From Soon-to-be to Now Mrs. Keir Blog

And so we've begun the journey to build our dream home. Let's take a look at the original HDB BTO we got: Model: 4 room BTO opt-ins : doors and sanitary fittings - which we deeply regretted flooring - none. Style wanted: Muji style Area: Mature estate I was still worried if the block in front of us would have blocked our view but that worry was cast aside the moment we entered our BTO. Simply love the view from our 30th-floor unit. Would love to get a 5 room unit since it will be a lot more spacious but it's a pity that HDB does not launch 5 room units in mature estates for some reasons so we have to settle for our 4 room BTO in exchange for the convenience of the location. In love with the view from our 30th-floor unit - view from the living room Living room  - really dislike the black framed windows Our 4 room BTO comes with the L shaped living room, meaning you there will be limited interaction between those who are in the living room vs dining...

And so after a long 4 years wait, our BTO is finally ready for keys collection. To be honest we totally forgot about out BTO and was pleasantly surprised to receive an SMS from HDB to inform us of our BTO keys collection date. That was when we frantically tried to hunt for an ID. Ok to cut the story short, here's what happened on the BTO keys collection day as well as what we did for our "BTO Door Opening Ceremony". There really wasn't an official BTO door opening ritual or ceremony in fengshui. I guess this is just a Singapore custom. Though we do not have a religion, in particular, we just did it for an ease of mind. Love the  living room view from our 30th storey BTO view from our Service Yard BTO Key Collection Process at HDB Time took: less than an hour It was a very straightforward and easy process. Here's what you need to prepare, assuming that you are taking the loan from HDB. Identity cards Marriage certificate if you are buying...

Taiwan is such a kid's friendly place and one of the top travel destinations Singaporeans. Easy communication, a fantastic array of food with its bustling night markets, lots of kid-friendly attractions and the only country I know of with an amazing number of kids friendly accommodation !  By this definition, I'm referring to accommodations with slides, ball pit and lots of play feature for kids.  Totally the very reasons why we love Taiwan so much, we visited Taiwan in May 2017, did an Okinawa-Taiwan trip in March 2018 and this time around, we intended to fly directly to Kaohsiung in November 2018. Our previous trips to Taiwan has been saturated at just the North Taiwan and near the outskirts of Taipei, as we already have intentions to fly directly to Kaohsiung, South Taiwan should we want to visit the southern part of Taiwan. And so that got me started with another Kid-friendly accommodation with slides in both Kaohsiung and Tainan. I was astounded by ...

Day 5 of our  8 Day 7 Night Okinawa Self-drive Trip with Kids Itinerary via Taiwan         Check out of Marine Piazza hotel at 9 am Ashibina Outlet Mall 2:30 pm return rental car at Toyota Rent a Car, Naha airport branch 16:40 hrs Depart for Taiwan via Peach Airlines We only have half a day in Okinawa today and as we stay all the way to the North in Nago area which is some 2 hours away from NAHA airport, we need to check out of the hotel and leave early. We managed to have breakfast and checked out of our hotel at 9 am according to plan. The Okinawa Expressway was relatively empty and super easy to drive. Just 1 straight road. It took as less than 1.5 hours to reach NAHA area. Ashibina Outlet Mall Ashibina Outlet is located 10-15 minutes from NAHA airport so you can make this your last stop. Most car rental companies have an outlet near NAHA airport as well so you can pop by to return your rental cars before heading to the airpo...

Day 4 of our 8 Day 7 Night Okinawa Self-drive Trip with Kids Itinerary via Taiwan  Churaumi Aquarium ( 5mins drive) Dolphin Programme at Motobu Genki Village Went back to Marine Piazza to rest (sticky bean fell sick) Aeon Shopping Mall Nago for dinner and supermarket shopping We had a great night sleep at Marine Piazza Hotel and woke up bright and early today. Our target is to get to Churaumi Aquarium early in the morning to avoid the crowd. Breakfast at Marine Piazza Hotel was a decent affair and if you ask me, I'd prefer the breakfast served at Okinawa Grand Mer resort, the porridge there was so flavourful. But you get to enjoy the beautiful sea view at breakfast here at Marine Piazza Hotel. Sticky Bean @ breakfast Mine breakie, love the plates they provide at breakfast. Trying a bit of everything Sticky Bean spotted dolphins! Yes there's a dolphin lagoon just opposite the hotel Sticky Bean didn't eat much at breakfast, it was only until ...