The Old Souq, Dubai

Hey friends! It's the weekend out here and I wanted to share some of the unique gifts I got for friends and family on my last trip back home. Unfortunately, I had to come back with some of these gifts as I didn't get to see everyone I intended on. :o( At least they are immortalized in blog land for the world to enjoy, well, visually enjoy lol.

Get ready for some fun touristy eye candy!!

The irony of buying money. It was definitely fun looking through this bucket, but still kind of weird to buy money. Look carefully and you'll find some American pennies. Ha! 

After a little bit of digging, I found this really old Indian coin, though not sure if it's technically a rupi. I loved it's floral shape and added it to my coin art. 

Leather sandals. 

Can you guess what these are?

Resurfacing an Oak Dining Table

Hey there folks! Hope you all had a wonderful mothers day. I almost forgot about it out here in Dubai, but still got a nice dress and the best hugs and kisses from the kids. Isn't that what it's all about?

Speaking of forgetting, I had a project that has been long overdue for sharing. It was a project I did during my first trip back to the States. While staying at my mother-in-law's house, I noticed her dining table was extremely sticky, I tried scrubbing it down with soap, water and a coarse scrub, but nothing worked. I realized the 30+ year old table needed to be sanded down and stained.

Thirty years of collecting grime, dust, oils from food and what not left quite the surface for me to sand down. The before and after may not seem so shockingly different in the photos, but if you can just imagine the difference between a brand new table and sticky paper fly trap then you'll get the idea.

After

Before

Flying With Emirates Airlines (with three kids) Out of DXB

Well, I've officially been back for for a week a month now and I had to share my experience flying back to Los Angeles (and flying back to Dubai in the next post). Don't you want to know what it's like to fly for 16 hours with three kids? I thought you would so here it is. 

Our adventure began bright and early in the morning middle of the night. I had the kids pick out their clothes the night before so I could wake them 15 minutes before we had to leave, dress them and put them straight in the car. Snacks were also prepped by them the night before, since there would be no time for breakfast with all the hustle and bustle.  

Not quite half way to the airport and the meeter reached AED25. Did I mention we needed 3 taxies since all the vans were taken? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :o) 

LuGgAge!!! We had 10 pieces and luckily help arrived just in time. Checking in wasn't as smooth as I wanted, but it beats being juggled around an overbooked flight. Apparently Emmirates Airlines is notorious for overbooking and then compensating later for any inconvenience. On our last trip, despite being on time, we were bumped from our seats and by the time we were guaranteed our flight again almost an hour had passed. We were all getting  a bit restless but as a reward we were given vouchers to shop at this place...

Excuse me sir, is that Camel under 25kg? :o))

Window Shopping: Cost Plus World Market

Hey Hey everyone!! Terribly sorry for leaving such a big gap between posts, but this vacation has put quite the toll on me physically and mentally. Hmmm.... doesn't sound like much of a vacation when I put it that way lol. Well, I'm back home in Dubai, but still have a ton to share from my trip back from my other home, LA.

I really appreciated window shopping in the States. Maybe because things in the US are so much more affordable than in Dubai. Even though I only bought a couple very small things for my home, the thought that I could afford so much more in the US than Dubai made me so giddy inside. (o:

What made me more giddy was a lovely trip to Cost Plus World Market. That store isn't out here in the UAE. You can imagine I was like a kid in a candy store when I went in. I saved my money as much as I could and immortalized the items I wanted by taking pictures. A bunch of pictures :o))))

Patio furniture. So festive and vintage looking. 

Zebra print (used in moderation) will never go out of style.