Twenty- five Seven

A perfect Wednesday morning #shopping

March 16, 2016

It is the middle of the week and I’m just recovering from a harrowing weekend which saw me hooked up to an IV drip on what should have been a perfect Sunday morning. But I’ll leave that to another post since I’m currently enjoying a perfect Wednesday morning.

Concern India is a unique NGO supporting and sponsoring several NGOs that take up various causes. One of their pet projects is to promote art whether it is an exhibition or auction to raise funds for their sponsorship activities or through craft fairs that encourage and promote traditional skills. With most government emporia closing down or stuck in a time warp, I look forward to such exhibitions that showcase crafts with a modern aesthetic. This morning I just came out of the Coomarswamy Hall with a smile on my face and a new bangle on my wrist. Pause for a Cause will be here for another two days so hurry if you are on the look out for linen or chanderi saris , costume jewellery , fancy mojris,block printed yardage and affordable chic from independent fashion designers.


The museum shop,I discovered is a great place to shop for knick knacks, giveaways and souvenirs. Local crafts,prints, story books , puzzles – in fact something for everyone



And when you’re done,enjoy a cup of coffee in the adjoining verandah and think back on the days when it was Samaovar, under the watchful glare of a stony faced Prince of Wales standing outside the museum.

So isn’t that reason enough for me to bill this as the perfect Wednesday morning?
Top tips for classy table decor #OutdoYourselfReadingChallenge

March 15, 2016

At the beginning of the year, I joined Corinne Rodrigues #Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge and pledged to read a modest 12 books a year which makes it just ONE book a month. Surely that is a target I can hope to achieve after all, a book a month is not much of a challenge is it? However, this year I’m finding it difficult to even read the newspaper or catch up with friends over the phone. Hence I feel this book can rightly count among the challenge even though it is a mere coffee table book .

In my usual bumbling way, my blog was disqualified from being part of the challenge, so even though this won’t be considered part of the #OYRC, I am putting up this review as part of my own personal goal of reading a book a month.

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For many people a meal is just a meal is just a meal. But honestly, a meal is more than just that: it is a time to relax, be with friends, exchange ideas and thoughts, tell stories and may be even sing songs!

For all those who want to be successful hosts, having an inviting table that is classy is important. But often, one is stuck. This beautifully illustrated book will give you step by step top tips on classy table decor that will have your guests sitting around it long after dinner is done.

Using seasonal flowers, fruit and even fabric, with accessories chosen specially for the occasion, a creative hostess can indeed dress up her table for every occasion be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or tea.

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My review on Goodreads.

Dinner Décor: A How-to Guide for Fabulous Centerpieces by Amita Sathe Bambawale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This beautifully illustrated book with lavish place settings will help any housewife with setting the theme for a successful dinner party. Using flowers and accessories that are easily available, Amita Bambawale shows how easy it is to make table decorations. A must read book for all those who are serious hostesses and are looking for fresh ideas with which to dress up their tables.
Getting ready for the A to Z Challenge#MondayMusings

March 14, 2016

Ok, so this year I hope to get it right. Last year was the first year I participated in this blogging challenge and thought that it would be easy, especially since I do normally blog every day. But having no idea of how it really works, and not being a “specialist” in any particular field, I decided to wing it and write about the first word that came to mind. Thus on day One which was the Day of Letter A, I chose to write about Apple Pie and Amsterdam and ending with Z is for Zebra Crossing, Zumba Dancing and Zits. But writing themelessly is not as seamless as I imagined so I decided to actually spend some time this year THINKING of what I am going to write about and GET READY for the challenge.

Ruminating and reflecting

Having just read Corinne’s post on the word that was invented the year of her birth, I was inspired to look up what was mine. It turns out that it was

1958
Your OED birthday word is:
photocall, n.
Meaning: Originally: a summoning of theatrical or other performers to be photographed, esp. during a rehearsal or before or after a performance
See the entry in the OED to see a quotation of its first-known usage

There! Now you even know the year of my birth. But thank you Corinne for doing all the hard work – it is quite a fiddle finding something in the dark and I appreciate your enthusiasm in scouring the net and finding out new things which you so willingly share.

But having learnt that there was a new word added to the dictionary the year I was born, got me to think of what was the word that would have me describe the year past. (The word I chose to represent this year was BE ME). Well the word or rather words that would best represent last year would have to be RUMINATE and REFLECT two words that seem to dominate my life when I am not actually living it in real time.

Look before you leap

After a year of ruminating and reflecting, I’ve come to the conclusion that most of my life has been impulsive – I just jump in the water and learn to swim . Now this may be a good way to learn but it is a bad way to perform. Life, I realised, needs to be approached in a more systematic manner, you need to plan and you need to THINK before you make that jump into the unknown…….

On your mark, get set…….

Trying to be a bit more organised can be difficult for a person like me who thrives on chaos. So when I actually decided to spend some time on figuring out what next ( by the time I registered for the challenge, my number had already slipped to 302! and now as I put up my linky for the Theme Reveal, it’s already going beyond the 300 mark.

But once again, I was confused. What post do I link ?

So I visited some of the links and realised that they had posted their latest posts and that they would raise the curtain only on the 21st i.e. next Monday.

Go

Well, I’ve got my theme ready and will be working on it so watch out for this space next Monday.

Linking this post to #MondayMusings