Danderma's Blog, page 78

Uber Cool iPhone Cover from Circus Maximos

I keep getting asked about my iPhone cover so I will post about it once and for all. Around a month ago during Ramadan I was reading Confashion’s blog (post) when she posted about a booth in an expo of a local business, Circus Maximos, selling fabulous looking iPhone covers. I loved the covers instantly for they were really different so I looked the business up right away and placed an order for an iPhone cover in graphite color.

A few hours later Circus Maximos delivered the iPhone cover promptly to my place and I quickly dressed up my iPhone with it. There is one word to describe it: Groovy!

I loved everything about my new iPhone cover: I loved the shimmery graphite color that is neither black nor brown with a hint of glitter. I loved the feathery light material since its made of some type of fibre. I loved how sturdy it was, having had my iPhone fall from my hand 600 times and there wasn’t a scratch on neither my iPhone nor my cover.

The cover fits my iPhone perfectly and feels very comfortable when I hold it in my hand considering the amount of grooves in the back.

My gorgeous cover is made and Germany and designed by a Dutch designer which explains its beauty.

If you look closely you will see something resembling bombs, gas masks, and a cute little fellow appearing here and there apparently scared.

There are many other designs available and each of them is more dazzling than the next. You will have a hard time choosing which one to get. There are ones in Arabian designs as well. I wonder how soon will they get similar covers for iPhone 5.

To see the covers you can check Circus Maximos instagram (@CircusMaximos) and you can order them via Whatsapp on (+965) 55340484.

Chocolates & More Store Opening

I was invited to attend the store opening of Chocolate & More, a well known Kuwaiti chocolate business renowned for their fine ingredients and unique combinations and is a

favorite between many in Kuwait.

The store is in Al-Ghwali mall, Kuwait City, right opposite Al-Raya mall and down the street from both Al-Hamra mall and United Tower. The store is small and elegant. All whites, silver platters, pink suede, and golden chandeliers.  

The chocolates on display were mouthwatering.

The store does also various chocolate packaging for different occasions and chocolate gift giving.

They also had a cute coffee machine and coffee cups.

Thank you Shaikha Al-Hashim for extending the invitation. Chocolate & More store located in the ground floor of Al-Ghawali mall, Kuwait City. For more information you can give them a call on (+965) 22 40 50 50, check their website (link), or follow them on Instagram (@ChocolatesandMore).

Event: Lenôtre Celebrates Preston Bailey

Yesterday night we were invited by Lenôtre Kuwait to attend an event celebrating Preston Bailey who is in Kuwait for the upcoming and much anticipated Celebrate Expo. Preston Bailey, if you don’t know him already, is a well known and sough after name for event and wedding planner for celebrities and A-listers.

We arrived to see that Lenôtre had transformed into what resembles a wedding reception. All soft pinks and whites and flickering candles. I will let the pictures do the talking.

All of Lenôtre’s usual dinging tables were removed and in their place these long pink sofas were placed.

The buffet which had finger food only was also transformed. The food was all finger food style.

The candle holders are from Pieces by Farah‘s new range which will be out soon. I like the new shape!

In the middle of the floor next to the buffet stood four pyramids lit from within holding one of Lenôtre’s newest dessert items, Macaroons!

While we were seated waiting for Preston Bailey to arrive many drinks and tiny refreshments were passed around, one of them was this rose flavored Sahlab.

The desserts buffet section was another story all together. There were two cakes in particular that were mouthwatering. First, the flake cake!

Mamma mia!

And this wafer like concotion with chocolate oozing out of everywhere.

Or these egg shells filled with something creamy and yummy. I wonder if these are real egg shells?

When Mr. Bailey arrived there was quite a commotion where everyone rushed to greet and take a picture with him. I couldn’t get through the crowds sadly so I’m stealing Pink Girl’s picture of him. I told you pink that I would.

Then it was time to leave, and as I was heading to the door I couldn’t resist one last shot of the beautiful Kuwait Towers.

The evening was quite a spectacular affair! We had fun and enjoyed the buzzing atmosphere, the distinctive Lenôtre party food, and November’s breathtaking decorations. Thank you Lenôtre and MMC Kuwait  for extending your invitation.  

Review: Pizzetta’s Breakfast Menu

Good morning! Have you had breakfast yet? If not, you might want to read this post before you do then. Yesterday we were invited to try Pizzetta’s new breakfast menu. Pizzetta being one of my favorite restaurants in Kuwait meant I was willing to wake up on a weekend to try their breakfast menu. Location? Their newest branch in Al-Bidaa area.

The restaurant from the inside is spacious and has the same modern design as their previous two branches. Personally I think this branch is their best designed branch interior design wise. Its beautiful and modern and I would like to move in there and make it my home.

As we settled down we got the menu and the breakfast section was at the very first page.

We chose our dishes and waited for the breakfast to arrive while I took a few shots.

For drinks we had a black Americano.

And this Banana & Coffee smoothie that is extremely good! I’m having that the next time I’m there for breakfast again for sure.

Some of the breakfast items we ordered and some were shared with the other bloggers on the table. My order was pancakes which came with a side of strabwerry dipped in dark chocolate and on a butterscotch like sauce.

My husband’s order omelette stuffed with spinach with a side of toast and a tomato.

On the table were various items to share. For example this very delicious cheese and herbs pizzetta.

Mushroom pizza.

Margarita pizza.

A turkey sandwich.

There were many more dishes to choose from. If I had anything to complain about it would be that they need to add a description to the breakfast dishes in the menu instead of having only “Sugar Rush” or “Morning Crust” plus maybe add some scrambled eggs. Maybe with scrambled eggs with truffles and cream? Or some blueberry pancakes In a nut shell, if you are a fan of Pizzetta and of Prime & Toast you will not be disappointed with Pizzetta’s breakfast. Thank you very much Pizzetta and Khalid Dashti for the invitation, we really enjoyed our breakfast.

Pizzetta’s new branch is located in Al-Bidaa area. For directions and more information you can check Pizzetta’s website (link), Facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@Pizzetta_) or instagram (@Pizzetta_).

Upper Crust Pizzeria’s Second Branch Opening in United Tower

One day last week an invitation arrived in a form of a miniature pizza box. It was an invitation for the opening of the second branch of Upper Crust Pizzeria in United Tower Kuwait City. Upper Crust, if you didn’t know already, is an American pizzeria franchise that opened its first branch in The Village earlier this year and has since become a popular hangout place in Kuwait.

So on Thursday night at 7:30 PM we were on our way to Kuwait City to check out the new Upper Crust branch. If you don’t know which one is United tower, its the tall new building with the flashing lights in the picture below right across from Al-Raya complex and a few meters down the road from Al-Hamra mall.

I always thought that the United Tower was beautiful, its lights mesmerizing and quite fun. It wasn’t until I actually set foot inside that I realized exactly how beautiful it is masha2 Allah. Its simply stunning!

Upper Crust’s new branch have an outdoors seating area that spills on a secluded courtyard with a decent view of Kuwait city’s towers and skyline. This would be a one fine spot to hang out during the good weather season in Kuwait.

Upper Crust’s second branch is smaller than their first one in The Village yet its well designed and cosey.

 

This glass corner for two is very cool!

When we arrived we were told we can make our own pizzas! Dear Ansam had already done hers and I saw her wearing a chef’s hat watching Upper Crust’s chef flipping pizza dough in the air while waiting for her own pizza to get out of the oven.

And here is Ansam’s mushroom pizza… looking good, well gone girl

My husband decided he wanted to have a go at the pizza making and he had a blast! Now he cannot stop talking about it. This is him preparing and placing his onion laden pizza inside the oven.

While we mingled and chatted other guests up trays of food and drinks were passed around and the contents were quickly disappearing.

Then my husband’s mushroom and onion pizza was out of the oven, hot and ready to be devoured.

A frosty cup of coke completed the meal.

Thank you Dana Al-Salem and Lujain Al-Fulaij for extending the invitation to attend Upper Crust’s second branch opening. The new branch is spectacular and the event was a blast! Congratulations again and best of luck!

Upper Crust’s second branch is located in the ground floor of United Tower, Kuwait City. For more information or for home delivery of Upper Crust’s Pizza you can check out their website (link), their facebook page (link), their Twitter (@UpperCrustKwt) or their instagram account (@UpperCrustKwt). And yes, they have home delivery for sure and via 6alabat.com

Marie Claire Kuwait’s Orange Cover

I remember when Marie Claire Kuwait was first published I was beyond excited given that its one of my favorite international magazines. After reading the first few issues I was disappointed as I couldn’t identify much with it and it was a far cry from Marie Claire UK and USA so I stopped bothering. Then earlier this year I think it was in April I was in the hair salon with nothing but a Marie Claire Kuwait to entertain me and I was amazed by how different it was. It really came through and I was flipping the pages eagerly. I was so happy with the issue I read I subscribed with them at once. I think that was in May.

I have had problems with the magazine delivery. The first month it almost didn’t arrive at all. Later on it would arrive but it not on the first or even the fifth day of the month, rather on day ten, but I always feel good whenever I see the magazine on my doorstep. This month however something new happened, the magazine came in an orange protective bag like cover instead of the usual clear plastic barely there protector cover.

Why is that exciting? Well, its a new thing and new things always mean an evolution to a better service. Plus, when I ripped the bag open I thought I’d see some promotional freebie inside the bag. There was none but still the existence of the bag means there is a possibility there may be something in the future!

Why not? In the UK and USA all magazines come with freebies: an eco-friendly shopping bag, a bottle of nail polish, mascara, chocolates, sachets of hot chocolates, earrings, a small book, a hair accessory, etc. etc. I’ve never picked a magazine without some sort of promotional give away and its FUN! Even if its a small thing, it is still fun! Even the little pages with samples of perfume you get to smell is fun. We don’t have something similar yet but now this orange bag may, just may, mean that Marie Claire Kuwait would start that trend especially given that Kuwait is swarming with little businesses and talents that would benefit from such promotion. It can be as a start for subscribers only instead of everyone and its about time I’d say. Can’t wait to see if this is the case.

Letters to the editor section and the best letter/email to the editor and winning something like a featured beauty item won’t be a bad idea either. I always enjoy that part in Marie Claire UK/USA.

Things 2 Do in London: Selfridges Daylesford Rooftop Cafe & Golf

If you are going to be in London before 30 September then you are in for a treat, for Selfridges department store had transformed its roof into the “Daylesford Organic Cafe & Golf”. A perfect place to hideout and enjoy a nice afternoon English tea in bustling Oxford street.

A dedicated elevator within Selfridges takes you directly to the roof where the cafe is held. I love the green and baby blue palette of the design, very summery.

Getting off the elevator and through a long fake grass carpeted corridor with lot of hanging flags to the cafe. Check out the cute bunny!

Check out the wall decorated with strawberries and golf balls.

And finally out on the roof to the cafe, an open space beautifully decorated with a cool summer breeze rippling between the tables.

We arrived during around dusk and therefore the sky had a dark bluish glow but it was beautiful still. This is the view from Selfridges top.

If you want to play gold, you can go straight ahead through instead of going to the cafe.

The rooftop golf course is separated from the cafe by a classic London phone box.

Exhausted and laden with our shopping bags, we sank into our seats and scanned the menu. We really wanted to have their afternoon tea but we were still too full from lunch 7safa So we opted for a Cappucino, an Earl Grey Tea, and Fresh organic Strawberries with cream.

The strawberries, these succulent juicy organic British strawberries. They taste ever better than they look

Pouring the freshest double cream on top, mamma mia!

It was good. Lip-smacking good. The perfect post-shopping pick me up before heading home and crashing for the rest of the day.

My only regret is that I left the London before trying their afternoon tea or having lunch there, a couple on the table next to us ordered the afternoon tea and it looked delicious! If you are lucky enough to be in London before September 30 I would recommend you stop by for a light fresh lunch or an afternoon snack. Take a look at their menu from the Selfridges website (link).

For more information about The Daylesford cafe on Selfridges roof, you can check Selfridges website (link).

Movie Review: The Imposter

I was waiting in my cinema seat in the UK waiting for The Dark Night Rises to start and the trailer for the movie “The Imposter” started playing. While watching the trailer I realized I wanted to see it very much especially since I knew it was based on a true story and therefore I did.

The Imposter is about a 13-years-old teenager from Texas named Nicholas Barclay who went missing in 1994. 3 years later his family gets a call from the police stating that some 16-years-old kid was found in Spain claiming to be Nicholas. His eldest sister flies to Spain to get him and the family is very happy to have him back until an appearance of him on TV causes a private detective to doubt his story and tries to uncover the facts.

The story is indeed incredible. The guy, or the imposter, later identified as Frédéric Bourdin a mysterious Frenchman who had actually flown to America to pose as Nicholas and seemingly succeeds. What I didn’t like about the movie is that it was like watching a History channel documentary with the family of the missing boy and Frédéric talking to the camera explaining the events as they develop. I didn’t understand that it was indeed a documentary when I saw the trailer. I was a bit disappointed but quite intrigued indeed for this wasn’t any boring old documentary and it did came with quite a twist.

Would I buy it on DVD and keep it in my collection? No not really. I’ve seen it once and its enough. Its not a bad movie, its just the thing you can see on TV once and there would be no need to see it again. Its fascinating but not that earth shattering. I’d say if you want to know about an amazing tale, wait till its shown on TV or something and do watch it then.

Zafaf Magazine’s Annual Subscription Offer

Zafaf Magazine has a new annual subscription offer with Rasha Al-Hejailan, the author of the “The Women in My Life” cookbook I’ve posted about before (post).

If you subscribe now with Zafaf magazine for one year, you will get a copy of The Women in My life which is a very heartfelt cookbook created by Rasha Al-Hejailan as part of a project to collect recipes from various friends and family members in an effort to reconnect and combine those recipes. Plus, part of the book’s sale proceeds go to two different charities that help children in need. One is ‘Helping Hands KSA’ a local charity in Saudi Arabia that directly supports underprivileged children. The other is a newly established pediatric care department at ‘Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI)’ in Kuwait.

To subscribe with Zafaf Magazine you can contact them on their website (link) or on Twitter (@ZafafMagazine).

Things 2 Get 4m London: Kellogg’s Biscuit Moments

When I was in London last month TV ads about the new biscuit moments by Kellogg’s kept popping up on TV so I looked around for it and I found it in Boots.

If you are a fan of Pop tart you will love this 98 calories packet of two biscuits for each of them tastes like a pop tarn and comes in two flavors: Blueberry or Strawberry.

When I tried them I loved them so much got myself a big stash for my use from the UK for I know it wasn’t available yet in Kuwait but I think it will be soon because the box has Arabic writing on it. Its suitable for vegetarians as well. Here are the nutritional information.

The biscuits are wafer thin, sweet, crunchy, and you can easily eat only one (49 calories) and be satisfied with it for a snack.

Personally my favorite is the strawberry one. Its tastes exactly like the strawberry pop tarts I used to consume like mad once upon a time. Perfect as a breakfast on the go if you are in a hurry with a cup of steaming coffee.

I looked around Kuwait and TSC for it and didn’t find it so I don’t suppose it made it here yet but I don’t expect it will take that long. Its really tasty especially the strawberry.