An article on Pinterest

I’ve recently been approached by the editor of The Woman magazine in Oman and asked to write an article on Pinterest for the June edition. Since the magazine has already hit the shelves I thought I would share this online too! I first wrote about pinterest a while back but it’s a good topic to revisit since it has absolutely engulfed me recently!

Here is the article:

Many of us have flipped through magazines and came to find quotes that inspire us, images of places we wish to travel to or clothes we wish to purchase. Often these eyecandy shots are carefully cut out and saved in a notebook or hung on a wall for all to see. Others take it further and create pin boards or entire mind maps of images that are motivating, delicious and even sacred.

This scrapbooking practice has been taken a step further and is now widely available on the internet in the form of an absolutely addictive website- Pinterest. In an age when everyone is ‘on line’ creating a pin board that allows users to pin likeable images on the internet has become inevitable and even crucial. If you are one of those people who constantly save images found online in various folders on your computer in havoc and complete randomness then Pinterest might just be your savior.

The charm of the website is in its simple user friendly design and the straightforward purpose- to gather ideas and images. Every saved image has a link that takes you back to the website where it was found whether it’s a recipe or a DIY holiday project. The ability attribute images to dedicated boards helps users to keep their images classified and organized under different topics such as “Projects”, “Wardrobe” or “Quotations”. Other users can be invited to a board once it has been created which is a neat idea if you are looking for your friends help you plan a party or for other to contribute to your collection of pictures. Moreover the Pinterest account can be linked to a Facebook account or a Twitter around for all to see what you have been pinning!

Pinterest is a helpful tool for those:

Redecorating their home: your home is a blank canvas that is awaiting for you to fill it with tidbits, colors and patterns that reflect your personality to the core. To find inspiration to decorate and advice on “how” simply create a board and pin the images that catch your eyes. These can be anything from wallpaper patters to the dishwasher you wish to have. Seeing all these images on the monitor in front of you will give you a fairly good idea of what works and what doesn’t, which colors you should avoid and which textiles will go perfectly with the ambiance. This tool works for both, homes that are currently being decorated and those that for now are mere products of the imagination.

Planning a wedding: the bride and the groom can save themselves many hours of browsing and negotiating by creating a shared pinboard filled with their ideas and favorite images. Inspirations for bridal bouquets or wedding photography which can be later referred to make this magical day absolutely perfect. Moreover, Pinterest allows users to leave comments below each image so family and friends can advise the couple on their choices of venues, decorations, cakes, flowers and clothing.

Venturing on an adventure: there is nothing more pleasant than day dreaming of a vacation you may soon embark on. If the destination has already been decided on go ahead and create a board unto which you can save all the places you wish to see, the cuisine you would like to try, the activities you mustn’t miss out on and the people you wish to meet! Whether it’s a romantic sunset set on the beach, an elephant ride or a tantalizing pastry – save each image to make sure you don’t miss out on what you wanted to try!

Putting together a new wardrobe: cutting out that cute dress and carrying the crammed image in your walled while you go shopping is no longer necessary! Pinterest can help you put together entire outfits for separate occasions! Create a board and make it “My Style” and pin away the skirts, heels, bags and scarves that you wish to someone become the proud owner of! Take it a step further and collect images of hairstyles and make up trends that are hot and happening to make sure you are always looking your best!

There are countless other ways Pinterest can be used and enjoyed, I have personally used it to help me plan my babyshower, to collect recipes of canapés, to fantasize about my dream home and to put together my perfect “imaginery” wardrobe. Everyone will find something on Pinterest that they will enjoy- go on and give it a try! A picture is worth a thousand words but a pinned picture will save you a thousand words!

You, my dear are not a princess

It’s 1am and you’ve been asleep for hours. Softly snoring in your pretty pink crip. Arms thrown to either sides over your head, blanket kicked right off and a soft toy or two scattered around you. Such a big girl. 

I try to close my eyes and fall asleep…after all I will be up in a few hours to feed you. Thoughts are racing through my head but one particular one keeps on going around in circles…”You are not a princess”. I wonder what that’s about? I try to concentrate on this phrase and squeeze all the juices out of it. Where did this come from now?

You are not a princess.

Then I realize that…how do I phrase this…I will do my utmost not to raise you to be a little princess. In your heart of hearts you will grow up believing that you are a little woman not a princess. This thought kept me up for a while. It’s so easy to go wrong. One pink tutu dress too many and too few scraped knees might just be reason enough for you to grow up fragile. 

Princesses live in castles whilst you live in a warm, loving home which is both your playground and your shelter. A home that both of your parents worked very hard to make as comfortable and secure for you as possible.

Princesses are daughters of kings and queens whilst you have an ordinary mommy and daddy who love you to the moon and back and who wake up every single day with the sheer intention of giving you everything (in moderation) to make you into a happy, kind, well rounded human being. 

Princesses wear crowns whilst I want you to wear your heart on your sleeve and never ever raise above anybody else. I want you to be fair. 

Little one, you are not a princess. You are an artist. An explorer. A giver. A genius. A trouble maker.You are a million different things…

Little sleeping beauty at 10 days old.

 

Her daddy is a biker…

Houston, we have a problem!

We were never oblivious to how difficult a newborn could be. We were ready to put in the effort and do the sleepless nights and the long days. Little did we know that soon I would be thankful for any spare moment that the baby was willing to allow me to enjoy. I literally held her in my arms for a month, except nights when she slept- well, like a baby. Between 8am and 10pm however, Alisa was being carried, held, rocked…you name it. 

She didn’t want to be put down. As soon as she fell asleep and anyone attempted to put her into her bed she would momentarily be wide awake and stay like that for another hour. Hands were a different matter. She could sleep for hours just as long as you are holding her. Ridiculous. 

I was counting down the days until my mother-in-law would arrive to stay with us for a whole 3 months! Bliss. I was looking forward to having extra hands and dreaming of all the things I would be able to do while my mother-in-law held the baby, such as take a hot shower or enjoy a hot cup of coffee for a change. I was also looking forward to giving my mom a break from coming over two times a day to help me with my bundle of joy.

Alisa however had other plans.

Her grandmother arrived full of joy, hope and ambition. Alisa is her first grandchild. That is huge. She dots on her and loves her to the moon and back. But they did not get off to a good start. Alisa used to scream bloody murder when I handed her over to her grandmother. If she was fast asleep in my arms and I put her into her grandmother’s arms…she would instantly wake up. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had exactly a week to make things right before I went back to work. Otherwise how could I leave my 7 weeks old at home if she is constantly awake and fussy?

I don’t know how or when I got her so attached to me but she is literally not leaving my arms.  Alisa is still working on her relationship with her grandmother and the air is a little thick around the house. When she cries she wants no one but mommy and daddy to hold her and its the same deal for when she is falling asleep. I have no idea what could be the cause of her discomfort and in my efforts to fix the situation I have even once asked my mother-in-law to wear my T-Shirt, maybe if she smelled like me Alisa would be fooled.

She wasn’t by the way.

Not even for a minute.

More arms please…

I am now convinced that this Indian goddess was  merely a mommy of a newborn. Why else would she need that many arms? Frequently over the last few weeks I found myself wishing that I could magically grow an additional limb or four.That would be neat.

Alisa is merely three weeks old now but she is already a baby with attitude. She likes to be held. No, let me rephrase that. She loves to be carried all day long. If you put her down while she is asleep exactly two minutes later she will lay there wide-eyed and wide awake looking at you like that cat from Shrek…and you pick her up again…and rock her…and carry her…and she falls asleep again so you attempt to master the move of “putting the baby in the crib” yet again with the same pathetic results.

So these days I resemble somewhat of a kangaroo. I am just always holding the baby. Therefore I am really missing doing things with my arms. Like brushing my teeth or having a cup of coffee while its still hot. I had to be hand fed breakfast the other day because I could.not.put.the.baby.down. Maybe I am a sucker for her pouty lips and her attempts to cry every time she is put down into her crib and maybe her love for cuddling fits me just fine. So what if I spend about 10 hours of the day holding her and parading up and down the room?

If you saw how cute she is you would do it too.

It took me two whole days to write this blog post and this morning shower time had to be sacrificed in favour of finishing this exact sentence.

Granny’s Pie- Russian Cuisine in Muscat!

A few days ago Granny’s Pie opened in Muscat- the first of it’s kind serving homemade Russian cuisine!

I haven’t tried their dishes yet, so do expect a review to follow shortly! They have a Facebook page and gained 200 likes in just 3 days, which I think is incredible!!! Also on their page you can find menus, pictures of their chefs and images of the food that they serve. If you have never tried Russian food before I can assure you that it’s very mild so go ahead, be brave and give them a visit!

The outlet is situated at Qurum Park area (just close to Horse Riding Centre ) on the food court of New Family entertainment Centre called “Fun Zone”. Openning times are between 9am and midnight everyday. In a few days time Granny’s Pie will begin to deliver to homes and offices- stay tuned!

For more information you can call: 989 55 094 or 988 89 233

Yey for more diverse food outlets opening up in Muscat!!!

Our maternity pictures

A  few weeks ago we strolled into Qurum Park fiercely equipped with outfits, pink helium balloons, a pair of baby shoes and bags of curiosity. We were ready for our maternity photoshoot. Our photographer Aseya took the lead and quickly showed us the spot where we would start shooting. It was about 3pm, a cool breeze swept through the trees and the warm November sun was just right. There wasn’t a single moment of hesitation or awkwardness, we went straight into it. It’s amazing how simple movements like getting up off the grass can take on a whole new level of difficulty when you are almost 8 months pregnant. Nevertheless it was all good fun and Aseya found a lot of locations that exerted greenery, freshness and raw nature. She advised us on the poses to take and clearly had a vision of where it was all going. We wrapped the session in just under two hours and here are the results:

We are now very proud owners of 26 images that perfectly documented this special time in our lives and captured the moment that sees us transitioning from becoming a couple to become parents to a little girl. We are thrilled.

If you are planning to document your pregnancy with the help of a professional photographer here in Muscat then I would highly recommend Anastaseya Photography. 

When going in for your session make sure you:

• Plan your outfits in advance. Matching? Sexy? In harmony with the landscape? Think about this in advance.
• Bring props (baby items, flowers, balloons, ultrasound scans, soft toys…etc)
• Don’t forget to accessorize (hats, glasses, necklaces, scarves…)
• Bring a snack and beverages (my snickers bar literally saved my life)
• Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want (but trust your photographer’s advice too…)
• Don’t be fussy (it will show in pictures…)
• Try not to have your session too late (I didn’t want mine during the 9th month to avoid looking bloated and tired)
• Engage your partner and your kids in the pictures (it’s as much of a big deal for them as it is for you!)

Good luck and hope you enjoyed the photos!

Maternity pictures

I am a big (amateur) photography junkie so when I had the chance to document this amazing time in our lives through the lense- believe you me I did not pass on that opportunity! In one of my previous posts here I introduced you to Anastaseya Photography- a woman, a mother and a photographer who specializes in maternity, new-born, lifestyle and family photo sessions here in Muscat. I am incredibly lucky to know her personally and even more so to have been able to book a photo session for her for this Thursday!!!

Over the last few months I was collecting pins into my little board of inspirations over at Pinterest hoping to achieve similar results with our maternity photo shoot or to at least get ideas for locations, props and poses.

Below are some of my favorite moments “capturing” this amazing experience of being pregnant:

 As you can see I chose images that featured both the parents and I think that’s very important. I don’t want 45 pictures of me and my “belly” looking left and right and center and holding flowers and what-not. This isn’t about me. This is about us as a couple, as parents bringing a child into this world. She is ours. I want the pictures to show how involved her daddy was every step of the way and how obsessed he is with her already. I want her to see the bond. whether she is 3, 15 or 67 I want her to look back at these pictures and see how much we enjoyed become her parents and how important she was to us.

 Having said that you probably won’t see me publishing any pictures that look like this: (bummer…right?)

I don’t personally have anything against nude maternity photography it’s just not for me. The female body is beautiful during pregnancy absolutely, but if mine is to be captured on film I want it to be fully clothed!!! (I must admit the picture above disturbs me a little…)

In terms of the location, I would love to have an outdoors photo shoot. I initially had a very “alternative” idea that involved Boashar Sand Dune, Quad Bikes, Pink Baloons and some rough riding. Until my husband reminded me that I am pregnant… My idea was for the pictures to show the feminine aspect of pregnancy, all the tenderness and fragility of it combined with a rough exterior (that is my husband) represented in the sand bashing and quad-bike riding. This way the baby will know what she’s really made of…but then we settled for a park The pictures will hopefully turn out to be very refreshing with heaps of greenery around us, cozy lawns and flower beds. Oh. But I am still bringing the pink balloons and maybe a few other props like baby items, ultrasound scans of the baby and maybe a black board with a “Coming Soon” message. I just can’t resist.

So look out for these next week…I am so  CRAZY excited!

(But that just might be all the sugar that I just ate talking…)

New blog on the block

In an attempt to go “social-media-friendly” all the way…I have created a blog for USF Store!

Please pay a visit and leave a comment or two: http://usfstoreoman.wordpress.com/ 

Also if you haven’t yet joined us on Facebook, hurry and do so as this is where new items are featured almost daily!

Hope you like it and happy shopping

I discovered…Pinterest <3

And now life will never be the same again.

You know how sometimes you browse the internet, find a picture you like, save it in your Documents/Desktop/Images/Disk C only to never see it again? Or how you have to google search for websites that let you create collages (free!) that you can later store in your Documents/Desktop/Images/Disk C only to never see them again? Well, I do!

And then…

I found Pinterest through a wonderful blogger I follow. So now life is just not the same anymore. I am currently accumulating ideas for the upcoming baby shower, for redecorating the house and for Christmas which is just (freak out) two months away- so it’s perfect. Pinterest let’s you store all and any images you find online, clip them unto a board and you can even categorize them. I currently have “Baby Shower Theme”, “Nursery Ideas”, “True Life” and other categories. You can see what I am up to here.

It’s so easy to use and totally inspiring! Check it out and creat your own board-you will be hooked!

This is totally better than sliced bread.