A Simple Gal Journal: Life Goes On

Today...

I read an old journal of mine and noted the facts that...

At some time at the end of 2010, approximately within the same month these things happened.
A friend was moving from her homeland Indonesia to Canada, while another one left Canada and was going home to Thailand.
A friend just lost his job due to efficiency, and another one purposedly left hers for wanting to start her own business.
A friend was getting married, but another friend was in the process of getting a divorce.
A friend just had a baby, another just had a miscarriage, and another old friend - may she rest in peace - just lose her life in labor, left behind a husband, a son, and a newborn baby.

I guess life just goes on, no matter what, anyways. Whether you're happy or sad, sick or healthy. Even if you were crying your heart out, somewhere out there someone else is bursting with the joy of happiness. Or vice versa. The universe is not about you. But you are playing a part, a very significant role - no matter how small - in a much bigger picture that more often or not, you have difficulty to comprehend.

Fast forward to now, for the same people I mentioned, the following happened to them...

My friend who moved to Canada finally moved back to Indonesia to be with her boyfriend, and now to go on with her life, since her boyfriend decided to break up with her not long after she made the big move going home. Ouch, indeed.
My Thailand friend still lives in Thailand, but far away from her hometown, where her job took her. And right at this moment, that job took her for a business trip to the USA.
Both of my friends who lost of left their jobs are now back in the workforce, with less pay, but more humanly working hours.
A friend who just got married is just back from her honeymoon, while the divorced one is now engaged to someone else.
My friend who become a mother is now leaving her job to be at home with her daughter (thumbs up for that decision, Jen, I know it's hard for you, but you did the right thing!), the other is pregnant again, and my dear friend Em who is now in Heaven, I don't know what has happened to her husband and son, but I heard her new born baby didn't make it and went with her to Heaven, as well.

I guess you never know where life might lead you afterall...

And today a girlie girl delights in these lovelies...

The flower-shaped gold earrings. I got lots compliments for them, and you know what?

They only cost a dollar a pair.

This unique green necklace. It's not my style, but somehow I fell for this one. Yeah, I know, my shirt looks very ugly up close. But what can I say, it's a free uniform from my previous office, and it's super versatile!

This thrifted emerald green thrifted scarf, tied around this happy mustard yellow bag. This scarf is a little bit difficult to match with anything, so I'm really happy to be able to showcase it today.

This silver and emerald green bracelet.

And the gold and green eyeshadows on my eyelids.

I'm looking forward to...

Trying out a new DIY project, planned for tonight. This will be a quiet evening, with a little craft project to get my hands busy, a simple dinner of cream soup and fried chicken, and some background music playing from my laptop. A lovely evening to wrap up a day's worth of work.

Tan jacket: DKNY. Black shirt: old Invio office uniform. Pleats skirt: unbranded. Bag: Sogo. Scarf: thrifted. Necklace: Warna, MKG. Earrings: bought it online. Bracelets: Le Marie, online, Shanghai.

I'm thankful for...

All the people who have gone through and left an imprint in my life. Whether they're staying or not, whether they leave a good or bad memories for me, the kind ones, the annoying ones, the nosy ones, the super annoying ones, the happy ones, the negative ones, each of them had been a teacher who taught me something and helped me to become the person that I am today. So, thank you, All, wherever you are now.

And last but not least, thank you to all of you Friends who are reading this. I hope you'll have a pleasant day. And a pleasant evening. <3

Linking up to:

Rainbow Baby Buttons

I saw these super colorful necklace and bracelet a while back at a nearby Naughty Stores, which is a budget accessory store like Claire's Store in the US, and for some weird reason I got attracted to them. They're made of light wood, and have a Carribean feel to them. I didn't have any idea at the time how I was going to wear them, but since they were so cheery and only cost about 2 bucks each, I got them anyway. Boy, so glad I did! Not long afterwards I stumbled upon a blog by a lady who lives in Panama, titled The Joy of Fashion, in particular this post, and I got all inspired.

I'm going to mass at Church, then to a Sunday lunch at Pluit area, and these cute babies are just the perfect accessories for the beige shirt dress that I got from Singapore, adding some spunk to an otherwise very neutral, pale (aka boring) pallette.

I guess one should never underestimate the power of cheap accessories. Haha!

I totally forgot the name of the restaurant we went to at Pluit, but it's an old-school Chinese restaurant, packed with families having their Sunday brunch. Now, I couldn't resist of snapping a picture of this old-fashioned tea pot, it looked like the one my late Grandma used to have! So cute!

 And this is my ensemble for the day...

The hem length is perfect. Not too long, not too short. And I love that it's not tight but still has some shape to it. Nicely fitted and super comfortable to wear.

I love the tiny strips of Burberry-like piping on the sleeves and pockets.

Also the huge saucer-like buttons at the front, pockets and chest flaps.

 And of course, the three-color platform wedges I got as a gift some time ago finished the look and bound all the colors together.

Shirt dress: Hang Ten (Singapore). Necklace and bracelet: Naughty Stores (MKG 5). Earrings: Accesorize (Singapore). Bag: Esprit (gift). Platform wedges: Ana Eslie (gift).

Swing Swing Stripes

By swing what I mean is mood swing. I never understand it and I don't think I ever will. How could one feels so good and elated one moment, then a short message turns everything upside down to a lingering, sad, disappointment?

I'm feeling so down and disappointed at this moment. We all have expectations. And when life don't give us what we expect, what we think we deserve, we start throwing around junk self-conversations such as: "This is so stupid!" "This is so unfair!" etc. etc. etc. ...

Then I stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:

"The day of prosperity makes one forget adversity;
the day of adversity makes one forget prosperity.
A moment's affliction brings forgetfulness of past delights."
(Sirach 12:25, 27)

How true!
Now, considering that the Book of Sirach might be written thousands of years ago, it strikes me that technology might have evolved to the highest level we've ever seen, spaceships are being launched to explore the universe, but basically human's personal problems and feelings are the same, now or thousands of years ago. We feel happiness, sadness, elation, disappointment.

And the verse also reminds me, how could I forget all the bountiful blessings I have received in my life, all the answered prayers, His wonderful plans for me, everything that I have, just because I cannot have just one small thing?

I'm like Eve, who couldn't see the beauty of the whole Eden and everything in it just because she wasn't allowed to have that one forbidden fruit.

Wake up, LeeAnne!

With that in mind, I brace myself, pinch my chubby cheek, put on a layer of lipstick, smile, say a little prayer of thanks, and take these pictures. Haha! Happy again!

Today I'd like to show you that when you don't feel like dressing up, or can't decide what you're going to wear for a particular day, a statement piece of necklace, bracelet, and a pair of statement earrings can do wonders to give that extra oomph to that otherwise so-so, you've-worn-it-a-thousand-times outfit.

Nope. You don't need to only wear ONE statement piece. Throw away the rules out the window. Fashion experts know what's good for fashion industry. You know what's good for yourself.

On the last note:

"Life is unfair. So adapt and overcome. It's still GRRREAT anyway!"

LeeAnne, Style N Season

Striped top: Bebe. Black pants: office uniform by Invio. Necklace: bought it online. Earrings: from Hongkong (at first I thought I bought them in Indonesia, then I realized I was mistaken. Perhaps that means I have too many earrings?) Bangle bracelet: Le Marie. Gold sandals: Yongki Komaladi. White n gold bag: Hana (check out the gold flower pattern in the picture below)

Searching For THE Perfect Ring

You Friends might wonder why I look so made up here. I actually tried out the bridal look on the weekend. Yep, Friends, I'm getting married in April! We won't have any big, extravagant party, just a simple ceremony at Church, then off to honeymoon. Both my fiance and I prefer a small, intimate wedding. No stress, no fuss.
So, yes, please pray for us and wish us well! ^_^

Ow, I've been having problem with my laptop and have to borrow a friend's laptop to write post. So, I'm sorry if I've been a bit behind in replying to comments lately.

LBD: Red Valentino. Purse: Philippe Charriol. Accessories: bought on-line and various old collection.

Shoes: Yongki Komaladi.

I like the makeup, but I think the hair is too big. I could do with less hair teasing on my wedding day.

What do you think, Friends?

When I bought this necklace online, I was afraid it would be too much. Turned out that my doubts were unfounded. I've got lots of compliments on it, even from my big brother, who usually doesn't pay any attention to my outfit at all!

Since the wedding would be nothing like an extravagant nor elaborate affair, my fiance and I have enough time and peace of mind to plan for things that matter to us: our new home, the honeymoon, furniture shopping, and also some small details that we think are important and meaningful, such as song choices for the wedding, and of course, the wedding rings!
The odd thing is, I'm not a ring person, nor is my fiance. However, we both agree that wedding rings are something very meaningful and sentimental, so they should be something timeless and beautiful. Hence we decided on diamond wedding rings, not just because "Diamonds are forever", but because diamond jewelry are always in style and will never look out of date even on our 50-year anniversary, if God allows! We've been hunting for THE perfect rings for some time now, from brick and mortar jewelry stores, to online ones.
And one of them is Anjolee.

Anjolee is a specialized diamond jewelry manufacturer based in San Diego, USA, that has been in business since 1977. I've heard about them before, and since they are an online store and able to ship to Indonesia, in our search for THE perfect diamond wedding rings, we decided to see what they have.
Surfing through Anjolee's diamond wedding ring selection, we found these three models that we like. The nice thing about Anjolee's website is, you can zoom the picture to see the detail of the jewelry. You can even see it in 3D, which is good because when you buy something like diamond jewelry online, you cannot touch it the way you do at brick and mortar store, but you still want to make sure that you like every single thing of your choice - the clasp, the back, the earring clip, etc. - not just how it looks two dimentionally. Another nice thing is, Anjolee provides you with the basic model, but you can customize it to your liking AND budget, such as white or metal gold, 14, 6, or 18K, diamond size, diamond quality. The price will change according to your customization, which is very helpful because everybody has their own taste and set budget when shopping for wedding ring.

Anyway, these are the three models of diamond wedding rings that we like, though we still cannot decide which one we like best. Also, we still question whether we prefer the modern white or yellow gold or platinum for the wedding ring's band.

This one is called Triple Spaced Diamond Ring in platinum. Simple and elegant.

This is the same model of yellow gold.

Some might consider yellow gold as old-fashioned, but we think it has a very ethereal classic feel to it.

This one is called Everlasting Love Four Prong Diamond Eternity Ring. It's just gorgeous and very romantic, because all those diamonds around the band represent everlasting long and eternity. Of course, with so many diamonds, the price will be higher. That's the only unromantic thing about this gorgeous diamond wedding ring! For this model I prefer the platinum band. It's such a nice backdrop for all those sparkling diamonds.

And look at this one! It's called Five Across Alternating Gemstone Anniversary Ring, and I fell in love with the gold one with red garnets on it. It's totally beautiful, but both my fiance and I agree that this looks more like anniversary ring or something a man would be his lady for Valentine's day instead of a wedding ring. Still, it's very beautiful, don't you think?

I would't mind getting this as an anniversary ring!

What girl doesn't like to get a diamond anniversary ring? Haha!

You know what, this one is perfect for my parents' anniversary rings. They have just renewed their marriage vow during the Holyland trip last year, in Cana. My Mom definitely deserves a diamond anniversary ring! Of course, it's not about expensive gifts, but it's still a very nice and romantic gesture, don't you think?

And look, here is a picture of my Dad kneeled in front of my Mom, with someone's wedding car and Mediteranian Sea as the background. How cute is that!  Please go to the original post here for more pictures.

Aaaannywayyyy, back to the bridal makeup and hair try out, please let me know what you think of it. Also, which diamond wedding ring do you think is best? Please help me with the selection, Friends! ^_^

Ow, we went to Luna Negra for dinner after Church. Since I had been dolled up already, so we thought, let's not waste the money spent for this makeup and hair, and go some place nice!

The pizza is huge...

I am too lazy to be this artfully made up every day, but it's really fun to look extra special once in a while!

Linking up to:

Whatever Goes Wednesday

A Cheerful Garden of My Own

This outfit pictures were from somewhere in February, when it had been raining like crazy for days. The sky was gloomy and overcast, grey and cloudy and not very happy looking. So I decided to bring my own flower garden to work, which was this blouse that I got in Singapore! (Read my Singapore and Penang haul post here)

Flower blouse: Claudine (Bugis Junction, Singapore) - it's a sheer blouse, I wore a black tank underneath. Pleats skirt: unbranded (if you live in Jakarta, you can get it at basically any ITC wholesale malls). Bag: Les Catino. Bracelets: old collection. Earrings: Chinatown, Singapore. Shoes: Yongki Komaladi. Pink cardi: Marks & Spencer.

It was freezing cold in the office, so I layered with this pink wool Marks & Spencer cardigan. It was one the best buys ever: pretty, pink, light, not scratchy at all, snug, warm, well fitted, and was on sale!

I had a pair of similar colorful rhinestone earrrings that I bought in the Philippines, but then I lost them. So I'm so happy that now I've got these!

I even brought my own blue sky and butterfly. Haha!
A little butterfly charm works wonder to put a smile on people's faces. The girls love this charm!

This is also one of the little keychains I got in my Singapore haul.

Aaaand, oh-watta-appy-day, my button necklace outfit got featured by the g*rated girls - Marie, Chelsea and Buff - of the g*rated blog. The three ladies are mother and daughters who blog together to share what they love on the internet. How sweet is that! The feature is on their Sunday Best, a link party of your best dressed-up look of the week, which I think is a good idea, since dressing up is not so common these days, with all the casual and sportswear around. I mean, who doesn't love to be comfortable, but there are times and places when you want, you need, to look dressed up. For the feature, please click here. For the button necklace post, please go here. Don't forget to join in their Sunday Best link party, as well.
Thank you Marie, Chelsea and Ms. Buff, for featuring my post!