Budhha Warmth

Catching up in the middle of a busy week. Hope you all are pulling through to make it till Friday. At my end things have started to get multi-colour and I am merrily stimulating a colourful post to share with you all. All the clicking, drafting, and editing  has brought me more closer to be an avid blogger :) (at least that is what I think)

 

At the bang of a festival, everything inside me churns. My racing mind gets filled with storm of  thoughts of the festivities we have enjoyed being with friends and family. Be with me as I dig the darkness of my memories and splash you with the colours of HOLI from my home to yours.

  

An oasis of serenity and calmness 

Sure sign of spring is no where in my neck of the woods and winter is not budging or leaving upon our several begging and pleading. Though, I am leaving no stone unturned to bring back the spring. Bunch of tulips and warmth of Buddha are keeping us cozy enough to survive for the rest of the February. Visit me back soon for the treat of your eyes for bold and striking HOLI post. Until we meet again, toodles!


(Image from my home - Front Foyer)

Mother Nature.....to it's finest! (Ravine Backyard behind our home)

 

Right now, we are in the deepening gloom of the coldest February ever recorded. An unusual cold weather and chilly temperatures are leading to many frozen messes around the city. But hey, we are Torontonians and we should not despair but deal with it ;)  Let's not go on my ranting on the cold  and continue with today's post. Hopefully it will bring the spring soon :)

 

Today, you are on a journey of our backyard. Taking you closer to the mother nature we are blessed with every dusk and dawn.

 

Before we carry on, I must highlight how it begun. Ever since we decided to relocate, first priority for "him" was the ravine extended to our backyard, I was never happy with that thought of his. You might misconstrue, I love mother nature and its beauty but the only daunting thought I had was to survive with the wild life along with mother nature was not appealing. After intense discussions and endless debates we concluded to go with it. Now, that we followed his intuition, I feel lucky to have this piece of heaven as a part of our home to be loved and cherished in all seasons.

 

Sharing few shades for all of you to fall in love with!

 

New Pond  - under construction ( November 2012)

The beginning look was something like this, pulled one picture out from tons of pictures we took when we used to come on this bare land and try to find out an exact piece of land of our proud new home. That was some feeling of excitement to visit the newly building neighbourhood. (this place is almost 2 years old on today's date, but I still like to call it new)

The first spring/summer (2013)

When we used to visit the under construction premises, I often felt traces of nervousness looking at the ravine but ever since we have moved, it has started to unveil dramatic views and visually soothing scenes in that ravine.

The sight of ravine and sound of water gives immense pleasure from the family room, the bedroom suite, and the kitchen.




Our ducklings on a fall morning (2013)

We used to spot baby duckling and geese so often, we thought they will migrate once we move to this new place  but inverse to our thought, they visit us repeatedly in all seasons (except few winter months) and enhance the beauty of our beautiful pond. They were first given the names of the days of the week, but once they outgrew in many, my son had to take aid of the name of the months to call them. Not only these, we often find few of our wildlife friends such as deer, wolves and coyotes out in the woods.

Winter 2013

Yes, this is the same frozen place in the winter 2013. Captured after a "rare and vigorous" storm as they called it.

 

 

Fall 2014

Sharing you the other end with the vibrant colours of fall and snow covered blanket clicked at the same spot.


Winter 2014

If you have fail to notice by now, let me apprise you with the walkway/trail around the pond. The best place for walking, jogging or chilling. Even though it gets bitterly cold in the neck of the woods for few winter weeks, we still spot few dog lovers sauntering in that snow. Once the warm days are back, the place gets bustling and busy.

 

We take endless rounds on warm days. A great path to go on a stroll with alluring nature. The stroll is a proven healing therapy for us after a long day of work.

We also have brought the fall colours in our home with few captures in the woods. It will be revealed with the tour of our family room in near future.




Pond turned into skate arena ( January 2015)

Hockey lovers in the neighbourhood take the advantage of this frozen pond. To our surprise, they take the trouble shoveling the snow off the pond and make their own natural ice pitch to enjoy their game. It feels so lively to see them playing in fresh, crisp winter air!

 

A panoramic view of a beautiful spring morning!

The best part is I've been able to feel different seasons at different times of the same day.

It's impressive how different the same place can appear in few hours of a day.  When I peek through my bedroom balcony, it is so mystical in the early morning when the fog is still hanging around on top of the pond and by the noon the sun shines to its brightest and it gives you the feel of being on a beach. Now, I have always felt the need on sunny days to stay outdoors for hours and enjoy the beauty of nature.

 

Many ideas are shaping up in our mind for an extended deck and plantation to create a tranquil space to relax and entertain over looking this beautiful view. Hopefully over the period we will manage to create something that is still lingering in our dreams.

 

I am thankful to Aj, who spelled his reassuring mantra on me and persuaded me to be able to feel, see and witness mother nature to it's finest! Winding up the post dreaming spring and of course those ducklings back in the pond soon ;) 

Until we meet again, toodles!

 

Linked @ Colours Dekor

Lots of Love and li'l bit of inspiration for the V-Day!

Hello and welcome to another décor post. We are half way already to the month of romance and few days away to the Love Day! Approaching any festive season or day,  my mind just gets flooded with fantasy of ideas, they become more fervent and vivid as the day comes closer.  Especially the V-Day! Do we need to affirm our love on just the most romantic day of the year? Not really, right?  Though I like to put more efforts to show our love little more on that day to the most important people in our life - our family. 

 

I have made things extra special gathering some DIY. This little vignette will sure get you in the festive mood.  Everything is gathered up inexpensive ways to make your home little more appealing. So here it is with lots of love and a bit of inspiration.

 

 

I have repurposed my shadow box differently. If you read my Christmas Décor post, you may have seen the different shade of the box with baubles in it. Now the appearance is changed with hearts. Few ripped pages of a novel made a perfect background for my red hearts.  Some unused scrap book pages and a heart stencil, brought out the perfect frame for the occasion. Had fun time creating something new with cutting and gluing.

Quotes on Chalkboard

My absolute darling chalkboard wins everyone's heart with that quote. I am a die hard fan of chalkboards, I have couple of them and I utilize them differently where and when needed. Won't you agree that my tissue paper flower gives a perfect pop of red colour. Make your own here is how! Few white frames were grouped on the vignette with a touch of red paper heart.

Few artificial rose petals were dropped in a clear jar for more red. An old frame was painted white with the touch of paper heart on top made an extra addition to the grouping.



I specially can't think of any vignette without having candles and flowers. So, go ahead add some candles and flowers randomly. The red paper fans came home with me from "clearance section" of Michaels came in handy to add more red on the spot.  

Valentine Mantel


So, what do you think? It looks cute, na?  The best part is, I played safe with whatever I found handy in my home. I was able to put this up together quickly in less than 30 minutes. You can always incorporate the same ideas with the side table or any console table in the house. You may steal some more ideas from my party décor post.  Go ahead, play your role and get ready for the big day. The simplicity of your love will definitely win their heart. Stay connected on facebook or subscribe via email for more of my passion. Until we meet again, toodles!

(Images: My home)

Ganesha...joining me to wish you a happy weekend!

Do you ever get that anticipation or excitement for Friday? I do..all the time, and I have seen many expressing that excitement with the help of that lingo also: TGIF. We have a big deal about Fridays and why not, after a whole week's grind we get 2 solid days to de-stress and revive.  I am one of those who like to complete the chores the day before the weekend so I can allow myself to enjoy the pleasure of rest of  the two full days.  

This week was bit harsh for us Torontonians as we had a first blast of winter this year! The bruiser that hit Monday left an extra day off for schools but at the same time it was a hard commute on roads and of course tons and tons of shoveling the snow. We often see these storms our way but this year we were lucky to have many bonus warm days and shouldn't complain.

So, here are my weekend wishes for you all with my proud possession of Ganesha. I took them out on a tour from their usual display, to accompany us on our weekend, and placed on my coffee table.

The "paghdi"(crown) on his head and "trishul"(trident) on forehead doubles the divine and jolly good look  

Lately, I have spotted many different versions of turquoise blue and red colored brass statues on net. Not only Ganesha, there are Buddha, Krishna and many more deities being viral in this form. Being an inquisitive person, thought to learn more about these collectibles, but couldn't dig much out. All I could find is what we see, red and turquoise colored stones are affixed to the brass statues. It sure made me wonder if they are actually made with genuine turquoise, as turquoise is prized as a gem.

The new Ganesha came to bless our home this "Ganesh Chaturthi".   

This is a new addition in our home. When I had first glance on this one, couldn't figure out the gesture of the statue but later learned that he is holding the "The Bhagavad-Gita"(Holy book for Hindu) which he agreed to write down on the request of Vedavyasa. I must credit Aj for his keen eye to seek for an absolute stunning pieces of Ganesha for our home.

Did I mention that all the pieces collected over the years are utter finds of Aj. Entire collection of our home is thanks to him and his travel to distance parts of the world, where he is always on a hunt for new Ganesha waiting to be added to our collection. Well, he sure has a knack of making me happy and fortunate. 

I can go on venting my lovely tales of Ganesha but will weave some more stories later and for now signing out wishing you all a happy weekend. Until we meet again, toodles!

(Images: My home)

A look at where I cook! (Kitchen Tour)

A pinch of patience... a dash of kindness...a spoonful of laughter and a heap of love will be found in the heart of my home - My Kitchen. Loads of people will concur with the above quote regarding their own kitchen. Yes, after virtual tour of my Living Room, I am letting you taste the place where I cook  and entertain our friends. 

When we relocated to this new home almost 2 years back, we wanted to make it impeccable by all means. Be it our laundry room or powder room, or Pooja room, we looked into each and every detail and to actualize our desire we decided to go with the upgraded kitchen. Many details are there to deal with if you dig deeper before creating any design or space. Many thoughts were exchanged and many discussions were fought over before creating this space in our home.

I will not take the credit of the place just by myself as Aj, my husband, equally contributed his time, his thoughts and executed them by being there while getting it shaped up. So, here you are with me to OUR striking kitchen.

Open and spacious area is convenient for entertaining as we both are friend lovers. The work triangle is necessary in the kitchen for easy and efficient use of the space hence we tend to complete the perfect kitchen triangle (the sink, the stove and the refrigerator).

The wish list called for a small breakfast bar with three settings. Thus, we ended having two level island for meals and also for serving guests during our parties. 2 side closets on the island are perfect to ease down our breakfast necessities in the mornings.

The kitchen design is functional as it is beautiful. Great deal of counter space is necessary in our cooking and that was our priority.

Plenty of storage through out the space keeps everything organized and easy to find so that I never have to run down in the basement.

Crown moulding and mosaic marble back splash are complimenting the custom cabinets exactly the way I wanted. Deep storage pots and pan drawers can hold even my biggest pan with ease.

 



We integrated a corbel as a hood, Aj could not win that steel hood deal with me ;) now it serves as a stunning and simple focal point in the kitchen. I share the kitchen with our dining cum breakfast area. The area is divided with the island in between. Ample of sunlight brightens my space every day as my backyard is backing into ravine and it is breath taking in all seasons. If you are a lover of mother nature, just like us, you can steal a glance of all seasons in my backyard here. 

 

 

 

I always envisioned a window by the sink in my dream kitchen but we could not feasibly make it happen now I do not regret it much as I love doing dishes looking at snow, rain or sun. It's place where any one would volunteer for doing the dishes.

 



The glass doors were on my must list to execute. The new discovery is two ovens in one. As with most of us, the oven is the place for all our ugly and awkward stuff. These 2 ovens are perfect for me, basically it is the same size oven but with 2 doors. One keeps all the unnecessary baking stuff and the top one is used most of the time and I do not have to now give a second thought before turning that oven on.

Our custom cabinets added up many unique options for us such as hidden roll out spice cabinets on each side of the cook top, hidden pull out trash bin and recycle bin.  We also managed for a very own drawer for our bakery items. Also having lazy susan in one corner and a triangular pull out in the other corner make ease of excess in the corners of the kitchen which is basically unused space. On the other side also, the bar tools are easily tucked down in the island for more room. 

  

Not to forget the tilt out tray below the lip of the counter top which is often wasted area. The motion sense faucet and in built soap dispenser are very constructive pieces of my kitchen. 

And finally a proud kitchen owner...:)

In the long run, the value and quality we consider will win over the price we spend on our kitchen. When my dear friends ask me, do you ever cook in this kitchen, in answer to that they get a stumped look because I have been cooking up a storm every single day, being a neat freak, I can not help it and I have to clean it!

Promise to be back with another corner for you, so make sure you are connected on facebook and blog for those decor fundas and recipes, until we meet again, toodles!