The 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: Crate & Barrel

Say hello to the third part of the holiday gift guide! At this time of the year, several people look to either revamp their homes (most of the stores have promotions in full swing) or are moving into a new home. And that means new furniture! I love furniture shopping but hate going from one store to another if I can't find my ideal/dream pieces.

Crate & Barrel in Dubai makes it so much easier- I've spotted a few coffee tables, mugs and accessories that became an instant favorite. And to make things even better, they are offering 25% off on select furniture.

If you are visiting a friend who just moved into their new apartment or are looking to breathe life into your home, here are a few ideas.

Do you see the trunk shaped tables in the picture on the top left? They are actual trunks of acacia trees polished and refined to perfection. It's quite unique and my favorite. Look how fab those cute festive cups are. And those glorious candle holders? It is things like these that make up a room.

Support Breast Cancer Awareness With Jane Iredale

The month of October pays homage to breast cancer awareness. As a side note, I'd like to tell all my female readers to go in for regular check-ups. It's better to find a solution now before it's too late.

Several brands launch their initiatives for this cause and one such brand is Jane Iredale.

The American make-up brand celebrates its partnership with an educational organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer, with the launch of a mini travel sized eye-shadow palette.

Called the Bright Future Eye Shadow Compact, the mirrored case features 5 eye-shadows and an applicator. It is packaged in a beautiful box and as a small bonus, you get a pink Swarovski Elements crystal embedded on the case. 

All profits made from the sale of the Bright Future palette (worth AED 145) will be donated to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization. UAE readers can call 04- 447 7636 to make a purchase.  

*The product(s) was sent by the brand for a review. All reviews are based on my personal experience & outcome thereby presenting an honest opinion to the readers.

Dear Men...

So yesterday, I was at a friend's house for a mini get together. While in the midst of small talk (which I miserably fail at) one of my friend's friend decided jump in on the conversation I was having with another person. We were discussing watches, Microsoft's latest acquisition and eventually came down to PC gaming vs consoles. Since gaming is one of my favorites, I had a lot to say. I was interrupted by this person and he, quite skeptically asked me, "Oh, you play games? Which one?". He was so sure I'm not a gamer and possess zero knowledge on gaming. I mean, girls and PC games don't go together right? Wrong. Let me just say my 'a-slap-on-his-face' response to him ended with a "What games do you play? My Little Pony?"

It annoys me when people assume things just because I have mascara on my lashes and wear heels. I'm a gamer. I've been a gamer ever since I was little. My all time fav game is Warcraft followed by the Need for Speed series, Diablo 2 & 3, GTA, Quake series, Unreal Tournament, Halo, Devil May Cry series, the Tomb Raider series etc.  When I play, I play to win. I've been a GameSpot member ever since I can remember. I follow the E3 closely every year and attending the BlizzCon is on my wishlist. If you don't know what those are, Google it and gasp. I beat my brother and a male friend at a car racing game once. While playing a game, my heart beats louder when I come across an area that has a LOT of ammo available or when the lights in the frame begin to flicker.

 

 

I also love cars. I hate it when some girls say, "Oh, I love cars". Ask them which is their favorite and they respond, "Fast cars". Major facepalm. How about you talk horsepower, engine size, rims, miles et all and then I'll believe you're a fan of cars. Do you know what a run flat tire is? Yea, that's the kind of car talk I talk about. I'm not an an expert but I do know my car basics. I admit though, I do not know how to change a flat tire.

I'm a huge comic books geek. I love DC Comics' characters/superheroes more than Marvel Comics. I own two limited edition Marvel Comics books (the irony of it all) that I will never part with, ever. I love Batman and I think he's 10 times better than Iron Man (or any other superhero). If I had access to a comic books store in Dubai, you would definitely find me *living* in that place. Dubai needs a place like this- I'm not the only comics geek here. Sure, we have a Marvel Comics theme park due to open 2013, but a comics book store beats it- anytime, any day.

 

The Large Hadron Collider is something that piques my interest at all times. I read about CERN and their developments regularly, whether there's news or no news about the Higgs boson particle. I dislike the fact that I don't know people whom I can discuss/ share such info with and get their opinions on the same. I'm obsessed with ancient history. I study about relics, artifacts and historical monuments; they fascinate me to the core. I love the mountains and the surrounding areas more than beaches. In fact, I hate beaches. I love libraries. The bookstore at Dubai Mall is the closest I can get to doing something good with my time. I find a session at the Autodrome more exciting than a candlelight dinner. I'm a WWE fan and watched them live in Abu Dhabi (Raw World Tour). I think that The Rock is lame (save your argument for another day). I also feel that they should rethink about bringing that wrecking machine known as Brock Lesnar for Summer Slam- what, no other superstars available? I cannot stand movies that fall within the romantic genre. I find them boring and slow (yaaaawn- falls asleep)...did I mention boring? I will sprint out of the theater should I be forced to watch such. I hate 3D movies because I develop a headache 15mins into the first scene. I feel more for animals than I do for people. While watching a movie, I feel bad and at times cry when a horse goes through a bad time vs. the person who just fell off the horse and died. I love camping but am afraid of all the lurking bugs (yes, big scardy cat here). 

 

 

 I love to shop for watches and shoes more than clothes or makeup. I lament over a broken nail and love unconventional snow globes. I watch cartoons while having dinner and laugh till my stomach hurts while viewing The Big Bang Theory. I get awfully lazy at times and am scared to try a red lipstick (I'm pretty sure I can't carry it off). I have always wanted to color my hair a cobalt blue color. 

So, the next time you meet a girl with all the above interests- don't assume she knows nothing about video games. You'll get pwned. 

Fun Stationery

I don't think my love for fun stationery will ever end. Here's what I spotted on my colleague's desk.

Post-it-notes. This has such a 60s print

Wad of bills?

Not really. It's a note pad!

The Limited Edition Batman Accessory

I'm a huge comic books fan and even a bigger fan of Batman. I don't like any of the other superheroes from DC Comics or Marvel Comics the way I like  love Batman. This passion stems from the fact that I grew up watching Batman cartoons, the TV series and religiously reading the comic books.

Image credit: Dale Thompson

I have to thank my younger brother though- he was the one who'd stayed glued to the TV series and got me hooked on to it. We were obsessed with Batman...so much that we used to sing "nananananana Batmaaaan" and run around the house with bedsheets wrapped around our necks (that was a cape to us). We also managed to re-create Batman's mask by using our hands stuck to our faces (Batman fans will know this).

Fast forward to today and I'm still a die-hard fan of the caped crusader (so is my bro). So it goes without saying that I have a few customized Batman accessories including post-it-notes (that I made!) and also 2 original Batman figurines. I would like more. A fan can never have enough, right?

The latest installment in the Batman series and the final chapter from director Christopher Nolan is 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises'. I've been following the releases closely in terms of 'first look' at images from the movie, sketches and the trailers. All of this looks amazing and I can hardly wait for the movie to hit the big screen. And on that note, let me tell you what I discovered last week-

A Nokia x Batman special edition mobile phone. Don't you just love Nokia now?

Nokia Lumia 800 Batman Edition

Wait, it gets better. The phone, a Nokia Lumia 800 looks like a prop that would be used in the Batman movies. It comes in a black casing with the ever so recognizable Batman logo carved in by laser. And the best part of this? Only 40 of them have been manufactured which makes it a limited edition phone- so good luck finding one, I'm pretty sure they're sold out. The model was available for purchase ever since Dec 2011 and I find out about this now- pathetic. I doubt this edition is available in this region because the local Nokia website has no data on this.

I shall leave you with these images (all from Pocket-Lint.com; I am jealous of the reviewer who got his hands on it). If anyone wants to know- my birthday is not anytime soon but I am accepting gifts *cough* this specific phone model *cough.

They put in effort for a special box

That would be the 15th piece out of the 40 that have been manufactured

How sleek is this? That's the actual phone and not the cover/case

Why did Nokia have to release only 40 of these?

I do not care about the features. I just want this phone because it's Batman!

Fun Stationery

I was gifted this post-it-notes dispenser that comes in the form of a mini-handbag (and it's even got the croc print). The best thing about it? You can refill the post-it-notes when the default ones finish.

Stationery Love

I love fancy stationery. A lame notepad looks so much better and funkier when it's got a gold cover or blobs of colorful ink on it. Or when a pen has Louis Vuitton inscriptions on it.

I happened to stumble upon an interesting stationery store called Prints at Mirdiff City Centre. Apart from having notepads, albums, notebooks, telephone diaries all in different colors, they also had a few things that stood out of the ordinary like the bookmarks I purchased.

Aren't we all used to narrow long strips of hard paper called bookmarks? The ones I got can in different shapes! I bought 2 teddy bears, one snowflake and the other a glittered violet heart (yea, I know I sound like a teen). I also bought a pen that was twisted and had butterflies on it. Never leave me alone in a stationery store.

A Star

 I wish...

And I hope...

Oh, hello!

So here's the first post of the new blog. On this blog, I'm going to cover fashion, food, movies and everything in between.

Starting off with my latest purchase called the iPad2! I've never been an Apple fan. I remember years ago receiving (at that time) the latest iPod. I actually gave it to my brother because I didn't fancy it. That or any other Apple products. You see I'm a Microsoft fan. I'm pretty sure Apple is great in it's own league and you will write a list of things as to why I should convert to Apple but that's not going to happen anytime soon. Having said that, I bought an iPad 2 recently. I also ended up with a fashionable leopard print sleeve! How cool is that? I love leopard prints but I will leave that story for another day.

 So far, the device has been used to make notes, tweet, email and play Angry Birds. And of course, Instagram! I love this app but am pretty upset that Apple didn't pay attention to the iPad's camera/  megapixels. I'm sure you will agree, the device takes crappy pics- it's way too pixelated. You got a great device but sad camera- no, don't give me an excuse as to why the camera is below average. But apart from that, no complaints.


Time to go play some more of those Angry Birds.