Coffee Table Books, Green Tea and Flea Market Finds!

The weekend beckons and brings with it abundant sunshine!! I am heading off on a "bloggy" break! Yes, I need to recharge my batteries so for the next week or so. I may or may not be around for a few days. Miss me :) 

I have travel on my mind these days!! Coffee table books have become my weakness off late. One of my favorite trips was to Italy many years ago. I found this book for 2 bucks at a Library sale. It is filled with incredible pictures and brings back wonderful memories :) The tray is a flea market market from North Carolina and is 12 years old. 



Here's wishing you a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend!  Keep on smiling and see you in a few days :)

Image: My Dream Canvas, please be polite and do not reuse without prior permission.

Don't Take Your Decor Too Seriously :)

I have a question for you! Do you take your decor too seriously? Do you want everything to be picture perfect and elegant? I have to admit that I like to keep a neat, clean, and pretty home. However, I also want the home to feel lived in. I want to come back home after a long day and plop myself in my favorite chair :) I also want to surround myself with things that are comfortable and make me feel loved. My home should always have a warmth and coziness, because this where I see my family nurture and grow.  My home is where memories are created, everyday!!



I have seen a lot of lovely homes in person and online in my five years of blogging. I love the homes that have a character and tell the story of the people who live there. Then there are those homes that seem to be" trying to hard" I am not sure if I can explain this well, but I shall try :) There are also homes that suffer from an overdose of decor.  It's decor to the point of clutter.  The artwork and prints on the wall, while stunning, are simply too many. It is like walking into a museum and not a home :)  Patterns everywhere seem to collide and simply stress me out! 



I know this is my personal opinion and I am not commenting on any one style in particular! We all have the right to decorate our homes in our unique way without caring about what people think :)



Over the years, I have realized that I don't want to take my decor too seriously!! I want to relax and enjoy the experience :) A house turns into a home because of the people who live in it. It could take days, months, or years to turn a home into a haven. This process should ideally be effortless, but for that to happen, you need to have fun :)



This is a corner of my home, which is my fun space. I add color to it when I feel like it.  A happy thought, a few flowers, lovely memories from my travels, and thoughtful gifts are what make it special! It follows no trend :)



Do you have fun decorating or do you sometimes think its too much work ? Do you have a happy corner? I would love to know?

Images: My Dream Canvas

Sentiments in Decor and A Project

I am a sentimental fool and I am quite happy being one :) I am very zealous and protective when it comes to family and love preserving memories......be it scraps of paper, frayed photographs, heirlooms and so much more. Every trip back to India, I insist on working on some project or the other related to the past! It keeps everyone including my parents on their toes :) 



My aim is someday to self publish a coffee table book about our family and gift it to my children.....maybe on their 18th birthday! It is going to require time, a lot of effort and research. I need to get information from a lot of people to make this happen!The book will be filled with pictures, letters and memoirs and my hope is that they will treasure it! 



I think along the same lines about my decor. I want our home to be a visual collage of our memories, our life and our roots! The anklets/payals  in the image below belonged to my Grandmother. Displaying these anklets at home make for an unconventional decor accessory and yet, I want to find a place for them somewhere in my house. I don't want them tucked away in a drawer! These anklets might never be used again !! The reason is simple.....they are simply too heavy to be worn unless you are a modern day princess:) I don't know how the ladies managed it in those days!! I wore them at my wedding, so I know just how much they weigh :) 



I would love to hear suggestions on how I could incorporate these anklets into my decor at home.  Do please write in your thoughts and ideas! It will be great to hear from you. 



For those of you interested in jewelry and history, you should visit Puja Bhargava's "Indian Jewellery Project". This venture aims to source the visual history of Indian jewelry through the personal archives of families. A fascinating initiative in my opinion. To know more, you can join them on Facebook!

Image: My Dream Canvas

Bedroom Crush

Spring is in the air. Everything looks bright and colorful.  Incorporating a fresh look into the decor at home seems like a good way to welcome the new season. For me, this bedroom featured in El Meuble looks absolutely perfect for Spring. It is pretty, its feminine, it is bright and beautiful...... and yet has that understated elegance that I so love!!





Of course the dash of turquoise just steals my heart :) If you were to give your bedroom a makeover, what are the colors you would use??

Images : via

Travelling My Dream Canvas Style

Hello there!! Today, I am going to talk about my other passion " Travel".  Mr MDC and I are poles apart....and are very different temperamentally, the one common ground we share is our passion for travel. He and I are very alike in that respect. We can hit the road anytime :) Travelling is also an expensive passion. Therefore one has to get creative and he is good at that :) We hate making quick trips and try not to fit in too many things. 



We travelled extensively before we had kids but fortunately we are continuing to do so even now. My kids love it and they are very sporting!! The destinations have changed a bit, its no longer as hectic or adventurous but its still pretty good :) My favorite trip so far has been to Italy. We spent 14 days there and I came back thinking that it was just the tip of the iceberg :)

The build up to our trip involves scouring the library for guidebooks. Hubby is also a part of some travel forums online etc. My favorite author for Europe is Rick Steves. I think he is brilliant. We also read Frommers and Fodors for other destinations.





We am more of the "off the beaten path" kind of people. We usually rent cars or use public transport and explore places on our own. Trying out the local cuisine in a "hole in the wall" kind of place is a must on our trips :) Hubby conveniently learns a few phrases, and puts on the various accents with ease as well. I have a tough time doing that :)



As you can clearly see, I have travel on my mind! I can't wait to be off soon..............



What about you, do you have some special family travel trips and traditions? I would love to hear about it ?

Image: My Dream Canvas

Whiteness of white | Stillness of mind.

I recently got on instagram.
Where I can share moments in the form of visuals instantly.
No fuss. No downloading from the camera.
Just click on your phone and click to upload.
It's a lot of fun.

But...
Strangely when I want to slow down. Reflect. Muse. Take a step back.
I always seem to find comfort in the pace of writing a post on my dear blog which has been sitting silently like the rose bush under all the white snow that has been layering it for the last few months.
Time has come for it to sprout.
…and so has the time for revival.

When one lives in a place where winters take up most of the time in a year.
It takes a slight shift in thinking, working, living.
This spring I complete a whole year of being consumed by a passion called pottery.
It has been my creative anchor during all the snow storms and polar vortexes that we experienced this winter.

Here is a tribute to all the whites we have been seeing in the last few months and an interesting Podcast about Seeking Stillness and Silence in the Rush of Business Life by Pico Iyer.

Spring is finally here after a fierce battle with winter and I hope to share loads of colours in various forms:-)
Stay tuned. Hope to spend more time here.
If you do want to see some instant visuals from me, do check out my Instagram profile here
Have a great weekend!
( Images by Arch)

Giveaway Winner and A Tea Party

Today, you have to walk through the blue door into this garden.....sit down and have a cup of tea with me :) I am hosting a virtual tea party where I sit you down, offer you tea and cookies and thank you for being the most awesome readers!! You guys are simply the best. 



The Jaypore and My Dream Canvas Giveaway received a fantastic response! A big thank you to all those who participated and helped spread the word around! The winner has been selected via Random.org. The lucky lady who gets to take away the pretty products from Jaypore is Reshma of Masala Mango Mantra. Congratulations Reshma, please email me your address. 



Thank you all for participating! 



Have a super weekend!!

Image 1 : via and Image 2 : via

The Simple Joys in Life

Friday is my favorite day of the week :) The weekend looms large with endless possibilities! Yes, I do like to romanticise and dramatize my life sometimes :) My weekend will be fairly ordinary but who cares!! Today, as the sunshine filters through my Casa, I am immensely grateful for all the little joys in my life!!



Life is complicated and stressful but at times its good to pause...take a deep breath and simply smile and say thank you!



On that note, Happy Friday and have a good weekend!!



There are a few more hours left for the Jaypore and My Dream Canvas Giveaway!! Do make sure you enter here!!

Image: My Dream Canvas