Review: Anna Sui La Vie de Boheme

Your Life, Your Passion,  Your Way

Anna Sui Indonesia has sent me one of their perfume product to review. Nope, they didn't pay me to review this product. So, I will let you know what I think about the product.

1. Packaging

I like the packaging (tho it is a bit too girly for some people). When you buy Anna Sui's product, you know you like girly feminine designs that has always been their design and decoration on their products. I am a girly girl, I love the color and designs they picked. It somehow shows a more adult feminine side from the choice of color and the pattern drawn on the packaging. They said the design is called Art Nouveau. Fancy!!!

2. Bottle

The bottle design is truly cute and feminine. Purple matte color for a bottle that shaped like Rose and butterfly lid in a bright gold color.

3. Ingredients

Perfumer, Philippe Romano from DRUM created this perfume from Turkish Rose, Sparkling Pear, Burgundy Berries and some warm woods element. Those names are absolutely fancy. I sprayed it a bit on my skin, I thought I only sprayed it a bit. But the smell was pretty strong. So it is the kind of perfume that you only need to spray a tad bit of it and it will goes along way. Kinda save money for the price they are selling it.

4. La Vie de Bohème in words

This perfume is targeted for Romantic yet Free Spirited Women. It carries a playful spring-summer scent. Portraying a fun yet mysterious character. Easy going yet strong and confident. It smells like a warm flower combined with the fruit scents from the Burgundy Berries. Personally I prefer a breeze of spring scent compare to a warm scent. Tho I don't mind the scent of this perfume either. This makes me feel elegantly feminine.

5. Test

I sprayed it on my clothes and the back of my neck. It stays for quite some time, like around 8 hours or so. Even after I took quick rinse because the weather was quite hot yesterday. I still smell like flower. I probably sprayed too much. Because at first the scent was almost too strong. I sprayed it 3 times on the skin. I guess one or twice here and there should be enough next time.

6. Price

It comes on several sizes and different prices.

75ml       =        Rp.887.000

50ml       =        Rp.690.000

30ml       =        Rp.505.000

Overview: 

I still prefer their La Nuit de Bohème EDT but I will go for this one too.

Review for: La Nuit De Bohéme EDT and EDP

Dessert: 10 Best Places for Dessert in Jakarta

Is there any sugar addict here? Not a big fan of dessert? Maybe you will be after all these list of places with yummy desserts. It won't be on this list if it is not outstanding (to my picky standard). Dessert in the Hotel buffet is not on the list. But there are some hotel buffet that has outstanding desserts too. Honorary mentions: Hotel Mulia and Hotel Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan.

These are the list;

1. Cacaote
Address:  

Jl. Senopati No. 80, Senopati, Jakarta

Recommended:

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake (45K Rupiah)

Dark Chocolate with enough sweet for those who has sugar rush needs. ;-p

Beautiful decoration on the cake, crunchy popcorn on the side. Yummmmm

Zomato Review 4.1/5

2. Djournal / Collette&Lola
Address: Grand Indonesia, West Mall, Level GF and Level 3A/4

This is one of my husband's favorite coffee place. He actually made friend with the expert Barista from Europe who worked there. Seems like they share huge love for coffee. Djournal also served desserts from Collette&Lola from level 4. I prefer to eat the dessert here as it won't be as crowded as the new Collette&Lola in level 4 Grand Indonesia.

Recommended:

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Sweet cake with crunchy nutty topping.
Zomato Review 4.0/5

3. Popolamama
Address: Grand Indonesia, Food District, Level 3A/4

This is actually a pasta related food restaurants. Their desserts are limited. But I have to put it on the list as their 'Hazelnut Dark Chocolate' taste really really really good.
Recommended: Who am I kidding!? It has to be the Hazelnut Dark Chocolate

Ahhhhhh yummmm... I want some of this again. The smooth chocolate glazed, crumbly chocolate cake inside, and nutty hazelnut creates a heavenly taste on my mouth.

Zomato Review 3.8/5

4. Ganesha Ek Sanskriti
Address: Center Park Building, BRI II, Lantai 9, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman

Not to many people know that Indian has a lot of variety of sweets and desserts. It might not look as fancy as European pastry, but it sure doesn't disappoint my taste bud. Surely different style and different decoration on the desserts too, yet as delicious as the fancy pastry.
Recommended: Try the mix Sweets Combo

I forgot the name of these desserts. I only remember Ladoo, the round one on the right bottom. 
Zomato Review 3.9/5

5. Chureria
Address: Grand Indonesia, West Mall, Level UG

Recommended: Churros Classic with Dark Chocolate dip is my go to menu. But everything with churros won't be a let down. Oh btw, I think they serve the best churros in Indonesia.
Try their Churros Filling, 3 different fillings on 1 plate (coffee, peanut butter, chocolate)

Churros Filling

Churros Fondue

If only they served the hot fondue instead of the cold one. This fondue will be even better.
Zomato Review 3.9/5

6. J-Co Donut
Every where.
I got to say, I prefer J-Co compare to the other 2 competitors. J-Co has more variety for flavors. Their beverages taste great too.
Since Cronut (Croissant Donut) became trend in Indonesia, their cronut has been my all time favorite.

Recommended:

Chocolava

My favorite flavor; Chocolava. Crunchy and not to sweet, also has a salty croissant pastry flavor.

Tira Miss U

Zomato Review 3.7/5

7. Bakerzin
Address: Plaza Senayan Level 2

Recommended:
Ahhh tooo many to mention. Love their Blackforrest Macaroon. Can't find this flavor anywhere else. Trust me, I tried.

Napoleon Cake, husband's all time favorite

Zomato Review 4.0/5

8. Monolog
Address: Plaza Senayan, parking lot

I like this all day breakfast place. They have several awesome breakfast menus and they opened really early too. 

Recommended:

I forgot the name of this menu. But this chewy nutty donut was really yummy. There is also Oreo Chocolate cake. Unfortunately I forgot where did the picture go. I might ate the cake before taking any picture.

Zomato Review 4.0

9. Jittlada
Address: Senayan City, Level LG

There might not be chocolate nor milk involved on their dessert, but Thailand dessert is definitely not any less than other desserts too.

Recommended:

Mango and Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk Topping

Classic yet almost always sold out. Unfortunately this is seasonal dessert. We can only get it during mango season.

Durian Ice Cream

Zomato Review 3.7/5

10. T.W.G Tea Salon&Boutique
Address: Plaza Senayan, Level 1

TWG is a fancy place for high tea. Their place decoration always looks fancy and high class. So did their dessert.

Recommended:
Macaroon Series
No picture yet. Will be uploaded soon.

Zomato Review 4.2/5

Arranging Your Own Wedding

Intimate Wedding attended by family, close friends that won't rob your bank account and leave it dry? It is indeed possible to have that. These were my list of things I did to get my own cheap intimate wedding in Jakarta on March 2015. Hopefully this list will also be useful for your future wedding plan. Beware: Bridezilla moment might appear once in a while during those arrangements.

1. Plan, Plan, Plan
2. Hire Your Bride's Maids
3. Book Venue
4. Catering
5. Invitation
6. Confirmation
7. Print Out
8. Bachelorette Night
9. Rehearsal
10. Happy Wedding!!!!

1. Plan, Plan, Plan
Nothing will work well without the proper planning. Obviously you can't skip this step. Plan where do you wanna get married or whether you only want to have the party there or the ceremony too. Plan your date of the wedding (best to pick holiday or weekend). Plan the theme for your wedding. Plan what kind of food do you want to serve on the wedding party. Plan everything ahead of time.

2. Hire Your Bride's Maids
I know as Indonesian we rarely do this western tradition. However, when you are planning your on wedding and arranging it yourself, you are gonna need a solid group of besties helping you out. I hired 3 of my besties to be my bride's maids. You can have your own unique way on hiring them. For me, I was just inviting them over for dinner and bribing them with the food. So they would have difficult time saying 'no'. hehehe

My solid Bride's Maids Team

3. Book Venue
It is wise to decided what kind of theme do you want for the party first. Then find out what kind of place that will best suite the theme. My theme was Bollywood, so I picked Indian Restaurant (Amaya Resto in Gambir) for the venue. Bear in mind having different venue and catering will cost a lot more. So, try to get a venue that serves food too. If you book your venue in the restaurant, you will only have to pay for the food (at least some awesome and nice restaurant won't let you pay for the place too). Make sure to have back up plan. I checked 3 different venues before deciding on one that able to accommodate my needs and agree on our terms.

4. Catering
Make sure you already know how many people will come to your wedding. If you are going to invite 50 people, at least double up the amount. For me, I invited 70 people and booked catering for 100 people. If the restaurant already has buffet menu, that will be easier to choose. But it could be cheaper to actually break down your own menu and discuss the price with the venue/caterer.

5. Invitation
Online invitation is a lot cheaper (could be free) compare to print out invitation. But, doesn't mean it has to be tacky. Nowadays there are a lot of online invitation available on the internet. Just google one that you like. I got my design from this website. They will let you send invitation for free for a certain amount of invitations. If your guest list is more than that, you can bought the coins (needed to send the invitation) for a cheaper price. What I love about this website is that they let you contact your guest to their email address and once they confirmed their attendance, you are gonna get informed from the guest list information.
You can also post your online invitation on your social media long before the date.

Post on Path

Post on Instagram

6. Confirmation
Urge your guest to answer your invitation. Either talk to them personally, text them or asked your bride's maids to do it for you. The website will let you share the guest list with your co-hosts (bride's maids) and it will be easier for your bride's maid to contact them for confirmation. How awesome right!?
Once you got the number of guest that will come, you can let the venue/caterer knows about it. You can change the amount of the food served if there is major change on your guest list.

7. Print Out
Just because you have your invitation online, doesn't mean you don't have to print out anything.

Print this out on smaller size and hand it over to your guest with your wedding trinkets (could be candy or any accessories)

Asked your guest to take pictures during your party and post it online with your chosen hashtag. It will save money on photographer and some friends will actually come bringing fancy DSLR camera.

Bigger size, put it on the Guest Greeter Table along with the Guest Signed Book

Creative way for your Guest Signed Book, instead of signing it asked them to put their thumb print on it

 Print this papers on a thick paper. It doesn't have to be as thick as invitation card. But at least don't use a thin A4 paper. PaperOne A4 80gr or 100gr is suitable for color printing. If you can print this in the office. It will save money too..hehehe
For a better idea, You can check pinterest on Wedding hashtag. They have lots of cool ideas.
My signed book is a thumbprint pics. My bride's maid would provide the guest with 4 different colors of choice on the table and the guest could put their finger on the paint and planted the thumbprint on the printed out picture (like a balloon).
My other bride's maid would take a picture of the guest and their plus one using polaroid camera. Then they could signed the photo and it would goes to our guest album.

I want all my guests to dance to Bollywood Music

8. Bachelorette Night
Forget about the Wedding and go mad with your bride's maids. Let them plan your awesome bachelorette night.

9. Rehearsal
Let your bride's maids check out the place the night before. Enjoy your last night as a single lady. Let them takes care of it. Unless, you are like (micro managing person).

10. Happy Wedding you!
Prepared yourself for the big event. Get your hair done in hair spa salon. Wear the dress of your choice. Pampered yourself in a classic simple make up. Enjoy your party too. You earn it. Happy Wedding darling ^_^

Other tips:
1. Share your budgeting plan with your partner using Google Drive Doc. It will be easy to open anywhere even when you are not together with your partner or when he is away from you.
2. Write all your plan on Evernote or Google Doc and share it with your bride's maids.
3. Try to use Google Hangout group for a video chat with your bride's maids when you couldn't find a good time to meet to plan things out.
4. Activate your social media to post about your wedding invitation or save the date picture.
5. Don't forget to give tips to those waitress working on the venue that day.
6. Make sure to get an appointment with hairdresser or make up artist long before the D day.
7. Calm yourself because there will be times when you change into bridehulk/bridezilla when things didn't go well as you plan it.
8. Hire your friends as MC for the event. (They will want to do it for free as a gift for your wedding day ;-p )
9. Have a karaoke in the venue. You will be surprised by how many of your friends can actually sing.
10. Don't lose yourself and completely forget about your soon to be husband. Get yourself a date with him.

Review: Moroccan Bath at Spa and Beyond

Groupon's Voucher Pic

My bestie texted me on Whatsapp telling me she found a good deal for spa treatment in Senopati area. She told me their description of Moroccan Bath sounds nice and appealing. So we decided to go there last Sunday.

Here is where you can find the link for the voucher Groupon

The owner of Spa and Beyond used to be a stewardess with a frequent flight to Morocco. She heard a lot about the bath and spa treatment there and after learned and experienced it herself, she decided to open one in here. 

All the ingredients they used here are originally coming from Morocco. I assume the owner's husband, who is a pilot with a frequent flight to Morocco, is the one who bought all the ingredients.

c

bathrobe and one-time-only underwear

 They put me and my friend in the same room. So, we were about to elevate our friendship level to a more intimate one..lol

2 Massage beds with personal shower head attached to the bed

I took the red robe and picked the bed right next to the bathtub. I love their decoration. The room is pretty small but decent for 2 persons treatment. They also play nice relaxing musics that helps us concentrating on our spa experience. Obviously, we ignored that and instead started chitchatting about the recent gossip.

Equipments and Ingredients

The first thing they would do is asking you to get on your robe and moved to a steam room. There will be a small (one person only) steam box thingy. We were supposed to be steamed for 15 minutes. I gave up after 10 minutes. It was to hot for me. The lady said I have red mark on my skin because the steam was too hot for my (ehmmm) delicate skin.

2nd, they will put the black moroccan soap on your body and scrub it down. Then they will clean it up with warm water from the shower head.
3rd, they will rub volcanoes mud on your body and leave you to relax for about 10 minutes, so the mud will settled in nicely.
After they clean the mud, they put the expensive Argan oil right before they massage your body. I got tickled easily. The lady jumped with surprise when I almost kicked her when she tickled (massaged) my feet's palm.
The last treatment would be milk bath. The lady throw some milk powder onto a warm water on the bathtub. Wish they would use real milk in a liquid consistency or more generous amount of the powder at least. It was barely milky.

Eventually we even shared a bathtub relaxation, milk bath

I guess it will be a better experience if I was there with my newly wedded husband, instead of my best friend hehehe

I like the result when I get glistening and glowing moisturized skin. It doesn't leave me with any significant scent at all. Was hoping they will lit the flower candle that I saw earlier. Turned out it was just for decoration. I definitely would like some flowery or fruity after scent on my skin. 

The voucher that I bought was Rp.170.000 (originally Rp.560.000). Slightly too expensive for the original price. They did using a lot of imported products tho. Don't worry if you don't have the voucher because they have 50% promotion till June 2015.

Massage bed for other Spa Treatment

Overview;
Place: 8 (small but, clean, cute, and decent)
Service: 9 (polite and very helpful)
Treatment: 8
Price: 7 (slightly too expensive)

Bonus, picture of us after the treatment, sosialita sandal jepit

Petualangan Si Neng 2

Waktu berlalu cepat ya kadang kita lupa untuk sejenak bersyukur. Menyesali yg telah lalu memang tidak ada gunanya, tetapi sejenak melihat ke belakang untuk kemudian bersyukur dengan apa yang telah dicapai juga ada baiknya.

Terkadang, sy suka sejenak melihat ke belakang sambil merindukan masa-masa lulus kuliah dan mulai bekerja. Rasanya sesuatu yang baru itu nampak lebih menarik dan penuh tantangan. Namanya jg masih muda ya, kalau melihat tantangan depan mata itu malah bersemangat. Semoga sy tak akan pernah kehilangan spirit itu.

2010 bulan Agustus
Si Neng akhirnya keterima kerja di Trans TV sebagai Research and Program Development Staff. Sehari si Neng harus (paling tidak) mengerjakan 4-6 laporan untuk beberapa program yang tayang di Trans TV. Si Neng ingat waktu itu si Neng pegang acara Reportase pagi, Islam Itu Indah, Keluarga Minus, Insert, dll.

Lorong Biru penuh kenangan, penyambung antara gedung Mega ke gedung Trans

2 bulan pertama si Neng bahkan belum punya meja sendiri dan harus kerja dari meja bundar dekat ruang Pantry. Kemudian berpindah ke bagian belakang sayap kiri bangunan yg dikenal sebagai meja pembuangan. Di sebut demikian karena sebelumnya kosong dan orang sering menyimpan barang berlebihnya di situ. Meja tersebut masih belum memiliki komputer, jadi si Neng pun masih menggunakan laptop tua peninggalan masa kuliah.

Interview bareng dan kerja di departemen yg sama dengan tmn yg manis ini

Entah kenapa sepertinya banyak yg gak tega melihat si Neng di meja itu, karena acap kali tiap pagi si Neng nemuin oleh-oleh, aksesoris, snack, atau nasi box dr yang berulang tahun di sayap kanan di atas meja. Yah lumayan lah ya, rezeki anak soleh katanya mah.

sekali-sekali si neng pengen norak foto di lokasi syutingnya Insert

Lantai tempat si Neng kerja letaknya di Gedung Mega, bukan di gedung Trans TV sebelahnya. Jd contrary to what people believe, justru si Neng malah jarang bgt ketemu artis. Sekali-sekali aja kalau kebetulan ada urusan di Gedung Trans. Tentunya si Neng harus jual mahal jgn kelihatan norak dong. Pura-pura cuek padahal dalam hati teriak girang dan gak sabar cerita sama si emak.

Hari terakhir kerja dan kumpul sama Tim

Februari 2011
Si Neng mengambil tawaran kerja dari pembimbing Hansamo/BKC (Bandung Korea Community) yg menjadi Advisory di IKECC (Indonesia-Korea Environmental Cooperation Center). Beliau menawarkan pekerjaan dengan posisi dan gaji yang lebih menarik. Si Neng ambil pekerjaan tersebut dengan bahasa Korea yg serba minim, si Neng harus bekerja dengan bos yang hanya lancar berbahasa Korea dan minim bahasa Indonesia maupun Inggris.

Peresmian dan Pembukaan IKECC

Si Neng bangga ber-batik ria mewakili Indonesia

Awal-awalnya kerja di situ, si Neng bawannya pengen mewek mulu berasa dibentak-bentak. Kemudian si Neng sadar kalau ternyata itu hanya logat bicaranya orang Korea.

Maret 2011, IKECC mengirim si Neng ke Korea untuk training. Horeeeeee. Si Neng diharuskan membuat pasport. Si Neng kembali bersemangat untuk menjelajah Kota besar lain di luar negeri. Naik pesawat pun belum pernah. Kebayang kan girangnya si Neng yg selama ini cuman dengar cerita dr si Emak yg pernah naek pesawat Merpati dan Garuda. Agak deg-degan mau minta minum atau nerima tawaran minum dari mbak cantik pramugarinya, takut nanti si Neng disuruh bayar. Cuman berbekal 700ribu di dompet berangkat ke Korea dengan dijanjikan akan terima uang tugas begitu sampai di Korea dalam bentuk Won. Untungnya mbak yg ke Korea juga dari kantor bilang semuanya gratis asal bukan yg belanja di pesawat. Si Neng nganga bloon, agak-agak dumbfounded kalau ternyata di pesawat bisa belanja juga...woooooo orang Kota(kaya) emang lain cara mainnya.

Perjalanan ke Korea naik pesawat selama 7 jam. Si Neng nyaris gak bisa tidur padahal pesawat berangkat malam. Si Neng kelewat semangat pengen lihat negerinya cowok-cowok ganteng nan cantik jelita a.k.a abang-abang K-Pop itu. Akhrinya mainin tv kecil di depan kursi (girang nemu beginian) dan nonton beberapa film sampai ketiduran.

Girang akhirnya mendarat di Korea setelah 7 jam di pesawat, deg-degan

Si Neng gak paham cara beli tiketnya..segala tombol asal pencet ah

karaoke-an sama temen kerja

Cerita ke Korea ini pernah diposting sebelumnya. Buat lebih lengkapnya bisa cek di bawah sini;
Part 1
Part 2

Sebenernya si Neng pengen banget bulan madu sama si Aa ke Korea lagi. Apa daya budget dan waktu belum memungkinkan. Banyak urusan birokrasi buat izin tinggal si Neng di US sama izin tinggal si Aa di Indonesia yang harus diurusin. Nguras dompet, nguras waktu, tenaga, dan nguras emosi pastinya. Semoga si bulan madu yg belum kesampean ini segera bisa dilaksanakan mumpung belum ada buntut.

Petualangan Si Neng

Mau curhat sedikit nih di sini..boleh kan? Boleh dong ya..blog pribadi ini hehehe

Tiba-tiba hari ini teringat 4 tahun yang lalu waktu pertama datang ke Jakarta tahun 2010 bulan Agustus. Seneng banget soalnya keterima kerja di Trans TV yg notabene (saat itu) TV swasta paling the best lah. Setelah proses wawancara yg cukup panjang, akhirnya Agustus awal sudah mulai kerja.

Berangkatlah jauh-jauh dari Majalengka, and point to note ya, itu pertama kalinya si Neng melanglang buana jauh-jauh ke Ibu Kota sendirian. Untungnya temen-temen kosan zaman kuliah pd gak tega ngeliat si Neng luntang-lantung gak jelas kesasar-sasar di Jakarta. Mereka yg ngajarin naik busway, ngenalin ke Pelangi (Plaza Semanggi) yg kemudian jd rumah kedua, ngajakin makan mewah di Pizza Hut(buat mahasiswa/anak kosan zaman itu Pizza Hut udah makan mewah yg cuman setaun sekali klo ada yg ultah)

saking culunnya, si Neng minta difotoin di halte busway Semanggi dengan latar belakang gedung tinggi

2 orang pelaku yang menemani si Neng berkenalan dengan Jakarta

Inget dulu culunnya si Neng yg gak pernah naik lift pun dan agak panik waktu harus naik lift sendirian ke lantai tempat interview atau waktu naik busway celingak-celinguk mesem-mesem kyk menang lotre. Si Neng juga pelahak-pelohok liat gedung-gedung tinggi, maklum waktu itu cuman sanggup liat di TV si abah+emak.

Sempet nyasar di sini, mau ke Pelangi malah keluar di halte Benhil akhirnya ngesot lagi deh ke arah Semanggi

Si Neng dengan logat sunda-nya yg cukup kental bersemangat menjelajahi sepetak area di Ibu Kota yg dihiasi gedung-gedung pencakar langit. 

Pindah ke Jakarta hanya dengan membawa 1 koper kecil punya si emak. Dibantu temennya temen kuliah yg kerja di Trans TV juga buat nyari kosan. Akhirnya nemu kosan kecil seharga Rp.600.000/bulan dan kamar mandi kecil yang terletak di belakang pemakaman. Tiap malam pulang kantor, harus lewat pemakaman. Jam pulang kerja 8 malam, paling cepet 7 malam dan melalui pemakaman. Life was not easy that time.

Tak terasa sudah nyaris 5 tahun di Jakarta. Sudah banyak yg terjadi dan terlewatkan. Pelan-pelan Jakarta menjadi rumah. Majalengka menjadi tempat untuk pulang kampung tapi sudah bukan rumah lagi. Walaupun sampai sekarang belum sempat mengganti alamat rumah (mostly karena malas berurusan dengan tektek bengek urusan pindahan secara resmi).

Maret lalu, akhirnya saya dipinang kekasih yg sudah sy pacari selama 2 tahunan. Tahun ketiga kami memutuskan menikah dengan pertimbangan sy akan mengikuti suami ke negaranya. Kebetulan suami berasal dari negeri Paman Sam. Setelah berdialog dan berdiskusi, kami memutuskan pindah ke negeri Paman Sam. Bukan karena kurang cinta dengan Jakarta atau negeri sendiri. Buktinya ini si Neng mendadak mellow mengingat awal-awal perjuangan datang ke Jakarta.

Wefie di acara nikahan

Minggu depan rencananya kami akan mendaftarkan nama saya untuk penerima Green Card dengan sponsor dari suami dan keluarganya. Ada kemungkinan kami harus menanti sekitar kurang lebih setahun sebelum mendapat izin tersebut.

Mohon doanya ya teman-teman. Semoga prosesnya bisa lebih cepat dan semoga si Neng bersemangat menjelajahi Paman Sam..eh negerinya ya..bukan orangnya.

Sorry ya agak nyampah..maklum agak2 mellow mikirin ninggalin zona nyaman padahal masih lama hehe.