...Christmas is coming

Hey Everyone,...guess, everyone must be settling down from the Thanksgiving holidays and starting to get ready for the Christmas festivities and year ending parties. Don't we all love this season!! As most people in the US, I was looking forward for this long weekend, not for Retail therapy [Black friday et al], but for having a good relaxing time with family and friends. This year's holidays was a little different...with my cousin Ashu's anniversary on Nov 29th, Ashu and her hubby decided to fly to New York and spend the long weekend in the Big Apple...I call it, their romantic rendezvous... And moi, the doting aunt babysat her two kiddos...Sahana, a three year old going on thirty and Sanjiv, a Dragonoid and Beyblade loving, creative and imaginative six year old. What followed was 3 days of bonding, cartoon watching and creative fun time. The kids made some Christmas gifts for their school teachers and for their Ajji [grandmother] in Bangalore...bringing in the holiday spirit into the weekend. Sharing the fun times and the gifts made by the kids...

- Supplies picked up at Michaels, the local craft store... - Wooden boxes to paint and decorate...

-Next Sahana painted a pink box for her Leela Ajji and an orange box for Miss Stacy. Pink, because it is a Princess color and Orange because, it is bright and fun!...And yes, Sahana glued jewels on the inside, as the boxes had to be pretty pretty [translated as BLING...BLING] on the inside as much as outside...

- And Sanju created the red jewelry boxes for Miss Caryn and Miss Anna for keeping safe their beautiful earrings and necklaces... - and an elegant centerpiece for Mr. Josh...a striking addition on his table, or on the mantle...well I managed the Mr Gluegun, while Sanju arranged the leaves, the acorns and the berries... - and yes, the kids also decorated the Christmas tree with ornaments collected lovingly by their mama, over the last couple of years...

Also linking into these awesome blog parties. ...You can imagine, the pleasant surprise that awaited Ashu and Ravi, when they were got back home!...Yes of course, the parents loved the gifts and decorated tree!!... I had read somewhere, that the season is made magical with candlelight, sparkling ornaments and gifts being shared amongst family and friends...Gifts that tell a story beyond just the gift itself. This year is special, as my darling neice and nephew started a tradition of making gifts and spreading joy everywhere...Leela Ajji, Miss Caryn, Miss Anna, Miss Stacy and Mr Josh - hope you all enjoy the gifts, ....and my dear friends, hope you enjoyed the post...

- Anpu Somanath

Weekend Wrap Up - Wk 8

Hello my lovelies…. I’m sure by now, you know what I was upto this weekend… Yes!! It was a weekend of de-cluttering… Started with my girls room and managed to pack away two boxes of goodies!! From new toys, to clothes still with tags, birthday give aways like pencils, colour pens, colouring books, new bags etc… Then went onwards to the rest of the bedrooms.. My hubby and girlies are true hoarders… From golf tee-shirts, to golf bags, books, towels. Even if you don’t use things that have a logo on it…. you sure have to keep it safe!! *wicked grin* But I managed to put out a few bags and boxes…. Packed away all my Diwali decorations in pretty boxes, tagged them so I know exactly what is in them! Sorted out stuff for my girls birthday in two weeks… So now I have two boxes consisting of birthday stuff… I was done by Friday night and totally exhausted by then! Have you checked out the other blog link parties? Saturday was spent making the house look pretty. Here is a new addition to my table top… The Golf book obviously doesn’t belong to me… *smiles* Nevertheless shows you what is important to the people sharing this space! Normally we put up our Christmas decoration after Sims birthday… We made ‘JOY’ out of newspaper.. Tutorial to follow this week. It was a test run!! We will change it to Simone for her birthday… *smiles* Then we started work on our ‘Advent Calendar’. I don’t really like to buy new Christmas decorations unless I really need it. The girls and I are putting away money that we would spend for gifts and decorations aside and are hoping we can make one other persons Christmas special. So Advent Calendar tutorial to follow this week as well… Hope you had a joyful, relaxed weekend... Do join the Weekend Wrap Up Party... Here is how.. -

1. Do a Weekend Wrap Up post on your blog. It has to be 'your' photograph !! (post atleast one picture... its nice to see!!) and it can really be anything you did over the weekend – example – a fun recipe you tried out, a craft project, a DIY, a table top, a few candles, coffee with friends or a good book or a movie review… The list is endless… just about ANYTHING… and anything about YOU !! *smiles*
2. No images from other websites or magazines please!! This is about YOU.
3. Link back to my blog.... only as a courtesy, so we have more people joining the party.
4. Copy the 'permalink' from your 'Weekend Wrap Up' post (not the link to the front page of your blog).
5. Add your 'permalink' to the 'inlinkz' at the bottom of this post.
6. Click the link before you. Don’t forget to comment and if you like the blog, please follow.

Any questions, email me on torresp27@hotmail.com.

Please note, you DO NOT have to be a follower of my blog to join the party.. I'd love to see you here!!

For all my non blogger friends, please email me on torresp27@hotmail.com pictures and a write up of your Weekend happenings… and I’d love to see you here!!

Please grab the Colours Dekor Weekend Wrap Up button!!

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Declutter you space… ??

What does de-clutter mean to you?? De-clutter = De-stress!! to me! I’m passionate about de-cluttering…. I really am!! Are you having a laugh?? Infact… if my home is clean and clear… I can tackle the stress and pressure at work with so much ease!! I don’t know why! Basically means that I am at utmost peace when my home is clean, clear and simple!

De-clutter is the art of removing anything that you don’t really need. Be merciless… If you haven’t used it for 6 months, you sure don’t need it. That’s my simple policy towards have a clean home. I don’t have ‘maybes’… I either need it or not… Today I spent the evening clearing my girls room… which means.. I have two boxes ready to go to charity… with toys (some new – unopened… some old), clothes, bags & books.

I am the queen of de-cluttering… I do it nearly once a month I think!! *smiles* I can write a book on de-cluttering…

So… here are a few simple tips on de-cluttering…

1. Start TODAY.. No!! Start NOW!! Once you start… you wont be able to stop.. so start NOW…
2. If there its lots of clutter, even 15 mins a day will be a great start.
3. Make a schedule – will you do one room in one day?? will you be able to do one closet in one day?? What ever is convenient.. make a schedule.. stick to it!!
4. Have a deadline for sure!! So you have to de-clutter before your guests arrive… or de-clutter before Christmas?
5. Don’t expect a clutter free home overnight… It’s a long process. Be ready to invest in your home.. and in your life in return!
6. Be realistic – You haven’t used it for 6 months now!! You sure don’t need it… It will not come in handy one day!!
7. Don’t move clutter from one room to another.
8. Have a charity box or bag ready.
9. Try investing in new storage items – boxes, wicker baskets, bookcase, filing cabinets, shoe racks, photo albums, etc. There are lots of pretty options out there..
10. De-clutter again… maybe after a month, after two months… but repeat the process.

De-cluttering is a way of life… Not a one off chore!! Change your habits to – ‘one in, one out’.. and if you need any more help on de-cluttering simply write to me on torresp27@hotmail.com

Have you seen my purple rug?? Linking in to these blog parties.... Did you notice my little box… In one of my de-clutter moods…. I decided to store my ‘remote controls’ in there… We’ve got three in the living room – projector, amplifier and DVD player.. I kept them there.. and hubby darling couldn’t find the remotes for three days.. But he wouldn’t ask me… Only coz he knows I cant be bothered to use them… Finally three days later.. the girls showed him where they were!! Do you like my ‘remote control’ box!!

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein

Handmade greeting cards

I attended a 4 year old little girl's birthday party this week; she is my son's friend from the time they were in nursery last year and is quite a little cutie!

I decided to to give her a handmade greeting card and plunged into thinking about ideas. For girls there are way too many options, and all are equally interesting. Just last month I had used a butterfly pattern for another little girl's birthday - and this time after dilly-dallying, I finalized a princess. I was still unsure about the final result, whether or not it would match what I had visualized it to be!

I came up with this :)

Work in progress

The cover of the greeting card

and....the final piece !

I so hope she likes it!! It took a lot of time to paint the pieces separately and carefully without the colours running into each other. With limited time on hand - in between household chores and my son's demands for attention; I managed it somehow and I think this looks really pretty! What do you think? Do write in!!

What is gorgeous??

Hello my lovelies... Sorry for not having the energy to be in blog world for a while!! I've popped in and out... but life at work and work at home... has generally taken over my little free time. I say little... coz it is very little and I totally treasure it!! Infact I can say.. I dont really have even a minute in a day... when I'm not doing something.. or not planning something.. Now I think its generally going to be this way.. for another week or two... So I'm hoping you will miss me.. I'll still find time & energy for a few posts... but may not come visit you.. Saying that.. you know I always catch up on all your lovely blogs later... *hugs*

I saw this blog ages ago.. and have been keeping it to myself... *smiles* Have you seen Gorgeous Karma??

Here is a multi-talented lady... from photography, to blogging.... to making jewellery... DIY and arts & crafts... Here is what Rashmie has to say for herself...

I am constantly motivated to enrich my life with new learnings, polishing my existing skills and growing each day as a person with meanigful experiences. I have never hesitated to go after my dreams and make them happen. There are many passions I follow - passion for natural and holistic health, writing, creative parenting, photography, travel, music, art and reading. My blog is an endeavour to share all these inspirations and my approach for each. I truly believe that our experiences becomes all the more enriching when they touch lives and hearts of people in a positive way. I also desire to build a community of like-minded people through my blog, who will share their experiences and learnings and make it a platform brimming with ideas, energy and motivation.

Now... what you have to see is her flickr photo stream...

Dont miss her jewellery store... on ebay

and another one on etsy.. Gorgeous Karma

Go on and check her blog... Gorgeous Karma... It is truly gorgeous... !!

Dont forget to join the Weekend Wrap Up... I'm looking forward to doing nothing this weekend.. so am expecting to see a lot from you guys..

Weekend Wrap Up - Wk 7

Weekends are special.. and long weekends are all the more special.. This was the first long weekend in ages (probably 10 years)… where we decided to do ‘NOTHING’… but nothing really doesn’t exist in my dictionary… *smiles* Clearing my inbox, I found this lovely award passed on to me by Emreen of Liven Things Up. She has a lovely blog… you must go and check it out!! I love receiving awards, but passing them on is a bit difficult.. So for now.. Emreen, I’ll just keep it!!

Then I stumbled upon another email.. My Halloween Décor was featured on Santa’s Gift Shoppe! What a pleasant surprise.. I’m touched to say the least… So here is a big thank you to all those who pop in here to read my blog..

The little magnet reads 'My family tree is full of nuts' *smiles*

Like I said… weekends are always special… This weekend I had brothers & cousins at home… which made the house noisy, dirty, fun & mad at the same time. Not that they care if I say anything anyway…

We did a special breakfast on Friday morning… There was definitely a lot of love involved.. That’s me… doing what I do best.. Arranging and rearranging our breakfast table… oh.. and I learnt to make these pretty watermelon balls… *smiles* Are you impressed?? if you knew me even a little bit… you would be!! I’m horrid in the kitchen.. I really am!!

My brother made the special chocolate custard and my little girl, and my brother (no.2) made the pancakes.. I tried to help… And the rest of us… just ate like pigs.. and had a great time. It was a fun filled weekend… with lots of activities, from beach volleyball, to table tennis, to touring around Dubai, to shopping for Sims 8th birthday… and a lot more.. Getting back to work on Sunday seems to be the most difficult thing.. *smiles*

Hope you are joining the Weekend Wrap Up this week... I love to see you guys here... brings a huge smile on my face!! Also, the link is open for three days... so do your Weekend Wrap Up post quickly.. and link it here... This is how.. -

1. Do a Weekend Wrap Up post on your blog. It has to be 'your' photograph !! (post atleast one picture... its nice to see!!) and it can really be anything you did over the weekend – example – a fun recipe you tried out, a craft project, a DIY, a table top, a few candles, coffee with friends or a good book or a movie review… The list is endless… just about ANYTHING… and anything about YOU !! *smiles*
2. No images from other websites or magazines please!! This is about YOU.
3. Link back to my blog.... only as a courtesy, so we have more people joining the party.
4. Copy the 'permalink' from your 'Weekend Wrap Up' post (not the link to the front page of your blog).
5. Add your 'permalink' to the 'inlinkz' at the bottom of this post.
6. Click the link before you. Don’t forget to comment and if you like the blog, please follow.

Any questions, email me on torresp27@hotmail.com.

Please note, you DO NOT have to be a follower of my blog to join the party.. I'd love to see you here!!

For all my non blogger friends, please email me on torresp27@hotmail.com pictures and a write up of your Weekend happenings… and I’d love to see you here!!

Please grab the Colours Dekor Weekend Wrap Up button!!

<center><a href=" http://coloursdekor.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uTMot8D-v_Q/TM2uaSDzM0I/AAAAAAAAFbw/Xlg_EnfCoBQ/s1600/patsbuttonfinal.jpg" /></a></center> You should also check these other blog parties..

Suchitra's Easy Crafts

I’m most excited when I stumble upon talented people.. and trust me… there are so many out there!!! Suchitra is one such bundle of talent. When I saw her blog…. All I could say was ‘WOW’… from using waste to make pretty crafts, to crochet, from simple dolls to tajore paintings… She also makes artificial jewellery and baby clothes… She really does it all!! You’ve got to check out her blog.. to believe what else she can do… She blogs at Easy Crafts… which I believe is a great way to introduce arts & crafts to the next generation… Here is what she has to say –

I am a housewife and am a craft lover. I have been trying out various types of craft since I was studying. However after my education and marriage I had lot of time and encouragement from my family to improve my skills. I started my crafts blog Easycrafts (http://easycrafts.blogspot.com) in 2006 November and the food blog Simple Indian food (http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com) came almost a year later. The Microwave cooking blog (http://easyindianfood.blogspot.com) is dedicated to cooking Indian food using the microwave. With help from my husband we started blogs for Personal finance (http://ideasmoney.blogspot.com) and Temples of India (http://temples-india.blogspot.com).

So much talent... yet such a simple, humble and gorgeous personality.. Thank you Suchitra... for sharing all that you know with us... So we can learn and grow!! and pass some knowledge to our younger ones..

Have you checked out her blog yet?? NO!!! Easy Crafts is where you need to go!!

Do you have a talent that can be showcased here?? Email me on torresp27@hotmail.com