My Brandt Washing Machine Washes, Dries & Steams!

Product Review

When I was considering what type of washing machine and dryer I need to get for my new house, I felt stuck at some points because I knew that I would have space constraints. Even though I would have a rather big balcony space, the whole place would be used to hang our wet clothes for drying because we cannot hang them out to dry, like what we did at our previous home. Because of that, I needed my appliances to be sleek and slim, yet powerful enough to handle the huge laundry load of my five-people household. I was so glad that Brandt was able to give me the best solution to my problem!

The Brandt BTWD1308 Top Load Washer Dryer was everything I was looking for – It’s sleek and slim (as you can see below) and it not only washes, but dries AND EVEN STEAMS! Yes, this is a 3-in-1 dream machine for any household!

Wash

It’s amazing how much a small machine like this can do. It washes 8kg laundry every load with tons of clever settings in built to make life easier for busy working moms like me. In my household, there are so many clothes to wash that we do full loads everyday. The machine not only efficiently gets the job done, it does it pretty fast and noise-free. I compared it to my previous washing machine and thought that this was a much quieter machine – I don’t really hear it at work most of the time and before I know it, the laundry’s all washed and ready for hanging up.

As you can see, there are different settings for different types of clothes, with hot and cool water settings as well as different washing durations, according to your fancy. If you are rushing for time, you can even opt for a flash wash of 25-minute cycle and everything will be done, quite literally, in a flash. This works for my household because my kids are slightly older and don’t really run and sweat as well as when they were young toddlers. Our clothes are generally not so dirty and can do with a shorter wash cycle. Of course, if your kids’ clothes smell really gross, please opt for the longer cycles, by all means. #justsaying =P

Love the sleek LED digits display with easy-to-control knobs and even a remaining time indicator. For any household, the safety features are important and are all included in this machine, such as door lock during wash, foam control, self-adjusting water level and detergent anti-leak.

I also love it that there are settings I can choose if I want to minimize my ironing load. You know how clothes can come out of the washing machine looking extremely crumpled because of all the rigorous tossing and turning? Again, this machine can go gentle and easy on your laundry if you opt for easy ironing. Prewash, intensive and rinse plus functions can be chosen if you need the clothes to be more thoroughly washed and rinsed. Easy peasy!

Dry

During the recent thunder shower seasons, our clothes often could not get dry fast enough so that was when we explored the Drying function of the machine. For drying, this machine can take up to 4kg of laundry load and takes about an hour to dry everything. That’s way better than having clothes hung up for 2 days and still feel damp! Plus, I love the scent of my laundry after it comes out of the machine all dried - Finally, we are no longer at the mercy of the weather!

Steam

You might be feeling curious about the Steaming function of this machine just like I was when I was first introduced to it! The steaming function can de-crease up to 4 shirts, and it also comes in very handy during our spring cleaning – I can take out all the thick blankets, jackets and clothes that had been kept in the closets and let them be steamed of all the mould and mildew, and come out smelling fresh and fabulous! Works for soft toys too, I believe (But always check that your soft toys can withstand the heat of the steaming before doing so). Such a useful function for families with kids, don’t you think??

Hop over to their website to see what Brandt can offer you now! Also, read my earlier posts on my review of Brandt products in my house:

Here’s 3 Reasons Why You Need To Get A Brandt In-Built Oven
Brandt Appliances For My Home: In-House Demonstration Service

This is part of my Making Of Our Dream Home series. Click to read the other entries in the series.

Disclosure: This is a collaboration between The J Babies and Brandt for an honest review of their products and services. All photographs and opinions are solely ours.

Blinds For Our Home–No More Glaring Sunlight!

Product Review

We lived 3 months in our new house without blinds or curtains in the house because we couldn’t decide what we wanted. Don’t know how we survived without them for so long but I can confidently tell people now why you NEED to have blinds or curtains for your home – For privacy and for snoozing! Without blinds, my house being a corridor HDB unit, has people looking into the house every time they walk past and that is a little awkward when they see me slouching in the couch in a less-than-elegant position. =P Sleeping in late was not possible at all during the pre-blinds days because the sunlight comes right in by 8am! So, I AM VERY GLAD WE FINALLY HAVE BLINDS! Yay!

We checked with several curtains and blinds suppliers before deciding to go with The Curtains Design, mainly because I felt most comfortable talking to Marcus, the staff who handled our purchase. Price will always be our key concern, but if the service staff is able to make me feel at ease and confident, it is a major plus point for me. From taking measurements and quoting of prices to design selection and installation, everything went smoothly and I am glad that my house is finally complete now!

We like to collect and display vintage items around the house, so when we were deciding what kind of blinds or curtains to go with for the house, that was a major consideration. We wanted something simple and classic, without stealing the show from the vintage decorations that will fill up the house eventually. In the end, we opted for white & black Venetian PVC blinds for the living room and dining room, keeping the design the same so that there is a uniform look throughout.

This is the dining room area. I used to be worried about choosing white incase they get dirty fast, but that is such a major misconception! The truth is, black things look dirty much easier and they need to be cleaned all the time in order to ‘appear clean’. It is exactly opposite for white items! Plus, my white blinds match my white marble dining table and the walls perfectly. =)

This is the main living room with the same Venetian PVC blinds. Love it! =D

And this is the small window near the main entrance. Same uniform look throughout Level 1 of the house.

These blinds are easy to maintain – Just wipe with cloth from time to time, or use a duster on it.

For our bedrooms, we opted for roller blinds because we wanted a more black-out option for snoozing. Decided to use the same light grey roller blinds for all three bedrooms, for uniformity again. These roller blinds are easy and smooth to roll up to whichever level I want, depending on how much sunlight I want to allow into the room. And when it’s all rolled down, the room is totally dark and perfect for sleeping in!

I personally don’t like curtains because they give a more ‘soft feel’ to the house, which is contradictory to the industrial vintage look for the house. Plus, curtains seem to become dirty faster and need to be taken down to wash frequently. I am all for fuss-free and easy maintenance, so blinds is a natural choice for me anytime.

I was initially concerned about the massive cleaning I have to do with all the drilling needed to install the blinds, but to my surprise, there was virtually nothing to clean up at all (I’m not sure why though – there was drilling of holes at every point!) The installation guys did such a fast and perfect installation that I was amazed at how fast everything was up. So, if you are considering changing the curtains or blinds for your house that you are already living in, don’t worry! It’s not going to cause that much of a hassle. =P

Check out The Curtains Design now for your house and transform your house into a lovely and cosy nest that you love! For more information, check out https://www.facebook.com/thecurtainsdesign/ or contact Marcus for more info at 86661155.

This is part of my Making Of Our Dream Home series. Click to read the other entries in the series.

Disclosure: This is a partial sponsorship by The Curtains Design for an honest review of their products and services on this blog. All photographs and opinions are solely ours.

How Have Ergonomic Desks & Chairs Helped My Kids?

Media Review

Time flies – We’ve moved into our new house for about 1.5 months, and I enjoy every moment living in it. Feeling really grateful in the heart because the house has got everything that I dreamed of and wanted to have. It may not match up to designer houses, but it’s totally in the style that we love, so I treasure every moment I get to spend at home now. Everyone seems to have settled into the house with no problems at all, which was a pleasant surprise because I thought that moving into a new place after 10 years would need some getting used to. The girls, especially, love hanging out in their bedroom now because it is furnished with everything they need. The only thing we refuse to put in was a TV, because otherwise they would have no reason to leave their bedroom all day and all night!

Speaking of which, the girls really love their ergonomic desks and chairs from Ergoworks and spend most of their time there after school. I won’t delve too much into the functions which you can read in my previous posts here and here. As a mom, I am just happy that they enjoy spending time at their desks rather than in front of the television. I’ve been watching them and thinking back about pre-ergonomic days, and these are my personal observations so far:

1. No More Slouching

I noticed that Joey (my elder kid) has begun to slouch at certain times, especially when she is doing her homework. We didn’t have proper tables and chairs for the kids previously, so I can’t really blame them for slouching because the table was way too low. With the Ergostars desks and chairs, my kids are now able to sit up straight and maintain a good posture for hours. In order to achieve a healthy sitting posture, you must adjust both the chair and the desk to the child’s height and proportions. The Ergoworks staff who delivered and set up the furniture for us helped to adjust them according to my kids’ requirements, which was just awesome. :)

Joey is quite tall for her age and I know because of that, she has this tendency to slouch when she's with her friends at school. Having ergonomic desks and chairs at home help me elevate those concerns and puts my heart at ease.

2. Tilt-Able Desk Top Makes Studying More Comfortable

When I first knew that Ergostars’ desktop can be tilted, I thought it was a little strange. After all, I have used a non tilt-able desk during all my studying years and happy. I thought it would be a feature we would not use often – Maybe only when the kids want to draw or doodle. But I was wrong! Turned out there is a reason why ergonomic desks are built to be tilt-able!

By tilting the desktop, it allows the kid to sit fully on the chair and lean back on the backrest, making it really comfortable for them to read, write and study. The support they get on their spine helps them to focus better and provides way better comfort. Now we know!

3. Ergonomic Furniture Grows With My Kids

Many parents wonder if it is wise to choose ergonomic furniture for their kids because they are generally more expensive. To me, it is a worthy investment because the furniture grows with my kids! The truth is kids grow exponentially at this stage of their lives and in a matter of one year, they could have grown so much in terms of height and size. Adjustable desks and chairs mean I can adjust them anytime and accordingly to my kids’ measurements to maintain best sitting postures always. The furniture can even follow them years into adulthood because they are hardy and durable as well – How many years of usage are we talking about here?? When we take all that into consideration, the investment becomes a really worthwhile one.

If you want to find out more about how ergonomic furniture can help your kids, I suggest that you make a trip to one of their showrooms, touch and try the furniture for yourself, and talk to the staff, who will be able to answer your questions and give you professional advice. Check out their showroom locations here.

This is part of my Making Of Our Dream Home series. Click to read the other entries in the series.

Here’s 3 Reasons Why You Need To Get A Brandt In-Built Oven

Product Review

One of the things I told myself that I absolutely NEED to get for my new house is an inbuilt oven.

For years, I’ve been browsing through oven recipes and drooling over how fast and easy it is to prepare meals with the oven and how good everything looks once they come out of the oven. I am an advocate of fuss-free cooking because I am a busy full-time working parent just like many of you reading this. I need things to be done fast and efficiently – At the end of the day, I just want to be able to feed my kids on time and feed them stuffs they will actually want to finish (and ask for more). So, you can imagine my elation when my dream finally came through when this beautiful Brandt BXP6575X (60cm Built-in Pyrolytic Oven) was installed at my new house!

I needed no convincing to get an inbuilt oven for the new house, but after having it for a month, I’m sharing three compelling reasons why you need to get one – and a Brandt one for that matter!

COMPELLING REASON #1: HOSTING BECOMES EASY PEASY

I was immediately able to put my brand new Brandt oven to test when I had to host 3 different groups of friends at my new place as part of our housewarming. I was frankly, a little nervous because I have never used an oven for my cooking before and I need to prepare meals for such big groups of friends! Thankfully, the oven is idiot-proof and after the Brandt staff came over for a demo, I felt more confident about it. The dinners all turned out very well, I must say. My Brandt oven was my Savior! There was no way I could do such massive cooking without it – And I did it three times over (and several other times after that week too!).

Because of the big capacity of the oven, I get a lot done concurrently within a short span of time. Can you believe that I only starting preparing for the meals 1.5 hours before the guests arrive? Most of the time is taken up by the cutting and chopping, and all I need to do is to get all the ingredients cut up properly, put them into various oven dishes and in the oven they go, all at the same time! I can slot in 3 dishes at the same time (and even more if your dishes are all small ones).  This makes hosting large gatherings easy because it saves time – Everything gets cooked at the same time! The key is to watch the cooking process and take out each one at different times because different dishes may require different cooking time.

See? So spacious!

For this particular dinner, I cooked the Roast Chicken & Prawns along with Roasted Mixed Veggies and Bacon with Enoki Mushrooms all together.

And the dinners came out perfect like these. My guests were all praises for it! They look so professional but I told everything how simple everything was because I had a good oven. Every dinner that week was like a marketing talk for my new oven – Hello but I don’t get commission for that, OK? Haha!

My kids especially love the bacon with enoki mushrooms and Shepherd’s Pie, which I had to cook again several times after that, on their special request. I felt like a Domestic Goddess all of a sudden! =P

I also attempted other dishes such as Baked Pasta, Seafood in a Bag, Hawaiian Baguette Pizza etc, and everything turned out really delicious! Made me so happy and satisfied the whole week when I saw my guests tucking in happily.

COMPELLING REASON #2: CULINARY GUIDE FOR NOOBS!

No worries if you are a noob just like me. When you purchase your Brandt BXP6575X Built-In Oven, you will also receive a Culinary Guide - A selection of 15 dishes for automatic cooking : Select the food weight and the oven self-programmes the suitable cooking function as well as temperature and cooking time. Can it get any more idiot-proof than this??! =P

Plus, remember the in-house demonstration service that Brandt provides? That was particularly useful for me (because I have not used an in-built oven before) and I could ask any questions I had on the spot. But really, the oven is so easy to operate that any one can do it.

COMPELLING REASON #3: CLEANING MADE EASY!

One of the concerns I had about massive cooking with the oven is the cleaning. I wonder if it would be easy to clean everything when oil splatters everywhere during the cooking process, but I have found it to be a lot less daunting than what I imagined. All I do is to wipe down everything with a detergent cleaner and then with a wet cloth – The whole oven is grease-free after that! But perhaps one of the best functions this oven has is Brandt’s patented technology where a full pyro-cleaning cycle is completed in just 90 minutes. This means after you have completed your cooking, you can set the oven to do a thorough pyro cleaning and at the end of the cleaning cycle, all you need to do is to sweep away the ash gathered at the bottom of the oven, and the oven becomes clean as new! What happens during this cleaning process is that the oven is heated to over 500 degrees celsius, so it melts and burns away every oil residue in the oven from the cooking and everything becomes soot and ash after that. I was recommended to do this cleaning once every few months after intensive cooking. I like the idea that it helps my oven to become extremely clean after a period of cooking.

As you can see, I’m enjoying my Brandt In-build oven very much. I cannot imagine living life without it now! =D Brandt is a trusted brand that has been producing high-quality household products for years. Hop over to their website to see what you can get to upgrade your kitchen today. :)

This is part of my Making Of Our Dream Home series. Click to read the other entries in the series.

Disclosure: This is a collaboration between The J Babies and Brandt for an honest review of their products and services. All photographs and opinions are solely ours.

Personalized Beddings For Your Kids! (Discount Code)

Product Review

I love anything personalized – Don’t you?? I spotted the personalized bedding sets from Cloud & Sky Baby and thought they were perfect for my girls’ new bedroom!

So we got matching bedding sets for my girls, and they were delivered in personalized fabric bags like these! Oh man, the packaging already won me over!

The girls got a Watercolor Skies Trio Bedding Set each in blue and pink each. They come in two sizes – Baby and Kids. The Kids’ sets that came consist of a head pillow, two bolsters (with inserts) as well as a quilt cover. We loved the prints of the beddings when we browsed through their collection online, but when the products came, we were totally blown away by the superb quality! “IT IS SO SOFT!” exclaimed the kids. Yes, totally not exaggerating – The material is extremely good!

Super love that their beddings, pillow and bolsters have got their names printed on them! The prints were as pretty as we expected them to be!

The girls would have really sweet dreams on these beautiful and soft beddings, and everything looks so beautiful in their new bedroom!

Get beddings personalized here today!

Cloud & Sky Baby also sent over other accessories for the girls, and they fit perfectly for their bedroom! These rainbow polka dots are perfect for their feature wall! They have many other pretty designs – Choose here!

These house shelves are awesome too - They came in blue and pink for the girls to match their beddings! Added a little whimsical touch to the room. :)

You can opt to hang them up or place them on the desks like we did. Very versatile!

This cloud hanger is another of my favorite! We were wondering how we could put up a clothes hanger for the kids without compromising on the design of the room, and this was perfect!

DISCOUNT CODE

Time to give your kids’ room a revamp just before the CNY! Hop over to Cloud & Sky Baby and shop now – Use KLESS10 to enjoy 10% discount on your purchases from now till 31 Jan 2018! :)

This is part of my Making Of Our Dream Home series. Click to read the other entries in the series.

Disclosure: This is a collaboration between Cloud & Sky Baby and The J Babies, for an honest review of their products and services. Products mentioned in the post were sponsored for review purposes. All opinions and photographs are solely ours, and no other financial compensation was received.