Inspiring me lately

Motherhood

‘I know that these are the days that will occupy a huge part of my memories forever. I will look back on my life, and these days, when the kids are little, will be days that I ache for. I can already feel that ache, and the kids haven’t even grown up…When you have a baby, the fast forward button on the remote of your life is superglued, duct taped, and nailed down. It is happening — fast… Feel it. See it. Breathe it. Remember it.’

- What a beautiful reminder in this post.

- Loved this post on taking a little time for ourselves when we get ready and what it says to our kids and specially our daughters.

Food

- Love her recipes, specially as we try to bring more veggies in our dinners and eat more healthy.

Style

^LEFT Loving the printed kimonos all around. ^RIGHT via Forever21

- Modesty is beautiful and love this post on dressing with intention.

‘It’s a fine line—I know, I’ve been there—and it’s not a bad thing to want to look drop dead gorgeous. Whether you’re set to go out dancing with your girlfriends or hoping for a chance encounter with Mr. Right, could it be that wearing cookie-cutter clothes with the sole purpose of looking hot may perpetuate the cycle of not feeling attractive enough? …... Next time you are getting ready to go out for the night, try dressing with intention, instead of dressing for attention. Dressing with intention is not about denying the expression of your personality, rejecting your sexuality, or the countless other outcries against the idea. Dressing with intention allows you to move beyond the confines of merely “sexy.” What is it exactly that you want to say?’

- Inspired by this to makeover my home clothes

Home and Decor

^LEFT In love with the color of the cabinets

^RIGHT Absolutely wish we could add an extension like this to our home.

- Love this post via West Elm on how to make your gallery wall.

DIYs

- via abeautifulmess

- Would love to do this for Anya

Early Learning

- Found out about the KUMON workbooks through a friend and trying out tracing and uppercase letters with Anya right now.

Crafts/Activities for Kids.

- Had this pinned for a while and just tried this today. Anya loves it.

- After seeing a friend do it, we have been doing a bit of toddler yoga. Loving the experience. Here’s the YouTube link.

Faith

- Read these words somewhere and they resonated so strongly with me.

‘The bottom line is pray. If you’re tired, sick, emotionally overwhelmed – pray. If you’re on cloud nine and life seems perfect – pray. if you lack direction, pray. if you doubt that prayer makes any difference – pray. if the circumstances of your life are out of your control – pray. if the circumstances of your life seem well within your control – pray even harder. whatever you do – pray.’

- Love this ayah.

Clinking on the pictures will take you to the original sources and none of the images are mine.

Hope these leave you inspired. Thanks for reading.

Lots of love.

Inspiring me lately.

Hey beautiful people, here is the November edition of things that have been inspiring me. Enjoy!

DIYs

Clay pottery. I have to try this.

Adorable whimsical little bird.

Style

Two ways to style printed silk pants in colder weather.

Crafts for Kids

Love this adorable craft party painting plushies. Such a great idea.

Adorable little leather pouches for kids.

Décor

Family picture walls.

Elsie’s adorable Kitchen.

Photography

This cozy winter inspired Ruche Lookbook.

Motherhood

These words from a piece by Matt Walsh

‘Of course not all women can be at home full time. It’s one thing to acknowledge that; it’s quite another to paint it as the ideal. To call it the ideal, is to claim that children IDEALLY would spend LESS time around their mothers. This is madness. Pure madness. It isn’t ideal, and it isn’t neutral. The more time a mother can spend raising her kids, the better. The better for them, the better for their souls, the better for the community, the better for humanity. Period.’

Go here to read the full piece.

How to raise creative kids by my favorite blogger.

Women

‘Because she had a natural sense of modesty about her that has been stripped away by today's culture and we need to bring it back. .. We need to teach girls that modesty isn't about covering up our bodies because they're bad. Modesty isn't about hiding ourselves, it is about revealing our dignity. We were made beautiful in his image and likeness. So the question I'd to ask is this, how will you use your beauty?’ - Designer, actress and Christian Jessica Rey.

Love these words from this beautiful video that has been going around on the truth about bikinis and why to dress modestly.

Lessons every woman can learn from Jane Eyre to live well.

Love the introduction of this beautiful new magazine aimed at Muslim women, called Identity.

‘It is obvious that this magazine is for Muslim women, but I don’t want it to be like anything out there that’s targeted towards us. As in, I don’t want t to be the typical mélange of hijab styles, marriage tips, and generic Islamic advice. We have plenty of that out there, Alhamdullilah. I want Identity to be able to really speak to people and listen when they respond. I want it to be a dialogue. a complex dialogue. I want it to be about things relevant to us, large and small. Whether that is soul-searching, places we want to go, people we want to meet, clothes we want to wear, or who we are and who we want to be, identity is an attempt at reflecting every intricate layer within us. We are far more than what other people see in us – our religion, our headscarves or lack thereof. We are daughters, students, professionals, mothers, wives, and most importantly, human beings. We are even beyond both of those lists of definitions and what we simplify ourselves to be. Which is why I could never pinpoint to you exactly what Identity is all about. Because how do you simplify the life of a diasporic Muslim woman? You cant.’

Baby/Kid Fashion

Loving faux fur vests. (Left) from RUUM (Center) from Little Maven by Tory Spelling at JC Penney (Right) from Mini Boden sold at Nordstrom

Loving the new lines at JCPenney for kids specially Joe Fresh and Baker by Ted Baker. Definitely a must check out.

Being Muslim in America

Love this effort by a library system in Milwaukee to to fight myths against American Muslims.

Winnie Datwa, the amazing Egyptian-American fashion blogger.

Another Pakistan

this quick tour of Lahore from Vogue India.

This amazing product line out of Pakistan. Read the story behind this brand here.

An Indian-American’s writes about his trip to Pakistan.

None of the pictures are mine and clicking on them will take you to the source links.

Hope you are inspired and thanks for reading.

Inspiring me lately.

Hello Monday. Hello sweet people. Thought I’d give your week an inspiring start with some of the beautiful stuff I have been pinning.

Enjoy! 

Live Better

(Source)

On Marriage

Found via Pinterest.

Baby Style

(Top row) Little oxfords. Osh Kosh also has two adorable ones I’ve had my eye on, a metallic beige one, and this blue dotted one. 

(Bottom row) These toddler sunglasses <3 and beautiful sequin dress by Boden (also available at Nordstrom)

Raising Kids.

(Top row) How to expose your kids to different cultures.

(Middle row) And why to read multicultural books to your kids.

And another great read for the stay-at-home mom that is having a bad day, How to turn it around in these simple ways.

Home and Décor

(Top row) Left Loving the large prints displayed on a wire. Right Great idea, making a guest room cart for when you have friends/family staying in.

(Bottom row) Crushing on Beni Ourain rugs. Here are some resources for every price range, if you are looking for one.

Style

Left Silk tapered pants. Right I think its finally time to get myself some fringed Minnetonkas.

Halloween

Love these adorable and so creative handmade Halloween costumes for her kids. Make sure to check out the rest of her blog for creative seasonal décor and DIY ideas  

Pakistan

(Top Row) After the church attacks, Muslims stand up for their Christian friends in Pakistan.

(Bottom Row) Pakistan’s newest super hero, and lessons Disney could learn from her.

In the news

Why it is best that Malala did not win the Nobel Peace Prize. These are exactly my thoughts on the situation and also If you listened to this yet, you should right now. Malala Yousufzai on Daily Show with Jon Stewart

None of the images above are mine. Clicking on them will take you to original sources.

Thanks for reading.