Your weekend recap: From Eid shopping hacks to K-drama and Dubai's desert palace

Last week, we dived into a captivating mix of entertainment and valuable life insights. We explored everything from celebrity relationships and Eid shopping hacks to the secrets of lasting wealth and well-being. Plus, we gave you a peek inside Dubai's most enchanting 'desert palace' and tackled that nagging question: why are you still tired after a full night's sleep?

Ready to catch up? Here's a glimpse of what we covered:

If you think this is about casual browsing and spontaneous splurges, think again. This is not shopping. This is strategy. And if you’re the kind of person who believes retail therapy counts as cardio (guilty), then it’s time to prep like a general and shop like a champion.

Here’s how to survive — and slay — Eid shopping in style.

Park Bo-gum and Kim So Hyun recently met at Hyeri’s Hyell’s Club to promote their Prime Video release Good Boy. Lately, it has been a solid year for Bo-gum, ever since his show When Life Gives You Tangerines, which also starred IU became a global sensation.  Meanwhile, Hyeri’s Friendly Rivalry also arrived on Netflix at the same time, even if it didn’t hit the same success. But she made sure to let Bo-gum know about her own playful rivalry. Full story here.

Starring Zhang Ruonan and Bai Jingting, First Frost became an internet sensation thanks to its quiet emotional drama, themes of healing, and portrayals of unconditional devotion. For die-hard romantics, it’s a dream. For the more pragmatic viewer? Perhaps an eye-roll or two at the prolonged heartache. But really—what’s life without a little drama?

Is a new show on the cards?

In a testosterone-heavy genre where female leads often get sidelined, The Walking Dead star is refreshingly unbothered about taking a backseat to Ana de Armas in Ballerina, the latest spin-off from the sleek, stylised John Wick universe, out in UAE cinemas now. Read more about Gulf News' exclusive interview with the cult-favourite actor.

What happens when you put two of Pakistan’s most beloved screen icons—Mahira Khan and Humayun Saeed—back together for a romantic comedy? You get undeniable charm, a whole lot of teasing, and candid confessions about love, heartbreak, and why rom-coms are harder to pull off than people think. Full story here.

If Warren Buffett is the “Oracle of Omaha”, then Mark Leonard is known as the “Monk of the Market” — silent, disciplined, and wildly effective.

Legend has it that Leonard was a dog handler, a furniture mover, and the one that tickle people the most: he was a gravedigger.

So who is this mysterious mogul from Canada? Find out more.

Set across three sprawling levels, this sand-toned stunner doesn’t just flaunt its riches - it lets you exhale. Cleverly punctuated by breezy courtyards, the mansion lets light and air flirt their way through every corner while keeping Dubai’s blistering sun firmly in check.

Perhaps the most astounding fact? This entire home was built during the pandemic. Click here to view this extraordinary home.

Seven hours. The supposed 'magic number.' You hit the pillow at 10pm woke up at 5am, did everything 'right'... yet the exhaustion lingers. It's more than just a typical morning haze; the mere thought of tackling the day feels insurmountable. You crave another nine hours, but a nagging doubt whispers: will even that be enough? Let's uncover why quality sleep remains so elusive.

When it’s treated like a hush-hush topic at home, children can grow up confused about how money really works, and even anxious about it. Without open chats about things like earning, saving, or budgeting, they’re left to figure it all out alone later in life, often lacking the confidence and know-how to manage their finances as adults.

Here are some practical tips for parents.

Ever wondered why some people seem to age backwards while the rest of us are just trying to remember where we left our car keys? Welcome to Okinawa, Japan, the land of centenarians, where people seem to breeze through their 90s. But their secret to living longer, healthier lives isn’t locked away in some magical elixir, it’s in their food.

Here's how the Okinawan diet promotes a century of living.