Danderma's Blog, page 102

It's Tea Time!

Yesterday I had my dear Pink Girl over for tea. Blogging is so ingrained into us by now we cannot even have a simple tea together without taking some pictures :p Lets see, there were flowers.

The tulips will bloom soon

Arranged around the apartment.

Some incense.

Juices since its getting hot outside.

Tea is brewed.

Finger food is ready.

Dessert is ready. Safi's Manayer cake

Also Hayouni's Kitchen Nano Bombs.

We decided to say outside. We are saying good buy to the good weather.

and table is set.

Time to dig in.

It was a great night! Warm weather, soft breeze, frosty drinks, fireworks, good food, golden tea, lip smacking desserts, and most importantly the best company ever I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes yesterday! Thank you Pink Girl for having tea with me

Fireworks in AlZahraa

We were sitting outside having tea and enjoying the weather when we suddenly heard a loud bang followed by a flash of light! Pink Girl said she had seen some fireworks from Al-Zahraa Co-op's side -which is near my new apartment- so we both grabbed our cameras and ran to the street. So did the rest of the neighborhood that is. We stood in the street and I took a few shots.

The fireworks are part of AlZahraa Co-op's opening celebrations which is happening this week. We did enjoy the fireworks especially with the good food, good company, and gorgeous breezy weather!

VIVA Draw Something Contest

If you have been bitten by the Draw Something craze you will like this. VIVA is organizing "Draw Something" contest on Wednesday April 11th from 12PM – 4PM. The duration of the contest is only 4 hours and anyone can participate. VIVA and participants will take turns in drawing and guessing. The two contestants with the highest stats will win iPhone 4S, and the winners will be announced on VIVA's social media platforms (Facebook, twitter, Instagram) by the end of the day.

VIVA username in Draw Something App is: VIVA_telecom so add them and let the drawing begins

10 TV Moments that instantly kick start my food cravings

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1- Soup in the Anime or 7asa2 as they said in our cartoons! You remember how they always sat in front of big bowls of some yellow soup with bobbing bits of thingies on them? Whenever I see them drinking 7asa2 I always wanted to drink it too! I still do -maggie mushroom soup topped with fresh chopped parsley would do-.

2- Heidi's Bread and Melted Cheese If you recall when the cartoon Heidi went to her grandfather's cabin and he fed her fresh milk in a bowl and huge slices of bread topped with melted cheese? Oh MY GOD! I still remember salivating over these images. I think what they  were eating is Raclette but I'm not sure Sally's Cheese

3- Cocktail ma7thootha o mabrooka Remember when they went to a fashion store in Jm3yat elTha7ya and they were presented with huge glasses of Cocktail juice? This is cocktail juice as I remember it in our childhood and it strongly reminds me of mojama3 elneqra. It is also my favorite comfort juice of all time and I am NOT a juice person. Whenever I see that part I start craving cocktailhom

4- Spaghetti! If anyone eats Spaghetti ANYWHERE on TV I immediately want to start eating a big fat bowl of Spaghetti pomodoro as well! I remember in particular a movie by Benecio Del Torro eating a plate of spaghetti in some dark movie and winding his spaghetti around the fork over and over and over and over again. Hmmm.

5- Joey's Pizza Whenever Joey orders pizza on friends I get the strongest craving for a home delivery Joey style pizza. That's when I call LoFat for their pizza is the best stay at home and watch Joey pizza

6- Croissants and Coffee. I think it was either in the French movie Taxi or in Transformers that at the very end they want to dig in a big fat breakfast and they go into a cafe to order croissants and coffee. When I see that plate of croissants it reminds me of Pret-a-manager and I start wanting to have croissants for breakfast for the rest of my life.

7- Gilmore Girl's Breakfast Whenever they walk into Luke's diner in the morning and start ordering those pancakes with lots and lots of coffee I am in trouble for I want to go to an American diner and have a staggering stack of hot fluffy pancakes next to a steaming pot of coffee for me to dig in.

8- Escalope Pane When I was a kid Egyptian movies were all about "escalope pane" in restaurants with a hot plate filled with potato chips and sauteed vegetables. Whenever I saw that as a kid I wanted to do the same: eat my meal with a fork and spoon and slather ketchup and BBQ sauce on. Its more about the action of dining rather than the taste of food. It however doesn't get to me anymore thankfully.

9- Saher El Lail Dinner When Ali was all about cooking eggs for himself and preparing dinner in the kitchen with his cousin Maha and he takes two discs of Mata7en bread. I actually wrote a post about it back then (link). Now whenever I remember that series I remember that particular episode and want to have that dish back for dinner!

10- Sally's Fatayer There is an episode when is raining cats and dogs in Sally, and then someone gives her some money and she passes by a bakery. With her little money she buys fateerat cheese or a cheese bun or sandwich. Anyways then she sees a poor hungry homeless girl and she splits her sandwich with her. That day I remember asking my parents for fatayer jeben. Ever since whenever I watch that episode I crave cheese fatayer, always and forever

Blast from the Past: The Hamburger on MSX

This game wasn't very popular in the 80′s. Not as popular as the rest of the MSX games that is. It could very well be the last MSX game we ever bought and we called it The Hamburger game.

The little chef needs to climb the stairs and walk all over the bun, patty, lettuce, and cheese to drop them into place and make up hamburgers while trying to dodge the killer pickles, sausages, and eggs who want to eat him.

I remember when I first saw it in my cousin's MSX. I loved it immediately and made my parents buy it for me. I loved it and as I played it I always imagined myself back in Hardeez ordering burgers which was our weekly weekend treat -the happy meal came with smurfs!-

Come to think about it I still like games that include burgers and burger making "Burger Shop mathalan (post)". This game was like a very primitive version of Burger Shop :p

Do you remember this game?

My Ombre Rose

I was in the Mashatel yesterday looking at the plants and flowers when my eyes fell on the most gorgeous flower ever masha2 Allah!

A rose but not in one color! It started of as fuchsia pink in the base, then it gradually changes color into orange, then peach, and ends with a pale orange yellow tone, Ombre style!

The iPhone pictures do not give it justice at all. You have to see it in person to appreciate its beauty. I took one look at the rose bushes and I experienced what is wildly known as "Love at first sight". I knew we were meant to be together so I hugged the plant's jar and screamed "malti". Childish I know but that's how much in Love I was.

I was so anxious someone would come and take it away. I already named my plant Rosa! I couldn't rest until it was safely in my car truck peeking at me whenever I looked in the rear view mirror. Ladies and gentlemen, meet my new baby: Rosa the Ombre Rose

If you want want you can go to the mashatel, the seller nursery is called 3ziz 3ashery and it had a ton of palm trees on its premises.

Picture of the Week: I Hate You!

I hate you.

No, let me rephrase that. I loathe you! You always yank me out from my warm snug oblivious trance, you dream interrupter! You always scream for attention with your insistent shrill voice, signalling the end of my most relaxed state ever. Once you start ringing I know it will be the start of a long day filled with chores and driving and work and god knows what. I hate you because when you ring it means it is still a work day and I would have to be out of the house in 20 minutes.

I hate you, and that's why I never allow a peep out of you during the weekend. If I could I would chuck you in the bin and then retrieve you back on Saturday night but that would be too gross. I hate you and I wish you were never ever invented.

Don't you hate your wretched alarm clock?

Hanging My Photographs on my Wall

I've been looking for some paintings or photographs to hang on the living room wall in my apartment. Wherever I went I wasn't satisfied so I decided to hang my favorite pictures on the wall. Its more personal, has a story behind each photograph, and most importantly totally unique to me. After all, what's the use of an HD chock full of DSLR photographs?

After a look at the local options I had around I decided to go with Abyat. The price is   reasonable -45 KD per meter square for a canvas painting, 95 KD for acrylic- plus they will deliver the paintings to your door step wrapped in bubble wrap and hang it on your walls too! All you have to do is take your pictures to them, choose the size, and pay!

I took my pictures there on Monday. I had 8 pictures printed in canvas size of 60X90 cm. They were delivered on Saturday morning -yesterday- and on my wall exactly as per my specifications in exactly 30 minutes!

I had expected a lot of mess from the drilling and flying cement but believe it or not they used a special nail when hammered into a wall it would sink in, no drilling required!

I also have to say that the printing quality was awesome! The color on the canvases was so vibrant, the lines so sharp and clear, I keep gazing at them in wonder!

The Abyat men were very polite and very neat. 30 minutes, tak tak tak of the nails being hammered, and then they helped put the furniture back, took the bubble wrap and the wrapping with them an were gone. We were left able to enjoy our new living room immediately, no cleaning or mess to worry about! Thank you Abyat for a job well done!

I keep looking at them and thinking to myself they look like something I would have bought from some store! I even was asked where did I buy them from in Instagram! Do you think I should start selling them? I have tons more :p

Now if only we could get rid of that bloody wretched chair! Effff :'(

Now its official, the living room is complete and can now start having visitors over

Shraykom ib my wall art?

Book Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Fresh out of the press comes the latest book by Jojo Moyes: Me before You. The story about Louisa who was very comfortable in her small town working as a waiter in a small cafe and dating an OK guy for 7 years when suddenly she loses a job and the only thing left for her to do is to become a carer for a quadriplegic Will who had an accident a few years back that stripped him from everything good in his life.

How was the book? Well it was quite interesting and really good. It is also very very depressing. You keep thinking, rather hoping, that Will might suddenly start moving again to end his suffering but its not that kind of book. The book is about suffering, humiliation, dependency, and looking at a life time of extreme pain.

It also raises a very important aspect regarding assisted suicide to end the suffering of a terminal-illness patient. It provides some insight into the matter and two different opinions, a pro and a con. Its like a debate without conclusion, it is left for the reader to decide, nothing is pushed upon you.

Even though the book is depressing it is also quite fun and funny. Given that a man in a wheelchair starts showing his carer how to live her life and broaden her horizons when she has been stuck in her place forever given its her comfort zone. It is quite long at 480 pages but its filled with both good and bad moments.

Now would I recommend it? This book is only for the strong hearted. If you are a squeamish reader who cannot take page after page of illness and pain. Or if you are, like me, plagued by fear of illness and ocd and your imagination usually runs wild in bad scenarios, then this book is not for you. I barely handled reading it the first time. I don't think I can do it again.

If you still want to read it you can find it on Amazon (link).

Danderma in a Kuwait Times Article

I was asked by Lisa Conrad from Kuwait times to contribute to an article she was writing regarding the anticipated spring trends by giving my humble two cents on the matter. We did it last Friday and lo and behold, it was published on Saturday!

That was kinda fast! I appeared in Kuwait Times, it feels kinda surreal. Even though I have my own blog and book I still feel kinda surprised and puzzled when I see my blog name out there

If you are interested in what I had to say to Lisa on the matter you can check out the article here (link). Thank you Lisa :*