Modern Times

I'm a major fan of black and white films.  Can't explain why, but I've always liked that genre of cinematography since I was a child.  My teenager years were spent at home watching black and white films back to back, instead of going out to do teenage things.  Guess it saved me from a lot of trouble. 

In Algeria, in the 80's, they used to broadcast on TV the Charlie Chaplin segments, and YES!  I am still a fan of Charlie Chaplin.  I later on learned how much the world of cinema is indebted to him....his personal life aside...let's not think about that.  I used to love watching him walk funny into the sunset and twirl his umbrella, and the trouble he used to always get into.  However, my favorite Charlie Chaplin movie was and still remains Modern Times.  My dad was also a fan and he got us the video of the movie, so my siblings and I memorized it....from beginning to end. 

When I was in high school, I took a History through film class, which was the most awesomest class I ever took!  We got to watch movies with major historical events and write about them.  Modern Times was one of the movies that I was fortunate to watch again, and it was then that I understood the underlying political and sociological messages that Charlie Chaplin was conveying.  The rise of  industrialism, to communism, and to poverty that existed in America.  Although it was a comedy, it reflected on the issues that helped the United States grow into a prosperous nation.  Also, Modern Times was the only movie where Charlie Chaplin's voice was heard, through a non-sensical song, lol.

It still had a lot of his comedy, romance and life's troubles and challeges involved, but great movie through out.  I recommend it to everyone and all ages.  Although Charlie Chaplin always was the happy idiot in his movies, the messages were never idiotic, and should be viewed with much more speculation than just a laugh.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies -from Marth Stewart website

I loooooooooooooove chocolate chip cookies.  When I moved to New York, from Algeria, the only thing that I liked was chocolate chip cookies and pizza!  There was a cookie man in my middle school cafeteria that used to sell them warm....3 for $1.  Honestly, they were the best chocolate chip cookies that I had ever had.  I was never able to find them again.  I never gave up on my search until I tried this recipe from Martha stewart.....Awesome (singing).  I do add, 1/8 of a teaspoon baking powder to give it a little tiny bit of a puff.  A matter of texture preference.  Other than that delicioso!  Thank you Martha.


http://www.marthastewart.com/344840/soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies?czone=food%2Fcookies-cnt%2Feveryday-favorites
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips



Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

2.Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3.Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Happy New Year. Goodbye old lessons and welcome new lessons

New Years is a new prospective for everyone.  Each person is looking for a different way on how to better their lives and themselves on this event.  I generally try to look at the last year and try to remember what I did that made me the person that I am today.  It really didn't happen in just this last year....an accumulative process.  I look at things and wish that I had handled them differently and other things I am proud of the decisions that I made.

The decisions that we take lead us to the people that we are today and I believe that it is instinctual and what we really wanted to be and not what we could have been.  I wish that I could be a better person, a religious person, and a more creative designer.  Thank God for the New Year that allows me to imporove myself step by step, and allows me to look at my past experiences as great lessons. 

These last 5 years have been a growth process that I needed but didn't think that I did.  Events kept happening that always led me to think: Why does this have to happen to me?  Then I calm down and think: well, if this didn't happen then I would have probably had to experience other things that would not have been good for me at all.  When I say good, I mean lessons.  As long as we are here, we are learning.  From friends, family, bosses, clients, children, strangers, and the list goes on.

I guess, that I am happy with what I have because I love to learn.  I know that God gives me what I can handle and I breathe in the air to revive and remind myself that he is the best lesson giver ever.  Throughout my life, my downs have really brought me down and I regret that I allowed myself to feel that way.  I should have been able to see the oppurtunities that come out of each and every situation.  Patience is the most needed virtue, because all of us don't really have what it takes.  That's why we all break down in our own way.  Life does go on and the New Year does approach us.  So, we all celebrate it differently.  Some of us party, some of us pray, and some of us like to snuggle and eat sweets (that's me). 

Happy New Year.  Goodbye old lessons and welcome new lessons.  I will try to make patience my new best friend, and life lessons my lover.

New Pieces added to my Etsy shop

Little things that shine and sparkle

Although pearls and semi-precious stones make beautiful jewelry, I find myself adding a few crystals to give that shine and sparkle that gives it that beautiful and finishing look. There's always an attraction to a shine and sparkle. and I feel that glass crystals reflect that perfect image.

Crystal beads have been used since before Victorian times and were even more pricey than some real gemstones. The elite wore jewelry with crystals and used crystal-ware to portray good breeding. To this day, crystal is a sign of class and style.

Although Diamonds are of higher value, I prefer a piece of jewelry with crystals for that shine and sparkle.


www.etsy.com/shop/ZahrasJewels

A simple white pearl necklace

Did you know that some believed pearls to be the tears of the gods. Others thought them dewdrops filled with moonlight that fell into the ocean and were swallowed by oysters.

My love with pearls began when I lived in Bangladesh as a little girl. A native Bengali woman used to visit my mom with a special bag. The bag always had the most beautiful pearls. Strands and strands and strands of it with different colors. I remember sitting next to my mother and looking at the woman work at selling these beautiful pearls to my mother. My mother would go through her selection and pick what she thought was beautiful. She paid the pearl woman in cash, cigarettes, and a few bottles of Johnny Walker. My mother would then take them to the jeweler to bring a vision of hers into life, and those were the gifts that we gave to our family. As I got older, I always made sure that I had a simple pearl necklace because I always believed that every woman should have one.

Visit my website for some of my other pearl necklaces and earrings.
www.zahrasjewels.com