Missing My City.....

So finally i get some time to sit online and visit my deeply missed blog! i think and think and think what to write about... there is sooooo much going on.... the unpacking the getting used to a new home a new city... the weather is unbearably cold.... missing home and family is what hurts more..... but the sheer exhaustion of the last few days has just blanked my mind .... so i went searching in an old blog of mine (which i never shared.... and never really will!!!) and i found this post of mine which I had written the first time i had come to jaipur post marriage....

It was about how i missed bombay.... most of the things are the same.... but a few are outdated (some places don't even exist anymore!!!)!!!! In any case i loved that post.... so i'm going to cheat and share it!!!!

I wrote it on Monday April 20th 2009

there are days when I'm traveling in Jaipur and suddenly something on the road will remind me of Bombay....


like this one day we were going for this party... all dressed up and sitting... and we drove past a flyover and something about it the road the buildings on the side just reminded me so much of andheri fly over... i actually had tears in my eyes... which no one could see.... i kept thinking this road leads to goregaon then jogeshwari then malad then borivali.....


then there was a day while brushing my teeth i felt like i was on the juhu road leading to the juhu  circle... i closed my eyes and i could actually imagine the traffic .. the autos the buses... the buildings were so real....


i miss the people for sure... but more than that i miss the city... i miss the roads the landmarks... the familiarity... knowing that there is just SV road or Linking road to get to places... knowing that there is the east and the west... this side of the railway tracks and that side of the railway tracks....


i stay on facebook trying to be connected to anything familiar... visit websites of candies and all... things that i know...


i mean i guess this is normal.. after all if u have lived ur entire life in one place... anyone would feel like this... i actually feel like i could actually draw out the map of mumbai in one sketch!!!!


i love that city... more than anything in this world.............


i love my home... i love that all faiths festivals are celebrated right outside my house!! i love Jp road... the barista rolling beans... i love link road... fame fun cinemax... cheese popcorn caramel popcorn... chilli cheese toast... china gate... malad... jp morgan chase... HYPERCITY...!!!! Le merche... where mum n spent 5000 bucks on groceries!!!! what a day!!! juhu scheme... the tree sheltered lanes... the 90 degree lanes... DJ sanghvi... vada pav at mithibhai... aishwarya at irla galli.. the crowds at irla galli... alfa the great! santacruz.. juhu beach... golas... twishi and me running on the beach.... milan subway.. my first job ever at suresh sethi's... bhendi masala and naans!! bandra bandra bandra... hillroad linking road... andora's herches' hceapjack.... carter road bandstand mount mary... the road from my old home to otters club... potpourri tiffins... hsbc bank... just round the corner... palli hill sunrise bakery... my entire life is in bandra.... mahim second job ... two boyfriends!! shivaji park... siddhivinayak temple... a few grouses im having... no one should be allowed to take over a main road in this city... worli... the ugly builidng i helped desing interiors for... for reasons of my own!! a white tata seirra.... haji ali... horses on the other side in mahalaxmi race course... peddar road... breachcandy... marine drive.. queens necklace... for real.. oberoi... not just jazz by the bay.... pizzeria... churchgate station.. my absolute fav station.... loved being alone in the crowds there.... old heritage buildings... eros regal.. jehangir gallery.. samovar... wayside inn now shut.. memories of my dad n me... eating at the general table... lovely concept... kalaghoda fest.... ballard pier... berry biryani... our fighter ship... walking there... and of course taj mahal hotel and my Gateway to India! the last thing i stare at while going off the boat to alibaug... watch it till its only a blur... and watch for it on the way back.. till its larger than life.... exactly how i love it!


like i said i love that city...

Wedding Tips Tuesdays- Adding to your family!!!!

Ok so this is not exactly a wedding tip.... but boy will it be useful post your wedding!!!!!

So for most people who don't know.... 2 years is like the honeymoon period before you get to the "So when's the good news?"  period of a marriage!!

after all two years should be enough to get to know the person you have your babies with, to understand the mood swings of your life partner, to (in most cases) fall in love with your spouse..... well.....two years go by pretty damn fast!!!!

yes yes for all those calculating i'm in 2 years and 10 months of my marriage.... and yes its no more subtle hints but full blown "where the hell are the grand children!!!!!!"

Most of my friends are married and are now either pregnant or with babies ranging from just born to a year.... and I've been making the rounds to meet with them (hubby in tow most of the times) and its been very interesting to see all of them and their babies....and very educational! I have picked up many many pointers which I will share with you!

Having a baby is a big deal.... its a part of your hubby and you.... its something that is proof of your love for each other.... (for me at least!!!) and its such a big responsibility.... a little human that depends on you for everything.....

I've met girls who have been married for a year or two to girls who have been married for a few months and they have babies....from well planned to accidental surprise package...And what has struck me as most important is that both of you'll just have to be ready for the baby... you'll both should want one as much as the other.... or well at least should be ready in the case of the guys!!

and plan for the baby... understand your financials, understand what kind of family support you'll have and will need.... understand that life will change.... be ready completely for the change.

But more than anything.... build your stamina!!!!! I'm telling you you will thank me for this point....

I've been playing with my little nephew every alternate day for the last few days and the reason I don't meet him in between is because I'm nursing massive body aches!!! The first day my shoulders ached from carrying him around the next my waist because I decided to save my shoulders and carry him on my waist.... Oh My God!!!!!

And if not from the carrying around just from the sheer entertaining you'll be exhausted.... they have the energy of I don't know what.... But in my house we all took turns in making sure he laughed all thru the day!!!

So before you even decide to have a baby... spend a year building up your stamina... I mean like do some hardcore training.... like for a marathon or climbing mountains or something!!!

And watch your diet from a year before as well.... One of my friends (very smart girl) lost a lot of weight just before she got pregnant but in a healthy way... so when she put on it really didn't show all that much.... and now loosing it seems to be easier for her.... so that is another really smart pointer.

Meditation seemed to really help another friend of mine...She was into it and yoga from before but she said that she mediated and did her yoga thru her pregnancy and it helped her a lot. The yoga for her body of course and the meditation just kept her in a very positive space.... being positive and happy i feel is very very important because that's just how your baby is going to be you know...

Being happy has a lot to do with your husband.... so sit him down and talk talk talk.... discuss everything with him involve him in everything.... divide all the work post the baby so not only is he a part of his baby's life from day one but you have all the help and support you're going to need.

So there you have it... once the questions start popping up check this list:

1. Are you both ready mentally to take on this big step in life?
2. Are your financials in order? All steady jobs and business intact and all?
3. How much family support do you have or need?
4. Are you physically strong?
5. Are you positive and happy? both of you?
6. Have you'll discussed everything you need to discuss with each other?

Of course the most important thing...Spend the years before the baby having lots of fun... go on mad spontaneous vacations... party lots... spend nights talking to each other and getting to know each other.... the life of a newly married couple is very very important for your kids.... because its the bond you'll form then that will determine how you'll deal with things that come later in life.... So thoroughly enjoy the "couple-dome" but not with the thought of the baby is going to tie us down or our lives are going to be over once we have kids.... just in a positive way enjoy the life!

Well all of this is from a very in experienced perspective.... but like i said I'm spending a lot of time with the nephew as part of my training so these are all the pointers I have come to understand....!!!!!

yes yes... I'm ready (kinda, sorta .... ummm... maybe!!!) .... just readying the boy now!!!

Incase you'll were wondering!!!

So here is my inspiration for this post!

That's him!!!

He's my little doll!!!

look at those beautiful eyes!!!

That's my mum and him doing the boing boing!!!!

                                          

That's our screaming match.... what a fun!!!

Now how cute is that.... just being with him makes me want to have one!!!

Wedding Outfits!

This was my only so called "Designer" outfit!!!! Its a Ritu Kumar and holds a very special place in my heart....

All thru my wedding shopping i felt like i needed to have at least one designer outfit namely a Sabyasachi!!! but of course because of my budgeting that was way out of my league!! Lots of friends spoke of Ritu Kumar as being the ideal bridal designer but I hadn't paid much attention.... till that one fateful day in a delhi mall (forget which one... one the outskirts of the city.... its super huge.... damn!!!)

I was completing my western outfit part of my trousseau when i saw this Ritu Kumar store on sale!!! SALE!!! now i just had to go in there.....

almost immediately i saw this piece.... and fell in love!!! and then the price tag and i was more in love!!!! my cousin who i was with convinced me that to get a Ritu Kumar (its funny how i have to type her whole name each time!!!) at that price was a steal but still i had to ask my mum..... but she didn't answer right then.... so we had to leave the mall....

I was leaving for Jaipur the next morning and i just couldn't leave without that outfit.... So when i finally got thru to my mum and got permission.... i rushed my cousin and hubby to be all the way back to the god forsaken mall almost an hour and a half away.... we got there like half hour before closing time and luckily it was right there waiting for me!!!

A few alterations and they couriered it to Bombay for me.... ahhhhh sooooo pretty!!!

Frankly i looked my prettiest that day and not just the outfit but the make up.... one of my most magical friends did it for me and she just made me glow!!! yeah i think the happiness of marrying that guy also had something to do with it!!!!

So here's the dress and me at my emotional- est!!!

Something about finally getting married can make you super emotional......

I loved every minute of it....!!

All the Punjabi details and the jewellery just brought out the best in the outfit!

Everything about it is so bridal don't you think?

The embroidery and intricate details looked stunning....

Every lace every piece of brocade and gold thread work.... the colors.... i love!!

I especially loved the way the dupatta fell... so soft and gentle and lovely!!!

hmmmmmmm I could get married all over again just to get back into that outfit!!!

Wedding Outfits!

So one of my most favorite persons is getting married in two months.... and i'm soooooo excited!!! buying new clothes, dance practice for the sangeet, the wedding decor the invites..... all of it so fun!!!!

Of course nothing like the shopping!!!! (though yes decor is more me... but new clothes.... c'mon....!!!!!!)

I've been on the net for days trying to find the current colors and styles.... now to go out into the market and see it for real.... i have so many options..... really want to check out a masaba for the cocktail and aishwarya for a beautiful saree for the baraat....

The wedding is in delhi and i'm sure even all the delhi-iets will agree that you really gotta dress it up there! The last wedding i attended there i was looked up and down by every girl!!! I'm sure they knew exactly what shoes i had on and whether my jewelry really matched my outfit!!!!

So while I'm on my search.... here's a little reminiscing on my wedding clothes!!!

Lets start with my absolutely favorite outfit.... the cocktail lehenga....!!!!

yes I'm a full on nautunki!!!!!

this was my ek do teen dance!!!!! someday one day i may put up the video!!!!!

so that's the choli.....

this is my favorite part of the outfit.... see the image on the left without the heavy dupatta can also be worn with a simpler dupatta to make it less dressy.....and with the heavy dupatta... well that's just pure drama!!!!!

see what i mean.... every layer is stunning!!!!

this was really my most favorite outfit!!!!

don't you just love the details!!!!!

The next outfit in the next post!!!!!!!

Finding Mr Right!

The most important part of a marriage is finding the right person..!!

We spend all our lives all our energies in just that... Mr Perfect! really? is there really someone like that that exists?

What is a perfect guy? Smart, Rich, Handsome? A guy that can make you laugh, gets you flowers everyday? A guy that can kisses you in front of your friends and hugs you till you fall asleep?

Thats not a real guy... thats a character out of a fantastic romantic chick flick....

A really perfect guy will expect you to laugh at yourself and to enjoy cheesy burgers and fries.... he'll fight with you and yeah well he'll still hug you till you fall asleep!!!!!

But really someone explain to me what is with girls (and guys) making up these lists of what they want in their companions for life? These out of proportion expectation they have of their to be's? Take a good long look at yourself before you sit down to make those lists.... what is it about you that your guy likes and dislikes... what are the things in you that he overlooks just because?

If you need to make a list of all the things that work for you in the relationship as opposed to all the things that don't then that right there is the biggest reason you shouldn't be with them.

If you really like the guy.... you wont need to convince yourself... if you are then you're settling.... which also somewhere somehow sometimes is ok. Its fine to sit back and say that "hey these things i can deal with and these things I can't but they aren't so bad that i absolutely can't deal with them" and then stick with it... stick with him.... either ways love marriage, arranged marriage, crazy love or practical decision... whatever the route... the end result is to be together... to stay together.... to be able to say that I am here for good.... and to actually do that....

Divorce has become such an easy easy thing to do... it takes just one sign on a paper and you're done... earlier it used to be such a taboo.... if a couple even went so far as to consider it both their parents would sit them down and ask them to give it another shot.... but today.... who has the time... the patience?

and what is a good marriage if not full of patience.... and giving of time to each other?

after a few years there may not be that crazy passionate "love" but if you foundation your relationship with friendship and respect it'll take you much further.... If you can have fun and laugh together and sit in silence and be ok with it.... you're in a good space.... look for that the next time you're looking for love....

I always tell my friends "If you have more reasons to be with him than not then just be with him!!!!"

I love this line i read somewhere once" Love isn't about finding a Mr Right.... its about finding someone imperfect and loving him perfectly!!!" And i really think thats true!

Just Being You.....

Some days the normal and the ordinary just seem so suffocating.... you look around and can't help but wish for something else.....

anything else.... not just another life, another home sometimes a whole other world....

somewhere where its just the way you want it... where its just you and your thoughts or no thoughts... where you can come and go as you please... sing or dance.... eat or sleep.... where with every step you take everything around you changes to suit you mood.... from fiery red skies to calm star studded deep purple ones.... from sand under you feet to forests and trees with flowers falling onto your hair....  from wild horses and wolves to majestic lions and tigers to curling up against an elephant trunk....where i'd have books for company and music all the time.... from running so fast i could fly.... from sleeping on a bed of flowers to a boat in the middle of the ocean...being alone being surrounded.... just so long as you get to be you.....

some days i can live in my head forever....... in my other world......

To walk around my other world... go here!

Happy Diwali!!!!

When we were kids diwali was all about firecrackers and new clothes and mithais....!!!!

The house would have lights on from dussera and mum would make a beautiful rangoli in the living room.... (which more often that not my dog would ruin in the middle of the night) we would make all sorts of eatables like chakli and chirotis and shankapadas!!!! all my marathi friends will get these!!!!!

the main event was the breakfast..... along with all the above mum would make dahi poha and kala vatanas ( back peas) so so so yummy!!

So we would be made to wake up super early and mum would put us on this little paath (stool) and put this perfumed powder oil mixture called uthna....I hated getting up that early... as i grew older i was made to get up even earlier to do rangoli around the stool... how i used to be grumpy!!!!  and then we would shower.... I still get that perfumed smell diwali mornings!!

Then we would dress in our new clothes!!!! and get ready for the guests..... everyone was invited for diwali breakfast! friends family..... a lot of times there would be certain relatives we would see only diwali to diwali!

and then time for crackers.... i don't promote noise pollution or child labor.... but a few cracker are just needed on diwali day!!!

Oh how i miss that breakfast!!!! I could eat it like three four times that day.... ! yes we can make it during the year but then whats the fun?!!!

We would eat so much that it would turn into a brunch..... the sleep you get on a happy full stomach is the best!!!!!! you start with lazying and opening all the gifts and eventually you just knock out on the couch!!!!!

Now diwali is different.... not because I'm married and we don't celebrate it like this in the new house.... even mum and brother don't do it exactly like this... there is the breakfast which is still super.... but something about that childhood diwali (i think its just the shopping and endless mithais and no rules that I'm missing!!!) feels lacking....

diwali is a festival for kids..... !!

For the husband diwali was always about the mithais and crakers and the diwlai parties.... the have a super big friend circle and each one throws a diwali party.... there are unlimited snacks and cold drinks for the kids and all the elders play cards..... and the kids too once they are on a sugar rush!!!

So for me today diwali is about the chill in the weather, the going home to jaipur, the dressing up for all the diwali parties, the eating heavy duty meals for every meal and the sleeping for hours in the afternoon!!!

Its different but its diwali.... :) 

Aiku at Candies!!!

Finally.... a sort of end point new beginning to this blog!! In these months of creating things.... i have finally going out there with a few and seeing what the world thinks....!!!

Scared nervous excited..... butterflies going nuts in my tummy.... did i mention scared??!!!! ha ha ha!!!

So here are a few of the things I'm going to have out there.... hope everyone likes it as much as I do!!!

paper lamps with fabric flower!

handmade cards!

handmade cards!

gift tags!

gift tags!

paper flower happy frames!

embroidery hoop art!

soooooooooo many flowers!!!

So at candies bandra... my favoritest place in the world!!Tomorrow Saturday the 15th of October from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm..... come come!!!