Welcome 2019

Tears and smiles, pains and gains, failures and successes; from a rocky start to a complete meltdown in the mid of the year to picking up myself and ending the year with a heart ever so grateful for this beautiful life, for opportunities, for lessons, for people who came and people who left. For the constants in life who never change and the constant changes that shape our lives…. 2018 was all THIS and MORE.

Review: Children's Books by Ayesha Marfani

I have always been a BIG fan of stories with moral lessons. Books that aim to bring to light a social issue and ways to address them. I am sure we all remember those short stories about ‘Greed is Curse’, ’As you sow, so shall you reap’, ‘Honesty is the best policy’... morals that impacted our young impressionable minds! I am so grateful that we were repeatedly taught these basic things in school and at home. 

Ayesha Marfani, a Pakistani Children’s book author, shared with me two of her books a few days ago. Beautifully written, with a clear moral message, carefully chosen words, illustrations and even after-reading activities, these books are really a treasure. 

Heart Talk: Breakfast

Yesterday, we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and I don’t think any photograph better than this could sum up my marriage. 

Breakfast. 

Immigration Diary: Wardrobe Blues

In Pakistan, it is a norm to get custom-made clothes for yourself. People find it fascinating when I tell them that I used to design make my own clothes. Buy material, get some embroidery done on it, get a scarf dyed with it, get some embellishments for the scarf and then get a tailor to stitch it with the style and fitting of my choice and also within my budget 💁‍♀️. Sounds tedious but, this was like the ONLY way of buying clothes that I knew of. (Leaving tailor blues for another day…. 😜)

Review: Songs of Pinky Memsaab

A few days ago I saw a friend post about upcoming independent movie Pinky Memsaab, releasing on the 7th of December 2018. The trailer looks very promising. With Dubai as the backdrop, the story revolves around a socialite and her maid who develop an unconventional bond while they go through life and the lemons it gives them! I found this a very unique and interesting topic. The movie seems much more real and being an expatriate myself for the last 10 years, I am sure it will hit a few right notes somewhere. It was time that a movie with such a theme was made.

The Ordinary Girl is Three!

This month marks 3 years of this blogging journey! I had no clue that I would make it this far because back in 2015 when I started this blog it was just another way for me to stay connected with my loved ones back home and space for me to exhibit my love for chai and food in general. I had no goals for it, to be honest, except to keep writing and I had no idea which direction this blog was headed to. I took several breaks on and off because life was happening but, I made sure that I come back here and keep writing. 

Immigration Diary: Friendships

One thing that many of us go through after moving to a new country or city is the challenge of making friends and finding the right people to connect with, especially in the beginning.