August Update

Can't believe it's September already. August went by super duper fast. It was just one thing after the other. 

We started August with a Bridal Shower for the Bride-to-be Sadiah. Mashal was the planner and she did a wonderful job with everything; just wonderful Mish-Fish! I have been seeing these floral crowns on Pinterest and I knew I had to make them for something. Mashal wanted a floral themed event so it was perfect! Mine was pretty amazing. Aww look at us. 

And then it was here, Sadiah's wedding. dun. dun. dunnnn. Still can't believe my BFF got married. Sigh. Still can't believe Bushra got married. Bushra's wedding, then graduating, then the bar exam, then Sadiah getting married. Everything is happening too quickly. Nonetheless, Sadiah looked beautiful on both days mashallah. Unlike Bushra's 4-day festivities, her wedding was 2 days. Thank God. After dancing all night on the mehndi, I don't think my body could have handled another 3 days. The winner from the mehndi night is Hajrah. Hajrah girlfran, your thumkas are on-point! Sadiah we had fun without you at your house--played luddu drinking homemade coffee. I miss the coffee. What I don't miss, the air mattress that died on me. 

August also happens to be a busy month for Birthdays. Saif (5th), then Ebaad (2nd) and then the birthday twins, Ghanva and Mashal. (Excuse the quality of these photos, they were taken with my iPhone--I should really start using my camera more)

Adieu August, you were fun!

Date 3, 4 & 5 Recap

I have loved each and every one of these dates (including yours Asu) and I'm sad that it's all over. With everyone's busy schedules, its hard to just get together and hang out. 

Date #3: Asu

Asu claims that our date did not count but it did my friend, it did. We spent it, together; I watched TV and Asu clicked away on her laptop, finalizing some proposal. We fought. We laughed. We chilled. It was amazing. 

Date #4: Asmara 

Asmara has been wanting to go to Burger 7 for months now so thats where we went. They have really yummy cheeseburgers and the Napkin Zone Fries. You have to try them--they have chili and mac and cheese and onions and of course, fries. Ahhh. So good. The best part, its all halal. Beware, you will be in a food coma afterwards. We couldn't finish our fries so we took them to go and even though we both swore we wouldn't eat them in the car, they were all gone by the time we got home. We also shopped at Kingstowne and met up with Asu at Ikea. Asu is an Ikea addict and basically lives there. 

I also completely forgot to take a picture of Asmara. Sad face. 

Day #5: Samreen
Rena and I went to Mate in Georgetown for our date. Mate has really good sushi (get the volcano, believe me) and the best virgin mango mojito I have ever drank in my life. After some sushi, we went to Baked and Wired, which is literally up the street. I went here with Sadi a few years ago and loved it. This time I went it wasn't as great as I had remembered. The cupcakes are good but I felt like they weren't Georgetown Cupcake level this time. The icing was super sweet and the red velvet was pretty dry. Nonetheless, we ate our cupcake by the harbor. As we were eating, we saw three women walking around that were wearing t-shirts that said "We are sisters" and a picture of them together. Rena thinks this is a great idea and is thinking about getting shirts for all of us. Prepare yourself other Khan sisters. After Georgetown, we went to Tarboush in Arlington and then the World Market in Kingstowne. The World Market is such a great place! So many pretty things. 


And after my date with Samreen its over. I guess it's a good thing. My face isn't reacting very well with all this junk food in my stomach and with Sadi's wedding coming up, my face needs to be in good condition. Oh lawd. Sadi is getting married. I'm going to go be sad and watch some Harvey Specter now. 

Date #2: Nosheen

I spent Tuesday with the lovely Nosheen (and Utbah crashed our date). We decided on dinner and a movie. Okay fine, I decided on dinner and a movie and it was the greatest plan ever. We ate at Olive Garden and watched Guardians of the Galaxy; the movie was a-ma-zing! I am not a big 3D fan but that was the show time we ended up going to and I highly recommend watching the movie in 3D--totally worth the extra money.

Freedom & Date #1: Bushra & Ati

It's finally over. Driving to Roanoke wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was quiet peaceful. The Roanoke Civic Center was crazy cold. I should have brought sweaters to wear under my suit like some smart people did. I don't think I will ever forget where I sat: Lime, Row 4. No more waking up early. No more spending hours studying about negotiable instruments and the million different ways a contract can be accepted. The misery is finally over. Studying for the Bar may have been the most stressful thing I have ever done in my life. Worse than law school and law school really sucked. BUT at least its over! FREEDOM! 

After the exam I decided that I would have a date with each of my girls. 5 days, 5 sisters. They dealt with my craziness and they deserve time with sane post-bar Komal.

Monday was Bushra's day. Ati really wanted to go to DC so thats where we went. We got a cheesesteak from some place in Arlington (it was really good) and then ate at National, watching the planes fly by. Bushra really wanted to go paddle boating in DC but that plan fell through; don't say "paddle boating" near her, just believe me. We did end the date with a trip to Georgetown Cupcakes, which as always, is amazing; the red velvet and peanut butter ganache especially. 

June/July Recap

While taking a shower this morning, showers are usually the place where I get most of my thinking done, I realized how I haven't blogged for a while (I actually it had been since January) and made a mental list of everything that has happened that needs to mentioned. Then Tabitha texts me and ask me why I haven't blogged in such a while. Woah. She read my mind. Anyhow, lets start the recap journey.

After Bushra's birthday, we celebrated Inaayah's FIRST birthday. Aww look at that cutie pie mashallah. We got a, wait for it, moon bounce! A quick warning about moon bounces with slides: do NOT try diving onto the slide. There will be pain afterwards. Severe pain. 

Sometime after this birthday bash, we received some pictures from the wedding from ARW Studio, who by the way are amazing. This one is my favorite; we took this a few minutes before the end of the night. FINALLY the six of us. The weird thing is, when the six of us get together, I always feel like someone is missing; one, two, three, four, five, six, nope, no one is missing. 

In May, two of the coolest people in the world graduated: that would be me and Shahroz. Shahroz graduated from GMU and my law school misery finally came to an end. Damn, I look good, even with all those grays. 

I got a week to enjoy my graduation before Bar prep classes started. Woohoo, Virginia bar exam. 

Then came June and Ghanva graduated from Woodbridge High. I have pictures of her but that would mean finding my camera, loading them onto the computer and that requires too much effort, I am very comfy where I am right now. Lets just take a moment and congratulate Ghanva. Woohoo.  

We then celebrated Sadi's first dholki. Gasp. My bff is getting married. 

Which brings me to Ramadan Mubarak! We started Ramadan yesterday, others started today. I don't understand how its 2014 and we still cannot agree on which day Ramadan starts. It shouldn't be that hard to the fact that the moon has a well known and certain cycle. Regardless, I wish everyone has a safe and healthy Ramadan, stay hydrated! 

As a side note, what are the chances that the 30 days preceding the Bar exam are the most holiest of the year and Eid is on the first day of the exam! Woah. 

And the lastly, we had a pre-birthday celebration at the National Harbor with dinner and a ride on the ferris wheel. Then an iftaari/birthday party at Nosheen's yesterday. Can't believe I'm 25 alhamdulillah. Time has gone by so fast these past few years.

White House Spring Garden Tour

This past Saturday, I went to the White House Spring Garden Tour. Doesn't my date look adorable? I was pretty excited. I mean its the White House, come on! Saif was pretty excited but I'm pretty sure he thought we were going inside.  The tour started at 2 and of course we got there at 2:15ish. Don't worry, we made it! Probably a good thing we arrived late, the security line was short. We passed security, were handed a pamphlet and that was it. We got to walk around the White House Garden, surrounded by men with big guns, and see which president planted what. It was super sunny so I didn't get many pictures but I did get the front of the White House. The weird thing was, it actually isn't as big as you think it would be. After watching White House Down, I definitely want to get a tour of the inside. 

Next thing to visit in DC: Library of Congress. 

Bushra's Birthday

God, I've been away for a while. I feel like all my blog posts start with me apologizing for not blogging enough. In other news, Bushra got married with Atif. AHHH. Bobo got married (as if you can't from the spaceship sized rock on her finger; good job Atif)! Unfortunately, I was a complete slacker and took very few pictures. Also, like always, my phone ran out of battery. I put all my trust in Azeem & Waseem & Rehan Bhai from ARW for complete coverage. I will post some pictures as soon as I get them (hopefully the photobooth pictures come soon!). The wedding was amazing, can't believe its all over. The days leading up to it were kind of slow but then it was Wednesday and Sunday and then all over. Each minute of every day was incredible. Bushra looked beautiful all days and Ati look meh, decent :)

Thank you everyone for coming and making it amazing. 

Anyhow, its that time of the year. April. April is Bushra's [insert a number between 21-25] birthday. Bushra was clever enough to have her wedding in the same month as her wedding. So for the past 3 weeks, its all been about Bushra. First dholkis, then mehndis, then baraat, valima and now endless birthday parties. We had a BBQ at Leesylvania Park, which by the way, is gorgeous. I'll post pictures of the BBQ another time. The highlight was this amazing sunset at the end of the day. So pretty. 

So what can I say about Bushra? Bushra is, Bushra. Shes my best friend, my older sister, my confidante, my mentor, I fight with her at least twice a day and make up within seconds of yelling at each other, we have endless inside jokes, she can read my mind, she keeps me in my place but spoils me when necessary, shes funny, shes loving, shes caring, shes selfless, shes creative, shes lazy (so so lazy), shes late, shes funny, shes humble, shes sincere, shes strong, shes Bushra. Once you meet her, you can't help but to fall in love with her. It is almost impossible to not like her, which by the way is incredibly annoying at times. 

Happy Birthday baby girl, I love you. 

Bushra's Dholki #1

I didn't think it would happen so soon, but it is. My baby sister is getting married. Yesterday was her first "dholki." We spent the whole night singing and dancing. Even though it rained the whole time I was taking these pictures, they came out pretty darn good. It could be my photography skills or Bushra's photogenic face; I'm betting its the former. 

Snow Days

I'm back! Yes, its been a while but the important thing is I have returned. 

I would have posted something last week but I have been trying to teach myself html so I can put pictures side-by-side and guess what? I FIGURED IT OUT! Not all the way, the spacing is still a bit weird but its something.

Okay, recap. I have been dying to go to the National Galley of Art's Drawing Salon:

Join us for sketching and conversation in the galleries. Led by practicing artists and museum educators, this series of workshops integrates art history and studio art practices.

No I can't draw or paint but I love the idea of being a good painter so why not try something new? The worst part is the seated is limited. I have gone there twice and have been unsuccessful both times. BUT not to worry, I haven't given up just yet. The next one is Sunday and Eisha and I will attempt our journey once again; Sunday is Cezanne's Landscapes. 

Other than my unsuccessful attempt to the Art Galley, we have had a beautiful winter. I like snow and yes even with all the snow we've had, I am still not over it. We had a snow "storm" last week. Wait, two weeks ago. February 13 to be exact. I believe all the cool kids were calling it the "Polar Vortex." In Woodbridge Winterland, we got about 10 inches. This was Inaayah's first big snow so she was super excited about it. The only bad part about the snow was cleaning the drive-way. I don't know how Bushra and I shoveled it, but we did and the pain in my back and shoulders reminded me of it the next three/four days. If you couldn't tell, we also made the sexiest snowman known to man kind. You welcome. 

Musah's and Mahnoor's Birthday

The month of January is a busy month for the Khan family; too many birthdays. Musah's, then Mahnoor's, then Sadiah's (thought technically she isn't a Khan) and then Samreen's. 

This year it was Musah's first birthday and Mahnoor's fourth birthday. Aww they grow up so fast don't they. Sam has been super creative recently so she made these cute shirts for both of them. This Saturday is their birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. Lets wait and see how the craziness will unravel.

November/December Recap

So its been a while, I realize that. I had finals for three weeks and then a two week winter "vacation." Lets be real, that wasn't really a vacation. I worked the whole time and did nothing. I did watch a lot of TV. I definitely overdosed on the Hallmark channel. Yes, I watch those sappy Christmas movies, they're amazing.

So the whole month of November was spent studying for finals; even spent Thanksgiving studying. I took 17 credits in the Fall so I would only have to take 13 in the Spring. While studying for finals I thought I had made the worst decision of my life by taking 6 classes, but after I got my grades, I'm thinking maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. I guess I excel under pressure because I kicked ass on my finals. It sucks that my GPA isn't going anywhere, but I am pretty proud of myself. 

Other than preparing myself for the next three miserable weeks of finals, it was also Asmara's birthday. I have been meaning to blog about her birthday for days weeks now but just never got around to it. Asmara is my favorite because, in addition to a million other things, she is like my second mommy. She makes the yummiest things (including my fav lasagna), is literally one of the smartest people I know, literally the smartest person, I can ask her about anything and a kick ass couponer. I mean she makes those people on TV look bad she's that good! 

I am so lucky to have you in my life. Happy Birthday Paco. Love you. 

December was spent taking finals and watching lots and lots of TV. It was also Abu's 59th birthday. I have to blog about Abu, maybe I'll save that for Fathers Day. Sadiah got engaged. Oh lawd. My bff. Where does the time go? Lastly, this may have been the first year I spent not staying up until midnight to watch the New Years ball drop. I got knocked out around 10. When did I get so old?

I guess thats everything I didn't blog about. My plans of going to different places has failed yet again. Maybe 2014 will be different.