Hello!

[photo: Taken & edited by me]

Hello my lovely readers and friends!

It's been a while, I know. But it's going to be a while longer. 

I haven't been inspired to blog about anything lately, and quite frankly I am enjoying the break.

It's hard to believe it's October already. Feels like just yesterday that I was ringing in the new year with some friends. SubhanAllah!

I hope you've all been keeping well, and hope you all make the most of the remaining 2 1/2 months. 

See you all when I see you. 

Xoxo

Something Blue

I absolutely love wearing our traditional Somali dress! The last time I wore one was at my friend's wedding last year, so I jumped at the chance of wearing one to a small party thrown by some students in my town.

I've actually owned this dress for a year now. It was gifted to me by my aunt in Australia, and I fell in love with the color instantly! I don't wear many colors on a daily basis, but these Somali dira's are so colorful and are usually made of silk that I cannot resist them.

A special shoutout goes to Chloe who sewed the different parts of the dress for me!

Meet Me In India

Originally published in youthink magazine. 

When I think of India, I instantly get images of the rolling hills of Rajasthan; food stalls on the side of the street and off course your typical Bollywood jazz.  With a population of over 1.2 billion, it is home to a wide variety of cultures, languages and traditional practices.  

One of the most unique things that stand out about India is its beautiful design aesthetic reflected in the variety of clothes worn by women. Walk down a street in India and you’ll come across a number of different outfits, each portraying its own particular identity and flair.

Often times, traditional Indian clothes are seen as exquisite pieces of art, especially when it comes to the heavy embroidery present on some sari’s, churidars and even the basic shalwar kameezs. However, if we inspect the entire outfit in order to understand it better, we find that each item of clothing has a deep-rooted meaning in the Indian culture. The dupatta; the loose piece of colorful material often worn over the head or the chest has found itself representing multiple things throughout the years.

You will not be mistaken to think that the dupatta’s origins are religious rather than cultural; it was worn by Hindu women to cover their heads while offering prayers in the temple. But as the Indian culture evolved, so did the attire worn by the men and women of India.  Each item of clothing became an indication of where a person came from, their social status, and even their religious affiliation.

The Dupatta soon became an integral part of traditional South Asian garments for religious ceremonies and special occasions such as weddings. Most South Asian brides adorn their attires with heavily embellished dupattas, thereby symbolizing their modesty and enhancing their beauty. It is an everyday accessory with origins going back into ancient times.

Many Western fashion trends have been inspired by India’s unique culture, and more specifically, by traditional Indian clothing. Recently, the world-renowned fashion house, Chanel, created a collection inspired by the clothes and styles of India. Not only did it capture the world’s attention and awe, but it proved that Indian clothes and styles are easily adaptable to any modern and fashion-forward wardrobe.

Celebrate Mercy

If you haven't registered for a live webcast yet, what are you waiting for?

This is such an incredible initiative, and what better time to increase our knowledge of and love for the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) than just before the holy month of Ramadhan!?

Just take a look at the calibre of speakers, and surely you will be as excited about this 

series as I am!

I've already watched the webcast, and because I've missed a few speakers, have already registered for a second webcast! Take it from me, you will not regret spending the time!

Bright Lights

Taken tonight. I am strangely in love with this photo. 

These past few days, I've been spending more and more time coped up inside our house, wearing my pajama's and sipping on hot chocolate! Any other time, I would cherish spending my days as such, but I'm on a 4 week break from studies, and I haven't been outside for pleasure except ONCE in the last 2 weeks!

I have become such a night owl, sleep all day and watch Community till the wee hours of the morning. As much as I love Abed (lol) I desperately need to get out more! 

Tonight, I met up with Chloe, and after a lovely coffee and cake date we were supposed to attend the Mid Winter Festival at the octagon (Dunedin's city center) but instead, I caught the bus back home. The sky decided to open up and literally shower us! I was actually looking forward to finally attending this festival. After being in Dunedin for 8 years, I was finally going to watch the lanterns being sent out into the night sky. Here's hoping tomorrow's weather holds up, and I get to finally see those lanterns flying up in the sky. 

Bag of Treats' First Giveaway

---CLOSED---

Salam all! So I've been thinking about doing a giveaway for a while, and since June marks my blog's non-official 3rd birthday (the blog was first created in January 2009, but then I deleted all the posts and restarted in June) I thought now is the time!

Basically, this is my thanks to all the readers who were with me on this e-journey for the past 3 years. Whether you were a follower from the beginning or stumbled across this corner of the world wide web lately, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I'll be choosing 2 winners. All you have to do is be a follower of the blog through Google or on twitter (@bagoftreats) and tell me which of the four seasons is your favorite, and why.

This giveaway is open to international readers so don't hesitate to enter!

Personally, I love spring and autumn. Even though I don't wear much color myself, I love the color of the leaves in the autumn, and how crunchy they become, and then how bright and colorful everything looks in the spring. It's such a beautiful contrast!

First Prize:

Second Prize:

The giveaway is open till Saturday 16th June, 11:59 p.m NZ Time (11:59 a.m GMT). Winners will be announced on Sunday. 

Winners will be chosen at random using a random number generator, so everyone's got an equal chance to win. 

Good luck to you all, and THANK YOU for being such awesome followers! Here's to 3 more years, aye. 

Winter Wonder

Winter's well and truly here. I've finally bought a winter jacket and boots suitable for the freezing temperatures that we've been experiencing. I am glad that I can finally wear heaps of layers and not sweat like mad by midday mid-day. Another thing I love, being able to wear dark colors and not stand out like a sore thumb!

Apart from the scarf and top (previously seen here) everything is new! I was on the hunt for a dark-grey skirt for a few months so I was beyond happy when I found this a week ago, on sale. 

Scarf & Top: Dotti
Skirt: Sussan
Jacket: Just Jeans
Boot: Hannahs
Rings: Lovisa and Asos

Let's Pinterest Together!

 

I'm on Pinterest! Follow me and leave a link or your name in the comment box and I'll check your boards out (and I follow back!).

Seekers Retreat- Part 1

If you've read a few of my posts from April(here, here and here), then you'll be aware that I went away for a couple of weeks. These 2 weeks away from my normal routine, from the stresses of "the real world" and from technology were a much needed and appreciated break. To say that I enjoyed it would be an understatement. There aren't enough words to describe the more-than-incredible experience I've had, but I shall try.

I am assuming most of you are aware of Seekers Guidance (if not, check our their website here now!) and if you're from Australia & New Zealand then the name Al-Ghazali Centre is not new to you. Well, these two and the Rasheed Memorial Dawah Trust from Auckland; New Zealand, teamed up to bring the Seekers Guidance Retreat to New Zealand.

You can imagine my excitement when the applications were open and with only 2 days for applications to close, I filled in a form, and sent it off in hopes of being offered a spot. As you'd have it, I didn't get offered a spot and I was heart broken. In my mind, this was an opportunity not to be missed. But with only about 120 available spots, and almost 400 applications, chances of being accepted were pretty slim. I accepted my fate, and forgot about it.

Fast forward to March, and to my surprise, I received an e-mail from one of the organizing members and in it was an offer to attend the retreat. This was in the middle of March, the retreat was due to begin from the 5th of April. I had to make decisions, quickly. At first, I (kindly) turned down the offer because I had too many things to consider. I had to adjust plans and even though I wanted so badly to attend the retreat, I had to pick what seemed as the best option at the time. After spending a night rethinking my decision, my gut feeling told me I was making a grave mistake, and so, I sent another reply (kindly) asking if my spot was still available, and lo and behold, it was. I quickly took it and decided to think about things later. For now, I was going to the retreat.

The first part of my trip was in Auckland. I went up North a couple of days before the retreat was scheduled to begin, and had 2 days to wander around Auckland city.

I have never been a great fan of Auckland, I've always considered myself a small-town girl in practice and in my heart. But this stay in the city changed my mind! I fell in love with Auckland!

It was such a rush walking around the city. I stayed at a hostel in the city center and so everything was within walking distance. After roaming the main road, Queen street, I took a break and sat at the viaduct, and admired the views! It didn't hurt that the weather was beyond amazing.

I had sushi at the viaduct, window-shopped on Queen street and enjoyed a frozen yoghurt at Aotea Square while watching old folks practice Tai Chi. Having no plans or any commitments made enjoying the city easy. I was finally able to take in what the city has to offer without any restrictions and I loved every minute of those 2 days.

On the 3rd morning, I made my way to the airport masjid and from there, joined the rest of the retreat group and made our way to Taupo. 

On the way, we got to stop at one of New Zealand's best attractions. It's kind of funny being a tourist in your own country, and having never spent much time in that part of the North Island, I had my camera on standby and my eyes were glued to the beautiful views we got on the way. Best of them was Huka Falls. 

I was gob-smacked when I saw this, and this is where I plug a promotion of my country; New Zealand truly is 'Clean, green and Beautiful' and if it's not already on your bucket list, make a note now! You will never regret coming here.

Oh and this is where I met one of the sweetest blog followers! I was surprised when a young lady came up to me and asked if I was Amina, and when I answered 'yes' she excitedly told me that she was a reader of my bog. Never in a million years did I expect to be recognized from my blog. But meeting Laalane made me proud of the fact that my online ramblings have received such a positive reaction and that people enjoy my ramblings. That little meeting and the conversation(s) that spun from the chance meeting made this little blog of mine that much more special to me! Without a doubt, the friends I've made through this blog as well as the many other blogs I follow are  just as precious to me as my friends from my real, non-virtual life. 

Laalane, I love you and I am so happy that I got to meet you! Here's hoping we see each other again soon, inshaAllah! I'm glad I now have an excuse to come to Melbourne!

P.s. I expect more comments from you now that I know you read my blog! lol

 

Coming Soon: Sayyida Living

Sayyida Living is an up and coming  lifestyle website to be launched soon. It is run by two friends from Canada; one of whom is a personal friend of mine, and is aimed towards every kind of woman from all walks of life.

From the website:

 "SAYYIDA is an Arabic word meaning “the regal woman,” and here at SAYYIDA LIVING, we direct our focus towards sharing an array of information and interests with Muslim women in all parts of the world. We aim to transcend borders and cultures in hopes of strengthening the bond of Muslim women through the use of interactive media."

Keep an eye out for their website which will be launched soon, and keep up with the girls on twitter (@SayyidaLiving).

In the mean time, watch their teaser below:

Lake Taupo

It was such a blessing to be able to gaze upon this amazing view everyday for 5 days. This is Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake.

I'm Still Here.

I feel awful about not blogging these past few weeks, and to be honest, it's not looking much better for the coming week either. I've been swamped with uni work. Grad school is  proving to be one heck of a rollercoaster, and as much as I love it, I am looking forward to the easter break and going away with friends.

I should be back to posting more regularly in about 2 weeks or so. For now, I shall leave you with this super easy Lemon Loaf recipe which my sister had used to make us one this weekend.

Xoxo

Layered Florals

The first of the month marked the start of the autumn season for us here in New Zealand. However, it is fair to say that our summer was more of an autumn. I am not kidding, we have had more rainy days than actual summer-y days this year. I don't know about everybody else, but my jacket did not get packed this time round, and to make matters worse, I have felt cold almost every moment of everyday.

Moving on, this is a good time of year. I love layering up my warm clothes. I love collecting cardigans and make sure every overseas trip I take, I come home with 4 or 5 cardigans to wear during the year. After all, the best part of any trip is the shopping, and coming home with clothes  that no one else in your small city has!

The dress I've featured previously on the blog here when I wore it as part of one of Hijab Fashion Week's themes. My ring is a vintage ring from the 1980s. I have been in love with it since I was a child as it is part of a set my mum owned (a few things are missing now). I'm so glad she has finally agreed to give it to me. Expect to see more of it on this blog.

Trench- Forever 21 (a few years old)
Dress- Jay Jays
Cardigan- Glassons
Scarf- Scarf Queen
Shoes- Unknown

My Sister's Shoes

Today's outfit was planned around the shoes that I wore. The weather these past few days was less than perfect (but if you like rain then hey, good for you!) so I had to ditch my flats for shoes that were more covered and ensured I didn't come home with wet feet.

The day started out beautifully, but I knew better than to be fooled!

I have to thank my younger sister for the shoes though. She bought these shoes last year, and has outgrown them. Yes, I just shared that fact with the world! My younger sister has bigger feet than I do, big deal! Moving on, I actually wanted the same pair when I saw hers, but being away for most of the year meant they were sold out by the time I came back so I consider myself lucky that she's outgrown them and now they're mine! Haha.

Scarf: H&M

Cardi: Unknown

Dress: Glassons

Bracelet: Lovisa

Shoes: Wildpair

Signal Hill

Last weekend, my family and I drove up to Signal Hill. This is where you can get some of the best city views, and also it's where the Muslim folk in my city go to sight the moon for Ramadan and Eid.

Weekend Snapshots

One fabulous day spent at a beautiful beach with incredible people makes up for all the mundane summer days.

How beautiful are the views! One of the things that stand out about New Zealand are the beautiful natural scenery that is available to us in abundance.  I may always wish I lived somewhere else, but NZ is home and I would love to grow old here rather than in some dark, grey city with hardly any nature to enjoy!

 

I hope you all had a great weekend! 

Simple Pleasures

There's something very special about having ice-cream on a sunny day. And something even more special when it is had with dear friends.

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

Giveaway on Trendy Melbourne

To be in to win one of these two gorgeous scarves and much more, head on over to Trendy Melbourne and enter her fabulous giveaway! You do not want to miss out!

Striped

This is my favorite top. It's the one I throw on when I have "nothing" to wear, or when I'm running errands. It's also my can-find-a-way-to-match-with-everything top.

Scarf: Scarf Queen

Top: Glassons 

White Top: Cotton On

Skirt: Max

Bag: Aldo

Shoes: Ezibuy

Hello Two Thousand and Twelve

 

2011 was a year of many achievements for myself as well as family and friends. Albeit, I could have done without some parts, but it's the hardest times that make us stronger!

As hard as it is for me to bid farewell to 2011, I look forward to 2012. I look forward to making changes, and taking the steps needed to realize my goals. 

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all my followers, friends and family who have been with me on this blog as well as in my life this past year! I appreciate the love and support you all give me, and hope I can do the same for you. 

I wish you all a very happy new year! May Allah's blessings descend upon you, and may it be filled with positivity, happiness and lots of laughter!