For the past weeks, my life has revolved around real estate. Images of various properties swirl around inside my head before I sleep and the topic of houses dominates our dinner conversations. In the day, I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, touring real estate websites and studying Google maps. I speak more to real estate agents than my friends and we have met every single agent of Barry Plant (Point Cook). In between maintaining our usual routine and the daily rounds of delivering KK to school and collecting him, I even went to inspect a few worthy properties alone with XX.
We have still yet to secure our future home although we have made several offers. Our plans also keep changing. We are now looking at 2 other suburbs which are further away but has more value (in terms of the price). We also considered buying land and building. I've even spoken to one builder who offers 7-star energy efficient homes. That sounds very appealing to us - double glazed windows, rain water tank system (to flush the toilets), solar energy water heating system etc. However, I had concerns for the location of the land and am not too eager to embrace having to deal with conntracters and all the minor details of building. I've heard horror stories about builders from some of my friends' experiences and read some nasty complaints about them at online forums. It is so much easier to just buy an established home and often it has more value too.
Many homes that we have visited, especially those that are owner-occupied, has got landscaped gardens, decked alfresco area and pergolas. Some even have outdoor spas and many homes have got their own personal children's playground in the backyard, complete with playhouse, swings and slides! Australian children are so lucky! Basically, with a well-maintained home, you can just move in and start living. The problem is finding one that you like.
Of so many houses that we've seen, I will like some aspect of the home but not others. Like I'll like the timber flooring but the bedrooms are small or we love the granite kitchen top but the layout out the house is weird. I guess most importantly for us is the price and location. If the price is attractive, I guess I can live with a few imperfections and make improvements later on. But often, I find I can't justify the price with the location/quality of the house. So, the search continues......
I managed to reclaim some of my sanity last weekend. After an afternoon of just 4 inspections, we had a feast of Domino pizzas at a friend's place on Saturday night. On Sunday, we didn't do a single house inspection and instead spent our time with 2 groups of friends. First, to lunch at a restaurant in Hawthorn selling Malaysian hawker fare. My Hakka style bork belly noodles was delicious, abeit a little too salty. The teh tarik was piping hot and milky but too sweet. At night, it was Mee Siam time. Catching up with friends is always rejuvenating. And they have shared their opinions, advice and stories regarding house hunting which has been so useful for us first-time home buyers.
I have a few other groups of friends whom I really want to meet up as well. It's gonna be challenging given our weekend schedule of inspections but I'll have to manage. Though I want to get the house issue settled soon and move on, I really shouldn't be rushing. We are not in a hurry to move out of our current place so we should take our time to find the right one.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pavlova
Could not resist baking a Pavlova that day when I had 6 egg whites sitting in my fridge. Perhaps the strawberries, perfect toppings for pavlova, and half a jar of cream further motivated me this is the right time, despite the fact that I've never made one before. I'd often seen ready made pavlova bases being sold in boxes in the supermarket and know that it is a popular Australian dessert but I"ve only tasted it once. What made me take the plunge was my sister and brother-in-law's presence. It's a good chance to introduce them a local favourite dessert and they like desserts!
Again I turned to my favourite cookbook, the internet, for advice and decided on a recipe from Donna Hay, a popular Australian based cookbook author. Pavlova is basically a meringue with fruit fillings. It originated in the 1920s either in New Zealand or Australia and was created in honour of the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova, during or after her tours to the countries.
After whipping the egg whites and sugar until they are thick and glossy, scoop them out onto a baking tray, arrange them into a circular shape and bake at a low heat for 1 to 1 hour 15 mins. Viola, the pavlova base is done! Doesn't sound too difficult right?
To fill it, whip up some cream, spoon it on top of the base and arrange sliced fruits to decorate. I don't think there's a fixed standard on what fruits to use, basically just use whatever is in season or whatver you desire. It entirely up to personal taste, but strawberries, kiwis are common. I go for the safest since it was my first time.
The visual appeal of this dish is fantastic and so pretty! There's something inviting about white fluffy looking meringues and the colours of the fruits just enhances it. Of course, I'm looking at it from the eyes of a dessert lover. My husband saw only sugar and fats and I had to tell my sons they're marshmallows or they won't touch it. Even then, only KK accepted it, XX just wanted the fruits neat. My sis and bro-in-law loved it though. The crispy and sweet cottony inside of the meringue melts in your mouth and the cream kind of cushions the tangy taste of the fruits. So you taste sweetness balanced with the critrus of the fruits......mmmm..:p
Though it was a successful maiden Pavlova, I won't be repeating it as our family dessert anytime soon. Nonetheless for parties, this one will impress.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Search is On
We have been very hardworking these last 2 weekends, dilligently attending house inspections. For those staying in Melbourne, you'll understand what that is. In S'pore this is probably called "open house" or something. We have decided that if we are ready to purchase a property, then we should start doing our homework or research of the property market now. Signs have been promising that house prices might began to fall or flatten. So it might be the right time for us to find our dream home soon.
In Melbourne, the property industry works a little differently than from S'pore. Firstly, you search online for properties that are listed for sale in the suburb that you like. The search can be very advanced, narrowing to the land size, no. of rooms and toilets you want. Then you see the pictures and read the descriptions about the property. There are usually at least 8 to 15 pictures accompanying each property, showcasing the interiors and the exterior. Nowadays, many property agents use professional photographers to take the pictures so many of them actually look picture perfect, some looked like those straight out of home and lifestyle magazines! The price range is often stated, though some agents would prefer you to call them to find out. Finally, there're the inspection dates. These are dates and time slots, usually on the weekends, lasting 30 mins, where interested buyers can go and view the property. During this time, the owners (sellers) absent themselves after tidying their home and there's only the agent to show off the property and answer queries. This point about tidying their homes, they really go all out to impress, including hanging matching towels in the toilet, laying pretty bedsheets, keeping all the clutter on the kitchen countertop and putting aromatherapy!
I personally like this style of buying/selling property. The online listings makes the information accessible to everyone. As buyers, we don't just depend on the agent to find us the right property, everything on the market is there for everyone to see. As sellers, this ensures a wider coverage of potential customers. The prices, as a result of the transparency, are rather consistent with market trends. The fixed inspection schedule makes lives more predictable and is efficient. The sellers don't get interrupted so often by potential customers popping over to see the house. The agents move from one property viewing to another, all in one weekend of work. And the buyers, we can plan to see many properties all in a day or two.
Of course, with the internet, this can make the agent a little redundant as their main responsibilities are now reduced to opening doors and taking down contact information. And some of them literally do just that. Some won't even walk into the house or highlight to you what are some of the strengths of the property. I certainly won't choose them as my agents if I want to sell my house next time!
After 2 consecutive weekends and about 20 or so properties, we are suffering from what I call "house hunting fatigue". I have some difficulty recalling some of the houses we'd seen earlier when the agent called me later in the evening. Some of the properties are really fantastic but prices are not at that level where I think there's value. There were a few that caught our eyes but nothing that we think is ideal enough to put in an offer. However, I do find that the more houses we compare, the more we get a feel of the market. If we see something that really meet our needs and at a great value, we will be able to know it. But before that, I think next week we should take a break.
In Melbourne, the property industry works a little differently than from S'pore. Firstly, you search online for properties that are listed for sale in the suburb that you like. The search can be very advanced, narrowing to the land size, no. of rooms and toilets you want. Then you see the pictures and read the descriptions about the property. There are usually at least 8 to 15 pictures accompanying each property, showcasing the interiors and the exterior. Nowadays, many property agents use professional photographers to take the pictures so many of them actually look picture perfect, some looked like those straight out of home and lifestyle magazines! The price range is often stated, though some agents would prefer you to call them to find out. Finally, there're the inspection dates. These are dates and time slots, usually on the weekends, lasting 30 mins, where interested buyers can go and view the property. During this time, the owners (sellers) absent themselves after tidying their home and there's only the agent to show off the property and answer queries. This point about tidying their homes, they really go all out to impress, including hanging matching towels in the toilet, laying pretty bedsheets, keeping all the clutter on the kitchen countertop and putting aromatherapy!
I personally like this style of buying/selling property. The online listings makes the information accessible to everyone. As buyers, we don't just depend on the agent to find us the right property, everything on the market is there for everyone to see. As sellers, this ensures a wider coverage of potential customers. The prices, as a result of the transparency, are rather consistent with market trends. The fixed inspection schedule makes lives more predictable and is efficient. The sellers don't get interrupted so often by potential customers popping over to see the house. The agents move from one property viewing to another, all in one weekend of work. And the buyers, we can plan to see many properties all in a day or two.
Of course, with the internet, this can make the agent a little redundant as their main responsibilities are now reduced to opening doors and taking down contact information. And some of them literally do just that. Some won't even walk into the house or highlight to you what are some of the strengths of the property. I certainly won't choose them as my agents if I want to sell my house next time!
After 2 consecutive weekends and about 20 or so properties, we are suffering from what I call "house hunting fatigue". I have some difficulty recalling some of the houses we'd seen earlier when the agent called me later in the evening. Some of the properties are really fantastic but prices are not at that level where I think there's value. There were a few that caught our eyes but nothing that we think is ideal enough to put in an offer. However, I do find that the more houses we compare, the more we get a feel of the market. If we see something that really meet our needs and at a great value, we will be able to know it. But before that, I think next week we should take a break.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Yiyi's Visit
After 2 years, I finally welcome my dear sister and brother-in-law to our home in Melbourne. It was a sweet reunion, considering the last time we met was about 6 months ago. No one is more enthusiastic about her visit than my 2 boys. Since knowing his 'Yiyi' is coming by plane, XX who has no inclination about dates, has been asking on and off why she's not here yet and why the plane is taking so long. KK forked out his own pocket money to get Yiyi her favourite white chocolates as a belated birthday present.
You can imagine the two weeks that they were here, the kids had a ball of a time. More specifically, they went crazy over the games in her i-phone and with the new Wii, compliments of my family in S'pore. They even requested for her to sleep together and in the mornings, will go over to her room to wake her up.
As the weather was really cold and wet, unfortunately they couldn't manage to do much outdoors. But we had lots of time at home, watching World Cup matches and eating. In the wintertime, hot soups like "Ma la" hotpot and herbal chicken soups warms the body. They also made short trips to the city and Victoria Market and I brought them to our favourite food haunts for lunches.
When it was time for Yiyi to go back to S'pore, KK was extremely sad, though he adjusted back pretty fast. XX till now still thinks Yiyi is going to return. Apparantly he thinks she's just gone shopping.
Hope to see you back in Melbourne soon, Yiyi and Uncle James!!
You can imagine the two weeks that they were here, the kids had a ball of a time. More specifically, they went crazy over the games in her i-phone and with the new Wii, compliments of my family in S'pore. They even requested for her to sleep together and in the mornings, will go over to her room to wake her up. As the weather was really cold and wet, unfortunately they couldn't manage to do much outdoors. But we had lots of time at home, watching World Cup matches and eating. In the wintertime, hot soups like "Ma la" hotpot and herbal chicken soups warms the body. They also made short trips to the city and Victoria Market and I brought them to our favourite food haunts for lunches.
When it was time for Yiyi to go back to S'pore, KK was extremely sad, though he adjusted back pretty fast. XX till now still thinks Yiyi is going to return. Apparantly he thinks she's just gone shopping.
Hope to see you back in Melbourne soon, Yiyi and Uncle James!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A Cold New Phase
Yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of our move to Melbourne and coincidentally, the day we collected our 2nd car as well. This latest purchase was made necessary as we adjusted to new circumstances in our lives.
For 2 years, we've enjoyed the luxury and flexibility of Hubby working from home. However, starting from last Monday, he started a new job. One that is based locally and that required him to commute to work every morning, joining thousands of others during the morning rush hour.
His change in circumstances of course had a direct impact on the family. For the whole of last week, when we had only one car, I became the dedicated family chaffauer, doing twice a day shuttles to the train station and school. It didn't help that last week was extremely cold. So cold our car had ice on the windscreen on two mornings and the steering wheel felt like an icy-pole. Getting up early is one thing, getting the whole family up early and ready on a freezing morning is not funny.
After a week, I have now kind of gotten adjusted to my new routine. I have a nice and peaceful morning with XX after returning from my 'morning delivery'. On days when it was too cold, XX and I would hibernate in my heated bedroom. I cook a warm lunch for both of us and we have it picnic-style, on blankets on the floor. We basically have our activities and kept warm and cosy inside the room. On non-rainy days, I go a bit early so XX gets a few minutes of playtime at the school playgrounds before picking KK up. It is a way of incentivising XX to leave the cosy house and brave the chill with me. In the evenings, I try to cook dinner earlier. Not sure if it's due to the cold or the simple lunch, Hubby is usually starving by the time he comes home. Eating early also means we can clear up and get the kids to bed earlier.
With our 2nd car, it would be more convenient as Hubby would be able to leave the house anytime he likes without getting me and the kids involved. He also has the flexibility to drive to work instead of relying on the public transport. Finally after two years, we have inevitably joined the ranks of many Australian families with mulitple cars.
For 2 years, we've enjoyed the luxury and flexibility of Hubby working from home. However, starting from last Monday, he started a new job. One that is based locally and that required him to commute to work every morning, joining thousands of others during the morning rush hour.
His change in circumstances of course had a direct impact on the family. For the whole of last week, when we had only one car, I became the dedicated family chaffauer, doing twice a day shuttles to the train station and school. It didn't help that last week was extremely cold. So cold our car had ice on the windscreen on two mornings and the steering wheel felt like an icy-pole. Getting up early is one thing, getting the whole family up early and ready on a freezing morning is not funny.
After a week, I have now kind of gotten adjusted to my new routine. I have a nice and peaceful morning with XX after returning from my 'morning delivery'. On days when it was too cold, XX and I would hibernate in my heated bedroom. I cook a warm lunch for both of us and we have it picnic-style, on blankets on the floor. We basically have our activities and kept warm and cosy inside the room. On non-rainy days, I go a bit early so XX gets a few minutes of playtime at the school playgrounds before picking KK up. It is a way of incentivising XX to leave the cosy house and brave the chill with me. In the evenings, I try to cook dinner earlier. Not sure if it's due to the cold or the simple lunch, Hubby is usually starving by the time he comes home. Eating early also means we can clear up and get the kids to bed earlier.
With our 2nd car, it would be more convenient as Hubby would be able to leave the house anytime he likes without getting me and the kids involved. He also has the flexibility to drive to work instead of relying on the public transport. Finally after two years, we have inevitably joined the ranks of many Australian families with mulitple cars.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Time Goes By
Gosh, it's the middle of June already! Where have I been? Time gushes by so quickly, I don't even have time to write down some of the happenings. What have I been doing?
Busy keeping warm is one. The autumn season has arrived in full force and winter is right at our doorstep. The nights comes early (abt 5pm) and there're plenty of clouds that bring rain and block out whatever precious sunlight we have. Washing clothes is now a problem for me. I don't have many hours of sunshine and have resorted to using the dryer and hanging the clothes indoors. My fleece coat and leather boots are part of my wardrobe now and everyone bathes with the heater on in the bathroom.
I've been rather invisible recently in cyberspace - email, Facebook and blogger. That's because I've moved my focus to a new patchwork project. May has also been a busy month of celebrations. First there was Mother's Day, followed by my birthday. It was a low key celebration for me this year, but nevertheless, there were 3 days of feasting in my honour. A friend from Singapore came in early June to visit and we have spent some time with her and her family. Otherwise, I'm busy as usual with the children, cooking, baking, cleaning, coupled with reading and watching drama movies/serials, my 'after-hours' relaxtion.
I did find time to try out a few new recipes during this time. They were interesting experiences in my baking and cooking journey. Took some pictures and meant to blog about them. But as time goes by and new events come up, I'm not sure if I'll eventually post them up....;-p
Well, that's all for now. Just a little note to anyone who might be concerned that all's well and good down here in our liitle corner of the world. Hope everyone is keeping well too. My computer has just been reformatted, so all my archive of pictures are not very accessible right now, though they are safe. Will post up some pictures next time!
Busy keeping warm is one. The autumn season has arrived in full force and winter is right at our doorstep. The nights comes early (abt 5pm) and there're plenty of clouds that bring rain and block out whatever precious sunlight we have. Washing clothes is now a problem for me. I don't have many hours of sunshine and have resorted to using the dryer and hanging the clothes indoors. My fleece coat and leather boots are part of my wardrobe now and everyone bathes with the heater on in the bathroom.
I've been rather invisible recently in cyberspace - email, Facebook and blogger. That's because I've moved my focus to a new patchwork project. May has also been a busy month of celebrations. First there was Mother's Day, followed by my birthday. It was a low key celebration for me this year, but nevertheless, there were 3 days of feasting in my honour. A friend from Singapore came in early June to visit and we have spent some time with her and her family. Otherwise, I'm busy as usual with the children, cooking, baking, cleaning, coupled with reading and watching drama movies/serials, my 'after-hours' relaxtion.
I did find time to try out a few new recipes during this time. They were interesting experiences in my baking and cooking journey. Took some pictures and meant to blog about them. But as time goes by and new events come up, I'm not sure if I'll eventually post them up....;-p
Well, that's all for now. Just a little note to anyone who might be concerned that all's well and good down here in our liitle corner of the world. Hope everyone is keeping well too. My computer has just been reformatted, so all my archive of pictures are not very accessible right now, though they are safe. Will post up some pictures next time!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Groundhog Night
Everynight for the past 2 weeks or more, a similar scene has been occuring at bedtime. My 3.5 yr old has established a routine of reading a book before he sleeps. Which is a good thing, except he only wants me to read him ONE book - "Spongbob Goes To The Doctor". And it has to be me reading it. One night I sent his Dad as a replacement but apparently it doesn't count. After enjoying his dad's narration, XX came back to me and wouldn't go to bed until I read it to him again!
That's something about children that I cannot comprehend and remain very amazed with. Once they like something, they will do it over and over again until they get tired of it. Some of the boys favourite shows are Transformers and Spongebob cartoons. Even though they have watched it many times before, each time it's playing, their eyes will be glued to the television like they're watching it for the first time.
XX is particularly fond of this Spongebob book which we had bought years ago for KK. After so many nights of reading, he can continue many of the sentences as I read. And everynight, at the exact same page, he will point to the same pictures and make the same comments or ask the same questions. Eveytime I give him the same answer to that particular question, which is "I don't know". But that doesn't deter him. Next night, he'll ask it again regardless.
Honestly, I'm very bored with reading that same book over and over again. But whenever I suggest no reading that night or to read another book, I'm met with violent objections coupled with desperate pleadings from my dear son. Seeing his enthusiasm (and he remains very much engrossed as I'm reading) and so as not to dampen his love of reading books, I suppressed my own boredom and go through the whole ritual of reciting the words. Sometimes, Hubby tries to cheat XX by skipping parts but he didn't get away with it as XX knows it! Haha!
That's something about children that I cannot comprehend and remain very amazed with. Once they like something, they will do it over and over again until they get tired of it. Some of the boys favourite shows are Transformers and Spongebob cartoons. Even though they have watched it many times before, each time it's playing, their eyes will be glued to the television like they're watching it for the first time.
XX is particularly fond of this Spongebob book which we had bought years ago for KK. After so many nights of reading, he can continue many of the sentences as I read. And everynight, at the exact same page, he will point to the same pictures and make the same comments or ask the same questions. Eveytime I give him the same answer to that particular question, which is "I don't know". But that doesn't deter him. Next night, he'll ask it again regardless.
Honestly, I'm very bored with reading that same book over and over again. But whenever I suggest no reading that night or to read another book, I'm met with violent objections coupled with desperate pleadings from my dear son. Seeing his enthusiasm (and he remains very much engrossed as I'm reading) and so as not to dampen his love of reading books, I suppressed my own boredom and go through the whole ritual of reciting the words. Sometimes, Hubby tries to cheat XX by skipping parts but he didn't get away with it as XX knows it! Haha!
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