Hi!

Akhirnya nge-blog lagi setelah sekian lama terhenti. Kangen berbagi cerita melalui tulisan yang panjang dan banyak sekali hal yang ingin aku ceritakan. Salah satunya.. Im having my own youtube channel! Awalnya ngga PD untuk bikin channel sendiri, tapi berkat dukungan suami tercinta (yang keras kepala untuk urusan ini) akhirnya aku bikin juga.
Video pertama aku mengenai trip pertama aku ke Tokyo, Jepang. 

Awal Januari ini aku diberi berkat untuk bekerja di Tokyo selama 8 hari. Ini merupakan kerjaan dan trip pertama setelah aku melahirkan anakku yang ke 2 Bhaga. Senang, sedih, deg degan semua campur jadi satu. Antara kepikiran "ASIP nya cukup ngga ya, anak-anak bakal rewel ngga ya? Kalau tiba-tiba sakit suami bisa handle ngga ya?" dsb. Tapi aku mencoba santai, takut kalau akunya stress terasa di anak-anak aku. So its all good.

Untuk preparasi trip musim dingin ini, aku yang cinta sekali sama packing sudah buat daftar isi koper, isi handcarry dan backpack. Jadi di post kali ini aku ingin share beberapa tips berdasarkan pengalaman aku selama disana. Semoga membantu!

Ada 3 apps yang membantu sekali selama disana.
The Weather Channel - Untuk dapat update kira-kira hari ini suhu rata-ratanya berapa, hingga besok turun salju atau tidak. Jadi kita bisa rencanain perlu pakai baju berapa lapis dan pakai sepatu apa.
Google Translate - Karena segala macam informasi di Jepang masih menggunakan huruf kanji, jadi fitur translate menggunakan kameranya membantu sekali. Aku pribadi terbantu sekali ketika di toilet, dan kebingungan musti pencet tombol apa untuk flush. ha..ha..ha.. jadi bawa hp ketika ke kamar mandi, not a bad idea at all.
Google Maps - Karena selama di Tokyo paling enak keliling mengunakan kereta, jadi terbantu sekali untuk sampai ketempat yang dituju harus naik kereta di stasiun mana, turun di pemberhentian apa bahkan jadwal keretanya pun kelihatan. 


3 benda wajib yang bagus untuk disiapkan.

A good Shoe - Aku awalnya menggunakan sepatu boot selutut yang terbuat dari kulit. Nyaman dan gaya sekali untuk dipakai jalan. Tapi baru sehari kena salju, sole nya langsung lepas pas. :(( Sebel banget si. Akhirnya selama 5 hari kedepan aku akhirnya pakai sepatu Timberland yang aku juga bawa, dan ternyata kuat, nyaman dan kokoh sekali. Ketika saljunya berhenti turun dan yang tersisa hanya jalanan yang sangat licin, this boots is the shiznit! 


A powerful WiFi Portable - Ketika budgeting dan planning sebelum berangkat, aku sempat cek beberapa posibilitas untuk tetap bisa terkoneksi dengan internet selama disana. 
Beli paket via provider untuk seminggu -+ Rp.1.500.000,- , tapi hanya bisa dipakai 1 perangkat saja.
Sewa wifi portable di Airport ( Yang bisa kiosnya gampang kamu temukan didekat pintu keluar airport , jadi ketika sampai Jepang kamu bisa langsung sewa dan kembalikan ketika mau pulang) untuk 8 hari -+ 7776 yen sudah termasuk tax atau 955.000,-. 

Sewa Wi2Fly dapat tas, kabel untuk charge, portable wifi, universal adaptor dan kertas manual.

Akhirnya aku sewa WiFi portable dari Jakarta . Aku sewanya di Wi2Fly . Prosedurnya mudah tinggal isi formulir di halaman utama website nya. Kita harus booking dan bayar 5 hari sebelum keberangkatan, dan sehari sebelum keberangkatan WiFi portable nya akan dikirimkan kerumah kita. Wi2Fly sejauh ini yang paling murah diantara sewa WiFi portable lainnya. Aku bayar Rp.528.000,- untuk sewa 8 hari plus Rp.500.000,- untuk deposit. Jadi kalau setelah dikembalikan dan dicek WiFi nya kondisinya masih sebaik ketika kita sewa, depositnya akan dikembalikan sepenuhnya. Good deal!

The perks of bringing your own WiFi portable? Tidak takut terpisah sama rombongan kalau sedang jalan-jalan, tidak perlu rebutan free WiFi di penginapan dan alat ini bisa tersambung untuk 7 perangkat elektronik lain.
Aku biasanya nyalakan WiFi portable nya ketika keluar penginapan fully charged (7.30 pagi), dipakai online untuk 5 gadget hingga pulang dan video call dengan keluarga sebelum tidur (12 malam) baru habis baterainya. Nice!


A good thermals -  Disana aku pakai 2 thermal dari 2 merek yang berbeda. Aku pakai Uniqlo dan Columbia. Kalau Uniqlo bahannya lembut sekali dan untuk layering buat aku masih berasa dingin si. Kalau Columbia bahannya ngga se-stretchy Uniqlo tapi lebih hangat. Just order one size bigger if you order online, or do a fitting to make sure theres enough space for your chest. 

PS: Untuk extra warmth, aku pakai penghangat patch yang banyak dijual di conveniece store sana. Aku coba yang patch untuk di kaki, yang ditempel di baju dan yang bentuknya kantong  pasir mini untuk digenggam. Sejauh ini yang paling ampuh buat aku yang terakhir. Tinggal dibuka, kantongnya di shake lalu taruh di saku jaket. 

image from Google

Semoga beberapa hal yang aku share disini membantu! 
Untuk lihat channel youtube-ku bisa klik disini.



Love,
Agni.

Bob'omb Brownie Truffle

 One of the reason why I love themed party, because I have the opportunity to nerding out and make fun food and dessert ideas. For mas Rudra Super Mario birthday party, I made this Bob'omb from the game. This bite size cute truffle are so easy to make! I've got it from Nerdy Nummies youtube channel, but I use my own brownie recipe instead of the box mix they've suggesting.
But if you have no time and prefer the box mix its also fine. Just make sure you use the high quality butter. 

Here are the things you need if you use the brownie box mix;
1 box      brownie mix
2/3 cup   white sugar
1 cup      flour
1 tsp       vanilla extract
1 cup      butter

For decorating;
1 bar         dark chocolate compound
1 cup        yellow M &M's
1 cup        mini pretzels

You can see the step by step video by Nerdy Nummies here. My Bob'omb looks messy, I still struggling with everything to do with icing, melted chocolate and decorating in general)

A pretty nice addition to the dessert table doesn't it ?

Here is my easy Brownie recipe for anyone who ask:
1/2 cup   unsalted butter
1/2 cup   white sugar 
2 whole   eggs
1    tsp    vanilla extract
1/2 cup   unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup   all purpose flour
1/4 tsp    baking powder

Just mix 'em together and bake it in a preheated 175 degrees C oven, in a greased and floured 20 cm square pan or any pan you prefer for 25 minutes. Keep checking, you dont want to over bake it. 

This is my easy and quick brownie recipe, whenever my husband ask for a nice warm dessert or for a potluck party.

Hope you guys like it!

Rudra is Turning One!

Last week was mas Oo first birthday, and we decided to celebrate it at home. We're lucky enough to have our own green backyard and lots of toys (It's my husband's and his sister's toys when they were two!) Yep, my mother in law really take a good care of their toys. The trick is to wrap all the toys in a clear plastic wrap (the kind we use to cover the floors and sofa when painting) and for the small parts, ziplock. Do not wrap it with black plastic bag (ex.for trash bin bag). Because it melts, it leave permanent dirty marks all over the toy surfaces and its not thick enough to be cleaned and reuse it again. So clear plastic wrap it is. 

Its a small party so we cooked everything on our kitchen (simple food mostly, some we just bought it from our favorite vendors), decorate it ourself and only invite families also besties. Mas Oo birthday theme was Mario Bros , because its our favorite game (the parents-not the baby) and its Super Mario Bros 30'th Anniversary!

 I bought the decorations supplies at www.celebrationpeak.com - the flags, the colorful baloons, the table cloth, the plates yes-its all from that website.

All the Super Mario design, I bought it at Etsy, the shop called LucasPartyStudio. They are soo helpful! We make the transaction with a note "the birthday boy/girl name's and their age" and a moment later they gonna send you all the decorating files in pdf with the name and age already on it, plus the instruction. All you have to do is print. LOVE! They also have other theme like Sesame Street. 

Bob-omb!

Beef sliders

 All the wooden chopping board and serving plates I bought it on a local shop called Kemala Home Living

Kai Pacifica Katsu and Bulgogi Burrito! Big hit!

For the savory table we have:
Homemade beef meatball with 4 kind of cheese mushroom sauce 

Kai Pacifica chicken katsu and bulgogi kimchi burrito wrap- @kaipacifica 
Beef sliders (mini burgers with moist beef patty and cheese)
Chicken & shrimp nuggets
Mini sausages

For the sweet table we have:
Homemade cupcake ( with a help from my niece)
Homemade Bob-omb Brownie truffle
Chocolate, oreo's and lychee puddings
Dama almond milk's @drinkdama
Sideways Coffee and Milk- Cereal milk @sidewayscoffee

Its all served in a easy to hold size! Kids love it and also the grown ups.


Will post the recipes soon!

All pictures by Anto @weahweahweah

I'm Back!

Whoa, my last post was in 2013? That was long.So many unexpected stuff happened in two years, wisely ended my 7 years relationship, be single, met someone new, broke up again , then met this geeky guy who I fell in love with, marry him and gave birth to this beautiful baby. He's so beautiful, it make me looks like a newborn's poop everytime I took picture with him. His name is Rudra Arka, the mightiest of the mighty, the brilliant one, the eldest son. It's a Sanskrit, just like mine- Agni Pratistha Arka. It took me a whole nine months finding the perfect name for this little baby- yes I am dead serious about names, in Indonesia we believe, names that are given to your child is a prayers for his future being. And I know that he is gonna change the world. My next post going to be different of course from my previous posts, mommy things if you may call it. Well, enjoy!

Have A Great Day People!

The Book Club

It was a beautiful morning, we’re heading to St. Albans Episcopal Church to join Daughters of Abraham book club. Is a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim women who want to deepen each others knowledge and faiths, trough books monthly. Born as a response to 9/11, their mission is to overcome stereotypes and foster mutual respect among Muslim, Jewish and Christian women. And this time we’re discussing The Butterfly Mosque by Willow Wilson. It’s interesting to know other’s point of view from different belief and culture. How we respond to the author’s treatment of each  religion, what do we learn, surprised us and which parts that intrigues us. Deep. I loved it.

Good Morning!