~How to do Arabic Makeup~

A friend requested Arabic makeup. I LOVVVVEEEE how the arabs do their makeup and i do it most of the time. But I am not very good at it. So to keep on learning how to do the makeup I watch a lot of how to videos. This is the easiest one. I will keep on adding them every week.

This is marlene from Makeup Geek i love love her turorials. They are easy and very adorable.

This video is from youtube if you cant open it, maybe if u visit the site makeupgeek you can directly see the tutorial from there.

Hope you enjoy and look lovely!!! ;)

Chronicles from Jeddah---Breakfast Anyone??

There aren't lots of activities that you could do in Saudi Arabia, especially if 1) you are a woman 2) living on your own....but most of the time I am ok with it because i believe in "Live in Rome as the Romans do".
Anyways, two to do things that I see the abundance of and personally enjoy alot are SHOPPING(should have guessed it) and Eating out. Eating out in Saudi Arabia especially in Jeddah is a Fun experience. You can find the best deals under 10 Riyals. And you can have the best ambiance and dinning environment you can imagine at the price you can imagine (ALOT). Anyways, In Jeddah you will find every cusine there is around the world. And being a desi and more accurately a lahori ( ppl from lahore) I cannot resist what Jeddah have to offer in this sector!!!

So me and a collegeue of mine have started going out every thursday to try different breakfast places. And I would say we are discovering some favorite & some completely no no place :)!!!

Few weeks back we went to a place called "The Crepe Cafe" in Star Avenue. I specifically went there because on thier menu it says they have pancakes and i loveeeeeee pancakes but sadly upon arrival there what did they tell me !!!! "WE DONT SERVE PANCAKES AND WAFFLES!!".I was like but it says here that you have so many kind of pancakes but there answer still remained the same!! I would say that it was bit of a blow for my taste buds that were already getting ready to taste some maple syrup and soft spongy pancakes, But the name Nutella crepe on the menu just saved the restaurant a huge NO NO review.




Thursdays are family day so be prepared to see some cute babies in the place but also get your ears ready to hear shrieks and yellings of the same cute babies who will not seem too cute anymore.


Now WHY would you put up a scrumcious picture of pancakes when you know you aren't serving them :S!!!

My healthy ;) breakfast....nutella crepe...it was quite yummy..but could have been yummier if it was served warm...so i could get more melted chochlate...ummm yummmm!!!

Iced coffee which is nice!! especially for a sunny warm Jeddah morning :)!!!

My strawberry smoothie.....somthing I did not like much!! it just had a funny taste...or atleast it wasn't sitting well with my taste buds !!!

My friend's philly cheese crepe. In her own words it was quite nice with spring onions and melted cheese....only if they wouldn't have taken half an hour to serve it , we might have gone there another time!!!

Ummm.. overall a good place with nice decor, good ambiance, an ok food ...nothing that you must have to Have as soon as you think of it!!! Rest is for you guys to check it urself.....

Until Next Time

Toodlessss!!!

Two Reviews

I was really really exicited today. If you dont remember, the Jewellery Exibition at the Dhahran Exibition International Center started yesterday I talked about it here on a previous post. I was really looking forward to it, as the description of it named a lot of things that were goign to be there. But I am sorry to say that it turned out to be a little disappointing for me. Why???? well becasue i am not a filthy rich, diamond buying (eyeing maybe, dreaming surely), person and that is what they all had. I mean dont get me wrong, The jewellery on display was exquisite. My eyes popping out beautiful. No words to describe for pretty. But it was really expensive. Yes if u are into diamonds and can afford to buy them you are in luck because most of them are having special offers and have almost upto 50% off on many items. And you still have time uptill 28 of May. But other then diamonds they didnt have much. One stall of silver jewellery and one stall of Indian gold plated jewellery with semi precious stones in them. Thats It. One more thing dont take your kids under the age of 16 with you because they are not allowed inside for this exibit. If you have someone to look after them, you can leave them outside the Exibition Halls, But thats a chance because its hot out there. No photographs because they didnt let me take any. One thing I used to dislike and now I am starting to hate about KSA. Photographs restrictions, I dont get it. Just dont.

Anyways, I promised two reviews, so this is the second one but unfortunately this is one is not a very good one either. After the exibition we went out to dinner, a farewell dinner for my in-laws. We went to the corniche on the CORNICHE AVENUE. It comes after Kudo and before SEEF (by the way there is somesort of Exibit there as well but i dont know what about because everyhting was wriiten in Arabic and you know about me and arabic from here). The Avenue has six restuarants in it, One of them is a Labanese one AL-BALAD


I liked the location of it, as it is first of the restaurants. It has a rustic entrance, but the thing that I liked the most was the signs on the washrooms there. The WC are located at the start of the restaurant before entering in the main hall. This was the sign on the Ladies one.

And this was the one on the Male one. I am thinkingof copying them and putting them on my own WC's. wont they look nice??

Anyways, Enter the main hall. the ambiance was nice and clean. The servers were friendly, the filipino or indonesian ones at least. But the locals not that much. The menu was in Arabic and in English. But the problem I faced with this one was that many of the names of the dishes were traditional names and not self explainatory. So I had to stick with the only choices I could understand. I do like to explore food alot but not with company. Anyways the food tasted fine. The Grill was really good. I havent had really soft and juicy kababs or grill like this one. Taste wise they were fine. The quantity of the food as compared to the price was not much. If you are willing to spend around Sr.250 for 2-3 people then you can try this restaurant otherwise wait for my next restaurant review.

I loved the fresh bread, it look so pretty.

This is Al-Balad Shrimps from the starters cold section. It was good.

Fattoush. My mother-in-law really liked this.

Hummos

MIX Grill. the grill in under the bread. Good.

Overall I was not impressed with the Restuarant. The food was OK but the price was too much for it.

I Dont Speak Arabic

Have I told u I am a desi in an Arab land. oh yeah my titles clears it. I love this Arab Land. I actually enjoy many of the strict policies which other expats might find annoying or anything like that. I do call this land my home. And yes I do wish that I will be able to live here without the fear of leaving evrything behind or my iqama renewal or not being able to have my family here just because they dont fulfil a certain condition the government has.

Anyways, one of the things I love here is the way the arab women are always so made up and looking nice even when they out to the malls. I love going to the malls just to look at the well groomed ladies. Getting confused as the ladies are all covered up in black here???? Thats the MOST astonishing part. I mean even when these ladies are coverd in Black they still tend to be stylish. With their trendy shoes, fun bags( most of the time designer ones, still cant figure out if all of the ladies in the mall are carrying original Loiu Vitton or fakes and if they r fake i need one too), colorful nail colors and gorgeous makeup.

Sometimes when I am in the mood, I dress up as well when going to the mall. Peole have told me and many a times have mistaken for an arab which flatters me alot ( if an arab is getting offended, not my intention, ask the arabs who mistake me for it). Sometimes the flattery truns into embarassment. WHY???? Let me tell you a scene.

ME (all madeup with kohl eyes and nicely done scarf)

Me roaming a shop

Arab lady (nicely made up, obviously better than me) comes up to me and starts saying something in fluent arabic.

ME NOW

Anyhow I tell I dont speak arabic or understand whatever you are trying to say to me.
The nice lady starts to tell me how she got confused because I looked so much like an arab and I tell her oh no worries I have lived here for 25 years. I have the look down.

And now she looks likes this



ME and my Big mouth, and now I am like this

Really this is embarrasing, I mean I have lived here for all my life really and I dont speak or understand the language. I can however shop in Arabic.

Kum haza?(how much?)

Kum akhir?(what will be the last price?).

Ghali kateer( too expensive), and oh I can count in arabic too (important if u want to shop). But thats about it.

I dont know who to blame for my lack of language skills. I mean living here all my life I have never had arabic speaking friends, I had when I was very little, and I dont know how I comunicated with them, but me and my sister used to spend hours with them. I guess kids have a universal language, and I lost it when I grew up.

The only socializing I had with arabs were the families my dad used to work with and they spoke english. The shopkeepers in the malls didnt used to be arabs, mostly filipinos or indian and they spoke english as well ( these days i have prolems shoping sometimes cause the salespersons are arabs now and have very little english skils). These were the problems in Jeddah. In Khobar its a whole new story. Evrybody in khobar speaks english. I actually have seen Arabs speaking in english with Arabs (i know i am sounding jugdmental but in KSA english speaking arabs is not a norm). When I came to KSA again after a break, I commited that I will learn the language this time for sure, but it seems that I wont need to again, who am I going to learn it for. I mean you normally learn a foreign language because you NEED to communicate. The great thing about KSA is that the country has accomodated so many nationalities. And MOST of the time they are welcomed by the people. But still I think I need to learn arabic just so that i dont have to roam the malls like this

IS Boycotting FACEBOOK the Answer?

Muslims these days are being targeted EVERYWhere, whether its the news, standup comedians, Movies, or Facebook . I dont blame them, I dont blame them at all. First of all a non-muslims does not know what ISLAM is. What are its teachings? What it really is about. He or She will know ISlam through a Muslim they know, the muslims they meet in schools or malls, office place or the internet. But what kind of Muslims are they meeting these days???

We say we are Muslims( myself included) and then we say only strict muslims dont shake hands with non-mahrams. We say we are Muslims, and then lie in a blink of an eye and say little white lies that dont harm anybody are ok. We say we are Muslims, and make promises we never meant to keep in the first place. We say we are Muslims, and meet people with malice in our hearts. We say we are Muslims, and burn tyres on streets, make protests destroying properties of our mulims fellows and other civillinas on the issue of disrespect of Muhammed (P.B.U.H) which is done by non-muslims, who by the way dont know any better ( and learn a little more about us when they see us burning and swearing on the news).

But dont you think that, what we do as Muslims, disobeying Muhammed and Allah on every step in our life is Disrespecting him even more??????? What has given the non-muslims the right to disrespect our reilgion and our prophet??? Dont you think its US???? Dont you think by not practicing what we preach WE are ourselves mocking our religion????

There is a page on Facebook. you will find it here. This is causing many of my friends to deacvtivate their accounts on facebook. I dont think that the authorities will know the difference. My husbands says otherwise. He thinks it will, because they earn money from the clicks we do on the advertisements. I dont know. But taking an action is important. I think reporting it as abusive should do the trick. The important thing is we do take an action.

But is it the Final solution? Do you think this the last page they will create?? Dont you think its more important that we take action in being better muslims, we from our actions show the world what Islam is about. We from our doings show how generous, gentle and giving Islam is.

I know the post has become a little preachy. But i am Not ashamed or embarassed. I am doing this for me. Maybe putting in writting will make me strive more to be a better person and ultimately a better Muslims.

May Allah be with us always.

Jewellery??? What? When? Where??

A week and a half ago, I went to Dhahran International Exibition Center. The Exibit was about household item and furniture form different countries. It was sooooooo wonderful. though i didnt buy anything in particular from there. BUt let me tell you, if i had a little space in my house and wee bit of money in my pocket i might have bought the whole stall of Morroco. The stuff in that stall was soooooooooo pretty and colorful and magical and all that. The stalls from Tunis and Iran had very interesting stuff as well.

Anyhow, i enjoyed that trip utterly even though i didnt buy anythig from there. There is another Exibit coming there from 24 May to 27 May. The Exibit is of Jewellery and Watches. The main sectors will include, Amber Products, Antique jewellry, clocks, Crystal collection, pearl sets, Diamonds, Jewellry Boxes and many many more.

I am trying my best to be there, doesnt matter if i buy or not, having an experience is enough for me (spoken like a person who has no money in her pockets).

Have fun

Chronicles from Jeddah---Something to Ponder

A friend and I had a chance to go to the Islamic Education Center in Jeddah a few weeks ago. Its a really beautiful building with amazing islamic architecture situauted near Tariq Malik road. They offer many different courses, from languauge to islamic studies and classes for convert as well.

What took us there was a series of gatherings called "Why do we??" they have started on every first thursday of the month. They were discussing that why we(muslims) believe in Creation(Adam being created by God) vs Evolution ( monkey being my forefather). We were invited to watch a Documentary Scientific Adam. The documentary showed scientific proofs of us being connected to Adam and Eve. But still some parts of it were still a little confusing for me. Any how, after the documentary we were served some refreshments and a round of discussion started. My confusions were to some extent cleared in the second half of the session by Mrs. Asma. She explained the Adam and Eve thing and our creation with the help of scripture from quran. I loved the way she explained why we were created and what role should we play while we are here on the earth. An example she gave was of a pencil maker.

There used to be a pencil maker whoes pencils were sent to all parts of the world. One day he held one of his pencils and started talking to it. He told it 5 important things that would be imortant for it to be succcessful in its job.

1. He said to the pencil : You will be able to do great things,but only if you allow yourself to be in someone's hand.


2. You will experience a pianful sharpenig every now and then, but you will need it to be a better pencil.


3. You will be able to correct your mistakes.


4. The most important part of you is whats inside.


5. On every surface you are used, you must leave your mark.

We(Muslims) as a nation should also be leaving our marks(ina positive way not the suicding bomner kind of way) but if only we would allow oursleves to be held by ALLAH and agree to whatever He has deciede for us is the best for us.

NEXT month they are bringing mini Morroco in the islmaic center and we would get the chance to experience Morroco in the midst of Jeddah. Cant wait for it cause i am crazy for Morroco, It is placed quite high on my traveling wishlist. You also do try to go if u get the chance.

And please do watch the documentray and tell us your take on it.

Happy days

NO PHONE ZONE

I am a big big big fan of Oprah. Although, I think that she is not perfect and sometimes i do think she gets a little jugdmental but i like to see the bigger picture when it comes to Oprah.

I love what she does. Her job is sooooooooo fun And she gets to influence ppl to do the right. These days on MBC 4 she is campainging towards, NO PHONE ZONE. She is convincing ppl to take a plegde to not to text or talk on the phone while driving. Which i think is a comendable thing. I not only have seen but have practiced ( regretfully)in KSA and iin my homeland, ppl not giving a thought even a second before attending a phone or caling someone or even worse texting someone while driving.

What the worst part is that sometimes whole families are in the car. Its not just dangerous for our familiy but the other s on the road as well. Some peoplel i know even BRAG about their talent of multitasking. I on the other hand would not call it talent but IGNORANCE, which Oprah has taken a step towards to eleminate. If you have missed the programmes you can go to Oprah.com and get the whole stories. There is also a segment where an expert is telling about WHAT WE DONT SEE when we are driving and talking on the phone at the same time. This actually was an eye opener for me. Please do watch it.

30 April, In america is a National No phone Zone Day. But i would like to say lets make it Every Day No phone Zone day in our lives. For us, Our loved ones, And our fellow Humans. May Allah keep us all safe.

Something New

hello there...
Ivisit many many blogs. If u r looking at my blog list , well its kinda not completley updated. But i am getting to it. I got so impressed by all the cute designs and pretty blogs out there, that i was feeling quite sad for mine. So i started a search for free blog backgrounds and design and all that stuff. I thought it would be diffficult to find these things, i mean Why would anybody give out free stuff????, even nice pretty very very cute stuff. But to my knowlegede the world is full of generous ppl.

So in the spirit of passing on generosity I am posting the links i got my stuff from. This is not the final look but for now i am happy to see some color.

I got the background from here.

I got my header from here.

And i got a whole list of free giving blogging sites from this one.

I am trying to find a design that can give a desi and modern touch at the same time. so wish me luck .

Happy days.

Its Official.....I am OLD

My husband sent me an email today which made me realize that i am getting old. I was no evil knivel in my days but i also was not that weak of heart as well. But seeing this email i seriously think that i have no fun spirit left in me. What makes me more scared is that my kids will consider these things FUN. Which is, i think, an excuse for doing evrything these days.

Personally i think FUN is overrated ( long discussion, will ramble on later)

Tell me what u think of these FUN activites.

GRAND CANYON SKY WALK


It doesnt look that scary, take a look at the second pic



WHAT do u think now????




would be fun to walk on it but Y temp NAture???

LAS VEGAS TRIPLE THRILL AMUSEMENT CENTER

Can u see where the park is? NO? let me give u clearer picture.

Can U see It NOW?????

Seriously Y tempt NAture????

Share with me new scares and worries for mothers all over the world on Mother's Day.

HAppy MOthers DAY.

UPSY DAISY

I, a desi, have just been 5 months in the arab land. Have no socializing still. very little to do at home if u dont count my running aound after my 2 yr old. so i spend a lot of time in front of the computer. naturally my 2 yr old is also trying to type over my fingers and telling me not to toucht the keyboard as he is working. so i started searching for nursery rhymes for him on youtube. i found many good ones. i also started searching for islamic ones, i thought its a good way to teach him somehting valuable as well cuz i was not getting anywhere with him. evry time i asked him to recite me the kalimah he would go baba baba black sheep. NOt good right??? i know.

i found some good ones and he likes to listen to them but i am starting with a very few i thought its a goood idea to share them. This is the one he is learning cuz its slow and easy.
i really like this one cuz it is upbeat. The video is good as well. Fun for kids. I likes this one as well but the visual are all lyrics so it doesnt get my kid too enthusiastic when on the comp. but if i sing to him he listens. The other two this one and this one are for a little older kids. i am memorizing it myself to i have subsitutes for twinkle twinkle and mary had a little lamb. I dont have anything against these nursery rhymes, i think nursery rhymes are a great way to teach children vacbulary, language skills and they just plain fun. These traditional poems are inshallah going to be a part of my childs life but i think bringing the islamic culture in his life at an early stage is very important as well.

Hope this helps and was fun.