DIY Mason Jar Herb Planters

Mason jars and chalkboard paint? Yes! I have been working on this project for quite sometime (it only takes a few hours) because I was waiting for my pasta sauce jars to empty. I also wanted to make sure I did this project on a day when I was okay to get a little dirty! 

If you have always wanted to own a plant without killing it, this is the right step to take! I am a pretty forgetful person if I don't remember to write things down. That is a major reason why I don't tend to keep plants in my house. I made sure that if I was going to try and take care of some, they should be easy plants to take of and maintain. These are the best plants to have in an apartment. Growing herbs in your apartment is very easy and does not take a lot of space. 

Planting herbs is cheap (I got each of mine for about $3) and you can get them when they are already pretty grown so that way if you're impatient, like me, you can already see the green! I made sure to keep the herbs in a place where I could see everyday so I was reminded to take care of them. At first, I kept them on my desk where I crafted with a small dish at the bottom. After replanting one of my herbs into the Mason jar, I decided to wait until I had enough jars for the rest. It was a messy task, but I enjoyed every second.

Instruction after the break. 

Ramadan 2013: Slow it down

This post will be a little different then my usual ones. I hope that you enjoy reading it, and please comment if you have any questions or feedback! I wanted to give my thoughts on prayer which occurred to me while I was in the midst of my last prayer. I don't know if I could call this advice, I just want to put this out there because I believe that at least even one person can relate. 

Photo Credit: Tavila Disha Haque. July 22, 2012

I hope this does not get any negative backlash, but I thought I would share something that I experienced today while praying Taraweeh Salah.

I usually pray quickly, as if it is a task on a to-do list, something that just has to be done because we were told. I have been doing that for a really long time, but today I prayed differently. I decided to clear my mind, pray with a little more consciousness, really get into the heart of actually praying and taking my time to do so. And let me tell you, it felt great at the end, very rewarding.

Whenever I finish a yoga session, I hear a lot of people saying that they feel so great and have this sense of a 'rewarding feeling' when they leave. I am definitely guilty of saying it myself,  I really do feel that way. Today, after praying, I felt that same way. I know that some people may not agree with my thought process on this one, but it's worked for me so I know it will work for at least one other person out there.

I took what I am told at yoga and applied to to praying my last Salah of the day. I decided that today, even though I was a bit tired, I could take my time and pray. While starting to pray, I decided to clear my head and make myself understand that my list of things I have to do the next day will still be there when I am done. I prayed at my pace. What was I really rushing for anyway? All I planned on doing after praying was just playing games on my phone and really, that could wait.

I told myself I will focus on ensuring that I do three things. I will clear my head while praying, be in the present and not think about all the things I have to do later, those could be left aside and picked up once I was done. I also made sure to sit after praying and use that time to supplicate and make Dua. There have been countless times where I have prayed and then got up and finished. I didn't even make any Dua after spending all that time praying. All I had to do is sit there and ask for anything I am in need of and be thankful for what I have. After I finished praying, I did just that, I got myself to sit for a while longer and appreciate what I have and supplicate. When you finish yoga, you are told to stay when it's done, and try to push yourself to stay a little while longer. This last part lets you cool down and end in a relaxing way. I felt this same sensation of relaxation when I was done. I left the prayer mat feeling rewarded and very pleased with how I had spent my 45 minutes.

Now I understand that this is the way that we have been told to pray, but many of us forget that. We are all busy, have things to do and places to be. When I can take the time out to go commute to my yoga class, spend two hours there and commute back home, I am sure that I am not too busy to spend a little more time and effort into praying.

I know this post is a little different than usual, but I really felt like I should share it and possibly inspire at least one other person. I felt so good at the end and hope that others can feel this way after praying as well. Remember that you will never have time for anything if you don't make it.

-Tasneem

Foldable.Me

When I heard about Foldable Me I got really excited and pumped about this mini paper craft. I put it together in a few minutes and it's had a lasting impression on anyone who's seen it. The first words my siblings said were something like, 'Woah, that is so cool" and asked where I got it. Foldable Me was a Kickstarter funded project and the concept was great enough to be funded within a few days with about 1000% of their intended goal. 

I finally got a chance to put mine together and had some fun placing it in different places within my house. Before I got my order, I was able to make myself similar to how you would make a nintendo wii mii character. It was a fun process choosing from tons of eyes, noses, outfits and more! I decided to build it when I had a good amount of time to play with it (I know, I know...)

Foldable Me offeres free shipping internationally and you can get and make your own mini right here!

Here is my little Foldable Me just chillin' and Hangin' out in my favourite spots. If I could shrink down a la magic school bus, this is probably where I would go. 

This is probably how it would feel to chill in a mason jar, and yes I have a pretty good collection of mason jars. (don't judge me...)

 Here is me, almost born

 Here is me just hanging out with my crafting supplies

 Here is me just chillin' on my typewriter

and finally, who would't want their own #ootd shot?

**This is a sponsored post. Regardless, I will and have only recommended products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions are my own.

DIY: Canada Day BBQ Inspiration

Hope everyone had a great Canada Day or Fourth of July! I had a blast making this BBQ detailed and coordinated to get into the festive mood! The day started off cloudy, but it turned out to be nice and hot during the evening and we ended with doing some fun fireworks and sparklers! Here are some photos from the day with some instructions for DIY after the break.

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To see how I coordinated everything