Sneak Peeks :-)

As promised, a sneak peek of something I have been working on these past couple of weeks.

This project is a collaboration with a very good friend of mine; the talented photographer - Mr Indra Pratama from Photo4Life. I've known Indra almost about 8 years now and he is married to one of my closest girlfriends, Fang-Fang; a very talented lady in arts and crafts herself.

Indra has that magic touch when it comes to art and design. Just these past two years he began to launch his photography business - Photo4Life which specialised in wedding and pre-wedding photography. I have to say I'm always speechless when it comes to seeing one of the photos he took. It was breathtakingly beautiful, simple, pure and magical. He seems to always able to caught the simplest moments yet overflows with pure love and longing. 

When Indra asked me whether I want to help him with designing the happy couples' wedding albums, I jumped at the chance. Not only I got to explore the world of art and design closer (and getting free lessons on Photoshop and Illustrator from the master himself hehehe), I got to work with my friends. How cool is that! I really want to help Indra and Fang-Fang to expand their wedding photography business further because I really think they deserve it. They are very talented and the world needs to see it :-)

I can't reveal much on the whole design of the albums (I'm still a beginner, so bear with me!) but I can give you sneak peeks as below pictures. These are the two albums I have been working on; one's concept is very different than the other. One of them is actually my two good friends wedding - so I'm very honoured to have been trusted with this. I really do hope I can deliver! Will post photos once final products have been printed and delivered :-)

As for now, if you are one of the happily engaged couples - feel free to browse around Indra Pratama's portfolio in Photo4Life. I assure you, you will be amazed by his talent :-) I, myself, am reserving him for my pre-wedding and wedding photoshoots (now all I have to do is find the groom!)

Sneak Peeks :-)

A Thousand Layers

s you might have noticed that I changed the header to my blog, and also the title of it to 'Mille Feuiles'. For the longest time I have been naming my blog the 'Pretty Little Corner' and it's not that I don't like the name, I guess I want my blog title to a reflection of the state of mind that I have right now (does this make sense? no? nevermind hehe).. So after considerations, I decided to go ahead and change the blog title.

Mille Feuilles is french, and it means many layers. It's actually a name of one of my favorite patisserie which I have yet learn to make (I will someday!). You can practically use anything in this Mille Feuilles. If you opt for sweet and pretty you can make it using strawberries and cream, or if you prefer a bittersweet symphony in your tastebuds, go with mocca. Some restaurants make savoury ones as well.

And of course, Mille Feuilles is the name of the Versace couture dress 'Dress of A Thousand Layers' that Carrie Bradshaw wears in Sex And The City Season 6, where she waited for Aleksandr Petrovsky in their posh Paris hotel suite for dinner - and he showed up really late. That dress is retailed for $79,000 *gasp*. It's so pretty, fluffy and I love the colour - I wonder how she managed to bring it to Paris?

I do think that life has a thousand layers yet to unfold. Every person has many layers to discover too, by ourselves and by others. As I looked back to my previous posts, I often write about the discoveries I made about myself, about life and about others. So, I think Mille Feuilles is the perfect fit for this blog's name (or am I just bored to death with the old title? hmmmmm... rocket science!)

Just a lil bit of wisdom from Shrek and Donkey before I log out...

Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs.
Shrek: NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[sighs]
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.

Stay beautiful, friends :-)

A Thousand Layers

Happy Belated Everything!

he second Sunday of February was the one day that probably mostly everyone anticipated. On 14th February this year, both Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year are celebrated at the same time. I know, I know, this post is overdue by almost a week - but I've been busy and thanks to micro-blogging trends now (follow me @misstazh) I felt like I've already blogged. So, without further a do, 'Happy Belated Valenchine (Valentine & Chinese NY)' altogether, friends! I hope you get to spent it with your loved ones and made them feel special too!

Well, I couldn't say that I'm celebrating both festivities in a big way this year. With Chinese NY, my family never really followed the tradition since I was young anyway. Even though I'm a mix of Chinese - Indonesian, my big family never celebrated CNY like what other families would do. I guess, the Chinese tradition is never big on the family, especially since my grandparents from my mom's side of the family were more Dutch than Chinese. So yeah, I probably had a few red envelopes when I grew up, but it was never extravagant. I remembered the day after CNY in school, where all my friends would talk about how much they 'harvested' yesterday (and the numbers were quite high!) and also what they did with their big families on the day, I would just listened intently with wonderment on my facial expression. 

Sure, at that time I was a bit jealous; after all, I was just a kid! I wish I knew how it felt to have lots and lots of red envelopes on CNY - but I don't. As I grew older and none the wiser, what I missed most in CNY is having to have gathered with my loved ones and having family dinners. Usually we had dinners at my parents' crib (because it's too expensive to dine outside on CNY - restaurants usually put high price tags and you have to have a special CNY menu set) and we would just relax and enjoy each other presence.

I think that's when I feel the happiest - being with my loved ones. That's why this year's Valentine's Day is a bit gloom for me because I was just overwhelmed by the feeling of not having my loved ones around me. No, I'm not talking about the one that comes in the shape of a boyfriend - I normally celebrates Valentine's Day with my single pals anyway - but I really miss my family this year. I guess I've been away from them too long now. 

Home is where the heart is - and truly, that's where my heart resides. It's funny how after not going back home for holidays in two years, once I stepped inside the house I grew up in, I left a huge sigh of relief and thought to myself "I'm home...". My parents, lil sister and myself have a ritual before going to bed where we all cramped and huddled in my parents bed, joked around or talked about the day that we had. My dad usually took the ownership of the TV remote control, my sis and I would perform some slapstick comedy for them, my mom would nod herself to sleep even though she was watching her favorite show - and we would intentionally annoy her to wake up. That moment right there, is where I feel most loved.

My mom always said that she felt the happiest when she has her two daughters around and we both feel the same way as her. Nothing beats the feeling of being around people you love the most and who loved you the most. I know that my parents and my sister love me no matter what, and I love them come what may. Sure, we have our arguments, but which family doesn't? You're bound to have frictions in your relationships. The key is not to love them because of such and such, but to love them in spite of our failures and weakness. My mom is the true example of this. 

She had her share of heartaches; a lot of them really. To cut the story short (or I'll be going on and on about it for pages) let's just say that my dad had been disloyal to her a few times since I was 11 years old (I think) - even thought she was hurting and angry, she always said to me and my sister that we are his children too and we should always give him the respect and love he deserves. After many trials, she always forgave him (to our dismay at that moment) because she felt such compassion towards him. Then, my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer, and I remembered crying and begging my dad on the phone to step up and be there when she needs him, for a change. I think I even threatened him a bit (to hate him for life if he ever left her again); I regretted saying those words to him since my emotion got the best of me. But he did step up. He never left my mom's side when she was in chemotherapy. 

Today, I can truly said that their relationship is getting better and better. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them last holiday. Sometimes they are so lovey dovey to each other, I secretly rolled my eyes. But seriously, I've never been happier and at peace with them. Sure, we all have things to work on to improve our family bond - but looking back at the past, I am truly grateful and thankful to God that our relationship improved greatly. 

Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

(1 Corinthians 13)

I'm taking a lesson from my favorite bible verse above, and from my mom, to love people in spite of. After all, love never fails. I really do believe that love is the center of everything. Jesus came down and died for us on the cross for love. Our parents gave birth to us because of love. Our dreams and passion comes from love. Faith and hope comes from love. We should celebrate love daily - not only on Valentine's Day.

As a guilty token from not blogging on time love token this month and as we celebrated love in all its glory, I've designed this wallpaper a while ago for my twitter background. I hope you like it :-) It's in 1024 x 768 resolution at the moment, but let me know if you want it in other resolutions that matches your screen :-)

And now these three remain:

Faith, Hope and Love

But the greatest of these is love

(1 Corinthians 13:13)

Carry love wherever you go, friends :-)

Happy Belated Everything!

A proud one, I am.

Mood: sleepy!

Listening to: Melee - Built To Last

Hello folks!

As you may have noticed, I've got a new banner in my blog. This banner was designed by my super-talented Graphic Designer to be, my very own little sister, Alexandra Talissa.

She's 5½ years younger than me. The quite big age gap made us argue oftenly when we were kids (what are kids to do, right?). We shared the same love for art. At such a young age, both of us loves to draw japanese manga characters - we would spend hours and hours 'imagining' this far far away land - where the characters are named after flowers and seasons - and our mum yelling at the background, telling us to stop drawing and do our homework.

Me & lil missy @ Kuala Lumpur, 2008

But since I went to college, my drawings stopped there. I never practiced again - well, occassionally - but not my sister. She drew and drew, she even taught herself photoshop (and now she's an expert on one, that is!). I took business pathway in University, just like what my mum wanted me to, only to find that I don't like it at all. My mum 'learned her lesson' of not forcing her daughters on what to study, so she let my lil sis took Art in Uni.

And true enough, she mastered it. She's a natural. A great Graphic Designer to be, a great Illustrator and I have never been prouder. Her works at the moment were published in her school's website and she told me yesterday that one of her Typography artwork is going to be in the students exhibition.

Some of my sister's artwork @ Uni

I always wonder to myself, what life would be like if I followed my heart to study design? I always have that passion for art and design, whether it's fashion, graphic or interior. I didn't insist when my mum told me not to take design, or when my dad said 'do not take architecture like I did, you wouldn't sleep for days'. To be honest, until today I still have that regret and 'what-ifs' about Design school. I so want it - I just didn't insist hard enough.

There were times in my Uni years that I struggled so much to finish my subjects. I would broke down in tears, called up my mum and say that I couldn't do it. My mum regretted pushing me to choose business school - like what she did when I was in highschool (I ended up in Economics major, not in Art major which I would like to be). I still ended up as the student with highest Accounting score from the entire school, but mind you, I do not like numbers. Never do, never will. I am planning to go to design school - if it's not too late because I really really want it.

That's why I am so proud of my sister. She nailed it. She followed her heart and she used her potential to the maximum capacity. I am proud on what she achieved, how she's changed and excel in her studies. My mum and I would brag constantly about her 'geniusness' and would admire her artwork for hours.

So there you go! She's on her term break now and bored to death (or so to speak) - so I, being a very understanding sister, decided to use her ask her to do my blog's banner. She did it only in a couple of hours... and it's beautiful! I loved it! but still she said she's not satisfied because she's used to work on things for days until she's completely satisfied (yes, she is a perfectionist, like me).

I hope you like the banner, as I do! Thanks again lil sis :) Love you much!!! Updated my blog with a web counter as well, and also re-designed the profile picture part of the blog... nothing much, but I'm in the process in designing a new layout as a whole and am in the process of launching yet another blog of mine which according to my friends 'you should do this kind of blog' ... so watch this space!!

xoxo

A proud one, I am.

Monday morning came too soon!

Hello Upper East Siders,

(ok, I'm officially hooked on Gossip Girl. The new season's coming up on 21st April! yeaaayy)

How was your weekend? I hope everyone had a great one! Mine was busy busy busy and full on. On Friday night, my friends and I went to try out the new Tony Roma's restaurant in CBD. I've always love Tony Roma's - been eating since I was in junior high school back then in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Since it had just opened, I think, last week - they didn't take bookings by phone calls, so we have to physically be there and put our names down and wait impatiently patiently. And so, that was exactly what we did. We waited for around 45 minutes - it was packed! But then the owner felt bad and offered us a free complimentary onion loaf and drinks at the bar while we were waiting, so YAY! that's what you called getting the best from both worlds :)

So anyway, the wait was worth it. The 'Original Baby Back Ribs' was everything I hoped for. Juicy, spicy and yummy! Ka Ira and I shared a full slab of ribs and all of us shared the entree that Jibo ordered (yep, Jibo eats a lot when Xenia's not around. Haha). The night was full of laughter and VERY interesting conversations *wink*. I came home with fuller tummy and lighter steps. Oh, how I love Friday nights - and it was Moni's birthday... so happy happy birthday, Monceeeeeeeee!!! :)

My excitement was captured by Chris that night. Ok, fine. I love food, so what?? :P

Saturday was not like any other Saturdays. I had two parties to attend in one day and one of them was organized by me. So I was practically running around like a mad woman the whole day, trying to get things done! Luckily I had my friends who helped me majorly - thanks guys!

The first party was for Pastor D's birthday which was held at his beautiful house. The food? don't ask - it was top notch! All my favorite Indonesian cooks in Perth (red: Tante Yanti, Tante Retno and Ci Erika!) indulged us me with all those yummy food I missed! I didn't eat a lot, but enough to make me feel bloated and full! So, happy birthday Pastor D! You might be 40 years old now, but you looked young and handsome still! :P

The second party of the day was Sandriana's Appreciation Dinner aka Farewell Party. It was bittersweet for my friends and I, because San-San is a good friend of ours. Liza, Ka Ira, Fang-Fang and I organized her farewell party at Terrazza Nedlands. We also made her a scrapbook full of 'questionnaires' filled by Rockers about her. It was hilarious to see them trying to fill out the questionnaires - they said it was harder than an exam! Haha, sorry guys! :)

Anyhoo, Ka Ira and I decorated the function room we booked upstairs for the party. Because San-San is petite, cute, bubbly and girlie - I've decided to use all pastel colors in the room - dominated by pink. This is how it looks like...

We've used balloons for the all over decoration in the room. I've purchased bunches of light peach and light mauve roses, as well as a yellow and light green... er.. flower (I don't know what it's called!) and made centrepieces combining all four colours. It was pretty! It's very shabby chic! (I'm soooo gonna do it for my wedding. Someday. Somehow. HAHA). We've also borrowed the church's lanterns to put as centrepieces as well. Thankfully, I still have the light pink and light green napkins from Xenia's baby shower that I didn't use - we alternate the two of them together with the cutleries. And for the icing on the cake - butterfly confetties all over the table cloth. For short: it sort of looked like a 'Rose Garden' theme party :P and I absolutely LOVE it!

San-San and her scrapbook - her homework to read for the night :)

I (heart) San-San :: I'm gonna miss this girl so much :(

The girls and I also made a scrapbook for San-San. We handmade thIte cover of the scrapbook - with collages of patterned papers in different kinds of pink - and a dash of bejewelled add-ons. The scrapbook was titled 'San-San & I' - and was finished by Liza in that very afternoon! Thanks heaaaaps, Sasa! :) It looks like that San-San had a lovely night - and that's enough for us :)

It's so sad to see her go - but on the other hand, I'm also excited for her as she will embrace new adventures ahead. She's like a superwoman. Tiny but powerful! There's nothing she cannot do (and I mean it!). She's a great assett to THE ROCKS, a great friend, a great sister-in-Christ and a partner in crime :P I will definitely miss her a lot and the times we've spent together... Don't forget us, San! You will always be our San-San!

And on Sunday - the usual stuff... serving in Church and it was great! Then Liza, Adeline, San-San and I went for a chit-chat girl talk at the Coffee Club in Carousel. Their Coffee Club Baked Cheesecake was the highlight of the afternoon - it was beautiful! We talked and talked for hours - then eventually went home when we realized we spent 4 hours doing that! Anyhoo, I spent the rest of the night at Fang's place - watching TV and eating dinner, catching up with each other. It was Wayne's birthday, by the way - but he's too busy doing his scuba diving thing and didn't have time to catch up with us! BOO!!! Hehehe :P Anyway, happy happy birthday Wendis!

*Pheeeww* that was my weekend. Three birthdays in a row, two parties and one hectic Sunday. And I've got an ever-growing tummy because of too much food intake! There's nothing else I want more than to take a sickie today - but unfortunately I couldn't since it's always so busy on Mondays and I just took a sickie last week. Stupid, stupid girl! Anyhoo, I still think Monday morning always came too soon - and weekends are never enough!

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope yours is better than mine :)

xoxo

Monday morning came too soon!

And they lived happily ever after?

"You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Mst people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true."
(Meredith Grey, "Grey's Anatomy")

Since I was just a little girl, I love fairytales (don't we all?) I love the fact that the princesses are pretty, there are fairies involved, cute creatures who can sing and dance (and do house chores with you!) and of course, the handsome prince charmings. Most of the time, the story tells you about two different person from two different worlds who overcome the evil witch/the stepmother to be with each other. The bottom line: love conquers all. Ah, such a pretty picture hey?

I used to have this 'faith' or 'picture' that I'm going to get my own happy ending. Y'know.. that 'and they lived happily ever after' part. But I guess that a child-like faith - that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Once you're married - that's it. You ARE going to lived happily ever after and whatnot. Everything will be peaches and cream. It's heaven on earth. You name it.

Here's the thing... Fairytale stories always end when the prince finally married the girl of his dreams, he will swept her away on his white horse, riding off to the sunset. And then the famous line will appear 'and they lived happily ever after'. But what happens after that? A friend of mine asked the same question this afternoon - "Are there mortgages in fairytales?" "what happens next??? did Prince Charming and Cinderella argued on who has to take the trash out this week?" "Did Sleeping Beauty get mad to Prince Phillip because he snored in his sleep?" and so on and so forth.

You know the real story of The Little Mermaid? It's not the one that Disney created where Ariel finally married Prince Eric. The real mermaid died and turned into a foam in the sea because of her unrequited love to the Prince who married the Princess from another kingdom. He never knew that the mermaid loves him.

I came across that quote above from Grey's Anatomy movie and I can't help myself to ponder... I remember how I woke up one day, opened my eyes and the fairytale faded away. I remember how awful that felt - it's like this dream was ripped out of you, that you have to throw that dream unwillingly. You came across unrequited love, betrayal, broken-heartness, unfaithfulness, lies and so many things that disappointed you. Sadly, I have to throw that belief far far away. Love is never going to be enough.

We are all like that in a way, I suppose. As we grow older, we experienced things. Things that sometimes we want to forget - but it's a part of you anyway so you can't. We complicate things and over analyzed without us even realizing. Suddenly the truth hits us, there is NO happily ever after in this oh-so-cruel-cruel world. Relationship and most importantly, marriage, needs hard work - I know this not because I have been married before... but because of my parents' marriage.

I can't go on into details at this moment - so let's just say that my family is not perfect. We had lots of ups and downs - and my sister and I were somehow 'forced' to grow up even before we need to. My happiest moments were those ones I couldn't recall anymore since it was such a long long time ago. At one point in time - I have almost swore myself off men. Even my sister used to say that she didn't want to get married since it seems so hard (knock on wood!!!!).

I learned along the way that there's no such thing as a perfect family. Everyone I know, has family issues. Some are not-so-complicated, some are wayyyyy more complicated. Then you kind of feel relieved that you're not the odd one out. I used to not want to talk about it - but as you find people who endures the same thing as you, the words just poured out - and it makes me feel so much better.

My mum told me to 'marry the one who loves you more than you love him, that way you won't end up getting hurt'. I rejected her opinion - saying that it's not fair for the other party since it's kind of like a one-sided thing. But then my friends told me that their mothers taught them the same thing... No fairytale is like that, isn't it? The love between Prince Charming and Cinderella are perfect... did that love 'died' along the way? We have no idea. Or maybe it's true, when we are loved, more than we love them, it won't hurt us?

However, doesn't matter how cynical we are. We still have that hope (even if it's just tiny) that when you least expected it - your fairytale will come true. I know I do. No matter how messy life gets - no matter how hurt I was (and still is, I think - or maybe I'm just getting used to it?) I have hope, that someday I will open up my eyes and my fairytale would come true. It's like Charlotte York in SATC... the real optimist who always believe in love - even when she thought she lost it.

Pardon my rant for today. I know I'm going out of tangents here and there, but it's just something that I need to 'let out' :) Ah... I miss those simpler days. But for what it's worth, I learned my lesson and won't lose my faith. I hope it goes the same to you and we all could have our happily-ever-afters one day.


Over and out.

And they lived happily ever after?