Travel

2022: Long Story Short, I Survived

| Hreem

Happy new yearrrrr!!!

Welcome to my first post of 2023!

I can’t believe the year is finally over and for once I’m saying this in a good way. There were so many good moments that I’m extremely grateful for but also 2022 was super tiring and there were things that really..sucked. So in summary this year was the literal definition of a roller coaster and thankfully I survived.

As a rite of passage, this is my end-of-year reflection post that will be much better than my previous one. I’m splitting the year up into four parts because every 3 months felt like a different chapter and also I’m too lazy to document each month individually. Plus I mean who’d want to read such a detailed review.

January to March

  • a TERRIBLE THREE MONTHS. I can’t even explain it but the vibes were so off in the first three months and my mental health was lowkey deteriorating. I genuinely cannot believe I am the same girl who experienced those three months because that was a whole trip. Anyways, personally I wouldn’t consider it the best way to start the year but maybe that’s just me (the events that took place were pretty good but as I said the vibes weren’t).
  • We had our mock exams in Jan and I got a very painful 2 in one of my math criterions (out of 8, very humbling) but a 6 in my econ test (out of 7. the moment I realised I may actually be capable of slaying in econ).
  • Made a music video for the 10 minute version of All Too Well with Simmy and Netra and I just wanna say that is a cinematic masterpiece and I’d post it here if I could. We also did around the kitchen in the refrigerator light in case you were wondering.
  • Did 90% of my final music project in the last two weeks before the deadline (wrote and recorded the entire song an hour before) and yes I brought that upon myself but as you can see I still complain about it to this day.
  • International day was cute and we wore our cute Indian clothes to school. Me and Simmy also got married that day (???). Loved it.
  • Played Holi with my friends and it was way too much fun.

April to June

  • Actually the best three months of the year and I can’t name one single unenjoyable thing that happened because it was just great.
  • We had our last round of mocks and then the last normal month of year 11 and then our final exams which I was weirdly confident for and did not have mental breakdowns over (only one and it was for french for some reason).
  • My stomach had a bad reaction to some quesadillas I ate with my friends literally 2 days before myp graduation so that was not at all fun but I made it to grad and looked good so who cares.
  • PROM with my best friends and getting ready was even more fun than the event itself, as usual.
  • My cousin came back from uni for the summer (if she’s reading this then ew her return was like the last thing I wanted) and it made life more entertaining.
  • We got a kitten for like 2 weeks and now she belongs to my aunt but she’s a cutie and I was her first favourite person (or my mom idk).

July to September

  • This was such a random in-between chapter where life just flowed and yes it was overall a pretty chill three months.
  • Went to a Louis Tomlinson concerttt!! Still one of the best things to come out of this year ugh it was perfect.
  • Went on a staycation with my cousins and stuff and it was WAY too hot but the beach was nice.
  • We got our MYP scores/ exam results and I got a 51/56 which I was really proud of (very much hoped I’d do better but this works for now) and my friend got 56/56 which is insane (the only person in the UAE to get that this year) so YAY VARSHITAA
  • Then went to India for like 10 days and had fun at a random person’s wedding and got food poisoning.

October to December

  • I have a lot of good memories from these three months and they would have been the best months of the year if it wasn’t for one thing that was just the lowest part of my year (to put it in nice and simple words).
  • Turned 17 and celebrated that with my friends and family. It was really nice and I was super happy 😋
  • Went on the school trip to Ras Al Khaimah (already talked about that enough in the last post) and got really tanned.
  • Two week trip to India with most of my cousins and family and it was extremely chaotic but it was nice to see new places and spend time with my family. We went to Odisha, Assam, and Bengal and fun fact I almost got attacked by a goat (technically no but like kinda)
  • A picture me and my friends took at a mini Diwali party is becoming kinda Pinterest famous (if you count 200 saves and 18k impressions as kinda Pinterest famous) and we keep buying chocolate for ourselves whenever the post reaches a milestone. It’s such an honour honestly we are truly humbled.

So there we go, there’s my 2022 in 22 bullet points (the 22 bullet points were actually not intended but I just counted them up and it’s very cool that there are exactly 22; it’s a sign). I hope it was somewhat entertaining to read because it was quite fun for me to write.

How was 2022 for you? What were some of the highlights and some things you want to leave behind? What are you looking forward to this year?? Talk to me in the comments! As usual, I love to chat 😚

Song rec. of the post: Saturdays by Louis Tomlinson. Something about this song feels so personal and vulnerable and like a soft little hug. I listened to it for the first time with Simmy and when I heard it the main lyric that stood out to me was “I’ve been wondering about what you’re up to. Not for the first time, not for the last time” and I don’t know why. It reminds me a lot of Little Freak by Harry Styles in terms of the idea/message so I love the songs even more as a pairing. GO LISTEN, it’s a beautiful song.

Love,

Hreemy xx

DP Retreat! (school trip lol)

| Hreem

Hellooo guys

What are you up to? And how are you feeling about winter and the break from school??

I am extremely happy that it’s winter because that means we can finally spend a lot more time outdoors (UAE weather is just quirky and not like other girls) and who doesn’t love that. At the end of November, my year group went on a two-night trip to a campground in Ras al Khaimah.

The bus drive there would have been around 2 and a half to 3 hours BUT the a.c. in our bus broke so we had to stop at a gas station that was lowkey in the middle of nowhere (not really but) for an hour while they got us a new bus. At least that gave us the opportunity to buy ice cream. When we finally arrived we got to just chill at the beach and the pool (and we also found a petting zoo which was adorable). That night we stayed up until 3:30 am playing truth (like truth or dare but you don’t have the option to say dare. so crazy, I know).

Then the next day we did science experiments in groups and then continued to stay at the beach and pool. I also attempted to play volleyball and me and a few friends performed 3 songs to an audience of like 2 people so truly an eventful day.

As usual, the pictures are the main event and they’re the best at expressing how fun the trip was so here they areeee 😚

So yep it was a lot of fun and felt much more like summer than winter but whatever.

Do you have any winter break plans? Are you travelling anywhere?? Talk to me in the comments it’s been a while (my fault but still)

Song rec. of the post: Nonsense by Sabrina Carpenter. I used to listen to Sabrina’s music so much when I was like 9-12 years old and then stopped and now that ’emails I can’t send’ is out I’m back. The songs are just so good and especially Nonsense because it’s so fun and gets stuck in your head very very quickly. I also love the little outros she added at her shows and I randomly sing the New York one like 24/7. Point is, it’s a perfect pop song so go listen to it.

Love,

Hreemy xx

Italy Photo Diary 🇮🇹

| Hreem

hey cool peopleee ☺️

from the title you may be wondering

“hreem you’re in italy? why? when?”

and the sad truth is that I am not in Italy and instead am in a country with 44° heat, sandstorms, and humidity 😍😍

However, I was in Italy around 2 years ago now and it was so much fun. The food was like heavennn, it was delicious, but I don’t think that comes as a surprise to anyone. it was also so much prettier than I expected?! That makes no sense but it’s true. Like everywhere you look is so beautiful and it’s hard to believe that it was actually real and the pictures you see on Pinterest aren’t lying. Italy is one of the only exceptions to the “picture never do real life any justice” rule.

I took so so many pretty pictures which I for some reason didn’t post anywhere (why tho??? they’re so cool?!!) and I decided that I really want to share them so this is me posting a bunch of those pictures because who really needs a reason. It can remind us of what we’re not experiencing right now!!!

okay I need to stop with the fake enthusiasm and all that.

can you believe I’m properly posting my photography for the first time in a year or two, just like what my blog was originally meant to be about! It’s really an achievement for me, honestly. plus I’m actually quite proud of the pictures I took, like wow I’m a proper blogger.

let me present to you…

Italy Through My Lens ™

  • love of my life
  • Me living my best life
  • We climbed a volcano!! Mount Vesuvius to be exact (the one that destroyed Pompeii)

and there you have it.

Hreem’s Italy Photo Diary

Making this post made me reminisce on simpler, pandemic-free times. It also made me super hungry because I had so many food pics to go through. I didn’t add all of them because at some point they get slightly repetitive.

I hope you enjoyed reading the small amount of text at the top of this post and looking at pictures of the extremely beautiful Positano, Capri, Naples, and (13 year-old) me ☺️☺️ It’s so fun to have a place to share pictures I took because photography really is a passion of mine and right now I don’t have anything interesting to take pictures of!!!

Talk to me in the comments about whether you’ve been to Italy or not. If not, do you want to visit? What is your dream place to travel to? What is your favourite place you’ve ever been to and why?

Song rec of the post: my boy by Billie Eilish because I was at the peak of my Billie Eilish phase when we were in Italy and it brings back those vibes. plus the song is pretty fun.

Love and hugs,

Hreem xxx

(p.s. it would mean the world if you checked out my covers ☺️ )

Trip to Gstaad

| Hreem

Me in the snowww

Hey everyone!

This post is long overdue but I forgot that I had already written it and I didn’t post it!

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that I like to travel a lot and last year I really got to explore the world more than I used to and that is amazing. So, on the 17th of December (ages ago) me and my family left to Switzerland and took a few trains which took altogether 3 HOURS! But I had a new book to read so it was all good 👍🏼 The view on the train was beautiful and when we got there there was a fair amount of snow; not too much but just enough.

On the second day (I think) we went skiing and it really started to snow a lot and the whole town looked beautiful. But of course every day after that there was rain so it just washed away all the snow and it was gross and muddy and ew.

View from Glacier 3000
View from Glacier 3000

One of the highlights was going up a mountain called Glacier 3000 which had the softest, most powdery snow I’ve ever touched ❄️ Except it was really, really, really cold and my toes actually went numb. Having hot chocolate after that was amazing.

On the second-last day I got to meet my bestie, Noelle who some of you may have read about in my first few posts. All we really did was walk around the town and chat but the weather was nice and beautiful (except for the tiny bit of drizzle which turned into a lot of rain).

On the last day (the 24th!) we had a bit of time before our flight so my family decided to walk around Geneva and do a bit of shopping since there weren’t many shops in Gstaad. I got a nice, pinkish-purple, knitted top which is sooo pretty. You might see it in a future blog post 😉 After that, we had to go back to the airport and go back home.

What place in the world do you really want to visit?

XO Hreem

♥️

London Photo Diary

| Hreem

Hey there!

I am back from London and Prague,

So I am sitting here, trying to deal with this tragic breakup while I reminisce over the BEAUTiful sights.

Which basically means that I’m looking back at all the pictures and the *shopping* (woop woop). If I put all the pictures from London and Prague in this post then I’m afraid you won’t make it ’til the end because you would’ve dozed off. Just to make sure you don’t fall asleep now, I’ll get started; just remember it’s supposed to be a photo diary so there won’t be any writing!

Monday 6th August

Tuesday 7th August

Wednesday 8th August

Thursday 9th August

Saturday 11th August

aaaand thank you everybody!

Are you a fan of pictures? Or not so much…

Hreem XO

♥

Happiness = Ice Cream

| Hreem

It’s no surprise for my Instagram followers that I am in London (yes, again).

But for those who don’t know…

I’M IN LONDON !

This is the third time I’m visiting but it always has this nice charm because all parts are completely different. We also found a few cute nooks in the street which aren’t very popular but are still really amazing :).

One place we found was Dominique Ansel bakery while we were walking the streets and I was instantly attracted to it once I saw the cute floral decor outside. There was also a sign advertising What-a-Melon so we went in 🍉

The What-a-Melon is a slice of watermelon where some of the inside is chopped out and replaced with a watermelon sorbet and instead of seeds there are chocolate chips. The first bite I was like “uuuuh this isn’t really great….at all” but soon it started to taste like a mixed sorbet of watermelon and strawberry so it was really my kind of flavour! I do recommend this bakery in general but I also think that this Watermelon dessert is a tad bit (UK is rubbing off on me) overrated; still great for the ‘gram tho!

So up there are the pics from the bakery 👆🏼

What are the best/underrated places you know?

Plans For The Summer

| Hreem

Can I get a “whoop whoop?”

( “whoop whoop!”)

It’s finally summmeeeerr, yeah!*cue ‘What Time Is It?” from High School Musical*Our school year was actually extra long this year which is why it ended so late; it ended today if you hadn’t realized yet. But thanks to a friend who will be going anonymous *cough* *cough* Milla *cough* my days were slightly more boring because she had to leave early.

Anyways yeah, as the title says, this post will be about my plans for the summer:

Of course, I want to Travel but there are tons of other stuff I want to do or get (shopaholic alert!). Firstly, I’ve already started making my summer playlist and pool playlist because I literally cannot live without music. I’m currently loving <<Girls Like You>> by Maroon 5, and the music video is also really great if you haven’t watched it already. I also want to get some new furniture like a wardrobe and a dressing table because my current ones aren’t too great! I would like to do a bit more baking this summer and not be so lazy as I have been last summer when I didn’t travel. I’ve already finished Friends (why? WHY) which I can’t believe because… TEN SEASONS PEOPLE! So now I’d like a new show to binge so if you have any good recommendations then please tell me in the comments ♥️

Finally, I really want to work on and improve my photography skills because honestly, they can be much better.

Where are you travelling to this summer?

* BTW this new style of editing my picture is inspired by <<Emily Clare Beauty>>. I need to give her credit cause I love, love, LOVE it!

XO Hreem

♥

A Guide to Dubai

| Hreem

Dubai Guide

Evening everyone!

Well, not so much evening for me but it is the evening for a lot of people around the world so…

ANYwhoo, I am extrEMEly sorry for not posting in over a week. I mean, who does that? But now it’s spring break ( hooray! ) so I will be able to post normally again. Also, I was a little bit jetlagged and sick after coming back from Switzerland so I’m not quite sure you’d actually want to read the posts at that time…

So, here’s a little post of stuff you should do in Dubai if you ever come. BTW, if you do then you should definitely tell me because I can give you more advice 🙂

Visit the Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is obviously very iconic because it is ginormous, so you should visit it because the view from the top is great. But I don’t really advise this for people who are scared of heights because man is it tall!

Visit a Shopping Mall

I don’t know if you know but Dubai is full to the brim with great big shopping malls where you drop while you’re still halfway through your shopping list! (shop till you drop) In my opinion, the best malls to go to are: Mall Of the Emirates (MOE) or The Dubai Mall. Dubai mall is bigger but MOE has a few things that Dubai mall doesn’t so it’s just to get even.

Go to the Beach

UAE is a very sunny place so you should probably take advantage of the extra degrees by just dropping by at the beach because a) who doesn’t love the beach, and b) there is some delicious food and nice shops there too. So why not?!

Now here are a few things with shorter captions-

Visit a theme park: The weather’s perfect, you’ve got the chance, honestly why not?         Go to Ski Dubai: Come on, indoor skiing, that’s pretty self-explanatory.                                Dubai Aquarium: You can almost go inside the aquarium, how cool is that?!

The most important thing is probably to go on a bus tour because you’ll get more of your sight-seeing desire fulfilled too!

What’s a country you really want to visit?

The Silent Streets of Chamonix

| Hreem

A short while ago I travelled to France and visited a little town – which was on a mountain- called Chamonix.

When we just reached for the first time, we were roaming around in a car and when we stopped to get out for a moment and feel the cold, we were on this beautiful street with snow covering it like a blanket. You could see a little group of people in the corner but there was literally not a sound. It was the quietest and most peaceful place ever.

Silence WPC

Looking at this picture makes me remember to pause once in a while and actually take in planet Earth because it’s much better than anything we can make or imagine. Also, Earth has snow, I don’t think any other place would have snow.

I rest my case.

Which is the most beautiful country you’ve ever been to?

 

via Photo Challenge: Silence