The Story Of Us

D turned eleven last week. And we had  a little party.  As per tradition we bought our plain white butter cream chocolate cake from Wegmans and decorated it ourselves. The theme was water tag. It was the perfect sunny day and the kids had a blast We sorta dropped the ball on taking a picture of the cake cutting.. I had to take a screen shot of a video. Each kid went home with a water gun, some water balloons and a couple of snacks. All in all a good day and most definitely D's last organized birthday party. phew.                     Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

This is a big month for D.. not only will he be turning 11 this week but he also graduated elementary school! They held a simple outdoor ceremony. Guests we kept at a minimum but it was special nonetheless.          He received a certificate of graduation from his principal   and a dragon pin (their school mascot) from the vice principal His two teachers. and my parents who live on a whole different continent yet decided to come visit us for a couple weeks. We went out to celebrate that night at The Melting Pot. The kids had never had tried fondue before. I can't believe D is going to be a middle schooler soon.. I am both excited and terrified for him.   D's thoughts on going to graduating elementary school on moving on to middle school: 'I am looking forward to lockers and picking classes. I will miss having recess because there is no recess in middle school. I am scared about forgetting things and the possibility of detention but still excited to be going to middle school

I didn't write a recent reads post last month.. honestly my recent reads haven't been all that great.  The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen Synopsis - Present Day newly divorced, Julia Hamill, buys a house and discovers a skeleton in her front garden. Looking for answers to the ancient mystery dating back to 1830, she soon connects with the family of the previous owners.  In Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College, has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect. To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed the

Redchurch Street - A colorful wall mural and graffiti found on Redchurch Street in East London's trendy Shoreditch. Want to read more about our trip to London click   here You can buy this print  here . Get Free Shipping with code BLOGGER Prints also available in larger sizes. Contact for more information and special requests. I am open to wholesale and licensing opportunities. Get in touch for more information.                            Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Happy Memorial Day to my US friends. This long weekend was a complete wash out... it rained all day, every day. The kids had an extra snow day so the school gave them Friday off as well. There were a couple of rain free hours on Friday morning so we squeezed in a quick strawberry picking trip at a local farm. This was our first time strawberry picking. We unintentionally ended up with 8lbs of strawberries. So now began the task of how to use all these strawberries. I made pancakes and milkshakes I also made ice cream and pureed a bunch and froze them as ice cubes to be used in futures juices, I love a good strawberry lemonade. And now we have just a bowl full left to eat. They were absolutely delectable.                        Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Door 62 - Olive door against a coral peach wall found in the streets of Marrakesh, Morocco. To read more about our trip to Marrakech click here You can buy this print here . Get Free Shipping with code BLOGGER Prints also available in larger sizes. Contact for more information and special requests. I am open to wholesale and licensing opportunities. Get in touch for more information.                             Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Last week we celebrated Eid. M took the day off.. the kids skipped school.. it was all well and good but it got me thinking about how we would have been celebrating if we were in Pakistan and of course pre covid. Something my kids will most likely never experience.  A couple of nights before Eid the markets would be open past midnight.. a hustle and bustle.. most people buy new clothes to wear for the day of. Matching glass bangles.. oh I used to have so many glass bangles. Not a fan personally but most apply henna to their hands. The night before Eid is especially festive.  The morning of Eid we wake up at the crack of dawn to pray and then the celebrating begins, which mainly includes a lot of eating. We generally celebrate for 3 days. It involves visiting the homes of all of our uncles and aunts, other close family members as well as friends. Usually it's a 20 minute stop at each home where they ply you with food and the elders gift the kids money known as an Eidi. Most create