Project U as in Unkown

List of Weddings to attend:

• Senegalese Wedding
• Somali Wedding
• Moroccan Wedding
• Nigerian Wedding
• Panamanian Wedding
• Yemeni Wedding
• Indian Wedding
• Pakistani Wedding
• Southern USA Wedding
• Greek Wedding
• Chinese Wedding

Wedding Crasher

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but I am in absolute loveeee with weddings. No matter what culture they're from I love them all! American, Palestinian, Nigerian you get my jiff. Any and all weddings make my heart swell. 

This past weekend I attended a wedding, which by the way I didn't know the groom nor the bride until the day before the wedding. I attended my first Senegalese wedding and let me say it was the longest wedding I've ever been to. The festivities began on a Friday and continued till Sunday. 

Friday was what my friend described as a bridal shower. However we did nothing that I've done at bridal showers I've been to; well besides talking about....the deed. But I would think that's talked about at all events leading up to a wedding. Or maybe I just don't have the cleanest of minds. *shrugs* Anyways Friday we participated in singing and dancing and of course eating. I mean it's not a real party without food. It was almost like a small wedding. I must admit we arrived there late and this was actually my first time meeting anyone on either the bride or grooms side. But she invited me to the weddings the next day almost immediately. Alhamdulillah the bride was so beautiful and her personality sparkled brighter than the dress she was wearing.

So the very next day I attended the "morning" wedding, which by the way the bride didn't arrive at until 7pm, it was more traditional and was mostly all women. It consisted of lots of singing, a bit of dancing, and many many stories. Well at least that's what my friend told me. Did I mention everything was in Fulani? No? Oh well it was. And the only language I know fluently is English so I was kinda just floating on the emotions in the speakers voices and the gestures they met. Nonetheless I made it through and knew what was going on around me. Well I pretended to at least. Hey that got me through high school. The bride was of course even more stunning than she was the day before. However I did notice her presence wasn't quite as lighthearted as it was before. She barely smiled and even cried a  few times. I wasn't sure if this was something that was apart of their culture. but of course being nosey Maqsoodah I had to ask. When I was answered with a no it wasn't customary, my heart sunk a little bit. I always think that weddings are supposed to be a beautiful and elated event. And when I saw her that's not what I felt.

We left from there and went to get ready for the next wedding. Which was the big wedding that was supposed to begin at 10 pm. We got there at 1:30 am and once again the bride was no where to be found. Which was totally understandable considering what time she left the "morning" wedding. As soon as the lady of the night walked in I began to feel the emotion I had come to expect at weddings.

Bliss.
Peace.
And just a bit of sadness.

Sadness from the prospect of losing a loving daughter, leaving a loving families home. Sadness that would soon follow with happiness. 

She was absolutely gorgeous in her white bridal wear, which was made in Senegalese style. By the time she got to the front of the room tears flowed from her eyes freely. Now these tears I understood. She would be leaving her family that night. She would be living with a man whom she knew of, but honestly didn't know that well. Although technically she was married a month before that, they considered that to be the engagement and tonight's festivities the completion of the marriage. In her mind I'm sure she was thinking 'this is it'. Marriage is something that holds such a heavy weight and how can you ever truly know that the person you re marrying will always be there for you?

You don't.

This unknown is what gives marriage its sacredness and sanctity. There you are promising to someone to always do your best and hes promising the same. But you never know what the future has in store for you. You can only hope and pray as you take that leap into the unknown. And because of that my eyes welled up with tears with her. Before this happy occasion could turn into a sob fest her mother and all of the women of her family walked up to her to embrace her and reassure her that they would always be there for her. Once again I'm assuming because like I mentioned before, the entire wedding was in a language I only knew how to say 'hello' and 'how are you' in. She began laughing and smiling and my heart eased and soon after that the festivities began. The dancing started, singing, and once again the stories. I sat there smiling happy for the bride and groom as they embarked upon this new journey of life together. So young yet filled with so much potential. All in all I must say this was a very different experience and that I'm so blessed to have been invited to experience with her. 

Here are a few beautiful shots I got from the wedding: 

The brides beautiful sister 

The 'morning' wedding

The beautiful bride and groom 

Another lovely bride and groom shot

Mother and bride just as bride was leaving

Now what I wore:

Hootd for the 'morning' wedding

Me and my new friend

My 2nd hootd

My very good friend and I 

On another note this wedding gave me so many ideas for a project I will inshallah begin soon. I don't want to say exactly what it is right now but I will say this: M

My love (nearing obsession) of weddings mixed with the cultural uniqueness of this Senegalese wedding has  lead me to make a list. 

A list of all the different weddings I want to attend. Don't laugh at me but the positive energy at weddings is unlike any other I've experienced. So here it is

List of Weddings to attend:
Senegalese Wedding -I know that I just attended one however the next one I attend I want to have a different perspective while attending.

Somali Wedding- I've been invited to so many of these but never can seem to make them.

Moroccan Wedding- I thought the Senegalese wedding was long I heard Mo0rrocan weddings can last a full week.

Nigerian Wedding- I have many family members from Nigeria and still haven't attended a Nigerian wedding

Panamanian Wedding- I would love to see their customs

Egyptian Wedding- Egyptians are some of the funniest people I've ever met (is that bad for me to say?) I know their weddings are gonna be wonderful.

Yemeni Wedding- I know too many Yemenis to not have been to their wedding

Indian wedding- Pretty colors...Nuff said

Pakistani wedding- See reason above.

Southern (USA) Wedding- The idea of a rustic wedding with cowgirl boots and haystacks is appealing to me for unknown reasons.

Greek Wedding- Have you ever heard of that really famous movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'? Yea I thought so.

Chinese wedding- Just because.

For now that's all I can think of'. I will add to this list as I think of them and take away as I attend them.

I'll repost this list on another post and itll be cleaner. But omgggg Im sooo excited to start this new project. Cant wait to share it with you 

Till next time 

♥♥♥Stay Golden Loves ♥♥♥♥

Fall Cooking

Fall is here! I know technically it's gone but you must forgive me as I haven't posted anything since August. School started and things grew....out of control. So I do apologize but life goes on. If you know me you know that summer is truly my favorite season. The sun, the beautiful sky, the sun, the barbecues, the sun, the freetime; did I mention the sun? But really you have no idea how sad I was once I realized summer was ending. Like I didn't know it was gonna happen right. But every year it seems like the end of the summer creeps up on me. Like a shadow trying to encompass me. Ok enough melodramas.

What was I talking about?....oh yes fall. So once fall began I forced myself to enjoy the beautiful foliage. And all though it got cold, which by the way I hate, I tried to stay positive. That's me, positive sometimes to fault. 

You know what I realized through all of my positiveness (is that even a word?), is that although fall marks the ending of my beloved season there are some perks to fall. For one in the fall you can wear layers for days and not worry about being too hot. Something that many hijabis are accustom to doing all year long. 

Strapless dresses + cardigan and/or long sleeved shirt= modestly dressed hijabi!!

Also in the fall you find yourself craving more meals that are....hmmm how do I say this...comforting. Soups, pastas, pumpkin pie, cheesy rice, hot cocoa, everything that 'comforts' the...soul. So I found myself in the kitchen cooking. You should know for me this is a big deal as I'm no Aunt Jemima (we'll forget the racial tones of this brands marketing choices). I actually realized I like cooking...sometimes...

Sidebar: yes I'm a 20 year old woman who doesn't cook even with my mothers constant yells of "how will you ever get married"  and "why do you like to do the boy things? Why can't you clean and cook?" And my replies of "I want a man who wants me for more than my food" etc... But in my defense my mother has always cooked and when she needed help my older sister was always there. It was never something that was needed of me and was rarely even asked. 

So yes it took me this long to realize that I like to cook...sometimes...

So you're probably wondering what did I make? I made some yummy deliciousness called 'Pecan Cheesecake'. And when I say yummy deliciousness I mean sweet balls of fire that's some good Pecan Cheesecake!!

It was super easy took a little over an hour and came out tasting like pure angel. Ok enough similes.

That's what the beauty looked like. Now anyone can make it. You don't have to be a Betty Crocker or anything like that,  and it will still turn out delish. 

Now I used McCormicks recipe and pretty much followed it to the T.

Vanilla Pecan Pie


Ingredients:

• 1 refrigerated pie crust, (from 14.1-ounce package)
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 3 eggs, divided
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 4 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract, divided ( I used equal amounts of vanilla powder obviously because there's alcohol in the extract)
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups pecan, pieces, toasted

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare crust as directed on package for one-crust pie using 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Beat cream cheese, 1 of the eggs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Spread evenly on bottom of crust. Bake 15 minutes.

Beat remaining 2 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Add corn syrup, butter, remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla and salt; stir until well blended. Sprinkle pecans evenly over baked cream cheese layer. Slowly pour corn syrup mixture over nuts.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until just set in center. Cool completely on wire rack. 

Now I recommend everyone at home to try this and most of the ingredients you should have already. The only things you might need to buy are the pecans, corn syrup, and pie crust. But if you're feeling really fancy you can actually make your own crust and make your own corn syrup using sugar. But I'll leave that to the pros. 

Now the only things that I can say in advice is do not and I repeat DO NOT attempt to make this with low fat cream cheese unless your going for that healthy and not nearly as good taste. The second time I made it my mother accidentally picked up some fit and active cream cheese. I used it and the cheesecake did not expand like it did the first time and also I think it was much  dryer. But hey we live and we learn. Also I would recommend. Cooking it for 30 mins the second time instead of 35-40 as  the crust dries up too much from being baked so much as does the cheesecake. I haven't tried that yet but inshallah next time I will.

If you try this leave a comment below or email me

Peace or rather Pecans! 

And of course....

♥♥♥Stay Golden Loves ♥♥♥♥