Ivana Atmojo

I just flew to Solo on a weekend getaway last week!

What a lovely town Solo was! It was my first time in Solo, and I loved it! The town was (naturallly) a lot calmer than Jakarta, with courteous people who spoke as “medok” as I do (*LOL*), & we go to places with BECAK! Just AWESOME!! It was really really nice for a change. A refreshing experience it was, indeed.

We visited the 2 famous must-visit area for Batik: Kauman & Laweyan. There, you would find many batik artists. You just needed to find the ones whose fabric meets your original inspiration & ideas. We also visited the traditional market. And I was like: ” O.M.G!” I couldn’t believe what I saw!  The infinite supply of Batik you could find there was just amazing! It was the ultimate HEAVEN for BATIK! We just went gaga over all the beautiful fabric they have there. I snapped a pic for you to see. (This was just one shop, there were probably more than a hundred).

At night, for dinner, we visited Galabo. It was basically a long road in the middle of the city, reserved for nearly 100 food vendors. Everything was managed by the government (commerce department). No cars & motorcycles were allowed in. Only pedestrians. They had small tables & tents in the middle of the road, and carpet on the pavement for visitors to sit & dine.

I tried the famous “sate kere” there. It meant satay for the poor people: since they replaced the meat for “tempe gembos”/fermented soybean cake. And it was really delicious! It tasted exquisite! 5 satays for just 4 thou IDR. You should really try it when you get the chance sometimes!

Apart from the Sate Kere in Galabo, you should also have a taste of the real Serabi Solo Notosuman (while it’s hot & just out from the serabi pan). My Gawd! I couldn’t believe how it was humanely possible to make such mouthwatering serabi (Okay, I’m a bit exaggerating, *LOL*). But it was really good. That, you should try too! The two vegetarian delights from Solo!

We spent a night in Solo, and went back the day after in the evening. I did find all the beautiful fabric I came there for, I also bought some beautiful batik solo clothing for our lovely employees & security guards. They all loved it!

What a productive 1 and a half day trip we had in Solo. We couldn’t have been happier

I’d like to introduce you to Xing, a young & new talent who has just launched his debut single.

To listen to his single in youtube, click: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv4sOwrUtUU

Xing is Ivonne’s vocal student who’s a real sweetheart! He is really just sweet, kind-hearted, and very down-to-earth. Plus, he’s good-looking & has a real talent too! You may have heard of his single (”Takkan Tergantikan”) in the radio lately.

I believe someone like Xing will go really far in life. We wish you only the very best, Xing!

I turned 26 yesterday, and I had a BLAST! I’d like to thank all of you for the warm wishes you sent me. I would have liked to list all your names here, but I’m afraid it would take up all space :). Thank you for the heartwarming wishes & prayers. I wish the same for all of you!

I’d also like to thank you for the beautiful gifts that you sent me. My special thanks go to: Rani, Pungky, Evi, Chairis, Lia, Uun, Aaltje, Anggi, Vira, Liz, Iman, Anas, Vina, Maha, Manda,Poppy, Susi, Dodo, Debbie, Lani, Sonny, Indra, Novita, Stevie, Anis, Sam, Wilson, Yonas, Boyke, & Danny.

Here are some of the pictures for you to see. Look! An Hermès Kelly bag & Chanel cosmetics icing on the cake! Then there’s also a Manolo open toe pump fondant replica on the cake! Then a jewelry box wrapped in hand-made paper shirt! Everything is fashion-related, very creative!

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the beautiful & bountiful flower bouquets you sent. FLOWERS never fail to make me smile REALLY BIG! So pardon me if I can’t stop grinning when I see flowers around, yea?

There is something I really like about birthday: the wonderful feeling of GROWING older (not SHRINKING older, luckily!), and just the simple fact that we are 1 year closer to our dreams come true!  So thank you very much indeed everyone for celebrating yesterday with me.*BIG HUGS*

Have you ever felt that sometimes the harder we try, the higher we rise, or the more successful we are, the more people WANT us to fail? Or perhaps I should be asking if we, too, feel that wee gleam of joy when we see other people failing?

The german word is Schadenfreude, which means, happiness on the misfortune of others. The more I grow up, the more I realise that Schadenfreude is a part of almost all human beans. Some of us are honest enough to admit it, some aren’t. But the worst part is that, more often than not, people subconsciously do & say things to hurt others based purely on Schadenfreude! The joy of reprimanding others, making others look bad, bringing others down, CAN temporarily make us feel better (read: make us feel less of a failure). But does it change who we are, or what we have achieved in life? NOT AT ALL!

To think about it, we seek happiness in our life, do we not?! If we can learn to be happy when others are happy, doesn’t it already double our happiness in our lifetime? Learn to control that Schadenfreude seeds in our heads and we shall be happier!

Nearly as important as that is to learn to recognise when others are saying things to you or doing things (based on Schadenfreude) only to drag you down, to avert you from success,  to prevent you from spreading your wings & becoming these stars in the sky who shine! You have to know when to close your ears & eyes, and just believe in your heart!

When you think good, mean good, do good, and keep your heart pure, there’s nothing you can’t achieve!

Do you know that you can learn make-up with me for free? Simply gratis?

If you gather and bring 4 of your friends to register to a make-up class in MUSIC RÉPUBLICAIN at a regular rate, you are entitled to a free seat in the same make-up class with your friends! So for every 4 regular students, the 5th person (YOU) is free!

For your perusal, here are our fee schemes:

• Private 1 person (3 hours): IDR 3,750,000
• Private 2 people (3 hours): IDR 2,250,000 per person
• Private 3 people (4 hours): IDR 2,000,000 per person
• Private 4 people (4 hours): IDR 1,500,000 per person

Learning make-up CAN be the first step of discovering the sides of you that you have not seen before. Without any doubt, this could be the beginning of a life-changing experience! Your friends should be thanking you for spreading the words.

Start calling your friends today, and I’ll be seeing you in my class soon!

I had a really dynamic group studying make-up with me yesterday, and boy, did we have a great time! The group consisted of 4 ladies + a daughter in her early 20s. Everyone was soooooo keen on learning, and they brought in so much energy in the room during the whole 4+hours.

I usually provide 1o-minute break after 2 hours, for students to freshen up. But with the level of energy we had yesterday in the class-room, I decided to go on without a break. Everyone was very enthusiastic, and they were enjoying the learning process very much. But as usual, I always provide refreshment in my class. I love the arrangement of a bouquet of fresh beautiful flowers, surrounded by fresh & colourful fruits, many many delicious cakes, and a bottomless jug of cold water with lemon. So even without a break, you may rest assured that no one is ever left starving or dehydrated!

The module I taught yesterday was natural make-up. It’s the kind of make-up you can put on everyday, and show the world the most beautiful sides of you. A good make-up technique can make you look effortlessly beautiful with just a little make-up! You can look beautiful without looking to “made-up”. I love to give out and share as much as I can in my class, and I always reveal the  most interesting tidbits and secrets! No tricks hidden under my sleeves!

The utmost satisfaction in teaching a make-up class is when you see happy faces at the end of the class. REALLY happy, beautiful faces. They have learned new things about themselves, that they would not have discovered otherwise.

Gosh, it feels SOOOOOOOO good to be able to share this sort of joy with your students!

After a month of writing hibernation, I’m finally back! Just been a bit swamped with work, projects, and homeworks lately + the blog’s technical error =  30 days of idleness! I still have works to finish today, but I don’t think I should leave you any longer (with no updates)!

So, I guess I’ll be posting some of the sketches I drew for my FD programme homework. Then as soon as I can find more time, I’ll sit down and type some more. For now, I’ll be posting 6 sketches. Each are of different requirements & rules. There are reasons for every elements of designs (but I won’t elaborate here).Enjoy, & I’ll talk to you soon!

Hi everyone,

I haven’t been writing for a while. There’s currently a bit of a technical problem with the posting mechanism of the blog. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’ll be posting new articles as soon as it is solved.

So, bear with me, OKAY? Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Our days are never the same since we adopted Peanut 2 weeks ago, and they’re definitely better!.  It’s true that within these 2 weeks, we’ve undergone several adjustments: waking up every hour at night, and then getting used to waking up at 3 in the morning; doing countless cleaning jobs (within the first few days she peed every 10 minutes!). We’ve also been reading thick “raising puppy” books; training her patiently & consistently; socialising her with as many other beings as possible, and exposing her to as wide-ranging experiences as we can possibly provide.  Sometimes Ivonne would even sing Italian opera songs or German Lieder for her, and I would be playing violin & flute for her on separate occasions. Early music education is always good!

I learned from books that the most important thing in raising our dog is to understand how she communicates, how she learns, and what she needs to be successful. Training is about understanding how our dog perceives the world around her. With this knowledge, we can communicate in a language that she can understand, and eventually this is what we need to solve problems! Training isn’t about imposing our will on our dog. It’s about giving her the tools she needs to live in our world.

Now at 12 weeks old, Peanut is growing much bigger, stronger, smarter, and definitely even more adorable! She has so many expressions and so many ways to communicate with us. We start to really understand her spoken & non-spoken language too. I’m happy to see how comfortable & secured she feels in our home, and how we have earned her trust over time.

So far, I’m still working on her basic obedience training. I’m using the method I learn from the books (that is, trying to communicate with her in ways that she understands). It’s really amazing to see how fast she’s learning!  She understood my “SIT” and “DOWN” commands in just one and a half day worth of training each. It then took a couple more days to perfect them. Now I’m moving on to “WATCH ME” & “STAY” command. (”WATCH ME” is for when I want her to focus on my face and give me eye, while  “STAY” is for when I want her to sit still & not move until I give her the release command. I’ll also start with her walking training as soon as she grows big enough to fit the smallest-sized harness we’ve prepared for her.

We both are really enjoying our training session. It’s a time for Peanut to learn & to be challenged by new things, and at the same time, a chance for us to bond. On top of that, she gets her treats, & I get my time-out. What’s not to like?

This afternoon, we just had a lecture with one of the most notable fashion personage in Indonesia: the one and only Samuel Wattimena. I have always been a huge fan, and certainly was looking forward to this particular session with him!

Samuel Wattimena is a living phenomenon, and a true prodigy who started his fashion career right after high school graduation back in 1979. Having earned nationwide acknowledgment & steadfast popularity as the most sought-after fashion designer in his early 20s, he continued to spread his wings in so many unprecedented ways: fashion journalism, styling, education, art-directing, TV programmes, theatre costume designing, retailing, and many many more! He also designs uniforms for the largest & most influential corporations in Indonesia, and dress the most famous artists & politicians. His vision, courage, determination, intelligence, and above all, his wisdom & beliefs in the good causes in life are what I find to be the most deserving of praise & utter respect.

Today in the class I learned soooooo much more in 2 hours than I could probably ever learn in years by myself! He brought with him his passion, along with his 30 years worth of experience & insight. We also had an open discussion, where we may ask all the questions that we’ve been dying to ask! Ohohohoho, sure enough, we bombarded him with so many curious questions. We don’t get an opportunity like that everyday, do we?

I really enjoyed today’s session. Hands down to Samuel Wattimena!