January 2019 Favorites

If someone told me a year ago that I’d begin this series on my blog, I would have rolled my eyes in reply.

I say that because the 20 year old version of myself would have thought Altine, nobody really cares about what you love so just focus on your writing. Likewise, a part of me would have been reluctant because I am a loyalist; if I like something I stick to it until it no longer works for me or I simply get tired of it. It was based on those reasons I concluded that the series was not really for me.

However, a few days ago I read through the pages of an 8 year old journal of mine and stumbled upon some old writings, where I recounted some things I liked and didn’t like and the trip down memory lane had me rolling on the floor. I completely forgot that there was a time in my life that I loved eating pickle sandwiches! Gross right!? I also obsessed over lacoste trainers and could not part from my pink Nintedo DS or my narnia and cooking mama game. There was also a period in my life that I enjoyed listening to Irish ballads, I read multiple folklore stories and played baseball and tag rugby as a means of staying fit and my favorite social media website was bebo. The memories brought so much warmth into my heart; it was similar to the kind of feeling you get when you rediscover an old favorite song or a secret hiding spot.

You see life happens so fast that you forget or loose track of some things you loved in the past in the name of embracing and welcoming new changes. It is for that reason I’ve decided to document (more for my sake than for any other thing) the things I’ve been loving in every month. I want to be able to look back and laugh and deny the things I claimed to have loved at the time.

I love discovering and learning new things at any given opportunity and I feel like if I’ve found something that’s amazing or has been very useful to me, there’s no reason for me to keep all the goodness to myself or my innermost circle. Do you agree with me?

So without further ado, lets dive right into the things I’ve been loving throughout the Month of January 2019:

• Studio Ghibli Movies. If you are an anime fan, be rest assured that you’d love studio ghibli movies. This awesome movie production company was recommended to me by a colleague of mine that enjoys watching anime as well. The very first time I tried watching a Studio Ghibli movie, I binge watched four of their other movies, which is insane because I only ever binge watch series and a few movie sequels. Studio Ghibli movie story-lines are original and fascinating to watch and the characters have a way of resonating on your mind for a while. Some of my all time favorite studio Ghibli movies are: the tale of Princess Kaguya, the secret world of Arriety, the Red Turtle and Howl’s moving castle.

• Oxford English Translation Quran by M.A.S Abdel Haleem. I believe this is a copy of the quran that every non-arabic speaker must have or has at least read once in their life to fully understand the message of the quran. Other copies of the english translated quran that I’ve read are either poorly translated in english or the translator adopts the use of archaic english words and phrases, which can be frustrating and difficult to understand. M.A.S Abdel Haleem is a contemporary translator and an arabic scholar who did an impeccable job translating the quran into the English language. I also love the fact that he helped summarize and explain the events that were happening at the time some of the revelations were being made to the Prophet (SAW).

• Muji Lagos Handbags. Muji is a Nigerian luxury brand that I discovered on Instagram and they specialize in the make and design of leather handbags. I was so happy when I discovered their page because I very much like to support local brands and businesses (especially brands that are well tailored to my taste), and their style screamed ME!! Their medium tote bags are my go to hand bags for the office and they never stop to catch the attention of my colleagues and other onlookers. I own quite a number of Muji medium tote bags thanks to my husband, who helped to custom order them into the colours I wanted and also had my initials printed on them. If you are thinking of gifting your mum, sister, wife, niece, female cousin or friend a birthday gift, a muji purse or handbag is definitely worth considering.

• Children’s Quran Audio CD. I was shopping for new perfumes at one of the Arabian Oud stores in Medina, when I overheard a beautiful recitation of the quran of a young boy that was being played from the store next door. It was so beautiful I dropped the perfume I was holding and went into the store next door to ask what CD was playing . Sadly the owner of the shop could not speak English so I could not confirm some of the questions I had; questions like whether the CD had the whole recitation of the quran or the CD was a piece of a full set that had the complete recitation of the quran. Either ways I purchased the CD for 20 riyals and couldn’t wait to return to Nigeria and bless my ears with the beautiful recitation of the quran. Unfortunately, I later discovered that the CD contained just one juz of the quran. Had I known that that was the case, I would have bought the complete set. Nevertheless I LOVE the CD and listen to it almost every morning on my way to work.

That brings us to an end of the things I’ve been loving this whole month. I’d love to hear the things you’ve been loving this month. Also, kindly comment down below if you’ve seen any of the studio ghibili films I mentioned and which one you recommend I watch next.

I’ll catch you in my next post In Sha Allah x

Ma Salam!