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This is exactly what I am feeling. I am taking a few days break to do something very important for my self. Cannot really go into details tho... But wish me luck.

ps: A re-start, of course.

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I Write Because

Admitting my flaws, weaknesses and problems. Better write them down.
Deliver disappointments?
Yea, better write them down if I do not want to hear my own shaky voice turns to shrieks!

Telling you all my fears?
I cannot be too sure of them until they are all well-written.
Telling you to your face to "Get your own signature style and life!"? 
You know I cannot do that. Therefore, it's written.

Deciding on which way to go...
Maybe later. I have to first write the options all down.

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me

A weekend song, for that tingling old soul in me. 
Now playing for the hundredth of time:)

Drugs for Writers

What are you up to this weekend?
I have done a few miles jog with may lab Marilyn and now enjoying my breakfast and coffee. Workers are now doing some project on the backyard wall and later in the afternoon, I am planning to go hunt for some vintage furniture. Just hunt, not buying them just yet*wink.

Great news; I got a promotion! Cannot even tell you how thankful I am and also nervous at the same time because this means bigger projects and responsibilities are waiting for me. Yesterday, as I started to work at my -what can be called as- satellite office, my mojo seems to overflowing. I always knew that I am a better person alone, but apparently at work, I perfom better in a quite environment too. Haha!

Well, here's a funny illustration I recently found. Makes me laugh hard!
Have a great weekend beautiful people.
 

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Home is where the heart is (part 2)

Well hello!
Just want give a quick update on the house progress... haha! Ya, I have moved in, hence the inconsistency of blogging the past days. It is not a pretty house to live in just yet but I am working on it. The garden will need to wait for another month or two (eeks!) since apparently it cost a fortune. Surprise surprise.

If you have purchased a house through a developer, you may understand that the house did not come with a fence. I had to come up with extra fund for that. So, practicing a serious cost cutting budgeted life is what took me to this first picture below:

I decided to move the -originally was prepared in the middle of the front yard-garage to another side. The next picture is taken just a few days ago when I had (and loved) to be the lady chief to these kind workers. I am so lucky to have found a very cooperative contractors.

Since I do not have all my books here in Bali, shipping them soon from Jakarta is in the agenda. This is just a snap shot of my eye-candy shelf (most of the furniture will be using the same wood material; white-washed oak)
ps: That Sylvia Plath frame is actually an article about her taken from International Herald. Way to safe more dimes eh?

And, the semi-outdoor kitchen! I am still thinking of ways to design them and have actually picked the dining table and chairs. You cannot really see it but the floor and the kitchen walls are made out of granites tiles. They were expensive... but I got them at this crazy sale at a house depo. From Rp300,000 per box (contains of 5 pieces of 60*60 tiles), down to Rp100,000 per box.
Yes, that's Solikhin the real chief worker.

Mama Tiger

No pictures of flowers in a vase. Nor a heart-shaped cake.
This powerful picture is what I chose for Mother's Day celebration today. Isn't she a gorgeous, brave, protective Mama tiger?

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Striped Linen

Maybe around 2 months ago, I purchased a similar linen shirt and have not really got a chance to wear them. This girl gives me a daring idea, though... I do not own a white pants and gawd knows how I have just dare myself to rock on some bright skinnies recently. My dear thighs... Why can't you guys look like Miranda Kerr's?

So maybe what I am going to do is to pair the linen shirt with my coral skinnies:). Will be a good outfit for a casual weekend afternoon when going out and about with boyfriend or chilling with friends, yes?

Jessica Quirk

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#Toofunny:)

Three's a Charm: Going down there

Thrilled to share a few things from my recent trip to the land down under. It was a pure work-trip though, but I was lucky enough to experience these....:

I got invited by a wonderful,sweet, and talented interior designer/writer, Lynn Malone and her partner Donna to their apartment in Sydney. Lynn initially set this giant Andy Warhol book to be opened on Marilyn Monroe's pages for my eyes to caught as I walked in! A few days earlier at a charity event, I did mention to her about  my adoration in Monroe... Just couldn't believe how she listened and actually care enough to make a sweet touch for her guest. I of course,did  not miss this opportunity to pose for a shot. Thank you sweet ladies!

My jaw dropped! Ol' Blue eyes Frank Sinatra performed here ages ago at this bar by Orwell street! I almost gave the door-handle a kiss:).
(Please excuse my so-called smartphone photo quality).

Last but not least, a little reunion with a sweet friend I have not seen in years. The last time we met was almost 4 years ago, on her wedding day to be exact. And Lia is now a super busy Momma with 2 cheeky boys!

Drummer Boy's Birthday

You can turn 6 and be a big boy and grow up to be an adult as you want.
You still are a baby in my heart:).
Happy birthday, sweet Joseph!

Tea Towels for Kitchen

Since my casa is a bit too...ahem, petite... I am moving the kitchen outside to be a semi-outdoor one. It will have a view to this empty land with tall trees underneath a blue-sky backdrop. I cannot show you the picture now since it is still being built:). Let's wait for a week or two for that, will you?

However, I could not stop thinking about how am I going to give signature touch to it. Great artwork are way beyond what I can afford of at this moment, so here's a good time where creative juices can come in handy!

What do you think of tea towels? They are chic and simple and give a quirky vibe to a kitchen decor, and making it less boring. Cheap too! I have been eyeing on them and thinking about getting a few to then frame them... :)

ps: this one is best for living room foyer, don't you think?

Etsy

Etsy

Three's a Charm; Three Years in Bali

You and I both knows, time flies. Like in a speed of a bullet.

And without me realizing it, this week marks my 3rd year of living in Bali with its hundredth of gods. Surprise, surprise, #3 is one of my favorite number, next to #7. So without further ado,  here's me trying to wrap my three years in three highlights.

Note: This post may sound spiritual, so if you are one of those half-hearten man (which is fine by me), you can skip it.

Generally, I am a healthy person and been blessed with it. I do not smoke, I always have a good metabolism and my drinking nights are becoming less and less and even getting close to nothing... But, I got seriously sick at the end of last year. To talk about the details of what causing it is not my idea of a paragraph here, but what I want to share is that I did have a near-death experience. Yes. I lost too many blood and... one day early in the morning as I was laying in my bed for recovery, I was slipping away from my body as my feet started to get very very cold... the cold and shivers went up to my upper body and everything gets dark. So that was my first (and oh God please make it the last) ambulance experience, and my anxious drama of being one blood transfusion patient. If the ambulance arrived another minute too late, you would not be reading this:).
People say I appeared to be strong at that time, but little did anyone else know that it freaked me out to the smallest nerves in my body. Today, as cliche as it sounds, I am embracing life and health even-more. There's nothing I fear about death...to be honest. But to depart without knowing whether or not you have fulfilled your destiny? I do not think I am there yet, so maybe I am given another chance.

With a crystal clear memory, I remember, on my first year, My strong, dutch-influenced Grandma made a comment about my kost (boarding house), "Well, this room is fancy. I bet you would only need to add just a little amount of money to pay for a mortgage every month, and the house can be yours. What you are doing for convenience now is just making someone else rich. And that someone is obviously not you."

Today, as I officially am a house owner, I have to admit that it was my grandma who have made a push to my longtime dream. I now have to work twice as hard with the mortgage, but I know if God took me this far already, He shall never abandon me. Amen.

And last. Here's something I have been trying not to mention as often... I want to be a mother someday. For it not to happen in my 3 years in Bali obviously is part of the plan on how I have got this far, but still, the question remains. Last week, I was watching my dogs  as they were falling fast asleep on my bedroom floor. There was this aching feeling inside, realizing how much I love them! And it got into me... If I can have this crazy feeling about dogs, what am I going to feel about my own child, my flesh and blood? What it feels like to love someone more than your very self? To have a gut-wrenching and full-to-the rim feeling of wanting to make sure they are all alright? You know, even typing this down make my heart hurts:'). Bali surrounds me with its magical charm and enchanting charisma the past three years, it also has introduced me with friends who are wonderful parents. I sometimes get jealous of them, there goes another confession... But if I have to wait for even three more years before I can smell that baby's breath under my nose... as long as it will happen under Your will, God. I shall wait.

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Steinbeck, Monroe and The Beatles

Remember this love advice from this one great man?

I am still here in the land down under, Sydney precisely, and had a chance to visit a book-store nearby.... I found this book of his:)

Needless to say that I will have no problem killing my 5 hour flight back home next Wednesday.

Have you read it?

Of Mice and Men (sorry for the mirroring effect;p)

And... The best findings at this -almost not-noticeable bookstore in Brisbane;

All on sale (my total spending was not even up to 35AUD!)