Quotation for the day!

"And whoever has been given wisdom has certainly been given much good" (QS 2:269)

Handbag must go!!

This post is for those who loves good deals on good quality stuff...

This is a 100% authentic PRADA Winter 2010 handbag

It's is made from grained calf skin

Bought at PRADA on Bloor St, Toronto for $1800+Tax

Condition 9.8/10 - only used it couple of times

Asking for $1000 - Message me for details :)

xoxo

For the love of eggs!

Okay, so I want to share another recipe that involves a lot of eggs :) mind you guys, egg is one of my fav food.. hard boiled eggs, scrabbled eggs, balado eggs, telor asin (duck eggs), etc etc :)

This is another Russian recipe, it's one of my mother in-laws dish that I like so much... hahaha

It's called stuffed eggs.. okay look below for ingredients and directions :)

PS: I don't have any pic for this food but if you google it, you can see what it looks like (just to get the general idea, everybody makes it differently)

Ingredients:

• 1 Canned Mushroom (sliced) or 1 Pack 
• 1 Large yellow onion
• 5 Eggs
• 4 TBsp Vegetable oil
• Mayonnaise
• Salt
• Black Pepper

Directions:

• Heat your pan before putting the oil into the pan, this process is really important but most of us often forgets (like myself hahaha)
• Put the mushrooms and onions into the pan, cook them for about 20-30mins in medium heat (I like them a bit crispy so I usually cook it longer) - don't forget to salt them during the process :) and sprinkle some black pepper
• Meanwhile, boil the eggs :)
• The two major ingredients should finish about the same time..
• Now peel the hard boiled eggs and cut the into halfs, take out all the yellow part and put it in a bowl
• Place the sauteed mushrooms and onions into a food processor and chop it for 20seconds (or we can us "Slap Chops", or we can manually minced them with knife- but make sure to mince them FINELY) 
• Now, mix the chopped sauteed mushrooms and onions with the yellow eggs... take 1 1/2 TBsp of mayonnaise and mix them all together.. (you can add more mayonnaise if you like)
• When it's nicely mixed, start putting them into the white part of the hard boiled eggs... make small mountains, don't make it flat :)
• When you're done, you can place some green vegetables on top.. I like to use parsley :)
• Now it's ready to be served :) ENJOY!!!

xoxo

мимоса (mimosa) - Layered fish salad

This is one of my favourite Russian salad, it's quite heavy as an appetizer so I usually eat it with a main dish...

Ingredients:

• 2 Canned fish (I usually use tuna or salmon)
• 1 Medium yellow onion
• 5 Eggs
• 3 Carrots
• 3 Potatoes
• Mayonnaise 
• Ground black pepper

Directions:

• Boil the eggs (we are making hard boiled eggs) - Once it's done, peel the skin off and slice them in halfs. Separate the yellow part of the eggs and the white.. Cut the whites in small dices, same for the yellow, put them aside separately.
• Boil carrots and peeled potatoes until tender, once they're done, cut them in small dices and put aside to cool off.
• Finely minced the yellow onion.

Now all the main ingredients are ready to be put together...

Spread the white eggs evenly at the bottom of the dish
Spread carrots on top of it... *take your time, no rush.. sometimes if we rush, the stacks fall off*
Now spread the fish.. Sprinkle some ground black pepper.
Spread the mayo
Sprinkle the onions
Sprinkle the potatoes
Now spread the yellow eggs
And lastly, cover it with mayo...

For decoration, we can put parsley leaves at the very top :)

It should look like this..
ps: again, I took this pic with my fone.. :( I hope you guys can still see it

all credit goes to my mother in law :) she taught me how to make this even before i became a wife :)

've been meaning to post but....

Truth to be told, I've been quite *not sure how to explain it*... I had so much ideas in my head over the weekend but when I was about to write it down, I got so flustered (or so i thought), then i decided to delay... delay and eventually gave up. But good news is, I'm back on track.. HA! 

bits and pieces..

me-mo-ra-bi-li-a

xoxo

O Canada.... you're so cold.

I have to run some errands today, in an hour...
but this is what it's like outside.. hub's not home to drive me, so have to bus *sad face*

word of the day: SOLITUDE.

sol·i·tude  (sol-i-tyood) 

n.

The state or quality of being alone or remote from others.

Yes, this is the life I'm living after I got married.

Issit by choice?

Not directly. (sebagai Istri, kita wajib ikut kemana suami kita berpetualang toh? hihi..)

Okay, so I've prolly repeated this many times.. I have moved 5 times in the last seven going eight years in Canada.

Do I like it?

CERTAINLY NOT. But what can I do when life takes charge.. I just have to go with it.

Do I feel lonely?

Yes, sometimes I miss my friends from the other cities I've lived in. But we talk most of the time through bbm and email.

But honestly, it's not that bad- I'm kinda enjoying it!

The pros of solitude life:

1. Secluded from "others" - I know too many people in the previous cities I lived in, they can be a distraction sometime and it stopped me from the one thing i like the most, being alone=discreet=calm.<--- because everywhere I go, I would bump into someone I know.

2. I get to focus on things I want to do.

3. Keeping myself content inside and out - I found myself fulfilling other people's ego when I'm in a crowd.

4. Keeping myself real - sometimes we are indirectly pushed to do things that are not really US when we are surrounded by people.

The cons of solitude life:

1. Having no friends to go out  or shopping with hehehe

2. Lose the "people skill"

xoxo

Gorgeous Abayas!

This is DUBAI FASHION WEEK 2010

Designer: Hanayen

TOTALLY LOVE THE ABAYAS

and BLACK is totally my colour..

our so-called weekend.

This weekend, me and my husband did some shopping- it's nice to spend the weekend chillaxing, thou my life is pretty much chillax right now... but out and about with him to the mall is like VERY RARE. well first, cuz my husband is very busy with his work and master studies, second- he doesn't like malls. PERIOD. unless we really have to go then he would go... but outting with him was never to the mall... anyways. so we originally had planned to go on a coffee date (we do this weekly..teheeee) but for some reason, Starbucks was closed at that particular location.. so we ended up going to the mall... we fixed his boots and i got new shoes, went to The Body Shop to get gifts for my friend but I also ended up shopping there... while i was checking out the goodies, he stayed outside the store- sat on a bench. He didn't complain tho, I was happy about that... hehe

And last night, we had a gathering at our house... we've been having gatherings for a while now, sometimes at our house sometimes at other people's house, but when it has to be at our house- I always have panic attacks, reason being.... I'm quite perfectionist (not extreme just a little). It went well, I had good laughs with the girls and he had good times with the guys.. My menu last night was ground beef with green beans, ayam kecap panggang with sambal terasi (home made sambal terasi, my mom sent me Mama suka Terasi and i loveeee it) heee... It wasn't much but they loved it and I'm glad.. I thought the sambal terasi was risky!

 xoxo

My 10 daily make up must haves... Care to share yours?

Ok readers, this is my second favourite subject: Make Up.

I started using make-up since I was in 3rd year university, at first I didn't really know how to.. so I started small, only using eyeliner and mascara.. In 4th year university, there's more events required me to at least put on more than just eyeliner & mascara, I had to attend many galas, mandatory meeting/dinner with clients, dinner with my girlfriends downtown and such.. Now, most of my friends already using make up since high school, that put me about 3 years behind ha ha ha but thanks to youtube, I mostly learn the tricks from there.

The 10 daily make up must haves, my version would be:

• Maybelline's unstoppable eyeliner
• Maybelline's colossal volume express mascara (9x Bolder lashes) - i love dramatic eyelash look :)
• I also double coat my mascara with BadGal Lash by Benefit
• Revlon's marble-ous match - this is a pencil eye shadow that has two ends (i have four of these in different sets of colour)
• Roc Minesol high protection lipstick with 20spf
• MAC lipstick (lustre) HUG ME A60 - very nice colour for women with dark lips.
• Sephora lip liner 0057A, it blends with the MAC lipstick very nicely.
• Maybelline's mineral power bronzer WE202- it gives me that peachy cheeks look.
• Dual skin corrector by Oriflame (medium) - it works very well for me because it covers pimples well and it also dried them out so it doesn't show the bump on your face.
• I get my moisturizer from a doctor back home and I don't use any foundation daily because it's too heavy for the skin. 

Easy Breezy Delicious....

Baked french potato wedges

NOTE: Preheat oven to 190 degree Celsius or 375 degree Fahrenheit.
be sure to spray the baking sheet with non-stick vegetable spray or you can use 2 Tbs vegetable oil drops and spread it on the baking sheet.

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes- not peeled
2 tbsp melted margarine/butter (preferably salted butter)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried chopped basil
1 tbsp crushed garlic, equivalent to 2 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp of grated mozzarella or marble cheese
a pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Clean the potatoes by scrubbing them, then cut them into wedges.
2. In a container, mix the ingredients mentioned above except the grated mozzarella/marble cheese.
3. Scrub the potatoes with the mix - do it thoroughly to get the evenness of taste.
4. Place the scrubbed potatoes on the baking sheet and bake it for 30 minutes. Turn the wedges over after 15 minutes and brush it with some left over mix (cuz you will have some left over from scrubbing it)..
5. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the wedges while its still steamingly hot
6. Serve the wedges with fresh vegetables like tomatoes, carrots or cucumbers.

Happy cooking!

It looks much better than this picture actually cuz my phone camera doesn't capture small details. In the future, I'll be sure to post the food pictures with my actual digital camera.. :)

Healthy hair starts with healthy food... INDEED.

Ok.

In order to have healthy hair, we need to be sure we are eating the right food that contains the right vitamins for our hair, we can't just use hair products or get treatment to achieve it.
So for those of you who doesn't like vegetables, might have some problem here... *kiddinggggg....* there are also multivitamins that we can get from drug store which contains the same amount of vitamins we get from the vegetables. But we all know, the real thing is always better...

Alright then,
here's the list of food that is very good for the growth of our hair..

1. Food that contains protein and vitamin A - Ok fellas, finding protein is pretty easy, and most of us have it everyday: meats, fish, cheese, and nuts. Also note that protein helps your nail grow faster. Kill two birds with one stone, HA! For vitamin A, we can get it by eating lots of carrots, sweet potatoes, eggs and  drinking milk regularly.
2. Did you guys know that banana helps reduce the amount of split ends? Yes, it does.
Why so? Because bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid, along with vitamins B, C and E, and natural oils that promote our hair elasticity. So for those who ties their hair almost everyday, please be sure to include bananas on their diet, it helps with hair breakage as well... Oh how i love natural stuff :)
3. Green vegetables (preferably dark), such as broccoli and spinach. They contain vitamin A,C, iron and calcium.. YUM!
4. Beans! - best source of ample iron, zinc, and biotin. They help promote hair growth.. Wohoo, it just keeps getting better..
5. Last but not least, Grains.
Hearty whole grains, including whole-wheat bread and fortified whole-grain cereals, for a hair-healthy dose of zinc, iron, and B vitamins

Haircare supplements?

I personally use couple of traditional haircare products from back home that helps my hair shines its true colour, helps reduce hair loss and promote growth..

I also use BIOSILK products

*They are amazing to protect your hair from damages you get from using heat styling products

Note: 

If you want to achieve the perfect long-thick-shiny hair, compromise on your heat styling products usage. The heat truly damage your hair if not protected.

not-so-known facts.

I want to share some beauty tips that I learned from Michelle Phan's page on youtube, i will post the video link at the bottom.

This girl is very brilliant, she started off as a make-up tutorialist on youtube and now she's quite famous in the make-up industry. She became the spokesperson of Lancome, and just recently she launched skincare products called IQQU.

Some of my favourite beauty tips from her:

1. Cleaning face with rice water.

If you have some organic rice at your house, try this.. it's very refreshing and it's very very easy. You just need water, one cup of organic rice (less chemical on organic products), a container to store the rice water and some cotton pads.

2. Lip scrub with Honey, Sugar and Vaseline.

I do lip scrub twice a week, it keeps my lips soft and subtle. So, you just mix the three ingredients and just scrub you lips for approximately 3mins and gently wipe it with soft cloth.

3. Home made pore strips.

This one works wonders for me :) I love it i love it....  we only need two ingredients! Unflavored gelatin and milk.. ha! how easy is that....?! mix the two ingredients then put it a small microwaveable container, and microwave it for 10seconds... wait until it cools off to put on your nose, so you don't get burnt.. then apply thinly, wait until it gets dry and peel it! VOILA...... you're blackheads free now :)

This is the link to her page *Michelle Phan*


PS: All credit goes to Michelle Phan, I'm just passing on her beauty message :)

Enjoy loves!

The love of exotic food.

Sate ayam is on top of my list ;) Om nom nommmm....

 As i promised you before, my blog encloses various of topics... and this is one of my favorite subjects of all times; FOOD. 

As a newly wife, I am expected to cook much more often than before.. I remember the days where I would go get food at Vietnamese restaurant, or Chinese fast-food restaurant cuz I was too lazy too cook... sad, indeed. I spent so much money eating out- it's not even funny. Not only that it thinned out my wallet fast, it also made me sick with the over-poured oil they use to cook their food- disgusting? undeniably. Their vegetables would literally swim in the oil.. yuck! 

To be honest, I was much better in university. Thou, I didn't know much about cooking and rely so much on Indofood *instant cooking packaging*- I would still eat at home than eating at the cafeteria. And eventhou it tasted like crap, I would still eat it ha ha ha...You know what they say, student = limited money = tough life, just gotta get through with it, and I did.

Now, I forced myself to learn more about cooking. I mean, I love food so much and it would be much easier if I knew how to make it myself. The great thing about cooking at home is that, it costs muchhh less than eating at a restaurant, lets not forget that we have to pay tax and gratitude.... 

Okay, so what I want to share with you guys are cooking links.. My favourite dishes are mostly originated from my own country but for the past four years, I have been very much in love with korean dishes... Kimchi, Yuk Gae Jang, Bimbimbab, and so on... Oh they're so tasty!!!!

Yummmmyyyy :9 *sluurrrppp*

Here's the link is for the Indonesian food:
Dapoerkoe by Ine Sena

And this is for the Korean food:
Maangchi

For those of you who never tried Korean food before, I suggest you guys go and try it... other than their dishes, I am insanely attached to their BBQ - I'm talking about having them at least once a month :)
Here's some suggestion of Korean restaurants in Jakarta:

Dae Hwa Korean restaurant
JL.Senayan Blok S No.21, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12180, Indonesia 
+62 21 7206091 ‎ 

Go Ju Mong Korean restaurant

JL. Panglima Polim 9, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12160, Indonesia

	And for Torontonians, we got tons of choices at K-Town :)

Cheers
almr*

In contrast to the land of Canada

First few of my posts will be an introductory, kind of getting to know me.. I don't like to just jump from one subject to another, it makes the plot confusing :)

Firstly, I'm not a Canadian- thou I've lived here long enough to obtain a Canadian passport ha ha ha.. but i stay patriotic and still have my Indonesian passport.
That's right, I'm from Indonesia.. was born and raised in Jakarta.
Miss home? certainly..

So what made me fly thousands of miles from a two seasoned country to a not-so-four-seasoned country, Canada?
Well the truth is- Education. Yes, my parents kicked me out of the house because they want me to continue my studies here.. Lucky? Yes, I believe I'm one of the lucky ones in my family :)
Long story short, I ended up living in this country for more than seven years now..

Living here for that long does not change my originality or do things that are totally outrageous due to such extreme freedom that I have cuz my parents aren't here. In fact, it has taught me a lot of valuable lessons that are not wordly describable. Also thanks to the people that I've met here and had given me such impacts to my life.

Okay, so here are some footage of Indonesia *taken from my very own camera*

Pasar Beringharjo, Yogyakarta

 Omah Tembi, Yogyakarta

 Some rice field in Bantul, Yogyakarta

  Yogyakarta is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Indonesia.

The Land of Canada

Currently it's -11 outside, snow flurries and moderate windchill.. On days like this, i usually stay inside and do some work on my computer.. Lately, I've been researching about opening an online business. It's been a lifelong dream to have a store and be my own boss, so I'm really going to try to make this work and also by God's will to make everything happen :) .. Oh and i didn't mention this before but I'm newly wedded and I quit my job to move to my husband's city, he is currently taking master's degree.. I have decided to actually take some time off work, just because.. I wanted to reward myself, the last couple of years hasn't been easy for me.. Far away from home, finishing up my undergrad studies, finding a job and also move to a completely new city where I had no friends just acquaintances.. Lucky, it wasn't hard for me to make friends.. By nature, I'm an easy going person and my personality has been defined by most friends as "fun size" - anytime and anywhere I enjoy most of my moments making people around me feel comfortable and all... NUFF SAID! :) Back to my original plan about online business, I have a lot to learn considering I didn't graduate from an IT major (web building perspective and maintenance), but on all other aspects- marketing, advertising and all that, I would have to review my notes and re-Read my books from university days *at least I'll start with that much*

So, do you guys want to see what's it like outside?

Here's a view from my balcony :)

And this is the park me and my husband go to when we're feeling for some small nature adventure :)

It's so pretty isn't it? It's by the river, and on the other side of the river is the "rich neighborhood", the houses  are up the hill, I didn't take a picture of it cuz I only had my phone with me, and it's not that great of a camera!

 That's us :) after Akad Nikah @ Masjid Al-Farooq, Seattle, Washington