...and thats why im secretive!!

gotta love Daniel Day-Lewis in this...a year too late!

lollywood virgins

Lollywood
-noun
Pakistani Film Industry

i see a co-existence of self preservation and dignity.
i see beauty and the beast.
i see lust and power.
i see a dreamer and a doer.
i see grotesque beauties.
i see dreams and desires.
i see violence, blood and gore.
i see rebellion.

what do you see?

corner view: sweets

candy bar at Nyle's 1st birthday

find more sweets here

longest i have been away...

...since i started blogging again...i have been having blog withdrawals and thought i should drop in a line and say hello to all my friends here.
i ve had some crazy busy past 2 weeks and will continue to till this weekend is over. i shall return next week and share all the happenings, the thoughts and the fun filled up in this little niche here!
till then i will sneak preview into whats been keeping my occupied...

a wedding designed, planned & executed

(more to follow on my website blog shortly)
my first photography project
preparing for the IVS Alumni show II 2009
exhibition starting December 2, 2009
&
some traveling plans

see you next week with more!
have a great weekend

sneak preview: grey design

when an opportunity comes along to work on a renovation project, my excitement is unbearable. here's a sneak preview of what i put together for my client.

Tomorrow, he will be seeing textured grey slate tiles, with more grey in smooth finish glass, splurges of orange on white walls and stainless steel vanity along with a stainless steel bench, humanized with a wenghe tray.

All of this just so his guests can feel extra special. dont you just love such hosts!

much needed....

after the craziness of this month is over i will need:

• to park myself somewhere and breathe.
  
• to take a vacation.
  
• to step away from work.
  
• to get some sleep.
  
• home cooked food.
  
• manicures and pedicures
• to pick up a book and hide in a corner
• to switch my brain off while it rejuvenates
• to not think design
• to just photograph more
  
• to go shopping and buy shoes
• get back to friday dinners with my girlfriends
  
• to watch a movie with husband
• to play with little N without interruptions and....
• just simply indulge

hope every ones having a restful weekend!

a meaningful love affair

this is a story of a love affair that started 6 years ago. an affair that makes me feel 10 years younger. it makes me feel fresh and beautiful, hip and chic, all at once. and overtime it has blossomed into more then just an affair of love. it is a commitment, to the self and to the world. it is a commitment to the present and to the future. it is an affair with a profound meaning. it is a vegan kind of affair, that is green and uses upto 55 recycled bottles. it is a matt & natt kind of affair. and its message is:

CHOOSE LIFE CHOOSE POSITIVITY

CHOOSE THE GOLDEN RULE
CHOOSE TO BE AT PEACE WITH
YOURSELF CHOOSE SALVATION
CHOOSE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
CHOOSE TO BE DIFFERENT CHOOSE
TO BE A REBEL CHOOSE TO BE FUNKY
CHOOSE TO BE YOURSELF CHOOSE TO
CREATE A FASHION STATEMENT

their bags are not just super cool but also environmentally friendly. i have to be honest im not a 100% environmentalist but i try wherever i can. i guess my love affair with matt & natt brings me one teeny tiny step closer to that. and even though there are a million reasons why i love matt & natt (and trust me so will you once you see their collection) is also because it has grown with me and adjusted to my needs. it has been with me from being a university going student when i first discovered it 6 years ago, to a working professional and now, as a mommy i use one of their man bags as a diaper bag. what you see above is my latest addition, a gift to the self just because...umm...well i couldn't resist the feel of it on my shoulder!

the above message is also my note to a pink Thursday.
all serious daring starts from within
-joan baez

a balancing act

the last few months have been about new beginnings for me. i like new beginnings. i find they are exciting, refreshing, motivating and they keep you going. my new beginnings have been in my personal life, my professional life and my online presence, to name a few. some beginnings have been experimental and some more serious. some merely for the self like this blog and some a creative outlet.

and i see more to come soon, like another blog,(shhhhh, still in the works) that will be a creative outlet on a more impersonal and less narcissist level then this blog. my first real, photography project that will show itself next week, and some more professional growth, also in the works since it requires some pre-req exams that i will be writing for the next few months. and in less then 3 weeks i will also be hitting the 31 mark! wohoo!

last week was another new beginning as i launched my website and am now officially open for business. this has been an interesting experience with all kinds of goodness and weirdness that has come my way from all directions be it family or friends. a lot of oh i was thinking of starting the same thing or oh how will you run your own business with a baby, or most favorite are you getting any paid projects or are these all favours for friends!! and the worst kind what if it doesnt work. God knows thats been my biggest concern. but i guess i ll never know till i try, now will i....

what is also exciting to see is that so many mums i know are suddenly pushed to do something with their lives. a sudden momprenur-ness is in the air. i guess you need one doer around to create a ripple effect. i have been getting phone calls asking for tips and guidelines on how to start a business, the legalities involved, the time management, the work-home balance, is it worthwhile, how much capital this, that, the other .

and for this i would just like to say one thing I DONT KNOW, I HAVE NO ANSWERS! please dont make me anxious, please people if you have nothing good to say dont say anything at all. please back of and let me breathe, let me enjoy my very short lived celebrity moment of the ohh and the ahhs. please dont get me wrong i will help and i have already taken on a few on my little work ventures and am guiding a few others with whatever little knowledge i have. but geezzzzzz im no rockstar!! i just started, how do you expect me to have the answers when im still searching for them myself. give me some space, give me some time to grow, give me a chance and let ME give ME a chance as well!!(phew, there i said it aloud and felt mighty good saying it).

maybe im being intolerant towards my surroundings, maybe people are just expressing their excitment. but the newness of this is quite overwhelming for me. and i dont know where this will take me. maybe this is an experiment, maybe i will fail or maybe and hopefully i will succeed and eventually achieve my very simple retirement dream #14. who knows. its something i have always wanted to try and that's what im doing. and her i CAN say something, that its totally worth following your dreams, because in the end and whatever the end may be you know you gave it a shot. and that for me is a life lived.

i know there are some very successful momprenuers out there, some women who work hard to achieve the work-home balance and some others who dedicate themselves to building their homes. some inspiring women who are doing good just by being themselves and what they do best. and so many, so many more. and i admire them all just the same and aspire to be one of them. i want to be a doer and i want to have no regrets in my life. i want to achieve balance online and offline. and this balancing act is not easy, but looking at all these women around me is like a driving force. if they can do it why cant i...

so here i am this Sunday morning sharing with you some thoughts and some new beginnings and wishing all the women out there, all my friends in the blogosphere, and all of those performing the balancing act, the best always.

do check out my website when you get a chance and feedback is more then welcomed. spread the love, spread the word!

Nyle 1.0

This weekend i attended a friend's daughter's first birthday and the parents' frenzy and excitement reminded me of little N's first which was July 14th.

I remember how i drove myself crazy making sure each and every detail was taken care of; the invites, the favors, the theme, the colors, the cake, the food and the decor. It was like being back in school working on my thesis, staying up late nights, making lists, listening to Dave Mathews, drinking coke and coffee. Planning, planning and lots of planning.

Family supported me, friends thought i was being ridiculous but stood by. You see, i didn't really leave them with much of a choice.

The result; well why don't you see for yourself. Here goes,

postcard invite designed by a dear friend who lives at
love,paper & ink.
these were hand written and mailed out to all our friends

behind the scenes: the night before
food prepared by my best friend
who flew all the way from DC just for this

sunshine, fresh flowers and shades of turquoise and lime
cutlery and napkin holders hand made out of paint color cards from Home Depot

the candy bar on our lovely patio

colorful candies from bulk barn

god is in the details

did i mention the theme was "robots and monkeys"....

.....thus the cake and the cupcakes by a dear friend : yes she is multi-talented!

the personalized favors with each child's name stamped on them...

from Nyles personal thank you stickers collection

and a slightly confused turquoise Nyle at 1.0

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures as much as i enjoyed sharing them.

Sharing these memories also made me realize that i am blessed with a great bunch of friends, my best friend whos always been there for me, my family here and back home and of course above all F whos been remarkably patient through my "everything has to be perfect" syndrome.

ok now before this post turns into an Oscar award speech i must take leave with just one thought
"it is better to appreciate what you have rather then focus on what yo dont, to count your blessings, and feel happy for others, rather then waste time and energy doing just the opposite"
-urbaniche's lame attempt at creating a quote

signing out right about now....

an all night phanstasmagoria

On this sleepless night, the whole city of Toronto is buzzing with art, design and creativity. The excitement is contagious, the energy is spreading like an epidemic and Torontonians seem to be on a natural (some unnatural) high.

Some of these one night projects, installations and performances are happening right in my backyard (as i like to call it). It would have been a shame to miss that now wouldn't it be. So together with a couple of fellow art lovers , i threw myself into this all night party, complete with hot chocolates and bonfires and brought back a bunch of badly photographed phantasmagoria. Here's a quick sneak preview with more to come on flickr!

click on the image above for better view

What you see above is just a glimpse of this grand party that Scotiabank throws for the city every year. You can check the rest here and if you missed it dont fret, there will be more in 2010.

I have always loved living in the city heres another reason why!

wishing every one an artful weekend...cheers!!