6 A Shopping We Will Go With Wheeled Grocery Bags

I started carrying cloth recycle bags with me the year the No Plastic Bag campaign began in our state. I was not immediately prepared for it but enough 20sen encounters on Saturdays made me decide that enough was enough. Now, there are always at least three to four  in my handbag because you never know when the shopping bug hits, or if  an accompanying relative needs one.

For marketing, we have accumulated five large hand carry recycle bags over the years. I dread the weeks we had to stock up on on shower gels, laundry detergent, bottled sauces, cooking oil and the sort - heavy stuff to carry! Hence, the decision to get a shopping bag with wheels. On the online shopping platform I searched, it was called either a shopping cart or trolley.

This mini one was going for RM8 on Lazada. It was hard to tell which were good buys since most of the reviews were more of an acknowledgement of items being received. I decided to give this a try because it seemed light and convenient. The bags arrived last week.

Light Foldable Shopping Trolley

I got two as you can see. There's a zipper in the middle of these shoulder bags. When unzipped, the length of the bag is extended so that more groceries can be added in and it can then effectively be rolled.

The inside of the bag is lined with a light cardboard bottom.

Foldable Shopping Trolley

I was pretty excited! We put it to use last Sunday - today, it is being donated away, lol! Allow me to elaborate. This bag is not meant for heavy stuff. It was working fine with a 5kg pack of rice.

That day, however, I let over-enthusiasm rule and my thoughts went with  'pretty-sure-it-can-handle-more'. So I filled the bag  perhaps 10kg full (I can't tell), dragged it along confidently. Less than a minute in, it felt like I was dragging the bag on the floor with much more resistance. Instead of glop-glop-glop, it went kraaaaaakk. 

Oh, there goes the wheels! Both squashed apart from the weight. It wasn't broken but it would not stay upright. I told my husband there and then that I was donating these away, lol.

Foldable Shopping Trolley

There you go but that's not the end of my trolley adventure. I had ordered two more foldable ones. Pricier and of better quality! It feels solid and is just as convenient. We're trying those out tomorrow.

Meantime, I leave you with a picture of how my Lazada package arrived. It was packed with two free knives - what a nice seller.

Foldable Shopping Trolley

19 If It Is Free, Would You Not Take It?

"Hey ..." I called out to the man who had walked away from the shelves with two Dove shampoos. He seemed not to hear.

"Excuse meEe..," I said louder, now reaching out with my hand. He turned around. Hubs and I excitedly showed him our plastic-wrapped pillow and informed him that he qualified to get one free too. I pointed to where he could collect it.

He smiled, nodded 'yes-yes' and walked towards his shopping cart. I looked on in bewilderment as he continued his shopping elsewhere.

Dove Jigsaw Piece Pillow

"Why wouldn't anyone want a free pillow. Perhaps he thought me out to scam him!"  I ponder in amusement.

It was comical, really. Here I was, thrilled to get a free cute pillow for purchasing over RM30 worth of Dove products. I wasn't even buying it just to get the freebie. I use Dove shampoo and was already aiming for two large bottles when I noticed a promotional sign on top of a large metal wire mesh container with the pillows and details how to redeem it. As easy as picking one out for yourself and putting it in the cart. Nothing more. 

Here this guy was, sauntering away without looking back. I wished I had thought of it then. I would have asked cheekily -- if you're not taking it, could I have it instead ?

That's the thing about shopping, with me at least. I'm always on the lookout for bargains. In some supermarkets, freebies are self-collect. It's easy to walk off with a packet of Milo and not realise that you get a free container with that. It only takes a bit of my time to read the promotional notices that are usually displayed around the shelves.

In the case of Milo, there was a triple promo going on the weekend I was in Tesco! One, the price had gone down! Hubs was quick to grab a few 2KG packs. Two, we qualified for freebies - mugs and a large container. I don't quite remember the details as it was weeks ago. Anyway, as one product promoter placed the items into my cart, another one stopped to pass me some forms. "You're eligible for a free Milo jacket," she said.

My Awesome MILO Container

I thought the day was going way too good. Before I knew it, we'd paid for the items and driven home, completely forgetting about the jacket! I let it go, kicking myself every time I thought about it.  

MILO Mugs

I gave my dad the pillow. The milo container? It now stores delicious made-in-Brunei prawn crackers which I deep fried the day before - still crispy, which means it's airtight. 

8 Christmas at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

A day out in the big city. Two girls, window shopping. That was our goal...plus a small spending budget.

"It would be folly to 'squander' our savings on a festive whim," so I thought to myself in the seriousness of a puppy chewing on her treats. The truth is, I really wanted to save every penny for a big book sale we were heading to this weekend. Well, we certainly made good on keeping our hands off our wallets!

Did we have a great day then? I describe it as magical. We were consumed by the holiday spirit - this, after seeing a beautiful Christmas tree outside a small boutique hotel. I haven't figured out what exactly it was that hit us, but we zipped through several malls snapping photos of every Christmas tree we saw.

These are just the ones I took at Pavilion, which in my personal opinion, was out-of-this-world enchanting.

Christmas at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Left corner of the Christmas Santa at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

An overall picture of the Christmas decor at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

More Christmas trees at the entrance of Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

The night scene - Christmas at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Although exhausted, we couldn't resist walking back to Pavilion to see how the trees would look like at night. We were surprised with a musical light show. This is a short video of it. Happens at 8PM ;)

On a side note,  Crabtree & Evelyn is giving out a mystery gift! Snap a photo of yourself at their store or Christmas booth, using the props provided. Upload the photo into Crabtree & Evelyn's 'Festive Joy Wishes' app on Facebook. Show this to the cashier to claim the gift. We did this on the spot via our mobile phone and were both rewarded with a tube of hand lotion. 

In case anyone's interested, Crabtree & Evelyn's Christmas booth is located near the main entrance of Pavilion. 

Crabtree & Evelyn Mystery Gift!

Looks like we didn't go home empty handed after all ;)

All in, we covered seven malls! Sticky with sweat and in need of a bath, badly. Exercise? Bah, pretty sure this counts as enough. I'm feeling healthier already.

10 I Bagged These At Parkson. Gin&Jacqie Blessed Me One.

It's all in the bag. In my case, two bags have been secured in custody. That's how my weekend was spent, by the way - shopping for handbags with enthusiastic man in tow.

My handbag, which has been subject to constant abuse, gave way recently. It has weathered rain, sun and sand. The once perfect black faux leather has peeled. I left it at that.

When Man received some cash vouchers recently because he'd been a very nice guy to the bank, he insisted that I get a bag. I'm boringly practical. I use most of my cash vouchers on groceries and things that wear out easily like socks or undergarments. What can I say? I caved in.

How I landed myself with two handbags is entirely the doing of 'two indecisive parties'. I'll not elaborate because I think that explains it all. We Malaysians like to say, "Cannot decide, ah? Take two lah."

Bags by F.Timber

In what I call a personal record, I have accumulated three bags into the first four months of 2014. That's almost a bag a month.

I won this bag (photo below) in a contest which I had 'inadvertently' joined, no thanks to a close friend of mine. She entered a facebook comment competition, teased me and tagged me. I retaliated in good humour and that was that.

A little about this bag. I love it so much. It is my favourite road trip bag. I keep junk food and drinks in it. Small sweets in little compartments, cold coffee in one corner, chocolates and chips in another. A packet of scented wet tissue, small bin bag and some plastic cutlery is also stuffed in ← these are essential for pigging out in the car.

Makes me wonder what everyone else packs for their road trip. What's essential to you?

Bag by Gin&Jacqie

Money doesn't buy elegance. You can take an inexpensive sheath, add a pretty scarf, gray shoes, and a wonderful bag, and it will always be elegant ~ Carolina Herrera