not so little black dress

Since I was *temporarily* kicked out from my family's kitchen, I poured out my grief in my sewing nook: organizing my fabric, remnants, notions, patterns and some actual sewing. 

I ticked off a project from my list: Cameron knit dress from StyleArc. I purchased the PDF copy of this pattern and the tiles are easy to assemble. The pattern includes seam and hem allowance and since the dress has a blouson design I didn't worry about the fit and simply went ahead with the sewing.

I like this dress not just because it fits well but also because its black: it can be accessorized in many ways.I wore this early this month for an Iftar dinner and was adorn with a smaller version of Omani silver Hirz or Hijab necklace.

My only regret was that I should have worn a slip underneath because of the wrap skirt. I was really conscious of exposing more than I should. The problem is I don't own one since the material I always used are thick enough and my dresses or skirts are fully lined that I don't really need to wear extra underneath.

So I guess I need to make one and luckily this silk fabric has been sitting in my stash:

I'm sure I could squeezed in another project in my list.

See you in my next post!

a repeat, new favorite, something new and grief

I spent the rest of the Holy Month of Ramadan cooking:

Clockwise:

Day 14: Pad Thai
My brother cooked extra noodles for the Vietnamese Pho; he must had misunderstood my instruction I gave him. But instead of getting angry, I simply started to think on how to reuse it and Pad Thai came first thing into my mind. This is my first try: it actually a bit pink in color due to hot sauce I used (not naming the brand). It was a hit, except my dad didn't liked it - it was too sweet for him.

Day 15: Chicken Noodle Soup
This is the noodle soup of my childhood:  shredded chicken, noodles in creamy garlicky broth - no carrots no cabbage.

Day 16: Vegetable Spring roll
My sister didn't had enough last time a made this so I cooked another batch.

Day 17: Garlic Soup
There always a couple of bulb of roasted garlic sitting in my freezer. I usually make this soup whenever I'm having a cold or flu (yes, I still cook even if I'm sick). Though I wasn't sick when I made this; I just ran out of ideas!

Clockwise

Day 19: Pad Thai
My brother was leaving and my family requested Pad Thai for the send off dinner. We found a new favorite! I am also glad that one of the local grocers stocked some Sriracha and purchased a bottle. And this time, it wasn't too sweet and my dad kept refilling his plate.

Day 21: Mushroom Quiche
I remember the days when I treat myself with a few of hors d'oeuvre sized Mushroom Quiche and told myself: I should know how to make these. However, I didn't make hors d'oeuvre-size quiche - didn't have the time and patience for that!

Day 22: Ensaymada
This is a Filipino-style Brioche topped with butter, caster sugar, grated cheddar or Emmental cheese, and slices of preserved eggs. This is definitely not for the calorie or weight conscious person.

This was a very sad day to my family as one of our dog has died. We are all dealing with the loss in our way: dad spent hours doing carpentry, mom did the laundry ahead of schedule, my sister was always angry, my brother wasn't talking, and I kept on cooking. I was temporarily not allowed to cook for few days.

Since we were all grieving, our Eid celebration was very low key. I was finally allowed to cook. I decided not to post about it as there were others who were grieving too.


See you in my next post!