Beat the chill -Updates!

Salam!
I sorted my wardrobe this weekend... and subhanallah I have 2 bin bags full of clothes for the swap/ homeless!
I hope to get as many girls involved in this so let me know if you are interested and definately spread the word!!
xxx

Breakfast!

Assakam wakaikum!
Breakfast is your most important meal of the day- we all know that!
One thing that I ve been missing as a revert to Islam is a fry up!
How very British of me!
But it's true that it is part of our culture and I like an occasional full Sunday brunch!
This is actually something that I also hear a lot from my non Muslim friends... Don't you miss this don't you miss that? Islam is portrayed as a restrictive religion, when in fact it's really not. We aren't allowed pork. But we are still allowed chicken, beef, lamb, and anything that comes out of the sea! We re not allowed alcohol- but how many other non alcoholic drinks are there in the world?
For each thing forbidden, we have a choice of other foods to choose from.
So this is where is goes back to my notion of breakfast! Turkey rashers and halal sausages! I had never had any before until last eid actually! And how surprised was I when I found the same taste as a non halal bacon breakfast!
They are many cafes and bars in Muslim populated areas such as tooting for example that will serve this sort of breakfast! This is a perfect way to invite your non Muslim friends to lunch/ breakfast and to open conversations about what Islam really is!
For those in the south west London area I recommend cafe max, on tooting high street! They also do nice lunches!
Let me share this picture of my brekkie yesterday! :)

The Fashion Edit: 12-09-12

Salam sisters!!

This fashion edit is a short one, I put together an outfit which I wanted to share as I really loved it and made from all clothing articles I owned prior to reverting!


I like mixing trends and clashing textures, so for this one I mixed lace with leopard print. To keep it quite soft, I stayed in neutral colours.

The top is lace, and though this one is from China, you can buy lace tops in every shop at the moment. Primark have some really nice ones.

The cardigan is from my mum actually, but again, this you can find in a lot of stores. What I like about it is that it covers the arms but reveals what you are wearing underneath, so it works great with T-shirts and tops with details on them.

The leopard print scarves are everywhere at the moment too, I saw some cool scarves today in Rocket and in TK Max.

The pictures do not show this very well but I am wearing beige palazzo trousers with the outfit. The belt is actually from the trousers, but I chose to wear it on the hips to shape the silhouette slightly. This is a question of shape and of taste.
 Sisters who wish not to show any form of shape would do well with this top otherwise, as it tight on the shoulders but wide everywhere else, making it less likely to make you look drowned.



I really liked how I tied the scarf as well... but not sure if I could do it again if I tried. It was really light and perfect for the lingering summer heat we are having this september.

Let me know what you think of it !!

xx

Salams!

The Fashion Edit: Accessorising your hijab

Assalam Walaikum sisters!

Today I wanted to upload a little idea I had a few months back. I have a lot of necklaces, when I say a lot, I mean a lot! But with wearing the headscarf, not that many are being seen or used anymore, so I've started wearing them on my headscarf!

Here's how to accessorise your hijab with a necklace: 

You will need :
Some curby grips and crocodile grips
A plain head scarf
A short necklace.

I used the headscarf as an under-scarf as well as a hijab so Alhambdulillah, it wasn't too warm under there either.
First you grip your first layer (under-scarf) on to your hair. Then position the necklace so it fall on the forehead where it was disturb your vision. Make sure it won't disturb/distract you in prayer either. Grip it in place with the crocodile grip, grabbing some of the scarf with it. Then carry one wrapping the pashmina/scarf around your head as you would usually. Tadah!

I'll try with different scarves and different necklaces, inshallah, and let you see the styles we can achieve!
For Eid, I wore a pale pink scarf with a silvery necklace as ornament, it looked really nice.

Until then sisters!!

Beat the Chill!

Salam sisters! Hello Friends!

The chilly weather is slowly going to creep up on us this month and many of us will be swapping over our summer wardrobes for our winter ones!

Each year, I end up giving a lot of clothes to charity when I do my swap over: clothes that are too big, too small (I wish) or which I never wear anymore. 

This year I want to put together a project that will involve all of you out there in an INTERFAITH project!

Let me give you a bit of background on this project: 3 years ago, in early december, A and I decided to reach out to the homeless by going around central London handing out christmas cards and a small gift. The idea behind that was to bring a sense of home and belonging to the unfortunate ones who do not have an address and therefore will not be receiving cards or gifts for the holidays. 

What we learned was that there just wasn't enough socks, gloves and scarves that we could give them. 

I really want to do something similar this year, the halal way of course, but involving our other communities, not just the Muslims!

So here it is girls : THE PLAN (Inshallah)

- Change your wardrobe over to winter/autumn mode. 

-Put aside anything you think you could do without, even socks, blankets or hats.

 (these must be in good quality- good enough to give as a present to a friend) 

The warmer the better!

- Spread the word to your friends, muslims, christians, jews, atheists any one is welcome to join!

- Come along to the swap shop ( SUNDAY 25th NOVEMBER) and have some girly fun, swap some clothes with other sisters. Address will be provided when you confirm your attendance to therevertdiaries @ yahoo.co.uk

- Anything you haven't swapped will then go to the homeless in London. Stay back and help with the wrapping. 

Teas, biscuits and cakes will be provided. 

- Join the team going out to central to hand out the parcels on SATURDAY 1st DECEMBER. Details on the day will come closer to the date but one team can hand out teas, another can hand out packets, and another can hand out sandwiches. 

-We will be followed/ accompanied by brothers for safety. I will get my then husband to lead a team of brother to collect donations too, so do involve your sons, husbands and brothers into this project. 

Come on girlies! Come on sisters! London has a heart, lets prove it!

Inspiring fashion

Salam Sisters!
I have found these really inspiring videos from a sister in the UK who has her own fashion blog.
I just wanted to share her talent and link you up to her youtube account.
Here is her Eid video

Salam World

Salam!
A new social network is starting to make ripples in the muslim world... SalamWorld, a hallal network for brothers and sisters!
I can't wait to see it come to life in the UK inshallah...
Check it out!
http://salamworld.com/home.php

On the theme of marriage

Found a short film I enjoyed watching so thought I would share it:

Love, Weddings and Marriage.

Assalam Walaikum Warahmatullah dear sisters.

I am sorry for the really long lack of updates and articles. I have been busy and occupied this month with so many different things.

A few of those things have led me onto a path of thought and self reflection upon those three words: Love, Weddings and Marriage. As close in appearance as these words may seem, they are actually 3 completely different concepts and as a sister, I think it is important to know more about all three of those.

To compensate for the absence, I will upload articles and videos following those 3 themes Inshallah, over the next month, and hopefully, guide myself and you my beautiful sisters into a peaceful and happy marriage, Inshallah.

First allow me to talk a bit about what’s been going on in my head. Last night, I went to as sister’s Mehndi night. It was a really nice evening with all the sisters chatting and dancing along, eating some yummy food and getting some henna done. But one of the parts of the party that marked me the most was one of the talks given by a sister. She spoke about marriage, and how to make the marriage work islamically. That both husband and wife must know their place and respect those rules for a smooth functional marriage.  She recommended a book which exists both for husbands and wives: Winning The Heart Of Your Husband/Wife by Ibraahim ibn Saaleh al-Mahmud.

A wedding, sure is a beautiful occasion, but the wedding party is superficial, and the real work needs to be put into the actual marriage. As an engaged woman, I can testify that you tend to focus so much on the wedding that you forget to work on the actual marriage which could end up in disaster. And if some of us marry for love, others marry and hope to find love, both being only achievable if a certain amount of work is put into marriage. Love isn’t what will make your marriage work. Love is sometimes what brought you together in the first place, or what grows in a successful marriage. This is a truth I have only recently learned through both experience and reading. No matter how much you love your spouse, it is going to take work to make it last.

But this isn’t me being negative, on the opposite. It is an adventure, where both side have to take risks, learn about the other person, adapt where they can but more importantly it is also a journey of self-discovery.

Here are some things to get us thinking:

-Don’t expect perfection out of your spouse, as you are not perfect yourself. Seek self-perfection first, look at your mistakes before judging your other half.

-Learn to speak their language. Most of us speak what we can call “an emotional language”. That is the way you express your love, and feel most loved in. Gary Chapman, a Christian couple councilor wrote a very interesting book about this called “the 5 Languages of Love”. It was recommended to me by a sister and have found it really helpful. Check out their webpage to find out what your language is: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

-Romance is what beginnings are made of. As time goes by, we might forget to let our spouse know how much we really do appreciate him. If he/she makes you a cuppa, show your appreciation. Any small gesture if appreciated, can go a long way. And make sure you keep doing the same on your side, little gestures of affection do speak louder than words.

Finally I recommend this series of videos from Lewisham Islamic Centre about marriage. Mashallah, they are very inspiring!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av3nHU1XfTs&feature=share&list=ULAv3nHU1XfTs 

Hope this can help some of you my sisters, these are my private musings, as you know researched in books and online so please do forgive me if I have made any mistakes.

Salam to all.

And Mabrook to all of you recently or about to be married sisters!!!