Mia and Her Collection: Mia's Collection Fall Edition

Mia and Her Collection: Mia's Collection Fall Edition: In the market, many kinds of brand name jewelries to choose, from the latest European styles, while others prefer American’s. As anyone wh...

Mia's Collection Fall Edition

In the market, many kinds of brand name jewelries to choose, from the latest European styles, while others prefer American’s. As anyone who has shopped for fashion jewelry and other accessories knows, keeping up with trends can be expensive.  For some people, brand is very important, and that's fine as long as they're happy and they can afford it.

Nowadays, people are getting more attracted by the handcrafted jewelry, because they are unique and innovative and they are made by a local artisan. The wonderful thing about handmade jewelry is that they are one of a kind.  The design cannot be compared to those you see in stores.

Jewelry trends come and go, but traditional styles you will wear for many years.  My fall style jewelry is stick to a simple conservative and the color inspired by the beauty of the season.

Fancy jasper beads are the basis of this necklace. It is hand-cut and well-polished with color range from mauve, green and brown tones, and it is strung nicely between honey and deep green Czech glass for a warming style.

Antique pewter are used for spacers and toggle.

This necklace measures approx 20 inches in length.

 

These 22/24 mm round mosaic beads are made of dark yellow multiple layers of mother-of-pearl and dark yellow amber resin. Complimenting the beads, I've added yellow amber hollow glass, amber quartz and red Czech fire-polish rondelles as a variation.
This necklace measures approximately 19 1/2 inches.

A highly unusual stone, lepidolite varies in color from light pink/purple to salmon, with inclusions ranging from pale yellow to dark . This teardrop lapidolite natural stone is strung nicely in between lime/green turquoise beads stone and sterling silver spacer, and it is secured with a double-sided textured antique pewter toggle.
This necklace measure 18 1/2 inches in length.

*** Necklace and Earring ***
This lustrous teardrop style black onyx is strung with twisted smoky quartz beads and gold Czech fire polish glass. Very elegant style and can be worn with any low cut blouse or dress.
This necklace measure 17 1/2 inches in length.
Earring measure approx 2 1/2 inches in length.

Feel free to email me with any questions and please visit my jewelry site at www.Pragajewelry.Etsy.com for even more handmade jewelry!

Last but not least, find a way to express your creativity through accessories.


Thank you guys for reading. 

Mia's Collection

Mia and Her Collection: Before and After

Mia and Her Collection: Before and After: When we bought our first home 13 years ago ... our living room was primed white, so its stay white until last month. I decided that I was s...

Before and After

When we bought our first home 13 years ago ... our living room was primed white, so its stay white until last month.  I decided that I was sick and tired of the boring and dull color living room and having it feel like in a hospital cave. I wanted to warm up the living room and make it feel a bit cozier and make it more minimalist, means everything serves a specific function. …. less clutter and more appealing.

Since make over is not in our budget, I am trying to keep costs extremely low by Do-it-Yourself (DIY).  To reduce spending to much nick-knacks, I thought some accent wall will bring extra drama and color in a living room.  One dark color on a shortest wall because it’s the only wall that doesn’t join to another room, and lighter color on a longer wall.  My first choice was deep red wine, almost like burgundy. There’s something so inspiring about that color, but my final choice fall to deep green.  Green reminds me of nature.  Green also has a calming effect when used as a main color for decorating.

Preparation

I took off summer Friday to start painting the ceiling white.  After clearing all big objects from the living room, I started painting the ceiling white.  Painting the ceiling requires great efforts and patience than the walls.  It took me hours to finish the ceiling, it was very doable, but it sure did hurt my arms, my neck, my shoulder and my back ….. ARGH!!!  Having done it once, I will never paint the ceiling again.

Living Room Area Clear = CHECK

Light Fixture Covered = CHECK

Repair holes with spackle = CHECK

Thanks to daughter of mine who helped me with the wall painting.
She had fun painting walls using some of her techniques like this picture ..... Please don't ask me where the men of the castle are? ...... ??? ...

Good techniques

Due to the house layout, I foresee us using the kitchen primarily to cook and guests can remain seated at the bar area or in the adjacent living room.  The bar seating area being opened up to the living room also allows for the cooks to interact with guests in the living room. Our goals were to open the spaces to each other and to reorganize and upgrade the kitchen in a warm and elegant entertaining area.  Therefore, a dated and save energy appliances are needed, since the oven didn't work for almost 2 years, old refrigerator been around for over 13 years and already make some noise, the over-the-counter microwave was greasy, and they all screamed for a change. Also, needs to create a pleasing flow of the rooms into each other.

And ... oooohhh, I almost forgot I still need to get rid off the smelly, worn and nasty light blue carpet on the stairway.  But, whose gonna do it????  I am sure no one willing to help with this one, since none in the house was aware of the smell and the color rejection.  I convince myself that light sage green wall will look just fine with the light blue carpet .... ja ... ja ... ja ... and I kept saying that to myself over and over, until one day, I came home from work and can't take it anymore, and start reaping the carpet.  My best tool was my knuckles, yes!!, I used my knuckles to pull off the carpet because I can't use my weak nails.  Youtube on "how to" was my best friend around that time.

OMG .. I started it and I gotta finish it ....... have no idea how ..... YET!!!

Next .... I scrape the paint on each side of the stairs and realized that's not necessary cuz the side won't be varnished.

Voilaaaa ...... ready to paint the riser

Did I tell you that I didn't realize dusts will be all over the living room???

Of course NOT!

But after a hard work and long night, the living room - kitchen - stairway make over combo is completed.  Seeing the results can be very satisfying.  Like I said, this DIY make over does not breaking much of our bank account, instead I felt a great sense of accomplishment.  I followed a lot of recommendations for getting stuff off the wall, dumping fake flowers, ditching a lot of knick-knacks, removing a third of the furniture.  Less stuff means less to clean!!!

Less clutter, warmer living room

The adjacent kitchen view from the living room

The save energy appliances installed and same color paint flow from the living room to have a smooth continuity

 Big art painting was chosen, and that's going to be the only piece of art that will fill one side of the living room wall.  I let the flow of space and light create much of decoration without the confusion of ornamentation. 

No more clutter wall!

Proudly saying "I DID IT MY WAY .... MYSELF"

Once I simplified the room,  I Sit back, I relax, and I enjoy, took a moment to look around and enjoy it and feel the satisfaction. This is the reward for a hard work.

Ahhhh. So nice!

Now, I can start focusing on my jewelry :)

Wowww ......... you made it till the end of this blog?? Thank you guys for reading.

Mia

Mia and Her Collection: OUR BALI - JAKARTA TRIP

Mia and Her Collection: OUR BALI - JAKARTA TRIP: "I began writing my blog soon after my short vacation and there was quite a lot to mention about our trip to Indonesia; however, my first dra..."

OUR BALI - JAKARTA TRIP

I began writing my blog soon after my short vacation and there was quite a lot to mention about our trip to Indonesia; however, my first draft vanished, and my second and third dissapered too, and it took me a while to remember what I had written.  Is something wrong with blogspot???

Anyways, the trip was short but we all had a lot of fun. Our bags were packed  and we were ready to go. Our excitement was through the roof as we've all been working long and hard and we haven't visited as a family for nearly 17 years. 

When we got to the airport, we learned that our flight had been delayed due to technical difficulties on the plane. It seemed like a bad joke but that was exactly what happened to us. We had about a 4 1/2 hours delay at JFK, which meant that we missed our connecting flight from Taipei to Bali.  Instead, we had to catch our next flight to Bali through Hongkong and total 36 hours to fly from NYC to Bali, Indonesia.  We arrived Ngurah Ray, Bali at around 1:00AM early morning, the day of the wedding.

4.5 hours delayed @ JFK

Hongkong awaiting connecting flight

GREETINGS FROM BALI

Statue of Ramayana

Our primary reason for visiting Indonesia was to attend my nephew's wedding in Bali.  The ceremony and reception were held at the Villa Phalosa, a modern, architectural beach front-setting located at the Batubelig district of Seminyak.  The ceremony proceeded smoothly and wonderfully, accompanied by the sounds of the waves and the cool sea breeze. Prior to dinner, we were entertained by the Balinese Kecak Dance. The dinner that followed was just simply remarkable.  We all had a good time:)))

The venue

The food stall

Beautiful set up

Exchanging sacred vows with each other facing the grand Indian Ocean
The couple looking absolutely happy

Smiles, joy, and laughter filled their face .... saying "I DO"

The sisters in their modern yet traditional outfit

The Waworuntus and their Momma Bear



The Korompis Family



The Kecak Dance
Best known of the many Balinese dances

Taken from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, tale of Prince Rama and Princess Sinta

The background choir of men who provide the "bek-ti-bek-ti-bek-ti instead of "chak-a-chak-a-chak" noise.

jajajajaja .........

POTATO HEAD CLUB, SEMINYAK

While in Bali, a friend of ours took us to the Potato Head Club in Seminyak.  I was pleasantly surprised with the set up of the place. It was a funky building with a rustic, vintage wood shutters all over the exterior and the entrance. The scenery was amazing, great for chillin' out.  Since we came a little late, we were only able to get a bed lounge by the poolside (which felt even better to see as the beautiful pool overlooks the fresh-breeze ocean).

The left side wing

Our bed lounge by the pool

The right side wing

LAKA-LÉKÉ RESTAURANT in UBUD

Next we went to LAKA-LÉKÉ Restaurant in Ubud.  LAKA-LÉKÉ means “hideaway” in Balinese, and is appropriate name since the place itself is literally “hidden away” from the main road.  This place offers beautiful views of gardens, lily ponds and rice field. Since we came in a big party, we chose to sit at the big pavilion in the back of the restaurant, which facing a fantastic scenery of paddy field.  Food that I ordered is no other than “The Famous Crispy Duck”, served with rice, vegetables and of course hot spicy sauce … taste delicious  … yummyyyy ……….

Beautiful landscape and huts



Eat with a hand is a MUST!!!!



JAKARTA

 

We visited Jakarta for a short trip.  It was great to be in my old hometown again, such a warm feeling to say "HALLO" to my mother, my sister and my brother. On my last trip to Jakarta in 2007, I still had a chance to say goodbye to my father and whispers into his ear "till we meet again".  But unfortunately, I have no chance of meeting him again, but I believe God has a better place for him.

Upon my midnight arrival in Jakarta, I was excited by the smooth traffic ... wooohoooo ..., not until the next morning when we left the house and caught up with the extremely... I meant extremely high traffic congestion.  Narrow streets and busway contribute to more traffic jams.  Every where you go, you will see hundreds of motorcycles around you.  Their ability to beat the heavy traffic has made them one of the most effective modes of transportation in the city of Jakarta.  But it cost the city a bad air pollution and air quality.

Without Any Doubt

1) Jakartan are famous for their skills driving on a zig-zagging manner and have a very little respect for the rule of law.

2) New luxury malls everywhere, but quiet and deserted.

3) Antibiotic can be purchased with no prescription around the corner.

4) Almost every Jakartan carry more than 1 cellphone and they are addicted to BlackBerry.

5)  In Jakarta you can find many cafe offering Shisha with a various kind of flavors, and children under 18 can legally or freely smoke them ....... right on Indon .... heheheh ....

Daily commute

Daily commuter

 

Four in One .... NO PROBLEM!!!

MEET THE FAMILY

Fabiola is my cousin who lived in the middle of the Jakarta.  She and her husband has been so kind and generous to let us stay at her huge house in Jln. Bangka.  And not only that, she dedicated her whole 12 days taking us around and getting things done.  The first night we stayed, we had Korompis family (from my mother's side) get together at her house.  Terrific menu had been served and some family members brought their own special dishes.  We all had a good time eventhough the weather at that time consider steamy.  After dinner, kids were ready with karaoke and poco-poco dance.

In my husband family reunion, they were talking about how to develop a family reunion culture that will pass to their kids and their next generations.  I would say about 80% of the whole huge Martokusumo's clan showed up. Unfortunately, I don't have pics to put up.

Meet the cousins

Karaoke and poco-poco

Karaoke is on

BANDUNG

Our next destination was Bandung. Bandung is not only known as the center of high education, but it is also known for its many shopping malls, factory outlets, and their fried gourame of course. As soon as we arrived in Bandung, we went straight to Sari Sunda Restaurant. The food is traditional Sundanese food and it was pretty tasty. The ambiance is a typical Sundanese restaurant with rattan decor, suling bamboo instruments playing in the background, and some huts located behind the restaurant.

Sari Sunda Restaurant

Fried Gourame

Grilled Tilapia

Sambal (spicy hot sauce)

Sator bean known as pete

Fish with yellow sauce ..... hhhmmmm delicious

Bandung is really a shopping paradise. With so many factory outlets, you can shop till you drop. After lunch we went straight to Rumah Mode, one of the top shopping outlets located at Jalan Setiabudi. As we drove into the parking lot, instead of seeing a usual outlet store, we saw something more interesting. It was like entering a resort because of its beautiful landscape. It was very welcoming to all shoppers.  It is by far the most beautiful outlet I have ever seen and apparently the most popular one in Bandung.  In addition to the main shopping area, there is a cafe where you can sit and relax while waiting for others. I was excited to see just how much shopping I'd end up doing, but in the end, I found myself not emptying out my wallet ......only because I kept reminding myself that I came to Indonesia to buy nothing other than Indonesian Batiks. So, after browsing around and purchasing a few shirts, we had our dinner at the cafe.

Front entrance of Rumah Mode Factory Outlet

  We literally stayed until dark, than drove up to Kampung Daun for dessert.  Kampung Daun is located about 30 – 45 minutes away from Bandung.  This is another must-try place to anyone going to Bandung.  It’s a village-style restaurant built into a slope and consists of individual huts scattered around a valley with a stream flowing by in the background. There are different sizes of huts available according to the number of patrons per party. They are nicely decorated with comfy pillows, spaced, and covered to offer privacy. The view from each hut was stunning, especially those nestling on the hill side. Overall, the atmosphere made you feel like you were somewhere in the middle of a rain forest. The best time to come to this restaurant is during night time, when you'll be surrounded by traditional lanterns.

The entrance of Kampung Daun

The path leading to each huts

Our comfy hut

Our dessert of the night ... poffertjes, pisang goreng

REUNION

Our small get-together was held at Score, Citos.  The theme was dubbed "3G," which stands for Galak-Galak-Gadang, the equivalent of English Internet Slang "LMAO" (Laugh My Ass Off) or "LOL" (Laugh Out Loud).
Although only about 40 classmates showed up, it was a great feeling of nostalgia to see familiar faces from one of the happiest periods of my childhood. The weather cooperated, the venues were great, the live band was entertaining and renewing old friendships were wonderful. The big and crowded room was filled with friendship, laughter, good cheers and fond memories.  Some classmates flew from Pekanbaru, Jogjakarta and Balikpapan. One thing we had in common was that we are all leading happy lives.  Some have their own businesses, some became professors, some work in corporate, some are stay-at-home-mothers, and of course some are still single and available.  And I'm already planning of how soon am I able to collect my social security for my retirement …. LOL … Our reunion committee (Elly Aritonang, Novi Sibuea, Reinhard Harianja, Verdy Armin, Wiwied Rahagung) have been busy doing a lot of “behind the scenes”planning and made efforts to reach as many members as possible.

The member of Cendana 82

The poco-poco lead by Ray

Still going and going ...

Lovely posed with Nedi, Novi & Elly ..... booooyaaaaa .... LOL

The gathering ended at 12:00 midnight, and most didn’t want the night to end.  So, off we went to a karaoke place and my night finally ended at 4:00 AM in the morning.
Thank you to all who made the night so memorable and thank you to those who sponsored the event.

Karaoke after midnight

DREAM HOUSE of RANCAMAYA????

So, after visited my father's grave, we went straight to Rancamaya Golf Estate.  Situated just about 45 minutes away from Jakarta (in normal traffic conditions). The estate offers crisp fresh air, this very inspiring Rancamaya has a beautiful view of Mt. Salak on the other side and Mt. Pangrango on the other side, and Bogor City

Beautiful picturesque

My dream

That concluded my busy and enjoyable vacation in both Bali and Jakarta.
Here I stood saying goodbye to my mom, God willing I will still able to see her again somehow, someday .... who knows ......................

Our Indonesian goodbye ..... LOL ...

Last peak from China Airlines ... auf revoir Indonesia

GOODBYE INDONESIA ..... TILL WE MEET AGAIN!!!


Leave a comment if you like guys .... and thank you for reading my story:)