Twenty Thirteen

Home-made Granola

I've been asked by soo many of my lovely readers and followers on how to make an easy homemade granola recipe for quite sometime. I know that searching for a plain granola or according to any of your taste is a bit hard to find -or a little bit expensive-. to make the long story short, I have prepared for you the simplest recipe that you can add anything you like (nuts or dried fruits) to the recipe and make it just the way you like it!

Okay, so let's begin!!

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups oats (Quacker)

- 1/2 cup sliced almonds

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

- 2 tablespoons honey

- 1 small pack of sweetener (I use Stevia) 

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- Pinch of salt 

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 180 c.

- Combine oats and almonds in a bowl.

- Melt the butter and mix it well with the rest of the ingredients (Honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt).

- Now, combine the honey mixture onto the oats and almonds using a spoon or a spatula until the oats are well coated. -The mixture should be a bit clumpy-

- transfer the granola to the baking sheet and spread them evenly, and into the oven for about 20 minutes stirring the granola every 8 minutes.

- Let the granola cool down, and it will dry up nice and crunchy.

- Store the granola in a container for up to two weeks, better yet in the fridge!

This is how the granola will look after cooling it down, golden and crispy!

This is how I enjoy my granola... 

Happy New Year my lovely followers and readers, keep checking my Instagram ( @Alla_Alsh ) or my Twit Acct for my daily activities...

See you next year insha'allah...  xxx

‎" إن محاولة اكتشاف أنفسنا , واكتشاف الحياة من حولنا , هو الذى يعطى لوجودنا مذاق " ..

Cleanin' Out My Closet

Since it's officially winter and I have a long holiday before getting back to work, I decided on cleaning out my cupboard and get rid of my worn-out/no longer fit me clothes -Rather than looking at them in my closet uselessly!- and include my stored winter clothes back in and some of my recently purchased ones!

As you can see in the image above, it's only part of the mess, oh I also need unified color hangers for my cupboard! 

Alrighty guys, got to go finish cleanin' up! Have a beautiful day everyone xx

My Bahrain

Hello there my lovely followers and readers,,,

In this beautiful blissful weather and rain, I wish you all happy national day... Hope you all have a wonderful day/night celebrating this beautiful day, and most importantly STAY SAFE...

كل عام و البحرين بألف خير و سعادة و أمان يا رب ❤❤❤

Love,

Alla xoxo

Paper and Iron

Late night coin counting with my hubby is hilariously fun!!! We saved a pretty decent amount of coins,  which means more spending for us... =D

Hope you guys had a great weekend...

Exclusive Preview: Stella McCartney

Hi friends, 

On Tuesday the 20th of November I was invited to an exclusive private preview of Spring/ Summer 2013 for Stella McCartney's collection at Saks Fifth Avenue. 

They showcased Stella's new season collection in a beautiful garden theme displays and lots of pretty flowers everywhere which reflects Stella's beautiful collection of vibrant fresh colors, feminine florals, and pretty playful prints and textures!

My favorite bags were nicely displayed

The pretty Dana from Saks and her fave piece!

I am obsessed with this beautiful Falabella tote that can be worn in three different ways!!! 

My lovely cousin Deena holding a pretty baby pink clutch from the collection

My favorite piece; beautiful delicate silk cotton and lace top

Beautiful fresh colors with playful mix of textures and prints!

Pretty patterned jumpsuit and pants! I'm in love...

Mixed Berry Parfait

Hello again my dear readers,,, Hope you all had a wonderful Eid break!!

Here is a sweet, easy, and short post on how to make your own healthy mixed berry parfait that you can have it in the morning to get you going through the day, or even as a light dinner!

Simply, what you'll need:

- 1/2 cup of any of your favorite berry mix (Fresh or frozen; doesn't matter)

- one small packet of sweetener, I use either (Stevia or Splenda). Or you can substitute it with one tablespoon of honey

- Low-fat yogurt 

- 1/3 cup granola

Method:

1. Combine yogurt and sugar/honey in a bowl

2. In a glass or goblet, alternately layer granola, yogurt, and berries. To build the parfait, you need to repeat the layers until all of the ingredients are used completely.

3. Garnish with granola and berries. 

4. Chill or immediately serve,,, Enjoy!

Serves 1...

Off to Doha

Hey my lovely readers,

Just a quick post to wish you a very happy and special eid spent with Your family, friends and your loved ones...

We are now on the plane heading to Qatar to visit my mommy, sis, and uncle... Yaaaay soo excited... You can check out my twitter and Instagram accounts for my mini trip updates...

Eid Mubarak.. xxx

Sweet Potato Wrap

Hello my pretty followers/readers, I am soo sorry for my absence for quite some time. But I am finally here with a new delightful recipe awaiting for you to try! 

It is soo easy to prepare, delicious, fulfilling, and it is vegetarian friendly!!! All you need is the following:

- 1 medium sweet potato, roasted, peeled and mashed

- 2 wraps, I use low fat tortillas, no cholesterol (Garden Spinach and vegetables)

- 1/2 small onion, chopped

- 4 small mushrooms, diced

- Drizzle of olive oil

- 1 teaspoon paprika powder

- Dash of ground pepper

Method:

1- Roast your sweet potato in the oven 200 c for 35-40 minuts.

2. Warm the wrap in a large pan -No oil needed in this step!-, just to soften it up for about 1 or 2 minutes on each side!

3. In a pan, drizzle some olive oil and saute the onion and mushroom.

4. When potato is ready, peel and mash with fork or a potato masher.

5. Sprinkle paprika powder and ground pepper on the mashed potato.

6. Spread the mash potato over the warm wrap, add the mushroom and onion, roll the wrap and slice it in half, and enjoy the goodness of this recipe!

Happy eating!! xxx

Currently Craving...

Instagram Socialmatic

Have a great day everyone... xx

Neon Mode!

Forever 21 denim shirt, Forever 21 neon yellow jeans, H&M necklace and nail polish

Sorry for the quick awful iPhone shot. Mixing neon and denim to run some errands and some retail therapy!

Gotta go now, Friday family gathering is awaiting!!

Have fun!! xx

Uh Oh...

My favorite reading glasses =(((

Breaking News.... I'm On Instagram!!

Good morning Instagramers and photography lovers, I AM FINALLY ON INSTAGRAM!!

Find me at alla_alsh , and let's share our inner photographer pix! 

See you on Instagram and have a great day ahead!! xxx

Winter, I'm So Excited!!

Hello my lovely readers, the last days of summer and sunshine are almost over, and I am not complaining at all!! In fact, I am welcoming winter with open arms! This collage explains to you some of the reasons of my deepest love to this slushy season! <3 

I generally love every season, but I have to say that winter is my favorite! To me, winter is the weather of coziness, laziness, enjoy staying outdoors, lot's of good comfort food, and enjoying the weather with a bit of style. I absolutely love winter!!!

Old readers and new readers, what's your fave season of the year and why? =)

Think Pink

Well, it's October already my lovely readers, and it's Breast Cancer awareness month! Most of you are aware of breast cancer disease, but many of you have not took the initiative to detect this disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same!

Breast cancer is known to be the second leading cause of death among women around the world!! It is a disease in which malignant cancer cells form in the tissues of the breast. The damaged cells can invade surrounding tissue, but with early detection and treatment, most people continue a normal life. So the early detection of breast cancer through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after the age of 40 can offer the best chance for survival!

Think Pink Bahrain is a non-profit organization that help spreading the awareness of breast cancer disease around the kingdom and raise funds in order to support various breast cancer initiatives specifically early intervention, education, and awareness!

They also have organized some activities to support this cause for the whole month of October, I have listed the activities with their dates, information, and contact numbers in the image below, and please don't forget to spread the word.

If the information are not very clear, click on the image to enlarge... =)

For more information about Think Pink Bahrain and their events...

Email: donations@thinkpinkbahrain.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinkpinkbh

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThinkPinkBahrain

Web: http://www.thinkpinkbahrain.com/

Have a wonderful week!

Watermelonade

Here is a quick and easy this summer's most refreshing drink that you can easily prepare and enjoy in no time! -The ingredients below makes for 2- 

Ingredients:
- 2 slices of watermelon (Deseeded and cubed)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon sugar, or don't, if you prefer to avoid added sweetener!
- 120 ml water

Method:

- Add the watermelon chunks in a blender - The smaller the chunks, the easier to blend-, juice of one lemon, and 2 tablespoons water. Blend well until it's smooth.

- Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to 100 ml water, and mix until the sugar is dissolved.

- Mix the watermelon puree with the sweetened water, add more sugar to adjust the taste. Serve it cold/ with ice and drink away!

Happy Sunday everyone... xx

FMH Boutique... Styling Event!

On Wednesday 26th of September, a group of bloggers and I were invited to a styling event at the FMH Boutique (See previous posts Here and Here). The idea of the event is that each blogger choose one of two beautiful models and style them with our favorite pieces from around the shop!

The gorgeous models Amira and Abi

It was so much fun and hard at the same time to choose between two gorgeous models and to pick ONE outfit from a shop that has EVERYTHING fabulous and stylish! And to see the rest of the bloggers and their beautiful styling skills, it was indeed a very difficult task for me! But in the end, after all the confusion on what to choose, I picked an outfit that I would so definitely wear; something very simple and comfortable, very me!

So below is the model that I picked (Abi) with the pieces that I chose to style her with! What do you guys think? =D

DL1961 black jenas, Jerome Dreyfuss bag, Naven green cropped top, Style Stalker top (Underneath the cropped top), Finsk shoes, Mercedes Salazar necklace, FMH cuff 

The lovely ladies Stella (Owner of FMH Boutique), and Nadia

Muneera from Arabella blog, Ashwathy from The Style Council blog, and Nora from the Closet Jigsaw and their models

Maha from A Day in The Sandbox blog wearing her sister Amal Al Mulla blazer (See Here)

D from The Purple Bow Tie blog styling her model

Mara from the Electric Firefly blog

Pretty Little Posts and the Closet Jigsaw

What I wore that night + DL1961 goody bag  

Make sure to Like FMH's Facebook account and follow them on Twitter for any future updates!

Fashion Talk: Amal Al Mulla

Amal Al Mulla is the youngest fashion designer in the Kingdom that has a huge passion for the fashion design industry. She recently graduated from the Royal University for women in the Kingdom majoring in fashion design, and pursued her dream directly after graduating and created a brilliant fast moving Ready-to-Wear label!

S&S: What do you enjoy the most about designing clothes? And what is the most challenging part?

AAM: The best part about designing is the opportunity to create and produce pieces that were just mere ideas in your head, expressing certain concepts or thoughts through fashion and actually transforming the intangible to something tangible, beautiful and wearable for others is just such pleasure.

The most challenging part of designing is basically the whole process of it, as delightful working in this field could be, everything  from designing to the production process always has its bumps along the way that needs to be meticulously dealt with, but in the end, with dedication and hard work, challenges are always weighed off by the end result.

S&S: What was your inspiration for your A/W'12 collection?

AAM: The A/W'12 collection, which is out now just in time for fall was inspired by one of my favorite Eras throughout history; which is Art Deco. It was such a revolutionary captivating period that changed the world in so many ways that was important for me to revive through fashion with a personal twist. After a heap of studies and understanding for that particular period, the pieces were designed with its elements and aesthetics hidden behind them but in a way that blends with fashion today.

S&S: What is your fave piece from the line?

AAM: I have to say the second look from the collection. Which is the pale gold structured dress; it was one of my first designs that needed no tweaking or modifying and perfectly defined the collection as whole, characterizing the Era yet breaking it's roughness by maintaining that elegance and sophistication.

S&S: Who is your most influential fashion designer?

AAM: True designers reside forever from the 1900's, and they truly are the genuine inspiration and influence for myself. Mr. Dior did wonders for fashion and Cristobal Balenciaga was a genius.

S&S: What's coming up in your design line next? Tell us a little about your inspiration behind your coming collection for Spring 2013...

AAM: We are currently working on our Spring/Summer'13 collection, it's lively, there is definitely a shift from our fall collection, we are fusing in some bright colors, fresh silhouettes and patterns, something dynamic to fit the season.

To find out more about Amal Al Mulla's collection and future updates, visit the following links:

www.amalalmulla.com

@amalalmulla_

Facebook Page

Emmy's 2012: My Top 5 Red Carpet Looks

This Emmy Awards red carpet was filled with lots of beautiful gowns, gorgeous bright pop of color, and glamorous hairdos, everyone looked amazing that night!

From left to right: Leslie Mann, Emilia Clarke, Emily Vancamp, Julie Bowen, and Heidi Klum are my top 5 personal favorites! What was your favorite dress of the night??

xxx

Pesto Spaghetti Salad

Yesterday I was so hungry and had nothing in my kitchen to make a proper lunch for myself! So I found few things here and there and thought of making spaghetti salad with pesto dressing from these few limited ingredients! And it turned out to be a fulfilling yummy dish! I was going to make pesto spaghetti only, but I was so hungry that I had to add few of what I have left in my fridge, so I turned it into a yummy salad that can be eaten cold or warm!

Ingredients:
- Whole wheat spaghetti
- 1 Tomato, diced and deceeded / or 5 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 Bell pepper cut into small squares
- 1 Spring onion (small)
- 1/2 Avocado cubed
- 3 mushrooms

Pesto Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- Few mint leaves/ cilantro
- 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
- 1 clove fresh garlic / 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- Few drizzles of olive oil
- pinch of ground pepper
- A juice of half lemon

Method:
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
- In a food processor, gradually add the pesto ingredients and blend until everything is well combined.
- Now combine both the pesto paste and spaghetti, and enjoy!

Happy cooking! xxx

Weekend Links

The prettiest camera strap ever!

Pastel eyes ! I like the pastel green, must try it one day..

When will I stop it!

20 Free high resolution denim textures

Beautiful HUGE natural flowers bouquet

I want these thin knuckle rings

This will be add to my next week menu!

Finally, a song that is stuck in my head for a while now Mushaboom


Happy viewing everyone!! xxx

Watercolor Canvas

As I was just browsing the internet as usual, I came across this group "Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers" and I instantly fell in love with them! Nicki's voice you guys is perfectly flawless!!! She has filled a void in music with her brand of vintage-tinged rocking country soul -music that's like an enchanting friend you've known for a short while but feels like you've known forever-.

Check out their Van Sessions songs, they are pretty amazing too!! ENJOY!!! xxx

Bits + Pieces of My Week

1. Satisfying my Cinnamon roll cravings!! 2. Wearing my DL1961 denim bag that I got from FMH Boutique launch (Here) 3. Beautiful Steve Madden studded flats 4. My highlight dish of the week; Pesto with whole wheat Spaghetti

Hope you have a nice week!!
xxx

Watermelon Red

You can tell it's still watermelon season just by noticing these roadside cars selling them everywhere across our precious island! And I FINALLY got the chance to take a quick snapshot of these beautiful sweet, drippy, RED juicy watermelons that grabs my attention every time I pass by them!!! And I could'nt help but share this photo with you guys... 

Have a blessed Friday... xxx