Cup of tea with Aisha

 Assalamu aleikum dears :) how are u? I just announce that I'm gonna keep a couple weeks of late summer break. Everything is fine, alhamdulillah, I hope I can enjoy the rest of August, and I hope you do too :) you can follow my Insta account for updates, @cupofteawithaisha. Take care! Aisha

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah all :) how are u? I didn't go anywhere today, just enjoyed this sunny Sunday at home, organizing things and having some coffee on the balcony like I posted on Instagram earlier. I wasn't supposed to write today since I wrote already yesterday.. .. but there's so much islamophobia everywhere on social media once again, so I feel like I gotta write few things to cope. ... I have been a muslim for 11 years. So I am a revert, a western revert woman living in a western country. I don't claim I can speak for everyone's experience, I am only still a newbie on my path of islam and as I am a revert, I don't have the same experience as of someone who has born in a muslim family. Not that it needs to be a dividing matter, no. We all muslims are connected through our beliefs, may they vary and be many. But just for context. Actually I do think that there's as many ways to practice islam as there are muslims. To each person it will look t...

Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh all :) how are u doing? Welcome to the living room! I have my spot here in the sofa corner, some peppermint tea (how else) and few raspberry-liquorice biscuits. I'll put an incense burning and come back soon in sha Allah. ...   These last themes I've been having, personal growth and minimalism, past and future plans, have become more real than earlier. I find myself in the middle of all these things and it's actually good. My life has been very stable for long time, so I guess it's time to adventure a little. It has been stressful, but I start to get excited what the future could possibly bring. In the spirit of minimalism, I've been putting my clothes on sale on Vinted (my account there is aishaelina). I have cleaned up some clutter from cupboards, and I will still continue. We don't need a sandwich grill anyway. Having less feels much better.  ... The incense has a lovely scent. Also a bit burned, that's how th...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh all :) how are u? Peppermint tea. And the kitchen. I can focus better on the writing here, and of course there's the almost endless supply of tea here too, hehe. But this will be my last cup for tonight. The day was good, we had sunshine, we had rain, I'm feeling love and loved, and I have done all my chores, alhamdulillah. ... This week has started with inspiration. Most recently I bumped in the singer Sade Adu in social media, and her style. It's so beautiful and effortless, minimalist before it was a thing. She is one of the people who have done their own thing and been true to their self, and found success. I remember some of her songs from my childhood. She definitely has her own voice ♥ She reminds me of Tracy Chapman, a singer of same era, who was introduced to me by a friend, a stranger now.  I used to sing and make songs too. Maybe that's why music is so important to me. I know it's commonly deemed as haram in ...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :) jummah mubarak! I am so glad that I have gotten help when I have needed it, alhamdulillah. I met today a doctor and my nurse was there, and we decided on a good plan how to move forward now. I feel better and in sha Allah I will be doing fine now. We updated my medication a bit, and it will be more convenient. ... My no-buy-rest of the year is not doing good. First I needed to buy some clothes for working out, and then I needed this and that. Well, I will be wearing everything... but I try to keep minimizing my consumption the rest of the year. I can still participate in the 5 piece challenge this year, I have bought 3 new items this far, and the rest is second hand. I was thinking that maybe next year I'll keep the same maximum 5 piece goal, and pair it with a maximum 3 pieces a month second hand.  Is consumption a problem for me? It depends on who to compare. As a minimalist, yes, I consume too much. As a regular person, well...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah everyone ☺ how's your week started? Spain won the World Cup! There couldn't be another way. Congratulations to all of us who are on the right side of history, free Palestine. I had some troubles these past days, but now I'm back on track, alhamdulillah. Yesterday evening I was able to go to the market and pharmacy, so I got myself some cherries for a little prize. Today I finished my painting, and hubby helped me to get it on the bedroom wall. You can see the painting process from my instagram account, @cupofteawithaisha . If you're new here, welcome to follow my blog! :) I write about my daily life and thoughts about stuff, sometimes sharing recipes or beauty and fashion things, maybe less of those lately. I am a muslim so it will show in my writing, but you can follow from any background. This is a space for anyone who looks for support, a friend, a little talk and tea, may it be a cup filled or poured. ... It's a quiet evening. To...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah :) how are u? Today has been cloudy but good, alhamdulillah. I stayed the day at home, taking time for shower, making dinner, and also for my favorite hobby: painting. I don't actually paint so much, just very occasionally, but maybe I could do it more often now that I've found a place to buy the canvases with an affordable price (Tokmanni). But first I enjoy painting the current one. I washed the plates, and have no more chores to do tonight. Just a glass of juice, some biscuits and the laptop. :) ... Not much has happened this week. Suttis left for his holiday at my sister's, and is doing ok, just sleeping a lot. The house feels empty without him.. I have been feeling a little sad, but I'm happy he has lots of things to do and lots of love to receive. We are basically practicing now how he would manage if me and hubby will travel. Having a tortoise is fun, but it's not the simplest pet. It kinda is, and kinda not. Mainly a tortoise...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :) how have u been? I had a nice day, alhamdulillah. I went for a little city walk, I walked to the famous Roihuvuori cherry tree park, which is close by. The trees were blossoming in the start of summer, and now I could see only park workers, there was almost nobody there. I took a pic and continued my way to the library and market. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna head up to the market again to get some coffee and things because my sister's family is coming in sha Allah. Or not all of them, but anyways. They actually are coming to pick the ninja turtle to have a little summer holiday at their place :) it will do good for Suttis, he can be more out and the kiddos will play with him. In sha Allah. I will miss him though, I already do. He's a menace but so, so adorable too. Like today late morning, when I finally woke up around 12.30, he had already woken up without seeing me, so when I got up he just ran after me everywhere.  ... I n...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh all :) how's your week been? Last time I wrote on Monday. Since then, I've been making moves. Not big, but good. I got a book from library which I loved, read it already in two days. Got my painting canvas too, and today hubby brought me a big tube of white acrylic paint. I already started, and in sha Allah I will dedicate this weekend for the painting and other nice activities. I did today my most frequent activity: grocery shopping. We have some simple dinners ahead, and I hope I will be able to execute my plans. ... Plans.. well, I had plans about what I'm gonna write, but I forgot them. Just totally slipped off my mind.  Also we talked about some plans with hubby. It started about decorating the house, then about not decorating the house, then about moving, then about moving to another city, maybe another country.. Summer is good time for dreaming and planning. Actually every time is good for a little daydreaming, but I kno...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :) how are u today? I try to keep myself occupied, because I stress my work shift I have tomorrow. In sha Allah it will go well, this is just my regular things, getting stressed. So far I have tried all my autumn and winter coats, put some items for sale on Vinted, ate a tortilla, chat about football w/ hubby.. and you know the drill, now it's time for some tea 🍵 ... I'm always on my quest of finding ways to renew things in my life I'm not 100% happy with. Job is one thing.. some of you might remember that I am working as a personal assistant, or a caretaker, I'm not sure of the exact translation. Basically I help people with their daily lives, with everything it might contain, like for example cooking, cleaning, doing small tasks and running errands, going together with the customer to doctor's appointments, hobbies and so on. And I do like my job! Especially now when I'm doing only gigs.  I can work very freely a...

 Assalamu aleikum dears :) how's your weekend? I have had ups and downs this weekend, but mostly it's been nice, alhamdulillah. Yesterday was one sister's walima, and it was a beautiful occasion. She had all servings made at a catering company, and almost everything was vegan. So delicious! My favorites were sandwich cake (yeah that's a Nordic thing) and raspberry mousse cake. The sister was so happy and it was nice to hear more about their story. Alhamdulillah love needs to be celebrated always ♥ it was also nice to meet other sisters. Today me and hubby went to check out a new second hand shop, Hertsikan kirppis . Nice! We didn't really find anything though, but a new wifey for Suttis, hehe. I saw it there on the shelf and when I showed it to my husband, he was smiling right away, we found it. The previous wife was maybe too different, but have to say that Suttis wasn't really interested about this wife either.. he's a mamas boy and that's it :) The se...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah all :) how's your week going? Alhamdulillah, I had a nice day today. I met one lovely sister and we went on a picnic. The day was warm, we had some sunshine and a good catch up of everything that's going on. Then I came home to meet hubby, who is now sleeping with Suttis in bedroom, other in the bed and other in the comfort of the corner. They are so cute :) this is one of the days I want to say alhamdulillah all the time. I made a little duaa before I met the sister, and the duaa came true too. It's good to have these kind of happy days, life gives lemons so often that it's nice to have the lemonade handed over once in a while too. ♥ ... We were talking about going to the gym, and in sha Allah we will start going soon. I don't even know do I dare to tell you that I need clothes for working out, maybe we just sweep that under the carpet. It's a need though, I don't actually have any modest options. And in the gym I need shoes...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah dears :) how are u today? I have a total day off, I don't need to do anything, not even cook because today we will eat leftovers. The weather is a bit gray, might rain later, which I don't mind. Next week will be hot in sha Allah. Hot like my tea which I'm making, hehe. I am programmed to have a cup while I write, it's a must. ... Days like these, when I just relax, it's tempting to look Vinted a bit, just to see what's there today. I guess I'm programmed in this too, shopping clothes. Now having some sort of hobby or interest is not a bad thing. But maybe sometimes it's on the brink of obsession, which is not so good anymore. I haven't bought many brand new items this year, only underwear and socks and one knit scarf from discount. Oh, and I bought the hijabs too.. But yeah, I have spent almost 400e this year on clothes and that feels so much :( I have a guilty conscience. 99 percent of this spending is on Vinted, an...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh all :) how are u doing? The weather is grey and rainy, and I don't have anything to do today, alhamdulillah. I was planning to do a workout after I've drank an illegal amount of coffee, but I wanted to write first, as I have time before I need to prepare the dinner and so on. And maybe I don't even workout but dance. But I am on a bit heavier subject today, and I will talk about death so if it triggers you, now is a safe time to stop reading. ... I love this book, even though I haven't still read it to the end. The fault is not on the book, it's me and my limited skill to focus. But I have reached almost the final pages, and they tell about death. It's not a subject we can usually speak comfortably. Death brings us feelings of loss, sadness, grief, and even fear. Or some cases, longing. There was a time when I was very suicidal. I thought about dying every day. I'm lucky that I didn't have the courage, and I...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh all :) how's your weekend going? It's Juhannus aka Midsommer time, and even though we don't celebrate, this is when the summer is at its best. The sun doesn't really go down, we had a beautiful warm weather today, and now the fan works at night as it is supposed to. I haven't been anywhere, just home relaxing, enjoying of the balcony and the plants growing.. It's been nice. We had a healthy dinner today: pesto marinated tilapia with attieke, which is a bit like couscous but it's made of cassava. We also watched a football game. I have had unlimited amount of cherries and many nectarines. Alhamdulillah. The summer found me. ♥ ... Now I have my tea, and I'm ready to chat. First I want to tell you that I have achieved something: I have had time to scroll through Vinted, and I have been tempted to buy something brand new, but I haven't! No packages on the way. No money spent. Just looking, and then telling m...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh dears :) how are u? I have been active today! In the morning I had two cups of coffee (yes, I have been a coffee girlie since June started), did a workout, showered and went to work. I had a shift for today and in sha Allah tomorrow another one. The work was a bit physical, or so it felt after more than one month without any work. I'm happy to go tomorrow too. It feels good to be active. I almost made another workout, I mean now in the evening, but decided to cool down instead and let my body rest, and have a chat with you guys. ... Tonight from sunset, the first month of the islamic calendar starts. The month is called Muharram, which comes from arabic root h-r-m, meaning "forbidden" or "sacred". Muharram is one of the four sacred months of the islamic hijri calendar (like Ramadan is one of the sacred months). Hijri calendar, the islamic calendar, gets it's name from Hijra, which means the migration early musli...

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah :) do you have plans for the weekend? I have had some troubles recently, more and less personal matters.. last time I wrote some of it. But today I had still a nice day. It was Helsinki Day, and there was lot of events all around the city. I met a sister and her toddler, and went for a walk around the Töölö bay. Got some coffee on our way, and we enjoyed the walk even though the weather was a bit cloudy and cool today. Alhamdulillah. I took a metro home and stopped by a Nepalese restaurant, I treated us with some take away to dodge grocery shopping and cooking today. Tomorrow in sha Allah it's jollof rice day, which is my nemesis but also a dish become dear, it's still a trial and error case but in sha Allah I will keep on practicing.  ... I have been thinking about all of this going around, same topics, same scenarios. I mean, my life is easy at the moment, alhamdulillah. I have just jammed into these same thought patterns, same situations. Pa...