Friday, May 30, 2014

A Simple Gal's Journal: Notes From My Sick Bed...

Happy Friday, Friends!

How have you all been doing this week? I hope you and your family have been having a swell time! Last week was supposed to be a great week with tons of activities planned for me and my family, but things got in the way and it went by not according to plan! Well, what can I say? That's life.

My parents came to visit for a week and I was so happy! I was supposed to have a double birthday celebration with my auntie, whose birthday is also in May, and we planned to invite our cousins and relatives to my house for a big lunch. Unfortunately, I caught the flu bug from my coworkers (seems like about half a dozen people were down with influenza in my office last week), so bye-bye birthday lunch! I rarely get sick since I started having fruit and veggie smoothies for breakfast every morning, but I guess one has to experience sickness to really appreciate the extraordinary-ordinary blessing of health.

Also, a coworker held a farewell party last Friday. It was her last day at work, and I couldn't come because I was ill. I was so disappointed because I really wanted to say a "proper" goodbye to her, but I was touched to get invited. She even miscalled me, but I was asleep. *tears* I wish you good luck on your new job, Nana! Congratulations on your new (promoted) job! And, please, don't be a stranger! We'll miss you!

Anyhow, I have recovered from the sickness. Well, I still feel queasy and dizzy but I'm getting better. I even went to my in laws for my mother in law's birthday with my husband and son. We brought her noodles, which is a must-menu for one's birthday here in Asia, and some other dishes for her.

We also visited Hubby's friend and his wife who just had a baby about a month ago as I wrote on this post. The baby is so tiny!!! I forgot how small they were when babies were a month old. I didn't touch the baby though, since I was afraid I might infect her. I knew I was no longer sick, just still weak from pasca-illness, nevertheless, I didn't want to take any chances!

Because of the illness, I didn't get a chance to do much, so it's not a productive week. But of course, none of us lives a perfect life, so I'll just suck it up, laugh it off, and plan for the upcoming week. Afterall, sickness gives me time to stay in bed, rest, and read a good book, and I'm lucky that my Mom is in town to take care of my son. So, yes, I am truly blessed, despite everything.

It seems my birthday celebration is still going on afterall. People are still sending me gifts. This was one of the late birthday presents from a coworker. She gave me a lovely beaded necklace that I wore right away and took a selfie with. Thank you!


 
And another one that just arrived this morning on my desk. I also received some purses and wallet and make up case and shawl and clothes, but I didn't take picture of everything. Awwwww.. so many presents! I feel so loved and blessed and humbled and grateful, that so many people care enough for me to send me wishes and gifts for my birthday. I didn't expect presents or anything like that, but let's be honest, what girl doesn't like presents?


This is my birthday present from me to myself: this goooooorgeous crystal candy colored statement necklace that I ordered online and has finally arrived. I saw it on @sarasab instagram, and totally fell in love. It cost more than what I usually would spend on a necklace, but I still have some money left in my Paypal account from this blog (yep, this blog makes money, not enough even to pay for my lunch, but it can occasionally buy me cute things from ebay!), so I though why not. So glad I decided to splurge on this, because it's very lovely and worth every dollar spent. Expect upcoming posts of me wearing this pretty thing!


Before the illness, I reorganized my closet and got rid of many pieces of clothing that I no longer care to wear. These are just some of them. That's an awful lot, and there are still many more not captured in the picture, AND even after "throwing out" so many, it seems like I STILL have a lot of clothes! It's an eye opener that a girl CAN have too many clothes. Actually now I'm inspired to do a more thorough cleaning of my closet.


Thankfully my son didn't catch my illness. Here he is having his first taste of the delicious Nutella, and he loves it!



To do list from two weeks ago:
  • Reread, learn and contemplate on The Book of James, James 3, again!
  • Read one chapter of Karen Stolz' "World of Pies". I finished the book from my sick bed.
  • Read Chapter 4 of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".
  • Research for a vineyard tour for our upcoming vacation.
  • Fill out visa application for our upcoming holiday.
  • Submit migration form for my cell phone migration plan.
  • Start on MEP and budget plan for renovation project with architect.
  • Reorganize clothes in my new wardrobe.
  • Top up our family investment plan.
Next week's to do list:
  • Fill out visa application for our upcoming holiday.
  • Preparing bank forms for visa application.
  • Purchase travel insurance for me and Hubby.
  • Send emails to two wine tour providers that I found last week.
  • Schedule two blog posts for while I'm on vacation.
  • Submit migration form for my cell phone migration plan.
  • Reread, learn and contemplate on The Book of James, James 5 Part 1: Warning to the Rich.
  • Read Chapter 5 of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".
  • Make appointment with hairdresser to have my hair cut and trimmed.
I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Never Thought I Would Go Kate Spade, But I Did! (Kate Spade Cedar Street Elissa Review)

Goooood day, Friends!

You might know from previous post that May is my birthday month. I wrote about my birthday weekend here, and how many surprises I got during my birthday week here. Now, I will tell you the last birthday present that came my way, almost at the end of May, from my dear husband. 

So on Saturday morning, a package with USPS stamp on it came. I, of course, am familiar with USPS, since I lived in the US for several years for college and work afterward. But never a USPS package got me so giddy and excited as this one, because I knew what was inside. My birthday present from Hubby that he specifically ordered from a friend of his who moved to New York, since the company that sells this thing doesn't ship to Indonesia. What is that? Kate Spade, that is, Friends. Hear that, Kate Spade? You should ship to Indonesia!

kate spade, cedar street elissa

Here it is! Kate Spade's Cedar Street Elissa in red geranium! 
You can find it here if you are interested to own one!

kate spade, cedar street elissa

Kate Spade Cedar Street Elissa (find it here)

Now, I never ever thought that I would buy any Kate Spade bag. I think they are cute and fun, with all those funky, cheerful colors and girlie girl designs. Still, I'm not a fan of spending big money on expensive bag that I cannot carry for a loooooooong time. Yes, a couple of hundreds dollar for a bag, for me, is a lot. If I'm going to spend money on a purse, real leather is needed to warrant such an extravagance. Saffiano, cowhide, suede, whatever, as long as it's real, genuine leather that will last year after year after year. I have bad experience with PU aka syntetic leather, they start ripping and peeling after only a year's usage. I expect more-expensive-than-usual-Target-bags will last longer, like my Mom's Aigner that just looks better with age after more than twenty years! And from what I had seen in the store, most of Kate Spade bags are not made of leather. They come in either canvas, nylon, PU, vynil or fabric. They are trendy and fun, they weren't made to be classic. And this girl loves classic!

However, I changed my mind after I saw this picture of Kileen, from Cute & Little, carrying a gooooorgeous reddish Kate Spade beauty some time ago. It was a structured shaped bag which I love, and prefer to floppy or hobo bags. What really made the tote extraordinary is definitely the unique color! Frankly it's not the color that I normally would be attracted to, but somehow I fell in love with this one. It's not red, it's not pink, it's not orange, it's not really neon either, it's like combination of all. Kate Spade's website called it red geranium, and I think it's a very suitable description. I looked it up online, and it said the tote is made of leather. Perfect! That nailed it. That really gave me an excuse, sort of a valid reason to justify this purchase!

It's very rarely that I covet something that I only see on the internet so bad. It's 
very rare that I would covet something, period. So, Hubby jumped in and offered to buy it for my birthday. Still, I hesitated. Then one day, we went to the mall and saw the real , Cedar Street Elissa, with all it's red geranium glory. I decided on the spot that it's worth the investment. Unfortunately, the store only carry it in medium size, and I always, always go for the large size. AND Kate Spade doesn't ship to Indonesia. So, how am I going to get one for my birthday? My Mom can carry it for me during her annual US trip, but that would be in September and my birthday is in May. What's a girl to do?

The answer is, she doesn't have to do anything. Hubby made contact with a friend who moved to New York and asked her to buy me one and ship it all the way to Indonesia. And here it is, a little bit late, but still in the month of May.


The bag is a nice size for my need. I love large purses that can carry all of my daily essentials. I also love the fact that the design is simple enough for work, classic enough to last for many years, but the fun, edgy, funky, cheerful, happy, unusual color is what made the purse really pop. You can dress it up for work, or to go to a cocktail party, you can dress it down with jeans and a T-shirt. I found it very versatile. 

kate spade, cedar street elissa

My only dislike about this bag is, it doesn't have zipper on top of the main compartment. In Indonesia, it's a must to have your bag fully closed so pickpocket cannot reach inside and take your wallet or cell phone too easily! It's also one thing that I dislike about Prada Saffiano!

kate spade, cedar street elissa
kate spade, cedar street elissa

Another dislike, thr brand Kate Spade New York is debossed on the leather. I mean, they used hardware thing for the logo, why can't they do the same thing for the brand to make it look more elegant and classy? It's not a thirty dollar purse, they can add something extra, can't they? AND, in terms of quality, I think Michael Kors' is better, the leather is thicker and sturdier than Kate Spade's. Michael Kors feels heavier, too.

kate spade, cedar street elissa 

Despite my two dislikes, I really love this purse and cannot wait to create an ensemble adorned with it! Thank you, Hubby, for such a thoughtful gift!

kate spade, cedar street elissa

I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

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