What Simply Works!

My cousin, who is getting married this year, bought a condominium unit together with his fiancée. We were all excited for them since the news of the engagement and when the property purchase pulled through, we were just ecstatic.

He consulted his mom for recommendations on the appliances and modern furniture for his three bedroom unit. His fiancée took the role of designing the color schemes and decorations for all the rooms. It has been a year since they started furnishing their home, which gave them enough time to prepare for their wedding that is happening in two months.

I’m sure it was a challenge for them to do all the necessary logistics after the engagement. For furniture shopping alone, unless the store has in-stock items and delivery is reliable, it can be pain to deal with. There are shops like modernlinefurniture.com that offer in-stock items at flat-free shipping cost. I do hope that my cousin and her wife to be had a hassle-free furniture shopping experience.

Up to this point, we haven’t bought a replacement for our trusty Philips vacuum cleaner. We’re supposed to buy a Dyson unit a few months ago but other things on our shopping list were given priority.

Hopefully the list clears up after Christmas so we can start to scout for a Dyson. There are so many cheap vacuum cleaners out there but this time around we want to buy a really good brand.

I have lost count of how many times a telemarketer has called our home phone to offer telecommunication services. Some are polite and some are rude. Either way, getting those calls a few times a day is just annoying. At one point, I had to hang-up the phone because the caller won’t stop ringing our line. How nasty is that?

Currently, we don’t have a caller ID feature and maybe when we renew our contract (we’re looking at changing carriers), we should consider having that feature. It might be a good idea to take note of the caller’s number and see whether they call us frequently on purpose. I understand the pressures that telemarketers go through to reach their sales quota. But I believe that it should not be done at the expense of other people.

In the US and Canada, there is a look-up service provided by WhoOwnsThisPhone.com. It is a reverse phone look-up that can help to trace numbers of unknown callers.

The next exciting thing that comes after purchasing your own home is shopping for furniture. There is definitely a type of antique or modern furniture that would suit any theme chosen for each room in the house.

I would love our lounge area to-be to be a bit colorful, with bright wall paintings, comfy sofas and lots of pillows. The living room will have less modern furniture but more antique pieces. The colors will be neutral yet not the dull shades. Most of the decorations will be cool to eyes and will bring a homey feeling.

The other rooms in the house will have different themes, too. Our family room to-be will have a mix of casual and modern furniture. Since this room will hold most of the simple get-togethers like DVD nights or when you just want to listen to music, the ambiance should definitely be easy-going.

It is very expensive to furnish a home so there should be a good balance between must-haves and nice-to-haves.

A good conversation we had with friends two weeks ago made us re-think of our plans to move to a landed property. We were told that depending on our budget, we could end up getting a house, which may not be properly maintained thus leaving us to do a lot of work. Or worse, having us bear a life with pests or insects that will be just too much of a burden.

Based on their experience, there was a lot of work-around done just to make their apartment livable. The neighborhood although quiet and safe is pretty old and that requires more maintenance efforts on the tenants’ part. The spaces in between the kitchen cabinets had to be taped to discourage roaches to get inside. They have an ample stock of sprays and what not to prevent ants from roaming in the kitchen corners.

Good thing though, that the interior basement waterproofing seems to be working well that they never had problems with it for almost two years now. Given that, it will be a challenge for us to look for a house to rent. We remain positive though that we will end up renting a place that’s meant for us.

Happiness can be found in the simplest things. Like being able to sleep on a warm and comfortable bed. That’s why when we were scouting around for a good bedroom furniture, we made sure that we will not scrimp and save too much yet not go to the extreme of blowing our budget.

It is important that the mattress is of very good quality. When we get a good night’s sleep, our bodies are well prepared for the stress that we’ll encounter the following day. No wonder many companies nowadays sell special gadgets that compliment bedroom sets in aide of a good shuteye.

Someday, when our daughter’s big enough to sleep in her own room and that means we’ll have the bedroom to ourselves, I would like to re-organize it. I would like to add in a dresser, a new drawer and probably replace our mattress frame. This is how cozy I want our room to be. Just looking at it makes me want to stay in it all day. Hee.

[Photo source: www.spacify.com]

We started asking around for recommendations on the areas to consider for our apartment search. We are on the lookout for a landed property to rent for another year. Based on our friends’ experience, there’s more effort involved in the upkeep of a landed property, like maintenance of garden planters, lawn and ensuring that pests or insects are kept at bay.

Nonetheless, we are pretty excited at the prospect of living in a landed property. We prefer a small place with a small garden, as we don’t want to spend all of our weekends cleaning outdoor planters, decorative planters and such.

With the very aggressive rental market here in Sydney, we’re preparing ourselves for a tough time to search for a house that exactly fits our requirements. So, our backup plan is to keep our rented apartment unit. We will just pursue our property search when it’s time to purchase our very own home.

The weekend after our mini-vacation, I felt the urge to rearrange all the furniture at home. Given our small space, our living room serves as our daughter’s playroom as well. With that, I have to be a little more creative to make the whole area look pleasant especially so that we like inviting friends over for dinner meet-ups.

Thankfully, the IKEA store is just a few minutes away. We frequent the store to buy organizers, boxes and baskets, which helped de-clutter our home. I’m sure those purchases will not be put to waste even if we move apartments or even we have a nice lounge with home theater seating in our future home. I love those little organizers. I’d thank the geniuses behind those very useful handiworks anytime.

I recently saw a health feature on acne and how the technological advancements in the field of dermatology have helped many acne sufferers. There used to be complicated and usually painful procedures used in order to stop acne growth. Back then there is no known remedy to this skin problem.

Now, there are treatment products that help deal with acne issues. Acne Complex is one popular brand that offers easy, safe and effective options to end skin breakouts. They are non-invasive as they are purely creams and gels that are applied externally.

It is interesting to note that the terms “Murad Acne” is coined after the developer of these products, Dr. Howard Murad. There is a good testimonial page on the website and there are photos that show the before and after results. The write-up and photos speak for itself. The products are truly effective! I was hooked on reading the FAQ page, which has general tips on skin care. I’m sure this brand will go a long way in helping people live with blemish-free skin.

I hear many people say that success in marriage can be achieved with love, commitment and faith in God. While I do agree in that framework, I think it is also critical that the couple is surrounded by friends and family who can provide support when the rough and tough times come. And in situations that call for professional help, there are experts in the field of counseling that couples going through a “rough patch” can consult with.

The internet has a wealth of information on counseling clinics, the type of counseling required and of course, the counselors. Theravive.com is a good example of an online directory where these types of information can be found. The clinics’ location is mainly in the US and Canada. If you hop to the Counseling Oakland page, a thorough list of counselors, registered psychologists and areas of practice are listed.

I find it amusing though that the website offers an “E-counseling” option. With just a few clicks, the website will display a page where the available E-counselors are listed together with the means of communication, whether by phone, email or instant messaging. I admire how the field of counseling has widened its reach through technology.

I guess there shouldn’t be any reason for anybody to feel alone or left out when going through marital, personal or career issues. Theravive.com is a good source of counseling and support.