Diwali and it's light

Magical nights are created by lighting up diya and candles to turn the darkest night into the brightest one ......sharing some festive moments here at Niwas ...Here's wishing you all a Happy Magical Night called Diwali .............Happy Diwali !!!!

 

 

 

 

Ready for a colorful sky ....

Diwali prep is in full swing form colorful lights to colorful sky .......

 

Sharing Festivities ....

I asked my husband a week back to start putting up Diwali lights as I didn't want it to be done at last minute ... he agreed and we got busy with the task ... Dad and my husband started hanging the lights and me and mom started wrapping them ....we started this in evening and we saw our neighbours coming home bringing kids from daycare and school .....

One of our neighbour stopped by and said 'Hello' and asked "Is the festival coming up soon ?" I smiled and said "Yes, it's on Tuesday, you will see and hear fireworks for sure" ....neighbour smiled and said "I don't remember the name of the festival, but I know it's beautiful".....It was such a nice feeling to hear those words and to see how people around you observe your festivals and also appreciate the beauty around it .....

 

It was also a nice surprise when my husbands colleague remembered and askwed when Diwali was and how are we planning on celebrating this year ....I think they can see the excitement on our face and see how important Diwali is for us .... no matter where you are make sure to celebrate as much as your can ... spread the word about your festivities and you will be surprised to see how many people are interested to learn and enjoy with you .......

 

 

Diwali is almost here....

How are Diwali preparation going in your home ? Is cleaning in progress ? Is you silver all shiny ? Does the home smell like your favorite sweet ? oh and how about the lights are they are lit up .....We are getting ready and have a bunch of things to do our self .. this long weekend will help us for sure .....While digging through my Diwali box I found the potpourri that I had totally forgotten about ......as soon a I opened the bag the aroma of Cinnamon with Rose filled the home .....

My love for candle is known to all......so I added a yellow round candle to enhance the color and when lit it will make the oil bring more aroma around the house. ....Wooden container,balls set was gift from my parents last years for Christmas and I totally adore it as it fits perfectly with our home decor style.

Potpourri with candles is a great gift for Diwali and there are so many options to choose from. So many colors so many aroma and so many ideas ... if you are still looking for last minute gifts or last minute decor ideas you have stopped at the right place .. Hope Diwali @ Niwas inspires you today ....

Inspiring Diwali

This Diwali I encourage you all to look around your home and be inspired and see the beauty in all the wonderful colors and decor that you have gathered over the years .....if you are busy and can't shop around ...why not mix and match what you have ...... what you love, bring it together and create that special corner that is unique on its own .....

Festive time should be fun and enjoying time with family ..... so take it easy and create some special corners .......get you kids involved and get your imagination go as creative as it can .....This Diwali promise yourself to enjoy your home with festivities and be thankful for all you have .....

I created this center piece from my collection ....Brass framed mirror, Moroccan candle stand, Wine glass turned into candle holder ......

 

Individual pieces are beautiful however when brought together it gives a new definition .....It's funny how one doesn't shop with a particular theme in mind at times .....and you still end up creating a corner you can enjoy.....

 

Hope these pics inspire you to create your special corner in your home.......

Fasting For Love

Happy Karva Chauth to all the lovely wife's fasting for their love of life ......

Happy Fall

Today was the first morning where we could feel the autumn in the air ...beautiful morning and beautiful fall decoration is what we saw this morning ..... we stopped to take some fall pics and I captured some for Niwas to share with you .....I think I can now say it finally ...."Happy Fall"

 

The woods are full of fairies;

 the sea is full of fish;

 the trees are full of golden leaves;

 let's make an autumn wish

 

Author: Anonymous

Ganesh Chaturthi

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi .....

Here is our simple celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi at Niwas ... some beautiful flowers, pretty fabric and the divine power of Ganesha ... May his grace be always with us ....

Janamastmi - Krishna's Birthday Celebration

ISKON does an awesome job with their invitations for Janamastmi each year ...This year the they opened the doors via card to a beautiful picture of  Krishna ...Each year we look forward to go to the celebration but this year the card made it even more exciting ....

The decor, music , sounds of instruments can be heard far far away from the temple and as you come close the chants draw you inside the temple .......you enter to a peaceful and calming statues of Radhe Krishna and the gorgeous decor with fresh flowers make it even more special.

The park outisde the temple is turned into vatika and just like India you have small booths that share Krishna's stories ...

There is a booth where you can feed the cow , a message board to wish Krishna Happy Birthday .....Havan kund and more. Prasad is made with love and good spirit which you can take in the food and the smiling faces of the volunteers.

It's amazing feeling to see everyone celebrating and happy and dance away on this special birthday of Lord Krishna.

Rakhi - Made with Love

A little bit of ribbon, a few yards gotta, some beads and some flower .....but lots of love ... We do have the option of buying Rakhi here in US however the love and warmth that goes in making Rakhi for your brother is a special feeling ...I don't believe in something elaborate ...but just something simple and sweet just like how are brothers are ....

My niece(who is just six) and I made these Rakhi this year and it was so much fun deciding with what we think our brothers will like. She was making it for her brother and decide on pink from her side and yellow from her sisters side who is just two.....and I decide to go with gotta ones ...

Making them was easy but fun part was decide on combinations and cracking jokes ....my mom mentioned my niece being so excited about making her own Rakhi .....I love the fact she enjoys it and every year gets more excited than last year :)

This is what we finally came up with and we think we did a great job .. our brothers though the same too ...Let's see what do you all think ? Hope everyone had a Happy Rakhi and they got to either see their brother or talk to them ...

Sun and Shadow

7:30 AM  half asleep I sat on the sofa and was still waking myself up when I noticed sun shining through the door and windows ....and I saw an image on the wall that I had never seen before ...It was the shadow that I recognized but wasn't sure how was is being formed ....that was enough to wake me up and get up grab my camera before Miss Sunlight moved on ...Buddha shadow was an awesome decor in our house this morning for just a few minutes ....

as Miss sunlight moved on I took a last picture of the shadow as I wasn't sure when will I get to see this decor again... 

Happy Father's Day

We didn't do Friday Shopping this week as Sunday was just an appropriate day for shopping for all the wonderful Daddy's around the world. Mom's get all the attention most of the times but it is rare that dad's get some special pampering ...Father's day is the best day to take care of that ...even a simple card will make them feel great ...Dad's are easy ones we all know that ... :) Hope you enjoy what I found on Etsy .. and don't forget to call your dad and wish him ...nope wishing on Facebook is not enough :)


Image via: Etsy


Image via: Etsy


Image Via: Etsy

Friday Shopping: Spice Rack

Have you ever noticed that we keep talking about bringing color to our homes and we sometime have colors stored in containers in pantry ...yup I am talking about our Spices ...we have a range of colors when it comes to spices and we can use them for decor and also our day to day work ...I love how the display below allows you to personalise it by a message on chalk board ...


Image Via: Etsy

Or just for our husbands we can spell out the spices so that they can make us a dish or two sometimes ..(hint hint to my husband at least )....I love the red and rustic brown and shades of greens ...so earthy and yet such a delight to see ... the shapes and size add another dynamics to the decor ......If I were to add a specie for dash of color it has to be turmeric ... Hope you imagination is already going wild as to which spices will work for your home.


Image Via: Etsy

Happy Pink ...

While eating breakfast this week I saw a pink surprise in our garden ...I rubbed my sleepy eyes and tried to think and look at the same time ...on opening the patio door I was so happy to see our blooming new flower... 

We planted these Gladiolus bulb two years back and nothing bloomed last year ...we waited the whole year but nothing .. when they started growing this year we didn't expect any flowers again ...but mother nature proved us wrong .. and I am happy she did :)

We can't wait for more to bloom  and for me to add it to my nature album ....

Friday Shopping: Beaded Plant Hanger

Add some color to your garden and let the beads be the sun catchers ... These beautiful beaded hangers bring so much brightness to your planters ...you can go with color scheme of flowers or just make a rainbow with bunch of colors from beads to plants to flowers ....


Image Via: Etsy


Image Via: Etsy


I love this red and orange combination and can see it hanging beautifully in my patio ....wind chimes in the background ...sun up above and the amazing flowers and colors of beads in your garden will make it the best garden you wanna have ....

Image Via: Etsy

Friday Shopping: Hand Woven Stool

This hand woven stool from recycled fabrics is perfect for your kids room or the pooja room ...this brings a sitting corner and a splash of color all together ...With it's size it is easy to use it as a side table too... with a lamp on top ...and picture of your best vacation ...Kids are going to love a sitting area in their room while they read books and or play with their friends ....In pooja room you can do you morning prayer while you meditate away ....I like it best as a side table for some reason.....You decide how you like it ....Off to shopping I go.. here I come Pier1 :)

Image via: Pier1

Friday Shopping : Wall Clock

Does each room in your home has its own wall clock ? If yes, you love these greatest inventions and a small yet powerful home decor piece. Any guest in your home looks at the clock ... so this piece has to be elegant and stylish. When shopping for one do not just buy a clock .. buy the one that works with the room ... that enhance the wall it sits on. Every home has their style .. like my nephew and nieces have the clock that makes noise of a bird every hour ... it also has the picture of the birds ... I thought that was a cool one and will love to find one for my patio ( yes patio needs one too ....it might attract some birds in our backyard too)... I found these two for you i think works great for a family room and kids room .. come check it our for yourself and see what you think.


Image Via: Etsy


Image Via: Etsy

Friday Shopping: Mother's Day Gift

No words are enough to say "Thanks" to wonderful mom's out there ...every mom deserves something special though out the year however when a day gets dedicated to her it has to be extra special ...how about cooking a breakfast to cleaning dishes for dinner ......taking her out for mani/pedi or a movie...flowers or chocolates ...writing a poem or just hug.. every kid has their way of expressing love and thanks to their mom ....If you like to express via words ... Etsy has some awesome collections for you ...I love love love the line "you're my favorite superhero" ...isn't that true ? and then "Keep Calm and Call Mom" doesn't that work all the time ? Mom always has the answer to all our questions ...on that note ...here's wishing Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mom's out there ....hope you kids make this day very special for you ....

Image Via: Etsy


Image Via:Etsy

Image via: Etsy

Simple Pleasures

Every home has a simple pleasure meal .... something that everyone likes and can eat any day . it's called simple pleasure not just because it's simple to cook but because it brings those pleasures in life that are simply simple :)  Meals that you eat with family while watching episode of  Hum Log or Dancing with Stars...or sit in patio on a rainy day and enjoy some laughs ....and also when everyone is tired and just want something quick before they take a nap ....I think every Indian home will agree that Maggi is their simple pleasure meal ...it brings child hood memories back ,it's quick to make, it's everyones' favorite ...it's perfect ...

Our home is no different ...we love Maggi and to make it even better my dad taught me recipe for Egg Maggi . As a delhite Maggi is a roadside meal and most vendors do sell Egg Maggie ...I think I have even heard of Egg Pakora and Meat Maggi... I think creativity is the limit when it comes to this dish ... My fav has to be Egg Maggie by dad .....no comparison at all. He makes it with so much love that it reflects in his food.

Do share what you consider a simple pleasure meal at your home ..something you learnt from an aunt or your friend's mom...if you haven't made it in a while ...make it now and bring back your memories ...

Rain brings beauty in nature ....

Rain makes everyone happy ...including nature ....Here is a glimpse of how happy nature was in our yard ...