Bye bye!

As the year 2010 draws to an end, I can't help but remember all that this year has been, memorable times spent with family and friends who have visited us, a fun family vacation to Hawaii with all my cousins, tonnes of quality time spent with my adorable son, hearing his first words and then non stop chatter and lots n lots more....
To top it all, the most amazing thing to have found this wonderful place called blogland where I have come across people of such immense talent. Everyday its a delight to read all those posts written with such creativity, passion and vigor. Being a part of this world has truly made my life more fulfilling!

Adios 2010....hoping that 2011 will be even more fun for me and for all my lovely readers! Wish you all a year filled with all the best things in life! See you back here in 2011....

Last Day of 2010...Really???

It's so hard to believe that its the last day of 2010 already...the last day of this decade!

How were your last few days of this year? Mine were filled with loads of laughter, fun and food. We had a really good time with our friends visiting us. I wanted to share some pictures of the holiday decor at my home.

Its time to think about of all your new year plans and resolutions and then gear up to welcome the new year and a new decade. Hope you all enjoy this day to the fullest. Have a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas!

Wish you all a very merry Christmas! Christmas is a time that you spend with family, friends, people you love. We'll be spending ours with some very close friends.

May the season bring in lots of cheer and happiness into your lives!

A prolonged weekend

Even since I saw the DIY tutorials posted by Bhavna of An indian summer, I wanted to try it out.

We are having some friends over for the Christmas holidays and I wanted to add something new to deck the house. I got all the supplies ready before the weekend and everything was planned for the weekend. But as they say, things never go as planned. Saturday was all about finishing my last minute gift shopping and the lines at the stores were longer than ever. Never mind, I rushed back home only to find that my son decided not to take his afternoon nap, aahhhh..... The evening was spent at a friend's holiday party which was indeed a lot of fun but the thought of my DIY project stayed with me.

I don't have much of an excuse for not doing what was planned on Sunday. Sundays are usually very relaxed with only the necessary stuff getting done. There was the usual cooking, groceries etc, and then tea and chit chat with friends in the evening.

Finally, the much awaited project was pushed out to Monday. So here's what I did...

                                                                  the flowers all done...

 The stems from the tree that we trimmed a little while ago...

Time to put it all together...

How do you think it turned out? I'm linking to the weekend wrap up party at Patty's blog Colours decor. 

Gift wrapping ideas

I have been exploring gift wrapping ideas over the last couple of days, as I'll be doing all the gift packing for my cousin's wedding in India. Also, its Christmas time and many of you might be busy packing your gifts and  some some of these ideas might be useful.
What really catches my fancy is the use of brown paper. The simplicity of the paper makes any decorations stand out. I especially like the combination of gold with the brown.

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My favorite is the first one, embellished with gold ribbon and some fresh green leaves. The one with the cut out alphabets pasted on to the brown is my second fav. Which one is yours?

PS: Will surely share with you pictures of the final gift wraps.

PSII: In the last week or so, I came across some very unique gift wrapping ideas on the blogosphere, the one that I distinctly remember is a gift wrapped with a calendar page and the special date circled. I really tried hard to find that post, but with no luck. If any of you knows where that was, please let me know the link to that. Thanks.

Because this makes me happy!

A little while ago, Prachi @ Purplehomes came up with this awesome idea of the 'Because this makes me happy' list. I was so impressed by the idea that soon I started working on my own list. The thought of being able to do what you really want to do, and then finally achieving your goals makes one very happy.

As this year comes to an end, here's a list of 11 things that I'd like to do in 2011.

1. Make 11 DIY projects (decorated mirror, painted wooden box, mosiac, painted glass hurricanes, budhha painting, painted lampshade, pressed flowers wall art and some more.... ), because I want to have only things crafted by me, displayed in my home, and beacuse, I'd be sooo happy and proud to look at them everyday:)
2. Decorate the spare room in my house as a cozy sitting area in a way thats totally my own idea, because it has always been my dream to do something like that. 
3. Take the much desired vacation to Europe, just the three of us. 
4. Plant at least five flowering plants in my yard (the kind that can be used as cut flowers).
5. Make my son's photo book for his second birthday with all his pictures from birth to 2 yrs.
6. Start a blog of my own, a journal to record my creative ramblings. Be more regular with my blogging, as I'm loving every bit of it.
7. Paint my bedroom and decorate it, because I have the paint color picked out and the decor all planned in my mind, it just needs to be done. I'm so longing to sleep in the room of my vision.  
8. Finish decorating my entryway and family room.
9. Make a photo wall in my home- full of pictures of all my family and close friends.
10. Move my son to his own room, which is all set and decorated, but I don't have the heart to let him sleep in another room and not close to me....I know I have to.
11. Learn to take better photographs and improve my photography skills. 

A gift truly treasured

I have always been very inspired by my aunt (mom's sister). An architect by profession, she is an amazing artist and has a wonderful sense of style. Her home is full of her works of art, which includes acrylic paintings, oil painting, pottery....

This painting was a house warming gift to me when we moved into our new home last year.

It took me a while to find the perfect spot for this beauty, but finally I did. I can look at it from numerous places in my home, and it just adds a lot of elegance to my decor. Some more shots from various angles...

A relaxing weekend

I have been quite busy with my upcoming trip to India. Shopping is something I enjoy thoroughly, but when it comes to buying gifts for many many people of all ages and likings, the 'always so enjoyable' act of shopping seems like a daunting task. After all the running around the entire week, I had a much desired relaxing weekend. How about you? Did you have a good weekend?

The weekend started with a couple of friends coming over friday evening. We planed to just sit back, relax, chit chat while the kids played together. Remember the paneer pinwheels (recipe here) that I had mentioned in my last weekend wrap up post. Well, the taste of those lingered in my mouth much after the party, and I kept thinking that I need to try making those myself. So, this was the perfect opportunity.

Ready to go in the oven

 

All done

Saturday, I had no plans but to relax. But then, doing nothing makes me a bit uncomfortable (and I just can't relax). Are you that way? Do you feel like that too? Or am I somewhat weird? (my husband definitely thinks so)

So I decided to declutter my closet and take out some unused clothes to give away to goodwill. While I was doing that, I came across a kurti that had not attracted my attention for quite a while and looked a bit worn out, but still seemed too good to part. And then, I got an idea....the embroidered round motifs, I cut out one of those and framed it. Ta da.......

Linking up to Patty's weekend wrap up, which is always fun to join.

Christmas tree is here...

One of my close friends hosts a tree decorating party at her place every year. Its a sweet tradition, all the friends get together to kick off the Christmas spirit and join in the festivities. 

The highlight of this weekend was the tree decorating for sure! I love the reds and the greens of Christmas and the numerous candles that add to the charm.

There was lots of mouth watering food- ofcourse, no party without the food. It was a snacks potluck. We started with corn and black bean dip with tortilla chips & paneer pinwheels followed by gol gappe & aloo badas, and finally the pav bhaji. For dessert, we had sacher torte cake which was totally delicious! ( Sorry, I have no photos of the food, as I was too busy eating it!)

I'm linking to the Xmas Decor & Delights carnival at The KeyBunch and the Weekend wrap-up at Colours Dekor. 

Escape to tranquility

Wouldn't you just love to go and stay in one of these rooms for a few days?

And spend some time relaxing here....

All images via here

All these places are in Rajasthan, India- forts & havelis converted into hotels. The charming interiors of the rooms, the gorgeous walls, the delightful rajasthani furnishings and artwork, the serene exteriors, the stunning views, all seem extremely inviting.  Even though my stay in India is packed- with two weddings in the family- I'm so tempted to stay in one of these places even for just a couple of days.