Me & my kitchen....

I'm rather useless when it comes to doing things in the kitchen... Which basically means... I cant cook to save my life *smiles*.... And if you are ever invited for dinner... *grin* .... I promise to order Pizzas !! My little birdies invite you into my house... On the kitchen window sill..

Inside the kitchen I've got random stuff... Anything that looks pretty to me...

These are my chai holders... which are often used as dessert servers... And they go down really well with guests...

Another cabinet top.... has anything & everything.... that I like... The little bottle was a gift from my cousin... The matkas are from my numerous matkas of chai with Anamika... I think one of them was a lassi matka.... when Rose & I went to Bombay Chowpatti... *smiles*... These are my gossip girls... :-)

A closer look for you.... The other random items are either gifts... or collectibles from travels to India..

The big pickle jar was a gift from my cousin Sharath.... I thought he was absolutely mad to bring it... But I totally loved the thought!! :-)

The smaller jars are used to serve pickles...

Oh... and I had to showcase a few of my lanters... from that mad lantern weekend!!

This radio is a gift as well... from a dear-dear friend.. Isn't it so gorgeous?

The fridge is a mess.... always.... Everything from diets, cocktails, kids schedule, party invites, school notices... goes up here... for all to see!!

I'm linking this post to The Kitchen Party at the Key Bunch... and Heart of the Home Party... So go on and join them there...

I'm having a rather mad week... so have been off blog world... For those who are missing me... *grins* I will visit you soon..... Hope you all are having a fabulous week...

Aisle Mania: The Super Mario Aisle

 3 years ago, I was working at a company that had the word "fun" embedded in it's culture. There were play areas in the ground floor of each building on the campus with Foosball, pool and ping pong tables. There were several events every now and then and in general working there was fun.

One such fun event was the "aisle decorating contest" held in our floor. Each aisle (not teams) was given $1000 for decoration and the people working in those aisle had to come up with themes for the aisle. Following are the pictures of the winning aisle. The theme was based on the popular Nintendo game "Super Mario Bros.". A lot of hard work was put into this aisle and I will try to point out some of the details.

In this picture, you can notice the general landscape of the game along with coins to earn.

This 10 feet mural of Mario was made by .... post its! That's right!

  A lot of furniture was put in to sit and relax and the couch was decorated like a game controller...

A close-up of the coin and lamp from Ikea used as a landscape item.

Interior end of the aisle.

Some more post-it art

Signing off,

Shilpa Vir

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Durga Puja ....

As a child, I always wanted to participate in a grand (GRAAAAND!!) Durga puja celebration. I never got this opportunity. So when I saw Pree’s event ‘Beyond 5 days of Durga Puja’… I jumped with joy…. I don’t really know what one needs to do for a Durga Puja… What I do know… is.. the bells of devotion from my heart will surely be heard by the Goddess.. This post is specially dedicated to Pree !! Thank you for hosting such a lovely event.

And to Anamika…. (my friend), for being a part of my mad life!!! With an hours notice, the Goddess from her house was in mine… and instantly She was part of Pree’s event.

Any celebration for me is incomplete without a dedicated shrine… Be it Diwali or Christmas, I always have a dedicated shrine made for the festivities. And ofcourse you know… that candles and lotus (new addition) make me happy!!

Anamika’s thoughts on what Durga puja means to her… please read on!!

Waking up very early on the day of Mahalaya to fill every corner of my house with the chants of “Yaa Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Shakti Roopena Samasthita Namastasyai- Namastasyai -Namastasya -Namo Namah”..... to welcome Ma Durga, is Durga Puja for me.....

Going shopping to buy new clothes, and a whole new set of accessories is Durga Puja for me ....

To prepare aalpona (drawings like rangoli but made with thin rice batter) on the floor at the threshold of our house is Durga Puja for me ....

To break my fast with "anjali" and that first glance at Ma's Idol, is Durga Puja for me...

Sinking my teeth into rasogullas, mishti doi, radabaullobi, chops and cutlets is Durga Pujo for me...(how can i not mention the traditional Bhog, tomato chutney and the paayesh !!)

Tapping my feet on the beats of Dhol,while men & women dressed in their best, dance with "dhunochi" filling the atmosphere with that nostalgic scent is Durga Pujo for me....

The conches blow, sindoor rises in the air, heavy hearts and tearful eyes.... as Mother goes for Visarjan ..... Thats Durga Pujo for me ....

Thank you for joining in my Durga Puja celebration…. Hope you liked it... *smiles*

I'm linking this to Show & Tell, Funky Junk & A little lovely!!

Looking for you...

Hello my lovelies… Here is an invitation for all of you!! As my blog is heading towards being 2 years old (sometime in January)… I want to open it up for ‘contributors’. With Shilpa on board, its given me confidence that its fun to share this space with others. So I’m looking for YOU and am looking to share my blog with you… and call it ‘our’ blog! You can be an existing blogger, a non décor / design blogger or someone who wants to venture into blogging… Please read the criteria below and let me know if you’d like to join the fun… Email me on torresp27@hotmail.com

1. Posts should be restricted to décor (home décor, birthday décor, table décor – any type of décor), design, interiors, DIYs, creative ideas.
2. All posts should definitely be original
3. Photographs should be original. If you are not an avid photographer… don’t worry too much!! You will become one, once you join the Colours Dekor gang!! No pics from magazines please!!

Email me with the following details -

1. Name and blog name (if you are a blogger)
2. A short introduction of yourself (only so I get to know you better)
3. A short description of the types of posts you intend to do. For example, I started off the year with ‘co-blogger of the month’, ‘green tip of the month’ and ‘5 steps to’… But simply couldn’t stick to it… So if your posts would be about a particular subject or if you have any ideas … email the details and we can discuss!!
4. a time line - will you post weekly, monthly, etc???

Yes... I'm still a bit confused about the decor in my house. I'm trying very hard to stick to my 'lotus inspired room' theme... But cant find anything... Its been a while now that I'm drifting towards a pink and purple mood... Are you with me on this??

The October theme was going to be ‘Kitchen love’ as suggested by Sumathy. But I’ve decided to stop the inlinkz monthly party… I had four emails from friends / readers telling me its way too much stress to link into these parties on different blogs they like equally and risk upsetting a blogger friend (I thought it was funny… ). I’m pleased you feel confident to share your thoughts with me… and I truly appreciate it.

So I’ve decided to have a permanent inlinkz party… *grin* but more about that later…

For now, can all you lovely people link into to The Key Bunch’s Kitchen theme for the month of October. You can continue to email me on torresp27@hotmail.com of pictures of anything in your house (anything at all) that you want me to see or share on my blog… You know its more your blog than mine!!! *smiles*