Monthly Archives: November 2013

Yummy Treats

Easy Thanksgiving Banana Bread

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Salaams my lovelies! It is the day before Thanksgiving and I am sure that you are all prepping for a wonderful dinner with your loved ones tomorrow. I know I am! I am planning to post a turkey and apple pie recipe inshallah (God willing) that I promise works every time (those are my mainstays and I mix things up with the sides). While everyone thinks of pumpkin pie as being synonymous with Thanksgiving dinner, I have a terrible confession to make: I hate pumpkin pie! I know, everyone loooooves those pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie. Well everyone but me! So when I prep for Thanksgiving dinner, my go to pie is apple pie. However, I also like to give my guests another dessert option. Since there were overly ripe bananas on my counter and cream cheese frosting (store bought) in my fridge, I decided to save myself from throwing anything away and made banana bread.

Especially around this time of year when it starts to get colder, I become mindful of giving thanks for the blessings in my life. So I make extra effort not to throw anything out in terms of food, clean out my closet of excess clothes to donate, and also try to get involved in food and toy drives. Since I am trying not to waste food, when I saw those super brown bananas, I knew I had to make banana bread versus throwing them away.

The best thing about banana bread to me is that you not only save fruit you would normally throw away, but you also have a nice warm dessert that you can share with a few special friends. PS: This is a recipe from the Food Network by Joanne Chang from the bakery Flour in Boston but I added the cream cheese frosting part to the recipe.

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 can of cream cheese frosting

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Allow pan to completely cool and then add cream cheese frosting.

Enjoy!

Beauty

Hijabi Beauty: Beautiful Hands

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Salaams my lovelies! As you know, the winter season is fast approaching. Which means there will be plenty of time for beautiful jackets, sweaters, and scarves. However, winter also means having to deal with dry chapped winter skin too. The part of the body that bears the brunt of winter’s harshness is your hands. From the cold whipping winds, and the dry harsh heat of indoor heating, the thin skin of your hands can get dry, scaly, and start to hurt. Since the hands and face are the parts of the body that practicing hijabis expose the most, it makes sense that those areas may need the most TLC. Here are some tips to keep those hands looking pretty year round:

Wear gloves when you can:

In the winter, there are still some crazy people (for example me) that sometimes refuse to wear gloves. However, gloves serve as the first barrier of protection for the sensitive skin on your hands from the elements. In fact, women up until the early 1900s used to wear gloves year round (even in the summer) because those ladies knew that the secret to youthful beautiful hands was to keep them out of the sun! Knowing myself, I still won’t wear gloves in the summer or spring, but I will most likely embrace them more this winter.

Use a hand cream:

Carry a hand cream that you know you will use regularly. I promise you that if you like using it, you will be more likely to use it when you need it. I used to adore the L’Occitane hand cream, but then I discovered this hand cream called Tocca Crema De Mano in Cleopatra. It is the freshest hand cream fragrance I have ever smelled! It’s a mix of pomegranate and cucumber and while that sounds like an odd combination, this smells like a garden after a refreshing rain shower. Just the smell alone gets rid of my winter blahs!

Shape nails weekly

It is recommended in Islam to clip your nails weekly. I prefer to actually shorten my nails by shaping them with a nail file because it prevents nails from getting fractured or broken.

I hope these tips keep your hands looking beautiful all season long! What are your tips for nice hands?

Style

Hijabi Trend: Winter Pastels

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Jessica Alba pink skirt

Jessica Alba pulls off the cold weather pastel trend perfectly

Salaams my lovelies! I know I should be blogging more, but you know how it goes when you have a full time job plus a little babykins. Life basically happens and then there is no downtime to craft a good quality post for you!

That being said, I am going to make more of an effort to stalk my favorite hijabi style stars and curate the best and the brightest trends for you. Also, since Thanksgiving is coming up, expect a few recipe posts inshallah (God willing)! I actually did an amazing apple tart last night as a test run dessert, but it was devoured in minutes before I could stage and take pictures for you! Neddless to say, I will be replicating that recipe and sharing that with you before Thanksgiving.

Now that we are on full on winter mode, the instant reflex is to toss out all of our spring/summer pastel pieces in favor of darker jewel toned pieces. I adore jewel toned pieces, but I live on a real world budget and need to rely on great clothing combinations in order to avoid spending a ton of money on clothing. One of my favorite tactics is to take a page from Jessica Alba’s style book and actually pair a winter sweater with all of my pastel skirts. I bet most of you already have a pastel skirt AND a black sweater. Pair the two together with some accessories, and voila! You have an instantly chic outfit that would make any Parisian proud (or in my opinion, any British hijabi vlogger).

If you happen to be the one hijabi without a pastel skirt, please visit Hijabi-ista.com and check out their pastel pleated skirts. They are not see through and they are as comfortable as pajamas (I kid you not).

Try out the combination and let me know what you think! What are your tips for wearing pastels in winter?

Style

Hijabi Trend: Embellished Shoulders

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Embellishments on the shoulders are an emerging trend with the hijabi set.

Are you looking to change up your hijab style a little? One emerging trend from the hijabi fashion set has been to embellish the shoulders of their outfits. If you are a little fashion risk averse, this is the perfect trend for you. I mean think about it, shoulders are pretty much standard on every one so you know a little shoulder embellishment will look as good on you as it does on a runway model. It is the perfect place to take a little fashion risk without looking too foolish. Here are some tips to pull off the look:

Give it Some Edge:If you are tired of super girly pastels and florals and want to embrace your inner edge, you may want to consider putting some finishing touches on the shoulders of your abaya. The hottest hijabi trend has been to pump up the style of your abaya with strong shoulder pads, ruching, and even spikes and chains for a look that is definitely not your auntie’s style.

Make It Pretty:If you are looking for a softer feel, you can always spice things up with sequin detailing at the shoulders, or contrast color blocking too. Whatever you choose in terms of shoulder embellishments, it will be a look that will stand out from the rest.

Do It Yourself: This is the perfect trend to refresh some dated pieces in your wardrobe. Do you have an old blazer you don’t wear anymore? Bring it back to life by sewing some ribboned chains from the craft store to the shoulder, adding some spikes, or even making it sparkle with some hot glued crystals. Your imagination can run a little wild and you may end up with a cool piece without breaking your budget.

What do you think of this trend?