Tea Party with Little Red Events

I have always wanted to host a tea party so a couple weeks ago, I decided to do just that. Nattu from The Little Red Events helped with everything of the event. The only thing I had to do was show up. It was seriously one of the best days and I invited three friends along to Hulhumale and we had a great time sipping tea, eating yummy things, getting photographed and having a great time!

How adorable is this invite? Love that it's on a doily. 

Also these cupcakes are just the most gorgeous. Love the little bow and details. 

My lovely ladies! Thank you so much for coming and making it a wonderful day. 

The pretty dessert table. All those little details just makes everything come out together and give it a garden vibe.

Uh I can't take the cuteness! That cookie jar was great, and the cookies were delicious!

And, the tea table! The table setting is to die for! Little tarts with out names? YES please! 

I mean look at that preciousness. Everything was so on-point it made me feel like a princess! 

The best part, getting to play hostess and pouring tea and enjoying it, what a delight. 

and of course, no tea part would be complete without the favours. I added some candles, a letter, cute things, tea bags and more to thank the girls for attending. 

Overall, it was so amazing. Thanks to Nattu and Naphoo from Little Red Events for everything. Official photography by Toby from Monkeygraphy. If you are looking for event planners, or wedding planners, I would highly recommend them. Great people, such lovely hospitality and amazing service. Check them out on Facebook! and if you want to buy the tins, cookie jar or lanterns, check Little Red Shop. 

How to Make Letter Sets

Ever since starting snail-mailing I've seen so many cute Instagram pictures of people with so pretty letter sets I get so jealous because it's very hard to find nice stationery items in Maldives so I was inspired by some photos to make my own stationery and it looked quite good plus it was so easy to make. Here's how to make your own stationery. 

What you'll need: letter paper (or any kind of light paper you want to write letter on), glitter foam, hard colour paper, double tape, scissors, glue (optional), hole puncher, washi tape of any theme you want. 

I wanted to have a theme of silver and blue so I chose things that would match with that theme.

Step 1: Take you letter paper and use washi-tape to decorate it however you want. I chose to so a bold design on top and to lightly put washi around the bottom.

Step 2 and 3: Cute a heart from the glitter foam and stick it on the top. This will give the letter more definition and make it look super cute. 

Step 4: If you want to decorate the other side too use the same washi tape to create even more designs. I didn't like this side as much as the front.

Step 5: I love making little tags that go along with the stationery. Cut little tags using your hard paper into tag shapes and use washi tape to decorate the front of the tags.

Step 6: Punch a hole in the tags and if you want you can even use ribbon to decorate and put through the hole but I left it just like that.

Step 7: This is optional but I also decorated the envelope to go with it. How cute is the envelope? AHH. 

It's so easy to make personalized stationery and if you can't find washi tape, you can instead use some pretty ribbon, or colour/patterned paper or use just about anything.

PS very sorry for the quality of the pictures. I'm still trying to use my phone and figuring out how to take good pictures plus Hipster Sister is my photographer and she says she has a shaky hand problem. 

I hope you enjoyed this. I have made some more stationery and I'm so excited to make even more! 

If the world had a mother like mine

Ramadan is coming and I'm very excited. The month of blessings, the month of iftars, family rituals and more. :) I love the feeling of it, everything seems so mellow and lovely and the days might seem a bit longer because of hunger but the nights are the best because there is great food, laughter and the air seems to be just a bit more "airy". 

It's been sometime eh. I have been keeping myself occupied with the usual things. Thutha was in town last week so we went shopping a lot and she took me out for food twice. Also, I got my very first pen pal letter from Indonesia which is filled with so much pretty. I sent a reply to her and sent some more letters this week. 

how cute is that wishbone necklace? I wear it all the time. 

Last Friday was my Hijri birthday (The day I was born according to Islamic calender. My family always celebrate it. I'm a mix between 22 and 23 :|) so Thutha took me out for waffles at Heaven's Treat and it was so good, really. We enjoyed every last bite and it was worth the hype and the price. We also shopped till we dropped, buying stationery and way too many body mists. 

this is chocloate waffle and it's divine. 

On Saturday, I met up with some old friends from high school days, Lulu and Ty and it was fun filled pancake eating, instagramming, nostalgia inducing talk of life and love and all things precious. These people fill my heart with so much happiness I feel like there's happy running in my veins. 

eventhough it looks good, I didn't like it that much. Maybe I'm too biased cos mum makes the most yummy pancakes.

I did a lot of crafting this week. Making personalized stationery is my new hobby. I'm not even close to being good but I think it looks really pretty. I haven't been leaving as much love letters around town, but I try. If you every have some free time, sit down and write someone new a letter. It's very medicinal and stress relieving. Food for the soul, if you will. 

I can't write like Hannah Brencher does but I hope my words can make someone happy. 

I have very exciting things lined up for the weekend. I really hope that I can finally free sometime and actually relax because I feel like I've been tiring myself with too many things. I need to take sometime to sharpen the saw. 

How was your week? I hope it's going well. 

Currently: June

This month's quite low on entertainment actually. I hardly find any time. My weekends have become busier than weekdays. Also, I've been pursuing other hobbies which makes less time for books, movies and TV shows. However, I try to watch a movie every now and then keep up with my reading list. Here's what's on my list this month. 

Glee S2 | I love Glee. Songs, dancing and really really weird things going on? count me interested. I started watching S2 all excited to find I still have to get a couple more episodes so it's on hiatus now. I do love the new songs they are coming up with, also Darren Criss! Man, I've loved that guy since AVPM days. He makes a great character and since Kurt is my favourite, I am totally a Blaine + Kurt shipper. 

The Secret Life of American Teenager S4 | Why am I still watching this? Probably for Ben. It's such a weird series, everybody's too hormonal and angry all the time and there's so much drama hahah also I hate Amy's character so much. I guess, I can't just stop watching it even though it's terrible. Oh well. 

The Vow | I started watching this movie the other day but I got busy and haven't gone back to it but I am looking forward to watching it on the weekend. Channing Tatum is nice, I do get the hype about him and ah Rach is perfection. They make such a cute couple. 

The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer | I'm in currently reading it. It's written in a very genuine way and so far, it's a bit slow and I haven't decided whether I like it or not. I've only read 10% of it. The main character is quite Interesting (haha) and the whole time period it's set in makes me rather giddy. 

The Longest Ride -  Nicholas Sparks | For someone who has the whole NS collections, I have become the worst of his fans. I like a lot of his books (well, the three I've read anyway) and I am definitely looking forward to reading this. I guess the only reason I haven't read the other books is because they are paperbacks and these days I only read e-books (gasp! I know, I have become that person) because I read while eating or waiting and I always have my kindle so. 

Somebody to You - The Vamps ft Demi | Love love love this song. I thought this song could not get any better but then Demi happened and that girl has a voice to swoon over. Its my current summer anthem and I always have in on repeat making me feel all happy and excited. The Vamps are my current favourite boyband. 

What is keeping you entertained this month?

Orgazing Tips: Mail

We live an era of technology and eventhough I live by snail mail, I still interact with people through good old e-mail and keeping my e-mails organized is very important because a cluttered mail box will usually distract me. I have three e-mails (work, personal and dym+other official things) and I use both gmail and outlook and I find both very easy to work with. Here are some tips on how to keep your mailbox organized

image credits

1. Use labels/categories

In my work mail, I have color coded all my mails accordingly. My categories include "new arrivals, customers, social media, current campaigns, finance" among others. Everything has a colour and it's really easy to search mails and everything looks pretty neat. Outlook software has the categorizing function and you can even categorize something twice or more if it falls into several categories. 

2. Use the flag button

Ah, what would I do without this button. I love that outlook will put all mails in a separate "task" folder when you flag it so you can easily access it and see what's due and when you are finished with that task, you can click the flag again and it'll appear as a completed task. This makes it so easy to keep all your to-dos in one place and keep track of things.

In gmail, I don't really use the flagging function (is there one?) so I just have a tab called To-do and move my mails there so I can easily access things to do and do them. 

3. Keeping inbox clean

I hate getting spam mail so I always delete any useless messages that I absolutely do not need. If there is a mail that is not work related but I might need it, I keep them the label "misc" so it stays organized. Since my gmail is used to create several of my other accounts on websites and things, lots of mails and updates that I don't need come there so I have created filters to make sure that all of them gets deleted and does not enter my inbox. You can easily create filters by clicking the filer button and following the instructions. You can also get rid of spam by filtering your e-mails every now and then. It's seriously worth spending some time doing that. 

4. Having a separate mail for social media accounts

I don't know about you but whenever there are new sites, I always want to check it out and register but I don't want updates of those sites on my work or dym mail, so I use a personal mail to do that so any updates, subscriptions or any other things like that will not go to more important mail boxes. This saves lots of time when you are going through mails and also helps you be more focused when doing work. If I got subscriptions and newsletters on my work e-mail, I would be inclined to spend more time checking them out rather than working so it's pretty cool. Also I can easily subscribe to my favourite blogs, newsletters and more using my personal mail and keep pen-pals and it is pretty convenient as well.

5. Using mail clients on you phone

This is seriously a life saver. I don't usually log onto my laptop unless I am at work so I can't check my mail that often but since getting a smart phone, I've installed both outlook and gmail (I still don't have my personal mail on my phone which I am trying to get but since both my work and personal is outlook, it's kind of hard and uh so many complications) and it seriously is so so easy. I can easily look up mails, do quick replies, get rid of junk and flag important mails on the go. 

6. Get rid of the "Sent from" signature line

Maybe it's just me but I seriously get bothered when I see that people don't change the default signature. I don't need to know where you sent me the mail from, whether it's your iPhone or microwave and I feel like it's a very weird thing to do. So, the very first thing I did after installing both mail clients, I removed the signature from the phone. 

7. Have a signature

I think it is very important to have a signature and while my work one has a set signature for everyone (which I think is pretty cool!) I used to have one for my DYM one which all DYM people ave but since I also use that mail for classes, I didn't want my students knowing about all the other aspects of my life, so now I just have my name and I'm thinking of getting rid of it too but always have a signature ready when you are mailing certain people (like clients) so they can easily reach you and it looks very profesh. 

So that's some tips and how I organize my mail. Do you have any more to add to this list?

Monday Playlist: Inspirations and love songs

I've seriously discovered so much new music the past few months it is insane. I try to keep it to two songs maximum per day because I don't want to overdo it. Here are some songs I'm loving at the moment. 

Can't Raise a Man - K Michelle

This song is very true. Once a man is grown, you really can't change him. K Michelle knows whats up. I really love her voice, it isn't sweet but it's got flavour and this is a fantastic song to just listen to in the morning because it can get your blood pumping right. 

Ain't It Fun - Paramore

Such a good song. Great beats, great message and absolutely adore the video. The lyrics are tough but in the real world everything is and this song sums up growing up and how cruel and hard life is. I haven't heard that many Paramore songs but the minute I heard this, I knew it was a keeper. Mick loves that line "Don't go crying to your mama". I think she follows that advice. 

Wake Up Lovin' You - Craig Morgan

No week can be complete without at least one country song. I d love the genre and how mellow and sweet it is. This song is no different. Nice rhythm, great voice and I just feel like swaying whenever this song comes on and it has become one of my new favourite love songs. 

Chainsaw - The Band Perry

These three are so amazing and I've been following them since If I Die Young. This song is more pop than country but I do like the story and the video is really nice. It's a great song to bob your head to any time of the day. 

I Choose You - Sara Bareilles

This song is the best, really. I love it so very much, I've been playing it non-stop. The video is so cute! ahh, I love that one line in this song "the very first words of a life long love letter" so much I've decided I want it to be the name of my biography/autobiography. Sara really knows how to play with your feelings using music. 

Dare (La, La, La ) - Shakira

Ah, this song has really great dance beats. I'm not really a big World Cup fan (I love the unity, football not so much) but this is great song and well it's Shakira so yeah. She's cool. I like the video too. 

Raging Fire - Phillip Phillips

This man has a great voice and he sings the most inspirational "singable" songs. This one is no exception. The lyrics are strong and true and the video, so good. I do love me some stop motion. 

What's on your playlist this week?

Perks of dating Augustus Waters

Ah, I am so so excited for The Fault in Our Stars. I'm patiently waiting for the day when I can watch it, hopefully Schwack will bring it, if not I'll have to wait for DVD release. Either way, I am one of the millions of people completely obsessed over the story; the book made me cry so hard and maybe the movie will too. Keeping them tissues ready. 

1. Augustus will always be there for you, no matter what.

He will meet you with a bunch of tulips, he will listen to your story (not you cancer story, your REAL story) and even though he fears oblivion and even though he talks in his own pre-funeral, he will make you feel like you are the only thing in the world that matters, and most importantly he will give you hope when everything else seems gray. 

2. He can take your breath away - literally.

He took Hazel's. He's handsome (uh can I just sigh about the fact that I can never ever meet Ansel but the fact that he exists is amazing!) and he understands your favourite book like no other. He might be a bit narcissistic about his looks but ah don't you love a guy who knows he's beautiful but he thinks you are more. 

3. He's the master of metaphors

He will not let cancer get the worst of him, but he will make sure that he will not give the power to the killing machine. Also he has the best advice and he makes you feel like this world is only about you.

4. His thoughts are stars he cannot fathom into constellations. 

but he will try, for you. His mind is as beautiful as he is and he always has something witty and comforting to say. Why can't we have a Gus in our life? *sigh*

5. He's not in the business of denying himself the simple pleasures of saying true things. 

This is my favourite line in the book and I love Gus's honesty. Often we say white lies, but that's not Gus. He's not afraid of radical honesty and that's why I think he's perfect. You will always know you can trust him. 

6. He will give his last wish to you because he knows that the world is not a wish granting factory. 

And most importantly, he will take you to meet the one person you want to, and even if that person turns out to be the opposite of what you thought, he will hold your hand and kiss you soft and make you feel all warm and fuzzy. 

7. His smile. 

AHH, guys with the half smirk smiles are the reason I watch TV and the reason I lay awake at night thinking how nice it would be to wake up to that kind of smile everyday. 

8. Nothing will lessen his affections for you. 

Not even you trying to keep your distance from him. He's your crazy manic pixie dreamboy and those the boys that are the hardest to find. 

9. He will make you cry your eyes out

because he cares about you but he knows he can't be there forever and maybe when he's gone you'll never know a love that's as wonderful as him and that's fine because you can tell yourself you once knew a boy who is utterly unprecedented and who loved you from the very bottom of his heart and that is what matters in the end. 

10. No one will ever be good enough

because you once fell in love with a fictional character and now no boy in real life can make you feel tingly and you will constantly keep comparing everyone to Gus and cry over the fact that Gus is only fictional. :'( 

May in a nutshell

Last month went by in a blur. The days are short and time so precious, ticking away so fast it seems like I am always in competition to squeeze more life into each minute before it passes away. It was a good month, despite having some terrible days. 

For most part, I was sick and there were so many nights I slept because of medication when I had so many things on my to-do list and once my nose bled, it was terrifying but masha Allah, I have come out stronger than I knew I was. 

how adorable are these? Mum made them and I used an empty egg carton to make a make-shift cake ball tray!

There were great achievements and some sad ones. I had to get rid of my previous 101 things list, but I managed to write up a new one with even more dedication to cross off more things. I started writing a weekly e-mail in hopes of sharing love within a small group of people and being each other's strength in times of hardships. So far, it is going well. I was able to leave 33 letters of encouragement, also known as "love letters" around Male', a task I was so scared of but was still able to do so with the help of some very cool people that I have the privilege of calling my good friends. I hope that at least one said letter was able to make someone smile, make someone's day, anything. 

I started a new batch of students. Macro Economics. They are rather nice, but then again so are everyone eh. Students are always students and so far I've been blessed with some very nice students and I hope I am doing a good job of making them understand things that I have to tell them. 

These people are the bees knees! we talked about Lego movie and fought over the last cookie like pros.

On the last day of May, I finally did something I've been planning since last year; a picnic in the park with friends. It was most fun. We gathered and made our way across the sea to Hulhumale' and we ate good food, shared many a laughter and had a great time. It was one for the memory book and stories to tell children. I feel so happy to know these people and to have the pleasure of their sweet company. 

how amazing is the post card, it looks like a pencil drawing and this tea tasted different but so very good! 

Also, I received and sent quite a number of postcards from places that I long to travel, places that I've never been but am homesick for. My mother things me crazy to get so many cards and even a pack of tea from people I've never met and don't even know but I bonded with my father because he was once like me and wrote to strangers as well. It was so nice to know this, to have a bit of his history and to know that he like me was once crazy, and still is but in a nice way. 

I watched through several TV shows, movies, read a few books, ate a lot of good food and shared great moments all around and it was a very bustling month full of wonders and I'm so grateful to Allah for bestowing me with so many great things. 

How was your May?