The MET

The latest addition to the Boubess Group chain of restaurants, hotels, and gyms, The MET, a metropolitan eatery, opened its doors to the public in Beirut Souks to serve a mix of dishes from all corners of the globe.

In the mood for sushi, Indian, Italian, American, Lebanese, French, or a refreshing salad bar, you would find it on the menu.  It’s urban yet cozy décor, accompanied by its mouth watering dishes and convenient location in the center of Beirut makes it the restaurant of choice for me and other people of all ages and lifestyles.

Even though everything on the menu is exceptionally appetizing, my favorite dish is the Chicken Curry, an abundant amount of chicken cubes marinated in a delicious and creamy curry sauce with a side of basmati rice and a spicy mango sauce.  Other great selections are the Chicken “Ai Funghi”, a grilled chicken breast with creamy mushroom sauce and a side of golden French fries and sautéed vegetables, and the Four Seasons Pizza.

Mmmmmmmm 

My Spring/ Summer Must Haves…Woop Woop!!

It’s not news that this summer’s fashion theme is the 70’s.  I have to admit that 70’s fashion is very appealing when it comes to the loose, light, floral fabric, flowing long hair, and lively pastel make up.  However, things could get out of hand especially with the bell bottom pants, hot shorts, and over sized clogs (guilty of already getting one).

After a long and cold winter, one can’t help but get the urge to stock up on summer trends while eagerly awaiting the sand, sun, and sea.  No matter what fashion is in for the season, true style is taking a trend and turning it into your unique statement, be it with a signature color (Red, in my case) or any article of clothing or accessory that is YOU.

He's Love

Darkness fiercely swallows the existence

The mute world reeks with the stench of death

Hope being abstract is useless,

It must be touched

Too weak to keep up the resistance,

She struggles for breath

Then he opens his eyes

He holds the light in his left

What’s left in his right is the hope

It all has a shape now;

It all can be heard and touched

Now love is a being,

He was love all along.

                                                                  July 11, 2009

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

I can't get enough of this song!! Wow!

Wedding Invitations

In my previous wedding related post, I had mentioned all the elements related to the wedding but left out the wedding invitations. I always thought that wedding invitations were the thing least important, but now I realize that they present an introduction to the entire wedding, especially if they are made to reflect the wedding’s theme.

Love the golden scroll, never seen that done before

I like the way it's tied with a ribbon, white and gold

The sheer paper and ribbon give a very elegant effect together

Typical Indian Invitation Card

Again with the off white and ribbons

Forget the 90th birthday, I like the colors

(Please vote for the invitations you like best by commenting, thank you)

For the past few days, I have been working on the guest list.  I started off with a wedding of 150 people, jumped to about 170, but now it seems I’ll have to rocket up to a party of 190 people.  

I think I’ll have to make a new budget.

Valentine’s Day

Red is my favorite color, but on Valentine’s Day, and the week before it, it becomes repulsive.  Shops are filled with too many red roses, teddy bears, and hearts that it becomes a sign of ridicule rather than love.

Non-the-less, this holiday cannot pass uncelebrated. 

In stead of the traditional lovey dovey gift with flowers and a dinner, I decided to change the entire theme of Valentine’s Day and turn it into something more practical, concrete, and a true symbol of love and devotion. 

Our apartment!

I had mentioned before that my fiancé and I are in the midst of remodeling the apartment, so it’s basically a wreck; even so, I decided to prepare a dinner and bring it over for the occasion.  Of course, to do that I’d have to actually cook it at my parents’ house, pack it, in addition to all the serving bowls, plates, cups, cutlery, chairs, table, and a portable gas tank; and bring it to the apartment.  The menu I prepared was entirely Italian!

The Menu:

Appetizers

Bread, Butter, and minced black olives

Romano Bread

Salad

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Salad

Pasta

Fettuccini Alfredo

Main Course

Steak with Portobello Mushroom Sauce

Deserts

Apple Tart

Strawberry Tart

Crème Brule Tart

I got my sister-in-law to help me get my fiancé to the apartment, by coming up with a story.

Everything worked like a dream!  He couldn’t believe his eyes when he walked through the door.  He was surprised, happy, and very grateful with the whole idea.

To top off the “Our Apartment” theme, I got him a Tefal Crepe pan.  J  

  

Wedding Follies

“Planning a wedding isn’t a light matter.” 

How many times have u heard that?  Trust me, it’s nothing compared to when you are actually doing it, and doing it for your self.  I have been with my fiancé for a year and a little less than three months, of that time; we have been engaged for about eight months.  We plan to get married on September 10, 2011.

Each wedding has stable elements such as a venue, a caterer, some flowers, a photographer, and entertainment.  But trying to give it a twist isn’t too simple, especially when traditions and expectations play a significant role.  Another factor that gets me scratching my head with innovation is the fact that my sister in law and my fiancé’s cousin are getting married in the same season. 

Imagine the competition!

For the past few months I’ve been checking different venues to find the one with the right structure and landscaping.  I was looking for something outdoors, pool side, great view of the city and with stairs for me to come down on.

I finally found it, and reserved it yesterday!  Enough details!

Selecting the caterer was made easy for me considering that my venue had an exclusive caterer that throws one spectacular banquet.  Similarly, the venue also has an exclusive light and sound engineer that is guaranteed to get the party going.

What were left were the photographer and florist; until I attended the Wedding Follies Expo in BIEL.  This exhibition collects most of the event planners, venues, photographers, florists, car rental agencies, travel agencies, hair stylists, haute couture, and many other vendors which a bride to be might need to get her wedding on track.  At the Wedding Follies I managed to get a great deal on a photographer and florist.

What comes next is the rest of the entertainment, the fire works, and more surprises all under a new theme I’m yet to reveal.

I "Heart" Hamra Street

Hamra Street has always been one of the most happening places in Beirut through out history.  One of the main streets in Beirut, Harma Street is known for its cultural, economic, and educational significance. The Hamra area cannot be categorized into a tourist destination, a business district, a leisure attraction, or even an educational area separately; it is a mix of all. 

 

Even though the Hamra area has had its share of renovation, one can’t help but notice that most of its buildings till have their authentic structure and design.  Even the newly tiled streets give the area the old French look from the time of the mandate.

Hamra Street is home to a vast number of shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels, and other businesses those of which are international, and others that are of local origin.  The Bestseller clothing brands such as Vero Moda and Jack & Jones have opened a number of shops on the Hamra strip.  International and local cafes such as Starbucks Coffee, Costa Coffee, Lina’s, and Hamra Café are among the many popular places to sit, especially for students from the neighboring universities who are looking for a place to study, other than their college library.  Boubess Group, owners of some of Lebanon’s most hip restaurants and hotels, has also found Hamra Street to be a good location for their rising restaurant empire.  Napolitana (Italian Pizzaria), Kaiten (Sushi Conveyor) and Laziz (new age Lebanese food) are just some of the Boubess restaurants on Hamra Street.  Other popular eateries include Roadster Diner, Deek Duke, and Crepe Away.  Hamra is also home to a number of Hotels and furnished apartment buildings.

     

Regardless of all of the above, the reason I love the Hamra District so much is because I spent the best time their while I attended the American University of Beirut, located on Bliss Street, Hamra District.  Similarly, the Lebanese American University and the Haigazian University are two of the best colleges located in the area, among others.    

Omega Dune

View from our Omega

The Omega on the right side of the Main Gate Plaza at AUB was my hang out place during my college years.  My friends and I, a group of people from different majors, experiences and backgrounds sat there at around noon.  It was truly a demonstration of unity and love between the Lebanese youth.  Today, May 13, 2008 is a day of sorrow since the Lebanese people have been killing each other for the past week over ridiculously obsolete matters. 

I prey for the return of the Omega days.

Omega Dune

Let us meet at around noon

On the right side Omega dune

A mix of sects, experiences and races

A mix of brothers, friends, and familiar faces

Let it be through Main Gate

Let our pandemic escape

Infecting those with reason and tolerance

Putting an end to chaos and grief, no hindrance

Let us meet at around noon

On the right side Omega dune

Let us show them what it means to be one

Let us show them what it looks like to have the conflict done

                                                                                                                                May 13, 2008

Speaking Roses

Speaking Roses is not an ordinary flower shop.  It as international floral company that developed and patented a new, state of the art technology that prints words, logos, and pictures on fresh flower petals to make them look as if the inscription grew on them.  The technology they use goes beyond fresh flowers to include personalizing wooden, silk, soap, glass, and ceramic flowers.  Speaking roses didn’t stop at printing on flowers; they took it to the next level and also developed a technology that involves silver, gold, or platinum plating of flowers.  These plated flowers don’t just look amazing, but they last forever too.

Printed Roses

Plated Roses



In Cold Blood

…is the title of a Novel by Truman Capote about a multiple murder and its consequences.

During a phone call with my fiancé last night, he received news of the murder of someone he knew.

The victim was a car and motorcycle mechanic who lived and worked in my fiancé’s neighborhood.  He had gotten into a quarrel with the neighbors about were and how to park the motorcycles.  The neighbors invited him over, claiming their intention to reach an agreement, and then shot him twice in the chest with a hand gun, killing him.  The murderers fled the scene.

I was shocked when I heard what had happened.  I never thought a man’s life would be worth a parking space.  Or another man would risk being sent to jail and possibly sentenced to life in prison or capital punishment for a parking space.

Murder is illegal all around the world, but dealing with such crimes differs depending on laws, customs, and corruption.  In developed countries, trials are subject to a jury where sentences are passed based on laws, evidence, and how good the lawyer is.  In Islamic countries, laws are adopted according to the Islamic Shariaa.  These could be brutal in most cases such as chopping off the hand of a thief, chopping of the head of a murderer, or hanging him in a public square, or stoning an adulterer (female in most cases).  And in other parts of the world, convictions are entirely subject to a person’s rank, social level, and connections.  Laws are set to fill books, because corruption prevails.  In Lebanon, in my opinion, laws are enforced, criminal are caught and tried, and victims are compensated haphazardly.

With all its problems, Lebanon ranks rather low in comparison to the international homicide rate at 0.57 per 100,000.  Its neighboring countries Syria, Jordan, and Palestine rate significantly higher at 3.0, 1.75, and 3.85 respectively.  Developed countries, even with their supposedly intact judicial systems, rate higher than Lebanon such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom at 5.0, 1.81, and 1.28 respectively.  El Salvador remains top on the list with a staggering rate of 71 per 100,000.

My numbers are from nationmaster.com.