The year that has been!

Hey friends.............I am back after a LOOOOOONG time,months to be precise!
But I wanted to document "The year that has been " & looking ahead to the coming year!

 I will start with the lows,will focus on the pluses later exactly like I save dessert for the end of a meal!

LOWS

1. Come to think of it,I don't think I have had many lows except for some moments of crippling self doubt.But those times were bad enough to put me on the brink of depression!

2.The disappointment of not getting a posting when it was due (yeah I am an Army wife)

3. Some terrible people I HAD to put up with giving me nightmares!..........but I did learn a lot from those experiences,though I NEVER wish to meet or come face to face with that kind of people EVER AGAIN:(

4.Problems my daughter faced with an insensitive teacher.................fortunately she has left!

5.My "Amy Butler Purses" did not take off as well as I had expected them to which was surprising & disappointing considering the amount of $$ I spent on buying them & getting them shipped to India.I am sticking to Indian fabrics now!

6.Some self realizations which are not very pretty but "it is what it is" & I am OK with that!


Hmm.............time for the bonus points of the year which have been aplenty giving me tonnes of happiness:)

HIGHS

1.The year started with a bang with addition of a new member to our family.............Beethoven,our St. Bernard pup who has grown gigantic now:)

2.Added 2 new family members..............my sister in law's husband & my sister's husband................so yeah attended 2 family weddings and had a blast!..............Met so many long lost cousins,welcomed new members to our family folds which was simply superb!

My sis in law & her hubs

3. My sister's wedding which was a typical Maharashtrian affair.................was so much fun getting dressed up & ofcourse the endless shopping;)

My parents,me,my sis & the groom:)

4. Beethoven's maiden flight.................boy was that an adventure or what!...............let's just say it was no easy task to transport a fully grown ,stubborn, very powerful St Bernard across the country by air.He managed to break open his crate in the cargo while flying & we could actually HEAR him barking with anger in the plane! Ha ha ..............what fun it was :)...............BUT not doing that again;)

5.Successfully started my jewelery business Champa Qali & am very happy with the way it's growing by leaps & bounds:)

6.Made new friends & at peace with myself over broken friendships & relations gone sour

And now I am looking forward to the new year.............the goals,resolutions are for another post,so here I am signing off for 2011 & will meet you all in the new year really soon:)

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Happy 8th Birthday Son:)

My Sonnie boy turned 8 this 3rd September!.............he is already showing the signs of nearing teenage,sigh!!
Why/how do kids grow up so fast!
I don't want to dwell on the sentiments of a child growing up & eventually away,I am just going to share what we did for his birthday!

This is just before he left for school on the 3rd,though we had his party  the next day!

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For the decor,I made tons of buntings from colorful crepe paper & criss-crossed them across the small lil lawn sprinkled with balloons & a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner:)

I plucked a bunch of flowers & stuck them in a jug for additional color:)

Cupcake toppers are a novel concept in India,so the kids were super amused by them,they picked up the toppers & left the cup cakes alone in the second serving .......LOL:).................I printed out the free toppers printable from here- Best Gift Idea

Made a ruffle sorta cake inspired from here.............it's not an exact copy but yes the inspiration was that ruffled cake!

I made triangles out of handmade paper,wrote my son's name on it , hot glued it to a scrap of white wool ,tied it to chopsticks & my banner was ready...............Tada :)

 Menu-

1. Noodles

2. Mac 'n' Cheese 

3. Pizza

4. Chocolate Chip muffins

5. Samosa

6.Strawberry Ice cream in cones

7. Cake

8. Juices

LOL.............I forgot to click pics of other goodies like favors & the ice cream mania! ........................the kids were going absolutely ballistic especially when doggie B came out to join the celebrations:)

 Was a fun party & now I am back to business:)

Clicked pics of a cute Doily Waterproof  Messenger  in white & red which I had made but didn't find the time to list................It is in the shop now:)

Find it here

 

My Dream!

I have a dream...............to have my own B & M shop!
ONE DAY...............I don't know when & if this will happen,but if it does,THIS is my dream,my visualization of how my space will be!

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 I want an informal ,fun,eclectic space............it will not be just a shop,I want it to be a place where people WANT to go & fall in love with things & pick them up!

The display will be such that my guests will just stumble across goodies in all nook & corners,it will be a like a treasure hunt!...............LOL not a hunt where they have to try too hard,but I am not a fan of organized display either!

It will have comfortable colorful bean bags thrown around,a coffee machine is a MUST!
Fun music flowing around, a mix of Bollywood & Western Music!

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 One thing I definitely want are large decorative mirrors strategically placed all around,women love to admire themselves while shopping ,ain't it;)

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 My shop will have lots of Indian handicrafts as part of decor:) Terracotta pots in all shapes & sizes,fabrics flowing out of them artistically,a few mannequins.................Buntings are a MUST!...........it just lends a cheerful,festive aura.

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I will have a small lil nook for myself with my sewing machine where I will churn out goodies right in front of my customers  & put them on display.............nothing like that personal touch right!

And I know, whenever this happens,I will pour my heart & soul into it.............it remains a dream for now,but knowing myself ,I KNOW,I don't leave dreams alone................I go after them & chase them to transform them into reality!

So watch this space...........you never know:)

AMEN to that!

Hair Styles!

hair style–noun a style of cutting, arranging, or combing the hair; hairdo; coiffure. Also, hair·style Origin: 1910–15

How many of you struggle with your hair style?....................especially those who are blessed stuck with straight fine hair?....................there is not much you can do with them right!
This is the pic of my hair a few years back,now they are much longer,around waist length & this is how I wear them ..................basically just shampooed, naturally air dried & then brushed!

I have been looking at some hairdo's I can make since they are much longer now...............& here a few I liked ,some have tutorials too!

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These ones are real nice with step wise pics...........

These look pretty complicated but are just Oh so pretty!

I just love all the twisty hairstyles..................found a great one here with a  how to !..........though I seriously doubt I can EVER pull this off!

This kind of messy hairdo's are quite the rage but I am not a fan..................I prefer more classy,stylish styles,too old to be a hipster eh!?!

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 These are just gorgeous...............the braids on the first pic are easy to make but the second one looks pretty difficult but I am sure a hair stylist can replicate this easily!

All pics via priti @pinterest

I may just try this with a help of  a friend!

And now the news of the day~I PERMED MY HAIR!
Ahhhh......................LOL.............not the kinky tight curl perm but a soft flowing curl perm shoulder downwards:)
The chemicals are still setting in my hair & I will be going to the salon tomorrow to get them washed & see the curls in their full glory;)
I am so excited.................though the 3 days I am supposed to keep them uncombed & unbrushed are making me feel super unkempt & dirty so to tackle that I am showering 3-4 times a day..............LOL,just another 24 hours & I may come with a before & after pic on Monday:)

blogging dilemma!

Those of you who blog,have you ever faced the dilemma of  "To write or not to write" a particular topic!
There are so many articles I read which I want to write in my own words,expressions,interpretations but I feel the twinge of guilt for possibly being a plagiarist!.....................I feel awful taking on somebody else's idea & churning my own post out of it!
But then I saw this.......

I love love this...............the deep meaning behind these seemingly simple lines especially this one "Authenticity is invaluable,originality is non-existent"

Most of us bloggers are no writers,we just come here to pour our hearts out..................there are SO many times I have deleted my posts because I felt I was sounding like some other post I read & admired.................I need to let go & realize the fine line between copying & getting inspired enough to write it in your own words!


I blog for myself,my friends,YOU & I am sure you are not judging me by my posts ,the occasional poor grammar,the overtly simple unimpressive language,sometimes I have nothing to say but just rant about things not being as I want them to.............................sometimes I just DO NOT want to write anything & my blog sits like the neglected wife when the other things in life take over me like the possessive mistress!

How do I deal with it................I am learning to let things go,not get worked up if I don't post for a while,if my blog is not picture perfect,if my posts look like a shadow of another famous blog!
And at the same time accept that it is OK!.............I have no idea what triggered my mood to get serious & write this which I usually don't but I am learning that it is also OK to share by deeper darker thoughts with you all instead of the happy,lighter moments I usually do!

It's raining!

One of my favorite things even as a child has been rains!
I love love love the smell of earth when the first drops of water seep into the earth,the clean air,the rainbow peeking out suddenly....................it feels like my soul is being cleansed!

It is especially delightful getting caught in the rains without an umbrella,standing under a bus shelter,a tree ,every inch of my skin soaking in the cold water!

There is a certain element of romance involved when you enjoy the rains with your partner!.................a cup of tea has never felt as divine as when shared with Someone Special on a rainy day

I somehow feel my association of romance with rains stems from a healthy dose of Hindi movie songs !
I can visualize a saree clad actress dripping to her bones gyrating with a dashing rogue to the beats of falling drops..........LOL............no kidding!

One of the most melodious,beautiful,graceful & yet sensuous songs of rain I have EVER seen is a song from a 1955 Hindi movie.............the lyrics literally mean


"We have fallen in love & acknowledged it too & yet why are our hearts scared to fall in love?.........my heart says the path of love is very difficult & I don't know where we will end up !"



Do you like rains too?................or I am the odd duck;)

It's raining right now & the water beating down on the window next to my desk inspired me to write this post:)

All images via Priti at Pinterest

crochet fever!

Oh yes................I have been bit!...............all I can see is the yarns,hooks,patterns upon patterns of goodness........just can't get enough!
See what I have been upto last 1 week!

Made this cute teeny tiny tulip purse for my daughter.She has already dragged it through mud in the park so it is already dirty,you can see that in the pics!

Made this from a free pattern on Lion Brand here

Also made 4 ruffle clutches with a silver tone frame & am mighty happy with them:)

You can see them in the shop


I also made a BUNCH of hair clips for my daughter & believe me I could find ONLY ONE................she has managed to lose rest of them:(

On my weekend trip to McLeodganj ................it's in mountains (Dalai Lama's home) so lot of knitting goes on there & I found  local Tibetan women sitting by the roadside knitting & selling hand dyed yarn.....

I got this gorgeous multicolored chunky wool....................now to think what to make of it!
Any ideas?!?!