Having fun with the air con at work, it has been blasting out freezing cold air the last few weeks so everyone is coughing and sneezing and this afternoon its suddenly turned tropical; good to sweat out the cold symptoms everyone is getting I guess.Aside from this little hitch, the last few years of work […]

With my in-laws back living with me alhamdulillah, it took me to thinking about living harmoniously and issues of control, privacy and co-operation.I enjoy my in-laws extended visits, especially the long meals, the long walks and the long talks, with laughter late into the early hours of the morning at time. This means that at […]

The kids had last week off school with half term, so thought I would take them somewhere easy and cheap. Our first choice was Epping Forest. This has a few visitor centres, but we opted for the one at High Beach, Loughton which has a small animal feeding area which attracts forest creatures which you […]

Hotel Chocolat is one of my favourite brands (I love chocolate).  I did a review for them in December last year, so when they asked me if I would like to do another, I agreed. I was offered a few options they are offering for Fathers day, some of these had alcohol, so of those […]

I have been meaning to catch up with blogging and my blogging and blog-reading sisters for ages. After three months of feeling exhausted and so nauseous, I have been spending most of my time lying down, last Monday I woke up feeling…normal.I was both amazed and extremely grateful. I remember when I suffered nausea with […]

You know when you have a busy day and you should just stick to what you are doing? I knew I had guests coming, I knew I had shopping and cooking to do, plus I woke up late. So when hubby asked if I fancied leaving the kids with their gran and visiting a boot, […]

Woo-hoo, my mum came back from Pakistan yesterday after a month away and have we all missed her.Poor dad and gran have been eating take-away for a month although long-suffering sis has been cooking after work intermittently and looks exhausted (try doing it with three kids hon). Mum suffers from very bad asthma and was […]

I was recently offered the chance to do a review of the Mega Bloks construction toy and was happy to try them out. I always get excited when I get a parcel in the post (even if they are often not for me and turn out to be my sisters re-directed parcels). There are three […]

I think I have touched on this topic before, but crafting and taking care not to be wasteful are two of my favourite things. Also, it’s a great way to bring creativity into our lives without buying it in – which you can’t really do anyway. My favourite way to craft is to salvage things […]

Something I have always struggled with is my sense of identity. More amd more I recognise how strongly this affects the way I have lived my life and some of the decisions I have made. I got to thinking about it today during one of my marathon e-mail navel-gazing sessions with my bestest (who is […]

My grandparents came to England in the 60’s and three of their sons (including my dad) followed in the 70’s. It was a time of massive change in the UK with immigration changing the face of London especially and perhaps nowhere more was this evident than East London. At that time many were not so […]

Assalam-alaikam, The newest issue of Aaila (formerly Mum and Muslim) is out today with lots of fascinating articles.  This issue my contribution includes: Experience and Confidence as a Muslimah Working Mother As a Muslim and as a working parent, there are a number of challenges that one is likely to face. These can include colleagues’ […]

Motherhood is a privilege, we are honoured and blessed to raise our children.   We are raising up the next generation, creating a legacy and changing the world. Paradise lies beneath a mothers feet. But there are days…like today, when after a full day of: Refereeing Disciplining Cajoling Pulling one apart from another Cooking Feeding […]

Fashionista Sister first made these and they have proved popular at our parties and picnics. A previous version of this recipe is here, this is an improved and updated version after much testing out of different ingredients. My husband also requests these when he is picking someone up from the airport and wants something light […]