Sara turns five.

Yesterday a close friend messaged me asking, “Is there something wrong with your blog, it isn’t showing any posts after the 18^th of December.” I laughed (sheepishly) and told her well that it is because I haven’t posted any!  “Really? For almost two months you haven’t posted a thing!” she seemed shocked.

I too was shocked that I had been away from my favorite place for this long. And so I am here today to correct that. Correct that with a post that I love to write here each year. Sara’s birthday post. Yes, ten days back she turned five. And I still find it hard to believe that four years ago I shared her first birthday right here.

Over the years, I’ve shared with you lovely readers all of her birthdays (sans the last one when we were to vacate the house the next day for our entire home was to be shipped to Dubai and I couldn’t post but I promise to share that pretty soon) for doing that allows me to make all of you a part of our happiness which is what I love about blogging the most.

The girl has been obsessed with garden fairies for over two years now, so much so that she even wears her wings while sleeping and pretends that she lives in a toadstool! So the theme was pretty much pre-decided and like always we had a small get together at home just the way my mom did. Handcrafting everything right from the invitation card to the décor, cooking every little morsel and keeping it sweet and really small; sharing the day with six of her “best friends”.

Pink just had to be there was the little girl’s request and pink there was. What is a garden fairy party without some green and ofcourse the fairy and that was the starting point. 

We had very simple pink invitation cards for each of her friends with lots of sparkle and doilies with a short and sweet message inviting the fairies into the enchanted garden (Free printable from here).

I didn't really have to buy anything for the party decor because one there was enough to “shop” from Sara’s room and two, I handcrafted the rest.

At the entrance we had Sara’s blackboard with the line, “Do you believe in fairies?” and fairy lights from her room. She also had a pinwheel that had a cute flowery print which added a whimsical touch to the vignette.

I must mention here that each time Sara passed by the blackboard (before and after the party) she read the question and declared loudly to no one in particular, “Yes, I do!” and then broke into a big smile :)

Each of the little fairies were handed over their wings upon entering the home and I have to say that with seven little girls fluttering away I really didn’t need any décor because all eyes were on them.

For a while they enjoyed playing in Sara’s room, post which I had two fun games planned for them.

One was a garden fairy version of the musical chairs. Musical Toadstools. I cut out several red circles out of thick handmade paper and then pasted smaller white circles on it so that they resembled toadstools. They not only looked cute on the green carpet (once again from Sara’s room) for they looked like toadstools on grass but also I didn’t have to worry about arranging seven chairs!

And the little fairies looked so cute standing around/on it. Each fairy was given a magic wand when she had to leave the toadstool to go to her Fairy Godmother (their respective mums). It worked for we had seven happy faces because everyone won and it was not a competition where only one took back the prize. The wands actually came with the wings that I had given earlier (sorry I don’t have pictures but they were just like the pink wings). 

For my little birthday fairy who was in her white wings I handcrafted the wand that would go with her dress and the invitation card. Some twine around a chopstick, a doily, a handcrafted rose and some pink and green strings (left from her third birthday) and it was ready. She loved it and that made me very happy.

Post that we had a treasure hunt of sorts where the girls sat on their toadstool mats and I handed them over pink bags to collect their little treasures that were hidden in the living area. I used small pink gift bags and simply pasted a doily cut in half to maintain the theme.

Each one got a turn to open the little box that contained the clues and their mums helped them to read and solve. Each clue took them to a little goodie box which had seven goodies each and the little fairy had to share her treasure with all the other fairies. It was really cute watching them all wide eyed and surprised and also sharing the goodies with their friends; making sure they didn't miss anyone.

The hidden treasures were:

• Fairy dust (Bottle containing glitter)
• Shiny rocks (M&Ms wrapped up in some foil and made to look like sparkly rocks)
• Pixie kisses (Hershey’s kisses)
• Fairy clouds (little bags of popcorn)
• Gold coins (Chocolate gold coins)
• Sparkly hairbands (the set of wings that the girls got upon entering came with the magic wands (which I distributed during the musical toadstools game) and the fairy hairbands. So basically I used each of the three elements separately through the party. Once again for the birthday fairy I handcrafted her hairband. I used some tulle from an old torn tutu of hers and some beads I had on hand and handmade flowers; all on an old hairband of hers which she instantly recognized and said but this is my old headband! Kids I tell you!)

And finally the last clue that led them to the birthday cake itself that I carried to the table at the end of the treasure hunt

By now the fairies had played enough and were famished and so where their mums. Except for the cake that I never make for her birthday for there are just too many things to prepare and look after that day and also I don’t think I can ever match up to what Aya did for us I made everything at home.

Aya from Aya Cupcakes did a fabulous job on the cake. I had sent her picture of what Sara and I had selected and what a fabulous job she did. It was like my little girl sitting there.

Too pretty to touch?

We couldn't make ourselves eat that pretty fairy and once the party was over we made Sara hold her and clicked away.

Next to the cake is my alarm clock which I took the cells out off and got the needles to represent her time of birth. A tiny easel with the card (a little variation of the invitation card, can you tell or is it just me!) that doubled up both as décor and a wishing card of sorts which we used to capture the lovely wishes from the guests and this AWESOME garden fairy terrarium that a dear friend made herself and gifted to my little girl.

It was a gift that was shouting handmade, creativity and gorgeousness. You guys know me well enough I am sucker for handcrafted goodness and I wanted to give my heart away in return.

Just check out that mini pinwheel, those little mushrooms and ofcourse the fairies. I had half a mind of stealing it away from Sara for my room! Actually to be honest I still have intentions of doing that. Don’t kids get bored of things after a while, please tell me I am right:)

But I digress. Coming back to the food the menu was garden fairyish, had to be.

• Pixie punch (apple & orange juice for the kids and homemade mint lemonade for the mums)
• Snail sandwiches (cream cheese & grated carrot sandwiches with cucumber for the antenna)
• Toadstools (Cherry tomatoes sitting on cheese)
• Garden veggies with yogurt dip
• Butterfly Pasta (For no party is completed without pasta in the words of Sara. A simple farfalle in homemade tomato, carrot and red bell pepper sauce)
• A patch of grass ( Sliced baguette with labneh, dill, mint, coriander, cherry tomatoes and cucumber silvers and chilli flakes for the mums)
• Gnome bites with three kinds of dips (Falafel wraps with hummus and pickled cucumbers. Once again more for the mums than the kids. Though to my surprise the kids liked it as well)
• Fairy clouds (Store bought candy floss)

And doilies once again for food labels.

We had a fun evening and we thanked our little guests with a pretty pink noteback and a magic wand pen (Just my luck that I saw it at a stationery store and had to pick those for party favors for they went so well with the dreamy fairy theme).

I used simple brown paper (my favorite to wrap all kinds of gifts) and made these little green gift tags with doilies and some sparkly nail paint for some shimmer.

The notes read, "Thank You Fairy Much!"

Also, I used a recent snap of Sara that we took during the holidays when we visited a garden here for the table that carried the wings, wands, return gifts and the treasure hunt bags. It was so appropriate and it made me super happy seeing her as the “I” amongst the colourful and vibrant words happy birthday. All made with flowers. 

I used an old frame that we didn't need any longer and painted it white, distressed it a bit with sandpaper and used a thread to hang her happy-happy birthday picture.

And like each year I wanted Sara & us to look back at the heartfelt wishes from each of the guests and we asked the guests to write down a little note for her. It sure will be both nostalgic and enjoyable years later when Sara and we sit down and go through it all.

I, of course needed something on the lines of an annual leave after her party but I had so much fun putting it all together. I told my sister may be that is the reason we decided to have a baby after all; to throw cutesy birthday parties!!

Each year after her birthday party I think to myself that I will now have to wait for one whole year to do this again and that kind of makes me sad. However this year my little girl who is not so little anymore but who enjoys putting parties together just like her mum, came to me the very same evening and asked, "Mamma, How many days for my sixth birthday?! "

And I laughed. My daughter!

"365", I said.

Images : Personal Album. All images belong to purplehomes and are subject to copyright.

Hey first half!

Hey first half of the year...where did you go? Did you really have to fly away like this? I am still making my list of things to achieve and it seems half the year is over, already! 

So how are all of you doing today? Are you also as surprised as me? How are you doing on your professional & personal targets? Isn't this the perfect time to revisit the months gone by. Happy memories and the not so happy ones. Friends made and well some lost. Special loved filled moments. Dreams that you finally turned into reality. Dreams that will still take some time to come true.

The first half of the year for me has been truly exciting. Lots of amazing work, a new project coming to life very soon, new friends & amazing colleagues, tons of time with the little one and some with DH, big plans for the second half and yes remember my list of happy things to do...I am more than halfway there. I shared some progress with you on that one here...more on this in days to come. 6 strikes, 3 WIP and 2 to start.

How has it been for you? Ready to welcome the second half...open those pretty windows and smile for the beautiful second half with its lovely weather, fun filled festivals and tons of opportunities is almost here...

love

Image : here

So how are we doing on the list?

Pretty decent I think!

Remember I made a list some months back. A list of a different kind. A list that makes & will make me happy.

Time to do a little check.

"11 things I'd like to do in 2010-11.

1. Bake a cupcake & ice it. Because I can bake cakes, cheese cakes, muffins, soufflés but have never had the courage to bake & ice a cupcake. Yet to do.
2. Re-do Sara's room. Because she is a toddler now and her mother needs a reason to redesign & redecorate. We are getting there.
3. Change all the artwork in the house yet again. Because I want to. Because the last time I made each was five years back and I am bored. Because there will be only 25 frames to be filled and I am completely mad to attempt the same with so much already going on in my life. Working on this too.
4. Learn the complete lyrics of the song Hope you dance (the song we used in Sara's first year video montage). Because its such a lovely song and I am really bad at remembering lyric. Because I'd like to sing it for Sara. DONE.I uploaded the same on a digital frame we have had for years but never used it. It worked like magic. So now we play it often and Sara knows it too. "Prachi Mom play hope you dan" she tells me.
5. Get a snap of the three of us (DH, Sara & me) clicked. Because we have the lousiest family snaps in the world. Because its rare that we get the opportunity to click the three of us together its either DH & Sara or Sara & me. DONE. DONE.DONE. Finally we have some snaps which have the three of us and I can't be happier:)
6. Plan a memorable day for my dad. Because its his 60^th birthday and I love him. Because he is the best dad in the world.DONE.Remember I shared this you here when he turned 18 with 42 years of experience :)
7. Throw a really really CUTE birthday party for Sara. Because she is turning two next year and I want to start spending all my days & nights planning it! DONE. Had so much fun doing it and sharing it with you, here. Someone please help me control the urge to plan her 3rd birthday:) It can wait, right? :)
8. Complete my collection of Nigella Lawson books. Because I am HUGE fan and love that she only cooks food with 10000 plus calories and there are three that I don't have including her latest release Kitchen. ALMOST DONE.  Requested (forced) my family gift me one & bought Kitchen as soon as it came to India. One left!
9. Spend an entire night watching our favourite DVDs, munching popcorn & downloading coke into my system (We are talking beyond permissible limits) with DH. Because there was a time when we would watch two movies a night after getting back from work at eight. Because that was our favourite part of the day. Because it was so much fun. Because ever since the little one came into our lives we haven't been able to do this. Ah! This is a tough one to accomplish. Considering that as soon as Sara sleeps we want to sleep too! But there is time till September :) So who knows I may be able to strike this off my list too.
10. Learn how to maintain indoor plants. Because the only indoor plant I understand is plucking a stem off the money plant in my balcony and putting it in a bottle. Because I love greens inside but they always die as soon I get them in. Many greens have died a sad death at my home. So I am waiting to attack this one once I get my courage back.
11. Come up with a sweet little tradition for each festival or special day that we will be celebrating in 2010-11. Because now is the time that Sara has started understanding & participating in the things we do around the house and it will be awesome  if she has a particularly sweet-something to look forward to each time we celebrate a particular festival or a special day. Totally enjoying doing this. But the year has just begun so will share some of our "traditions" in the later half of the year".

Not bad right?  4 strikes and 3 WIP. 

How is your report card looking? Have you managed to start working on your Because this makes me happy list? Do share with me & all the lovely readers.

Didn't make one with me in September? So make one right away! I can guarantee it will bring a lot of happiness in your life and also make you value those little things we ought to value & love. 

Happy Love,

P

Image : Credits mentioned in the original post.

Because this makes me happy!

I am quite the queen when it comes to making lists. So this month I decided to make a list of a different kind. A list that will make me happy, a list that will inspire me to try out new things and a list that will make life seem so much more beautiful.

11 things I'd like to do in 2010-11.

By 30^th September 2011 I would like to:

1. Bake a cupcake & ice it. Because I can bake cakes, cheese cakes, muffins, soufflés but have never had the courage to bake & ice a cupcake
2. Re-do Sara's room. Because she is a toddler now and her mother needs a reason to redesign & redecorate
3. Change all the artwork in the house yet again. Because I want to. Because the last time I made each was five years back and I am bored. Because there will be only 25 frames to be filled and I am completely mad to attempt the same with so much already going on in my life
4. Learn the complete lyrics of the song Hope you dance (the song we used in Sara's first year video montage). Because its such a lovely song and I am really bad at remembering lyric. Because I'd like to sing it for Sara.
5. Get a snap of the three of us (DH, Sara & me) clicked. Because we have the lousiest family snaps in the world. Because its rare that we get the opportunity to click the three of us together its either DH & Sara or Sara & me
6. Plan a memorable day for my dad. Because its his 60^th birthday and I love him. Because he is the best dad in the world
7. Throw a really really CUTE birthday party for Sara. Because she is turning two next year and I want to start spending all my days & nights planning it!
8. Complete my collection of Nigella Lawson books. Because I am HUGE fan and love that she only cooks food with 10000 plus calories and there are three that I don't have including her latest release Kitchen
9. Spend an entire night watching our favourite DVDs, munching popcorn & downloading coke into my system (We are talking beyond permissible limits) with DH. Because there was a time when we would watch two movies a night after getting back from work at eight. Because that was our favourite part of the day. Because it was so much fun. Because ever since the little one came into our lives we haven't been able to do this.
10. Learn how to maintain indoor plants. Because the only indoor plant I understand is plucking a stem off the money plant in my balcony and putting it in a bottle. Because I love greens inside but they always die as soon I get them in
11. Come up with a sweet little tradition for each festival or special day that we will be celebrating in 2010-11. Because now is the time that Sara has started understanding & participating in the things we do around the house and it will be awesome  if she has a particularly sweet-something to look forward to each time we celebrate a particular festival or a special day

So that was my list of eleven things I'd like to do by September 2011. I will be striking them off as I complete them. And of course sharing it each time I accomplish something on the list. They say sharing goals always helps in achieving them quickly and by putting it here on the blog and sharing with all you lovely people who have always encouraged me for everything I have taken up in the past I am hoping the same!

I intend to make a list like this each year and share the same with you. With a little difference though. For the year 2011-12, it will be 12 things I'd like to  accomplish and 13 for 2012-13...the reason being If I can manage to do eleven things that make me happy this time around I am sure I can manage one more the year after!

Have you noticed how my list revolves around making my loved ones feel special, designing, renovating, baking, eating, throwing handcrafted parties...well because that is what I like and is a large part of who I am!

Having said that...since I love parties of any kind...lets transform this activity into a lovely party. I invite all of you...bloggers, readers, friends, family to make your own lists...things that will make YOU happy and share it with all of us. This is how you become a part:

For bloggers:

1. Write a "Because this makes me happy" post on your blog and link back to this particular post on purplehomes, url here
2. Copy the 'permalink' from your blog leave it in the comments section
3. I will be then collating them all on a separate page on the blog so that we can all drop in there whenever we feel like and see the group growing
4. Any questions, email me at purplehomes.blogspot@gmail.com
5. Share on your blog each time you meet your personal goal. Don't forget to share it with us!

For Non-bloggers:

1. Write a "Because this makes me happy" note on paper, click a picture or scan it and upload the picture here.  Or the Corel/Picasa/Photoshop savvy ones can make use of that and upload it here as well. Or simply email me!
2. Any questions, email me at purplehomes.blogspot@gmail.com
3. Share with us each time you meet a goal against your picture here

Spread the word around...tell your friends, family, little ones...anyone and everyone you want to and lets all work towards becoming happier!

Before I end,

• This is not a list of New Year resolutions (It's still three months away; in case you didn't notice). No "I want to lose weight", "I want to start getting up early", "I am going to read the newspaper everyday", "I want to become a better human being", save that for New Year! We are talking small, we are talking happy, and we are talking just because I want to do it!
• This is not a list where I intend to keep doing something through the next 12 months. Thats tough! This list is for those one-time things that I have always wanted to learn/do but somehow never managed to squeeze out time for it
•  This is not my typical to-do list that I make every day of the year
• This is not a place for listing professional/work related goals

There is no last date to join this one. Start when you feel you are ready for one.Think hard. Think happy!

Looking forward to many of joining me here! Let the party begin!! 

Images : here, here & here.