Saima Says Style

I apologise for the break in transmission; I haven’t been well lately. We did however manage to get away for the May Bank Holiday. We went to the Cotswolds in Oxfordshire, visited several of the lovely picturesque villages there. Burford and Bourton-on-the-Water were the best ones for kitsch homeware shopping and afternoon teas. Here are some pictures from our weekend away.

Yesterday I attended a “Mehndi (Henna) Night” I was invited to. What’s one of those? Traditionally, in the run up to a Pakistani wedding, all the women get together and party! The events usually involve brightly coloured clothes, music, dancing and food…sounds like a good combination to me It’s also a time for women to have their hands decorated with pretty patterns in henna, ready for the upcoming wedding. Last night was no exception.

People were dressed in beautifully embroidered clothes. The traditional colours for such an event are green and yellow or anything “henna” coloured but nowadays anything goes. This outfit from Bargello is typical of the type of style and colours worn.

The women also gather to sing traditional Punjabi and Hindi songs, accompanied by a drum called the dholki. I prefer not to torment anyone with my awful singing voice so usually just clap along.

Last night we were lucky enough to have a professional henna artist in our midst who was hired to decorate our hands, feet and anything else you wanted adorned. I opted to have the henna on my left hand and left it on there for quite a while so that the colour transferred on to my hand would end up being quite dark. Pretty eh?

We fly out to Belfast this weekend for the wedding so I’ll be back blogging Monday. Hopefully I’ll have some more pretty pictures to share with you all.

I heard someone on the radio say that Valentine’s Day is “looming”; a bit sinister dontcha think?! Well here are some heart themed gifts to bring the sweetness back into your weekend. (I think the heart plates would look just as nice as decor on a kitchen wall.)

1. Hearty Tea Pot Set – $140 (delivery to UK available)
2. Pack of 4 Sweetheart plates – £18
3. Heart Measuring Cups – £4.50