My Closet...(What I am wearing these days)

I am NOT a winter person. I don't really like cold weather. Thankfully, I don't have to be outside much, the cold breeze hitting my face, makes me sick. I absolutely absolutely love colors. And so you can say, another reason for disliking the cold weather. That being said, I try to make my life colorful and vibrant, through my clothes ( which you'll see as you scroll down) and through the interiors of my house, anyone who has visited my home will vouch for that.

Basically, I wear same thing mostly everyday; tops and jeans. I am not a shopaholic and own not too many clothes or shoes or accessories. Just a few basics, which I try to make it interesting with mixing and matching. When I shop, I try to buy clothes that go with my existing wardrobe and are not stand-alone pieces which I find difficult to pair them with anything.

Alright then, after a brief summary of my likes and dislikes, here's what I am wearing this winter:

1. I am in love with Cardigans. They go really well with jeans, skirts or even dresses. I would rather buy a cardigan in winters than any top, as the latter in any case gets hidden beneath the sweater or coat :)

 Same skirt, same top, different cardigan, different look!

 With a printed scarf and a plain scarf !

 2. Turtle necks: It hasn't been much cold lately, hence not many chances to wear turtlenecks.

3. My new pumps shoes. I am loving it. It makes any outfit look classy...well! only if you can walk in them ;-)

4. Sweater dresses. I never had a sweater dress. This year, I made sure I have one. Wear it with pump shoes or ankle boots, goes well with both.

5. And finally, Dark wash skinny jeans. I was never a fan of skinny jeans and honestly when it was introduced a few years back, I assumed it won't stay long. I was wrong. The popularity of the skinny jeans has only grown, to the point where those drainpipe legs have become something of a style staple. And since it's become a staple, I thought I should own one...:)

Mom at Barberitos....

Dear Mom of a beautiful little daughter, who I saw at Barberitos today, you just melted my heart. What a lovely duo you both were!

You may not know, but I was secretly watching you both eat, talk, smile and laugh...you may not know, but looking at you, I was imagining me and my daughter having a chat over a bowl of nachos and burritos, you may not know, but whenever I see mothers on a date with their daughters, it makes me happy, you may not know, but I was super impressed in those 20 min when you did not peep into your phone even once, you may not know but I overheard your daughter talk about her new friend at school and you smiling over her excitement....you may not know, but I could sense your daughter believing in below words....

Mum, I love you so much,
with all my heart and soul
You let me do mostly everything,
yet you still play your role

I do know how lucky,
I am to have you there
Someone to talk to,
someone to really care

by Roslyn Stewart aged 13

Yesterday, Aanya asked me, "Mumma, why do we have parents?" "We have parents to take care of us, to love us immensely and unconditionally and to guide us become good adults." I answered. 
A lot of times parenting is quite stressful. In our subconscious mind we question ourselves; Are we doing it right? Yes, we are doing it right. We all try to do what's right for our children.

And back to the mom (who I saw at barberitos), an important step towards right parenting is spending uninterrupted quality time with your children. It need not be hours, just a few minutes of sharing, listening and doing things together. I absolutely loved the way you spent the evening with your daughter.

The Story of "Yummy...!!" (Banana Bread)

Generally, I feel nice when someone says "The food is yummy!", for that matter, anyone would feel great. Mission accomplished feeling. But this is not the case when my daughter, Aanya says "Its yummy, Mumma!" It leaves me confused, a lot of times disappointing me, especially when it is followed by "I like it". Know why? Because, after these statements, the food in the plate remains unfinished, with a reason "Actually Mumma, I don't like it. I was just kidding". Strange! Yes, it is :)

So, today when Aanya was at school, I made Banana Bread for her (without nuts).

I gave her in a plate and the first bite was followed by this conversation;

" Its yummy, Mumma. I like this bread!"
"Ok"
"Its so so yummy. I love it!" (after another bite)
"Ok"
"Mumma, you should call my friends and make banana bread. They will love it too. Its delicious" (after another bite)
"Ok" (with a smile on my face now)
"Thank you for making this bread for me. I really like it" ( with a big kiss and a big hug)

And yes, she ate it all up. Wow! This was the best genuine "yummy" I ever heard. And it didn't end there. When Puneet returned from work, she announced "Papa, do you know, Mummy made banana bread. Its so yummy". Now that was too much for the day or for any day :)

Aanya is getting funnier with each passing day and I wasn't kidding when in one of my earlier blog, I mentioned I don't want to keep her small. These are the joys of life with a pre schooler :) Their jokes, funny remarks, their growing independence " I can do it myself", their want to learn " Can I try...", their offer to help " Can I help you fold clothes, wash dishes, mix cake batter....", their games moving a level up to board games, their nonstop "whys" and the best is, they now smile and look in the camera while clicking pictures, something like this....

....I am loving all of it!

My Dates and Almonds Laddos....

Come winter and our body starts craving for rich food that provide warmth and nourishment. I love how our winter foods are loaded with natural oils and vitamins ( in the form of nuts), good fat (that comes from ghee) and other nutrients. Laddo, Gajar Halwa, Moong Dal Halwa are delicacies that my mother always used to prepare during winters. They were all packed with ghee, ghee and more ghee :) Having soaked Almonds with Milk in the morning was a ritual. Undoubtedly, the best thing about winter is comfort food.

So, today I decided to make Dates and Almond Laddos. I absolutely love dates and almonds. And the best part is, it was ready in 15 minutes. That's it.

Ingredients
1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup Whole oats
1 cup Madjool dates
1/8 cup Chia seeds
2 tsp Ghee

Method
1. Coarsely grind Oats and Almonds.
2. Remove seed and chop Dates.
3. Heat a pan and put Ghee. When hot, stir in Dates till it becomes mushy.

4. Add Oats and Almonds and mix it well.

 5. Spread the mixture on a place and let it cool. Then add Chia seeds and mix it well. You can use your clean hands to do that. Roll into small laddos( balls) and it can be stored in an air tight container for a week.

I love these little balls that are full of all the good stuff I want Aanya to eat–nuts, dried fruit, whole oats. The only problem is I need to figure out a way to make her eat ;-)

Year End Reflections...

The year 2014 is about to end. There’s just something about seeing an entire year come to a close that prompts you to reflect back on it. To all the things that happened, and that did not happen. Its that time of the year, when we make resolutions for the coming year( honest and realistic ones? :)). Its that time of the year, when we find ourselves thinking if we made the most of the year. And its that time of the year, when we joyously celebrate with family and friends, waiting for the New Year. A fresh start. A new chapter in life.

Looking Back
Today, was the day of reflection on this year, as I discussed (or rather, tried to) with Puneet. And honestly, this has been the best year of our lives( as a couple) in last 7 years that we have been married. The coolest thing that I did personally was:

1. Taking membership of the County Library. Having read almost 10 books already, I never realised I enjoyed reading so much. Talking of books, I recently read an article by Rosemarie Urquico- "Date a girl who reads" Have you read it? If not, Read it. I was constantly smiling while reading it online. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads :)

2. Taking membership of the Dept of Recreational Sports. Being physically active all my life, I had become inactive last few year. So this was a much much needed membership, to fall in love all over again with Ping pong and Badminton and Swimming....:)
(as I play with my husband, as I played with him during school days....aah! Memories!!!)

3. No TV. Yes, in last five months, I haven't watched TV at all. And that includes, Netflix or Amazon Prime videos.  There was a time when I wondered how can there be life without TV, today I feel, we don't need TV, its a waste of time. I just hope, my daughter doesn't grow up to say "Whats a TV?" ;-)

4. And Blogging!!:)Untill last year, I never considered writing. Just a personal handwritten journal, is what I had being doing. I took a plunge into blogging and have come this far with 50 blog posts.

Looking Forward

Yes, that's me. I never believed in resolutions, and I don't know what holds for me in 2015. I just intend to find a decent job for myself, keep writing and always have one book to read.

I hope you have a safe and happy end to 2014.

May the coming new year find you

healthier and happier,

peaceful, content, satisfied,

looking forward

to fresh, revitalizing interests,

a variety of pleasures,

interesting new people,

material and personal successes

to make the new year

the best one yet.

Happy New Year!

Photo Collage Letter: DIY

Some memories are best kept to ourselves. But there are times when they should be shared. They should be shared and enjoyed by everyone. That was on my mind when my daughter turned 2 ( 2 years back :)) I wanted to make a collage that would highlight the best memories of the year and also be a keepsake for future. I searched collage and found this picture on google images.

I decided to make a collage on letter A ( as in Aanya). Bought a cardboard letter A from Micheals. I remember I was super excited that day. Shortlisted best pictures of the year but before I could get the pictures developed and start the project, not sure what stopped me. And the project was shelved. Shelved for 2 years, untill I saw this blogpost of Aanya's teacher yesterday. I had almost forgotten about 'A' that I had bought a couple of years back. Thank you Alyssa! :)

So, today, without wasting time. I got the current year pictures developed from CVS and made this collage.

The process is really simple. Just get a wooden or cardboard letter of your choice and a few pictures ( along with scissors, pencil, scale and glue)

Before applying any glue, decide the placement of the photos, including which photo overlaps the other, etc. Once you have that figured out, you will be able to work in steps with the glue. It’s almost like working a puzzle.

Trim the pictures and apply the glue. Ta..da...you are done!
I hanged the letter on the door with a double sided tape.

Displaying a collection of different pictures rather than just a single image is a great way to capture all of the feelings or special events surrounding an important time in your life. Its a great creative way to show off your pictures. Some of the things that you can do with collage are:

1. Create a collection from a single event like a family vacation.
2. Capture different personalities of your children.
3. Capture different facial expression of your children. Infact this was my initial plan when Aanya turned 2 and had given amazing number of expressions the previous year.

Enjoy!!

Month of November: Lessons learnt.

November was a fast-paced whirlwind month and so is December appearing to be, in terms of life.
Two best things happened last month: One, my daughter turned 4 (btw, she's really happy to be 4 because her buddies at school are already 4:)) and my family visited me during Thanksgiving. So, it was a blast of a month esp. towards the end.

Talking of family, my nephew is about Aanya's age, 2 weeks younger ;-) and I was meeting him after one year. So, you can imagine what madness was there for a week with 2 preschoolers, plus a little crawler who like a little puppy( as my sis-in-law says) would follow them everywhere. It was a pure delight to our adult eyes. During this one week of madness and sheer enjoyment, I learnt a few things from these 3 kids.

1. They make friends fast: " Do you want to play?" That's it. As adults, its really difficult to form a relationship so quickly. These kids met and within minutes they were gone, playing together somewhere. Soon, discovered their secret place too for their secret talks ;-)

2. They don't hold grudges: Sure. Little kids fight. They fought too. But when its over, its over. Now, I know why hindi serials don't revolve around the lives of 4 year olds.

3. They appreciate the little things: May be because, they are little things. Well, they appreciate big things too. Noone loves a dinosaur as much as a preschooler.

4. Sometimes it's best to just jump: Can't think of anything to do. Jump. Jump anywhere but jump. It will release endorphins and make you happy.

5. Don't give up: My 10 month old little nephew, loved how the door stoppers moved and made sound. He would keep hitting it, till it came out. To ensure, he doesn't get hurt, we removed all easily visible stoppers. And that didnot stop him. He would somehow find it at non visible areas. That's how determined he was :)

6. Humming and Singing is beautiful: Doesn't matter if the tune is wrong, doesn't matter if the lyrics are wrong. Just sing and sing together. Its such a beautiful thing.

“Do you want to play?” That’s it. As adults, it’s much more difficult to form a relationship so quickly. - See more at: http://www.scarymommy.com/reasons-kids-are-awesome/#sthash.Uy42Uiu0.dpuf

“Do you want to play?” That’s it. As adults, it’s much more difficult to form a relationship so quickly. - See more at: http://www.scarymommy.com/reasons-kids-are-awesome/#sthash.Uy42Uiu0.dpuf

“Do you want to play?” That’s it. As adults, it’s much more difficult to form a relationship so quickly. - See more at: http://www.scarymommy.com/reasons-kids-are-awesome/#sthash.Uy42Uiu0.dpuf