Batik, Miss Brown N Belly Dancing

This is the first time I wear a brown outfit. This is also my first ready-to-wear batik. I don't particularly like to wear brown because the color makes me look washed-out, and I usually get my batik skirts or dresses tailor made since my Mom has an amazing piles of lovely handpainted batik fabrics. Ow, this is also the first time I wear a printed batik instead of a handpainted one. But, there is a first time for everything, rite.

I got the dress at Lennor Boutique at Plaza Indonesia with my friend Inti from this previous post. My Mom complained when I showed it to her, because she is not fond of printed batik, claiming it's "batik-batikan" alias not a "real" batik. However, after scrutinizing the stitches, the details, etc. she said that it has a fine workmanship. Hurray!!

This dress is a size Large. I should have gone with Medium, but if I did, the dress would be too short on me. I don't mind wearing short skirts or dresses once in a while, but not TOO short! The rule is: if I cannot move or sit comfortably in it without fear that I might accidentally show anything that is not supposed to be shown, then it's too short.

I'm wearing the dress for Church this Saturday evening, and received various comments, from "Wow, that batik dress is gorgeous!" to "You look like you're wearing a potato sack!" to "Is that a nightgown, you know, to sleep in?". Ouch! Well, cannot please everyone.

Brown printed batik dress: Lennor, Plaza Indonesia. Copper color bag: Guess. Purple wedges: Plaza Semanggi. Bracelet: Naughty MKG. Earrings: art market at Sydney.

Check out the lovely butterfly and intricate details.

I went to a charming Turkish restaurant called Anatolia afterwards. It's located at Kemang, Jakarta's westerner expats area. The meftune lamb shank is heavenly delicious. I used to have Turks and Moroccan friends back in the US, and had been blessed to experience their amazing food and hospitality. Not to mention that they are so gorgeous looking!

The menu is filled with completely foreign dish titles, but the descriptions typed under each are pretty helpful. I am a frequent visitor of this restaurant, but after tasting several dishes, I almost always order the meftune, because it has been my favorite so far.The enchanting interior with rich colors and textures of blues and reds.
Turkish coffee, served on an exotic cup and saucer.
The delicious marinated lamb shank with meat gravy and lots and lots of garlic and red onion bulbs.
Me and my favorite Anatolia dish: meftune lamb shank.
Can I finish it all by myself? Yes, I can!

The ladies powder room has the most amazing blue walls, I couldn't resist to snap some pictures! And guess who I met in the powder room? The belly dancer lady who was going to perform that night! Yep, Anatolia has Turkish belly dance performance every Friday and Saturday at 20.30.

For more info, contact:

Anatolia, Authentic Turkish Restaurant
Kemang Raya 110A
+62 21 719 4658 or +62 21 9277 2277

Linking up to

Running Errands Can Be Fun

On this bright morning, I have an errand to run. I mean, like, office errand. And that takes me to Kempinski Residence. So, while waiting for the meeting to start, what's a girl to do? Taking snaps, of courss! What else should I do just sitting there on that white sofa?

If you want to stay at one of these apartment units, you need to pay around USD 4,500 per month, and yet, the occupancy rate is pretty high. Well, I guess eventhough Indonesia is considered a third world country, we do have a lot of rich people here. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I'm just there as an errand girl, but hey, I can dream rite!

Duty taken care of, I grabbed some lunch at Grand Indonesia, then was tempted to stroll around the charming little boutiques at the mall, but as if my boss had a sixth sense or something, suddenly he called and asked "How come it takes you half a day just to finish a little errand?" He got me there. So I dragged my lazy bones back to the office. Cryyy...





This is the first time I combine pink on pink and stripes on (diagonal) stripes. See? I hope the ensemble doesn't look too... stripy...

Nude sandals: Aerosole (USA). Earrings & bracelets: from some bazaars in SCBD. Striped shirt: Ann Taylor (USA). Red belt: Esprit (from *gasp* high school year). Pink skirt: unbranded (ITC Kuningan). Black jacket: Brooks Brothers Woman.




Ow, I know I look like a ghost in this pic, but just can't resist to take a snap in front of the mirror to show off my pink Canon camera. It's a birthday gift I received some time ago. Isn't it cute? Actually I'd prefer the newer version (though it doesn't come in pink) that is able to generate a much better quality results, but this pink baby is waaaaaayyy much better than my old camera! ^__^

21 Day Challenge: Mixing Patterns at Freckles in April.

A Nice Surprise

ClothedMuch is the first fashion blog that caught my fancy several years ago. It's a modest fashion blog of an American Born Chinese Mormon girl named Elaine, and you know what, many people don't realize it's a MODEST fashion blog (at first I didn't either) because the style is hip and modern and not... weird... I guess most people identify modesty with Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice and Laura Ingalls' Little House On The Prairie 18th or 19th century style of looong, flowy dresses only!

So you can imagine how surprised I was - in a good way - when I found out that my post titled Rainbow At Jakarta Theater was one of four winners in her July 25, 2011 edition of Rule Breaking Monday. Up to date, the post has had 263 hits, which, for a novice blogger like me, seems an awful lot. Baby steps!

Yep, that's me on the right picture. Yayy!!!

Did I expect it? Absolutely not.
Did I want it? Yes and no. Yes, because maybe I do in the very back of my mind, like I want to be as beautiful as Natalie Portman, as rich as J.K. Rowling, can fly like Supergirl, you know. No, because I don't even think about it on my conciousness.
But am I happy about it? Dang rite I am.
What if it didn't happen? I'm still happy anyway.

Thank you, Elaine, for inspiring so many people out there - myself included - that ordinary people can live fashion in a fun, frugal, stylish, real, creative and modest way.
And that you all my dear Readers, for your support, kind words, encouragement, and of course, for reading.

You can read the original post here.

Tropical Dream

Thank you kindly for all your sweet comments and encouraging words last week. The world is still filled with nice people indeed, like you, and you, and you, and you, dear Friends. No matter what the news say these days. TERIMA KASIH! (That's 'thank you' in Indonesian)

Whoa! Wrong title! I don't need to dream about the tropics. I'm already IN the tropics, hehehe...
Anyway, when you have a strained ankle, wake up late, and forgot to streamline your next-day outfit for work, what's a girl to do?
In my case, just grab all blacks, then throw on some vibrant tropical colors to whip them all together. Ow, and skip the heels, opt for wedges instead so you won't trip on your already-pained ankle. After a relatively successful black-shocking pink combination last week, I've become more daring to combine black with bold colors like these. I have to admit, though, that my today's look is not a success afterall. I don't like it at all, but if I change again I'll be definitely late(r) for work. Boo-hoo. So please be easy on me.

Black ensemble: tailored jacket, office uniform slacks, unbranded top. Tropical inspired scarf: Got it several years ago during a spring break trip to Florida. Or South Padre? I forgot...
Sky blue blag: my trusty Les Catino. (Sogo, Emporium Pluit) Blue wedges: Voir, Malaysia.

In Every Black Cloud There's A Pink Lightning

"There is no living human being who can stop that thing called CHANGE.

So never say never. You don't know what's coming."

LeeAnne, Style N Season

There was a time when I only wore things that match. Today the trend is about color blocking and anything mismatch. There was a time when I disliked anything pink. Then the time came when almost everything I own was pink. There is a time for everything. There is a time for change.
For years, I used to wear black, black and black. Now whenever I grab anything black, I feel like I HAVE TO add something colorful. Hence these black and pink combination. This is the first time I combine muted black with shocking pink. I was afraid it would be too contrast, but I love the way it turns out, so I'm wearing it for work anyway.

Polkadot black dress: Papaya (USA). Shoes: Voir (Malaysia). Black jacket, pink scarf (tied at bag handle) and pink sash belt: tailored. Pink tank top: unbranded (ITC Kuningan). Black bag: Les Catino. Pink earrings: Aldo. Silver bracelet (looped around bag handle): Diva.

Today's dinner is at Imperial Chef, Emporium Pluit, and I can't resist to take some snaps while waiting for the food to arrive.


And it turns out that we get 20% discount using a friend's CIMB Niaga credit card. See? You never know what's coming. Oops! Did I just use the word 'never'? ^__^

Linking up to

Love Letter: Passing Probation!

At most offices, three months is a probationary period. If you pass, you become a full-time employee. If not, then, well, nice to meet you, bye-bye.

Today, Style N Season passes the three-month probationary period. And passed. I still post. Hurray!

After three months, this little blog has:

• 45 posts



• 21 followers via GoogleConnect and 1 via Bloglovin



• 92 comments



• 3681 visitors

That's not much, but waaaay beyond my expection, so I'm very happy! And after three months, these are several thoughts about blogging that I'd like to share with you, dear Readers.

• I love writing. I have been keeping diaries since I was a little girl, and even in this era of blogging, I still write in my old-fashioned pink Moleskin journal regularly.



• Having lived in the US for several years for school and work, though English is not my first language, I speak, read, and write it well enough. However, I realized more and more that I should really get my posts edited for grammarital errors before hitting the publish button. I read through several posts and was totally hor-rified to see so many grammatical mistakes! Unfortunately, there were many times when I was too lazy to proofread the whole thing. Really apologize for that!



• I have managed three blogs over several years: two in Indonesian, and this newest one in English. One thing I learned: if I want to stay motivated to continue blogging, I should first do it for myself, and second to please other people. That's the only way I could keep it genuine and go on writing.
  


• Especially for Style N Season, I started to write to serve a higher calling. I'd like to share this topic with as much people as possible: modesty, especially at worship places. (Please read this post to learn more).



• Some friends advised that I should blog more seriously (getting myself a proper camera, learn HTML, promote my blog more, etc.), but up until now, at least, I'll just keep it this way. I'm not a professional blogger. I'm not a celebrity. I'm not in the fashion industry. I don't blog to make a living or gain fans or sell clothes. It's only one of the many things that I love. So, I don't want to dedicate too much time on it nor I want the pressure to create a sophisticated-looking blog. (a.k.a I'm too laaaaazzzzy...)

As I mentioned, this is an ordinary blog by an ordinary girl living an ordinary life, who happens to have an extraordinary lust for that magnificently wonderful journey called LIFE, and an extraordinary love for anything about art, fashion, beauty, and feminity.

So, I keep it real, and hope that you enjoy reading it this way. ^_^

Thank you, thank you, thank you soooo much, my dear Readers, for visiting this humble lil' blog!

Nothing to Wear

I forgot to pick my ensemble the night before. Waking up late didn't help either. So this morning I jump out of my bed, open my closet, and cry out loud: "Mon dieu! I have nothing to wear!"
Finally I end up wearing this old lavender vest, brown jacket, and trusty black pants. When I look at the mirror, I realize that I look so bland n blah. That where the colorful accessories coming in! And notice the lavender Yongki Komaladi sandals. Finally a chance to wear these to work!

The ensemble might be old, boring stuff I've worn many many times, but how I'm glad to be able to wear this chunky flower necklace and cheerful blue earrings to the office! Afterall, you spend eight hours a day at work, that's like one third of your day, so better make it fun and sprinkle it with some colors.

How do you like my effort to make office wear a bit more un-boring?

Rainbow at Jakarta Theater

"Art is not necessary for human being basic survival.

But it sure does make our lives so much more beautiful."

LeeAnne, Style N Season

Lucky me! I received two free VVIP tickets to see Musikal Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Warriors, The Musical) at the new Teater Jakarta (Jakarta Theater). I'm CRAZY about musical shows. As a college student, I used to save and scrimp so I have spare money to purchase Broadway tickets. (Thank God for Broadway Goes to Campus program!)

The musical is based on the best seller tetralogy books with the same title, telling the stories of ten amazing children in a poor tiny island in the West of Indonesia, who did incredible things against all odds to pursue their education at a small, lopsided, poor, ruined school building. A student has to ride a bike for 4 hours a day just to get to the school, since he lives faraway. Another story is about they spend several days to study outdoors since the school building has been trampled over by a bunch of goats. It's a very motivating story.

My friend Inti loves and appreciates this kind of show as well, so I decided to invite her to use the spare ticket, and this is what I wore to the show. It was a matinee show, so I just wanted to be comfortable yet look nice at the same time.

Sandals: Voir (Malaysia). Jeans: unbranded and rolled up. Yellow bag: forgot the brand. Light coral pink vest with lace: vintage from Mom's closet. Striped brown n white top: Bebe. Earrings: from Bali. Bracelets: Debenham.

I've never tried to layer a vest over a patterned top before. Usually I opt to wear the vest UNDER something, not OVER it. However, visiting so many amazing fashion blogs have encouraged me to try out new things and new combinations that I have never even thought before. You know, be more creative with my looks. Some didn't work, but I decided that I like this one! It's fun, comfortable, and I love how the lower part of my Bebe top peeking from under the vest.

Here are some pics from the event. I so love the new Teater Jakarta! It's much grander and better than the old theater, cleaner, brighter, and the accoustic system is good. I'm glad that finally someone (or some people?) care enough about art and culture and is willing to invest and finance a new theater building!



BCA is the main sponsor for the show. It's like one of the biggest banks here in Indonesia. I'm so glad they're willing to jump in. Let's admit, for this kind of shows, adequate financing can work wonders to lift up a good performance to a magnificent one. The performers are splendid. And the financing helps with the props and special effects that add extra pizzazz onto the whole show experience. It's not extravagant. It's exuberant.

What a marvelous show! Thank you for the tickets, Pak Win! ^__^

Linking up to Thursdays Are For Thrifters Link Party 11.