Till we meet again.

I know I have been missing from here for way too long. Yes, the last post was in March this year and I owe you an explanation and I have some something to share.

It was November 2007 when I started writing here and decided to call it purplehomes for the simple reason that purple happens to be my favourite colour and doing up my home was and still is an obsession. What started as a little scrapbook of sorts soon became a place to meet all of you equally design and décor crazy lovely people, a place to share, learn and inspire and a place I began to “show up for work” everyday. This month I complete seven beautiful years of doing that.

Happy seventh purplehomes! Seven years of sharing the celebrations in my life, the DIYs that I attempted, my other love studio pottery and more. If someone had asked me back then in 2007 if I would be doing this for seven years I would have said no ways. I didn’t even stick to a job this long in my past life :)

Along the way many wonderful opportunities came up… working for a cause, starting artprints by purplehomes, writing for magazines and beingwritten about , being declared the BestBlog by BBC GoodHomes and so much more.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Now for the explanation bit; like with everything in life with time new things take shape and for me it began with my sister conning me into going for MasterChef India three years back which was followed by the birth of my second blog, Orange Kitchens, writing for foodmagazines, conducting food workshops and demonstrations and very recently becoming the Food Revolution Ambassador for Dubai.

Managing two blogs along with all the other wonderful work and opportunities that began to pour in got a little difficult. If I was active on one blog the other would suffer which is exactly what happened here.

So (insert deep breath) for the moment I have decided to go for a long break here at purplehomes and focus entirely on the food love in my life. The next one year is looking promising with a couple of professional and personal goals, all revolving around food and children and I want to give it my hundred percent. I am really really hoping all of you who have given me so much love in the past seven years will be there cheering for me, supporting me and showing up to say hello :)

Till I decide to come back, please savour the old posts on the blog, see what I've been cooking, join me in my quest for food education, say hi to me (I am on facebook, Instagram , twitter and pinterest) and keep being the awesome awesome people you always have been.

Till we meet again, a little recap of all these beautiful years. 

You were there through my numerous color crushes

My totally mad fetish times

You enjoyed the Go Green series

With you I met some insanely creative design bloggers

And most importantly you were a part of my happy times and not so happy times. Be it Sara's first birthday, our anniversaries, celebrating festivals, going with me to handicraft fairs, seeing my get potty about pots, appreciating my work, encouraging me when I made my Because it makes me happy list, and so much more.

A BIG Hug to all you lovely readers.

Leaving with you some decor mantras I try to live by.

Images : Original posts have all the credits mentioned

Diwali wishes coming your way.

Diwali is round the corner...twinkling diyas, homemade mithais, marigolds, exchanging  thoughtful gifts with family, friends and most importantly with all the people who help us each day and so much more. 

Diwali for me also means making handmade cards for loved ones. 

Sharing some that I have made over the years. Do you make Diwali cards too? 

Also dear readers, have you voted for purplehomes for the GoodHomes Awards 2013, yet? 

If you love this blog and would like to vote,please click on this link, here and simply "like" it. 

Images: Personal album. Please do not copy the images or the ideas. They are all subject to copyright.

Purplehomes gets nominated for the GoodHomes Awards 2013.

When I began blogging five years back (actually just a month away from celebrating six years of blogging...big yay!) it was like my little scrapbook of inspiring ideas, pretty pictures, a diary of all the celebrations in my life, all the DIYs that I attempted at home, sharing my victories and failures on the potters' wheel and more. I had no idea I would be at it for six years. And would be at it happy. I didn't even stick to a job for this long in my past life:) Now that does say something, doesn't it?

And from there it all evolved into working for a cause, starting artprints by purplehomes, writing for magazines and being written about and so much more (food being the other much loved twin ). Pinch me someone! 

And it is all because I knew that all this while when I was thinking, writing, editing,shooting posts there was and IS this amazing bunch of readers waiting for me to hit the publish button. That kept me going. Still does. Big thank you to all of you.

And now to be nominated by the ever so lovely team at the GoodHomes Magazine for the GoodHomes Awards 2013 has me singing:) Honored and Delighted. 

That I am in such good company makes this all the more special.

So today I am going to ask you lovelies to show your support and love to purplehomes and vote for what is rightly yours. This blog belongs to both you and me. Let's make it happen, shall we?

To cast your vote and make my day,simply click on the link below and "like" it. I'd ofcourse love to hear from you as well...anything really..what you like about purplehomes,why you like it, if we have "met" via this space...any memories...leave me a comment there.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=614354261939771&set=a.614354101939787.1073741841.154896334552235&type=1&relevant_count=1

There are three other absolutely talented women with me in this, share your love with all of you. Vote for them here. 

Keep reading, keep smiling.

Love,
P

Images: here

Eight years in 102 cartons.

Hello everyone. Where did you vanish you ask? And why?

Well...for that you need to read the long story I am about to tell.

So exactly three months back DH called me from one of those obscure places he keeps visiting for his projects and asked me if we would be okay with relocating.

“Relocating as in packing up our bags and moving to a new city?” I asked.

 “Ahem...a new city, yes but in a new country is more like what I had in mind”, he said.

And just like that we decided it was time to take a giant leap of courage and faith to say bye to our home and our life here and start a new life somewhere else...in an unfamiliar country.

It is a big move for us considering we have stayed in the same house since the day we got married. There are lovely memories associated with every little thing and every little corner. We have shared so many of our special moments with our families and friends here. There are so many “firsts” we have celebrated here. I am definitely going to miss all that.

Not being able to walk across the road to say hi to mum and dad, I am going to miss it all.

We also became proud parents here.

And after three months of continuous sorting, disposing, donating and packing we finally said goodbye to our home yesterday.

Eight years packed in 102 cartons.

I could do with resting for a lifetime now, really :) And that is what had kept me away from the blog all this while.

But now with all hardwork of packing behind me I am really really looking forward to this whole new adventure. A new home (a clean slate to decorate...yay!), new people to meet and make lifelong friendships with and new places to explore.

Making a new city our home.

I am curious about how our lives are about to change and what in our lives will remain the same. I am excited about learning and adapting to a new culture. And I am happy that as a family we will get more time to be with each other since DH’s last job entailed continuous travel.

There, so that’s my story. Wish us luck. Your wishes mean the world to me, you know that right? :)

And be ready to join me in this new journey. I am looking forward to talking a lot more here at purplehomes about wrapping up our life here,  our new life and experiences there, doing up the new house to make it our new home, new work opportunities, my design and culinary inspirations in a new city and more.

Much love,

P

Image : here & here

Purplehomes turns five.

A big thank you and a warm hug to each and everyone of you for being with me and giving purplehomes so much love and support. Its been five beautiful years and I feel so blessed.

Image : here

Recovering from my sister's wedding and more

How are you doing? Ahem...I have been vanishing every now and then and I have my reasons people:))

I am still recovering from my wonderful little sister's wedding. Oh yes! Lil sis got married a couple of weeks back and If I am allowed to say...it was the most beautiful wedding, really. We had such a great time planning every little bit of it and went crazy making sure it was all perfect right down to the last detail. And that was really exhausting:)

The week she got married was such a lovely week. We were surrounded by all our loved ones;family and friends. We were not only celebrating and laughing and in general being happy but that week gave each one of us an opportunity to spend time with cousins and aunts and uncles we hadn't had the chance to meet and connect with in years. Late night coffee and gossip sessions, playing dress up all day and night, eating together...our smiles just wouldn't go away. 

It was the first time that Sara got to meet all of our extended family and be with her uncles and aunts. All of that week I had no idea who she was with, who was feeding her and who was playing with her...all of them were busy pampering her and were constantly around her that she barely had any time for her mum and dad. I feel so blessed and overwhelmed. Really.

Post wedding clean up and reorganizing the home and my sister's relocation kept us busy as well and then there was Diwali and the usual office work.

And I have to be honest even with all this excitement I missed being here and talking to all of you. Really sorry for being away for so long and making a little promise to be here with you.

Hope all of you are getting to spend time with your loved ones this festive season as well and are doing well.

I will see you on the other side of this week. Keep smiling and say hi to those cousins and uncles and aunts you grew up with and haven't spoken to in years:)

Love,

P

p.s. Don't forget to participate in the purplehomes & Zansaar giveaway:)

Image : Personal

Hello August.

I've been really struggling writing this post. It's been a while I wrote here and I have absolutely no clue where July went. Really...it's August? Pinch me please.

The little one rejoined school, my lil sis got engaged, the in-laws visited us and  purplehomes took a new and beautiful direction. I loved every moment, every role. Be it playing mum for Sara, the really irritating and intolerable event planner cum daughter cum sister for my loving  family and my sis, the daughter-in-law who wanted to please the in laws and ofcourse the dreamer who finally took her baby steps.

Phew. August please give me time to breathe.


Image: here

A New Beginning.

Hello lovely readers. How are you doing? It’s been over a month that we met each other and let me tell you I’ve really missed being here. Purplehomes is my space for it allows me to think, create, day dream, relax and of course be with all of you. And over the last four years it has unknowingly given me a lot. New friends, new learnings and new work opportunities; those I couldn’t dream of four years back. And am really thankful to each one of you for the all love and support you have always had for purplehomes. I feel truly blessed.

When I left the corporate world about five years back I had some dreams that I wanted to realize. Some came true, others didn’t. I got to pursue studio pottery. I got the wonderful opportunity of working as a business consultant with some amazingly talented women who wanted to make the lives of so many other women better. And the blog allowed me to connect with like minded people who gave me the chance to write for design magazines. Touchwood. And I’ve truly enjoyed each moment. Along the way I also started to focus on my other love, food.

But the time had come for me to move and take some decisions. Professionally. Much as I liked and loved what I was doing there comes a time when you really can’t do it ALL. For you have some other dreams that have waited long enough and you really want to focus all your energies to realize those.

So the time had come to say goodbye to both my consulting job with WoW and take a little (ahem, more like a long one actually) break from studio pottery. Someone who I really respect told me something really meaningful and true. She said, “One of the most beautiful things in life is that through experiences like these you learn, discover, experience and understand what is really a part of you and what makes you happy”. And both studio pottery and my work with WoW did exactly that. They taught me so much and nourished my soul. However, they left me with very little time and energy to focus on what I wanted to make of purplehomes. And so a few weeks back I decided to say bye to both. Tough but required.

What next, you ask? Well, like I said earlier I’ve been living with some really crazy ideas for more than a year now and the time has come to bring one of those ideas to fruition now.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present to you,

purplehomes.co.in

Adorning spaces has and will always be my first love and through purplehomes, we want to do exactly that. I also managed to convince a certain lady to work after office hours (Read: through nights) to join me in dreaming and making those dreams real! 

And now I am going to stop rambling and let purplehomes do all the talking. Please wish me luck :)

Image :  purplehomes

Happy Mother's Day

                                                    A very Happy Mother's Day to you Mom. Love, P.

I came across this super sweet printable here. Its available for free :) 

Image : here and here

Happy Monday.

This week lets try to do more of what makes us happy. Happy Monday.

Image : here

Insomnia?

Are you suffering from this disorder as well? I know, I am.

Image : here

My cute little button

What is cute, little and has a nose that is tiny as a button? My cute little button Sara and on the 31st of January'12 she turned three. 

A birthday full of cheerful colours...sunny yellow, happy pinks and our favorite purple. 

A birthday full of hundreds of buttons...some edible and some not. 

I wanted the card to be really simple and 

so started the hunt for a  happy print for the invitation card.

Torn strips of paper and three bright buttons later our handmade invitation card was ready. The last two birthday parties had been celebrated at home but not this time...for the little lady had a pretty long guest list. And so started my search for a dreamy birthday party venue.

Teal wrought iron chairs, fairy lights, white walls to die for...

A place right after my heart 

A French patisserie. Charming.

 

Do you see that blackboard near the entrance?Lovely touch. I loved the place and what made me happier was that they agreed to let me do up the already oh-so-gorgeous place, my way. 

 And so I doted all the tables with tiny flowers in tiny tealight holders that I carried from home. Don't be shocked I own at least a hundred of these babies:)

 
Each tealight vase wore a piece of twine and a button. 

I had vintage English high-tea stands and white wicker baskets in mind for the food and the lovely staff at the Patisserie indulged me. Thank you ladies.

And  then they indulged me some more :)) Crochet lace and beads,anyone?

And then I insisted that they put these handmade button food labels on all the food that we decided to serve :) Oh and a button bunting too. Both were extremely easy to put together and added a nice little touch.

Cute, right?

If you've been a long time reader of this blog, you would remember how on each of her previous birthdays' I wasn't very happy with how the design brief for the cake (Yes, I am types to make a design brief for a cake. Go on...laugh) didn't translate into the cake I wanted for my munchkin. Not this time..nah!

 The enthusiastic and supportive staff at the French Patisserie charmed me completely. Much before the big day they actually sent me samples of the edible  buttons for an "okay" on colours, shapes and sizes ( I had shared the buttons that I had used on the invitation card and a sample of the colour of the card that I wanted as the icing with these guys. Yes, I can be a tough client to please and boy did they please me or what! I could have kissed the staff)

Right down to the edible bunting I requested them to create. Wish we had used some other candles. Ah! Another day.

The kids had a lovely time  playing, running around, eating and creating a whole lot of things...felt name plates for their room, hairbands, wrist bands and much more with... you guessed it right...buttons. And they went back with finger painting kits that made our party favors.

I wrapped each one with my all time favorite plain brown paper.A tiny paper circle (the same print I used for the invitation card) and a button with some twine for some added design interest ( For me; not the kids:))

Oh and I must mention my little one pasted each of these circles 

and was very proud too. 

Each year I like creating something along the lines of a guest book for our family and close friends to write in. For her first birthday we had the wishing tree, for her second we had tiny cards hanging from tiny clothespins and this year I made a longish paper scroll studded with buttons,ofcourse. Tied up neatly with a twine after all the wishes had been written. Years later...when the little one will open her birthday box she sure will have fun going through them all.

I am always complaining about how quickly she is growing up and thought it would be interesting to make hand and feet cutouts each year on her birthday (from now on). 

These are yet to find a place. A separate growing up album perhaps??

I so loved putting together my cute little button's birthday party. And did one super-happy somersault when she told me she is planning a similar party for me,for "mumma you are my cute little button too"...awww..these girls I tell you :))

All Images :Personal Album