TIGERLILY'S BOOK

Restaurant Review: KIN NO TAKI

2012-01-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

Kin no Taki is one of our favorite restaurant. It's one of our "go-to" restaurant whenever we crave for Japanese food. This restaurant has various options on authentic Japanese dishes such as Ramen, Miso soup, Donburi, Okonomiyaki, Japanese grilled meats or Teppanyaki, etc.
In fact, their specialty is the Teppanyaki or japanese grill. You can do the grill yourself on your table, or if you're too lazy to do it yourself you can also ask them to grill it for you in their kitchen and have them delivered to you once it's done.
I love their Teppanyaki menu, aside from their "USDA Choice" meats they also have scallops and beef tongue slices which is amongst one of my favorites ;)

The variation on the menu is one of the reason why we love Kin no Taki, many of the dishes are unique and authentic japanese dishes. Me and K have been eating here since we are still dating. And it is still one of our fave Jap resto so far! We even get our families to eat here too.

Other reason why we love Kin no Taki? Their price is affordable !

And I also love the decor and ambience of the place.

I love the thick atmosphere of the Japanese style decor on every Kin no Taki restaurant, it kinda helps to spruce up the all around Japanese mood, and they always play Japanese songs too ;)

TV on the wall playing Japanese video clips and songs

In every Kin no Taki restaurant that we've been to, there are always two different areas of seating. You can choose to sit in the common "table + seating" area OR in low tables with built-in hollow area underneath, in which you can sit and put your feet underneath the table and experience the japanese traditional way of eating. When you choose the low table seating area then you are required to take off your shoes and put them in the small lockers that are provided nearby.

In this pic you can see the common seating area with Teppanyaki grill on top of every table, and the low seating area at the back (see the dark brown lockers there on the right?).

Every time we enter the restaurant all the waiter and waitresses would greet us with a simple saying of "irasshaimase" which means "welcome" or "please come in". You would notice this greeting in most of Japanese restaurants in Jakarta.

My go-to menu from Kin no Taki is either something from the Tepannyaki menu or the Spicy Chicken Ramen ! If you love ramen, and you love some spicy stuff then go ahead and order the Spicy Chicken Ramen, slurpy good! ;)

Kin no Taki has several branches around Jakarta, we went to Kin no Taki at Pondok Indah Mall 1 for dinner a few weeks ago and here are what we ordered:

For Appetizer,

I ordered Agedashi Tofu (IDR 15.000)

Agedashi Tofu is basically a deep fried silk tofu dish served with dashi-based (fish stock) sauce, topped with spring onions and some kind of red paste (special Kin no Taki sambal?).

I have always love Agedashi Tofu ever since I first tried it 6 years ago. And I would usually order Agedashi Tofu in every Japanese restaurant I dined in ;p But not all restaurants have good Agedashi Tofu, and Kin no Taki is one of those Jap resto who nailed the Agedashi Tofu. Me likey a lot!

K ordered Chawan Mushi (IDR 21.000)

Chawan Mushi is one of hubby K's favorite (although the menu says that Chawan Mushi is a girl's favorite ;P). Since I'm not really a fan of mushy things so this one is never my favorite. Chawan Mushi is basically an egg-based dish, a steamed egg custard served in a cup. It is served with some slices of crab cakes and green celery on top. Hubby K loves this and almost always order this whenever we dine at Kin no Taki.

Then for the main dish,

We both ordered Ishiyaki Chicken Bibimbap (IDR 39.000)

I was very hungry that day so I decided to order rice instead of my usual Spicy Chicken Ramen. Kin no Taki have many rice options but I was feeling insecure about my health so I decided to choose Ishiyaki Bibimba which is basically "rice with veggies".

This dish is very similar with Korean Bi Bim Bap, it's a bowl of warm rice topped with egg and vegetables, and served in a hot stone bowl. We mixed them all up in the hot stone bowl just before we eat it (see above). Kin no Taki now has the options of chicken bibimbap or beef bibimbap, back then it was just only vegetable bibimbap. It's a healthy dish but be careful, this is one VERY HOT dish. Wait for a few minutes before you start eating it ;p

and we also ordered Spicy Cuttle Fish (IDR 38.500)

This is from the Teppanyaki menu, we had it grilled on their kitchen so we don't have to grill it ourselves. I usually don't really like squids or cuttlefish because of their gooey texture but this Spicy Cuttle Fish is finger lickin good! We both loved it and would order it again the next time we dine in.

And Tori Momo (IDR 31.000)

Tori Momo is also from their Teppanyaki menu which we also ordered to be grilled in their kitchen. Tori Momo is basically just a grilled chicken thighs. It comes with a small plate of sauce and slices of carrots and yams. And just like we expected, these grilled chicken thigh were yummo! No wonder they specialize in Teppanyaki food, they really nailed it :)

And as for the drinks,
I ordered Ice Macha (IDR 20.500) and K ordered Nihon Cha (IDR 16.500)

Ice Macha is Iced Green Tea, and Nihon Cha is Hot Japanese Tea. The Nihon Cha is Refillable for that price. The Ice Macha comes in a rather tall glass so if you're not a thirsty drinker or simply don't drink much (like me) then a glass would suffice, no need to refill. But the Hot Cha comes in smaller glass so you might need some refills and all you have to do is just ring the bell in your table and the waitress will come to your attention.

Total spend:

We use a coupon of "buy 1 get 1" so we only pay for one Ishiyaki Bibimba.
The total damage are IDR 182.000 (before tax) and that was for two persons and five menus plus two drinks !

We prefer and would suggest Kin no Taki in Pondok Indah Mall 1 and Kin no Taki Plaza Semanggi.
We tried Kin no Taki at Jl. Tanjung Karang - Thamrin, Jakarta Pusat but we personally think that it doesn't taste as good. I don't know why.. maybe different chef?? And the service there is not quite as good too, the food takes too long, and the waitresses are not as responsive either. But these are just our opinions ;p

Kin no Taki
Pondok Indah Mall 1 - 1st floor #140

Jl. Metro Pondok Indah Blok 3 B, Jakarta Selatan

Places: Satu hari di Ancol

2012-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Desember lalu tepatnya 3 hari menjelang tahun baru 2012 saya diajak kakak sepupu saya yang kebetulan ingin mengajak anak-anak nya ke Ancol untuk liburan akhir tahun. Berhubung saya lagi haus hiburan jadi berangkatlah saya bersama rombongan sepupu dan keponakan ke Taman Impian Jaya Ancol di utara Jakarta.

Sesampainya di Ancol karena sudah memasuki jam makan siang kami memutuskan untuk makan siang terlebih dulu. Di area Ancol banyak sekali tempat pilihan makanan, dari fast food sampai restoran sea food, tinggal pilih mau yang mana. Berhubung hari itu rombongan kami banyak anak kecilnya jadi biar praktis kami memutuskan untuk makan siang di salah satu restoran fast food di area dekat pantai. Wah begitu turun dari mobil dan berjalan menuju resto langsung terasa hawa pantainya. Pohon-pohon nyiur yang tinggi semampai ditambah hembusan angin yang sejuk langsung membuat suasana liburan makin terasa, benar-benar pergantian suasana yang segar dari pemandangan Jakarta yang hiruk pikuk. Hmm…sepertinya kalau lagi suntuk boleh juga datang ke Ancol, walaupun cuma duduk-duduk di sekitaran pantai aja rasanya sudah cukup menyenangkan.

Selesai makan baru deh susun rencana. Ancol itu luas banget dan banyak banget arena rekreasi di dalamnya, selain Dufan dan Atlantis Waterpark juga ada Gelanggang Samudera / Ocean Dream Samudera, area bermain Outbond, Eco Park, Pasar Seni, sampai Putri Duyung Resort. Karena kita sudah punya rencana awal untuk ke Gelanggang Samudra jadi akhirnya kita langsung meluncur kesana setelah makan siang. Saat itu parkiran penuh! Tapi area parkirnya luas banget kok jadi nggak lama kemudian kami pun dapat parkir. Masuk ke area Ocean Dream Samudra bikin mata segar karena area nya rimbun dengan banyak pohon besar dan rumput hijau di kiri kanan jalan. Teriknya langit Jakarta hari itu tidak terasa terlalu menggigit di balik rimbunnya pepohonan. Andai saja di tengah-tengah kota Jakarta juga banyak taman rimbun seperti ini ya…

Di Gelanggang Samudra atau yang sekarang namanya menjadi Ocean Dream Samudera, kita rencananya mau nonton atraksi balet air “Mermaid &The Pearl” di Underwater Theater Ocean Dream, dan pastinya juga nonton teater 4 dimensi dong! Teater 4 Dimensi ini dalam sehari diputar beberapa kali, sama seperti semua atraksi lain di Ocean Dream ini. Di pintu depan kamu bisa minta brosur berisi jadwal atraksi lengkap dengan lokasi dan jam nya.

Poster film-film teater 4 Dimensi

para keponakan sedang diskusi menentukan show mana yang akan ditonton selanjutnya

Tiket masuk Ocean Dream seharga IDR 90.000 (weekdays) dan IDR 110.000 (weekend) berlaku untuk semua atraksi di dalam Ocean Dream kecuali “Swimming with Dolphins“. Berhubung saat itu sedang ada diskon kartu kredit jadi kami membayar dengan harga diskon yang lumayan. Setelah melihat jadwal tiap pertunjukan di brosur kami pun memutuskan untuk nonton Caribbean Pirates Show terlebih dahulu.

Caribbean Pirates Show menggabungkan seni peran dengan atraksi air seperti atraksi jet ski ditambah aksi-aksi seru para pemainnya yang meluncur di tali, loncat salto, dan lainnya. Ditambah pula dengan adegan “bom meledak” yang mengagetkan penonton dengan suara keras dari semacam petasan. Sesuai judulnya tema dari show ini adalah bajak laut. Karena saat kami datang semua kursi belakang sudah penuh jadi kami mendapatkan tempat duduk di bagian depan (yang terik kena matahari huhuhu). Lalu pada beberapa adegan, si bajak laut ini beraksi tepat di depan kursi penonton dan bahkan sampai loncat ke depan keponakan-keponakan saya hahaha mereka semua (termasuk saya) jadi ikut terhentak karena kaget. Dan karena ini adalah atraksi air jadi di beberapa area tempat duduk bagian depan ikut terkena basah karena cipratan air dari jet ski yang sedang beraksi hehehe tapi seruuu…!

Selesai dari Caribbean Pirates kami segera menuju ke pertunjukan Singa Laut & Lumba-lumba. Ini termasuk pertunjukan favorit saya sedari kecil (dulu saya pernah difoto sambil dicium singa laut lho hehehe). Di pertunjukan singa laut ini seperti biasa ada atraksi singa laut yang lucu-lucu dan menggemaskan. Ada singa laut jantan yang bisa goyang dangdut ala Sule lho hehehe dan yang betina nya bisa dansa berdiri sambil pegangan tangan dengan instrukturnya, sungguh bikin kami tertawa lebar.

Setelah singa laut selesai lalu keluarlah hewan favorit saya: Dolphins alias lumba-lumba! Di Ocean Dreams ini juga ada arena “Swimming with Doplhins” lho, mungkin lain waktu kalau saya ada rejeki bisa ikutan berenang bareng lumba-lumba disini, soalnya mahal sih hehe.

Usai pertunjukan singa laut dan lumba-lumba kami langsung menuju ke Underwater Theater untuk melihat pertunjukan Mermaid & The Pearl Aquatic Dance ala Rusia. Pertunjukan ini adalah tarian di bawah air yang dimainkan oleh para underwater dancer dan juga lumba-lumba, tema nya adalah putri duyung & mutiara. Jadi kita menonton dengan cara duduk manis di depan aquarium raksasa yang ada di dalam gedung pertunjukan ber-AC di arena Ocean Dream Samudra ini. Seperti ini nih aquarium raksasanya:

Dan berikut adalah cuplikan show nya:

Setelah pertunjukan usai kami pun segera bergegas ke teater 4 dimensi karena pertunjukan selanjutnya akan segera dimulai. Dari beberapa film yang diputar hari itu kami kebagian yang judulnya “Dora Adventure”. Teater 4 Dimensi ini adalah teater unik dimana kita tidak hanya menonton film dengan kacamata 3 dimensi tetapi juga dikejutkan dengan hembusan angin serta percikan air sesuai dengan alur film. Menurut saya sih jauh lebih seru film Turtle Vision yang dulu saya pernah tonton disini dibanding film Dora ini, keponakan saya juga bilang yang sama.

Dari teater 4 dimensi ini kami beristirahat sebentar sebelum melanjutkan adventure kami hari itu. Hari semakin sore dan pengunjung Ancol masih tetap ramai. Untungnya area publik yang luas dan rindang tidak membuat suasana menjadi sumpek.

Petualangan kami di Ancol tidak berhenti sampai disitu. Kami pun melanjutkan petualangan kami dengan keluar dari arena Ocean Dream dan menuju ke tempat Gondola. Ya, kami berencana untuk menikmati sore hari yang indah melalui gondola. Harga naik gondola IDR 40.000 dan banyak diskon yang tersedia juga, bahkan ada papan yang khusus memberitahu diskon spesial yang sedang berlangsung. Gondola nya sendiri muat sampai dengan 6 orang, dan jangan khawatir, Gondola ini cukup aman kok, terlihat dari fasilitas nya yang nampak masih baru dan terawat. Di dalam gondola nya juga cukup luas, bersih dan nyaman. Pintu nya pun otomatis, ditambah lagi jendela-jendela besar yang menampilkan pemandangan indah dari segala sudut.

Yang membuat gondola di Ancol ini unik adalah pemandangannya; di satu sisi kita bisa melihat hampir keseluruhan area Ancol yang super luas, dan di sisi lainnya kita bisa melihat pemandangan laut yang seakan tidak bertepi, lengkap dengan kapal-kapal di kejauhan. Sementara di bawah gondola kita dapat melihat jalur pantai di sepanjang Ancol. Benar-benar pengalaman yang unik.

Tidak terasa hari sudah semakin sore, turun dari gondola kami memutuskan untuk beristirahat sejenak sambil menikmati bakso panas di salah satu area makan yang tersebar di Ancol. Matahari sudah mulai terbenam, langit pun siap berganti malam, tandanya kami harus mengakhiri petualangan seru kami kali ini.

Tak terasa sudah seharian kami menghabiskan waktu disini. Satu hari di Ancol adalah salah satu cara menyenangkan untuk melengkapi liburan akhir tahun. Banyak sekali aktifitas yang dapat dilakukan disini, dan semuanya seru, baik untuk anak kecil maupun dewasa. Jadi tidak salah kalau Ancol dapat dipilih sebagai salah satu alternatif tempat berlibur, dan rasanya satu hari di Ancol pun belum cukup untuk menjelajahi semua tempat.

Bagi rombongan kami, satu hari di Ancol kali ini adalah sebuah liburan akhir tahun yang menyenangkan. Hari itu, kami pun pulang dengan hati gembira dan senyum super lebar.

(Versi editan tulisan ini sudah saya publish terlebih dulu di Kompasiana untuk Kompasiana Ancol Blog Competition)

Daily Journal: UCIL, in memoriam...

2012-01-16T05:20:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Have you entered my newest giveaway on my fashion blog Two Thousand Things ? You could win a $25 box of hair accessories from Cover Your Hair, and it's open for Worldwide !!

So today I just want to write a short post in remembrance of my cat Ucil. If you've read this blog long enough you probably read his name in several of my blabbering posts. Ucil is one of our cat, we had him since he was a baby. In fact he was born in this house (her mother was our pet too). Ucil has been in this blog since this blog was first published to public. He has been part of this blog along with his brother Blackey. I had several posts with their pictures or names written in. Ucil has been a cute little black & white cat of our family. He is basically part of the family!

Ucil is so cute with black & white pattern and short blunt tail, he also had a smaller body if compared to other male cats, so what he lacks in body volume he covered it with a strong voice. His voice was loud and strong as though he wants everybody in the room to take notice. He sometimes would scream for food or when he just entered the room. He probably also uses his loud voice in the streets when he met with other cats in the neighborhood so that every cats would take him seriously, hahaha... (well at least that's what we think) ;p

Me and my brother always love a black & white cat, and Ucil is one of the cutest one we have. He has been loyal, kind hearted, entertaining, and adorable although he's not as submissive as his brother but he is soo cute especially when he's sleeping!

And the last time we saw him was at last New Year's eve...

I was spending all day at my in law's house that day on December 31st, and then came back to our house late at night to celebrate new year's. But when we were on our way back home we got a message that my mom and most of the families are heading outside to a location where we could watch fireworks, so me and hubby just make a quick stop by at our house for a quick outfit change and then headed straight to the door again to went out to join the rest of the families. And when I was heading through the door that was when I saw him sitting underneath the dinner table. And that was the last time I saw him. I still can remember it in my head as when I took a glance of him right there underneath the table.... T___T

He was already seems un-fit and always lie down weakly for the past several weeks, we thought he was sick but he still ate and drink like a normal cat does, so we figured maybe he was just getting old. And then on the first days of 2012 we never saw him again (*sob..)

Our cats used to go out and play in the neighborhood and they always come back 3 - 4 times during the day to eat or sleep. Ucil also does the same, although in his last days he didnt go out as often as he used to, he would just sleep much and seems a bit weak all the time. He seems so...old. Even when he sleeps he seems weak, just like a very old man. And since that new year's eve he never came home again...

Wise people said that a truly loved cat pet will choose to die somewhere so that their owner wouldn't see they died, to avoid making their owner feeling sad.
And I guess the saying is true..
We couldn't be more sad when he's gone without us knowing where he died and knowing that we can't give him a proper burial like we did with our past cats. But maybe Ucil did make the right choice, because he probably knows that he was much much loved in this house that if he died at home where we could see his lifeless body it would just too much to handle for us, he knows how we loved him so much and how we would be very devastated when we see him died right in front of our eyes, so he chose to die somewhere that we couldn't see..

Ucil has been through so many things growing old together with us. We secretly sensed that Ucil is getting so old and he is not as strong and energetic like he used to. His gesture really shows that his age is starting to get him. So we secretly knew that maybe his time is close.. but we still hope that he can live longer. Well he does live a longer life...

I remember how Ucil sometimes stand beside my dad's foot when my dad is sitting on the couch, and Ucil would just keep staring at him as if waiting for something. And if my dad moves or stands up from the couch, Ucil will automatically follow him because he thinks my dad will give him food ;)

One of me & my husband's most sweet memories of Ucil is the way he had soo many weird poses when he bathe himself hahaha :

this one is when he just had a fight with a neighbor cat :

One of his favorite spot for sleeping is on the stairs (oh how I missed seeing him there):

Dear Ucil,

Although we couldnt see you again but we will always see you in our dreams, we always think about you although you're not here anymore. I kept having dreams of you over and over again, I hope you didn't experience pain at all when you went to heaven, I thought you'd probably went while you're asleep so you didnt feel anything. And because I couldn't give you a proper burial so I thought I'd give you a proper goodbye with this special post instead..

Thank you for all these 6 years of loyalty and companionship, you're one of our cutest cats. Thank you for accompanying me in my happiest and saddest time. Thank you for all of the laughter and the smiles you've given to us. You have been a blessing for our family. We hope that we had given you comfort and love that you deserved for the whole of your life. And may we meet again in heaven when the time comes ...

Love,

Your Family..

Good night Ucil, sleep tight ...

Decor: The Attic

2012-01-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

Just incase you need some inspirations on what to do with the attic ;)

Which one do you like ?

I'll catch ya later :)

Places We Go: Tarzan D'Mighty Circus

2012-01-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

As I told you earlier on my previous post me & K planned to see the circus that was playing in town. So on the last week of December we went to Parkir Timur Senayan to see the circus!! We picked the night show which started at 19.30 on that Friday, and as soon as we arrived there and saw this sight of a giant colorful tent, it automatically bring joy to my heart, I could just leap in joy the moment I saw the tent!

The circus was a collaboration between a renowned world circus and TSI Production (TSI: Taman Safari Indonesia or Indonesian safari park). So it's basically a circus filled with animals shows and professional acrobatic shows + entertaining musical shows. The theme of the circus is "Tarzan D'Mighty". So it tells a story of the Tarzan tale showcased in a full animals, musical and acrobatic performances. No clowns included. ;p

look at the sleeping elephant ;p

Overall it's a great show, and although I was expecting a classic circus like all the circus I saw when I was a child but this one is still a memorable one, especially since I haven't been to a circus for so long and getting to be closed with animals are one of the thing that makes both of us happy, we are Huuugee animal lovers :)

Since this is a collaboration with TSI so outside the circus tent there are also some animals booths where you can ride elephant, ride camels, took photo with a tiger cub (like we did!), etc...just like in Taman Safari Indonesia.

Thanks to Groupon Disdus we got our tickets for 50% Off!! There are a few ticket price options according to "class" or seats. The cheapest was IDR 100.000 and aside from the Groupon discount there were also other discount offers such as from BCA, etc.The circus played about 2 - 3 times a day for 2 hours, and right now the circus is still going on until tomorrow January 8th ! So if you want to take your family or friends to watch the circus then better hurry up, the Groupon discount is no longer there though.

We Love Animals!

with Samantha, the tiger cub.

For online tickets and discount promotion price, click:
www.tsiproductions.net
www.tarzandmightycircus.com

2011 - A Year in Highlights

2012-01-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

We've been thanking a lot for the last few years, there were just so much gifts that God has granted to us, and we can definitely see ourselves developed more and more in so many ways. In 2010 we're thankful we were able to bought our first car and our (small) apartment, upgraded my iPhone, attended my first Jakarta Fashion Week (and won 2nd place on a JFW competition held by Femina magazine). Then in 2011 hubby K got a new promising job (!), we bought a new camera, and hubby's turn to upgrade his iPhone ;)

Well of course there were other personal achievements as well as some down moments or things that we failed to achieve during those years but surely those down moments are not to be focused on. Let's just focus on the great things we've achieved so far and learned the lessons from the bad ones. One of the perks of having a personal blog is to be able to see and look back on your years just from re-reading your old blog posts archive. I love to read my old archived posts to see what I've been up to at those times and how much our lives have changed since that. I love to see how much my blogs have developed and how much I see myself evolved comparing to where I was a year or two years ago. And it is a great feeling knowing that you actually did pretty well all these past years :)

So anyway, here are the highlights from my 2011 :

JANUARY

There weren't many exciting activities during January, except for the couple of freebies I received that month (Words to The Rescue book, Shaw Treatment travel set, Kotex package, etc). I also redeemed my Centro vouchers that I got as one of the winner of the Nikicio blog contest that I did back in December 2010. I got a free maxi dress and a multi-colored bracelet from redeeming the vouchers :) I guess it's the "new year's luck" ;) - We also supposedly go to a big family vacation to Belitung island but had to cancel because of some unavoidable matters.

( words to the rescue book, Swahili set from Shaw Treatment, Kotex package )

FEBRUARY

Then in February we went to Snowbay Watertainment at TMII and had a fabulous day trying the Hurricane over and over again (long queue but really worth it!). In my fashion blog I also participated in Jane's Annual Capsule Wardrobe Challenge via her blog The Small Fabric of My Life. I"ve been participating in this annual challenge for two years in a row ;)

The Hurricane at Snowbay

MARCH

In March me and my family went to a family trip to Surabaya, Malang, and Madura. Malang is where most of my dad's family resides. We crossed the strait from Surabaya to Madura island via the Suramadu bridge, we satisfy our stomach with a full blown Surabaya feast which famous for their Spicy Duck as well as Seafood fare. And we also visited the Batu Zoo in Malang which was clearly the highlight of our trip!
In this month I was also invited to Artistry new product launching event, and had my first ever Coach item, hahaha! It wasn't a real bag anyway, it's just a coin purse that I won in a blog giveaway. Free Coach, yay! I'm so pathetic, I know...LOL. Oh and this month we kinda officially adopted Blackey's son and named him "Kiddo" :)

( From top: Batu park zoo, My face analysis from Artistry, Coach coin purse, Blackey & son: Kiddo )

APRIL

On April the world celebrate the Royal Wedding (of William & Kate), it is a history in the making. As for blogwise, I attended the Make Up Forever new campaign launching, the Council of Chefs event, and I won a free tix from twitter for the CSI: The Experience exhibit at Mall of Indonesia which was awesome because we get to be a detective and try to solve a case as a CSI agent. Me & hubby are both CSI lovers so it is such an experience for us :)

( MUFE new ad campaign, Council of Chefs event, CSI: The Experience )

MAY

May was hubby K's birthday but I actually forgot what we did for his birthday, and I asked him but he also didn't remember, so we probably just had a little b'day-gift shopping and a casual birthday dinner at one of our favorite restaurant, and then probably had another dinner with our family. This month I participated in the Level One Project blogging contest and although I didn't win the first prize I still won some coffee vouchers. I also started a new blog post series in this blog called "Cerita Minggu Ini" >> which was apparently K's favorite part of the blog. (Note to self: dont be lazy to keep this series on!)

what's up there, hon? is it a bird? a man? a superman?

JUNE

In June we got great news because hubby K got a new job ! The office were much closer to home, the work hour is "normal", and the offer they gave were much better than his old job so we're thankful for all of that. Blogwise, I was sent an invitation to try one of the treatments at Sunsilk Hair Studio in Grand Indonesia. I got a much needed free hair cut instead! :D We also started to look for furniture things, compare prices, and so on for the "Apt Project" blog series (because we heard news that our pad will be ready soon, but turns out the news was just a false hope).

( furniture hunting, Sunsilk Hair Studio, K's first day on the new job! )

JULY

In July I was interviewed by Smashion for my fashion blog Two Thousand Things. I was also invited to the USDA Council of Chefs second event but I failed to attend due to a very bad eye infection that I had that day. We also finally visited the site of our new pad to try to see whether the rumors are true. We did get an invitation from the developer for a grand launching event, but when we get there it wasn't fully ready to live-in. The ready-units were those that located up until level 5, our unit was in level 15 so it would still need a couple of months I guess. But that's okay, that mean we can still have time to save up to buy our furnitures and kitchen cabinets ;p Oh and we bought this cute tuxedo print onesie for our nephew's birthday, isn't it the cutest onesie or what?! ^o^

( Smashion interview, Future pad, Cutest onesie )

AUGUST

August was my birthday and we also forgot where we went to celebrate it so maybe just another usual shopping + dinner, but I do remember I was sick on the day of my birthday and couldn't really go anywhere, but luckily we already went out to celebrate it on the day before my actual birthday date :) This month was also the Eid Al-Fitr celebration (the most celebrated day for Muslims) where we gather with our family to celebrate it. We went to Bandung to celebrate with K's big family on the first day and then we both went back to Jakarta to celebrate with my side of the family on the 2nd day.

( Top: me on my bday. Bottom: our Eid Al Fitr in Bandung, and in Jakarta )

SEPTEMBER

In September I went to Bogor with my cousins to have a culinary trip. Bogor is only 1 1/2 hour drive from Jakarta. The weather in Bogor was fantastic and it was a nice short getaway from the hectic capitol. Blogwise, I was invited to the Guess Fall/Winter preview at one of their flag store in Grand Indonesia. Another nice surprise was K's photo was picked as semi-finalists for the XL - Instagram Photo Competition ! We went to see the photo exhibition at The Rasuna Epicentrum where his photo was displayed and they also put the semi-finalist photos into a book !! So of course we bought the book. Although he did not win but how many opportunities do you get to see your creation and name in a book ?! I'm so proud of him :D

( Bogor trip, Guess fashion show, K's instagram photo exhibition )

OCTOBER

I was invited to the Hermes Paris Mon Ami event in October, and October was another month for freebies too. I received so many free stuffs, such as the Snowbay package which I received in a surprise, courtesy of Snowbay management team who happens to read my blog post about my fun day at Snowbay back in february! I also received free clothes courtesy of Roxy - Quiksilver who has been a great blog partner since last year. There were also a few other clothes from my cousin that she gave to me, a creamy body mist from Etude (from my brother who gave it to my mom and then mom gave it to me). I can't believe my luck. Oh and this month I also won my first-ever bid on ebay !! I won a leopard-print earrings from Betsey Johnson for about $2.99 !!

( Hermes event, Surprise package from Snowbay, package from Roxy Batik collection )

NOVEMBER

And the luck dust probably still have it's trace up to November because K surprisingly won a door prize of an Electrolux Washing Machine during his office's outing session (!), and later on he was also given 2 vouchers @IDR100.000 for Gramedia bookstore as a thank you gift for being a part of the outing committee. Super lucky, Alhamdulillah.

In November there were also some events that I was given invitation to. And I love attending events. These events invitation mostly came from a PR rep that found me through my blogs. I still couldn't believe how lucky I am to be able to have these invitations that were usually reserved for VIPs or professional journalists, and that's all Thanks to my blog !! So keep writing your blog guys, you'll never know what opportunities may knock on your door ;) So anyway this month I attended the Fimela.com Media Gathering for their Read2Share campaign & their FimelaFest, I also attended the Wolipop's Edgy Style fashion show, the Gala Premiere for Arisan 2 the movie, and of course let's not forget the annual Jakarta Fashion Week !! I had one other event I had to cancel too :( But overall, November was quite a busy work month for me.

( From top, left to right: Gramedia vouchers, Fimela media gathering, Wolipop fashion show, Arisan 2 gala premiere, Jakarta Fashion Week )

DECEMBER

December has also been a busy month for me, not work-busy, but fun-busy (if that makes sense ;p). Although I didn't attend any event this month but I was quite busy with all the fun outings I had. On early December we went to Bandung for a day trip with our friends. The 2 hours drive and all the foods we ate, and all the places we visited were really fun! I even had a short cookie making class! We plan to do another trip again soon, maybe to Bali ? ;p - And then we also went to see a fundraising mini show with K's parents at Sultan Hotel featuring Harvey Malaiholo, a famous Indonesian singer. Near the end of the month I also get to take K to the World Circus that are playing in town, and then we went to another trip to Snowbay Watertainment Park using the free vouchers and discounts that I got from the package that Snowbay sent me in October. And then I also went to Gelanggang Samudra Ancol with my cousins and her children. Gelanggang Samudera is roughly translated as "Ocean Arena", so it's like an ocean-themed arena/park where you can watch sea animals shows, etc. And lastly we get to spent New Year's eve together with both our families. What a wonderful way to end the year.. (plus we got a new camera in early December too!).

< From top, left to right: The Cookie Making certificate ;p, Fundraising show at Sultan Hotel, Gelanggang Samudera, World Circus (pictured with Samantha the cub), Snowbay Watertainment Park, New Year's eve >

Pfiuh, and that was my highlight of 2011. If you got bored reading this I don't blame you, it's such a very long post, even I got up late to make this post until 3:00 AM. But I know I'm gonna read this post again in 2013 and looked back to see how much our life has changed us.
As I was having quite many fun places to experience in 2011 so I'm hoping for much more fun and adventurous places to visit in 2012. If you would like to see my 2010 highlights and achievements you can read it in my fashion blog Two Thousand Things.

And although we had adopted Kiddo as our 3rd cat but right now at the beginning of this year we think we might say good bye to one of our cat, Ucil. He has been sick for the last month because he's old. He turns so skinny and looks really tired even though he still eat normally. His hairs were falling out and when he sleeps he seems like a very tired old man. Poor Ucil. The last time we saw him was at new year's eve, right under the dinner table. And after that we never saw him again until this moment. God bless his warm and kind heart...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 !!

2012-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a great holiday and New Year's Eve celebration!

Mine was pretty great. Actually the month December were pretty great for me. I had a lot of outdoor activities during the last weeks of December, and then on the day before New Year's eve me and hubby K went to the mall to redeem our Gramedia bookstore voucher which was due on Dec 31 ;p

And then although I didn't plan to buy anything except for redeeming the vouchers at the bookstore, we ended up shopping, ha! We were trapped and so distracted by all the SALE signs that we see all over the mall so one thing led to another and I ended up buying a watch from a new store at the mall's skywalk, and a couple of things from Mango. Hubby K also ended up with a nice-looking shirt for the office and we also bought a polo shirt for my dad since it was on discount too ^o^ So much for not planning on shopping, we both are so impulsive buyer, LOL. That explains where our money went missing mysteriously hehehe ;p

So anyway, we spent our new year's eve with our family. We had dinner at K's parents house with his sister and husband (& my nephew), we barbecued some corns smeared with butter, garlic salt, and a little bit of hot sauce. We also had some barbecued chicken, barbecued mini sausages, and cooling ice tea. K's mom also made some special dinner as addition to the barbecue menu, there were Tom Yum Soup, Spaghetti with Meat sauce, and beef tongue stew on the dinner table.

And then later at night me and K went to my parents house where my big family are having a get-together for new year's eve. We're lucky our parents house are only 15 minutes from each other ;p

At my house there were seafood menu on the table. There were some fish soup, various grilled fish, grilled chicken, and then some little cakes, martabak, oranges, etc.

When the clock hits closer to 12.00 we went out and headed to Summarecon Mall at BSD area to watch the giant fireworks, but we never made it to Summarecon Mall because the street were already jam packed with cars and motorcycles, it's like everybody are on the street and heading at the same direction. We then decided to just parked our car and just get out of the car to join everybody else in the street that were already got out of their car too. We made it just in time to see the fireworks! There were lots of people there and it felt so festive and the fireworks were beautiful and there were so many of them lighting up the sky!

After the firework ended we walked across the street to the nearby Oh La La Cafe that were still open for the new year. I had a Mocha Latte and we all share the "sampler dish" and just chatted along for a while. And then when the traffic looked a little milder we headed back to my parents house. Me and K still have to help our parents cleaned the house after everybody went home, and then we had a little family gossip time before me and K went back to K's parents house, LOL. And we finally hit the bed at 4 am no less, phew ^o^

It was a nice way of spending New Year with our family, and we both are lucky enough to be able to spend it with both of our families! We were very thankful for what 2011 had brought us, it was a great year for both of us and we were grateful for that. I hope 2012 will bring us even more joyous moments and great experiences. I'd wish for more fun adventures and great success in 2012. Maybe in 2012 we would finally move to our new space (the finishing process of our new pad has taken much longer time than we expected), and although we still have another year to paid off the credits of our car we would still hope for a new car because this one has gone to the service quite too often now.

I also would surely hope for more opportunities for both of my blogs. 2011 has bring many unexpected great accomplishments for my two blogs so I'd hope to develop them even more in 2012. These blogs are my babies, I took great measures with them and tried my best to work professionally as a professional blogger (although I still have much to learn). Surely there are more opportunities from local companies now compared to 2010 where I only get offers from companies abroad.
So I really have high hopes in Indonesia's brand marketing system, bloggers are now considered as a "semi-journalist" as well as "an influencer" so it's time for the bloggers to shine :)

Alright now, tomorrow I will hopefully write about my best of 2011 highlights on my next post. And if you're interested you can read my 2011 outfit review in my fashion blog here: Two Thousand Things.

And so how bout your New Year's eve? Any fun stories to share? ^o^

Source: All pics are from my Instagram (add me: yurikristia)

Daily Journal: Busy Weekends!

2011-12-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

I've been having a busy weekend for these past two weeks, pfiuh!
Two weekends ago we spent our Saturday doing our own schedules and plans for that day. Hubby K went to the car service station to fix our car, it has something to do with the brakes but I'm not sure what. While K spent the entire noon at the service station, I spent my Saturday doing some household tasks that I never get the time to do it in weekdays, and I also spent the rest of the afternoon updating my blogs and Facebook games ;p - And then late in the afternoon we went to K's parents house (nobody there!) so we went out to find ourselves some dinner (Nasi uduk Betawi) instead.

On Sunday, we woke up pretty early in the morning. We went to have breakfast with K's parents at Fatmawati area (hot chicken porridge), and then we went to Pasar Pagi Blok M (note to my international readers: "pasar pagi" is similar to Sunday morning market). There are lots of cakes, cookies and finger foods (traditional and western-inspired food are both available there). There were also in-season's fresh fruits and a few other stands that sell miscellaneous things such as childrens clothes and toys.

Mom in law bought some traditional cakes (onde-onde, risol, etc) and fruits (rambutan and bananas), and I asked her to buy some fruit pies too ( I love fruit pies!). Below is a pic of me (who has not taken a bath yet that morning ;p) and my MIL:

And then we went home to have lunch and took some needed nap (^o^). At night we went to Hotel Sultan to see a local fundraising music show featuring Indonesia's top singer Harvey Malaiholo, and some other performances such as one of the Molucca's singer: Pita Loppies (who has great vocal and performance by the way!) and a newcomer Mika Tambayong who is apparently Harvey's god daughter.

Harvey Malaiholo

Pita Loppies

Harvey and Mika Tambayong

The music was so-so at first, but then it went great right after Pita took the stage, and then Harvey's turn is right after Pita's so everyone clapped even harder and danced around like there's no tomorrow. But we didn't dance though, we're just happily people-watching that night ^o^

And that was two weekends ago.

Last weekend we were also quite busy. On Saturday, we went to Pondok Indah Mall to go to Gramedia bookstore to use our vouchers which K received from his office. He got two vouchers @IDR100.000 and both are valid until this December so it was time for us to use it before it expires! (receiving these bookstore vouchers for free were like a joyful gift to both of us since we both love to read! ^__^)

After the book hunting at Gramedia we then had dinner at one of our favorite Japanese restaurant Kin-No-Taki (using another "buy 1 get 1" voucher which we got from a booklet that we received after we did a donation for Sampoerna foundation a few months back). And then after the delicious Japanese meal (Ishiyaki Bibimba or Japanese Bibimbap, spicy cuttlefish, Tori Momo or grilled chicken thigh, Agedashi tofu, Chawan Mushi, and Ocha for drinks), we finished the day with some delicious yoghurt dessert (with peach, lychee, and mixed fruit jelly toppings) at Sour Sally.

And then on Sunday we started early and went to Snowbay (watertainment park) at TMII, using my vouchers and member card which I got from Snowbay Management Team! We went there with the whole big family and had lots of really fun time doing all the rides and the wave pool, and relaxing in the long stream pool.

We spent many hours at Snowbay as usual, we went in at 10 am and went out at around 5 o'clock in the afternoon ;p Then we all went all the way to the other part of Jakarta: Bandar Djakarta in Ancol to have a big family dinner since one of my niece turned 17 a few days ago and her parents invited us to celebrate it with a big dinner at one of the most popular seafood restaurant in Jakarta. Bandar Djakarta is a seaside restaurant but we can't really see the sea from our table because we booked a private room upstairs which has windows that faced the parking lot and the inside of the restaurant. Well at least we can see the humongous green sparkly christmas tree from our windows though..

The green huge tree right in the middle of the restaurant. This is the view from our room at 2nd floor.

The waiters bring this sparkly thing to our room along with the birthday cake to celebrate the birthday girl

We arrived home late at night, exhausted, but happy ^___^

What did you do last weekend?

Freebies for Worldwide addresses

2011-12-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

When I was in college I love to hunt freebies from the internet. Me and my bestie Epi always spent a lot of time browsing the internet just to hunt for some freebies. There are a lot of freebies that were sent to us almost every day. From catalogs to perfume samples, books, travel mugs, stickers, toothpaste samples, pins, tote bags, etc, you name it!
I even made my first website because of that. My first-ever website was about International freebies. Back at that time it's hard to find freebies that were available to Indonesia because most of them are only listed for US addresses. So I have to dig in deeper to find freebies that can be sent to my country (aka worldwide). So to make it easier to other freebie hunter like myself I made a website where I listed every freebie links I got that available for worldwide. I even categorized them and wrote some info if I did received it and how long does it take for me to receive it. Yup, that was my first ever website ;p

It always felt nice to receive something from the mail / delivery man, when you came home and found a package on your door, it almost feel like receiving gifts every week ^o^ But then we graduated from college and moved back to Jakarta, and just got busy with work and family. And then I got busy with my online store, and then I moved on to managing my blogs where I had the chance to received lots of goodies and freebies too, most of them are from my blog's sponsors and souvenirs or doorprize from events.

But today I don't know what hit me, I started to hunt down some freebies again. Free things that websites and companies sent you for free, right to your doorstep. And just like the old time, most of the freebies were for US addresses only, but now it's much easier to find companies or websites that are willing to send the freebies to worldwide address. So here is some list of the freebies that I found today, these freebies are available to Indonesia addresses (aka available for worldwide):

- Free Tape Measure from Perry Uniform
- Coffee samples from Ethiopian Specialty Coffee (I didn't ordered this one because I don't have a coffee grinder)
- LL Bean Catalogs (clothing catalog)
- Garnet Hill Catalog (clothing & home decor catalog)
- Talbots Catalog (clothing catalog)
- Hammacher Catalog (household & gifts catalog)
- Free Mini Christmas Tree ( I didn't order this one because I don't celebrate Christmas but I thought I'd put the link here so you can order if you want :D )
- Safety Kit from Graco (baby stuff)
- World Expeditions Travel Brochures ( I love travel brochures! It's another way to see places I've never been to! )
- Slovenia Travel Brochures (click the "Place an order" tab and then pick three!)
- Orkney Islands - Scotland Travel Brochures
- Hussana Body Care Sample (Halal beauty products)
- Skin Repair Essence from L'Essence D'Eau

Other freebies that I found today are some automotive catalogs that I ordered for hubby K.

So have fun ordering your freebies!
If I received any of the freebies above I'll post about it :)
And if you decided to order some freebies too please do tell us if you received yours ^__^

NOTE: Oh and if you live in the US or have a US address I have a Wayfair Bag Giveaway on my fashion blog, if you win you can choose between a leather handbag or an ostrich clutch!

There's A Circus in Town !

2011-12-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post here !

Last week I had an invitation to attend a media launching event for "Tarzan, D'Mighty Circus", it's a circus & musical show from the World Circus and TSI Production. I was anxious to go to the media launch event at Parkir Timur Senayan because I LOVE CIRCUS ! So when I learned that there's gonna be a world circus in our town, hell yeah I would wanna go! ^o^

But unfortunately I was sick that day so I could not attend the media launch therefore I don't have any detailed information about the circus. All I know is that the circus is a collaboration between the renowned World Circus and TSI Production (Taman Safari Indonesia), and that it will be held in Parkir Timur Senayan from this month until 8 January 2012. The title of the show is "Tarzan, D'Mighty Circus". You can click below picture to zoom in and see the detailed dates, etc.

click to zoom

I've watched circus a few times when I was still a child, my parents always took me and my brother to see the circus whenever there's one in town. Hubby K apparently never been to a circus before, he only watched it on tv. So when I learned that there will be a renowned world circus playing here I get excited and immediately asked K to go!

The tickets come in several price range depending on where you sit. If you want to buy cheaper tickets you can buy it from Groupon Disdus, they are currently offering a limited discount for the tickets ->> But the 50% discounts can only be redeemed for Tuesday - Friday shows only, so you can't use it for the Saturday/Sunday shows (semoga saya gak salah tangkap informasi dari yang saya baca di web page mereka ya). You can click here and read the details there yourself (but better be hurry, cos it's limited).

Aah, can't wait to watch this with K !

And I'll be reviewing / reporting it here in this blog for sure ^o^

A Perfect Glutton Day

2011-12-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

In a perfect world, my perfect day full of gluttony would be like this:

Waking up in the morning and have this breakfast:

Must-have morning coffee

followed with:

Home made pizza bread with tomato and cheese

and some fresh orange juice:

And then when it's noon time we'll have a lunch of:

Tomato Basil Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich

with cold fresh drink to satisfy the mid noon quench:

Iced Tangerine Green Tea

And then in the afternoon we'll lounge around while sipping on hot tea:

Chamomile Tea

and some light finger food:

Mozzarella Sticks in Egg roll Wrappers

And then late at night we'll have a nice dinner consisted of:

Asparagus Gratin

served with:

Chicken Picatta + a bowl of warm rice

And a glass of cold mineral water for the drink would be just fine.

Don't forget to save some space in your stomach for dessert:

Frozen White Hot Chocolate

And slices of Mint Oreo Brownies:

Super Yummo!

Are you hungry yet??
^o^

Places We Go: Bandung trip with the gank

2011-12-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

Where were you last weekend? My Saturday was actually quite busy. Me and K went to Bandung for a short day trip as a result of a spontaneous decision that we made with our friends on Thursday via our whatsapp group chat.

And so that Saturday we met for breakfast at Starbucks Citos as our meeting point. I had a choco croissant with a tall cup of Peppermint Mocha Latte (my most favorite Starbucks drink so far! - which unfortunately it's one of Starbuck's christmas season drink >>> which means it only comes out once every year around christmas time !! Boo..).

So anyway after we enjoyed our little breakfast we then hopped into our cars and off we go in to the highway, up along the road to Bandung which is a small town about 2 hours away from Jakarta. Bandung is the capital city of West Java. I actually went to college in Bandung so it is basically my college city ^o^

...and it's always nice to go visit it every other time, especially when you're with a good company.

We stopped by at one of the highway's rest area ( I think it's around Km70...). I never stopped at this rest area before because we always stopped at the one with the Starbucks in it which is around Km23 or something...if i'm not mistaken). But this rest area in Km70... is actually quite nice, it's not too crowded, it has lots of trees and green bushes so it's easy for the eyes. And the little cafes looks really nice and inviting, I put a mental note on my head that next time I went to Bandung I will stopped at this rest area instead ^o^

From there we drove non stop to Bandung. About two hours later we finally arrived and went straight to Dago Pakar area which is the upper (hill area) part of North Bandung. There are many restaurants and places to visit in Dago Pakar which offer great panoramic views of the city below, I remember there were not these many restaurants back in my college days. One of our friend, Shilla suggested Boemi Joglo for our lunch that day. She said it serves Sate Maranggi which is one of West Java's culinary specialty. Sate Maranggi or Satay Maranggi is a typical satay served in skewers made of beef or sometimes goat meat. It also has a distinctive marinade sauce which is different from the common peanut sauce. Satay Maranggi usually use a marinade made from soy sauce, green chili sauce, and a little vinegar, and then served with sliced red onions and fresh tomatoes sprinkled above it.

The satay were very yummy, and the other dishes we ordered (nasi liwet ikan asin, pecel, tumis kangkung, tempe mendoan were all delicious).

The Nasi Liwet Ikan Asin is rice cooked with milk, served with crushed salted fish and other various toppings.

Pecel according to wikipedia is an Indonesian sauce based on chillies, peanuts, tamarind and coconut sugar, commonly served over boiled fresh vegetables.

Tumis Kangkung is stir-fried water spinach, cooked with red chillies and chopped garlic.

Tempe Mendoan is according to wikipedia is a thinly sliced tempeh, dipped into spiced flour dressing and then deep fried in hot oil. You ate it with a special sauce.

Overall, the food were great, the place was also great (the overall decor and atmosphere of the restaurant makes me feel like I'm eating in a rustic small village in the middle of a thick jungle with all that shady green trees, stoned paths and stairways, and traditional wooden gazebos. It's a really nice family restaurant, worth to try incase you're in Bandung. The road to the area were not easy though, you might want to rely on a specific map or asked your friend to guide you.

Next stop is De'Ranch at Maribaya, Lembang. This is an outskirt area of Bandung, not that far from Dago Pakar. Lembang has always been the vacation and recreational place for people who lives in Bandung. Although Bandung is colder than Jakarta but Lembang is way more colder because it is in the upper hill.

picture from De'Ranch website

De' Ranch is a family recreational place where you could experience a cowboy's lifestyle. Although it's impossible to really experience a cowboy's life from just visiting De Ranch but the whole area was beautifully landscaped with green fields, horse track, horses stables, even with some wagons and wooden furniture that depicts rural cowboy's life. There are also cowshed and cow pastures where you could actually milk cows as an experience. The black and white cows are the second thing I see after the wide green landscape, and of course I was drawn straightly into the cowshed! I.LOVE.COWS! But only the black&white ones or the dairy cows!

If there's a dairy cow, no doubt I will take pictures with it ;)

Hello Mrs.Cow, can I take you home?

The purpose of De' Ranch is as simple as providing a place for families to play together through a safe and enjoyable activity out in the open. So there are many activities on site, especially for children alike. There are some fun activities such as archery game, cycling track for kids with Indian teepees in sight, horse riding (or pony riding for the younger kids), wagon ride (for family or parent + child), even professional horse riding class.

There is also fun boat:

And cookie making class:

...which I lately realized that the class was actually more intended for kids, but I didn't realized it and signed up anyway (and I'm wearing my friend's daughter's headband - so the cookie class staff must think that I'm overly immature so she teaches me how to make cookies like I'm a 4 year old ;p)

But my cookies turned out good ^o^

Me and my friends ate all of it in just 15 minutes ;p

So yeah we had a lot of fun in De'Ranch, and I enjoyed the view most importantly. We sat in one of the picnic table in the skirt of the open field. Some of my friends ordered roasted coconut drink and noodle glass meatball soup. I only ordered a cup of hot coffee with milk since I'm still quite full from the big lunch.

And then we all decided to be immature too and jumped up and down like crazy in the open green field:

Hubby K's frog jump pose!

From there we went to one of my friend's family rented villa in Lembang to take a little rest before we continue our culinary trip. We bought some fried tofu on our way to the villa, Bandung area is also known for their yellow soft tofu. The deep fried tofus that we bought had a special spicy sauce for dipping, but some of us prefer to eat it with green chillies that were also provided.

At around 18:00pm we drove back to Dago Pakar area to have dinner. This time we went to another restaurant called Warung Lela (or roughly translated as Lela's Little Stall). My last visit to Warung Lela was maybe 10 years ago during my college time. I remember I had one of the most delicious noodle there, and the place was really pretty too. And so I was ecstatic when we decided to have dinner here. The place was still the same although some minor things have changed a bit. We ordered their noodles variation, I had the Mie Yamien Manis (noodles with sweet soya sauce topped with chopped scallions, shredded marinated chicken, and served with a bowl of meatballs soup) and hot lemon tea. The noodles were as good as I remember, and the atmosphere were very very nice with rustic traditional wooden furniture, old vintage prints framed on the terracotta wall, soft warm lighting, and a traditional Javanese roof style called "joglo" (as you can see in the pic below):

And that nice dinner is where we ended our day trip!

Okay I've been blabbering a lot about this day trip, I'm sorry if I bored you or anything, I just thought I'd share some stories of the places we visited :)

I hope you had a great weekend too! I won't mind if you tell me some stories too :D

See you on my next post!

To see my other trip/travel series click here and keep scrolling down once you're there.

Event: Arisan! 2 Gala Premiere

2011-11-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

Minggu lalu tepatnya tanggal 25 November saya kebetulan dapat kesempatan untuk nonton Gala Premiere nya film Arisan 2 ! di XXI Plaza Senayan. Gala Premiere ini maksudnya adalah pertama kalinya film ini diputar sebelum promo premiere di tempat-tempat lain dan jauh sebelum film nya resmi turun di bioskop. Jadi semacam invitation-only gitu, beruntung banget ya saya hehe jadi kemarin itu saya nonton bareng artis-artis hihihi Filmnya sendiri baru akan tayang untuk umum per tgl 1 Desember besok.

Di Gala Premiere ini ada 5 theater yang diisi penuh sama undangan yang hadir. Yang punya film alias Nia Dinata memberi sambutan singkat sekaligus ngenalin cast dan orang-orang di belakang layar yang turut andil dalam Arisan 2 ini sesaat sebelum filmnya mulai (sayangnya saya gak sempet foto).

Di film sekuel Arisan garapan Nia Dinata ini semua pemeran utama nya masih sama dengan Arisan edisi pertama. Masih ada Cut Mini yang berperan sebagai Meimei, masih ada Surya Saputra dan Tora Sudiro (Nino dan Sakti), juga masih ada Aida Nurmala (Andien) dan Rachel Maryam (Lita).

Bagi yang belum pernah nonton film Arisan edisi yang pertama, mending nonton deh (Loh?!) hehe Maksudnya film Arisan yang pertama aja udah lucu dan bagus banget, apalagi ini sekuelnya. Kalau di Arisan 1 lebih banyak komedi nya nah di sekuelnya ini selain komedi juga dapat feel seriusnya. Ini film emang makna nya dalem bok, cerminan kehidupan sosialita ibukota ^o^

Anyway, buat yang belum tahu, di film Arisan ini mengetengahkan cerita kehidupan 5 teman (Meimei, Nino, Sakti, Andien, dan Lita) yang masing-masing punya latar belakang berbeda. Meimei punya sobat-sobat se-gank dari SMA yaitu Nino dan Andien. Meimei juga punya sobat sekaligus rekan kerja yaitu Sakti di perusahaan interior/arsitektur yang mereka kelola bersama. Nah si Lita itu adalah adiknya si Sakti.

Jadi pada akhirnya mereka berlima berteman dan bikin gank baru ;)

Di Arisan 1 seperti yang mungkin udah pada tau, Nino dan Sakti pacaran as gay couple (adegan ciuman tersohor antara Tora sama Surya Saputra itu lohh ;p). Setelah 8 tahun berlalu maka dimulailah cerita Arisan 2 ini. Di sekuel ini Nino sama Sakti udah not together anymore. Si Nino punya pacar baru yang masih ABG (diperankan Rio Dewanto), sementara si Sakti malah jadi simpanan selingkuhan mas Gerry yang tajir (Pong Hardjatmo). Si Lita udah jadi calon legislatif yang punya anak tanpa kawin (karena nggak mau kawin), si Andien udah menjanda karena suaminya meninggal, dan si Meimei lagi menyepi ke Lombok setelah perceraiannya.

Mau intip trailernya?

Cerita berpusat di sekitar Meimei yang lagi menyepi di suatu pulau kecil di Lombok (kayanya Gili Trawangan atau Gili Air atau salah satu dari Gili-gili itu lah yang di sekitaran Lombok hehe). Di pulau ini Meimei menghabiskan waktunya dengan Talu (Keiko Marwan) anaknya Lita yang ia bawa serta, juga dengan Tom (Edward Gunawan), seorang terapis. Cerita bermulai ketika Sakti membaca surat-surat tagihan Meimei yang datang ke kantor. Ada apakah di surat-surat tersebut? hehe I'm not gonna tell you all the details, because you have to watch it yourself. Ntar ga seru kalo udah saya bocorin disini ceritanya ^o^

So anyway, sementara Meimei asik menikmati hidup di pulau, kehidupan teman2nya di ibukota tidak berubah. Andien masih sibuk dengan gank sosialita nya. Beberapa teman sosialita Andien diperankan oleh Sarah Sechan (sebagai Dokter Joy), Atiqah Hasiholan (sebagai Ara), juga ada cameo dari Shanty, Titi DJ, dll. Lucu lho merhatiin kehidupan para ibu ibu sosialita itu, penuh intrik dan muslihat hihihi..

Andien (my favorite character, saya fans Aida Nurmala ;p) dan Sakti

Andien dan Meimei

Overall, film Arisan 2 ini bagus dan layak tonton banget! Apalagi kalo kamu dulu sempet nonton Arisan 1. Nia Dinata emang pinter bikin film yang alurnya gak ngebosenin, lucu bikin ketawa tapi sekaligus punya makna tersembunyi yang dalam. Pada akhir film kita dibawa untuk merenung tentang hidup, so it's not about all the laughs in the movie, it's about something greater than that :)

Selain kalimat-kalimat si Lita yang ceplas ceplos dan bikin ngakak, acting semua cast di film ini patut diacungi jempol. Karakter-karakter baru di sekuel ini juga nggak kalah keren. Yang paling menonjol buat saya diantara para karakter baru ini adalah karakternya Octa, si pacar ABG nya Nino yang diperankan oleh Rio Dewanto. Itu ya si Rio keren banget actingnya, udah persis banget sama ABG jaman sekarang, dari mulai "foto dulu ya, nanti aku masukin twitter", sampe gaya ngambek ala ABG nya tuh khas banget deh, kayanya dia bener2 riset banget tuh untuk perannya, Two Thumbs Up!

Octa dan Nino

Andien dan Lita

Satu lagi adalah karakter si Tom, sang terapis yang diperankan oleh Edward Gunawan. Saya sejujurnya baru denger nama Edward Gunawan, tapi pas browsing ternyata dia international actor and model loh, pernah ngisi iklan McD versi US segala. Yang pasti si Tom ini kharisma nya kuat banget, kayanya cewe-cewe agak-agak kesengsem deh sama kharismanya hehe buktinya pas film usai, Cut Mini sibuk ngenalin temen-temen cewenya ke si Tom ini hehehe Two Thumbs Up for Tom eh Edward!

Sama satu lagi, Adinia Wirasti ! Keren banget mainnya, ini juga bukti doi riset serius terhadap peran kecilnya. Tapi emang saya selalu suka sih sama actingnya Adinia Wirasti, tiap main film nggak pernah nggak keren hehe Nah kalau Pong Hardjatmo sebagai mas Gerry sih jangan ditanya deh, keliatan kalau beliau memang aktor senior yang penuh pengalaman :)

Jadi gimana? Udah penasaran belom? ^o^
Kalau penasaran dan mau nonton Arisan! 2 mulai besok tgl 1 Desember film ini akan tayang di bioskop kesayanganmu. Jangan lupa beli popcornnya, pake butter ;)

Dan mungkin karena ini Gala Premiere jadinya goodie bag nya banyak bangettt... Udah gitu kan ogut dapet undangannya yang berlaku untuk 2 orang jadi hubby K ikutan juga dan itu berarti goodie bags nya dapet dua hehehehe ^o^ (tapi kita nggak rakus kok, sebagian ada yg dibagi-bagi ;p)

For more details of what I got from the goodie bags, click here and scroll down once you're there.

Big thanks to Dulux Indonesia for the free ticket!

Source:

Arisan 2 photos and videos are courtesy of Erik N.Juragan and Arisan 2 website

Restaurant Review: Nanny's Pavillion (Bathroom)

2011-11-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

Last week after one of the Jakarta fashion week show hubby picked me up and we had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Pacific Place called Nanny's Pavilion. I actually have mentioned about this restaurant on my fashion blog (we went there too after fashion week last year). The restaurant is famous for it's quirky design. They have a few restaurant branches and each branch has different theme to it, this particular one at Pacific Place Mall has "a bathroom" design.

We love this restaurant because they have a wide range of options on their menu, from their famous pancakes and waffles, to pasta, steak, baked rice, and sandwiches. We also love the fact that their price is pretty friendly for our pocket (we usually spent around IDR 120.000 - 150.000 for 2 main course + 2 drinks). And we have tried several of their different meals and we Love all of them! It seems that every time we ate there, all the food and drinks in their menu never disappoints. The taste is great, the portion is also great, fit for a satisfying meal :) So here is what we ordered :

I ordered Chicken Provence Sandwich (IDR 34.000)

I decided to try one of their sandwiches because it sounds great in the menu. I chose the chicken provence which comes with french fries as sidedish. The sandwich is stuffed with grilled chicken, melted cheese, and pesto sauce. The slightly grilled bread has a soft texture in the middle and a bit crunchy in the crust.

I personally think that this is quite a good sandwich, but maybe more suitable for breakfast, brunch or a light meal. I don't really recommend it for dinner because well ... it is a light meal anyway, so it's kinda so-so compared to the other menu, I just simply ordered the wrong menu for my dinner that day ;p

K ordered Kimberly Green Spaghetti (IDR 39.000)

You can choose your pasta with this menu. K ordered spaghetti but you can always try it with other pasta such as Fettuccine. This yummy spaghetti comes with huge spiced sausages and served with pesto sauce. Love the sauce, it's heavily spiced but not too oily for my taste. The spaghetti itself is very al-dente, it's just perfect. We both love Nanny's pasta, all of their pastas are so yummy you can't go wrong with it.

We also order Arlene Stuffed Mushroom to eat together as Appetizer (IDR 32.000)

We LOVE this! Well to start it, we both are mushroom lovers so anything with baked mushroom (especially served with creamy sauce!!) are just.like.heaven to our mouth. Nuff said! - And this one comes with meatballs too inside the scooped-out mushroom (although we think the meatballs were a bit overcooked).

Then for Dessert I ordered Black Crunchy Caramel Waffle (I was really hungry ;p) - (IDR 29.000)

You can choose between waffle or pancake for this one, but I went with waffle because I simply prefer waffle than pancake when it's served with ice cream ;) The warm waffle is topped with frozen vanilla ice cream to create that "hot and cold experience". The crunchy crushed oreo and caramel syrup just add more oomph to this sweet delish :)

And for the drinks, I ordered Apricot Lemonade (IDR 19.000) and K ordered Blueberry Lemonade (IDR 20.000)

The left one is the Apricot Lemonade and the right one is the Blueberry Lemonade.

I chose the Apricot one because apricot is not a common fruit here in Indonesia and I was in the mood for something exotic and "new" so I ordered it and thought it taste as great as it looks. I do still prefer the Blueberry one though because it is more sweeter and has a familiar taste in my mouth.

Nanny’s Pavillon Bathroom
Pacific Place Unit 4/50-51
Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav.52-53 , Sudirman, Jakarta Pusat

My Shopping Bag

2011-11-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

Wow i just realized that I haven't been posting about "My Shopping Bag" post series for so long now, my last post was on June 19 (whoopss!). So I guess I'm gonna be posting an update for this series. Here we go... my recent freebies and purchases:

Let's start from the Freebies:

As you may have already read on this blog several posts back, I received a huge package from Snowbay Watertainment (click here to read the post). I received: a Snowbay Hurricane VIP Card (with lots and lots of advantages and discounts including Free Entry & Free VIP Cabana, etc), a very thick small notebook, Snowbay F&B Discount Voucher, a super cute Polar Bear hat (!!), and some other Discount Vouchers for various merchants such as La Porchetta, Cuppa Coffee, Rice Bowl, etc.

And as you may have already read too, I went to media gathering at Fimela House (click to read the post) the other day and received a Fimela fuchsia notebook, a book titled "25 kata-kata motivasi yang memberi semangat dan mencerahkan hati", and a fuchsia tupperware glass container. I finally have my very first self-owned tupperware hahahah!

I also have another new notebook from Sarinah as a goodie bag from watching their fashion show at Jakarta Fashion Week 2012 (read the post on my fashion blog here). This notebook is thick and have a pretty Loro Blonyo statuettes picture on the front, and on the first pages there's a brief history on Sarinah Department store which is the first modern store ever built in Indonesia (built by Indonesia's first president: Ir.Soekarno). Did you know that President Soekarno got the name "Sarinah" from his childhood nanny's name: Mbok Sarinah. Yeah, I just knew that from reading the excerpt on the free notebook above. Quite interesting story ;)

Just last Thursday, I got invitation to attend the Gala Premiere of Arisan 2 movie at the XXI Plaza Senayan. I've never been to a Gala Premiere before so it was a new experience for me :) Many celebrities came, and the movie was played very late ("fashionably late", as always..), lots of goodie bags, and there were 5 theaters who played the movie at the same time. And the director gave a little speech and introduce all the actors and actresses as well as the music director, etc before the movie begins. I'll tell you all about the movie and the Gala Premiere on the next post, meanwhile as you can see above, I received quite a lot of freebies from all of those goodie bags being given that night. Here are the details:

A tumbler, a name tag holder, a red Arisan tote bag, a Dulux mousepad, FitFlop voucher worth IDR 250.000 and Paris Hilton Bags voucher worth IDR 300.000

LUX beauty shower pouch in Magic Spell, Esquire magazine, Good Housekeeping magazine, and a bottle of a new premium line from Aqua which is Aqua Reflection.

I love the bottle of this Aqua Reflection. It's designed by Sebastian Gunawan (a famous Indonesian designer), so no wonder the bottle is gorgeous, I can't put myself to open the bottle and drink it because it looks so pretty (LOL).

And since the invitation was for two people so I asked my husband to join me, and therefore we have all those freebies above >> TIMES TWO! ^__^

And the most surprising freebie ever:

Hubby K won this washing machine from his office's door prize!

(above picture is from other source, not mine - sorry i forgot the link of the pic source)

Hubby K won this Electrolux Washing Machine in a door prize at his office's outing session in Waterbom Cikarang. How lucky is he?! And how lucky are we?!

Tepat sebelum undian doorprize diumumin, K telfon trus blg "yang, doain ya, kali aja kita menang iPad 2 atau laptop baru".

Lalu istrinya yang ~~sok~~ bijak berkata "Berdoa nya gini: semoga menang barang yang kita butuhkan".

Eh lalu keluarlah si mesin cuci ituh!

Emang bener berarti saat ini yg kita butuhkan bukan iPad 2 atau laptop baru, kita lebih butuh mesin cuci buat ntar persiapan pindahan! ^__^ ALLAH memang maha bijaksana dan maha mengetahui, sekaligus Maha pemurah. Alhamdulillahirabbil Alamiin.... Terima Kasih Ya Allah atas rizkimu :)

Pink giant mug from Waterbom :)

Dan karena pas saatnya pulang dari outing hubby masih punya sisa rupiah di deposit nya (masuk Waterbom memang pake sistem deposit jadi kalo beli makan minum dll cukup pake kartu deposit), akhirnya dia nukerin sisa depositnya sama 3 bulpen lucu dan 1 mug pink besar ini ^__^ (bolpen nya udah dibagi-bagi). Sama satu lagi, dapet kipas merah cantik yang dibagiin dari kantornya, tapi ogut lupa foto euy buat dimasukin sini ;p

And now, the Purchases:

Hairdressing Scissors Set - $3.49 (around IDR 35.000).

Since I received my CreaClip for review purposes a few months ago I've been on the search for a good hair scissor to trim my hair properly. I've been using my regular scissor but it's not sharp enough so I only use it for trimming my bangs which doesn't need a lot of effort. But when I'm thinking of trimming my whole hair by myself using the CreaClip I thought I needed a good sharp hair scissor. I've tried to find it online locally but they were all expensive (IDR 40.000 to IDR 50.000 for one scissor). So when I found this set of two scissors only for around IDR 35.000 on eBay, I rushed and bought it, and so far I'm really satisfied with them! Mission accomplished :)

Lingerie Wash Bag - $1.37 (around IDR 10.000).

I also bought this on eBay. I have been looking for this kind of lingerie wash bag that I can use to wash all my delicates in my washing machine. With this mesh bag I hope all my bras would have longer wear time and won't be ruined easily like before. And with this simple mesh bag I can also wash my delicate underwear in my washing machine, and it has been making my daily routine much more easier now because I don't have to wash them by hands anymore ;)

And for our future Apt project I bought:

Marks & Spencer Moisture Rich Hand Wash in China Blue - IDR 59.000.

I was surprised to see the price of Marks & Spencer's body care range when I browse through their store one afternoon at Grand Indonesia, I thought they were expensive like more than IDR 100.000 each. But it turns out that their price are actually mostly under IDR 100.000 ! Since I didn't bring much cash left since I already spent it for my lunch and taxi that day, so I only bought this hand wash, thinking of putting it in our basin in the future bathroom so our guests can use it. I chose the "China Blue" because we planned our future bathroom to have a blue theme, and because this one smells great and not too "florals" which hubby K would think too girly ;P

And

Two kitchen plates @IDR 19.900 - bought at Carrefour.

I love the vibrant colors of these plates. These are made of melamine but they have food grade certificate and formalin-free, and can be used in microwave too. Rencananya mau buat piring lauk nanti hehe The turquoise oval one has a matching green shade color as the square plate, I think it would look lovely if put together in the same table ;) >> Ngayal mode: On.

To read my previous Freebies & Purchases post Click here. Keep scrolling down below once you got there.
To see my recent purchases on fashion & beauty items, go to my fashion blog "TWO THOUSAND THINGS".

Ciao, Bella!

FimelaFest Schedule

2011-11-23T23:21:00.000-08:00

Untuk ngelanjutin post sebelumnya tentang FimelaFest, kebetulan saya dapat email tentang skedul kegiatan FimelaFest, jadi berikut ini saya copy-paste daftar acara dan workshop yang akan diadakan selama 3 hari berlangsungnya FimelaFest :

Jumat, 25 November 2011: Shopping & Get Entertained

Pk.20.00-24.00, tempat: Atrium, Grand Indonesia East Mall. Music entertainment: "FUN MUSIC & GAMES" menampilkan Amanda & Friends, Imelda Kei, Stereocase.

Sabtu, 26 November 2011: Women Empowerment & Lifestyle Experience

Pk.10.00-13.30, tempat: FIMELA House, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Workshop & Talkshow: "CAREER, FINANCE & STYLE MANAGEMENT" oleh Alexander Sriewijono & Becky Tumewu (TALK Inc) & Lisa Soemarto (Pakar Perencana Keuangan). Supported by LG.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/careerworkshop
Pk.14.00-15.00, tempat: FIMELA House, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Lifestyle Clinic: "SEHAT DENGAN NATURAL HEALING" oleh Lisa Namuri (Instruktur Yoga & Pilates) & Rina Poerwadi (Pakar Aromatherapy).
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/lifestyleclinic
Pk.16.00-18.00, tempat: FIMELA House, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Writing Workshop: "BEING A WRITER: A CRISIS PROOF JOB" oleh Salman Aristo (PLOT POINT).
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/plotpointworkshop
Pk.14.00-15.30, tempat: Atrium, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Celebrities Talk Show: "DON'T BE STUPID: KNOW WHAT'S ON HIS MIND" oleh Indy Barends, menggali 3 Bintang Pria favorit. Music show by Febrian. Supported by DOVE.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/celebritiestalkshow
Pk.18.00-20.00, tempat: FIMELA House, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Sex Talkshow: "IN BED WITH ZOYA" oleh Chantal Della Concetta & Zoya Amirin.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/sextalkshow
Pk.19.00-20.00, tempat: Atrium, Grand Indonesia East Mall. Fashion Show: "GROUND ZERO 1.1" persembahan ESMOD.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/fashionshowesmod
Pk.20.00-23.00, tempat: Atrium, Grand Indonesia East Mall.Entertainment: "LAIDBACK ACOUSTIC MUSIC PERFORMANCE with Organic Records" menampilkan Maliq & D'Essentials, Twentyfirst Night, Jemima.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/laidbackmusic
Program Spesial Komunitas: Pk.13.00-20.00, tempat: Mini Stage Level One, Grand Indonesia East Mall.*
- "CARA GAMPANG TERBITKAN BUKU" oleh Ollie Salsabeela (nulisbuku.com), Music by Arikacoustic.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/nulisbukutalkshow
- "BOOK LAUNCHING" by Lisa Soemarto. Music by Arikacoustic.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/booklaunchlisa
- "MENGEMBANGKAN BISNIS LEWAT SOCIAL MEDIA" oleh Lucy Wiryono (Akademi Berbagi). Music by Jozz Felix.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/akbertalkshow
- "FASHION KNOWLEDGE: "SARONG" oleh Indonesia Fashion Week. Music by Jozz Felix.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/sarongfashion

Minggu, 27 November 2011: Kids, Family & Entertainment Programs

Pk.10.00-12.00, tempat: Atrium, Grand Indonesia East Mall. Kids & Parents Program: "DONGENG PAMAN GERRY & BUBU MINI bersama Gerry Puraatmadja & Cut Mini, plus PARENT WORKSHOP bersama Clara Ng" persembahan 97,8 FM FEMALE Radio. Music performance by Audiophile (Disney Song).
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/parentsworkshop
Pk.12.30 -14.30, tempat: FIMELA House, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* "HEALTHY & STYLISH COOKING FOR FAMILY" by Lifestyle Chef Arimbi Nimpuno. Supported by TUPPERWARE.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/couplecooking
Pk.15.00-17.00, tempat: FIMELA House, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Communication Skill: "CARA GAMPANG KOMUNIKASI EFEKTIF" oleh Erwin Parengkuan (TALK Inc).
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/communicationskill
Pk.15.00-17.00, tempat: Atrium, Grand Indonesia East Mall.* Charity "READ2SHARE" Show: "GENERASI GAYA" bersama sejumlah keluarga public figure dan socialista. Menampilkan music performance by Popzzle, Bayu Risa & Lloyd popp.
Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/generasigaya
Program Spesial Komunitas: Pk.10.00-20.00, tempat FIMELA House, dan Mini Stage Level One, Grand Indonesia East Mall.*
- "GENTLE BIRTH" oleh Komunitas @SelamatkanIbu.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/selamatkanibu
- "TRIK MEMOTIVASI ANAK SENANG BACA" oleh Komunitas @Motivakids.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/motivakidsgath
- "ASI, DAN CARA BERPERAN UNTUK PARA AYAH" oleh Komunitas @ID_ayahASI.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/idayahasi
- "FUN STORY TELLING" oleh Komunitas @theurbanmama.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/theurbanmama
- "READ BETWEEN THE LAUGH" oleh Komunitas @StandUpIndo.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/standupindogath
- "PEREMPUAN:TIPS MODERN UNTUK JAGA DIRI" oleh Komunitas @LenteraID.
  Daftar di sini: http://j.mp/lenteraid

* Pendaftaran untuk Program-Program Khusus, please klik: http://www.fimela.com/fimelafest/schedule

Jangan lupa, selama 3 hari tersebut juga akan ada One Sunday Flea Market, yaitu indoor flea market yang ditata ala flea market khas Eropa gitu. Selain fashion dan aksesoris, juga ada booth makanan, kids toys, home decor, dll. Bagi yang punya BCA Credit Card ada tambahan diskon 15% :)

Re-Post: Fimela.com media gathering at Fimela House

2011-11-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

I originally posted this in my fashion blog: Two Thousand Things, but I thought I'd post it here too so everyone can read it and join the fun :)

Minggu lalu saya diundang untuk datang ke acara media gathering nya Fimela.com yang membahas tentang:

Road to Fimelafest: 1st year anniversary Fimela.com

dan

kampanye Read2Share: Spreading Good Things Through Reading.

FIMELA.com bagi yang belum tahu, adalah portal khusus perempuan Indonesia modern (semacam majalah online khusus wanita lah). Kalau kamu belum pernah kunjungi website nya, coba deh kunjungi setelah baca ini, karena banyak banget yang bisa didapat disitu, isinya lengkap dan artikel-artikelnya menarik.

Fimela.com berusia satu tahun November 2011 ini (HAPY BIRTHDAY FIMELA.COM!). Dan pada bulan Agustus kemarin walaupun belum genap setahun tapi Fimela telah berhasil memenangkan penghargaan BUBU Award untuk kategori News & Lifestyle Portal. Bubu Award itu penghargaan bergengsi lohh. Menang Bubu Award itu seperti menang Oscar untuk website hehe ^o^

Anyway, untuk perayaan ulang tahun nya yang pertama ini Fimela.com akan menggelar yang namanya FIMELAFest tanggal 25 - 27 November nanti (Catet tanggalnya). Acara nya akan diselenggarakan di Grand Indonesia, tepatnya di Level One, East Mall. Sepanjang 3 hari festival tersebut akan ada berbagai aktivitas yang terbuka untuk umum, diantaranya: kelas workshop tentang fashion, karir, parenting, dll, trus juga akan ada talk show, fashion show, competition, Indoor flea market (wajib kunjung nih), dan lainnya. Sepertinya bakal seru ya, kesana yuk nanti :)

Oiya, jadi lupa mau cerita soal media gathering nya. Di media gathering kali ini saya berkesempatan menghadiri talk show tentang "Perempuan: Lifestyle & Peran Utama Kemajuan", dengan pembicara yang semuanya hebat-hebat dan patut diacungi jempol :

1. Dra. Sally Astuty Wardhani (Asisten Deputi Gender Dalam Pendidikan dari Kementrian Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak).
2. Dra. Okky Asokawaty (Anggota Komisi IX DPR RI)
3. Shahnaz Haque (Tupperware Brand Ambassador, She Can)
4. Dessy Sekar Chamdi (Ketua Yayasan Literasi Indonesia - Indonesia Membaca)
5. Becky Tumewu (Communicator, founder Talk-Inc)

Selain itu juga ada sedikit masukan dan diskusi dari Ollie, blogger berpengalaman (salsabeela.com) yang juga entrepreneur muda (penggagas dan pemilik nulisbuku.com, kutukutubuku.com, dll). Juga ada sambutan ringan dari ibu Dian M.Muljadi (Publishing Director Fimela.com) yang as always, selalu tampil cantik dan stylish lho si ibu satu ini :)

Seru banget menyimak talk show dari perempuan-perempuan panutan ini, sayangnya waktu itu batre handphone udah sekarat jadinya nggak bisa banyak live tweet deh huhu Tapi yang pasti, banyak banget yang bisa diambil dari talk show kali ini yang membahas berbagai hal terkait kemajuan wanita, mulai dari masalah ketimpangan gender yang masih banyak terjadi di Indonesia terutama di daerah, sampai fakta meningkatnya banyak kaum perempuan yang mandiri secara finansial yang membuktikan adanya perubahan lifestyle perempuan pada umumnya.

Selain membahas tentang keberdayaan dan kemajuan gaya hidup perempuan Indonesia masa kini, para narasumber juga membahas tentang kampanye Read2Share, yaitu kampanye giat membaca yang diprakarsai oleh fimela.com.

Membaca itu penting !

Itu tag line nya. Dan saya setuju! Membaca adalah kegiatan yang banyak sekali manfaatnya, dengan membaca akan terbuka banyak pintu menuju pengetahuan, kemajuan, kesuksesan, dan kesejahteraan. Dan nanti di FIMELAFEST yang akan datang, Read2Share ini akan menjadi tajuk gerakan sosial dari festival tiga hari tersebut yang bermisi Women Empowerment & Lifestyle Experience.

Kampanye Read2Share ini dijalankan melalui social media movement dan public service announcement video yang melibatkan banyak figur publik. Kalau kamu mau ikutan berpartisipasi, kalian bisa follow twitter nya Fimela:

@FIMELA.com

dengan hashtag #READ2SHARE dan #kepergokmembaca

Dan kalau mau berbelanja sambil menyumbang, ada yang namanya Fuchsia Merchandise, dimana beberapa brand fashion dan restoran seperti Cotton Ink, The Little Things She Needs, (X).S.M.L, Ponds, Bakerzin, dll ikut berpartisipasi. Sejumlah presentase dari hasil penjualan fuchsia merchandise tersebut akan disumbangkan kepada Yayasan Literasi Indonesia.

Untuk info lebih lanjut tentang:

Read2Share : www.FIMELA.com/Read2Share

FimelaFest : www.FIMELA.com/FIMELAFest

Huu...maaf gambarnya blurry blurry ginih (yang motret agak kurang fokus nih sepertinya, mungkin waktu itu lagi gak konsen karena mikirin laptop hihihi)

Bertemu dua blogger handal : Ninit of Istri Bawel and Carnelin of While You On Earth (thanks for the pic, Carnelin!)

And the freebies:

To see other events that I attended previously, click here and just keep scrolling down below once you're there.

Surga Buku

2011-11-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

Buat para pecinta buku, pasti sering mimpi tentang buku-buku deh, atau paling nggak mimpi tentang cerita atau karakter dalam suatu buku, seperti saya pernah mimpi jadi Hermione Granger, trus mimpi jadi salah satu murid di Mallory Towers hehehe Kalau mimpi punya perpustakaan pribadi yang nyaman di rumah sendiri sih sering banget, kayanya kalau punya perpustakaan pribadi di rumah tuh walaupun kecil dan di pojokan tapi pasti berasa surga banget deh. Surga buku tepatnya! ;)

The "Town of Books" on Hay-on-Wye (pic source)

Saya senang membaca. Nggak ada kategori tertentu sih, saya senang baca apa aja yang ada di depan mata, dari majalah, tabloid, sampai chicklit dan buku cerita anak klasik. Saya juga senang baca biografi dan hystorical fiction, apalagi kalau tentang dinasti kerajaan Inggris ;) Karena saya senang Sejarah jadi segala bacaan yang ada unsur sejarahnya pasti saya senang bacanya. Buku tebal pun gak jadi masalah buat yang senang baca. Karena segala sesuatu yang kita lakukan dengan enjoy pasti nggak akan terasa capek kan? Membaca itu hiburan sekaligus proses belajar buat saya. Dengan membaca saya jadi banyak tahu tentang segala macam hal, jadi bisa nyambung ngobrol sama banyak orang. Buku itu kan sumber pengetahuan, jadi kalau nggak senang buku gimana bisa cepat tambah pintar? ehehehe...

Hmm, kalau memang di dunia ini ada yang namanya surga buku ala Yuri pasti itu isinya buku-buku biografi, sejarah Inggris, sejarah dunia, hystorical fiction, buku-buku travel, buku interior, buku fashion, chicklit, buku genre fantasy, sampai dengan majalah dan katalog hehe Tapi yang pasti semuanya harus tertata rapi di rak kayu yang berbaris-baris sampai ke atas, ada pojok membaca dengan sofa empuk dan bantal-bantal mungil dengan jendela besar, pakai karpet dan lampu baca segala just incase mau baca malam-malam ;p Seru nggak surga buku ala diriku? Boleh mampir kok kalau mau, tapi cuma boleh baca di tempat ya hihihihi ^o^

Oiya, kalau kalian lagi cari -cari review buku bisa tengok ke Surga BukuKu, kebetulan Surga Bukuku lagi ulang tahun dan mau bagi-bagi paket buku. Kalau saya sih udah pasti mengincar yang paket B, paket Classic Fantasy. Ada buku A Wizard of Earthsea & The Tombs of Atuan (Ursula K. Le Guin). Buku-buku kaya gini nih yang sering menarik perhatian saya. Dari judulnya saja sudah bikin penasaran kan? Sudah lama juga saya nggak membaca buku genre classic fantasy seperti yang barusan disebut. Mungkin sudah saatnya mulai mengumpulkan buku-buku lagi, supaya cita-cita saya bikin surga buku seperti di atas cepat tercapai ;)

Nuffnang Blog Awards, Here I Come

2011-11-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

December 16 is the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011, a major event hosted by Nuffnang.com, Asia-Pacific’s first and leading blog advertising community that currently has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia. It is also a blogger community (which sadly isn't available yet in Indonesia).

The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is an event to celebrate bloggers and blogger communities. The event will have 500 bloggers from around the Asia-Pacific region gathered in one place which is the Putrajaya Marriott. The Awards aims to not only honour the region's best bloggers, but also to bring together blogger communities from across Asia-Pacific.

Being a blogger myself I always appreciate events like this, where blogger communities thrive, building networks and making friends. Having a product review blog also makes me really appreciate Nuffnang, and wish that Indonesia will have Nuffnang too in the not so far future.

Okay, so these are my top 3 reasons why I want to attend the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011:

Because I want to be a part of the community! - One of the thing of becoming a blogger is to have a community where we understand each other. Where we all have something in common which is: our love to write! It feels nice to be surrounded by people who have the same interest, it feels like you to something. And I want to have a taste of what it feels like to be a part of a bigger community, to know bloggers from outside your countries, and to feel what it's like to be a part of something big :)
Because I want to be one of the first Indonesian bloggers to attend the event! - This is a majorly big event for Asia Pacific bloggers so of course I wouldn't miss it for the world. I love attending events to gain new experiences, new knowledge, and new friends. Networking is so important right now, it could only bring good to your blog. And I would also love to meet new friends and make new acquaintances so I can tell them about bloggers in Indonesia too. And it would be an honour for me to be able to come and experience the event and then share the whole experience in my blog!
Because I want to party! - LOL. No, actually I just want to put on my best dress, go all out with hair style and make up, and feels like I'm ready to attend the Oscar night (well I think this event is similar to Oscar for bloggers ;p), and then have a nice gala dinner (I don't think I ever done gala dinner before ;p), and then chat and mingle with everyone because I imagine the event would be like a melting pot where there are many people from different countries gather together in one place >>> I believe we bloggers are all basically very chatty people ;)

Other reasons to attend the event?

Well, aside from the free food (;p) I would also love to visit KL again. As one of my passion is traveling so a chance to visit KL again would be nice ^o^

The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott.

Self Hair-Cut

2011-11-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

In August I received a hair-cutting guide tool from CreaClip for review purposes. I tried it with my bangs back then, and successfully trimmed it nicely. But now that my hair is starting to get a little bit out of control, I thought I'd give my hair an all-over trim with the Do It Yourself CreaClip tool. For you who didn't read my review post on CreaClip you can read it here so you'll have an idea on how CreaClip works for a DIY hair trim / hair cut that you can do it yourself at the comfort of your home.

So my hair has been too overly long for me to handle, it started to weigh me down because the layered hair style has gone awry and the tips are a bit dry, and it just feel limp and heavy at the bottom. And don't even get me started on the bangs! The bangs are really really long, it needs trim ASAP, it makes my face looks dull and gives an all-over very un-attractive hair style. So it was time for a little bit improvement.

Trimming are needed to make hair more healthy and lively. The layers also need trimming to keep them in shape, and the bangs need urgent attention, STAT. So I grabbed my CreaClip, watched a couple of their How-To videos, and just start it!

Before:

After:

I cut the length a bit and make it more proportional. In the first picture you can see the overly long layers that already looked like a mess with several hairs sticking out un-tamed. And then on second picture you can see that I tamed it a bit by trimming the layers and smooth some edges to make it more like a V-shaped.

Before:

After:

I actually love the result! I love that it's not too much difference from my "before" hair style which means that I can keep the original hair style and succeeded in just trimming it!

I can still see the layers, shorten it to give it a fresh shape, and finally shorten the bangs a little bit. You can see in first picture that my bangs is too long it disappear into the hairline. But on second picture you see that I cut it shorter so that I can still style my bangs and it gives me a more fresh look.

Here's another take on the new bang:

The CreaClip is really easy to use, it gives you ideas as well as a guide to help you determine how short / long you want your hair to be, and what style you aim when trying to cut your hair. This is a simple tool created by a woman with genius idea behind it. And with this successful experience I guess I won't have to go to hair salon anymore for those expensive hair trims ^__^

Travel Wish List: Tuscany in Italy

2011-10-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

I remember ever since I watched the movie Stealing Beauty in 1996, an old movie played by Liv Tyler, I completely fell in love with Tuscany which was the background of the movie. I remember seeing all those beautiful green surroundings with old buildings and storybook landscape with quaint villages and little towns surrounded with colorful flowers that blooms everywhere, decorating the already picturesque green hills. The movie itself was not something to remember, but the view of the background are what still lingers in my mind up until this day ;)

Pics sources are from here, here and here.

Tuscany is probably one of the most beautiful place in earth. It's located in Italy, and it's capital is Florence. Tuscany is also pronounced as Toscana, and it has been the destination place for world travelers since the old time.

If I ever gonna be in Tuscany, below are three most beautiful places in Tuscany that I want to spend my Tuscany life in:

Villa Armena, Relais & Beauty Farm - Siena, Tuscany

Just look at this scenic driveway that we usually can only see in movies and tv !!

This is the road towards the villa, isn't it already amazing?!

Villa Armena is a late Renaissance structure with rich history background dating back to 16th century. The restored villa has been transformed into an exclusive luxury boutique hotel and beauty farm, equipped with the latest standards of luxury and indulgence. The rooms and suites are decorated with traditional Tuscan features and all of them are spoiled with fabulous views of the gardens and the Crete Senesi.

Guests can relax in the serene surrounding or play around in the indoor or outdoor pools, or strolling along the fragrant gardens brimming with roses, cypress, maritime pine and olive trees. Guests can also visit the beauty farm to enjoy some superb ancient Roman and Mediterranean spa rituals. Sounds heavenly, is it not?

Some of the rooms:

And My Dream Room a.k.a the room that I would choose in my "imaginary Tuscany travel" ;p

This room actually has three different rooms: a bed area, a seating / working area in a separate nook, and a lovely bathroom with deep tub tucked beside a low window to enjoy the view while relaxing in your bath.

Prices start from 295 Euro (around USD 411)

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Grand Hotel Villa Cora - Florence, Tuscany

I love hotel that doesn't look like a hotel. From above picture you could feel like you're staying in someone's grand house rather than in a hotel (and I always want to know how it feels like to live inside a grand home in the old times).

My second option is the Grand Hotel Villa Cora, located in the capital region of Tuscany. This hotel villa also has historic background to it, it was built in the 1870s by Baron Oppenheim for his wife (such a lucky lady!). This hotel has an all-around opulent theme with it's grandeur decoration and artful architecture which includes ornate parquet, spectacular frescoes and intricately detailed statuary. Very baroque & rococo-esque!

This hotel villa also has a massive heated outdoor pool. It also has a subterranean spa with sauna, steam room, gym and jacuzzi, plus a cigar room for the gentlemen. The appealing gardens, the alluring roof terrace, the restaurant with breathtaking decors, and the beautifully laid-out pool with loungers and parasols are one of the many ways to enjoy your wonderful days in this gorgeous hotel villa.

The restaurant

Oh and another great thing about this villa is they have some tunnels network that links the villa to the spa and poolside restaurant so that in winter time guests won't have to walk under the chilly wind. Super smart thinking!

The rooms and suites are decorated in different themes such as the 40s themed suite, the Imperial suite (which once housed Emperor Akihito!!), the Family suite, etc..

And my dream room? I would sleep in any of those rooms above ;)

Prices start from 263 Euro (around USD 366)

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My #1 choice:

Borgo Santo Pietro - Tuscany

This breathtaking view is what makes me choose this villa as my number one place to stay in Tuscany (wouldn't you do the same? I know! ;p)

The Borgo Santo Pietro, one of the most sought-after boutique hotel in Tuscany. With pretty cypress trees that neatly lined the path that leads to this luxury country house villa, the view is outstanding. The intimate surrounding environment and the heated outdoor infinity pool which overlooks the valley are the two lovely features I love from this country house. I love the pool the most! You can see from the first pic above that the pool has a slightly sloped corner with sand colored base and clear water that reminds us of a beach!

This country house also has a tennis court and a Bocce pitch. There are also spa treatments with private holistic hub or private spa spot in the garden surrounded by herbs and roses! Guests can also enjoy horseriding, archery, hiking (boots provided), cycling (bikes provided), table tennis and cooking courses.

With dazzling stone-walls and 13 acres of enchanting gardens, graceful courtyard adorned with carefully planted plants, the villa also has their own organic garden. There's also a rose garden just outside the piano room where you could take a stroll and spoil your senses. In other words, this is where I truly want to be in my Tuscany dream..

But what sold me is the rooms!

Oh the enticing rooms with captivating old-world charms style and decor, with pleasant views from the massive windows peeking through the thick elegant long curtains, all in deep rich neutral colors that seems to incorporate nicely with the rustic surroundings of this restored 13th century Tuscan villa.

Some of the rooms:

My dream room is any room that has this free-standing bath tub mounted to a mural painted wall and massive window below:

I'm sure I'd feel like an Italian princess in this room.
Oh bellissima! La Vita e Bella ... Life is beautiful..

Prices star from 355 Euro (around USD 495)

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So which one is your most favorite? If you have the time and the money, which of the above would you choose? Or maybe you have another beautiful place in Tuscany? Tell me if you have one ^__^

To see all of my "Travel / Hotel Wish List" posts, you can click here and just keep scrolling down once you're there to see the rest of the posts.

See you on my next Travel Wish List!

Sources: Luxury Travel Magazine, Mr&Mrs Smith

Kejutan dari Snowbay

2011-10-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Beberapa waktu lalu saya kaget tiba-tiba dapat email dari manajemen Snowbay - TMII yang isinya mereka mau memberi saya semacam hadiah karena mereka senang baca blog post saya tentang keriaan saya dan keluarga waktu ke Snowbay beberapa waktu lalu. Widiiiih....senang banget dengernya! Paling seneng kalo tulisan di blog di apresiasi seseorang, padahal waktu itu nulis post tentang Snowbay memang nggak ada maksud apa-apa, cuma karena emang pengen cerita aja tentang "our fun day at Snowbay" (baca post nya disini).

Eh tau-tau malah dapet rejeki ^__^ Alhamdulillah...

Awalnya di email katanya saya mau dikirimin VIP Card nya Snowbay yang bisa dipakai untuk Free Entrance & Free VIP Cabana pada pemakaian pertama dan 50% Discount untuk selanjutnya (max untuk 4 orang). Etapi ternyata.....yang dateng paket biru gede berpita:

Yang isinya:

Banyak banget!!! Ternyata bukan cuma VIP Card aja yang dikirimin, tapi juga ada notebook tebal, voucher discount IDR 250.000 untuk F&B, voucher discount untuk beberapa toko dan resto pilihan seperti La Porchetta, Cuppa Coffee, Rice Bowl, dll yang bisa kita pakai di outlet nya dimana aja. Plus dapet Polar Bear hat yang lucuuu bangeettt... (*gemesss).

VIP Card nya sendiri saya dapat yang Hurricane, yang berlaku untuk max 4 orang (ada satu lagi VIP card yang berlaku untuk 2 orang, namanya Breakthrough). Hurricane card ini seperti yang sudah saya ceritakan di atas, keuntungannya banyak banget, diantaranya adalah:

Free entrance ticket untuk pemakaian pertama & 50% discount untuk pemakaian berikutnya
20% Discount untuk F&B di Captain Jack's Cuisine
20% Discount untuk sewa VIP Cabana dan Gazebo
15% Discount di "Igloo" toko suvenir yang ada di areal Snowbay (tempat beli Polar Bear hat)
Free entrance tiket untuk Snowbay concert
Free 1 ride untuk Bungee Trampolin
+ Free voucher untuk 2 VIP Cabana (selama 3 jam pertama)

Asiikkk banget kan, banyak banget keuntungannya!
VIP Card ini bisa dibeli di Snowbay, dan kayanya lagi ada harga promo tuh:
Yang Breakthrough harganya Rp ~~750.000~~ >> Rp 500.000
Yang Hurricane harganya Rp ~~1.300.000~~ >> Rp 900.000

Anyway, seneng banget pokoknya deh punya VIP Card ini banyak banget keuntungannya, can't wait to use it with my family! Dan ini dia penampakan si polar bear lucu:

It has an attached long scarf that can double as a glove, jadi tangannya bisa dimasukin biar anget, kali aja ogut berkesempatan ke daerah salju pada saat winter kayanya ni polar bear hat udah cocok banget deh dipake bareng long coat hehehe

Menggemaskan (topi nya bukan saya nya ;p)

Snowbay Website: http://www.snowbay.co.id/
Snowbay Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SnowBay-Water-Park-TMII/276442305975

Many thanks to Rebecca from Lingering Touch that has found my blog post about Snowbay Watertainment :)

Apt Project: Floor Plan

2011-10-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Just found out about this website from my brother in law where you could make your own floor planner virtually. You know what floor planner are, right? It's a picture with the whole floorplan layout of a house / building. All the architects and interior designer must have a floor plan to help them build and/or design the rooms in the building. Well this website called floorplanner.com is simply about that. You could make layout plan of your dream home or if you already have a blank floor plan of your house then you could put furniture in it, you know...just to see whether things would fit or where the bed position should be, etc, etc...

Since I already have the basic floor plan including the rough size of each room of our future apartment so I re-create the apartment floor plan on the floorplanner website and then filled the rooms with stuffs that we're planning to put into the apt, and I loved the result (look at me, i'm loving my own creation, I'm such a dork). Here is the plan for our future "mini" apt that I made:

The small white area beside the bathroom above is the small terrace that we are so fortunate to have (I just love high-floored rooms with terraces!), and the dining room is behind the bathroom right next to the long kitchen that has a clear glass window in the end which leads to the terrace.

I showed this to my husband as a surprise, and he loved it!! Yayness! So with both sides agree to this floor plan I think this is gonna be our "almost final" layout, we still have doubts with the dining table option though, we either would go with this setting or we would go with a square table with 3 or 4 chairs.

The office room at the right bottom corner would double as my wardrobe area, but in our last discussion we change our mind and decided to move my working / office area into the bedroom and put the old office room into a full wardrobe area instead (wink ;p).

So if you're planning to move out to a new place or if you're getting a house or if you just love decorating or creating your perfect dream home then this website is a good place to start. You could see your floor plan in 2D and 3D ! Free membership allows you to create up to 6 rooms while paid membership would allow you more advantages for sure ;)

Travel Wish List: c/o The Maidstone at the Hamptons

2011-10-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Being a history lover myself, I frequently read about the East Hampton being a summer getaway for the rich and richest. East Hampton from its earliest days has had a reputation as being a home for the wealthy and the haves. No wonder it's a favorite, they have beautiful scenery with New England style villages, beautiful farmlands, pristine beaches, great restaurants, exciting nightlife, plus a wide arrange of great stores for shopping & antiquing. The atmosphere of an old city village with old row houses, lush greenery with big trees shadowing the street are among the beautiful things that you're gonna see there.

One of my wish list is to be able to stay at one of those old houses or bed and breakfast style hotel and try to imagine myself as one of those ladies from the old era who came to the east hampton village for a more-than-a-weekend summer getaway ^o^

And one of my choice would be: c/o The Maidstone.

It is located in the storied East End of Long Island with a Scandinavian inspired design. It has 19 rooms and I love that every room were designed differently from one another. Each of the room was individually designed by Swedish designer Nadia Tolstoy and each theme is inspired by 19 different Scandinavian characters/personalities such as HC Andersen room (yes that's Hans Christian Andersen, the children book writer), or the Her Royal Highness' suite just to name a few..

They have 10 rooms, 6 suites, and 3 cottages. Each one is unique and has a distinct style that really differentiate one another. And they all seems to have great views with big windows that looks on to the luscious green bushes and trees that seems to surround the hotel. Here below are some of my favorite rooms from the hotel:

Alvar and Aino Aalto room. Alvar and Aino are Finnish architect and designer couple. The room design was inspired by their work, this room has a little of masculine feel to it, the bathroom was also designed very bachelor-pad with dark tiles and simple design.

The Tove Jansson room has a very cozy cottage feel and faces the front with views of the town's pond.

The Thor Heyerdahl suite has a full spa rain shower bathroom with separate free standing tub inside the bedroom.

The Birgit Nilsson room has a very quirky colorful decor (which I LOVE!), and it has separate windowed sitting room complete with chaise lounge and a unique tray table with wide windows that overlooks the town pond & village green.

The Astrid Lindgren room has a cheerful vibe with multi-pattern furnishings, yellow/white bathroom and pink headboard! For those of you who didn't know, Astrid Lindgren was a Swedish author who successfully created Pippi Longstocking!

The Edvard Munch room has a very gothic feeling, dark and mysterious atmosphere which surprisingly very tempting and looks very inviting. It has a bay window with a set of great big cocoon-like chairs. The bathroom has gorgeous decor too.

The Karen Blixen room has twin beds or king bed, a full spa bathroom with vanity, a bath tub, and a separate rain shower. It also has a sitting room with lounge chairs, and the room has lots of gorgeous views because it has windows that faces both the front and the back with both pond & garden views.

The beautifully designed sitting room of the Karen Blixen room.

His Majesty's Suite has a rich opulent design with old-world style furniture, thick curtains and rich deep tone colors. The room has a full spa rain shower bathroom with separate free standing claw foot tub, a living room with sofa, lounge chair, and desk, plus it has the beautiful view of the town pond.

His Majesty's Suite claw foot bath tub inside the bedroom while the shower and vanity are in a separate room just right behind the tub.

The Carl von Linné cottage is a freestanding cottage with it's own private parking and private blue stone patio surrounded with green hedges. Carl Von Linne is considered the father of Taxonomy. The room has a sitting area with sofa, desk, and a wood burning fireplace. It has a country side cottage feel to it, and the bathroom has a simple but pretty design.

The Carl Von Linne private terrace.

The Kurbits Cottage is probably the biggest in the hotel with 550 sq ft, perfect for family retreat. The cottage has full spa rain shower bathroom complete with a dressing room. It also has a dining table for 8 persons, a counter with wet bar, and a refrigerator. Not to mention the beautifully styled living room with big windows and wood burning fireplace, a private blue stone patio, a private parking, and it can connect with the Alfred Nobel cottage, perfect if you stayed there with big companions.

The Kurbits cottage's living room.

The hotel also boasts for their highly acclaimed slow food restaurant called The Living Room. And it's a pet-friendly hotel too! The price range is from around $600 to above $1000 (pretty much dreamy wish list ;p).

So how about you? Which room do you like most? Or have any of you ever been to the East Hamptons? or stayed at the c/o The Maidstone. Ooh please do tell...

To see all of my "Travel Wish List" posts, you can click here and just keep scrolling down once you're there to see the rest of the posts.

See you on my next Travel Wish List!

Pic Source: Luxury Travel Magazine and c/o The Maidstone website

Two First Ladies and A White House

2011-10-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Everytime I saw a picture of the white house I've always been curious about the decorations inside. What are the family rooms are like? I heard that almost every first lady re-decorate the rooms according to their own style and preferences, so here I'd like to point out to two different decors of a few of the rooms in the white house, differently styled by two fashionable first ladies: Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan.

You can see the differences of the decoration style according to the era and personal taste. I also personally love both of the first ladies fashion sense, I think both of them are stylish and chic, and that reflected in the way they decor the rooms. Since the Kennedy's are the predecessor, and the Reagan's are the successor so Jackie's decors are like the "Before" picture while Nancy's are like the "After" picture. These photos below are from one of my favorite decor source website: Architectural Digest. Enjoy...

The West Sitting Hall:

The West Sitting Hall is the family's main living room.

In Jackie's era, she transformed it into a space which has a cozy atmosphere yet formal enough for important guests to have a sit there. Jackie works with Stéphane Boudin of the French decorating firm Maison Jansen, and her sister Parish who is an interior decorator herself. The window treatments were designed by Parish and the commode at right was a gift from French president Charles DeGaulle.

And then on Nancy's era, she re-decorated the living room with furnishings brought from the Reagans’ California residence. She hired Beverly Hills decorator Ted Graber to help her re-decorate the rooms at the white house. You can see one of the pillow has a case with the initial "RR" on it which of course means Ronald Reagan ;) And you can also see that the window treatments has been changed, this time the curtains are hanged high above the window frame with drapery fabrics.

What I Think:

I actually love both rooms; I like the window treatments on Jackie's which really put the attention to the great half circular windows which I think is the main focus point in the room. But I also love the warm atmosphere of Nancy's living room which feels like you're in a living room of someone's country estate house while in fact you're in the President's house!

The Main Bedroom:

The bedroom was styled in a simple way, more like a laid back style bedroom in Jackie's era. Her sister helped decorate it and the curtains were chosen to resemble Jackie's former bedroom in her old house in Georgetown, but Jackie later regretted the choice because she thought it looked too "country-house" for the neoclassical style of the white house.

While on Nancy's era, she totally changed the room by adding wallpapers with flocks of birds perched in bamboo pattern on it. She also chose a rather nude color palette with dark wood cabinetry and different window treatment by adding some kind of cornice (or is it valance instead of cornice? I'm not sure, the picture doesn't zoom in well). But whatever it is, I loved it, it brings a certain flair to the room.

What I Think:

I love Nancy's bedroom. Even though it's the same room but with different take on decoration style the room could be really different from one another, like it's a totally different room at all. Nancy's bedroom is obviously looks more serene with muted colors and it looks more spacious in those colors too.

The Dressing Room:

On Jackie's era, the dressing room was dressed in blue silk. Her decorator, Boudin, put on some of his signature touches in it such as the beautiful chinese screen, and the leopard print throw on the blue button-tufted chaise lounge. He put the mirrored desk on the corner and (again) the window curtains style are very beautiful. Jackie also decorated a wall with family photos arranged nicely in gold frames.

And as for Nancy, when she came to the white house she decided to change the dressing room into more of her style. With the help of her decorator Ted Graber, she changed the dressing room's atmosphere by putting on floral wallpapers with matching floral fabric on the sofas and lounge chair. Instead of an antique mirrored table she opt for a table with just a little mirror on it. The table also was not put ont the corner like what Jackie did but instead put in front of a window. The color palette is also warm and more into the nudes just like her bedroom. There is also a big oval standing mirror on the corner of the room.

What I Think:
Although I actually really like the silk blue color theme and the chinese screen with beautiful print in Jackie's dressing room, I'd still prefer Nancy's room because of the more organized furniture placings and the very feminine yet cozy atmosphere that makes you want to sit there on the chaise and talk with Nancy while she powdered her nose and fixed her earrings on the little mirror above the lovely desk near the window ;)

And here is one room that Nancy decided to just let it be as it was on Jackie's era: the Blue Room:

And so how about you?
Which one of each rooms do you most like? Do you like Jackie's or Nancy's? Share your thoughts on the comment box below, I would love to see what everyone thought of the rooms above ^o^

Deal Special dari KrisKros.com

2011-09-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sebagai perempuan sejati tentu saja saya mencintai yang namanya diskon ;) Kalau bisa dapat sesuatu yang bagus dengan harga lebih murah atau istilah keren nya: value for money kenapa tidak, ya toh? Jadi jangan heran kalau salah satu hobi saya adalah mencari tawaran menarik atau segala sesuatu yang berbentuk "special offer" atau yang berjudul "diskon". Pokoknya intinya cari diskonan deh ;)

Nah sekarang-sekarang ini nampaknya sudah mulai banyak tuh media untuk mendapatkan diskon di tempat-tempat favorit. Salah satunya adalah lewat www.kriskros.com. Bagi yang belum tahu, KrisKros adalah salah satu tempat untuk mendapatkan deal special yang mungkin tidak bisa kamu dapatkan di tempat lainnya. Disini kamu bisa membeli voucher potongan harga untuk tempat-tempat hang out seperti berbagai restoran, kafe, lounge, maupun hotel, spa/salon, dan lainnya.

Contohnya: beberapa minggu lalu KrisKros menawarkan kupon diskon Pizza Hut seharga IDR 30.000 untuk menikmati hidangan menu Pizza Hut seharga IDR 50.000 >>> jadi ibarat nya kita membeli kupon/voucher bernilai 50 ribu hanya dengan harga 30 ribu rupiah saja!

Special deals seperti ini penting nih buat kita yang sering hang out, lumayan buat hemat pengeluaran. Biasanya deal special yang ditawarkan bersifat ekslusif dan hanya sementara, jadi kamu hanya bisa membeli kupon diskon tersebut di website KrisKros hanya dalam kurun waktu yang telah ditentukan saja.

Tapi biasanya masa berlaku untuk voucher/kupon nya sendiri cukup panjang kok.

Biar nggak ketinggalan berita diskon, kamu bisa follow twitter nya (http://www.twitter.com/KrisKrosTweet) atau Facebook nya (http://www.facebook.com/KrisKrosIndonesia). Atau bisa cek langsung ke website nya untuk mengetahui apa saja DEAL SPECIAL dari KrisKros.com yang sedang berlangsung. Atau bisa juga langganan newsletter nya dengan mencantumkan email kamu di website KrisKros.

Yang bikin unik dari layanan kupon diskon sejenis, KrisKros punya layanan KrisKros Gift Card, dan KrisKros punya forum di website nya dimana kita bisa diskusi di dalam nya. Seru kan?

Coba aja mampir ke website nya, selain deal special utama, KrisKros juga punya side deals yang seru-seru. Minggu ini side deals nya adalah beberapa barang elektronik seperti speaker dari Sahitel !

KrisKros juga saat ini sedang mengadakan blogging contest untuk yang kedua kalinya:

Untuk info lebih lengkapnya bisa klik ke: http://www.kriskros.com/page/iPadBlogContest

Oya ada satu lagi promonya, kalau kamu bisa refer a friend, kamu bisa dapat IDR 15.000 untuk setiap teman yang kamu refer (yang nantinya bisa kamu tukarkan dengan pembelian kupon).

Ada yang sudah pernah mampir ke KrisKros? Atau bahkan pernah membeli salah satu deal special atau kupon diskon nya?

yuri.kristi@gmail.com

Cerita Hari Ini: Gamers

2011-09-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Minggu-minggu terakhir ini lagi gila main game lagi. Berbagai games baik di komputer, di Facebook, dan di handphone semua dimainin sekaligus, puyeng ga tuh?hehehe...

Di kompi mainin Theme Hospital. Game jadul banget, terakhir main waktu jaman masih kuliah (which is bertahun-tahun yang lalu hahaha). Karena kangen pengen maen lagi dan pengen bikin-bikin ruangan di hospital jadi akhirnya bela2in ke toko game langganan untuk special order theme hospital ini hohoho..

Tapi sekarang lagi agak bosen (karena kebanyakan main game yang lain), jadi hospital nya ditinggalin dulu deh sementara. Sekarang lagi asik main games di FB. Dulu nggak main di FB karena sempet bosenn banget sama FB jadi sempet vakum gak pernah buka FB. Eh minggu-minggu terakhir baru ketahuan ternyata sekarang banyak games yg keren2 di FB euy! Dulu kan games nya masih yang katro gitu, pilihannya sedikit. Sekarang udah banyak games keluaran EA dan Zynga yang nangkring di FB. Oh tidaakkk, bisa-bisa begadang sampe pagi lagi nih main games yang gambarnya bagus dan super detail itu.

Di FB sekarang lagi fokus main City Ville (iya, i know, telat banget yak gue hehe) sama Sims Social. Tapi trus sepupu gue maksa2 ngajak gue main Smurfs n Co biar dia bisa naik level (huu dasar..), jadi akhirnya sekarang terpaksa main Smurfs juga deh, Trus nyobain Castle n Co (bapuk ah), sama The Pioneer Trail (so-so..).

Selain itu juga masih tetep main orang-orangan virtual alias Looklet hehe Dulu kan Looklet masih bapuk banget, susah banget mau save satu look aja. Sekarang masih susah sih save look nya tapi ya udah rada mending lah dibanding Looklet dulu yang statusnya masih Beta. Kalo untuk online fun emang dari dulu favorit ogut itu ada tiga: Polyvore, Looklet, sama Olioboard ^__^

Biasanya setelah tutup laptop masih lanjut nge-game lagi. Sebelum tidur, setelah bangun tidur, kalo nggak bisa tidur, kalo lagi di mobil, lagi nunggu antrian, disela-sela nonton tivi dan sambil makan juga biasanya tangan tetep aktif megang handphone sibuk main game. Kalo game di henpon mah jangan ditanya deh, banyak banget! Diantaranya ada Sims City, Tiny Tower, Monster Pet, Bakery Story, Emily Fashion, Fashion Mogul, iDress (semacam orang2an virtual juga), sama Home (dekor rumah), sama lagi mau nyobain Airport Terminal juga. Semuanya dimainin sekaligus hahaha Pokonya tangan ga pernah lepas dari iPhone. Tapi giliran kalo lagi sibuk atau banyak kerjaan ya tuh henpon bisa nggak disentuh sama sekali, bahkan bisa sampe 3 hari nggak update games, dan games nya biasanya langsung kalah/merugi karena kelamaan nggak diupdate ^o^

Yah gitu deh kalo yang namanya hobby main game. Bisa lupa makan, lupa mandi, lupa ngasi makan kucing. Untungnya hubby juga gamers, jadi gak ada protes :) Lah wong kita kerjanya sama2 sibuk update games mulu di henpon hehehe

Ah udah ah, sekian dulu ngobrolnya ya, ini soalnya City Ville ku udah menanti hehe ;P

Bye Bye,

Food For Thought: Health Plan

2011-09-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

As I have often talked about in this blog, insurance or a good health plan is necessary. The more prepared we are then the better our lives would be. If you still don't have any health plan then you might want to start now.

For my readers who resides in USA, one of the best place to gain more information is the Medicare Supplemental Insurance. It is a website where they strive to offer information and help you receive the best Medicare supplemental insurance policy possible. They help you find policies that fits you best, and help you fill the gaps that most medicare plans don't have. You can start by filling out their form, and they will help you get the most of your medicare plan. You can also enter your zip code to get free quotes so you can compare which one is best for you.

We are so blessed to be living in this modern times where information is just a click away. You can find almost anything you need from the internet. There are many websites to help you learn about a good health plan, websites to help you compare insurance policies, and there are also other websites that provide health care items that makes it easier for us to get our needs just by clicking away. If you know someone with special disabilities there is also a website that provide special needs for people with disabilities that called "Disabled Online". It's a great resource for those with special needs.

The truth is, all the information you need is out there. Just remember to do a little research first and do some comparisons to find out which one that best suits your needs.

Stay healthy and prepared!

Decor: Imaginative Kids Bedroom

2011-09-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

Kids furniture always fascinates me. It somehow took me to my inner childhood fantasies. What's your childhood fantasy? Mine include a princess castle, some fairies, and a unicorn ;)

If only there were wide options on affordable cute kids furniture back then. Well I did have the privilege of having a bedroom with floral pink wallpaper, but that's about it. If only I were a kid of today I would likely browse colorful kids furniture that are now widely available on most furniture and home decor stores. If I had kids right now I would definitely spend hours and hours decorating their bedroom theme by theme ;)

My favorite kids bedroom theme is of course the all-pink princess-y themed girls bedroom. I even saw one photo of a bedroom with a bed of giant pink Cinderella's pumpkin carriage! And for boys' rooms I love pirates theme or jungle theme. Or maybe a F1 theme or trucks theme? Oh there are so many options to choose from..

The main part of the bedroom is always the bed. Kids beds always have the most wild imagination put to life. And then the rest of the decoration in the room will just follow. Oh how nice it is to be a kid in this modern time, you get to sleep inside a yellow truck! - LOL.

If you have kids, please put on something colorful or a theme that they like for their bedroom because I believe it will develop their imaginative skill and therefore build their creative skill even more. And that skill will come in handy once they're an adult. Because being creative is one of the skill you'll need to be able to survive. Am I right, or am I right? ;)

Family Time

2011-09-13T04:40:00.000-07:00

Just want to post some pictures from my Ied Al Fitr celebration with my families from last week:

All of the photos above (except the first two pics & the last pic) were captured via my current favorite photo/camera app: Lemeleme for iPhone.

The last pic above is taken with Samsung Android phone.

Instagramholic

2011-09-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

I am on instagram and has been loving it since the first day I was introduced to it :)

Add me there if you want: yurikristia

Maybe I'll post some of my instagram pics with you today, here are some of them:

How was your weekend? I was glad I'm finally getting better with this never-ending flu virus. I'm not perfect fit yet but I'm heading there :)
Thank you so much for all of you who wishes me well, you are such great readers! :D

Sorry..

2011-09-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

No post today, I'm still sick ... :(

2011-09-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hello!
First of all, I would love to say "Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri / Eid Al Fitr" to all of my readers who celebrates it. I've been out of the blogging world for a while to celebrate it with all my families and now I came back with a flu -__-

I have been having this flu with annoying unstoppable runny nose, sneezing all the time, light headed, and red faced for a couple of days now and it seems that the flu virus refuse to leave my body! I still got the flu and it came to a point where it annoys me so much. I didn't go to the doctor because I thought it would go away in a couple of days, but now that it still here, I might as well go visit a doctor tomorrow.

For now, all I'm craving is some comfort food and hot drinks:

And I'm running out of tissues!!!

Ohh I need lots and lots of Vitamin C:

Wish me well!

All photos are via pinterest

We're a Quitter!

2011-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Me & hubby are a quitter. We're both a quitter when it comes to smoking, that is. Well, we were not what you called a heavy smoker anyway. We've been a quitter for several years now. I quit first. my main reason was because I got sick due to stress + smoking. Yes, it is a HORRIBLE combination for your health. So anyway quitting was kinda easy for me because of the traumatized situation ( I was hospitalized). But for my hubby it's kinda difficult at first because he does smoke everyday and although he keeps saying that he wants to quit but somehow it's difficult to actually start doing it.

Finally he strengthen his will, and just started reducing it first. Every day he starts reducing until he finally made it without any cigarette! And when he finally did it, we celebrate his success (good for continuous motivation!). But I know this simple way might not work on some people, like I said my husband is not a really heavy smoker to begin with so this method is simple enough for him to do, but maybe not for everyone else, especially for the heavy chain-smoker.

There are other ways to try to stop smoking though, from therapy to hypnosis, you can always search for it by using search engines, you can research about ways to stop smoking.

The newest method I've heard about quitting smoking is the Electronic Cigarettes. I've heard a lot about it from my friends, they come in different shapes but some of them looked like real cigarette (above pic) but the difference is they are not actually a real cigarette. It is basically a portable electrical device that simulates the feeling of inhaling a cigarette / tobacco smoking by producing an inhaled mist that provides the "sensation of smoking".

This is of course healthier than smoking because it has no tobacco in it, but it still delivers the experience of smoking. There are many electronic cigarettes or E-cigarettes brands out there but as always, you could do some research first, find a web or a page about " electroniccigarettereview " and see the options.

Lastly, keep in mind that "the greatest wealth is health" ! ^o^

*Advt*

Apps of The Week

2011-08-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

I figured I would do a "Favorite Apps of The Week" because I spent almost all my time with my iPhone and I do love it because of the technology (I'm a sucker for super high-tech things), and because of all the varieties of applications that you can download. You can find lots of apps in different categories, I think you can find almost any apps you need or want!

Out of all the apps that I have downloaded on my phone I used 80% of them for games and social networking.

Here's a little review (please note that this review is based on my personal opinion and everyone is entitled to have different opinions):

Twitter for iPhone is great but Facebook for iPhone is so-so, sometimes it runs very slow and there are Facebook activities that you can't do via your phone so you must still have to log in to your FB account via your computer.

For platform-crossing chat media I would recommend WhatsApp. You can chat with your friends who use different type of phones (blackberry, nokia, etc) as long as they have whatsapp on their phone. This is easier to do than using YM (Yahoo Messenger) because it's fast, it can create groups (although you can only add 10 people in each group), and you don't have to manually search for your friends who already have this application, once you set your whatsapp it will automatically search your phonebook to find your friends that already have whatsapp on their phone. Easy to use!

And as for games, I would recommend Smurf's Village and Tiny Tower. They both Free to download from the App store.

If you like creating a city or building a village from zero like in the old computer game SimCity or Pharaoh then you would love Smurf's Village. Oh and if you happen to love Smurfs when you were a kid then this app is surely for you too. Me and hubby actually played Smurf's Village a few months ago, so now that we hear there's a Smurf movie coming out we I am ecstatic! I would surely love to see those smurfs after playing them and seeing them in my phone screen everyday!

Anyway, this game has many levels and a few challenges that's not too easy yet not too hard to get, so it's quite enjoyable to play it in your spare time or even better if you play it to kill time ;p
This game has awesome graphic display, beautiful colors, endless possibilities on how you want to create / build your village or making layout to your village (i love this part the best, making layout! :D). And this game is on real time so even if you close the application the game would still be on and your village would still be active so by the time you open the game again you will see developments on your village. Love all those little smurfs! Oh and I also love that they have unique seasonal items that can only be purchased during certain season, and they update the app pretty frequently.

And as for Tiny Tower, you should download this because this game is trending right now! This pretty simple game is quite addictive. The goal is to build a tower as high as you can (I'm on level 38 now ;p), and you'll never know what you're gonna get at every level. So that surprise effect is kinda what makes you want to keep playing this game, because you will want to know what you're gonna get (or maybe it's just me? ;p).

What I mean is, you can choose which type that you want to build everytime you gain a level, you can choose to build either residential unit or service unit or retail unit, etc .. but you wouldn't know what specific unit that you would get. Let's say I want to build a retail on my next level, I wouldn't know what kind of retail store I would get. I could get a hat store or a music store, or even a bike shop!
Me and K both have this game on our phone and even both our towers have totally different stores and shops! it's quite fascinating, and addictive at the same time. And those Bitizens (tiny people who lives in your tower) are kinda cute! Sometimes their outfit makes me laugh. Here are a few shots from my Tiny Tower:

Oh and did I tell you that the Bitizens have their own Bitbook (which is like facebook), hahaha those bitizens are sooo funny ^__^

"How many bits would a bitizen byte if a bitizen could byte bits"

If you have any similar apps that you really love please do share in the comment box below so I can try it out too :)

Winner's Board: Crea Clip Giveaway

2011-08-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all of you who participated in Crea Clip giveaway!

Firstly, I am so sorry for this late winner announcemet. Big thanks to my reader Nancye who emailed me and remind me to do this announcement!

And you know what? The funny thing is: I did my usual winner picking routines; I went to random.org to pull out the random number for picking the winner, and you know whose comment number showed up? By all means, it's Nancye's number!

So I swear to God I didn't do any cheating nor do I deliberately picked Nancye as the winner of this giveaway. It is just pure coincidence and it is just pure Nancye's luck!

Congrats Nancye!

The random number generator has decided, and here is the winner...

Nancye said...: The video I liked the best was the A-Line Bob. Too cute!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO NANCYE !

YOU'RE THE WINNER OF TB's GIVEAWAY!

I will send you email notification shortly and you have 48hrs to confirm and reply to my email otherwise I will have to draw another winner.

Many thanks to you lovely readers who has entered the Giveaway.

PS. Check out my other Giveaways here at Tigerlily's Book (find the current giveaways links on the side bar!) And don't forget to also check out my other blog Two Thousand Things for more giveaways!

Apt Project: Bedding Set

2011-08-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

Setelah kemarin sempet keracunan Batik Snob gara-gara browsing forum FD, sekarang jadi keracunan bedding set (juga gara2 browsing forum FD hohoho). Emang di forum-forum tuh suka banyak racun yee yang meracuni kita jadi sakau pengen beli juga hahaayy...

Anyway, kemarin2 tuh sempet liat di FB ada yang jual bedding set lucu, bahan satin jepang katanya. Harganya juga nggak mahal2 amat (kalo nggak pake bedcover nya), trus motif nya nggak pasaran. Ada dua motif yang paling-gue-incar-namun-hubby-tak-suka, pastinya dese nggak suka karena motifnya berbau shabby chic hahaha Dirinya kan anti shabby chic karena katanya "kaya cewe banget". Kalo kata Kani suami nya Kunti (temen gue), shabby chic kaya nenek-nenek hihihi...

Ini lohh bedding set yang kaya cewe banget dan kaya nenek-nenek itu ..

Yang atas motif London Rose dan yang bawah motif Fairy, dua2nya dari FB nya Mybedroom Stylizz.

Kalo yang bawah itu gue suka sarung bantalnya, baguus full florals gitu. Kalo yang pertama sih naksir berat karena motif rose di bed cover nya dan karena warnanya, Ungu! Gue lagi suka ungu banget (ama oranye!) hehe..

Eh tapi trus pas dari FB kan pindah ke FD tuh, iseng browsing soal bedding eh ternyata ada thread nya, dan disitu lagi pada keracunan Mojokoe Bedding.

Penasaran, gue klik lah link nya, gue buka link Multiply nya, eh ya ampuunn... itu yang namanya bedding set kok ya smuanya minta dirampok gitu lucu-lucu bangetttt...

Trus, disitu bahannya juga satin jepang tapi satin jepang nya ada yang Extra Soft segala. Trus di atas itu ada Silk Jacquard. Itu jenisnya Grand Platinum, threadcount nya 700 (!) >>> Sprei biasa itu threadcount nya rata2 sekitar 250-350 an gitu deh.

Kalo mau bahan yang lebih bagus lagi ada yang Silk Organic Cotton (import), itu dia 750 threadcount! so pastinya lebih halus lah ya. Kalo di luaran katanya sama dengan bahan organic bamboo silk. Kalo bahan organic bamboo sih udah pasti enak di kulit dan nyaman banget soalnya kebetulan ogut punya dua pieces baju dari organic bamboo (bekas review Bamboosa), dan itu emang enak banget bahannya, adem kalo lagi panas tapi ga bikin kedinginan kalo suhu lagi dingin.

Ini nih beberapa pilihan ogut dari Mojokoe:

ANDRASY CORINTHIA (ini kaya London Rose versi Mojokoe yah, lebih keren nampaknya hehe)

Emery Artmore

WESTIN EXCELCIOR

CROISSANT PETALES (sebenernya yg ini gak gitu suka bgt sih cuma berhubung black+red adalah paduan warna favorit ogut jadinya ini masuk list juga deh hehe)

Dan ini yang bahan 100% Silk Jacquard nya:

AQUERELLIO

Gue paling suka motif Aquerellio ini. Kalo misalkan lagi ngayal mau beli sprei di Mojoke kemungkinan besar pilihnya yang ini karena warnanya grey, cocok sama calon kamar baru. Eh tapi bahan jacquard itu kan agak timbul gitu ya motifnya jadi bikin ragu2 nih soalnya kalo untuk sprei kayanya gue lebih prefer yang smooth deh. >>> Halah, ini pake ragu2 segala padahal jelas2 ini kan cuman hayalan beli nya hehe soalnya lagi fakir miskin neh huhu..

Oiya, Mojokoe ini juga jual sprei polos yang bahannya Regal Damask tapi yang Pure Solid, jadi polos kaya sprei ala hotel bintang lima gitu. Makanya nama nya Hotel Collection. Pengen juga sih sprei putih polos gitu, tapi ah....gue kan cenderung jorok orangnya, mana bisa tahan pake sprei putih, orang hobinya ngemil di kasur sambil nonton dvd dan minum teh kotak -__-

Trus Mojokoe jual bed skirt jugaaa... Dari dulu pengen beliin bed skirt buat si kasur double bed di kamar tapi bingung mau dipakein warna apa bed skirt nya wong sprei gue aja warnanya macem2 hadiah kawinan semua itu makanya gak senada hihihi.. Mo dipakein bed skirt putih tapi ntar ga matching kalo pas sprei gue warna coklat bunga2, ntar ga matching juga sama sprei gue yang biru dongker motif abstrak ^o^

Udah lah kaga usah pake bed skirt, ntar ga matching gue kesel sendiri hehe

Mending pesen Quilt aja sekalian ama Quilt Cover nya di Mojokoe. Gue baru tau kalo ternyata mendingan pake quilt cover daripada bed cover soalnya kalo quilt kan yang dicuci bisa cover alias sarungnya aja jadi bisa cuci sendiri pake mesin cuci, kalo bed cover kan musti gotong2 bed covernya yang segede gaban itu ke laundry. Trus lebih murah beli quilt cover yang di matching in sama sprei nya daripada beli bedcover yang matching kan?

Quilt = Duvet: Kain putih polos yang dijahit berbentuk kantong yang di dalemnya ada semacam filling yang bikin empuk, kurang lebih kaya isi bedcover gitu loh.
Quilt Cover: Sarungnya si duvet diatas.
Bedcover: Isi sama sarung dijahit jadi satu.

Jadi bedanya kalo quilt + quilt cover itu bisa dilepas sarung/cover nya aja buat dicuci, sementara kalo bedcover ya musti dicuci semua2nya (mudah2an bener penjelasan gue hehehe).

Ya anyway yang penting sekarang jadi tahu dimana tempat buat beli sprei bagus yang bisa special order skalian sama aksesoris bedding nya. Yaah punya sprei premium satu biji juga cukup lah, dipake nya kalo mau ada tamu dateng aja hihihihi ...

Travel Wish List: The Ranch!

2011-08-08T14:00:00.001-07:00

I love ranches! Well basically I love everything with animals or wild life near by ;p
And I love horses, and vast green fields, and far away hills blooming with flowers and tall trees. I love the rustic cottages, the wooden fences, the ranch animals, the barn, everything!

And here is one ranch that I ~~want~~ wish to visit someday and spent some peaceful days (or weeks!) there:

The Ranch at Rock Creek - Philipsburg, Montana, USA

This is a luxury guest ranch set among 10 square miles of rugged Montana ranch land. Trail rides among wildflower meadows, fishing by the nearby Rock creek, exploring the rural landscape that surrounds the area, or just laid back and enjoy some light reading in the terrace of your rural lodge, sipping some drinks in the fun lounge/bar area of the resort with the cute saddle stools and rustic interiors, there are just enough activities to enjoy here. I myself love the view and the well-decorated lodges/guest houses. Just check out these lodges:

And the tents style:

The lounge/bar area:

(the stools!)

The restaurant:

Perfect rustic life style!

I want this!

*All photos are via Luxury Travel Magazine, click here to read more details on The Ranch.

Crea Clip Review (+ Giveaway !) - CLOSED

2011-08-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

You know how pricey it is to visit a hair-dresser nowadays, right? Especially if you just want to trim your hair or cut the split-ends, there's no way I would pay for an expensive price for something that the hair-dresser would do in 10 minutes ^o^ I only go to the hair-dresser if I want to cut my hair into a different shape or style, or maybe to color it, but not for the 10 minutes hair trim. But then again, sometimes you DO need the trim to make your hair stay healthy and beautiful, or you DO need the trim to keep the hair style from looking awry. So there goes the dilemma..

But wait, now there's an answer for that dilemma. It's called: Crea Clip.

I knew about Crea Clip from several blogs that raved about it, I thought this is just what we need! Crea Clip is a hair-cutting tool (or guide) that you can use at home to cut your own or others’ hair. Very useful and easy to use.

And then I received a Crea Clip to review myself (!)

Every Crea Clip include a set of two sizes. The smaller size is great for bangs and trimming men’s hair, while the larger & curved size is great for long hair and layering. With both in the set you can create unlimited hairstyles. In the package you can also found a "How-To" pamphlet so you'll know what to do with them. There's also an instruction on the package to visit their website to see detailed "How-To" videos.

I tried the smaller (blue one) to trim my bangs because I just got a free hair-cut at Sunsilk Hair Studio a few weeks ago so I don't need a hair trim yet. By reading the pamphlet first and then log on to their website to check out the videos I find them so easy to use and the explanation are very user-friendly. Just like they say in their website, all you have to do is just Clip, Slides, and Cut!

The Leveler on the middle of the Crea Clip helps me to position it so that I know the cuts will be straight or in proportion.

I actually holding it wrong, the rotating leveler (that little water-pass in the middle of the CreaClip) should face your face when you cut your hair by yourself so you'll know the approximate position. If you are cutting other people's hair then the leveler should face the front like the photo above.

The CreaClip can save money because you don't have to pay expensive hair-trims (or even hair-cuts!) anymore. And it will save you from the hassle of traveling and waiting at the hair dresser too. Crea Clip is also perfect for those who are not physically able to go to a salon, and also to cut your children's hair (you know how fast their hair grows, especially bangs). And it can be used for any type of hair.

I also saw a few videos on their website that makes Crea Clip more than just a tool to help you trim your bangs. With the Crea Clip set you can do maintenance between cuts, do a layered style or a blunt bob, or even create your own customized hair style.

A set of Crea Clip is now on SPECIAL PRICE for $29.99 (original price was $39.99), comes in a set of two sizes. International orders are accepted too!

UPDATE:

You can see / read more review of me using the CreaClip as a hair cutting tool/guide to cut and trim my hair here.

GIVEAWAYS!

One lucky reader of my blog will win a set of Crea Clip as below, courtesy of Crea Clip !

Please pay attention to The RULES before you enter.

RULES :

(To be eligible for this giveaway contest you MUST do the MANDATORY below. You only need 1 Mandatory entry to enter, but you could also have Additional entries to maximize your chances, please remember to leave each entry in a separate comment box or it won't be counted)

To ENTER (MANDATORY) : Please write in the comment box below this post: Tell me why you need a Crea Clip or why you want to win this Crea Clip. (1 entry)

For Additional entry (put each entry in a separate comment box) :

Follow CreaClip on Facebook, leave your name / facebook id (2 entries) - put each entry in a separate comment box

Follow Tigerlily's Book with Google Friend Connect (must be a visible follower). Look for it in my sidebar. (2 entries)

Go to CreaClip website, take a look on the instructional videos, then come back here and tell me which video did you like best? (2 entries)

Follow me via RSS Subscriber or Twitter (find links in sidebar) -- tell me your id or email. If you're already a follower tell me your id/email and which subscription are you using. You can find all subscription links at the right side bar. (1 entry for each subscription - put in separate comment box)

Tweet about this giveaway with a link back here - leave me the link. (1 entry for each time you tweet)

Add my link to your blogroll (give me the link where you put it). (3 entries)

Blog about this giveaway with a link back here, leave the URL of your post in a NEW separate comment box. (3 entries)

Comment on my "Top 10 World's Best Resorts with Wildlife Views" post in this blog. (1 entry)

Comment on my "Imaginary Room Decorator" post in this blog. (1 entry)

Comment on my "My Top 5 Glee Songs from Season 2" post in this blog. (1 entry)

Grab my badge and post it in your blog's side bar or homepage (find my badge in the side bar, just copy the html provided and paste it in your blog), don't forget to give me the link. (3 entries)

NOTE : Remember to include your email in the comment box so I can reach you if you win.

Your entries will be visible after my approval so All entries that does not apply with the rules will not be counted and I will not published the entry!

This giveaway will end on AUGUST 17, 2011 at 24:00 pm.
Yeah baby, this giveaway is open for WORLDWIDE!

Winner will be announced here on August 18, 2011.

I will use random.org to pick the winning number. If the winner does not respond within 48hrs then I will have to choose another winner and will announce it again in my blog. Good luck to everyone! ^__^

My Top 5 Glee Songs (Season 2)

2011-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Are you a Glee fan too? I do! And my husband too! We both are like crazy about Glee, our iPod is full with Glee songs, our mobile phones are filled with Glee songs too haha
Well, if you read my blog long enough maybe you remember that I did a post on my Top 5 Glee songs from Season 1, and now I want to do a new list, it's my Top 5 Glee songs from Season 2 :)

And here they are below (listed by most favorite). So the number one on my list is:

Landslide (Dixie Chicks - originally by Stevie Nicks)

Holly Holliday with Santana Lopez & Brittany Pierce aka Gwyneth Paltrow with Naya Rivera & Heather Morris

This is the number one on my top 5 Glee Season 2 list! I loved this song since I heard it on American Idol but I wasn't paying too much attention then, but this version is D.O.P.E >>> Dope!!

Loved how Gwyneth sang it. And people have been talking about the actual meaning of the song since it first came out like years and years ago (yes, this is a vintage song), because the lyrics are a bit confusing. Well I guess everybody can make their own interpretation then ^o^

Umbrella / Singing In The Rain (Rihanna feat Jay Z / Gene Kelly)

Sung by: Holly Holliday & Will Schuester aka Gwyneth Paltrow & Matthew Morrison)

OMG this is probably the best mash-up in Glee Season 2. I'm never really into Rihanna's "Umbrella" until now ^__^

And to mash it up with Gene Kelly's classic song "Singing in the rain" is actually really perfect in theme and harmony. Dear Glee musical director and team... great job, bravo!

Teenage Dream (Katy Perry)

Sung by The Warblers

I love The Warblers, they're good. No, make that Great! I love Blaine when he sings ^o^

I don't know if the sound on this video is good enough for you, I tried to find better ones on youtube but there are scarce, can you believe that?! Come on people, didn't I tell you The Warblers are good? Post more HD videos of them please.

Unpretty / I Feel Pretty (TLC / West Side Story)

Sung by: Quinn Fabray &Rachel Berry aka Dianna Agron & Lea Michele

This is also another brilliant mash-up song from Glee Season 2 (Bravo again to you dear Mr.Musical Director & team..).

Gosh, I love this song when it was sung by TLC a loooong time ago and when I hear it again on Glee, with some added chorus from the West Side Story ("I feel pretty, and witty, and bright..") - I thought it was genius! Love the theme, love the lyrics combines, love the new arrangement, and love how the most competing gals in Glee sang it together!

The Only Exception (Paramore)

Sung by Rachel Berry aka Lea Michelle

This is on my top 5 list because Rachel is singing this so beautifully and because this is a wonderful song. Simply put.

There you go.. My Top 5 Glee Songs from Season 2. Oh and I actually have one more favorite song that should go into the Top 5 but it wasn't fully sang in the episode, just a short tunes of it, so I didn't put it in the Top 5 list, but nonetheless it is one of my favorite scene so I think I should upload it here too (just so you'll know ;p):

Telephone (Lady Gaga)

Sung by: Rachel Berry & Sunshine Corazon aka Lea Michelle & Charice (!)

I'm sorry I couldn't found any videos with this scene that don't have "Twentieth Century Fox" on it, I like this scene so much, i think it's both amazing & hilarious ^o^ And it featured one of my fave young singer Charice which I have mentioned before in this blog three years ago!

So, How bout you? What are your top five Glee songs? ^o^

Weekly Digest

2011-07-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I would love to highlight this week:

I was interviewed by Smashion website regarding my fashion blog "Two Thousand Things" !

If you would like to check out the interview please go here :)

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I've been into Pinterest lately, and I found this dreamy place called Giethoorn, which is basically a village with no streets. It is the Venice of the Netherlands! Very gorgeous, I would love to come visit this magical and right-out-of-storybook-houses (or maybe even stay in one of the houses!) someday - Amen.

Click here to read more about the place.

It was founded around 1230 when fugitives coming from the Mediterranian regions settled there.

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Aanndd..... I also found this one below via Pinterest!

Isn't he the cutest cat in tux everrr??
Haha I couldn't help but smile everytime I look at this photo. It is now on my computer screen as background pic ^o^ I also own a black cat, well 2 black cats actually, and I would looove to buy this faux tux collar and put it on them and take group photos! It would be too funny :D

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I used NewsRack on my iPhone as RSS reader and I found it quite practical. I also love the alternative view of the reader that looks just like a real news rack! Below is what my 2 blogs looked on the Newsrack reader :)

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And here are a couple of photographs I took and edited with instagram:


Colorful group of funny looking chairs at Informa

My youngest cat, Kiddo. We took him in because we assumed he is Blacky's son ^o^

And yep, he is just like his father. In attitude, that is!

So, what are your weeks like? Any stories to tell?
Oh and I would like to thank everyone who kindly commented on all my previous posts, it means so much to me that you guys actually read this blog. And I will surely come visit your blog too and leave some love there ;)

Apt Project: More Details

2011-07-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

Still on going with the Apt Project posts, ini ada beberapa foto yang ketinggalan hasil hunting dan browsing furniture ke Ace Hardware sama Informa. Sekarang ini, Ace Hardware is my most favorite store. Kalah deh Zara sama Mango hahaha ..

Waktu itu di blog sini kan ogut pernah ngebahas soal dining table set yang murce dan memadai, nemu nya di Informa GanCit (Gandaria City). Ini nih penampakan table set nya yang harganya sekitaran 300 - 400 ribu itu:

Sederhana namun manis (Hayyahh..) :P

Table set nya imut tapi permukaan meja nya lebar (yang kaya gini yg enak buat makan). Ini perbandingannya sama K yang lagi berdiri di samping meja (nggak nyampe se-pinggang nya hehe):

Dapat kursinya 4, warna lapisannya oke juga, cukup netral. Namun masalahnya daku kurang suka sama papan di bawah (area kaki) nya itu loh, lupa deh itu papan bisa dicopot atau nggak. Trus agak kurang sreg juga sama kaki-kaki dan sandarannya yang dari besi (dingin kalo kena AC kan). Jadi basically ~~Daku~~ kita masih mencari dining set lain ^o^

Trus pernah juga kan ngebahas soal tile stickers buat di keramik kamar mandi, nah ini penampakan si ceramic tile stickers yang kami lihat di Informa:

Pertama kali lihatnya di Informa GanCit tapi trus pas lagi lewat Fatmawati iseng-iseng mampir ke Informa yang di sebelahnya, eh ternyata si sticker ini lagi On Sale!

Bisa dilihat di foto di atas, tilesnya ada dua ukuran.

Yang ukuran besar itu 14.8 x 14.8 = harganya 98.000 untuk 40 pcs.

Kalo yg ukuran kecilnya 9.8 x 9.8 = harganya 79.000 untuk 50 pcs.

Sayangnya, walaupun harganya lagi diskon lumayan gitu tapi kita kan blom tau ukuran tiles untuk di future bathroom nya (lah wong blom serah terima) huhuhu jadi terpaksa skip this sale offer deh :(
#Etapi emang si tiles ini nggak ada yg biru juga sih warnanya, sementara ~~Daku~~ kami kan pengennya bathroom nuansa biru hehe

Eh ngomongin bathroom, kan (lagi-lagi) pernah dibahas juga tuh soal keinginan terpendam ogut yang kepengen mandi ujan di dalam kamar mandi, ahaha.. Maksudnya pengen punya shower head yang super gede atau yang titik2 air nya banyak dan posisinya tepat di atas kepala (jadi serasa diguyur hujan gitu deh hihihi). Nah ini hasil lihat-lihat di Ace (untuk yang kesekian kalinya ;p):

Hmm... Yang mana ya enaknya? hahaha belaguuu...padahal ini rada mahal, apalagi kalo sama batang nya itu huhuhu... (ga tau deh nih apakah nanti masih ada budget untuk beli ini -- Doakan kami!)

Trus pas di Ace, K sempat naksir mirror compartment ini buat di atas wastafel kamar mandi katanya. Bagus banget sih emang, keren, kaca stainless semua gitu, udah gitu pake pintu geser dan di dalemnya full stainless juga, ada rak nya bisa buat taruh toiletries sama obat2an mungkin? hehe (Ngayal mode: On).

Tapi suamiku... yang ini hargane 700 ribu lohhhh... Ada harga ada rupa. Tapi masa kompartemen kaca wastafel harganya sama kaya karpet bulu-bulu warna abu2 yang rencananya aku mau pasang di living area? huhuhu..
Pilih satu deh: kompartemen kaca keren atau karpet bulu-bulu indah? ;P

Ternyata emang ribet yee pindahan tuh bok, banyak banget printilan yang musti dipikirin. Itu baru yang gedenya, yang printilan macam lampu pun perlu diperhatikan juga ternyata.

Lighting pengennya yang hidden gitu jadi bagus buat aksen, dan bisa bikin suasana hangat pula kalo penempatannya tepat. Belom lagi lampu untuk di ruang utama macam di living area dan dining area gitu.. Modelnya macem2 banget ampe pusing ngeliatnya, soalnya bagus-bagus semua. Harganya juga bagus-bagus banget! (*dengan nada sarkastik)

Pengennya sih punya chandelier modern, hahaha >>> Ini bukan chandelier yang kristal2 ala hotel gitu loh maksudnya, tapi chandelier modern yang warna-warni gitu.. Pengen yang item deh :

Harganya pasti gak semahal si chandelier kristal, tapi bukan berarti mursinah juga kayanya. Di Radio Dalam ada nih toko kecil yang jual chandelier2 lucu kek gini. Pengen masuk nanya2 harga deh tapi takut mahal hehe. Ada yang pernah ke toko itu nggak? Atau ada yang tau nggak kisaran hargane?

Eh trus masa ada chandelier selucu ini:

Oh aku jatuh cinta...

Ini pas banget untuk rumah impian shabby chic ku (alias rumah halusinasi ku ;p).

Ini juga lucuk.

Nemu di Ace Hardware GanCit:

Haddeeehhh...soal lighting bingung, soal table set bingung, bahkan soal shower head (yang sebenarnya kurang penting pun) bingung...

Heuh, Besar pasak daripada tiang .. -______-