I know I am super late in posting this but it's already in my draft for a very long time so I might as well post it now :)

So as you might already know (if you're a regular old follower here in my blog - thank you by the way!) I usually put on some kind of a "yearly review" at the start of every new year. It's just for my own personal notes and reference, to see what I've been up to all through the year, and what are the highlights as well as the downsides of that particular year. So here's my yearly review of last year (2016).

Last year was not an easy year for me. Life as we know always have its ups and downs. Most years I got lots of things to be thankful about, but last year was one of those years where life gave me so much lessons to think about. I do still appreciate and grateful of things that I had (or successfully acquired last year) but it was also the year of many sadness and loss that hit close to home. After a few months of what I called a "mini depression phase" I finally stood again and started to walk the path that has been given to me. For that period of my life I'm really thankful to God Almighty for giving me my husband who has been very attentive and supportive and who went and did everything he can to make me feel happy again. I know I couldn't move on without his endless support and attention, and I thank you dear hubby for allowing me to have you by my side ...

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Okay, now enough with the sad story, now let's get on with the notes ...

JANUARY

At the start of last year me and my big family had our annual "family retreat" at Camp Hulu Cai (approximately on 2nd & 3rd January) for an outdoor family adventure trip. I did a detailed review of Camp Hulu Cai which is located at Tapos, Puncak area on my other blog "Tigerlily's Book" if you wanna check it out. 

And after experiencing a miscarriage in the previous month (December 2015) we did another check up at the obgyn office and found out that I need to do a laparoscopy (a minor surgery) but I'm still thinking about whether or not I should do it because I never had a surgery before and I'm afraid to do it. For this whole month I was upset and basically living in sorrow because of the miscarriage (we've been trying to have baby for so long). Apparently my dear Hubby noticed my deep sadness, and to get me out of my misery he offered me to buy a new bag that I want, that has been on my wish list for so many decades! It's not just a random bag, but it's MY DREAM BAG!! Isn't he a dearest? He really knows how to make his wife feels alive again, which is buying her the ultimate item that's been on her dreams for so long (Lol, I love you ayang if you're reading this :p). 

So that's the story of how I finally got my top-of-the-wishlist bag: LV Neverfull MM in Damier Ebene !! (Finally, my dream bag ... Alhamdulillah). Big thank you to hubby for spoiling me! 

At the start of the year I also did a little designer haul : a CK jumper from their Performance line, and I also found a vintage Fendi "Luggage" & Celine "Medallions" handkerchief / mini 50cm scarves from a vintage store that I frequented.

FEBRUARY

There was nothing special happened during this month except that I bought another item to add to my collection. It wasn't that pricey because I know we just splurged a lot last month, so it's just a small item that I thought would be great to store my phone inside my bag. It is a preloved Coach Tassel Wristlet in purple color. After it arrived I found that it didn't really fit my phone though, so I just used it for my makeup pouch (it only fits my Mac Studio Fix compact, my Burts Bees Cherry Lip Balm Shimmer, and a random lipstick). Or I would also use it as my wallet replacement if I'm just heading out to nearby mini market or laundry. 

This month also marked the beginning of my skincare frenzy! This was the month when I started to get crazy with skincare, learning more details about them, starting to incorporate acids and facial oils into my routine, and so on... :)

MARCH

This month I joined the Sociolla team as one of their official Sociolla Blogger, yay! I have loved shopping at Sociolla so I was happy to join their sociolla bloggers squad. This month I also did another mini purchases. I was in a shopping mood since the start of the year because that's how I cope with my sorrow (it's kinda pathetic, I know). But that's the truth, shopping makes me happy (although just until the euphoria wears off). Anyway, this month I saw one of my wish-list bag on Reebonz that I thought was in a really good offer. They were having double discounts and I still have my reward points to further reduce the price so I thought it's just too good to passed up. So I went ahead and bought my second Longchamp bag which is the SSH Le Pliage Bag in Beige. My first Le Pliage was a Large with Long Handle, and I fell in love with Le Pliage bags ever since then. So I've been wanting them in all three sizes. The one that I bought is the SSH - Small size with Short handle - which is exactly the style I want. Now I only need one more, which is the Medium size with Long handle to complete my LC Le Pliage collections (^o^).  

One more luxury purchase this month was a Laduree Macaroon Keychain (well actually hubby bought me this one ;p). I've been wanting to dress up my bags with bag charms and keychains as these styles were popular around this time (actually until now), so I've been eyeing this Laduree keychain with pretty macaroons charm that I imagined would look pretty on my LV Damier Ebene and my MK Jet Set Tote Bag (because I order it in brown color to match those bags). So I made a purchase-order through a seller and got the keychain via Laduree Japan, it was so pretty and it sparked my bag-accessorizing phase (^o^).

APRIL

This month my nephew Raka was born. He is my brother's son and my parent's first grandchild, so we're all very happy and lucky to have him. This month I also had a campus reunion so we went to Bandung and I had a lot of fun time with all my old friends. It was really a blast and it lifted my mood, feeling like a young 20 something again, LOL. Me and hubby also took our time to check out the Farm House Lembang which was a popular destination at the time, especially because of the "Hobbits House". We're lucky that it wasn't at all crowded because we arrived there just after the rain has subsided, so not many people visited this place probably because of the rain. Also, this month was hubby's last day in his old office (Th*e*s), so here's hoping for a brighter future!

Another cheering up session is our overseas trip. This month me and hubby had our first Singapore trip together! Yes believe it or not, each of us have went to Singapore before but never with each other (;p). So I guess it's due for us to have a S'pore trip together as we both love Singapore as a travel destination. Our main destination this time is the USS because this was my husband's first USS experience. We had a great time walking around everywhere and I did my first ever designer footwear haul too! It was at the Changi airport on our way home bound to Jakarta that my feet are killing me and I almost couldn't walk anymore because my feet and shoes were hurting so much from too much walking for three days. So I did an impulse shopping, I decided to buy new shoes because my feet just couldn't take it anymore. We went to Coach store and couldn't find anything that I like so we went to Tory Burch and I decided to get the TB Two-Tone Jelly Bow Ballet Flats in Classic Khaki/Black. It is actually more like a taupe color in real life instead of khaki. Because of the jelly material it feels very cooling on my tired feet so I decided to get that one because it feels nice on my aching foot. This was my first Tory (!), and my first designer footwear too.

Another purchases this month are a white swarovski t-shirt and a black swarovski tanktop that I got from the Bebe sale.

MAY

May is my husband's birthday month. We celebrated by treating my hubby's family to a weekend-stay in Grandhika Iskandarsyah hotel. It was a stay-cation because the hotel is still in Jakarta greater area, but yet a stay-cation is always fun! A review of this hotel would come up soon on my other blog "Tigerlily's Book". 

This month I purchased a knitted cardigan from Morgan De Toi at a branded outlet sale. I also acquired a not-so-ordinary haul this month because one of my regular vintage shop offered their new findings: designer brand towels! It is not your ordinary haul items but I thought I'd give it a go because I'm thinking that I could put these fancy towels in my guest bathroom in my future house (*EdisiNgayal*). So I bought a couple of them anyway because the store offered me good discounts: a Burberry sports towel which I intend to use as my traveling towel, and a couple of smaller (hand) towels from MCM and another one from Burberry which I currently use as my face towel.

(Grandhika Iskandarsyah)

JUNE

This month. 

Oh this month was the hardest.

..........

On June 30th, just a week before Ied day, my beloved father passed away :(

We were all shocked with the sudden passing of my Papah (even I'm still shuddering when I typed this). It was very sudden, he fell on the stairs and had a major head trauma. It was a very hard moment for me and my family, and we went through despair and desolation for many weeks and tried our best to get our feet back up again from the saddest moment of our life. I'm thankful for my friends and extended-family's supports during that hard time and even until now I'm still sad thinking about my dad as he was a very loving figure in our family. You were gone too soon Papah... but I know you're happier in where you are now.

Anyway, this month was also the Ied month, and due to my father passing away just a week before Ied day so this was the first time we celebrate Ied without our dad. I didn't go to Bandung as usual because we were still in mourning.

At the end of the month, again hubby tried to cheer me up and lifted my mood by offering me to buy a new bag. He is always the sweetest, and he knew how to make me feel happy. He treated me to dinners outside, strolling the malls, and took me to wherever I want to go just to cheer me up. He also treated me with some new shoes from Payless and also another bag to add to my acquisitions (thank you hubby!). I chose the Coach Reversible Tote Bag in black/white so I can have two bags with one price! Also, there's a big detachable pouch inside which I can also use as a clutch. So it's basically getting three purses in one price. I think it's worth it :)

(the reversible tote bag)

JULY

This month hubby is trying his hands on a new business, flipping and selling cars in partnership with his friend who owns a showroom. It is his first time doing independent business because all this time he's been working in a corporate office, so he's learning how to do business from the bottom up. 

This month also marked my phase of "green decor". To steer myself out of grief I decided to have a new hobby so I wouldn't have much time to think about all the sad and stressful things in my life. So I took up a new love for green decor in which I decorate my apartment with greenery / plants / flowers and so on. I also added a couple of new things to decorate my apartment that involves some live or fake greenery, just to make my place more cheerful (at least when I looked at them I'd feel happy). 

I also received an early birthday gift from hubby this month which is a new lens for my Sony Alpha Mirrorless Camera. It is a nifty-fifty lens which has been on my wish list ever since I got the camera last year. My birthday wasn't until the next month but there was a special promo going on during this month that hubby thinks is a very good offer, so we decided to get it before the promo ended and think of it as my early B'day gift instead :)

AUGUST

This month marked my dad's 40 days of passing away in which according to our religious + local custom we had a communal prayer in our house. Can't believe it's already a month since he passed away and our hearts were still broken. Not long after the communal prayer we had in our house, we heard another sad heart-breaking news. My uncle who was my mother's closest brother, who has been a father figure to me and my brother since we were babies, also passed away in a sudden heart attack. Just two months after our dad's passing away. My mother was mostly devastated as she lost both her husband and her closest brother in just a short time. We all had a hard time coping with the sudden loss in our family :(

Again, to steer me off from depression I tried to do things that would occupy my brain so that I don't have time to mourn all the time. I started to redecorate our kitchen just to take my mind off things. This month was my birthday month and our anniversary month too, but due to the great loss that we experienced we didn't have any energy to celebrate anything. We dutifully mourned and prayed for those we have lost...

SEPTEMBER

I always said that there's usually two things that a girl would do when she is sad : Shopping & Cut their hair in beauty salon (although not necessarily in that order :p). So this month I finally decided to cut my hair at the Blow+Bar Kemang for just a nice trim and nothing drastic. But I haven't cut my hair at the hairdresser for three years! All this time I just trim my hair at home by myself using a hair-cut tools I received as a review project a long time ago. So this hair-cut at Blow+Bar is something that I haven't done in three years ;p I thought my hair needs some serious styling this time instead of just self-trimming at home, Lol. 

I also did another shopping spree this month as part of my mood-buster therapy to cope with my depression. My acquisitions this month include a Kate Spade Bow Dress which was on sale, a preloved Miu Miu Dress and Isabel Marant wool knit Sweater which was still in very good condition, and a pair of Next Jeans which was also on sale at their counter. Oh and we also have a new cat this month! She is actually a stray cat that comes to our house and decided to stay (^_^). Then we found out that she was having this huge lump of mass underneath one of her front legs and although she is a stray cat but we decided to get her to the vet and hubby paid for her operation so that she can be healthy again. She is a sweet cat and we even took her to our apartment to rest for a week after the surgery so that she won't be bothered by our other cats at my parent's house. Alhamdulillah she is now healthy and the huge lump underneath her shoulder has gone now. Hopefully she would have a long happy life now.. :)

OCTOBER

I didn't do much blogging and/or other freelance jobs this year due to the many sad moments that happened in my life this year. At the beginning of the year I was still in misery due to losing my first pregnancy so I wasn't really in the mood for blogging. Then near the middle of the year towards the end of the year I was having a mini depression phase due to all the loss in the family. So that's why this year I didn't have many experiences and blogging stories to tell. I just kept shopping and shopping all through the year because that's how I cope with sorrow and depression (aside from praying of course). I haven't been able to come to events because I didn't feel like socializing due to the mini depression phase I had, but this month I made the exception. I went to Asmaraku blogger event as I was part of a new community which is the Blogger Ceria Community.

This month I also did another haul from Reebonz because I spotted a great discount on a pair of shoes I've been coveting. Espadrilles were very popular at the time and because I couldn't afford the most coveted Chanel ones, I went with the less pricey option: the Kenzo Tiger Espadrille. This was on my coveted list of designer footwear, so when I saw that Reebonz has it in different colors and in good price offer I immediately calculate on how I could afford it without being broke, Lol. I finally decided to get the Kenzo Embroidered Espadrille in Aqua, a really nice sky blue color in canvas material and the iconic tiger at the front. Because I'm a Leo so I love anything with a tiger on it (^_^).

NOVEMBER

This month I tried to be a little more active again in my blogging, by collaborating in the Juara x Clozette project, and also got invited to the Sociolla soiree - but sadly I couldn't make it at the last minute. Hubby finally got a new job this month, Alhamdulillah (and as Asst Mgr too!). I also decided to start a new TTC program with chinese herb medicine : I'm taking fukepenkayen & bai feng wan for my hydrosalphing problem (google it). So wish us luck!

DECEMBER

At the end of the year we had one more vacay trip that we all think we desperately needed. My uncle generously asked my family to go on a vacay trip with his family to Anyer. My uncle felt that our family needed this trip and we do indeed! We had fun during our 3 days 2 night stay, and this time we stayed in Sanghyang Hotel (which I would also review later on my travel & home blog "Tigerlily's Book"). 

This month I also heard another sad news about a blogger friend of mine, Rini from Rinicesilia.com who recently passed away just after doing a blogging stint in Bali. She was a very popular Korean-style blogger, and she was one of the bloggers I know since my first days of blogging many years ago. We had known each other from the start and I watched her grow her blog until what she had become, yet she still stays humble and probably IS the MOST humble blogger I know personally. She was also gone too soon... and may she rest in peace..

This month we also had our nephew Bagas spent the night with us at the apartment. This was his first time staying over a little bit far from his home and we're glad that he really enjoyed it much (^_^). 

Lastly, we also didn't go fancy for the New Year's celebration as we were not really in the mood for that. We just spent it at home with my in-law sisters and brothers, had a barbecue night, and the next morning we went to my mom's house to have lunch together.

In summary :

Top 3 Biggest Happenings :

Although it's not my best year but I am still grateful for all the lessons I've learned and all the blessings I received during the year. It is a heavy burden to lost someone so close, but yet it helps us value life and value those around us. Thank you so much 2016 for all the hard lessons, and here's hoping 2017 to be a much better year for me and my family!

Amien...

 

Last  year I also did a similar post for the year 2015,
if you want to read that you can CLICK HERE