Category: Life

  • 13 Months Planner from Etsy

    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    It wasn’t until July when the long holiday was over and I got to get back to work that I realised I needed a planner. It was too late for me to buy one at the bookstore, because they only have the January to December ones. It would be just a waste of money, buying a whole year planner that can only be used for five months. So naturally, I looked up cute planners online. I fell in love with this Ban.do planner and this Erin Condren’s LifePlanner, but when I checked out the shipping fee for both of the planners to my address… well, let’s just say it made me want to pack up my bags and move to Canada. Because seriously, why is the shipping fee more expensive than the items I want to buy? It’s so unfair *cry in the corner of my room*

    And then, I browsed Etsy and found several fancy looking printable planners for less than $20! I found several designs that I liked, and based on several consideration, I chose 2015-2016 Daily Planner from The Nifty Studio ($14). I love the colourful design. It’s also super simple and doesn’t have too many pages. It really suits my needs.

    For the cover, I wanted something personalised. I found several Etsy shops which offered personalised planner cover, but I chose this one from Clean Life and Home ($3,75). As you can see, the polka dot design looks quite similar with the Erin Condren’s planner that I originally wanted, but not identical. So I guess it’s a win-win for me. Yay!

    I had it printed and bound in a local printing company, Angkasa Putra. It only costed about IDR200k (about $14,75). So the total cost is $32,5. It’s way cheaper than buying from Ban.do or Erin Condren (plus the shipping fee. God!)

    Here are some pages from my planner:
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    13 Months Planner from Etsy | Hola Darla
    I really like how it turns out! It’s very unique and very “me”. I’m 99% sure there is nobody else with the exact same planner like this one. Haha 😉

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Eid Mubarak! (+ A Little Bit of Life Lately)

    Eid Mubarak from Dara and Afief | Hola Darla
    Eid mubarak, friends! Sorry I took a long break without a precaution. I’m really bad at managing my online and real life. Turned out Ramadan this year was more exhausting that I thought it would be; with me having to cook for sahur early in the morning, it felt like the day was way shorter than 24 hours. I felt so burned out, especially when Eid was coming closer and Eid shopping had to start. It was all so crazy!
    Celebrating Eid with Afief's family in Pesawaran and Pringsewu | Hola Darla
    I still think it’s funny that both Afief and I call Lampung our hometown. He was born and raised in the border region between Pesawaran and Pringsewu, while I go to North Lampung every year for Eid because my Granny lives there. I always imagined going ‘mudik’ (=back to one’s hometown for the holiday) to my (then future) husband’s hometown somewhere in eastern Java and no longer going mudik to Lampung. But no; I still went to Lampung for Eid this year. And I’m going to Lampung for all the Eids to come. It’s amazing. Haha!
    Miss Jess during the road trip to Lampung | Hola Darla
    Also, we took Miss Jess to her very first car ride which was really a long road trip. She didn’t see that coming and became kinda stressed during the trip. But as soon as she arrived in Negararatu, she found her freedom in the form of trees. She climbed trees, the roof of Granny’s house, and all the furniture inside the house. She had so much fun.
    Miss Jess found some freedom during her stay in Negararatu | Hola Darla
    That poor thing wanted to chew on the birds, but the humans wouldn’t let her. She was seriously mad.

    We stayed in Lampung for 10 days and went back to Bandung last Wednesday. It was the longest holiday I have ever had (or so I think), since we usually stay for only about 7 days. We didn’t do much but it was fun anyway.

    Do you celebrate Eid? How was your Eid this year?

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Six Months Ago

    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Afief + Dara Wedding | Hola Darla
    Today marks the sixth month of our marriage. I still can’t believe that six months have passed since that exhausting yet wonderful day. I thought I’d share several pictures from that day 😉

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Life Lately

    Dara + Miss Jess | Hola Darla
    It was never my intention to suddenly abandon this blog. I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with life lately. I feel like time goes by so fast each day, yet I’ve accomplished nothing so far. Time management is never my strength, and it’s become even worse these past few weeks. With Ramadan and Eid coming, and a new small business in mind, I can barely breathe. I’ve spent too much time on the road, commuting, and with all these things inside my mind, blogging has to be put aside.

    It’s a shame; I used to love and enjoy blogging, but now it feels like a chore. Like I am forced to do this. Like if I stop entirely, I fail. I’ve been seeing a lot of blogs shut down these past years, but I don’t want to do that to this blog. I want to keep doing it. I think I need to rethink about the purpose of this blog. Refocus. Rebuild. And by doing so, I hope I can grow both this blog and my own self. Bear with me.
    Miss Jess | Hola Darla

    PS. Wait for a good news from me later this week 😉

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
  • The Ever-Changing Dreams: Where I’ll be in the Next 5 Years (Casa Elana for IHB Blog Post Challenge)

    Where I'll be in the Next 5 Years (Casa Elana for IHB Blog Post Challenge)
    Oh you know me. I’m a dreamer with a lot of ever-changing dreams. I used to dream of becoming a teacher when I grow up. Then I dreamed about leaving my city behind to live alone in another town. I also had this wild dream of traveling around the world all by myself (oh the thought of being lost in a foreign country!). Then I settled down. I moved out of my parents house to start a new adventure with a guy I love the most. Then my dreams shifted. And I love it.

    I once had this (kind of) job interview where the interviewer asked that typical question: “How do you see yourself in the next five years?” I honestly didn’t have any idea back then. But I quickly came up with an answer. “In the next five years,” I said, “I will have been married. With two kids, perhaps. I can see myself teaching in a junior high or high school. I can also see myself becoming a boss of my own small business.” I thought my answer was smart and satisfying, and I’m sure now that the interviewer thought so because I ended up getting said job position.

    The funny thing is, my answer to that question is the exact same answer if you ask me right now. The difference is that I’ll say it with confidence. So, where will I be in the next five years?

    1. I will be a mother of two
    Although I still want to postpone having kids right now as there are still some issues I want to solve first, we’re planning to start a family in the next year or two. Hopefully, we will have been parents of two kids by 2020. I’m so excited!

    2. I will go back into teaching
    I know, I know. I’ve said it many times that I want to be a stay at home mum. But lately I have been feeling empty. I feel like my teaching skills and English skills are deteriorating after four months of not teaching. I’m planning to go back to teaching, but I will manage my teaching schedule so it won’t make me too busy to take care of my (future) children.

    3. My small business(es) will be bigger and stronger
    I already co-own a small business together with Vicky. We’ve been managing it for almost a year and I’d gladly say that things are going quite good! Right now, I’m also in a talk about rebuilding an old brand of scarves line. If it goes smoothly, I will co-own my second small business. Hopefully, in the next five years both my business can grow bigger and stronger.

    4. I will move back to Bandung City (or to another city!)
    Just one day after our wedding, my husband and I moved in to a nice little house in Padalarang, West Bandung Regency. It’s one hour away from Bandung City (the city where I was born and raised). I actually love it here because it’s quiet and peaceful, but if my husband still works for the same company in the next five years, we will want to move back to the city. It will be even better if my husband gets another job in another city because we can start a new adventure in a new place! I’ve been living in Bandung all my life, so the thought of moving to another city always excites me. Haha

    5. I will be a ‘bigger’ blogger
    I must admit that I still have that little dream of being famous because of my blog. I mean, which blogger doesn’t? I’ve put more efforts on this blog and I have seen the results: I have gained several new followers in the past couple months, my blog traffic is higher now, and I constantly get comments on each post. I’m doing baby steps but I’m getting there. I love blogging and the new friendships it brings. Hopefully, I can have more and more blogging friends in the next five years 😉

    There will be lots and lots of obstacles in my journey to reach these dreams, I know. But I will try. I will try hard to make them come true. And by writing it here for the world to see, I hope it will give me more motivations to reach them all.

    And 2020, I’m ready for ya.

    ***

    This post is submitted to the Casa Elana for IHB Blog Post Challenge,
    a challenge held by Indonesian Hijab Blogger and Casa Elana Shop.

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook