Hi Wei Yan! I had ended up selling the chef paintings as they didn't quite fit my kitchen interior. I have ordered more paintings of the fruits & vege as they look more attractive in my kitchen Anw, here's the link for the paintings - http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=21992919286&sku_properties=34375:95890612;10142888:21968 Also.... Link for drawer-drop handles - http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=35159041248 Link for rose knobs - http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=21094731343 Actually, scandi and country are a good mix! Both themes have a good amount of wood and earthy tones, and if you do them right, it will be very cosy (less all the fabric and floral accessories for the clean scandi look)! Maybe slightly towards Zakka? Geez...I'm definitely looking forward to see your t-blog, if you are creating one. Would love to see how your scandi country will look like!

Hi blueheart, thanks much! Have PM-ed you the details you require!

Clownprince's wife, you never fail to entertain! Love your elephant & draining commercial! I bought 1white one for myself too! Looks like I shld get another grey one since it looks rather classic!

Hi ahzai66, Glad to hear that there is someone else interested to fix such soap dispensers for their bathrooms Here you go! http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=13037245975

Hihi Lavender 7799, May I know which door knob are you referring to? If you are referring to the black knob, the only black door handle is installed to our MBR door. We bought it from Shanghai Tong Lee, located at Textile Centre along Jalan Sultan. And yes, it comes with lock function - push lock on the inside and key lock on the outside.

Hi there! Have PM-ed you my contractor's details! freeder - Cool! Victorian concept is also another challenging theme and not easily come by. Hope you a good ID/contractor to make your Victorian dream come true

OceanEleven, u speak my hubby's words rgd the washer! He was trying so hard to convince me to get a 8kg size load washer! Which we did since I came to terms that our clothes & stuff to wash will only get more & more over time. Thanks for the info abt the basmati rice. I personally don't like the taste, will have to check with the hubby to persuade him how cheap or good brown rice is than the rest

*clap clap clap* I found someone who loves bread as much as me! Well done to both ur 2 attempts to make bread! Now u make me 'kian' (did I spell wrongly? I'm trying to say tempted in Hokkien ) to buy a bread maker too! Saw your donlim BM from Taobao, seems like the menu are all in Chinese words. I can't read Is it idiot-proof? So interesting to mix and create a special flavor of bread! Your sharing of the step by step instructions is beneficial too! Don't be discouraged by how weird the outcome look lah, I'm sure with more practice, u will surely bake normal-looking bread that taste gooooood! But I'm really amazed how you & ur hubby can finish 2 stones of bread in less than 2 days...they look filling I love baking but always no one to support me by helping me finish my bakes (my hubby is not a huge fan of bread). But I totally agree with the idea of baking ur own bread for breakfast daily...no preservatives & suit our cravings best! Next time when I pop over for visit, must let me try your creation arh

I know I have said it many times, but I like the concept & colour scheme of your MBR most! I wld however need a 5-room MBR size (slightly bigger) as my hubby & my clothes & bags wld never be able to fit into ur WIW space

Thanks for ur inputs, OceanEleven! You seems to be able to contribute to many topics *thumbs up* I guess xhomesweethomex & my dryer doesn't run on gas. Are u sure they won't take a toll on our monthly electrical bills? Additional $10/month is unbelievable. I often hear that dryers consume so much electricity & costs! As much as I wish to use our dryer regularly, not all clothing suit the dryer, esp ladies' clothes. Will "transform" the delicate fabric. Will see how best we can complement our laundry habits with the indoor poles & dryer @zen_zen - We too bought separate washer & dryer and have stacked the latter above the former. Like what was shared, this way has saved us space in our small service yard And yes I am so used to brown rice, I feel white rice tasting no weird when I pack from cai-fan stalls now. My hubby ain't no fan of brown rice. Maybe it's a good idea to mix with Basmati rice to make the taste more decent! Okok I am convinced abt the AF...Philips sales - I'll be keeping a look out for it! @neighbour - You don't have to stalk or try to spot my unit lah...mine not as eye catching as a HK Museum

Is there a Sheng Siong at Parc Vista BTO near us? WOW I shall go scout around soon!

Hi Clownprince & ze wife! I love the shelving and decor of your breakfast bar area too! Great job! The photo looks like one you took from some Home Decor magazines Are most of the shelvings from Ikea? And yes, please share the link of the basket too! Have been trying to find such a picnic basket for the longest time! Really adore your entire kitchen! Looks so clean and refreshing although many items are lying around (in the open).

Hihi You are really making me waver of not getting an AF! I heard of its pros but as our diet consists mainly non-fried food, we decided to give it a miss. Till now. Haha! I shall consult the Hubby and see how. Really running short of space on our kitchen counter top already. He's the one who does the cooking, while I sometimes handle the dishes (opposite of you) so I shall ask the chef on his preference for an AF Oooh....brown rice! 5^ I love brown rice too! I'm not a health fanatic but I totally agree that the food around our area is oily and salty! Will definitely learn how to cook after we settle in I guess the dust will always be there no matter what we do to block, clean and mop. So long it doesn't cause any health issues, we will make do. Or probably push back our shifting in is a good idea now. But we are all prepared to clean non-stop once we shift in. Your block cluster could be dustier as you are closer to the area where construction of new flats are ongoing? I can't imagine the dust sticking to our laundry while drying them. And you manage to hang your sheets and covers on the poles to dry? Will they have the indoor drying smell or collect dust while drying? We bought our dryer for this purpose as the bedsheets would take forever to hang and dry...hopefully can control our usage of dryer Anw, have fun unpacking for your new nest! I will update more on our country-home after my TB shipment arrives (probably in 2 weeks' time). Still waiting for it to sail across the High Seas......

Hi bgmoon, yes it is RB2GI. You may refer to my post no. 44 for the details.

Hihi bgmoon! Thank you We bought our Fujioh hood & Rinnai hob from this neighborhood shop at Circuit Road area. Got them at a special price of $855.

Hi Neighbour! Great job! Hope your move was smooth-sailing despite DIY-ing your own. So you both have shifted in officially from now? So amazed that all your stuff only fit into 7 large boxes U folks really have little things. Both my hubby and I have countless no. of boxes (lost track on the boxes as we have been transporting some boxes weekly using my parents' car) and we are still not done moving all! We had wanted to engage professional movers initially as well but scraped the idea as we shld avoid the situation where our small flat is jam packed with cartons of boxes with limited space to move about. And the last thing I need is to rumple through boxes for my stuff or forgetting which box they are kept. From your pictures, your little crib looks cosy...and has ample space to walk after shifting in your stuff. Enjoy un-boxing and packing them into your cabinets ya And I totally agree on the 'invisible' dust around the house! Not sure if it's the texture of my floor tiles or is it really THAT dusty, I feel sandy wherever I walk to. And yes, white dusty feet after a few hours stepping around. The funny thing is, we don't see layer of dust (only minimum) on our cabinets or furniture. So I really wonder how does the dust settle. Whenever we are over at our new nest during the weekends, we have been vacuuming and mopping till a point where now, we just wear our old bedroom slippers to walk around. Not the best solution but we will think of intensive maintenance after we shift in in proper. One thing you can consider besides keeping your windows closed; we are buying slip-on door guards to attach at the bottom of our main door. The guard will block out insects and dust from entering through the gap at the bottom of the door. You can find them from DIY/Homefix shops. Hopefully helps minimise dust in our house. Yummy! Your food looks good! Really have the look of granny's home-cooked beehoon! And is an air-fryer really worth investing in? We are contemplating to get one too but not sure if we will fully utilise it. Oh well, I have no idea how to cook but I guess after shifting in, I will have to start learning! Have to find recipes and cooking equipments which provide us absolute convenience to dishing out our meals, esp after a long day at work. Cooking will be the laziest thing to do! One last thing, do you have trouble hanging up your laundry? We have started washing our clothes and the new indoor 'pole system' is really challenging! We use hangers to hang our clothes on the indoor poles and I have to 'strategise' on how to hang them in a staggered fashion so that our clothes have space to air and not clutter together. I'm not keen to hang my laundry outside as I read that there are inconsiderate neighbours staying upstairs who throw water or cigarette down and end up wetting / dirtying the clothes! Maybe I'm just too used to the old HDB pole-hanging method...took me 30 minutes to hang up all our clothes from the washer. We bought a dryer but only to use on a need-to basis to save on electrical bills. By the looks of things, I will be tempted to use the dryer more often than I shld....................

Can't agree more with coyote! Lol! I caught sight of the "Good Morning" towels too! Classic~ U are going old school all the way *thumbs up* I like that fruit blender too! Eh ur kitchen stuff suit my kitchen better lah! Hahahaha! Ok, the pic of the food indeed rumbles my tummy...I think I shld taking cooking lessons from Clownprince. The plate of prawns looks soooooo good! Lucky wife u are!

Hi snowy89, the insect screens are confirmed for us, no negotiation. Haha Your unit probably have lesser insects due to the location? Anw, will reply your PM soon! Cheers!