Boxing Day 2017 Report and Tips

This year is the first time I actually spent the time at the shopping centre hunting down some great bargains. In the previous years I'd rather stay at home and do it online. Less hassle, no queuing, no sore feet, only sore index finger from all the clicking! Well, I still did some online boxing day sales which started on Christmas eve, but they were mostly for bulky items and items that I don't want to get disappointed when coming in store only to find the items are not available anymore. Save more hassle!

This year I decided that I was either going to the city, Parramatta Westfield, or DFO Homebush. But since I'm not in the market for new bags or particularly after clothes, I skipped DFO. The thought of going to the city had me cringing right at the start. But since this is my first Boxing Day sale, I think I would keep it light, so I decided to go to Parramatta instead. Plus, it's way closer from home.

In the morning I checked online what time the shopping centre would open since I wasn't sure whether it would be at 8, 9, or 10 AM. To my surprise, it was 7 AM! Much earlier than I had expected! But I wasn't sure whether this was only the Westfield that's open (and the stores would open at a normal time) and people would be queuing; or the stores would be open at the same time. Either way, I was willing to take the risk and so I checked for the earliest bus which depart from my home. It was 7.15 AM - nothing earlier (well, I missed the earliest one which is at 6.15 AM and that's TOO early). 

I arrived at Parramatta Westfield around 7.30 AM and nervously entered the shopping centre. Well I came in, the Dymocks store had just opened - door open and lights lit. I thought, "I think they may be open this early for real!" I walked further down the lane and found the Starbucks, GAP, Myer store open already! It is for REAL! So then I got really excited and started to work down my must-visit store list. I didn't have a "things-to-get" list, just a "which-store-to-visit" list and improvise on the items. Hahaha, it is a recipe for disaster for my wallet. Anyway, I had to be mindful because I have a limited budget this year. It was actually really nice being able to stroll around the shopping mall with not many people around. I was able to go in and out of store easily (especially if I have to re-enter) and shop peacefully without having to rush because of the fierce competition. 

Anyway, here's some of the tips I can give based on my experience for those who would like to brave the Boxing Day sale crowd next year:

Do it online if you want to beat the crowd

Like I have mentioned, shopping online is less hassle, no queuing, no sore feet. If you're after particular items which you think you may miss out if you wait on going in store, then I'd recommend to  do your shopping online; usually clothes, electronics on clearance, novelty items (e.g. Pandora charms or T2 tea wares and gift boxes). But remember that you may need to pay for shipping if a Click and Collect option is not available. So, it's best if you can reach the minimum purchase to take advantage of the free shipping. One trick that I realised too late was to check the shop's return policy if they allow free returns on sale items. This way, you can purchase exceeding the free shipping limit and then return the items that you don't want.

Come super early if you plan to go in store

I guess I was really lucky that I had checked the shopping centre opening hours before I went because doing it was one of the best decision I made that day (yes, I am lebay). Come early, beat the crowd and queues. The stores were pretty much almost empty, public transport is also empty, parking space is most definitely still available. 

Have a list ready and prioritise

Whatever that list is, whether it's a must-visit store or must-buy items. It will make your trip easier and manageable. Prioritise your trip based on which stores that you're really after first because the longer you're in the shopping mall, the more people will come, the less chance you can get the stuff that you want so you need to move quickly. Knowing the shopping centre layout is also helpful, this will help you save time moving from one store to another and do some favour for your feet!

Bring a grocery shopping trolley or backpack if you plan to spend like crazy

Yesterday, I was only carrying bags from 4 stores but my arms were already aching. Well, what do you expect if your shopping includes two Bath and Body Works candles and a trench coat from Zara. Anyway, they were heavy and I wished I had brought the grocery shopping trolley. It doesn't look cool, I know. But who gives a damn on how you look when shopping on Boxing Day. I didn't even take shower before going and just put on anything as long as I'm wearing clothes and head covering.

Know your size before you come in (when buying clothes or shoes)
This is important as the fitting room will have very long queues! Trust me, you do not want to spend your precious time queuing just to try clothes you may not want eventually. So, before you come into the store on Boxing day, spend some time in store just to browse around, look for the clothing that you may like, and have a try. Know your universal size for most garments in that store. For example, I know that M is the size I fit the most in Zara. Depending on the cuts, if it is a baggy cut, I may go for the S size. With that knowledge in hand, on the day, you can just grab the clothing that you like and head straight for the cashier.

The queue started to build up around 10am

Still looked empty, but this is actually also when I was about to leave

The Swarovski store starting to get full

Oroton on SALE!

Mimco on SALE!

The shopping centre started to get full when I was about to leave, which was about 10am

Damage done on Boxing Day. These are the only ones that you get to see, LOL.

How I Used To Write Random Stuff

Photo by STIL on Unsplash

This is my first post after a very long hiatus from blogging. Kids are hard work and they just won't let you go to have your own quiet time. Well, I've only got one kid now but, believe me, he sticks like a stamp on an envelope. The (not-so) good news is that I've been told by fellow mummy friends that this is going to continue at least until he's 5. Yes, 5 years old. That means I still have another 4 years and 8 months to cope to this madness. And by that time, we're expecting another little brat angel will come inshaa Allah.

I have not achieved much this year other than moving laterally in my company and trying to settle down into a role with a completely new job descriptions. So, I decided that I would spend some of my quiet time while these eyes are still capable to open wide and baby is fast asleep to develop my personal site. I know I have an always-updated Linkedin profile. But I thought I'll make something with my added personal touch. After all, I'm a person who loves creativity.

I was just about to register a new blog just with my full name. Keeping it simple because, duh, it's a personal site with my not-so-short resume all over it. To my surprise, Blogger said that the blog name had been taken. By who!? I'm the only person in this world with THAT name! Anyway, I went scouring through the list of blogs I had in the past. Still couldn't find the one with my full name, but I managed to find an old blog of mine with just a lot of random posts. From songs that I was listening to, to just some random stories or rants. It's called blog 365. 

Reading it again felt really good. I mean, I can't remember the last time I wrote stuff like a teenage girl writing in her diary. Those posts sounds so naive, honest, genuine. I like reading (and writing) posts that have personal touches to it, anything like rants, confessions, genuine convos are definitely my 'thing'. It's therapeutic. Haha, I guess I'm just nosy. But, yeah, I think I should continue write like a teenage girl - sometimes, not always though.

Disconnecting

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

There was a time where I had several social media accounts and I was overwhelmed by them. Which account should I update?! Because ideally I'd want to update everything at once. And that's also around the time when all of the social media platform finally introduced 'linked accounts' and there were also third party apps that will help you update your social media accounts all at once although you update from only one of them. Eventually, one by one my account had less and less activities either from me or my connections so I started to let them go. I'm just going to quickly share the reasons why I'm disconnecting and why you should consider (or do it) too.

HOW OTHERS WOULD FEEL ABOUT MY POSTS

One of the main reason why I started to disconnect because, other than stalking other people's activity, is that I'm not active much. Why? Because I think too much before posting. Why? Because I don't want to be seen as bragging and showing off. So, I always think of these before posting: Does my post will cause envy or jealousy? Is my post benefitting anybody?. If it can potentially cause envy or jealousy and it doesn't benefit other people's lives then I would pass (most of the time). I know I've been guilty of posting Omar's photos where he eats without fussing though (which I know can make other mothers so jealous😫). 

I BECOME LESS DEPRESSED

Haha. This is probably one of the biggest reason why people quits social media. Let's face it, it's very rare that people go on social media without comparing their lives with others and starting to get jealous, envious of other people's lives. I've lost count at how many times I've become so depressed and envious of other people just by scrolling through Instagram. It literally gave me headaches so the extent that I had to uninstall it to keep myself sane.

(I need to) Remember that most of the time, what you see on social media is only the good side of people's lives. That may not be even the 90% of them. And people rarely expose their flaws. Some people like Kara is an exception. She actually shows the hardships and normality of being a mom of three in Melbourne. But I wouldn't be able to be like her though as I'm just not

comfortable at 'vlogging', talking to a camera, it's just too much hassle for me, and it's just such a time waster for me.

MAKING TIME FOR OTHER THINGS THAT REALLY MATTERS

For me, this is my main deal breaker for staying active on my social media accounts. When I complained that I don't have enough time to do the things that actually matters to me, it really boils down to the time I spent in the social media world. I was constantly checking my phone. I think I would be spending 3-4 hours in a day on my social media accounts. Most of the time it's just me checking what other people are up to. I wasn't even uploading photos on Instagram nor posting statuses in Facebook. Anyway, that 3-4 hours doesn't actually have any effect on my life. So it's just time wasting away.

***

I'm not totally against social media as they are still one of the best platforms for me to engage with  my family and friends. But for my current needs and priorities, I do have to really disconnect rather than just limiting my self to only an hour a day.

I only have two social media accounts that are still active: Instagram and Facebook. Meaning, I still open them and post stuff once in a while. And in the case of Facebook, it means that I still scroll through the timeline and comment and likes my friend's posts once in a while but not posting myself because people that are on Facebook are so judgmental!

I'm currently logging off from my Instagram because I was just constantly on it, unlike Facebook which I have started to grow very weary of. Anyway, the result of me disconnecting is that I finally have time to write in my blog which I think it's more meaningful for me since I can write super long posts without having to stress about the screen size and being pity to my thumbs for doing such hard work for me to type stuff.

Halal Poultry!

Photo by Michał Grosicki on Unsplash

Saya ngerti banget susahnya jadi Muslim pendatang yang nggak tahu apa-apa, jadi kali ini mau sharing tentang daging halal di Australia. Sekalian, karena beberapa waktu yang lalu barusan nanya ke teman tentang daging ayam, bebek, dan ayam kalkun setelah mendapati Bebek Peking kesukaan saya dengan merek Luv-A-Duck tumben-tumbenan tidak ada sertifikasi halal di kemasannya. 

Produk-produk yang saya jabarkan di bawah adalah produk-produk yang bisa ditemukan di supermarket. Jadi, kalau nggak sempat ke tukang daging (butcher) untuk beli daging ayam dan kalau khusus pingin ayam kalkun atau bebek bisa langsung aja cuss ke Woolworths, Coles, IGA, dan supermarket lainnya. So, here we go...

LUV-A-DUCK

Ini merek bebek favorit saya untuk bebek Peking. Yum! Seingat saya dulu di kemasan bebek Peking yang selalu saya beli ada sertifikasi halalnya. Tapi terakhir mau beli kok tidak ada. Agak sedikit merasa janggal sih karena setahu saya semua produk Luv-A-Duck itu halal. Jadilah saya bertanya-tanya pada kawan-kawan dan menemukan infonya juga di websitenya. 

 

Daftar produk lengkapnya bisa dilihat disini. Berikut beberapa contoh produk Luv-A-Duck. Dan favorit saya adalah Peking Duck with Pancake kit! Karena disini nggak ada Chinese restaurant yang halal jadi satu-satunya harapan saya untuk bisa makan Peking duck adalah dengan membeli produk Luv-A-Duck. Luv luv luv!

***

STEGGLES

Ini satu-satunya produsen yang juga menjual ayam kalkun selain ayam. Produk halalnya juga cukup lengkap, dari ayam dan kalkun utuh (whole chicken and whole turkey) sampai produk dengen nilai tambah misalnya ayam yang sudah dibumbui, ditepung, atau diproses lebih lanjut menjadi nuggets. Untuk daftar lengkapnya bisa dilihat disini.

***

LILYDALE

Terakhir, yaitu merek Lilydale. Dulu pernah lihat di Instastory-nya Kara (hijabers di Melbourne) pas dia vlog tentang grocery shopping-nya dia dari Coles Online. Dulu memang pernah dengar kalau Lilydale halal tapi nggak yakin 100% karena kalau nggak salah waktu itu pernah baca kalau tidak semua supplier Lilydale menyembelih dengan cara halal. Entahlah betul atau mata saya aja yang siwer bacanya, hahaha. 

Anyway, akhirnya cek langsung ke website Lilydale dan ada di FAQ-nya kalau ayam-ayamnya memang halal. Uhuy! Jadi, bisa lah nih beli ayam kalau tempat langganan saya (Red Lea) udah keburu tutup karena jam bukanya hanya sampai jam 5 sedangkan saya hanya sempat belanja setelah jam 6 sore atau akhir pekan aja.

***

Semoga informasinya membantu ya!

Classic Waffles

Oh, apologies everyone. This must be one of my worst photos ever. It was taken with my phone and my phone hasn't got the best quality because I suppressed the size for it to hold more photos of my son. Yes, that's a mommy's life. Anyway, next time I will try to take photos with a proper camera. One reason to get my Lumix GX7 out of the dusty cupboard.

After a hectic week of work, usually on the weekends I would like to spend a quiet morning with a fancy breakfast. What's my definition of fancy breakfast? Waffles and crepes. Basically anything that people usually get in the cafe.

I'm no fan of eating out something that you can easily whip up at home for the fraction of the price and waffle is no exception. You just need to get yourself a waffle iron and I'm sure you'll be able to get your 'return on investment' within a year (if you use your waffle iron often). My waffle iron is from Cuisinart. I bought it second hand on Gumtree.

These are really easy to make and they are very yummy. I can't believe it took me a long time to get my waffle iron out and actually make them! When I say a long time, it was maybe 6 months to a year after I actually bought my waffle iron. Since then I often made them and freeze leftover to be enjoyed during weekdays.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

HOW TO MAKE

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.
3. Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

Original recipe taken from here.