mastering the perfect biryani ;)

having home cooked meals for my husband (and future kids inshaAllah) is really important to me. and even though i had no experience in cooking before I got married, i've realized it isn't as complicated as i thought it would be. especially now that i have my own kitchen and my own way of doing things, it's almost easy to put together a simple dinner. and somehow, the food i have cooked turns out to be pretty decent for being a newbie at all of this. even then, in the (almost) year that i have been married, i haven't tried my hand at the really technical food items. but there's always a first time for everything. which brings me to this blog post. 

i made biryani for the very first time last week and much to my surprise, it turned out awesome! saad was super excited because biryani is his favorite dish. and now i'm hoping it wasn't just beginners luck and I can make it again and again for him. ;) 

saad's birthday surprise

wayyy back on february 16th, i decided to surprise saad for his birthday. :) i ordered a customized cake for him from publix and at midnight, i surprised him at a dinner with his entire family and friends. he thought i didn't have anything planned and was pretty upset the day before. he thought i'd forgotten to put something together to celebrate at midnight. I felt bad for pretending to forget and almost gave in, wanting to tell him everything. the look on his face that night was worth keeping it a secret though ;)

on the evening of saad's actual birthday, his sister had a dinner at her place so we also got a second cake for him since black forest is his favorite and publix doesn't carry that flavor. :) so he was pretty much spoiled his birthday weekend but he totally deserved it <3

even though this post is a little late but I love you, saad khan. i hope this year, and the many years to come inshaAllah, bring you nothing but pure happiness :) 

^^^midnight surprise!

^^^my birthday boyyy 

 ^^^matchy matchy ;)

[p.s. the theme of the cake is not meant to encourage his bad habit. just a fun idea for a cake. :) good wifey points for me though ;) ;)]

orange lake resort

about mid march, saad and i drove down to orlando for the weekend to escape the rainy, cold weather in georgia. best decision ever ;)
there was absolutely no rain in orlando, and no need for a sweater or jacket or a heater. it was bright and sunny and felt like summer. i happily wore my flip flops and drank ice cold sodas and even got a little sun burnt. :)

we were only in town for about two full days so we spent a lot of the time doing activities that were already at the resort. we went in the pool for a while and rented a huge tube to float around in the lazy river. we also rented a jet skii and speed boat for an hour. it was my first time to do both and i was super nervous because i can't swim and am really just terrified of the water. but i put my trust in saad, and the life jacket, and just went for it. ;) i was disappointed in myself that i'd never done jet skiing before because it was so.much.fun. i'm already looking forward to doing it again!

i guess this weekend was full of firsts because one of the afternoons when we were taking a break from all the water activities at the resort, we set out to go on a helicopter ride. in orlando, these are pretty popular and an easy find. we drove by a few signs before finally stopping at one, excited for our first helicopter tour together. :) saad has riden in one but that was a few years ago. since it was my first time, he had me sit up front to get the full on experience. it was a bit windy that day, so the helicopter was a little shaky as it circled in the orlando sky. i was nervous and scared, but enjoyed it as much as i could. we definitely want to go on another helicopter ride. just not when it's windy. ;)

orlando was a whole lot of fun and i know we'll be visiting again soon.

 ^^^downtown disney!

^^^ chaat house. this was a must. so yummy

^^^from way up high :)

throwback to new years

the next couple of posts will be throwbacks of previous trips. i'm trying to get my blog all caught up so i can start updating with more recent posts and right when they happen instead of months later. :))

here's how we welcomed the new year. vegas, baby!!! ;) this was one of my favorite trips because i've never celebrated new years in such a grand way. there was a huge rush of people, everyone was crazy dressed up and the fireworks were set off from multiple hotel/casino roofs. so cool :) 

other than the new years celebration though, saad and I had so much fun exploring vegas day and night. even though i'd been to vegas multiple times in the past with family, i'd never actually walked through each hotel/casino so it was fun seeing all the different ones. 

we even rented a car for the day and drove out to see the hoover dam which was a couple hours away. 

this was definitely a trip to remember and we want to go back like asap. ;)

^^^transformers crossing the street like it's normal. ;)

hoover dam: