Leah’s Cafe

We got a pair of used washer and dryer for a steal but ended up have to resell the dryer due to it being a gas dryer and we have only electric hook up in the laundry room at the basement. It’s necessary to get a dryer as we won’t be able to dry the laundry on the lines when the weather turns cold.

They are many people in the opposite situation i.e. moved into a place that has gas hook up and try to get rid of the electric dryer. So, we have been looking at craiglist.com for a reliable ,less than two years old used electric dryer for a couple weeks. We did find some very good deals. But T was concerned about hauling it home and bring it down to the basement, and it’s not worth hurting our backs doing that.

We finally decided to get a new one from the store today, so we don’t have to worry about delivery and installation! We went to Sears to check out the GE dryer that we saw online. It was priced at about $750 on sears.com.(not including all the taxes and delivery charges, which will be about $100+)

But then we saw a LG dryer that in the same price range, has the same functions and a larger capacity, but was on clearance due to a scratch on the top of the dryer. We don’t mind the scratch as it ’s hardly visible and saving of $200 is a substantial amount of money for us who are just starting out.

So, we decided to buy the LG dryer instead. They are going to deliver the dryer on Tuesday morning and I am looking forward to clear the laundry piles.:-)

We went down town to shop for warm clothes and household stuffs after dinner. We wanted to check out the dryers at Sears but it was closed when we reached there at 7.15 p.m. In this small town, most stores close at 9.00 p.m and some close at 7.00 p.m!

We first went to TJMax, a discounted store, it’s quite small, thus the selection is quite limited. Found a few trousers that I like, but could not find the “short” ones, the “normal” and “long” ones were too long for me. Bought a pair of jeans that has the “short” version and two pairs of tights. Also went to JCPenny, which’s just a few blocks away, bought half a dozen of warm socks and a pair of chenille gloves with the $10 coupon we got in the mail!

Then, we went to Target, bought some hand towels and wash clothes. These were on sale  for  $1.58 per pack, four wash cloths in one pack and two hand towel in one pack. They are not the plush and soft type, but I prefer the thinner ones, they are easier to dry and save on energy. :-)

Though we do have enough hand towels and wash cloths, they are all in brown color and got mixed up a lot. So, we got them in two colors, beige for him and green for me, so they don’t get mixed!

We also checked out the clothes drying rack. We saw one selling for $29.99 on target.com, but it’s not available at the store. Drying racks are probably not very popular here as most people just dry their clothes in the dryer. We wanted a rack to hang the almost dry and some of the sweaters as dryer tends to shrink them.

Actually, this chrome metal drying rack is quite small and won’t be able to hold too many clothes., but it’s the better built one that we can find. We actually found one wooden drying rack almost the same size  of this metal one at the garage sale and paid $2 for it.

It’s quite light and was blew off from the balcony on second floor to the lawn few days ago!  Despite falling from 12 feet height, it’s still in tact and nothing is broken. It might look flimsy, but it’s surprisingly well built!!

Only brought four pairs of shoes from home due to luggage space constraint. It’s getting cold here,  can’t wear the sandals and slippers.  I have been wearing the tennis shoes since arriving here. So, we dropped by Kohls on Saturday evening, wanted to get shoes that can be worn to church and work, or maybe also boots for the winter.

The shoes department at this Kohls was having a sales, though there was not much of a crowd there, the shoes were in quite a mess. The big boy got impatient after an hour of trying on many pairs of shoes. So, I shooed him to the demo massage chairs nearby, so he could have a good massage and I could shop in PEACE.

At the end, got myself a pair of slipped on Oxford shoes with leather upper and flexible outsole. The elastic inserts on both sides provide easy slip-on wear. The suede trim along the collar, mircosuede lining and cushioned footbed really make your feet stay comfortable. This patten comes with a wider version and that solved the problem of not able to find shoes that fit my unsually wider toes. :)

Casual Slip-On Oxford Shoes

Also got a pair of Suede Clog Slippers. The suede upper gives  an earthy look and the faux-fur lining and padded foot bed are very comfortable. I only realized they are slippers for men when we reached home. But, who cares as long as they are comfortable.:-)

Suede Clog Slippers

Both were on 40%-50% discount, we paid about $60 inlcuding taxes for both and received $10 voucer for  next purchase. Didn’t have time to look for winter boots as we have to rush off to meet my in laws for dinner. We most likely would come back here to continue the shopping next week.

Today is the big boy’s day off from work, we decided to go for garage sales. We started with no anticipation of what to expect but ended up loading and unloading the backseat and trunk three times. We found a bunch of stuffs we need for the kitchen and household, at really good prices. We paid $0.25 to $1 for individual items or $0.50 to $5 for a box of miscellaneous stuffs! We spent about $70 in total for everything we hauled home!

2 Vintage blue cornflower Corning Wares, an Anchor oval pan, a Pyrex square pan, a Pyrex rectangular pan, and a Pyrex casserole.

2 dinner sets. Each set has 24 pieces. Both are unused, still in the box!

8 jars, different shapes and sizes. (They are good for storing food and my fruit enzymes projects.)

A set of unused 12 drinking glasses, 4 wine glasses and some miscellaneous drinking glasses.

14 crochet and craft books.

78 spools of threads and other sewing supplies.

3 boxes of fabrics.

A rocking chair.

A clothes drying rack.

A rice cooker, a crock pot (slow cooker) and a food processor.

2 steam irons, come with fabric starch and  “Magic sizing“.

A winter coat, a huge bag of sweaters and cardigans.

The estate sales is at the house of an old woman who has moved into nursing home. Her daughter engaged an agency to conduct the estate sales. It’s amazing to see what one can collect in her lifetime! Looking at the boxes and containers full of stuffs. it’s obvious that she was a collector of many stuffs! She also never throw away all her children’ stuffs. They were tones of wooden toys, sport equipments and even a pool table at the basement. I bet she would have kept the Soccer Goals at the basement if her children used to have them!!

The big boy has a friend who is married to a girl from China. They told us that they shop for Asian groceries at a town 45 minutes from where we live. So, we decided to have an early dinner at 5.00 p.m  yesterday and then drove down there to check out the store.

Super H-Mart is one of the chain grocery stores owned and run by Koreans. This particular store we went to has a generous floor plan and the store is spacious and clean.

I was so happy to find the store, it not only has most of the ingredients for Asian cooking, the prices are also very competitive. We bought a cart load of fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood, pork and dried goods, total of $102.78!

We thought the gingers we bought at the Thai grocery store was cheap compare to what we paid at the normal American grocery stores. But here at Super H-Mart, it’s even cheaper than what we paid at the little  Thai grocery store. We paid $3.45 per lb for ginger at the normal grocery store, $1.90 at the little Thai grocery store, and it’s $0.69 per lb at Super H-Mart! It is a big difference, isn’t it?

The prices of produce are also so much cheaper compare to the normal American grocery stores. Even for non ethnic food like tomatoes, we paid $3+ per lb at the normal store, and it’s only $0.89 per lb here. That’s it, we are not buying produce from the normal grocery stores anymore.

Even though it took 1 1/2 hours driving back and forth to this store, it’s certainly worth to spend the time and gasoline to go down there. We certainly will be back there to shop at least once a month!

Didn’t wear a watch as I have used the cell phone to tell time for the last few years. While I was in Seoul for sightseeing, didn’t have a cell phone and it was really inconvenient. Didn’t want to miss my flight, so thought of buying a watch in Seoul. It’s proven to be much more challenging than it should.

On the first day, went to Dongdamoon, the area with the largest fashion malls in Seoul, where you can find the latest fashions for women, men and children. They have clothing and accessories i.e. shoes, hats, scarves, but not watches in this malls, can you believe it? The next day, was at the Nangdamoon wholesale market, which has everything under the sun but not watches. It was really surprising to me! The host at the guest house told me they sell watches at the departmental stores. Apparently, the fashion malls here are specialized in fashion alone, it’s different from the concept of “mall’ that we are used to.

Went to withdraw money at the ATM machine near Seoul subway station, and went into two of the largest departmental stores nearby.Well, they do have watches here, but they only have brand names like Tag Heuer watches and other high end imported watches. Of course everybody knows the Swiss made tag watches are gorgeous and has unmatched exacting standards. The dilemma was I do not having a big wallet to afford this watches which are well known for their reliability, precision and endurance. :-)

At the end, found a cheap Japanese made watch at a sidewalk  stall near the subway station. It served the purpose for the rest of my time in Seoul. For $15, I couldn’t ask for more, it even has “water resistance”, though yet to be tested out. :-)

Jeans are the most versatile piece of clothings that seldom missing from any wardrobes, men or women. These Roca Wear Jeans looks gorgeous, don’t they?

I love jeans, they are evergreen, match it with different tops and you get a totally new outfit! It’s so easy to match up anything with a nice pair of jeans and leave the house within five minute in the morning !

In fact, you can even look glamorous with jeans, all you have to do is just wear matching top and heels that have that glamorous look! You can also have a smart casual look with pretty tees and matching soles. Versatile is the middle name for all jeans, isn’t it?

Jeans with the right cut can enhance and bring out your body shape, it’s vital to choose the cut thats just right for your body shape. If you are interested to get a pair, check out Roca Wear for the various designs.

Are you into fashion handbags? They are indispensable pieces of accessory to match your most fashionable outfits, aren’t they? Most women have multiple pairs of shoes and are bordering obsessions when it comes to handbags, aren’t we? :-)

How many of us secretly wish to visit Italy, the famous fashion capitals for designer leather handbags so that we can shop until we drop? The charming and elegant European brand name Bolzano is now available in the North America, Asia, Central and South America. You can now have a taste of European fashion without having to travel to Europe !!

Each Bolzano’s handbag is designed to make astatement and hand stitch to perfect shapes and curves.

Don’t you think this impeccable tote is suitable to go anywhere, it’s perfect for work or taking it out for a weekend of fun!

When a friend was bragging about how much she and her husband spent on getting blinds and curtains for their new condominium, I knew she went to one of those places that make money from customers who do not shop around like her. IMHO, it doesn’t have to cost that much since the blinds are not made of gold or platinum! :-)

There are so many varieties of window dressings to choose from, one can buy the ready made or custom fit, to decide on the kind that meets your need can be quite challenging. More so if you want to try to save some money while getting gorgeous blinds or curtains.The best thing to do is to shop around and compare prices before making a decision. They are so many different types of blinds and shades with very reasonable pricing if you shop around. You might be interested to check out the levolor blinds and shades, they are made from a variety of materials i.e. aluminum, faux wood, composite wood and wood.

Most stores have experienced people on staff who can help you with any questions you might have. You can even request free samples or pay a nominal fees to have samples sent to you. Most of the time, you get the money back if you do end up buying blinds in the color of the sample that you paid for.

Most retail stores for carpets markup their prices a whole lot. We should never pay full retail prices for carpeting. We can wait for them to go on sale, but things go on sale are remnants and furthermore may be not the designs we wanted.

That’s how directbuy fill in the gap. You can pay a membership dues that gives you the privilege to purchase carpets at manufacturer prices without traditional retail mark-up. It’s a good deal that enable you to save big bucks. If you are looking to renovate your house or changing the carpet, why don’t you take a look at the site?

Even if you are not the fashionista, I am sure you have heard of how the last season’s most coveted accessories, the $15 Anya Hindmarch’s canvas bag had got women around the world to line up a mile long and the bags were sold out within minutes in major stores in all the metropolitans around the world.

Are you one of the people who lined up to buy this “I am not a plastic bag” and was upset that you didn’t get one ?

While browsing around the web, I found this!

Of course you might know you can find bags that look exactly this bag for a fraction of cost from the street vendors in some Asian markets, but now you can get it online! Do you think it’s genuine Anya Hindmarch’s? I don’t think so.:-)

I do wonder, won’t they get sued for copyright infringement?

Are you still cracking your head trying to find the perfect valentines day gifts for your special someone? If you live in the UK or you are visiting the UK and your guy is into adventure, you can purchase an adventure package i.e. an aerobatic flying, a white water rafting, a surfing discovery package for him.

Don’t you think these are rather special gifts? However, before you got your guy one of this packages you gotta make sure he has the nerves of steel and a stomach of solid rock so to speak.:-)

A few of my second cousins (children of my cousins) come to me every Sunday for lessons in English and Math. They called to inform that they couldn’t attend the class because two of them were sick and one of them was out of town.

Since I have my Sunday evening free, I decided to do some CNY shopping. Went to JJ, but couldn’t find anything to my liking. They seem to dig out a lot of old stocks leftover from their previous sales. They were a lot of people so I decided to retire at 9.30 p.m. So I came home without any clothes, but whole car load of grocery. I can stay in the cave for more than one week without going out with all this supplies that I am stocking up.:-)

The big boy can be as stubborn as a cow sometime, he never uses a hand free! If I happened to call when he was driving, he would ask me to call back later because he can’t drive and talk.

I have told him to get a hand free Bluetooth headset, but a year later he still hasn’t bought it. He doesn’t want to know such thing called “hand free”. Would you be fed up? But, I choose not to. If I want him to have a hand free Bluetooth device, the only way is probably to place an order at the site that sells Cheap Cell Phone Accessories and have it delivered to him anonymously.:-)

Another annoying thing is: the signals at his parents’ house are very weak, I could hardly hear him if I happened to call him when he was there. Unless they decide to install the cell phone repeater, the only way for us to have a decent phone conversation is for him to call me back on the house phone. But, that’s always understood, he would rather speak louder on the cell phone, as though volume make a difference! :-)

Do you subscribe to magazines or you get them from the news stands? I used to subscribe to some of the fashion magazines when I was in my 20s. But, nowadays, I would only browse the glossy women’s and fashion magazines at the bookstore, the library or the hairdressers. I find them too expensive to purchase monthly, even with a subscription, they cost a bomb.

Do you know that it’s possible to get magazine subscriptions online for a fraction of the cost! I didn’t know that until I look at this site, I am absolutely amazed at the low prices. Take reader digest and National Geographic for example, the subscription for 12 issues costs $9.49 (less than $0.80 per issue ?) and $34.58 respectively, which is a huge saving off the newsstand price. Ermm, maybe I should hint hint for a subscription of my favorite magazines for the Valentine’s or birthday.

We just ordered the doors for the kitchen cabinets (to replace the old ones that rotted away). The workers will be coming to install them this week. I am so excited that the kitchen remodeling is coming to an end and we can bid Sayonara to messy kitchen.

We have shopped around and got a good deal from this place that we finally placed our order. We are mighty pleased with the whole doors shopping experience and very pleased with the efficiency of the sales clerk. Who doesn’t like to walk away with purchases feeling satisfied and being treated like a customer should? They can pretty sure we would recommend them to others in future. I wonder if some of these wonderful shopping experiences stem from these stores hiring a mystery shopping company to gather customer feedback. Word of mouth is the best advertisement any store can get, so it would be great if the stores can tailor make a satisfying customer experience that make them come back or recommend the services to others.

Now, maybe some stores should get a mystery shopping company to wake their horrible front office staffs up from their slumbers?

I went to the store earlier to get something this weekend, it was so packed and the lines were unbelievable. You would be amazed by the number of people who haven’t finished Christmas shopping yet. They’re really many procrastinators! :-)

I guess this last minute shoppers are willing to pay whatever asking price so they can get gifts for their children and loved ones, and the cash registers go crazy few days before Christmas.
On a side note, do you notice there are more and more Christmas ads and Black Friday ads each year? The businesses really capitalized on festive seasons and make them so commercialized!

It’s going to be another Christmas we are living apart and not able to celebrate Christmas together. There goes my hope of starting OUR Christmas traditions.

The big boy kept asking me on the phone what do I want for Christmas, though I don’t feel like taking all the hassle to put up a Christmas tree, I told him that I want this purple color Artificial Christmas tree, can you ship to me?

He of course didn’t really take me seriously to go to the store to order one.

Seriously, if you haven’t put up yours at this time (Do you know it’s running a bit late? Hurry!), you should really check out the Christmas trees available on www.treetopia.com. They have vast selection of both traditional and Artificial Christmas trees. I think the non traditional colors are just so stunning, why have a boring green Christmas tree when you can have a colorful one ?!

As for us, neither of us is going to have the mood to go shopping for a Christmas tree and take the trouble to put it up, until we are reunited again in IL next spring and are able to celebrate Christmas together. I can wait to have a purple Christmas tree put up next Christmas !!

I was browsing Amazon.com looking for winter clothings as I may go see hubby in Illinois early next year. I have not been shopping for a while, so I am eager to get my hands on some niceties for myself. Did I tell you I love online shopping? LOL. I like the fact that I do not have to physically get out of the home or get dolled up just to get out to shop!

I was looking at this Faux Shearling Hooded Duffle Coat, it costs about 100 bucks, and it’s not that expensive. It comes in chocolate and natural colors and I found other designs from the same brand as well. Should I get it? Well, before I purchase this in a rush with my credit card, I better look out for secret Amazon discounts which can be used on my shopping spree. It’s always nice to have an Amazon.com coupon code so that I can pay less for the same thing. Don’t you like a bargain that stretch your dollars too?

By the way, if anyone is getting me gifts for the holidays, why don’t you get the discount Amazon gift certificates, I could always used them as I shop a whole lot on Amazon.com. That will save me the hassle of returning gifts to the stores and you don’t have to worry about buying the wrong gifts. That would be win-win situation !! LOL

Have you ever experienced denials of warranty claims for online purchases of flooring through some sneaky small prints? Apparently, that happened often enough to cause America’s largest flooring retailer http://www.ifloor.com/ to act upon it. For more information about the warranty protection plan that iFLOOR had initiated, you can read the press release attached below.

Press Release:

iFLOOR, America’s largest online flooring retailer, today announced a $1,000,000 limited warranty designed to protect its customers from predatory manufacturer policies that exclude warranty coverage from online purchases.

The policy, which goes into effect immediately, offers up to one million dollars of coverage in the event that a customer’s warranty claim is denied specifically because they made their purchase online. It is complimentary for every iFLOOR customer, and protects the buyer under the same terms as the original product warranty.

iFLOOR, Inc. CEO, Steve Simonson, came up with the program to combat “scare tactics” used by manufacturers of hardwood floors and laminate flooring. “Their idea is to discourage you from buying at a discount!” wrote Simonson in his blog “It’s About Flooring”. “This is not right! You deserve to save money! So we’re going to take care of this problem once and for all.”

And it would appear that federal law is on his side. Section 108 of the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Act, states that, “In general, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed. Such a provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to buy an item or service from a particular company to use with the warranted product in order to be eligible to receive a remedy under the warranty.”

Under iFLOOR’s new warranty, a key provision allows for iFLOOR to “seek justice” on behalf of the customer in the event of legal action. According to Simonson, “I’m putting iFLOOR’s money where my mouth is.”

About iFLOOR, Inc.

Since 1998, iFLOOR.com has been the leading online and retail flooring company, with 36 local retail stores nationwide offering more than 70,000 products, including hardwood floors, laminate flooring, bamboo flooring and cork floors. iFLOOR.com is the largest online flooring retailer according to Internet Retailer Magazine, and was named by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States for the past three years. Committed to quality customer service, superior selection and friendly expert advice, iFLOOR.com enables customers to buy flooring both online and in its retail stores at a substantial savings over traditional retailers. For more information about iFLOOR, please visit www.iFLOOR.com.

I am curious. The first thing came to my mind when I saw the collection of functional and practical gear sold at LA Police Gear was: can people who are not military or law enforcement personal buy this 511 Tactical gear and wear them? And, who would want to wear this uniforms if they are not working in this fields?

Actually, the store has the largest selection of functional and practical gear for law enforcement, military and firefighting professionals. If you have friends or family members who work in the military, security or law enforcement sectors, you may want to let them know currently the store is offering free shipping BOTH WAYS on 5.11 Tactical!

I often opt for organic food whenever I can. Some of the food stuff that I have been constantly going organic including udon, unbleached flour, rock salt, sugarcane sugar and honey. I am not really a total convert I must say, haven’t gone so far to go all the way to include organic natural bedding in my shopping cart.

Do you know it’s possible to buy organic cotton bedspreads now? Apparently, the normal cottons are heavily sprayed with a lot of pesticides and this organic cotton are grown without spraying.

The organic grown cotton is processed into fabric in a totally natural fashion, without the use of chemicals. And the organic cotton fabric is preshrunk using steam to keep its fit. Since we spend one-third of our life in bed sleeping, may be it’s not too much to consider some healthier alternative to chemical and pesticide laden beddings.

Have you started planning for the holiday season, it is just a few months away! If you happened to know a procrastinator, I am definitely not one of those people who are ready for the holidays three months in advance. LOL

Anyone of you have finished shopping already? I have been telling myself to get prepared early to avoid last minute rush for years, so far haven’t succeed! But, at least switching to shopping online helps to avoid the last minute crowds.

Do you always search for coupons and discount codes when you shop online? Couponchief.com is one of the sites that you can search for discount codes for major stores like Old Navy and Target for Old Navy and Target Coupons codes. You generally can get 10-35% discount off the normal priced merchandise with these coupon codes. I am going to make a wish list this year, wish me luck and have a stress free holiday shopping!

Two days ago, after closing up the centre at 6.00 p.m, I went downtown to shop for clothes. It has been a while since I last went shopping for clothes. I was so exhausted after work everyday, too tired to entertain the thought of driving out and walking around the mall. So the wardrobe has been screaming for a desperate overhaul for a while.:-)

It’s a fruitful evening, as I was able to get five tops. It’s not always easy for me to get clothes that fit and/or flatter since I have put on some weight over the last five years. I do not see the need to put myself on a weight loss program frantically as I am not overweight or anything close to being obese. But I am not a slim bamboo either, which most fashionable clothes are made for. The plus sizes are too big for me. So, I quickly grab this clothes when I found they actually fit. I didn’t have enough time to look for the bottoms as some of the shops close quite early in this small town. Must go down there earlier on another day to continue the hunt.

So, it has been good to fold up the preschool, at least I get back my life now!

My digital camera retired beginning of this year after 5 years of faithful service and I have been using my sister’s Sony Cybershot off and on for taking photos for the blogs. I returned to her last week since she grumbled that her camera stayed with me more than with her.

I have hesitated to get a new camera because we have a digital camera and a Handycam, but are with hubby right now. As a picture speaks for a thousand words, I felt quite handicap trying to blog without a camera. I cannot tahan(stand) being camera-less for another 2 months till he comes back here! Am thinking of getting a point and shoot camera that is not too expensive for the interim time.

My budget is below RM1k. What kind of camera is functional and within that budget? Where can you get good bargain for cameras? I have wanted to go scouting for the camera for the past few weekends but was not able to, hopefully can do it next weekend! I have paid extra attention to those flyers that came with the newspaper, look like they are quite a few choices for below RM1k, but are they good or functional ? Do you have any experience with any camera within this price range? What will be your suggestions and recommendations?