Happy Birthday Bowie!

My pretty kitty turns one today.

I've had Bowie since November of last year. My friend Z actually found him, and he was being abandoned on a road behind Nad al Sheba!

That's right. She found him as his previous "owner" was setting him down in a basket on the side of the road and driving off. She said that the poor thing was all confused and trying to run to get back into the car :( Bowie came complete with his tags, vaccination records and microchip documents.

I met Bowie when he was having a check up done and we were all so confused as to why someone would want to abandon such a sweet, well behaved cat. I'm not a very big cat person, but luckily Bowie seems to think he is a dog anyway so it works out great! Plus, this cat is (nearly) as emotionally needy as I am so it really is a match made in heaven!

Time On Me Is Wasted Time

Watkins - Black AM


Kings of Leon - Wasted Time


Cage the Elephant - Back Against the Wall

Get Out The Granny Panties, It's Laundry Day!!

(my babies..I keep all of my brushes in these cute little glasses that I got from Ikea)

Washing my makeup brushes is one of my favorite things to do. I love it so much that I have been known to ask my friends if they need their brushes washed so I have more to do! (Yeah, I know I have issues)

I try to clean my brushes like once a week or so, but I also try to deep clean them every few weeks.

Here's how I do it:

First I run my brushes over a MAC Wipes to get off any excess makeup. With my liner brushes, I like to swirl them in a few drops of oil to completely dissolve the gel/liquid liner residue.

Then I mix a few squirts of shampoo in a cup filled halfway with warm water. I swirl each brush in the cup and then rinse gently to get rid of any suds and until all the makeup runs off.
I try and make sure that I hold the brushes upside down because if water gets into the barrel it can cause it to rust or loosen and come apart from the handle. And I try and wash my big brushes, like my Kabuki brushes and blush brushes, last because these tend to soak up the mix and take a bit longer to rinse clean.

Then I squeeze out the excess water and spritz each brush with surgical spirit to disinfect it.

And finally, I lay them down flat on a towel and make sure to shape the bristles so that they don't dry at a weird angle. They usually dry in a couple hours and then I have clean, soft fluffy brushes!

(A small collection, but it's getting bigger!)

Recessionista tip 2

Goody Pillow Soft Rollers

Where you can find them: I bought mine at Life Pharmacy, so I'm pretty sure you can find it at any pharmacy.

Cost: 28 Dirhams for a pack of 20.

I saw these while I was waiting at the pharmacy and thought they looked interesting. Especially since I am trying to find ways to avoid heat-styling my hair. The instructions said that they can be used on dry hair, but I used them on freshly shampooed, slightly damp hair (after I applied my leave-in conditioner and serum) and left them in over night.

They were pretty comfortable to sleep in. I didn't sleep like I normally do but I think it's because I was just aware that they were in my hair. And I'm sure that after a few times I will barely notice them at all.

I took them down in the morning and they were completely dry. I ran my fingers through the curls to break them up a bit, but it was still a little too curly for my taste. It could have been that I used all 20 rollers. I think next time I will use less rollers and bigger sections.


The end results. Don't mind my ends, they've gotten pretty dry. I think it's due to the coconut oil I've been using, but that's a whole nother post ;)

Recessionista tip 1

I'm going to start posting some tips for the recessionistas amongst us. Basically letting you know about cheap products or deals that I've found throughout the city. Here's my first one!


1. Baking Soda

Where you can find it: any supermarket.

Cost: I buy mine for less than ten dirhams.

Uses: What don't I use baking soda for?? I mix it with my liquid body wash and use it as a gentle daily exfoliator. You can even mix it with your face wash and use it a few times a week as an exfoliator for your face.
I also use it with toothpaste to help keep my teeth white.
And I mix it with hydrogen peroxide and apply the paste to bare nails (especially toes) to help lighten them if they've become a bit stained from all the dark polish I use.
And I use it to polish some of my jewelry when it tarnishes. You can mix it with water (I use toothpaste sometimes if the jewelry is really tarnished) until it becomes a thick paste and use it with an old toothbrush. Then rinse the jewelry and let it air dry.

Here's a link to other cool ways to use baking soda!

75 Extraordinary Uses For Baking Soda

Happy Birthday Z!

Last night was my best friend's birthday.

We went out for drinks and food at Left Bank, Souq al Bahar. I tried the Roast Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese salad and it was amazing! Then we headed down to Alpha to see the Loose Cannons.

I'd never actually heard any of their stuff before, but I can now call myself a fan. The performance had a lot of energy and they are just a really fun band. Lot's of fun to jump around to. And they wore these crazy top hats (which, unfortunately I did not manage to steal before I left...well, there's always next time)

You can check out their myspace here:

The Loose Cannons

Alpha wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty quiet compared to how it usually was. And Left Bank was nearly dead, I've never seen it so quiet. It could have been that everyone was at the Rugby tournament, but I'm going to go ahead and be the pessimist and say it was due to the economic crisis.

Happy March!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very merry March.

March is probably one of my favorite months. Not only is it my birthday! (and best friend's and my mom's too yay!) but I love it because the weather starts to warm up just a little bit and the sun comes out a little more.

But mainly because it's my birthday month.

So happy March everyone!