A month of romance...

Catching up after a heck of a busy day, trusting that with February marching in, your truckload of January resolutions are still intact and not drained to pipeline just like mine ;)

Weekends these days are much more perkier when we enjoy temporary joy of being with our older teenager visiting home and content to the fact that she is returning fully charged with love. Our weekend life now mainly evolves storming ourselves with loads of cooking, stuffing and sending off for our university gal. Though, when hubby dear gets busy in circling the globe, this mommy dear juggles to make this grind sound more of a pleasure than chore. Even though, our girl has started to get better shots of university life; I still find myself stitching the thread of unease while dropping her off, though I pretend to ignore the look of displeasure that crosses my face while waving her goodbyes.

Mother Nature in my part of the world is still surprisingly looking green. Massive snow storm in USA, which blanketed parts of USA in a single day, sent off an actual year's supply of snow, but nothing here. "No Snow" is a rarity for Canadian winter and it has started giving chills to all winter park resorts. No matter which side of the weather war I am in but for now no shoveling�yay!

On the blog front, I have got you covered with all necessary shots of love for the month of romance. I have roped in a tablescape made with muchos muchos love, a post drenched in for my love of brass, and a Buddha post probably will find a way out which is still in between edit-write combination. Additionally, I have a tour of the tiniest room in our home � Powder Room, it may be the tiniest but packed with d�cor punches all around and you don�t want to miss :). So, peek in again for a busy round of posts here on February. Until we meet again, stay connected, toodles!

Artist... in the house - 2

If you barge in without a brief knock, in to the topsy-turvy muddled room with a teen, who is  busy collecting her thoughts and cranking loud on �Drake� songs; you are precisely in my artistically engaged daughter�s room. The 17 years old, who exists in her own world surrounded by squiggly scribbly paint tubes and palette filled with sequence of color, is our proud artist of the home.

You will never find any precise clues to measure the craziness of our oddball.  When colors start to flow, nothing matters to her, she travels to her own artistic beats. She is gifted of seeing beyond ordinary by building solid layers of paint. Her current vacation life is copiously focused in working tirelessly and energetically in putting her innate talented art into making master pieces. She is highly enticed by the elephantine countenance of big pot bellied GANESHA, just like us. Hence, her almost all creations evolve around his different "avatar".

Artist: Pushti

I had to twist her arm (teenagers, I tell ya) to write up few words for her own creations, I managed for few and rest I had to end up writing but here we are. Join me as I rejoice the pleasure to share the part -2.

Mirror worked "Ganesha" with lotus.

 Ganesha and lotus go hand in hand in this pictures. A lotus flower always looks clear and pure beneath the murky waters. Just like that, the lotus in this painting is a strong symbol of beauty beneath darkness, which is represented by the black background. the Ganesha sits in the middle of the lotus as he is the god of new opportunities and luck. In my opinion, I feel like it is important to be bold and stand out in darkness when given a new opportunity.

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Hibicus headed "Ganesha"

 This painting is a remake of a wonderful artist "Kruti". This specifically caught my eye because of the contrast of blue and orange against the black. It was a great pop of color. Moving on, the orange flower resembles "Ganesha's" crown and I felt like it was a unique choice to use a hibiscus as they are tropical and the most beautiful flowers in Carribbean. This one is my absolute favorite.

"Ganesha" on Lotus

The painting originally was supposed to be an outline of "Ganesha" but once I saw the salmon color in my paint box I knew it had to be used. The simplistic image on "Ganesha" really embodies how powerful his power is. The flower at the bottom makes it seem like he is emerging from the petals which I feel gives a strong pop of color and resembles how "Ganesha" is everywhere from nature to family.

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Chakra "Ganesha"

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This colorful piece was really fun to paint and is something that I look forward to doing again. The colors I used as a wash for the background is to resemble the "chakras" the one inside us. I see them as vibrant and beautiful and I just wanted that to be expressed on my canvas.

Mirrored peacock

????Just like the tranquil creature, I wanted for this painting to capture how beautiful and timeless a peacock always looks. The feathers contain the typical mix of a natural peacock color plus gold to symbolize "old is gold". No matter how many years these creatures have been around, their looks never go unnoticed. Small detail of mirror work need to add some dimension in the background and feathers.  

As I take you onwards for these last pieces: 

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Color Stroked "Ganesha"

Her creative spirit is deeply rooted with the art but when teenage life triggers the mood swings and particular creative thoughts flow, signature piece like this particular "Ganesha" takes place. As a result of her vision and courage to think differently, we see new master pieces being built in no time. This one is her first piece officially sold.   

Ekdanta "Ganesha"

This Ganesha is a thoughtful gift for her very dear friend. With her inner edit button and lots of artistic potential she easily gives bare canvas a splash of wonderful colours. Our heart goes out for the eyes of her every creation. The soulful eyes evoke the peacefulness in every piece.

Aum "Ganesha"

When I was about to publish the post, a new creation was formed overnight and I had to include it. For most of her creations, she shakes her world all night long, just as this Ganesha was created by burning the midnight oil to complete. Though, final pay off is amazing.

For now, she is completely stirring the excitement of 'escape' phase of life. She managed to squeeze in one last piece with very much detailed work just few days before she embark on a new journey. 

?If you haven not had a peek in part -1, head right here to read all about it.????

Peek at part -1

As I conclude the post, artist in the house is all set for her new chapter of university lifestyle. We are about to dive in to the empty nest syndrome which will end the early journey of our parenthood. With the pressing ache of separation we will be sending the young adult to start the new phase of her life. without her glamour in the home, things will not be the same but we both are happy to see out little girl shining brightly.

Hope you all enjoyed this colorful journey with us. Do take a moment to pour in your thoughts here or facebook page. Until we meet again, toodles.

Canvas paintings by Pushti Shah
Styling and Photography by Pinkz

Inspiration of each piece was sourced from internet.

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)

The Artist....in the house!

I had this colorful story lingering in my mind to share with you all and finally one day, she allowed me to share it. I never thought of coming across to this phase of my life and sharing this beautiful story with you all wonderful people.

She? Yes, she is moody, she is flashy, she is dramatic, she is always in her own world and she completes herself being the tough teenager of our house. 

 

Just wanted to show case these pictures on my Facebook Page, but long thought on it made me crack the mystery and write about it also. The awaited artist post is all about our 17 years old daughter - Pushti - A born artist in the family, though she doesn't consider herself one but we are proud of her bountiful characteristics. 

Pushti followed art very interestingly since childhood,  she just enjoys playing with colors in any form, shape or size. Drawing and paintings have been her stress busters, she can spend the whole night listening to music and creating one of a kind painting for us. She is a self taught artist, but has been exposed to various art classes due to her intriguing passion for art. Be it a pottery class, or a sketching class or even making a wonderful scrapbooks of our vacation, it all fascinates her. She has been honored with plenty of Arts Award during her school life. Not only that, you may find her name on the wall of her previous school drawings as well.

I have captured all her school memories, those all little books and drawings in my treasure box, they hold beautiful memories of her childhood for me. 

She is lucky enough to be rewarded with all the art materials she ever wanted or requested as we knew one day, she will use it, if not now, may be down the road she will work with it.

Her Treasure Chest snippet

One fine day, we were surprised with first Ganesha drawing from her, which she drew and painted few years back. That was the first actual piece she made on canvas. 

Year 2011. 

These are some classics she drew for her school project. Disney characters came alive on her charcoal drawings. We have laminated them to treasure for long but some you may notice smudged out due to charcoal over lamination.

Ariel from " The Little Mermaid"

Jasmine from "Aladdin"

Bambi

Pocahontas 

My Favorite Mickey & Minnie

Glimpse of Disney Collection!

The entrance is adorned by her beautiful paintings (Year 2013)

                        You can visit the front foyer of the house here for another glance.

The latest one: Version of Krishna & Ganesha (Year 2014)

                       A black and white Ganesha was given as a gift to her teacher last Summer.

Before and after picture (Year 2014)

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My Artist!

 

Her each piece is worthy enough to frame and brighten corner of our home. 

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Along with these memories, hopefully we will have few additions in near future. Though she has negative thoughts of persuing her career in arts and wanting to lead to Science stream. We have a strong vibe that she will realise it soon and end up doing what she loves doing on her own.

 

Hope you enjoyed the colorful journey of the artist and pictures with me. Stay connected, until we meet again, toodles! 

 

 

Raining white inside and out side....

And how is the weekend treating you so far? Me? I am just enjoying a lazy Sunday evening with a warm cup of coffee in "me" mood. Not a much coffee lover but when a teenager demands a coffee on a busy study schedule, mommy dear has to comfort with one. Thought to sip one for myself on this cold and dark (yes, it's already pitch black) evening. As said about this "me" time, I sense I have to get used to it being a mom of two grown up kids. Older one is looking out for universities this fall and middle school-er claim to be a big boy but is still a baby of the house! The younger they get, the older we feel. Though, I keep finding happiness and being busy in my own world - my home! I have always one or another corner to brighten. I keep something happening around myself what I enjoy doing the most!

Today I am inviting you at the foyer of my home. Throwing up once again my sweet little Neutral vignette inspired by the Winter. If your foyer is a big area or small, you have only that area to get or leave your first impression for your guests. The entrance deserves the attention not only to set the mood of your guest but it will give out the clue about what is yet to come. 

After Christmas colors, felt like we needed something calm than chaos. So, I gathered up all I could around the house running up in my daughter's room and my basement (that is where all my decor items land if not using them) to assemble all similar pieces together. 

Since Aj & I are an avid collectors of "Ganeshji", not only we get them home so often, we happen to have them as gifts repeatedly. This piece is one of my favorite one, out of all we have! It is a white Italian marble piece studded with "kundan" work with his little stand. Since it was all going to be neutral, these bright red and green colors were perfect.

Italian Marble Ganesha, studded with KUNDAN.

Lord Ganesha is considered as a "Lord of Beginnings" and one of the most divine god, I bet you haven't find him only at my entrance, you have seen him smiling and glancing at us at many entrances. 

The teapot vase is a new addition to my collection and matched perfectly with my grouping and added the much needed drama on the table. 

 Even though this is almost all neutral, there are bits of texture making it beautiful.  Reed diffuser sticks and few potpourri are enough to refresh the entrance with their fragrance.

The Final Look!

This is what it's dressed for now, but wait, I am not done. I want to share few previous looks of the same spot which I happen to clicked to share with you all. 

Again with all Brass Ganesha

One more,..

With my Buddha at front!

Hope you enjoyed my little corner of the foyer, and yes, don't forget to visit the artist of the house post for those beautiful paintings above the console table.

 

 I never feel finished about decorating any corner, it is a continuous process in my home. 

I hope you can steal some ideas from my creativity. Now, don't be shy, play around with your foyer with your taste. You will be amazed how your imagination will take its shape. 

See you around and let me hear all about your entrance. Until we meet again, toodles!

 

Already 2015?

Happy New Year, folks! 2014 left with some sweet and sour memories, here we are in 2015 already and I am still in an awe that the year passed by in a blink of an eye. Fingers crossed for another great year with the blessings of God almighty, love of family and the support of lovely friends.

Lots of things got settled in last couple of days of holidays! A surprise birthday party for my bestie who turned big 40! Fancy dinners with friends and a break free routine and a relaxed stay at one of our family favourite Niagara Falls. We take full advantage of being so close to the beauty of the nature, we often escape for a day or two.

Finally we took the deck down today and all the tinsel and baubles were put away with another year of CHRISTMAS memories. The room felt empty without it, but sure is "back to normal".

Let's start all fresh and new as the new year's beginning. Some new settings took place with old and new mix and match. Thought of sharing some snapshots.

Sometimes, it is challenging for me to add perfect  colours to my living room as it is already bathed in the touch of peacock blue. However, brass can never go wrong if you are a lover of an ethnic d�cor.

 A gift of vase made an addition to my brass collections.

I try to experiment with height while creating vignettes. Different heights create visual interest while pieces at the same level will not be effective enough.

Odd is my way to place objects

 When we walk by or sit in the living room, the coffee table becomes a focal point. I have kept it simple to allow focus on other elements in the room. It was an easy way to change up the look of a room and give it a fresh touch with my brass collectibles. 

Added a pop of purple colour to create a complete composition on the table.

Aj, my husband often teases me, when he notices changes in any corner of the house, if my collections have feet and they walk and make their own space in our home or what? Well, with a smirk, I just take that question as a compliment and continue doing so more and more often.

On the colder note, yes, we have been feeling stinging sensations with bitterly cold in my part.

We uprooted our lives and came to Canada and traded weather, so can't complain and have to accept the fact with a smile on a face :)

Signing off for now and will meet again with some new corners, till then, toodles! 

(Images: All images are of my home and clicked by me, please do not use without prior permission)