H is for Home Companion

My love affair with magazines started innocently enough with Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion (MEHC). S and I were weekend visitors to the craft store Michael's. S likes using his hands. Together, we have painted birdhouses, mosaic-ed tiles and figured out 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles among other things.

Anyway, while waiting in the checkout line, I succumbed to curiosity and bought the current issue of MEHC. It had lots of cute stuff (I don't like cute stuff) but it also had design, decor, antiques and country charm and so many different artists/artisans/ craft persons. Creators all of them...You had to see it! One look and I fell in love. One look and you felt the urge to paint or sculpt or just DO something. My inner artist begged to be released.

I started subscribing to the magazine and was devoted enough to track a lady down in San Jose who was selling most of the back issues (MEHC debut was in '96). She changed her mind once and then changed it back again and sold it to me. They were in pristine condition. The magazine has many of Engelbreit's illustrations and creations but the paper doll has a huge following. The lady had all the paper dolls, uncut and untouched. It was a great moment- sitting in the car, 3 brown paper bags full of magazines waiting to be read. S, who was 5 then, was so excited for me. We got home and gently got the magazines out. S urged me to read them immediately but "Mommy, be careful, don't mess them up."

Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion has ceased publication as of Jan 2009.

Though I had started to feel that there were more advertisements than articles in the recent issues, Home Companion will be sorely missed. Apparently, they closed due to the dismal economy and decreased advertising revenue. Hope they can come back minus the way-too-many ads already!

Top picture of a morose me (blue), sitting on a pile of Home Companion magazines.

All other pictures have been photographed randomly from my almost-complete Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine collection.

PS If you are curious, back issues are always available on ebay.

H is for Hollywood at Home- Look for Peter Dunham Textiles

                       Indian chintz fabric from Peter Dunham Textiles

Kashmir Paisley from Peter Dunham Textiles --- This one is my favorite. Not pretentious. Just inviting you to sink in....

Remember the song from My Fair Lady..

"All I want is a room somewhere

Far away from the cold night air

With one enormous chair

Oh, wouldn't it be lovely?!"

Make mine kashmir paisley! Wouldn't mind it in green either..

Udaipur or Jaipur?? Don't make me choose....

Shanghai from Peter Dunham

All images from hollywoodathomedotcom.

Making a home together- You Can Do It, We Can Help!

What is the bride thinking as she leaves for her husband's home, their new home, after the ceremony? "I am married, I AM MARRIED! I am hot in this sari! Did anyone see how many rossogulla's Auntie B was eating? I can't wait to decorate our new home! " Maybe. Maybe not. After our wedding, R and I flew from India to Atlanta, Georgia and we moved into R's 1 bedroom apartment. I had been living the last few years at a women's hostel as I completed my medical degree in south India. R had recently moved to Atlanta, GA and that's where we set up house. A 1 bedroom apartment on the banks of the Chattahoochee river in Atlanta. When you entered, the first thing you saw was this big tree outside the patio doors and since it was spring, there was not a single leaf, just pink blossoms. Lean out of the door and you heard a small steam gurgling as it made its way to the river. Beautiful!

I was not really of a 'decorating' bent and since R already had the basics- a soft cream couch placed to overlook the tree and the stream, lots of bookshelves-I was happy to just settle in. Until one day and something changed.. we were expecting our first overnight guests and realized that we wanted to dress up the apartment just a little. Out of curiosity, we went to the Home Depot (our first trip to HD together!!) and I watched as R changed into someone else in front of my very eyes... all the wood and tools seemed to affect him or maybe it was the air, smelling as it was of timber and varnish and paint..

When we left the store that day, I had chosen a small chrysanthemum plant and R - he had enough wood to build our own log home plus he also had a saw, sander, measuring tape, paint, brushes, rollers, masking tape, gloves, mask- you name it , we had it with lots of help from HD. I watched and helped as R fashioned furniture out of the wood we had bought. To this day, I can remember the excitement we felt in making something ourselves. The furniture didn't last, made as it was by novices, and with time, our tastes changed. But the memory and excitement is still with us..

This beautiful illustration, titled India Bride, is drawn by artist Donna Wilson who has graciously shared her work with Once Upon A Tea Time.

Visit Donna and her work at http://butterflieskiss.com.

Tea and Biscuits

The first thing I do when faced with anything, momentous or trivial, is make a cup of tea and when I talk about tea, I really mean chai. My favorite memories are of visiting Ooty in the Nilgiri Mountains in southern India, waking to the cold and smelling tea in the air.

This is how I make my cup of chai-

1. Boil water, add some freshly-grated ginger.

2. Boil some more.

3. Add 1 tsp of tea leaves, boil some more.

4. Think beautiful thoughts as you watch the tea froth and bubble.

The aroma of tea rises around you and for a moment, you travel far away from your kitchen. Maybe you are in the foothills of Assam or in Ooty in the Nilgiri mountains. You come back to the present with reluctance..

5. Add milk to the tea but not too much, because for me, nothing can kill chai faster than too much milk.

6. Strain the tea and pour it into a cup.

And this is a very important step-  try using a cup with a lip.  A gentle flaring, an outward curve of the lip of the tea cup enhances your tea-drinking experience and takes it to a whole new level. I have auditioned many cups and very few have passed the test.

I don't know if it is a remnant of colonial ways, but a lot of Indians dunk a cookie or cracker or the humble Parle G biscuit (remember, the G is for Genius ;-)) in their tea.

I settle down with a book or a magazine and my cup of tea and for the next half-hour, I am on a cloud gently drifting away. Or maybe sit down with my laptop and read a blog, especially those that share a love for tea....

Chai pilgrimage

A Cup of Chai

Chai ki Dukaan

Enjoy your tea!

G is for Gasping with delight..Day 2

A home overlooking the Pacific Ocean, from the March issue of Metropolitan home. That tree is beautiful and as for the view, I am lost for words.

Picture is from Metropolitan Home, March 2009.

G is for Gasping with delight..Day 1

Indian fabrics, many times, are a riot of colors and we love that.

But take it down a notch and we really love that too.. a case of eastern colors and patterns meeting western sensibilities.

Mary Mulcahy's Les Indiennes fabric collection.

Images from Mary Mulcahy's Les Indiennes collection. Click on the images for a closer look.

Living the organic life...

Here's one more reason to go organic- Raksha Bella Organic Textiles. Very beautiful organic cotton textiles.           Raj Paisley pattern in Indigo

                                    Indian Rose in Dusty Cedar

Raj Paisley in rum and raisin (Yum!)

All images from rakshabellaorganic.com

Long post but smiles guaranteed

Last week was K's birthday and we celebrated with a party for him and his friends. I baked the M & M cake on his birthday. For his party, we invited a clown. I am a little afraid of clowns- i think it's all that make up and I wonder if they are hiding anything. But K was sure they were really nice and he would love to have one come to his party.
I set about interviewing clowns. There were only 2 or 3 that were available for the party day. When I called Clown #1, he said that he was the real deal, a type of clown they didn't make any more. (why not?) He said he had been 'clowning' for decades and everyone loved him. No, he was not the sort of clown who went to Clown School for a few weeks (or was it months? I forget.) and graduated with a big red nose. Nope, he had learnt by experience and took every occasion very seriously. He sounded angry at the 'youngsters' who didn't know much but were taking over his business. I decided not to hire him because he sounded vaguely threatening and I didn't want to scare the children.
I went with Clown#2 instead- she talked cheerfully on the phone and that's really all I had to go by. Clown and party day arrived. What a surprise! A clown who was fun without trying to be very funny. She tailored her show according to the kids and really, they were the show. She had a puppet theatre and the kids were the puppeteers. K was happy when he found that he could do magic and make money appear and all our guests, who were almost all skeptical and mistrustful about clowns, went home thinking that maybe clowns aren't so bad after all.

What was really special about this birthday was that it was K's 5th birthday. Of course, he didn't remember much of his earlier birthdays and this was the first time he anticipated and counted down to the actual day. On the night before, he got into bed early- it was to help me get everything ready for the birthday, he said, cake, presents, there was a lot to do. I nodded understandingly, we make a big to-do of our birthdays ;-).
What I want to remember really, is him sliding under the covers and giggling as if he couldn't hold all that excitement inside and some of it burst through!


Pictures are taken from the I Spy- Funhouse book by Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo that we love solving again and again. Below, the M&M cake, this time covered with white icing and the boys tried a flowery design on the edge. There wasn't much cake left to photograph ;-)

F is for Fabric.. May I have some more, please?

I was browsing online at Saffron Marigold. Their block print fabrics are beautiful but I would also love to see them experiment with newer patterns.

Here are my favorites from their collection..

Incidentally, don't you think Saffron Marigold makes for a lovely name for a girl? She would be full of dreams, all in Technicolor, of course. Gentle and strong. Resilient. Somehow, I think Saffron Marigold is in all of us.

(This is why I don't post about more weighty matters of the world- it would take up too much blog space ;-))

All pictures from www.saffronmarigold.com

Once Upon A Tea Time on An Indian Summer

I armed myself with my steaming cup of chai, a few biscotti (now, let's not be too judgmental, it WAS Sunday) and my laptop and settled at the kitchen counter to read a few blogs. Rang decor, The India Uncut Blog, An Indian Summer......a loud scream later,  realized that Once Upon a Tea Time has been featured on An Indian Summer on "A Few Good Blogs" list. I am so thrilled and really appreciate it. So, Thank you!

Picture of me in papier mache sari and red lipstick, my favorite speech making attire.

E is for An Elephantine Memory (Pun Intended)

In my parent's home in Muscat, Oman, stood 2 elephants- no, not real ones, silly! These were made of some heavy dark wood from Kerala, India and intricately carved. They were a handsome pair and were gifted to my parents. The two elephants were on a display shelf, next to a window.

Over the years, the bright Arabian sunlight poured in through that window and there were very few days that clouds filled the sky. And the wood on the elephant's side that faced the window was bleached lighter and lighter. I don't think any of us noticed it then.

When my parents moved (and I have talked about this before), they sent my sister and I some of the items that had been in our childhood home and hence, were forever part of our memories. The handsome pair are in my living room now. I try to arrange them so the bleached side still faces the bright California sun shining into my home. It reminds me everyday of the sun shining into that other living room.

Pictures are of the handsome elephant pair.

E is for Etsy

You may already be familiar with Etsy.com. Maybe you sell something on that site or you bought something because you fell in love with it at first sight.

Etsy.com- Home of hand-made (read painted, printed, carved or sculpted, embroidered, knitted, knotted, baked, blocked, etc-ed!)

I browsed through the pages last night looking for some artwork. I filled a Wish-I Could-Buy-It-All Etsy Basket, full of beautiful art. Come and take a peek at some of them..

1. Frida Kahlo prints of original folk art paintings by LuLu of MyPinkTurtleStudio.

Luscious!

2. Fervent Butterfly Photography and Gifts : One More Chance fine art print

3. Oh Kirby of Kirby Curiosities' : Blue Dress White Drip print

Of course, if you don't want prints and want to buy the original artwork, many of the sellers do offer that as well.

4. TR Mack Studios: Imaginary Garden 24x30 Acrylic on canvas

How is that for a big burst of color?!

A postcard from my life

We arrived back from Kauai on New Year's Day and since then, R has been doing some home improvement project or the other, moving furniture back and forth as he paints, refinishes and fixes whatever he feels needs to be painted, refinished and fixed. It has confused me. R can go for very long periods of time with no interest in the above-mentioned and suddenly, there is his handy-man twin. Gone is the austere mathematician and in his place is a paint-spattered worker, who like when you are in India, requires copious amounts of hot chai brought to him!! I try to tell him moderation is the key......

Picture of R and I in Indonesian attire. I am the one with the skeptical look.