The next event my parents hosted was the Mehndi!
The Mehndi party is one of the most vibrant and essential parties that are part of the traditional celebrations of a wedding! It's an ancient form of body art originating in South Asia and the Middle East. The bride gets "painted or stained" with beautiful designs on her hands and feet. Tradition says the deeper the color of the bride's Mehndi the happier the bride and groom's marriage will be!
I have a friend, Urooj, (who is also my cousin's best friend) that does the most wonderful designs! I was lucky to have her do my Mehndi and it came out oh so lovely! If you're in the DMV area for a wedding you should definitely have her do your Mehndi! She actually did all the women's Mehndi that day!
My grandmother says if you squirt some lemon juice on your hands and go to bed with the Mehndi (in a glove so you don't stain your bed) it will come out darker the morning of your special day! I love the feel of Mehndi when it's being drawn on your hands, it's like a massage, it tickles but feels so nice and cool!
Ammie (Mom) had a beautiful Mehndi/Henna table set up.
A few cones of Mehndi and Chooriyan (bangles) for the ladies.
A close-up of the beautifully decorated table! Ammie got a sparkly pink tablecloth and Sarah (my younger sister) used her awesome Mehndi skills to decorate the candles! Ammie had a few Pakistani instruments and even a Dohl (not pictured). The traditional colors for a Mehndi are yellow and green. There are of course all colors of the rainbow that you have to add vibrancy but if you see a lot of green and yellow, that's the theme!
First picture of course is with the honorable Nani! I miss her so much!
Fun fact for you all, Nani means maternal grandmother and Dadi means paternal grandmother. I feel like Urdu (and Arabic) are very respectful and detailed languages. There is a specific word for each person and thing, there are respectful words for when you are speaking to someone older than you and different words for when you are speaking to someone at your level or younger. There's feminine and masculine words for objects and animals. The English language is extremely rude. o_o I hope to teach my future children Urdu! Keep the culture going!
My wonderfully, generous, sweet, loving, kind parents!
I think the world of them, I love them and miss them terribly!
I am one of four, number three in line. I would say I'm the most bold, I would do and say what was on my mind and take trips alone away from my family but after moving and living 1000 miles away, I'm having a very difficult time surviving without my parents nearby. It's not even about Ammie's awesome cooking skills, I've managed to keep myself and Jeffrey alive with my Pinterest recipes. It's not about being financially supported by them (although they do continue to help me, phone bill, etc). It's about SEEING them, spending time with them, whether its gardening, going to events as a family, watching movies together, eating dinner together, reading a book while Ammie sews, going to the library with Abbu, working on crafts. The bond and shareable, memorable moments you spend with your parents, the little things, the big things. I MISS EVERYTHING.
An almost family picture with Appie (my older sister) and Rizwan Bhai (my brother-in-law) along with Mohsin! This is a rare sighting of my nephew, he rarely likes to be in pictures, he's always off running around playing with his cousins. You may catch a glance of him in the background of other pictures but this is the only one I found of him! Noora and Leena are both missing from this family photo, it's hard to get a snapshot of children all in one place!
My younger sister, Sarah! Aka the Dweeb. :) In most ways she acts older than I do, she's more responsible, she does a great job of always helping Ammie in the kitchen. I like to let things "soak" in the sink. She's more adept at cleaning, although I will say I do an excellent job of mopping! Getting on your hands and knees the old fashioned way is the best way. All in all, she's a wonderful little sister who acts like an older sister! :P I can't wait for the day when it's her turn to get married, she is quite the opposite of me, I'm a tomboy and she's a girly girl! I have a whole girly wedding Pinterest board filled with ideas reserved for her! Hopefully I'm not preggo when she gets married, I'll most likely be a useless bum sloth then, as if I'm not already one haha.
Here is a picture of my in-laws. Ammie had custom Pakistani clothing created for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the Mehndi as well as the wedding! Who do you think Jeffrey looks more like? I think he resembles his mother more and his sister Carrie looks like their father. I think she looks pretty good in a Shalwar Kameez!
He has only one sister, Carrie. She's very sweet and kind, strong willed and rules the roost!
Jeff has a single aunt on his mother's side, Aunt Janette. They came to Maryland as well!
Ammie also had Pakistani outfits for Aunt Janette, Uncle Bill and Cheryl too!
My parents backyard is absolutely beautiful mA. They added a deck and trees to the surrounding area, in the summer the grass is lush and green and paired with my Mehndi outfit it was simply stunning. I would have settled for a garden wedding in the backyard! Sunshine makes for the perfect lighting. My cousin Zainab and my cousin's husband Mohsin (yes there are two Mohsin's, one is my nephew the other Erum's husband) had me twirl around the deck and they captured these awesome pics! I did feel a bit dizzy after that, haha!
Ammie had a wonderful idea to have Noora match with me on the Mehndi as well as the Wedding! She's my mini me! It's funny, her mannerisms, the way she looks and acts remind everyone of me when I was a baby! And Leena is a resemblance of Sarah! Which means my future daughter(s) or Sarah's future daughter(s) will look like Appie!
Ok I have to showcase the awesome cake we had at the Mehndi. Look at the barbies! They're matching with Jeffrey and I! So backstory, the very first "wedding" dolls were an idea Appie had for someone's wedding. I can't remember who was the first person in our community to get married but Appie and Shanno Khala paired up together to have a male and female barbie doll on the cake whose outfits matched the bride and groom. One wedding later, it became a tradition and Shanno Khala has created countless dolls for so many brides weddings (family and friends). If you look closely you can see the minuscule details, the barbie is wearing jewelry, her hair is set up, she has nail polish and Mehndi on her hands! I keep telling Shanno Khala she needs to turn this into a business! It's time consuming but it's a wonderful keepsake to commemorate the special occasion!
A picture of the creative and talented Shanno Khala and I!
Zia Khalu made it here as well from South Carolina!
Farie Khala is awesome, she's the youngest aunt on my mother's side!
She's down for the peace sign or anything goofy along with her awesomesauce daughters!
My cousin Sahar (the black belt karate champion) her husband Israr and their 3 week baby Safa!
This is Naheed Khala's family! I'm not sure where Shahid Uncle went, yes he has the same name as my father, lol. Anum and Usman are pretty cool, Usman keeps in touch reminding me my family hasn't forgotten about me!
Gullo Khala and Nasir Uncle
w/ Erum and Mohsin!
