Let us continue the festivities..

Last week this day ,the house was filled with the fragrance of flowers and incense sticks. In the evening, warm glow from the tiny diyas spread happiness and love in every corner .Their flames danced in the cool breeze. Akashkandil -paper lantern, diyas and the twinkling string of led lights dazzled the outdoors. Rangoli designs were made by sprinkling the white powder all over and making designs in a heap of powder with 2 year old insisting on 'helping' me. My son's eyes gleamed with joy to see the shapes we made with the sparklers.   

After day 3 of Diwali, some flowers in the garlands began to dry.. became dull, brownish. It is then when you realize that the festival will soon be over. How we wish that it would last a bit longer, isn't it? The festival won't but what I would like very much is for the decorations and euphoria of the festivities to continue a bit longer. I hate to remove the decorations down so early but then I had to save the ones which are still so much alive and happy.. 

Let them spread the love and joy.. So I took down all the garlands, cut the string and sort out the better ones. You can make this with fresh flowers as well. 

Take a slightly deep dish and fill it with just enough water to dip the stem of the flower. This helps to keep them fresh for many days even week(s) additionally it looks good from aesthetic point of view. This vase is a heirloom .. Belonged to my grandparents.. I was so happy when my father gave it to me.

 As for now I am happy that I get to enjoy the flowers , cherish the memories and continue the festivities. They make a good centerpiece as well!! This centerpiece can be good for India themed party or Indian wedding. 

Natural themed table setting

Hello friends.. sharing with you today a informal table decor for two dinner evenings we had with our friends. The decor is simple Indian style with natural theme...very homely and at ease..

The cotton table runner is from FabIndia with block printed design of paisleys. I like the white, earthen brown and dull red combination. It gives a simple yet elegant look to the table.. 

The centerpiece is of sea shells from Langkawi island, Malaysia. My sister gave me this wood and rattan platter when I visited  her in USA.I have always filled my  bags to the extent of explosion when I visit USA:) 

My mother send me these banana leaf table mats...They look good for informal simple  style table decor..The cloth coasters are cotton block printed with natural dyes..

The air freshener is an expensive one from Ashleigh-Burwood,UK. I mentioned expensive because it is the most useless and overly priced air freshener I have ever bought..Unless I put my nose next to the bottle I can smell absolutely nothing..

These pictures are from the first evening I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of the second evening..I had placed starter plates and another set of bowls and soup spoons.

Linking to Tabletop Tuesday!!

Indian themed festive floral decorations

Hello friends..How are you all? Hope you all are enjoying the beginning of autumn!! Here in Hong Kong it is starting to get pleasant.. with cool winds, milder temperatures and lesser rains. This time of year also brings lot of festivals..Starting with Ganesh chaturthi ( more info about this festival here).. Sharing with you the decor I did yesterday for the 10 day festival..

I created the floral arrangements as quickly as I could in 15-20 minutes as the baby was starting to lose patience.. sitting in his high chair he was wondering what Mommy is doing:)

I have finally found out where the flower market in Hong Kong is..It was a splendid discovery..I was totally blown away by the amazing variety of  exotic flowers..so many different types which I have never ever seen.. I will definitely take pictures and do a tour of the flower market on the blog as well.. So I got some flowers and florist foam. This is the Indian style floral decoration I did in a copper vessel..

I also made modak with Khoya. I always make khoya at home with Ricotta cheese.. Added sugar, cardamom, fine powdered coconut,saffron to it. Shaped them with modak moulds which my mom had sent me..

21 modaks and 21 flowers( in the arrangement)

I put some florist foam in the clay (oil) diyas/ candle holders and kept single flowers in them..

Made traditional Indian dessert- saffron shrikhand with yogurt (hung overnight and strained), sugar, cardamom, almonds, saffron. 

Last not least I finally opened a etsy shop on the auspicious day:)