Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

The Most Important Furniture At Home!

Oops, neglected this space for a while as I was quite busy planning the wedding & I did some travelling too!

But I've been wanting to share this post for the longest time cause I'm sure every couple will be fussing over this particular piece of furniture when you are moving into a new home together!

I don't have the greatest back in the world and I am a little slave to lower back aches. I grew up sleeping on very firm beds cause my parents think it is the best kind of bed to sleep on, and I've been sleeping on those firm beds for close to 20 years!

Then came the day when I moved out, I bought my very first bed 4 years ago! It was really fancy compared to those plain rock hard ones that I was using. The bed has this aloe vera knitted fabric which is suppose to have a cooling effect on the skin and therefore promotes a 'refreshing' sleep. Next, it is the comfort layer and that bed of mine had a 4" memory foam which will conform to my body contours and assist proper spinal alignment when lying down. And it was suppose to help relieve or prevent pressure sores/ aches. Finally, we reach the core of the bed...or the mattress system, mine was filled with individual barrel pocketed springs to provide support!

Sounds quite good right! Yes, it did feel good for the first 2 years. However, I started to wake up with 'chest pains'. No, I'm not kidding. I brushed it off for a while and finally took time to visit the doctor. I had an ECG done to make sure my heart is working normally (don't worry guys, my heart is working fine phew). I had a chat with the doctor & he said based on my description, it sounds more like a strain on my chest than a heart issue. He asked if I did any sports recently, and the answer was a quick & firm no (I was just busy with work & nothing else then lol). Then he said it could be my bed that is making me uncomfortable! It might be too soft for me, so when I sleep on my side (my usual) I'm like all curled into ball and sinking into my bed! Imagine how horrified I was when I heard that my bed could be the cause!

Fast forward   

Prior to getting the keys to our new place, we were already researching on the kind of bed we should get. We googled, read reviews online, we went mattress shopping, etc. It was tough! There's so many brands and sooo many types of mattresses available! We were in a major dilemma. One moment we were so convinced that we should spend on the bed, next moment we were afraid if we spend too much & the bed isn't 'the one' for us (like my little experience )...then how?! 

To be honest, at the start of the search I only had Tempur (memory foam), Sealy, Serta & Simmons (spring) in my mind, you know ads lol.

I was worried the same thing will happen to me if we got a spring mattress, but I didn't want to rule out that possibility since mine wasn't one of those 'famous' brands. However, they didn't seem to have very good reviews on sleeplikethedead.com (note the spring mattresses we were considering are mostly hybrids with at least 2" of memory foam as the comfort layer). In a nutshell, owners satisfaction weren't too great, not very durable & prices are high (very true for the brands I mentioned above haha).

While memory foam mattresses like Tempur has always been somewhere at the back of my head but its hefty price tag always puts me off. It's just too much money to spend on something we are unsure of. You can read reviews on memory foam mattresses here.

And we were introduced to LATEX MATTRESSES. We didn't think much about Latex mattresses until we visited a furniture fair held at the Singapore Expo. We chanced upon this Malaysian brand Getha, the salesman who attended to us was very patient, knowledgeable & frank. Just what we needed! We didn't make the purchase immediately cause to be honest we didn't hear of this brand before & we wanted to do some research before buying.

There's a few other latex mattress brands available in Singapore, there's Omazz & mylatex. We didn't really pay much attention to the other brands as we felt quite comfortable with Getha after the session with the salesman, reading about them via their website & reviews on sleeplikethedead.com. Impatient as we are...we went back the next day to make a purchase. Total damage: S$4,449.20.

We got the 'Silk Kingdom 200'. I like how their mattresses are 100% natural latex, feels very real and very green!


Yup, my Getha mattress is certified to be 100% latex by Eco Institut and certified Oeko-Tex standard 100 which means my bed does not contain harmful substances which are 
1. Banned by law, 
2. Regulated by law, and
3. Known to be harmful to health which have not yet been explicitly regulated by law.

We were gifted with two latex pillows too! I could't decide which was better so we took one 'soft' and one 'medium'. I prefer higher pillows so I don't usually sleep on them.



You can see many little holes on the latex pilows (same for the mattress)! These holes provide flexibility, provide ventilation & prevent the pillows/ mattress from tearing if rolled or folded. But the main reason of having the holes is to rapidly distribute heat during the solidification process, to prevent the latex from being scorched.  

A free bolster too! But it's too soft for my liking, I still prefer my body pillow.

Ok as if not enough freebies, lol. We were also received 2 pairs of bedroom slippers! 

For those who are curious on my quilt & other pillows. I'm using the Serta Nano Gel series which I got from Takashimaya.

These are the pillows I sleep on! We got this in 'Soft' & 'Medium' as well. I prefer the firmer one.




I HAVE TO TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT THIS.
When the mattress first arrived, it was all wrapped up in this plastic cover zipper cover. We didn't think too much of it until we realised that there was a padlock!

We casually asked the movers to help us remove the plastic case and dispose it. Then the guys went "OH NO NO, you have to unlock it yourself, we are not allowed to open it on behalf of the clients!"

Why so interesting? 
We had to get the code from the warranty card to unlock our bed! 


TADAH! That's our lovely bed (photo taken when it was freshly delivered). No complains so far, although I'm not clocking enough time on this bed but every single time I do, I feel really nice & comfy, no backaches or strains! Although potential buyers, do note that you will have to endure the rubber smell emitting from the mattress for a while. It doesn't bother me too much since everything is 100% natural & nothing harmful! 

,
G

Thursday, 21 April 2016

Terrarium Workshop at The Plant Story!


I've heard of the Urban Gardening Workshop by The Plant Story for a while now but haven't got the time to even sign up for it. Finally made time and brought Mommy along last Sunday! We came at a good time as we were the only ones at the workshop and we had the whole place to ourselves! 

Stepped into the store and the first thing that caught my eye were the terrariums on display! So pretty and highly inspired, can't wait to start the workshop already! 

And it has a Cafe in it...very close to my fantasy ! You can read about it here.  I'll totally be back here to just chill and have a cup of tea. So relaxing please!




And the workshop starts now!!! So Mom & I started by picking our glass jars, type of plants and decorative items like the coloured sands, tiny glass figurines and volcanic rocks, etc.


By the way thats Han at the background, who helped us build our little garden. My Mom & I kept asking him questions about this and that #reallynoob, fortunately for us he was very patient towards these two aunties!

After an hour...we completed our first ever terrarium! I chose to go with Mosses for my mini garden and Mom decided to go with the Rainforest one. (There's plenty of other options like Air, Desert and Water Garden!!!) Ok I know its a bad picture, pardon the reflection!


Mom loves her pigs...so without much guessing, I knew she was gonna have one inside her mini garden! 


And mine! Couple of people commented that mine don't look as good as my Mom's . But it's really prettier irl. Even Han said it was pretty lor. #consolation


Mommy dearest & I! Glad we had time for this, before I leave SG again!


Highly annoyed that I can't take a good picture of it...went back home and continue to try to get a better picture of my lovely terrarium! 


Check out my ladybug, how happy ok. HAHAH. Learnt that Mosses uses Sphagnum as well (same as my Phalaenopsis Orchid!).  


If you are looking for something fun to do on a weekend, I think this is perfect! With Mothers' Day round the corner...I think its a good idea to bring Mom out for a little fun like this. We enjoyed ourselves and we get to bring home a little garden which we created together. How meaningful? I would also think its a perfect gift for anyone with its (really) low maintenance. Generally you only need to water them once in every 4 months or so...how simple please!

For those who are interested...the workshop fee is S$10 per pax and the DIY kits starts from S$35 (which includes the jar, plants, soil, coloured sand, etc). I paid S$20 extra for my Mosses and S$5 each for the glass figurines. 

Find out more at their web: http://www.theplantstory.com/

,
Gina

Saturday, 16 April 2016

New Hobby!

Not too long ago I was at Far East Flora and I picked up this beautiful pot of Phalaenopsis. It came in those flimsy clear plastic pot and in one of my previous post I mentioned that I "repotted" my dear plant. I suspect I had to do much more than removing the plant from the original clear plastic pot, put into the new white one I got and add some spagnum moss to it. So, I went on to youtube for help...and soon I realised how noob I was please . What I did was totally nothing close to those "Repotting Phalaenopsis" videos on youtube la. Finally got back to SG and decided to repot it (properly)!

Removed the orchid from the pot and found out some roots are dying already . And it was packed too tightly before!

Got rid of all the previous media, and a lot of the roots were yellow and soft. Not too healthy!!!

Snipped off those mushy, dried and broken roots...

And these were left, I'm hoping more roots will grow out soon!

Best thing is...there's a nursery right at our doorstep. Got some new sphagnum moss, a new pair of scissors and an orchid fertiliser. Apparently a good orchid mix consists of fir bark, perlite and sphagnum moss. I was hoping to get some from the nursery but they don't have those...anyone knows where can I get them in Singapore?


Not much of a choice, but some 'High Quality' sphagnum moss will do for now...till I find those bark and perlite!

And its done! Not really sure if I should (or where) to cut the spike since the blooms have fallen off.  Youtube here I come again! And I'm so bringing it back to Sarawak with me soon, I think it needs more care!

I've been dreaming of having a little orchid corner at home next time...something like this!  Ok, maybe...slightly lesser.

Hanging ones are quite cute too!

This is my favourite for now! Orchids in metal tin pots up against the wall! How pretty!  Maybe W can build this structure for me? Are you reading my blog honey??? Hahahahaha...

Since young, I've always wanted to have my own flower shop. I'm not kidding. I think it started when my dad bought me this... I was a huge barbie fan then 

 Awww...all these pictures are making me wobble. You can even fill the fountain with some water and it actually runs! I remember getting ready for my little flower shop to open, arranging all the flowers and putting them neatly on the rack (it doesn't stay without some blu-tack on though ).

It hasn't happen yet and I'm not sure if it will EVER happen...but IF it does it MUST look like these!!! #dreamingoutloud




Fresh flowers in galvanized buckets is just !!!


With a little cafe right inside my flower shop serving all sorts of floral tea and maybe some mocktails....


#dreaminghardhere

,
G