Lemon and Licorice

 I love over-sized clutches and the fact that most of mine are all too glam to carry around for the day, I decided to masquerade this chartreuse laptop bag for daytime. I paired it with a lace maxi skirt and a yellow chiffon blouse, worn back-ways, as I wanted more volume on the back.
The reason this maxi skirt looks more like a midi, is because I've hitched it up and worn it as a dress inside. Like I always say, always focus on buying separates that you can get good use out of.

More about the laptop case, these come in great funky colors for summer and will be available at Shoe City in a week's time. I suggest you carry your laptop or record the size so you know if it's going to hold your gadget. Either that, or parade it like an over-sized clutch like I did! It comes with sponge padding inside so it's soft and will protect delicate compact cases tucked inside. Oh, and your laptop of course!

Laptop case- Ciro by Shoe City

Villa Mama's- Revealing culture through food.

All my faithful readers would already know my top 5 restaurants in Bahrain but just as a refresher, Villa Mama’s made it to my list back in June (here) last year where I couldn't help my self but blog about the delicious food.

Roaya Saleh, the chef and founder of Villa Mamas, is a Bahraini woman, who is driven by her endless passion of wanting to reveal our culture through food. Her dream was always to cook and serve Bahraini food using locally sourced organic ingredients in an inviting environment. This finally became a reality after opening her own restaurant, Villa Mamas, in Late 2011.

Today, Villa Mamas serves over 7500 visitors a month, and is known to be one of the most popular destinations to enjoy Bahraini food.  Villa Mamas is a restaurant where locals, GCC nationals, and expats can sit together and eat some of the very best food Bahrain has on offer.

Roaya, has over 30k followers on her instagram account @villamamas, and has recently been interviewed and referred to in Caterer Middle East as, “Carrying the flag of the local cuisine high, with ambitious plans to expand across the world.”

One of Roaya’s recent projects has been a collaboration with Executive Producer Julia Klein who with more than 20 years experience in international broadcast television agreed that it was time to take Villa mamas and Bahrain to the world.  Together,their goal was to create the first Bahraini lifestyle reality show on a global broadcast platform and then using international online platforms, to introduce Bahraini Food to the world.   

Julia used her extensive contacts with international broadcasters to make this happen and finally this project has been realized. With all the contracts and agreements now signed, Roaya is officially the first chef from the GCC to be featured on the foodchannel.com.  With a reach of between 12 – 15 million people throughout the world, Roaya has already taken the online channel by storm being promoted within one week to a headline banner, and reportedly increasing overall traffic to The Food Channel site by up to 18% in only 2 weeks. You can visit www.foodchannel.com, to view some of her video recipes. I have even shared the link to Roaya’s delicious sticky date cake on my facebook page.

And now, in addition to The Food Channel, an agreement for a reality show has been signed with ifood.tv, which is part of the Future Today Corporation. However, this is the first time they have reached out to a culturally insightful show like Villa Mamas doing authentic Arab cuisine.

The Villa mamas reality TV show, which initiated all this international interest has now wrapped shooting and has begun the long post production process, but now with proven popularity online, Scripps Network has agreed to broadcast a first run on their Food Network towards the end of this year.  The show is a behind the scenes look at the passion, the frustration, the tears and the laughter that go into running a successful restaurant business with the day to day running of the kitchen, the dining room and the current construction of the Villa mamas Deli. This will prove to be an unforgettable series.

Villa Mamas has put the spotlight on Bahrain, and has opened up the opportunity to introduce Bahrain to the media platform of worldwide viewers. With commitments from one of the largest International Television Networks and two of the most popular online platforms, that are now officially contracted to work with Julia Klein in the GCC, any business, no matter how large or small will now have the opportunity to bring their brand, service or product to the global market .

So what are you waiting for? I suggest you hurry to Villa Mama’s and try out what they have to offer. I highly recommend the cheese crispies glazed in honey for starters,the machboos as main and the red velvet cake( which according to me is THE best in Bahrain) to finish. The rice dishes in particular, are simply delicious, and will leave you craving more. I visit the place often for photoshoots or when I’m in the mood to eat, and by eat, I mean really eat.

Sara, Anita, Roaya, Myself and Dunia

Villa Mama's is located in Saar, opposite Saar Cineplex. For further information please follow @villamamas on instagram.

Dupatta tales

 I'm a huge fan of infusing Indian and western wear. Because in Bahrain, there are only so many functions you can wear ethnic outfits to, I try and make the best out of my Indian wear.

I love dupattas in particular and I'll admit that I first look at a suit's dupatta before purchasing it. If the suit is gorgeous and the dupatta is plain, I would never pick it up.
Moving on, I love this Gul Ahmed embroidered dupatta. I paired it with a cropped top and cut off trousers for an Indo- western look.

On another note, I hate the weather at the moment, 2 more months of scorching heat and I'll go insane. Picking outfits is another thing, where I always have to add on a few layers if I'm hitting the mall!
My chopped of locks are definitely helping in the heat. How are you guys managing?

Dupatta: Gul Ahmed, Crop Top: Mango, Trousers: Camaieu, Shoes:Zara, Bag: Monsoon

Satin on Satin

 Can you believe that this pink satin cut out dress is about 4 years old? That's the thing about buying into quality. Even if you cringe at the price , you know it will last you a good few years.Even though this beautiful dress has become loose for me over the years, it is too precious to give up and so I found ways to wear it.

I've worn this dress only once before, pairing it with a beautiful turquoise belt. For this look, I decided to go a bit more Semi formal, satin on satin look. Pairing it with my trusty blazer from Mango and gold snakeskin print shoes, add some sophistication that can easily take this outfit from casual to a glam business lunch!

A satin on satin combo is super classy for both work and night outs. Obviously you cant wear such a dress to work, but try pairing silk-satin trousers with a blouse in the same fabrication . Two words. Classy and fabulous!
P.S: Dont forget your pointed-toe pumps!

Blazer and Belt: Mango, Shoes and Bag: Dune, Jewellry: Assorted

Bordeaux, Grey and Black

Grey jeans can be a great semi formal staple item in your wardrobe without having to save it only as casual wear. Here's a modern take on the classic grey and black combination to spice it up a tad for a casual working day.Bordeaux/ Burgundy / Maroon is great paired with grey and black, and giving the bright color company, is my lips.
As you know, I love layering up work clothes that can be adjusted to temperatures both outdoors and indoors. In my previous outfit post, I had expressed my love to pair collared shirts with shift dresses and jumpers. A cooler way to layer up for summer is by using slub tees. Slub tees are lightweight and almost transparent, making it a very breathable summer fabric and a great layering piece. Choose from a wide variety of colors among tees and collared shits and you've whipped up some great work outfits. Think navy blue tees over baby blue shirts with a high-waisted  midi skirt or wide leg trousers and a white and yellow combo. Play it up, dress it down or up with denims and trousers and you've got your self sorted for a busy work week!
Of course, I speak for only offices that do not enforce a strict dress code.

Shirt: Camaieu, Tee Shirt, Jeans and Shoes: Mango, Bag Spring

Travel Diaries- Dubai 3, The final few.

 Here are some more,and unfortunately the last few pictures from my time in Dubai. As the trip came to a close, it dawned upon all of us that we had already begun regretting the flight back home. Dubai was mesmerizing. It isn’t the same when you go on a work trip or go with a single person. You get to see a whole new world out there, when you have your best girlfriends with you. There were a lot of laughs, food, selfies and hot gossip.

Bidding farewell to each other was the worst part, let alone packing our bags. Sigh. It even pains me to come up with words to talk about the trip. So I’m just going it end it here.

Next up- Greece? London? Who knows? Stay tuned.