That Extra Oomph in One's Step

Happiness is having that extra Oomph in your step, 

To leap instead of walk, 

To prance instead of totter,

To essentially have that airy step suggesting that nothing can rain on your parade today. 

Just like her. 

Wishing you endless floats on air, 

xx

Baroque

Ps. You make me beam.

Photo Credits:  Fashion is Spinach

The Ramadan Marathon Against Time

Ramadan is still in full swing it seems, and I'm loving it if not for a couple of pet peeves-which all seem to be Kuwaiti-culture-endowed.

Did the whole "إستقبال" thing, dressed up to the nines, wore to tear my fancy clothes, and tottered nonchalantly from social occasion to the next seeing those people I always meant to get together with but had no time. 

Marked my last social occasion a day ahead of "العشر الأواخر" like many locals, and got ready to go "جيام"-ing and still am. 

The problem is balancing this all-night prayer schedule, with a non-existent dark hours (**pun intended, key word "daylight savings") and with the fact that my social calendar still seems full. 

"غبقه"'s seem to be substituted with "small gatherings." Family members seem to want to see you more, since you can barely count the days you stayed in at home when the full swing "غبقه" ten days ended, nor saw your grandmother. 

Also, did i mention a mixed up circadian rhythm? I think my sleeping patterns think I reside in the states or some far flung country; how then can one explain the fact that I seem to be sleeping at 10 am, and waking up at 6 pm in time for breaking the fast.

Whoever slightly suggests that there is no reason to vent since I seem to be sleeping my day away, has not yet experienced sleeping with the sun up; keyword "Melatonin." Your body does not release that sleep hormone, since it thinks its time to be up (something directed by the sunlight) and thus whatever sleep you get seems to be trifle, and you always wake up groggy and exhausted. 

That being said, days have never been calmer and more peaceful; ironic I know, but Ramadan has the power to make one feel at calm with the world, settled and serene. There is something about the atmosphere, the fact that the world comes to life after the sun is down, and that mornings are slow and somber, as everyone anticipates "فطور".

I love this month; "عساكم من عواده" 

xx

Baroque 

Poppy-Power

I love Poppy Flowers. 

 

Apart from the fact that they come in a great shade of scarlet red, they bring back many childhood memories. We used to don poppy-esque buttons in school- a local english school i attended in my elementary years- in remembrance of an English War. 

Every year I'd look forward to buying my "Poppy" badge (**all proceeds went to charity) and would wear it all week. 

Kenzo is bringing back the Poppy apparently. Long known as it's symbol, Kenzo are apparently holding a poppy festival. Kenzo believes in the concept of bringing nature into the urban space and will install a field of 20,000 poppies in Toulouse France on September 4th and 5th to promote their new scent targeted to women, ironically called "Flower."

Passerby's will be allowed to not only view those amazingly artistic and ever so nature-ful installations, but they will also be invited to pick a flower and make their own.

They've apparently taken this show to Paris, Madrid, London and Moscow.

I'm wishing they'd bring it over here; maybe put it in Avenues Mall (**there's no better place really, it's air-conditioned, airy and big...) 

*Sigh* 

A girl can only dream. 

xx

Baroque 

Ps. "The poppies are worn because in World War One the Western Front contained in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. They would have lain there for years more, but the battles being fought there churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never before."  -BBC 

PPS. Perhaps something good can come out of the bad. 

Photo Credits: Chic Report and Luxuo

Victoria Beckham's Short Swing Ad

Swings are reminiscent of one's childhood. 

In my case they remind me of elementary playtime, of hours spent in our garden performing daring feats as I swung fast and leaped off the swing to get a feel of how soaring in the air felt, only if for a few seconds, and of my carefree fun childhood. 

Victoria Beckham uses that sentimental playground necessity to her benefit in the following short movie/advertisement for her upcoming fall line. 

It was apparently all filmed in one take in London, and has a cameo of Victoria herself (**she's the one that cameos at the end on a swing close to the camera, showing just her silhouette- short hair and sunglasses).

Directed by Matt Jarett, it's unlike any fashion advertisement you've seen; the swingers create such a calm and mellow atmosphere as they swing in unison and the song sends you to a lazy sunday afternoon state. 

Artistic yet sets the mood; i wish shopping included the act of swinging, oh well at least a good purchase makes one feel like they really are soaring in the air.

xx

Baroque

Ps. I love memory-jerkers. 

Credit: Chic Report

Compliments; smiles waiting to happen.

I believe in compliments. 

I believe that everyone out there is fighting their own battle. 

I believe in what goes up must surely come down. 

Recently I foolishly believed for a week or so that you are bound to cry after intense laughter sessions. 

I no longer blindly believe that, but I believe that life is not always a series of high latitude phases, and that some valleys do exist every once in a while. 

I also believe the a nice word, gesture, or even a smile have the ability to propel someone out of that valley for a short time at least onto higher ground. 

Sincere compliments don't cost a cent, aren't hard to get out and mutter, nor do they take time.

If you think someone looks good, tell them. You'll boost their self-esteem. 

If you think someone said something clever, say it. You'll make them feel appreciated. 

If you like someone just let it out. You'll make them feel loved.

If you have something good to say about someone, use your communication skills and send that message across. 

Storing/hiding compliments are no good, they are of no use to you; but can lift someone's mood, and draw a smile on their faces. 

I know, I love getting compliments on a rainy day. 

Spread the love. 

xx

Baroque 

Ps. Childhood friends grow apart, but never go bitter.

Confessions of an Istiqbal-er-ella

Ramadan may be the month of prayer and religion, but in Kuwait it's also high on the social calendar. You get to see people you see only once a year-the people you seem to bump into in your travels, and in that once-in-a-blue-moon occasion that everyone turns up to. It's funny because Kuwait is so tiny, and it's believed that on a Friday afternoon you can see almost everyone in Avenues Mall (**okay, that might be a far-fetched presumption, but its true you see a lot of people, with a greeting every 5 steps or so you take to someone you know). 

It's that time of year in which everyone has to "وجب"/do their social obligations. It's so funny that we put more importance on social gatherings and going around bidding Ramadan greetings than on Eid. I know we just go to my direct family on Eid, but come Ramadan we seem to find ourselves popping from house to house to almost everyone in our social circle; from our family elders (**that takes about a week, since everyone actually has a formal seating once a week; it's so weird and fascinating that no one's schedule actually clashes with anyone else's) to our friends, and eventually to the people that we have to go to since we have to reciprocate their visit. 

A phrase that describes this whole process? "Easier said then done"; literally. 

Why? There is no time. 

Come "فطور" time which is at 6:20-ish, everything is literally downhill. It takes you an hour to eat/break your fast; if you do that at your Grandma's comme moi, you eventually find yourself at home at around 8 pm. People start going "إستقبال" -ing at 8:30, ish 9pm, so that gives you an hour to get dressed up to your nines, conceal that tired face that results from the fact that you have been fasting all day, and get yourself out of the house. That in itself is pure torture, since it's common knowledge that when you starve yourself and eventually eat, your stomach doesn't get with the program at first then starts working frantically to digest all that food, making you a bit lethargic and sometimes gives you a headache (**depending on how much food you consume, let's face it we're prone to stockpiling at "فطور").

When you do actually make it, and hit the road of Ramadan Greetings, it starts being fun. You get to see long-lost relatives (**the people that grew up with your parents, but eventually started moving farther and farther with life and whom they are not that close to, people you might have gone to school with, others that are your "إستقبال" buddies ((people you see on big occasions but can never get around to seeing in everyday life)), and Oh people you absolutely abhor..)

Seeing and being seen is known to give one a natural high, highly develop one's social skills, as well as clue you in on what's happening in society (**who's doing what?, and what's hot? and what's not? what everyone's talking about?). After all, aren't humans social animals? 

Luckily all this takes just a couple of hours from like 9 pm till 11pm-ish, meaning you get home by midnight, settle down, and get a shocking reality check that it's almost time for "سحور". Thus you eventually have a light snack to keep you going for tomorrow's fast, when I say light, I mean it, since you already have been savoring snacks and drinks at every house you visit.

Whoever could stick to their normal nightly sleep schedule is a hero in my opinion? Social people never make it to bed till a bit before or sometimes after the sun is up bright in the sky; it ushers a new day, and we seem to say our good-nights, or is it good-mornings. *pun intended*

Once the first 10 days pass, and you're done with the "إستقبال"'s, the "غبقه"'s start to pile up. But that's a story all together. 

I've already been all "إستقبال"-ed out, hitting up to 4 houses a day or trying hard to learn how to be a perfect hostess at either one of my Grandmother's houses (**who both formally sit in and welcome people on different days), wearing to tear new just for Ramadan bought clothes that I will not be able to wear much post this month, and embracing everything red- be it lipstick or certain heels with that color sole. 

That all being said, I heart "إستقبال"s; they are fun, part of my culture, which in turn is part of who I am. 

Perhaps hitting an "إستقبال" near you? ;p

xx 

Baroque

Ps. Disconnected- no wires.