We have some traditions here at MWS that have become so over the past couple of years, especially around this time of year, when we take time off to reflect on the year that has gone by. Incidentally, Isn’t it great that the world did not end on 21 December 2012 as people have been saying? I think it would have been disastrous LOL!
Anyway one of the “traditions” is in stepping outside of the beauty niche for a moment to consider what our favourite NON-beauty purchase or item of the year has been.
Mine is above. Something much too large to fit in one frame. It may not be what you think it is 😉
Being a bit of a gadget freak, its no surprise that my favourite non beauty purchases for 2010 and 2011 have been gadget related. I did have one gadget purchase this year that I am very happy with, but I won’t be featuring that one (its the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaning robot btw – one of my best splurges ever!) Incidentally, the other favourite is a proper chef’s knife. I know, a little awkward 🙂
But the one item/purchase I made this year that has given me the most joy is my wooden floor.
The floor was tile before this, and I’d not been happy with it for a while. It was hard to clean and had a tendency to get dirty quickly and it had bugged me for years. I’d also been planning to have wooden floors laid for a while, but didn’t get around to it for various reasons.
Well, this year I decided that enough was enough. I got fed up and went out and got it done within a week; and I have to say its the best thing ever! Its one of those laminated wood floor systems that you lay over existing tiles so disruption was at a minimum, and the work was done in a day. Its so much easier to clean, the dark colour I chose doesn’t show up dirt as much, and it feels lovely to walk on.
Best purchase of 2012, beauty or non-beauty 😀
What’s your favourite NON-beauty item/purchase of 2012?
It could be something you bought yourself – a gadget, a tool, jewellery, a car? 😀 – or it could be something someone gave you. Share your fave of 2012!
Paris B
Hands down: my new camera. My boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas but I was bad and made him give it to me a couple of weeks ago 😛 LOVE playing with it!!! 😀
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, dear Paris!! <3
A new camera! How absolutely awesome and lovely of your boyfriend to get it for you 😀 Looking forward to lots of lovely photos from you Becca!
Hi everyone! Browsed thro this blog and got hooked on it….awesome .
Gorgeous wooden floor!
Mine would be iroomba and samsung galaxy note 2 for this year.
Still not too late to wish all a season’s greetings n happy new year.
Hi Raymee, welcome and I hope to see you around the blog more often! 😉 Ah I love both your favourites. I wanted the Note2 but decided to be good and not change my phone again so quickly hehe… so will probably wait for the Note3! 😀
don’t think i have purchased anything in this year that’s a significant non beauty related item.
but if i really have to pick, that’d be my deco tapes and starbucks tumblers!
Ah see, you managed to pick something! 😀
Mine would be my beautiful new kitchen!! :D:D
Ooh I’m so jealous! I’d love to redo my kitchen but erm… maybe not. I don’t think I can handle the costs and the mess! LOL 😀 Enjoy yours.
Nice floor! I love the gentle grayish brown color. If I could have all wood floors I would, but the floor in some parts of my house are not level so carpet covers those areas 🙁
I would say travel but that is not an item, so perhaps it would be things I purchased on a recent trip to Japan: a small blue clock for my nightstand, a pair of elegant chopsticks, or handmade broom — all functional items that are beautiful to look at and make me happy everyday as they remind me of a wonderful trip.
Thank you Kay, when I saw the sample in the showroom, I wasn’t so sure how it’d look in a large area, but it turned out wonderfully – greyish brown! Makes me feel like I’m coming home to a resort 😀 I do think Travel, albeit not an “item” is a perfect choice. Japan is a lovely place and I hope you had fun there. If I could go back, I would! But I’m going to try to visit other countries first 😉
Btw Paris! I got wood flooring for my house too! Love it to bits! 🙂
Eeee! Snap! 😀 I think its the best thing I’ve ever done for my home! 😀
Lovely floor!
My favourite item of this year is the Kindle. I only just got it two days ago (it was a Christmas present), but I really don’t want to be without it anymore. And that is coming from someone who loves actual paper books!
I will move back to Japan next year (so my favourite non-buyable thing of 2012 is being accepted into grad school) and can’t take all of my books with me, so I decided it’s time for a change and wished for the Kindle. 🙂
Thank you Julia and you got a Kindle! I wanted one last year but didn’t get it because I wasn’t sure if I could handle reading an ebook. I later realised I couldn’t so I’m glad I didn’t splurge. But its great that you now get to carry your favourite books with you to Japan! Congratulations on getting into grad school! What an achievement 😀
Wow, very nice laminated wooden floor and looks very posh with the antique furniture. I spot the alluring shisha too 😛 This year my Nokia finally rest in peace. Say what the world wants, it was the best candy bar phone ever with awesome camera with Carl Zeiss lens. So I got an iPhone and it’s a better phone in some ways, makes me “connected” to the world with Whatsapp 🙂
Ooh you used to use the N95? 😀 I was using that too till I switched to the Blackberry a while ago and then my Dad inherited it. It was a very good phone, I must say. I think the new smartphones are good for multitasking and for staying connected. Its almost like carrying a mini computer around with you all the time! Oh and Whatsapp is the best ever! 😀
A few readers here have switched over to iPhone from Nokia… this resonates with me too! I was a loyal Nokia user for… 10 years? and when the world was crazy about iPhones I had my nose high up and said: “meh… iPhones are for yuppies (sorry, please don’t kill me because now I have one… :p)”. But then this year I decided to switch to it and finally… my long term loyalty to Nokia was shattered. Just like that. Scary.
I use it for emails a lot and am amazed at how this little gadget could do seamlessly let me copy and paste texts from one app to another. I’m so impressed that I even persuaded my boss to get me a macbook air (after MUCH persuasion). iOS rocks! 😀 Again, my long term loyalty to IBM is… shaken. Not shattered, but shaken. haha
Another fav non-beauty related thing is that I finally got a Thai driver’s license issued!! It took a lot of trouble, 5 trips to the Transport Agency and Embassy and I nearly cried the day I held my driver’s license. Really. 🙂
Hahaha another Apple fan! 😀 I am still in the non-Apple camp. I have to admit the phone is a good one, but perhaps I’m just too put off by the fanboys/fangirls hehe… But I do have an iPad so I do get the fuss about it 😀 Oh and congratulations on getting the Thai drivers license! I’ve seen the traffic in Bangkok and wow! Driving there is no easy feat 😀
That would probably be a set of new fins for diving, after getting sick and tired of my old pair I bought when I was a poor student on a very limited budget. I love them and they are in a shade of gorgeous orange (my fav colour)! Still on a buyer’s high thinking of them!
Diving fins! What a lovely buy and orange is a nice colour – easy to spot under the sea! 😀
Best non-beauty purchase would definitely be the holiday to Japan. And everything else that is lumped under the holiday 😛
Other than that, I’d say my Nexus 7. It’s much lighter than my 1st-gen iPad, which makes it easy to bring out with me.
Next year, I have two big-ticket items to aim towards: the Roomba and the Thermomix. Not even a bag. God I’m such an auntie 😛
Yay for your trip to Japan and I looked up the Nexus 7 and it looks amazing! Definitely much more portable than the iPad (I hardly even carry my iPad 2 around unless I know for sure I’ll be somewhere and bored) which doesn’t fit into most of my bags anyway 😛 I think the Roomba and Thermomix will give you much more pleasure than a bag – I’m serious! I’m thinking of getting a food processor but will see 😉
Fujifilm instax 210. Bulky and heavy it is. But I love the instant gratification of instant photographs. Great for family gatherings to capture the ‘moments’.
For this year, i didn’t get a single latest tech gadget! wow. I’m kind of shocked (in a good way) when i think back. But i can see myself getting some stuff come 2013.
I’ve noticed many people using these Instax cameras recently and they do look fun 😀 What gadgets are you eyeing in 2013? 😉
I’m eyeing the Samsung galaxy note 2. And the iPad mini which is what I wanted the iPad to be but was not.
Nice! I am also eyeing the Note2 but am hoping to hold out for the Note3 whenever that happens >.<
My favor8 non beauty item for 2012 : my canon camera 16.1 mp and my new apple ipad .
Loving them a lot 🙂
Very nice picks Shriya! I love a camera related anything 😀
It has to be my Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer I got on my birthday! 🙂 I got a Roomba from my husband for Christmas this year. I can’t wait to use it.
Yay to the Kitchenaid! I went to look at one in the store here and backpedaled so fast! LOL! I do plan to pick up a food processor some time this coming year though. So we’ll see! Oh and yay to the Roomba – I think you’ll love it as much as I do mine 😀
hahaha love this question! And your new floor looks gorgeous. My favorite thing…ok this is a little big to be a thing, but it has to be COLLEGE. When I came back from break, everyone I saw just said I looked so much happier than they had ever seen me, and I do feel incredibly blessed and happy that it turned out so well. So that would be my thing 🙂
Yay to college! 😀 Ok not to the late nights cramming for finals or rushing to finish projects but YAY anyway to it all! 😀 I’m happy that college agrees with you. I’ve left school such a long time ago, I just know I could never go back although it would be nice to be a little carefree for a while 😀