May in Overview

You are witnessing a girl finding the dress of her dreams minutes before she purchased it

May started with a tremendous need to be out and about. And me being me, I naturally had to take it upon myself to decide what's to happen to me. So, doing what can be done now, I start to make a list of museums in Jakarta I could but have yet to visit—as part of my 24 Before 25 goals—and make it my life mission to visit museums every week. I can't believe there are so many museums I have never even set foot in—and I've lived in this city my whole life! Okay, to be fair, I live outside of Jakarta, but still. Along with the museum outings, I try to find new places—and food—to eat as well. It's such a pleasant feeling to find new, small and comfortable places to eat my meal. I think I was really happy this month, due to the fact that pretty much everything that happened to me this month was a result to my actions. It feels really, really good. You should try it too.

Currently Reading

With the overwhelming surge of energy this month, it's been close to impossible not to read so much, and I ended up reading more books than usual—granted one of them was a tremendously quick read that I could barely call it a book. Continuing with The Girl with All The Gifts from last month, I went on to check out another horror book to compile into the Horror Book video I filmed earlier this month. But, as I often like to let the story from the previous book sink in, I decided to flip through The Kites Are Flying for a day beforehand. Afterwards, I was completely mesmerised and caught up in the world of art, sibling rivalry and family drama that is I'll Give You the Sun—it was an unbelievable experience! I think the book falls into the YA category, but it is definitely one of those that could still open your eyes and heart to new things even when you read it as an adult. Lastly, I'm finally cracking open The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, which I had been eyeing for years and bought in early February. So that's basically all of my literary adventure so far.

Currently Watching

Aside from re-watching Grey's Anatomy from season 1—and basically bawling at the end of each episode, especially the season 10 finale—and mending my broken heart by running into the arms of JD and Turk in Scrubs, I also went to the cinema this month to watch 声の形 (A Silent Voice) and Kartini. A Silent Voice deals with bullying that it breaks my heart almost instantly when it starts. It shows a beautiful realisation that the evil lies not necessarily on the bully themselves, but more on the whole concept/idea of bullying—because the culprit can turn into victim in the blink of an eye and vice versa. It's such a sweet (but not romantic) story of loving yourself and others—highly recommended! Kartini, on the other hand, is obviously a story of feminism from Indonesia's greatest and earliest feminist. The movie stars Dian Sastrowardoyo, who is able to capture the essence of Kartini that is so different from all that I've ever known. It is beautiful, inspiring and absolutely gripping! On the flipside, one of my best friends successfully got me hooked on The Kardashian Spoof—nuff said.

Currently Listening

In terms of music, unfortunately, I haven't been very adventurous lately. Aside from this song that has been stuck in my head, thanks to Grey's Anatomy, I have been listening to songs on my iTunes. The one musician that I have been falling back in love with, though, is Katie Herzig. I love her songs and how easy it is to relate to them emotionally. My all-time favourites are Sweeter than This, Jack and Jill, Wish You Well and Hologram. That being said, I rediscovered a song of hers that I didn't even know I had: I Will Follow. Ever since I accidentally stumbled upon it on my iTunes, I have just been pretty much playing it on repeat and singing along to it. There's just something almost off about her songs, in which even the happy songs don't sound completely happy—like there's a disturbing sadness or darkness underneath. Just my kind of music, really.

Highlight of the Month

Women train car of local commuter line at non-rush hour // thinking about taking control of my own happiness // making (what seems to be) my first ever kite at the museum // finding a tiny, local patisserie // second solo museum outing // tasting my first ever sheep meat, yum! // meeting up with Ervina again, yaay! // joining #mermay this year, woohoo! // wishing you Ramadan mubarak! // bringing a book during Taraweeh is okay, right?

Mix It Up a Notch: Moss Green Peter Pan

In 2014 Annika of Pineneedle Collective (now the blog's inactive) held a clothes sale of some sort. This dress was one of the items she had for sale. The purchasing journey was so complicated, because for some reason the postal service delivered it 2 months after I purchased it—even from Australia to Germany it shouldn't take that long—so much so that Annika already refunded my money—which I returned, of course. She clearly stated that the dress wasn't perfect—there were some non-apparent stains on certain areas—but the collar and the silhouette are just too cute to pass on. I especially love the detail on the back—with two flapping parts complimenting each other, resembling some kind of wings—and the lightweight skirt that flows so easily and is actually much bigger than it looks, enabling me to move whichever way I like. It's currently quite tight on me, so I'm not keen on putting it on more often, but I'll definitely try to lose more grams and fit snuggly into it again.

Monthly Read: Let the Right One In

Not too long ago, a friend of mine asked me for some horror book recommendations. As much of a bookworm as I am, horror is just not a genre I'd voluntarily approach—I'm just a terribly huge chicken, okay? That being said, it turns out that I've stumbled upon such books at some point in my life and I've enjoyed some of them greatly—one of which is this Swedish title. You might know this title from the cinematic feature from 2008—which is also where I first experienced the story. After watching the film several times throughout the years, it turns out that my sister had the book this whole time—story of our lives, really—and so I thought I'd add this to the tiny list of horror books I've delved into. The story revolves around Oskar, a twelve-year-old boy who gets bullied at school and has virtually no friends, and Eli, a twelve-year-old vampire who moves in next door. They form a friendship, which slowly develops into something more—without Oskar knowing what Eli truly is.

There are significant differences, I feel, between the film and the book. First off, there are characters that don't even get honorary mention in the film, such as Johan—Oskar's closet friend—and Tommy—Oskar's older neighbour. Second of all, the movie leaves out crucial details and plot twists, which should give the story a different impression—though most of these are seriously disturbing information that may not have been necessary or appropriate for the film. The book allows the characteristics of the people involved to develop and be given a 360º view. There are some background stories that give the story a whole other feel—including Håkan's point-of-view, the big picture of Oskar's parents' divorce and the life of the middle-aged group that will later on link to Oskar's and Eli's lives. If you've watched the movie before, this book could enhance or ruin your impression of the story, but I do feel it would give you the whole picture.

Check out other horror books I recommend and would like to read!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

So, one of my 24 before 25 goals is to explore more historical sites in Jakarta and I have been doing pretty much zero exploring since I made that list. I've just been waiting around for a friend who would be willing to come with me, but, honestly, it seems like no one else has the same interest. Since I'm working from home now—which means my weekend can be whatever day I want—I've decided that I'd go explore on my own, maybe one museum a week. Last week I started out with this really beautiful Kite Museum around 30 minutes from my house. It houses various kites from across the country and some from abroad—both traditional and modern ones. The ticket costs IDR 15,000,—which is quite expensive for museum tickets in this country—but it includes a guide, a video screening about kites and a simple kite-making workshop. The place itself used to be a kite studio, then another building—a pendopo (traditional Javanese structure)—was deconstructed and transported from Central Java to house the current main building.

Ask by Asky dress // old top // thrifted loafers // hand-me-down purse // outfit photos by museum guide

The first thing that hit me when I arrived was how cozy and green and breezy the place is. It is actually a complex of houses with a bit of lawn and stone-paved roads in the shape of colourful kites. The Javanese-styled houses transported me out of town in an instant. The people who work there were very friendly. The guide assigned to me knew everything he was talking about, showing me all sorts of kites—even the kind I didn't know existed—and telling me the stories behind each kite in correlation to each culture. He was so nice, in fact, to offer to take my pictures for the blog—I'm forever grateful for what he did. I know, I'm shameless, sorry about that. Aside from kites, they also offer workshops in pottery, batik, wayang painting, mask painting, paper umbrella painting and many more—the cost varies, of course. I would suggest calling in first if you want to join one of the workshops, though—the teachers may not be available.

P.S: Apparently, kites are still very relevant. Wish I was more in tuned with that world.

Brown Sugar Pudding

My stepmom has a small catering business—well, it's not really a business yet, I guess, we're definitely looking for employees to help her out—and a few weeks ago she had an order for an event. Among some of the food she made for it, this was included. And, as she usually does when she cooks for other people, she made sure that there's some batch leftover for the house. At first, I fell in love with the colour and pattern and, though upon tasting it I can't quite put a finger on what flavour it was, I knew I wanted more—then helping myself to 3 more helpings before I clean out. Afterwards, I asked her for the recipe and here it is. I love the fact that it's plant-based and vegan-friendly—scroll down for the vegan option. It's perfect for the warmer weather—a nice dessert for a humid night, right?—so it's perfect for this time of year. To top it all of, all the ingredients are locally produced.

Ingredients

(makes 1 mould ø 30cm)

• 500 gr brown sugar, melted
• 1,3 l water
• 2 agar powder sachets (around 7gr each)
• 130 ml coconut milk, diluted
• 1 tbsp. pumpkin spice/spekoek seasoning
• 2 eggs, whisked

1. First, put the brown sugar and 1 litre of water in a saucepan and let it boil
2. In a bowl, pour in the agar powder and the rest of the water, mix well
3. Once the brown sugar boils, add in the agar powder solution into the pan, turn down the heat into low and let it boil
4. Add in the coconut milk and pumpkin spice, mix well and let it boil
5. Add the eggs little by little and mix well
6. Once everything boils, remove from heat but keep mixing
7. Let the mixture cool down a little and transfer it to the mould
8. After it sets, stick it in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight)
9. Cut it up in pieces and enjoy!

Tips:  The brown sugar I use is the block ones, so before boiling them with water, I dilute them by adding enough water (and pandanus leaf for aroma) and boiling them until they dissolve. To dilute the coconut milk, simply add a bit of water to the thick milk and whisk until it becomes runnier. You don't need to do this if your coconut milk is already runny. Agar powder is not too different from jelly powder, it is made out of seaweed—as opposed to animal-based gelatine, so it's vegan-friendly. If you don't have spekoek seasoning—are pumpkin spices even sold as one mixture?—you can add cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger accordingly. If you're vegan and you don't want to use eggs, you can do so, of course, but you might lose texture and pattern—although I reckon the taste wouldn't change much. If you want the pudding to have a distinct pattern—as shown in these photos—pour the mixture into the mould while it's still hot. Lass es euch schmecken!