Our Baking Adventures, Part 2

We got around to baking our first batch of cupcakes 2 days back :D
Following are a few snaps!

Our Baking Adventures , Part 1

I've been baking, along with my sister, for quite some time now. It has become a passion actually. A couple of days back we attempted our first apple pie :D My friends said it turned out real good, although it was a little too sweet for our taste. Here are the pictures!

Cards!

Alright, so , this other day a friend of ours had her birthday, so the night before ,me and my sister made a card for her! And while we were at it, we decided to make a few extra cards for these other friends, making it a total of 4 cards.


It took a really, reallyyy long time, like, 8 hours (no kidding!) but it was fun and we were really happy with the final result so it was worth it!


We took a few snaps of the cards before giving them to their recipients and i decided to post them here on the blog. The pictures will show both the outside and the inside of the cards.


So, here they are!


CARD 1:

The last picture in the pictures posted above is actually the inside of the card. What we basically did here was form a loop from a green ribbon and hang these 'tags' from it. Some we made ourselves while the other are really just tags that are attached to your brand new clothes. you know.. company names and all that stuff. These tags were then used to write messages on their backs by other friends!


CARD 2:

CARD 3:

Notice the random phrases on the front cover of this card here? They aren't as random as one might think. They are catch phrases and stuff, words that the person who got this card would know the 'inside story' about.. hehe. 


Also the blue flowers inside? Hand painted , that's why they aren't as artful as i wanted them to be.


CARD 4:

These are about it for now. Just wanted to post them on my blog, since this kind of stuff is what i wanted my blog to be about in the first place :D


Alright then, Later!

My 2012 Resolutions , Part 1

Alright, so I totally know now is a little bit late for coming out with some “NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS”, but this time I wanted to set up a few resolutions that I’ll actually follow through! So, I took my time, thought hard and then picked out the ones I am sure to stick to during 2012!

So, here goes :D

1.       Exercise. I’ve been making this resolution for quite some years now but, previously, this one came with certain limitations, such as, ‘exercise everyday’ or ‘walk for at least 20 minutes daily’. Not very difficult to see that I almost never followed those ones through. Something always came up and I do tend to procrastinate a lot, so this time ,instead of making a resolution that I know I just am not going to go through with, I’ve made a relatively ‘bendable’ one. EXERCISE! Recently, I’ve been net-surfing this issue a lot and instead of going completely ninja on myself, I’ve decided to make tiny little changes which will get me good results in the long run (being a whole year in this case), such as, taking stairs instead of the elevator, walking to places whenever I can instead of taking a rickshaw etcetera etcetera. Even these minute changes count as ‘exercise’.

2.      Being Tolerant. I happen to be a hothead. I tend to lose my temper a lot and when I do, believe me, I am not a very pretty sight. So, I am going to make sure this New Year sees a brand new me! Hence, I am going to start being tolerant. Again internet is a HUGE help in this matter!  I will try to overcome my anger and impatience. I know it isn’t going to be easy, seeing as Old habits die hard and all, but I am going to try extra extra hard! And when I know that I am about to lose it, I’ll just leave the room or put my headphones on or something. So, yeah, let’s see how this one turns out  :D

3.       Write. That, right there, is one my passions! I remember how back in school, I used to write, like, ALL the time! Then time changed and so did things and this hobby took a backseat! But, now, with this blog, writing is going shotgun again =D I know my writing skill shave gone a bit rusty and all but, hopefully, time will amend that!

4.       Get in touch with my ‘athletic’ self again. Again, sports used to be one of my all-time favorite hobbies back in the days. I intend to reinstate it to its former position. So, in 2012, I resolve to take part in more sports and be more athletic than I was in 2011. Done.

5.       Get Happier. See how that resolution right there doesn’t hold any limits? All I have to do is DO things that make me happy and avoid those that don’t. Meet up with old friends, watch movies, boost my self-esteem, stress management and all that. Just  do whatever takes me to that happy place, you know =D

Okay, so that is about it for now, but let me tell you that those certainly are not all of my resolutions! This will probably require another blog post =D

So, for now, toodles! Until next time:D

My take on Judi Picoult.

Let me start this by saying I am a HUGE book fan! I love reading! I am perfectly comfortable with spending my free time, getting snug on a couch, reading a nice long book and maybe a chocolate to go with it! So, these past 2 months, when I was FINALLY done with my exams and had a sprawling 60-day long holiday in front of me, I decided to take up an author that I had heard of but never got around to reading:  Jodi Picoult.

                                                                                                     

I started off with a book of hers whose movie had topped the box office list: My Sister’s Keeper. At once, I noticed that the topic Picoult chooses are not something you’ll find in many books. What is it like to be born into a family in a constant battle against cancer? How do you cope? How do you hope? Me, having read books from authors like J.K Rowling and Stephanie Meyer to Judith McNaught and Dan Brown, these new forays into situations uncommon, but in no way rare, were new and exciting!

 The same goes for her next book that I also took up to reading: Nineteen minutes. A book revolving around the idea of 'bullying'. Sure this concept is not something very dire over here in Pakistan but in west, bullying is probably the biggest challenge school-going kids have to face! For them, it isn’t something that you just ‘get over’ as you grow up. It’s a lifelong fight, one that can only stop if measures are taken to put a stop to it! Time and again, we see the failure of the educational system to eradicate this problem from the society, examples being the 2007 Virginia tech shooting and Columbine High school massacre. This book forces you to contemplate all that can go wrong if this issue is not taken up seriously. It compels you to play your part in doing something about it.

In essence, what I got from reading novels by Jodi Picoult is that she chooses to talk about things that need to be talked about. She picks up issues and, in a very unbiased and engaging way, highlights all their pros and cons. Picoult’s manner of not telling the story as just a 3^rd person , but make all the different characters narrate the fable themselves, give us a wide range of views to work on. Because of that, instead of getting to see only one side of the main focus, all the outlooks are highlighted!

So, basically, what I am trying to say here is that for all the avid book-readers out there, if you haven’t yet had the chance of reading any of Jodi Picoult’s work yet, it is high time that you go to the book store and get yourself a copy, because this is one author that you definitely shouldn’t miss out on!

Cheers =)

A Winter Morning in Karachi..

Karachi, the NYC of Pakistan, a bustling metropolis with a pace of its own. If you want to survive here, you have to go with the flow or risk being left behind. Every day, we get up and rush against the time, only to wake up the next day to do it all over again. Anyone, who has been a citizen of this sprawling, alive 24/7 city, knows all too well that Karachi doesn’t give you time; you need to take some out yourself.

 And, when you sit down and think about it, that really isn’t such a bad idea! It’s okay to let go, once in a while, pull the brakes, park to the side and let the others rush ahead of you. We are not machines after all! And so, if you ask me, what perfect time will it be to do that than on a cool winter Karachi morning? Here is how I would probably plan such a break out.

 For me, the ideal day would start with sharing a cup of coffee with a friend as early as 8 in the morning. Just making small talk, discussing nothing in particular, checking out the people walking up to the counter and sharing maybe a chocolate mousse cake on the side. A total 180 degree change from that everyday routine of gulping down of coffee with one hand while brushing your hair with the other, eyes continuously flicking towards the clock up on the wall, to make sure you are ready before time. It’s true, when you are leading as busy a life as mine, these tiny little pleasures can make all the difference in the world!

Maybe that relaxed little rendezvous with a friend in the coffee shop would then be followed be a long, relaxed, solitary walk in a park. No jogging, nothing fast, and absolutely no music! Just strolling down the pathways, looking at the trees, listening to the birds, and breathing in that fresh morning air as much as I can. Believe me, nature is the best spiritual healer you can find out there! Even better than music! It can take away the toll, the stress, leaving you as fresh as itself.

Maybe after that walk, I’ll choose a shady little bench, take out my bottle of juice, and take in the world around me. I’ll feel the cold morning breeze against my face, listen to the rush of traffic far away on the main road, smile at the little kids running towards the swing to get the first turn and try to catch the squirrels running beneath my seat.

 I’ll probably spend the whole of my morning there. And then when my watch finally tells me it’s 1, I’ll let out a satisfied little sigh, get up from the bench, smile at the whole world in general and then ready myself up to get busy again!