Ah… Finding that perfect skincare regime.

We’ve all been there and done that and probably failed 100 times over but I feel like now – I’ve nailed it – the perfect, spot-free skincare regime that works for me, so I thought I would share it with you lovely lot.

Working in the beauty industry for the majority of my teenage life meant that I was constantly on the lookout for new skincare products and trying to find THAT perfect skin care regime. I remember spending so much money on a whole skincare pack from Clinique comprising of like 10 products and literally – nothing changed. As I worked at Body Shop I used to always promote using a cleanser, toner, moisturiser, night oil, day oil, serum, face mist and the list goes on. Now I look back and I am like HOW though? It’s the first mistake I made because as time has gone on I have realised what works best for me – KEEPING IT SIMPLE.

I remember seeing one of my sisters friends once who had the most beautiful skin and when I asked what she used she was like – “I use soap on my face and that’s about it.” Since this day, I changed my ways and honestly I have never looked back.

I’ve never really had big problems with my skin (Alhamdulilah) but I would often get them really annoying odd spots that just stand out and make you look like you have something growing on your face. Honestly though, since keeping it simple and changing my skincare regime – I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY KIND OF SPOT IN TIME. (Okay that’s a very slight lie as I had a mini breakout a month or so ago but I solely put that down to stress) – other than this in the last year, I have rarely got one of those pesky spots.

So the routine consists of these 5 items I have listed below and nothing else. I also use a face mask once a week if I can but that’s for another post! Just to note, my skin type is dry and sensitive.

1. St Ives Apricot Scrub.

I used to use this every morning but switched to every other day as it is quite an invigorating scrub. This scrub is a great one for really making you feel like you’ve given your skin a good clean and I usually massage it in for a little while with a little bit of water so it feels like I have given my skin a deep cleanse. By far the best scrub I have used in my time (so far).

2. Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream.

So a few months ago I talked about my favourite products from The Body Shop and this one was obviously on there. I have been using this for around 4 years now and it just works so well for me regardless of the season and my skin changing. Because my skin is quite dry it moisturises it really well but doesn’t leave it feeling greasy. This moisturiser is relatively thick in relation to their normal Vitamin E cream but as I said – for me – IT’S THE BEST THING EVER. I use this every morning and night. I have also put the sorbet version in as this is lighter and is equally as hydrating but it has more of a cooling effect so is lovely to take on holiday and wear in summer.

3. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water.

I can’t even remember how I used to take my make up off before this product came in to my life because honestly – it used to be such a farce. I would use wipes, oils, cleansers, toners and there was STILL makeup on my face but this water just makes it so. much. easier. For a lazy person like me it’s just a godsend and although I use a few cotton pads to get it all off – it’s easy, efficient and doesn’t feel like you’re putting lots of chemicals on your face.

4. Mario Budescu Facial Spray with Aloe Herbs and Rosewater.

So this has been more of a recent purchase but I have used it every night for a few months and I LOVE IT. I use this after removing my makeup every night and it just helps with any excess the cleanser hasn’t taken off and also leaves my skin feeling so hydrated! Sometimes i’ll just spray this and let my skin breathe for a few hours before putting moisturiser on – and it smells SO good. I have also linked the Lush Rose Water as I used this before the Mario Badescu spray and it was equally as good.

5. Vaseline.

Ah, good old Vaseline. Honestly guys – old is gold and this – a product I have used numerous times growing up – still saves me. As I have dry skin there are certain areas which get more dry on my face such as my lips and nose. Every night I smother vaseline on these areas and it has really helped with keeping it moisturised through the day. I have used Bio oil and various lip balms but nothing compares to this.

So there you have it – my uber simple skin care regime. I use the scrub and moisturiser in the mornings and in the evenings the cleansing water, rose water spray, moisturiser and vaseline. I definitely think making my skincare regime more simple helped clear my skin up and is the main reason I don’t get spots anymore and it’s the easiest regime ever which is why I wanted to share it!

I hope you are enjoying my beauty blog posts and I will catch you all next week!

Tayyeba xx

Heyyyyyy everybody!

Long time no see (well it’s been two weeks but feels like ages!). I hope you are all well and have got through the torrential snow days we had and are very much looking forward to spring like me!

A quick update!

I thought i’d start this blog post in what feels like forever with a quick update on my life so you all know why I’ve been MIA.

So I was meant to be going to Amsterdam at the start of the month and I was MEGA excited because I have been a few times to Dam and LOVE IT. Then The Beast from the East/Storm Emma/HINDRANCE OF MY LIFE came to England and our first flight got cancelled – so we booked on to the next one – and that  got cancelled – and the one after that which DID go had no spaces left for us. Needless to say I was gutted but I had a whole week off work and pretty much did nothing – a much needed break from the world.

A few weeks ago I posted about being demotivated and I felt this time off ended up being much needed to catch up with many tasks I had put off and bring me back to my old semi-motivated self. Everything happens for a reason I guess. Also a few days later my sister found us a last minute deal and we are off to Greece at the end of the month! I am so excited because Amsterdam was going to be so cold the canals had even frozen over so hopefully Greece will be sunny, pretty and relaxing! (Again, everything  happens for a reason ey?)

Okay enough about me – so that’s where I’ve been; off work, back at work, having some down time and trying to deal with cancelled holidays and a snowstorm.

So now i’ll speak about the reason you’re all really here – my laser hair removal journey.

My laser hair removal journey…

So being of a Pakistani background, I am one of the many that have been blessed with dark, course hair resulting in visits to my eyebrow lady on a regular and wallowing in self pity when I get those nasty ingrown hairs.

For me – my main problem area was my lower legs. The hair follicles would be so stubborn that I would get really bad ingrowns and although it felt incredibly satisfying when I’d spend hours trying to get the hair out and it finally surrendered – it left my lower legs scarred and I was so insecure. I was doing all the right things such as waxing and using scrubs so I didn’t get why it wouldn’t make it better.

I tried so many products to help with ingrown hairs including the much recommended Tend Skin Ingrown Hair Solution and various scrubs but NOTHING helped. I felt uncomfortable wearing ankle grazer jeans, cropped trousers or even trousers with my kurtas and this is when I knew I needed help. I went to my GP and they gave me antibiotics which temporarily helped but again, nothing was an actual fix.

Treatment details…

I got an email from Groupon one day about an offer on laser hair removal so I looked in to it. It was at VGMedispa and they had different offers for various body parts. They are based in Leeds and were offering £69 for 6 sessions of Soprano Ice Laser Hair Removal on your lower legs and I thought – lets take the risk. I didn’t know much about laser or if it would work but I thought it can’t get much worse and for that price – it was worth it. They also had cheaper deals for arms/face/underarms etc.

Does it hurt?

Soprano Ice Laser Hair Removal is more of a new type of laser hair removal which uses a cold gel first to stop it hurting so much. It works in the same way as normal laser hair removal but from doing some research on the internet it felt like a lot of reviews pointed towards Soprano being the better option. I would say it feels like someone is pinching you and I have such a low threshold for pain but I could withstand it and it was MUCH less painful than waxing – that’s for sure.

I called VGMedispa to enquire about the offer and they just let me do it over the phone so I booked my first session in and paid directly to them and it was pretty simple. When you start laser you have to shave the area before hand so because I had switched from waxing to shaving – my skin would still get quite irritated at times but THE DIFFERENCE I SAW – OH WOW.

After just the first session, my hair grew back all patchy and some bits had such little hair – I WAS SHOOK. The more I went the less my hair grew back and I LOVED IT.

Having to stop the treatment halfway through…

As I was still shaving between my sessions – my ingrown hairs would still get bad and I got an infection at one point (because of HOW stubborn my follicles were) so my therapist told me to stop lasering and go to my GP just to be on the safe side. She was very honest with me and told me my ingrown hairs should be reducing by laser so because of her concerns she would rather me stop and come back once it was sorted. I stopped after 4 sessions.

I went to my GP and she told me I had Chronic Folliculitis – basically meaning I had reallll stubborn ingrown hairs just in that area and she told me to stop shaving and instead use a trimmer. She also gave me a cream to help with the scars and I took a break from lasering for around 6 months. My GP actually recommended laser hair removal being the best form of hair removal for me.

Going back to lasering…

I was surprised that although I took a break and didn’t do a full course of laser – my leg hair was soooo reduced and continued to just come back patchy. Once my legs had recovered I went back and they just allowed me to continue with my last two sessions.  No joke guys – despite the time I took out – my leg hair would grow back maybe every 3/4 weeks if that? But the hair was only in a few areas and the rest was really clear! I could not believe HOW much better my legs were looking and everyone I knew had seen the difference.

After my last two sessions I was 100% going to go for another 6 sessions to make it a full course of 12 sessions (usually recommended for darker, more stubborn hair) and was even considering doing other body parts too.

Following my laser treatment…

VGMedispa gave me an offer for some further sessions including  other body parts but the price was quite expensive so I wanted some time to think about  it. In the meantime, a black Friday deal from Pierre Alexander (also based in Leeds) came my way of £370 for 6 sessions of full legs, underarms and Hollywood using Soprano Ice Laser Hair Removal too. I thought this was too good an offer to miss so I booked it straight away because laser is not cheap and I had already used this type of laser so knew it worked.

I have only very recently started my treatment with Pierre Alexander and they apparently use a slightly advanced type of Soprano Ice Laser so we will see how it goes and will report back!

My verdict…

Honestly guys, laser hair removal was the best choice I made and I could not recommend it enough. It has been such a big game changer and I now feel confident to wear anything because my legs are so clear! I know they will inshallah only get better and I am so excited to see the results on my other body parts too. I pretty much never get ingrown hairs anymore and my legs are always so smooth!! Groupon nearly always have an offer on for VGMedispa and they were  such a great company – very professional and the venue is lovely so I would highly highly recommend it. If you are wanting to get laser hair removal – I would definitely recommend to just go for it – It was by far one of my best investments (after my teeth muhaha). You can check out my blog post about my treatment on my teeth here.

I thought I wouldn’t have a lot to say but this was lengthy! Haha, sorry but I hope it was informative. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me!

Until next week guys,

Tayyeba! xxx

BUDGETING – Something I am very very in to. Whether I always follow my budget plan well – probably not – but hey, that’s life haha.

So today’s post is all about budgeting better and it’s dead simple really – but a lot of the time, it’s putting it in to practise that’s hard. I myself try to budget monthly and I will say overall I am managing my money MUCH better than when I didn’t have a budget and just spent as I pleased.

With payday drawing near I felt it was a good time to share how I budget and hopefully you can start putting some things in to practise once you get paid! (counting down the days right now)

Step 1: Set aside time to budget

For me it’s usually the 28th/29th of the month. I get paid on the 27th so I always try to have this time near to the date and write it in my diary (it’s important after all). You will do all of the below within this time.

Step 2: Look at your income and outgoings.

Most people will have an idea of their monthly income but for people who do shift work – work out how much you should be getting that month. I have a list of all my outgoings for every month so for example my phone contract, gym, car finance etc. Look at your bank statements to do this if you don’t know already. Write it all down and you should usually have a set amount that goes out every month. I always subtract this immediately from my monthly wage as it will eventually be coming out at some point in the month.

Step 3: Try and have all your direct debits going out on the same day.

For me, it just makes life easier. If I know that this set amount comes out every month – it just helps if it comes out at the same time so you really can keep track of whats going out each month. I have set all my direct debits for the 1st of each month so I know after the first, the rest of the money will only move on my accord haha.

Step 4: Have a weekly budget.

This will be different for everyone but what I do is give myself a set amount each week for food, petrol and all other expenditure which I might need to get by. If you have a house, factor in your weekly food shop etc. For me, it’s a little easier as I live at home so I typically give myself £50 a week and there will be weeks I need more (more often than not), but it all ends up being controlled because…

Step 5: Take the weekly budget out in cash.

As soon as I get paid, I take £200 out for the month for my expenditure (£50 a week). I know a lot of people feel they tend to spend more if they have it in cash and this may seem really anal but keeping envelopes can really help. So I used to (when I found it hard to manage £50 a week cos I always overspent) keep 4 envelopes for each week. If you keep the envelopes at home, you are more likely not to spend it till that week. Knowing you only have that certain amount of money in your purse/wallet that week can really help in keeping you disciplined and sometimes if you have some money left over that week – YOU HAVE MORE FOR THE NEXT, YAY. I now just keep the rest of the weeks money in a separate compartment in my purse as I don’t check it often. If you are always going over your weekly allowance – review this and increase your weekly budget (within your means obv).

Step 6: Factor in any extra expenditure for the month.

So again, I do all of this the time I sit down to do my monthly budget. Birthdays, anniversaries, shopping trips, birthday meals out etc. Look at how much each one will roughly cost you (I usually have an upper limit) and again when you go shopping for this stuff – stick to your limit, because that’s the only way you’ll remain within the monthly plan/budget you have.

Step 7: Savings.

So every single month I have a certain amount which I save. I take it out in cash and give it to my dad believe it or not just so I DON’T DIP IN TO IT, haha. When I had a savings account i’d always move it back across hahaha. No matter how much you can save – even if it’s £20 a month, try and factor this in to your monthly budget and the day you get paid – make sure that saving is put away straight away. I actually put my monthly savings down as one of my “direct debits” because it’s something that needs to come out straight away and put to the side. When I worked part time this only used to be £50 and now it’s a lot more but either way if you’re putting something aside, you’ll feel better in yourself.

Step 8: Extra money.

On the side of my therapy, I work as a bank staff member for my old job (support worker) so depending on how many shifts I do, I can sometimes get a bit of extra money a month. Because I usually know when I have these shifts, I factor this extra income in to my monthly budget and as soon as I get paid it – IT GOES STRAIGHT IN TO MY SAVINGS ACCOUNT. As you usually get a similar amount monthly, your budget should accommodate for your essentials and any extra money should be saved in my opinion. Next month, I am paying my car insurance with this extra money I have earned and I paid for my whole trip to Thailand with the same. It just makes it easier if you have any big expenditure, without dipping in to your monthly income. Similarly, the night before you get paid, if there is anything left over in your account – put it straight in to your savings.

Step 9: That extra unplanned expenditure.

Every single month I buy a nice piece of clothing I don’t need or go out for an unplanned meal which makes me go way over my weekly budget but if you have sorted your budget out at the start of the month you usually have enough in your account after of all your income/outgoings to not be worried to do these things. I usually spend on my card for any of these extras so I can keep a track of it all and I will usually again, add this in to my monthly budget I made at the start of the month so I am still managing the money I have.

Step 10: Always give yourself back what’s owed.

So for example, if you dipped in to your savings by £20 for whatever reason, the next month as soon as you get paid, put that back in to your savings.

Step 11: Review your budget throughout the month.

There are some months where you will overspend or not keep track so ensure at  some point through the month you review your account – how much you have left till payday and again, how you’re going to manage with any outgoing and essentials. Reviewing the process is vital sometimes to get you back on track and make you feel in control again!

I genuinely do this monthly guys and it just makes me feel better knowing I am tracking it as I go along. I usually only spend things in cash just so my bank balance has around 10-15 outgoings only a month – all of which I know and can keep track off (either dd’s, money I have withdrawn or that extra expenditure I am aware of).

I know it’s a little tedious/anal but it helps me stay organised and on top of things. I am very much a pen and paper girl too so if you don’t like writing stuff – do it on your phone or computer. If you find it mega difficult, invest in a money planner – a great way of keeping things organised.

So there you have it – my monthly budgeting plan, and as I said, I genuinely have saved money better than ever before and don’t lose control from just spending aimlessly on my card without knowing what’s actually going out.

I hope you found this useful and if you have any good tips, let me know!

Till next week,

Tayyeba xxxxx

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all well and have had a great week! Mines been a lot better than last week. I am so excited for Spring though because i’m getting tired of all the snow which is falling – even as I write this – what is all that about?

Anywhos, back to this weeks post.  I have always been very creative and LOVE getting my hands stuck in to a project,  so this week when I got creative for my friends travelling present, I thought hey – why not share with  you guys? Whenever I look for different, quirky present ideas I instantly get on Pinterest and my page is full of blog posts telling me how to create cool stuff, so why not follow suit ey?

Firstly, I love giving people presents. It makes me so happy when you give someone something and their little face lights up and you’re like aw man that’s because of me. Haha, i’m too soft. When my sister got married I made her this awesome wedding advent calendar, when Nad got a new job I made him an Engineers survival kit and I also once made one of my friends the infamous “open when” letters. I love getting someone something thoughtful, but above everything, I just love creating stuff and making it all look pretty – it makes me so happy aha.

Me, Claire and Abi have been friends since year 7. I met Claire on the first day at school and ever since, we have all remained close. Even as lifes gone on and we’ve changed careers, relationships, moved houses etc. we still always make time for our monthly Nando’s and NEVER EVER run out of stories to tell. The three musketeers if you will.

Claire’s going travelling for half the year around Asia and Australia (lucky nugget) and because she’ll miss out on a whole 5/6 Nando’s dates – we knew we had to do something special so me and Abi decided to send her off with an emergency travel kit. A kit full of all the essentials you may (or may not) need when travelling. 

Before we start though – I have to apologise in advance for the not so great pictures as I took them in no light the night before we gave them! #bloggerproblems

What was in the kit?

1. Dry Shampoo
2. Make up wipes
3. Micellar Water (travel size obvs)
4. Chewing gum
5. Ear plugs
6. Antibacterial hand gel
7. Kirby grips and plastic bobbles
8. SPF Lib balm
9. Some UK chocolate and sweets
10. Paracetamol
11. Diarrhea and constipation tablets
12. Hayfever tablets
13. Travel first aid kit
14. Mosquito repellent/Bite relief
15. Sudocrem
16. 3 x mini Body Shop shower gels
17. A pack of eyelash glue
18. Mints for the plane
19. Travel wash (this was so convenient!)
20. Makeup/toiletery bag
21. Mindfulness Colouring book
22. Pencil crayons

Keeping it personal/thoughtful.

We got a few things specifically because we knew they’d be good for Claire and I labelled each one with a little message so she knows why we got them. It was a nice touch to make it more personal  🙂

She is staying in hostels for her trip so ear plugs were necessary as they apparently get noisy. Dry Shampoo because she probably will get greasy hair at some point and won’t have anything on hand haha. The eyelash glue because she wears lashes on nights out so they’ll come in handy and the makeup bag had killer whales on which Claire is OBSESSED with – so again, a no brainer.

We got her a mindfulness colouring book as there will be times when it may get tough – to keep her grounded. I also wrote lots of grounding techniques within the book to help her manage at times if she starts missing home or feels anxious. The chocolate was some home comforts if she starts missing the UK as she won’t be able to get some Maoams and Dairy Milk in Asia. The plastic bobbles are apparently good for using in water as they don’t get tangled in your hair.

The travel wash was interesting as its basically detergent in a squeezy bottle so she just needs to put it in a bowl full of hot water to wash her things.

We went to Infatanation this weekend (as we usually only venture to Nandos lol) and it was so much fun! Claire suggested it – it’s basically a big inflatable park in Manchester. It was hilarious – just what was needed after a long working week.

She absolutely loved it! She nearly started crying and said it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her and now she has no toiletry shopping to do! Haha 🙂

Thanks for reading and I hope it’s inspired you if you’re getting a gift for a friend before their travels or if you’re travelling yourself and need to know the essentials to get!

Hope to see you here next week!

Tayyeba xx

Hello everyone… I hope you are all well!

So today’s post is a little different from my usual topics and it will probably consist of a little rant, some reflection and some gibberish. All because this week has been a pile of shit – to put it lightly.

You know when life just hits you like a tonne of bricks and you feel completely unable to cope with the demands of how crap you feel? Well that’s been me this week.

Work has been so overwhelming, I’ve had personal things going on and I have overall just felt unfulfilled and demotivated. I won’t lie, even writing this down makes me anxious because I am someone who very rarely discloses the negatives and I am generally seen as a positive, happy go lucky kinda gal. Well guys – this gal has her down days too.

It actually got to Thursday/Friday and I thought crap… I need to post a blog post this weekend but 1. I Have nothing I want to talk about and 2. I feel so blergh. So here I am, an hour before my usual post time – just literally writing whatever comes to mind (and hoping you can keep up with me).

Amongst all the shitness though, I do believe that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for and that is when it did come to me (eventually) – why not just list some good things that have happened this week? Because, it can’t all be bad can it? I kind of wanted to do it as a reflection/therapy for myself but also, because I very rarely fail to see the good when I have a few bad things going on… So here goes.

1. JANE THE VIRGIN IS BACK ON!
If you know me, you know I love a good series and JTV is definitely up there with my favourites. It’s just really lighthearted and funny and whenever I feel a bit poop – it can really cheer me up. Now I have been waiting for a new episode to come out for MONTHS and I went on to Netflix and it was just there on Saturday – like it was meant to be – JUST FOR ME. Haha. If you like comedy, mixed in with some romance I would definitely recommend it. It’s an easy watch and quite different from other stuff around.

2. Clients gave me some good feedback.
At times guys, being a therapist has it’s challenges and when you’re not feeling 100%, it can be quite difficult to spend your time listening to other peoples issues. On Tuesday however, I spoke to two people who were in really difficult situations, and their gratitude for my time felt so rewarding. They told me I had helped them just with a phone call and what I was doing was great. One of them didn’t even believe therapy would work for them but they told me they now felt really motivated. Ahh the perks of the job – helping people.

3. I had some time to really reflect on some things.
I am really big on reflection guys – I cannot promote it enough. We were told to do an exercise this week at work where we had to draw up a timeline of our journey through work so far and where we were heading. I found this incredibly beneficial – especially because I was feeling quite demotivated and it really put in to perspective some things I really want from my job and where I want to go.

4. We went for afternoon tea for my mums bday.
Just us girls. We went to Pearls Tearooms which I’ve been wanting to visit for a while because it looks like such a pretty place and they had three types of afternoon tea. A classic British Afternoon tea and also an Arabian and Indian one. We opted for all three but preferred the Arabian and Indian one. It was just something a bit different. Me and my sisters have an incredibly close relationship with my mum and it was nice to just do something a bit different and take some time out doing what we do best – drinking tea. Which leads me to my next point…

5. Realising just HOW great my support network is.
Everyone has down days and I can genuinely say, having some close people around on these down days, can make the world of difference. It made me so happy to realise how amazing my friends and family are and how much they actually do support me. They let me go on about the same things constantly and never get tired and I just pray I never lose these people iA.

6. I still managed to go to the gym, even though I didn’t want to do anything.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know this whole gymming three times a week has been a goal of mine and guys – I didn’t come close this week. Looking back now, I felt crap for not doing it but I went once, and once upon a time – even that wouldn’t happen. I also realised just how much the gym now keeps me motivated and it’s become important for me to continue because without it, I can feel pretty poop. So this effort in itself, and the fact I know it needs to continue, made me happy. I also went to a self defense class where they taught Aikido which everyone on Instagram voted for being exercise… so maybe we can class it as two exercise sessions this week?

7. We went walking today and I loved it.
When my grandma was alive, we used to go for walks/coffees every Sunday and since she passed, it wasn’t something we kept up with. Today my sister came bright and early (fyi it was 11am but that’s early for a Sunday) and said we’re going to Ilkley Moors and it was such a great day. It was wet, muddy, my trainers are ruined and I probably have caught a cold – but Family Sundays were our thing and we lost sight of it when grandma died, but we’re getting it back.

So there you have it guys, some things that made me happy this week. Even writing this now and looking back has made me realise that actually – it’s not all bad at all, and my black or white thinking is something I need to stop. There is always something to be grateful for, no matter how small and sometimes just this realisation can be so beneficial. If i’m not happy about something, I have to change it. If I feel demotivated, I gotta get up and decide how to get motivated again and if I am feeling overwhelmed, I need to organise my time better. The world doesn’t stop for anyone and unfortunately, nobody will save you but yourself.

I really wanted this year to be all about a new year, new me but you know what – I’ll start in February… IT’S FINE. I want to feel more motivated, use my time wisely and not let everything make me feel overwhelmed because at the end of the day… you will only feel crap if you allow yourself to feel crap.

I told you this post was just a whole load of ranting right? And more than anything, I guess this outlet has helped me process some things and bring back that positive attitude I constantly try to spread. Sorry if this post was totally not what you wanted tonight but I guess the whole point of blogging is to just express yourself, and this is me expressing myself.

If you have got this far, thank you for following me through this journey of ups and downs and I hope you have had a brilliant week. I have annual leave tomorrow and I am so excited to kickstart the week with a more positive outlook!

Thank you for reading guys – here’s to good weeks, crap weeks and personal growth!

Catch you next Sunday! 🙂

Tayyeba x

Hello everybody!

So the other week I posted my highlights of  2017 on Instagram and I told you all that the biggest highlight was definitely getting straight teeth. Quite a few people wanted a blog post on it so here goes – my review of getting straight teeth in 4 months.

Guys, all through life I have been so insecure of my teeth. I never smiled in pictures, refrained from laughing out loud and would always try to cover my mouth where possible. I hated my teeth and to be honest, a lot of people never even noticed but because I knew myself, I had to change it.

The back story – there’s always one…

So in the Christmas of 2015 there was a free consultation on Groupon for “Quick Straight Teeth” braces at a private dentist in York. I visited and met this lovely orthodontist called Greg who has all these awards and told me that he could fit braces in as soon as next week! I was so excited but it meant I was going to have braces for my sisters wedding and I definitely did not want that so I told him I would come back after the wedding.

Obviously as life goes and you get busy, I forgot about going back for the braces until December 2016! When I called them their prices had increased by like a grand (I expected this as private braces were getting more popular) and Greg didn’t work on any of the days I could potentially visit (York’s like an hour away so it wasn’t exactly an easy trip).

So I started googling lots of places and comparing prices and from the £1900 I was originally quoted – everything was so expensive (at least all were in the high £2000-£3000 range). I then remembered that Greg didn’t work full time at York because he worked at another surgery but I obviously couldn’t ask the York dentist this, so I did something a tad stalkerish – I googled Greg Cadman.

RESULT! – The first search result was the other surgery he worked in! YES! I rung them and they gave me a quote and booked me in for a free first consultation the following week.

My treatment journey…

At my first consultation at Collingham Dental Care  Greg basically explained the procedure and prices . He arranged for me to first have a hygienist visit to really clean my teeth out before fixing my braces and then all following visits were to fix my braces and change bands. I would basically need to go in once a month for approximately 5-6 months to change my bands. The Quick Straight Teeth braces are fixed braces unlike Invisalign but they are clear so you can’t really tell they’re in. A lot of people couldn’t tell when I had them in.

The staff at Collingham were SO relaxed and every time I needed an appointment or wanted to cancel, it was dead simple. Greg was reassuring with any queries I had and I never felt worried about my braces along the journey. I was meant to have the braces in for 5-6 months however on my 4th visit he told me they were ready  to come out! I couldn’t believe it and was so excited! After they got taken out I had to get a fixed retainer in my teeth which stays for life (I know guys, strange). So it is basically a metal wire glued in to the back of the teeth and although this sounds really uncomfortable – you get used to it and don’t even notice it. Once the wire came loose whilst I was in Nando’s (very awkward) – and within a few days they called me back to replace it with more glue – apparently it doesn’t happen often – and since, it’s been fine. The fact that you’ve got a retainer glued in to your teeth also means that there’s less of a chance that your teeth will go crooked again as you have extra protection. I also got retainers to wear on a night too like you usually do with braces.

Word of warning guys: Don’t eat teeth staining food like Thai food as your braces will all go yellow – a lesson I learnt  after visiting my favourite Sukothai (although I was warned).

Prices and payment.

Okay so a breakdown of the costs:

Appointment 1: Consultation – Free
Appointment 2: Hygienist Visit – £73
Appointment 3: Quick Straight Teeth Dual Arch – £1900 (Cheaper if you need one arch straightening)
Appointment 4: Retainers – £135
Appointment 5: Teeth Whitening – £195 (Boutique Whitening)
Total: £2303

All in all this price was good as it was only £500 more than my original quote and with the whitening and retainers it was worth it. Apparently Boutique Whitening is really popular for teeth whitening and I won’t lie I didn’t see a massive difference but a lot of others said my teeth were much whiter – I may buy some more product from the dentist to try it again as now I have the teeth moulds, it is only £20.

I was able to pay as I went along which was brilliant – they were so laid back about it. Sometimes I would go in and pay a big chunk of money and sometimes I would go in and not pay anything. So I think I gave £1000 at the start  and then every month just gave £200. Once I gave like £100 because I was going on holiday so was a bit broke. They basically just need the end amount before you’re discharged so it’s super chilled.

Invisalign:

Just a quick side note, I know a lot of  people know the other straight teeth solution is to have Invisalign but for me I think it’s impractical. It’s basically having to wear a retainer for however long, in the day too and having to remember to take it out when eating. The Quick Straight Teeth in my opinion are better because they are fixed braces, can’t be moved and give you straight teeth quicker!

So there it is guys, my review of my Quick Straight Teeth treatment. Overall,  I am sooo happy I invested in this – it was by far my best investment to date and my teeth are so nice and straight now. I have had my braces out nearly a year now and I feel so much more confident! I know other practices may name it different things but if its a similar process (fixed braces, fixed retainer after and around 5 months)  – it will probably be the same thing.

I hope you found this useful and if you have any further questions, let me know!

Till next week,

Tayyeba!

xxx

When I first started blogging, there were a few topics that I really wanted to discuss and the matter of losing friends was definitely at the top of my list. Having lost people I thought would always be around got me thinking that it is something which happens to all of us – but it’s not really spoken about. You ever lost a close friend and when someone asks what happened you’re just like… “Forget them, I don’t want to talk about it.” – well today guys, we’re talking about it. I want to talk about those friends we have all had that are no longer in our lives and address something that took me a long time to realise – you lose friends in life, and that is absolutely okay.

So let’s start with the types of friends we all have had or still have and KNOW that they are bad for us.

The ones that your mum warns you about:

Never have I ever kept a friend who I desperately tried to prove wasn’t bad to my mum. I gotta tell you guys – mums just know. I remember I had a few friends my mum just did not like and she would say they were not good for me. I never listened and I guess I learnt in my own time – and it bloody hurt.

The bitchy ones:

Have you ever had a friend that talks more about other people than anything else. I would say be wary of these types of people. I had a friend that bitched so much about the other girls in our friendship circle when we were alone and I used to be naive and think it’s because she trusted me the most – think about it though – if they can say all this to you about others they claim to be close to, why will they not do the same about you? All the friendships I have now are so much more fulfilling than that and we honestly spend all of our time talking about ourselves (self obsessed or not bitchy – you decide? haha).

The ones that make you feel shit about yourself:

This one is usually harder to identify because we end up with such a shit image of ourselves that we almost don’t even realise this kind of friend is toxic – we in fact, end up praising these people and believe that they’re good for us for “telling us how it is”. In fact – these people are so insecure of themselves that they get their kicks by making others feel like shit. I will never forget I once had a friend who saw me in a dress I had been SO excited to buy for our school prom – I had literally gone all the way to Liverpool to pick it up, had it altered and loved it so much. She saw me and went “hmm it’s alright I guess.” – Oh em gee – I remember thinking – BITCH. Haha, as you grow older you realise that friends are meant to make each other feel better and empowered – even if they don’t always agree with your opinion. If you have someone that constantly puts you down – just know it’s a form of abuse. You don’t deserve to feel belittled by anyone and if you see this happening – sack them off. This kind of abuse can really stick with you (as above) and if you don’t get out of it earlier – you end up with little self confidence/low self esteem.

The ones who never ask how you are:

Guys, i’ll put it out there – I am such a people pleaser and always have been. I feel like I need to constantly make an effort with everyone in my life and make others feel better about themselves. Only very recently, maybe in the last year or so did I realise – this is such an unhealthy and draining trait to have. Start thinking about who actually makes the effort back – who actually asks how your life is going? I can guarantee you will realise that there are some people that actually never even ask how you are. You may constantly ask them how they are doing – what’s going on – wishing them well – and do they actually ever ask back? Nope? Ditch them. It’s a tough one when someone hasn’t actually done anything wrong – but realise that if someone cared about you like they claim they do – they would ask.

The drainers:

Who’s got a friend that is just really draining? Like they might be a great friend but their negativity can really impact on you? Again, something I have seen growing up is having someone around that is constantly negative is not healthy. I completely understand that people go through bad stuff and life can really get on top of you – but you should never ever impose them feelings on someone else or make it the focal point of your friendship. If someone is constantly telling you how bad their relationship is but never leaves it, ringing you 500 times to talk about the same stuff or telling you their depressed but again, doesn’t try to change it – think about the impact it may be having on you and if it’s worth investing energy in to. If someone isn’t going to change their behaviour but at the same time, make you feel down – is it a mutual friendship where they care for your needs too? I have had some great friends in the past but after I have gotten out of the friendship realised – they really held me back at times.

The ones that always happen to be there at the good times:

I strongly believe in one thing – if someone can’t be there through your bad times, they don’t deserve to be there through the good. Be aware of this. When I got engaged a few very old friends reached out to me and honestly, it was laughable. Through all of the losses I endured in the last few years they didn’t text once, but suddenly they had the best things to say about me. Erm… Laters.

The ones that use you:

You ever had a friend that only contacts you when it’s convenient for them or when they need something. Again, observe if this is happening and don’t give in to it. The more you are available for people like this – the more they will take advantage of you. Sometimes people think you’re weak because you’re always available to their demands so don’t allow them to even think this.

The ones where it just fizzles:

This tends to happen when you grow up and start to move on in life. It’s not necessarily even a bad thing but I do think it can at first feel strange. When I started drifting from people when I first left school/uni – I started to think maybe they didn’t like me anymore, how did they just not care? And it used to hurt when I overthought it. I’d reach out at times but they seemed busy getting on with their life – so I did the same, and it was brilliant. I slowly realised as I started to focus more on myself and my growth that these people didn’t fit in my life anymore and it didn’t really matter – because they were the right people at the time they were there. One thing to also take a note of guys: the whole your uni friends are your friends for life is not something I think is true. Post graduating, I have met so many more people who I could picture in many of my future moments of life rather than the ones I was at uni with. Again, you start working and growing and sometimes – those people just don’t fit anymore, and it’s fine.

I’m sure everyone could relate to at least one of the above and I guess the reason I wanted to even address this is because I wanted to get across one main thing – it’s so normal to lose friends, and it’s fine to do so.

I think it’s really important to understand as well that losing people doesn’t always necessarily mean they are bad people. I know above I have stated some friends that may be bad for you – but sometimes we also lose good people, for various reasons. Again though, it’s just a part of the process and it may just be that they’re not meant to be a part of your life anymore. I have had some amazing memories with such good people but again, due to life and differences in moving on, you can outgrow each other, which is fine too.

If you have lost any of the above – just remember that it is such a natural process of growth in life. I am a very loyal person so it used to be really difficult for me when friendships ended – I would desperately want to hold on because I had planned for these people to stick around and now they weren’t going to? But as soon as I learnt to distance myself from these people, I found more time for self love and better people for me.

I am telling you guys – if a friendship ever makes you feel belittled, worthless or feels forced – it’s time to end it. At the start it can really hurt you, but in the long run – losing some people can really be the biggest blessing for you. I once fell out with one of my best friends over the smallest thing and I won’t lie – it hurt like a bitch. She had always been there and was a good friend – but after the natural grieving process (after all, it is a loss) – I felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt like the silly argument that led us to end such a strong friendship was one of the best things to ever happen to me – and the way it was meant to pan out. I strongly believe that if you still have friends who are petty or argue over little things and are in your 20’s – understand that they’ve not yet grown up, and at times – it can affect your growth. I realised at times I was so held back from friends who were actually just too dependent on me.

If you have friendships like the above – think about how much they help or hinder you – I strongly believe that friends should help you to grow, be a better person and really care about your needs. I realised from eliminating the above types of people – I only had a handful of people left, but I have never felt so fulfilled in my social life – because all of my friendships hold so much value and make me a better person. All of my close people are non-judgemental and have helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life – and have stuck around.

The people I now have in my life truly mean everything. They make me feel like a good person, they push and motivate me to achieve my dreams. I would never have got into blogging if it wasn’t for them cheering me on. I see them regularly and there’s never any unnecessary drama. We have similar visions for the future and even if we don’t always agree on things – it’s never an issue.

Find people in your life that add value and get rid of anyone that drains you or brings negativity to your life. Distance yourself from people that don’t make an effort with you to see if it’s just a one sided friendship and don’t be afraid of letting go of people just because you’re used to having them around. I promise if you have the courage to take that first step, you will feel more empowered and will attract people that are on the same wavelength as you. Let go of shitty people and do what’s right for you. Remember not everyone is meant to stay. Expect to lose people throughout your life and know that this is fine – their time in your life is up and I promise if they were meant to stay, they would have never left. Start investing your energy and time in to people that care for you and I promise you will feel refreshed.

Wow that was LONG, sorry for that – I just went off on a bit of a tangent lol. I guess I just wanted you all to know that this happens to everyone and I hope you could relate to some of my examples!

Thanks for reading as always guys, and here’s to more fulfilling friendships and letting go of people that don’t fit into our life anymore!

Until next week,
Tayyeba xx

Hello guys! Welcome back to my blog after a short break and happy new year to y’all!

I hope your new year has been full of lots of motivation, positive change and being ‘new people’ (new year, new me and all?).

So I thought I’d kick start the year on my blog with a little post about all my hopes and goals for the year. I know i’m late to the party but a lot of my readers wanted me to start posting on a Sunday instead of a weekday so it led us to today. I’ve also had quite a busy start to the year with work and getting back into a routine as i’m sure you all can relate to, so it took me some time to finally sit down and have some time to write a post.

For me, 2017 was a tough year. I didn’t really enjoy the second half of it and I feel it’s because there was no real personal growth. I was just getting by and hoping stuff would fall into place for me when really – you have to go out there and work hard for what you want, hence starting my blog towards the end of the year, when I finally wanted shit to change.

For this reason, this year I am totally doing the whole ‘2018 is my year’ thing because honestly, I want it to kick ass and not have regrets like last year. Just before I get into my goals though, I have to let you know that some are really not even big goals – but I am a big advocate for wanting any little change that’ll better you is better than no change at all!

So on that note, Lets get started then!

1: Spend less time on my phone.

I’m putting this one first as it’s my biggest one. The amount of time I sometimes can spend on my phone just scrolling through my feed endlessly and then after like an hour realise I’ve wasted lots of time and feel like poop – yeah this has got to stop. I know a lot of us do it but I want to be more in the moment and get stuff done through the day rather than spend a good quarter of the day doing nothing then feeling really crap because I haven’t achieved much.

2. Learn how to cook something new every month.

Guys, truth be told – I can cook very little. I literally can cook salmon with veg and that’s about it. Obviously with me inshallah getting married at some point I think it’s time I learn. I want cooking to be something I really enjoy so I want to learn all my favourites of mums but also to try new things. I have no idea why but I really want to try chicken and sweetcorn soup and cold tomato pasta with feta so I can take it for lunch (lol so aspirational ey?). I feel like once a month is a good target because I don’t think i’d do it if I try to fit it in too much. Don’t worry guys – I’ll keep you updated on this on my instastories no doubt!

3. Go to the gym AT LEAST 3 times a week.

If you’re on my Instagram – you’ll know I’ve been really trying with this one! I have literally had a gym membership all of last year but hardly used it, and I used to think if I went at least once a week I was doing okay. So basically i’ve decided that 3 is my minimum. I’ve set some proper goals for what I want to achieve from the gym so hopefully this keeps me motivated and I have set myself a deadline of March – if I do not go consistently 3 x every week by then (unless there’s a good reason) – I have to terminate my gym contract.

4. Drink more water!

I don’t really drink fizzy drinks other than if I get a takeaway. I usually have water with everything when I eat and keep a bottle on me but I definitely don’t have 2 litres a day. I’ve heard the benefits of it on your weight, skin and energy are amazing but the thing that always stops me from drinking too much is how much I need to pee hahaha. Apparently your body gets used to this though and adapts itself accordingly. I think i’m going to invest in one of those time tracking bottles – to ensure i’m drinking a certain amount every hour but for now i’ll keep my 1 litre bottle on me. The Volvic ones are good as I know to drink at least one bottle whilst at work then one when i’m home and you’re done!

5. Wear all of the clothes in my closet.

Guys… I shop SO much, I buy such similar stuff and I tend to always wear the same 5 jumpers – anyone else? Well this year i’ve vowed to myself to experiment a bit more, make more of an effort and actually wear the hundreds of clothes I own. If by the end of the year I still don’t wear half my stuff – it’s all going! The only way to motivate me to wear them haha.

6. Try to be more patient.

I didn’t realise till last year, I actually have less patience than I thought. Through the stress of planning a wedding – patience is essential. Through this experience, I did learn how to become more patient but this year this is something I want to continue with and be way more patient. I want to learn how to not react when I feel a certain way – but rather wait and respond as this massively changes how you’ll come across and the outcome of a situation. I will write more about this in a future post.

7. Get better in my clinical work.

So as you may know I work as a therapist, and I do feel last year I got much better at my clinical work as this was my real first year of being in this profession – but this year, I want to get even better. I would ideally love to move up the career ladder this year but it’s not something i’m massively focusing on as I have a wedding to plan and this takes priority for this year. However, I want to read more books, take on more opportunities and work with more complexity. I want to build even more confidence as a therapist and share my tips and tricks with you guys as I do!

8. To be more mindful.

Have you heard of the buzz term ‘Mindfulness’ at the minute? Everyone is raving about it because it apparently really helps you stay grounded in the present and is a great technique for anyone who is a worrier. I regularly promote this to my clients and have seen the benefits from it – but it’s something I fail to practise myself. This year I want to be more mindful – meaning being more present in the present moment. So rather than thinking too far in to the future or dwelling on the past – being attached to the moment you are in at that moment and feeling it fully. A good example of not being mindful is when you’re driving – has anyone else realised they are literally on autopilot and can get to their destination but have no idea how they got there because they weren’t even paying attention? Because you were thinking about 50 other things whilst driving? Haha, we’ve all been there. You can research more on this but if I learn how to do this well – I will definitely share with you guys!

9. Research into my religion more.

Alhamdulilah last year I really got better at praying regularly, and now I feel I do this well. So for this year, I want to educate myself more and increase my knowledge of Islam. Through Ramadan I watched Mufti Menks videos of the prophets which are SO good and I remember learning so much I didn’t know – I told myself i’d continue this after Ramadan, but as we all do – I fell back in to ‘normal life’ and bad habits. I want to try and watch more videos and read more books to really understand some things further and challenge my understanding constantly.

10. Keep consistent with my blog.

And lastly, the thing that’s brought us all to this page. I wont lie guys, I am actually quite surprised and proud of myself that I have kept this blog alive for even 2 months. I know I am right at the start of this journey and have the smallest following compared to some bloggers but I want to just keep being me. I have received the most lovely feedback and have loved how much people share with me about their lives! Amongst all the loveliness, one thing so many people have kept saying is “keep it up, we love it” – this in itself makes me want to keep going. So please keep reading and sharing your stories because this is the year I think my blog will hopefully be quite special – I have a lot of exciting things to come and cannot wait to keep sharing with you guys.

So there you have it guys, my goals for the year!

As I said earlier, they’re not necessarily life changing achievements – but for me personally, I just want to do some small things to make the year count and be more fulfilling. I am going to review these in 6 months time (that’ll come round so fast!) to see if i’m on track and to stay motivated.

Do you have any specific things you want to change this year? Let me know in the comments below or on Instagram, I’d love to hear them!

Until next week guys!

Tayyeba xx

Coming to the end of the year, you tend to reflect on all of the things that have happened and what you’ve achieved throughout the past twelve months. I won’t lie, I didn’t think i’d achieved much, and then I realised – one of the biggest things happened this year… I GOT ENGAGED.

Although my year hasn’t been the easiest, this day was BY FAR my favourite of the year and coming to the end of 2017, I thought it would be the perfect time to share this special day with you. The day Nadeem proposed to me.

So first things first. We knew we were going to get married. In Pakistani culture, the parents meet first to seal the deal and then you can make it official. So we knew we were going to get married (iA) once they had met but he’d not proposed yet, so this bit was a surprise.

The build up…

A couple of weeks before he proposed we were on the phone and Nadeem suggested we go to Knaresborough. I was on to him straight away. If you’re a girl, you’ll know, we always make the plans and boys just follow. So when Nad suggested to plan a date day I thought hmmm… a bit strange but okay (FYI I love Knaresborough).

Then came the second bit of strange behaviour… Knaresborough is in between mine and Nads house so we decided that we would just meet there. Around a week before we met for lunch and he said “Tayybs, how about you get a train to Knaresborough, we can go for dinner and I will take you home after?” I was like “What? That doesn’t make sense.. where are we going for dinner?” and he was like “it’s a surprise.” Again, completely on to him now. But I just got really excited and assumed he was taking me to Tattu in Manchester because I’d been saying I wanted to go for a while (and geographically this made sense to take me home after). I asked if we were going to Tattu and we were both just sniggering for AGES – I was like why you laughing? And he was like i’m not, why are you laughing? (Lol, you know when you both know somethings fishy).

The night before he told me to wear something nice for the meal and dress up a little… THIS WAS THE WEIRDEST ONE. Nadeem likes me best when I’m simple so for him to tell me to wear make up and dress up was very very strange and I was almost 100% sure it was going to happen but I thought narrr I know he doesn’t have the ring yet as he was getting it from Dubai. But nonetheless, I told all my friends and (secretly) got all giddy and excited.

On the day…

Oh I was stressing so much – I thought I didn’t look pretty enough to be getting proposed to but then as always I was running late so I was like who cares just get out of the house because YOU’VE GOT A TRAIN TO CATCH. I hadn’t had enough time to buy anything new and I was gutted.

When I got into Nadeems car he was SOOO CASUAL. Like literally 10/10 for acting on this day Nad. We walked around Knaresborough, ate a fish butty, talked about life and we took some snaps – not worrying much about time or anything. He occasionally looked at his watch but I was like oh… maybe I was wrong. I tried to look out for a little box somewhere but saw nothing.

Then after Knaresborough he told me I needed to go get changed because I was in my dungarees (lol) and he said he was taking me to my “surprise” before dinner. He wouldn’t tell me the location or anything. Being the detective I am, I looked out for any clues and I realised – we were on our way to Stockheld Park.

Stockheld Park is one of the most magical places at Christmas time and one of the first places me and Nadeem went together. It holds such special memories and I am so so happy he picked this spot.

When we pulled up to Stockheld Park there was a big banner for a wedding fair and he was like “surprise, we’re going to a wedding fair!” I was like oh… interesting. This was the surprise. Literally guys I was like what an anticlimax. I was sure he was not proposing anymore and the surprise was us going to a wedding fair (Remember we knew were getting married aha). I felt so deflated and overdressed. Lol poor me.

We walked around the wedding fair and I felt annoyed for getting myself so excited but also thought, aww bless the cutie for bringing me here. We saw some beautiful ideas for our wedding (iA) like this gorgeous flower wall and beaut table decor.

In the maze…

After the wedding fair we were leaving the park and Nadeem asked a man working if we could go into the maze. The man told us the park was closing in 10 minutes but Nadeem was like “Please, we’ll be quick..” – I thought to myself, strange behaviour Nadeem, as he’s not one for confrontation – THE BOYS ACTING THIS DAY THOUGH.

As we walked around the maze, I started to hear “our song” – Daylight by Maroon 5 really loud throughout the park. I was so excited and singing along at the top of my voice… Totally oblivious to the fact this was not a coincidence haha.

It was unintentional and not a part of Nadeems plan but we ended up getting lost in the maze and could not find our way out. I was whinging and cold and telling him this was such a stupid idea and that the park was going to close and we were going to get locked in Stockheld Park forever. Again, he kept his cool.

Then something weird happened – something I didn’t want Nad to find out. I kept wanting to go up onto the bridges to look out onto the maze so that we could find our way to the exit but Nadeem kept stopping me and then one time when I quickly ran on to one before he could stop me – I saw a man in the distance with a big video camera running behind a building. I was like THAT IS SO WEIRD. DO I TELL HIM? DO I NOT? WHO WAS THAT? ARE WE BEING STALKED? ARE WE ON A TV SHOW? WHAT THE HELL. I kept it to myself in case it was a part of his plan and I didn’t want to ruin it.
Bearing in mind, all through this time, DAYLIGHT is still playing non stop in the background and I was like NADEEM THIS IS WEIRD, ‘OUR SONG’ WON’T STOP PLAYING, WE CAN’T GET OUT OF THE MAZE, (THERE ARE WEIRD STALKER MEN VIDEOING US) – He was like “Oh the song? Their record player must be jammed” HAHAHA THAT GUY.

The proposal…

A good 45 minutes later we finally got to the end of the maze… Now I could hear the music louder and more clear and when we FINALLY exited the maze… There was a whole entourage of people there! A photographer, videographer, staff, vendors, randomers applauding us. There were petals on the floor, a stunning flower wall and again, our song was still blaring throughout the park.
I was so shocked! I was laughing like a lunatic and kept saying OH MY GOD in this really high pitched annoying voice. Looking back at the video is so bloody embarrassing. Nadeem was trying to compose me for a while going “tayyeba, tayyeba, tayyeba, tayyeba here…here… here” – hahaha because I was so overwhelmed with everything and he just wanted to actually propose at that point.
He got down on one knee and was smiling uncontrollably, said a few sweet things and asked. I WAS LIKE WELL DURRRRR. Then everyone starting cheering and applauding us!

I turned around and there was my sister and brother in law to be beaming! I know it sounds silly but I will always say I have never seen such genuine happiness on a bunch of peoples faces haha. They were literally grinning from ear to ear and I went and gave them a big hug. Sabirah was in tears bless her and Khalid was like well done bro and Nad was like thanks bro haha (typical boys ey?).

The vendors then came to see me and told me Nad had it all planned for months and had sent them sketches of how he wanted it all to look and they’d been working together to make it happen. It turns out he got the ring delivered to my sister whilst she was in Abu Dhabi the little sneaky one!!

Afterwards…

As soon as we got over all the squeals and excitement Nadeem was like right, we need to go or we’ll miss our booking. I was like where we going? And the fricking cutie was like TATTU OBVIOUSLY. HAHAHA DAY BLOODY MADE. ALHAMDULILAH WHAT A FLIPPING GUY. He proposed and finally took me to Tattu all in a days work haha.

There we were joined by my siblings which made me sooooo happy! We ate and talked endlessly about the proposal and how we’d gotten stuck for 45 minutes and everyone was waiting outside for us and honestly, it was one of those moments i’ll cherish forever. I didn’t like the food and it cost a bloody fortune!! But I think it’s because we had to have this set menu. The service wasn’t great either but who cares I WAS FLIPPING ENGAGED.
We then went home and I took like 45 selfies with my ring and tried to keep it quiet till we asked dad if we could finally announce it to the world. Haha, then came our Instagram/Facebook posts and everyone was buzzzzing!

I still haven’t gotten a perfect picture of my ring (because my hands aren’t very pretty) but it’s so sparkly and beautiful mashallah! Exactly what I wanted! I still just stare at it sometimes and think I LOVE IT.

Hahaha… So there you have it guys, my proposal story. Ahhh thinking back to it all has made me so happy. Alhamdulilah for an amazing partner and amazing family who managed to keep it all a secret till the big day!

Thank you for reading and joining us in our happiness. I cannot wait to start wedding blogging in the new year, LOTS of exciting planning content to come guys!

I hope you have all had an amazing 2017 and lets all pray for an even better 2018!

Lots of love <3

Tayybs xxx

Photography: Becki Mcphillips – All you Need is Love Photography
Videography: 2 Little Ducks
Floral backdrop: Twisted Willow Floristry

Hello guys!

First of all… MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone celebrating! I hope everyone is having a brilliant day!

So today I thought I would write about this topic because if I was given money for every time I am asked if Muslim Pakistanis celebrate Christmas, I would be mega rich!

I thought it would be good to address this and give my two pennies worth on this matter but also, just let you know what we do on Christmas! Before we get into it though, I want to make it really clear that this is what WE DO and MY opinion on this so please don’t be offended if you are a Muslim Pakistani and feel different.

Also, there are Pakistanis that are Christian and therefore will obviously celebrate Christmas but this post is talking about Pakistani Muslims.

I would say I have been brought up in quite a traditional Pakistani family. From what my mum says, we have apparently always had a meal on Christmas day since she married my dad as my granddad used to enjoy celebrating. I knew we always took advantage of having holidays and watching all the Christmas movies but as my dad is quite practising and never really believed in ‘celebrating’ Christmas, having a meal was all we did.

As we have grown older however and we see all the preps for Christmas – you just want to be involved right?! So we really get into it. I mean why not? Everyone has the day off, it’s a national holiday and it’s an excuse to just get together and have fun.

I was saying to someone the other day that I feel like every year we go a step further with the Christmas festivities. So first we used to just have a meal on Christmas, then we started wearing Christmas jumpers, then we started having Christmas crackers and next year we’ve planned we’re definitely going to do Secret Santa! We do this because honestly, we’ve been brought up around people who celebrate it and it always seemed like it was so much fun so we want to be in on it too! Dad is absolutely fine with it because he just loves it when we’re all together having a good time.

Dad doesn’t want to decorate the house because he feels that’s a bit too far haha but we’ve always known that so it’s no biggy. A lot of Pakistanis do have trees though and that is absolutely fine! I probably will when I’m older because it all just looks so pretty! There’s also a lot of people I know that do presents and we don’t either but it’s just because we’ve not grown up with presents or a tree so this is why we don’t really do them. Since I met Nadeem though I get presents every Christmas so i’m not missing out anymore I guess haha.
So basically do Pakistanis celebrate Christmas? Every single Pakistani is different when it comes to celebrating Christmas. There are some that do nothing, a majority that do a dinner at least and then some that do it all! And it is all fine – no one should be told off for doing Christmas because especially in the UK, it is a part of our culture so why not!
I know a few Muslims have a problem with it and you get the odd few making comments about Muslims that do stuff at Christmas wanting to be white people/Christians but really – when a non Muslim observes a fast or celebrates Eid, Muslims get so excited and love it! It doesn’t mean these people want to be Muslim, it’s just an appreciation for other cultures and joining in on the fun. So really, if you don’t celebrate Christmas in any way, that’s fine! But I would highly recommend not to shun people who have a nice day because really, it’s not even a Christian holiday anymore, everybody does it! Muslim countries have trees and decorations up at Christmas time and if that’s not saying something, then I don’t know what is!

I feel as years go on, more and more Pakistanis are celebrating Christmas, whether it be just having a meal with their family, putting up decorations or giving gifts and I freaking love it! It is so lovely to see us embracing the culture we live in and just having a bit of fun with it!

I hope you are having a lovely day guys, whether it be doing nothing, having a dinner or doing the whole Shabang. I  thought I would leave you with a few pictures from our evening!

Lots of love,

The Zebs xxx