Happy Easter!

It's the first Easter in our new nest and I'm so excited more than ever!!

Growing up, I don't have much privileges' in having house decorated with beautiful ornaments for special season - so now, I feel like am catching up to make up for those times. :)

Last year we had a lockdown Easter and we kept everything low key with just Easter Egg Hunt in our front yard. So this year, i decided to celebrate Easter in a fancier way to make up for last year. 

I was in the hunt for Easter decorations, man, it's hard! Kmart is pretty much sold out and luckily I managed to find few good stuff!

I picked bunny forest for the theme. I use green and earthy wooden colour as base and accentuate the whole decoration with magical white, hence we have LED light and Beauty & The Beast dome to add a little whimsical feel to it. 

I had fun decorating it and it does bring joy to me. I guess am gonna start doing home decorating things more often. :)

I found plenty of beautiful Easter Decorations at Bed, Bath & Table, and they are on 50% Off. Am planning to go back after Easter, hoping to grab some Easter clearance for next year. 

The grass table runner and the placemats are from Kmart. The rest are from my wonderful friend, Alana. She has like her own kmart in her garage. :p

Am in love with this cute vintage bunny in a cart. The workmanship is so pretty, just really nice to add some colour to the table. Bought the blue one for Ethan and the pink one for Arielle.

I set the table up at night and hoping to surprise our little human the next morning. I think i did a good job. :) 

Do you like this little birdie?

The Easter Breakfast

It was a nice morning. 

Sun is beautiful and weather is just fantastic. Everyone was up late, except Ethan. 

Kids were thrilled and excited to see the decorations!! Arielle was exploring non stop and Ethan can't wait to open up the Easter's treats.

We had Eggs, hot cross buns, Sausages and hot chocolate. It's really nice to have 4 of us to sit together and enjoy our busy breakfast together.  So precious, I do hope my kids will remember this moment as part of their childhood and continue the traditions when they have their own family one day.

Can you spot 2 little bunnies?

My first born attempt to crack the shell open using the spoon. He said " I saw this many times in movie, let me try" LOL

Uda kayak mendadak gede banget si koko, maturity levelnya juga mendadak naek..gampang dibilangin, semoga kamu terus get better and better ya, ko.

While this one is enjoying her egg as is. :)

The Easter Treats 

Got most of them from The Warehouse! 

Good bargain and really have things for my both kiddos. 

Ethan picked small Paw Patrol surprise egg and Arielle picked large Playdoh surprise egg. 

Surprise Egg is definitely one of the most requested toys in our house!

Buka nya ga pake sabar, dan langsung liat ke sebelah " What do you get? "

LOL

Tapi kayaknya rumput tetangga selalu lebih ijo ya, yang ada tukeran isi dong. Lol. 

Abangnya pinter, dia bilang " Hey Arielle, ini gw ada something for you - dia kasi sebungkus jelly bean dr egg nya dia, trus si non nya seneng dan kasih balik sebungkus jelly bean nya dia" 

Trading yang ada. 

I'm honestly in a happier place compare to Easter last year and I am hoping to continue making memories with them. 

Masa kecil mereka pendek kan yah? 

Our New Nest!

We have moved to our new place! It's been a good 3 months since we moved and we are loving our new nest!

The whole process of building from scratch was rather stressful but totally worth it! We picked every details as per what we want and we are pleased on how it turned out. The whole journey took a solid 12 months with covid and lockdown in between. It is not a flash house but it's beautiful and it's located in one of the loveliest neighborhood.

Tapi asli, ga pernah ngebangun sendiri..riwehnya yaowoh. Dan disini ngebangun rumah kok ya mahal bener rasanya..rumah sepetak kecil gini, kok bayarnya segitu. Ngebayangin kalo di Indo, kalo bayarannya segini..bisa dapet rumah sebagus apa coba. 

Tapi yaudalah ya, soto ayam aja $16 disini..apalagi nyambung aer ke rumah. >.<'

One thing yang kita berasa banget, the whole journey kita ngebangun ini..semua jalan dibukain. Semua urusan dilancarin, dan kita selalu berdoa biar rumah ini selalu jadi rumah penuh berkat dan kita selalu blessed to be a blessing.

It was started just like this. Plain section and we had no idea on the ideal house we want. Lol. I always wanted ultra modern house, but i do like classic too. I like those wood exterior but i do like black and white too. I was just very confused, and times that confusion by 2 - because Arief has his own 'ideal' home too. 

Kayak maen The sims tapi real life with real money - kalo salah ga bisa di undo dan ga di save kayak sims. LOL.

This is my bedroom.

We built with Maddren Homes. One of the award winning builder company. 

But honestly, being award winning something doesn't impressed me much on the company. No, I lied -  It does give me assurance that at least the house won't look like shit.  Admit it, there are ugly design houses. 

What impressed me the most about Maddren are the people! We first dealt with Nita Wong, this lovely lady from Maddren Homes is da bomb! As a first timer in building, we had no clue on the process and all. She is with us from day 1 and am so grateful for her. Then, when we started dealing with Maddren's team, I realized they are so deserved to be award winning company, apart from their craftmanship - they definitely a Gold award winner for the most positive bunch!

Like in any business, there are issues!

In doing building, there are plenty of issues, miscommunication and something get missed out along the building journey. With Maddren, they will find solutions and fix it when they can, if they can't - they told us and we have to compromised. It's sucks in some moments, but i guess mistakes happened and no one dies, so.. move on! 

Just a disclaimer, am not sponsored by Maddren Homes to post this. I just want to start jotting down our life in New Zealand again and this feels like a fresh starts. 

Slowly the house started coming together nicely. It's so hard to imagine the plan on the paper, luckily Maddren has 3D AR Apps thing that able to visualize our house. This is pretty cool! 

Bokap nanya..itu rumah cuman dari kayu bisa terbang ga kalo angin kenceng? lol.

We felt there's a lot of things to think about, even the colour of switch or which way our spotlights gonna look like. It felt overwhelming yet exciting in the same time.

They have their individual vendors to take care of our roof, paint, kitchen, doors and windows, landscape, etc. There are few vendors that stands out ans easy to deal with, and there are some that i wish to just not deal again in the future. Overall its a sweet journey in the end. Thank you Maddren.

Thank you for those that reading my blog, following me on Instagram and commented on how beautiful this house is. We like this house, although not the most beautiful on the street - it is surely the best looking house we ever have and we are grateful for it.

I still owe you the house tour. :)

We are still waiting for some furniture and few works around the house. Will definitely gonna do house tour in my IG, if you haven't - follow me on @eldiona :)

See u in Instagram. 

Alis baru by Beauty Recipe!

Siapa yang kalo pagi berasa keburu buru banget buat siap siap, make up, ganti baju apalah segala macem sebelon sekolah ato pas nganterin anak sekolah dan mesti turun mobil? 

Itu aku! 

Sejak dari akhir September kemaren kan mulai balik kerja dan yaowow ribetnya pagi pagi. Aku milih jam kerja dari jam 7-3.30pm biar bisa jemput entong dan nona pulang sekolah en daycare. Tapi eh karena mulai jam 7, eke mesti kuar rumah jam 6.20 paling telat dan biasa bangun jam 6am. Itu 20 menit ya super express ga jelas kalo pas dandan en siap siap, dan jadinya kepikiran biar eyebrow embroidery.

Tapi kok ya keinget pengalaman embroidery 5 taon lalu rasanya kapok, sakit ga keruan, yang ngebikin alis liat alis gw bingung sendiri gimana gambar yang cocok, dll. Mayan serem ya kalo kuar bentuknya ngaco lg. Research kanan kiri dan akhirnya ketemu Beauty Recipe ini di Singapore.

Tempatnya strategis banget, MRT nya somerset yang cuman 1 mrt away dari Orchard. Mereka juga pake pigmen warna yang nano premium, semuanya bahan tumbuhan dari Korea. Pigmen nya luar biasa banget dan gampang diserap oleh kulit. Aman dan warnanya ga berobah - males banget kan kalo jadi biru?

Mereka juga dipilih oleh lebih dari 100.000 orang dalam period lebih dari 1 minggu untuk "Best Permanent Makeup: Eyebrow, Eyeliner, Lip Embroidery and the Best Organic Facial from Spa & Salon 2018 Beauty Insider Award(Singapore’s Leading Beauty Review and Magazine Site)"

Belon lagi therapistnya mereka semua terakreditasi dan skill nya bagus banget. Jadilah aku book appointment pas mampir ke Singapore December kemaren. Pede aja gitu rasanya kali alis dikerjain sama award winning company.

Ini alisku sebelon dikerjain sama mereka. Masalah alis ini adalah muscle muka di titik paling tinggi alis, dan bener bener cuman yang expert doang bisa ngebentuk alis model begini supaya keliatan natural.

Prosesnya dimulai dari ngebentuk alis yang kita mau. Therapistnya bener bener spend time disini buat ngegambar bentuk yang sesuai dengan muka kita. Aku bilang ke dia, ga suka alis tipis segaris ya, jangan dibikin begitu. Dia langsung tau mau nya aku gitu..langsung digambar dengan hasil yang natural banget.

Next step nya itu dikasih numb cream yang ternyata premium quality juga dan ga bikin kulit iritasi sama sekali. Nyaman banget dan berasanya bener bener in good hand gitu.

Nunggu setengah jem sampe numbing cream nya bekerja baru mereka mulai prosesnya. Aku pilih Mezzo brow. Ini teknik yang baru yang prosesnya itu paling ga sakit, dan ga ada bengkak ato merah merah abis pengerjaannya. Beda sama yang modelnya pake piso itu, ini ga ada proses yang model begitu. Trus setelah 4 jam, udah boleh kena air, kalo embroidery yang biasa kan harus nunggu beberapa hari.

Liat deh ni, alis yang satu uda selesai dikerjain..ga ada merah, ga bengkak dan langsung keliatan natural banget kan?

Photo yang ini fresh the next day nya. Alis super on point dan ga ada alis sincan untuk beberapa hari sebelon jadi bagus. Mezzobrow ini langsung business as usual banget deh.

Trus ini photo seminggu kemudian, kondisi alis masi sama dan blend ke kulit even better malahan.

Setelah satu bulan, kita disuruh balik lagi untuk touch up. Session yang touch up itu jauh lebih cepet daripada waktu pertama kali dateng. Karena kan kita uda ada bentuknya dan sesi touch up ini buat bikin pigment tahan sampe 1 taon.

Prosesnya langsung pake numb cream dan didiemin selama 30 menit. Kalo misalnya kulit kita masi belom kebal, therapistnya bakalan tambahin numb cream nya lagi, supaya pas pengerjaannya..kita bener bener ga berasa sakit.

Ini alat mezzo brow nya yang semuanya steril dan baru jarumnya. Therapist di Beauty Recipe ini super precise skillnya. OMG deh, detail banget dan sungguh rapi. Mereka uda punya pengalaman bertaon taon dan juga mereka itu trainer di Beauty Recipe Academy

Abaikan jerawat ini. Tapi liat deh detail alis ini. Gradasinya, warnanya match banget sama kulit en rambut aku.

Dan voilaaa! Jadi!

Ga ada lagi pagi pagi ribet gambar alis, apalagi pake mencong. LOL
Highly recommend buat temen temen yang di Singapore ato pas maen ke Singapore.

Photo ini setelah 1 bulan dari pengerjaan touch up.
Warna ga berubah, tapi malah makin blend in ke kulit dan keliatan natural banget.
Pada ga nyangka kalo ini hasil embroidery.

Yang mau kontek mereka, silahkan langsung disini ya.

Buat temen temen yang di Jakarta, mereka juga ada clinic di PIK dengan nama LUSH Clinic. Aku belom pernah kesana, tapi ini di run sama management yang sama.

Dan buat temen temen yang mau belajar sama mereka, Beauty Recipe Academy ada kerja sama dengan Korea Beauty Association loh. Standardnya international, jadi school fee yang kita spend itu bener bener worth it.

Untuk info lebih lanjutnya lagi, cus ke website mereka yah. :)

Hello!

Happy New Year, everyone.

We just got back from family trip to Indonesia, loving every chance I got to be with my family. We had a big flood over the new year period, water inside the house, like literally kneed high inside my parents' house and calf high inside my in laws' house. We spent weeks trying to tidy up the house, the mud and drying up documents. This unfortunate event made me realised that I sometimes take this comfortable life for granted, and I do want to take my new year resolution from losing 5 kgs this year (this has been my resolution since 2002,lol) to just be grateful for the life each and every day.

I want to invite you to join me in this #gratefulcampaign for the whole 2020, to just mention 1 thing you are grateful about, everyday.

Let's see our life perspective switch to a brighter and positive vibes by the end of the year.

Now on the trip thingy, thank you for your kind wishes and messages while we are away. It is a new challenge to travel with 2 kids, first time flying long haul with 15 months and 6 years old. I've been actively flying since 2007, so I'm kinda used to packing and unpacking stuff for myself. But things can be slightly different when we travel with 2 little cute human.

I packed lotsa snacks, treats, nappies, warm vest, and kids books in my big hand carry bag. This come super handy to calm the hungry baby and kids down.

I have medicines for cold, hay fever, diarrhea and headache for the 'just in case' and Moroccan oil Hair set in travel size from Adore Beauty

This size is perfect for my trip and it has all I need from shampoo, conditioner, hair mask and hair oil.

When you get them from Adore Beauty, do remember they offer FREE express post for order over NZ $50. I got a lot of stuff from there and I can't wait to share them with you guys. Stay tuned for the next blog post on the items i picked and many freebies I received from them.

Packing situation :)

We fly with Air New Zealand and had the best experience. From check in, bag drop and cabin experience, all goes smoothly and everyone is happy.

It's also Arielle's first flight - so this awesome stewardess Ms. A prepared something sweet for little Arielle. Thank you Air New Zealand.

I wish all of us a great 2020.

Winter is here!

LIFE is finally back on track and winter is here!

This is my 4th winter since we bought our one way ticket from Singapore to Auckland. Slowly but surely, Auckland has become a home for me - although Singapore always hold a special place in my heart. 

Days ago, I miss my Singapore life badly. I felt that my life in Singapore was a kind of life that I always wanted. Vibrant. Quick pace. Advance. It was a good one. But then, I took a step back and look around here, I feel happy. I feel that I am blessed to be in a place where I can get 1 year maternity leave to be with my baby and still get paid from the government. I feel that there must be a reason we are here today, and I choose to embrace that.

Anyway, just want to say hi again after a long break from this blog. 

These photos was from previous winter :)

I never got a chance to post them and I got a lot of question on how to get this makeup done.

Honestly, this was a quick makeup done at very odd hour because I couldn't sleep. 

Am glad it turned out alright.

I can't remember the products I use, but hey..I will be posting more makeup stuff more frequent in my IG (@eldiona) - let's get in touch, there.

Happy New Year 2019

Happy New Year, guys!
May 2019 bring peace, luck and a serene calmness in us :)

2018 lewat gitu aja yah! The biggest highlight buat gw adalah journey gw dari hamil Arielle sampe ngelahiran di Sept 2018’kemaren. Pregnancy yang rusuh throughout tapi pas anaknya brojol, kalem, nyenengin dan ga bikin repot sama sekali.

2018 juga taon yang banyak berkat banget buat kita sekeluarga. Kerjaan nanjak dan juga lumbung makin penuh. Semoga taon ini, makin nanjak lagi dan makin penuh lagi. Dan buat temen temen juga, biar kita sama sama penuin lumbung yuk, saling dukung, saling bantu dan saling seneng kalo orang laen berhasil.

2018 juga taon dimana gw belajar kalo semua it’s gonna be ok. Kadang kalo lagi dijalanin susah banget, tapi kalo badainya uda lewat..kita jadi makin kuat dan yakin kalo semua selalu ada jalan keluarnya.

2018 kemaren gw juga berasa Tuhan pulihin hubungan keluarga. Tuhan bukain ati gw untuk keluarga yang pernah bikin gw dongkol dan maafin mereka. Ternyata, lebih enak punya alloes daripada enemy. Hati damai jadinya. :)

2018 juga taon dimana gw berasa bersyukur banget punya strong social circle yang positive dan ngedukung banget. Gw build a great relationship with certain people dan gw tau, mereka bakalan stay in my life for a while.

Bersyukur banget buat 2018.
Tuhan jawab my heart desire to have a baby girl. Tuhan kasi baby girl yang baik, sehat dan lucu.
Gw masi sering nitikin aer mata kalo liat Arielle bobo, bersyukur banget karena Tuhan jawab doa gw.

Sekali lagi, selamat taon baru yah mentemen.

Himalaya Botanique Complete Care Toothpaste

Hello Mid October!

I just can’t believe how times flies and soon enough we are start listening Christmas jingle. How have you guys been doing? Thank you for your kind message and notes, I’m unable to reply each and one of you yet - but thank you! Feeling the love and grateful :)

Little update, me and Arielle both are well, still adjusting to our new routine and she is such a lovely baby. I can’t wait to share my birth story with you guys. Stay tuned for this.

In this post, I’d like to share Himalaya Herb Singapore Toothpaste that I’ve been using since my late pregnancy. I’ve been using this since I was 32 weeks pregnant up to today and it solves my sensitive gum problem due to hormonal thing.

My gum bleeds pretty bad towards end of pregnancy and I’ve been switching toothpaste when I was traveling back in Jakarta, Japan and Singapore - it was such a pain, and it’s really such a relieve to find one that solve my gum problem.

Having it free from nasty chemicals below, Himalaya Herb are made from 100% organic certified ingredients and 97% natural sources. They don’t contain harmful ingredients and give us a natural oral care.

Another fun thing that I learnt from the awesome team behind Himalaya Herb Singapore is to make my DIY natural toothpaste. All you need as below and voila - a natural toothpaste is yours!

I have yet to try this but definitely will when baby Arielle is more settle with her routine :)

Himalaya range available in major pharmacies in SIngapore Island wide.