DIY Place mat Clutch Bag

Bond: Everybody needs a hobby.
Silva: So, what's yours? 
Bond: Resurrection. 

Me: Mine too! It's just that I give new life to old place mats.

This eid I wore a grey outfit. I browsed through my pre baby- bag purses and could not find something to match..and there you go I instantly had an excuse to do the diy project I had been planing to do some day. In the same closet I came across a silver gray top my mother had sent me some two years ago..it was pretty but not so practical for me so it had stayed in the closet untouched..I guess it was awaiting its new red carpet life .

Note: if you are reading this..read it in a whisper because I was working late at night with poor light and a phone camera.

I had an old bamboo place mat..the ones you get at the euro shop. I covered it in the fabric from my shirt top and folded it in the shape I wanted. For the bottom gusset of the purse I just covered a piece of cardboard in fabric and secured it on the place mat with glue.

Now I had the shape of the clutch with the two sides open. I cut strips of the same fabric to close the sides by hemming it to the existing fabric.

I finished it with a large brooch I already had.

 I just needed it for a mere few hours, and it held up well. I used a magnetic button for the closure but it was not enough to hold the flap down..which was not much of a bothering issue because I did'nt open and close it alot. That can be fixed for later use. 

This picture of the purse was taken a few days after use..and my son had been fiddling with it..hence the creases on the sides:)

No cost clutch bag made to match!

Call it Resurrection of a Place Mat!

Last Minute Road Trip Activity Plan

We are a notorious 'Last Minute' Family. We do the groceries till the last announcements to vacate are being made. We bought a child seat for our baby on the last day of my hospital stay. We caught our honeymoon flight half a minute before boarding closed! People tell us the time, an hour earlier than other guests for a dinner. Nearly all our trips are last minute plans! This last holiday was no different. We started thinking over it the night before..deciding a destination, checking the weather..changing minds..and leaving the final decision for the next morning. We placed a booking at 2 in the afternoon the next day and left the house at 4.

 I used the word 'We' because I don't want to hurt my better half's feelings :p

I knew it would be a long drive to wherever we go, so with the little time on hand I gathered some things to keep my toddler entertained during the road trip. Its been long since we last did a long route plan with him so I was short on ideas. However here's what I came up with.

IGNORE the burnt roasting pan. I had an oven disaster.
I decided to keep it for him in the car to serve as a seat 'tray'...like the ones you have on the airplane! Just a little less fancier :p

• It had raised edges..to keep things from falling off.
• Its metallic...to hold the alphabet magnets.
• It served as a snack tray...wiped clean with a wet wipe after use.
• It made a very nice car track. My son got super excited when the cars would slide from one end to the other on their own at road bends.
• Perfect drawing board, with edges to hold colors.
• To read a book.
• To bang the sippy cup on when nothing else entertained.

 I had these foam stickers which I gave him on the way back. Oh the magic of cars and trucks. He loves them!

I must tell you that this toddler's attention span is as much as a gold fish's. He snaps out of one activity in sometimes even less than 5 minutes..But I moved 'one step ahead' of him and kept pulling out more ideas out of my hat to engage him.

A car seat organizer is very handy on such trips.

'Vrooomm Vrooom. Peep Peep.'

His favorite thing these days is to ask me to draw buses and cars.

I gave him these activities in day light. When it started getting darker, particularly on our way back I had to hand over the iPad.

Overall it was a less fussy trip. I must admit there were small cranky parts but he's a child isn't he?

He had his naps and rest station breaks in between too.

Its always better to be prepared for such spontan plans. 

To make the trip more enjoyable for ourselves I packed some mince chicken and rice for dinner because I knew that with our son tired and sleepy by the time we reach we would not be able to dine at the restaurant. (only options out there would have been vegetarian..so halal CHICKEN is always a bonus on a trip!)

Another Tip: If you happen to have a tod who stays on red bull energy levels, I recommend buying THIS. there's no shame in using it in public. Let them laugh..and tell them that its not called a 'leash'

Depending on the nature of the trip..keep extra pairs of socks in your handbag if you must. My son's newly found love to jump in puddles, thanks to elmo, is getting splishier and splashier! I had to buy him rain boots while we were in the middle of our trip to the lake garda. He never needed them before, but instant plans call for instant shopping!

Despite the chaos and the rush of the moment looking back, the most cherished memories I/ WE have are the ones that were created at the LAST-MINUTE!

Gardasee, Italy

We are back from a short camping holiday in Northern Italy. It was the last week before the camping villages close down for winters. We took the oppurtunity to celeberate our Wedding Anniversary on 'Urlaub' as the germans say it. It was truly a relaxing trip. No rush to check in half a dozen places in one day, as it would have been if we had planned to spend the day in a busy tourist city center.

Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy, is located between Venice and Milan. Lago di Garda is considered "one of the biggest activity playgrounds in Europe." source

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. ~Henry David Thoreau

Witht he Dolomite Mountains in the backdrop, narrow cobblestone streets lined with cottages and palm trees northern Italy is more about nature, charecter and simplicity as oposed to the human made marvells of Rome and Milan.

A chalet in the midst of the vast valley. I spotted quite a few of them on the way to Riva al Lago.

Our luxus cabin at the camping site.

We woke up in paradise! The clouds were literally at the door.

The food and service at the camping restaurant was great.

Freshly baked bread flavoured with seaseme oil. I had never tried it before. Will def try using the flavouring next time in Naans instead of the seaseme seeds.

The Italian Oven!

Pizza Tono, Pizza Marghareita, Pizza Aurora, Polenta con funghi e fomaggio fusso ( I swear I didnt write that off my memory..I took a picture of the menu hehehe) and a bugs bunny getalo for the little one!

After all that cheese, Cola light please! I kept telling my self..when in italy, eat like the italians eat.

(Hey Italy is known for style, even the can of coke is prettier there! )

The best part of the trip was that my son had the freedom to run around and play as much as he liked. Way better than locking him up in a small hotel room.

The Scaliger Castle (13th century).We drove by the lake to reach the South end town of Sirmione. I picked up the picture on google because the sun had set and my camera results were not so good.

Lake Garda

It was the most hastily planned holiday yet a very tranquille one.

 

Mettalic Cap Toe Shoes

Color blocking and metallic cap toe heels have made a big statement on the fashion scene. From Louis Vuitton to H&M evey latest shoe line had them on their display.

 I was looking for some thing to sport on eid and checked some online shops. Let me tell you something about myself..some 3 years ago I was the sort of girl who bought a new pair of heels nearly every month. All my pocket money went into the latest shoe on the rack..but then 3 years and some messed up hormones later I have to look at the comfort of the shoe first and then the style

. Did you notice that all comfortable shoes are ugly? Take a look at these granny shoes I ordered to stay comfortable walking in the chilly weather.

To upgrade them I did the tape n paint trick. It was a 30 min job. A hair dryer and three coats of paint was what was needed to give these boring fellows a face lift.

Besan Halwa

I am not a big Halwa and sweet meat friend..I would rather eat a bar of snickers..but occasionally I do like to indulge in some desi halwa and ghulab jamuns maybe! This eid since we're expecting the first snow fall of the season I decided to make something warm and chewey instead of the chilled rice puddings or vermicilli that are usually served as Eid desserts.

I made Besan ka Halwa (Gram flour Halwa)

Its an easy to remember recipe..a 1 cup recipe.
Here's how:

• 1cup gram flour
• 1cup samolina
• 1cup sugar
• 1cup whole milk powder
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup water
• 4-5 cardamom seeds crushed
• pinch of Saffron
• Pistachio and almonds
• silver leaves if available.

For the Syrup:
Put the water to boil along with the sugar.saffron and cardamom.

For a rough idea I do a 3 minutes on the clock for every step.

• Heat the oil moderately, add gram flour- mix and stir for 3 mins or until a nice aroma.
• Add the samolina and again keep stiring for another 2-3 mins.
• Next add the milk powder and again stir for 2-3 mins.
• Now add the boiling syrup taking care of the spashes by keeping the lid of the pan handy.
• Stir Stir Stir! ..until you get a nice soft dough like mixture. Be sure not to make it too dry.
• Remove in a lined or oiled dish and press down with a spatula..making it even.
• Garnish with nuts and refrigerate it for a bit to set it.
• Once its set you can keep it in an air tight container at room temperature.
• Cut into damonds or squares.
• I like it warm so I give it 30 secs in the microwave before serving.

More Eid Candy!

I had to make some more giveaway treats for friends and decided to do the usuall treat bags but to make them less of a kid-birthday party- favor I just used plastic glasses tonhold them in.

Nice treats for grown ups!

Eid Favor Cones

In my last post I was thinking eid from a child's eye. It is said that eids are for kids and women! Men usually think of it as a holiday to sleep on or watch the special Tv transmissions. Henna is another major part of Eid..and I must tell you it is not just the ladies getting their Mehndi done but even the sacrifice animals are prettified with henna!

Check out the most beautiful Henna works out there on my aunt's website HERE. She has some serious art skills when it comes to the art of applying henna.
Coming back to the eid favors:

I saw these favor cones on Martha Stewart and wanted to try out..they reminded me of henna cones. So I made some and filled them with sweet treats for some of my friends.

Eid -ul- Azha: Kids Eidi Favors

Eid and HajjMu-baaaaaaa-rak to everyone celeberating.
The most facinating part of this eid is buying animals before the Eid day. Children love to take their sheep and goats out for a walk. They decorate their animals with the most fancy paraphernalia out there  and take pride in it!

Who wants be my Valentine?

The next best thing about Eid is Eidi money! The ONLY day in the whole year where children get their own money from all the elders in the family. They are allowed to buy their own ice cream and parents are a bit lineant about kids spending money themselves on sweet treats.

Keeping those two favorite eid memories in mind I decided to make eid favors for one of our family friends.

I bought chocolotate money instead of real money and made individual packets for each child.

Then I cut out some fluffy little sheep to add to the eid theme.

Now I know my ABCs

I like Fall. The trees lining my road look beautiful during the day. Its getting colder every passing day and I have to push myself to leave the house for any outdoor chores. Our playground has already started to look deserted..I wonder where have all the kids gone! On a rainy day, its hard to contain my son's energy levels. I have to engage him in some sort of activity.

Warm and toasty feet

 He has started recognizing the alphabets and the tune of the abc song. So we did a small activity.

I had some felt alphabets, a baby towel and some glue.

 I asked him to sort out the letters. For him J is Juice and C is Cat. So we went on finding the right ones.

Uh hooo who did that? Sitting still for a while is tough for little boys. So some of them went on the floor too:)

But we picked them up!

...and put them back in the box.

A treat for all the hard work of sorting, scattering and tidying up!

We had a good time doing it and then when granny called he showed her what he made sending her into a full swing proud and happy granny mode! :)

Fox in the Pocket

'A hunting we will go,

 a hunting we will go Heigh ho, the dairy-o,

 a hunting we will go  

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go  

We'll catch a fox and put him in a box 

And then we'll let him go'

My almost 2 years old son giggles every time I sing this to him. I found this idea at an etsy shop and thought that I had to make it myself. So we caught a fox and put him in a pocket instead!

I got a hoodie with pockets at the front. (Got it from a discount store)

I made a free hand template for the fox.

Then traced it on thin orange felt.

Pinned it in place and so far it looked as planned...BUT after this things started going foxy turvy.
I made the mistake of trusting my stitching prowess. I started off with the tail and soon after a few stitches the machine sucked in the fleece ( I don't know how that happened ! ) I tried everything to remove it without damaging. Nothing worked and I had to use my scissors to detach it from the base. It frustrated me, I went on to finishing the rest with a needle and thread.

Its actually funny to look at it now..as if the fox had been attacked by hunters. Poor thing.
On a scale of 10 I would give myself 4. Its just a hoodie I got to be worn at home and my son likes it anyway.