Weekend Wrap Up 16

Aaahh.. the thought of my lovely long weekend.. *sigh* I so wanted it to stay.. I’m writing this post just before I head to work today… and I know the week ahead is so so busy  Anyway… after our Republic Day celebrations, Thursday night and Friday was a winding down session…. We didn’t do much… but we still have so much to do.. Saturday afternoon we headed off to Ras Al Khaimah… which is a few hours away from Dubai for a three day wedding.. The Al Hamrah fort is a gorgeous hotel… and we had a fabulous time There was lots of singing, dancing, pretty outfits, well done hair.. above all a roller coaster of emotions… Weddings are so so lovely… I believe the party didn’t stop till 6am… but I had to call it a day by 4am!! Sunday was blissful.. It was lovely not to go to work… and take some good rest.. We headed off to the spa… for some back massage.. and feet reflexology.. *sigh* Isnt that just perfect?? I spent Sunday doing nothing… I don’t know how the day passed by !! Sunday night was the actual wedding… Pheras by the sea… simply gorgeous!! I cant begin to explain … Weddings make me so so emotional.. I want my little girl to stay little.. and don’t want to even think of giving her away.. 
So what did you do this weekend?? Are you joining the weekend wrap up this week ?? 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 with 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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The Friday Mix ~ Papyrus

Have you been waiting for Friday??? to visit a new blog... make a new friend?? The Friday Mix today... features the very creative... Iniyaal from Papyrus... I admire people who follow their passions.. in whatever little way... so I truly admire Iniyaal... and her hand made book marks can be found in all the books I'm currently reading... If you'd like to be part of the Friday Mix, please email me on torresp27@hotmail.com

I am Iniyaal and I sell eco-friendly bookmarks and decor items. I am an engineer working full time as a Business Intelligence architect. Apart from that, I draw, paint, shoot pictures, stitch, craft, read and write. I love creating anything and everything, from aprons to greeting cards. Being lazy from as long as I can remember, creativity is an excuse that I give for keeping away from professional training in arts

My bookmarks are available at my Etsy shop, “Papyrus“, and my blog at “Papyrus ~ Handmade heaven“. Bookmarks can be interesting and artistic, both between the pages of a book and on your desk as a display item. Here is a glimpse into my li’l shop.

A tulip blooming between pages:

Decoupaged and painted Wild flowers bookmark:

Red hearts bookmark for valentines day:

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Desk top display – Love birds and Shakespeare:

Like what you see? Peep into my Etsy shop or Papyrus for more and buy what you like.

I also blog at “Art, Beauty, Society“. It is more of a photo journal of my love for wild nature and village life. Featured here are photographic Nature trails that open the door to new discoveries and learnings. Like these beautiful tea estates.. the lure of which has led mankind to wipe out acres of massive forests.

Here comes my other big time favourite… Indian villages. Villages are a world on their own, many aspects of which are fascinating. We can happily learn a lot from rurual lifestyle and fuse it into our busy urban lives.

Wondered why villages have the largest share of happy old aged people..? A physically active, mentally peaceful and environmentally pure lifestyle is the best way to lead a long happy life like this smiling granny.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and bookmarks. Would love to see you over at Papyrus. Do drop by for a visit.

Home Tour ~ Shuba

Welcome to Shuba's home... Her home truly reflects the talents of this super woman... An Architech by profession, she worked for a few years, got married moved to the US, kids came along... then worked part time... And as kids took priority... today, Shuba is a full time, stay at home mom!! This only means.. that her passion in home decor enhances by the minute... You'll be as surprised as I am... Full of warm, earthy tones, Shubha has filled each room with a variety of unqiue curios and knick knacks; each with their own story to tell. This was one of my favorite walls in Shubha's home - I loved the sketches, the touch of brass and the lovely bursts out color. One of those walls you could stand in front of and have several pleasant conversations about each decorative piece! Buys what catches your attention is the - 700 ganeshas she has collected... Each piece is unique - and has been selected and placed with utmost care... I thought this was a lovely corner as well. The below lamp was put together by Shuba... She had the brass pot.. and she shopped for the lamp shade.. joined together... they become a fabulous looking lamp!!

Can't you imagine sitting here with a good book and a few chocolate biscuits? Or even to just lie here and think through the days happenings - such a peaceful spot - bliss!!

I'm a huge fan of chests like this - Indian and otherwise. It makes me long to know what secrets and beauty from the past it holds - aren't you curious too?

Each step done by Shubha - stenciled orange pattern on blue base - She usedvarnish and orange colour....to match the tiles on the floor. What a unique idea!!

Oh.. another one of my favs... the first caricature is of Kumar and Shuba during the first year of marriage.... The second one is of the family .... Each wall... tells you a story of love... passion & hope!!

Shuba's home is a museum of antiques, brass, wood and ganesha.. She hunts all over the villages of South India for utensils, brassware - into random pawn shops to pick 'n choose her favorites!!

*sigh* what a gorgeous collection!!

This is Shuba's favourite room... ~ her family room!! From the floor panels.. to the selection of curios.. to the arrangement and everything else.. was all put together by Shuba... Can you see the love reflecting in her home??

You've seen her post for 'walls with character'... now you've seen her home ~ filled with love and character.. Dont you just love places like this?? ~ a true reflection of the person she is...

Does your home speak a story?? Email us on torresp27@hotmail.com

Republic Day Celebrations

Happy Republic Day to you all... Here is a little bit of India in my home... We had a celebration last night... and here is a little glimpse ... In a prominent place... and in his memory ... We were all prepared... *smiles* You do know by now... that my new love is Val Shipley... We celebrated Republic Day with Val... and lovely RD Burman songs... *sigh*... Another night to remember... The sound from the guitar is magical when he touches it... And I totally love his two popular songs ~ Kabir ke dohe & Ganga naha le... The night went from 'dooba dooba'... to 'yesterday ~ by John Lennon'.... and 'Creedence Clearwater Revival'... Gosh... Val is simply amazing on the guitar... We all have a little to learn... Hope you all are having a fabulous celebration...

Weekend Wrap Up ~ Pets and Pets ~ Shanthi

Friday evening Anna ( my pet) – the munchkin u saw on my Diwali post came for a sleepover to spend some time with her pet Pepper. Who is this Pepper? – I have not talked about till now J. Here he is ….. our 7 year old rabbit - that Shreya one day brought home, which amazingly became a part of our family. Pepper was too excited with Anna’s visit and was jumping in and out of her bed crawling all over her, playing hide and seek and refused to sleep in its cage :-) the result it had curled up alongside Anna in her bed. hmmm…… the downside - waking all of us by 6.00 AM on Saturday morning with their hulla gulla. Mid day saw us in a mall in search of a suit for my son for his 9th grade ball in the school. Oh Boy!!! That was not easy J. I tell you it’s much much easier to do a girl shopping. At dinner in Anna’s house Sven served us a traditional Norwegian dish called PinneKjøtt – YUMM YUMM !!!! just loved it and promised to give him an equally delicious Indian meal :-). Salted and cured Lamb made for Christmas in western part of Norway served with mountain potatoes and pureed swede. A must try dish for those of you who eat non-veg , when you visit Norway or any Scandinavian country . Anna was having fun playing with Camilla (her pet hamster) while we curled up around the warm and cosy fireplace with our tea cups and a galore of deserts. Sunday was bright and shining and we set out on our usual loooong walk and I bought a real treasure from this farm house store that I frequent J. Another day and another spectacular sun set. Planning to watch the movie Dhobi Ghat this week. Did anyone see it? , any reviews?? Good news to those of you in Mumbai. Ritika Mittal of Mora will be presenting her dream creations at Kala Ghoda arts festival from 5th to 13th February and here is the link to it. http://www.slideshare.net/mittalritika/mora-kgaf-2011 Have fun.... ~~ Shanthi

yum in a jiffy

Another new monthly series... 'yum in a jiffy'.... Hope you'll enjoy it!! Let me know what you'd like to see here.. This week we have Richa who is based in Dubai, with her recipe... Let me know if you'd like to contribute to this series... Email me on torresp27@hotmail.com

We all have our favourite foods which we can make just in 20-30 minutes when we are hungry even if the vegetable stock in the fridge is finished. Well my favourite is Kaali Dal Khichdi. The plus point of this dish is that it is very easy to prepare, doesn't take much time and also no cutting of vegetables as nothing goes into the recipe. And its really healthy food and very yummy to eat. So do try your hands on it..read on to know how.

Ingredients

Split Black gram or Urad dal half a bowl

A glass full of rice

Two spoons of ghee

Salt and Red chilly as per taste

Method

Put two spoons of ghee in a pressure cooker and then add half a bowl of split black gram to it after washing it. Add half a glass water to it and let it boil. Cover the cooker and let it whistle twice so that the gram softens. Turn off the gas and open the cooker once it stops whistling completely. Put a glass full of rice after they are washed properly into it. Add two glasses full of water with some salt and red chilly as per taste. Cover the cooker once again and let it whistle a couple of times and turn the gas off. Open the cooker only when it has stopped whistling completely. Kaali Dal Khichdi is ready!!! You can have it with mango pickle or curd or even just like that. Enjoy!

Weekend Wrap Up ~ Arti

Hello my lovelies... This week I'm super busy.. and feel horrid that I don't have enough time for my blog... :-( But... but... I'll be back soon and catch up... I feel as though... I need 4 more hours to my day... to complete any of my work..

*sigh*

Anyway... joining us today for the Weekend Wrap Up is Arti...

Today I'm sharing pictures of 'Bunkar Mela' which is on at Chandigarh... We spent the day there and enjoyed a lot... Did some shopping which is my favourite thing to do!! There were lots of pretty things to buy from all over India.......craftsmen from different states.. from Jammu & Kashmir to Tamil Nadu...... I got Cushion Covers from J&K, Dress Material from Gujrat and Ikat (Pochampally) bed spread from Andrha Pradesh...... Isn't this simply awesome!?

That is a lovely way to spend the weekend... Thank you Arti for joining in... Will you be linking to the Weekend Wrap up this week??