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