Thursday, January 4, 2018

Highlights of 2017 In Pictures

Oh oh oh what a hectic year 2017 was for me. It was emotionally draining and mentally tiring. I think I faced more emotional challenges this year than I did physically. Though at the end of the year when I look back at the highlights I see how much I have to be thankful for. I've made beautiful memories to last a lifetime and enjoyed quite a lot, I've been super creative year round and arranged the most awesome birthdays for everyone. The best and most important part of the year was the Harry Potter vacation which was the grand finale to our super hectic year! Let's look back at the year in picture highlights and relive the best parts!

The New Year Began
I rang in the New Year 2016 with a tiny little Lindt truffle after a month of strict dieting. Abbie, Mama, Bro, and I went out for a delicious dinner where Gubby and SIL were missed! Those two were traveling to Pakistan and we were to join them soon with the exception of my brother.
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Visiting Karachi and Performing Umrah
I visited my home town Karachi for about a month in January. During our stay we also performed what was the second Umrah of my life. We took our uncles with us for Umrah. I met up with an old school mate, enjoyed delicious food through out my stay, and did lots of shopping. Lots of childhood memories came flying back to me too! The trip was pretty hectic and emotionally draining for me though and I grew homesick after a while.
Read my post about being homesick and finding no cure for it right here!
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The Sassy Classy Bedroom Makeover
I completed a beautiful makeover of my bedroom once I got back home in February! If you haven't yet seen the details ... well, what have you been doing, really? Go check out Saraallie's Sassy and Classy Bedroom!

The Art of the Quran Exhibit In DC
We visited The Art of the Quran Exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in DC. It had beautiful displays, I took lots of pictures, and we ended the day with a delicious Pizza lunch. I wore my super cool denim shoes that morning and blogged about them later right here!
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Lunch and Gossip!
When March began I met up with a college mate over delicious lunch! It was a fun afternoon with Qz! Abbie cooked Biryani, we ordered Pizza, and I made Mocha Cheesecake Brownies and Cinnamon Roll Cookies! Yumm yumm!
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Launched Sara Writes' Facebook Page
I finally launched a Facebook page for my beautiful blog! I'd love it if you go check it out and follow it for awesome updates from me and my blog! You can find it right here!
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Choo Choo Rides and Binges with Gubby
It was a beautiful cold Sunday afternoon when we visited the Tysons Corner Mall in Virginia where I enjoyed immensely with Gubby in the kids playing area. The mall also had a train ride in which I had even more fun than Gubby herself! *laughs* Read the details here ... Choo Choo Train and Binges!

Visiting the Cherry Blossoms
This year in March I finally checked off one more thing off my Bucket List! We visited the famous Cherry Blossoms in DC on an extremely chilly morning and even though the brutal cold hadn't let a lot of them bloom, they were still a pretty sight to see! Read about the beautiful Cherry Blossoms experience right here!

Our Little Lego House
I made a cute little lego house for Gubby! It was adorable (until she broke it ... laughs)!

The April Blogging from A to Z Challenge
I took up the challenge once again this year and succeeded with DELICIOUS blog posts posted every day of the entire month of April! My theme was Sara's Baked Creations just like last year! Find the entries right here and catch up. Let me warn you though, you'll get REALLY hungry reading these posts!

The Crafty Files Begin
I finally started The Crafty Files! They are my file/folder version of an art journal!
Check out the first two additions to The Crafty Files here! The Real Fairytale and Shit Happens!

I Ventured Outdoors
For the first time ever I took my chai and reading sessions outdoors. Read about my outdoorsy chai session here! It was fun, minus the near death bug experience! *laughs*

The Sassy Inspiration Board
I put together a stunning and sassy inspiration board earlier this year!
Check out the details here!

Our Darling Spring Themed Ramadan Favors
We do it every year and since this year Ramadan came during the Spring season our favors were themed accordingly. The favor box was stunning! Check out the favor box here! A super sweet lady we know also asked me to bake some New Moon cookies for her and her coworkers. I loved doing them for her and wrote a post about my experience here!

Eid-ul-Fitr 2017
Eid was a pretty affair mainly because I looked very pretty! *laughs* I also made a very pretty Eidee envelope for Gubby darling. Find the DIY pictorial right here!

Featured on the Bird's Party Blog
I got featured on the Bird's Party Blog's link party! My beautiful Grand and Glorious 30th Birthday Party got featured and I couldn't have been more happier! Find a detailed post on the party here and the feature post right here! SO HAPPY!

Harry Potter July!
This year the magic of Harry Potter celebrated its TWENTIETH anniversary and I decided to start a new blog tradition: HARRY POTTER JULY! An entire month dedicated to showing off all of my Potter merch and celebrating the most awesome fandom in the universe! Read the first entry I wrote about it here and then the declaration of Harry Potter July right here!

Mid Summer's Lunch Treat
I love hosting and cooking and baking! I enjoyed another lunch date with my college mate mid year. She brought delicious Singaporean rice, I made Cajun Chicken and Veggies, Abbie fried up kababs and rolls, and we ordered fried chicken. I also baked Cookie Overload Funfetti Blondies and we bought delicious ice cream to indulge!
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My Cake Got Featured!
The month of July brought the sweetest accolade my way when Sara's Baked Creations was recognized, featured, and given an Award of Sweetest Excellence. I was taken by surprise one fine morning when Amazing Cake Ideas left a wonderful post on my Facebook page. Click here to read all about it!
Wreck This Journal Begins
One of the many creative things I managed to do this year was starting to wreck my Wreck This Journal. You can see the start of my wreckage right here!


Pool Party with Gubby
I enjoyed Summer this year more than I ever have I think. I had a pool party with my niece Gubby on our patio followed by a BBQ with the fam. It was so much fun I think I may have enjoyed more than the baby! Read all about my fun pool party here!

Attended a Beautiful Family Wedding
My cousin got married and I had great fun. We're not close at all, in fact I have never even known her, so all I was interested in was dressing up fancy, looking gorjabulous, and eating away! It was lots of fun and I looked stunning *bats eyelashes*!
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Another Encounter With Nature - Summer Picnic
I got close to nature a LOT in 2017 even though I'm not a fan of the bug seasons of Summer and Spring. We were invited to a picnic in Virginia by the lake and despite the hot weather and bugs I had a good time eating good food!
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Solar Eclipse of the Century
#SolarEclipse on my camera from Maryland! 😄🌒 @WTOP @CNN pic.twitter.com/lkAVkRks0S

End of Summer Road Trip to Canada
We traveled to Canada and back for Eid and finished off Summer having some fun! Click here for the highlights of my trip!

Meet Ups, Babies, and Great Food!
I finally met my friend's little darlings after ages! She cooked delicious food and I had a tonne of fun catching up with her!
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Po Turned Seven Years Old
My five foot tall teddy bear Po turned SEVEN years old! Read the birthday wish here!


A Dainty Little Birthday Celebration for Mama
We arranged a dainty little birthday party to celebrate mama's birthday this year! The cake was stunning and so was the decor and she loved it! See the pictures here!


Fall Inspiration Board for 2017
When Fall began I also showed off a very Autumn-ish Fall Inspiration Board. See it here!
October Photography Month 2017
I did it again this year and it is always fun! I think my pictures were awesome this time! See them all here!


SARAALLIE'S TWENTY SIXTH BIRTHDAY!
My awesome self turned twenty six years old in 2017 and I celebrated with a Harry Potter Honeydukes themed birthday. It was a brilliant day - read all about how I spent my birthday here!

Started My Harry Potter Funko Collection
THE OBSESSION BEGINS! In 2017 I officially started my Harry Potter Funko Pops Collection! See the details and stunning close up pictures of my Funkos right here!

Fall Weekend Getaway In NYC
We traveled to New York for a weekend because mama had to indulge in Sari shopping. I had my own fun living the Gossip Girl feel of the city! Check out the highlights GG style right here!

Celebrating My Darling Abbie and Gubby's Birthdays
Abbie and Gubby had FABULOUS birthdays in November! I chose a Harry Potter theme for Abbie's birthday because she finally came back and reunited with the fandom. For Gubby's birthday I chose Paw Patrol. Both the birthday girls LOVED their birthday cakes and gifts and decor. It was such a grand finale to the birthday season of our family! Click here to see more pictures and read details!

Frozen Fun at ICE
We experienced great Winter fun at minus fifteen degrees Celsius, i.e. nine degrees Fahrenheit when we visited ICE - featuring Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! It was an amazing experience. I loved how cool my pictures turned out in the blue parkas and that ice slide was so so so much fun!
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Got My Winter Wonderland
I love snow and I was ecstatic when I got a gorgeous snowy weekend right before the year ended! I enjoyed a lovely lovely time with Abbie and my Gubby baby. Read all about it and find our snowman and woman right here!

THE GREAT ESCAPE - THE GRAND FINALE OF 2017
The best part of the entire year was the end when Abbie and I planned and escaped to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on a magical family vacation to Orlando, Florida. IT WAS AWESOME! We also had a day of Disney in our plans which was just more magic on top of the Potter world. OH MY GOD the heights of fun and magic we reached. We rang in the new year in Orlando with tonnes of the Harry Potter merchandise we'd bought (haul entry is due). It was magical. It was surreal. It was Abbie and my great escape from the entire universe. We reached home at Hogwarts and it was, like always, there to welcome us back!

I Completed the Good Reads Reading Challenge 2017
I promised myself I'd read at least five books this year too and I was successful! I'll be posting about the details from my Good Reads profile soon!

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