Plucked Snippets

Sarah felt an onslaught of emotions, confusion clouded with fear. She was not sure if the news she just got, was good or bad, atleast it was better than the previous time.  Sarah was sitting in her OB-GYN ,Dr Z's office, with adjoined exam room. " It is a very positive path ahead. I will not tell you that it will be an easy journey, but it is not uncurable. The prognosis is quite good. You still have good chances of a healthy pregnancy if you follow the regime of meds, exercise & diet seriously. I will be calling you on timely follow ups, to keep your progress in check" Dr Z, patted Sarah's hand in reassurance. Sarah smiled after what felt like a really long time. She recalled her previous visit and the circumstances she had to come to the hospital, where she learnt that she just suffered with a miscarriage. She felt so lost. She always had irregular periods and didn't pay much attention to her having a missed cycle.Sin her teenge years she had a substant...

Hey you guys! today I'm reviewing When life gives you Lululemons by Lauren WeisBerger, as I somewhat promised on Instagram two days ago. Kris Berger is the author of the infamous The Devil wears Prada. I tried to review it with as less amount of spoilers as possible, but still, spoiler alert ( no major ones though). This story revolves around Emily who you know from the Devil wears Prada, as the ex personal assistant to  Miranda Preistly, legendary fashion editor of The Runway magazine, now running her own image consultant business boasting a roster of some high profile Hollywood celebs. Emily has zero filter whatsoever and at times you will find her blurting out the most outrageous things that you were thinking about!  She has found herself in the suburbs- desperate, but why?  Karolina- a previously world famous model and former face of Loreal- now  wife of a US senator with aspirations for being the country's  president in the near future . Miriam ,wh...

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has become one of my favourite authors since some last 6 months or so. She is a rom com author and her story plots are all twisty,but in a good way. You might be having a belly clenching laugh and experiencing a serious turns of events just a few pages later. If this sounds like the kind of stuff you might enjoy reading, you should probably read the review.  The book im reviewing today is First Lady (Wynette Texas 4), It is a standalone novel, published in  2000.  The first lady of United States is facing the trauma of the assasination of her husband, president of US, but she is still not free from the white house duties. Cornelia Case is tired of  following orders from her father since she was a a kid and being groomed for this future, her dad being the current vice president. She is carrying secrets and burdens of her own and wants to be alone atleast for a while,to experience the ordinary life but how is that possible with the e...

Before I continue with part 3 of travel diaries, discussing Kashmir in all its magnificient beauty, I took some help from Wikipedia  so that you can understand the region better. While Kashmir is disputed, each region is described as part of the country which has  de facto  control.  Pakistan has Gilgit Baltistan & Azad Kashmir region.  Azad Kashmir has a population of four million. It is a self-governing territory controlled by Pakistan. It borders the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir to the east (separated from it by the military control line between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir "Line of Control"). A devastating earthquake hit Azad Kashmir in 2005 centered near the city of Muzaffarabad. It was the eighteenth deadliest earthquake of all time and aid teams from around the world came to the affected region to assist in relief. ( more on the earthquake later). There's no railway...

I talked about rom-coms in my previous post & Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of the best authors whose work I will share today. This story starts with a man, a woman & her puppets (yes,puppets!) . Annie stages kids puppets shows with sensible Dilly, spunky Scamp & Leo, the baddest of all bad guys & has actual conversations with them in her head as well as sometimes out loud too. Theo writes chilling horror novels in graphic details & comes off as a total pretentious, cocky guy . Annie arrives to the Peregrine's Island, in the dead cold winter, down to her luck , broken & despirited with her red suitcase filled with her puppets. She is here to stay in the Moonraker's cottage and spend a specific amount of time there, much to her chagrin, due to a sort of condition that has been placed, for the cottage to be in possession of Annie. What she isn't prepared for is the scary looming Harp house above the cottage & it's mysterious dweller who ...

If you are a stationary fanatic and you love book merch, lucky day today, because I have some great places for you to score some amazing stuff! I have to have all Harry potter merch & collectibles and this Metallic Snitch bookmark   by The BlankPage is just hands down one of my favourites.I have my eyes on this one personally! They have a number of different types of bookmarks as well as notebooks, pens, enamel pins, pouches, washi tapes,sticky notes & whatnot! You name it & they probably have it all. The Pink butterfly studio -Their Kawaii rainbow Pompom pens look straight out of a magical candy land ,  they have other things like erases, adorable pouches & I'm totally digging this flamingo pouch , judge away all you want. The Blingspot Studio - Their chic, dangling Flamingo Bookmarks are quite something ,wax seal stamps are quite a rage with the stationary lovers ( I find the term stationaryphilics weird for some reason)...

Hey you guys, Im coming straight to the interesting stuff today.Let's discuss romcoms!  I have legit never read a single rom com during my decade and half life ( I feel really cool saying that, dunno why), and I'm happy that I read one now! It was one of those times I was looking for a new read & came across Susan Elizbaeth Phelps . I happened to read a couple of her novels & damn, that woman is loaded with the good stuff. Im not sure if I could actually do a spoiler free review because I can really not say much if without divulging a few good details. Crazy,insane,funny journey and not your usual smut filled romances, (pardon my French if I may say). Jennifer Cruise is another name on the list. Also this might sound a bit vague but I sorta got a hankering for oldies and blues after reading these two authors because their characters were fond of these songs Im on this rom-com lookout officially right now, will list out my favourites as soon as I can manage too. ...

So the anticipated  big day is here #Pakistangeneralelections2018. I'm not going to bore you by harping about why it's much more important this time, if you have a slighest inclination & interest in your nation's future collectively, & yours individually, I would say things are on the right track so far. Since Independence day is approaching in a few days too, I had a few things on my mind that I wanted to share.  Be the change you want to see in the world. Plant a 🌲. Conserve your local resources by  responsible usage of electricity & water. Vote responsibly, not just blindly voting the candidate of your caste which btw has done for a long time. Don't let yourselves be fooled over empty promises of the politicians, thinking that they deserve a second chance due to either their prison sentences that they claim were solely embraced for the purpose of nation's love, or because their mother/father/brother/sister were killed when their only crime wa...

So travel diaries II is here after much procrastination. In part 1 I talked about the initial prep so you didn't miss much, but if you want, you could still go back and give it a read. Now comes the fun part of when the actual travel starts. We opted for the train to get from Karachi to Rawalpindi/Islamabad, because we wanted a nice scenic view. It was almost a 26 hrs ride approximately. Greenline is a nice option if you prefer train over plane. So we started our journey from Karachi Cantt station at 10pm, had dinner around 11 and since we couldn't really see anything outside due to dark we slept around 12. Our inflatable pillows were a blessing right then, also a tip - you might want to get your own pillows (inflatable) and light blankets because otherwise you have a choice to rent them from the train but I mean, my OCD factor kicks in then and I prefer my own bedding. We woke up for Fajr, prayed in the train, a fun fact or not so fun fact is the washrooms where the noise le...

Hey you guys! I realize it has been a long time since my last post, but Im back with stuff which you will hopefully enjoy, fingers crossed! I have been planning a family trip to the colder areas of Pakistan ( I did'nt say northern because these areas are not actually strictly only in Pakistan) for quite a few years but unfortunately it was always something or the other & the plans always ended up cancelling. But finally, this Ramzan ,May 2018, after long planning, we decided on a 10 day trip to Kashmir & few other areas . Now 10 days don't sound a lot, but you will actually get to know  how much we actually experienced in that time period.I will break this travel diaries post in a few parts,starting from prep, which will be helpful for you to decide on what and how to pack, packing lightly somewhat, and tell you all the fun and useful tid-bits incase you plan these locations for your next trip. So starting from Clothes . The temperatures were obviously lower than Ka...

Wishing Ramzan mubarak now would be quite late , since we are more than halfway through it, but regardless, may you have a very blessed Ramzan In Sha Allah. Now we all once in a while, during ramzan  want a little something different & extra for Iftar ( the time when Muslims break their fast). If you are new to the blog or haven't yet figured it out, my favorite food groups are of vegetables,beans, lentils variety & hence alot of recipes shared here will be based upon them. I whipped up a super quick & healthy recipe which hopefully you would enjoy! CHICKPEAS SANDWICH Ingredients: Chicpeas- 1/2 cup boiled Salt Black pepper Greek Yoghurt/ curd-2 tbsp Mayonnaise- 1 1/2 tbsp Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp Green olives (2) Cucumber- 1/2 of a medium Bread ( your choice of white/brown/multigrain) Toppings: You can choose from Lettuce,tomatoes,shredded carrots,cheese or a dip sauce for an extra spicy kick I only put crisps on the layer, whi...

When faced with a hurdle, test or a difficulty in life, you try to tackle it by giving your best shot. Coming out a winner on the other side is what everybody wants, but what if u can't get the anticipated results? The test that you crammed for day and night endlessly, but failed to score on? That opportunity that you thought of, as a step toward achieving your dream job, just vanished in thin air? That career promotion you worked for, ended up in some body's lap, who wasn't worthy of it by your perspective? Worldly competition diverts you, Until you visit the graves (Surah Takathur, Chapter 102) We all like to line our ducks in a row, but things don't & won't go our way. We might find ourselves reflecting upon, if its meant for you,you will get it, and then accepting that which is not. At different times in our life, the definition of success can vary. In your school days it was just scoring good grades, getting your favourite toys, your teens w...

Heyaaa there! So I don't know how many of you bibliophiles actually do this, but like a mandatory new year's resolution, a Tbr (to be read) pile/list is something very commonly made by book lovers all around the globe. I haven't been making one consciously and to be honest I already have a couple of books I haven't finished yet, but yet, here I'm with a 2018 tbr list. Now before I list them out, there is a teeny bit problem of books availability in Pakistan. A little side note to all the non-Pakistanis with  pre conceived notions of how Pakistan's if they even read ; aren't they all like scheming terrorism plots, and that's what keep them busy ( sorry I don't mean it in any offensive capacity, just hate it when people already have opinions without actually researching about it), yes we read & study, infact Pakistan has a 60% literacy rate according to 2016 survey. Anyhow, back to the topic. We have a huge number and variety of books and autho...

Hey you guys! I have so many post just sitting there in the draft box there and I cant decide what to post. I then had an idea about posting something Ramzan related. Its such a special, holy month for Muslims all around the world, its just amazing how everybody just comes together for each other & try to put their best efforts in putting good deeds forward. I personally think that every year, you can make a difference by planning a bit in advance for the coming days. We all know that food is an important part of of it too & not just because of how can you say no to all those samosa & pakoras, & chilled drinks especially after long parching days of summer, but primarily because of the importance of Iftar religiously as well. The kind of food that you eat for suhoor and iftar are important because they will be responsible for holding up & replenishing your energy levels during your fasting state & for after you break the fast. I was for a long time looking int...

So with so many health related stuff out on the internet, there are still some myths, which I will list out here, and yes, it includes some I have grown up believing in for 2 decades! Food myth: Cranberry juice can cure a urinary tract infection  There’s no actual proof that cranberry juice or supplements specifically can treat an infection, the right way for curing   UTI   that it should be medicated with antibiotics. But drinking the juice or taking supplements regularly can prevent such infections in the first place because compounds in the juice stop infection-causing bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall.  Butter or Margarine? Butter and margarine have about the same amount of calories.  Whats the difference, you ask? Well, margarine  was originally created as an affordable butter-alternate in the 19th century, which was then made with animal fat, but most brands have done away with this ingredient. b utter is t...