Yes it's a Pandemic, but...

Social distancing from everyone sucks... and yet there is a display of teamwork, a sense of unity instilled in all of us. We aren’t meeting our friends for dinner and drinks... but thankfully their virtual support is getting us through this! I know we have forgotten what it is to shop at the mall... but aren’t we using this time to get to old hobbies y’all? Our favorite restaurants are shut and cooking is not always fun... but wait for it guys, we’ll soon be dining under the sun. I complain about juggling between a toddler, home and office work... but aren’t people dealing with problems larger than this all? Never imagined 2020 would mean travel bans and staying at home... but it’s a PANDEMIC and right now, I’m finding peace through long walks!

Reconnecting with myself again!

5 things that helped me connect to my younger self after having a baby.

At the start of 2018 - I set some personal goals for myself that I wanted to work towards. For the past two years (ever since I became a mommy to D)  mom duties took over every other important part of life. I got completely consumed in taking care of my little one and kind of lost touch with the person I was apart from being a mom.

Right before D was turning 2, it hit me that it was about time I made a few changes for myself.  I could have it both ways if I tried no matter how demanding motherhood got and so I decided to make an effort towards self development.

After all being a mom didn’t mean ignoring all the other things in life that made me a happier person right!? This realisation made me pen down everything that I thought I was missing out on. 

Once you write things down, it gets so much easier for the mind and body to start working towards those goals. That’s exactly what happened and I was comfortably able to allow things to make a come back into my life.

These are a few additions that have brought so much positivity along. There might be days when I do take a break and take it easy but only because it allows me to bounce back harder!

1)Exercising: 

This is something that I’d been running away from all my life. I lost my pregnancy weight because D kept me on toes.  Breastfeeding also worked in my favor allowing me to shed those extra pounds even though I ate so much without really having to hit the gym.

Then one fine day when I felt exhausted after climbing a few flight of stairs I realised how working out was not just to “lose weight” but essentially the best gift we can give to our body in order to stay fit and healthy.

Now I no longer have to drag myself to a workout. It’s nothing vigorous but just 30 minutes in the gym doing cardio that completely pumps me up and something I really look forward to!


2) Playing a sport:

Each time I took D to the nearby park, I couldn’t stop staring at the adjacent basket ball and tennis courts and remember my school days. Playing sport was a part of me back then. Coincidentally I found a tennis coach in the same building I stay at. I took it as a sign and started my tennis lessons with her a few weeks back. 

Being at that court is like meditation. I’m not thinking about anything else, no distractions, and no concerns for that hour and a half. 

Taking time out for gym and tennis has worked wonders not just for my physical and mental health but taught me the most valuable lesson of self discipline.  No matter how busy I get at times- this is something I'd always want to prioritise.


3) Avoiding baby talk: 

As moms, its only natural that our kids tend to become the centre of our lives. Especially as a first time mom,  very often I find myself only discussing "children issues" with my other mommy friends or even the ones who haven't had babies yet. 

Now I make a conscious effort to talk about other things with every person I meet. Its no longer just about how I'm dealing with toddler tantrums, what she eats, what she doesn't or her recent milestones achieved. Suddenly there is so much more to talk about and listen to and it feels great not discussing about babies all the time!

4) Reading:

The more we read, the more we learn! It’s a habit that gives more meaning to life. I make it a point to read every single day. Sometimes it may be as little as half hour in an entire day just before bedtime but that’s okay.

Whether it’s news, a book, an article, vogue for my dose of bollywood news or reading others blogposts- it feels good to stay connected with what’s happening other than your own personal life.

It gives a broader perspective to my life and there is something new I get to learn everyday.

5) Self care: 

One thing that I’m guilty of ignoring totally are my hands. Just like every mom, they have overworked themselves in the past two years in the process of numerous diaper changes and doing dishes.

Forget getting a mani, I wouldn’t even bother to paint my nails knowing how they would start chipping off the very next day given all the soap exposure.  Even stopped wearing my rings with the fear of hurting D while changing her clothes or lifting her.

Getting back to pampering my hands by getting manicures,  wearing my rings again and in general taking care of my hair and skin feels so good. Now when it comes to self care routine, I don't procrastinate but just plan it better. 

Starting D’s day care definitely helped me find more time to do all of the above things but most importantly it was the willingness to bring these things back into my life that worked for me.

Now I can safely say that I’m in a happy place where there is a perfect balance between motherhood and my personal well being and that’s exactly where I wish to be!

Is there anything that you did too that helped you reconnect post motherhood? Would love to hear:)

Homemade COFFEE!

For a chai lover like me, coffee is a once in a while affair. So whenever I'm in mood to trade my chai for coffee (usually in the evenings) I make sure it’s something worth indulging into! 

Few of my favorites are: Peppermint mocha from Starbucks, Coffee from my Nespresso machine and home made hand beaten coffee, the recipe of which I'm sharing on the blog today.

 I’ve been making this coffee for years now. Its like making a cappuccino at home without using any fancy equipment. A lot of my friends who’ve tasted this coffee have vouched for its taste and how creamy it is. I don’t know any coffee lover who hasn’t liked the coffee this recipe generates.

In case you’re wondering if a homemade coffee really needs a recipe to be followed just stay with me and keep reading further. I promise I won’t disappoint. Its just a tad bit of a more effort than boiling milk and mixing it with coffee and sugar. But the result is truly worth every sip. 

Let’s start with ingredients:

• Instant coffee powder (4 tablespoon)
• Sugar (6 tablespoon)
• Water ( to beat the coffee)
• Milk (4 cups)

This recipe will yield four medium cups of coffee. I recommend making minimum of four because it gets easier and quicker to beat the coffee. 

Step1:

In a bowl, mix the coffee powder and sugar and start beating it with a spoon adding small amounts of water. 

Make sure not to add a lot of water instantly otherwise the texture will be slimy and not frothy as we want it to be. 

Step2:

Bring milk to boil in a saucepan. In the meantime layer the bottom of the cup with 1 tablespoon of the beaten mixture and then pour the boiling milk over it. 

Stir it very gently once or twice and in seconds you’ll see the coffee turn into a rich creamy frothy one. 

Step3:

Sprinkle some cocoa powder over it. It not only makes the coffee look dressy but the chocolate totally enhances the flavor too. 

This is my go-to recipe whenever I have guests or friends over and are in mood for a hot beverage. 

You can refrigerate the beaten mix for up-to a week so this is definitely a good make-ahead recipe if you are expecting some company over. 

First birthday celebration!

Dia is about to turn two in April, and I already cant hold my excitement of planning a birthday party for her. Last year on her first birthday both RJ and me had amicably agreed to a small celebration at home involving just family. I'm so glad we didn't plan anything huge because she was too young to remember or even enjoy an actual party. 

This year, we do want all our friends and extended family to be a part of her birthday. And as for D, she is more social and interactive now, recognises all friends and family so I feel that the probability of her enjoying has increased in the past one year. 

My brain has already begun to process her preferences to decide on a party theme and all the other planning that I need to do. I will most certainly keep you posted on the details of D's 2nd but before that I wanted to share how and what we did for her 1st.

Though we didn't have a long list of guests, and a rather small celebration at home, I still wanted to make her milestone birthday special and the pictures worth looking back at.

One thing I've realised is that whether its a private celebration or a huge party, there is immense joy in throwing a birthday party for your little one. 

Keeping it minimal!

Following is a list of what we did for D's 1st - and a bunch of pictures along:)

1) Birthday Cake:

D was on a marathon of listening to hindi rhymes in that phase.  "bandar mama pehen pajama" being her favorite. The rhythm of that song would just light her up! When I was shortlisting options to customise D's birthday cake, out of all her other favorite things, bandar mama was a sure shot winner!

There is a local bakery here in our neighbourhood Sweet and Flour  She did an amazing job with the cake and customising a bandar (monkey) on it. We got a fruit cake with fresh cut strawberries. It had just the right amount of sweetness and everyone loved it. For D's second birthday, I at least know whom I'm outsourcing the cake too:)

All eyes on bandar mama!
More than the cake cutting, she was excited to get her hands on the monkey
 and bite into the poor guy.

2) Cake Smash:

Though D had tasted sugar/sweeter things before, I wanted to plan a cake smash anyway. Getting to see her reaction of having an entire cake to herself without any restrictions would be quite an experience.

It was priceless watching her eat that cake in the cutest way and I cant wait to share all the pictures and videos with her when she is old enough to make sense out of it.

I got a half pound cake with pink floral icing for her cake smash from the same bakery. Though D could barely come close to finishing it, the yummy mess was still pretty tempting to be eaten by her mom later. 

I'm sure she is thinking its the best day of her life! 

3) Decoration:

I kept the decor simple and minimal with a big number one balloon and few other colorful ones that RJ had picked a night before from Party City. We decorated her play area at night after she went to bed to surprise her on the birthday morning. 

April still happens to be a colder month and we couldn't plan an outdoor shoot but I did want to click some great pictures and add a special touch. Pinterest never fails me on the creative front. I got inspired by the idea to create a DIY hot air ballon.

Apart from that,  another website that came handy in ordering some unique stuff for the birthday decor was Etsy. I got a banner to display D's monthly birthday pictures which now beautifully hangs on our bedroom wall.

I also ordered a customised chalk board poster listing D's one year stats and a few of her favorite things from her first year. Its pinned right above her high chair and now when I look at it, it reminds me of how her preferences have changed in just another year. For instance, bandar mama is long forgotten and bollywood dance numbers have taken over!

Soaring high, hoping you touch the sky!
(Though I really wish I could plan an outdoor shoot for her)

Growing up way too fast!

4) Food:

We had the cake cutting at 11a.m followed by lunch. The cake smash was planned for later evening once D was up form her afternoon nap. 

We were about 10 people including family and few friends. I squeezed some time to make two easy-to-put together appetisers at home and ordered a lebanese food platter for the main course. The yummy cake made up for dessert.   

A good party has to have great food! Agree?

5) Outfits:

Believe it or not, D's spring inspired sunshine yellow dress is sourced from India. I follow a brand called Pa:paa on Instagram who make children's clothing and simply love their stuff. Fortunately, a friend of mine was returning from India so she was able to get it but they do ship worldwide. I wanted D to be comfortable in what she wears so she could play around and have fun. It was customised and giving them measurements over the phone made me a little unsure but the outfit turned out perfect and also fit her really well.

Here cake smash outfit was a very last minute thought and Amazon Prime came to the rescue.  

US<3

All in all, it turned out to be an awesome day for D as well as us. She wasn't cranky at all and actually ended up enjoying her first birthday, which as parents was super satisfying to watch!

With this throwback post on D's first birthday, I now feel super charged and excited to plan for her second. Stay tuned for more...

P.S. We didn't hire a professional photographer for the day but my friend's husband did a fab job! Anand, if you are reading this thank you once again:)

Famous Fridays : Rupa Parekh

Almost a month back, I received one of the sweetest gesture in my mail. It was a Flash Card set from Rupa - the owner of Jai Jai Hooray. She sent it out for D as a Diwali gift,  along with a handwritten note hoping that we enjoy exploring it. Today, I am sharing all about whats inside this bright and colorful box- here on the blog!

Flash cards is one of the most popular and playful means to introduce kids to any new words, concepts and images. I'm so glad that Rupa came up with the idea to design a set of cards that introduces all the Gods and Goddesses from the Hindu religion to our kids. 

 Each flash card has an animated drawing of the god in the front and a small description about them on the back. Such a great idea to get our kids to learn about Hindu mythology from an early age. Its been a month that D and me have been using the set and she can now point out the Gods correctly when I take their names.

When a mom is determined to teach her kids about her own culture, creativity flows and products like Jai Jai Hooray are born! I connected with Rupa to thank her for creating such a beautiful way of educating our kids and heres what she had to say about the brand. 

1) What prompted you to start Jai Jai Hooray?

The feeling of wanting to bottle up my mom! As a first-generation Indian American, I love my culture but always feel a little shaky on customs and traditions. When you have kids you want to be able to pass on your heritage and I just couldn't find tools that were beautifully simple. By the time we had our second child, I was ready to do something about it.


2) We love the flash card set and the building tower, any new products in the pipeline for Jai Jai Hooray?

Of course! We're working away now, mostly doing design research with our biggest fans but also people who haven't interacted with our brand at all. South Asians and non. We're looking forward to working on products for older kids as well.


3) As a mom what's your biggest challenge while you try to educate your kids about Indian culture?

Making it ever-present. We don't want our culture to be something they only think about once a month or on holidays. We do our best to incorporate words, ideas, places, foods, and people into everyday. 


4) Tell us about your favorite Indian festival, and how you celebrate it with your kids.

Well, I'm Gujarati so Navratri is a favorite. We love garba but I've always been inspired about the meaning of the festival. It's a celebration of female strength, power and motherhood. It inspired our latest creation the Goddess power Tower.


5) Being a mom is a 24/7 job. How do you strike the work life balance? 

I'm never really sure how to answer this question. It's usually a question we only ask women and moms, right? My life is my family, my work and my community. It always has been. But that's a personal choice. Am I balanced. Nope. Work in progress.


6)  Share a childhood memory with us that connects you to the Indian culture.

Falling in love with Mumbai with my parents as my guides. They left in their early twenties and each time they return it's as though time froze. We ride the trains, hop through the markets, crash weddings on Juhu beach and always visit the Churchgate area for a little calm. They taught me about humanity, heart and soaking in all the experiences we can on those trips. 

You can buy the flash card set here. Use promo code HOLIDAY10 for a 10 percent off the order. 

Twinning with D!

There is nothing more blissful then spending time with your loved ones and this long weekend was all about that. We rented a cabin in the woods at Poconos and I still can't get over the feeling of living right in the middle of lush green forests. 

The weather did play spoil sport and we couldn't do much of outdoorsy stuff, but what followed was a series of dumb charades and poker sessions, late night conversations with lots of chai and food and getting clicked in the lap of nature. 

D and me ended up twinning during our stay and I can't wait to share our pictures together. 

Outfit details:

D's Shirt Dress: Zara 

D's Shoes: UGG

My blouse: (old) similar- (1) (2)

Story time!

It's 12 pm and while I'm busy prepping up for lunch in the kitchen, I'm interrupted by tiny fingers trying to reach out to me. It's D (my 16 month old daughter) She drags me to her play area and persuades me to take a seat. 

The next thing I know is she runs towards her pile of storybooks, grabs one and quietly comes and sits back into my lap. This is "our routine" Something we follow multiple times a day and so I know it's my turn now! I open the book and start reading out to her... soaking myself in satisfaction that D has developed a love for books at an early age! 

Being a parent in a technology dominated  world has not been easy, it comes with its pros and cons. While I have the convenience of handing D an iPad (which I do, and she loves her video time) I don't want her to miss out on the simplicity of learning from a book. Basically, even if not a 100 percent, exposing her through realms of the kind of technology-free childhood I had.

Talking about my childhood - I remind myself how I was born and raised in India, as against raising her here in the US. I realize that our desi culture won't come to her by default, and if I lack the effort to teach her about India or things back home on a daily basis, she might grow up to be completely ignorant of her Indian roots. 

Fortunately, I'm not the only South Asian mommy with a similar thought process! Reena Puri and Mital Telhan from Desi Babies have actually gone a step forward by designing baby books that teach kids about our culture. 

Their latest one being- 10 Noisy Rickshaws!

The book is a perfect way to introduce numbers to your little ones and what I absolutely love love love is how cute and Indian the illustrations in the book are.

D was absolutely thrilled to start exploring the pages as soon as the book arrived and watching her do so was priceless.

10 Noisy Rickshaws has become a very valuable addition to D's library of books and if you ask me- I couldn't have found a better way to get her to learn counting while she also learns about a few Indian things. 

You can buy the book here and also get a 10% discount using promo code: IGAW

Photo credit: Saumya- a dear friend and an amazing food blogger! Don't forget to check out her blog @upclosewithsaumya

The Tent is the latest addition to D's play area! Its not only our reading nook but also her secret hide out whenever she wants to run away from me!:)

How big/small is our carbon footprint?

I grew up watching my dad's love for nature! It reflected in everything- the kind of vacations he took us on, weekends at the farmhouse and our beautiful garden at home. Occasionally he would even trim the overgrown leaves and water the plants himself. 

Watching him do so, deep down I wondered why did he take time out for such things! We had a gardener coming in for weekly maintenance and the watchman watering the plants every evening. 

I may have seemed to miss his point back then, but today it all makes sense. There is a distinct happiness that comes from being connected with nature. So while we enjoy all the goodness from mother nature, I feel like we owe her big time!!

As we celebrated World environment day recently, I wanted to do something more than just wishing everyone a "Happy environment day" on social media.

On that note - I'm sharing a few choices that I've personally made:) We all can do so much to reduce our carbon footprint by just making a few simple changes in our daily routine. 

1) E- magazine subscriptions: I got myself an online subscription to all the magazines I read. Because even though paper can be recycled it comes with a cost to the environment. Cutting down on unnecessary use of paper while their e-versions are available, so why not! 

 
2) Replacing the dryer sheets: I am(was) a big fan of dryer sheets for the way they made the clothes smell! Until I found out how many chemicals it came loaded with, not to forget the synthetic fragrances used. A little bit of research for an eco-friendly option led me to these dryer balls at target. Just toss them into the dryer and they last you up to a 1000 loads. Isn't that so much better than buying dryer sheets again and again? 

 
3) Carry your own bag for groceries: We all have heard how it takes years and years to dispose off one plastic bags. A trip to the grocery store and the amount of plastic bags that tagged along were seriously making me feel guilty and hence the switch. Not having all the unwanted plastic enter my home is a big relief. 

 
4) Practising the R's: Recycle, Reuse and Reduce are keys for a safer environment and Pinterest is flooded with suggestions. All I do is type those R's and take inspiration. A recent post I read on Pinterest was about using cotton cloths and going paperless in the kitchen. I haven't given it a shot yet but its totally on my list of " go green" 

 
5) Running the dishwasher: Thank God for the dishwasher because I hate doing dishes. So for all the energy and water consumption it demands, I make sure that its running only when fully loaded. 

 
6) Switching off the lights when not needed: This is something I've learnt while growing up and comes naturally so I don't have to try too hard. Another practice I'm getting into is unplugging the chargers from the wall while the electronics are not in use. Believe it or not, even a charger not in use but merely plugged in, consumes electricity. 

 
7) Kitchen garden: This is yet to be attained, but I've always dreamt of growing my own food. Fresher, healthier and definitely an eco friendly option. So whenever I do (hopefully soon!) you know its coming on the blog for sure;) 

 
8) Buying organic: Until I have my kitchen garden in place, I have settled for buying organic food. But here's the deal - I've learnt (again, thanks to Pinterest) that we don't have to buy everything organic and that certain stuff is better off bought conventional. Sharing the list here 

 
9) Use of hot water: Apparently hot water does immense damage to the skin so its been a great motivation to limit the use. I do the dishes using cold water and shower with lukewarm. So while my skin stays happier, lesser consumption of energy for hot water is an added bonus. 

 
10) Donate: This is perhaps the best way to contribute to the environment. By simply making sure to "donate" and not "trash" the stuff we no longer use we are making a huge deal of a difference.

Over the weekend we took D to central park. Don't we hope that generations to come have access to such parks with lush green trees!? 

If yes, then lets do our bit. Lets #gogreen

My Polka Dot wall

Lately, one thing that's keeping me occupied other than D (of course) is Pinterest. I've been spending all the free time at my discretion to browse through the creative world of DIY stuff and believe me it can get addictive.

We have a play area for D and I wanted to do a little something to decorate it since a while now. And so I turned to Pinterest for some nursery decor ideas. After scanning through bunch of gorgeous images, I decided to glam up the walls using some gold polka dot wall decals.

They were super easy, quick and non messy to install and I love how it has changed the look of her entire play area. Another advantage of this DIY weekend activity was how much fun RJ and me had doing this together for our little girl.

We did this during D's afternoon nap time and when she woke up to the gold confetti sprinkles on the wall she couldn't stop gazing. Watching her excitement trying to catch them with her tiny hands was so adorable. 

Having done this, I'm so excited to try a few more DIY projects for the home, and as and when I do, I'll make sure to keep you'll posted!

Artkhoji Indian decor

Hey guys! Warm HOLI wishes to everyone. Over the past two days, it was so delightful to see everyone posting pictures of their Holi celebrations. Love the colors and fun this festival brings into our lives. And now we are stuck with a snowstorm and everything I see outside my window is wrapped in white.

Anyway, what I'm about to share on my blogpost today will surly brighten up your screens :) If you too are into Indian decor for your home - this blog post is meant for you,  so continue scrolling...

Last month on my hunt to find something artistic (and Indian) for my entrance wall, my relentless surfing on the internet led me to Artkhoji at Etsy.com 

Parul, owner of artkhoji has created some incredible pieces of wall art capturing India in its true essence. The moment I saw her artwork I instantly knew I wanted these for the house. 

The files are for sale in digital format and you can get them printed and framed as per your choice. I got mine on canvas and they look adorable on my wall!

These are a few of my favorites!

And these are the two I picked for my home.

To explore her entire collection hop on to the direct link here. You can also avail a 20%

discount using the code IGAW20