Making Me Smile

Fresh lilies on my dining table. And the smell of them when you walk into the room.

Finally getting started on painting our bedroom. The makeover is now in progress.

Summer nail colors, especially this one - Essie Haute As Hello.

All white coffee table.

It's been a while since my last Making Me Smile post, hasn't it?! I thought it was about time I pop one in, especially since they're actually one of my favourite posts to do. I have so many little things that aren't necessarily worthy of an entire post to themselves, but should be shared all the same. 

I've been terrible with keeping up to my blog lately, I'm the kind of person who hates routine, but struggles without one. Since moving to Jakarta my life has felt a little bit disorganised. I'm certainly a person who has to get into a flow with something, once I'm on a roll, I'm good, I'm going, but the act of actually getting going is easier said than done. With moving apartment again earlier this year, a long visit from my mum, several mini-breaks (not complaining about those!!) and a capricious social calendar, I've never really formulated a new routine here. 

Gradually, over the last few months, my to-do list has been growing longer and longer, unfortunately once that happens I have a tendancy to avoid it altogether and just bury my head in the sand. Not exactly the greatest plan of attack, huh?! So this week, thanks to the hubs, who is a billion times more 'on it' and organised than me, I've made a good dent on the list and going forward the aim is to get into more of a routine. Here's hoping!

Do you enjoy having a routine to stick to? How do you make sure you get through your to-do list and stay on top of tasks? Any tips would be more than welcome ;)

Making Me Smile // Friendship and Goodbyes

Working on my new online store - So many pretty necklaces, check it out - BHEARTB.com

'Do It Myself' insta-prints for my noticeboard.

Nail Mail! You know this would always make me smile!
Left to Right - OPI Taupe-less Beach, Rose Of Light and Don't Bossa Nova Me Around. 
Swatches (inevitbly) coming soon!

Mini macarons and tea on a rainy afternoon. And yes, the ombre made them taste even better!

Friendship.

This last week has been a busy one, mainly spent at my desk. I'm in the process of setting up a new online store combining lots of gorgeous statement jewels and little treasures with my own handmade stuff I've been selling on Etsy. I'm so excited to get it open, hopefully next week!

I took a small break mid-week with the Mr to go to PAUL - l'incroyable boulangerie et pâtisserie de la France! It's SO good! I discovered on the last trip there with my girlfriends that their mini macarons were melt in the mouth deliciousness. Seemingly, when I find a place I like, I can't visit anywhere else for a while.

Last weekend my friends and I said goodbye to one dear friend from our group. She's been in Indonesia for a couple of years, but the time had come for her to head on to her next adventure. She's returning home for a short while and then has some epic travel plans. 

It's always hard to say goodbye to friends in any situation, but as an expat it's a (far too) common experience and for me, quite sombre. I'm always grateful to have had the opportunity to meet that friend; thankful for having their friendship; excited for them and their next big adventure; but invariably sad to lose them in my daily life.

Friendship as an expat is an awkward thing; the usual rules of friendship are defunct, and it feels both easier and more difficult to make friends, all at the same time. Of course, until you learn the local language fairly fluently, there are far less people you interact with on a daily basis, so you're less likely to meet someone who you really connect with. However, at the same time, alone in a new environment you can feel desperate for the companionship of a friend who can share in your experiences and the challenges of life in a foreign country. Given that feeling, I've found (generalising here) expats are more open to making new friendships. It's not weird to contact a fellow expat via a Facebook group and say 'hey, do you fancy going for coffee?' or to swap numbers with a person you meet in a store. Like at home, not every expat you meet is someone you feel you really connect with, but on the occasions that you do, you bond quickly. In a sense, your expat friends are your family in whichever country you happen to be calling home. Even if you spend only a couple of years together before moving on, you establish far deeper ties than that. 

I'm lucky to have made a handful of friends like that back in Korea and (I think) here in Indonesia, also. Lisa is one of those kind of friends. Although she'll be sorely missed here, I know it's not a real goodbye. We'll keep in touch, she'll likely stop by on her travels, and in years to come we'll probably meet to reminisce about life in Jakarta back in 2013/2014. Good luck Lisa, I'll see you soon!

x x x

Making Me Smile

The goodies at checkout in H&M. Pink Mini Wallet. Notebook. Glitter Phone Case.

A tea (and macaron) date with girl friends @ PAUL, Pacific Place.

Sunny day off spent by the pool with my love.

Finally finding just the right simple black t-shirt dress. Loose, comfy & versatile. Thank you ASOS - Link!

The pinkest pink nail polish, perfect for summer. OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian.

This week has flown by, in fact I feel like Spring has flown by...summer is on our doorstep now. Well, summer (of the hottest kind) is technically always on mine,  so I guess I should say... June is just around the corner! Can you believe it?!

The Mr and I realised we've now been in Indonesia for six months! It's breezed by, and some days, Korea, where we spent so many years, just feels like a distant memory. Expat life can be strange. Anyway, to celebrate a successful six months in our new country we're heading off for a mini-break on Sunday. We're driving to a place just a few hours from Jakarta to spend some time resting, relaxing and soaking up a little sunshine. It's surprising how little sun you actually get when you live in a tropical country; you spend most of your time going from air conditioned house, to air conditioned car to air-conditioned malls and restaurants, save for the odd hour by the pool. I always love those hours.

OPI 'Kiss Me I'm Brazilian' arrived this week, just in time for the trip. Nail polish always makes me smile but even more so when it turns up on time. I plan on combining it with metallics of some kind, and then hopefully sticking to my promise of more manicure posts. Expect that Monday :)

Have a great weekend friends!

Making Me Smile

The brightest tea break bringing the sunshine indoors.

Funny books that make me laugh out loud in the middle of busy book stores.

The smell of my newest candle still lingering in the air the next morning. Voluspa Brut Champagne, Almonds & Oak. 
Mmmmm!

Still not being able to decide. Long live ombre!

Re-stocking 'shy-girl' through Back2Mac. Free makeup, who wouldn't smile at that?! 
Oh, and this little guy, who hasn't been out in a while.

Just a few things that have been making me smile recently. It's good to focus on the little everyday kind of positives, don't you think?


So, what's been making you smile lately? 


x x x



If you don't already, please go on and....

Making Me Smile // Hiatus Edition

Apologies for the unannounced hiatus. It wasn't planned, it's just been one of those periods where something comes up, quickly followed by another thing and another. Don't you hate those times?!

I think I mentioned before, we moved apartment last month and to say that it was a smooth transition would be lying. It felt like everything that could possibly be an issue was. One of the more frustrating problems was that it took us over a week to get an Internet connection sorted out, only for it to be cut off a couple of weeks later. It's then taken us until now, with no less than around 15 phone calls (of varying levels of politeness), to get it back on again. Fantastic! For a blogger and social media addict like myself, having no Internet at home is somewhat of a problem, but apparently not one the service provided seemed to care about! Also, in what felt like the final twist of ugly fate, the Mr managed to catch Dengue Fever (a tropical illness passed on by mosquitoes) a couple of weeks ago. He was sick in bed for about a week until he was hospitalised this last week. It's shocking how extreme some of the illnesses out here actually are. Thankfully he's heaps better now and is back home but...an easy, hassle free month...errrm, no, not quite.

Anyway, they say bad things come in threes and I think we've more than exceeded that, so hopefully from here on out it's plain sailing (and blogging). I know I sound like I'm ranting but believe it or not, despite all that's been going on for the last month, I'm actually really enjoying life here in Indonesia. Between the bad there's still been a lot of good. So, in the interest of looking on the bright side of life, here's just a handful of simple things that have been making me smile;

Moving apartment - if only because it helped me re-discover this amazing Christmas gift I'd tucked away and then somehow forgotten about! I love the lipstick in particular; a cremesheen called 'How Darling!'

Brunching and chatting with new lovely girl friends...

...at PAUL. If you've ever been to one, you'll know why this makes me smile. And, if you haven't been, you really need to!

Extra sparkle on stressful days.

Enjoying icy cool drinks and good conversations in the balmy evening sun on our balcony.

I'm grateful that tomorrow is a new day and the start of a new week (with Internet). Onwards and upwards :) Have a great week everybody!

x 

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Making Me Smile....

A big bunch of fresh lilies filling my whole apartment with their gorgeous smell.

THE best British candy. Hands down! All the way from England, you can't imagine how happy I was.

This little coin purse I picked up after seeing it on Laura's blog.
It is just so darn CAH-YOOT! - It even has a leopard print lining. Available from ASOS.

This new lipstick; MAC Cremesheen in Sunny Seoul.
I mean, how could I not buy that one given the name?! Such a gorgeous, wearable pink too.

Beautiful fall weather!
Perfect for dodgy walks and enjoying a coffee and some people watching outside Starbucks.

What's been making you smile lately?

x x x



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Making Me Smile

Hitting up the Zara sales and getting super lucky by finding a pair of nude heels that I love (been searching for a while)
 AND finding that, for once, they actually had them in my size. Not such a common occurrence here in Korea.

Baking this baby for the Mr's birthday last week and celebrating with him over a romantic dinner.

Eating this baby for  breakfast for the rest of the week. 
I don't care if it's not healthy, frosting and sprinkles make me happy.

Receiving these incredible purple, blue and white roses from the Mr as a thank you for a great birthday. 
Not something he needed to thank me for, but he's just a cutie like that.

Creating more new designs to add to my Etsy store. And all the support I've received from everyone so far, thank you!

Hitting up the Zara sales a second time and scoring this blouse for little more than the cost of a cup of coffee. Then wearing it with my orange tassel necklace. Being matchy matchy makes me happy. Maybe I'll go back for the matching blazer... No? too far?! ;)

How do the weeks keep flying by so fast?! I can't quite believe that we're approaching the end of July already, wasn't it just a few weeks ago I was saying I couldn't believe it was April? 

Despite not having nearly enough time to get everything I want to do done, I'm enjoying being busy and I suppose that's why the time's flying by. I feel like it's been a very productive week, especially if you count finding some absolute bargains at Zara in the sale, which I do!

Who else shopped the Zara sales, what did you get? Leave a link if you've featured your finds in a blog post :)

Hope everyone else is having a productive week too.

x x x

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Making Me Smile

{Taking in the view of Seoul at sunset with my little brother}

{Enjoying magazines from back home and afternoon tea}

{Wearing 'That's Peachy' by Nails Inc, free with this month's InStyle UK magazine}

{Strolling around Gyeongbokgung, one of the old palaces in Seoul}

{Shadow games and picnics in the sun}

{My not-so-little-anymore little brother}

This week's been a particularly good one! I'm so happy to have my little brother visiting me here in Korea. We've had a great time so far, wandering around Seoul, seeing some sights and just catching up. I'm really looking forward to the rest of our time together. I hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

x x x

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Making Me Smile

Just Because Flowers  <3

Pretty lace capped sleeves. Mango.

Delicious sweet treats that remind me of home.  All thanks to the very kind, fellow blogger, Laura, 

Two new favourite Chanel nail colours (Distraction & May)

Cherry blossoms outside my door.

As always, the weekend was too short, but with each week that passes the weather is warming up, so for a change it doesn't feel like such a bad thing. I'm happy to be heading towards brighter, longer, sunny days. The cherry blossoms arrive where I live, a little later than in the rest of Korea. They sprang out over the weekend, a definite (very pretty) sign that spring is really here now. I can't help but feel cheerful  at the moment, especially with all the lovely things this last week has included. 

Is it Spring where you are? What's making you smile at the moment?

x x x





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