Thursday, November 26, 2015

How to: Epic & Easy Breakfast Ideas for Sleepovers

I am coming to you with this post on Thanksgiving Day because we celebrated early this year. We had our family over on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The last of our guests left this morning at five and my immediate family left for travel a couple hours after that. So, just like that, a home that was buzzing with activity and laughter is now completely silent.

It has been raining all day and very little light is coming in through the windows.

But all is well. I have been cleaning up, listening to the sound of water running through the gutters, and staying warm with many cups of green tea.

I want to share with you some of the breakfast ideas I used this week and some that I am saving for the next time we have family over. Now, with all the work that goes into hosting a large group of people and the general priority to give each person the attention they deserve, the last thing I had time for was taking pictures for the blog. So, I will be sharing images from the sources where I got each idea. You can obviously tweak each idea to your own preferences and make it as simple or extravagant as you like. Happy entertaining!

...Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!

No matter what our lives look like, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for :)

xo Aneela

ONE // The Waffle Bar
This is a really fun idea if you have a lot of kids over. We swapped the waffles for pancakes to save time because our waffle maker only makes one waffle at a time. It worked out great. You could also tweak this spread to create a parfait bar! Get the details for the one pictured below over at One Sweet Appetite.



TWO // Omelet Breakfast Bites
These are so simple, it's actually silly. Essentially, they are made in a cupcake tin by "smushing" tater tots into the base, topping with vegetables, egg and cheese, and popping in the oven. For specific instructions, check out RECIPEBEST.

THREE // 8 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Fast, easily accessible ingredients, and so adorable! Check out the recipe over at iowa girl eats. 

FOUR // Healthy Mango & Greek Yogurt Smoothie
This is a delicious breakfast smoothie idea that only needs three ingredients! No sugar needed! Check out diyready for this and 18 other healthy smoothie ideas!

FIVE // The Ultimate Bagel Buffet
Last, but certainly not least, bon appetit is the source for everything you need to arrange a beautiful bagel buffet. I just love customizable ideas. They allow guests to be creative and are accommodating to those pick eaters out there ;)

Friday, November 13, 2015

Mehndi Outfit Details + Random Chit Chat

Hey, it is currently 11:40 PM. I don't know why I always feel the need to tell you what time it is. Anyways, I digress. I just got home not too long ago and the insomnia has made a brutal attack. I just know I am not going to be sleepy any time soon even though when I was not at home, I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes.

Today has been the first weekend in a while that I have been in my city. I have been to St. Paul, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Toronto during the past couple of months. I did take pictures in each place with the intention to do short city guides on the blog, but I have to say, when I would get back from each place, I felt overwhelmed by all the tasks that had been postponed during my time away that I could not sit down to blog without going on a guilt trip (pun intended).

Now, that I've completed my ritual of, "Let's mope about why I haven't posted in 2 months", let's move on to the meat. Today I went to a mehndi (Pakistani equivalent of a bachelorette party?). It was nice. There was a surplus of toddlers present. I'm not complaining because those little ones are so much cuter than us adults. What happened to us? Did we actually look like that two decades ago? Sighhh.

So, when I got home and realized Mr. Insomnia had come over like an uninvited dinner guest, I decided I would write a blog post and took a few quick shots of the accessories I wore. I have since changed and have realized that I forgot my rings. Oh well.

I wore one of my mom's outfits from the 90's. I don't know if anyone can relate, but sometimes I get cravings to wear my mom's things. Things that she has worn and loved and does not wear anymore. I get this feeling like I am safe and nothing can hurt me because I am wearing her clothes or her ring or whatever. Please someone back me up here. Am I the only one?

Anyways, so the outfit is made using a special tie-dye technique that is native to a specific area in Pakistan that I cannot recall the name of at this moment. It is done on an ultra soft and supple material and is paired with a shalwar and a chiffon scarf. Since the outfit is fairly simple by Pakistani standards (if you are not South Asian, you will probably think it looks like a Halloween costume), I decided to dress it up HEAVILY with jewelry. I never wear this much stuff, so it felt a bit like playing dress up out of my Kindergarten teacher's toy chest. I was quite pleased with the end result and I believe the outfit looked modest and luxe at the same time.

Here are some photographs of the details. I hope you enjoyed this spontaneous post and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! xo Aneela