

What a busy weekend it’s been! I’ve been doing my best to follow a tip I saw online that said you should romanticise your life and try and see it with new eyes. The good bits, of course! This doesn’t mean we should accept unhealthy habits or allow bad situations to go on. I’ve really been feeling the wanderlust vibes lately and just want to get up and go. I haven’t been satisfied with where I live and quite fancy a huge change. If I’m honest, I hope to leave Australia in the next few years and begin a new adventure. In the meantime however, I’m focused on being a passionate enthusiast of life and doing the best I can with what I’ve got. I know in order to feel my best I need to break up the monotony and create for myself a new reality, starting with baby steps.
In the spirit of this, I went for an impromptu walk to Parramatta Park yesterday. I spent a while getting dressed as I wanted to make sure I loved my outfit. As you might’ve seen from my stories, I hopped on the grandpa vest trend. I think I did a great job of making it look chic and stylish though! I kept to neutrals and wore a white button down under the vest. Paired that with jeans, white sneakers, braided my hair and added a brown leather bag and leopard print scarf. The way I wear the scarf is either in my hair or tied to my bag. I even put some makeup on which I rarely do nowadays. Did a red lip too which always makes me feel like a boss babe.
My favourite spot at Parramatta Park is definitely Rumsey Rose Garden- perhaps you’ve seen the video from my time there. It’s a beautiful location. Lots of seating, flowers of all types and these shaded canopies formed by trees and ivy wrapping around the structures in the Park. Since I was all dressed up in my Spencer from Pretty Little Liars inspired outfit, I took a bunch of photos with self timer. They turned out so well and I adore them. I went for a variety of shots and played around with angles. Definitely a preppy cottage core vibe!
In the evening I went to my favourite restaurant Lusso Tapas in Rouse Hill with my mum and grandma. We ordered our usual gozleme, kofta and fried chicken but also tried a new dish- the asparagus and ricotta florettes. Dessert was Greek donuts and Mediterranean ice cream with rose water and fairy floss.
Sunday was similarly full on. I spent Sunday with my brother, dad and my step mum’s family. We’ve grown quite close to them as they live locally. Speaking of my step mum, we finally have a date set in stone as to when she’ll come to Australia. January 20th, 2021. Her and my dad are both Pakistani but she has lived there her whole life. My dad on the other hand immigrated when he was twenty one. My step mum can’t drive, speak English and doesn’t cook so it will be a learning curve for her to adjust to life in Australia. I’m confident that with time, patience and love we can help her transition be smooth and free of obstacles and discomfort. I’m very happy she’ll be completing our family unit once more. My dad and his wife have been in a long distance relationship for just under two years now with the exception of a few visits. Of course, of late, there has been no opportunity for this. I know how hard it is to be away from the one you love. To wish to be the first one they see and interact with in the morning. To just want to kiss them, to hug them, to be close. I know there are days you feel hopeful and like your bond crosses oceans and all the divides the world could create. However, I know there are days you cry and feel like staying in bed because you can’t bear the thought of another day of longing. To have that stage in their relationship come to a close must be relieving beyond measure.
Anyhow, I’ve strayed off topic slightly. My new Aunty and Uncle have two kids who are five and eight. They are much closer in age to my brother but my Aunty and I have grown to be good friends. I’m glad my brother has some playmates. I know he’s always wanted a younger sibling who was on his wavelength and content to play games all day. In these kids, he’s got that. We met up around half past four in the afternoon as daylight savings in spring means long days. The sun was still at full brightness making a trip to the park, as planned, a decision worth rethinking. We ended up heading to the local mall and playing arcade games for upwards of an hour. They’d bought a prepaid card with $200 worth of game money. You can imagine how exciting that was to three kids. They were pretty much let loose and allowed to play any and all games they desired. I began by playing table hockey with their girl and let me tell you.. for someone so small, she has wicked skills! She beat me with 6-4 wins. If I’m being honest though, my hand bag was in the way and definitely hurt my play. Afterwards, we circled the arcade and played spin the wheel, bowling, basketball and knock the clowns down, amongst other little games. At some point there was a system error and we were given over a thousand tickets instead of the hundred and fifty we’d actually won. Go figure, I though. Usually, life works to give you less, not more! Haha. After cashing in the tickets and choosing little prizes, the kids got ice creams and I opted for water. I don’t know about you but sweet treats in the summer dehydrate me further! I certainly could’ve gone for an iced coffee though.
Next we headed to the Park. On our way there my brother spotted a vintage Citroen. I have not a clue what year this car was from but it was beautifully restored and maintained. The old man driving it was having the time of his life- zipping in and out of traffic like nobody’s business. It was so great to watch although I’m sure he earned a speeding ticket or two!
The Park itself was pretty impressive. It had a playground, skate area, football ground and giant grassy oval if you fancied a long walk. The kids played for a while, the adults chatted among themselves and I collared this week’s inspirational quotes and rang my boyfriend. Time zones, let me tell you. I’m just thankful he’s a night owl like me!
At this point it was nearing seven in the evening. We headed off for dinner and ended up at a Pakistani restaurant. We ordered soft drinks, tandoori chicken, meat skewers, lamb and paneer. It was quite the spread of full on food. A little bit too much spice but good in moderation. I did enjoy the naan very much! For dessert we had traditional Indian and Pakistani sweets, Gulab Jamun and Jaleebi. They are quite the treat every once in a while. Throughout the evening, the kids were a whole lot more interested in playing among us and deciding on the impostor. I don’t mind a game here and there but definitely don’t understand how it’s ballooned into a trend! Just before we headed home, my Aunty gifted me a few dresses she’d made. It was such a thoughtful gesture and I was really moved by the effort she’d made in making me feel loved and included. The dresses are quite vintage and boho inspired. Just very charming. An early birthday present, I’m guessing. The countdown is on- less than two weeks to go!










Love the vest trend!
It’s quite pretty, hey? Thank you for reading Erika! x
No problem 😉
Lovely post. I do love the way that you write. It sounds like you have been staying busy!! Thanks for sharing those Bible verses. 🙂 Have a lovely day! <3
I have indeed! Such a high compliment, thank you very much. I’m pleased you think so! Not a problem at all. What’s your favourite verse Keziah? ☺️
Of course. 😊
Well, of the verses you shared, I did love Lamentations 3:19-24. It made me think of Psalms 139 (the wording is a bit similar). What was your favorite, of the ones you shared?
Also, happy early birthday!! I saw on the comments that your’s is December 2nd. How fun! Mine is the 5th. 😊
Lovely inspiration as always!! It sounds like you had a wonderful time at the park, and I hope you get to know your stepmom better soon. Also, all the food you had sounds so good! I absolutely love jaleebi!
Hope you’re doing well, and hope you have an amazing week ahead, Maryam! x
Thank you so much Wardah! I do hope my stepmother and I will grow closer. The language barrier is tough as we can never get past simple greetings. I know things will improve with time however!
What are your plans for this week? Thank you as always for your support gal! x
That’s true, my grandma and I used to have that language barrier too, but slowly we learned each other’s languages and I know that regardless of anything, she still loves me! I hope you both will find ways to communicate! ❤
I have a few school assignments to catch up on, so just grinding as usual lol! You’re welcome Maryam!
That’s very reassuring to hear! I’m sure I’ll be able to pick up on more Urdu and we can speak a combination of both in the house. What languages do you speak?
Good luck with the school assignments! I definitely hear you on that but know you will power through them x
I hope you do!! I can speak English (but you knew that already haha), Spanish, a little Urdu, and very little Arabic and Turkish lol. What about you?
Thank you so much Maryam! I wish you all the best ❤
Ooh, Spanish! I’d love to learn. My boyfriend is half Hispanic so he speaks it fluently. I can understand and speak very basic urdu but it’s pretty much just english for me! x
You’re beautiful! And your article is so well written also. Lovely day! ❤️🦋🌀
You are too sweet, thank you Sheila! I hope you’re doing well x
So crazy she doesn’t cook!
It is, hey? Oh well, I’m all for smashing gender stereotypes. Perhaps my dad will do the cooking 🙈
Heck yes!!!
Always enjoy reading your weekly inspirations! What day is your birthday again?! Can’t remember if we’ve talked about it or not haha. Exciting 🎉
I’ve started saying I’m seventeen now because technically I’m only two weeks away from it. That counts right? I am after all much closer to seventeen than sixteen now! 🤣 I’m sure I’ll break that habit when I’m older though, lol. December 2nd is my birthday x
Yes that totally counts! 🤩 awesome, not long to go at all! Mines the 13th haha. Will you be posting what you get up to? Look forward to reading if you decide to xx
Im so glad your step mum has a date to come to Australia, im sure your dad must be ecstatic! I love the vest trend, its so preppy and cute xx
Thank you Mia! Yes, he’s quite pleased. They’ll be having another wedding ceremony for family and friends in Australia. They got married in Pakistan and most of us couldn’t attend. In this way, my stepmum will get a proper introduction to the people and culture here.
Yes, preppy! Perfect word. So stylish too x
I love the grandpa vest!! 👨🏼🦳 I totally feel you on the wanderlust vibes… there’s so much to see in this beautiful world!!!
Thank you gorgeous! Hope you’re doing well. Glad you like the outfit! How would you style the vest?
What are your plans this week? xx
If I found this vest in my closet, I would style it the same, with a long sleeve collared button up blouse 😉 It would be fun to play with colors under the vest and maybe even wear like a fun geometric blouse under the cream vest!
This week, just working 😝 and maybe furniture shopping! 🛋 I haven’t had a sofa or proper dining room chairs since I moved into my apartment two years ago, so maybe it’s time to upgrade the folding chairs? 😂
Ah yes, that sounds great! A pop of colour would definitely be a lot of fun. Before putting together my outfit I spent some time on Pinterest looking at how others wore this statement piece. The key seemed to be layering and adding colour. I prefer neutrals so kept to this minimal palette but I did want to add a colourful hair scarf. I just wasn’t sure how to wear it as it’s quite large and works better as a tie top, haha.
Hopefully the work week goes by at a decent pace for you. Furniture shopping sounds great. I know I always enjoy trips like that. A nice sofa or set of chairs will definitely upgrade your space. There’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa to relax after a long day!
Hair ties are one of my favorite accessory to add a pop of color! I’ve seen on Pinterest people braid them into their hair, which would probably work with longer ones!
Right! I was also thinking, wow a bean bag chair would be sooo nice to curl up in and read! But it’s not the most chic look 😂
I love the sweater vest trend!!! However, I have yet to purchase one. I’m waiting to find one that I feel speaks to me and my style before hopping on the trend. Though keeping neutrals in mind like you did is certainly a great idea. Very light academia!
It sounds like you had a lovely and very fulfilling weekend.
And, now that you mention it, the sweater vest trend is without a doubt something Spencer Hastings would love. I miss PLL!!
Hope you have a lovely rest of the week, Maryam! xx
You look fab in neutrals! It sounds like you had a wonderful time at the park.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
What a loving family that you have. 2 years is a long time to have a long-distance relationship – they must really love each other. Wow, that restaurant food sounds delicious! I love spice and naan bread – growing up in an International school meant that I was often able to try food from all around the world. That sounds like such a fun day, you have so many things to be grateful for. I’m happy that you realise that. 🙂
That is good advice, to romanticize our lives and just find pleasure in it. Your favorite restaurant sounds super nice! What are Greek doughnuts?
Very beautiful post!