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

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

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

Happy 1st Birthday to my little boy!

One year ago today I was snuggled in my room at the hospital holding my 7 lb 3 oz baby boy! Since then he has been the sweetest thing in our life. It has been one wild ride, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy!

It was my birthday last Wednesday! That's why October is so special to me! I had a great day! My hubby got me this very nice cake. It was a nice surprise. To be honest, I expected a cake because he always gets me one. But this Barbie cake was unexpected. I was extremely happy. Hubby did it again; he made me so confident that I'm one of the happiest out there, alhamdulillah! It's not about the cake or the gift. It's about taking care of the smallest details. It's this unlimited love and kindness. 

 

Couple of weeks ago, my daughters asked me to get them some yarn to learn knitting. I was glad to hear that because I like knitting myself. It has been a while since the last time I did it so I was so excited about the whole thing. I also have been thinking about learning how to crochet, so I found it a good chance. Here is what I have been working on. I find it so relaxing and fun. I try to work on it during the girls' swimming classes, and whenever I get a chance!

Guest Post 3: How to love your veiled self

Okay I'm cheating here! I got this post from Chocolate mint in a jar who guest posted for her sister RJay. I loved RJay's post and I couldn't resist posting it. I personally follow most of her tips and I guess this is why I love my veil (Hijab)! Enjoy it :)

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I’ve read hundreds of articles on how to hijabify your sundress by wearing a shirt underneath or jean jacket on top.

I’ve learnt a dozen ways to tie my hijab , cover my neck but show my pretty earrings.

I’ve scored the internet for ideas on how to wear anything hijabifiyed.
I’ve learnt how to shop.

I’ve learnt to try to stick to clothes that are already long sleeved and won’t need too much layering.
I’ve learnt to wear pretty colors and nice accessories .
I’ve learnt to wear my clothes with pride and feel pretty on the inside not just the outside after all. I've been practicing for 12 years.

The one thing I struggled with the most was not the year of the leggings or the year camisoles and miniskirts were in , I didn’t struggle with deciding between wearing skin tight tops or skipping.

The thing I struggled with the most for all these years (and still do) is loving myself veiled.

Mind you struggling with your hijab is the second best kept secret (after how horrendous childbirth is)no one tells you how hard it is to keep it on I’ve gone violently back and forth from wanting to take it off to wearing loose fitting clothes and no make up.

I used to look at happy cute veiled girls and wish I was that happy …I felt the same envy for the girls with their loose hair down their backs and miss my own

However the good news is that I’m at a good place right now and thought I would share with you and spare you 12 years 

1- Girls are prettier on the other side whatever side you are on whether you are veiled or unveiled tall or short thin or curvy blond or brunette …sometimes you will feel that anyone who isn’t you is better.

Hate to burst your bubble women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes and nothing is more beautiful than loving yourself enough …when you love yourself you are able to focus on other people when you do that people can tell how amazing and strong you are to long beyond the pettiness of oneself

When you don’t like yourself you are so busy internally nitpicking every part of yourself and seething with green eyed malice at anyone around you that people step over you so they don’t get infected.

I’ve watched guys go gaga over the new girl and forget her in a week because she was too self centered.

I’ve seen seemingly average girls get the hottest sweetest guys because they loved themselves enough to shine and knew deep down they were worth the best guys.

I’ve longed to be friends with girls who commanded the whole room but looked nothing like your typical siren just so I could be near all that happiness.

I’ve sometimes been the new it girl and sometimes I joined in the praise of the new girl with my guy friends …I know my place and it’s a pretty good spot…. because after all god put me there.

2-Loving yourself is a must but you must also know how to project a certain image

If you want to love yourself while veiled you must treat yourself to all the indulgences of non veiled girls just because your hair is covered doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dye it if you want have it permed have it blown dry , cut and cared for by the best  products you can get your hands on

You deserve to look at a pretty you in the mirror you deserve to smell the pretty shampoo from your hair

3-You must have a beauty and clothes regime that you have designed personally and stick to it

This is mine:

• I buy the prettiest-smelling, softest-curl-inducing shampoos I can find
• I cut , style and blow dry my hair regularly
• I wax regularly even if no one will see
• I go to the gym every day (choose my outfits carefully but that’s the next point)
• I buy any hijab unsuitable  clothes like lingerie and swimsuits and wear them at home or at girls only events
• I buy big dangly earrings even if no one can see them , I can
• I use nice smelling creams
• I have a huge array of any nail polish that takes my fancy I apply it after I pray 3esha so I don’t worry about wodoo2 and remove it at night before I sleep, this might seem like a hassle but believe me it’s worth it

4-The clothes maketh the girl

Deciding what to wear is the biggest deal but most of us have a picture of what they want to look like in their heads but beware freedom has a limit we made that commitment the day we decided to cover our hair don’t make a fool of yourself by wearing too much make-up or tight revealing clothes it makes you look desperate, confused and have no idea who you want to be.

The veil is about being presentable yet conservative don’t defeat the purpose.

Guidelines:

• Choose colors that make you happy and comfortable buy 80 % of ur clothes in that color and 20 % of the time go on a limb and by something different.
• Care for the details , your scarf matters think comfort –color –coordination.
• Not everything that is in fashion works for your body , face or your veil think wisely.
• Your accessories mean a lot bag, shoes, and jewelry wear whatever takes your fancy and if they r too loud just wear a one colored outfit and go crazy!!
• You are an ambassador keep that in mind.
• If you don’t know what style to choose find someone you like and mimic mesh 3eeb.
• When it comes to the gym make sure your top is long colorful and comfortable preferably cotton same goes for your veil you are going to the gym to sweat not to flirt you look ridiculous when you try to hard that goes for non veiled girls too.

Personally I buy boys shirts coz they r long and dry fit just go for colorful ones , choose your shoes wisely too and please for the love of god DON’T WEAR MAKE UP AT THE GYM I agree you look prettier with eyeliner but you also look DESPERATE.

5-Last but not least

Choosing to be veiled means that you are supposedly at a higher level of piety not necessarily better or worse than everyone else but conduct yourself wisely you are an ambassador to your faith be sweet and polite don’t be loud and vulgar not only are you scrutinized more closely you are labeled as desperate and  unstable.

Another random update!!

While some of you are still celebrating Eid, our one-day Eid is wrapped up and everyone is back to work/school. The girls and hub enjoyed having the day off. We went to the prayer in the morning and then had our breakfast at the Islamic center. The girls enjoyed their new clothes and money gifts from dad. Later that day we got the chance to see our friends and have dinner together at one of the girls' favorite restaurant. 

For me, I was not happy that I couldn't fit in any of the nice clothes I was planning to wear for Eid. Still, I managed to wear something else and it looked okay.

Talking about getting back in shape, I'm starting my weight watchers (WW) plan. I know that I will lose the pregnancy weight eventually, but I wanted to get faster results. I was motivated by some blogger friends who really got good results. I thought sharing this with everyone would be like those WW meetings where you need to show others the results you got. This will make it more serious and will make me stick to the plan. I will be posting another post regarding my WW later on.

Now, let's talk FUN. I went shopping last week. I got  to buy myself some gifts!! Yes, it was my birthday last month which happened to be few days before the baby delivery which also happened to be couple of weeks before our anniversary, so my hubby wanted me to pick the Birthday/anniversary/baby gift(s) by myself.

My Birthday cake

 

Our anniversary cake

I got to pick whatever I want, so I got this handbag and those sunglasses from Bloomingdales (I still need to pick one more thing):

So when I was not able to enjoy my clothes, those were great because they fit just FINE :)

I hope you all had a great Eid.

Postpartum Therapy

OK, Baby Abdurahman is four weeks old. I'm feeling much better el7amdellah, and baby Abdurahman is much bigger. However, I still feel overwhelmed! Still can't get back to my pre-pregnancy well-organized life! Too many things I need to start working on. No motivation to do anything though! I'm sure the first thing to jump to your mind as you read this are the postpartum hormonal changes I'm going through. It surely is :(

To overcome those symptoms I decided to have some therapies :)

First, a message therapy. I have a bad pain in the neck and shoulders area that is going to kill me. I guess this makes me in need for such a therapy. I'll try to make an appointment for next week.

Second, some retail therapy! I guess it's the ladies favorite therapy. Shopping is always soothing! I enjoy shopping either in stores or online. I have been surfing the web recently looking for nice boots.

Because I had swollen feet during pregnancy, and due to the fact that I was not able to wear anything except for my Kate spade flip flop (which turned to be so ugly due to excessive use and weight), I really miss shoes, real shoes, especially those yummy high heels :)

However, I'm thinking about getting one of those tall boots with low heels since they are so trendy this winter. Some of the boots I found online and I really like are those UGG boots in the pictures below.

Those low heel boots for a stylish look.

Or maybe those for a funky look!

Or maybe those if I decided to go with wedge boots.

On the other hand, I really like those peeptoe booties which were so trendy in the summer. I'm not sure about getting one now but maybe next summer! I like those Guess booties. So stylish :)

Awesome, I feel better already  :)

I'm going shopping this week. I need to get the kids new clothes for the Eid, and some stuff for me (including the boots). Keep tuned to know the winner boots!

Eid Mubarak in advance!

Lately purchased...

Last week I went shopping for some new makeup items. I needed a new concealer, and by the way this was the only thing I really needed, but ofcourse as soon as I made it to Macy's, I found myself looking for new foundation and eyeliner :) For makeup, I always like to try new stuff and I don't stick to any kind even if it is really good on me. Weird, I know, but this is me!!

I got my makeup from Estee lauder this time. A friend of mine recommended their Double Wear concealer, and that's why I decided to give it a try. I also purchased Double Wear foundation and Double Wear eyeliner. Check the picture below.


The foundation is really good. It gives a good coverage and feels really light. I really like it! The concealer is OK. Since I don't have dark circles or puffiness, it gives me the coverage I need. For the eyeliner, I was looking for a good one that won't smudge. I always have a problem of eyeliners smudging all around my eyes. So far this eyeliner is staying good, but I have not been using it heavily to confirm that.
I also recently bought a bronzing powder from Clarins. I like the glowing tan look it gives in summer.

Now talking about makeup, you can obviously tell how much I love makeup. However, I don't wear makeup everyday. Most of the time, I just put my face moisturizer, eye concealer, lip palm or gloss and that's it. I like to be makeup-free sometimes, and I feel comfortable with that.

On my next shopping trip I plan to get some new scarves. I love those ones sold in big department stores like Macy's and Bloomingdale's. I sometimes get them from TJMaxx and Marshalls as well. I even find them better in quality than the scarves I get from Amman, and that's why I didn't really do that much shopping for scarves when I was in Jordan last winter. The only stuff that I make sure to get enough of whenever I'm in Amman are Ameera hijabs.

Here I want to share with you some of my favorite face creams and perfumes. I have been using Youthtopia face creams from Origins for about 5 months, and I really like them. They are REALLY good, so if you need new face creams, consider buying them. In the following picture is the set I'm using everyday. The serum, eye cream, and moisturizer.


My favorite perfume is Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. I really like this perfume and can't get enough of it :)


That's it. Hope you all had a good weekend!