Starry-eyed.

Hello, hello. How was your week? It's been a star-struck week for us here at P&P central......my little guy is participating in the school play (a two hour long adaptation of  Annie) and I'm in awe of all the behind-the-scenes effort that has been put into its making. I have a renewed respect for sets and set designers--it has to take an awful lot of vision and hard work to put up something so transient, but oh, the results. In. Awe.

 

Speaking of star struck, did anyone catch the golden globes this week? I usually don't watch but we actually sat through the whole show this time-- this past year, we've watched a lot of movies, (mostly all through redbox), and it was fun to actually see some of our favorites get awards. One movie that we fell in love with was Beginners. If you've seen it you probably know why I loved it--from the sunny home it was set in to the actors--Ewan McGregor (adorable!), Christopher Plummer (probably the performance of a lifetime!), Melanie Griffith (girl crush, anyone?), Cosmo (want to adopt him!), to the score (love love love the theme suite) to the story (finally figured out why it had such a genuine ring to it--it was based on the director's parents, there's nothing like having lived through a story to lend authenticity to the narrative.) Anyhoo, I thought I'd poke around the net to see if there were any screengrabs from the movie--the set was amazing, part of an actual home (a family actually lives there, and the kitchen wasn't touched up for the movie. How do I know this? I found an article on Elle Decor--they had done a piece on the beginners movie and set. Bazinga!) The artwork and sculptures you see scattered around the home actually belonged to the director's parents (told you it was authentic!)  Here's a look at the set.........

Credit: Elle Decor.

It actually looks so much better in the movie, hope you get to catch it. While I am on the topic of amazing on-screen sets, have you seen the interiors in the sitcom the big bang theory? When I'm not busy laughing my head off (funniest. show. ever.) I love ogling at the sets--so many furnishings are actually identifiable as being from Anthroplogie, but I just love the feel of their homes--especially the couch-rug-bookcase combo in Leonard/Sheldon's apartment. And how amazing is the giant double helix? I want. (I'm not really going to put any pictures/links in here, because I'm sure everybody and their grandmother already watch the show........)

Do you have any favorite on-screen homes? What about in hindi movies? I think I've shared this one earlier, but just because I'm repetitive sometimes (he heh), here it is once again.......

Do share your favorites too.....

Hope you're having a great weekend, see you here tomorrow with the third object in my series of fifty two. Till then, be good.......  :)

Where did the week go?

Whoosh! That was the sound of my week zipping past.........the past few days weeks have been a little crazy to say the least. I finally had some time to myself today and I'm planning to savor each moment in the next couple of hours before the madness starts again. :)

And what better way to unwind than catch up with friends? The past two hours have been admirably employed, playing catch up with long-overdue phone calls and emails. Though I'm not quite done ticking the emails and promises-to-be-kept off the list yet, I'm getting there! (can you tell I'm very pleased with myself?--excuse me while I pat myself on the back.) And so here I am, playing hookey, duly fortified with tulsi-chai and pistachios, and I'm wondering how you've been...

 

As you can see, I'm mastering the art of killing time. :) Playing with tea cups can be quite therapeutic! (Hey! NO smirking!) We've been having a few days of glorious weather (no, the snow storm didn't reach this far north!) and my bloggy avtar just couldn't let a sunlit window go undocumented. :)

OK. Break over. Chores and more beckon...... 

Hope you're doing good! Do drop in to say hi if you can!!

xo,

G

PS: Any new music that I should know of? I'm quite enjoying the catchy beat on this song lately.

That's it. Gotta run now....xoxoxoxo.....

The sweet scent of summer...........

My sweet friends, how have you been? I just wanted to drop in and check on how you were...the last week just flew past in a hazy blur of appointments and chores. I have been taking it easy the last couple of days though as I needed to recuperate from a bout of allergies (which I had no idea I had!) It seems like forever since I blogged! When I sat in front of my computer today, I almost felt like I had forgotten blogging! (Not quite tho'--it's like learning to ride a bike, you never forget!) There have been so many changes these past few months, some monumental, some minor, that it's quite hard to know just where to pick up the conversation---"awkward pauses", anyone? Certainly a lot on my mind too...I was reading my posts from the past few weeks. They seem very "me-centric".....not what I've been aiming for, but it seems to be something I can't shake off that easily either, at least not just yet. Please bear with me? In the meantime I was catching up on my reading list...not an easy task! I have my reader configured to be a constant source of inspiration (read: I subscribe to too many blogs!!) and the list was overwhelming to say the least. I did manage to read all the posts in my backlog, but I haven't been able to comment on them...Please excuse me, I know you'll understand...

In other news, the rose vine in my backyard bloomed...a much-awaited event, it flowers for about ten days in the whole year, but it brings summer with it, wafting along with the sweetest-smelling white roses..... I like to clip a few sprays and place them throughout the home. Like I said, they don't last long, but there is a poetry about them, even when those delicate white petals start falling....

It appears like posting will continue to be erratic this week as well...I hope to catch up with you over the weekend, when I'll hopefully have some time on my hands. Till then, I'm going to leave you with this song from Shubha Mudgal, one of my all time favorites........

http://www.dhingana.com/

**Edited to add: To all of you who wrote in this past month and all of you who stopped by P&P to check up on me--thank you for your kindness....your sweet comments have left me overwhelmed to say the least. I'm well, as is our family....I've been traveling and we're also in the middle of a long-distance move and it has all kept me pretty busy. Sorry to have gone AWOL on you! :( I hope to be back soon (in fact I've been trying to write up a post for you for the past three days--hopefully I'll put in the finishing touches and have it up on the blog in a bit.......)Till then, Thank You...

Hello Monday and the weekend that was.....

Gentle reader, how has your weekend been? I was craving comfort this weekend; as my mind worked at the speed of lightening, I felt the need to balance it all out with outward trappings of calm. There are several  goings-on happening behind the scenes at P&P central. There some very exciting new friendships and future projects that keep me busy, and on the home-front, there's a lot of shaking up happening as well (nothing bad, just different!) As life gets busier for us, I find that a change has come over me, as my family needs me more, I find that I can rise up to the challenge and I'm grateful for that....It's good to be useful!!! And while my mind races and flits from project to project, I turn to familiar comforts-- music, food, books, as I create my little mom-cave (mom-aura to be more accurate, because it follows me everywhere, not limited to a physical space...did that make sense?) ....

This weekend I decided to don my new apron (gift from my mom) and throw myself into the ritual of baking; while my hands went through the familiar motions of measuring and kneading, my mind was elsewhere, calculating and planning (Oooooh, that sounds sinister!!!...nothing Machiavellian in the works, I assure you!)  Are you like that? Whirling dervish inside and calm collected homebody on the outside...

Do you cook more when you're "stretched"? I've found that I most certainly do!!! There's always music in my kitchen and the afternoon sun through my kitchen window just makes me happy. Funny, several years back  I would never have thought that cooking would be a source of comfort for me (I used to eat to live, not the other way around!!!), and yet, here it is....

Anyway, I made my favorite "everything focaccia".....I adore the aroma of bread baking in the oven!!!

 

Looks good doesn't it? It tastes great too! :) Here's a link to the basic recipe, you can switch it up with any combination of flavorings you want...

Posting may be sparse this week, but I'll keep popping in to check on you. (Don't give up on me yet, tho', there are a few good posts in the works....) 

Hope you have a  wonderful week ahead!!

xoxo,

Gagan

PS: Music from yesterday (and the sweetest video!).....(I actually like most of the songs on this soundtrack. You?)

Tray of treasures

Hello luvs! How are you? Sorry for the no-show yesterday--I had full intentions of blogging, but things just kept turning up. In the end I was mentally exhausted, couldn't really put any intelligible thoughts to paper (blogger? we need to come up with an updated lexicon, some of the phrases we express ourselves with may soon be obsolete, don't you think?). Have you ever had one of those days where your brain is buzzing with ideas and you try to do too many things at one time? *Fzzzt* yeah, that's what happened! :) Not that I'm complaining. I live for days like that, where you're using every ounce of that grey matter. Left brain/right brain who cares how you get there. As long as you do. :)

So back to my pet peeve, the weather. I think I'm growing gills, I seem to be living under (rain) water all the time. Seriously, will this rain ever stop? Bas, aur nahin!(translated: enough, already!) All I wanted to do today was get outside and take a walk, maybe come back with a few "found" treasures, let the sun (in my imagination) and the breeze (30 kmph, really?) soothe my worries away........sigh. Not happening. So I comforted myself by cooking up a storm (ha. ha.) and prettifying my environs (and making a few other changes to my blog layout). I've recently updated my tumblr account and I intend to add all those zillions of pictures-that-tempt to it, loads of eye candy with little to no text (where I post when I have NO desire to talk!). :D I've also recently paid some attention to my almost-defunct flickr account, which had turned into a toxic wasteland of pictures that didn't quite make the cut. I've weeded out a lot of the duplicates,/crappy shots but sometimes I suffer from an acute inability to make a decision. Should it go or should it stay? (Good thing I don't work in any field where snap judgments are required, LOL!). I think it looks good now, but I'd like your opinion too. You can find my flickr photostream here and my tumblr inspiration folder here. Or look into the right sidebar for the links---------->

A little sample of what you might find on flickr:

 My tray of treasures on Flickr


And a little sample of what you might find on tumblr:

 

  Original source: Etsy (Isn't it the most gorgeous necklace ever!) Available here.

In other news, I'd like to give a shout out to fellow blogger Priya, of the blog Once Upon a Tea Time--she has come up with the ingenious (and very commendable!) idea of offering free advertising to fair trade organizations that support artisans. What a wonderful way to promote (and preserve) indigenous crafts! If you belong to or represent a company that engages in fair practices, please contact Priya. If you're a craft/handmade aficionado, please do your bit and help spread the word! Read her post on it here for more information.

That's all for now folks, hope you have a good rest of the day/evening. I leave you with the genius of Indian Ocean: music to rock the rain in! (I love the dug-duggi right in the end.) Oh, and just because I can't resist, here's another. Enjoy!

Have yourself a merry little christmas........

...let your heart be light....

From our home to yours, my loves--

Happy Holidays!

Take it away Ella............

xo,
G

Hello.

How are you my loves? I'm in one of my "moods" today! You might as well get used to them...I know this blog was conceived as a "design blog", but at times I find it hard to separate my personal life (more specifically my state of mind) from the design aspects.... I hope you won't mind if I let myself peep through from time to time? So anyway, I'm working on a post that appears to have stirred a lot of emotion within (I might be a little late in posting on the studio tour I was talking of---but rest assured, I will post it once I figure out how I want to handle it)...and there have been several posts on the blogosphere that seem to be nudging me (I think I've said this before, but don't you think you only see what you want to?). I've been thinking of putting in links to some posts that really grab me (not all are design related), mainly as a compilation of posts that made me think, or laugh, or drool (drool-worthy design and recipes). Do you think I should? Would you be interested?

"Moody Monsoon" on Flickr.

Plus there are a few things I might have forgotten to mention in my earlier posts: I wanted to give a big shout out to Akshatha for taking the leap and opening her own etsy store. Good for you and best of luck, girl! In case you missed the post on her home tour, you can find it here. And you can find Akshatha's gorgeous blog here!

Crewel worked wristlet @ Akshatha's etsy store. 

Also wanted to share some music with you.....Have you heard of Susheela Raman? (She's the one who sang "yeh mera deewanapan" in the movie "Namesake"---her voice is fantastic, though her accent was rather thick in the song don't you think?) Anyway, her voice grows on you, it's sultry and there's a raw emotion that you can feel underneath...that is why I love her songs! Hubby gets full credit to introducing her to me...he got her CD from Amazon a couple of years back and I think we've worn it out by now....we love playing music in the car especially on our long drives. One plus point to all this immersion in music is that the little guy in the back can now sing along with artists like Kailash Kher, Shubha Mudgal and Paul Simon. Yes, be prepared for a peppering of music posts as well. What is life without a little sweetness and spice? Anyway, back to the lady with the liquid silk voice.... Here's our favorite:

Did you click to listen? did you like it?

I'll be back later. Till then, be good!! Loads of love,
Gagan

Oh yeah!....

GnR never sounded so good! Just came across this advert...I give you "sweet child of mine" --with an Indian touch!







My apologies to Indian readers if you've seen this before-you see, we don't have access to Indian channels here, so YouTube subs for a lot of my music input!

Let's talk about art and inspiration....

.....let's talk about music. I know this blog is supposed to be focused on design and decor; however, music is such an integral part of my life. My question is this- can you be inspired without music? When you create, paint, craft, garden, redecorate, cook....does your path to creative release involve music? Mine most certainly does. I find it intensifies my mood, much like good wine does for others.....

Via.

What I'm getting at is this--I would like to share some of my musical inspiration with you from time to time....I hope to inspire, not impose my musical tastes on you. You need not click on the links if you don't want to. However, if you do, and you do like it, then we will have a lot more to share.

Painting by M.F.Hussain. Via.

Today I'd like to introduce you to the British-Asian composer and artist Niraj Chag. His music epitomises the word fusion. Here's one of my favorite pieces by him....I'll let the music do the talking.... 

Courtesy: YouTube

Find another one of my favorites by this composer here. You can visit Niraj here. Let's get the conversation going. Talk to me.......