Best Of Blue Abaya 2012

Happy New Year 2013 to Blue Abaya readers! 2012 was a great year for Blue Abaya and I want to thank all my readers for the continuous support and positive feedback. I could not have done without you! There are moments when I feel exhausted and discouraged but your comments and encouragement toRead more

Oh Christmas Tree? Oh-Uh Black Market Christmas Tree!

Christmas decorations such as trees, ornaments and other holiday season decorations are pretty much non-existent in public during the holiday season in Saudi Arabia. Christmas is viewed as strictly a Christian religious holiday and all items that celebrate it are supposed to be forbidden here.Read more

The Secret Lake

Last weekend we visited one of my favorite spots in the desert just outside of Riyadh, a beautiful place I have coined the “Secret Lake”. Secret, because not so many people seem to know of the existence of such a hidden gem so close to Riyadh, which I think is actually for the better.Read more

Blog Fan Mail: Hall Of Fame

The Blue Abaya blog recently won gold at the Expats Blog Awards 2012! Woohoo!! I am so thrilled! A huge big shout out and thank you for each and every one of you who voted. I want to take the chance to thank all the readers and fans out there for all the amazing support and positive feedbackRead more

The Curious Case of Samsung Godfathers And Washing Machine Eating Mice of Saudi Arabia

You’ve probably heard about the crappy customer service in Saudi-Arabia before. Disservice, un-service, no service, customernoservice..WHAT service? To give you a better idea of how things work (or don’t work) in the Magic Kingdom, read this experience with SAMSUNG Saudi Arabia customerRead more

Expats Blog Awards Nomination!

A few months ago I was nominated for the Expats Blog Awards 2012 by a Californian expat Kat who writes the Living In Greece blog. A big thanks for her for the nomination and also for letting me know of this new expat blog portal! Do check out her excellent blog (and of course vote for her too!)Read more

We Love You, Baba

Father’s Day is celebrated in Scandinavia on the second Sunday of November which was this previous Sunday. Happy Father’s day to my own father and to my amazing husband who gets to enjoy two Father’s Days a year! But he deserves it! I want to dedicate this post to my dear husbandRead more

Il Terrazzo-Brazilian Breezes In Riyadh

Il Terrazzo is a lovely outdoor buffet restaurant in the very heart of Riyadh. This Brazilian barbecue restaurant is situated on a large terrace overlooking the fountains and courtyard of Rosewood hotel Al Faisaliyah.  You can dine under the stars while enjoying a fantastic view of the Globe on topRead more

Welcome To The World Little Prince!

I’m so happy to announce that we were blessed with a healthy baby boy a week ago. Everything went well with the labor this time around, thank God we were able to avoid another awful birthing experience in Saudi Arabia. We were lucky and blessed to have a beautiful, all-natural birth with aRead more

My Interview with InterNations Expat Community

In case you haven’t heard of them, InterNations Expat Community is a very useful site aimed at expatriates residing in Saudi Arabia (or anywhere in the world). InterNations offers a platform to share information, network, meet other expatriates and find interesting places and things to do.Read more

National Day Celebrations In Riyadh

The Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia celebrated its 82nd “birthday” or National Day on Sunday the 23rd of September 2012. As usual, the streets were full of Saudis celebrating the National Day. In addition to everyone having Sunday off, King Abdullah had given an extra day off for governmentRead more

The Return Of The Saudi Post Chocolate Monster

There is no wrath like the one of a pregnant Finnish woman whose long awaited Finnish mega chocolate bar has been stolen by the Saudi postal guy. AGAIN. Don’t attempt to steal chocolate from a pregnant woman. Ever. So my long awaited package from the online Finnish food store calledRead more