June 30, 2011
La Cure Gourmande: Paris France
On our way to the Sacré Cœur Basilica in Paris France we passed by a nice place selling biscuits, caramels, nougats and lollipops called La Cure Gourmande. What initially caught my attention were the piles of colorful tin boxes that I knew my mom would love, she usually reminisce over the nice tin boxes the biscuits were sold in back in her childhood, so we went in to check it out, this is our first time in Paris so I’ve never been this place before and I swear the smell of the biscuits was insane, I was standing next to the biscuits and just by smell I can figure out which biscuit was made with what, such as the amazingly aromatic orange blossom biscuits! They had one made with almonds, figs and so much more! They had rose-water flavored nougats, and super soft caramels, they all smell and taste so good!
I’ll leave you with the shots we took from the place, we found two more branches of La Cure Gourmande while we were in Paris, one was in Rue Rivoli I believe, and the other was in Orly airport.
June 20, 2011
White by Vera Wang Fall 2011
Following the debut collection of White by Vera Wang in Spring 2011, Vera Wang reveals the latest collection for Fall 2011 which brides will be able to preview on david’s bridal on June 22nd 2011! The collection now includes bridesmaid gowns, shoes, and hair accessories for both the bride and her bridal party. The collection is still reasonably priced and the bridesmaid’s dresses retail for less than $200, while the shoes are priced under $100! I think the Spring 2011 collection had dresses that are closer to her own bridal collection while this Fall 2011 collection seems to steer in its own direction of very simple and traditional white gowns.
This is what Vera Wang had to say about her own collection “It gives me great pride to be able to bring my designs to more women through White by Vera Wang. With the addition of bridesmaid dresses and shoes, I am excited to provide an array of romantic, classic and whimsical fashion for the entire bridal party.”
Here are my picks for the Fall 2011 collection of White by Vera Wang:
Luv,
Sara D.
The Bloggers Photo Competition
I found out from Danderma that a fellow blogger 7aji dude is hosting a cute competition in which bloggers get to submit their baby pictures and the first reader to guess all the bloggers wins. The last day to submit your baby picture is Thursday June 23rd, the pictures will be posted on Friday June 24th and the winner will be announced July 1st.
I’m planning on submitting my baby picture and look forward to trying to play the guessing game lol
Luv,
Sara D.
AlShaya Card Replacing Cash Refund
Looks like Alshaya Co. stores are changing their refunding policy, a customer shopping at their stores can no longer have the cash refund option as they are introducing “AlShaya Card” which will be used to load the amount of your returned items in them and it will be available to use for a period of twelve months at any of their stores.
I still prefer having the cash/refund option, but I guess the good side is if you are a fan of AlShaya Co. stores, you do have a wide range of stores to shop at during the year, but my advice to you, think twice before you make a purchase now ;P
What do you guys think of this new policy?
Luv,
Sara D.
June 15, 2011
Want to Buy Kim Kardashian a Wedding Gift?
Apparently Kim K’s life is not complete, not with the 20 carat diamond ring, and her sport’s star soon-to-be husband, her wedding registry with Kris Humphries has been released and it is one list that will break the bank! They have registered at Geary’s a luxury store in Beverly Hills that sells both jewellery and house ware, the list includes items from Baccarat that cost over $7000!
If you are interested in gifting the happy couple, you can view the list and pick your gift on their website.
No one can judge people and their choices, but since they are so blessed in life it would have been nicer if they had made a small donation to an organization they work with, since they can afford to get pretty much everything on the list, but still congrats to the happy couple!
LALIQUE vase on Kim's list costing over $4000
LALIQUE vase costing over $4000
Luv,
Sara D.
June 13, 2011
Gluten-Free Cake Mix
My cousin, who is on a gluten-free diet, told me about a cake mix available at Sultan Center that is gluten-free. While I was in the US I noticed that Betty Crocker had a huge selection of gluten-free cake mixes, brownie mix, and cookie mix which was perfect! So when she told me they have some at Sultan, I went to check it out, and it turns out what they had available at Sultan Center in AlSalmiya was from a different brand, a brand called Pamela’s Products, so I got their chocolate cake mix to try out. Since we it was my niece’s birthday, my sister initially wanted to order a gluten-free birthday cake from Sugar & Spice so that everyone can enjoy it, but because we got this cake mix I decided to go ahead and take the risk of providing my cousin with a gluten-free cake on my niece’s birthday *gulp* lol
I honestly was not so sure I can actually make this cake, I thought it would probably not be as easy as regular cake mix, but the instructions at the back seemed quiet similar to regular mixes, although at the back of the bag the instructions were to add 2 eggs to the mix, but if you prefer your cake lighter you can add a 3rd egg, which I did because I do like cakes to be light and fluffy.
I also cut down on the amount of oil the asked for, I hate to use too much oil and 1 1/4 cup of oil is just too much, anyway it also says that you’re not supposed to over mix it so once all the components began to blend in I stopped the mixer, the result was a very watery cake mix and when I poured it in the pans I noticed a lot of bubbles forming but I went ahead and placed it in the oven.
Thankfully it came out GREAT!! It is by far the best chocolate cake mix I have ever used, and it is so rich and moist, I told my cousin I was leveling the cake, and tasted the crumbs lol and it was soooo good!! And I’m not a big fan of chocolate cake unless it is McCain lol I’m actually surprised because normally gluten-free products are horrible 
especially the toast! But this is a great product and I hope Sultan Center always has available at their branches, or else I will need to stock up!
What was available at Sultan Center AlSalmiya was Brownie mix, chocolate cake mix, and pancake mix from Pamela’s Products, but my cousin later sent me a picture of shelves full of Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mixes and all! I’m glad they have those to, next step to try out the Betty Crocker ones and I will update you guys with a post, as for now I will leave you with pictures of the chocolate cake mix by Pamela’s products.
It came out perfect, dark, and moist!
The Betty Crocker Gluten-free range
Luv,
Sara D.
June 12, 2011
Ideas to Make Your Punch Bowl Pop
I have posted about this previously a couple of times, but I just wanted to share step by step pictures of how we usually add simple details to our punch bowls for every party we host. For my cousin’s baby shower and my niece’s recent birthday party we used minute maid lemonade/pink lemonade and added rose syrup ice cubes with rose petals in the ice tray.
For my niece’s birthday, I could not find pink lemonade, so I just got the regular minute maid lemonade and because the rose syrup is bright pink it quickly turned the lemonade into pink 
Regular Minute Maid Lemonade before adding the rose petal ice cubes
Creating colorful rose petal ice cubes
Before adding the rose petals to the ice tray, make sure you lightly wash them and add a cap full of vinegar while washing them.
An assortment of rose petals makes a colorful punch bowl
Mix the rose syrup with water and add it to the ice tray
my mom made this by using loose rose petals and placing them in the shape of a rose in a plastic cup and then let freeze!
After placing the ice cubes, the lemonade gradually turns pink
So pretty!
We also made Sangria sin alcohol for my niece's Dora theme birthday party, we went all Mexican for her fiesta! 
Our version of non alcoholic sangria was made using hibiscus leaves, a bit of vimto and pomegranate juice and then sliced some oranges, lemons and apples. Did you know that the name Sangria means blood in Spanish? And is used to describe the dark bloody shade of this particular drink usually made from red wine.
Hope you enjoyed our variations of party drinks, and do share your ideas and tips with me…I’d love to hear them!
Luv,
Sara D.
June 9, 2011
The Chronicles of Dathra, a Dowdy Girl From Kuwait: A book Review
Available at Fifty Two Degrees
The Chronicles of Dathra, follows the events of a socially awkward girl in Kuwait, Dathra, a young woman reaching the age where most girls around her are married and having children, finds herself struggling to fit into a society that constantly rejects her innocence and naïveté. She finds herself cornered and forced to face “mean girls” in her family who look down at her purely based on her fashion sense or lack of for that matter, her love life does not appear promising either, as she gets to meet suitors the traditional way and finds difficulty in finding a person that would accept her and her quirks. Dathra finds solace in food, using her cravings as an escape from the outside world that appears too difficult to deal with.
Dathra’s innocence and “Ugly Betty” qualities stem from her inability to deal with the real world, a world that took away her father, her childhood and is ready to tear her apart as well, her food eating habits are used as an armor to shield herself from society’s shallow expectations, and preserve what is left from her life as an innocent daddy’s girl. Even though Dathra appears to want to be married and find true love, the pressure from her family and society’s expectations appear to sidetrack her and distract her from living her life to the fullest. All of these events Danderma places in a humorous captivating style of storytelling, it’s a perfect summer read, Danderma explains that Dathra is a fictitious character, and I believe there is a Dathra in each and every one of us, that is why most readers empathize with her and root for her in most of the events that take place in her life as a dathra in Kuwait!
Luv,
Sara D.
June 8, 2011
Fifty Two Degrees Book Signing Event
Tuesday night, Fifty Two degrees held a book signing event I’m sure most bloggers and readers have heard about by now, so we (my friend Shaima and I) decided to go to support Danderma for her book The Chronicles of Dathra: A Dowdy Girl From Kuwait, the book signing event included several Kuwaiti writers and their works, including Ali M. for his book The World We Live in, Bashayer Cheragh for Shabah AlMathi, Hamad AlZimami Trateel, Mohammad AlKanderi Virginia 999, Laila AlGharaballi AlHadiya, Abrar Malek for Mama Anisa AlInsana, and Soud AlSabah S (a coffee table book).
We arrived at around 7:30 pm and the place slowly began to fill out, the writers took turns talking about their works as well as sharing with the audience their experiences and what lead them to writing these novels, of course that brought the topic and question of why don’t more Kuwaitis read/write these days? Which lead to a discussion of censorship and banned books, I loved Danderma’s point of view, she explained that as long as we do not have the freedom to read whatever books we choose, then we will never be able to write as freely. I agree, people should decide for themselves if they agree with a book and the author behind the book, we shouldn’t wait for someone to tell us this book is bad for us! Let us make our own choices!
All in all, it was a nice event and I’m proud of all the writers that were present that day, we do have local talent but unfortunately I feel that they lack acknowledgment and encouragement, so its good to have such events that celebrates their work and their presence in the art and literature scene in Kuwait. Good luck to them all, and hope we get to see more of these events soon inshalla!
I’ll leave you with some of the pictures from the event
The writers explain briefly their work and experience
Danderma signing my copy of her book 
The Chronicles of Dathra
Congrats Danderma
The Chronicles of Dathra: A Dowdy Girl From Kuwait is available at Fifty Two Degrees (currently out of stuck, but will have a new shipment soon).
Luv,
Sara D.
