Some Sunday shopping

Last weekend, we made a trip to Derby - about 1.5 hours away from our place. It was a trip Mr.D had planned all week. There, a factory outlet for Denby pottery was situated. Mr.D and I are crazy with Denby products. It's not one of those posh wear like Royal Doulton or Royal Alberts. It's smart and solid pottery. When we were in our undergraduate years, little did we know that both of us really loved the brandname so much. I did my own collection of Denby products up north, and he did his down south. Back home in Malaysia, he had his big breakfast cup of teh tarik daily.

Here, he missed his cup too much. We searched high and low for nice big cups or mugs but nothing caught the eye. Outlets selling Denby products flashed outrageous price tags, even during the sales. So, the trip to a factory outlet was something that was long overdue!


Still, we didn't 'just' go there to buy pottery!(a note of denial here...) If ever in Derby, one has to go to their very famous carboot sale! We arrived a little late (planned to leave the house at 8.30am, but only left at 9.20am). Things were aplenty and cheap. The best bargain was a set of 3 cups and saucers - you named it: Denby!!! The man first said, a pound each, 2 pounds for the 3! I looked at him and did my usual stunt of bargaining (I'm WELL known at this!!), "3 for 1.50??". And, of course, Mr.D was very pleased indeed!!

At the pottery factory, we definitely got more than that big breakfast cup!

the befores and afters

This is an entry I've been meaning to work on but never got around doing. It's to put up pictures of this house when we first moved in and contrast it with some pictures we've taken with some hardwork and a pinch of TLC.

First is Living Room 1. Old fashioned sofa, worn-out curtains, very cold carpet.

And this is what it looks like with some touch-ups. We put in a cream coloured remnant carpet (got at bargain price on Boxing Day: huzzah!!) to make the room look lighter and bigger.




Then, Living Room 2 (aka: computer and all-in-one room). The sofa initially covered the heater (what's the point??).



And, with goods from carboot sale and Boxing Day sales, this is a simpler lay out we've got.



Next, the toilet - urgh, and double urgh... This was Mr.D's project. We strongly take our toilets seriously. Mr.D changed the flooring mat so naturally, he had to take out the board covering the bathtub to slide the mat in. Guess what he found? A dead rat as hard as stone! Don't worry, no rat in this pict...



So, with a change of toilet seat and some accessories from the carboot (all bought at 50p or less), we gave the toilet a little bit of character (notice the boys' ninja turtle hanging on the light pull?).


My kitchen was another disaster! The walls, ceiling, fridge, cooker, cabinets were all covered with a THICK layer of oil. I tried scrubbing it off with my usual Cif and some hot water. It didn't budge. Got some help from Mr.Muscle, and it finally went away - good riddance! It still needs some work but at least I'm happy it's grease free!



I realised that I didn't take as much pictures as I thought I did, before we claimed this house ours (well, rented of course). I should have taken more pictures from all angles, for easy comparison later. The bedrooms were only taken partially, thus can't really compare it to anything we have now. Will probably work on the angles we had taken previously and take new picts in the same funny angles.

Meanwhile, you're all most welcome to drop by.

of shopping and sorts...

i confess. i did MORE shopping that what I reported last. we got up at 4.45 am this morning to make it to NEXT's crazy sales. They start at 5am but we weren't so crazy to wait for the shop to open in the wee hours of the morning. We reached there at 5.05am. The shop was already crowded.

I already had a list of things to get. I knew why I was there. I was going to shop for my children's clothes. And, at 5 past 5 in the morning, people were already pushing, and pulling, and tugging. The twins needed jeans. They only have 1 each. Everyone else needed a fleece jumper of some sort. So, I got 2 trousers for each twin, one for my youngest, a fleece jumper for every kid (I have 4, mind you), and an extra jacket for my princess. Mr. D got a pair of jeans. At the home department, I went crazy over the mugs - they matched my new lounge at the new house! I bought 8 of them (only 50p laaaa...).

When the kids got up later, they were excited with the new clothes. I got the sizes ALL right! But my little one wasn't happy because he didn't get a pair of the 'England' (football team) jeans. He pestered me to go back to the shops to get him one but I told him they didn't have it in his size (which was most definitely true). The reason was not the craze for England FC, but because it came with a free wrist band with the England emblem on it... So much for fashion!

As I was typing this, I realised how crazy people can get. We'd get up so early to grab the best bargains but even the last 10 days of Ramadhan does not have this effect on the materialistic Muslims. I'm reminded of what my friend, Sister Zabrina wrote in her blog wisdomthruwords.blogspot about how a woman rushed to get some sugar which was on sale. Personally, I don't think there's much harm in joining the rush at sales, but the religion must always be made priority. We shouldn't be tempted to spend more money or time unnecessarily. And perhaps keep in mind, how others are always in shortage (like the flood victims in southern areas of Malaysia).

As a matter of fact, the remaining offers for Zulhijjah are still for grabs. Anyone??

boxing day sales...

Am back from the crazy sales. We left the house at 9.30 am with a list of places to go to by a certain time. Too many places to check out, too little time. We came back for zohr prayers before 2 pm, and then continued some more shopping at some shops nearby. I'm dead tired now - after the exhausting day.

We spent about 300 pounds today!!! You see, we're moving to a new place - it's bigger but needs a little bit more than some TLC. The sofas and curtains are not only old-fashioned, but their colours are also slightly off-putting. Hence, our long shopping list. Here were the things we got:
* 3 throws (for the sofa)
* 2 pairs of curtains (for the living and dining rooms)
* cushions
* some fleece blankets for kids
* duvet and curtain set for princess
* house slippers for kids
* carpets for 3 rooms
* microwave (YAHOOOooooo!!!)
* free-view decoder (kira cam astro decoder la...)
* pyrex serving dishes (having a welcoming party later)
* pair of boots for princess
* some materials for DIY

We sent the goodies to the new house and laid some carpets down. Mr.D fixed the toilet (it was in a horrifying state earlier!!).

Will download picts tomorrow. We'll be moving into the new place next week, during Aidil Adha, Saturday. Probably throwing a party on new year's. Do come over!