Breast Milk Courier In Indonesia (From Bali With Love)

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a great week and are gearing up for your weekend. Today, I want to share with you something a little different. I came across an article on Reuters and thought it was just too unique not to share.

There's a new courier in town...well, in Jakarta. The courier service caters to working women in Indonesia by picking up their freshly pumped breast milk and delivering it to the residence of their child's careprovider. And what better way to travel through the chaotic and pollution stained streets of Jakarta, then by motorbike.

Living in Indonesia has made me look at many things differently, some positive and some negative, but one thing that has stood out here, as compared to America, is the positive push for breastfeeding. It doesn't matter where you are, if a child's hungry, you feed them...there's no indecency there. Women here are praised for breastfeeding and many continue to breastfeed up to and well past the child's first birthday. Though the article does state the number of women breastfeeding in Indonesia has dropped over the recent years. On top of it all, we all know how expensive formula can be and it's no different here in Indonesia where over half of the population lives below the poverty level.

If you are interested in reading the article, you can check it out HERE.

Happy Friday Everyone!

New Bali Guidebook for KIDS (From Bali With Love)

What a great idea! I wonder why it's taken so long for this type of book to be published!

"Bali With Kids: Families Guidebook From Babies to Teenagers" is the newest book addition to hit the Bali publishing world. The book promises to cover all your needs and expectations for a vacation in paradise with children, including kid friendly hotels, restaurants, shopping, entertainment, medical issues, interaction with animals and even how to hold a fabulous birthday party in Bali!

The book can be purchased for Rp. 150,000 ($16.70) around various locations in Bali, as well as downloaded into an e-book from the website: Bali With Kids. I have got to find this book and add it to my collection!

Taken from Bali Discovery.

An Apology & Some News (From Bali With Love)

Hello world. I'm so sorry for my absence as my daughter has been sick AGAIN. This really has not been her year. We've had 3 more visits to the doctor in the last month and now she is feeling herself again. There's nothing worse than having a sick child and looking into their tired, weak eyes and knowing you can't do anything to help them, besides give them love and comfort. So, again, my apologies for being MIA, but my family definitely comes first and foremost in this life, but I promise to make it up to you all!

So, moving on to some recent Bali news...

Coming to Bali? Give the Gift of Life by Donating Your O Negative Blood to the Bali Blood Bank. Read how you can help HERE.

Bali's Newest Water Recreation Park Now Open at Pecatu. You can read more about it and it's entry fees HERE.

Indonesia's President, Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, is taking heat for opening a Bali conference in the English language....you can read more on this strange occurrence HERE.

Indonesia is becoming more competitive internationally. Read more about it HERE.

Ayana's ROCK BAR is on CNN's 30 Best Hotel Bars in the World! That's an also honor for Bali and Ayana. Congrats! Read more about it HERE.

I Heart Them Again (From Bali With Love)

Do you remember THIS post I did on Scoopy in August 2010?

Well, Honda has come out with two new colors for 2011 and I still love them. They are just so cute! The new colors are blue and red.

Taken from HERE

Other colors available are white, black, pink, violet and green. The trim and seating come in a variety of choices, such as white, black or tan. 

Taken from HERE

The price tag? About Rp. 13,725,000  ($1,600 US).

Back to Bali! (From Bali With Love)

Hello all! I'm not dead....I promise. 

I'm sorry I've been away. I did some traveling, for 3 months, to Sulawesi, Malaysia and Surabaya. Then, my daughter become terribly ill with pneumonia and I spent a good bit of 3 weeks in and out of hospitals and doctor's offices getting her the appropriate treatment. Now, I'm back to Bali and trying to get back into the swing of things. I want to say a special thank you to my top countries still visiting my blog this past month, even though I was away. So, thank you to:

-Indonesia

-United States

-Australia

-Japan

-Malaysia

-Canada

-United Kingdom

-Sweden

-Germany

-Iran

YOU ALL are the reason, I love blogging! THANK YOU! :)

Now, let's gear up and get back to blogging! I have many upcoming posts about Bali News and my recent travels, so stay tuned for more!

DIY: Art for Children's Rooms (From Bali With Love)

I saw this adorable idea to decorate your child's room with paper dolls and their clothes. Just cut out the shapes, frame them and hang in your child's room.

Toni over at Design Dazzle offers several different links for free downloads. Go HERE to see her full post. Enjoy!

Taken from Design Dazzle.

I'm in Love! (From Bali With Love)

I love decorating and have been dreaming of sprucing up my daughter's room to something more fun, colorful and exciting. Something she can enjoy and grow with...

So, I was super excited to find these photos on Lonny today for my inspiration.

I love EVERYTHING about this! The photo collage, the bed, the pillows...personal, fun and colorful!

And this shelving?? Yes, please! I also adore the wallpaper, but I highly doubt wallpaper would hold up in Bali's tropical DAMP weather!

And these adorable hand puppets!! My daughter gets so excited when she sees the puppets on Baby Genius so I know she would LOVE these! Anyone know where to get cute, hand puppets similar to these for a good price?

Check out this wonderful, colorful animal print!! SWOON! Anyone know where I can get one similar to this?

And a corner of the room, setup as a playzone, complete with a table, chairs and children's artwork hung low. Now, I know my daughter isn't quite old enough to create any masterpieces yet, but we can have fun trying to paint together!

And lastly, this would be perfect if you had more than one child sharing a room...a gaint sized photo of your child above their own bed!

Adorable! I love Lonny. It's a great place to get inspired!

All images taken from HERE.

Whoo Hoo! Shout Out! (From Bali With Love)

I was SO super excited today to see my blog on Desire to Inspire. Jo gave From Bali With Love a shout-out as recommended reading! Thank you so much Jo! 

It looks like there are some amazing reads on the list. I've already bookmarked several to check out. Go HERE to see the full post and the other amazing sites listed.

Thank you again Desire to Inspire! ;)

A Doll For My Daughter (From Bali With Love)

A friend of mine from Japan bought this beautiful doll for my daughter.

For those of you who may not know, I named my daughter Akira which is Japanese for intelligent. 

Akira is generally used for a man's name, but I fell in love with it. 

There were many reasons for picking the name. First, I always liked the Spanish name Shakira, but didn't want to use it. I did notice, however, the word Akira (sh"akira") in it, but never looked it up to see what it meant. 

Second, I met a wonderful man one day from Japan whose name was Akira. Every time I said his name, I loved it more and more. I finally told him, if I ever have a daughter, I think I'd like to name her Akira. My decision still wasn't entirely concrete yet, at that time.

Third, my daughter was born on the Balinese holiday, Saraswati. Saraswati is a Hindu goddess who represents intelligence, creativity, music and power, just to name a few. "Saras" means flow/essence and "wati" means woman/self. Essentially, the essence of the self. The Balinese highly respect Saraswati and claim the special day to give thanks for the gift of knowledge and celebrate by making offerings to books. All of my Balinese friends kept telling me what good luck it was to have her on the day of Saraswati. In Bali, those children born on this special day usually are given a name that coincides with it, such as Saras for a girl. Again, since Akira means intelligent, it goes well with Saraswati. You can read more information on Saraswati HERE and HERE.

Finally, I still was struggling between Akira and a Southern name I had picked out. That night, I decided to ask her. As I held her in my arms, I asked her which name she liked. I said each name twice and both times I said Akira, she smiled at me. 

SO, Akira it is....

Toy Storage (From Bali With Love)

I've been trying to figure out a good way to store my daughter's toys so they are "in reach" but not all over the floor. I'm not interested in a bulky toy chest, but have been contemplating baskets.

So, I was very happy when I came across this picture on Young House Love. So easy, simple and organized!

How do you store toys?

Image taken from HERE.

A Mobile For My Daughter (From Bali With Love)

One thing I never bought for my daughter, when she was born, was a mobile for her room. Living in Indonesia makes it sometimes difficult what you want, especially when it comes to shopping for a baby. SO, I want to make a mobile to hang in my daughter's room. I found several, over the last year, that caught my eye and now I'm having a hard time picking just one project to do! 

Maybe YOU can help me decide!

Here are the DIY mobiles that I've bookmarked:

Butterfly Mobile; taken from HERE.

Origami Style Moravian Star Mobile; taken from HERE.

Ikea Hacked Mobile Pendant Light; taken from HERE.

Modern Paper Mobile; taken from HERE.

Fabric Circle Mobile; taken from HERE.

Paper Crane Pendant Light; taken from HERE.

Ribbon Mobile; taken from HERE.

Butterfly Mobile from Etsy; shop now not found. :(

Modern Circle Mobile; taken from HERE.

Creative Felt Mobile; taken from HERE.

Ribbon Garland; taken from HERE.

Vintage Toy and Trinket Mobile; taken from HERE.

Feather Mobile; taken from HERE.

Another Feather Mobile; taken from HERE.

Bird Mobile; taken from HERE.

Eco Friendly Mobile; taken from HERE.

Fabric Pinwheel Mobile; taken from HERE.

I love them all, but I definitely have a few favorites out of these. I may end up doing a combination of a few ideas featured here, if I can find all of the materials I need, here in Bali, to make them!

SO, what are YOUR thoughts? Which ones do YOU like?

From Bali With Love Ranked Top 50 in 3 Categories! (From Bali With Love)

Thank you to all of my followers on NetworkedBlogs! From Bali With Love is in the Top 50 Blogs for the Asia Category (#3), Lifestyle Category (#35) and Home Category (#13)! 

Whoo Hoo! Thank you all! 

If you aren't a follower yet, there's still time! :) Just look in the leftside bar of my blog to follow on Facebook, Google Friend Connect, NetworkedBlogs or Bloglovin'!

Stay tuned for more on From Bali With Love! :)

Flower Birthday Bash (From Bali With Love)

Check out this adorable flower themed children's birthday party. The Mom did a lovely job and the children seem to enjoy it. I LOVE the blanket under the tree!! So cozy!

This type of party would be great for anyone in any location. The countryside, beach tropic setting or the park for those city dwellers. It would even be great for a autumn party too! Can't you just imagine all the different warm autumn colors of oranges, greens and chocolates.

And, what girl wouldn't love a flower adorned crown?

See more pictures of this adorable party at Natalie Norton's Blog. Found via Oh, Happy Day!