Friday, August 2, 2013

Book Review & My Thoughts-The Mortal Instruments Series


The Mortal Instruments series is a supernatural story with an exciting twist. It has three books in the series and fourth one is coming April 2014. The plot is extremely desirable. Once you start, you simply cannot stop.The series takes your mind and bends it to make you love the characters. The characters are loving, humorous, dangerous, and of course, mysterious. The way the author can imagine a world with fantasy, amazes you. The world of Shadowhunters is something new to the shelves and classic to the heart.I bought the first book on iBooks not knowing anything about it at first because i had bought other books that i had already knew of, and i wanted to read them first.. BUT when i started reading it i didn't pause once till I finished it, and then I started the other two and did the same. I can’t wait for the fourth book to come out.
"When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes(human) like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. "

Most books turned movies usually suck compared to the books,excluding harry potter. Its funny how Alot of people compare "The Mortal Instrument" to "Twilight" or harry potter as if those were the only books ever written in the history of the mankind. The stories about vampires and werewolves exists long ago and thousands of writers are using these as materials to create a new and different stories. 
I personally liked "Twilight Saga" when I first read it and so does "The mortal instruments". They are unique in their own stories. I loved The Mortal Instruments series not because it is “like” Twilight. I love it because of the plot, the characters and the world that the writer created.
"The mortal instruments" might not have as many fans as twilight Yet but i am hopeful the director will do it justice in the movie format so more people can see the awesomeness of "Cassandra Clare". The only similarity between "The Mortal Instruments" and "Twilight Saga" is that they have vampires and a love triangle,other then that they just can’t be compared. They are on two completely different fields. It has the magic/fantasy of Harry Potter and the Romance of Twilight, although the relationships in this series are much more complex, interesting and relate-able. I think it’s very cute. The sarcasm in it is perfect

Can't Wait for the Movie! 




I definitely recommend it if you like fantasy fiction and books with vampires and werewolves. These are my thoughts on the whole series. If you want me to review each book separately then let me know in the comments below and don't forget to read the book before watching the movie!



LOVE
Mariam Haq

Thursday, August 1, 2013

July favorites

July is officially over and it was a very busy and hectic month for me. Health-wise not so good. I had infection and i had to see the doctor a few times but now i am perfectly fine. Beauty-wise it was a really good month. I have found a lot of new and good beauty products & brands. Ramadan is going very well,my family likes to stay at home for iftar and i am trying to eat healthy. So except for coffee, i have been eating pretty much at home all the time.

Anyways lets get into the post 


I have been loving Clearsonic Mia.It is an amazing invention and worked really well on my skin. I've had no side effects yet (fingers crossed). I am planning on a full on review of my experience on Mia with you guys so don't forget to check that out in the future.
LINK!

MAC Studio Fix fluid is my love. I have been using it for 7 years now and it is hands down the best full coverage foundation for my skin when my skin needs full coverage. i am shade NC20 . if you guys want me to do a review on it let me know in the comments below:)
LINK!

Garnier BB Cream is for those days when i don't want to spend a lot of time doing my makeup or i m in a hurry i use this cream with mascara and Bright lipstick. I have a detailed review on this BB Cream LINK!
LINK!


Yes To Grapefruit Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream & Dark Spot Correcting Serum are going to be the permanent in my daily routine. I have been using these for almost 1 and half months and i cannot tell you guys how much they've made my skin happy. My next post is a detailed review on these two babies, so if you want to get rid of acne spots or fine lines under your eyes don't forget to read my next blog post 
LINK!

I have heard a lot of bad stuff about Maybelline Color Whisper in the past, that they are very sheer or won't last long but i could not resist buying one because i love the packaging,its very sleek and girly. I wanted to be safe so i went for the almost nude color "Lust For Blush".This is a muted, slightly cool toned mauvey pink on my lips.It's sheer but pigmented and build-able (not to full coverage), has a glossy finish, non-drying not moisturizing either. I love it  . I might purchase more colors in this collection but right now i am content with this one . I got mine from ULTA for 7.49$ LINK! Other then that i have been using wet & Wild's Spotlight Red a lot and if you want to know my thoughts about it, Click HERE!

The perfumes i gravitate towards are girly, sweet and floral. I don't like ones that are too musky or citrusy.  But this month i have been using The Body by Burberry a lot i don't know how to explain this scent. This is not my typical sweet scent but it is very womanly, very sophisticated and not too overpowering. It makes me feel like a lady haha . This perfume is actually inspired by Burberry's trench coat which is always beautiful and classy. It has rosewood, iris and vanilla in it. I absolutely love this perfume.
LINK!

I have two favorite polishes this month. One is from OPI "Skull and Bones" from their Pirates of the Caribbean collection. This is very unique color, a very milky, dirty grayish, white color.
The other one is from Sinful colors and is called "Boogie Nights". It's pinkish coral in color.


NONE BEAUTY FAVORITES

TRUE BLOOD
Loving the new plot about Lilith and Bill but totally hating the new romance between Warlow and sookie. I want sookie and Eric together .

DEVIOUS MAIDS
New drama reminds me of Desperate housewives which i absolutely loved. So i am hooked on this too 

Have A Nice Weekend 

Mariam Haq

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Stuffed Dates

Hey Guys!

Today i want to show you guys how to make "Stuffed Date".This is an old & very dear tradition in our family. Me and My chachu (Uncle) used to make them and it was our little tradition in every Ramadan. Before Iftari we have to prepare them,just me and him and i felt very special because no one other then me was allowed to touch them before they were ready, now when i look back i can clearly see that I was the only child there,My brother was 3 years younger then me and he was not at all interested on even looking at them haha. This is called the innocence of Childhood :)
Anyways Stuffed dates are very quick and easy way to impress anyone. It tastes Delicious and you can stuff your dates with whatever you want its totally up to you ;)

Anyways Let's get into the recipe :)

INGREDIENTS:

For this all you need are

  • Dates
  • Cream Cheese
  • Almond/Walnuts


Make Slit in the center of each date and Using a small spoon or butter knife Stuff the pitted dates with Cream cheese and topped them with roasted almond/Walnut. Refrigerate Before serving. And Voila your delicious date are ready.






You can serve them in Iftari or any other party you want they taste and look delicious Trust Me!
In Pakistan you can find cream cheese at Al-Fatah. They have 2 brands Philadelphia and PUK both taste delicious and i think PUK is cheaper then Philadelphia ones :)

Have you guys tried this before If yes then do let me know your experience or what filling you prefer :)



MORE FOOD PICTURES FROM MY IFTAR






Have a Nice Weekend

LOVE


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Wet & Wild Spotlight Red Lipstick - SWATCH & REVIEW

Hey guys!
If you have been following my blog for sometime then you know that how much i love natural/almost natural lip colors, i love how they make you look polish and clean without drawing too much attention to your lips BUT recently my heart is gravitating towards dark and brighter lip colors and this July i cannot stop myself buying and wearing these amazing yummy bright colors.

Today i will be talking about one of my recent favorite super affordable drugstore lipstick Spotlight Red from Wet and Wild.







 This brand is well known for their soft and amazingly affordable eye-shadows so i decided to try their lipsticks as well. As you guys know i am a newbie in wearing bright and bold lip colors so i thought i would start from the affordable drugstore brands and if i continue to love bold lips then i would definitely try the higher end brands. Spotlight red is the perfect blue-based red. It is not too matte and has very good staying power. I have to use a lip brush to get more precision.Formula is not quite as creamy as I would have liked. They definitely feel on the drier side as matte lipsticks will. They feel more comfortable to me with a lip balm under them which is totally fine with me. The packaging is the infamous wet n wild packaging kind of annoying since the stick juts out over the top of the tube so when you put the cap back onto the tube, you have to be careful not to slice the lipstick. The color payoff is amazing, makes my teeth look white which is a huge plus.I do like that the cap is see-through so that I can tell what lipsticks are what colors easily enough in my makeup bag.The color stays on so well i have to remove it with makeup wipe. I really like this lipstick and i have been wearing it with white,black dresses. On the face Revlon color-stay foundation and a lot of black mascara(i have 3 favorite mascaras at the moment), nude pencil on top & bottom water line and Spotlight Red on lips. Oh and i have heard this is a great dupe for MAC Russian red,Another Plus for me ;).I really like this color and i would definitely recommend it i got mine from CVS for 1.99$
LINK!
Have you ever tried any lipsticks from wet n Wild and if yes which is your favorite shade? i would love to know because i am really tempted to try some new colors :)

PS: I am planning on hosting a giveaway on my blog.I will announce it next Week,i am really excited & cannot wait to share it with you guys. :)

Mariam Haq

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Sephora,Betsy Johnson,Abercrombie & Fitch + A little Ramble :)

Hey Guys!
 This is a bit of a compilation post. Rather than making a mini different posts about my weekend and the stuff i bought or currently loving i put them all in one post.

I have been debating on buying a clarisonic mia for few months now, this Saturday i woke up and went on Sephora's website and Finally ordered one for myself  so now i am waiting for my parcel very patiently.. you guys cannot imagine how much excited i am right now 
other then that i bought this perfume from sephora last week it was total a spur-of-the-moment decision.



Betsy Johnson's Too Too
Check this out yourself isn't it the cutest perfume bottle you have ever seen. A perfume bottle wearing too too it was love at first sight i had to have that prettiness on my vanity so i got the 1.7 ml one for 31$ LINK!.. it has very sweet scent which i like but i m not very crazy abot it either,
Would I Wear it? "Yes".. Would I Repurchase It? "NO".

The Other perfume which i am absolutely loving and lusting over is FIERCE By Abercrombie & Fitch Link!


It is Heaven in a bottle. My brother has it and i just love it. My brother and i both are nuts about perfumes we both have a huge collection of perfumes and recently i have been wanting to wear this men cologne CAN YOU GUYS BELEIVE IT? i know me neither. I have already wore it a few times before going to bed hehe (Dont tell my brother)  ;). I am thinking about getting one for my fiance as well..I am very bad at describing scents. I either love them or hate them but i cannot describe them lol. Anyways what do you guys think about the bottle do let me know in the comment below *wink wink*

I have been using new makeup wipes which i got accidentally from Wallgreens Link! because i was in a hurry and i thought they were from Garnier because of the color Anyways i end up loving Them more then the Garnier ones.


These wipes are really amazing for removing makeup. They make my skin very clean and refreshed. Formula is very light, It almost felt like you are cleaning your face with the water. I have not tried to remove any waterproof makeup with it. But it does its job pretty well. These wipes reminds me of the ones i used to buy from Makro on Link Road Lahore. They were the Bomb. I got my whole family hooked on those. I would definitely make a blog post about them when i would be back in Lahore because i think every one should use those they were cheap and Awesome Trust me!.. Yeah so these Absolute ones have 3 different smells or types, Green Tea,Cucumber and Lemon mine is green tea one and i am absolutely loving them i think you should give them a try too :)
Yeah so that was all the little products update and my ramble. Have you guys tried any of these products? what do you think Do let me know.. 

Mariam Haq



Monday, June 17, 2013

Recipe Of Hot Dogs With Caramelized Onions

Hey Guys!

My first post on this blog is about my basic hot dog recipe.I love hot dogs and i make them in many different ways today i am going to show the very basic recipe.First thing i want to say i am not a professional chief. This is the way how i like to eat my hot dogs and i am sharing this on my blog :)

Ingredients:
4 all Chicken/Beef hot dogs
4 hot dogs buns
1 small onion (sliced)
2 Table Spoon Maggie Seasoning
1 1/2 Table Spoon Butter


Cooking Instructions:



Step 1: Fill a medium-sized pan about half way up to the top with water,in order to ensure even cooking, you may want to let the water boil first before placing hot dogs in the water; however, this optional step is a matter of personal preference.Let them boil for 4 to 5 minutes.



Step 2: while your hot dogs are boil sliced your onion,in a medium size frying pan Take Butter and let it melt for 20 seconds on medium heat.



Step 3:  Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the butter. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally. Depending on how strong your stove top burner is you may need to reduce the heat to medium or medium low to prevent the onions from burning or drying out.




Step 4: After 10 minutes, pour some magie seasoning over the onions, and let it cook for i more minute and then take the pan off from the stove.



Step 5: No put your hot dogs in bread and add some ketchup and mustard.




Step 6: Final step add your caramelized Onions and your hot dog is ready to eat.

You can buy this from Al-Fatah  if you are in Pakistan,. If you are in USA it is available in a lot of Indian/Pakistani grocery stores.


I hope you like it.This is my first post on this blog so i want it to be simple and short.i would really appreciate your feed back :)

PS: Check out my blog about beauty and and fashion Glitter Gossip
Love