Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A Simple Gal's Journal: Busy Then Slow Weekend Recap

Good morning, Friends!
 
I'm in the mood for journaling lately, so I will share what's going on in my life. I enjoy reading posts like this on your blogs, and I'm enjoying more writing one!
 
Saturday, April 26, 2014

Saturday is supposed to be a relax day, but I found myself running around since early in the morning! We had an appointment with architect from out of town for a renovation project, whom we found online. We were a little hesitant to hire an architect whom we only met on the internet, but we were impressed with how quick and detailed they answered our emails, so we decided to give it a shot. The appointment was for 9 am, and the architect and his assistant knocked on our door on 8.45. Well, well, well, that's a good start! Especially since another architect whom I met before was always slow to answer email, didn't pick up my calls, and was almost an hour late for our appointment. Naturally I didn't hire THAT one! 

After the appointment, Hubby and I rushed to have a simple lunch, then we went straight to a Church in other part of the town. So yeah, it was a busy day.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Actually Hubby wanted to take me and our son for a brunch at the mall, and I already laid out the outfit I was going to wear, the purse I was going to carry, etc. But I was not up to it. I had been nervous and tense and jumpy since Saturday, and I knew exactly why. I had been waiting for this weekend to come so I can stay home and charge my battery. I needed it. Especially since the long weekend before we were up and went places everyday, because Hubby loves going out and about. I am an extreme introvert. I NEED to stay home and have some me time to recharge my battery. Being around people all the time does not energize me at all, it sucks up all my energy. It's not that I don't like meeting people. I do. But an introvert needs to be alone to recharge. Only when I'm allowed to do that, can I bounce back the next day, lending a listening ear, sharing laughs, smile, kind words, giving out love and caring and tenderness to everyone around me. On Satuday night, when Hubby proposed yet another "fun", all-day activities to do and places to go for the next day, I was ready to have a nervous breakdown. I was tired from going out and being with people all the time. Mentally and physically. 

So I asked Hubby, do you mind if we just stay home today? I was afraid he will say I was exaggerating. I was afraid we were going to fight about it. Hubby is not an introvert, so naturally he could not understand, how could I be tired when all I needed to do was just sit in the car until we reach the destination? I wasn't even driving! 

Thankfully, he was being understanding and said yes. Hurray! 

So it was a slow, relaxing, fulfilling Sunday for me. I cooked breakfast of omelette for Hubby and me, with chopped green onions, garlic, shallot, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. I also warmed up some baked macaroni that my mother-in-law made for us the week before. As usual, we also had out morning portion of fresh fruit and veggie smoothies. Breakfast for the champions, indeed! Then I spent the rest of the day puttering around the house, cleaning, reading to my son, preparing clothes ensembles for the upcoming week, playing and taking a walk around the neighborhood with our toddler, doing my beauty treatment of yogurt face mask, reading the Bible, blogging. reading, watching YouTube videos. I was so happy to have this serene time.

But of course, by the end of the evening, it was Hubby's turn to become jittery! He just couldn't stay at home any longer, so we ended up going out to a nearby ramen shop for dinner. I was OK with that, because it was only five minutes drive away. Besides, marriage, and any relationship, is about take AND give. ^_^

These were what I ate for dinner: tonkatsu ramen with hot, rich, savory pork broth, with lots and lots of minced garlic, deep fried chicken and shrimp dumplings called gyoza, and cold green ocha tea. This might sounds yucky, but I had to brush my teeth like three times to get rid of the garlic smell from my mouth! I didn't know whether I had to laugh or scold when Hubby said "I still want to kiss you, I think you always smell nice, Honey!" No wonder I married this wonderful, loving man! ^_^


Later in the evening, we heard a shocking news that my brother and his wife, who lives in the US, was in a terrible car crash and his car had been totally wrecked. I called him right away, and almost cried with relief when he said he and his wife were OK, only shocked. Thank you, Lord. Please protect my loved ones. May God bless and watch out for them all. I was so scared because only a month or so earlier I had a nightmare about him having a car accident, and it really happened!

Allow me to share with you All what I wrote in my gratitude journal tonight:

I am blessed and thankful today for ...
  • I got to stay home and recharge my battery.
  • Cooking fulfilling breakfast for Hubby and me.
  • A good 30-minute nap in the afternoon.
  • Quality time driving around the neighborhood with Hubby and son.
  • My brother turned out to be safe and sound, spared from any harm from the horrible accident.
Thank you, Lord.


Monday, April 28, 2014

The Purple Unicorn

A reader, Victoria, asked about the links below my post and how I liked up with the bloggers I mention. Well, I guess I need to explain that I'm no way related to any bloggers, but I do link up with their link parties! ^__^ Hello, Victoria! I hope I have answered your question.

Also, the most annoying thing had happened last week! You might notice that many pictures on this blog suddenly disappeared into a grey box with some announcement from Photobucket. I'm fixing it, but it takes time and the pictures should be back (crossing my fingers) on May 7. Sorry for the inconvinience!





Hello, Friends!

In a previous post I mentioned how my Mom, Hubby, and actually some coworkers have encouraged me to do some shopping, since I have not bought any new dresses since 2011. Well, I did finally purchase some new things, though not dresses. One weekend I decided to do a small project: reorganize my shoe closet and throw away all the shoes that were too worn out to survive another season. I think I rid of six to eight pairs. All of them were beyond repair, the material had peeled off, the color had faded, or the soles had become too thin they're no longer comfortable. I always try to wear out things that I like before throwing them away. Sometimes I even repurpose them. Of course, sometimes I buy the "wrong thing" and ended up regretting it. For those particular cases, I usually choose to give them to someone else, donate them, or sell them. I don't like shoving unloved things to the back of my closet!

The most rewarding thing about doing a small project like this is the feeling of accomplishment. It's also very rewarding to see the empty spaces in my shoe closet and knowing that now I only have shoes that I love and will actually wear instead of worn out, disintegrated ones!

After the cleaning, I decided to treat myself with some shoes. I ended up with three pairs of these super cute wedges. They're all very colorful, very girlie, all bows and flowers and cheerful colors in shocking pink, bright red and electric blue, and most important of all: they're comfortable!
  
  




I even indulged myself and shopped online for some new accessories. I got these J. Crew-inspired bubble necklace, replica of course, and much cheaper than the real ones, and a pair of flower studs. I have been wanting this bluish mint bubble necklace for over a year, since the first time I saw it on various fashion blogs. I hunted all over ebay but could not one find one that I really like and sure about, or the seller doesn't ship to Indonesia. So when I stumbled upon this on an Instagram online store, I snatched it. I ended up buying in two colors because they have minimum order. One in bluish mint, the other in coral pink. I'm not really into the pink one, and when my order came, it looked more bright, tacky pink than coral, but surprisingly, it went well with a lot of clothes combinations! You can expect to see more of these necklaces in upcoming posts! I'm so glad I waited so long to get my hands on the bubble necklace trend. I've been getting compliments like crazy each time I wore either one of these lovely bubbles. They are really statement necklaces! You wear one, and you can skip all other accessories.



Because of the minimum order policy, I also order these adorable flower stud earrings. I am not into studs, I prefer big dangly earrings, but I watched AprilAthena7 vlog titled Dinner Party and I fell in love with her white, sunflower-inspired studs that stand out beautifully againts her jet black hair and tanned skin. They are so dainty and pretty, and not too small for my taste because I tend to prefer big earrings.

 

I wore this ensemble for Good Friday 3 pm mass. The heat was unbearable and during Easter weekend, the Church is always always full packed with fellow Churchgoers, so I dressed in this thin Unicorn top and batik skirt. I chose the lavender and purple combination, because in Catholic Church, Lent is signified with the color purple. I didn't want to wear bright colors on Good Friday, in respect of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.




I know that some people, including my Mom, consider that it is tacky for a mid-thirty mother like me carrying a glittery Hello Kitty purse. It looks like it belongs to a five-year-old, isn't it? Nevertheless, Hello Kitty makes me happy, she is the only cat that I love (I'm more a dog person) and thankfully, Hubby doesn't mind her wife still have a penchant for girlish, childish things like this. (Thank you, Hubby!!!) They make me happy! Well, I guess elegance is not my fashion middle name. I'm more into fun than classy. ^__^




In terms of life, nothing much has happened in the past week, but I'm glad to say that it's been a productive week. I finished a lot of small projects such as family budget and spending recap, wrapping one birthday gift, one baby shower gift, one care package, and one wedding gift for our friends. Hubby had the chance to visit an old friend who came from Holland. She brought her baby with her, and I hope I also will get the chance to see her and her baby one of these days. The care packaged I mentioned was for a friend of Hubby's who is ill and is in hospital right now.

Thease are some cute cupcakes a coworker gave me for her birthday. You can tell that she, too, loves Hello Kitty!


I decided to start sharing my weekly task list with you. I got inspired by Mandy of Biblical Homemaking. Hopefully, posting my weekly to-do list on this blog will motivate me to actually doing it. Hopefully! Of course, I won't share about work related list, for obvious reason.

Personal to-do list of the week:
  • Update our family insurance.
  • Read, learn and contemplate on The Book of James.
  • Prepare bank requirements to apply visa for my and Hubby's upcoming holiday.
  • Prepare transportation plan for the aforementioned holiday.
  • Meet architect to talk about renovation project.
  • Reorganize the linen closet.
  • Read one chapter of Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and one chapter of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".
I will share with you next week whether or not I can stick to this list. ^__^



I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:


Monday



Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Thursday, April 24, 2014

A Simple Gal's Journal: One Long N Busy N Fun Weekend

Hello, Friends! I'm sure you all love long weekend. I mean, who doesn't?

Here in Indonesia we had a long weekend due to Good Friday, so long weekend was a long weekend for both Christians and non-Christians alike. Also, in April, Hubby and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary, so in addition to daily life, going to Easter mass, etc., we also had a lovely dinner on Saturday evening. It's not neccessarily anniversary dinner, just a lovely evening out. We both love trying out new restaurants, and are willing to pay more to experience the ambiance and the interior. Yes, we are one of those people! We allocate a certain amount of money for this spending every month in our family budget, titled "entertainment budget", but we don't go every month. Sometimes we do, sometimes we skip two or three months, just spending weekends at home. Or sometimes we just go to a nearby movie theater on Friday night for a cheap date. We are flexible and much more simple after getting married. ^__^

I didn't take special outfit picture for the dinner, so here I will share some pictures snapped with my iPhone of what I wore. The dress is a little bit shorter than what I usually wear, but it's still modest. The line is simple and I wore a lot of accessories to adorn this otherwise very simple dress. It's all about the details!

I bought this colorful necklace years ago, and I also wore it in this post here. It was a risky buy from an online shop, I hesitated because it looked so colorful and tacky. So glad I finally decided to get it, because it turned out an exquisite piece which has been accessorizing many outfits, including this one!

green and red, date look, fashionista mom, stylish mom, women over thirty

Here I wore it with another outfit sometime in 2012. You can tell from the quality that this picture was NOT taken with an iPhone. Haha!

green and red, date look, fashionista mom, stylish mom, women over thirty

This is the overall look, with the lovely red bow wedges and purse. I wasn't sure about the green and red combination, for fearing I would like an overadorned Christmas tree (in April!), but I think I looked somewhat put together enough. I hope.

green and red, date look, fashionista mom, stylish mom, women over thirty

And here's my stack of arm candies. I love wearing multiple bangles and charm bracelets together.

arm candy, stacking bracelets, charm bracelet

Yes, I am one of those annoying people who loves to take selfie, either myself, or with my son, or with my husband. Well, some might call it vanity, that's partly true, but I also love making memories!

veal dish, veal navarin, le quartier, jakarta restaurant

We went to a fancy French retaurant and bistro called Le Quartier. The interior is gorgeous and the food is nice, but we're not coming back since we didn't find it to be extraordinary in terms of food, and there are so many other restaurants we would like to try. We only come back to the same establishment if the food or the ambiance is super exceptional, or it has a special meaning and nostalgia to us.

I'm the kind of person who is more willing to pay for experience and memory, than stuff. I can justify spending more than USD 250 on a lavish Valentine's dinner (once in a while of course!) in a magnificently romantic setting that I can remember for the rest of my life, yet I cannot justify spending the same amount on a pair of leather shoes, for example. I can justify spending thousands of dollars on custom-made trip to Italy, yet I cannot spend it on let's say, a Hermes bag, though I know I can even pass down the bag to my daughter since good quality leather handbag practically lasts forever. I guess we all have different spending style and preference.

veal dish, veal navarin, le quartier, jakarta restaurant

That evening I got out of my comfort zone and try to order something that is not my usual favorite. It's a veal dish, called veal navarin, which is basically marinated veal with peas, carrots, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, garlic, shallot, lots of herbs, cooked till tender, swimming in rich savory broth. It's not something that I would commonly order, but it was absolutely delicious!

veal dish, veal navarin, le quartier, jakarta restaurant

The next day is Easter Sunday, so we went to Mass, then had breakfast at a neighborhood restaurant where they serve chicken porridge with many little side dishes. Delish!

bubur ayam

We spent the rest of the day playing with our son and just relaxing at home. Our weekends are usually pretty simple. One day I asked Hubby, "Do you notice that our life and how we spend our time together is much simpler and cheaper now compared to when we were still dating?" He agreed. Having breakfast together, either restaurant-made porridge or home-made omelette and toasts now is just as cozy and enjoyable as paying for brunch at a five star hotel.


I don't know why, but Michael looooooves car! Real cars, not toy cars or hot wheels! On the weekends, we allow him to sit in Daddy's car where he pretends to steer the wheel and makes broom-broom noises. So cute!

toddler driving

We wanted to take Michael for a ride in the afternoon, but he was being naughty and didn't finish eating his afternoon snack. Soooo, no ride for that day! I insisted on being firm and keep my promises. When I said we'll take him for a ride if he finished off his meal, and he didn't, then he must know that Mommy meant business.

It was such a hot day, Hubby decided to make homemade frapuccino for us. Yes, you can definitely bring Starbucks home with you with just instant coffee, some cold water and ice cubes, and vanilla ice cream. Blend it well using a blender, and voila! You have your own homemade frappucino! Such refreshing, icy cold beverage in the middle of scorching heat. Delightful!

homemade frapuccino

That was our long Easter weekend. How was yours?

I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:







Monday

Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...