Eid Celebrations

The lead up to this Eid has been a whirlwind of activity, with our siblings on pilgrimage and helping to look after our cutey pie niece; the day literally snuck up on me! I'm fortunate enough to be home to run the errands on the last minute and finish my baking and prepare for Eid lunch. Just one of the perks of being a stay-at-home Mum, I suppose.

Its always such a wonderful day, and it's the significance of this day as much as spending time with loved ones that makes it really special. This year, the knowledge that my siblings were amongst the two million pilgrims added a different and more personal dimension to the days significance. It really felt as if we were experiencing this amazing spiritual journey with them. Our days were peppered with constant Watsapp messages and photos leading up to the culmination of their pilgrimage.

Our day in pictures:

Taking a break from kitchen duties

The husby and I... only photo opp at the end of the day!

It's a day spent running around visiting family 

Boys with their aunts.. family kids in the background

These two aunts babysat that tall boy when he was a baby!

Outfit details:

Dress by Kiss My Heels

Mesh top (made by me)

Nine West heels

Earrings by Lovisa

Woolworths embellished scarf

Sawants Headband  

Mango Sling bag

Chain belt old

Ciao for now,

RuBe xoxo

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Liebster award nomination

Hello beautiful readers :-D

I feel so honoured to have been nominated twice this week for the Liebster award by two lovely bloggers, Naeema from The Jam Jar and Faeema from The Sparkling Labyrinth. It's fitting too as I realised this week that my blog is a year old! Whoo hoo!!

This Liebster award makes me feel as if readers and fellow bloggers actually enjoy reading my ramblings, so thank you once again ladies!

The Rules:

1. Have 200 or less followers
2. No tag backs
3. You have to choose 10 bloggers to tag
4. Set 11 questions for those bloggers to answer

I think its a great idea as you get to know more about your fellow bloggers and they about you: 

So here goes, with Faeema's questions first:

1. How often do you read other blogs?  "At random times, but at least 3-4 times a week"

2. What is your favourite topic to blog about? "Fashion"

"EVERYDAY IS A FASHION SHOW,

AND THE WORLD IS YOUR RUNWAY.'

3. When do you usually write posts? 'In the mornings, when the kids have gone to school ;-D"

4. Your favourite social media platform? "Twitter!"

5. Recommend one blog that you personally love reading? "Lucky Loves"

6. Tag a fellow blogger who supported you in your journey as a newbie " Odette from O So Inspired"

7. What has been a highlight for you as a blogger? "Meeting so many lovely people along the way"

8. Describe your blog " Whilst my main topic is fashion, it includes so many other things that happen in my life. So I blog about things I do, love or find interesting"

9. What is your favourite book? " I love reading, so it would probably be one of my most current reads which left an impression. That would be the historical novel, The Kingmakers daughter, by Philippa Gregory."

10. Do you have any pets? " Yes, a cat called Twinkles"

And now for Naeema's questions:

1.While you are writing a blog post, which position is most comfortable?  "Sitting up, with the Macbook on my lap :-D"

2. What do you listen to while blogging? "Usually TV news for background noise"

3. Which beauty item is your holy grail? "Elizabeth Arden, 8 hour Face Sunscreen"

4. What's your favourite tv show? "Currently CSI and Fringe"

5. If you had to pick between a muffin and a cupcake, which one would you take? "Neither, I enjoy savouries, unless I could choose a savoury cheese muffin?"

6. How many times have you burnt yourself with a hot styling tool? Never, hardly use them, my hair is too limp *sad face*

7. If you could be any Disney character, which one would you be? and Why? "Ariel, The Little Mermaid. Because she made a huge sacrifice for love... I would sacrifice anything for my loved ones. I suppose that's the mom in me lol"

8. Horror? Comedy? Action? Thriller? Romcom? "Hands down HORROR!!! Although my husband aka movie partner would disagree."

9. Fill in the missing words: I would rather "hunt down a lion" than "eat oats! Eeeww "

10. If you could have anything made in your honour, what would it be? and Why? "Shoes! Do I need to explain how much I love shoes? Really?"

              "SHOES MAKE ME HAPPY. I'M SUPERFICIAL. WHATEVER"

11. Coca-Cola or Pepsi or ________? Coke Light LOL and only when we go out, I hardly drink fizzy drinks. I have to set an example for the kids to follow. Hence no fizzy drinks in our home ;-)

I would hereby like to nominate (tag) the following blogs for a Liebster award:

1. Odette from O So Inspired
2. Aneesa from The GLam Locket 
3. Imka from Glamorous Glitter
4. Farzaanah Xana Do Blog
5. Iptishaam from Stitched the Blog
6. Bronwyn from Mother City Mom
7. Charlene from Pretty Please!
8. Nicole from Princess Noo
9. Namreen from Life and times of the fireflies
10. Irina from I'll take it all

My questions are:

1. What is your favourite holiday destination?
2. Do you have a bucket list? If so, name one thing on your bucket list.
3. What is the one thing in your handbag you cannot leave home without? (Besides the cellphone and wallet)
4. What inspired you to start blogging?
5. Would you leave home without makeup?
6. What is your all time favourite movie?
7. What do you do to relax before bedtime?
8. Who is your hottie crush? (Mine is Hugh Jackman, followed closely by Ryan Gosling)
9. Your favourite item in your closet at the moment?
10. What is your favourite animal?

That's it! Lets get tagging....

Ciao for now, 

RuBe xoxo

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Floral Graduation celebrations

Last month my father-in-law achieved an amazing milestone, he graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy. He is an eternal scholar, an amazing role model and a wonderful dad and grandfather. He bears testimony to the age-old adage that one is never too old to learn; and embodies the saying: "The education of a man is never completed until he dies", by Robert E. Lee. Our dad inspires us to be the best that one can be and to continually seek self-improvement through knowledge.

I totally subscribe to this philosophy and will strive to pass this credo onto my kids, Inshallah (God willing). I can only hope to be as good an example as he is.

It was therefore fitting to celebrate his achievement at one of  his favourite restaurants, Pigalle. Since my sister in law and her hubby are in Mecca on pilgrimage, there were twelve of us (although they were sorely missed). It was an unusually chilly weekend for spring, and the previous night was his ceremony at the university was absolutely freezing! Brrr!!!

My choice of outfit for the evening was a floral Mango dress, with my imported leather jacket.

His first time at a fancy restaurant and he was so impressed! 

Dad and his boys

These two are growing past me!

Mom and baba

I wore:

Mango dress

Asos Jacket

Falke tights

Nine West heels

Mango sling bag

Scarf by Old Khaki

Witchery leather cuff

Sass Diva earrings

Pringle leather gloves

Ciao for now,

RuBexoxo

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Zando Blogger Breakfast #ShowLab

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the bloggers breakfast hosted by Zando at their headquarters. Upon arriving we were treated to omelettes made by the fabulous Designer Omelettes team who are based at The Old Biscuit Mill (another one of my favourite spots).

A quick background to Zando: they started a little over a year ago and have gone from strength to strength. I have always been pro online shopping, so when the Zando ads were flighted, I was really keen to see the offering. At first, a few pairs of shoes were available and nothing quite interested me, however, after a few months the offering had grown exponentially, along with my interest. I then became a regular to the site, and after making numerous purchases,  although the first a pair of wedges which didn't quite fit, I was hooked.

Their service is efficient; and whilst the delivery time was a bit longer previoulsy, it has now reduced from around 4 days to 1 or 2 days. I was even more impressed when I purchased some Decleor products at 3-ish one afternoon and by 8:30 the next morning the courier was ringing my doorbell to deliver! Now that's impressive! The returns process is also effortless, and only a call to their customer care is required and they collect... at no charge! A further BONUS, is that I can shop using my eBucks, and anyone who uses eBucks will tell you how amazing it feels to buy with something other than your cash , which acts like actual cash!!!

We were taken through different looks/ fashion stories by Zac for Spring and Summer, with key looks such as Sports Luxe and 90's youth still trending. Pastels also see a comeback and in contrast so does the grunge look,  for further details  on the fashion stories and more check out  the Zando website.

Thanks to Gennaro and Zac for an enjoyable morning!

Ciao for now,
RuBe xoxo

Leilah, Iptishaam, Me, Farzanah
Leigh and Sheri Lee -
Beautiful Bloggers

Gennaro doing his thing

How lucky were we to score shoes for mahala

Shoes, shoes and more shoes

Monochrome still looking good for upcoming seasons

Being a sneakerhead, these caught my attention

My outfit:

Country Road animal print jumper

ZARA denim shirt

ZARA jeans

Shoes own import

Forever New necklace

Asos studded slingbag

Ciao for ow, 

RuBe xoxo

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