Fashion Tuesday: Travel Essentials

I'm traveling to Amman, Jordan this Friday. And so I wanted to share with you the items that I will take with me on the airplane. They are MUST haves for me! 

iPad // Yves Saint Laurent waterproof eye liner // MAC lip gloss // Estee Lauder concealer // Dooney Bourke shopper handbag //Burt's Bee lotion // Huggies Baby wipes // Tory Burch skimmer shoes // Canon Camera

Tasty Thursday: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside down cake was one of my favorite cakes as a child. I really loved the taste of those sweet sticky caramelized pineapple rings on the top of the cake. Today, I'm sharing the recipe I use for my pineapple cake. You can also use this recipe to make pineapple upside down cupcakes, as I did. Kids will love them. 

You will need:

Cake Batter:

3     cups all purpose flour

4     teaspoons baking powder
1/2  teaspoon salt

1     cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2     cup granulated white sugar

2     teaspoon vanilla extract

4     large eggs

1     cup milk

Topping:

4       tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

3/4    cup brown sugar

1       medium pineapple (peeled, cored, and sliced)

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter spray a 9 inch round cake pan. 

     Topping: 

• Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
• Pour into your prepared cake pan. Evenly arrange the fresh pineapple slices on top of the sugar mixture. 

     Cake Batter: 

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
• In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add the vanilla extract.  
• Add the milk and continue beating.
• Add the flour mixture slowly until all ingredients are mixed well. 
• Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned. 
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. 
• Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto a serving plate.

Fashion Tuesday: My Wardrobe - Mix and Match

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend. My daughter's 10th birthday was yesterday. I just can't believe how fast time goes by. But no matter how big they get, they will be always my babies!

Today I'm trying to mix and match some items from my wardrobe. I haven't tried the dress out yet (other than in the store). I'm saving it for our trip to Jordan, and I think it will go nicely with my other items below. I hope you like the whole outfit.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5(similar)// 6

Friday favorites

Happy Friday, everyone! And happy long weekend. It's cold and rainy here in South East PA. I hope you have better weather with some outdoor plans.

Here are some of my favorite finds from around the web. I hope you enjoy them!

Makeup: I saw this tutorial on youtube the other day, and I really liked how simple it is. You can see a big difference between before and after the makeup. The only thing, however, that I'm not a big fan of Lancome. I read online that they test their products on animals, and so I stopped buying their products long time ago. But I guess you can purchase your favorite makeup brand and apply those hints. No big deal!

On my hunt for a white eyeliner, I found this white kohl from Make Up forever. I love it!

DIY: I want to try Pallet gardening next year. It looks awesome.

 

Bread: I made plain braided bread several times but I never stuffed it. This braided lemon bread looks so yummy.

Appetizer: Although I always make Falafel at home, one of my favorite things about going to Jordan next month is that I will be able to eat Falafel, hummus, and hot pita bread all the time, anytime. YAY! Those Falafel in the picture look so good.

 

Cake: I guess my kids will love this zebra cake. It looks amazing.

Tasty Thursday: Chocolate chip cookies

So I feel the need to work more on my blog. I really want to blog more often, because I just love blogging. My current plan is to blog at least twice a week. Let's see how committed I can be :)

Today's recipe is chocolate chip cookies. When I first made these cookies, they were good but too sweet for me, and too buttery for my husband. So I adjusted the original recipe to better suit our tastes. The resulted cookies were amazing!

You will need:

2       cups flour
1/2    teaspoon baking soda
1/2    teaspoon salt 
1       cup packed brown sugar
8       tablespoon butter
2       eggs
2       teaspoon vanilla
1       cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
• Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together
• In a separate bowl beat the melted butter and the sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until mixed
• Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mix and combine well
• Add the chocolate chips and mix well
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart
• Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes

Fashion Tuesday: Pointy toe pump

Hellooo!!! I have been BUSY lately, really busy. Less than three weeks till our trip to Amman, Jordan. I can't wait.

With all the shopping I have been doing for our trip, I couldn't resist buying myself few things. And shopping online has been my favorite recently. With the free shipping and the easy return, ahhhh... Life is good :)

So lately I have been craving a new pointy toe pump. I guess every lady should have one of those in her wardrobe. They can go nicely with any formal/casual outfit. Here are few items that have caught my eyes. Which one is your favorite? I'm in love with all of them, but there is only one I really want to buy. Can you guess which one?

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

بين العقل والدين

قرأت البارحة مقالا عن الحجاب وخلعه والأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر. الصراحة انا لن اتكلم في ذلك لأني بالرغم من ايماني بواجب النصيحة، انا اؤمن اننا جميعا في امتحان وكلنا لنا عثراتنا وان الدين لا يبنى على ركن واحد.
ما استوقفني في المقال والتعليقات عليه ان كثيرا من الناس للأسف يناقش في أمور الدين وكأنهم يقولون ان كثيرا من أحكام الدين الإسلامي لا تصلح الآن لأن الزمان تغير، على حد تعبيرهم. وأن الله خلق لنا عقولا لنفكر، وما كان يصلح للماضي لا يصلح الان. سبحان الله، ومن قال ان لا نستخدم العقل في حل الأمور المستحدثة. ولكن لا تعبث في الاساسيات. فكثير من امور الدين لا تؤخذ بالعقل كما قال سيدنا علي كرم الله وجهه:"لو كان الدين بالرأي لكان أسفل الخف أولى بالمسح من أعلاه"

What's for dinner?...

This is my girls' daily question. It's always followed by NAYs or YAYs! And hearing the NAYs are really frustrating. So, I hope writing the menu on the board will help in avoiding any frustration/arguments :)

DIY Kitchen Chalkboard

I'm having a blast this winter break. Hubby and kids are having 10 days off, and we are enjoying each minute being together. I'm thankful for having a sweet family.

Today, we finished our kitchen chalkboard project. Check the pictures below. It was fun!

 

We used spray paint but I really recommend using a regular latex paint. The spray paint was kind of messy.

 

Paint and let dry

 Add a frame. We bought wood trims and cut them to make a frame

 Now it's ready to enjoy!

Falafel in Pita Bread

Our lunch was falafel sandwiches today. No, no, no, we didn't stop by the neighborhood Lebanese deli. I made everything myself, including the pita bread.

Felafel with warm pita bread and tahini sauce... Yum Yum. Scroll down for the recipes.

Falafel:

2       cups soaked chickpeas, washed and drained
1/2    teaspoon baking soda
1       small onion
3       garlic cloves
1       cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2    cup fresh cilantro leaves
1       teaspoon cumin
1/2    teaspoon salt
         oil for frying (I use canola oil)
  

• Put the soaked chickpeas in a food processor. Add the baking soda, onion, garlic, herbs, cumin, and salt. Process until the mixture is smooth.
• Heat the oil in a deep fryer, and then roll the falafel mixture in small size ball. I used a special falafel scoop. Fry until all sides are brown as in the picture above. Remove falafel and drain on a platter lined with paper towel.

Pita Bread:

4     cups flour
1     tablespoon yeast
1     cup warm water (you may need more)
1     teaspoon salt

• Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let it set for 5 minutes.
• Put the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add salt, and using the dough hook start beating them. Add the yeast mix slowly. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more water if needed. Add flour if the dough is too sticky.    
• Turn dough into floured surface and divide into 8 equal balls.
• Let the balls rest for 30 minutes
• Put a baking sheet in your oven and preheat the oven to 425 F. You want the baking sheet to be as hot as the oven.
• Flatten the balls into even-thickness discs.  
• With the Baking sheet in the oven, flip the discs on the baking sheet and bake for around 10 minutes, until light golden.  

 

Guest Bedroom -ReDo

Check those great finds I got today from TJMaxx. They fit nicely in my guest bedroom.

 Throw-$9.99

 Table lamp-$29.99

 

 Pillow-$16.99

Guest bedroom

I also purchased this nice laundry basket.

 Laundry basket-$12.99

Laundry room

PhD...achievd :)

So last Friday I defended my dissertation, successfully! It was a big day for me and my family. No words could describe my feelings at that moment. Alhamdulellah.

It was also my birthday last Friday. So passing my defense was a unique gift!!

Another present was awaiting for me on my birthday. The YSL ring I was craving for. Thanks hubby!

Guest Post: Instinct of a New Convert

Another guest post wrote by my husband. I hope you all are having a good first day of Ramadan.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Few weeks ago, I was at the supermarket getting our weekly groceries, and while I was busy in my own little world loading bags into my van I heard someone behind me approaching and say something very softly, I turned around to see that it's the supermarket employee responsible for collecting carts extending his hand, he was a big guy (6+ ft), but handsome and young in age – around 20 years old, so I immediately took the last two bags from the cart saying “here you go”, while thinking to myself “he couldn't wait just a couple of seconds?” But then I was surprised by this soft spoken employee reaching out instead to shake my hand saying “Assalamu Alikum, I'm Br. James”*. After few exchanges with this young man I found that he is a new convert to Islam, less than a year, but what really made an impression on me was how his pride was just over-flowing that he's a Muslim! I asked him how did he recognize that I was a Muslim, he simply said “I saw you in the Masjid”, and right there I made a decision to look for him next time I'm at the Masjid and chat a little.

Last night, Ramadan was announced across the Muslim world, and like many I joined the Ramadan nightly “Taraweh” prayers, and after we were done at a rather late hour I noticed “Br. James” in the Masjid, so I walked up to him and as I taped him on the shoulder he turned to me with a face full of sweat as if he was just out of a shower – it was a really hot night and ACs where not cooping with a Masjid full of people. So I start a conversation:

Me: “Assalamu Alikum Br. James”

Br. James: “Assalamu Alikum”

Me: “So you broke a sweat?!”, my attempt to break the ice

Br. James: “It's my first Ramadan. Do you think Allah will understand if I drank water... I'm thirsty and its hot”

He stopped me in my tracks and for a couple of seconds I was not sure what he was asking. Seeing me confused he reiterated, “it is my first Ramadan”, almost apologetically. Then it hit me, “Br. James” is asking me if Allah will understand if he drank water at night, after Taraweh, because he understood that Ramadan started and clearly he did not understand the rules, not yet, after all it IS his first Ramadan. I went on to explain to him that although the month of Ramadan had just started at dusk that evening we did not fast yet, and that fasting is from dawn to dusk, and during the night it is completely fine to drink and eat. We spoke a little more, and I found out that he was working at the supermarket to pay his way through college. Few minutes later, I left him and headed home.

As I was driving as was going after what just had happened in my mind, his words “It's my first Ramadan” ringed in my ears, and I thought what a wonderful feeling to experience Ramadan for the first time... it must feel magical, the same way I felt when I knew Ramadan as a Kid. But what really struck me was his innocent question “Do you think Allah will understand if I ...”, and although it appeared that I know many time more than “Br. James” about Islam, after all I'm a born Muslim, I felt that he captured in his question so much more than what I typically do as a Muslim. To be honest, I typically look for an excuse to justify my actions, effectively I'm asking “how can Allah understand what I'm about to do”, not what my “Br. James” simply stated in his few words using his god given instinct as a new Muslim with an almost clean slate. That moment I felt what a true Muslim should be like.

Maybe I can be more like “Br. James” this Ramadan, and make sure “Allah will understand” my actions before I do them, if in doubt, better stop right there and then.

Ramdan Mubark to you all!

* I changed his name to maintain anonymity

Ramadan Mubark

Cake shop

Sometimes I seriously think about making a cake shop. My own cake shop. Maybe one day, who knows!!

I really enjoy making cakes. Check the pictures below for some of the cakes I made over the past couple of years.

 My daughter's Birthday cake

 My friend's Birthday cake

 Hubby's Birthday cake

 Strawberry cake

  Swiss rolls

Coffee cake

Lately in pictures!

First, please welcome my new camera! I'm in love with it. I can finally become the professional photographer I always wanted to be! Just kidding :)

Here are some of the pictures we took with the new camera.

Japanese Lilies in my front yard 

 The zoom lens is amazing

Hubby got those aged cheese from Netherlands last week

 I made those Swiss rolls last week

 Stroop waffles with tea

The cake I made on my hubby's birthday

Spring-Clean your life

I came across this post while I was checking my favorite blogs this morning: 10 ways to Spring Clean your life, by Iowa Girl. I loved the idea itself, Spring-Cleaning your life! I think I really need to do this. I need to start thinking about my own ways to clean my life from all things that have been bothering me to start fresh this Spring!

Actually, I found the 10 ways mentioned in the post interesting. The one related to cleaning your makeup bag is so good because I (and probably most of the ladies I know) never cleaned my makeup based on the expiration date. I always get rid of the old ones when I get bored of them. This chart gives you an idea about how long cosmetics are good for. I can now decide which makeup items in my drawer I need to get rid of.