Levi's Chukka Boots

Chukka boots are an essential item in a modern urbanised wardrobe. The design takes inspiration from the British Army boots and the term "chukka" refers to a period of play in the game of polo. The boots can be worn casually or can also be dressed up with a jacket or a dress shirt. 



If you've been on the look out for the perfect pair of boots to go with your favorite jeans then you must check out the Levi's Chukka Boots; a fun and trendy way to explore the city life.


The boots are super comfortable with gum rubber sole and can be worn with any pair of jeans or chinos. The upper part is suede and the lower portion is classic leather finish.

These boots are available in all Levi's outlets across Pakistan for the price of Rs. 15,000.

Pantene Bridal Couture Week - Day 2

Ana Ali of Lajwanti with models 

Bridal Couture weeks are becoming a regular feature in Pakistan's highly evolving fashion scene. With the ever increasing number of new designers such platforms are vital in showcasing their work to a wider audience. I was invited to the Pantene Bridal Couture Week's second day show at the Expo. The show started at 8pm with Lajwanti's classic bridal collection. The colours were beige, maroon, gold turquoise and emerald. Immaculately worked shirts with long flowing palazzos set the tone right for the upcoming wedding season.

Nadia Hussain in Lajwanti 

The second designer for the day was Madiha Noman with her bridal wear for 2013. Madiha is a new entrant in bridal wear but her work reflected experience in terms of colour and cuts. Knee length shirts with dhaka pants and shararas in a wide palate of colours gained applaud from the audience.

A Madiha Noman bridal dress

Ayan and Nadia wearing Maliha's jewelry 

Maliha Shaikh, the talented jewelry designed displayed her collection which was breathtakingly beautiful and very fresh. Her pieces were traditional with a modern twist to them; reminiscent of the rich South Asian traditional jewelry. She works in silver and 18 carat gold with semi precious stones. The models looked beautiful with Saniya Maskatiya's jumpsuit collection adorned with single pieces of Maliha's jewelry.

Maliha Shaikh

Row row row your boat!

"...had I known how to save a life" that's just what Rowtisserie knew, how to save my life! The song kept playing between the meal and made us believe that we were actually saved by a roast chicken ;)

Had a busy day and by the time it was evening, was hungry as hell with nothing in the fridge. So like a true Karachiite headed out hunting for prey and landed at Rowtisserie.

The place is nicely done and despite being small it looks clean and happy. We ordered the Mezze Platter and the Row Meal. The sidelines were New Potatoes and Mash & Gravy. Mezze Platter arrived early with all the exquisite dips (mutabbal, tzatziki, hummus, feta and olives) pickled veggies and chicken bits. Everything tasted very fresh with balanced flavors. The accompanying pita was fresh and hot.

Mezze Platter

The Row Meal followed with the 2 sidelines. The chicken was crisp from outside and equally moist and well done from the inside. Everyone loved it and devoured it with the amazing Row Sauce in minutes. My only take on the chicken was that it was a bit bland for my taste but coming from a die hard desi style spicy tikkas, bihari botis and bbq fan nobody paid any heed to it :p

Mash & Gravy was dreamy, the melt in your mouth kind and new potatoes had crispy skins with hints of dill on them.

Row Meal 

Overall a good addition to the Karachi food scene, lacking on the Lebanese/Mediterranean taste buds.

Mash & Gravy and New Potatoes

Butterfly effect!

So how many of you are Farmville freaks here? If you are or have been one you would surely love the new app Flutter. For those who are new to simulation games it is one of the most visually appealing apps for ipad/iphone plus it has an educational aspect to it as well.

As the name suggests it is about butterflies, attracting eggs, hatching into caterpillars, hanging as chrysalis and finally turning into a beautiful butterfly. Children would love it specially because of the appealing colours and aesthetics of the game. They will learn about new species of butterflies and would also be introduced to the concept of keeping pets. So much so that my 4 year old asked me to get her a caterpillar as a pet! (I eventually found one at the sabzi wala merrily chewing a cauliflower leaf, brought it home and kept it in a box for 2 days but on the third day it escaped and was never found :( )

This application is available free of cost at the App Store so download it and start growing your very own butterfly sanctuary.

A glasswing caterpillar 

Shoes Ahoy!

Winter has finally arrived in k-town and all of us are excited to wear our long awaited winter collections. The jackets, the boots, the coats, the shrugs are all out waiting to be worn in the short season. A pair of well fitted jeans along with comfortable shoes goes well with most tops/jackets during winter months.

The other day I was window shopping in Zamzama and landed up at Stylo Shoes. Now I am always on the look out for casual and comfortable shoes for everyday wear and I was happy to find quite an extensive collection of very wearable and affordable shoes at their outlet. I settled for the navy blue and white striped flats from their Impulse collection. These shoes can easily pulling off the classic "Nautical/Sailor look" and the best part is they are very comfortable!



These shoes can be paired with everyday wear specially jeans and a simple checked or plain shirt.






Shoes: Stylo Shoes
Jeans: Demin Co. by Primark
Shirt: Tesco

Bling Factor

In my quest for a fashionable and reasonably priced "chronograph" watch, I finally found this beauty from Guess Watches. Actually I had already seen one of my friends wearing it a few days back in golden. Such shine and bling! I couldn't take my eyes off of it :) It was just perfect with the chronograph look, the bling factor and the fine detailing.


I checked out a couple of other brands stocked at Lifestyle Collection before getting this one from the Guess Glisten range. But since this watch was at the back of my mind all this time, there wasn't an inch of doubt when I got it. Mine is a two toned one in rose gold and silver.

This watch can be worn everyday,  at work or even while dressing up for a party or gathering. The best part is that it can be paired with almost any type of outfit. It adds just enough glamour to a rather sophisticated outfit and lifts up the overall look from elegant to exciting and alluring.

For a casual stroll in the city, I have paired a red shirt with blue jeans. The shirt has intrinsic lace details at the front. A sleek rust coloured belt adds balance and gives a more edgy and modernistic feel.



Watch: Guess Watches
Jeans: Levi's
Shirt & Belt: Yellow

DIY: CupCraze!

OK I know they are everywhere, and almost everyone is making them. Still I decided to give it a shot and see for myself what's the hype all about? Yes I am talking about the over whelming cupcake craze that has taken over our beloved city with a bang and refuses to let go. Here I am sharing my first hand experience of making cupcakes for a one dish get together. Despite all the hype they were pretty simple and easy to make. And since its summer vacations try to get the kids involved. Its going to be a fun activity and they would love to help and decorate them.


Here's a list of ingredients: 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

Preheat oven to 180 C

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric beater or hand mixer until light and fluffy 

Add the eggs one by one and also the vanilla essence

In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and one pinch of salt

Now add the flour mixture and milk to the eggs mixture. Do it batches, first the flour then milk then mix

Repeat until all the flour is mixed and you have nice batter

Line baking tray with paper cupcake liners

Fill the cupcake liners with batter and bake for about 20 minutes 

Frosting: 

For frosting I melted some chocolate with butter, cream and icing sugar. To mix them evenly I used a whisk. Now I am not an expert or a pro and obviously didn't have any other instruments like those decorating or piping tips (Wiltons etc.) at home, so I just grabbed a knife and spread the icing on the cupcakes. They seemed fine, though not like the pretty ones you see at the shops! For kids you can have colored bunties, jello-s etc. to make them interesting. 

For those who are not choco freaks there is a simple lemon frosting which you can do. Mix 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of lemon juice into half a cup of icing sugar and simply pour over. It will harden a bit, leaving a nice sheen and give a nice fresh lemony flavour to the cupcakes.