The printed papers I used were all from American Crafts Amy Tangerine Sketchbook 12×12 book of papers.  I like the bright colours and and-drawn feel of the papers. This last one was my favourite.  I can’t resist rainbows.

 One of Fashionista’s friends put days of work into creating a beautiful dessert table for her henna. There were lots of home-made cookies and cakes, halal sweets and baklava.  She finished the look off with pretty candles and gold chocolate coins on the table, which was a nice touch. Everyone was super-impressed with display.  The […]

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 […]

The cold, crisp winter mornings seem to be giving us the most stunning sunsets and sunrises at the moment.  Because the day is still so short, I get to work as the sun is rising and get a beautiful view.  My camera skills and the glare from the windows leaves much to be desired, but […]

As part of my work, I recently visited the local branch of the charity the Samritan’s.  The plan was to visit, find out more about what they do, and get to know the volunteers.  The volunteers took the time to explain what they did and tell me about the training required to run their services.  […]

What change are you grateful for (now)? I’m pleased that this challenge focuses my attention to a change happening now, I like that I can look back over Ramadan and think about what I might have changed or improved. There is one thing that has been different this time. Most years I wake up for […]

The weather has been very wet for the last few days which seems to have benefited my garden.  For one the boy have been inside and not breaking every plant in sight with their footballs and the drenching seems to have made the plants think it is spring. The garden is a bit of a […]

One of the things I really liked at the Eden Project was the displays, sculptures and art work at every turn, most of it using natural or recycled/re-used materials.  So much detail and care had been put into the way the place looks and even before you get into the biomes full of plants, that […]

Definition: This word is used to describe dishes that have a hot-and-sour flavour. It gave rise to words like chaat (a hot-sour-sweet snack flavoured with chutneys) and spice mixes like chaat masala (source).  When your mum-in-law says she fancies something sweet, what better excuse to drag hubby out gallavanting at night go for a long walk […]

Fashionista was visiting London for the weekend with my sweetheart of a niece, so we decided to take my mum and the kids out for ice cream.  It’s an interesting effect on kids whose parents try to limit sugar intake, the subsequent effect of liberal consumption of sugary foods.  I don’t recall eating sugar as […]

Al Aswany’s novel tells the interconnected stories of the tenants of the once-grand Yacoubian Building, now housing a motley mix of Cairo’s citizens: gentlemen who yearn for the “golden era” when Cairo was like Paris, corrupt politician (what other kind are there?), a gay newspaper editor, a student demoralised by corruption and drawn to religious […]

I haven’t been blogging much recently, feeling exhausted and unwell, I assumed it was just the demands of work, home, family and guests. I thought I just needed rest and that I would be back to my old self. I could see a difference in the mirror, I looked haggard and I wondered if the […]

I love Islam, I feel that there is a sense of balance, measure and justice in every aspect of this faith and I feel like it speaks the truth to me. Whether I turn to it with logic or intuition, whether I listen to what my heart say or probe the tenets of Islam with […]

I have always wanted to be really good at applying henna designs.  I sued to do my own but in recent years I have been too busy in the kitchen or getting everyone organised to get my henna done.  This year I thought I would have a go myself and did my own and the […]