The World on a Facade...

        I have often found inspirations in usual not-so-useful things many times. But never have I ever thought of finding it in just light beams projected at a wall.

        Sharjah, a place not so awesome but friendly and family oriented, culturally rich and diverse, happens to have one of the most amazing annual events, Sharjah Light Festival, #SLF. This was just any festival in my head, considering the number of amazing things I have seen in my life Alhamdulilah. But it outdid my expectations.

       Wait till I show you the pictures... The show was beautiful and breathtaking! It was the first day of the Sharjah Light Festival 2015, I and my husband had already planned to go to Qasba, a place we daily go to and where it was going to be officially inaugurated by the Sheikh. We reached there in time, acquired seats that provided a good view and waited till the Ruler of Sharjah made his speech and then there was LIGHT!

      The show was free for everyone to watch, something I can never expect in any other place, be it Disneyland. And it wasn't just projections, it was like a movie where scenes change and come to life. You must check the video out on Youtube and only then would you know. But again, watching something on a screen and watching something on a bigger-than-you building would always be different in the size of impact they leave on you.

       The show comprised of the history of Sharjah, UAE and it's cultural and physical developments, but it wasn't one bit boring. The surrounding lights were turned off and another world came into existence on a facade. Here's some mesmerizing photos from the show.

It all started from a desert...

There lit fire in the desert while people socialized... 

Then houses were built...

Colors of Arabia...

The jewel of the Arab world, the lantern...

Then the building drowned...

Activities on the shores...

Where creatures are made of letters...

Ancient residents of Sharjah...

Promise of Paradise...

How knowledge was acquired...

The making of machines...

Sharjah's educational buildings...

And then the building was all culture...

How cars moved on the walls...

How they posed for a photograph...

The gardens of Shalimar...

Then the building exploded in happiness...

And became of glass...

Paris

Rome

London

America

Sharjah




The world was depicted on a Facade. As an audience, I was fascinated by Sharjah and impressed. 

Recent ALDO Favorites

             I have modes; fashion, work, architecture, books, interior design, shopping, writing, makeup, skincare; all as random as I have placed in the sentence. My inspirations, favorites, pretty much everything is random. 

            Well, in this post are my recent favorite grabs from ALDO that are really versatile and I have paired up with so many different styles; sophisticated, romantic and edgy. I'm not a crazy ALDO person but I'm just posting about it as it is one of the most affordable brands that makes great catchy stuff, so yes, for that I keep a track on their collections. I'm going to be posting THREE of my favorite ALDO products that I got few months back and have experimented with them so much and still love them.

1) Boutielle De Parfum Clutch

             This is one of my most favorite grabs. I have paired it up with a gorgeous black dress as well as a white button down shirt; it has never disappointed me. It works so well with fashion genres that it is easily a Must-Have for fashionistas. It's something that I got months ago but it has stayed my favorite since then. 

2) Collier En Or

            I'm not a huge fan of statement necklaces but this one has made me hold on to it for so long. I have paired it up with black jumpsuits to colored maxi dresses. This has always created the look for me. Recently, I saw Mathira wearing it on a peachy orange dress, well that did piss me off as Mathira's not my favorite fashion icon... Anyway, this is a 'mother of all gold necklaces' for me.

        

3) La Montre Blueue

            As comman a thing a watch is, it hardly misses any chances to make an impression while being wrapped around your wrist. There was a time for blacks, reds, white and now is the era of GOLD. Who doesn't love gold watches!?! And specially when it has a royal blue dial? Yes, this one instantly grabbed my intention and told me, "You have to have me". This everyday item, a gold watch with a blue dial, has helped me adding color to my look in many ways. I wear it with my abayas, dresses and it always stands out. I just have to be careful about managing a color scheme for my look. But I still LOVE it.

      

         Let's keep ourselves imaginative to be able to make better and bolder statements without speaking. 

The Day I Signed the Contract...

For us girls, this one particular day is the most emotional and the most hectic, let alone the drama of the family members around us. "What day?", you might ask. Well, it's the day a girl signs a contract with someone she hasn't completely discovered yet, who she hasn't lived with and who is going to take her with himself forever.

Yes, It's the marital contract, the Nikah Nama...

It's almost a year since I got married but the memory is still fresh in my thoughts.
I had always wanted to get married wearing a white dress, in a masjid (mosque). ALWAYS! Well, the problem here was that in Pakistan, white is not considered to be a color of celebration and happiness. "What's red for then?", the distant relatives exclaimed.

I paid no ears to them and continued with my plans. I designed the gown myself and when I wore it everyone's eyes were glued onto me and my dress. Alhamdulilah, it came out so gorgeous and beautiful. But only I know how many times the dress had to go for modifications to the tailor. As a bride-to-be, I probably had 1001 things to do and I was so caught up with everything that I wasn't eating or sleeping properly.

Just one day before the Nikah ceremony when I'm getting my pedicure done at Natasha's salon in Karachi, I get to know that my gown's been stitched in a different cut, which was UNACCEPTABLE for me, the kind of picky and stubborn person I'm. And I can never leave my dress designing to anyone except I'm a religious follower of theirs. But this time, I had to rely on my sisters to get my dress fixed... It surely was going to be a disaster! My sisters had to go buy a suitable embroidered chiffon fabric to match with the embellishments and give it to the tailor all without me even seeing it. What was going to happen now??

I was freaking out to the point I started shivering at just the thought of it. After a sleepless night, when I got my dress from the tailor, right after seeing it, I couldn't believe my eyes... Had my sisters, who are both known to be relying on me when it comes to fashion, really pulled it off?

It was gorgeous! The cut, the fabric, everything was wonderful...

Well I had to get ready around 10 in the morning as we all had to leave for the masjid, which was in Hyderabad, for the ceremony which was to take place after Zuhr Salah. Only close friends and family members were invited. We had boxes of sweets arranged and everyone seemed so happy. 

Just as I entered the masjid, everything seemed perfect and the feeling.... that feeling... I can't put into words even if I try...

The Khutbah of the Nikah took place and I listened to it very carefully, every word of it...
Random people were invited by the people of the masjid for the Nikah ceremony so many unknown ladies were just chanting prayers for me and giving their blessings.

When they came to me with the marital contract, the Nikah Nama, my eyes were watery as I was signing and till date I can  not explain whatever was going on with me... After I had signed, this person who I was marrying, was closer to me than those in front of my eyes. It's a very very strange feeling I tell you.

At that moment, nothing seemed to matter, the dress, the sleepless nights, the rest of the upcoming events... Nothing... Not a thing! Something had changed inside me and it was really weird but good weird... I'm speechless at the power ALLAH has put in Nikah. The sheer beauty of it is mind blowing. This one person, who you haven't lived with before, becomes a sudden addition to your life and one of the strongest ones, to the point that he is as much family to you as your siblings or parents would be.

The Day I Signed the Contract, I knew how strange life can be... Good Strange...

My Bestie and sisters had this surprise cake planned. It was the best surprise of my life.