Shopping

Now that the house is settled, more or less, there are a thousand and one things to shop for and get ready when we next arrive in the middle of winter. It's tiring but it's also really fun and exciting to be setting up house again in a new land.


So far, we've managed to strike the following immediate items off our shopping list:

Mattresses - got a Queen and 2 Single. Something not too expensive and fanciful for a start.

Quilts - warm ones, also 1 Queen and 2 Single.

Pillows - for all of us.

Waterproof mattress protectors - for the kids' mattresses.

Bathroom floor mats - a must for cold icy floors during winter.

Portable heater - we had one at our friend's place and it's indispensable for warming up the bathroom during and after your shower. Probably need more later since it's cheaper to on these heaters than to heat up the whole house.

Dryer - Kenneth's friend sold us one for $100. Comes with lifetime warranty from him. Would have gotten the washing machine as well until we found out that it was top-loading. I don't have the space in the new house and would prefer a front loader anyway for better washes.

Winter jackets - one for KK and 2 padded vests for KK and XX.

Car - our latest purchase today after 4 test drives, 3 days of burgers for lunch and comparisons of Honda Jazz, Mitsubishi Colt, Mazda 2 and Toyota Yarris, we decided to up our budget a little for a bigger car - $23,000 for a brand new Toyota Corolla Ascent 1.8 Hatchback.

We've 2 more days in Melbourne. Hope to get a fridge, child car seat and linens for the quilts/mattresses before I go back. I must say that we've achieved a lot within the short time frame here.