Tuesday Treat: Design Inspiraion from Morocco

I have always been enamored by the colors and design elements of Moroccon decor. I have tried to bring some of those elements in my home as well. The blues, the reds, the green and the gold..... all those bold and bright colors , the arches and domes that pronounce Moroccan architecture....all seem to add to the mystic charm of Moroccan themed decor.

Here's some visual insipration from the land of contrasts.....

Images: Pinterest

Flower fetish

I can never have enough flowers in my garden and my patio.....and I never get 

tired of clicking pictures of flowers. Seriously, a huge chunk of my hard drive is 

pictures of flowers and plants...no kidding......

 So I selected a few clicks of daisies from my stash, 

did some tinkering on picasa....

and here they are....!

Well.....what d'ya say? 

I'm trying to improve my photography skills (remember my to do list for this year), 

and learn a few photography tricks.  There is so much you can do with just picasa- a free software...... make collages, crop photos, add color effects......

I'd love to share tips and suggestions on how to edit pictures on picasa. 

If you are interested in knowing more, just email me here. 

If you have any interesting tips, do share. 

PS: Thank you all for your lovely comments, emails and wishes on my previous post. 

I'm truly touched.

Linking to Show & tell Friday, Weekly story, Creative Exchange, Seasonal Sundays

On a personal note.....

I have shared bits and pieces of my life with all of you here and I felt that I owe it to you, my readers, my friends; and to my blog, that I share this new phase of my life.

As many of you may know, I have been on a break from my career since the past two years- staying at home taking care of my son. This has given me a chance to explore my creative side, time to pursue some old (and some new....) hobbies, and most importantly, an opportunity to rediscover myself - through this blog. I have been truly, deeply enjoying this time. But.....its time for a change.........

...time to dive into something more.

I have recently started back on a full time job. It's a huge change.....

balancing work, home.... and most importantly -spending time with my son.  Last few days have been all about adjustment to the new routine........

but, it has not been as difficult as I expected  *fingers crossed*.

With everything else going on, I have managed to squeeze in some time

 to blog *smiles* and it feels wonderful. My blog is my 

happy place, a place where I come to pour my heart, get inspired.... 

and be with my virtual friends. 

I love being here.....hope you do too.....:)

Wish me luck.....and I'll see you soon!

TGIF

It's Friday.....yayyy! 

I've had a very busy week and I'm glad that the weekend is here. It's one of those weekends when I have nothing planned...really. That means I will get time to do some random things...maybe finish some projects.......maybe, or maybe not. 

Hope you have a great weekend!

I'll see you on the other side.....

Image: My garden

Linking to Show and tell Friday

I Covet

....coffee tables.  I want one....for my living room. I have been on a quest for the perfect coffee table for my living space for the longest time. You have seen pictures of this room here and here. The vision I have, is of a solid wood, rustic looking table, with some interesting details....such as an aged effect or some carving..... 

If I could get my hands on any one of these, I'd be delighted!

So, which one do you like the most?

If you can, please suggest any place where I can find such a piece. 

What are you coveting lately?

All images via Pinterest

All that I did this weekend

Hello Monday!

Are you all ready to tackle the week ahead? Well, I am....only beacuse I had a fabulous weekend...full of activity and then some time to rejuvenate and refresh.

Saturday was a quite a wet day.....it rained pretty much the entire day. I had no option but to stay at home almost all day long......giving me chance to relax and do some things around the house.

I did a whole lot of cleaning and a bit of decorating, moving things around the house (one of my favorite pastime......). A few clicks....

                                                         I pampered myself and got a pedicure.....

 

                                                        We celebrated Rakshabandhan....

And then I did some cooking.... yes I did, remember all that inspiration I talked about in my previous post.

I also indulged in another favorite pastime of mine......browsing through old photos. I love looking at pictures from previous vacations, time spent with family, special occasions and just reminiscing....good times! Do you like doing that???

Well, that wraps up my entire weekend. How was yours...? Did you do anything special? Do share.

Have a good week!

Linking to Patty's weekend wrap up, Good Life Wednesday

Favorite Food blogs

Have I ever told you that I'm a complete foodie...I love to eat and I enjoy a lot of different cuisines. Having said that, I'm not that great in the kitchen. I mean..., I cook to satisfy my family's appetite, but cooking is not the most enjoyable thing for me........ Eating is! I like to try something different from time to time, which adds some excitement to the otherwise mundane (for me!) routine of cooking the same food.

Mushroom fried rice with Paneer schezwan -  I made this last week

Recently I'm getting a lot of cooking inspiration from a bunch of food blogs that I follow. The other day, I cooked mushroom fried rice along with Paneer schezwan. It turned out delicious...all thanks to the recipe I followed. That's when I thought that I should share some of my favorite food blogs with all my friends here.

So here's a list of my favorites....

1. Indian simmer Prerna at Indian Simmer is not only a great cook but also a fantastic photographer. Just looking at the pictures on her blog will leave you salivating....and I really mean it. All I want to do when I visit her blog is to pick up the food and bite into it...
2. Sreelu's tasty travels Sreelu has a great collection of the most mouth watering Indian vegetarian recipes...what's more....she provides a lot of healthy alternatives. I've tried many of her recipes and I personally like her salads and quick recipes. 
3. Amma and Baby I recently got introduced to this one written by Rachu. She blogs for mothers who are struggling to come up with creative recipes for their picky eaters. I love the way she gets creative with simple recipes and makes them appealing for little ones. 
4. Cook curry nook  Madhuri at cook curry nook has a huge recipe index ranging from appetizers to desserts. I like all the Indo-Chinese recipes of hers and also the appetizers. 
5. Eat Drink Man Woman A fairly new one on the block, this blog has the most simple recipes presented in a very delightful manner along with excerpts from some wonderful books on food and recipes. Good going, Richa!
6. Show me the curry A great resource for all kinds of Indian recipes and tips on Indian cooking....with videos!

I truly appreciate and applaud all the food bloggers, who not only whip up some outrageously delicious recipes but also blog about them with the most gorgeous pictures, making people like me give in to temptation and go ahead and try them....

You may already be following some of these blogs...If not, do check them out. Hope you'll find some cooking inspiration.....Which ones are your favorite food blogs? Do share with me!

Paper source

If you know me a little and have read this post, you know that I have a fetish for paper. I just hoard it for no specific purpose. Imagine my delight when my cousin took me to this store at Santana row while I was in the bay area. 

It's a treasure chest for all kinds of paper- Japanese paper, Indian paper, paper from Nepal and Thailand and some more....They also have tonnes of supplies for all kinds of paper crafts. 

A few other interesting things at the store....an owl pillow

Paper flowers

They have various locations across the US; unfortunately, none in Florida. Check out the Paper Source website for more about the store. 

Linking to Show and tell Friday

Summer blooms

Hello peeps! How have you been....? How was your weekend? I had a good one as I got lots done in terms of errands and chores, and still got some time to relax. I'm all set for a good week ahead. How about you....? 

The sight of blooming flowers always makes me happy. One of many things that I love about bay area is its beautiful flowers. Every summer when I visit, there are bushes full of color everywhere and trees are loaded with fruit. While I was there, I couldn't help capturing the beauty through my camera. Here are a few clicks....

These purple flowers....., you'll see them outside every house, at the sidewalk and even in the wild. Aren't they pretty...?

White daisies....lovely!

And roses in so many colors...from what I've heard, it's very easy to grow roses here.

Have a great week!

Images: All mine.

Linking to the weekend wrap up at colours dekor & Good Life Wednesdays, Show and tell Friday