A Dusty Revival

I don't know how many of you actually read my infrequent ramblings, but I guess, more like I hope there are a few of you out there .. My baby blog still needs to be kept alive from time to time, I'd not leave it unless I had a damn good reason to ..

I've found a new love .. Yeah don't look at me that way, I have a soft spot for new viral trends i.e. Twitter, and now Tumblr .. So I'vr decided to keep my Tumblr for the gorgeous eye-candy that are called photos, so in essence, it's an inspiration photo blog .. This one if for my occasional ranting .. Much more fun that way and a flimsy excuse to use both at the same time ..

There hasn't been much of anything interesting in my life other than the fact I have started my senior year .. The emotions towards that are still mixed .. I mean, when I have to to think of the fact that I actually have to become a responsible adult and face the real world as opposed to a university student who is still living in her own protected bubble .. I do and don't want the academic year to come to an end .. I do want to walk across stage, my heels clacking on the wooden stageboards of our university's auditorium, to receive that piece of paper that tells me I need to face up to the real world now .. But that's the part I don't want to do at all!

This mini musing now has to come to an end as my editor needs me to edit articles for our beloved magazine which we don't wan to let go .. But that's another rant for another time ..

Throw Them Across The Aisle!

Best.Pillow fight.Ever!

She has got to be the awesomest air-hostess ever .. At least fun is still around in the alrline industry .. I wonder if we can do this in Emirates? Maybe if we ask nicely?

Bucket List

As I was sitting down to dinner with my sister in our apartment, an ad came on tv about a music festival or something of that kind .. My sister and I started getting into a discussion about music festivals, and I've always wanted to go to one .. Feel the atmosphere and have a good time ..

It's something on my bucket list; the list of things I want to do before I die .. I know that may be a kind of depressing thought to some people, but I want to try and live my life to the fullest and take advantage of every single opportunity .. I got to thinking about what I would like to put on my bucket list, and here's what I came up with so far ..

Bucket List:

-Go to a music festival
-Go to Milan, London, Paris, and New York Fashion Weeks
-Take another all-girl trip with my girls
-Visit Bali
-Study my Masters degree abroad
-Be featured in a magazine
-Travel around the world on a food trip

That's what I came up with so far .. I've noticed most have to do with travel .. I guess I just enjoy traveling that much ..

What's on your bucket list?


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You Better Be Good

July and I didn't exactly see eye to eye most of the time .. We had ups, but there were more downs .. I got a lot of shocks; few good, and mostly bad ones ..

As much as I love my family, we can only be confined for a while, and this while is over .. I just want to go home and see more of my friends than I do my sisters .. I've had my fill of you to last me til next summer ..

August, be good to me please ..
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London: Day 2

Day 2 in London will be one of my most memorable days here .. Why? Well, because I was with the girls who made New York special for me .. 4, including me, of the 6-strong group were together in New York, and this day out in a country abroad took us back to that place in our minds and subconsciouses .. After a trip without the parents and with the best companions, every trip doesn't live up to the great times we had together .. This is why today was the best day of my vacation ..

Morning consisted of hailing a taxi to Oxford Street and getting busy walking up and down, and in and out of stores .. All we saw there were other Arab women doing the same thing .. It's as if you can smell the burning of plastic from the women's wallets! Except, at the end of the shopping trip, we were forced to walk back to Knightsbridge because the roads were completely blocked due to traffic, and it consisted of, at least, a half hour walk -,- with heavy shopping ..

The highlight of the day was going the Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.. Seeing as the few days I'm spending in London is as if I've discovered this city for the first time, going to the V&A was something I wouldn't have thought of doing .. But Grace Kelly is a style icon, and will forever remain so .. Seeing as Van Cleef and Arpels have sponsored a Grace Kelly exhibition, it was only fitting that we go ..

It was gorgeous! Most of her famous outfits were on display there .. The dress she got her Oscar in, the dresses she had when she was pregnant, the dresses she was snapped in, the pieces of clothing that helped reinforce her elegance and grace were all there for the public to see .. Of course, what Grace Kelly exhibition is complete without her jewels and the Hermes handbag that is names after her? Yes, they were on display, and I have never wanted a bag more that when I saw it encased in the glass box, hanging so elegantly as if it will be pulled out in a matter of minutes and have the lipstick slipped in and drape over the arm, lending it the understated elegance that is the Hermes Kelly ..

After the exhibition and some wandering around in Knightsbridge, we decide to head for lunch as I could feel my stomach trying to eat itself from hunger .. Stop at Joe's Cafe and have to wait in line, which just made us hungrier than Godzilla trying to eat Tokyo .. As we got seated and ordered our lunch, Mayed Bin Mohammed walks in, and gets his food before us :P we, on the other hand, had to wait 45 mins for our main dishes to come and another 15 mins for the heavenly sticky date pudding to come .. I've heard it's good, I've heard the one in Dubai isn't as good, and I've heard it's a must-try if I ever step foot into the cafe .. It was the BEST date dessert I've had! And now if I go back to Dubai and it really is not as good, I'll really get disappointed .. Who cares about the calories?! It was worth every last one!

As we were finally back in the hotel, we decide we'll act like Arabs and hang around Harrods as it is the tradition here .. The Kuwaitis who were also hanging around there made my dad furious with their staring -,-

So we went out for dinner at one of the Lebanese places that's popular with the Arabs, and we're back in the hotel and I'm tucked into bed! So this means goodnight from London gorgeous readers! ;*

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Ciao Italia!

Ciao Italia is what I'm saying to this gorgeous, but hot, country .. For now .. You think of Italy in summer and you think of heat and sun ..

That's not wrong; you totally get heat and sun! But then the nights are cooler and it's as if the temperature wasn't at 35 and 36 degrees .. The country becomes the balmy summer evenings you read about in stories .. You go out, you walk around, and it's what everyone else is doing as well, except the Italians always have gelato in their hands ..

We've come to Italy for 3 days and not more .. We've already seen it, and we just want to experience it again .. I kid you not when I say we experienced it all over again .. The romantic, ancient streets that still survive .. The old, old buildings that still stand strong .. The Arena di Verona that still housed an Opera in it last night .. It's all a sight to behold .. And I stand by saying everyone should experience Italy at least once in their lifetime ..

Besides Verona, we went to Milano, fashion capital of the country, and deservedly so .. Of course all the Italian women and tall, leggy, tanned and toned beauties and the men are all dapper in 3 piece suits despite the scorching heat ..

Oh, and of course I burned a hole in daddy's pocket over in Milan :D

We are now on our way back to Munich .. And I will miss the vibrant life that is Italia, not to mention all the food! No wonder the Italians don't eat anything else .. Their food is just to die for! If you think you've had delicious Italian food, you haven't until you eat IN Italy!

Ciao for now! xx


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Day 4: München

It's the fourth day we spend here in Munich, Germany .. My sister and I are currently relaxing in one of their coffee shops, sharing a bagel and having cold drinks ..

World Cup fever has taken the city by storm! And when they won over England, they all swarmed into the streets, dressed up, painted, touting vuvuzelas and generally celebrating in every single way possible .. My father even donned the German flag and was waving to all of them celebrating in cars ..

Tomorrow we head out to Italy before the real heat hits the country and we all end up melting and feeling as if we were back home in Dubai .. Verona and Milan, here we come!
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Testing 2.0

LOL, I like blogging from here actually .. Let's see how a pic will look like, shall we?


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Testing

This is to test whether I can blog on the go when I travel tomorrow!
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Escapade Vol.2 Issue2

And it's here again! Escapade vol.2 Issue 2 .. Second time around was a better success, even though I loved the first one .. It's a learning process I guess .. It's a bumper issue this time, 30 pages cover to cover .. A big achievement for the 'staff' who haven't worked this crazily ever xD

A big thanks to the designers for this issue .. I know us editors put you through hell and back, but you guys came through in the end .. I think if we weren't the great friends that we are, we would have killed each other by now! Thanks for putting up with the craziness of it all!

Another thanks to my Editor-in-chief, the lovely Dee .. The crazier times with this magazine are still ahead of us, and we have loads more work lined up .. But you know we're gonna miss it when they will force us to hand it to the kids (whom I don't trust til now btw) .. We have senior year ahead of us, and we gotta make our mark just like those of Echo before us ..

So what's in this issue?

-Memoirs in NY, written by a dear friend <3,>our first male contributor in the university magazine for an all-girls university, our lovely friend Andrew from the States ..

-Leadership with limits, how ZU wants the girls to become the leaders of tomorrow while becoming hypocrites and get our parents involved in every minute detail of our university life ..

-Proximity log, yet another way that ZU give the overbearing parents a change to keep MORE tabs on the girls ..

-Trip to Thailand, where ZU girls got to visit Thailand with Habitat for Humanity and build a home for a family in need ..

-Limited Parking, otherwise known as the catastrophe that is the ZU parking ..

-Embarrassing Moments, anonymous embarrassing moments from the students ..

-Babe on a Budget, things to do in Dubai for under 100Dhs!

You gotta read the issue to find out the rest! :D

Write The Future

One of the best Nike ads I've seen .. And that's saying something as I do enjoy their ads .. The future can change in a matter of seconds ..

Blog Layout

It looks kinda weird but I think the colors work together .. I had black with a bunch of colors that bordered on neon, so I decided it was time for a change .. I don't remember where I saw this color scheme but I liked the colors; I thought it was weird ..

What do you guys think?

This Is For You, FourMe

I recently discovered a fellow blogger, FourMe, is suffering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma .. For those for you who don't know what that is, it is a form of cancer that originates from the white blood cells .. I did my research on this kind of cancer and el7mdilla found out that it is one of the few cancers that has an extremely high survival rate, even when detected at the later stages .. And this post is dedicated to her ..

FourMe, I may not always comment on every single blog post, but I do read every single one of them .. Half the time the do express stuff that I'm feeling or can relate to .. But this isn't about whether I'm an avid reader of your blog; this is about you .. You have cancer .. It's there and you can't run away from it ..

I'm not here to try cushion it with pretty words that mean nothing .. I'm here writing this blog post to encourage you, to pray for you, to show you that there are people all around the world who are giving a damn about you! I have seen what cancer does to a person, and I've seen what happens when someone gives up .. DON'T GIVE UP! I know you're a strong woman, one of the strongest I know, and something like this isn't going to kill the spirit that you have ..

We are all here, we are all praying, and you are in my prayers everyday dear FourMe .. I pray to Allah to give you the strength to fight through this and kick the cancer's ass into oblivion .. I pray to Allah to ease the pain that you are going through, and to keep your faith strong throughout all of this .. I pray so that he gives you the ability to face each day as it comes, to keep that smile on your face through all this .. I know it's painful, and tiring, and exhausting, and every other adjective a person could think of in that context, but do NOT give up ..

I can keep going on and on but I won't .. I'll leave my words for the prayers I keep you in .. Allah yshfeech hun, and keep fighting!

www.pray44me.com - A site to keep giving the woman encouragement and strength to fight this!

xx

FingerPrint

Into The Sensory Box

I was mesmerized while watching this .. Looks like a lot of hard work!

As Long As Nutella Is Involved

Photograph credit: SUGARCOOKING

So this is what I do when I've done everything else I can think of online .. Look for a feast for my eyes and stomach, and I found it in the form of cookies ..

These cookies are, how do you say this? Well, all I can say is, as long as there's Nutella in the mix. I mean, what kind of person would not enjoy these Nutella chocolate chip cookies? As if cookies alone were not enough ..

You guys could probably tell that I have a sweet tooth the size of the UAE .. And sadly, I'm being forced to cut down for the sake of keeping the results of the gym up! Yes, I'm being a good girl *sure :P* and hitting the gym again .. Frankly, I got jealous of my cousin after seeing him lose 16 kgs in 2 months and toning up becau

se of regular hours at the gym and a healthy diet .. I want instant results though

But I'm only human, and I'm still me, and these cookies are just BEGGING me to make them and eat them, and hand them around my friends because as soon as they'd hear Nutella chocolate chip cookies, I can forget about leaving any for the late-night hunger pangs ..

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies (Taken from SUGARCOOKING's blog)

Photograph credit: SUGARCOOKING

Yield: About 24 - 30 cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4

tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp.
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (it's just what I had in my pantry. feel free to just add more of the regular chocolate chips instead)

Directions
-Mix together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.
-Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in egg.
-Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
-Chill for 1 hour. (This step can be skipped if you want, but I always chill my cookie dough because I think it makes a huge difference).
-Drop tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes until the edges look set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully remove to cooling racks.

I showed the recipe to my best friend, and straight away, I got the question "When are you gonna make them for me?"

NY-sick

I'm back from my whirlwind visit to the US, where I went to the Big Apple and Newark, Delaware. It has got to be the best trip I've ever taken, partly because I was with my friends and no parents (we still had chaperones because it was a university trip, but they were the coolest chaperones a person could ask for.. Most of the time xD)

That's it! I've adopted NYC as the home to my heart <3

Pics coming up in the next post, after I've collected a decent amount from 17 other girls!

Escapade

It's always nice when you see your hard work being brought to life. See what you put down on paper become a reality. Watch people admire your work. Know that it was time and effort well-spent. It's what motivates you to go at it again and watch your had work transform into something tangible.

And that's what happened today! Standing in front of you dear bloggers, is the new Co-editor of my university's magazine, Escapade! And, to tell you the truth, I never thought it would be something I'd ever be doing. But hey, there's always a first time for everything. My lovely Editor-In-Chief is Dee has formed the perfect team for this new takeover :* Ironically, the permanent team of Escapade are all made up of Dee's and my close friends :D

Escapade is finally FINALLY on the stands in university! My first issue as Co-editor, and Dee's first as Editor-In-Chief. And we're proud as hell of the hard work we put in this issue. Most importantly, we couldn't have done it without the amazing team we have!

Our topics range from a profile feature of 3 graduates, to the 10 booths to watch at our in-campus carnival, to a blast from the past, and our own column from the blogspehere's very own Hunoof. You're a great addiction to our Escapade family, even though I haven't met you yet.

For all you ZUers of the Dubai campus, you better pick up your copy! Trust me, it's worth it!

10 Things

In university, I'm taking a photojournalism course .. Has nothing to do with my major other than being part of my college but I've taken it for the heck of it ..

We had an assignment, our first assignment for the course .. And the assignment was: Photograph 10 things that you will miss should you ever go to space and never return, aka the Spaceship Assignment ..

Easy, right? WRONG! The photo actually has to mean something while being a decent photo .. And that's not as easy as it sounds ..

So my 10 things were:

The big Kahuna in the house, I can't go without my father!

Mama <3

I am beyond obsessed with shoes, and these are my all-time favorite pair <3

FOOTBALL!

We have these alphabet and number magnets on our fridge in the kitchen and I love playing with them and writing stuff, especially my name .. Unfortunately, so do my little sisters, who always remove what I've written .. So I'll miss them, even if they're annoying as hell!

No girl can be without her trusty red lipstick!

My karak .. Milky goodness <3

Strawberries.Chocolate.Whipped Cream. Need I say more?

Of course I'll miss cupcakes, but I'll miss baking even more .. Baking is my way of de-stressing and relaxing .. It's my therapy

And finally ..

The beach, because I adore the beach and it's my getaway place

Now my question to you guys is .. What would be your 10 things that you would miss?

RIP McQueen

"If you want to feel like a Queen, dress in McQueen"

I heard that phrase a few months ago, God know's where from .. And I hear that McQueen hanged himself in his London home yesterday, at the start of New York fashion week and a few weeks before he was due to show his new collection in Paris fashion week .. I also heard a rumor that he hanged himself cuz him mother died a few days before .. Maybe he was depressed and that pushed him over the edge?

Of course I heard it off Twitter ..

Ah McQueen was an artist! Your eccentricity in fashion will be sorely missed!

RIP Lee Alexander McQueen March 16 March 1969 – 11 February 2010

This Is It

How cool is this? And in how many prisons will you find 1,500 inmates dancing like this?

5 Stages Of Death

Linked by a friend in a moment of her being high LOL

Avatar: Cinematographic Masterpiece

I went to see it yesterday, and I wonder why I never went to see it earlier!!

Because I was stuck at home all weekend, I decided to go and sleep over at my cousin's house for a change of scenery and because I missed her .. So I packed my things; I packed junk .. After all, what's a sleepover without junk? I present myself at my uncle's house and make myself comfortable in her room .. And so we began a relaxing Thursday night, filled with chatter, tv shows, and food! Then fall asleep at 4 in the morning out of sheer exhaustion ..

We stay dead to the world til my uncle comes in in the morning to bug us to wake up .. Because my uncle is annoying like that lol! Up we are at 12.30 *which is early for me as I'm on holiday* and go feed ourselves and laze around .. Til my aunt had the best idea, why not go to Avatar today??

So my cousin and I head off to Mall of the Emirates and book our tickets at 4, because even though Avatar has been here for a month, it's always being booked full! So 4 hours to kill before the movie, we decide to hang out at the mall and generally finish any business we might have .. One of them being Pinkberry <3>

Okay, back to the movie; nothing really interesting happened in the 4 hours we were at the mall .. Mama and my sister come to join us and, after dinner, we head to the movie theatre, take our seats, put on our 3D glasses, and of course, start taking goofy pics *the movie hadn't started, and trailers weren't up yet*

Anyways, I loved the movie, seriously!

The world of Avatar is seriously one that would be beyond imagination .. I mean, everything was thought of, from the blue Na'vi to the tiniest detail on the leaves of a tree .. Everything was there, and everything looks cooler in 3D .. It's obviously a sci-fi movie .. The story is about the human hero, Jake Sully, who is taken to Pandora and is put into the body of an avatar, a body made by human scientists made up of the native Na'vi DNA and human DNA, so he can establish relations with the Na'vi .. Because, of course, there's a company mining what they call Unobtainium, which sells for $20 million a kilo, and the Na'vi are living right on top of the biggest collection of it ..

What starts out as a mission quickly changes when Jake realizes he actually wants to become part of the clan, and starts preferring to live through the avatar instead of his human body .. You know what? I won't ruin the movie for you .. It's the must see movie of the decade! Well, seeing as it premiered the 10th of December 2009, it was the movie of the decade!

The thing is, when I volunteered for DIFF, the Dubai International Film Festival, I was at the doors of the movie .. And I had the chance to see it, and I did sneak in with my sister and my friend, and we did take 3D glasses and stand and watch .. The problem was that we only watched 5 minutes of it in the middle of the movie x_x

All of you who haven't seen it, go! What are you waiting for?? This movie is gonna pass Titanic and become the all-time highest grossing movie .. And by the same director too! He's been working on the script for 15 years, and has been waiting for the technology to create it since 1999!

Oh yeah, there's gonna be a sequel :P

Time And Time Again ..

I keep wanting to post about so many things but I end up not doing that because Twitter has spoilt me and made me lazy ..

It's time I wrote a recap post for 2009 as it was a very eventful year for me; I've met new people, gotten close to some acquaintances, joined Twitter and there I found a whole new family, been through many ups and downs, got my license, got to go to TEDxDubai, got to volunteer for and participate in the Dubai Cares Water Bucket Walk, got to be a part of the Dubai International Film Festival 2009, and so much more that I can't name!

We had a great New Year's Eve by the beach at the Palm .. The whole family was there and it was a huge BBQ with too many desserts lol, and then a fireworks battle between Atlantis and Burj Al Arab and we were fortunate enough to be able to witness that .. I also went on a amateur photography spree during fireworks time :D Didn't exactly get the results I wanted but oh well, it's a learning road ..

I hope 2010 holds better for all of us than 2009 did .. It's the start of a new year and a new decade .. Open up the new pages people! :D

Okay, I'll end the inspirational, cheesy line rant of mine .. I'm on holiday, I don't need to be inspiring or anything right now ha! *dances off*