Everyday Halal Living

I found this great site created by Shazeeda Shakoora a few years ago who has now handed the site over to a Sister named Dara.

Here you will find simple and easy sewing patterns for an abaya, a chador an underscarf and more! http://www.modestclothes.com/patterns.htm 

I’ve printed out each one of these patterns and plan to insha’allah make them one day because the instructions are not intimidating, even for the most novice of sewers such as myself.

Tags: abaya, chador, Islamic dress, modest, patterns, sewing, underscarf

My mother worked while I was growing up. I saw her trying her best to be the domestic mom who volunteered for everything from homeroom mother, to driving mom on class field trips, to baking sweets for holidays and shopping for teacher gifts. She hand-cleaned my clothes and sun dried them till they were crispy white, then pressed each garment to perfection. The house was spotless and you really could eat off her floor. On top of that, she cooked homemade meals (the gourmet crock pot varieties on the weekend), planted flowers in our yard and decorated our home so that it was the one place in the world I would come to love the most.

Tags: blogger, blogging, elance, etsy, half.com, homebased business, martha stewart, mom, problogger, starting a website, wordpress, work from home

Did you know……….

• More than 2 million people die each year of waterborne diseases , mostly children under the age of 5 years old?
• The world is running out of fresh water?
• Without water we have no society, no economy?
• We humans are 70% water and 30% solids and have a water cycle within us, just like the Earth?
• About 40% of the illnesses you think are stomach flus or viruses are actually caused by polluted water?

We always buy Tom’s of Maine tootpaste, foremost because we know there are no haram (impermissible) ingredients in it- plus it is the best-’tasting’ toothpaste out of the permissible ones I’ve tried. I just never realized that they are actually certified halal, until just now.

I was doing a search on halal products and came across this link to the Tom’s of Maine website where there is a product certification page. Scroll down and find the IFANCA symbol (crescent with an ‘M’), and a brief description of what halal means.

Copyright Everyday Halal Living 2008

Here are some pics from our fall ‘excursion’ to the North Shore (Chicago), along Lake Michigan.

copyrighteverydayhalal2008

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A great example of what can be done to have some quality family time. I would venture to say that in the icy winter chill we’re experiencing now in Chicago, we’d all love to have a crisp autumn day like the one pictured here.

I found a great site I’d like to share with you- and one I’ll probably refer to quite a bit once I look into more cosmetics for their halal quality. It’s Paula Begoun’s Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary at: http://www.cosmeticscop.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary.aspx.  This is a pretty extensive dictionary that will help unravel the confusing and often times inexplicable ingredients put into our lotions, moisturizers, toners and makeup. I hope you can use this as a reference. 

Paula Begoun is a renowned consumer advocate who has written numerous books with her advice and information about various consumer products. You can check out her website, ask her skin care advice and even sign up for weekly newsletters: www.cosmeticscop.com

Tags: consumer, Cosmetics, makeup

When I find great deals and bargains around town that I think will benefit you, I immediately want to share them. Having gotten out of a very large amount of debt recently, we had to be resourceful and creative with what we had and to make our money stretch far and wide. I learned a great big lesson in that as Muslims, we should be careful to stay away from debt, which means checking ourselves against an elaborate and expensive lifestyle, and of course one beyond our means. This is particularly true when our brothers and sisters are suffering around the world for want of the basics we take for granted- clean water and fresh air to breath, just as an example.

Tags: art gallery, evanston, free, lighthouse, northwestern university, paint, recycle