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[LIFE] Pregnancy Update #2

I’m so bad at documenting my pregnancy.

You see those bloggers who look like they have their stuff together, staying pretty while pregnant, taking weekly bump photos, updating their blogs with pregnancy stuff? I’m not one of them. I keep reminding myself to take bump photos, but I guess I’m just too lazy to do that, ha!

So here I am, writing a post titled “Pregnancy Update #2” at 37 weeks & 5 days. It’s been 15 weeks since my first update haha!

There have been a lot of changes, of course. The baby already drops, so I’m breathing way more easily now. My due date is still around early June, around 4-5. It’s Ramadan now & I’m allowed to fast. It’s the third day now & I’m feeling fine. Oh and also, the baby is a girl! She finally showed it at my 32 weeks appointment. Before that, my husband and I were quite sure that we were having a boy based on all the tell-tales we had heard. But I’m so pumped to have a baby girl. Can’t wait to wear matching outfits with her 😉

Seeing that my due date is only about 2 weeks away, I guess this will be the last pregnancy update from me. I’ll probably be back with the birth announcement in the next post! xx

Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

16 May 2018
[TIPS] Ramadan Ekstra: Belanja Hemat Selama Ramadan di Tokopedia*

Alhamdulillah yaa gak kerasa Ramadan udah di depan mata. Ramadan kali ini bakal jadi Ramadan luar biasa buat aku dan suami, karna insyallah di pertengahan Ramadan ini kami akan resmi menyandang gelar Ibu dan Ayah! Sedikit deg-degan juga nih karna sebelumnya emang gak pernah menjalani Ramadan dalam keadaan hamil. Jadinya Ramadan kali ini bakal jadi Ramadan Ekstra: ekstra ibadahnya, ekstra juga belanjanya (karna kan harus nyiapin keperluan buat si Ramadhana Kecil juga, hehehehe…)

Nah, berhubung perut udah semakin membesar dan mobilitas udah semakin terbatas, belanja online jadi pilihan terbaik buatku. Dan di mana lagi belanja online yang mantep buat Ramadan Ekstra kalo bukan di situs e-commerce langganan tercinta: Tokopedia! Eh tapi kalian suka ngerasa gak sih kalo selama Ramadan itu kita cenderung suka lebih boros dari biasanya? Kadang kita suka ‘laper mata’ dan kalap belanja, apalagi kalo belanjanya belanja online. Kadang suka enak aja main klik ‘tambahkan ke keranjang’, eh taunya pas checkout jeng jeng jeng~ over budget (atau aku doang nih yang kayak gini? Hahahaha!)

Untuk Ramadan Ekstra tahun ini, aku sebisa mungkin mau menerapkan tips belanja online hemat kebutuhan bulan Ramadan Ekstra di Tokopedia seperti berikut ini: (more…)

10 May 2018
[THOUGHTS] The Kind of Friendship We All Need

It seems like we have come to an agreement over the premise that as we grow old, we tend to have smaller group of friends. It’s true—well, at least for me. The difference between the friendship I had in high school and uni and the one I have right now is about 15:4. That is a huge difference.

It’s inevitable, though. As a freelancer, I don’t have work friends. My neighbourhood only consists of two families (the rest of the houses on our block are vacant): one family is a mother with a second grader daughter and the other one is rarely home. I have small exchanges with them quite often, but that is it. Just small talks for hospitality. I used to have quite a big girl gang in high school, but we only talk irregularly in a group chat nowadays. And then I’ve found out that we’ve grown to become people with different views and interests. I’m no longer comfortable around them. My uni friends are all busy: one is a working mother, one is teaching in another city, and one is working remotely for an overseas company.

And me? I’m huge and clumsy due to my pregnancy.

And friendship should be maintained. Like any other kind of relationships, friendship needs efforts from all parties involved.

Therefore, whenever I have a chance to see them, I’ll go. Even if it’s only for a sushi dinner, or a movie, or just a quick visit to see their cats.

I’m lucky to still have friends who can be seen in an instant. Just a text “Infinity War this Wednesday?” and “Let’s go!” and then off we go.

I believe that’s the kind of friendship we all need.

Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

3 May 2018
[THOUGHTS] Printed or Digital?

Last year, I became so obsessed with reading that I could finish up to five books in a month—which, to me, was a personal record. To achieve that record, I used to bring a book everywhere. There was always a book in my bag. It wasn’t a problem if the book was not too big, but then I read Red Queen and the book was quite big that I either had to carry a big bag or leave the book at home. I was quite annoyed back then.

This year, I don’t read as crazily as last year, but I still read. But due to that practicality problem, I started to consider getting myself an e-reader, so I would be able to carry books around without having to use big bags. However, another problem arose; I wouldn’t be able to do the thing I love the most: smelling the books. Haha!

So, after weighing on all the pros and cons, I decided to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab. I figured that I need to bring an Android for my small business anyway, so why not just upgrade my old Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime to a tablet, right? And so I did.

I also found out that book prices are like super cheap on Google Play Books compared to the printed ones’, so it’s a win for me. But I still occasionally buy printed books, though, because I still need to smell them :p

Now, what about you, fellow bibliophiles? Which one do you prefer: printed or digital?

Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

26 April 2018
[TIPS] Hindari Kesalahan Belanja Ini Saat Promo Ramadhan 2018*

Membeli barang atau belanja sudah menjadi aktivitas biasa yang dekat sekali dengan keseharian kita, terutama kaum hawa. Melihat bulan Ramadhan hampir tiba, tentunya di bulan penuh berkah ini kegiatan belanja juga harus dilakukan terutama untuk kebutuhan pokok. Mendekati bulan Ramadhan, promo Ramadhan 2018 pun akan banyak tersedia untuk kita. Jadi jangan lewatkan kesempatan ini untuk bisa membeli kebutuhan dengan harga miring.

Promo khusus untuk bulan Ramadhan kini sudah mulai banyak dibuka. Tak hanya bisa belanja di supermarket saja, namun kita juga bisa belanja dari situs belanja online. Saat ini belanja secara online sudah jadi bagian dari gaya hidup. Untuk hadapi promo bulan Ramadhan, kita bisa memulai untuk browsing sebelum hari promonya tiba. Kita bisa mulai dengan kumpulkan kode voucher lebih dulu di mana biasanya sudah ada banyak sekali promo untuk belanja lebih. Selain itu jangan lupa untuk perbanyak referensi kita dalam berbelanja. Lakukanlah riset kecil di mana toko yang ingin kita tuju besok sehingga bisa langsung menuju ke toko tersebut.

Biasanya adanya promo menjadikan banyak orang kalap belanja. Inilah yang menjadi kesalahan utama dalam berbelanja sehingga menyebabkan pemborosan. Namun ada juga beberapa kesalahan lain yang kerap menjadikan orang boros dalam belanja saat promo, diantaranya:
(more…)

18 April 2018