Gifted Ganesha collection!

As I write this absorbing all my energy, cannot stop thinking about faces with all smiles, spilling energy on the roads, and madness on the street welcoming Ganpati Bappa back home. Where all the festivities are zaniest best, and ‘Bappa’, with his gentle candid smile, standing in front of storm fan, ready  to be coddled for 10 days composed of worship, devotion and love. Alas, no matter how low our heart sunk thinking about the laudable festivities in India, we have upped the ante here by making our small eco-friendly ‘Ganesha’ at home for the festivities.

Our penchant for ‘Ganesha’ collection is well known not only for my blog readers but also to our friends and family. Knowing our special bond with this plumpy fella, our friends or family don’t have to stretch their thinking for any gift or souvenir to bring in our home…Ganeshji finds its way to our home inevitably. And these little gestures of overflowing gifts have turned our collection into unforgettable memories. 

To honour our memories, unlike last year's brass galore, this 'Ganesh Chaturthi', I have summed up few portraits of these ‘Gifted' Ganeshas.

The very first in the series is our Parijata yellow jade Ganesha in 18k gold polish, who came home from all the way Jaipur, India. Taking the center stage on our coffee table, he is placed here on a German silver plate (a family treasure piece) with floating flower petals and candles 

Next two pieces are from polyresin material. Even though, both are intricately moulded from the same material they both beg to differ with their posture and gesture. Prudently used bright colors adds the attraction on our 'Paghdi Bappa' and the warm glow from votive candle holders enhances the captivating charm.

Another ‘prized’ piece with minimalist colour tone, is mixed here with my brass. Editing and styling these pieces instead of cluttering them taking space in a corner, encourages long conversations when we have company. 

A vibrant Ganesha hugging Shiva lingam and holding Parvathi on one hand came home as a return gift on a house warming ceremony. These nostalgia wrapped pieces bring back many memories when they occasionally land on my coffee table.  When not in use, these pieces can be found in our temple room which is overlaid with such other gifted Ganeshas.

With our Golden Ganesha all the way from Sri Lanka, I took some outdoor styling freedom in the company of fall mums. My husband, who is busy circling around the globe, often comes home with gifts of such wonderful pieces which add elements of history in our collection. 

This divine marble Ganesha sitting on bajoth (Chawki) with studded kundan work is my personal favorite. You know I had to bring in the brass for my styling ;), so here is the smallest piece of our collection paired with my glimmering brass. He is a gift from one of my loving friend who doesn’t leave a chance in adding pieces in our collection whenever she comes across any new piece in the town :). 

The very same friend, who also fetched this ‘Nau Dhan’ (nine grains) Ganesha, to make sure I have a company in the kitchen.  Now he has been placed where he can watch over me as I cook away storm in the kitchen. Lord Ganesha here is hand moulded with 9 different types of pulse and grain by artisans of South India. 

Lastly, the very latest Ganesha from one of my husband’s colleague from India is concentrated here together with other yellow- green accessories. The quirky candle holder is also a gift we recently added in our collection from Mumbai.

I hope you equally enjoyed walking with me through the fields of memory as much as I enjoyed pitching in new ideas for styling few of the our buried down treasured collection.

Wrapping up today's post sending our warmest wishes to you and your family on this festive season of 'Ganesh Chaturthi'. Until we meet again, toodles! 

Eco-friendly Ganesha!

Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most talked about festival, brings to mind joy, fervor, extra zeal, pomp and gaiety.  The festival has created quite a stir in our home as well and the thrill and delight in equal measure has propelled us into a festive mode.  

Just like last year, our daughter has rescued us this year also by carving out our own excellent ‘Bappa’ for the festivities. Moulded with her labor of love, he is ready to be surrounded by love throughout his stay and shower his blessings.

 

This year, we are celebrating with double the joy as with extra time on hand, she managed to make 2 idols :). Unlike last year’s bappa placed on a flower, this year, he will be taking his seat on a leaf.

There is definitely an appeal that adds allure to her handmade creations. It likewise also makes both of us happy to see her engaging herself in traditions.

We have left the polluting bandwagon of immersing our idol long back and now carrying out the most elaborated way to celebrate the festival.  The worshipped idol will be immersed in “kundi” or “urli” after the festivities and the water will be poured out in our own garden to feel his presence forever with us.

For those who want to "go-green" with this year's celebration, can use air-dry-clay from Michaels, which is sturdy and fits the bill perfectly for us to mould our idol. The easy to use and easy to smooth air-dry-clay softens with water and ideally flexible for variety of other sculptures as well. After drying the clay idol (about a day) she painted him with acrylic paint.

The excitement of “Ganesha’s” arrival is palpable and preparations are at the peak and hoping the same for those who celebrate the festival.  As I turn myself back on the festive mode, we will see you again next week with a post gargling about our unseen collection of “Gifted Ganesha”.  Until then stay connected on Facebook and Instagram, toodles!

September - A Herald of Festivity!

As we step forward to September, it’s hard to believe that we are about to kiss goodbye to summer and welcome fall. As the beach vacations, road trips and cottage staying will fade in distance, life will be trapped back into a busy cycle by hitting the hay early. However, the tan on our skin and the memories we created this summer are adequately evident that we enjoyed summer to the fullest. Ignoring the look of displeasure we are also ready to pack the bag and send our older teenager for her university life again. We will miss her presence (which is loudly felt in the home) and her infectious smile which is unfazed.

With September we also march into festivities and our home is so ready for a grand affair with celebrations galore.  We are all set to make Ganpati Bappa’s grand presence felt in our home. Hope the coffee table arrangement here will exude the same vibe for you all :).

On top of my saccharine and syrupy stories of our "Gifted Ganesha" collection on the blog, this month first time ever we are also taking a different turn by hosting a wonderful ‘Giveaway’ in collaboration with our featured product segment. Further down the road, this month we also have a home tour which will leave a compelling impression on all the décor lovers.  

And our every year’s ritual has been followed this year as well. Our young lady in the house has created another eco-friendly Ganesha for this year’s celebrations. I will be unfolding the new 'avatar' of him on the blog tomorrow. Until then signing out hoping that my enthusiasm has rubbed off on you to bring on the festive mode. Make sure to keep yourself connected on Facebook and Instagram for more big and small decorating ideas, toodles!

Jay Shree Krishna!

Lord Krishna, by whose hail, we start our day, by whose name, we exchange greetings to everyone. His divine existence can not be only felt in our temple room, but also he can be spotted stealing a look with his smirk in the rest of our home. Yes, even though, our “Ganesha” crew ranks at the top list, our “Krishna" collection is likewise appealing. 

Unlike last year's traditional celebration, this year's joyful celebration is different. For this 'Janmashtmi' we are venturing where we haven’t venture before. Letting you in today, on our Krishna collection with some ideally suited festival vignettes of “Krishna” theme around our home. These treasured pieces have not only witnessed our experience but they often unlock the past and let in the deeply held memories with them.

The very first is our natkhat ‘Bal Gopal’, (a kid version of Krishna) combined here with complimentary accessories to honour the piece. His giggling smile pouring out a dollop of ‘makkhan’ (butter) is amply evident for his love towards it. Curated from all the way UK, this baby Krishna was rescued from my son’s bedroom to share on this post. 

Few pieces of our collection tug at my heartstrings and this Krishna is one of those. His handsome pose is infused here with few pops of red and hypnotizing flames to fall in love impulsively. He came into our life as our wedding gift (many moons back) from family members.

Another flute playing Krishna is a family heirloom piece that we proudly own. With intact imprints of the place and the year (Haridwar, Ganga River, 1969) this piece marks the oldest of our collection. Holding the pride of the place in our temple, it is a treasured ‘handed down’ gift from my husband’s grandfather.

And few glorious touches of celebration on ‘Krishna’ theme around the home also include some flat lays. Another gifted piece of flute playing Krishna is a brass frame, which is casually placed for a decorative tone.  Lately, I have sparked my interest in a flat lay styling and still learning the tricks of building a theme but floating flowers in diyas created this vignette effortlessly.  

Now we leap towards the vignettes of eternal love. A soulful and sensuous “Radha-Krishna” sums up the core of my next 3 styling. The colors of the piece itself complement one another and to harmonize the appearance I have floated few same colored petals in a brass bowl. A yellow dahlia from my very own tiny garden champions a fresh approach on this swaying away zula under the ‘kadamba’ tree figurine.

A shimmering silver vignette with limited color pallet has been added on my wooden shelf anchoring another ‘Radha-krishna’. Krishna, as spotted here under ‘kadamba’ tree, is playing heartwarming tunes from his flute; while Radha here is simply curling up to hear more melodies.

No Krishna celebration could be over without mentioning his unapologetically mischievous “raas-leela”. A very old frame (which followed us in each and every home of ours, is entwined in many memories) portrays different gestures of Krishna playing raas with Radha. Another flat lay sort of arrangement to justify the look of the frame is banded together with little strokes of color to give a melodic appeal.

Celebrations also call for special recipes of the family...this 'Gujarati Panjiri' (made out of 5 ingredients) will rock your celebration. Recipe calls for dry roasted whole coriander, whole roasted fennel seeds, dried shredded coconut, powdered sugar and white poppy seeds. Grind equal amounts of every ingredient and add a drop of clarified butter (GHEE) and your Panjari for Prasad is ready, not only for Krishna but also to please your guests.

Signing out today's post singing "Happy Birthday" to Krishna and wishing you all a very "Happy Janmashtmi" celebrations at your end. Until we meet again stay connected on Facebook  and Instragram feeds of Pinkz Passion for more eye candy decors, toodles!

Color Crush!

Though I often find myself in the clutches of shopping tangle, there are the times when I know for sure for certain things I HAVE to, I MUST, I NEED to add to my décor. What thrills me more is that whatever new treasure I find, it magically expands to fit in my existing décor. When shopping God is on my side, I can’t help but collect things I love or catch my fancy (there…I said it…). This process though, makes my home ever evolving and interesting. 

Perfectly placed to catch the light

On few of such encounters, I happened to bump into a gaggle of these colored glass bottles and their perky and showy side, seriously made my mind to create a collection. For someone like me who doesn’t over-board on color and rather adds bits and pop of color in décor, these were just perfect. When it comes to our collection, we all are like little magpies ;). And today’s post is about roping you all into a saga of these uber adorable bottles and an unacquainted collection I happened to make.

I forked out these super cute set of bottles on a recent visit to “Hobby Lobby”, buried deep down in a clearance isle on 80% clearance of their original price….BINGO….there was no way I would have turned my back on them. The glimmer of an idea to bring them into my “custom styling” was good enough for me to become the catalyst that gave me the direction. Now they are happily layered to grab some playful use of color along with other things I love. Wouldn’t you agree that seeking out diamond in rough and seeing the potential within rummage is a great skill ;).

As you all know me by now, my coffee table is my fertile ground for my experimentation with pattern, color and presentation of my eclectic collection. Here are the votive candle holders from “Michaels” that came home (again on a clearance for $1 each). Entangled in the grips with the fact, I often find myself that leaving behind something that appealed to me is inevitable. Thus, after an inner battle between 'Love it' or 'Leave it'... these candle holders came home. Now every time I walk into this room, they instantly transport me back to my favorite store and that moment. These cups/candle holders will be now mixed and interpreted in myriad ways for positive results :).

Certain finds put me to the test…how far can one go for a deal? These vibrant mini bucket sort of candle holders from “Yankee Candles” are also a great deal and a recent loot. They turned out to be a real satisfaction score. Embraced with mix and match style, they make a statement piece placed anywhere begging an invitation for a closer look. Injecting them meticulously in a unique way and mingling them with the other accessories, completely erased the flat catalog feel and translated them into a personalized design.

 

From every story of my shopping gaga in the past, there is always something I picked or found with their future in my décor. Now they all happily co-exist in a diversely collected style which thoroughly defines me and my style. It is important to find out what moves you and let it tailor your personal style. Hope this post will inspire you to be the ‘Brand Custodian’ of your own style, in creating a successful and inspiring collection.

Until we meet again, stay connected with Facebook and Instagram for your daily dose of décor inspirations, toodles!

Taditional Soiree

I leave no stone unturned when we have to plan an elegant evening at home but on a recent visit to New Jersey at my brother’ place, I chanced upon planning a perfect soiree for their house warming. For someone like me who believes in a traditional approach it was just perfect to inject some "desi" touches with blissful colors to support the occasion.

 

With many thoughts in my radar, I grabbed few of the simplest accessories from my home that would blend beautifully and build a scheme. Along with my all-time favorite Indian dangling and bandhani dupattas came along few brass diyas. The cloth frame of “Ganesha” here is a return gift from a dear friend’s wedding, which I had adorned previously in our temple room here.

 

The speciality of “Gujarat”, these bandhani dupattas were about 100 rupees each and on my demand hubs dear got them from Kutchh. He knew I will definitely find a way to use them; hence he picked all possible colors for me. Now they are part of my any cultural décor.  You may read all about my Bandhni Craze" here.

 

Rich glows from diyas lend an added sparkle on the table. Since I reside in a country where flow of regular flowers from home garden is not possible due to cold winters, I have supplemented these artificial rose petals from Ikea store in my décor so I can use them as and when I want.   

Strong background with inviting palette of traditional accessories made a strikingly beautiful place for all our family pictures for the occasion. The atmosphere of celebration was graced by lovely guests who were greeted by this portrait and probably made their short stay for selfies ;). 

And one last image of this beautifully styled side table with "Pinkz touch" which I shared on my Instagram feed after the ceremony.

Hope this post will broaden your aesthetic sensibilities and bring the best of the simplest ingredients you already own. Until we meet again, have a great week and stay connected on facebook or Instagram, toodles!

August is like the Sunday of summer

Nothing beats jamming at the cottage in the pleasurable company of favorite friends, I am back and snuggling in the warmth and comfort of “Home Sweet Home” after all day’s work.



New loot of votive candle holders from Yankee Candles 

Ignoring few moments of displeasure we had another hit year of cottage stay where hilarious conversations, strong connections and team work with few favorite friends made it a huge success. Beside all the perks of cottage life we excursed sandy beaches, scenic caves and abundantly lush green Mother Nature. We put on the tune and woo away life’ stress with few leisurely games of cards and late night chit chat ‘chai’ parties to officially authenticate our absolute madhouse stay at cottage. Kids chuckled and giggled leaving behind memories for us parents to relish in our empty nest syndrome.  Though the compulsive long stroll after their “Pokemon Go” adventure definitely made them a lot more overexcited ;)

Even though, we Canadians are blessed with the richness of nature, we don’t have fairly enough hot days to enjoy outdoors and August being the typical hot month we have plenty of sun to soak up in the sizzling hot days. With the spilling long list of “things to do” in summer, for now, our disciplined 9 to 5-er life is far eluded. And with overflowing guests, I am always in the "hosting mode".

Though, until we meet again, you stay connected lovely peeps for few lined up posts up here and enjoy August. Don't forget to take a chill-pill as August is like the Sunday of summer J toodles!