April 2019

Welcome April!

Wow, it is already April. God!

April will be a hectic month, not only for work at the office as well as for Flying Balloons. It will be a month where we present our latest work to public. I am excited but nervous tbh. Our last performance was on December 2018. Such a long time ago, right?

If you are interested with our next performance and would love to see how it is, please check on our update on Instagram @flyingballlons.puppet. Reservation could be made 1 week before the performance and there will be only 30 seats for each performance.

Anyway, as I will do every beginning of the month, I will share my bullet journal spread. This is my first time using a dot pattern journal, and I love it. Because, it is really helpful, I do not need to use ruler. It is practical and I really enjoy how it looks.

Afternoon light~

Monthly spreads, I guess, my bullet journal become simpler than before. On this spreads, I only put tasks, goals, and important dates that I need to refer every month. I am no longer put any habit tracker on this spread, because it is hard for me to keep up with.

The highlight of my day is my favorite spreads ever. I forgot where I saw this template, but when I see it I know that I want to put it on my bullet journal. It is a fun spread to fill every month. I always find it interesting to put a little reminder or quote on one or two pages of my journal. "Let life surprise you", it is the perfect quote for this month. A lot of surprises happen in my life.

Playlist also my favorite spreads.

I believe that whatever thing that happens in our life, we need to look at it another way. We cannot use only one perspective to understand the situation. Sometimes we feel really down, but we should know that there are reasons behind every moment we experienced.

My weekly spreads, now consists of habit tracker and lunch box plan. I know that I will fill the tracker more often by do it weekly, rather than monthly.

Really simple daily spreads

I have nothing to share. I become really busy with preparation of Flying Balloons Puppet performance this month. I will post more after it.

Cheers,

A story of a young Orangutan

I always find it fascinating, a wilderness and unique animals exist in Indonesia. There are thousands of animals and plants spread all across this nation. Have you see any of them? Some of us might have a chance to see them in the zoo, more lucky people live side by side with them. Do you have any idea how the way we live now influence their natural habitat?

Concerning I might say, how we treat our environment today. Even though, the exposure from T.V. and media is devastating to look at, but not many people think that it is a priority to save our environment. People tend to debating about whether you have faith to God or not if you choose certain people as your leader. They forget that those leaders they talk about, they don't give s*** to the future of Indonesian environmental problem. Sorry I have to say that, if you looked back on the last presidential candidate official debate, no one talked about it. No one.

They do not feel guilty from what they left their children and grandchildren with. More and more plants and animals went extinct. Less and less safe place to live. We are guilty for what our generation will experience in their life. I feel guilty if my generation cannot feel the fresh breeze of wind, or clear sea where they can swim and dive. I feel guilty for forgetting that I live in a place together not only with other human but other living things who provides me with foods, lands, and water. I believe that God want us not to be greedy. I am sure of that. I could not give you the verses you are looking for, but that is what I believe. Before I rant more about how ignorant people nowadays, let me tell you a story, that is what I want to write today.

I want to share a story of young Orangutan, who lost his home. Can you imagine if your homeland is no longer exist? There is no place to come back home. No one wanted to experience that. But, sometimes we ignore the lives of others. The forest you used to find foods, now gone. The river where you get your water and fish, now dirty full of plastics and all that toxic waste. Imagine being him where all his family and friends are whether dying from expulsion or fire, captured by people because they are considered a pest. He is full of confusion, anger, and sadness. He only wished to see his family and live like they used to be.

I am an Orangutan, who lives in the land we share together

My body was on fire

Not from what people used to burn my home with

But from anger

Who heats my soul

I cursed

I screamed

Wanting people to hear

That I am here

Will you listen?

Will you understand?

Those branches

Are my favorite place

It used to be

Place where my mother feeds me

Where I jumped and play

With my little brother

That tree is not yours

Neither mine

Would you want to share?

The same air its produced

I bet you do not want

Because you feel so much higher

You feel that you are in power

But, you are not

I feel weird writing those poem/poetry/whatever you want to called it. I feel the resentment. I feel bad. But, I think that somehow you have to transfer your mind.

Anyway, this year, Flying Balloons Puppet will come with a new performance about Orangutan. We want to share our perspective on this issue. We are not the environment activist, but we want to let people know and feel that this is what happen in our beloved country.

Let's meet and be there to experience the lost, anguish, that Orangutan felt about his home.

Would he find his home? Would he be happy?

Postcards, story from a piece of paper

A little memoir of an old and new journey

Postcard is something I collected for years now. They are bought or given. No matter how they finally come to my home, it brings story about where they made and from.

For me personally, postcard is maybe the easiest souvenir people could give. It is lightweight and if it is carefully pick, it will be the perfect mementos. They came from whether from faraway land or from the next city. All of them brings their own stories and memories. Some of postcard I have are bought from vintage market, so they are used postcard. I wonder how each people met, how they finally ended up sending one another a piece of card, writing a short thoughtful sentence. The ideas are mesmerising for me.

It takes various amount of time for postcard to finally arrived to our doorsteps. Some postcard takes days, some other takes weeks and months. When it arrived, there is a jolt of excitement. Happiness is a little thing, like postcard for example.

If you are interested on how each postcard that I collected share their story, please do check my account here.

I make this one short introduction to what I do in my spare time, anyway, thank you for stopping by.

Cheers,

M

Be mindful dengan keuangan pribadi

Photo source: Pexels

Hi!

Tulisan ini sebenarnya lanjutan dari conscious living yang sedang saya coba terapkan. Be mindful dan juga conscious tidak selalu tentang barang - barang lho, tapi keuangan dan pengeluaran pribadi juga akan terdampak. Kok bisa? Saya awalnya juga ragu sih, apa beneran bisa ngatur keuangan yang subhanallah susahnya diatur karena kebiasaan jaman kuliah masih kebawa - bawa sampai sekarang.

Jadi, jaman kuliah dulu, masih di endorse sama orang tua, apalagi waktu jaman kuliah s1. Gak pernah kepikiran bakalan ngatur keuangan sehari - hari kayak sekarang. Setelah kerja dan menikah, saya pengennya bisa lebih cermat dalam mengatur finansial saya dan Rangga. Susah banget, apalagi kami memang sukanya jajan, makan itu nomor satu deh dibanding belanja baju. Kadang suka geleng - geleng sama kebiasaan kayak gitu, tapi namanya ingin merubah kebiasaan itu bukan perkara yang mudah kan ya?

Saya sempet kepikiran, apa perlu membagi rekening ke beberapa post gitu, biar tau setiap bulan itu pendapatan kita habis buat apa. Bingung mau bikin rekening baru atau gimana, karena ribet juga kalau bikin rekening bank baru. Beberapa waktu yang lalu, sempet lihat instagram story temen yang datang ke acara Jenius di Jogja. Penasaran deh apa itu Jenius, browsing websitenya, terus baca - baca. Ternyata di Jenius bisa bikin rekening lewat smartphone. Kelihatannya super simple plus segala transaksi juga bisa dilakuin di smartphone dari bayar tagihan, simpan duit dan juga deposit, bahkan bisa terbitin kartu debit juga.

Personal Photo

Ada beberapa fitur Jenius yang menurut saya sangat membantu untuk mengatur keuangan sehari - hari, antara lain:

Send it

Menurut saya, send it itu salah satu fitur oke banget yang ditawarkan Jenius. Kenapa? Karena ngirim uang jadi gampang banget. Ada beberapa cara, kirim dengan masukin $cashtag pengguna jenius lainnya, dan tentu tetep bisa kirim dengan nomor rekening. Semuanya dilakukan lewat smartphone. Gak cuma ngirim - ngirim duit sih, bayar tagihan juga bisa. Sejak ngurusin kontrakan grup kami, saya biasa membayar tagihan listrik online. Lebih mudah dan menghemat waktu sih, apalagi lokasi kontrakan tersebut lumayan jauh dari mana - mana.

Photo Source: Instagram Jenius Connect

Pay me

Ini sebenarnya fitur Jenius yang paling bikin penasaran. Jujur saja sih, kadang menagih hutang ke teman itu susahnya minta ampun, karena gak enak juga. Walaupun menagih hutang itu kewajiban ya. Fitur ini belum pernah saya coba sebelumnya. Karena dulu pernah punya pengalaman tidak mengenakan mengenai utang piutang, menagih hutang itu jadi kegiatan yang cukup bikin deg-degan dan resah (ceileeeh). Semoga next time bisa nyobain fitur Jenius satu ini.

Jenius Pay

Transaksi belanja online emang paling juara beberapa tahun belakangan ini ya, bahkan kayaknya orang semakin banyak melakukan transaksi e-commerce. Karena mudah dan teknologi makin buat prosesnya lebih sederhana. Jenius pay ini adalah salah satu metode transaksi online dengan menggunakan $Cashtag Jenius. Habis belanja di situs online, kita bisa melakukan pembayaran order kita langsung lewat smartphone lewat fitur Jenius Pay ini. Tapi berusaha banget buat gak asal beli - beli karena kemudahannya. Karena, kembali lagi, mengatur keuangan juga berhubungan dengan tidak menghamburkan uang untuk hal yang tidak menjadi prioritas kita. Sekarang, setiap mau beli sesuatu online, paling masuk ke keranjang belanja, setelah direview, gak semua yang masuk bakalan dibeli. Perlu banget buat nanyain seberapa butuh dan pentingnya barang tersebut. 

E-wallet

Jadi, e-wallet Jenius ini tempat kita mengatur dan juga top-up e-wallet kita. Contohnya, saldo Go-pay sudah habis, bisa tuh di topup di sini. Fitur ini bisa mengatur sampai dengan 10 e-wallet.  

Photo source: Pexels

Save

Save ini salah satu fitur Jenius yang sangat saya idamkan. Pengen banget membagi tabungan ke beberapa pos tiap bulannya. Tabungan jalan - jalan, tabungan emergency, sama tabungan masa depan bisa dibedakan ke pos - pos yang berbeda. Ini kayaknya kesulitan yang sering saya hadapin, karena tabungan impiannya (ceileh) tidak dipisahin sama tabungan transaksi harian, alhasil terkadang menguap begitu saja. Sedih kan? Karena itu saya pikir fitur ini cocok banget buat saya dan Rangga yang punya kesulitan dalam saving.

Fitur Save ini sendiri punya beberapa jenis, yaitu Flexi saver, Dream saver, dan juga Maxi saver. Flexi Saver ini jenis tabungan berbunga setara deposito yang bisa ditarik kapan saja. Sedangkan untuk Dream Saver, jenis tabungan dengan tempo waktu yang juga kita tentukan sendiri. Contohnya, kamu bikin pos tabungan untuk perjalanan atau trip kamu keluar negeri, bisa deh bikin Dream Saver, otomatis sejumlah dana akan dipotong tiap bulan untuk dimasukkan ke tabungan ini dan semuanya kamu atur sendiri. Bahkan di Dream Saver ini, kamu bisa membuat 10 tabungan lho, lumayan kan buat tabungan travel atau tabungan buat beli gadget baru.  Dan yang terakhir ada Maxi Saver, tabungan ini memiliki bunga yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan dua jenis tabungan sebelumnya. Jenis tabungan ini cocok banget untuk kamu yang ingin mengumpulkan modal usaha. Untuk lebih lengkapnya bisa cek di sini ya.

Sebenarnya selain fitur transaksi keuangan, Jenius juga membantu kita dengan fitur Controlnya. Control ini berfungsi buat mengatur dan memanage aktivitas keuangan kita di Jenius. Contoh control yang bisa kita lakukan antara lain Pengeluaran kartu debit, In and out history transaksi yang lebih detil, serta bisa juga memberikan E-statement atau rekening koran kita.

Photo Source: Jenius website

Hampir aja ketinggalan nih, Jenius juga mengeluarkan beberapa Card yaitu Kartu Debit Utama (m-card), Kartu Debit Virtual (e-card), dan Kartu Debit Tambahan (x-card). Masing - masing cards bisa kamu dapatkan sesuai dengan kebutuhan kamu. Kamu juga mengatur seluruh aktivitas kartu kamu, mulai dari ubah limit kartu kamu, ubah pin, blokir kartu jika kartu kamu hilang, serta bisa cek histori transaksi dari kartu kamu.

Untuk kalian yang mau dapatin berbagai inspirasi dan juga berkokreasi, bisa juga cek website Jenius Co-Create. Banyak aktivitas seru yang bisa kamu ikutin untuk cari tau tentang finansial bahkan sharing di berbagai thread tentang pengalaman kamu mengatur keuangan. Banyakin baca jadi salah satu cara juga sih buat cari tau cara apa untuk mengatur keuangan yang cocok dengan gaya hidup saya dan Rangga. 

Mengatur keuangan itu menurut saya pribadi adalah tugas yang super berat, hahaha, karena harus sabar dan bersyukur. Iya, belajar mengatur keuangan itu juga perlu banyak bersyukurnya, bersyukur masih bisa makan, masih punya tempat tinggal, dan masih punya teman yang mau diajak berbagi cerita. Karena dengan bersyukur saya bisa lebih santai mengatur keuangan, gak bakal ada mental break down atau nerve yang gak bisa di manage. Eh, tapi bukan berarti saya sudah yang paling jago ya.

To be honest, saya jauh banget dari berhasil mengelola keuangan dengan baik, tapi saya yakin banget sama hal yang kalau dimulai dari sekarang, sedikit demi sedikit, dan konsisten mudah - mudahan jadi lebih baik. Apalagi sekarang sudah ada Jenius yang cocok banget buat saya dan Rangga. Hehehe. Semoga bisa makin ahli deh ngurus keuangan kami.

Cheers,

M

March!

I believe that I do suck sometimes, but at least I try to not suck a lot this month.

Here I go again, sharing my bullet journal spreads to welcome March. Damn! Life is a like a speed of light, you never realise that it is already passed you by. I start 2019 with a hopeful vision that my life will turn out good this year. I mean by good is that, I could do everything that I love to do and share my personal problem with my partner, through thick and thin.

March welcome page

Besides sharing how March spreads will be, I also want to share a bit about me moving out (again). Yes! I am moving out of our Studio. Since couple months ago, I move to my partner's place which is also our group's studio. There are several people live in the house as well, it's quite weird situation for us to accommodate our needs in the same place.

On February, Rangga and I decided to move out to our own place. The house is quite far from the city center but we really love the surrounding. Even though we live in a housing complex, on the way there, there are lots of trees. The air is also nice and fresh.

I am glad that we got a quite big house, since, after May, most of Flying Balloons Puppet tools will be move to our place. I know, it will be the same as living in the studio, but now, only me and Rangga who live in the house, our friends will just come and go. I always excited to move from one place to another one. I mean like, almost every year, I moved out from one rent room to another one. I get bored easily, that is why the feeling of getting to somewhere new, excite my inner self. I love to organize things and stuff that I have, put it on the box and check it if I still need it on the next place. I have no idea whether I will be moving again after this house, since Rangga will not agree with that idea. He is not a fan of moving too often.

In order to do everything, I rely on my bullet journal even for moving out part. So, here is my bullet journal spreads for March, enjoy!

Weekly spreads with additional tracker, I want to try to track my habit weekly.

Try to be more and more ethical. Hard work indeed

Blog planner and project diy that I want to do for new house! Yas!!!

Last month, I cannot keep my promise for my self to upload 5 entries each month. There is a lot going on, moving out to our new place, getting sick during and after moving all our belongings, and also a job interview within last month. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Cheers,

M

Food

A fresh cut fruit in a bowl, topped with yoghurt and chia. 

This week was my worst food experience, not because I eat bad food or such. But, I finally realise (I know I am really slow admitting it) how food affect my body. So, Rangga is abroad doing some performance, I was all alone. When I am alone I do not feel like cooking something because I have no one to share my food with. I ended up eating a lot of processed food and snack. 

I never test or check my health to the doctor or hospital but I know something is going on every time I eat processed food. It is not only bad for my teeth but also my head. I got a really painful migraine several days ago. I laid all day in my room, doing basically nothing, just rested hoping the pain will go away. 

Then, I figure out, all the food I bought is really bad for my health. It is really hard to start a healthy eating pattern and habit. There are days where I could just cook and prepare all my foods, while also there are days where I get super lazy and decided to buy ready-to-eat food. I want to be healthier this year and getting 5kg more weigh is not an easy task. Year still long but the journey is just started. 

Anyway, I want to make a short entry today. This one is spontaneously come into my mind and I just want to write it out. 

Thank you for reading this random thoughts I have.

Cheers,

M

Studio Ghibli Movies

Kaonashi, watercolor by me

I always wanted to start the series of Studio Ghibli movies that I have watched here in my blog. I thought that it would be fun entries. Who does not love Studio Ghibli anyway? Right?

I am a big fan of every movies produced by this Japanese animation studio. Even though, to be honest, I watch the film for the first time during my last year in high school, and I get more and more attracted to Studio Ghibli during my university year here in Jogja.

So, to begin this series of Studio Ghibli entries, let us start with little story about this studio. Studio Ghibli is founded in 1985 after the success of the Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in 1984. The three crazy men behind the success of Japanese animation internationally are Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki. Ghibli means in Lybian-Arabic "hot desert wind", they hope that this studio will give new wind in the animation production. Besides Arabic meaning, Ghibli also a name of Italian aircraft which Hayao Miyazaki is really into Italy and war aircraft (as seen in his movies).

Photo from Pinterest

If you are interested on how Ghibli founders works together, you should watch documentary movie about them The Kingdom of Dream and Madness featuring Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

Here are Studio Ghibli Movie Lists:

1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) - before Studio Ghibli founded

2. Castle in the Sky (1986)

3. Grave of Fireflies (1988)

4. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

5. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

6. Only Yesterday (1991)

7. Porco Rosso (1992)

8. Ocean Waves (1993)

9. Pom Poko (1994)

10. Whisper of the Heart (1995)

11. Princess Mononoke (1997)

12. My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

13. Spirited Away (2001)

14. The Cat Returns (2002)

15. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

16. Tale's from Earth Sea (2006)

17. Ponyo (2008)

18. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

19. From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

20. The Wind Rises (2013)

21. The Tales of Princess Kaguya (2013)

22. When Marnie Was There (2014)

23. Red Turtles (2016) ---- This is collaboration of Studio Ghibli and a Netherland director

24. How Do You Live (2020)

The list above is not included commercial, movies specially produced for Ghibli Museum. Yes, you read that. Studio Ghibli build their Museum in 2000 and officially opened on October 1, 2001. It is located in Mitaka, Tokyo. That museum is absolutely on my bucket list.

That's all for now, throughout this 2019. I will try my best to write about each Studio Ghibli movies that I watched. Disclaimer, I am not an expert or whatsoever when it comes to movie or film review, but I just try to give my honest opinion on them.

Anyway, thank you for stopping by!

Cheers,

M

Favorite Coffee shops in Jogjakarta

Hi!

Today I want to share my favorite coffee shop in Jogjakarta. Even that for a moment I would have free coffee day, I would love to have a cup of it with Rangga sometimes and have a deep convo about life (Haha!)

There are some reasons why I like these places to hangout and have a small meeting with my group. The place should not be too crowded, because I do not like to spend time in a place where there are too many people. It is too distracting and energy consuming, you know what I mean? Besides the place, I want to drink a good coffee or snack.

Tbh, I rarely cafe hopping or such, once I found some good place, I would rather keep coming back to the place, unless there is some attractive place worth a visit.

Pitutur Coffee

Taken from Pitutur Instagram

This small coffee shop located in Bausasran No. 60. If you go here from Geronimo or Jambuluwuk, this place will locate in the left side of the street not too far from the traffic light. The first time I came here is with Rangga. I forgot when, but since then we keep visiting this place. Turns out the owner of this place was in the same school with Rangga.

Taken from Pitutur Instagram

So, how is the place? The place has a really nice ambience. The wall painted white and everything is clean and tidy. I really love a simple decoration here and there, not much, but it gives a better unity of the place. Rangga really love Vietnam Drip in Pitutur, he will just follow what the barista will serve him. He never feels disappointed by the coffee so far.

Personal photo with Rangga in it

They once do not have WiFi and I feel great with how they run the shop. But lately, they have it there. You know they should consider it since many coffee shops out there always have WiFi in their shop. At first, there is no snack serve in the coffee shop, but there is some selection of cakes that you can choose to accompany your drinks. One thing that I do not really fond with the place is its location. Right next to busy street, so it will be a bit noisy if we stay outside. Sometimes, I will pause our conversation until the vehicle pass by. But, still, Pitutur is our favorite place in Jogja for having a coffee.

Tirana Art House and Kitchen

Personal Photo

This one is my new favorite place. The location is in Suryodiningratan street, it is quite near from my place. This place is used to be a clothing store, but in the last two years or one year ago it is transform into an art space and cafe. The place is not that big but the table setup is quite comfortable. There is a small section in the front that sell crafts from local artist. There are several spots where you can sit in this place, a little area in the front, a main area with 5 or 6 table settings, and outdoor area near toilet.

The place is amiable and of course there is not many people every time I come here. Even though the sitting is full, but it does not feel too crowded which I love so much. I really enjoy working here or only discuss about random things with Arta. Besides that, when you need WiFi, the speed is quite good.

I usually hang out here with Arta, our usual spots will be near front door. We usually come here in the noon and will go home at 7 or 8 pm. I like the Vietnam drip in this place as well, but I usually order Ice lemon tea, eat some cookies, or crispy banana to help get through the day.

Those two places are my favorite place so far in Jogjakarta, to work or meet up with friends or colleague. Not only it is easy to reach from my place, the place is good, the food and drink also. So, if you have time to spend while you visiting Jogja, you need to check out this place.

Cheers,

M

February Bullet Journal

A little quote from my favorite Japanese designer, Yohji Yamamoto

Welcome February!

From now on, I will try to share my bullet journal spreads in the beginning of every month. This is my second year doing bullet journal. I really enjoy the moment when I need to prepare a new month ahead. I know what I want each month, and what kind of spreads who will help through the month.

So, these are my spreads for February.

I try to combine texture and a little bit of grey in this spreads. Again, for weekly log, I keep it simple as I do not want to track every single things each week.

This is a spread of my monthly goals, tasks, and also projects. I want to see what I should completed this month. I am not going to put details in each one. The next page is my habit and health tracker.  You will see better in this image below. 

Habit and health tracker, I missed spell the words, but anyway.

In January 2019, I would like to record and plan ahead my blog as well as social media of Flying Balloons Puppet. Even though in real life, I still miss some of them. But, I know that at least I need to try to do it. The next page of this spreads is a poem by Rumi. 

I always makes mistakes in my bullet journal, whether wrong days, or wrong spelled. But, I do not want it to be something I need to think about a lot. So, every time I make some mistake, I just lined it up or simply put other paper on top of it. Nothing is perfect, that is why I try to embrace that imperfection. Yes, you see on the next page is to-do list for moving out. Me and my partner will move out in the end of February after he comeback for his tour. I make this spread to remind me what I need to do before moving out and what projects I want to do with the new house.

Again, this weekly spreads is so simple, nothing fancy about it. But, I like it so much. For now, I will stick with this layout until I want to explore more on this spreads.

This month, I give my friend a spreads of February for her graduation gifts. I forgot to take a picture of the spreads. I try to put her style and mood into the bullet journal. It takes me couple of hours to finish the spreads, but before jump into writing and scribble stuff on it, I made a list of spreads that I want to include in the bullet journal. It is quite a time consuming works, but I enjoy giving something like that. Her face is priceless when she open our presents. Maybe, I could make it into business, -- preparing bullet journal spreads with love --. Hahaha. I will post the picture later, if I could ask her to take some picture of it.

Thank you for stopping by!

Cheers,
M

*all photos are my personal photo

Books I need to read in 2019

Hi!

I am back, I guess, sort of.

You know, this January I said to myself that I need to post at least 5 entries in this precious baby I called my own blog. It is a hard work for me, to be honest. There are times where I would do bunch of writings, unfinished ones, which I will probably decided not to post here for some reasons. But, today, I dedicated myself to post something, it is about book.

I rarely talk about books that I read or simply giving my opinion on it. It is just an activity for me. This time, I want to share with you, several books that I want to finish reading this year. The list could be added if I have more books to read. I am a bit proud of my reading game this year since I already finished 2 books in this month and there is one more still my bedside table.

This list actually is my wish list of books, there are some of it that I already bought, but there are others I haven’t got in hands. So, here is the lists of 20 books I want to read this year.

1. Ella, Minnow, Pea by Mark Dunn 
2. Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud 
3. Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
4. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima
5. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
6. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
7. The Danish Way of Parenting by Jessica Joelle Alexander & Iben Dissing Sandahl
8. Every Woman’s Guide To Saving the Planet by Natalie Isaacs
9. Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
10. Turning the Tide on Plastics by Lucy Siegle
11. Small is Beautiful by Vintage Schumacher
12. Live Green by Jen Chillingsworth
13. The Art of Simple by Eleanor Ozich
14. Semua Ikan di Langit by Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie
15. The Year of Spaghetti by Haruki Murakami
16. Studies on Hysteria by Sigmund Freud
17. Almost Adulting by Arden Rose
18. The Little Book of Life Hacks by Yumi Sakugawa
19. The Summer of Broken Things by Margaret Peterson Haddix
20. Little Women by Louise May Alcott

That is quite a long list, eh? Anyway, I am looking for some of books listed above. This year, I am eager to read as many book as I could. It has been a long time since I could read that 500 pages more of Harry Potter in a day. I am getting slower nowadays.

It is also my way to ignite the fire within me, I know it sounds absurd, but yes it is true. I need more vitamin from books. Books could take you anywhere, to the faraway land even to unknown place. I will updated the list as I go this year. Wish me luck!

Cheers,

M

*Some books might be changing in the course of the year, no one knows what I want to discover this year. There will be unplanned event along the way. 

Natural Skin Care Review: Face Oils and Rose Water by Haple.id

The latest product that I bought (again)

I know, it is kind of unusual for me to write review about certain product, because I never done it before. But, it is never wrong to try something new, right?

I mean, there will be certain reasons why I want to create this type of post. First, I love the product. Second, I love it so much that I should tell people about it’s very existence.

When I was younger, I never thought that taking care of my skin is big issue for me. I mean, I never had a crazy problem with acne, I have a lot though in certain area of my face, so skin care is not in my routine list. As I get older, I find out that it is a nice way of loving ourselves. Since university, I only use facial wash, that’s it. I never try product such as essence, oil, moisturiser, and so on.

One day, I found this ads about natural skin care on Instagram, and I ordered it. It turns out, I have no skin problem by using it. It even helps me fight hormonal acne and moisturising my face. It does not give a sudden change, but I feel that my skin is getting healthier. The first package I ever ordered is three essential oils with a rose water.

**Disclaimer, I am not skin care expert or whatsoever, I am just a woman who try a skincare product.

Packaging

I love the packaging of Haple.id, it is packaged in a box made from brown craft paper. Inside it you will find the oil and a little paper that tells you what is the benefits of the oil and how to use it. But, it will be really nice if there will be less plastic on packaging.

Oil packaging

Info and instruction sheets

What I feel

I really love the rose water, this one is my 5th bottle. This is the second time I bought the large bottle, the first time is when I give it to my mom. It is refreshing and hydrating. I use it before I use the oils. I even bring the regular bottle in my daily bag. I use it as a body and face mist. So far, I have no allergic to this water.

Rose water packaging, regular and large

What about the oils? For now, I only use two oils, grape seed and almond oil. I use almond oil to moisturise my face, not only that, I sometimes use it on my lashes and eyebrow. I heard it helps with growth, so I try it. I haven’t seen any results from it, but doing it become a way for me to unwind and relax.

I use grape seed oil to treat my hormonal acne. Several weeks ago, I got a bunch of it on me right and left cheeks. It is frustrating, since I never had such a breakout before. Every morning after taking a bath and night before I go to sleep, I will use two drops of it on my acne. It works well, not it is not as crazy as before, no more redness.

I guess so far, this is a best natural skin care for me. I am not a kind of person who will try a lot of products on my skin. When I find the one, I will stick to it, like what I do for my facial wash. It has been 5 years since the first time I use it, and I never looked back.

That is all for today’s post. I feel good telling people products that I use daily, maybe I will try to make another one next time.

Thank you for stopping by!

Cheers,

M

Valencia

Hi!

This time of the year, 3 years ago, I spent my day in Valencia. It was already that long since I’ve been there. Valencia is a warm city, after Castellon of course. It is the center of comunitat Valenciana. I spent my days here most of the time for the class that I took in the uni. It was Valencian Arts and Architecture. I was captivated by how interesting the lecture was.

I’ll try to remember places that you could visit in Valencia when you happen to be in Spain or you are planning to go there. Because Valencia is one of cities in Spain that you need to visit, period. Usually, I went to Valencia by train, it costs me around 4 to 6 euros which take 1 hour long. It is the same amount of time we need to go from Yogyakarta to Solo. I also spent some days here to watch finale of MotoGP 2015 in Valencia circuit Ricardo Tormo on November 2015. Anyway, let’s see what you can do and see in Valencia.

Here are the things that I find interesting in Valencia,

Plaza de la Virgen Maria
This plaza is located in the heart’s of Valencia historical sites. You will find a fountain in the middle of this plaza. Yes, like any other plaza in Spain, you will find it surrounded by a cathedral, basilica, as well as palace of generalitat. I find the plaza is the perfect place to hangout with friends while enjoying the ambiance. At the first time, I went to this plaza in the night and watched many street artist shows their skill. Other time I went here, there was exhibition and pre wedding photoshoot happened.

Personal Photo

Visiting Museum and Art Gallery
I know, some people finds it boring, but museum and art gallery is one of activities that I always do while visiting new places. Even though I haven’t got a chance to visit all museum and art gallery in Valencia, but I am glad that I visit these two places.

Museu de Belles Artes de Valencia
I went here several times! For lecturer and also for fun visits. I like how it shows period of fine art in Valencia and how religion influenced the arts.

One of art works displayed in the Museum

Museo de Taurino de Valencia
This is a museum that exhibit history of bullfighting. Here, you will see the famous bull and all the intricate costume that used in the arena. The costume is pretty darn amazing you know!

Personal Photo

Reduced ticket, I am using my student card

Here is the lists of Museum and Art Gallery in Valencia, I search the web for you. 😉

• The IVAM, L'Institut Valencia d'Art Modern
• The Museu Valencia de la Illustracio i la Modernitat
• Del Carmen Cultural Center
• Museo Nacional de Ceramica

Beach
South part of Spain is a place where you can find a good beaches to spend your day in. I went to one of the beach there but I forgot the name of the beach. It is a way to cure my home sick you know. I missed all the beaches in my hometown while I spent my exchange program.

Mercat Central
Traditional market is a place to go when you spend a quite long time in any city in Spain. You could find a fresh fruits and veggies. It is not only pleasing your stomach but your eyes indeed. I haven’t got a chance to go inside, since I went there when holiday. It is ashamed though, I will visit the market when I go to Spain someday.

City of Arts and Sciences
This one, is the one place that I want to visit. When I went there, I just hang around the place without actually go inside the building. Even when you walk in the area, you will find it amusing with that modern and sophisticated buildings.

Personal Photo

Someone in the photo

Other parts of the city
When you do not rush to find any attractions in Valencia, you can just wander around the town and find little piece that impressive. Like, a mural on the wall, the smallest bar, or just old buildings that you will find all around the city centre.

I guess, I may not cover all the beauty of Valencia, but you can get a grasp of what you can find there. I know for sure that I need to go back to Valencia in the future. I don’t know when, but someday I will. I hope you find it informative enough for you.

Have an amazing day people!

Cheers

*all photos taken by me

Not-so minimalist wardrobe

count how many clothes I have and why I start to own less

For me, 2019 is a start of better and a bit conscious lifestyle. The story begin when, I feel a bit uncomfortable after me and Flying Balloons Puppet performed about the environment, how human act affects its surrounding. It will be a hypocrisy if we told story about destroyed environment and how human should do to protect it without actually making a real move. I never set a perfect nor a big standar on how I want to change the way I live. It is an ongoing process for me and my partner. We start little but at least we start now.

Conscious life and better understanding about how my action influence my environment is a journey to be able to feel enough when it is actually enough. When it comes to clothing, I used to splurge, even though it is far from it, but there are a lot of clothes that I never use, staying in a dark. I hold into some clothes because I thought it has a memory on it or I might use it someday (which is most of the time is not going to happen). Then, since last year, I reevaluate my clothes, and pile up clothing items that I rarely use. The results is quite mesmerizing, I cleaned and packed some of it to give to donation, while some of it I repurpose into something else. Until this moment I am still in the process of selecting wardrobe that I really need and still separate clothes I rarely use. It is not a one night experience for me, it is a long journey ahead.

I want to show you how my progress is by counting how many clothes that I have right now, even though the number will not be super accurate but I could at least have a picture of it. This number will not included bag, shoes, accessories, and sleeping wear as well as undergarment.

So, let’s see.

Pile of tops that I have, minus 5 in the laundry

Bottoms and lounge wear. I am not putting my undergarment into this list

Two outers. Jeans jacket and a jumper. I shared this one with my partner.

If I count total of my clothes, it is about 43 items, included formal wear, seasonal jackets, which I am not put in this post, also other t-shirts and pants in the laundry basket. You see that most of my clothes are t-shirt, black t-shirts to be exact. I do not own many formal blouses and such since I rarely get into a formal set up or event. So, for now I stick with this items. If you happen to know me, you might notice some outer that I use most of the time, the black one or the flowery one.

It is still a great number of clothes, that is why I put not-so minimalist wardrobe for the title. But, for now, it is my favorite and most use clothes. Learning to become fulfill with what I have is difficult and not an easy task. If someday I found new clothing items which I need, I will put the old one into a pile for donation, repurpose, and mending or fixing things. I have talked about mending my old jeans in this blog post.

All of exposure happen today with unending ads, sometimes make me want to buy more, I need that, I probably need that, or simply I like that. But, I am glad, that since I get married, I consider every purchase that I want to make especially when it comes to unnecessary item. I know by heart that I am not going to be a full perfect minimalist, because I know I am not. I believe that it is a good start when we are trying to understand how our clothing create impact to our surroundings. 

Becoming compassionate with environment through selective wardrobe is a little step for me to get better as a person and human. I am no perfect when it comes to #lesswaste #conscious lifestyle, and I know I have no right to judge people way of life, because we are totally different, and it is just fine. I started this small change as a way for me as a reminder to be responsible for what I have told people from performance that I did. Personally, it is silly to talk big without a definitive action. This is an effort that I try to make the least. 

I will talk more about the journey of my little change through this blog. I hope it will give you something to think about. I put some link and reference below if you are interested on fashion and its impact to the environment.

Website:

Remake

Movies:

The True Cost

Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a nice day!