Aimless Outing

One thing I really love to do is explore a town/city with a friend. No gameplan. No directions. Just shut up and drive. Haha. I did have one thing in mind however, a mission: find and eat some Macarons. Not to be confused with Macaroons. The former is a light cream filled cookie and the latter is a coconut cookie. This is a fact. 

It's all in the pronunciation. 

Anyways I have an absolutely gorgeous and talented friend (mashAllah) that accompanied me on this trip.

Nida and I after our Macaron high.

Hey that rhymed! Totally off the fly! xD

Yes we were successful in locating a Macaron bakery. It wasn't exclusively for Macarons but they had them there. This particular bakery had moved and google had the old address so we stopped random people to ask for directions and eventually found it. I gotta say, there's too much hype for nothing special. The macarons to me were dry and flavorless. They had a tiny squirt of flavor that only one tidbit of your tongue will grasp. 

One thing I can say though is that it is a pretty cookie.

We also hit up a cafe for lunch that had literally like 8 parking spots. It was so tiny and the cafe was so busy I don't know where these people were parking or if they carpooled or what. I just remember parking was insane. Then we visited random stores, I really like antique stores. They have unique and interesting items to see. I bought two gag gifts. A cricket lollypop. Yes it had a real cricket in the middle of the lolly and I bribed my guy cousin to eat it. xD Then another candy that holds a bug inside. I just like scaring people. It's so fun. It backfired on my mom though. I gave it to her and she gave it someone who really needed candy because their sugar content was low and out popped a bug instead. I felt bad about that. :/

Before I end this I want to talk about one last thing. How talented Nida is. She creates these beautiful works of Islamic art and sells them. She does have a public page on Facebook in which you can browse different pieces she's made and request to purchase it. I'll have the link ready below. 

Islamic Contemporary Art

I love the color purple so when I saw this piece I just had to have it. 

She truly is a one of a kind friend. So sweet and nice. It's never a bore with her. I remember once taking an Al-Maghrib class with her and a few other girls, come lunch time we couldn't decide where to eat and this girl blurts out "I have pizza hut on speed dial!" I'll never forget that. She's a funny gal. Now I have pizza hut on speed dial too. Haha. She got married in 2014 and is now a Canadian. I still have her wedding card. Well it's more like a wedding box card if you know what I mean. Maybe I can send it to her for her two year anniversary. Hmmm. 

Ciao! 

Ka'bah Boxes

2015 in general went by quick. Apart from one very big event my sister had her baby! A beautiful baby girl. She didn't want any pictures up until she's a little older so I won't be making a post about it until the summer probably. For now you can enjoy this picture of her itty bitty toes:

The rest of 2015 was filled with weddings. Every season is wedding season. There were six weddings to be exact, two of which I missed regrettably but I was out of country so there was nothing that could be done. :( Three in Maryland, one in Texas, one in Virginia and one in Pakistan. I did have loads of fun at the last one. :D

Anyways the next main event to come was EID!! Woohoo! Now every Eid I try and do something special whether it's whipping up a sweet dessert, making something for the masjid or DIY craft! The latter is what I did this year. This is more of a Hajj gift but I decided to make them for Eid. Once you get the hang of the Origami bit the rest is easy peasy lemon squeezy. You really only need like 3 things. Black construction paper, thin gold ribbon and chocolate. Scissors and tape is something you probably have at home.

Look how cute they are!

My Eid outfit + Cousins

Two of my three cousins. Our last Eid together before they moved to Pakistan. 

Toodles!

Florida '15

This is the more the merrier type of excitement. I've been to the Florida theme parks with my family multiple times and they were pretty fun but when you go with a big posse it's like REALLY fun.  If you're desi you most likely have a big family with aunts and uncles and cousins galore. A road trip + vacation = AWESOMENESS.

We rented a giant 15 seater van. So let me count how many people there were. My aunt and uncle, my second aunt and uncle and their daughter, my third aunt and uncle and their daughter and son and lastly my fourth aunt and her three daughters then me. I was the only one to go from my family. So together that makes: 14! The drive was about thirteen hours long. We stopped at a rest stop two or three times to use the restrooms, eat and stretch. I was all the way in the back of the van with three other cousins. Here is a picture: 

We look a hot mess haha.

We had a blast catching up. 

My cousins taught me how to snapchat.

We arrived to Florida safe and sound alhumdulillah. We rented a cool little bungalow that had a pool (that nobody swam in because no one knows how to swim and it was cold) and a jacuzzi (that everyone sat in because it was wonderful). It had four bedrooms. All the kids slept in the living room. Two on the sofa the rest on the floor because we didn't realize until the end of the trip that the sofa was a pull out bed. Haha.

Everyone was taking family pictures and then there's me, lol.

Here is the posse all together with the Harry Potter castle in the back.

Can you see me? I'm the tall one in the back bc that's where tall peeps go.

Okay story time. So there's a popeye ride in which you get absolutely SOAKED. I convinced my family that you only get wet "a little bit". I don't remember getting as wet as we did this time as when I had gone with my immediate family. Well turns out when you fit 14 people into the round boat with weight being distributed more in some areas than others, it makes for a very rocky trip down the current. We were drenched from head to toe and our shoes squeaked the rest of the day. It was a blast though. I wish I had a picture of it. I DO however have a candid picture of the gang that brings tears to my eyes from laughing so hard. It was on another ride. 

I again convinced my family that the Jurassic Park ride is just a little scenic boat ride through the jungle with a T-Rex at the end. I didn't mention the drop down the waterfall or how they take your picture while we're falling. I did tell my cousin Anum though, so we were prepared with smiles and were the only ones, haha. Check it out: 

Our group filled up the first three rows. The second to last row is pretty comical too. One of my aunt's has her arms crossed like a boss! Ohmygoodness. I need a minute to collect myself I'm dying. xD

This trip has so many moments that make me smile. 

We also went to a water park (fully dressed like the desi's we are). 

We bought some cool ice cream. 

Yeah I had to get Sonic the Hedgehog. ;)

On our way back home we stopped by to enjoy the beach and watch the sunset.

We arrived fully clothed as usual haha. It has it's perks. People run away from you.

A pic of the "swimmers"

The ones that went into the water.

Zainy Brainy took the pic.

You can see a ship in the back.

The water felt ice cold at first but then it was pure bliss.

Look how clear it is too. It was a great end to the trip.

Bye bye butterfly! Haha. :)

BFF Birthday

It's been awhile since my last post, even though I had and still have a hundred and one things to talk about things just got busy. I'll try and bring you up to date on the most memorable events of 2014 and all of 2015. 

So starting where we left off, the end of November brings my BFF's birthday! 

We have pretty much the exact same interests so whatever I love I know she'll love too.

I have another friend, Alex, who told me about this great tea place up in Annapolis called Reynolds Tavern. It is now one of my favorite spots in Maryland to hang out and have a good time. It's the best. 

I decided to take Ana up there for a birthday treat. For those that don't know me I am directionally challenged even with a GPS. Funny side story I remember one time I was coming home late from work and they blocked off the main road and had detour signs into skinny little side roads. I was like oh man well all the cars seem to be going in the same direction I'll just follow the car in front of me until we get back on the main road. TOO BAD the car in front of me was going home and the detour exit we took was THEIR exit. I followed them all the way into their driveway, yeah, that's how oblivious I was to where we were going. I was jamming out to music in my car that I failed to notice I followed this person home. So then I tried to reroute my way back (this was before I had a smart phone) so I was using whatever memory I had of the road which was nothing because I wasn't paying attention and got lost even more until I called up my Mama and was like "I'm lostttttt! :'(" Her directions got me home safe and sound. My mother is amazing in directions. Sadly none of her four children got her talent and even more sad is that I'm the best one at directions. HAHAHA. Getting lost in a detour. xD

Took us about an hour to reach this tea place but it was definitely worth it. 

They have different packages per person that you can take. I opted for the $20 one.

Okay so you know how they have clown cars, tiny little cars that holds like 15 clowns?

The teapots that they gave us were exactly like that. Tiny but held so much tea!!

I probably had at least 4 if not 5 cups of tea and the pot still had at least 2-3 cups left.

We had our own teapots, I think we both got a fruity blend of different flavors. 

The teacup was so pretty too!

I now want to start a teacup collection.

The sandwiches and scones and biscuits and finger food was delicious!

They had a little bit of everything and it really fills you up too.

They have three different sandwiches. Three different quiches. Two scones.

And other delectable delights that I can't remember but you can see in the picture.

Here's a cheesy picture of me.

The End! :)