Off the Beaten Path: Stories From Unexpected Places
I missed my bus in a small town in northern Portugal, somewhere between Porto and the coast, and ended up stuck there for six hours with no plan and barely any phone signal. I was annoyed for about twenty minutes. Then I found a tiny family run cafe, ordered something
Living Well: Small Habits, Big Changes
About three years ago I hit a point where I was tired all the time, snapping at people over nothing, and somehow still felt like I wasn’t getting anything done. I remember sitting in my car in a parking lot, not actually going anywhere, just needing five minutes where nobody
Lights, Colors, Joy: A Journey Through World Festivals
I still remember standing in a crowded street in Jaipur, completely covered in pink and yellow powder, laughing so hard my cheeks hurt, when a stranger handed me a plate of sweets and said, “Happy Holi, sister.” I had no idea who he was. It didn’t matter. That’s the thing
Festival Decoration Ideas That Cost Almost Nothing but Look Stunning
Two years ago I dropped almost two hundred dollars on Diwali decorations from a party store, fancy string lights, plastic rangoli stencils, pre-made paper garlands, and the whole thing still looked kind of flat once it was up. Meanwhile my neighbor decorated her entire porch with marigolds from her garden,
Weekend Plans for Families That Don’t Involve Spending Money
A few months ago we hit a weekend where the car needed an unexpected repair and the grocery budget was already stretched thin. My kids asked what we were doing for fun that Saturday, and I almost said “nothing” before catching myself. We ended up biking to a park we’d
Budget-Friendly Ways to Make Your Home Feel Like a Retreat
Last spring I spent four hundred dollars on a hotel room for one night just to feel relaxed for a few hours. A nice room, soft robe, that quiet hum of an air conditioner, candles by the tub. I remember lying there thinking, this isn’t anything special, it’s just clean,
Parenting Tips: Balancing Family Time With a Busy Schedule
Protecting Family Time When Work Never Slows Down On a Tuesday evening, my son asked me to play Legos with him. I said “in a minute” while I finished an email. Forty minutes later, he’d built a whole rocket on his own and wandered off to find his sister instead.
How to Plan a Memorable Anniversary Celebration on Any Budget
Our fifth anniversary fell on a year when we were both between jobs, broke in that specific way where you’re checking your bank balance before buying coffee. I remember feeling genuinely embarrassed that I couldn’t book the nice dinner we’d done the year before, like somehow a cheaper celebration meant
Budget Travel Packing List: Everything I Carry in One Backpack
My first real backpacking trip, I packed a suitcase. Not even a small one. A hard shell, full size suitcase that I then had to drag up four flights of stairs to a hostel in Lisbon with no elevator, sweating through my shirt, apologizing to everyone I bumped into on
Eid Celebrations: Traditions, Recipes, and Family Customs
The first time I really paid attention to how much prep goes into Eid morning, I was standing in a kitchen at five thirty in the morning watching a friend’s mother roll out dozens of pieces of dough for sheer khurma while three different pots simmered on the stove at
About Me
Hello ! I am Richard Y. Lim
Upon migration to Medina, the direction of the Qibla continued to be Jerusalem, although it was then physically impossible for one to also face the Ka’ba, as Medina is north of Makkah.
About Me
Hello ! I am Richard Y. Lim
Upon migration to Medina, the direction of the Qibla continued to be Jerusalem, although it was then physically impossible for one to also face the Ka’ba, as Medina is north of Makkah.
About Me
Hello ! I am Richard Y. Lim
Upon migration to Medina, the direction of the Qibla continued to be Jerusalem, although it was then physically impossible for one to also face the Ka’ba, as Medina is north of Makkah.
