Premier jour à Paris

A week ago I was strolling the streets of Paris. I was finally travelling again, even though it was only for 3 days. A little getaway is always nice – no matter the length. This was also the last month for me to travel since I am in my last trimester, as we speak. So here I am, a week later with lots to share with you.

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11th of March 2019 – Notre-Dame & Crepes

My day started a little bit after 5 am, way too early for my inner clock, but since I knew I was being picked up in an hour I made my way out of the bed. I packed my last belongings and ate a bowl of fruit. Right before 7 am I was in Oslo meeting up with my mum. We were finally on our way. At the airport everything went smoothly and we awaited to arrive Paris at 11.05 am. Starving we went to a cafe at the airport in France. After a short break we found our taxi driver and arrived to our hotel at 1 pm. A cute, modern hotel called ‘Hotel Pratic‘.

We freshened up and after an 1 hour nap we wanted to explore the streets of Paris. We weren’t far from Notre-Dame so we decided to take a city map and get on our way. The sun was shinning and the wind blowing. We saw the beautiful church from outside and decided to save our 10€ for a late lunch.

We stopped at a restaurant just next to the well-known church and enjoyed our first proper french meal. Even though I had a greek salad and my mum had a hamburger. Later we made our way back to the hotel. But before the day was over we stopped at a local boutique where I was gifted a Paris mug from my mum. We also stopped by the supermarket before we got our dessert at ‘La Cedrerie du Marais‘. A lovely lady catered us with nutella crepes and a steaming hot coffee. What a great way to end our first day.

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Elizabeth

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Pregnancy & Body Image

You’re suppose to feel this overwhelming sense of joy when you’re pregnant. And anything else would just be unusual.

Well, it’s not. Your body goes through A LOT of changes in only 9 months. And even though you might be the only one knowing it for the first months, you’ll rapidly start to grow and show. And you can’t make your body stop getting bigger. You can exercise and eat as healthy as one only can with daily cravings, but in the end, you’ll get big.

You’ll hear comments like; “You’ve gotten so big. Are you sure there aren’t two in there”. It’s frustrating cause it’s like no one knows what you’re actually going through. And who knows if you’ll ever get back to the size you were before. The invisible pressure is definitely there.

Even as this is my second child I’m much bigger than what I was with my first. I keep telling myself that I’ll get back to my ‘normal’ self and this in it self is a miracle. But as much as it is a miracle, and I am truly grateful to be a mother again, I can’t help to feel like I’m not myself.

I don’t feel sexy in my body, I don’t feel as confident. Most of the time I feel bloated and like I have to pee every hour. I’ll never have my abs back to normal and my bellybutton will most likely not go back to it’s normal self. And I feel guilty for feeling this way. Because my body is getting bigger and I don’t like looking at myself in the mirror, even though I’m creating a human being inside of me.

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Elizabeth

Always a mother first

A sick little child is fast asleep and I’m hoping and praying that my little boy will get well soon. Tiny bodies like his shouldn’t have to go through being sick three times in less than two months. Especially when his illness lasts a week or more.

All three of us have caught some sort of cold, one worse than the last. I even took a late night drive to the grocery store to buy lemons and ginger. If only I could be sick for him, but I know it doesn’t work like that.

But I’ll always be a mother first no matter job I have or how old I get. Very reassuring in a way but with a great deal of responsibility. There’s nothing more comforting than to know that I can hold my baby boy and he’ll feel safe right in my arms.

Elizabeth

Reminder to all reverts out there

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Sometimes it can be hard to see how far you’ve come when everyone around you is pointing out your mistakes.

Remember the time you didn’t wear the hijab. The time when you still ate pork or drank a glass of alcohol. The time before Islam. Before you change you’re life.

I used to read a lot of forums on fb and at first it was fine but soon it began to drag me down. Every notification made me question my faith and there were times I wanted to cry because I felt like I was a bad muslim. That my afford wasn’t enough.

But do your best and that will be enough. Be proud of yourself! Be proud of how far you’ve come and pray that Allah will help you become the best muslim you can be. We are all on our own journey and for some it’s easy and for others it takes longer.

Find a balance and don’t lose yourself. Your faith should make you stronger and lift you up.

Elizabeth

Last day of 2017 – recap

15 minutes before midnight and here I am sitting on the couch writing a recap post. 2017 has been a wild, chill, amazing, heartwarming, difficult and hard – and once again I’m taking a look back at the past year.

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Last Day of 2016 – I ended and started the year with my mum, highly pregnant, walking around trying to catch the fireworks at 12. It was a lot like today, cloudy and roads covered in snow. We actually didn’t find a good spot to look at the fireworks, but we did see some. And after a short, but tiring walk I made my way home to my bed.

15th of January – The most amazing, heartwarming, incredible day of my life, and of 2017. I gave birth to my baby boy. He’s soon turning 1, and I can’t believe how I found the strength to push him out without any medication or drugs. This was hands down my proudest moment & the highlight of my year!

Surprise Birthday Party for 2 – Surprised my mum at home with a clean house and her favorite cake. I stayed and celebrated her belated birthday whilst we ate carrot cake and she opened presents.

Summer 2017 – First summer i tried wearing the hijab, and it was a success! Not as hard as I thought it would be. Abayas became my new best friend and light chiffon scarfs as well.

22nd Birthday – I gave birth at 21, but 7 months later I turned 22. If you haven’t seen it you can watch my «22 things I’ve learned the last 22 years».

2 Year Anniversary – This day lies close to my heart because it’s the day I said my shahada. Nervous and anxious, but the best decision I have made.

Roadtrip to Gothenburg – I was eager to travel the whole year, and finally at the last end of November we decided to take a roadtrip – my mum, my son and I. We had a wonderful stay in Gothenburg, spending most of our time at Liseberg, Universum and in the car, of course.

First day back at work – After 46 weeks at home I had to say goodbye to my baby boy, at least for a couple of hours, and go back to work. After a couple of days and haircuts, I was back into the old routines.

Dinner with the fam – 23rd of December, a day before Christmas Eve here in Scandinavia, we all meet up at my brothers apartment and had a wonderful homemade buffet and played games long over midnight.

Last day of 2017 – Today I continued packing for tomorrow, and also meet up with my mum yet again for a New Years Eve dinner with my son. Now 1 year later he could join us and it was a full circle experience.

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A new year is on it’s way, and this year we get 366 days of creating and writing our story!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Elizabeth

Worst week in my life

Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but I’ve not had the best 48 hours. Everything went downhill since Wednesday night and now I’m sitting here on the living room floor with the worst headache since this afternoon.

I don’t want to keep on dragging this complain wagon any longer, and I will try to look at life from a more positive way.

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Even though we don’t celebrate Christmas, I do want to give something back to my family, especially my mum. And since this is a time of year where people usually meet, I ended up buying some gifts for my family.
It was most natural for me to buy something hair related since I work at a salon. So both my brothers will receive a shampoo. My oldest brother will also get a 3D puzzle I thought was so cool, maybe even something I should have bought for myself. And my brother in between will get a sports t-shirt. I still have my parents but I’ve got them covered with something.
I’m off to bed hoping to sleep away this awful headache. I have to be up, ready and back at the salon by 9 am, so good night.

Elizabeth

Life’s too short not to be doing what you love

At the moment I’m sending out my resume, in deep search for a new job. When I started high school, at 16 years old, I never imagined becoming a hairdresser. I actually wanted to go design & textile and then major in sewing and designing clothes. I can’t say I regret my decision, because having a high demanded job which I can apply anywhere in the world is great. But I can’t see myself in this business for the rest of my life. I can’t see myself at my workplace because I don’t see a future there. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t believe I can grow into a higher position there.

Life’s too short not to be doing what you love. And it’s time to implement what I say into actions. 

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These pictures were taken a while back when I filmed my autumn try on haul (link). Though I won’t be wearing light pink pants anymore – I do have the same pants in a dark burgundy color which is so perfect for this time a year.

Blouse: Lindex // Pants: Cubus // Vest: Nelly.com // Hijab: Modanisa // Shoes: Store in Miami

Elizabeth

I can’t do this anymore

I can’t even feel the pain because I’ve buried it so far down
Every inch of my being is torn and I want to scream out crying.
Feeling like a disappointment to everyone around me.
Silently crying because I don’t want anyone to hear me.
With the door unlocked because I want someone to find me.
Being happy and miserable at the same time.

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Elizabeth

Red is my new favorite color

I definitely need to find some new outfit locations because my house is running out of space. Luckily I did manage to pull this off with my phone hanging on a tripod attached to the crib and with a timer in my hand I had my own little photoshoot.

Hijab: Modanisa // Blouse: Lindex // Culottes: Mondanisa // Shoes: Esprit

Have a lovely weekend!

Elizabeth

Colorful wall decor

I got this idea about a year ago and made an inner promise to myself that I wanted to finish it before this year is over. Never did I think that I would spend the last bits of summer trying to be a painter.

I bought some watercolor, which I’ve never used before, 3 canvases and some brushes. The first time around I actually managed to buy the wrong type of brushes which were not meant for watercolor. And getting the design onto the canvas was a whole different problem but with some good help from my talented friend we managed it.

First we scathed out the wanted design onto a piece of paper drawing lines horizontal and vertical. These same lines were also drawn onto the canvas so that it would be easier to copy it.

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The biggest painting took me quite a long while to finish but I also took a week break in between. Taking a step back and not getting to sucked into your project is the key to any masterpiece. And then you can come back with fresh eyes and a new look on things.

I’m so happy with the end result, especially of the world map. This can cost up to 100 dollars online but making it yourself definitely gives you a greater appreciation of the artwork.

The paint job on the two pieces down below went relatively easy since it was a smaller canvas and not too many colors to work with.
Comment down below and guess which countries these are:

Elizabeth