Our Wedding Story!

Marriage is a gift. It should be opened and enjoyed” – Geeg Evans.

My parents thought.. and I chose him. Just like many others ours was also an arranged marriage in India. We had fallen in love with each other in our initial days. And decided to get married to each other happily.

We might not have a love story but we do have a story to tell. After our parents initiated the conversation, we also spoke to each other over the phone. The first phone call lasted around 45 minutes. Then a series of long chats happened. We used to chat for hours without any obligation of saying yes to each other to marry.

We finally met to be honest we were positive about each other already. Meeting with our family was just a formality for both of us. We liked each other and finally said yes after like a month of knowing each other. I know it’s a short time for most of you, but when you know it you know it…

We decided to get married.

We had a courtship period of around 6 months which we enjoyed thoroughly. His surprize visits made that period so much fun. I was so happy to finally be called Mrs. Kunal Mathur.  Loved the feeling.

We were married after completing all the customs in our culture including Engagement, Haldi & Mehndi, Tel Bhaat and finally the feras.

This one is my mom's wedding dress.

All I can say our journey for these 6 years, well almost 7 now had lots of ups and downs and we are so addicted to each other and madly in love.

After completing 3 years of our wedding we were blessed to have a baby girl and we named her Kavya… so we are 3 K’s in the family – Kunal , Kirti & Kavya.

We moved to UAE after 3 years and here is when Kavya happened to us. God bless her.

Our journey till now has been super fun and full of amazing things. And both of us are looking forward to more of such awesome years together.

Hope, you enjoyed the little life story, our engagement and wedding pictures I shared with you guys.

I will be sharing Kavya’s birth story in the next post, till then keep calm and wait for the next story.

Love you guys!

What I did When I Lost My JOB ?

Things I did after I lost my job:

Finding a job and continuing with it was somehow very difficult for me, either we moved to a different city or abroad. So, my career path has been very difficult. At least for me it was a tough one.

When we shifted to Dubai, after a year or so I started looking for a job, fortunately I got one through reference. Yet it took almost 8-9 months for me to finally start going to office.

But only after three months the whole department got shut down. Apart from my team a lot of floor staff also lost their jobs. This was the first time I was being let go. It was disheartening. We were asked to sign a few papers and asked to wait for the settlements to be transferred into the account.

So, from the next day I was at home with my 2-year-old. At first I was feeling very sad about losing this job but at the same time I was happy that I can spend some extra time with my daughter, so I started to find happiness in this disguise.

OK, if this is the way it must be, I will take it on. I started applying in random vacancies, in companies that are located near me, and where not. But no luck.

I was told to keep applying and I just might get a call. So, I continued making calls and sending Emails. I felt very empty and missed the message at the end of the month on my phone about the salary being credited.

Time passed and I could not find anything for myself, like nothing, really!

The biggest question was what should I do the whole day????

No one had the answer to my question. So, I apart from playing with my girl, I also started cooking, I learnt many new dishes, this made me happy. Feeding people always made me feel good.

Since I had a desk job I had gained some weight at my work in these months, and I had to get rid of this before I get back to the same work life I had. So, I started a diet called “The Banting Diet”. This diet was introduced to me by my husband and to him by his boss. I never believed in diets but after seeing the results I was quite impressed and I also started to incorporate the diet in my routine. And I lost 7 kgs in like 2 months. Started feeling happy again. At least losing the fat and weight made me happy.

I also started spending a lot of time on the internet, Pinterest was one of my favorite apps. I used to spend hours getting inspired by the DIYs and crafts. Before I joined work, I spent time teaching kids craft and drawing, so it was always in my mind to create new things and I loved the DIYs.

 I started making things for my home taking inspiration from Pinterest.

I did things that I missed doing badly, things I used to do in my college days. I loved hosting the Youth Week at my college, so I thought if I can do that in Dubai as well. I contacted a few ladies who host their own exhibitions and got an opportunity to host as well as to do a small photoshoot for them, which by the way was my first time. During these two exhibitions, I met a lot of lovely women who are very talented and showcasing their talents in such exhibitions. Most of them are still very good friends of mine.

So, I just loved my break, though it was difficult in the beginning but all is well that ends well, I found a new job and am happy getting the message I spoke to u about earlier.

Best Home Remedies for Puffy Eyes for a Busy Working Woman

Well, I’m a working woman and soon after like a month or so I started noticing puffiness and redness under my eyes. For a few days, I thought that I just might be tired and this will eventually fade off.

But this did not go away even after taking proper rest or relaxing my eyes in between my work at office. I realized that it is there irrespective of the rest and taking breaks in-between the screen time.

It continued for a long time. I started looking tired all the time and sometimes office colleagues were worried if I was unwell. It was that time when I started paying attention to my under eye area.

I did not want to use any type of chemical based cream to my eye as the area was super sensitive. I’m listing below few methods I tried to reduce the puffiness.

• Rose water: I started spraying rose water as and when I can, even in the office just to cool them off. Which somehow did not work very well for me as I use mascara and Kajal, and you know what happens next. But I did this after I reach home and it has helped me to cool down the eyes a lot.
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• Green tea: I boiled green tea in a pan and stored it in a spray bottle. Used green tea using cotton eye pads. It works in visibly reducing the redness.
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• Aleovera gel: This is by far the best thing that has happened to me. I’ve fallen in love with the aloevera gel. I have tried both, gel from a fresh plant and buying from market. Before sleeping I wash my face with my face wash and then use tissues to pat it dry and then applied a little amount of the gel on my face and neck. I was surprised to see the results my puffiness and redness reduced in just one night. So, this is my favorite.
  

• Cucumber: I’ve also tried putting cucumber slices on my eyes, but I feel it just restricts my functionality in the day time. Plus, after office there was no time and no patience for this method.
  

• Other methods:

·         I tried oils also to reduce the fine lines around my eyes. I used castor oil mixed with almond oil on my face (which by the way is very heavy oil). It helped my skin keeping moisturized all day and visibly reduced the lines.

·         I also used cool pads for my eyes, which could only give temporary effect and smoothing to my eyes.

·         I tried cooling my fingers using ice and then pressing them against my eyes. I can’t tell how much relief it gave me at that point of time, but this is again a temporary measure.

So, in my experience, aloevera gel is the most effective and natural way to calm your sensitive areas on the face. It also helps in reducing the irritation caused due to sun burns. Specially if you live in a place like Dubai, you will get sun burns in line a jiffy.

I will continue using the gel every day to keep my skin healthy and natural looking.



Pic Credits : Google 

Bride's must have in D day purse!

Hi everyone,

Recently we celebrated our 6^th wedding anniversary. While going back through the memory lane with my husband we came across a few thing that still made us laugh or think thank God I had that or I wish we had that.

I miss being a bride, all the pampering, the drama, makeup and just everything.

A lot of times I was asked by my cousins and friends to share a checklist of the things that a bride should have in her purse on the day of the wedding, apart from the vanity (you can’t take the vanity case to the stage).

So I thought that I’ll share my list of things that a new bride should have in her purse at the time of the ceremony.

To start with:

·         Extra Bindis: As an Indian bride I put side bindis along with the main one above my eyebrows. And even though my wedding was in February which is cold I was sweating because of the heavy dress and heavy makeup. My makeup artist tried her level best to stick them properly but still by the time barat arrived one or two bindis dropped.So to avoid that situation you must always keep extra set of bindis in your bag.

·         A bunch of safety pins: Safety pins are a saviour. In a wedding I had attended, a BIG wardrobe malfunction happened with the poor bride. Since she was wearing a very heavy lehanga, the tie could not hold the dress for long and it broke. The bride realized it in a jiffy and held her dress and came of the stage. Safety pins came to rescue then. Using big sized pins her lehnga was in place again.

Remember to keep different size pins in your bag.

·         Same Lip colour: With the long photo sessions and the “Fera” ceremony the lipsticks tend to fade away. To avoid this situation always carry the same lip color that you are wearing on the D day.

·         Small Mirror: This is a must. To keep a check on how are you looking you must keep a small mirror. Like to apply the lipstick or bindi you need that. Sometimes there is no body around that you can trust with putting the lipstick but you. So keep it handy.

·         Tissues (Wet and facial tissues): Tissues are a must again. They help you in the Vidaai time, when tears fall down with a deep heart. Wet wipes are for any stains of makeup or anything. OMG I had haldi on my hands which transferred to my face in no time. So I needed wet wipes to get rid of that.Look at my nose.. all yellow!! Yet one of my favorite pictures, we were so happy!!

·         Compact powder: It’s very important to keep a compact powder in your purse. As I said sweat makes things difficult. To avoid the fading and melting away of makeup keep touching up your makeup with the compact.

·         Kajal: Since I have very oily lids and watery waterline, I have to keep retouching it. To keep my kajal in place my makeup artist did her best but still it kept fading up. So Kajal is a must for brides like me.

·         Ear buds: Better to keep one or two buds in your purse, it is helpful when the kajal smudges or the lipstick moves a little buds become your friend. Use a bud tip to clean the edges.

So that’s all that a bride needs to keep in the purse on her wedding day.

I will come up with an article on what all should be in the vanity very soon. Thanks for reading! Happy Wedding! Enjoy to the fullest, it is indeed the best day of a girl’s life!

How to organize your cupboard in easy steps

Hi everyone,

Having trouble manage your clothes ? No space for new shopping done ? Cannot find what you need at that time ?
Well I have some steps that you can follow to keep your cupboard organized.

• Differentiate the clothes you don't wear very often : To find out such clothes,put the hangers the other way round on the cupboard rod(as if someone has put them from the back of the cupboard). when you wear a piece put it back the normal way. At the end of two months you would know which clothes you did not wear at all. For clothes that we fold and keep, fold them outside in and similarly you will know which ones are your favorites.
  

Color co-ordinate your clothes : Ever been to a Fabindia store ? No matter how many clothes they put it always look organised. the mantra is to color coordinate everything. Try and put all the similar colors together( one upon the other). This will make your cupboard look more clean and organised.

• If you don't have much space try to roll your clothes and stack them. It not only saves you space but also gives a neat look to the shelf.
  
• To organize your undergarment drawer, you can buy one of the organizers and it becomes very simple to manage. 
  

        Or simply fold the in the same way and stack them very close to each other in your drawer.

• For neck ties and scarves also you can get inexpensive hangers that help you to keep everything intact and at one place.
  
  
  
  
• Similarly there are handbag organizers and shoe organizers available in the market that can make your life much easier.There are many variants available in the market that you can choose from.
  
  
  
  
• To save some space in your shelves in cupboard you can also roll your towels and keep them, this way you will be able to stack more things in less space
  

Hope these tips and trick were helpful to you in arranging your cupboard and also helpful in making more space for your new shopped clothes.

So no more tension as to where will you keep those new denims and dresses. Happy shopping!

How to relax your body at home

Hi everyone,

How are you all? It's been long that I have written, well,being a mommy is tough you know.

With absolute no regrets about the break I took I'm back.

With a small baby in house, moms are always tired. As they say it’s a 24*7 job, trust me it’s so true.

I've had an amazing experience being a mom for the first time. We're blessed with a baby girl Kavya.

To overcome the tiredness, today I have one of my favorite ways that I regularly follow that makes me and my body relax.

We all have hectic days at office, at home, when you have guests around. Trust me we do feel tired at some point.

The easiest and simplest thing you can try at home is scrubbing your body.

All you need to do is get into a warm shower, wet yourself.

Apply your favorite body scrub, you can start from your arms. Apply a generous amount of scrub and start scrubbing.

Be gentle as you don't want to harm your skin by overdoing it. continue to massage your arms for around 3-4 minutes, Wash off.

Similarly apply the scrub on your legs, and follow the same steps. For better results do your feet separately. If you have hard skin on your heels you can do the scrubbing for a little longer. Wash off.

Do not use soap or body wash after the process.

You can repeat the same all over the body. Take a bath washing off all the scrub. Use lukewarm water towards the end of your shower.

Get out of the shower, towel dry your body and apply your favorite body lotion/body butter. For better results for relaxation use fragrances like lavender, vanilla, cocoa butter, coffee or chocolate.

Good fragrances always stimulate your senses and makes your body relax.

This entire process does not take more than fifteen minutes.

And you are done. It will leave your skin super smooth and you won't want to stop touching it.

Your skin needs dead skin removal in every 15-20 days to keep it glowing and looking young. In winters, you can apply milk cream for even better results.

Points to remember: You must moisturize your skin after scrubbing the skin.

If you have pain in your feet you can also use sea salt in place of scrubbing, keep it for ten minutes and dip your feet in warm water for some time. This will take away all the pain from your feet leaving them super soft (apply moisturizer).

So just try it and enjoy.

Oh So Frustrating!! Summers Go Away!

Five Ways To Avoid Frustration In Summers:

It becomes very tough for all of us to stay calm in such heat. Extreme heat can actually be one of the reasons for your frustration at work or may be at home. Of course it is tough to handle when it becomes hot and you loose control over your emotions. There are ways by which you can exhale your anger and frustration.

Here are five best ways to avoid this summery feeling:

    Wear summer clothing: Avoid wearing heavy and dark shades of clothes. You’ll feel relaxed when you see yourself in the mirror wearing pastel colors and feel light yourself. Clothes that are fitted and hug your body can also be a reason for you bad mood in summers. Try clothes that are not very tight and can absorb your sweat quickly.

  Take shower twice a day: Its hot and you don’t want to smell bad, so take shower twice with normal water. I know it is tempting for all of us to take that bath in cold water but it would be a lot better and relaxing if you use warm water. Use your favorite body wash, you can try lemon or mint, they work best for summers.

 Cool drinks are your best friends in summers: Have a cool drink, well as many times you want. Fruit juices, shakes, ice teas are the best drinks you can have in summers to avoid the heat and relax yourself and get rid of that frustration. These cold drinks do some magic and just take away all your stress.

  Stay quiet: Yes this is again one of the ways you can avoid the feeling. If you are frustrated don’t just spell it out on someone, after all you are not the only one who is hot in this weather, taking it out on someone will only create more stressful situations for you. Stay quiet and listen to some soft music or the one that you think can distract you from the heat.  

Pamper yourself : Ah! What could be better than pampering yourself. You know the best way to relax your mind and body is to take a massage. Open up your eyes, I know what feeling you get when you get that massage. Go to a saloon and get a nice hair cut to feel the cool around you. Have some facials look good and feel good. Trust me all your heat will go off when you see your glowing skin. Another way to pamper yourself is to sleep, take a nap in the afternoon, am so sure with the laziness that we get in the day time, the thought of sleeping feels so good.

Surely after doing the suggested methods to release your frustration. Try these as and when you feel sad or frustrated and be released and enjoy life. Stay cool.

Pamper yourself on the weekend:

Had a bad week in office?  Ah!  No worries.. make full use of the weekend and do nothing but pamper yourself and relax. Feel good.

• Wake up whenever you want and put on some of your favorite music. Sing along

•  Take a warm water bath. Use body wash/polish, try fragrances like lavender, you can also try body oils mix it in your bathing water.
•  Take time to get ready,apply some nice body lotion all over, feel soft.
• Get dressed,wear your fluffy and comfy pajamas. Put some fresh fragrance.
•   Put your favorite nail color on your nails and toe nails, try some pastel colors to sooth you.
• Apply lip balm and smile J

• Make a hot drink, you can make herbal tea, coffee, hot chocolate,  pour it in your favorite mug (I have mine ;) . If you’re hungry make some light food like pasta. Do not forget ice-cream after that. Oh mouth-watering. Don’t hesitate to eat from the tub.

•  Relax : Watch TV, a comic  movie or read a book. Chick flicks work awesome at this time. Avoid drama, horror movies, serious, thriller movies. Total no-no.

• Light up candles no matter what time is it of the day, it’ll make you feel light.

• Sleep for some time, even if you are not sleepy close your eyes and take a power nap.Relax.
• Go out, you don’t want to buy anything don’t, just go to market places where you can find fancy stuff just to bring that smile and make you forget everything.

Try these few steps and feel relieved.

Summer Wedding Tips

It is certainly the best day of a girl’s life when she gets married to the prince she has dream't of. I actually cannot explain the feeling in words. All I can say is that I danced on the dhol in my own barat hiding from all the guests wearing my dream pretty wedding dress. It was winters, and the weather was cold in Jaipur (Rajasthan).

Summer can also become a beautiful time to get married, at the same time you need to be really careful. It’s important to stay cool and not let you make up flow with u sweat.

Here are a few steps to follow to keep fresh at a summer wedding:

 Try wearing light, airy, flowing and a light colored dress. Choose the fabric that keeps  you cool. There are wedding dresses available in market which look heavy and bridal wear but are actually very comfortable to wear in summers.

  Sticky hair would be the last thing that you would want to happen to your look. Tie your hair to keep your neck cool, allowing you to stay fresh all day long.

  Drink lots of water is a must, have juices etc. Do not eat heavy. It’ll keep your skin glowing.

  Keep your make light and subtle.

  Keep fresh wipes, deo and other touch up necessities in your purse.

        

   

  Always keep touch up handy in your bag, like bindi ( they might shed due to sweat, lip color,powder etc.)

  Take quick bites time to time.

Just keep in simple in short. Look trendy and love yourself.