Brown Sugar-Part 1: the 'not-really-a-backstory'

Devil's food cupcakes from Martha Stewart

Cupcakes. How cute are they? No, really. Sitting there like a little princess with a frosted tiara.

Ofcourse anything can look cute with a bit of work, but that's not the point. There's just something nice about not having to cut a slice of cake or pie, then put it on a plate and sit and eat it 'tameez se' (all prim and proper). Instead, you can just grab one and eat it wherever you like. But the best part? That its mine. All mine. You can't have that with a whole big cake, can you now? And the frosting! (I shall go into that in a bit).

Of home, the peeling volcano and awesome fabrics*.

[*and really long titles.]

So many things have happened lately. Dad had a heart attack, so we rushed home as soon as we could. Things were pretty glum for the one day that we had to wait here, since there was no flight before that. We didn't even get to talk to him, although my aunt kept us informed. So it felt really good to finally meet him and see for ourselves that he was fine. Alhamdulillah!

I love how he was happy and upbeat the whole time and still is. We never felt the constant stress people usually do, what with trying to keep it quiet, getting the patient to eat their relatively bland meals, making sure they don't sneak a bite when no one's looking, etc. There's no  'Sshhh, keep it down, there's a sick person in the room' or 'let's talk in the other room and let him rest'. He loves it when there's lots of people around him, even when he's trying to get some sleep. Which means that we had lots of late nights and long chats. I also love the fact that he never complains about the change in his diet, and doesn't pull faces when we eat some fried chicken while he's having plain veggies. He's just cool like that. ;)

I could never stand Raspberry Ripple, the only thing nice about it was the pink (ofcourse!).
But now, I WANT it all the time.

Cupcakes, anyone?

Yummy update.

Here's one of the reasons I love visiting my aunt so much (apart from the generally awesome time I have chatting and lazing around). Baking! Like, serious baking. Her fridge is always stocked with yummy cupcakes and icing. And sometimes there are home-made chocolates too.

About an year ago, she decided to start baking professionally, and now she runs a bakery, XOXO Desserts,  from home. Since she bakes on order, sometimes I get lucky when I'm there and can help her out. The last time I visited, we baked some [a few ;) ] cheesecakes, biscotti, and cupcakes. The best part was that all of it wasn't for her customers. ;) yum-yum!

So this time around, we did a birthday cake for a one year old. It was soo much fun deciding on shapes & colours, and playing around with the fondant. Here are a few pics of the cake:

My childhood bedroom

Sometimes you run out of ideas to post about. And sometimes the idea's there, but there's no one pushing you to do it. So you slack (atleast I do!).
Iuliana over at hip2thrift has come up with a wonderful idea:

Check out the full post here

It's a great way to get over that 'blogger's-block' and also have something unexpected to write about. So here's the first prompt:

Ruffles

Meet my new love, Ruffles. Singular. As in "Ruffles is so cute". ;)

I absolutely love pink and brown combos, so I didn't think twice before picking up this fabric. And it helped that it was pretty cheap ;). Also, my latest obsession with ruffles. I've been making them for everything! Flowers, ruffled edges, necklaces...it's a ruffle overdose waiting to happen.

Ramadan Kareem!

It's Ramadan! *tears of joy*

Well almost. For some reason, I had been looking forward to it more than usual this year. Inspite of that, it has managed to sneak up on me and go boo! Kind of. I've been so tied up with stuff that I didn't realise that the calendar's moving forward. I had simply been thinking, Ramadan's coming, Ramadan's coming. And today I saw a couple of Facebook updates and got confused for a moment. What, already? A glance at the calendar and a bit of brain scrambling later, I realised how out of it I've been. -_-

Crochet Crazy

Whenever I would come across a piece of crochet work, especially lace trimmings, all I would think of is how boring complicated it looked. Now I can't get over how awesome it is! =)


That cutesy lil frock was the first thing I had crocheted. I was actually trying to follow instructions from a Youtube video on how to make a dishcloth. But the only thread I had was too thin for a dishcloth. The finished frock is roughly the length of my forefinger. Also, the rows started tapering towards the top; I'm still not quite sure what I did wrong. [or right! 'Coz I've tried making this again, but just haven't been able to consciously taper it. Ugh!] I ended up with a trapeze like thing, which sort of looked like a tank-dress. So I added sleeves, the scallop trim at the bottom and Yay! One frock, and an unreasonably proud me. =)

Independence!

So. It's been quite a while. Well, there's my design portfolio, which is making me really irritable and anxious. I also have a huge list of accessories to make for submission. Here's what I realised loooong back: Procrastination really isn't a good idea. Note- I realised that, now I just have to understand it. *sigh*

Camera's gone kaput, so I can't click anything pretty. Stupid thing refuses to focus. Or when it does focus, it refuses to click the picture. -.-

This month's been pretty eventful otherwise.

Homesick rant

Aah the wonders of Skype! I've always loved video chats. They always remind me of the whole concept of 'so close, yet so far'. Yes, I find that intriguing. Most of the time, that is.
I mean it's all perfectly fine when your parents chat away with you while they're sitting in their room, or the hall or where ever else the light doesn't suck. But when they choose to sit in your old bedroom (which btw, has been gleefully taken over by your younger brother), and you can see your cupboard and desk and other stuff, then it's...well, distracting. Especially when your current room isn't exactly great. (My mom says she feels nauseous every time she sees it. But then she's a mom.)
But today, it was just plain annoying. Why? Because there is something in that cupboard that I really need. And with it right in front of my face, it was a little difficult to explain to myself that I couldn't put my hand through the screen and just take the damn thing! Not that I tried to or anything.
All I'm saying is, if apparition isn't possible, then we should be allowed to have magical fireplaces. Or, at the very least, a two-way cupboard (see how things would work out then? Exactly.). :)

So yes, the rest of the exhib photos are still pending, but I assure you, that's not my fault. It's my laptop really. ;) It hangs so much that I tend to put off any extra work like transferring stuff from memory cards or usbs. But next post, you'll see the pictures InshaAllah. :) 

Exhibit A (kind of)

I didn't realise how hectic an exhibition can get! What with the travelling for materials, and the packaging (more on that later), and the sleep deprivation, things can get a bit weird. But it's all been worth it. All the genuine appreciation :) And when a friend buys a whole bunch of your stuff! That's when you know for sure that she had actually meant it when she went all "omg, that's so awesome!". So, thank you Swati :)

Here's a li'l peek into the goodies before I put up the rest of the pictures:

Thread wrapped bangles and a wooden one with a bracelet

Time management and Crocheting

It dawned on me recently that I've been neglecting my poor blog shamelessly, and it's time I showered it with some attention (and kept it going). I have been busy with college and a bit of travelling in between, so I do have some excuses for when I'm feeling guilty about it. ;)

But I have been making stuff, if for no other reason than to complete my portfolio for Accessory design.