Beautiful Prints

I'm a huge fan of handmade prints and lately I have been falling in love with a few unique ETSY finds. Here are among my favourites which I found posted on  Danny Robert's blog, Igor +Andre's.

 

 

You can buy them here.

 

My fave is the one that features Karl Lagerfeld.

 

Thanks Dalal for helping stumble on this blog.

Jennifer Aniston chaneling Barbara Streisand

I have always found a similarity between those two, i guess Harper's Bazaar agrees because they just did a full cover shoot dedicated to it.

 

 

the slide show is a must see!

 

 

Jennifer Aniston: The Barbra Streisand Cover Shoot

 

 

How to Train your Husband

I was looking thru the archives of the NYT when i came across an article by Amy Sutherland titled: What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage. It was one of the most emailed stories of 2006.

 

I have to say it left me intrigued. Basically Amy preaches that men (all humans) can be trained the way animals are to do what you ask them. Tricks too!

 

Here is an excerpt:

 

The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don't. After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging. The same goes for the American husband.

Back in Maine, I began thanking Scott if he threw one dirty shirt into the hamper. If he threw in two, I'd kiss him. Meanwhile, I would step over any soiled clothes on the floor without one sharp word, though I did sometimes kick them under the bed. But as he basked in my appreciation, the piles became smaller.

So I set out and downloaded a sample from the Kindle bookstore and was hooked! Instead of fighting or nagging about the silly things my husband does that he does not mean, and that can little by little gnaw at my very being, I decided to start reading and see if I can make a difference.

 

I only started last night but will keep you posted on the results.

 

 

You can buy the book here.

 

Benefits of Water

In an effort to push myself toward consuming more water, I decided to search the benefits to motivate me.

 

I have always been a diet soda addict, I quit cold turkey for a year and then went right back to my bad habits. And while I did consume around the recommended intake of 1.5-2L of liquid, I am starting to worry about the effects on my body and my tooth enamel.

 

 

Here are a few things I learned that I thought are worthy of sharing:

• If you're not, you could end up with excess body fat, poor muscle tone, digestive complications, muscle soreness -- even water-retention problems.
• Without water, we'd be poisoned to death by our own waste products.  When the kidneys remove uric acid and urea, these must be dissolved in water.  If there isn't enough water, wastes are not removed as effectively and may build up as kidney stones.
• We  need water to breathe:  our lungs must be moist to take in oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide.  It is possible to lose a pint of liquid each day just exhaling.
• One of the functions of the liver is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then cant metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but are also setting yourself up to store fat.

Have in mind: During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to, you will be running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It seems that the water is coming out just as fast as it is going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is fruitless.

What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years! It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it  doesnt need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesnt need to save these stores anymore;  trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life.

Drink up!

Shake Shack Burger Secret Sauce recipe

I have a burger lying in my freezer. It has been there for some months (number ommitted for fear of being judged), and I have yet to make it. I eye it every other day, and think of how I can cook it in an unforgettable way. I dread having 50/50 meals, it has to be perfect. I am a perfectionist you see. And today I have finally come across a recipe worthy of my burger, and shall head to sultan after work to buy the perfect bun that will complement my perfect burger.

 

I came across the "Shake Shack" secret burger sauce, courtesy of momofukufor2, for the sauce, which shall complement my burger:

 

 

Shack Sauce from Serious Eats

 

- makes about 3/4 cup sauce -

 

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
4 slices kosher dill pickle
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down sides of blender with rubber spatula as necessary.

Let me know if you try it, would love to get some feedback.

 

Kuwait: Land of the cupcakes and no free speech

I will not talk about the case of Khaled AlFadallah, but I will say that there was no reason he was convicted or thrown in jail. Many have said much worse with no consequence.

 

I was out of the country for a break and was refreshed with the fact that no one looked the same. No herds of matching makeup friends, no spikey boys walking in unison, just a simpleexpression of self.

 

Why is it that when one of us starts a fashion trend or a business, everyone else jumps on the bandwagon too? Cupcakes at home? ME too!! Hijab with inflated-exploding-flower-in hijab? Me too!! Birkin? Ok i'll get a fake..

 

What happened to Kuwait the innovator, and Kuwait the country that funded the education in its neighbouring countries.. i have to admit, even I was making baked goods for a few friends, (but mine were for those of us who have low tolerance for gluten or want to satisfy a sweet tooth without growing an extra behind)

 

As soon as i landed in Kuwait, i was greeted with the humidity and the sea of Alien heads that was flooding the streets.

 

Someone please take these ET's home.

Pray for FourMe, a Kuwaiti blogger – Help her fight cancer!

I haven't blogged in almost a year, mostly because I have not been moved to do so. I no longer blog but i tweet.

I received an email from Anas, asking me to spread the word about a blogger who has been diagnosed with cancer.

This was his email:

"Hello,

A Kuwaiti blogger FourMe is suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a

form of cancer.

A community of bloggers have put effort to create a website for

her.
http://www.pray44me.com

It would be a great gesture if you could pray for her, spread the

word to your friends and post about her website,where people post

prayers and give support to her.

We have no idea who’s prayers are going to be answered. Please

spread to the word, help FourMe fight cancer.

Thank you,
Anas"

I was curious and went straight to her blog and found a strange post, FourMe was discussing her disease with such non-chalance, it brought me to tears. She was talking about how she has colorful scarves for when she loses her hair.

I wish her a full recovery and I wish for you to include her in your prayers. You can follow her touching blog here: http://fourme.blogspot.com/

or follow her on twitter here: http://twitter.com/FourMee

For a bank teller society.. what's next?

The financial crisis could prove to be a good thing for Kuwait's youth. Banks and investment companies are hard hit, and they aren't hiring. The trend was, go to college, study business, work as a teller and see where that takes you. Oh, and start a cupcake company on the side.

In a culture of "haba" or following a trend, the trend was to join the financial industry whether you are interested or not, because its perceived as the best alternative and the most coveted.

The next "haba" was to become an entrepreneur, i believe it is the current trend, as i am still hearing almost daily about "toota's kaika" or "daloo3a's dara3a"... this trend i applaud, albeit it be done with a little more creativity.. all of you are good at making cookies? Really? was it your mother who suggested it? or your bestfriends? ahhh.. yes.. ofcourse you're good.

Why not a personal trainer? A chef? I respect Burger hub, prime and toast, slider station, these guys deserve a standing ovation, they made it. Their concepts are original, interesting and i know that both guys are true chefs who take pride in each ingredient.

The financial crisis is a good thing, because now, instead of having a teller who is a part-time cookie baker, we get a cookie baker only. Who will end up competing with the other cookie bakers, this will spur competing on differentiation, and may the best cookie win !

Point is, eventually there will be some filtering, and the next big "haba" will come, perhaps "Fatooma's samboosa", and soon instead of being a cookie cutter society, we will have true characteristics..

Perspective- Expatriate thoughts on Kuwait

I recently met an Arab-American who has never set foot in the region and moved to Kuwait for the experience.

Unfortunately, he was a victim of the recent lay-offs due to his high cost to the firm, he holds multiple designations that require proper compensation.

I found his comments on Kuwait's culture to be hard to swallow yet quite accurate in some cases. A few highlights:


"I had an unfortunate incident at the airport in Kuwait prior to my
departure because I refused to let someone with "wasta" pass in front
of me in the line to board the aircraft.

I guess you could say I never adjusted to the way things function in Kuwait.

I think my time in Kuwait was a wonderful experience if only because
it taught me how fortunate I was to live in a country where everyone
is equal before the law, and how truly priceless this is.

I did not come to Kuwait to make a quick buck and mingle exclusively
with expats like most foreigners do. I had truly come hoping to make
meaningful friendships with Kuwaitis.

Unfortunately, I have come to the realization that this is simply not possible, either with my female acquaintances because of the rigid social structure; nor with my male friends who despite being extremely friendly at work would not
welcome me in their diwaniyas or their beach houses - let alone their
actual houses."

Why is it that we as a culture prefer to stay in our little shells and never leave our comfort zone?


BQ