I’m taking my baby overseas and has been stressing out on how to carry the stroller on the plane. I’m not keen of carrying my heavy 4 month old around while we’re overseas. I have a Peg Perego Pliko P3 and after searching around, I found that the travel bag specially for it is not available in Australia. After more searching, I found Bebe Care stroller bag which has the perfect measurement. I checked with Baby Kingdom and thank goodness they have it in stock for $49.95 plus $14 delivery. Quite reasonable price I say. I think babyzonedirect has it for much cheaper,  but they’re famous for having items out of stock without telling you  so I wasn’t willing to chance it. I couldn’t be bothered checking with their offline store either. I just wanted it now. I’ve had good experience with Baby Kingdom so I gave my business to them.

It just arrived today and it’s a perfect fit! The bag looks quite tough and has boarded part to protect the wheels. I’m happy now!

Okay, I have decided I like Deals Direct…when they give me vouchers and coupons hehe.

I bought the vacuum bags on the day when they’re giving away $10 voucher. So using that voucher, I bought a stroller net which costs $14.95 + $6.95 shipping. I found a coupon that gives me $6 off. So in total I only paid $5.90. What a bargain

I received the item today. I love it. Especially for the price I paid. I would have still loved it otherwise but I probably would just buy it from the shop to save on shipping.

The net bag you can attach on your stroller. Very handy. I can already see myself using it a lot. It seems to be of a good quality. Looks strong.

Processing + shipping took 3 days straight. That’s the best about Deals Direct. Super fast!

The net bag came with a tag that says the brand is Minene, a UK brand.

It came in a cute bag

hangs nicely on the stroller. You can actually shorten the strap. I didn’t do it in this picture.

Closer look

Closer look at the strap

PS. The $6 coupon I used is DD6BDAY. Valid until 15 Dec 2010, one per customer. Doesn’t seem to require minimum order.

Products: Conair Professional Garment Steamer (CGS18A)
Price: $149
Shop: The Good Guys Warrawong
Rating: ****

Comments:

I bought this product as an impulse buy. I didn’t do much research on it but I have heard about how you can use garment steamer instead of iron. I dislike ironing so when I saw this in the shop I bought one straightaway. When I got home I tried it immediately and I must say I was disappointed at first. I was ready to ditch my iron but the steamer didn’t do anything to my husband’s work clothes. After more experimenting, I realise the steamer works great on materials which are not easily ironed using normal iron such as stretchy t-shirts and delicate materials like polyester that will burn when ironed.

Now I’m very happy with it because all my clothes that I don’t usually dare to iron can look neat and straight again. So garment steamer will not replace your normal iron, but it will allow you to steam clothes that you usually wouldn’t iron. The rule of thumb is, if you’re afraid your iron will burn the material, use the steamer.

I have a lot of scarves made from delicate materials which I thought I had to give up because it looks ugly after a wash but they’re impossible to iron. Now with the steamer, they look brand new after being steamed.

This particular steamer is neither the most compact nor the cheapest out there but it serves its purpose. The advantage of being big is it comes with the hanger which can rotate which I find really handy. The water container is also pretty big so it can hold a lot of water so I don’t have to refill all the time. So consider these aspects before buying a compact one.

The wattage is also very important. If it’s too low it’s probably useless. This model’s wattage is 1300 watt. It works well so I wouldn’t get anything less than that.

Products: DealsDirect Value Pack 12 Space Saving Vacuum Bags
Price: $29.95
Shop: Deals Direct
Rating:  ****

Comments:

I think this is a good value for money. For the same amount of money, you’ll get less number of bags. It comes in three different sizes which I find really handy for different purposes. It also come with an instruction sheet (not that you really need it, it’s pretty straightforward to use).

These bags are really good to store spare quilts, pillows, blanket, and bulky winter clothes when the season’s over. It prevents them from collecting dust and when you vacuum the bag, it removes the air so the contents become flatter. It saves so much space!

To get the bag to seal properly, you’ll probably better off using hands rather than the zip that comes with it. I find the zip doesn’t seal the bag tightly, so use your fingers to press on the seal to make it tight.

The pretty useless zip

The valve where you suck the air from has several components. One of them is this little plastic thing. I think it’s meant to make it more air tight but it’s so small, it’s easy to lose. I vacuumed one of mine : P It will still work without the plastic thing though. Just screw it tightly. When you don’t use the little plastic seal on the valve, you can let out a bit of air when need be by opening the top part of the valve cover. The let-out won’t work if you have the plastic seal over the hole.

The valve and its many components

Overall, I think it’s a really good value for money. It’s a bit tricky to use, but you’ll figure it out soon.

I used to have the more expensive bags and I can say the only difference is the valve. The more expensive one has a simpler valve which is easier to use but I think doesn’t seal as well as this one. So I will definitely buy this one again.

Before

After

Received my dealsdirect’s order today. I ordered on Wednesday, arrives on friday. Very fast! I’ve checked the mattress protector, looks like a good quality. I haven’t tried the vacuum bags yet.

Pretty happy so far.

Argh, I’ve been shopping a lot lately.

I just bought these space saving vacuum bags from dealsdirect.com.au and this waterproof mattress protector. I have mixed feelings about Deals Direct. Once upon a time I bought something from them and wasn’t impressed with the quality. But these two products seem to have good reviews so I’m giving them a go. I really need these two items and they will be a lot more expensive if I buy them from the shop.

I find the shipping fee very annoying. I paid $13.90 for shipping, that’s already with $5 off. I wish they have capped shipping. Also their price fluctuate a lot so it’s really annoying to find out the item you bought yesterday is now few dollars cheaper. They ship really fast though. I think my order has been dispatched.

Will write more once I receive the items.

I also bought this first aid kit from catchoftheday.com.au. Again, another shop I have mixed feelings about. I’ve bought from them before and wasn’t impressed with the quality and the slowness of the process. It takes them few days to mail the goods.

I’ve checked around online for first aid kit, I can’t find anywhere cheaper. Let’s hope the quality is good.

Product: Maternity Pillow
Price: AU$89
Shop: https://www.bellybean.com.au/
Rating:  * * * * *
Comments:

Since the beginning of my pregnancy I started to feel some strain on my back when I sleep on my side. It’s like my stomach is pulling my back so I had to put a plushie behind my back to lean on. It became annoying after awhile because I have to move the pillow when I swap side.  So I started looking for a pregnancy pillow.

The ones in the market look really bulky. With me getting bulkier by the day, my poor husband will have no space to sleep on. I searched pregnancy forums for recommendation and came across Bellybean. It’s very pricey and the only place you can get it from is this website. I really like the look of the pillow and it seems to have glowing reviews. So I decided to go for it for the sole reason that it has the same support on both sides (tummy and back) which eliminate the need of swapping the pillow around when I sleep.

When I first received it, I loved the colour and the feel of it. It feels soft and cuddly. Like a good quality plushie. When I first tried it on, I wished the cushions were a little bigger because I was used to my fat plushie to lean on and they’re not so further apart (I had to fold the middle part so they’re closer together). But as my tummy grow bigger, I started to appreciate the size and the distance between the two cushion. I guess at the beginning I didn’t have much tummy to ‘fill’ the gap between the cushions but now, it’s perfect.

I cannot live without it now. It’s so simple yet so effective. Even my husband loves it! He even suggested getting another one to support other parts of my body which are also getting bigger : P And once  I caught him hugging it to sleep  ; )

I also love the portability of it. I can easily take it with me when I decide to lie down somewhere else (like the recliner or the couch)

I recommend going to the website to read more about it. It does everything it claims to do.

Postage takes several days for within Australia because it comes from a regional area in WA.

It will make an excellent gift for someone who’s pregnant or something to spoil yourself with if you’re pregnant.

Shop: Strapya World
Products: Cute cellphone accesories, plushies, and japanese zakka
Payment accepted: Credit cards, paypal
Pro: Reasonable flat rate shipping, lightning overseas delivery, fast & attentive customer service, quality products, huge varieties.
Cons: Because of the flat rate shipping, it can be expensive if you’re only buying one small product.
Recommended for: Anyone who loves cute stuffs

Comments:

Strapya World made their own products and they ensure they follow certain adorable-ness standards. I haven’t seen anything from the shop that’s not either cute or interesting. It’s such a pleasure even to just browse around every now and then.

What I love most about them is the lightning delivery. I’ve ordered from them three times. The first two times I paid for express and the last one I paid normal shipping. All three times my goods arrived at my door three days after they were shipped. The goods are usually mailed at the latest one day after you paid (unless it’s a pre-order).

Unless you want a tracking number or your country’s postal system isn’t reliable, I wouldn’t bother with express shipping. The cheaper postage was also as fast.

I have bought some cellphone straps and a whole lot of plushies. Everything was so cute and of good quality. Although from reading the reviews on the site, there were a couple of occasions where phone straps came broken but mine came in perfect condition.

I also recommend reading the reviews of the products you want to buy on the site. Not all of the products have reviews available, but the popular ones usually do.

Another thing I would recommend is to buy in bulk. Get your friends to buy together because you really don’t want to buy a $3 item and pay $5 shipping.

The goods generally look just like the pictures on the site but because their products are meant to be cute, pay attention to the measurement they provide. It’s true what they say, camera puts on a couple of kilos. I don’t think they purposely make the the goods look bigger in pictures. It’s something they can’t help.

The customer service is very attentive, helpful, and fast. I had deal with them twice and at both times, the issues were resolved very quickly. The first time I thought I was sent the wrong size of plushie. They got back to me very quickly. I emailed them a picture and they confirmed that it was the correct size. The second time, their paypal page didn’t work so I had to use my credit card to complete the check out. I contacted them about it. Immediately they sent me a paypal invoice and said they would cancel my credit card charge.

A month or so later, I found out they also charged my credit card directly. I contacted them and they sincerely apologised and refunded the double payment immediately without much hassle.

My only complain about strapya is the popular goods get out of stock pretty fast. However, they do restock pretty fast. So if it’s out of stock, wait a week or so, they usually restock. Or you can always email them and ask.

Overall, Strapya is a safe and reliable eshop and a really good place to buy unique gifts (or buy for yourself!) that you can’t get anyone else at a reasonable price.

Highly recommended!

I’ve recently bought this adorable mushroom chair from strapya-world. They come in four different colours: red, brown, blue, and pink.

I’ve always wanted to buy it but it has always been out of stock until recently. I actually wanted the brown one because it fits with my furniture better but just before I was about to buy it, it went out of stock (again!).

By the time I wrote this all colours are out of stock *sigh*.

Now all I have to do is wait for the day when the package comes hee hee!