30

Oct

ART/ROOM 05

ART/ROOM / LYOZIN MICHAEL x STYLE AT HOME / tahsin, the good

peach, pink, black, cream.

if i had things my way, my whole house would revolve around these colours. they are bright, fun and not overly girly. right? i said not overly. and whatever man, three girls out of four people means we get final say! haha. sorry mase.

this art is gorgeous. the colours are on point. and to me, that’s a huge part of what makes art good. your strokes may be genius and done just so, but if your colours are off, then sorry chief. you do not get a pass from me. which is the funny thing about art. what may look appealing and incite a wowowowow to my eyes, may totally turn you off.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

anyway, this is a mixed media piece by russian artist lyozin michael and i really love it.

this space is styled to perfection, perhaps too perfect for me. but it’s nice aspiration/inspiration. i have always wanted open shelving, but never thought it practical with all that cooking splatter. it’s really nice though. perfect for little vignettes and displaying art and well designed items. and obviously all that white. drool on the face.

credits / art : lyozin michael / space : photography by donna griffith, styling by tara ballantyne for style at home

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art/room is my pairing of a space with artwork that would look good in it. i have always dreamed of curating peoples homes with artworks and findings, so this is my place to play a little.

 

 

 

5 days ago Short URL Comments

ART/SPACES

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29

Oct

IT’S ALL GOING TO BE OK

IT'S ALL GOING TO BE OK / THE DAWN HAS COME / tahsin, the good

إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ

it’s been a just over week since a lamp dimmed in this world and started her journey into the next.

my friend nish was a beautiful soul. a dynamo daughter, sister, wife, mother, teacher, and friend to so many. who three years ago got hit with heartbreaking news of cancer running through her body. since then she’s been fighting the good fight, doing whatever it took to “win” this.

she was a good one. a really good one.

and it’s unfair and upsetting and unsettling to think about all that she has left behind and all that could have been, but the silver lining here is that she’s home. so… it’s ok.

IT'S-OKEVERY SOULD SHALL TASTE DEATH / tahsin, the good

right? they say the moment you are born is the first step in your journey to death. because that’s where we are all headed. to be enveloped in Gods presence more so than now.

home.

and at first it made me so sad to think she was not ready or willing to die; she just wanted to fight to be here with her boys. with her family. talking with my own friends and family, as one needs to do at times like these, opened my eyes to something else. now, i think, when death happens, there is an enlightenment that goes on and you see the bigger picture and you want nothing else but that. i don’t know. and i guess i’ll never really know until it happens to me, but for now, that’s comforting. and something to have faith in.

rest in peace nish. you will be so so missed. see you insha’allah on the other side.

x

ps. please please please do your part in this. register yourself to be a donor, get swabbed, and maybe possibly save a life like the beautiful one we just lost. click here for more info and to order your swab kit online, but i’m telling you it takes almost none of your time and is painless and could yield huge rewards. one match is also running a donor drive at hillcrest mall in richmond hill this saturday november 1st from 10-1pm if you want to come out and do this in person.

x

6 days ago Short URL Comments

ART/LIFE/PEOPLE

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03

Oct

EAT / ROASTED ZUCCHINI AND APPLE SOUP

this is not a soup exchange soup, but i’m telling you right now, you are going to want to bookmark this.

i get inspired by what i have in my fridge.

sometimes when i cook i don’t always have a plan as to what i’m going to make and i get inspired by what i have in my fridge. or what’s lying around. the other day, this was the case.

i roasted zucchini the night prior because, well, i like to have roasted veggies around. they are great for adding into sauces for dinners or paninis for lunch. so anyway, i roasted up a bunch, with the intent of adding stock and few spices to make a soup.

then i realized i have a whole bagful of apples from our latest field trip just sitting and waiting to be used.

so i did what i usually do when i have two random ingredients. i type them into google and see if anyone else thought to combine the flavours. like, does it exist, it is a thing. i don’t like to waste good food, so i’m not that experimental in the kitchen. only kind of…

well, lo and behold, apples and zucchini is a very common combination! with that knowledge and boost of confidence I went ahead and played with my ingredients.

the results were a creamy mix of slightly sweet full-bodied flavour.

here’s how you make this soup.

roasted zuchini and apple soup

all you need is

  • 4 zucchini
  • olive oil
  • coarse salt
  • 1 nub of butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 nub of fresh ginger, grated or minced
  • 1 apple, i used honeycrisp
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • salt and pepper to taste

and all you have to do is

  • roast zucchini. (i’ll go over this quickly, but will make a quick post about how i roast and store a variety of vegetables soon. such a simple and high impact way to add flavour to your meals.) slice the zuchini, lay on a parchment lined baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and grind some coarse salt over top. place in an oven at 350 for 45mins-1hr. you can flip or mix your batch up part of the way through or just leave them be. either way you end up with major flavour with many uses.
  • heat butter in a stock pot.
  • add in onions and ginger and sautee until onions are translucent.
  • add in the apple and continue to sautee for another 7-10 minutes or so.
  • add in the zucchini and continue to mix, mix, mix.
  • add in the stock and let it sit so that all the flavours can inufuse.
  • blend to desired consistency. i wanted a creamy soup, so i blended until there were no chunks left.
  • add salt and pepper to taste
  • serve with your favorite soup toppings such as goat cheese, pepitas, hemp seeds, sundried tomatoes or our new fave, alphabet pretzels!

what i love about this soup is that it was so simple to make and uses seasonal produce. and obviously that it is freaking delicious. i had my oldest friend over for a playdate with our girls and it was ready in a flash and gone in about that much time too!

try it this week will ya?

x

1 month ago Short URL Comments

FOOD

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25

Sep

EAT / BEET SOUP

fall is officially here and that means more soups in our house. and now, since i had a soup exchange a few months back, there’s no shortage of recipes for me to try out. i’ll be sharing the recipes with you guys as i make them, so sit tight and get your stock pots and homemade broth ready! (ps. a post on my stock recipe is coming!)

up first, i tried my friend zehra’s beet soup. i had a surplus of this soups main ingredient suddenly in my kitchen as i was the lucky recipient of some beet carpaccio leftovers from a dinner party.

i know, fancy huh?

they were really good as they were, but i wanted to mix it up a bit and make it easy for my kids to eat as well. as you can imagine, beet carpaccio is not really their flavour!

but this soup is. just be careful when preparing and eating it. no white clothes, ok?

those beets have a mighty pigment.

here’s a fun pic of niyya demonstrating this fact in her first foray into beet territory. she makes it look so yum, no? 🙊

so, here is the recipe. and i promise, it’s quick and easy to make. just chop, drop and stir. well, just about.

zehra’s beet soup

all you need is…

  • 3 medium beets (about 1 pound)
  • 1 tablespoon grapseed oil
  • 1 cup chopped red onion
  • 1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • freshly-ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 teaspoons sour cream (optional)

and all you have to do is…

  • under running water, peel the beets with a vegetable peeler. with a chef’s knife, cut the beets in half, then lay them flat side down and cut them into large chunks.
  • in a stock pot over medium heat, heat the oil. saute the onion until it is translucent. add the carrots, ginger, and garlic. cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • add beets, bay leaves and stock. simmer the soup, covered, for 50-60 minutes.
  • add lemon juice and zest and stir well.
  • in a food processor or blender, puree the soup in batches then stir in the salt and pepper. taste the soup, and adjust the seasonings, if you like. serve the soup hot or chilled, garnished with dollops of sour cream or feta and fresh cilantro.
  • this recipe serves 4.

and while i planned on having this batch last me a few days for lunch, i ended up eating a few bowls throughout the day!

what?! i really like this soup! ok?

and i think you will too. enjoy, and listen, if you end up making a batch i’m a quick phone call away. sharing is caring, right? ;)

1 month ago Short URL 2 Comments

FOOD

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23

Sep

PATIENCE & FAITH

our visits to the hospital have been happy of late.

alhamdulillah.

we watch videos, eat in-season fruit, talk about life, and cheer on baby steps and big strides. yes, my father in law is doing so much better.

some may call it luck.others, the natural course of science and the body at work. but i call it a miracle. and i don’t mean to be blunt, but my father in law was on the brink.

and he came back. and i have seen my fair share of family at this point with no return, or who have suddenly passed with no explanation.

that’s God’s will.

and work at hand. He only needs to say “be”, and it is.


still, we were so scared. but i think hopeful and patient at the same time. is that what faith is? i’m beginning to think so.

i need to continue incorporating this into the fabric of my life.

i worry about work.

and what i’m contributing to the world. a lot. and i more often than not come down on myself for not doing enough. not bringing in enough. not living up to my abilities enough. and then that leads me to question the effects this will have on my kids. and there begins the dance.

and i know that that is not a good way to be. not the routine i want to be in.

so i’m going to remind myself that it will all be ok in the end. to have faith that He is taking care of us.

its funny, i got an email about the concept of tawakkul, or having complete trust in God’s plan, at around this time of flux. and it’s a relieving thing, you know. when you fully give in to His will, every outcome is ok. it just has to be.

المقيت the nourisher.

الوالي the protecting friend.

الرزاق the provider.

but i also know that it takes work to get there. so these are my reminders and maybe they can be yours too as we’re all in this a little bit alone and lot a bit together.

x

1 month ago Short URL Comments

INSPIRATION/LIFE/LITTLE GEMS

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09

Sep

TEN BOOKS / 1

it’s been a few months short of a year since i dropped out of my book club. and i want to get back into it, because i enjoy getting into a good story or reading about someones account of their life. i just can’t seem to find the extra time to read in the way my book club required of me.

recently i was tagged by my friend to list off 10 books that come to mind that i have read that have stayed with me in some way. so i’m re-living the fun of my past reading exploits by way of this challenge.

THE KEY IS TO NOT THINK TOO MUCH, BUT TO QUICKLY WRITE OUT A LIST OF BOOKS THAT HAVE TOUCHED ME THROUGHOUT MY READING “CAREER.”

some of mine are from my book club days; some are post-purge (when i dropped out a few others did as well and we jokingly called it the purge) reads. others are classics from highschool and university, and some are from the days i was able to stay up all night reading under the covers with a flashlight in my bedroom.

here goes:

1. the great gatsby - super classic. i read this for my highschool english class. still haven’t seen the movie though.

2. 1984 - i remember staying up late while traveling in pakistan reading this. it made me a little uneasy being alone and reading about being constantly watched.

3. the glass castle - this book affirmed my love for the memoir. i loooove a good memoir. and this one was a great look at an oddly functioning, totally dysfunctional family.

4. a new earth - around the time oprah made this one big. life lessons on destruction of the ego and waking up to the bigger picture. little and big gems in this, i’m telling you.

5. the twentieth wife - what a magical and different time. i felt so immersed in this book and actually started to read it slower and slower as it came to a close beaucse i didn’t want it to end. thank god for the feast of roses.

6. eat pray love - another memoir. and such a good one. i’m definitely not the only one who thought so too. major bestseller, major motion picture. i bought copies of it for my moms one eid.

7. confessions of an economic hitman - eye opener to say the least. a little depressing, a lotta interesting, and so plausible and real. and when you think about it, really, it all makes sense.

8. bright shiny morning - this book made me want to move to california so freakin bad. my book club counterparts didn’t love this book as much as i did, but i think its because i’ve got a little west coast swag in me. it’s there. deep down.

9. if tomorrow comes - i devoured this book more than once. tracy whitney was hella cool to me as a teenager.

10. the shack - a touching and beautiful account of an interaction with god. papa has never been so familiar to me before and i loved it.

i realized as i was writing this list that i could go on an on.

THERE ARE SO MANY BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF COMFORT, INSPIRATION, ESCAPE AND PLEASURE.

so insha’allah i will share 10 more books every so often. let me know some of yours, too. i could always use a good recco. and i will be officially challenging a few of you on insta. so get ready!

also, isn’t this library a little too lovely for words? it’s hootie‘s house!

x

photo credit / julia lynn for domaine

2 months ago Short URL Comments

BOOKS

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10

Jun

LIGHT + GOOD TEES

LIGHT + GOOD TEES / tahsin, the good

some of you may know that i recently dropped a few tee designs for pre-order in my shop. and there’s been some buzz about them. yay! buzz is good. orders are good. kids in these tees is so good.

but something wasn’t right. it was limiting. the designs weren’t all inclusive. and that just wasn’t cool with me.

so i decided to add in a few other options to the tees. ready? here we go.

i heart allah tee /

the i heart allah tee speaks to my heart. i hand-screened, stenciled and dyed (yes, it was a labour of love) a cute one for daani when she was so much smaller than she is now, and i wanted that tee, or a version of it for all my little muslim buddies. but i have buddies who are not muslim. a lot of them, actually. who love and heart things too. so sweet littles, this tee is for you.

fill in your blank tee /

fill in your blank. tell me wheat you heart. peace? love? happiness? popcorn? i know you have a lot of love to give too. and that’s what this tee is about. having heart for something. and then connecting through loving. beacuse it really is that simple. we all connect through love. and loving. right?

and then the other tee is cool too. salam means peace. again, my muslim buddies know that.

salam means peace tee /

LIGHT + GOOD / SALAM MEANS PEACE TEE / tahsin, the good.

but what about those kids who don’t read arabic and just understand the language that is the peace sign. unfiltered, undefined, just peace. and peace is universal, you see.

peace is universal tee /

so what if every single kid on this earth, which i found out yesterday has a population of over 7 billion people(!!!) (i still thought it was 6 billion, man am i from the middle ages or what?), wore that tee? or raised their fingers and exclaimed and expected “peace!” and knew peace. and lived in peace. or believed in love, felt the feeling of love… and loved?

so in this day of statement tees, those are statements i want my kids to make. and hopefully with that desire for them they will want to make those statements as well. i want that for all my little buddies, muslim or not.

you can check out the details on these tees, which are designed in my studio, made in la, printed in toronto and packaged in my shop, here in my shop. all sweat-shop free, all conscious. there is a pre-order special going on now until the 20th of june. so get those orders in and let’s help raise the best generation.

peace + love.

ps. since we’re in a pre-order, for those of you who have already ordered and want to switch your style, just contact me through my shop!

pps. to see the full range of products in my shop, click on products at the top!

5 months ago Short URL Comments

DESIGN/KIDS/LIFE

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