Tag Archives: Mummy blogger Dubai

Travel

Dubai City Stays | Four Seasons DIFC | Seashellonthepalm Travel Review

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When the Four Seasons Hotel in DIFC first opened a couple of weeks ago, we couldn’t resist booking a room for our 8th wedding anniversary.  We wanted a fun and atmospheric hotel, different to the holiday resort properties in Dubai.  With the buzzing arrival of many first class restaurants as well as old favourites like Cipriani, Zuma, La Luz, La Petit Maison all on the hotel’s doorsteps, the property was even more appealling to us.

Upon arrival, the immediate visual is that the boutique city property is unique to the usual Four Seasons portfolio in terms of design but service and quality remain typically Four Seasons.  The  property blends in with it’s modern and striking DIFC landscape and the design of the rooms has a much more modern feel to traditional Four Seasons rooms, with a sense of masculinity for the astute business traveller.  This is the perfect hotel for city travellers or couples for work and pleasure and only 5 minutes from the Dubai Mall.  The compactly designed hotel is extremely functional for meetings, and it allows for quick walks back to the room with no long corridors that are common features in Dubai’s luxury hotels.

The restaurant serving the hotel, the Firebird, i犀利士
s a luxuriously fun American diner.  The qualities and finishings are of a super luxurious level, with the concept of quick breakfasts, lunch and dinners served, and booths set up for serious business meetings in a unique setting.  Food and service is exceptional, and if you are in the area, it is worth trying the Firebird diner if you are in the area for a meeting.

The Four Seasons has several lounges and bars both on the lower floors, and more importantly the amazing rooftop bar.  Luna Sky Bar is now the new hip bar filled to the bream with city workers reminding guests of any major city in the world like NYC, London or Singapore with stunning views of the Burj Khalifa with highly skilled bar staff.

The pool’s brilliant design should bring a smile to even the most cynical traveller’s face which ever way you look at it.  It is unique to say the least with amusing views.  The pool was a clever concept for a compact rooftop garden, and a great place to get away and catch a Dubai tan for visitors, and luckily there are no taller office blocks overlooking the pool for privacy purposes.  Spa is incredible with organic products from South Africa, and incredibly experienced therapists.

Worth a trip.  Worth an escape from the kids.  Highly recommended.

Four Seasons Hotel DIFC | Building 9, Level GF Gate Village | Phone +971 4 506 0000 

For more information check their website www.fourseasons.com

 Photos by Edwina Viel

Health & Wellness

Top tips for packing organic snacks for the holidays | Some super snacks to pack for the family | Greenheart Organic Farms

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It’s the Easter holidays! We have been crazily packing all week, and we are still not done. Most importantly, I have also made a trip to Greenheart Organic Farms this week to pick up some dry foods snack items to take on holiday with us. I love organic and superfoods but having it whilst we travel is not always possible so a mini dry supply will do. In any case, we are heading to the beautiful clean mountains of Europe so we don’t have to worry too much as food quality and freshness is just out of this world. However, room fridge bars are still full of temptations, and I need to stock up on brilliant for the children and me.

#1 LoveRaw Bars

We are packing for the plane journey for the kids and ourselves the new LoveRaw Bars – 100% Organic Superfood Energy Bar made and packed at LoveRaw in Cambridgeshire, UK. The company started back in 2013 when Rimi, the creator of LoveRaw quit her intensive investment banking job to rebuild her health. A new concept was born on her kitchen table in the UK, and the bars were initially stocked at Whole Foods London, and they have now gone global. These organic bars are gluten free, dairy free, wheat free, and soy free. Some of the bars are also good sources of Magnesium and Omega 3+6, and there is no added sugar and low GI.

Flavours include:Cacao & Spirulina Organic Bar, Coconut & Chia Organic Bar, Cacao & Maca Organic Bar, Rosehip & Lemon Organic Bar and each one costs AED14.50.

Ingredient benefits

RAW CACAO is 100% pure and unprocessed. It’s full of natural antioxidants, particularly polyphenols (found in berries & oranges) and flavanols (found in red grapes and green tea). Raw Cacao can neutralise harmful free radicals in your body and promote overall health. It’s also a great mood enhancer!

SPIRULINA is an algae that is often recognised as the world’s most nutritionally rich superfood. It is composed 65% of protein and amino acids. Due to a high concentration of chlorophyll, spirulina is a great detoxifier

MACA is commonly known as the ‘Peruvian Ginseng’. Maca is potent in B-Vitamins and also provides Vitamins C & E.

CHIA is packed full of omega 3 fatty acids. These fats are important for brain & skin development. Chia is also high in antioxidants which have been shown to fight free radicals that contribute to the ageing process. An all round winner

ROSEHIP is a great source of Vitamin C, containing more than 60% than most citrus fruits. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant which acts by targeting free radicals that are harmful to your body. Rosehip is also high in Vitamins E & K which quicken the healing process for skin irritations and bruises.

LEMON has been traditionally used for centuries for its strong antibacterial, antiviral and liver cleansing properties. It is also used by many cultures for boosting immunity and aiding weight loss. Lemon oil is also naturally high in Vitamin C.

#2 Organic Sun Dried Mulberries

Other healthy treats that we are taking along include The Organic Sun Dried Mulberries from Sun & Seed. The Mulberry Tree is one of the oldest cultivated plants on Earth. The white Turkish mulberry are high in iron, calcium, fibre and Vitamin C and rich in anti-oxidants.

#3 Organic Sun Dried Inca Berries

Organic Sun Dried Inca Berries from the reputable brand Sun & Seed, are also known as Cape Gooseberries, Peruvian Groundcherries or ‘Golden Berries’. They have the same texture as dried cherries with a tangy flavour, and they can normally be added to a variety of foods but on this occasion they make a great snack for the children and me (probably a little too tangy for Daddy!). This super fruit from Peru are filled with high levels of phosphorous, potassium and protein.

#4 Pukka Herbal Tea Sachets

Finally for beverages we are bringing a few sachets of Pukka herbal tea to have in the room. Warm tea with snow outdoors. Couldn’t think of a better way to relax. Ideally I am dreaming of sitting by the warm fire with a cup of tea and a good book, but the reality will be slightly different with 4 kids. The cup of tea will do for now.

Most of these items can be delivered to your home, otherwise pop down to the shop and do a quick grab.

www.greenheartuae.com

Children's Products

Billieblush Dubai | One of Sofia’s favourite clothing brand.

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Billieblush Dubai | Summer is fast approaching and Sofia and I were lucky enough to be introduced to a lovely brand called Billieblush, and having had a look at it’s Spring Summer collection we are both hooked.  This is Sofia’s mood board that she put together herself, and it looks like the perfect wardrobe for our family’s summer holiday.

The clothes are designed with children in mind, but parents will be happy that the clothes are stylish too especially if we have strong headed children who insist on dressing themselves, and the results are not always what we hope for (I am sure most mothers have a story of what their kids chose to wear to the birthday party).  With these clothes you can mix and match them, and still look cute whilst wearing age-appropriate fashion.

The brand is a fabulous fun girls wear brand that offers pet-a-porter fashion at affordable prices.  The new collection has enough sparkles and lace to keep all girls happy.  They have thoughtfully designed t-shirts, leggings and dresses that Sofia struggled to narrow her selection to just these items as her favourite items from Billieblush.  Sofia’s sequin t-shirt cost retails in the UK for around GBP18, and a dress costs from GBP30 and up.  They are great outfits for children to wear to birthday parties as well as being great to give as birthday gifts for children and family.  Most importantly, Sofia thinks the clothes are comfortable.  (What a relief)

Stockists in the UAE:

Lollylop- Dubai Mall

Courcelles- Dubai Mall

My little Angel- Abu Dhabi

Tryano- Yas Mall

Children's Products

My favourite artwork for 2016 | Arkham Creative | Tariq Sharif

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Quote ‘Seashellsonthepalm’ to get your discount.

37 year-old Artist Tariq Sharif was born in Bahrain, but grew up in the UK, and he is creator and owner of Arkham Creative, who was previously a marketing manager for a telecom company in Bahrain.  Tariq recently moved to Abu Dhabi and discovered his creative talent to essentially make portraits from ‘shredded paper’.  We talk to him about his newfound talent that has been very popular with family portraits.  They make beautiful gifts for birthdays, Mother’s Day, and even a perfect present for grandparents.

What inspired you to start the first piece of your incredible art work?

It all started from a printing problem I had back in 2013, there was a certain color I wanted for a print but couldn’t get match I was looking for, so I took the colored paper that I wanted and decided to cut out what I wanted with blades and to my surprise, it turned out better than I thought, then I was rushed to the hospital because I have cut myself a couple of times and had some blood loss, blades are very sharp by the way.

Can you share with us if you could pick 5 celebrities in the world to create your paper art on?

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Michael Jordan, Robin Williams, Emma Watson & Femka Jensen

Name three of your favourite artists?

Gary Larsen (comic artest), Todd McFarlen (Spiderman & Spawn Comics) Jim Lee & Frank Miller ( comic book artists)

You also do children’s portraits, how long is the process if a mum is interested in ordering one?

The process begins with the mum selecting her favorite picture of her child, I will revert back with a demo of what the image will look like, after that it will take about 2-3 days, the time lapse video will also be sent at the same time

What is the best way to get in touch with you if potential clients are interested in the art?

Potiential clients can contact me direct on my Instagram channel @arkhamcreative or they can email me direct Arkhamcreative@gmail.com but if you really want to get a discount contact me through Seashells on the Palm to take advantage on getting your hands pieces of art that a truly personal.

Watch Tariq’s creative art from The Links on Youtube