in-spire me

via: weheartit, pinterest

brunch time

I woke up hungry today.. at 7am.. then went back to sleep.. dreamt of eggs benedict, and pancakes, and rasberries, and maple syrup.. I am hungry right now.. waiting for "my baby" to wake up so that we can go and have brunch... I am too hungry to wait!

bon appetite..

I am the luckiest person alive / cok sansli olsam gerek

Yesterday was one of the best days in my life. "my baby" came to Istanbul.. he will be staying for 10 days - I think.. So what happened yesterday.. just a summary:

I was at work.. working.. trying to focus on the project that I am working on..trying to get my mind off of the fact that "my baby" is on a plane coming to Istanbul for spring break.. as I am pushing myself, my dearest boss* calls me in and gives me the new Samsung Windows 7 phone.. Even though I am not much a touch screen person, I actually am getting used to this phone.. the design is quite nice, easy to use and functional.. the perfect phone for business purposes..

Once it was time to leave, I got home and waited for "my baby".. but he didn't come.. he had to be with his family - they missed him too.. so.. hande called me and told me we were going out.. I said fine! We walked into this new restaurant, and what do I see, friends... yeap - It was a surprise birthday dinner..!
I constantly looked around for "my baby" but didn't see him.. and realized that he wasn't coming..
we had couple of drinks then ordered our food.. I was down that he wasn't going to be with me but I had to get used to it.. nothing I can or he can do to change the facts - I thought..
But suddenly, the lights went off and the birthday song started to play.. I saw him from across the mirror.. carrying a birthday cake in his hand.. walking towards me.. my jaw dropped! I stood still for a minute or so not able to move due to shock.. I couldn't believe it.. he was here. he had came!

At last "my baby" was with me! I could hug him, kiss him, hold his hand!

Welcome home askim! 

thank you everyone who joined us yesterday! and Hande for the amazing organization! 

Dun inanilmaz bir gundu benim icin.. Inanilmaz yogun bir is gunumun arasinda, durmadan bebegimin ne zaman incegini dusunuyordum.. konsantre olmaya calisiyorum ise guce, hemde oyle bir yogunluk olamaz.. ama aklim daha yogundu malesef.. sonra patronum* beni odasina cagirdi.. bir telefon hediye etti.. Windows 7 phone.. verilebilincek en guzel hediyelerden biriydi benim icin.. cnim patronum*! 

Is bitti, guc bitmedi.. eve dondum.. bekliyorum ki bebegimle bulusalim da hasret giderelim diye.. ama malesef olmadi.. yeni geldigi icin ailesi onla vakit gecirmek istediler.. ee haklilar! onlarda ozluyorlar onu.. yollarini gozluyorlar.. o yuzden boynumu egdim onume kabul ettim.. sonra handeyle yaptigimiz programimiz vardi.. bulusup yemek yicektik.. o programa gecis yaptim bende.. hande aldi beni gittik.. su bebekte Chilai var ya oraya gittik.. bir baktim ki icerde ne goreyim.. tanidik yuzler, bir masaya toplanmis bekliyorlar.. ay dedim - suprizzzz! 

sarilip opusmeler.. tesekkur etmeler.. o kadar sevinmistim ki.. bir yandan da bakiniyorum "bebegim" nerde diye.. ama cikmadi ortaliga.. uzuldum, boynum hafif gene bukuldu.. sonra da kabullendim artik gelmeyecegini.. 

birkac ickiden sonra yemek siparisi verelim artik dedik.. bu arada - istanbul'da ictigim en guzel long island icetea yi orda ictim dun! sushilerimizi soyledik.. bekliyoruz.. bir anda isiklar kisildi, happy birthday diye sarki calmaya basladi.. karsimda duran aynadan, arkama baktim.. gozlerini gordum mumlarin isiginda.. yavasca bana dogru geliyor.. gercekten geliyor! geldi! 

sonunda bebegim yanimdaydi! elini tutabiliyorum, kokusunu icime cekebiliyordum! 

Hosgeldin bebegim! 

ve dun bizle olan herkese! Hande - cok tesekkurler dum! 

little girl is big girl

2 minutes ago, my mom called me downstairs..

even though she knows I don't have the energy to walk downstairs (I stayed home all day today because I got the cold)

but when I came down I saw what was waiting for me.. 

my mom and dad, standing next to the table, in the middle of the living room.. 

she had a small plate in her hand.. 

and she was singing this uncoordinated song that she made up, in place of a happy birthday song.. 

little girl is big girl, little girl is big girl

she went on until I got the candle to stop burning.. (magic candle- mom laughed so hard)

she liked the idea that I got plenty of wishes.. 

If you are asking what this chocolate macaroon and the candle is for? 

I got a job!

Remember the meeting I told you about before? 

Well, I got the call today confirming that I am good to go.. 

I guess mom is right? little girl is big girl.. 

I never realized I grew up until these past weeks..

orange&cinnamon

Recently I have been into herbal drinks/teas.. 

not those you can buy but those you can make..

I will try to share some recipe's as I try them myself.. 

I really believe that you will enjoy this Orange & Cinnamon.. the fragrance itself is soothing.. and makes the room smell just perfect.. I was hesitant about the taste, but believe me it is just soothing.. 

This drink is known to be fat burning.. the cinnamon itself is used in many remedies for weight loss and fat burning.. and believe me it is better than using any of those processed teas or drinks..

Enjoy!

Orange & Cinnamon

what you need: 

1 orange 

2 cinnamon sticks

1 litre water

1 pan

instructions:

Start boiling the water in your pan.. while the water is heating up put the 2 cinnamon sticks in.. Peel the orange and put the peels in the pan..

let the water boil..

you will see the color change as it boils.. when bubbles come up let it boil for another minute..

and you are done!

 

let me know how you like it!

the most stylish cutting board(s)

if you are a student like me, look around,
{i am in the library right now}
you will see that everyone except a few has a macbook and usually a pro..

the ipad, the new gadget for the tech crazy

images: designmilk

guilty pleasures

Everyone has some guilty pleasures!

right? 

here are mine.. 

The Vampire Diaries 

coffee and double chocolate milano's

90210

cotton candy 

popcorn 

what are yours? 

fun food

these pictures are amazing.. 

they are so fun.. 

{hahahaha}

 which one do you like the most? 

photo

gummy bears- take 2

yes they are that good!

gummy bears

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

we just bought this insane amount of gummy bears.. 

and put them into little cups all around the apartment!

red and white are my favorite.. and they are now everywhere :) 

french and wine

after buying everything from vending machines, I now hear that the french came up with

wine vending machines.. 

you go, put a bottle, and fill it up with wine.. 

just like you would buy gas!

this is amazing!

wine wine every where!

can i get some cabernet sauvignon ? 

missing cupcakes

I miss making cupcakes. 

before we went back to Turkey I used to make cupcakes every other day. 

now, even though we have been here for almost 2 weeks, I didn't even attempt to do so. 

food

It is my 5th year in DC.. 5 years and there are plenty of places I have never been to..

5 years but there is this ignorance around me, this illiterate cloud surrounding me. 

so I did some research on the best restaurants around.. here is the list.. 

*some might have links to their own pages*

KOMI

 komi is supposed to be this restaurant that has been on the top 100 list for over 3 years.. they are #1 this year.. 

but the thing is, you need to make reservations 1 month ahead.. or else they have no available tables! 

they are that good!

MINIBAR at CAFE ATLANTICO

 one of my friends suggested this place years ago and I never went.. 

look at the website and you will see why they are popular.. 

I just came back from dinner *now* and believe me those photos made me hungry!

THE SOURCE

 this place is another amazing!

the wolfgang puck asian fusion restaurant! 

I so want to go here!

CITY ZEN 

this is one of the places I have been to.. We went there for "my baby"s birthday..

amazing! the food we had, the service it was just too good!

we had the wine pairing with our menu, and it just made everything better.. 

it was romantic and special!

just as I wished it would be.. and he loved it!

PROOF

 been here too.. great food. great ambiance. can go here with friends, with family members or with your special one.. trust me, the food you taste will be good! no matter what you have

LAURIOL PLAZA

if you want to drink the best frozen margarita in town, this is the place to go.. 

not just their drinks but their food is really good..

they don't take reservations and there is usually an hour long wait at the door- yes again, it is that good!

so it is another must go place!

this is all I can think of right now.. 

oh and tonight.. we went  to RUGBY with friends.. it is this place where you can hang out with friends, have a beer, definitely try the home made guacamole and chips..

 image via weheartit

X

on saturday (8.28); mama, papa and I went to this new restaurant.. (it might not be that new, I am no longer an expert on timeliness for Istanbul venues.

We went to X restaurant at IKSV.. It's located at the rooftop, so sees this amazing view that is hard to explain! no words are enough to describe it to you.. 

the menu was quite incredible also.. 

I loved the combination of flavors..

it's a must go place.. please let me know if you need any contact info!