House Furnishing for the weekend

This last Sunday was an official islamic holiday which extends our weekend by a day I knew I won't be spending out. I was just not mentally prepared to go out and needed couple of days to meditate at home and just focus on internal organisation of my life at home. I'm not the super mom when it come to house keeping and never will be like my dear mother who dedicate every possible break to clean and sweep the floors even when they're shining bright; but I do have a sense of responsibility to lift the dirt and tide up my house when needed. LOL

if I were a magician at home.. LOL

Last couple of weeks I headed to IKEA at Dubai Festival City with a mission ( and measures of course, never ever go without those two!) to design a huuuuuge clothes closet for future investment and finally get rid of my husband complaining about his clothes right of holding a space in our closet.*angel halo* I also had a small bookshelf and a desk in mind if I lay my eyes on any good designs.

I do admit my husband and I got carried away a little and got 3 meters set of two bookcases and a desk to hold our antiques, books, paper documents and well be a decent study area for both of us. We went to bed feeling accomplished and proud to finally get what we had planned for months ago and couldn't sleep thinking about when it will get delivered to our empty room.

IKEA Designing system, totally loved it!

so this weekend I had a welcoming task to do for my IKEA purchases! :D

The delivery service was so reliable and respected time just the way I love it. Although the installation of our new furniture took a while for bringing two staff only, they cleaned their mess and that was enough to forgive them :P

Here's my wide big closet ~

I love the mirrors in the middle which substitute any need for stand mirrors and a great motive when I exercise woohoo!! 

I designed a part to be for my baby's stuff which is a lot more space efficient than having those small expensive baby closets and had it provided with baby hangers, baskets and glass shelves that are not in stock right now but will go to get them later in June. probably gonna post about it later when all is well organised..

  

and here is my desk and bookshelves!

To me this is a dream perfect desk with a perfect lightening coming in, I can't wait to study and write in this corner. The place still looks empty as there're a lot more to add here and there but its a motivating start ..

Thank you IKEA for being so creative and making our houses prettier! Now all I need is a good quality time to get everything in place in those shelves *cries* 

Peace,

Amna Al Dhaheri

From 2013 to 2014

It is February already and life have taken me away from writing that I'm posting my 2014 wishes after one month or so..*sigh* This is a short self note on what I feel regarding flipping the last page of the year of 2013 and how I want 2014 to be without any clear plans written here:

A year had come and gone.
2013 had so many life changing events ..
Everything just happened in a blink of an eye, if I take a few moments I get surprised by the number of things changed within one year!

I graduated, I got my first job, I got married and now I'm getting over first year difficulties..

With lots of things twirling around my world I found myself really down yet really excited at times. How I can lead everything to the way I dream it to be? I admit its impossible sometimes to plan every step, and I do miss those days of doing nothing but lay on my bed. Myself and I got those confessions of getting sick of having changes all at once. Why can't I achieve all of this from building a family to finding the perfect job when I get enough of life?.. when I no longer feel like there is something more to give me goose bumps? .. maybe within 6 more years or so..

why all now or never?!

But its god's will that Amna starts building in the year of 2013 the harsh way. 2013 was a long self disciplinary lesson. A challenge around fast adaption. A leap of perspective change. and a initiative of priority setting.

I changed.

Once in a very long time I didn't greet a new year with a regular plan. I greeted 2014 with wishes and dreams. I don't want as much tangibles from life as before. I slowed down that urgency of time within me. I don't need to be the fastest to get this or that. College years are over with its childish competitions among friends. Its now us and how we want to draw the lines in our lives.
No wrong and no right.
No right time and no very late!
yet a fire must be kept burning within us to move on and the ambition is the fuel.

In the past I used to control myself and my own world only, now I hold a life of man and possibly a life of children who all depend on my shoulders to carry them in this big world. I need to widen my dreams net to conclude all of their dreams too because right now what's theirs is mine. We are a family. A very supportive one.

However, the year didn't only bring sweat and tears but was generous enough to give me the greatest gift of life. On my birthday month, November 2013; I received the news from god. I will be carrying a soul within me. I had intentions of crying for days if a news like that came across my ears but instead there was a bundle of joy blown inside of me. And NO! it was too early for the hormones to play in this equation but I believe its impossible for a woman to feel total sadness with a life beating within her. For this little baby all your plans and worries get on hold without regret. That how the series of sacrifice begin within mothers..

2014 I'm not delaying my future, I'm making one right now. A one more meaningful and more happier. I will be living and growing though my coming child. All I sincerely want for 2014 is a normal childbirth, a healthy baby and a healthy mother for him/her to take care of the world. I can't wait for our memories to be written down in our book of life.


love,
Amna

Spiritual Haven: A Day in Oman

I can tell that Al Ain people are most familiar with Oman  than other areas of UAE

the close boundaries they share pulled few immigrants from Oman to Al Ain and vice versa over the years

It was a fine Friday and we were two days away from starting the next semester so my mom's family wanted to hold a family gathering and I was tempted to go

Now when we speak about Oman the image that comes to our mind as emiratis is a splendid journey to childhood memories and simplicity of shared heritage

I really love Oman for keeping us a decent space to get away from this smothering modern life

so I said YES ! I don't want another friday spent on window shopping at Bawadi mall or sipping up a cup of my usual coffee at Starbucks/Nero, Lets welcome the opportunities and see how it goes 

well I haven't got the chance to meet my mom's family after coming back from Korea so this is like .. 6 months that I haven't seen them ? I know.

 So our trip goes from Al Ain city to Al Buraimi city -where we stop at the usual Dukan (Grocery store) for beverages and some fresh fruits- then voilaaa~ we are in Wasit village our destination!

To make the picture clear here is a map from my google account, As you can see Wasit is not far from the emirati borders

Road Trip Map from Al Ain to Wasit village

in around 1 hour we were there at our peaceful village of Wasit, most of its people has already moved to Al Ain but still keep their houses for holidays. The village was only inhabited by the famous family of "AlShamisi" which I never knew till recently! The people are very friendly, generous and really attached to each other :)

when we got there it was the habit to be served coffee and fruits at the beginning of every visit; It is a must in a decent hospitality and that's agreed on in both UAE & Oman. In modern houses though; Its not a mandatory thing to have fruits but were substituted by other international deserts. Yet it all depends on the guest and their age and level of openness.

after few talks around the circle; the lunch was served and god I can't resist the aroma of feasts especially when its homemade!

I need lessons on how to eat using bare hands x)

Note: in gulf area we prefer goat meat over lamb cause gulf people were not used to raise sheep for meat that they consider it more dense and smelly. However in Arabian countries around the Mediterranean sea its more common and preferred

After lunch,there were many women talks and catching up going until the sun went down alil and that was the best part of the day a walk around the oasis !
people calls it alnakhal النخل which mean palm trees area
 It was the resource of agriculture & food

This oasis used to be fulled with people who lived through it and worked most of their days

The diversity of trees was extraordinary !

cotton, mango, banana, lime, lemon, oranges .. I didn't even knew Arabian Gulf area would be able to produce such fruits in such climate !

Mango Trees

Unfortunately though with people leaving the area as it lost its value, these trees were cut down or abandoned to death 

Front yard of one vintage house

More interesting area is the neighborhoods spread around the oasis, I would estimate the age of these houses to be more than 100 years old based on local people sayings and tracking down generations. Wonderfully they still stand in quite good condition!
 

Despite the peaceful image people always made excuses to fight and so there were tribal wars going on and people got killed out of misunderstanding and pride. I found few mosques built here and there and called by the name of each tribe, its funny though because each one is far by 1 min walk lol
they were really ridiculously proud people who didn't want to pray in the same spot! you gotta problem wid that! hehe~ :)

View from the building on top, all houses were built to serve the basic needs of humans

The following pictures shows an abandoned well, not sure how they made it though these stones of hard nature. As it is shown the well was between houses and on the top of the hill, the reason for that is that the power of a tribe relies on how well they hide their resources; mainly water resource!

The following picture shows a police station with a different kind of architecture almost like a fort with small holes as windows

 and here we were there fascinated by the view at the top then rushed back to our residence before the sunsets, you don't wanna be wondering around an oasis with no flash light or farmers to guide you out !! reallllly risky. My mom said it was not as scary in old days because people were really brave and would help each other unconditionally. And when the oasis was blooming many farmers stayed around for late hours.. I could imagine that scene in my mind and it seemed great to live at that time !

Sun hitting on an old fort making it stand out beautifully

I think the Omani archeologists should pay more attention to the national treasures in this area before they vanish for real! The place is breath taking and less stressful. When you are young you appreciate such places less but when you are captivated by the new lifestyle you feel like whaoo this life is so fast and frustrating and I need to catch a glimpse of my childhood where everything was as this village wide, free and natural !

Sunset by the end of the tour

After that long trip we went back home for dinner followed by hot milk tea! we were really exhausted and sleep was all over our faces. The trip was supposed to end around 5pm yet it got as late as 11pm ! and by that we ended our day~

What about you readers did you spend the weekend somewhere inspiring and interesting :)?

Peace,

Amna

Welcoming 2013 !

Happy New Year~

2012 is not the end of the world and I'm still alive :D haha in ur face you.. donno know whoever was claiming its the end lol ~

I know its kinda late but there was no way I'm gonna be able to write a decent blog after arriving on new years  to my home country 

The tiredness, cultural shock and formalities kept me from having any fruitful time with my blog

Now that I'm back on my feet again I thought I'd write a new post before January passes by!

First and before I spill out my plans I wish to thank 2012 for being a year filled with adventures and a year that is a blissful gift from god. I met so many new people, learned a lot of things, visited new places and become a satisfied calm person

in 2012 I started writing in this blog more seriously and I'm willing to keep it up during 2013 :)

In 2013 I wish to be the change for every single day

I want this year to be more organized and awarding

 and for a change I want to relax and let life take the wheel from time to time :)

so for the time being I'm on vacation and I came up with this list to fill my time and plan well for the coming year! There are many interesting stuff over the internet but I loved these the most and started applying them myself !

1- 2013 Diary/Planner

Yes its a must and it works amazingly well for busy people like me! 

technology cannot replace written papers! I find it more enjoyable to hold a book in my hands instead of an electronic reader

I can edit my notes much faster 

& I can flip back and fourth to feel the sense of time with papers !

so go to the nearest bookshop and pick your one !

Tips: 

• choose a light weight diary if you will carry it in your bag and always pick an elegant one that you will love to open every single day

• avoid super fancy tho and never buy the most expensive out there.. in the end its just a planner !

• oh and always check the paper pattern from inside, diaries comes with different style! I rather get those with enough space for each day (almost half page) and I love the maps attached at the back it gives me a space to dream about traveling to places I've never thought about :) *childish lol*

2- Happiness Jar

I've seen so photogenic pictures of Dreams Jar but I didn't like it as dreams should be written clearly in front of you not folded into a jar ! However this year I heard of the happiness jar where you can place all the happy moments you had through the year and then by the next year you can talk about and review all the happy moments in the past year !

Tips: 

• you can get the shape and size you prefer or which you think will fit perfectly on your desk. Nice cheap jars are hard to find in bookshops so I suggest visit the kitchenware section in any homecenters you will find plenty, colorful and cheap jars !

• decorate you jar with ribbons, stickers and writings this will not only makes the jar beautiful but enchanted~

for my case I went for simple cylinder shaped plastic jar so it won't break if it fell from the table :3 

3- Pictures on the wall

I've always appreciated pictures as a happy thing in life. I'm not into buying very expensive professional heavy cameras to take a picture of a tiny bug ( although I admit its worth the quality). However, I believe that no matter how ugly or hilarious you look in a picture it will never matter in the future when you look back at those pictures ! So with the growth of my gallery I wanted to keep my dear ones around instead of piling them in harddisks that I only check every couple of months

and I know I kept bragging about Korea so much now but honestly those people know how to design their cafes and restaurants with photographs, art crafts & simple antiques !

and it got me wondering why mom is so obsessed with white walls? if you can utilize the white spaces in a right way it will not look beautiful but will have a touch of personality and uniquness !

and so I'm filtering some pictures this weekend for printing and gonna buy some ropes and nails to get the work done !

Tips: 

• Don't stick to colored pictures even black n white ones will give you a sense of elegant vintageness! 

• if burning images in studios are expensive print them at home! 

• for more crafty touch you can design paper frames around your pictures and leave a little cute note !

 4- Books, Books and more Books !

We are a nation that reads, maybe the past decades weren't our best but that's only because our grandparents didn't get the chance for proper education and worked hard for their family survival. No matter how developed we get or how many technologies we invent the book is still a valuable piece of knowledge that won't be replaced.The beginning was tough with books for someone who started reading late but now its a daily pleasure.   

Tips: 

• take your time when you want to borrow/buy books, the secret to love books is to follow your field of interest. I realized this late cuz I depended on others' choice at the beginning.

• Novels are wonderful source of amusement but read an educational or inspirational book for a change.

• When you're done reading a book write a review for it, give it to a friend or neatly put it on a shelf for others to read ! 

• Some book fairs and libraries allow books donation or exchange so make use of such places if you didn't like a book you poses or read it many times !

5- Own a business 

University is the best place to test your capabilities of running a business. Of course people would say that the real world is completely different from this controlled environment but where else can you try your skills in marketing without being punished ?! After many presentations, workshops, projects maybe you can make use of your knowledge to go for the next challenge of opening your own business ! Currently I've been enrolled in a small business with a group of creative local ladies and I hope we will establish the company we dream of soon enough :)

Tips: 

• Always keep yourself inspired by attending talks about others success story and find the time to think about what you want to do after graduation. 

• If the road is not clear ask your friends for ideas you will be surprised by their responses or maybe you will find a person with a gold worth idea but was waiting for a strong person like you to take the lead !

• A business doesn't have to be an individual work it can start with the hard work of a group!

• Focus on what you are familiar with as its a strength point for you! Innovations and ideas can come running after you formed a strong basis for your business 

All in all, never give up to the depressing routine always find a way to appreciate, love and change ~

Be a person who lived every single day and tried as much things as possible than others from your place !  

Happy New Year Everyone !

Amna ❤

p.s: let me know about your 2013 plans, your opinion about my blog and what you love to read in the future ;)