Weekend Wrapup: World Breastfeeding Week

I would like to share another aspect of my life. My volunteering and activism. People who know me are aware of my staunch green living ethos and Vegan lifestyle. I am proud to raise a vegan three year old who is very kind and loving. He is a breastfed, cloth diapered baby who was introduced to solids via baby led weaning. All this came with its set of challenges but I am glad I did not give up when the going was tough.

This weekend went quite well, attended a workshop on nutrition and then met up with my Breastfeeding support group. This first week of August was declared World Breastfeeding Week. And I, being a part of the worldwide Breastfeeding network, would not miss my city based meetup.

I felt the need to be a part of this amazing peer networking support group due ot all the misinformation floating around the whole concept of breastfeeding. New mothers are fed a lot of myth and end up in a formula trap. My involvement in the network is to promote breastfeeding as nothing out of ordinary but as a natural and normal method to keep the baby fed. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until the baby is 6 months old and then introduction of solids while breastmilk remains the primary source of nutrition in the first year. Breastfeeding comes naturally to a baby while it takes some learning for the mother. I highly recommend two books to every new mother/parent. My child wont eat by Dr Carlos Gonzales and womanly art of breastfeeding by La Leche League international.

So wishes to all new parents and parents to be. Happy Parenting and a wonderful breastfeeding journey


Pic: mine

Vintage love: An MCM Corner shelf

I am all in for utilizing corners and making the most of the available space. Found this very sleek and well made corner shelving. True Mid century modern, wooden and classy, completely my kind of piece :)

Era: Mid century modern
date: 1950-60
Material: wood


Unable to credit the picture to any site or person as it was dug out from my saved archives. Any help in tracing original source and the maker of the piece would be appreciated. 

House Beautiful: My Own Home Tour - I

This is my first post of a series on homes my husband and I have shared over the years. We lived in lovely apartments in beautiful cities. Whatever furniture we had, always worked for us and the space. Throughout our transition, one thing in common was our determination to buy everything pre-loved.

This was our first apartment just after I moved out of my Grad school.  It was a 700 square feet one bedroom apartment with a small patio, and ample light and ventilation. We made a cozy eclectic looking place for ourselves on a shoe string budget :). We, however, did not stop exploring the city for our kind of furniture.

Loved the wonderful morning sun in the apartment 

A Re-purposed Green patch in the small patio

A simple DIY bird feeder very organic and sleek

My first bentwood

I went rocker crazy for a while and bought a Rex Rocker

 First MCM find, a slat bench :)

I bought this patio furniture which moved all the way to India now.

It was in this house that I started my blog. The entryway picture which later became my blog header.

we made some wonderful memories in this apartment before we moved to another one bed one bath

Clean line pencil legged furniture, geometric shapes appealed to me even before I knew the era and design timeline these design styles belonged to. Most homes in India got such furniture custom made by local carpenters and were inspired by what was seen in movies. (Do check out my series on art direction in Movies - Movies, Masti and Magic). It was only a blessing when I moved to Graduate School and was exposed to the whole array of garage sale finds, flea market and charity store treasures. The next few posts would be a peek into my living spaces over the last few years. So stay tuned :)

House Beautiful: At Home with Sharon

Glad to post this inspiring home tour from Pune, India. Lets peek into Sharon's lovely home. She is a lady of many talents and authors a popular lifestyle blog - The Key Bunch.

A Tete-A-Tete with her about her home, her work and her style mantra. Do not miss her tips on home styling and decor. :)

Handpainted pots and Warli wall art at the entryway

A little about your abode


It's a 3BHK flat, 1750 sq feet. I love the space because it's an open plan, and it allows me to move things around especially for my styling shots!

Decor and Style inspirations

I am very inspired by the desi global style of decorating mainly because it is a great way to mix anything Indian and still have a modern home. I am also on a mission to repurpose old things and re-using them in décor, so this style lets me do that without the home looking oddly mixed with the old and the new.

Favorite room or corner in the house

For all the styling and interior decoration I am obsessed with, I don’t have one favorite place. It’s wherever I am interacting with someone, or doing something I love – like playing a board game with my daughter, listening to my husband playing the guitar, or reading a bedtime story to my son.

Your prized piece of item / furniture or accessory

I think my Bhavnagari jhoola - she’s my drama queen, and can keep changing her persona – from casual to formal, romantic to staid, quite effortlessly.

Proudest DIY 

I couldn’t be prouder of my upholstered coffee table. I was hesitant to take it on, plagued with doubt; but from selecting and sourcing the fabric to working with a carpenter, it turned out simply beautiful. I would some day love to add upholstered furniture to my product line.

Favorite design and decor Shopping destinations

As a rule, I never buy extravagantly expensive stuff, because as a family we are not materialistic, and almost border on minimalism. We have the same stuff from the time we got married, and some of it handed down by our respective families. We are perfectly content. That said, being the décor lover I am, I do like to buy things that catch my eye, occasionally. 

Just yesterday I was at a store signing up space to display my product. I saw the staff removing an owl from their display. It was a beautiful piece, and when I asked them why they were taking it down, they said it was damaged. So I bought it at a steal! It’s these little purchases that make me ridiculously happy!

Tips for a cozy home

It’s your home, so decorate the way you want it – wildly pretty, heart-stoppingly beautiful and most of all comfortable. I know my family puts up a lot with all my décor madness, and I think I owe it to them to make the home as comfortable as possible. In fact, they sometimes play cricket inside the home,and I have left a little rectangular ‘pitch’ for them. Of course, I also have to make sure there are no breakables around.

A few snapshots of her beautiful kitchen

Thank you Sharon for the lovely tour. Do stop by her blog - The Key Bunch and check out her new venture  Style Radha, with products that she envisioned and designed. She is also working on a line of home furnishings using indigenous fabrics.

If you would like to see your home featured or know a lovely place, I would be happy to do a home tour on the Design Enthusiast. 

PS: Pictures courtesy Sharon. 


*** Click on any of the pictures to start a slide show