Author Archives: samarhajjaj

Aug19

Digital Pictures

Posted on August 19, 2014 by samarhajjaj

I can’t decide if digital pictures are a curse or a blessing. We are blessed to have such amazing technology that we can take pictures and videos with our smart phones… Any time, any place, instant development, over and above we can share them on our social media for basically Everyone in the world to see….. Yet once I upload them, back them up it seems that I never go back to them….

Seriously!! I was going through files and files in order to find a specific picture from one of the girls’ birthday.

It took me HOURS because I ended up just viewing whatever file I opened because I saw pictures I didn’t even remember I had.

Ok I have to admit I’m really guilty when it comes to organizing them…yes that is a flaw in my OCD, DYI, organization fixation. I even attempted to make sure I put them on Shutterfly. It doesn’t seem to be enough….

It’s funny how something so good as digital photography can turn out to be overwhelming while I’m busy “Making Life Memorable” I’m also having an inner battle as to how to organize my memories…..

Aug18

My Mission Week

Posted on August 18, 2014 by samarhajjaj

My Mission Week

It’s funny how sometimes life takes over and you’re just busy doing your daily routine that it takes you maybe days (or months) to realize that you’ve lost your groove.

In my case it could be overwhelmed with life. Apart from the punches it has thrown at us, we ( my husband and I) have kept it together this past year. Hoping that come September our mission to keep on track should fall into place (insert prayer here!)

I’ve taken these past few days to make a list of the things that I have to get back on the wagon. The first I shared with you yesterday which was the “Return of blogging” so mission one seems to go as planned as I’m still typing

Aug17

Things to do Indoors with Kids.

Posted on August 17, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Things to do Indoors with Kids.

Having kids and keeping them entertained and busy is always a challenge for parents. When you have issues like weather to worry about be it dust, heat, rain or for the lucky ones snow the challenge seems to be bigger.

I have came up with a list of things for myself that I would like to share and hopefully assist parents & their kids. This is in no way a static list!! I keep adding but it’s a start for you….. Mind you I have 2 girls so you’re probably going to notice that many of the suggestions are girl oriented (Sorry Boys!)

1. Bake
2. Play with blocks
3. Color
4. Paint
5. Make homemade Play dough.
6. Play with Play Dough.
7. Build a fort with pillows, bed sheets, chairs and
8. Read and let the kids act out the story
9. Dance
10. Dress up and create a play
11. Play Tea party
12. Do Puzzles
13. Play Board games
14. Play Uno or cards
15. Take a bubble bath and play with bathroom toys & crayons
16. Have a spa day with lots of lotions, hair curlers and nail polish
17. Play with Barbies or Action Men.
18. Build lego or happyland village
19. Make an obstacle course
20. Make Sock Puppets and create a puppet show.
21. Design a T-Shirt with Fabric Markers
22. Make Popsicles.
23. Make Paper Airplanes
24. Play with Chalboard and Chalk or Whiteboard
25. Play with Bubbles
26. Prepare a dinner buffet… we usually make fresh burgers and put all the fixens on the table.
27. Make cookies
28. Read
29. Make an Experiment
30. Organize the playroom.
31. Craft
32. Finger & Foot Paint
33. Make your own treasure hunt
34. Have an indoor picnic
35. Play hide and seek
36. Paint rocks or shells
37. Play hairdresser
38. Wash all the barbies
39. Make fruit salad
40. Movie night with popcorn
41. Make bead Jewlery
42. Make pizza
43. Create an architecture project using marshmallows & toothpicks
44. Plant fruit seeds into indoor pots
45. Skip rope and hula hoop
46. Choose an interesting topic and research on google
47. Have a fashion show
48. Make a volcano
49. Make paper mâché
50. Have friend & cousins over

Aug17

Blog Rehab

Posted on August 17, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Blog Rehab

I’ve been so overwhelmed with “living” that I haven’t had time to dedicate to my blog.

To my followers I truly apologize for being too busy, but I hope that you follow me on Instagram (@samoorstuff) to stay tuned. To all new readers I hope to bring you into my life through my blog.

I’m hoping that today will be the day that I get my groove back and I’m calling it BLOG REHAB.

So stay tuned for more inspiration, fun stuff, DIY projects and more ways to Make Life Memorable!

Mar31

Zeenah’s 4th Birthday

Posted on March 31, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Zeenah’s 4th Birthday

I sometimes feel like March is the end of celebration season for me. We go from the high of October through September with a break in January. Then the Rush of February and March then comes SILENCE! Until the cycle returns.

If you’ve been following me this past almost year then you know how serious I am about celebrations. If this is your first read you need to know that almost every “Occasion” post comes in many parts so stay tuned because I usually have A LOT to say and share.

I take pride in almost every planning detail of every event I host. No matter how small or big I must have something special. Thankfully I have instilled that same trait in my children and it has also rubbed off on my husband. The First step in my birthday planning process for the girls is to ask them what Theme they would like. Off course many times I “veto” and “probe” but many times I like the suggestion they come up with.

Zeenah declared her 4th birthday as a “Lady Bug” theme and I was oh too eager to oblige! So much I can work with I was over the moon!! As you can see I also managed to dress her up in theme (which she insisted on having her sister have the same dress too.) Over and above that she asked me to make her a ladybug crown because according to her the guests won’t know who the birthday girl is…. not sure why she would think that since everyone was coming because it was HER birthday….not that I minded off course!

The most exciting thought was the Piñata…. I used to dream about it!!! And oooohhhhh the use of paper Mache, Who doesn’t like a good old fashioned mess??

So stay tuned on all my DIYs, Pictures and fun of Making Life Memorable!

Feb23

It’s BLOGYWOOD

Posted on February 23, 2014 by samarhajjaj

It’s BLOGYWOOD

I sometimes sit and wonder about how many hats I play in a day. Being a mom is really under-rated. The multitasking that we have to do is mind boggling. All while trying to look your best or at least presentable, control your temper and stay focused with a plastered smile. Oh and we won’t even touch on the fact if you had to go to a full time job, or own a business or those good old days of volunteering!

Life must have meaning… REAL meaning. I choose to blog because I want to share my knowledge, crafts, experiences and things I find useful as a mom. A real down to earth (can I say that about myself without sounding pretentious?) content based blog. You will never find me in 100inch red soled heels, I am most likely going to have more ponytail and casual days, and the only entourage I will EVER be walking around with are my little girls.

Yes people do not take offence if you belong to the “BLOGYWOOD” arena this is all based on facts not opinion. No I do not want to be you…it’s just too exhausting to witness. No I do not envy the crowds that hoard you. No I do not want to be oogled over while in public trying to spend time with my family. And No No No for so many other reasons.

It is so apparent that unfortunately there is a hunger in Kuwait for the “Hollywood” lifestyle. Since that’s never gonna happen BLOGYWOOD has been created. An arena of fashionistas and “IT” people to follow, mimic and drool over.

Don’t get me wrong, not all of them are like that I’m talking about those specific people that all of a sudden came out of the woodwork and think that they are trend setters and the best thing that’s walked this earth.

Be careful what you’re doing… there is so much more to life. What mark are you leaving behind? What is your contribution to this world? and more importantly WHAT are you going to do when this craze is over??

Advice from me to you… wise up!

Make your life memorable because in a few years when there’s a new Fad in Kuwait you’re only going to be left with just YOU.

(Post inspired by a few people that I used to know and now actually don’t say hello if they see me because they’re in the “IN” crowd)

Feb19

Photo Booth

Posted on February 19, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Photo Booth

One of my favorite things to prepare for the girls’ birthdays are props for our DIY photobooth. There are companies out there that set it up for you but I like to do it myself and people nowadays are all photographers with their smart phones so they get to play and have fun on their own without a professional “probing”

We always have a theme for our birthdays so I always have to make sure that the props I make are related. Then I just add the usual things like funky sunglasses, Boas, decorative items that can be used as props.

For Zeenah’s 3rd birthday she wanted a monkey theme so I had printed out a template of a monkey mask.

I then cut out the outline of the mask on brown cardstock. The details of the face and ears with off-white paper.

The step of cutting out the eye holes evenly was a challenge but I managed to do it.

I added a little flower on the monkey’s ear and a little detail on the nose.

Off course the last step is adding the stick for kids to hold the mask up. I use craft sticks that have rounded tips (if I have them available or can find them) I have used the wooden skewers in the past but made sure I taped the sharp ends.

The next on my list was to make a sign to put on the Prop table. I was lucky to find funky frames at one of the local 100fils stores (the Kuwaiti equivalent of the dollar store) so I bought all the colors they had. I knew they would come in handy some day.

Lastly was the setup of the actual booth. We’re lucky to have a big garden that hosts our birthdays. We have an olive tree that provides the best branches to hang an empty frame border, balloons, paper chains and whatever else I can think of. Here’s me posing with my monkey sunglasses during Zeenah’s 3rd Birthday.

Jennah’s 7th birthday she had chosen a queen of hearts theme.
I absolutely and utterly enjoyed planning and decorating for it.
It was so hard to actually make decisions to STOP.
I had made lots of props for that. Queen of hearts hair & Crown, Heart lips, Cheshire cat smile, Mini Golden crown and Teedle Dee/Dum cap.

An Now it’s time to plan Zeenah’s 4th Birthday coming in March!!!

Its all about making life memorable!!

Feb17

Yarn Scrap

Posted on February 17, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Yarn Scrap

My girls Love to play with yarn. Yes it’s a random thing we have in our household but give them a ball of yarn and they’re like little kitties thinking of what to do with them.

After many yarn crafting sessions, scissors and just cutting for no reason I end up with all sort of lengths of yarn.

In an effort to keep everything organized I collect all the scraps of yarn and into the Yarn box they go. Well one fine Friday morning while thinking of a crafting session with the girls I decided its time to get “yarny”.

I had the girls sort out all the different colors and try to unknot as much as they can. Off course some were just unknot-able and we had to cut them leaving us with odd lengths and that’s when I had a moment. Lets just do Yarn pompoms. A great way to recycle all this little pieces!

First we placed a large loop of orange yarn as the base of the pompom.

Next it was placing all the different colors and stacking them up over the looped yarn.

The last step was weavng the loose end of the looped yarn into the loop and tightening it.

Viola!! A Yarn pomom was made

And more importantly the yarn box is nice and neat…..for now!

Feb3

The art of gifting

Posted on February 3, 2014 by samarhajjaj

The art of gifting

Ever wonder how some people have the gifting process down and some don’t?? Well I’m blessed to be part of the first category.

I love giving gifts and making gifts and wrapping gifts….basically ANYTHING gifts is my joy. I love it so much that I turned it into a business back in 2005 and have developed it until “present day”, just imagine that being the caption while watching a romantic comedy movie, yes I will not fall under any other genre like thriller or action it could be drama at times but that’s too real… Lovely thing about blogging is the fact that it’s a fragment of reality so we’ll just stick with Romantic Comedy!

Back to the gifting…. I have had the pleasure of Bazaar magazine visiting my new store and writing a wonderful article about my pride and joy of a business. Thank you for everything Bazaar Staff!!!

Be sure to Read the article!! “The Perfect Gift”

Always remember its all about “Making Life Memorable”

Jan4

Happy New Year

Posted on January 4, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Happy New Year

It’s been too long since I’ve last posted anything and I figured a little Happy wishing is due. (At least until I get my act together and get writing again!)

Hope everyone has made lists of wishes, wants and resolutions for the coming new year and I hope you get to accomplish all of them.

Here’s to a wonderful 2014!