Triple-Pattern Clashes N Eurotrip Wannabe

How do you like this outfit? This picture was taken at my office ladies powder room before leaving to Plaza Indonesia.
I'm meeting a friend, Inti, to exchange gifts. Mine are from Holyland trip, hers are from her Eurotrip. She went with another friend, Inne, and actually they invited me along. "We can share a room and save a lot of Euros!" they exclaimed. Errr... that's nice, and I really wish I could, really, RRREALLY! But I already planned for a 12-day Egypt-Israel-Jordan trip, and if I added another 18-day leave on top of that, who can guarantee that my job would still be there waiting for me when I return? So verrrry heavily, I skipped. *sigh*

This is how the outfit look with blazer on, for that professional look.

Black jacket: Brooks Brothers Woman (USA). Candy-color striped polo shirt: Marie Claire Sport. Skirt: from Manila. Bag: Bellezza. Sandals: Aily (Malaysia). Necklace: Naughty Plaza Semanggi. Red-green bangle: from Jerusalem. Pistachio green bracelet: gift from Hongkong. Mother-of-pearl earrings: from Bali.

Yep, I'm trying something new today: combining three patterns in one look! The poloshirt, the skirt, the bag.

After office hours, I just remove the blazer for a more casual look.

Me and Inti at BakerzIn, with our gifts spread on the table! Love that bold green and pink Lennor batik jacket, Inti!

These are what Inti dan Inne gave me. Yayy!! Thank you, girls! Inne is still another town, we'll meet up next week.

BakerzIn has added like gazzilion new dishes to their menu, and they all look delish, but somehow, I always stick to this old favorite of mine: John dorry fish and baby potatoes!

Sunset a la Batavia's Bandar Djakarta

My boss is awaaaayyyy!!!! Yippeeee!!! That means... it's party time! Kidding. But since I don't need to stand by, I can leave the office on-time to catch sunset at one of my favorite restaurant: Bandar Djakarta. I've been there many times, but always in the evening when it's already dark, which is too bad, since sunset from the seaside seafood restaurant is a gorgeous spectacle.

Shoes: Symbolize. Lemon yellow skirt: vintage, my Mom's. (I guess in the past they made higher quality clothes than they do now, vintage finds seem to last forever!) Bag: Nordstorm (USA). Black shirt: Express uniform from previouos office. Black jacket: tailored. Belt: from another dress.

So, this is how it works at Bandar Djakarta. You pick all the things you're going to eat, fresh, in any amount that you want.

Then, the staff will weigh your choices down for you and ask how you'd want them to be cooked. You pay for whatever you pick and eat. So, there is no fixed portion here. Isn't it a genius idea or what! You can order shrimp for one person, scallop for four, and fish for five, and everyone can eat whatever her/his hear desires, in the exact portion that he/she likes, cooked in the way he/she wants!

This is how the place looked like when we arrived around 5 pm. The dinner crowd hasn't arrived yet. Usually it's jam packed. The place is huge, can seat about 1000 guests or so. And I'm always amazed that with such an enormous span area and customized way of cooking, their service is incredibly fast. And the price is not expensive, either. What more can a seafood lover ask?

For the first time, I can finally get a table by the waters!

These are some snaps taken after dark.

It's only 7.30 pm when I left the restaurant, right when a throng of dinner guests arrived. So, I decided to hit the nearby Emporium Pluit Mall for some window shopping.

Of course, I ended up not just doing "window" shopping! But I'm not gonna tell you what I've got! That's for another post!

And a heavenly fragrant Roti Boy coffee bun is a perfectly delicious way to end a perfect evening.

Linking up to

Thus They Call It The Promised Land (Part 3): Cana, The Celebration of L-O-V-E

Hi! It supposed to be the fifth or sixth day of the Holyland journey, but somehow I got mixed up when editing the pictures, so these will do for today's post, he-heh. These pictures were taken at various places on the day we left Jerusalem for Galilee. On the say, we made stops at various places, including Nazareth.
This is a picture in front of St. Joseph Church in Nazareth. Now, I have to say, St. Joseph is an example of one excellent man, husband and father. Of course, now we all think he was being so honored beyond everything, to be the worldy father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. But two thousand years ago, let's imagine the struggle he must have faced when he knew his fiance, Mary, was pregnant. He knew Mary was innocent, an angel told him so. But what would people say if he married a woman who's already pregnant? And he had to take care of the mother and the child, provide for them, take care of them, etc. and yet he knew that this mother and child would never really "belong" to him like in other traditional families as the society dictated. From world point of view, what's in it for him? From world point of view, he sacrificed everything, and gained nothing. Of course, from heaven point of view, that was not the case. Joseph brought up Jesus. This husband and father was taking care of the greatest gift for all humankind: The Saviour.
It takes a great courage, a great faith, to take on that kind of responsibility. Joseph was truly a man of faith and honor.

Pater Nostre Church, where the walls were lined with the prayer of Our Father in many different languages.

This is my first glimpse of the Mediterranian Sea with the remains of an ancient Byzantium bridge. Does it mean that if I swam across the waters, I would reach Italy? Haha!

Now, this is the main reason for the Holyland vacation. A daughter's gift for her beloved parents. It's the least I could do to repay a bit for their love all these years. I hope you both enjoy the trip, Mom and Dad!

Dear Friends, please meet my parents.

This picture is so apt, because in the afternoon they would renew their vow of marriage in Cana. Well, this wedding car just so happened was there on the beach, and my romantic Dad had this idea to pose with Mom in front of the car.

Errr.... below you can even see his "will-you-marry-me-again" act. I hope and pray that if I ever get married someday, we would still be romantic and the love remains strong as my parents' for each other! With so many divorces all around the world, my parents make an example of a strong marriage and commitment, with all its hard work, sacrifices, complications, problems, responsibilities, joy, tears, fights, reconciliations, laughters, dull moments, funny moments, everything. It certainly hasn't been easy, but it's all worth it, and that's what makes it so beautiful!

This is Haffa, a beautiful city on the way from Jerusalem to Galilee.

The view was just spectacular!

Hat: from Korea. Sunglasses: Oakley. Striped pink top: unbranded (ITC Mangga Dua). Jeans: old. Turquoise necklace: from Bangkok. Sneakers: Nike. Red bag: from Makati, Philippines. Purple scarf as belt: from Paris.

This is Cana Wedding Church, where Mom and Dad renewed their vow of marriage.

They gave the couple a long-stemmed rose and a certificate! So sweet!

Finally we reached Galilee! This is the hotel where we stayed, with view of the Sea (or lake) of Galilee. Pheew, what a full day!

Just Jeans!

Captain America is here! I don’t read the comics, but since my movie-lover friends are pretty excited about the film, it gets to me, too! So, today, after work, we’ll be going for dinner and watch the movie at Emporium Pluit.
On weekdays, usually I don’t bother to change from work attire just to hang out afterwards. In Jakarta, especially in downtown area, it’s a common sight to see younger or older professionals walking around the malls on weekdays in their office clothes. However, today I really want to wear jeans. So this is what I wear to go from professional day like this:
... to casual evening like this.

Baggy lemon-colored top: Banana Republic, cinched with red Mango belt. Bag: Stradivarius. Necklace: gift from Holland. Pistachio green and silver bracelet: gift from Hongkong. Green and red bangle: from Jerusalem (it looks pretty Christmas-y, isn’t it). Earrings: from Bali. Black slacks: The Limited (USA). Jeans: Jordache (USA). Red striped wedges: Mon Cher by Lolly.

I left my cammie in the car, so I couldn't take snaps of the fun time we had at the mall, though. :(

Watching all those action-hero movies, I cannot help but thinking that as basic as it is, most people tend to forget this: with great power, there comes great responsibility. In the finance world, an investment banker friend summarized it nicely: “In the balance sheet, for every asset you have, there’s always a liability that comes with it.”

Most people want the power, but not the responsibility. Something to keep in mind.

Anyway, look at the bracelets I'm wearing. I bought the cheerful red and green bangle from a street vendor in Jerusalem for only a buck! The pistachio green bracelet is a gift from a colleague from her business trip to Hongkong. Don't you think it's pretty? I certainly do! She noticed that I haven't got many green accessories, so she bought me this bracelet. Isn't she sweet? Thank you Bu Lusi!