Scrapbooking :)

A week ago I met up with some new friends to do one of my favorite things, scrapbook! It was a lot of fun and it got me motivated again... I finished my bridal shower album and it came out so fun :) I'm working on finishing the one from our engagement party...I also sent pics from our honeymoon to be printed! Can you believe I was able to narrow 847 pics to like 260 and I can't wait to get them!! I know I know I'm super behind and don't even talk to me about my wedding picture selections LOL I'm getting there!! I wish I could share pics from the shower album but my mom took it to show to her coworkers...I promise to update when I get it back :)

Put a Smile on your face!

Ok so I know I owe two other people tags before this one but after the rough week at work and the tough times we are all facing I think this one is only fitting. I promise to get to the other two ASAP though!
Mango Gal tagged me to list 6 things that make me smile so in no particular order here we go!

6. Photography: I love looking at pictures just as much as I love taking them and there is no way to describe the amazing feeling you get when you capture just the right shot!

5. Dessert: I adore sweets and will always eat a little less dinner so that I have room...Cupcakes, brownies, cheese cake I love them all!

4. A good hair day: This one is a little vain I know but I spent 17 years of my life terrorized by frizzy curls and a never ending bad hair day. I love my hair straightener and nothing makes me feel more confident then having a good hair day!

3. Scrapbooking: I think this one goes back to how much I love pictures, once I finish scrapbooking an album I love going back and looking at all the special memories. I also love the thought of sharing them with our kids one day.

2. Little kids: Whether it's a baby or a toddler I'm such a sucker for kids and by the end of an evening you will more then likely find at least one on my lap. I am not planning to have any kids anytime soon but I am thoroughly excited at the thought of being a mommy some day! (This is the husband with our nephews but I really love this shot)


1. My friends and family: Seriously I don't know what I would do without them! Although my family can be a little crazy at times I love and adore them and they keep me smiling!



I am tagging Mindy, Petunia Face, Blog Goggles, JennyLo, and anyone else who would like to play! I am feeling better already...

Quickie

What do you do with a bunch of leftover remote control playing cards? Make a fun matching game for your adorable nephews! This can actually be done with any playing cards (princess, winnie-the pooh, or just your classic deck) you might have and since we had already been playing the matching game with these particular cards as they were when they flipped them over and found the pictures on the other side they were thrilled! If you have never played the matching game before it is super easy just lay your cards face down and then each player gets to pick two in hopes of making a match.

All you have to do is print the pictures the size of the card (I re sized in photoshop and was able to fit 4 images on one 5X7). Make sure to get doubles of each picture, cut out, and glue onto the card. If you don't have playing cards you can just use a fun patterned paper on the back. Trust me they'll be thrilled when they flip them over and find mommy, daddy, grandma, grandpa etc. It's the perfect personalized stocking stuffer!

Mish Mosh

So over the last few days I've been seeing a few posts on different blogs inspired by cardigans....As everyone who knows me is aware I am ALWAYS dressed in layers simply because I am always cold....And I'm talking a tank top, a long sleeved tee, a sweater, and then my jacket kind of layers....In fact I taught all my college roommates "I am thundi" (thundi means cold in our language) which later morphed into "It's Mad thundi son!" Anyhow I decided to check out forever 21.com and immediately fell in like with this sweater.....

I am always on the look out for pieces that I can pull off at a family get together that are a little different but still have that Indian look to them....especially in the winter when you don't want to wear the thin chiffon tops over jeans or even worse the light cotton outfits where you are freezing from head to toe! I think this would be super cute over a pair of jeans with some traditional earrings and knee length boots! It also comes in black if you are interested :) I didn't post more because there are cute cardigans all over the blog world at Mango Girl, Cupcakes and Cashmere, and Newlywedisms by Bryn.

Speaking of get togethers all the couples in Jay's friend group always do a get together to celebrate Diwali (our version of Christmas). This year everyone will be getting together at our house so I am excited to add some homey touches to our other wise empty walls. So after a trip to Ikea I will be taking on this DIY project posted over at Bryn's Newlywedisms for our sitting room wall. I want to fill it with shots from the wedding so that everyone can enjoy them, do you guys feel wedding pictures are too personal to put on the walls of your sitting room? I think it's a nice way to make people feel at home with pictures of the family on display. What are your thoughts?

Back to Basics

As many brides know planning your wedding is pretty much like having a full time job. Most of the time everything else gets put to the side so you can plan your perfect day. Luckily I was able to find ways to use my creative juices to add fun personal touches to our wedding. I did however miss scrapbooking, reading, towards the end the gym, and most of all photography. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE taking pictures, I always have my camera on hand to catch those everyday moments as well as the special ones. As of late the picture taking has been at a bare minimum just when it is needed and more posed for shots.
I really want to get back to capturing things that speak to me, with fall coming it's the perfect day to take a walk and take a few pictures. Here are some of my favorites from my collection....I call it

"Attempts at Photography"

I love this picture of Jay with the twins.
This is the skyline in Delhi as the sun sets. Just fooling around in photoshop with a fun picture, I love peacock feathers! I was trying to capture these gorgeous bangles I have but found when I super saturated the picture it had a cool effect.
Puerto Rico!
More Puerto Rico!
A print I did for my cousins sports themed room.

Flowers in my mom's garden
Purse Seller in India
I sent my uncle this one last year for Father's Day.This is one of my all time FAVORITE pictures I feel like I just caught it at the perfect moment. I always wonder what they are thinking.
I think this picture of an old fashioned well would be cute for a bathroom.
And last but not least the beautiful dancing lady in Puerto Rico. I hope you enjoyed them!

Mini Books

My grandmother is the eldest of 8 sisters and 2 brothers and my wedding was a chance for 9 out of 10 of those siblings to get together! The picture above is all 8 sisters together for the first time since my grandmother got married! Can you imagine?? With my great grandparents passing away in the last year all of them have had such a hard few months leading up to the wedding and I knew that even though they were getting together for a happy occasion emotions would be hard to control over such a great loss....
When I found out they all would be coming I wanted to do something special commemorating my great grandparents for each of them. I brain stormed ideas but nothing really came together until I found a tutorial on how to make a mini album using one 12x12 piece of paper. I don't remember whose blog I saw it on but I sincerely thank you for posting the tutorial. The book was the perfect gift because it was small enough for them to carry it with them daily, and whenever they felt a loss they could pull it out and look at it. There were tears when I handed them out but they all loved them! These pictures aren't that great because I only had a few seconds to take them since my henna party was going on downstairs! (Each one had the their initial on the front.)

After the wedding I made a few more of these per request. My mom didn't want the ribbon in hers so I made hers with a magnet so it stays shut in her purse.

I made two others which I don't have pictures of one for me and one for my cousin Amy which are similar to the first ones I made....I love having a little piece of them with me whenever I feel like I need them......I only met my great grandfather twice, once one I was very young and then again a few years ago. I was lucky enough to be able to spend my great grandmothers last few days with her and to have her bless all of my wedding outfits. Despite having such little time with them their personalities were so loving that not a day goes by that I don't remember them, and I wore the bangles they blessed for me at every event of the wedding. Not a day goes by that I don't think of them and I know they are looking over me from wherever they are....

Why I love my photographer....

The last one is the end to our "bollywood tribute"...We basically did something similar to the "I like big butts" couple from last year that I can't link to right now but will update later...I met Amish WAY before I was even engaged when I was doing some free lance modeling work....Once I stepped into his store to have some passport pics taken it was love at first sight!!! I knew when I got married I wouldn't be happy with anyone else but him...Infact my family teases that I planned my wedding around the photographer but I can't help it! I mean really you wear your outfit once you will treasure your pictures for the rest of your life! Now if only I can finish his testimonial for his website!! See more of his AMAZING work here http://www.studiokarishma.com/.

Mother's Day

I actually wanted to post for Raksha Bhandan but I didn't get a chance to load the pictures of my hand made Rakhris (the only ones my brothers will wear) So hopefully I can post more on that later this week...

Since my great grandmother passed away this year I want to do something really special for mothers day. I mean how often is it that four generations of the same family get to meet? After my great grandfather passed away last year I was going through pictures to find some of him. I came across of one of my great grandmother sitting in a swing wearing a blue sari. This picture triggered my memory of one I had taken of my mom the year before in the same swing also wearing blue! When we went wedding shopping in January I made sure to get a picture in the same swing in a blue sari. Sadly a few days later my great grandmother passed away and everyone was devastated. When my grandmother flew in after we left to complete the funeral arrangements I made sure she brought a blue sari with her also. Thanks to my cousin Ruchi for taking such a great picture of her and completing our set of pictures. I designed this in photoshop for Mother's Day and had them printed for my grandmother and mom. My mom finished it off by having it framed for us :) Love you Ba and miss you dearly!

NY Collage

Since I've had a busy week and my computer from home isn't connecting to the internet haven't had much time to post this week....This is a collage I made for my fiancee's birthday since his is originally from NY and loves it so much I wanted him to have a little peice of it in our new home....(I know I know it's not the same!) The pictures are all taken by me on one of our trips to the city....I love the splashes of color on the otherwise all black and white!