Seri Mutiara Apartments by SP Setia

Better late than never, I say.

A girlfriend told me to check out this new development by SP Setia in Setia Alam. Seri Mutiara is the third and final phase of Setia's medium-cost housing development. To be honest I didn't even know when they launched the first two phases a few years back.

The balloting registration is from 25 - 28 September 2013. All you need to do is bring a copy of your IC and a bank draft for RM5k payable to Bandar Setia Alam Sdn Bhd and head to the Welcome Centre (address below) to drop it off. The balloting will be conducted on Oct 1 at the same address.

50% bumi and non-bumi ownership. Some say no 7% bumi discount, some say there is. I'll know soon enough. Also, no DIBS which means you gotta be prepared to pay for bank interest until the project is completed.

I'm only going tomorrow so I'll post more info after I get back. Here are the project details.

a) Launch Date : October 2013 (tentative)

b) Price : RM240,000 - 248,000 

c) 3 rooms 2 bathrooms (no balcony)

d) Built up area - 938sq ft

e) Number of Units : 960 (Only 330 up for ballot)

f) Number of Blocks : 6

g) Number of units per level : 12 

h) 2 parking available for each unit.

WISH ME LUCK!!

HIV screening shortcut

Since the week that we were free to get it done happened to be the week that all the klinik kesihatan in KL ran out of the test kit (yes, I called every clinic on the list JAWI gave), so we decided to do it at Ampang Hospital instead. The results came back 2 days ago and Alhamdulillah, we're clean. We're just hoping that JAWI can accept the results as it is still from a government hospital.

2 months + left and still no tok kadi. Should I be worried?

Pelamin and cake-cutting dress

It is now a little bit over 3 months before our big day.

Due to an unfortunate turn of events, my best friend will no longer be able to commit to doing my pelamin. The recent passing of her father (who was like a second father to me), now demands her full attention to the family business. It came as a shock to all of us because arwah seemed strong and healthy just one week before his sudden demise. They threw a massive Raya Open House at their newly renovated home the week before and nothing was out of the ordinary as far as I was concerned.

He was in Jakarta for a short getaway with his driver and my friend's mom was supposed to join him a few days after. He had difficulty breathing at the hotel and passed away in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. My friend who was in Bali with her husband at the time took the first flight out and brought arwah back to KL. Arwah was a kind man and the most generous person I have ever known. Despite being a man of status, he was always humble and cared a lot for the well-being of the people around him. He will be greatly missed by many.

As much as I wanted my friend to do my pelamin, I understand that she has bigger and more important things to shoulder now so yesterday I emailed Kayangan Gallery again. This time to secure them because honestly, there aren't that many pelamin people around who is great and within my affordability.

Badass drapings

Here's what they did for my good friends Amar & Aliaa's wedding at TM Convention Centre

I also have an appointment with Arma Abd Rahman tomorrow. If all goes well, he will be designing my cake-cutting dress. Yes, we will have 2 outfits that night because my parents insist that we change into something more 'western' for the ceremony so change we shall. I'm not exactly complaining heh. The dress that made me fall in love with Arma's design is worn by this lady.

Absolutely stunning! And here are some of his other pieces.

His eye for detail is impeccable and probably one of the best in KL alongside big names like Rizalman, Jovian Mandagie and Syomir Izwa. All photos are from Arma Abd RahmanWedding Couture on Facebook.

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Tanah Abang fabric frenzy!

Heyzers.

My super short trip to Jakarta with Mama went extremely well. We managed to get fabric for the whole family and some really nice dusty pink kaftans for my bridesmaids.

We stayed at N1 Hotel which is literally 5 minutes walking distance from Tanah Abang. The hotel is nothing to shout about but I won't complain since we only paid RM220 for 2 nights.

Not too shabby. Breakfast was meh.

Before I start, the currency exchange rate at the time of writing is RM1 to Rp.2980. Fantastic timing.

Day 1

We arrived at Soekarno-Hatta airport at 4pm and went straight to the hotel. The cab ride was Rp.170k (RM57). You shouldn't have to pay any more than Rp.150k (RM50) because on our way back, we only paid that much in a metered taxi. Always get on Bluebird, you guys.

Headed to Bintaro in Jakarta Selatan (a 1.5 hours drive from our hotel -__-" because of the bloody traffic) to Boutique Kebaya & Jas where I got our baju kahwin ordered. We'll be heading back in November for fitting and collection. Can't wait! Here's sneak preview of how Redza's suit will look like and the Maha Kemala inspired kebaya I ordered for myself. There will be a detachable train to go with it and instead of batik, we opted for songket for both Redza's sampin and tanjak and my kain. 

But my neckline won't be so low cut like that la pengsan orang tua aku.

Day 2

Arrived at Tanah Abang at about 9.30am and left at 2pm. I won't be too detailed about our purchases but let's just say we're VERY happy with everything we got. Here's a breakdown:

Bridesmaids kaftans Rp.129k each (RM43)

Silk Shantung for the family Rp.15k each (RM5)

Baju nikah fabric Rp.760k/meter (RM253) - This is heavily beaded. Can easily cost RM1k/meter from Jakel)

Sequined fabric Rp.63k/meter (RM21) - The exact same one from Jakel is RM120/meter)

Silk Chiffon Rp.19k/meter (RM7.50)

I got the fabrics for my nikah, cake cutting dress and mama's dress from this shop - Jaka Hong, Level B2. The opening price is ridiculously high so don't forget to put your bargaining hat on. Ask for free linings too.

Everything was unbelievably cheap that we went bonkers and bought plenty of wedding unrelated stuff. Mama especially. What a dangerous place to be in.

Because we had so much stuff with us, we took the mikrolet back to the hotel. A mikrolet is a small sweeper van that picks up passengers from everywhere. There are no designated stops so you can practically hail and get off anywhere along their routes. From the building, you must cross the road and ride the number 08. That'll take you back to the N1. We paid Rp.3k (RM1) each for the short ride. 

Headed back to the hotel to solat and back out to Mangga Dua. I know they close at 6pm and it was already 4pm at that time. Told mama we wouldn't make it but she insisted so off we went on the mikrolet (number 09) to the city. Not the most comfortable thing to be on but again, Rp.6k each which is murah nak mampos so takpela.

As expected, most stalls were closed/are closing so we just hung around and had pizza for dinner. After stuffing ourselves silly we took a cab and went to Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia and bought nothing fancy. 

End of day 2.

Day 3

Tanah Abang again because mama wanted to get MORE stuff!! Crazy this woman I tell you. Nasib baik hotel dekat. She got more fabric and some cotton kebaya tops. We left for the airport at 11am.

Contrary to what I've been told, the best time to go to Jakarta is actually over the weekend. It's very difficult to get things done at different places when you spend half the time stuck in traffic.

Here's the address to the boutique I had my baju made. I should've taken photos of their finished products. They're really nice.

Boutique Kebaya & Jas
Jl. Pondok Betung Raya No 69 Bintaro, Depan Sektor 4
+62 815 8521 2101

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