Our weekly treat

Yummmmmm!

Salaam ya'll! My best buddy L (Um Aliyah) and I often carpool to take our daughters to school. Last week we stopped by a local doughnut shop and OH MY GOODNESSS I'm glad we did! It puts places like Dunkin' and Krispy Kreme to shame! Fresh-made, hot, yummy and definitely decadent! I bought a dozen for us to share; they were only $5.99 which is about $2 cheaper than the chain places. :) It is near my home here in Knoxville and it's called Dippin' Donuts. (Giving them a shout-out in case anyone is googling them, this review might show up!)

We got strawberry and creme, jelly filled, coconut, chocolate glazed, choc glazed & lemon filled, Boston creme, a crueller, plain buttermilk cake doughnut and 2 chocolate, coconut and walnut topped. Are you kidding me? :) We shared the dozen and I'll probably freeze a couple of these cause Aaminah and I do NOT need to polish off 6 doughnuts in a day. :)

Also I like to support locally owned business WHEN it's feasible. They are so nice, it's a mom & pop shop run by professional bakers. People who obviously take pride in their craft. I take delight in it. :) When we walked in last week the owner (I think) came out and asked if we were placing an order for the masjid. He let us know they give a discount to all houses of worship, mA. :) Here in the Bible Belt people don't recognize other religious institutions, either from ignorance or malice, I don't know. So it was really nice he was so kind and open. I hope the school or masjid will order from him sometimes. I gave them a shout out on my fb page as well.

I want to reiterate here, I never ever ever ever do endorsements for reimbursement or free stuff. I don't use my blog to make money (kudos to those who do it's just not for me). I just like to talk and share my experiences, good, bad, or even just the mundane like early morning doughnuts. :)

I have to remind myself how broad the internet is and that I have readers from overseas who will be really interested in the minutiae of life here just as I devour blogs written by people that live elsewhere. I love to expand my horizons. :)

OK so this was just a quick little blog. I know I haven't said anything really note-worthy since I started back up but you know I only talk about what I want. My outlook on life in general has changed, naturally, as I've grown older and my outlook on Islam and Muslims has as well. I've passed that 7 year mark and in any relationship, you grow, you change, you find your pace. I have a long way to go but I feel like I've hit my stride so to speak Islamically. I'm not as hard with some things and then in others I am probably a little more strict. Our outlook changes as our situation in life evolves.

I guess this is a long way of saying the focus of my blog is more family, friends and food with faith being the common denominator and what binds everything together. It is intergral, it is important and it is mine. :) My journey in Islam, my path to worship my Creator, is a very personal thing. In the past I spoke about things, how I felt, how I viewed the world but I wasn't always right. So I think I will probably be a bit more silent on controversial issues and instead, focus on all the beautiful aspects of our religion and life. :)

Ma salaama ya'll!