Fourth Wedding Anniversary

April 5, 2013 by FatimaMehdi

It was not very long ago that I wrote about our Third Anniversay! 11th March 2013 marked our fourth and this time I had a little bun in the oven joining the festivities, at 6 months pregnant with our first.

Tauseef wore a tailor made Italian Wool suit and I wore a midi black fitted dress with a BCBG Maxazria cardigan and Burberry Trench.

Marrying a Doctor means compromising hours, and since Tauseef was on call on the 11th, we went out to dinner on Sunday the 10th. Venue this year; the very exclusive and Michellin Star Restaurant Hakkasan Hanway Place, the original of the group designed by Christian Liaigre and headed by Chef Tong Chee Hwee. My Recommendation, the Dim Sum platter is divine! Dessert was on the house, delicious creamy ice cream surrounded by a chocolate chip wafer.

The ambiance of the restaurant is phenomenal, with waiters/waitresses discreetly always close by and helpful with selection. Expensive, but in my opinion totally worth it for particular occassions!

Wedding Mania

December 11, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

If you’ve ever been to a Pakistani wedding, you know it’s like a festival especially when it’s in the family and you’re a part of it! I recently went to Pakistan for a wedding and thought it’s definitely something I want to share! Bright colours, loud music, lots of jewels and non-stop celebration!!!

It’s quite customary that the groom and his family design and prepare all the bridal clothes for the wedding and second reception along with the gold jewellery as well an entire wardrobe of clothes, shoes and make up for the bride. Like-wise, the bride and family prepare all the grooms clothing and wardrobe etc. Below, the first photo is of all the bride’s things packed and ready to be delivered by some of the family members and the second photo is of the bride’s packed wedding dress. If I went into all the little bits and bobs and each tradition, it would take me a lifetime…

The first big event is called the Mehndi. It’s quite a colourful and vibrant event with a lot of dancing and little rituals. The first photo is of the venue, a beautiful country club (outdoor) and the theme was Peacock The second photo, is of all the brothers and closest cousins and men, along with the sister of the groom. Their clothes are all designed by the groom’s family. Photo three is the bride and groom on the stage. Photo four is the dancing and Photo 5 is myself with the groom.

The next event, is the main wedding. The bride is escorted by her family for the last time and at the end of the evening, there is a little ceremony where the family of the bride give her away officially and the groom takes her home. Photo 1 is the bride joining the groom on stage. Photo 2 is myself with the grooms father, who in specific relation is my grandmother’s brother, however he is my Granddad and very near and dear. Photo 3 I threw in for fun, myself and hubby on the wedding day. Just fyi, the dress I’m wearing was what I wore to my own second reception. It was designed together by my mum and her sister down to the last bead-work.

The last major event is called the Valima. It’s when the bride and groom host a massive dinner as a couple. Photo 1 is of the venue, absolutely stunning and hand-picked by my Granddad. His taster is always the finest Photo 2 is of myself, husband, and the bride, whose name by the way is also Fatima. The third photo I though I throw in for fun as well, myself with my aunt (the designer) and my grandmother.

Immortality in Sacrifice

October 14, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

“Anybody who gives their life for a cause becomes immortal,” says Tauseef (and correctly so), as we read an article from The Guardian on the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban “because of her pioneer role in preaching secularism and so-called enlightened moderation”. What a load of bloody shit (pardon my French)…

Malala Yousafzai won Pakistan’s first peace prize for speaking out against the Taliban on her blog published on the BBC Urdu service website. She there described the life of fear lived in the SWAT region where the Taliban and Government ruthlessly clash and later spoke out in public against extremism. Malala was shot in the head on a bus as she was returning home from Mid-Term Exams at school. She is currently being treated on a military base where she is still under intensive care.

Yes, she is a survivor, and will now be immortalised for her sacrifice. The people of Pakistan are coming out to stand against such atrocity, which could be a major turn in the country and its fight against constant terror. It is unlikely she will ever be able to live a normal life, for as long as she is alive, the Taliban (May you rot in the darkest and hottest pit of hell) have claimed they will hunt her until she is dead.

The Taliban are under the impression that Islam is against modernisation, against equality, against peace… but before the five pillars of Islam, there was a simple message, which many seem to forget; to take care of your neighbour, be charitable, be honest, be forgiving, be tolerant of other religions and people, and to count your blessings constantly.

These disgusting, animalistic, demons have twisted a peaceful ideology to fit their purpose, to spread hate, suppress women, and continue to spread ignorance. I’m sorry, what paradise do they think they are trying to get to? They are in for a real shock mate…

In the News: Screams worth Millions and the Fountain of Youth?

May 7, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

One of the most famous images of all times has broken a record at at Sotheby’s New York Auction. Edvard Munch’s 1895 pastel masterpiece “The Scream,” which is one of 4 versions depicting modern human anxiety and fear, was sold for £74million ($119.6 million) making it the most expensive piece ever sold at auction. It broke the £65million record for Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust.”

Bidding started at £25million with 7 potential buyers until it was narrowed down to 2 phone bidders, in a bidding which lasted 12 minutes! The buyer is rumoured to be a member of Qatar’s Royal Family; pocket change for them I guess while the rest of the world continues to spiral into some form of crisis or another. I wonder what else could be done with 119 million USD?

If however, you wish to live long enough to possibly see the world come out of such crises, then jogging is your fountain of youth. A study conducted by Dr. Schnohr in Copenhagen of nearly 2,000 people found that the rate of mortality was lower in people who jogged moderately than those who did not, as well as those who undertook extreme levels of exercise. it was claimed that regular running increases life expectancy of men and women by about 6 years.

It’s reported that the benefit from jogging comes from the slight breathlessness you get which helps to increase oxygen uptake, increase insulin sensitivity, higher level of good HDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure and reduce blood clotting. Is that motivation enough??

Get Squashed

April 29, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

Who says getting or staying in shape requires you to hit the treadmill? In all honesty, I find the treadmill way too easy and definitely different then running outdoors, which I prefer since its harder and more challenging physically. There are plenty of ways to get fit while doing something enjoyable, one of which I have recently experimented with: Squash!

Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players (or in doubles 4 players on court at a time) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. Not as widely watched and followed, yet it is probably one of the most physically gruelling sports out there. Squash players have tremendous cardio, endurance, agility and power.

I’m still frightened by the rules of the game yet really enjoy practising hits. One rally gets you breathing super hard and you are using your entire body! Something that I’ve started doing is trying to see how many times I can continue hitting the ball. For me, this means hitting it much softer and concentrating on getting as many as possible.

Now before you watch the video, I must, in my defence say that 1) I have a tennis background and have still not quite grasped the proper squash movement therefore I look like I’m playing tennis! And 2) you should disregard my leg warmers

The first video is of myself, and the second is of my husband, who is obviously much better than me as you will see!

In the News: Billion Pound Burberry

April 23, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

I’m sure most have heard the recent news, Burberry has officially joined the ranks of Fashion’s billion dollar royalty with the likes of Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci after sales of £1 Billion pounds in a matter of 6 months. It is also the only British fashion brand to have reached this status.

On the other hand, with the announcement of Burberry’s profits, luxury brand Aquascutum (also renown for its trench) announced it is going into administration. But why?

For one, Burberry has mastered its marketing; it’s clothes are fashioned by the likes of Kate Moss, Emma Watson and Rosie Huntington-Whitely while we still think of Margaret Thatcher with Aquascutum. Don’t get me wrong, Margaret Thatcher is an extremely accomplished and inspirational figure but I don’t think she’ll help sell luxury goods a couple of decades later.

The other, and quite massive plus, is that Burberry has licensing rights in Asia where a big chunk of sales come from unlike Aquascutum.

And of course, lets not forget the famous tartan plaid print which has given the brand its identity just like Louboutin’s red soles.

So a big congratulations to Burberry; big feat during hard economic times.

Easy Homemade Latte

April 9, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

My sister-in-law, Elia Zaidi, has got our entire family hooked on this amazing coffee and I thought it’s about time I share it with everyone!

Ingredients:

Instant coffee granules
Sugar
Milk
Water

The following serves 2 cups of coffee and of course you can fine tune it depending on your preference of strength. I like coffee medium to strong.

1. In a bowl, add 2 full tablespoons of instant coffee and 2 tablespoons of sugar (again more or less depending on your taste but practice makes perfect).

2. Very Important! Add a tiny bit of water, just enough to wet the granules and sugar but make sure it does not dissolve everything; then, whisk the mixture until its light and fluffy. It may be easier to use an electric whisker as doing it manually can take a little while. Best way to test whether it’s fluffy enough is to dip a spoon and see whether the mixture drips. If it does, keep whisking!

3. Heat milk just before boiling point.

4. Add a few spoons of the mixture in a cup/mug (again depending on strength) then add the milk. Stir and enjoy!

For hot summers, rather than heating the milk up, add it cold with vanilla, chocolate, or coffee flavoured ice cream!

For more amazing and tasty recipes, check out Elia Zaidi’s blog http://www.FoodwithElia.Blogspot.com!

Third Anniversary

March 11, 2012 by FatimaMehdi

So I thought I’d share with everyone a particular day each year which is truly special to me…

11th March 2012 marks three years that Tauseef and I have been married; a very quick 3 years might I add- still feels like the first year! We got married in Dallas, Texas (where I lived), in a traditional Pakistani wedding, after which of course I moved to the UK.

As pretty much all couples do, we make our anniversary an occasion. This year, my treat for us was a trip to the River Wellbeing spa in the Hotel Rafayel London. A chic little spa, we both got 2 thirty minute treatments; a facial and a deep tissue massage. Super relaxing, and much needed! Plus, we had unlimited use of their facilities, a pool, jacuzzi and steam room, but they weren’t as impressive as the treatments.

Afterwards, dinner was at a brilliant little restaurant on the river called The Fish Place-guess what they serve?

It was a quite restaurant with a gorgeous view of the river. Definitely enjoyed the food, but more so, enjoyed my partner’s company and the effort he put behind just a dinner reservation. Knowing him he probably read a million reviews, and researched the place before booking.

In between meals, we got little treats, like mango sorbet, which I thoroughly enjoyed, both mine and Tauseef’s The icing on the cake, however, was the truffle treat from the restaurant…