A Little Luxe by Artisan Jewels

I'm always on the look out for decent jewellery, especially as over the years I've culled my jewellery box and gotten rid of the plastic rings, dinky necklaces and random mis-matching bracelets to make room for more quality pieces. When I was younger I would collect a lot of colourful pieces of jewellery - some of it I'd get given, some I'd pick up from Green Street, junk sales, random friends and even some I'd attempt to make!

These days I prefer a more minimal look - quality statement pieces over heavy blingy sets. Probably the last heavy jewellery set I've bought and worn was my wedding set - although that at least was a nice quality set! But having said that, it's quite dressy and not one I'd wear often, especially with my hijab. I also often find that although there are nice designs out there in the shops and online companies, the quality isn't always there. I'm not a fan of cheap crystals (is it me, or does every shop all claim their crystals are from Swarovski?) or and I tend to go for understated pieces which reflect good quality - good settings, good quality stones and wearable designs.

I bought this necklace and bracelet set not too long ago, from a jewellery company called Artisan Jewels, who I came across at an Eid exhibition. What I liked about their pieces is that each piece can be worn alone or combined but doesn't look over the top or too blingy. I particularly liked this set because it felt quite solid and elegant, and I love it when white and gold is done well. The necklace and bracelet both have stones and mother of pearl enamel in them, which looks really pretty and not too flashy. I've worn it a few times already, although I will admit that they don't always stand out in photos! The two pieces were just under £50 for both, which I thought was a good deal, especially as I have seen a lot of jewellery companies which sell their pieces for a lot more.

I'm still on the look out for some nice bracelets and necklaces that I can wear with occasion wear, so will post any more companies I come across, but I thought this was a nice one which had decent items which don't break the bank!

My Eid - Eid with the family!

We had a lovely Eid celebration this week, wand it felt like a busy one with lots of family and guest all congregating my my mum's! We had a fantastic meal (as always) cooked by my mum, with lots of giggling children, dressing up, photo-taking and gifts, made complete with some sunshine!

For Eid this year I wore this gorgeous peach suit from Pakistani label Sapphire Pakistan, which my husband picked up from Pakistan a couple of months ago. I absolutely loved the colours when I first saw it, and thought the work on it was really decent quality. I'm a fan of Sapphire Pakistan, and it was one of the places I asked my husband to stop at while in Pakistan - I only wish I had bought more of their pieces! I also loved that it came with a lovely silky dupatta, which had a pretty print on it, and both the dupatta and the suit were embellished with pearls. What I particularly liked was how well stitched the outfit was, and the fact that the pearls were sewn on properly - no half-hanging-by-the-thread pearls or damaged seams!

I also thought I'd make an effort this year wear some decent jewellery too (in past Eids I've worn minimal jewellery pieces!). So on one hand I wore some pretty glass bangles with pearls all over from Pakistan, which came from my mum, while on the other hand I wore a 'haath panja (a hand harness) piece which was sent to me by my mother in law. I loved how these looked, and they went wonderfully against my outfit.

As usual, the kids in the family bought the outfit game and rocked it - I loved all of what they wore. There was a lovely mix too, two wore pretty ghararas, one of my nieces wore an Afghan-style dress from Pakistan, and two wore party dresses! And of course, they all wore the cutest shoes!

Here's a peek at some of the food we had - this is only one table (we had another one full of more food!) and which we fully enjoyed. Even though it was straight after a month of fasting in Ramadan and we were stuffed, we ate well and enjoyed it!

My sisters and I have created a tradition of gifts over the years, if not always for each other, then we try to get them for the kids of the family. It's well worth it when we see how excited they get, and gives them something to look forward to as well! This year I received an abundance of chocolate and makeup. One quirky present we all liked was pretty mugs for each of us with our initial on it, which was a nice idea.

Eid was a fun day for us, full of silly jokes, games and of course sweet treats. We usually try to spend the next day doing Eid too but some of us had work the next day, and a lot of us wanted to catch up on sleep, getting energy back and get into routine again after all the madness!

My Eid - Chand Raat

My chaand raat was a fairly quieter one to previous years, in that I didn't get a chance visit the local shops and stalls which set up for the night. We were invited to dinner at my eldest sister's house though, which is always a fun way to start our celebrations, especially as she is a great cook and it's nice to be around excited children!

Here's what I wore - a comfy, loose Nishat Linen kurta (link here, although I have no idea what shipping is like!) I was lucky enough to get a bunch of kurtas and outfits from Pakistan this year, as both my husband and my mum made a trip to Pakistan so I'm quite well equipped for the year! More on my haul later, but this was one of the outfits my husband bought back for me. It was loose, super comfy and perfect for the warm weather. I wasn't sure whether to wear black pants or white, but I opted for white because I liked how they looked, and they look quite summery. I also paired these with wooden bangles from Pakistan (via Mum) and an embroidered velvet clutch (also from Pakistan, via hubby!)

The food was yummy and plentiful - lots of curries, rice, salads, chaats and roast chicken, finished off with several desserts and tea to wash it all down!

I didn't get many photos of the guests or my sisters, but the little girls happily posed away for me in their super cute pink gharara outfits from Pakistan (while I kept pulling up their trousers before they tripped!) My sister also made and handed out Eid sweet packets for everyone after dinner, which was happily munched by us all, although I think all of us were quite full at this point!

She also gave the girls in the family a gorgeous personalised box each with pretty presents inside, which I thought was a lovely touch - mine was the pink box of course!

Every Eid I promise myself I'll put henna on, and most times I forget, or am too tired and just go to bed! This time around I made myself stay up and used a cone to apply some mehndi (especially as I had about 4 mehndi cones sitting in the fridge!) - not professional but I like what I finished up with!

Did you do anything on Chand Raat? Did you get any mehndi done?

Eid Mubarak!...Eid-al-Fitr 2019/1440

Wishing you all a lovely Eid and hope it's been a fun celebration for you all! I've been loving all the outfits I've seen people wear on Facebook and Instagram, and can't wait to show you my outfits !

Hope you all had a lovely Eid, and wishing you all a wonderful week of food, family and fun this Eid (which I'm sure will carry on onto the weekend for me!)

In the mean time, here's a quick peek at what I wore for Eid, which was very comfy (plus some seriously yummy chocolates from my sister!)

Love,
Curly Fries
xxx