Raglan and Purple Roses

August 25, 2014

These are the last of my Florida outfit photos. Hopefully in the very very veeeery near future, I'll be able to take more outfit photos with such a beautiful background; that's not dessert and a playground. 

I am thinking of taking a little break from blogging for a while, just until I can reevaluate what I want for my future that seems to be closing in a little too quickly. This means going back to reading; since I've been ignoring the two books that has been by my bed for more than three weeks now. I actually miss reading. And redoing my vision board; which I have been avoiding weeks before I left for Florida. Do you all have a vision board? What's on it? and How often do you change it?

The posting schedules will be irregular, but there will be posts. My blog-book is filled with ideas. No worries. :)

| Shirt & Shorts - Forever 21 | Shoes - Skechers |
| Bag - Gifted | Flower Crown - Wet Seal |
Photo Creds: Najla Qamber







Have a great Monday everyone! 
I'll be back soon! 
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Book Review: One Dirty Bowl by Christina Dymock

August 22, 2014

One Dirty Bowl by Christina Dymock
Genre: Culinary, Cookbook
Synopsis: Quick desserts and even quicker clean up mean more time with your family and friends, and less time in the kitchen. With One Dirty Bowl, whip up show-stopping desserts like Hazelnut Puffs, Peanut Butter Truffle Bars, and White Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcakes, all while dirtying just one bowl. Grab your bowl and get ready to bake!
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Review 

First off, I'm very delighted that this is a dessert cookbook. I absolutely adore dessert cookbooks. My heart races every time I see one and I'll need to give myself a pep talk about how much I don't need another dessert cookbook. But reviewing one is a completely different story. Thanks to the author herself for sending me the ebook to review.

One Dirty Bowl is a great cookbook, great photos of mouthwatering sugary goodness, detailed and straight forward recipes, and I am extremely joyed that most of the ingredients in the cookbook are available in my country. *high five*

I tried make a few desserts with the help of the recipes and instructions from One Dirty Bowl, some burned on the first try but on the second try, it turned out pretty well.

Mom's Butterscotch bars. When I made it the first time I thought the top wasn't cooked well so I stuck it back into the oven and waited about 10 more minutes. yeap, idiotic move Nada! The cake burned on top and dried up the entire cake. Everyone in the house ate it all nonetheless. It did taste pretty good despite it burning up.

The second try, I made it as quick as I make a cup of tea. And this one turned out perfect. It's not too sweet nor too dry. It's a perfect tea time snack.




Now these Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies were a little bit of a mess. The instructions were pretty clear and straight to the point but since it was my first time to use Crisco shortening and I wasn't sure if I was using it right by just dumping it into the bowl and mixing it all up. After sticking it into the over for about 10 minutes, I wasn't sure it was done yet so I left it in there a little longer with the heat completely off, and it kind of burned on the sides and hardened just a tad bit that it's supposed to. Despite it burning up just a little bit, the cookies did taste marvelous. It reminds me of Christmas with the nutmeg and cinnamon. But I think the nutmeg was a little bit to much...





Rocky Road. I saw this recipe and I just had to try it out. It was relatively easy and quick to make. Though I did have a little bit of trouble with getting the 4 cups of mini marshmallows into the pot of melted chocolate. I probably should've used a larger pot since 4 cups may be a little bit too much, so I reduced it to about 3 1/2 cups for it all fit in there. Mixing it all together was another challenge since marshmallows kept falling out, but it turned out really well in the end.

The loaf pan went missing so I had to use a larger-deeper-square-pan which enabled me to chop these into tiny bars so that there will be enough for everyone because sharing is caring of course. My dad loves it! Him and I have to stop ourselves from munching on these things all afternoon.




When I read a cookbook and decide which recipe to try out for the day, I like to see how it's supposed to turn out, how it's supposed to look like, and One Dirty Bowl doesn't seem to provide it's reader with the aspect of photos for all the recipes. There were a whole bunch of photos in there that show off how the recipe is supposed to turn out but with the ones that sounded appealing to me, I was pretty disappointed that they didn't have a photo of the finished product.

Also, the way the photos were formatted, I got confused in connecting the right photo with its recipe. Which comes first, the recipe or the photo of the finished good?

Other than that, One Dirty Bowl is an simple and fun cookbook. It's descriptions and recipes were very clear, creative and straight to the point. I enjoyed concocting these recipes and I look forward to trying out a whole bunch of them in the very near future.

With all of that done, yes, I did only use one bowl. Well, a pot and a bowl.



More about the author
Christina Dymock

Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

 
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Pastels in the deep blue sea

August 20, 2014

Gotta love them pastels. 

I've been complaining that it's scotching hot in Bahrain for about...well since summer officially started. It's been so hot that one of the workers who were renovating the outside walls of our house fell from the scaffolding. Poor thing I hope he's alright. Keep hydrated people! 

I crave for a nice cold bath or a cool breeze at least. Speaking of cold bath, have y'all see the ALS Ice Bucket challenges done by celebrities. It's amazing how these things go viral on the internet. I'm glad it's all for a good cause, after googleling what actually ALS stood for that is. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It sure sounds like a mouth full, it takes me a while pronounce "Amyotrophic". I don't know much about it myself, but I understand it enough to know that it's a neurodegenerative disease, and am too scared to know anything more about it...I'd rather not dwell on what makes the disease a problem but rather dwell on the cure. 



| Shirt - Forever 2 (similar) | Belt - Tilly's | Jeans - Bershka | 
| Shoes - Sketchers | Necklace - Ebay
Photo cred: Najla Qamber

Yay for Tilly's shipping to Bahrain! Tilly's was the first store we all walked into when we went to Florida mall. They have a little bit of everything, grudgy, sweet, comfy, sporty outfits. At the time I went I really needed a belt after having forgotten my belt back home, my jeans were about to fall below my butt, so I hunted for some belts and found them at Tilly's. 







Donate to the ALS Association to support those with ALS

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

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Missing it

August 18, 2014

I'm back in Bahrain and I miss the US of A already. From the cool weather and random showers to the tap water that I never really liked. The moment I stepped out of Bahrain's airport and breathed in that hot and humid air, I said to myself "Take me back to the states! Take me back!"

Since Bahrain is hot and humid as ever and it's a miracle I can still go out and survive in jeans and an arm length shirt, but I am grateful for the AC that's always on in every single building and car I go into. Nonetheless I still crave the freedom to wear shorts and a tank top.


Tank & Sandals - Forever 21 | Denim button up - H&M
| Jeans - Bershka | Bag - Gifted
Photo creds: Sawsan Abdulla

These photos were taken on the first day of the Indie Bookfest in Orlando, FL. We got free swag bag which was filled with a dozen bookmarks and other random goodies. I don't remember what we did that day, I think we went to the mall to do a little bit of shopping...yes we did. 




What's the weather like on your part of the world?
Have a fabulous Monday everyone!!! 
 
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It's Universal!

August 15, 2014

Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter!! *jumps up and down*

We headed onto the Universal theme park a few days back before we pack up and head back to Bahrain.

Our priority at Universal was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, or just simply put - "Harry Potter land/world" which is what I like to call it. We rushed all the way to Harry Potter world and after being sore from Disney World two days before, it's a miracle we made it without our legs falling off. 

We made it and oh boy was it magical!



| Shirt - Hot topic | Shorts - H&M | Hat - Disneyworld |
Flannel - Forever 21 | Bag - Gifter |
Photo creds: Sawsan Abdulla
I can never find the links for these things >.<

I bought this shirt a day before we left for Universal, and I just had to wear it. I don't care if it's a dudes shirt, just tuck it into the my shorts, tie a flannel around it, and done! It looks like I'm going to gym class or for a run or something, but it looks good to me nonetheless. 

Few hours into Universal, it started to pour like crazy. Enough to get our shoes soaked. I've never been so grateful for the internet for giving me tips on what to do when going to theme parks in Orlando, Buy a rain poncho and bring it everywhere with you! It'll be your best friend for your entire trip. 

We roamed Universal, no rides of course, because I ain't about that life. I only went to the Jurassic Park ride which scared the life out of me, so after that I was like No no no no... I'll stick to the gift shops. So my sister and I attacked the gift shops and spent more than we should've and my luggage is suffering the consequences. 




My last day in the USA was spent at Downtown disney and playing DDR.
I'm going to miss you America! I shall be back soon!

Have a magical Friday everyone! 
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Disney day in full white

August 13, 2014

Honestly I didn't fully process that I picked out this all white outfit until I saw these photos.

So we went to Disney World a few days back. I didn't take the big nikon camera since we were going on rides and they're such a hassle to carry around. These photos were taken on the lobby of our hotel at like 7am so we would have enough time to catch the 8:30am bus.

Until the Indie Bookfest, I've been calling the it Disneyland, instead of it's supposed title "Disney World ". A few people I met at IBF kept correcting me by saying that it's Disney world  not Disneyland. My entire life, I've been referring to it as disneyland. I feel like my childhood has been a lie...

Despite the lie, the thought of Disney World didn't excite me as much as when I actually arrived at the front gate. When I got there, I was mostly excited to see the characters than to ride the rides. I had the pleasure of meeting Pluto, Ariel, and Merida. I saw Snow White, Mary Poppins, and Stitch running around here and there, well Snow White kind of just skipped everywhere. I tried to snap a photo but she was fast! If you follow me on instagram, you'll know that I posted a couple of photos of my trip. 

It was really a magical place. I teared up a bit when they had their little shows. I felt like a little girl again...


| Shirt - Lee Cooper | Shoes - Sketchers
Shorts & Bag - Gifted/not labeled |
Photo creds: Najla Qamber




Have you guys ever been to Disney World? 
It's so magical! With the fireworks and everything.
 
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