Shopping

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I bought this Garden Gnome off Amazon and paid SGD30 for it! Isn’t it beautiful! Love that it is carrying an acorn and a little bluebird. In case you’ve never read before, bluebird represents happiness, a mythology which goes back thousands of years and no, nothing like what we say in dialect. I love bluebird and what it represents, we even DIY-ed a pair of bluebird cake topper for our wedding! Shall share that one day.

To avoid incurring shipping cost which may go up to SGD50, Ke Ying offered to help bring it over when she comes back for good next Feb! Haha. Thank you dearie! Isn’t she the nicest? Offering to help lug a garden gnome for a complete stranger? Now I just have to wait patiently! I have a feeling that I’ll probably forget that I bought it nine months down the road , and it will come as a surprise for me!

We always wanted a garden gnome for our “garden” but it’s hard to come by in our local stores here. Also, most of the garden gnomes we see is scary looking, so I am really glad I found this!

According to wiki, garden gnomes were produced for the purpose of ornamentation and protection from evil sorcery, typically of gardens or on lawns. These figurines originate in 19th century Germany, where they became known as Gartenzwerg (literally “garden dwarf”). With that, I hope that our garden gnome can protect our garden! At least the pest I hope? HAH.



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Franc Franc at J-Cube is now open! It is crazy crowded and there are plenty of cute little things! Didn’t take many pictures as there are too many people jostling around! Wanted to grab so many things but the man was there. In the end, I picked up two gifts for my cousins’s birthdays and a opening special shopper’s tote bag! I love using these during my shopping trips instead of using plastic bag. Now I can’t wait for their largest flagship store in Vivocity!

I saw a Garden Gnome at Amazon and it is terribly cute! We wanted to get one for our garden but I don’t see them in our local stores! The shipping charges of a 5kg item from US to SG is terribly expensive if we were to use Vpost and what not!

Is there any kind Singaporeans residing in US who can help bring it back or ship it using local registered parcel which is likely to be cheaper? Please help!

I am addicted to online books shopping! Yes you heard me, I am turning into a nerd! Haha. I bought 5 books till date from 3 websites and 1 has arrived. I love reading physical book, love the smell of it and love that you can hold it and make notes, fold, and bring it any where! I know your Kindle can do that too, but I hate it when my technology runs out of power and it is just different. It is comforting to know that this books can be passed down to friends and many generations without worrying that the edition will turn obsolete. I do believe that physical books will continue to have a big market in my generation!

Aside from that, focusing our attention back onto the topic of online books shopping, we shall see which website is the most reliable! I will update again when all the books arrive but meanwhile here are the books I bought.

Amazon

Amazon.com

Bought: Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, Third Edition , Therese de Lisieux (Author), John Clarke (Translator)

Good: Amazon is best for out of print books or hard to find books. This book was recommended by Gretchen Rubin in her The Happiness Project book and I so wanted to get my hands on it which is of this edition and by this translator! Having searched many other websites (both local and overseas) to no avail, I turned to Amazon! The good thing about Amazon is that, you can buy both new or used books from their seller! Which is awesome to save some money and reuse, reduce, recycle! I bought it on 12 April 12 and received it in my mailbox on 20 April 12! Efficient! Almost 3 weeks ahead of the estimated delivery date.

Bad: Amazon’s price is quoted in US dollars and their delivery charges can costs more than the books itself. Though reliable, unless it is a hard to find book, I won’t recommend using this because of the price.

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Book Depository.co.uk

Bought: Two books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Good: The prices are quoted in Singapore dollars and they provide free worldwide delivery (at least to most countries, and yes Singapore is part of it!). The price is slightly lower than Amazon (but much lower if you include delivery charges of Amazon) and definitely lower than local bookstore. I bought it today on the 22 April 12 and we shall see when it will arrive.

fishpond

Fishpond.com.sg

Bought: Two books, Baby proof by Emily Giffin and When I fell from the sky by Juliane Keopcke

Good: This website was originally created for the Australia and New Zealand markets with book sellers in UK and USA. The prices are also quoted in Singapore dollars and they too provide free worldwide delivery. The price is lower than Amazon but at times comparable to Book Depository. I bought this two books on 11 April 12 and this two books are from two different sources so my guess is that they might arrive on different days. We shall see, the estimated arrival date is between 24/04/12 and 30/04/12 for one book and between 25/04/12 and 01/05/12 for the other. I shall update again when it arrives!

//23/04/12: One of my books arrived 1 day earlier than expected in good condition! Yay!

//25/04/12: The other book arrived! Well on time!

Gosh. I’m such a addicted nerd! But I’m glad and am looking forward to receiving and reading these books!



I was at Franc Franc’s soft opening fair at Vivocity atrium which starts from now till 24 April.

It was a little disappointing as I was expecting a much bigger fair than this. The range was pretty limited but I did spot a couple of lovelies which I painfully resisted! I’m going to wait for their flagship store to open on 1 June at Vivocity before making any purchase! Just to see their complete range.

The good news! Price remains affordable and within reach and is priced a few dollars higher to their Japanese counterparts. There are items going below $10 and I spotted many lovely things ranging between $20-$50. They are slightly overpriced but it is within reach for most people who are willing to pay a bit more for their designs. I personally won’t want it to be priced too low that it became a second Ikea where every household has one of their “unique” piece, which is easily identified and no longer special.

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Love these plates for their details!
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Love the ceramic rabbit in a birdcage! Whimsical!

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A pretty diffuser!

We stumbled upon this pretty little shop at Bras Basar and the things they sell are lovely! Many lovely vintage knick knacks and a lot of beautiful notebooks! Do pop by if you are around the corner, it’s cute!

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I am probably the last to know, Franc Franc is coming to Singapore! OMG! I just read it on Straits Times today that they are opening first in Jurong at J-Cube then at Vivocity, their largest flagship store in the world! I am hyperventilating!

“Francfranc proposes furniture and sundries that accentuate spaces through coordinating various items. Francfranc offers pleasing, quality items at reasonable prices. Through an extensive lineup of products, our desire is to help customers in creating enriched spaces for an enjoyable daily life. – francfranc.com”

We first saw Franc Franc at Gotemba Premium Outlet in Tokyo and was smitten by their quirky, colorful and cool stuffs for home! If Franc Franc is my favorite store in Gotemba Premium Outlet, it can possibly be my favorite store in Vivocity too! I can’t wait for them to open in May/June! I heard they are having a soft-opening fair at VivoCity’s Atrium from 18 to 24 April 2012! I can’t wait! My one and only wish for Franc Franc is to stay affordable! Just like in Japan!




We went to Ubud Market which was right opposite Ubud Palace! It is one of the must go for shopping in Ubud since there really isn’t much to shop in Ubud. Haha. Here are some of my favorite things which we spotted at Ubud!

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We bought some Christmas ornaments for our Christmas tree next year! It is around SGD2 each!

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This is absolutely beautiful. I saw it hanging there and was smitten! It was crazy expensive because it takes almost 1 week to craft one of this! I love the turquoise one but it was too big and too expensive, so we bought a size smaller with pink trimming instead. It is the most beautiful sofa throw!

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There are many paintings in the market. I read some where that in Bali, most of them are descendants of the royal family, priest or artist! That explains the many crafts e.g wood carving, stone carving, paintings, silver crafts, batik painting etc. But these paintings are really for the tourist as it lacks character and creativity. We really wanted to buy a painting but we couldn’t find one which we like and is suitable for our place.

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This is a tea light candle holder. Super cute!

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There are many owls in Ubud! Many of various shape, size and color! But I can’t collect them all because of the discipline master at home. He only allows me to buy one. A small one. Boo. I bought the one with a little flower on its head, which reminds me of Bali.

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Many rattan delights! Wanted to buy the little rattan picnic case but I resisted. I regretted! I should have bought one! Maybe I can get Steph to bring one back for me! Haha.

Other than these, we also bought some soaps for my staffs, pillow cases for my in-laws, shell made soap holder and yoga pants for both of us!

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I recently discovered a local online secondhand bookstore which we can buy and sell used books! I have just uploaded some books in my “bookstore” so do visit! Even if you aren’t keen in any of my books, I thought it is a good site to grab some good reads at a really affordable price! Happy shopping and happy reading!

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We went shopping today and bought a couple of stuffs!

(1) A book on making artisan breads in five minutes. No prize for guessing who the book is for. I prefer my sweet treats! Haha.

(2) An English teapot. We are both tea lovers and we were using our wedding teapot previously which was tiny! Now with this huge English teapot we should be able to serve up tea for four!

(3) A fondue set. Always wanted a fondue set for our guests! Won’t it be nice to have a sweet wine with some chocolate fondue strawberry at our mini alfresco dining space. Haha.

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