It’s a girl! 🎉🎈👶

Just wanted to write a quick post to announce the arrival of our beautiful baby girl born in the early hours on 16th June!!

After a long and traumatic labour for us both we are (slowly but surely) on the mend and looking forward to family life with a newborn ☺️ little Safia is still in NICU but has improved much in the last few days so hoping to be able to take her home soon!

Keep us in your prayers and thoughts and wish Safia home with us quickly. So so proud to be a mummy to a gorgeous girl, still can’t believe she’s mine!

My lovely babyshower!

Only a few weeks ago I had my babyshower at Amirs cousins house. We decided that where we lived just outside of London would make it a longer journey for all the guests to come to so had it locally to my mums instead. As well as this Amirs cousin F had only just got engaged a few weeks back so the marquee and decor was already half set up for us to use in the garden! We changed up the decor for the engagement day blue to my mint green theme and everything turned out beautifully!!

Everyone helped set up and make the day soooo much fun (much much better than I had imagined), sister N and M bought personalised gift bags for guests, sweets, and decor, Amir got the food sorted and helped me bake the day before (which is a hugely amusing story in itself as my husband has two left hands when it comes to baking) as well as organising the day, bro in law set up the marquee, sister in law A sorted out games and elder sis F made a beautiful banner (which will go in baby’s new room). Aunties, mums and mum in laws cooked delicious food and everything was perfect!

I won’t go on too much as the pics do it all justice, but I had a wonderful day and was amazed at the support and generosity of my friends and family, I receive some beautiful gifts for baby (and me!) and feel so blessed that my little one is already loved so much! (I have a feeling he or she is going to be MAJORLY spoilt!)

Here are the pics from the day:

(Hubby helping the day before with baking hehe)

(Sweet table set up my me and my sisters)

Decor and cake!

My mum to be banner and the yummy food, amir also ordered a huuuuuuge pizza (only to be described as American size!) and home made food.

We also played some cool games including guess the baby, where guests had sent in baby pictures of themselves for others to guess and making a nappy out of loo roll…my team lost! Was good fun all the same

I also received some beautiful gifts, I especially loved the effort my sis in law A went to to make this amazing nappy cake!

All in all it was a great day and everyone had a lot of fun, food and baby related goodness. I’m very lucky to have everyone help set up and take part in occasions like this and look forward to more days like these!

(Just a side note, if my pictures are not quite in order it’s because I am getting used to using blogging again!) also linked to this page is my sisters version of events which may be more coherent at the beginning of this post!) x

Emoticon biscuits

Cousin S sent me a pic of some emoticon biscuits she had found a picture of and whatsapped me them as a baking suggestion….

As I had little else to do on a Thursday I decided to make them! I felt very happy with the end results 😊

they were delicious too!
How do you feel today? X

Ramadan Mubarak!

Once again that time of year has come around again…Ramadan!

Personally I love the feeling I get when our blessed holy month is approaching as for me it’s a time to reflect, to slow down and appreciate everything in my life. I have already been eagerly awaiting and anxious for the first fast to start.

Yes lots of us complain about the heat or how long the days are or spend the day wandering what feast awaits their Iftar (opening of fast). For me yes I do think about all of these and worry about them too (as that’s normal) but it’s not the sole purpose of fasting. When I think of the reasons we fast and the benefits we reap from it I am grateful to be so blessed and to feel so much love for my faith.

I hope to especially make time to think about and pray for those who have little or nothing and understand that we as Muslims do feel their hunger through fasting but we also have an obligation to send a part of our wealth to those that are less fortunate than us and give them a chance to survive and build better lives.

I also love Ramadan because we as a Muslims are united in this blessed month. I find people are more pleasant, there is more a feeling of family and community and we break fast together as brothers and sisters. I particularly love that we all manage to find amongst our busy schedules enough time for more prayer and worship. Obviously as Muslims we should pray everyday anyway but Ramadan seems to make everyone much more aware of this. We seem to stand side by side praying for ourselves, family, friends and other Muslims around the world. I believe that during this month our prayers are much more accepted than at any other time of the year and this has been proven to me many time in previous years before in personably experiences.

Its reassuring to know the fact that Ramadan helps us to be better as people in general as well as gives us a chance to strengthen our faith, to try to become better Muslims especially in an age where a tiny percentage of so called Muslims tarnish our name. Here are some of the things we should try as refrain from (which in my opinion we should do daily not just for a month!) as well as many of the benefits we reap during this special month.

Sure we will have to deal with broken sleep patterns, longer days, heat and tiredness but I pray for the strength to not make these more important than the reason we fast, I hope to pray and god willing spend more time reading and understanding the Qur’an, to make the most of my family and friends, and to learn how to make the best out of this holy month, especially because before we know it it will be ending and who knows whether tomorrow is guaranteed for us? Will we even be fortunate enough to see the next one? I pray for the health and happiness of all my Muslim brothers and sisters around the world and hope that you use your time during this holy month wisely. Make the most of it while it is here and I hope God blesses you for each and every fast you keep in His name. Have an amazing Ramadan full of love, peace, happiness and blessings.

Ramadan Mubarak all!! X

Chicken pastries!!

A while back when I first got kind of interested in cooking (also around the same time my mum was saying no one would marry me because I couldn’t cook lol) i started watching my mum and asking questions about what she was doing, how much of this was going in to a dish, how do you know it’s ready etc. and eventually started writing down her recipes in the proper quantities (my mum is so good she tends to throw ingredients in from memory).

I now have a book of her recipes and found that when making curries, the masala or the base of the curry is usually the same. When my mum went to Pakistan one summer I took the opportunity to try it all out. Obviously at the time some dishes went wrong but over time I have improved. One dish I loved is the chicken pastry or samosas my mum makes, mmmmm! My mouth waters just thinking of it.

I tried it out a few weeks back and it took me forever but thankfully came out delicious! My hubby and in laws enjoyed it too which made my day. I dnt measure the ingredients as such anymore because I’m used to making the masala quite easily now but I’ll write up the recipe below and you can try it out. Here are how mine turned out (the pastry was rolled out by my helpful mother in law) 🙂

Recipe:
2 large onions diced
Sunflower oil
2 Green bullet chillies chopped
2 pieces of garlic chopped
3 or 4 tomatoes ground into purée
A small dollop of tomato purée (optional)
1 tsp salt (add more to your taste)
Tablespoon of chilli powder
Tablespoon of garam masala
2 or 3 tablespoons lemon juice
1kg chicken in small pieces
3 potatoes chopped in small pieces (optional)
Puff pastry
Beaten egg

Method:
-Add sunflower to a pan enough to sautée onions, brown onions
– add green bullet chillies and garlic
-add tomatoes
Add chilli powder, garam masala, salt and lemon juice
-Wait until oil settles on surface of the masala then it’s ready for the chicken to be added.
-cook chicken until half cooked then put in the potatoes if you are using them
-cook through until the masala is dry (if there is a lot of water released from the chicken, keep cooking until it begins to dry out)
– put oven on to gas mark 4
– roll out pastry to about 1cm thick cut into desired shape and add filling and fold over using a fork to seal the edges.
-Brush with egg over the top
– bake until golden on top.

Enjoy!!

My Mendhi

From the time of our engagement in January till the wedding started in September i spent alot of time with my family in between work organising dates, places, budgets, etc. As im not a typical girly girl whose always ‘dreamt of the perfect wedding’ i was quite open to ideas with what i would want for the big day (or days as us asians like to celebrate for a week). As a youngster i always went past ilford town hall and wondered what a wedding in there would be like…..sooooo i did the next best thing and had my mendhi there instead! and im so glad i did. The hall i was given was at a very good price, held a capacity of around 200 people and looked lovely and spacious.

To prepare for them mendi, my sister (again) helped me out BIG time. We all took a part in helping out in sorting out decor, food, layout and so on. One thing i would say to those of you looking to get married, work out your budget, i started off with this whole wedding with a set budget in mind and was not embarassed to take bargains and freebies when i got them in order to stick to it.

Together me and my sisters and close friends made alot of things by hand which also gave the mendhi day a more personal touch. my sister in law made a beautiful ‘J’ of fresh flowers, something i totally loved and though was original. she also cut out a watermelon fruit basket and a mendhi tray for people to use when applying to my hand on the day. my elder sis F made a basket of fresh flower bracelets for the inlaws to wear when they arrived. N and M also did a whole host of things including buying disposable cutlery, helping with decor and general organising and managing the day to ensure it was stress free for me, which it was.

I also bought a Dholki to add to the decor on the day brought from a lovely musical shop in southall for £25 (works out cheaper than hiring and can be used and re-used at other mendhis). The days leading upto the mendhi and wedding are abit of a blur now but i know one thing is that i enjoyed the buildup to it, everyone was working together and it gave the household a lovely atmosphere.

My mum had gone to Pakistan a few months earlier for the wedding prep and bought me back some amazing clothes, including the mendhi outfit. originally i was a little skeptical about it as  it seemed a little OTT with the sequins but on the day it was perfect and everyone loved it just as much as i did with the whole look.

on the mendhi day itself, i was a little nervous waiting around till the evening time, i was also left alone for a while while everyone went to help set up the hall which made me want to go too! finally though my mendhi lady turned up and i must say she is AMAZING! i had heard of her through alot of friends and had gone for a trial months before and she was just lovely. Because my mendhi was a week before the wedding, i decided to have some temporary glitter henna put on my hands rather than the real thing, she designed some intricate details on my hand using a special glue and then glittered it matching the colours to my outfit, it defo had the wow factor as lots of people commented on where i had it done from!

I then got ready and waited to have my hair done by another amazing lady who did a fab job. i had asked for ‘party hair; (which works out cheaper than bridal hair) and she  was ace. Because i had gone for a traditional look i wanted to keep the hair with the same theme so opted for a puff at the back of the head and a plait coming down over my shoulder (using extensions..or a parandha, a traditional hair piece used by some), she did such a good job people thought it was my actual hair! for my makeuop i decided to do my own, especially after the engagement fiasco.I used colours i know work with my skin tone but also kept it simple so that i would still be able to have the wow factor for the actual wedding day. I used gold and greens on my eyes to match my outfit and kept the rest of the face more neutral.

When it was time to go and i had a good friend H come to pick me up whilst my sisters set up and welcomed our guests at the hall. As it was a ladies only event, we were only recieving my husbands female family. We drove around a while until we were told everyone was ready for me and then it was showtime! i had to remind myself this was the first of 3 more events to come so i had better brace myself! whilst going in we met my inlaws family making their way in and who else should i see but my husband dropping them all off!  I had to quickly hide and hope he wouldnt see me (bad luck to see the bride before the wedding and all that) but luckily he didnt.

on the way in my sisters, cousins, neice and friends held a red dupatta over my head  and thaalis (mendhi trays with candles and flowers) behind me and once the cameras and videos were rolling we were ready. We walked in and for some reason i lost my nerve and started crying before i had even got in! luckily the camera women (we had requested females only) were very nice and gave me a moment to compose myself before i went in, so i took a few DEEEEEEP breaths and tried again and this time managed to walk in without looking like a sobbing mess.lol.

The evening was amazing! after the formalities had taken place and the obligatory pictures had been taken (look here, look at me, dont make faces etc) we all wound down and i walked around to meet and greet friends and family. We also had some fab dancers (thanks to N’s friends), some dholki songs, dhandia sticks routine, children dancing and pass the parcels with granny knickers hidden in between layers! there was lots of delicious food and a huge cake (obviously…where there is jojo there is cake!)

I also had a pre wedding gift from my best friend HB who made me a sweet table for the mendi night and the effect was awesome. Everybody loved it and kept asking who had done it for me, i had already given her some ideas as to what i wanted but what she pulled off was beyond words, she helped make the evening that extra bit special for me. In addition to that i had a lovely work friend whose husband was a DJ and she offered to DJ for me for free, she again did a fabulous job and even dis song requests! My hubby also added that extra bit of sweetness into the day by sending some amazing gifts with his family, including this chupa chup tree that he made himself! bless 😀

I never imagined my Mendhi to be the way it was and i loved every minute of it, it really made me appreicate all the love and help i got from my friends and family and i was so glad they were all there to help me kickstart the beginning of my new life.

me!

The Engagement

It’s been a little while since i’ve been married (3 months now) and it seems like so much longer! The whole point of me wanting to blog was to talk about how my life and perspective changed at such a crucial time in a girls life. A part of me wishes I had started blogging before the wedding to show the buildup of how it all felt and kept a better record of things, but better late than never. As weddings are so long, i will probably post this in parts. I come from a close knit loving and moderately religious family and one i wouldnt change for the world. I am one of 5 siblings, I have an elder sister F who has 4 crazy but beautiful children (little addition arriving to her family only a few months ago, post about her soon), my brother W, Middle sis M and my younger sis N.

When the rishta from my husband’s family first came I had no idea what to expect. I knew it would be formal as the families would be meeting for the first time and sussing out whether they would accept any proposals. Turned out my husbands family is THE nicest family you could ever wish for, obviously i will be posting more on them a little later on (dont want to get sidetracked right now) but both families were happy and after some more talks back and forth later on, we decided to get engaged!

We decided to keep it a family affair (im not one for making a big hoo ha out of something personal just for show) and the preparation began! luckily for me i have 4 very hands on sisters and a sister in law to help out so they all helped take a chunk out of the organising for the day. We decided (after much umm-ing and ahh-ing) to keep the engagement in the house (i.e. exchanging of the ring, feeding us sweets etc) and then onto to a restaurant to save mum the hassle of cooking.

we basically had a week to find a ring, a dres, a restaurant for a large family affair, and a hair and makeup lady! with Lady luck on my side (and my sisters again of course) everything was handled last minute. me and my big sis F and little sis N traipsed around for 2 days looking for ‘the dress’, and finally found one in a little shop called Zebaish (http://www.zebaishlondon.com/) they design one off peices and after some looking around in a fed up huff i clapped eyes on a dress they had on a dummy, i tried it on and decided it was the one for me! it was just my style too as i dont tend to wear asian style clothing too much and this was a perfect blend of east meets west and an added girly touch with the pink.

my dress!! love love love it.

the ring was also very last minute, hubby took me to every shop and place we could think of (we even ended up in the gold shops in green street as a last minute attempt and rejected all the yellow gold rings they had to offer) i was about to give up in finding the ring for me when i asked if we could go to lakeside just to check before the shops closed. we got to Beaverbrooks a half hour before they closed and were shown a few rings at this point i wanted to just go home and sleep but then i tried on a ring and it felt ‘right’ (they do say a girl knows when she knows) and that was that! hubby says he saw ‘a look’ on my face that he hadnt seen with any other ring i’d tried that told him it was the one! so we got it it a few days before the day. Was totally the right one even when i look at it now.

my ringgggg!

on the day i must say i was verryyyyy nervous! what didnt help was that my hair and makeup lady which had been recommended by the shop i had bought my dress from was terrible! she ended up using colours and styles that just didnt suit me and i was practically in tears, to top it off she said ‘she didnt have time’ to re-do me and left! i scrubbed off some of what she did and made myself up again with the short time i had before everyone arrived. (i did go back to the shop and complain later on)

The evening itself was lovely, my sister put up a cool backdrop matching my outfit and co-ordinated the giftbags too. the gifts we recieved (well I recieved cos they were mostly mine) were awesome. once the ‘ring thing’ had been done everyone seem to relax a little more and enjoy themselves. This was the start of the realisation of how important families are and the fact mine and hubby’s got on so well meant a lot to me. We cut the cake later on at the restaurant and then home and i slept in a hazy daydream feeling….’right’ about everything.

my sisters home made backdrop, thanks!

All in all it was a wonderful day and even though we had a limited amount of time to plan it all i wouldnt change it! (the funny thing is i drove out to buy some nail varnish that morning and accidently went up a bus lane and got fined a few days later so will definetely not forget that date anytime soon!)

pressies from the inlaws. alllll for me!

baking with the bro in law

Since being married, I have had a lot of free time (after all the dhawats and days out we have had anyway) to try out new things. One thing i really enjoy is cooking. I tried it out when i was at home with my mum now and then but usually left my mum to do it as her cooking is at masterchef level (she really is an amazing cook). But now i have time to do things i have been trying new recipes and been quite pleased with how they have turned out! My last attempt was a victorian sponge cake and shortbread biscuits (hubby loved these the first time i made them so decided to make them again for him) and all with the help of my lovely bro in law! 😀 I’ll post the recipe linksbelow in case you want to try it out and it really is so easy to make, you just can’t go wrong.

I usually google recipes from my phone and see how easy they are to follow, the BBC have some simple and easy to follow recipes which is where i got these from:

victorian sponge cake:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1997/classic-victoria-sandwich

shortbread biscuits:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortbread_1290

heres how mine and BiL’s attempt turned out, the sponge cake was absolutely delish! (even tho eager beaver BiL decided to add the buttercream whilst the cake was still hot resulting in some meltage….we recovered it by refrigerating it quickly though! lol)

our victorian sponge cake!

a slice of yumminess!

shortbread biscuits decorated in red icing

 

Snow time like the present!

Having moved to Luton after getting married, there’s been a lot new and different things to get used to. However I woke to find something nice outside today….Snow! 🙂 I’m a winter type of girl so this was lovely to see! Having lived in London , the snow oftenturned into sleet or grey slush very quickly. It’s nice to enjoy the settled snow for a change. Hopefully if it snows some more as everyone hopes we can all have a day or two off and let winter begin properly just in time for the start of the festive season . On that note I’m about to put on some snow proof boots and stomp around outside. Enjoy the snow near you!

brother in laws pic early this morning as he discovered the garden snow

the view from my bedroom

hubbys work place seems to be deserted

 

my sister attempt to call this ‘snow’ in london..hmm!

 

Little ol’ me!

Hi there blog world!

Finally decided to pluck up the courage and join the blogosphere 🙂 I’m very excited to have my page up and running and can’t wait to share all the things floating around in my head. A little about me first though. Im a happy, organised 20 something year old teacher, newly(ish) married (3 months still counts as new right?) who is loving life and enjoying each day as it comes. I have a loving, caring close knit family (both my own family and my wonderful inlaws…or outlaws as i like to call them) and i love…LOVE fashion and shopping! (yep a girly girl who loves her shoes and handbags….matching may i add!). I’m also a major major sweet tooth as you will soon discover on my many posts on all things sweet. I’m learning new things every day as a married woman (time to grow up and be less childish…although still clinging onto the child within) and after years of being an introvert and holding all the crazy ideas and thoughts i have inside i’m about to unleash it all! are you ready to join me on all things Jojo?? If so, prepare to go on this crazy journey called life with lil ol’ me where i’ll be sharing my thoughts and opinions on fashion, teaching, food, family and life in general….here we go, wish me luck! 😀

(me about to embark on the great big world of blogging!)