Allow me to start with the delicious creamy mushroom soup, with the step by step method.

Now you have no excuse not to master this must-try recipe.

Try it & let me know how it goes with you.. bon appetite!

(Step-by-Step)

with Kitten

~Creamy & delicious~

To make this possible, you need:

A small box of mushrooms (sliced)

1 medium potato (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

1 clove of garlic (crushed)

Butter (to fry)

4 cups of vegetable/chicken/mushroom stock

1 cup of fresh cooking cream

salt, & freshly ground pepper

Italian spices (optional)

Chopped parsley, or chopped fried mushrooms & black pepper (to garnish)

Method

Fry chopped onion in butter..

 Crush garlic & add to the fried onion..

Fry both garlic & onion till golden brown..

Add garlic & onion to the 4 cups of stock in a bigger pot..

Add the chopped potato into the  pot of stock, onion & garlic.. 

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook until the potato is tender. Around 10 minutes.

Add chopped mushrooms into the boiling pot & cook for 7-10 minutes..

Once mushrooms are cooked with the rest of the ingredients in the pot.. turn off the fire & set aside to cool for a few minutes..

Once a little bit cooled, add to a blender & blend!

Once all ingredients are well-blended, take back into the pot & bring to a light boil again.. Once bubbling, add the cream, salt, pepper & italian herbs.. & cook for 2-3 minutes..

Once done, serve in a pot with chopped friend mushroom & freshly ground blackpepper.. or add chopped parsley instead.

 Enjoy!

So I’ve been up to so much that I am not sure where I have left off, or where should I even start. My blogging was always like a run-down engine; it would take forever to start, then once it does, it suddenly stops for a long time again! lol Is there a doctor in the house?

Lately I’ve been feeling ‘trapped’ with work. I can’t escape it, nor can I bear working any minute longer. I think it’s because its been such a long time since I took a proper break. Work keeps piling on my plate by the day, resources seem to be either disappearing or not being able to handle the pressure, and the thought of taking off any time soon or even anytime this year is like finding a unicorn – hence the feeling of being trapped. *sad music*

An ex-workaholic friend of mine recently quit her job out of the blue. I was so shocked because out of everyone I knew, not only was work running in her veins & always came first, but she was EXTREMELY passionate about it. She now feels ‘liberated’ & happier than ever. She feels light & worry-free. I envied that (not in an evil-eye-kind of way), but to me she was totally brave to make that move & have no regrets. She took the ‘plunge’ & now is flying like a free bird.

Another friend of mine did the same. At the height of his career, he just quit. No negativity, no specific reason at all, he just felt satisfied & left to start  a new beginning. Not a new job, but a new chapter in his life where he wants to take his time deciding what to do next. Again, he felt liberated. I envied him too.

I want to feel liberated too.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not want to flush down my blessings & quit my job. Especially when I am so lucky to be where I am & others do not even have the privilege of a decent job. I want to give back. I want to empower. I want to change the world. Yet, I can’t help not feeling human about this. I am going too fast, too soon, too hard & no chance to breathe.

My batteries are running low. I need to recharge.

I want my happy-go-lucky self back.

Please let this phase pass by faster, because its taking longer than usual.

Until next time..

The all-volunteer crew and staff comprise of people representing 45 different nations who offer a unique example of unity in cultural diversity. Logos Hope sailed off from Germany around two years ago, docking in different ports and countries since then.

The entrance to the ship

The welcoming experience

lol – I was not sure why they had this in one of their walls.. Probably educating kids about some of the realities of life =p

The ship also features an International Cafe..

Ofcourse we had to have a sweet ending to such a lovely experience!

I highly recommend everyone to visit Logos Hope before it sails away from Abu Dhabi. If not for anything, then for the experience at least!

Each pavilion was beautifully decorated.. this one was of Sweden

I was surprised to see that the pavilions were HUGE with cinema-sized screens..

& sky high ceilings..

Outside the Korean pavilion

This was so cool, a huge library with colorful lights & screens

Inside the Morrocon pavilion

Love this.. very creative

I wanted to steal this & put it in my room.. In the Italian pavilion.. celebrating the love & beauty of shoes <3

In one of the pavilions, sliding down instead of going down the steps.. cool huh?

Spanish dancer

Grande Italian fashion.. <3

Everywhere we went, the chinese were shooting.. Chinese papz lol

Traditional performances happen daily infront of the UAE pavilion..

Ok I am tired of posting photos for now.. Until I blog again.. take care =)

Its been more than 10 years now, since I had an online existence.. 10 years filled with memories- both amazingly beautiful (that sometimes I am jealous of myself looking back) & some are sad; not heartaching sad, but maybe heart-pinching sad..

I made wonderful friends through here, I laughed alot & most importantly, learned alot of valuable lessons..

I’ve come this far, & came to know:

- Simplicity is under-rated, the simpler you think – the better your life is.

- Stay away from negative people. You can try to fix their perspective, but if it seems too bitter, just walk away – because nothing is worse than a bitter aftertaste.

- The world is changing too soon, too fast. Which is why we must cherish every moment today, because looking back at it tomorrow, you will feel jealous lol

- I don’t understand politics, & I won’t pretend that I do; but I do understand who the good guys are from the bad ones.

- It is about quantity just as it is about quality at times.

- There will never be enough time.. ever. So you either do it now or you dont. No excuses.

- You must always exercise your brain on ‘faith’.. Keep believing every day, stay positive.. yes every day.. because when we don’t, we forget & then it seems like someone turned off the light on our life.

- (despite the cliche-ness of it:) Nobody is perfect! Not you, not the person who gossips & not the ‘gossip-ee’.. So stop being mean, its always ugly & disgusting & yes, like your mother keeps telling you: If they gossip to you, then they will definitely gossip about you.

- & no, you are not luckier, prettier, better in any way.. You are just you, who should be grateful for what you have.

I would have shared much more photos, more stories & told you about the places I’ve been, but for now, I needed to let what I learnt on the record (& keep you with a few photos from nostalgic places)

This post is 2 weeks too late, but certain unfortunate circumstances occupied all my time.. Oh well, enjoy a little glimpse of the casual city:

The South Bank

The best, & I mean THE BEST burger ever.. & they have gluten-free options too! If you’re in Australia, you MUSSST go try Grill’d..

@ The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMa)

& guess who was featured: RON MUECK! (the above is a self sculpture by himself)

Very realistic

Baby girl sculpture..

Old women..

Another favorite piece by Michael Parekowhai.. A seal sculpture carrying a real piano..

Gold coast from top..

Wheel of Brisbane

& B is also for Back in Abu Dhabi.. =)

My offline world, on the other hand, has been action-packed & I’m loving it! Never been this social before.. Seeing more people than ever.. Work also has been both rewarding & exciting.. & ofcourse, not to mention my annual birthday gift to myself: a trip somewhere my heart longs for.. This time, it was beautiful New York again. *flying hearts*

Why haven’t I been updating? Lets see:

1) First, & foremost, I enjoyed keeping alot of people on suspense.. Especially those silent stalkers. Suddenly I am off their radar they had to step out of the darkness & actually communicate with me to find out if I am alive or not! *mwahahaha*

2) The longer I wait, the more comfortable it seems to be offline & remembering how enjoyable life is pre-internet

3) There are people offline occupying my precious time – whether family, friends & simple special someones.. =)

& so, here I am, in my office with my florescently-covered Mac updating you guys and saying: I.AM.ALIVE

I am flying away again very soon, & I doubt I will update before that.. so until we meet again, I will leave with a few captured favorites from MoMa, New York <3

From the minute the staff welcome you to the “Burj Dubai”.. to the receipt we received that had Burj Dubai written on it.. To all the poems, descriptions, writings on the wall.. There was not a single ‘mention’ that this building is called anything other than Burj Dubai.

I know that there is $o much to be done in renaming everything & I know it is just a matter of time.

Nonetheless, if you are living in the UAE, you cannot NOT visit the tallest buidling in the world

Tunnel that starts your journey into the Burj..

The Hymenocallis flower that inspired the design of the Burj

Even though we were ‘at the top’ on the 124th floor, you can still see that there is much more of the Burj going up.. I think its a total of 164 floors?

This is so cool.. you must try it!

Going down =)

Like I said, you have no excuse not to visit the tallest building in the world when it is in your own country! & for those who fear heights- it isnt as bad, you could still enjoy the experience without the phobia

On the same subject, check below Ellen calling the tallest building in the world lol:

For more information, check The National’s article..

I still happened to have the special eclipse shades from the August 99 eclipse we witnessed while we were in Europe one summer.. Even got a certificate for that lol Never imagined it would be used again till today =D

I first tried to shoot the eclipse normally, but it wouldn’t show..

Then I tried putting the shades over the lens.. & tadaaaaaa:

=D

Sub7an Allah..

Until next update.. x