It’s been a good eight weeks here! But we are all ready to go home and enjoy non-sweltering weather — we have literally been counting down the days. Every day I get home from work and yell “Mom! ____ more days!!” The last few free days in Dubai we hit up these spots: the textile souk nearby the Abra harbor, the Sofitel hotel for a day at the pool, a speedboat tour around the harbor,…

Uhhhhh really no words to describe today, except unbelievable. Oh and unbelievably hot. I’ve honestly never been more physically uncomfortable, because we were in 100+ degree weather AND there was 70% humidity AND we were wearing full-coverage abayas over our clothes AND mom almost passed out from heat stroke, BUT I’d venture to say it was totally worth it? So stunning.      

We drove down to Abu Dhabi (just 90 minutes away on a bus!) for the weekend to see the sights… such a beautiful city! We visited Corniche Beach for its beautiful white sand, Heritage Village, The Louvre, Emirates Palace which is straight-up out of Aladdin, and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Best evening in Dubai, hands down! We went on an AirBnb ‘experience’ – a camel ride and dune safari in the desert! It was so inexpensive, given the hours of fun we had and the mountains of food we enjoyed… such a great day with my fam!

This was such a special time because my family came for a week and a half over my birthday!! Every year, I take photos on my birthday in this blue dress (and have been since I was 3 mo old!) It has seen so many places around the world and it’s a very special tradition that I hope my daughter will do too someday… Click here and here for other blue dress shoots in previous…