The latest....

'B' went to the house this afternoon only to find it in lock down!  No sneaky windows left unlocked anywhere, all doors locked.  For the first time we, or I should say he, was restricted to peeking through windows. Nooooooooo!

It wasn't all bad though, he could see that the bathroom mirrors are in and that the shower screens have been delivered yet to be installed.  We also knew from a phone call from our SS today that the wardrobe and pantry fit-outs happened today and he could see a bit of that as well along with the wardrobe door handles having been put on.  No carpet yet or paint touch ups but I guess they'll be happening soon.

In other exciting news.... we bought a new TV, Blu Ray Player and Fridge over the weekend!  We've been saving our pennies over the last year and doing a bit of research here and there (as discussed here a while back) and we're pretty happy with the deal we got.

Firstly, we ended up getting the Samsung Fridge that we've liked all along.  It still seemed to represent the best value for money and thanks to good ol' Mr Lee where everything really is negotiable, we got it for a steal at $1490!  We love it cause it has the water and ice dispenser on the outside, is the perfect size and looks fab!  Oh & did I mention the great price?

Next, we got a 46" Panasonic Viera Plasma for $845!  Again, thanks Mr Lee!  For the tech heads out there it is full HD, 600 Hz, has 3 HDMI, SD Card and USB.  We got a Panasonic Blu Ray player for an additional $145 as our DVD player carked it a few months ago.  We think it's a pretty sweet deal.

Personally, I don't know how I'm going to cope without our neanderthal, beast of an old tele, like the one below, which has a whole lot of tv rear projection bizzo going on behind it but I guess someone at Vinnie's is going to grab a bargain at least.

 Hopefully I'll be back soon with another update and PICS!

Appliances

We've chosen to supply a dishwasher for our new home because I want something that actually cleans dishes (shock! horror!) without having to pretty much hand wash them first and also one that doesn't sound like a freight train when it's running!

After checking out some online reviews I settled on a Bosch Dishwasher.  I was going to wait for some mid year sales when I recently heard that 2nds World were having a Bosch sale!  "B" and I went and checked it out and bought this baby for $1,085!  Has a few scuff marks on each side but you won't see them once installed!  RRP is $1,799 but let's be honest, you can always get it cheaper and my favourite online store is selling them for $1,451.  That's a $366 win for us!!!  Happy days!

While at 2nds World we had a quick look at fridges.  We have a fridge - it's a white, 12 year old, nothing flash kind of fridge that leaks and isn't frost free but hey it works and has served us well.  So while we don't need a new fridge, I'm certainly trying to stretch the budget to get a nice stainless steel one that won't be dwarfed by the huge fridge alcove home it will have in the new place.

Being conscious it's not one of the many necessities we will have after we move in I don't want to spend much more than around $1,500.  We're going to have plumbing in the fridge space so if we're going to bother getting a new fridge we may as well get one that has filtered water and ice too.  It appears most side by side fridges with this option start at $1,500.

The sales guy at 2nds World recommended this Samsung Fridge which seems to be the best value for money and has good reviews (even if only 2 people have reviewed it).  After chatting to the local Good Guys it appears I'll be able to get it for $1,565!  RRP $2,199, appliances online sell it for $1,716 and if I can get it for $1,565 we'll be saving $151!

Savings tally currently stands at $517.  Not bad.

Next on our list is a TV.  Like our lovely old fridge, we have a neanderthal beast of a television that's around 10 years old now so we would like to get a new one to hang on the wall.  Still trying to decide what to get.  On our tick list is:

• Good, clear picture (which they all have anyway - don't they?)
• 45 - 50 inches or so
• Economical to run (one sales guy told me the Plasmas are kind of on par with LCD running costs now, don't know how true that is)
• Internet capabilities (for down the track if we can ever afford ever decide to get foxtel)
• Cost around $1,000

I think that's about it really.  I know a technology buff would have hundred other must haves on their list but to be honest a TV is a TV to me ground breaking I know.  We're also quite aware of the huge changes that have happened in the last 10 years so can only imagine where TV's will be in another 5 - 10 years.

Any recommendations?