Romance Fades but Love Must Go On

"People tend to idolize the honeymoon period and when things evolve, instead of acknowledging 

that growth, they try and get back to those moments, which don't exist anymore. 
They've changed." - Anton Yelchin

Happy belated Independence Day to all Indonesians! It was yesterday, in case you're wondering. As a commemoration, here I am wearing this batik dress - which is my favourite batik dress, by the way. I've never worn it bare on the blog before and I just want you to take in its raw beauty. Its baby doll structure is very adorable! Definitely suited for a hot summer day, which it definitely was on the day we took these photos. Galuh and I practically dragged Firu to Düsseldorf. This is one of my favourite cities in Germany. It has everything that I love: Japanese district, metropolitan quarters and artistic venues. Though I am content in my small town, being a born-and-raised capital city girl, having constant access to a place such as this is a necessity. It was too hot to do anything and so we mostly stayed under shades, save for snapping these shots and going to this beautiful art supplies store. Heavens on earth they truly are. By the way, I've been loving petal and plume blog - I'm sorry, I don't know the author's name. She actually found my blog first and commented on one of my posts so I visited her blog. Her photographs are so lovely and her words are like strings of poetry! So beautiful that I just had to share!

Hand-me-down batik dress // vintage penny loafers + purse // photos of me by Firu + Galuh

I used to have this friend who I chatted frequently with. We're two hopeless romantics so obviously we talked about the romantic notions of life. We were so excited to be in a relationship and talk about all these things with each other. But romance fades. It does and people tend to mistake it for love. It's not. Not just in a relationship, in life it fades. For instance, I had this romance of first living in Germany. It's dissipated and I learn to live here like a normal person. I can get real tired if I see things romantically all the time. In my relationship with Firu, well, romance has pretty much grown smaller and smaller. I don't even feel all that giddy, romantic feeling of hanging out with his sister or hearing him introduce me to his friends as his girlfriend or seeing his family on Skype. It all just comes naturally these days. People tend to mistake romance for love and when it dissipates, they thought they don't love each other anymore. So strange. That being said, little romances still remain. Hey, I don't know everything about Firu just yet and Galuh is putting the pieces together. Life is so good right now.

Lessons Learnt: Studying Abroad

There are certain things in life we learn from doing and certain things we learn from other people's experience. Unlike school subjects or college classes, the topics of these lessons aren't specifically disclosed. You have to know which lesson to learn and which wisdom to take out of it all. One of the things you can do to become a successful person in life is to acknowledge the lessons you've learnt and, if possible, share them with other people. Sharing knowledge, as opposed to popular belief, can actually make you smarter, wiser and a better person. Plus, it can be so much fun! Here's to lessons learnt and me sharing them with you.

Since two and half years ago, I've been living in Germany to continue my studies. I came to this country with 17 other people and we once lived together. Though I've basically been here for only a while, I've learnt quite a lot from the variety of experiences I happened upon or intentionally run into. My friends who read my blog probably think that my life is basically traveling and there aren't even any classes. But that is so far from the truth. And that's why I want to share some lessons that I've learnt. I've only just started studying abroad to Germany, I've never studied abroad in any other countries. However, the lessons I've learnt are basically general. They can be applied to any such situations in whatever country you study in. In the end, we're all ex-pats after all. Might as well help each other out.

Joe's Superbowling Lounge

Spending Eidul Fitr in Germany isn't as rad as all that. In fact, it kind of sucks. There's no holy feel to the whole day and all we do is get together with some friends, eat whatever we have at home. Two years ago was my only experience of spending such a holy event in Germany but there were free, delicious food. This time I had to wrestle two whole chickens to make a Gulai and Opor out of them. I cooked them while waiting for Firu and his housemate to come home from Eidul prayer, Galuh helped me cook the rice. Then they came home, bringing Dunkin' Donuts. Haha, that's definitely not keeping with the theme! We ate the meal together then, just the four of us. It was kind of sad. A little later that day, a few of our friends came over and we all hung out at home, eating this and that, laughing and playing. Later that evening, minus Firu's housemate, we all went bowling at Joe's Superbowling! It was my first experience bowling in Germany. We had such a blast! Galuh turned out to be very skilled at bowling...and I turned out to suck so bad, I should've just buried myself alive. Our friend, Bang Tian, won the whole match, though. He bowled two strikes in a row! The price was actually cheaper than back home and I would really love to have a go again. I'm seeing a rematch here since our friend, Dendi, seems to want to take it on with Bang Tian. Haha. Call me up if we're playing again, guys!

Batik dress from Solo (gifted by Firu) // Galuh's cardigan (borrowed) // vintage purse + penny loafers // photos of me by Firu + Galuh

Haha, yeah, I know. Who wears a batik dress to go bowling, and a semi-formal-looking one at that? First of all, the bowling thing was a spur-of-the-moment idea. Second of all, it was Eidul Fitr! So wearing something a bit formal isn't out of place. At least Dendi was also wearing batik so we looked like we were heading to a wedding instead of a bowling alley. Haha. But, really, I packed too light and didn't bring anything in keeping with the Eidul Fitri theme so this was the most 'appropriate' ensemble I could come up with. Why am I even making an outfit post out of this again? I think it was Bang Tian who said that I lost (miserably) because I wore the wrong outfit to the alley. Hmm. Let's see if that's true. Next time I'm bringing something more fit for bowling and let's rematch! By the way, the outfit isn't such a huge waste. The next day I put on the same outfit and went to Bochum with Firu and Galuh. We didn't really have any destination except the Indonesian store "Pasar Asia" right by the University. It was a very, very short trip (probably even shorter or less eventful than our trip to Aachen) so I won't be making a post out of it. But maybe next time when we have more of a footing of what we could check out there.

P.S: The last photo on the left is an almost everyday occurrence over at Firu and Visya's household

Sartorial Obsession: Hight Waisted Jeans

So the other day I stumbled upon this post on Delightfully Tacky. Jeans are the kind of items everyone has in their closet, it's obvious. They're comfortable, they're easy to put on and go with pretty much everything. Plus. the classic jeans + shirt combo. But there's a difference between wearing a pair of jeans and styling them. Everyone can wear a pair of jeans but not everyone can style them beautifully. This got me thinking, "Maybe I need to stock up on more jeans." One of the ones I have my eye on is high waisted jeans. I'm pretty bad at this so I'm not even sure whether I already own one or not. Haha.

Elizabeth // Bonnie // Carrie // Valentine // Elsie

Ever since I was a kid, I've never been one to own a pair of jeans. I probably did back in grade school but stopped wearing them around the 7th grade, when I started gaining weight and wearing cargo instead - which is pretty awesome, actually. It's not until recently do I realise how comfortable a pair of jeans can be, if you find the right fit - which could be a pain. I never knew jeans have so many different cuts. Yes, please excuse my noob-ness. Though I'm currently looking for a classic blue jeans in high waist cut, I'm open to all options - like probably this pair. I've been loving how they look on other bloggers and am especially in love with the ones Elsie's wearing above. On the other hand, a slim fit like Elizabeth's pair is also very tempting. Seeing as I have pretty huge calves, though, I'm not so sure how they'd look on me. High waisted jeans are one of those things I've been lusting after for so long but never looked for. They can be pretty easy to find, actually, I don't know why I never looked for them. If anyone's got references of items I might like, please do leave a note below. In the mean time, here are some of the pants I own so far. They're not the only ones I own but sure are my favourites.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

"'ello, Governor?"

Firu's sister just arrived around two weeks ago in Germany! Eep! We've been going to places and getting along rather well so it's really nice having her around - plus, she's an extra vote I have to fight off Firu's lazyness to go out and about. The other day, after lusting after this beaut for so long, I finally got to see an English telephone booth in the flesh! How pretty! There's one near where Firu lives. Of course I was excited to see it and dragged Galuh, his sister, all the way out here for some outfit shots - thank God she didn't mind - and we ended up having so much fun. As opposed to the original, this one isn't used to house payphones anymore. It is now filled with books and you can donate or take books and bring them home. Instead of the book, I'd really love to bring home the phone box, though. Haha. How nice to have such a jewel in my (read: Firu's) room! ♥

Number61 shirt // Forever21 shorts via Selective Potential // vintage purse + penny loafers // photos by Galuh

As soon as Firu told me about this beaut, I instantly knew what I was going to wear whilst taking pictures there. These beautiful shorts from Tieka! There were plenty of delay to actually wear these shorts. Last year I shipped them to my sister in Australia (see how she styled them here), she sent them back to me in June with two gaping holes. I couldn't really fix the holes etc. etc. I could've sworn they fit me more loosely when I tried them on last year. Big butts, I'm blaming you! I'm so glad to finally be able to style these shorts. I wanted so badly to channel some Tieka into the post. (Was actually thinking of going to cherry festival myself but couldn't find one and no one wanted to go with me). So glad I can at least do a little bit "matching my outfits with the surrounding" thing that Tieka usually does when traveling. By the way, check out how she styled these shorts below. Super cute, I know.

Tieka of Selective Potential