First Flakes -December 8 th - Then and Now

Boston has held a lot of firsts for me. A decade ago when I landed in Boston I had never seen actual snowfall . I was excited to see snow . After arriving in december on a cold, rather chilly day with no winter gear the freezing cold was terrifying . All my excitement about snow had melted away when the freezing cold sent chills down my whole body . I was barely able to get into a car from the airport . It was dark outside even though it was early evening . I was tired from the long plane ride . The sleet and black ice added to my disappointment .


Few hours into Boston and I had already given up thinking about the snowfall . The next day when I woke up from my jet lagged sleep schedule and looked outside my window I held my breath .There it was . A beautiful white blanket of snow all over .  Beautiful flurries of snow piling up on ground gradually . It was magical and mesmerizing . My first ever snowfall . I forgot all my feelings from a day earlier . With a cup of hot masala chai and warm blanket I sat there transfixed watching the snow.


And exactly on the same day a decade later I was again enjoying snowfall . Now in a totally different city watching the beautiful snowfall with my family . I was very far from the northeast ,now in the south in Atlanta . But a cup of hot masala chai had not left my company . Nothing is quite as serene as watching your backyard being covered in a white sheet of fresh snow. There is something just beautiful about the snowfall . It is magical to find yourself in the same place but that which looks totally different now. This is a thing of wonder and may be enchantment perhaps . Nature's beauty at its best !




LET IT SNOW
LET IT SNOW

30 Day Shopping Ban Update 5

11 May
Today I returned the clothing items I had previously found in my closet . I was sure they were not what I needed . The fit was not right .For a split second I was leaning on buying something while at the store . But the returns had made me feel happy that I was getting rid of stuff that I did not need . So I reminded myself to not fill the empty closet space with items I did not need currently . Once again I walked out of the store holding my head high and smiling to myself .





12 May

I  have a party to attend tonight . It is an informal girls get together . So I decided to shop my closet . I have picked put an outfit that I wore once more than a year ago . It is a special one since my dear friend gave it as gift . Today seems a right day to wear it and revive it . Happy I found something in my own closet that is beautiful and special. I feel bad that I had almost forgot that I owned it . But rediscovering such a beautiful outfit that holds a special place is indeed wonderful .





13 May
After a fun day at party last night I relaxed and just was unwinding. I enjoyed the day with my family.




14 May
Today is the last day of my ban . It feels so good and liberating . I also feel accomplished . I never thought I could do this . I am happy and content looking at my closet today . I feel so proud of myself .

30 Day Shopping Ban Update 4

May 6 - May 8

I had an awesome trip . I spent some quality time visiting my cousin . I also enjoyed the sight seeing in Chicago . Had a wonderful trip .

May 9
I was busy today unpacking, doing laundry and grocery shopping . Shopping for clothes was not even remotely on my to-do list for today .

May 10

Just another usual day . I enjoyed spending time with my little one . Infact I organized some clothes and separated some items for returns .

30 Day Shopping Ban Update 3

May 1
I am expecting guest from abroad today . So I think I will be cleaning, organizing and cooking  all day long .



May 2
I went to TJMaxx with my guest for his  shopping . I was so tempted to buy clothes. Instead I walked away from the clothes section and focused on helping him find things on his list . That way I could still shop but nothing for me . I was so proud of myself . I cannot stop bragging about it . I literally did not wander even close to the clothing aisle . I had made a resolution before entering the store . And I stuck to my resolution . Such a big achievement .


May 3
Work kept me busy all day long .


May 4
Today I went to target with my guest . I had a gift card that I could have easily used to buy clothes for me or my little one. I instead gave it to my friend who used it to buy things on his checklist . I momentarily thought about my purchase from Kohls with the coupon . may be my guest could have used it instead of me . but somehow that guilt has made me stronger . It has sort of worked for me in a way to strengthen my resolution and stick to "no shopping ".


May 5
Busy all morning  packing for the weekend trip . Off to Chicago . Yay .

30 Day Shopping Ban Update 2

26 April
The guilt of shopping from couple of days  ago  has suddenly made me feel stronger . I feel better now that I will not budge in and go shop . I am feeling confident and stronger today .



27 April
 I feel happy today . shopping is not on my mind . Instead of shopping I have shifted my focus to cooking at home today  .


28 April
My family enjoyed the meal I cooked yesterday . So with new zeal I have plans for cooking more dishes today . The thought of shopping has not crossed my mind today yet .


29 April
 The cooking marathon continues . The no shopping ban  does not bother me at all .



30 April
A day well spent with family and friends .

30 Day Shopping Ban Update 1

21 April
I momentarily thought about loft since I was 1 block away from it. My mind was then flooded with some lunch commitments and I totally forgot about shopping .

22 April
It was a bright and sunny day today . I had already decided to dedicate this day to my family. We took baby K to a park this morning . We ran some errands afterwards. I enjoyed cooking  lunch at home with baby K surrounding me all the time , with her books and toys laying all around my feet . It was fun cooking that chaos . In the evening we had a birthday party to attend. By the end of day we all were exhausted and fell asleep . So no thoughts about shopping and a day well spent . Win win situation.

23 April
I was at work whole day today . As expected shopping was not even on my mind .

24 April

I had a busy morning but somehow stumbled upon my emailed coupon from Kohl's. The coupon was worth 5 $. So I decided to buy something for my daughter. i walked in the store ignoring all the women clothing. Quickly grabbed a 7$ tshirt in a larger size for my daughter. I got it for 2 $. I was overjoyed by the purchase that cost me so less . however as soon as I walked out of the store I started felling guilty . I felt like I was cheating on my "no shopping ban '. I could not feel at rest the whole day .

25 April

The guilt from yesterday is still fresh in my mind. I shopped a clothing item for my daughter and broke the no shopping ban . I still cannot get over this fact . But at the same time I do not have the courage to go return the item. So I have decided to keep it .Will see what happens as days goes by .

30 day Shopping Ban

 I have self imposed a 30 day shopping ban . No shopping clothes for myself as well as my little one during the next 30 days . Yes ! You heard me right . Knowing how much of a shopaholic I am you think I have lost my mind .  I know it sounds incredibly hard , almost impossible . But nevertheless I decided to accept the challenge and see how it goes . I will try my best to chronicle how things go in regards to my shopping temptations and the consequences . The ban started on 14 th April 2017 . I plan to pen down everyday how I am feeling . I am aware that I will have some good days and will resist shopping easily . I may have some not so good days but hopefully will not cave in ( hopefully )  . The ban has worked so far . Today I am sharing what I wrote down daily until now .

15th-16th April

I am travelling out of town. We have plans to go out shopping with family. I am secretly hoping I can shop. I am so happy. I think it is a good excuse and it is ok to shop with family.

Update----With 3 kids at home, numerous events to attend,  and the endless chats we never stepped out of the house. The result is two days of no shopping ( read disappointment ) .

17th April

Back from the trip but I am super exhausted. Spent most of my day sleeping . It is evening time aka tea time. I am sipping some piping hot masala chai. I am checking my emails. OMG! I have discovered that Loft has free shipping on all orders today. My temptation has made me fill my shopping cart. The total is 3 digit figure. So I am taking off couple of items but still have few in the cart.  I am still thinking , reviewing my shopping cart . I have decided to just walk away from my computer.

Update past midnight---I never returned to complete the order and checkout. Yay or Nay ??? Another day gone by without shopping. I feel empowered . I have overcome the temptation of shopping especially when Loft had free shipping . It is a major achievement folks ( read "pat on the back"  wink wink )

18 th April

I went to target to return a few things today. I was tempted to buy clothes for my daughter. I was so close to checkout when I returned all clothing items back to the rack. Stepped out of the store smiling , happy and feeling good . So proud of myself right now y'all .

19th April

I was at work for over 10 hours . So shopping was never on my mind.

20th April

Not a day goes by when I do not think about shopping. I was very close to the outlet mall today . I was so tempted to drive couple of exits further and shop . Or at least look around and satisfy my appetite for shopping. I just diverted my attention and drove back all the way home. I thought about my shopping ban constantly once I got home. I never made it back to the outlet . Well I think it was more so because of the long drive that I never made it back to the outlet mall . Hmm! But I think I deserve some credit for turning around and driving home in the first place .

Letter to My Daughter on her Second Birthday

Dear Keya

On your second birthday as we celebrate YOU I realize how much YOU have grown up in two years.

Its YOU who we are celebrating today .

Its YOU who chose to wear an outfit with birthday cake and ice cream cones .

Its YOU who made me realize that the "animal themed party " is just the perfect theme for your birthday .

Its YOU who decides what game we play ( tower of mega blocks or lego )

Its YOU who plays "mix mix" with a random spoon and bowl picked out of the dishwasher

Its YOU who makes the imaginary tea and brings it in a cup to me every morning

As you have grown up I realize YOU are an individual now.  An individual who is not only cute and beautiful  but also unique and awesome. And at times one who has strong opinions too . Those clear cut breakfast requests ( no cereal, more fruit loops ) and dinner requests ( no poli, more idli ) show your strong opinions. You try to make your own choices now ( most of the times ) .  Sometimes you throw a fit to not wear the outfit I picked for you  . Instead you choose to run around the house in just a diaper ( wet and soiled at times ) .

With your immense energy and cuteness , beautiful face and radiant smile you are truly an awesome little toddler growing up so fast .  You are so much fun to be around .

 As I see you grow and mature day by day I love you even more . As you develop likes and dislikes , explore and learn ,  accept and win challenges , struggle and fail sometimes.. I want you to know I will still love you, more and more , each day and everyday .

Happy Birthday My Two Year Old

Your Aai

                                     Today you are you

                                      That is truer than true.

                                       There is no one alive 

                                        Who is youer than you.

                                                       ---Dr. Seuss

P. S.

I am planning write a letter to my daughter each year on her birthday. It’s a great way to remember the little things that we often forget as our kids get older. Time just passes by way too quickly and their childhood is over before we know it. We have to cherish it while we can! 

Phulkari Dupatta And Friendship

The word "phulkari " means "flower work ". I was on a hunt for phulkari dupatta for past 2 years. At times I found a dupatta  but the colors were not my taste. Sometimes the colors were right but the material was not . Aware of my longing for one my dear friend " U'' gifted me this beautiful phulkari dupatta recently . She spotted it online and when the shipment arrived I was sweetly surprised and happy . It is a hand embroidered traditional phulkari dupatta . I wore it with a basic punjabi suit in solid colors that complement the dupatta. The punjabi suit is in skin friendly crepe silk fabric. I did not want to draw attention away from the elegant embroidery on the dupatta . So kept the punjabi suit pretty simple .  All I added was zube (marathi word for jhumkas) and kolhapuri mojadis to complete the outfit.

I enjoyed wearing the outfit . The dupatta is simply beautiful . I know it will be worn many times in the years to come . The Phulkari dupatta with the intricate design and colored threads reminds me of the special bond of friendship that me and "U" share . The phulkari dupatta is just like our woven fabric of friendship .The numerous threads intertwined together in different colors creating a strong foundation . A striking resemblance to our friendship that has flourished and strengthened over the years . After all weaving is a work of mind . And relationships too . Isn't it ?

Wishing you all happy gudi padwa. May you all have a healthy, wealthy and prosperous new year.

Style Check - Bobby Pins

Bobby pins make a comeback . Yes you heard it right . You think I am crazy to say this. But do check Kim Kardashian's recent picture with a headband of bobby pins.  These days  I come across people wearing a handful of bobby pins  . I have seen them at grocery store , mall , work , parties ... everywhere .

I myself have always used bobby pins . They have been an inseparable part of my hair styling ( aka hair taming ) routine . I use them in a more utilitarian way though . I always have a stash of bobby pins handy . I carry them everywhere . In my car, in my purse and on my dresser . They are omnipresent ( literally ) . But these days wearing bobby pins is sort of a style statement . I see people sporting a stack of bobby pins in many innovative ways . Crisscrossing bobby pins for a trendy look is such a do. There are so many fun kind of bobby pins available now. Sparkly, glossy, girly , flirty. They look pretty for any occasion . I guess gone are the days of wearing boring black bobby pins . Welcome to the bobby pins with polka dots, crystals , pearls, and even words . The possibilities are endless .

What is your trick when it comes to using bobby pins ?

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

  “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

Happy birthday Dr Seuss. Dr Seuss is 113 years old now.  I know it is kind of late for this post . Well belated birthday wishes I must say . But hey y’all at least the birthday month has not passed by . What better way to celebrate Dr Seuss’s birthday than to read his books ? As you all know there is a budding reader in my house . A voracious reader I must say . We may skip some of our favorite activities at times but we never ever skip reading books . From dawn to dusk (and I mean that literally ) we read books . Baby K loves to read and likes to be read to . And why not ? I started reading to her since she was about 6 weeks old . ( check out that post here )  I can see her developing a passion for reading books as she is growing older . We got her few Dr Seuss books for christmas last year . By now she has read all of them a million times . Every single one of them is her favorite .  As you can see in the picture below she got her friends into these books as well . She is eagerly waiting for her new shipment of books that will arrive soon . You guessed it right . All of them are from Dr Seuss bright and early board books collection . A must have for every toddler .

What books does your little one like to read ?

Event management -- Planning a Baby Shower

Birth of a baby is the biggest event in the lives of expecting parents. Leading upto this is the shower for mommy to be. I planned a budget friendly baby shower that my gueststhorughly enjoyed and liked . I think you can go really elaborate and spend a big amount . Or you can stay within a tight budget, be creative and crafty.either way you can end up with a spectacular baby shower. (Of note I chose the later route ) Here are some party planning basics that were on my checklist . I think these helped to make the celebration a success. 

1.Invitations

I kept it simple since it was a casual baby shower .I used evite.com . I picked up a design that spoke to both the would be parents ( and of course the one that was free ).



2.Theme

Since I had to arrange a gender neutral baby shower I chose yellow and green. These two colors came to mind immediately since the baby is due in spring. The colors were an interpretation of sunshine in the lives of the parents to be .

3.Decor

Since we had a fireplace as the focal point at the venue of the baby shower I decided to adorn the mantle. I had two similar vases with fresh yellow flowers on either end of the mantle. With my love for crafts I made these pompoms. I had planned to make a large garland with onesie cutouts to hang from the mantle. But we could not use tape or push pins as per  the rental hall agreement. So I used the readymade garland from party city. And then added the small onesie garland that my friend made. I also personalized the mantle decor with gifts that the mom had already received.

Table decor looked so co-ordianted with the theme. Center piece for the tables was my favorite project. Not original but definitely worth DIY inspired by pinterest. And again my theme color yellow co-ordinating perfectly here. 

I had some cut outs of baby related things like stroller, pacifier etc all over the hall to add to my decor. 



4.Games

We played very traditional baby shower games. We incorporated the theme colors in every way we could while creating supplies for the games. We had some personalized papers and notes to write advice for parents. We had fun playing the following games ...
Baby Bingo
Price is Right
What's in your purse
Spotters
Guess the Gender
.
"Guess the gender" was a huge hit. My crafty friend made these girl and boy cutouts. We had all guests take a picture using the cut outs, predicting the gender of the baby to come. It was in a way the "photobooth."

5. Food

Food is a huge part of any Indian gatherings. We had catered delicious homemade Indian food. Keeping in mind the theme colors I also had  grapes, pineapples and orange juice.The kids enjoyed the fruits as well. (Not to mention having Costco membership certainly helps when your guest list is long ).

I had nailed down the details of the baby shower two weeks before the event. I already had all the decor, return gifts and food orders taken care of. Planning every single detail helped hugely. In the end the baby shower was spectacular and everyone was engaged and well entertained. I enjoyed the event myself as well. So what is your take when it comes to arranging a baby shower ? How do you plan a party ?

Dare to be Bare - Face it !

Yesterday I was visiting my hair dresser. All of a sudden out of nowhere she asked me why I did not use makeup. Without a thought I replied stating that I loved my face the way it is. Not that I am lazy but I just never wear makeup on daily basis. This conversation made me immediately think about the #Iwokeuplikethis selfie posted by Beyonce a few years ago. And till date this wave has not died down. 
Everyone likes transparency and I so root for authenticity. I personally feel that there is nothing more beautiful than a completely bare face. No make up. Just raw real beauty. It makes you feel confident and beautiful than you ever could. There is nothing wrong with a smoky eye or bold lip or any make up for that matter. But being just as comfortable without it is the key. After all what matters is to be the "refreshingly real you ". What do you girls think ?