New Hair, New Looks – Experimenting at Mona J Salon and Spa

So it turns out that I’ve been getting way too many compliments on my new haircut which I recently got from Mona J Salon and Spa, and I was like “why have I not bragged about it yet?” So here I am.

Basically I had long straight brown hair naturally. This time they had grown really long and even though I loved my hair just the way they were, I wanted to chop them off so they become more manageable. So happens that Mona J Salon was the choice I made right. I booked an appointment with Mona Jamal herself and took her advice on the haircut.

She studied my face and hair for a couple of minutes and then asked what kind of haircut I had in mind. Now my face is smaller and my ears pop out (something I don’t appreciate much about my facial features) so I told her I wanted something bouncy. Of course it was about a new look overall. The rest I totally left up to her.

The thought of cutting off like 14 inches of my hair petrified me but I knew Mona knows her stuff well so I decided to leave the length up to her too. Within the next few minutes what I saw was a complete delight. I got a crazy voluminous blow dry and curls (temporary ones) and my facial features stood out. Here’s before and after of my look. 

Before - with the long hair

After - with the shorter bouncier hair

Uploaded this new photo on Instagram and people have been asking me to start my own morning show (courtesy: the pose and the fresh look). :D

 

My hair is bouncier and more manageable now and I’m lovin’ it. I also got a tour of the new salon interior that they had gotten recently with Turkish Hamaams and proper luxurious spa rooms. I would like to thank Mona Jamal for the hospitality and the amazing haircut. 

New Hair, New Looks – Experimenting at Mona J Salon and Spa

So it turns out that I’ve been getting way too many compliments on my new haircut which I recently got from Mona J Salon and Spa, and I was like “why have I not bragged about it yet?” So here I am.

Basically I had long straight brown hair naturally. This time they had grown really long and even though I loved my hair just the way they were, I wanted to chop them off so they become more manageable. So happens that Mona J Salon was the choice I made right. I booked an appointment with Mona Jamal herself and took her advice on the haircut.

She studied my face and hair for a couple of minutes and then asked what kind of haircut I had in mind. Now my face is smaller and my ears pop out (something I don’t appreciate much about my facial features) so I told her I wanted something bouncy. Of course it was about a new look overall. The rest I totally left up to her.

The thought of cutting off like 14 inches of my hair petrified me but I knew Mona knows her stuff well so I decided to leave the length up to her too. Within the next few minutes what I saw was a complete delight. I got a crazy voluminous blow dry and curls (temporary ones) and my facial features stood out. Here’s before and after of my look. 

Before - with the long hair

After - with the shorter bouncier hair

Uploaded this new photo on Instagram and people have been asking me to start my own morning show (courtesy: the pose and the fresh look). :D

 

My hair is bouncier and more manageable now and I’m lovin’ it. I also got a tour of the new salon interior that they had gotten recently with Turkish Hamaams and proper luxurious spa rooms. I would like to thank Mona Jamal for the hospitality and the amazing haircut. 

Closeup #ConfidenceKaGame ‘Actor in Law’ Promotions

It so happened that Closeup chose a handful of KOL’s and bloggers to experience their #ConfidenceKaGame promotions naturally with the movie Actor in Law owing to Fahad Mustafa’s stellar performance throughout the movie. 

Me and Seema Tejani, who most of you know is my sister and partner (in Those 7 Minutes) took a luxurious Careem ride to Atrium Cinemas to watch Actor in Law, sponsored by Closeup Pakistan. Needless to say that the experience was all quite comfortable and the movie was a great, fun, one-time watch.

The PR agency of the brand not only made all arrangements but exchanged my tickets C3 and 4C with 15A and 15B. I had told them that I got seats in two different rows lol (I was reading ticket seat numbers like plane seat numbers, haha).

Anyhow, seats were better and the experience was comfy, not to forget the fits of laughter we had while watching the movie. I have to say that Fahad Mustafa’s acting has improved manifold. Earlier this year only, he gave a solid performance in Mah-e-Mir, acting out the character so well and now in Actor in Law, he gave his best yet again. Mehwish Hayat’s acting was also above average and I saw improvements from her last film performance in Jawani Phhir Nahi Aani. Of course Om Puri and Alyy Khan played their parts to perfection, and cameo appearances by Talat Hussain, Khaled Anum, and Nayyar Ejaz added concrete appeal.

 
All in all, it was a good effort and a Sunday well spent. Thank you Closeup Pakistan for the experience.

A mighty Iftar plus dinner made by Tejani sisters for the family through Made Easy recipes

Hello readers! So I haven’t blogged about anything in a longgggg time (on my personal blog of course). Those 7 Minutes is on, just the way it should! :D Okay, so here is an experience I really wanted to share with you all. I have never been into cooking, not so much on the sugghhar side you know? So I’ve always been fond of ready to cook packets, noodles and mac n cheese type snacks.

It so happens that a friend introduced me to this recipe portal Made Easy by National Foods. It is a website plus an Android and iOS app which has a selection of fusion recipes. After me and Seema (my sister and partner in crime) browsed through the portal, we found some interesting easy recipes that we could make together.

We decided to dedicate an entire Sunday to make iftar (mommy needs a break too, you know). Shortlisted Peri Bites, Pizza Paratha, and Mint lemonade for the iftar. Here’s how it unfolded:

Peri Bites:

The recipe of peri bites was the easiest. All we needed was National’s Achaar Gosht masala, some big green chilies, chicken (cut in julienne) and cheddar cheese.

Preparation:
Chicken was fried in a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Added achaar gosht masala and let it cook for a few minutes then kept it aside.

Slit open and deseeded green chilles and then stuffed a chicken piece and some grated cheese inside. Closed the slit.

To coat and fry, we needed breadcrumbs and a viscous flour paste (flour and some water). Dipped chilies in the paste, coated with bread crumbs and left in the freezer to settle for about 20 minutes. After that, tried to cover the entire chilies properly with the coat and deep fried until golden brown.

It turned out amazing. Almost as good as Nandos’ peri bites.

Pizza Paratha:

This recipe would have been the easiest had we decided to use some ready-made parathas from Dawn or Menu etc. But since we seldom go to the kitchen, this one decided to make parathas herself too. Here’s how it happened:

Preparation:

Chicken:
Chicken – ¼ kg marinated with National Tikka Boti masala, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice for half an hour. Then cooked in a couple of tablespoons of Canola oil. Capsicum and Onions cut in thin slices added. Topping ready.

Parathas:
Kneaded 3 cups of white flour (maida) with 1 teaspoon salt, half cup milk, 3 tablespoon oil and some water to create a dough. Used a rolling pin to create big rounded parathas (shape matters lol). Fried the parathas in non-stick pan.

Final Product:

While frying the second side sprinkled some grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Added chicken topping and then created another layer of cheese to let it stick. Folded the paratha and ta-da! It was exactly what we wanted.

Had it with chilli garlic sauce and everybody in the house became a fan.

Bombay Biryani

We had to add something desi and a proper main course meal because people need food. Bomaby Biryani was the ultimate choice.

To make that we needed Mutton (1/2 kg), onions and tomatoes, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, potatoes (cut in big cubes), rice (1/2 kg boiled), yellow food coloring, yogurt and National’s Bombay Biryani masala.

Preparation:

To make this, we heated oil in the skillet and fried onions in that. Then added mutton, ginger-garlic paste, Bombay Biryani masala and a glass of water. Let it cook for half an hour after covering it. Added tomatoes, yogurt and potatoes and let it cook for like 20 minutes. Then stirred in boiled rice and green chilies. Sprinkled food color on top and let it simmer on low flame for a while. Served it hot with raita.

Mint Lemonade

Now we tweaked this recipe a bit (because not such a garlic fan :p). Added sugar syrup (made with grounded sugar and water), mint leaves, National’s Fruitily (lemon flavor) and some tamarind (imli) paste to the blender. Added ice cubes and blended all of it to produce one refreshing drink.
It got all praises.

All of this experimentation was a delightful experience. Glad that cooking has made easy by the recipes on the portal. Safe to say that WE CAN COOK (even if it is every once in a while). :D

Inkompass offers the #BestInternshipEver

When we think about internships, we land at the idea that a university student will be going to a nice corporate setting, socializing with people around, do data entry and operational work etc. But some organizations make the experience of their interns better than the one of their employees, and focus not just on partying but also actually developing on-job skills by giving maximum exposure to their interns.
Inkompass has announced its internship program which will commence on the 11th July, 2016 and will go on till 26th August, 2016. The program is for the second year university students from any discipline or field of study. Inkompass is an equal opportunity provider and the best part is that anyone can be a part of the program as long as the student is in the second year of study at an HEC recognized university.

A few features of the program:

1) The program is 6 weeks long.
2) It is divided into 2 cycles. Interns get hired in the first phase when they’re in their 2nd year. Later in the 3rd year, an extension of the internship program is announced and the same students intern.
3) At the end of both cycles, students who perform great have an employment contract at hand. This means a job at a Multinational before you graduate.
4) It is a global program which guarantees exposure and a self-discovery.
5) The environment and the stipend are amazing. With such a good stipend, students always feel motivated and like a full-time employee, responsible for things. Intrinsic motivation gets real.
6) The students selected, work directly under the directors at PMI. This gives them a great deal of exposure learning from top executives and brushes their skills immensely.
7) The internship revolves around meeting deadlines, has rotation within departments and expects students to work on big company projects. The learning thus multiplies manifold.

All in all, it is the best Internship experience ever. We need more of such programs to foster skill building and development among students. With practical learning and being a part of a corporate, professional organizational set up like this, students are sure to come out as refined individuals when they graduate.

The good news is that there’s still time left for applying for the program. Click here to apply. Details and important dates of the program can be found here.

Also if you’re not eligible for this program but want to be a part of PMI, you can apply for their Graduate Trainee Program. Good luck!