Sophie's Closet

Yesterday morning I placed an order on the Sophie's Closet website.

They have so many pretty things that a girl could ever want, it was difficult to choose!

 

I browsed for a while and came across something that I had always wanted...Bump Up Instant Volume inserts for hair.

What makes Sophie's Closet even better is that I ordered it yesterday and it came today! I used the cash on delivery option as I never use my card online. I was called before they arrived and a lovely delivery guy wearing PINK gave me my package. The packaging is really cute too...

You are beautiful!

I love big hair! Since mine is quite silky it is hard to get a lot of volume so the inserts were perfect for me! I really love this product as it gives the right amount of volume for my hair and is very easy to use. They also have different colours to match your hair colour. I will definitely be using these for my next party.

 A few other pretty things caught my eye on the website...

Amrita Singh Pave Turquoise Lapis Drops 420Dhs

Dannijo Gold Amara Earrings 1250Dhs

Dauphines of New York The Siren Headpiece 395 Dhs

House of Harlow Tribal Wrap Ring Black White 285Dhs

Kenneth Jay Lane Emerald Key Necklace 465Dhs

Vintage Chanel Mlle Coco Pearl Earrings 3690Dhs

I will be ordering from Sophie's Closet again because I just can't resist elegant and beautiful pieces!

Ladies get sparkly!

Sample Central - Festival City Dubai

I visited the new store 'Sample Central' yesterday. If you have not heard about it it is the store where you get products for FREE! Well you have to 'pay' for the products you take by reviewing it. Simple!

I registered online at Sample Central then filled in a few things about myself. I booked an appointment to go into the store which is conveniently located in Festival City. When I arrived I paid 100 dirhams for my membership for a year.
A group of us had to wait till the store opened at 5pm. We were then escorted in and they scanned our membership cards and gave us a shopping basket. We were then free to roam around the room testing out products and choosing the 5 products we wanted to take home.

You start with Bronze membership which entitles you to take five products home to review. Yesterday they had a few items you could take which did not add onto the five so all in all I took home 8 products. Some things were really useful but some things I just chose to make five.

                                  I took home:
                      Persil washing detergent
                      Some Swiss biscuits
                      Vichy cream set
                      Body moisturiser
                      Vichy Shampoo
                      Heinz tomato ketchup chilli flavour
                      2 packs of Tic Tacs
                      Canderel sweetener


You can try products in the store too which you must review. I tried the massage chair which was really relaxing and I made coffee using a new coffee machine.

Although some of the things I took were really random...it was free. There were other things too...hair dye, stain remover, deodorant, razors, crisps and so on.
Once I had all my products I took it to the till to be scanned, they put it into a bag and off I went. I actually nearly got my purse out to pay!
I think once I have reviewed everything I am free to book an appointment to go back to the store to try more products. It was a really interesting experience and I can't wait to go back! Now I am going to relax with a nice cup of tea and my Swiss biscuits!

 

Lulla's Upside Down Pineapple Cake

When I was younger my family moved to the Middle East (not Dubai) for a few months, but quickly returned to the U.K when we realised we could not hack it out there!
While we were over in the Middle East we discovered that the sweets and chocolates were not upto U.K standard and we were craving something delicious and sweet.
So my Auntie made us an upside down pineapple cake and her touch was to add chocolate sauce, which I have not stopped doing. I have changed the recipe slightly to make it easier for myself.

The topping:
Heat the oven to about 180-200C.
Mix equal amounts of butter and light brown sugar together (50g+) until the mixture is creamy.
Spread the mixture at the base of a cake tin and a little up the side of the tin.
From a tin take some drained pineapple rings and  arrange them on top of the mixture.
Then place glace cherries in the holes of the pineapple.

The cake:
Mix equal amounts of softened butter, caster sugar and self raising flour (100g+) with a a couple of tablespoons of pineapple syrup from the tin. Add 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla and 2 eggs.
Whisk it all together.
Spoon it out onto the topping in the cake tin and ensure that it is at and equal level.

Put it in the oven for 35 minutes and keep an eye on it! When you take it out be really careful and wait a few minutes before turning it upside down.

Ta da!

Yummy pineapple cake! 

I recommend you serve it with chocolate sauce but ice cream or cream would be lovely too!

I'm so proud when it turns out right!

This is how I love it!

This cake is much more elegant than the other recipe I have shared Lullas chocolate delight and I bet my Auntie regretted sharing it with me as she had to make it almost every other day when we were abroad.

Please try it and leave any comments.

Find beauty in everything

Dubai Ferry- Marina

Today I took a trip on the Dubai Ferry from Marina Mall.

There are two trips; one at 9am and one at 11am- I took the 11am trip. It costs 50 dirhams for Silver class and 75 dirhams for Gold class. As there were so many tourists I decided to take Gold class which allowed me to stand right at the front of the ferry for the whole hour trip. Silver class customers could stand at the back of the ferry, which was very crowded. There is also plenty of indoor seating and a refreshments stand.

The weather was perfect and many boats were out. We left the Marina and headed towards The Palm.

We went towards Atlantis Hotel and near Burj Al Arab.

The ride lasted one hour but it felt shorter. I really enjoyed being out at sea...it was so serene.
The ferry then turned back and went to The Marina again. There is another ferry at Al Ghubaiba which rides around Old Dubai, so I will be trying that one soon!
I suggest you try this ferry ride as it was really enjoyable and the sights were amazing!

Afternoon Tea on The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

Today I went for a spot of afternoon tea at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel on The Palm.

It was delicious!

One afternoon tea stands includes 4 gourmet sandwiches, 4 sweet treats, 2 scones and 2 cakes.

English Afternoon tea is priced at 105 AED and Ottoman Afternon tea is priced at 125 AED. We ordered two English Afternoon teas from The Sultan's Lounge!

Moroccan mint tea

Chocolate Leaf tea

 I ordered the chocolate leaf tea to accompany my food. Being a tea fanatic I was surprised that I had never heard of chocolate tea before. It tasted like a light hot chocolate which I will definitely try again!

Yum!

First we tried the plain and raisin scones that were served with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry preserve. It was so fresh and the scones just melted in your mouth. The Scottish nut cake and English fruit cake were also very light and yummy! By the time we had finished the top plate we were already full! But we carried on!

Next came the sandwiches: smoked salmon brioche; roast beef and mustard baguette; quail eggs and sundried tomatoes on white bread; grilled vegetables on focaccia. My favourite was the roast beef because the mini baguette was seeded and had loads of flavour! I did not really like the quail eggs, just because it was too creamy for me. I actually managed to finish all four mini sandwiches and moved onto the desserts...

The four sweet treats consisted of latte cotte with blueberry compote; strawberry tartlette; whipped milk chocolate cream brownie; summer pudding. The latte cotte was like a mint mousse which refreshed the palette after the sandwiches. The brownie was my favourite and really chocolaty, it went well with my tea! I could not manage to even taste the summer pudding because at that point I was ready to pop!

I would recommend you try this afternoon tea as it is really good value for high standard food! The hotel was lovely too and they had a harpist playing background music.

Loved her dress!

The hotel is located on the West Crescent of The Palm and on the drive home I managed to capture some really nice photos of the sunset...

Beautiful!

99 Names of Allah

Abu Hurayrah narrates: There are ninety-nine names of Allah, whoever commits them to memory would go to Paradise. Verily, Allah is odd [Allah is one and it is an odd number] and He loves odd numbers. (Muslim, No. 4835)

My aim by the end of the year is to memorise the 99 names Inshallah!