Snow

Today I had a beautiful surprise. I looked out the window early in the morning and this is what I saw. When my husband told me that the children had a 2-hour delayed school day I asked him why. He said there was 5 inches of snow outside. I was beyond thrilled coz after Christmas eve this is the first time it is snowing here and I miss how winter looks with snow.

There is snow on all the trees. Every limb and leaf is covered with dollops and dollops of this beautiful, white, heavenly thing.

There is snow on the ground in our yard, on all the fences, the bushes that bloom with purple flowers in spring and all other things in the yard is covered with snow.

There is snow in the planters on the patio,

and snow on the tree-tops that almost touch the sky. (Sorry for sounding like Dr. Suess)

There is snow in the horizon,

and snow on the roofs of houses.

Source: thealternativebride.blogspot.com via Anna on Pinterest

On such a day, all I want is a room that looks like this in my home so I can take a long nap. Have a great Wednesday! Note: The last image of the white room is pinned. If you wish to pin it also can you please go to the original source and pin it from there since it is not my photo. All the other pictures are taken by me.

Definition of Luxury

Source: bhg.com via Anna on Pinterest

Sitting on a chair like this on a wet and rainy day, with my feet up on a matching ottoman, reading a magazine while sipping hot, milky tea flavored with ginger and cardamom and in between looking at the water droplets on the glass window pane....now, that is my definition of luxury. One day while reading the November 2012 issue of Elle Decor I found a short compilation of the definition of luxury by major designers. The definitions they said surprised me because I had always thought of "luxury" as something meant for the rich and famous. Some said luxury was living a responsible life and some others said luxury was clean bed sheets, polished furniture and some others said luxury was a discretion and ease. These definitions were new to me. I have copied them verbatim for you to think about. I hope they give you food for thought as it did me. "Luxury is living a simple, elegant and responsible life. Luxury is a reduction. We want to live elegantly but we need to be responsible of how we treat the environment." Volpe "Real luxury is the way you live--ironed sheets, fresh flowers, polished furniture, a welcoming house. The atmosphere you get when you really made an effort with the space versus a space devoid of life." Williams "Luxury is defining your life so it fits your needs." Mishaan "Luxury is discretion and ease--and obviously, comfort." Montoya These definitions made me think about my definition of luxury. So today when I saw the pink chair with the pillow covered in pink tweed and pink embellishments it dawned on me that my definition of luxury would involve pink, tea, rain, chair and pillows. What is your definition of luxury?

New Curtains

For the past few years, during winter break my husband has been travelling to India to teach a course in India to American students. This winter my husband went to India for four weeks with students and brought me these curtain panels. There is a store in India called the FabIndia which sells fabrics in traditional Indian design but interpreted in a westernized and modern way. I love their stuff.

These curtains and the pattern on it reminds me of tea-time for some reason. In India, pretty much every one drinks a lot of tea with milk and sugar. I remember spending a lot of time at the dining table drinking tea and eating lots of snacks to go with the tea. Usually when I came from school I would be alone with my tea/milk and snacks and consequently ended up spending a lot of time staring out the window on which the curtains are drawn aside to let the light in. I feel thirsty for tea when I look at these curtains.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Validation for pom-pom love

Source: toryburch.com via Anna on Pinterest

One day I was daydreaming about making a bag embellished with pom-poms. Later when I went to the Tori Burch website I was beyond excited when I saw this bag. Tory Burch is a person I admire a lot. I love her style, and how she built a huge business empire by following her own personal vision. So when I saw this bag it was sort of a validation for my taste and my love for pom-poms.

Source: toryburch.com via Anna on Pinterest

I think these bags are adorable. Do you?

Source: toryburch.com via Anna on Pinterest

For the weekend, I am planning to make Chicken noodle soup, maybe cupcakes and do some organizing! Have a wonderful weekend!

Pink Storage Box for Ribbons

My craving for pink started sometime in October 2012 and it is still going strong. Recently, I have been loving combinations of pink and orange and pink and gold. I was hoping to find pink and orange wrapping paper, scrapbook paper or fabric either at Target or Hobby Lobby and so when I found this pink and orange paper at Target I was very excited.

I covered a shoe box with pink wrapping paper, its lid with pink and orange/gold paper and so now, I can have a pretty storage box for leftover ribbons. More importantly, it satisfies my current craving for pink. I know it is not a super clever DIY. I just like the color pink and I needed something pretty and pink which is not expensive. Do you like it?

Have a great Thursday!

Pink

Source: crochetconcupiscence.com via Anna on Pinterest

I want to learn to crochet so I can make this bag for myself! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Mantel with glittered bare branch

Today I glittered a bare branch and put it in a glass bowl and kept it on the mantel. I think this looks wintry. Do you?

I just applied glue to the branch and sprinkled silver glitter on it. I think the glitter needs to be more thickly coated on the branches. Don't you? The walls in my home are a pale yellow and sometimes I am tired of it. I love it that in "picmonkey" with the "overlay" option you can give a white background to your pictures. In the first picture I placed a colorful stuffed bird next to the branch while in the next one I kept a wood candle-stand and a blue porcelain lamp. Which look do you prefer? Have a great Tuesday!

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever"

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep.......," so goes the lines in the poem titled Endymion by John Keats. When I saw these perfectly beautiful pictures of flowers in a book I borrowed from the library called Simply Elegant Flowers, I remembered these lines I learned in English Lit class in pre-degree (high school). In the school that I went to at the time the last two years of high school were called pre-degree. John Keats is right.......beautiful things do bring joy.

While looking at those pictures I made a decision to plant a lot of flowers in our yard in spring. Our city becomes so pretty in spring because flowers appear everywhere. I cannot wait for spring to come.

Another thing you can learn from this book is the names of different types of flowers and how to identify them. I learned the name of the flower in the picture below from this book. Anemones. And the one below that is the Dianthus. Do you like learning the names of flowers? I love learning the names of flowers and trees.

Source: bhg.com via Anna on Pinterest

The flower in the image above is called Gloximia. Inside my house currently I have two jasmine plants (my favorite when it blooms) and poinsettias left over from Christmas, a Christmas cactus and two Amaryllis plants. I placed them all (except one Amaryllis and the cactus) together on a small stool and took this picture. I hope the Jasmine blooms soon and becomes my own personal thing of beauty that brings me joy.

What thing of beauty brings you joy today? Wishing you a good MLK day! Note: The first four photographs are pictures of the pictures in the book "Simply Elegant Flowers." It is best to buy/borrow the book for yourselves if you like the pictures of the flowers and not pin it from my blog since the pictures are not my own.

Orange and Pink

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Ever since I saw an image of a cute space decorated with splashes of orange and pink I have been unable to stop myself from thinking about this color combination. I could not pin the exact room I was inspired by due to technical difficulties. But I did search pinterest for other orange and pink images. Here are a few.

Source: flickr.com via Anna on Pinterest

Source: pinkchalkfabrics.com via Anna on Pinterest

Do you like this color combination? Would you wear it or use it as accents in your home? Note: All these images are from pinterest. Please go to the original source if you wish to pin these images. The pin it button on my blog is meant only for the images of my DIY and my decorative projects. Have a beautiful day!

Embroidered Sewing Supplies Organizer

Pretty much every time I sit down to sew I sit in a different spot in my house. Sometimes I'd sit by the window at the dining table and at other times I'd sit on the bed and sew. So it was hard for me to carry around my sewing supplies that I needed for a particular project. I was inspired by an image in bhg.com to make a sort of an organizer for my sewing supplies in which I could easily transport my sewing supplies around my house wherever I needed. I made it with felt I had lying around and embroidered french flower knots and chain stitches according to the pattern from bhg.com. Everything else is from scrap fabric.

And below is the inspiration image from bhg.com.

Source: bhg.com via Anna on Pinterest

I hope you have a great Wednesday!

Inspiration for teen boy room

Source: marthastewart.com via Anna on Pinterest

I like this room a lot. I like the quiet colors and the tranquil feel. I would love for me to be able to replicate this look for my younger son's room. His room also has a single window. I love the color of the wall, the color of the table, and the pattern on the blanket and the simple bed skirt. Do you like this room? Have a great Tuesday! (Note: This image is from marthastewart.com. if you would like to pin this image please go to marthastewart.com and pin it from there.)

Gold Polka Dots on Yellow Fabric

Ever since I saw an actress wearing a yellow outfit with gold polka dots on it, in an Indian movie, I have been wanting to paint gold polka dots on some yellow cotton fabric I have had for a while. So I decided to paint polka dots on the fabric with gold fabric paint from Hobby Lobby.

I am not yet sure what I will be using this fabric for--maybe as a curtain or or as a tablecloth or to cover an old ottoman. If I have to use it as a tablecloth or ottoman cover I will need to line this fabric since it is so thin.

I have a lot of polka dots to paint to cover the entire fabric. Do you like it so far? Have a great Monday

Embroidery

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Off late I have been really drawn to embroidery, crochet, and knitting. In Hobby Lobby I just love looking at the soft plush bundles of yarn, (and there is such a huge variety in so many pretty colors. I love the pale pastels, and I love the rich saturated hues.) I also love looking at the different colors and types of embroidery thread. I wish I could make lots of pretty things for my home with all that yarn and thread. Here are some images I have been inspired by on pinterest. (NOTE: None of the images in my post today are my own. They are all pinned to my board from Pinterest. So although you can see the pin it button next to each image, I think it is best to go to the original source of the picture and pin it from there. The pin it button is there next to each image because I worked very hard to incorporate it into my blog for my own DIY projects. It would be hard for me to disable it when I have images pinned from Pinterest)

Source: flickr.com via Anna on Pinterest

I wish I could make pillow covers and wall hangings, table cloths and place mats, curtains and blankets and throws with tons and tons of embroidery on it.

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When I am done with all my chores, there is nothing more soothing and relaxing than to sit with my sewing supplies and make something pretty with it.

Source: flickr.com via Anna on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Anna on Pinterest

I think during winter, after the holidays we all want restful and reflection time. I know I do. And embroidery helps me have that time.

Source: stitchinfingers.ning.com via Anna on Pinterest

Maybe I should have a new years resolution at least for the first three months of the new year to learn as many embroidery stitches as possible. Yesterday I learned the chain stitch. I hope I can learn the french knot soon.

Source: kurbits.nu via Anna on Pinterest

Do you like embroidery? Have a wonderful day!

DIY clutch

I made this clutch from an old sweater and an old necklace.

I sewed the pendant of the necklace to the flap of the purse and the chain part of the necklace was sewed on to either side to make it into a strap/handle for the clutch. The necklace is not expensive at all. It is costume jewelry

I sewed on two small fabric roses that I had bought from Hobby Lobby to the flap as well. Since the sweater fabric was not very firm, I cut a piece of very thin cardboard in the size of the clutch and covered it with the sweater fabric and sewed onto one side of the clutch inside. This helped to keep the shape of the clutch firm. The size of the clutch is the same as a clutch that I had. The inspiration to do this project came from bhg.com. I have the image in my post yesterday.

Do you think this looks pretty at all? I would love your feedback? Would you care to carry a clutch like this? Have a blessed day!