Home Reno - Front Terrace

I'm back :D

Remember when I promised you something on THIS PREVIOUS POST ?
So here's the built-in wall cabinet turned into seating cabinet/ bench..

Not bad, eh?

Looking at the size it's more on the day bed side, but we use it as a bench. 

The cabinet was reinforced with extra wooden structure so it could function well as a seating. The doors painted white and the body varnished.. and I got a 'new' bench which is also a roomy storage for shoes etc.

I didn't put seat cushion for practicality reason, but as you can see in the photo some throw pillows are enough to make the bench looks more inviting.

If you notice the checkered floor tiles, it's actually started from an accident where some of the (then) installed plain white tiles were flawed.. So I made a design decision to alternate the plain white tiles with ornate ones. We (I and hubby) search high and low for the ornate tiles, and finally found these ornate blue-white tiles that I think are perfect! :) 

Tour de Garut

Couple of weeks ago we spent our long weekend in Garut. 
We stayed at Mulih Ka Desa, a place with a village ambiance. It was kinda different from what I've expected, but we had fun so it's OK :D

 

 

The place was not too far from Kampung Sampireun which both ambiance and rate were jaw dropping :p We enjoyed our visit there for a late lunch.

 

 

The boys were excited al the way, especially when we visit Kawah Kamojang.

Last but not least I also bought loads of batik Garutan :D
It was a refreshing short getaway for us, surely will come back for more ^_^

Almost Glamping

What is Glamping anyway? Well, it's short for Glamorous Camping - camping but glamorous :D That's not exactly what we did, but pretty close in some way.

We spent the last days of 2011 in Kiara Payung camping ground near Bandung, West Java. Hubby and his offroad community had this family camp gathering. So there I was tagging along, reluctantly. You see, I don't really dig the idea of spending the night outdoors (to me, a tent is no way close to the term 'indoor'). While hubby is an outdoorsy type, usually he went camping with his friends or took the boys with him.

So until the end of last year, camping considered as a boys' days out activity.

Knowing his wife, hubby had prepared some stuff prior to our family camping. And I couldn't complain :)

Here's the living room of our tent with storage room at the back.

This is the master bedroom with pillows from Myurbey.

The kids' bedroom.. with Angry Birds Plushie from Cemprut.

The front terrace with a day bed, taken from the living room.

Al fresco dining 24/7.

And yes, I actually enjoyed the trip, though the public washroom was not up to standard. It's a new way to start the new year :)

 

House Tour: My Dream Cottage

I was browsing Apartment Therapy as usual when stumbled on this.
Oh how I would love to live there...

This is exactly what I want my dining room to be, outdoor, with string lighting and greenery around.

Indoor swing! Minus the fireplace (it's already summery hot here all year long) and the dogs (I'm more of a cat person) :D

Open hanging display of pots and pans. A very simple storing idea. Yet still doubtful about the dust and visual noise that will occurred.

Outdoor theater! Oh my..


You can see the full post and pictures here.. go ahead and drool with me. 

canoeing

One of the twins activities during this school holiday.

arabian nights (and days)

Alhamdulillah..

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to hibernate (as if I can).. 

Tempur

Tempur is the name of a village at the hillside of Gunung Muria (Mount Muria), not too far from the city of Jepara. It boasts one of the most beautiful natural view I've ever seen!

I had fun playing with fresh cool water in it's mountain river :)

On a hot sunny afternoon..

..we went to The Helix - the new pedestrian bridge near the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort - because I was curious to see the bridge's architectural design which is said to be the first in the world. But since it was really hot, we - especially the kids - didn't exactly enjoy the trip and only managed to stay there for a short time.

I think it would be nicer if you go there in the evening or night to capture the pretty city light view. Yet you would probably not be able to enjoy the gallery where children's paintings and drawings are exhibited for public viewing.

Not only on walls but also on the pathway.

Look closer and you could see the details written on it, cute isn't it :)

Kuta, Lombok

It's been my hubby's long time dream for him and me together (the both of us alone) going to Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia. And I was thrilled as much as he did when we got the chance to finally go there a couple of weeks ago. It was only a short 2 nights stay and we stayed in our hotel most of the time, but it's all that we need.

We stayed at Novotel Lombok, in Kuta (yes it shares the same name with the famous beach in Bali), on the southern of the island. Being faraway from the city and right on the most serene beach, it's the perfect place for a tropical honeymoon or getaway. The hotel has its beautiful private beach, yet we wander outside the premises and still found the surrounding beach (and hills!)beautiful and clean.


This is my first glimpse at the beach when we arrived on a cloudy evening.

We literally spent the whole morning lounging at the beach.

Told ya the view is beautiful.


In the evening we enjoyed the sunset and a walk on the ocean floor when the tide is out. At night we could see the night sky's glittering with stars.. a breathtaking view that I couldn't capture well with my cam, sorry.

I love how the tropical Sasak (Lombok native) traditional architecture adapted to the resort.

Now just looking at these pictures make me longing for more. It was relaxing and refreshing indeed. You could easily opt for more adventurous activities like surfing and diving, but walking (I'm not sure whether it could be considered as climbing) the steep hills is enough edrenaline rush for me.

To The Beach

We went to Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia last week. It's only for a couple of days and it rained or cloudy most of the times, yet we enjoyed our stay there.

A package came just before we're leaving, it's a Charlie Bag from Sawo Kecik!

We're having this art/ craft swap, charlie bags swap to be exact, since we're both big fans of the bag. I've sent my version to her and I received hers just in time for the trip to the Jepara beaches!

Above is a picture of her version of charlie bag (which now is mine :D) at the Bandengan Beach. Located at the northern of Jepara, it boasts natural white sandy beach with beautiful view. We went there on a cloudy afternoon, that explain the not-so-bright pictures (excuses, excuses..).

Back to the bag.. it's a perfect beach bag! Reversible with one side made of blue flower cotton (with a cute flower button accent) and the other side made of multicolor waterproof material. How practical and pretty! Thanks again Sawo Kecik for the cute bag :)

Last but not least I also want to share some beautiful sunset pictures taken by my hubby at Kartini Beach, still in Jepara. Located at the west side of the town, it has the most beautiful sunset view within its humble premises.