The Big Four O

One of my best friends is turning 40 this year and so shall the rest of my contemporaries in the coming year. I recall being a naive child with thoughts of how one's life should probably end at 40 because it simply was too old.

These days, the people I count as my closest friends are all around my age in fact, my oldest friend is my own husband. I don't have friends who are younger than 30. Actually I have very few friends and making new friends at this age, is extremely tedious and hard work.

Anyway to me, it is an important milestone in life and it should be celebrated. How I am going to is not clear to me yet but I have a notion that it is to done in several fold. One, to celebrate my mid life crisis, I want to do something on my own. I shall contemplate the how, what and where.

Following that, I would like to, as much as possible, to throw a party and involve my buddies.

G, a friend, is turning 40 in April and has gone down the same path. He is going to Istanbul for the party. A week in a villa on the coast of Kas and then a week in Istanbul city. I first said we would go but we might not have the time to join him now.

It does look tempting though and I love Istanbul. Here's the house.

It sleeps up to 18 but I don't think there will be much sleeping with this lot.

Write Stuff designed a Maimi themed party for some 40 year olds a few months back. I went to that party with a mini skirt and very very bad make up. Tons of blue eye shadow. The party guests went to town with their costumes. The host's husband turned up as Kiss with the black leotards and hair! There were mullets, pink leotards, side burns, headbands everywhere I looked ! I was completely underdressed.

These were some of the party decor.

So Z, what are you going to do for yours?

Chair lust

There are chairs and there are chairs. Those you have in your office for sitting at the desk. The low slung types where you sit curled up with a cup of coffee while on the phone. The plushy deep seat ones where you snuggle with a good book and nap. There are so many and each unique in their own design.

I have been sharing dining chair photos with my friends and even though we have different tastes, it's fun to see what other people like or dislike.

Here are some more of my favourites. The Gus rocker from here.

John Luff's low rocker from here.

Patricia Urquiola's Tropicalia range that includes this low lounger that also comes in black.

And the ultimate hanging chair. I love this.

As a child, I remember sitting on similar looking chairs insofar as they were made of plastic tubing. It is hard to describe it but it looks like this basket chair. This seems more sturdy than the one I had as a kid. Mine was more springy but essentially it looked the same.

It is quite hard to find those chairs now, if anyone knows where please let me know.

This

Doha rocks!

We may live in the desert where not much happens, but when it rains it pours. Last week I went and saw two outdoor concerts. James Blunt was on Valentine's Day and Cat Stevens a couple of days later.

J.Blunt played in a tiny stage set on the beach of the Intercon hotel. Tickets were 250 each, so not cheap but we were standing 10 metres aways from the guy!

There were booze kiosks dotted on the beach so the men especially appreciated that. I went with two girlfriends but was surprised to see so many men there. I guess since it was V Day, most either were forced to or thought it was a romantic gesture.

It was a great night out.

Taken on my camera phone so quality sucked.

The Cat Stevens concert was also outdoors but the stage was massive and there must have been close to 3,000 spectators. We bought tickets early so had really good seats, just 2 rows behind the VIPS.

He sang alot of new songs but kept the crowd happy with the oldies and at 60, the man still has it. Even the emir gave him a standing ovation at the end of the performance.

Rumour has it that Elton will be gracing the Doha scene within weeks. Fingers crossed.

Please forgive me

My absence was due to having too many accounts, with too many user names and passwords. Compounded by the fact that I got lazy and uninspired and so lost interest in writing in my blog. It may not look it, but keeping regular updates is a rather time-consuming affair.

But I finally sorted my crap out and am back online again.

For my first post in 6 months, I am going to start slow.

We are trying to put the soft furnishings into the house and one of the things to decide, is a headboard for the bedrooms.

S suggested that we have a headboard that goes all the way to the ceiling, giving height to the room. A luscious velveteen headboard is what we are after. I do like the button tufted look like this.

The choice of fabric above is not my favourite, something more colourful from Designer Guild collections is what I prefer. Which colour goes best with a brick wall you think?

Here is a snapshot of the house with the door frames installed. The glass has not been delivered yet but you get a sense of the space. In this photo, the bedroom has a cement rendered headboard as the back of the headboard is a wardrobe. For the other bedrooms, the bed is set right against the wall and so a headboard is necessary.

Over the past week, T had been to the island for a boys' trip. His closest university mates came all the way from the UK to see the build and even camped out there for a night.

Here is a shot of them making dinner on a makeshift kitchen. I bought the stove for USD 30 on my last trip, this would be for the kitchen that we have yet to build. The boys bought a gas canister and some pots and cutlery. For dinner, they fried up some tuna and had it with some pasta.

At night, they laid out the mattresses and bless them, slept with some cheap sheets and without taking the plastic sheeting off the mattresses either! They made do with very little but wanted to, just to experience staying at the house.

A snapshot at 6am, when the sun was just peeking from the trees beyond the pool.

As for me, I cannot wait for the whole house to have doors and proper furniture. I do not fancy camping so hopefully by April when we visit, the rest of the house will be done!

weekend baking?

I am hosting a playgroup this weekend for the westbay mothers and am looking

 for baking inspirations. All the mums take turns at hosting and in spite of their busy

schedules always serve up mouthwatering treats. We have had chocolate cakes, cherry pies, 

lemon green tea cupcakes ( my fav- L's)  and more. So I want to try baking something

too. 

Joy the Baker gave me this idea. 

Peanut Butter Banana Bread.

Need I say more?

I have some experience making banana bread, so am very excited to try this version. 

But I bumped into this blog- Shove it in your face ( scream ). She's a tough cookie this one, 

baking while hobbling about with a leg brace. A true die hard baking adddict made this gem

banana bread donuts.

Not real donuts just donut shaped bread but who cares.

Happy Thursday everyone. Smell something delicious this weekend!

Home Improvements

Right after days of organizing and decluttering, we have finally satisfied with the end result. The home is complete and I have the photos to prove it.

We got rid of the compound furniture and replaced it with our own massive pillowy couch.

Upstairs in the common area, I laid our oversize persian rug and hung up the Charley Harper prints. On the left of the picture you can peek into Zaggy's room which has gone through a major makeover.

This was the before.

And the after.

I bought the decals about 3 years ago back in KL but never used them. The walls were painted Forest Green and they look superb!

This is our room, the before...

And now after.

We don't have a headboard but an extra king mattress propped up against the wall, is now the makeshift headboard. I covered it with a fabric from Paradise Road in sri lanka but it doesn't cover the whole mattress unfortunately.

The other two Charlie Harper prints are on the shelf alongside my jewellery. A designer I met recently, gave me a jewellery stand in exchange for baby stuff. It is extremely hand for all my earrings and necklaces.

During the last trip to the UK, I went to one of my fav shops Skandium and bought these glass cases from iittala.

They are so tiny but so precious.

From me to you

A post for my little baby boy who will be turning 1 in a month's time.

I bought this book for you about 5 years ago, when you were just in my imagination. This book by Shel Silverstein still makes me tearful and to me, depicts a parent's love for their child in the most precious way.

The Giving Tree.

I had forgotten about the book until I saw this video from The Kid Should See This.
A moving picture circa 1973, narrated by the author who also played the harmonica.

Bad Teacher Good Style

Has anyone watched Bad Teacher? Starred Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, it was a fun girlie night-in movie. I thought it was pretty hilarious but Diaz's outfits were too sexy to ignore. She's got the perfect figure for the pencil skirt and the skinny pants. I loved the ensembles but unfortunately could not find photos online.

On Etsy, a clothes designer from Romania - Lauragalic, had these super tailed jackets that I crave for. What do you think?

Pretty hot stuff.

Project Ombre

Sooooo, I know I have been missing for months and yes I have some excuses but not good enough. It has been crazy busy with house hunting, then house moving, then house nesting etc etc. Since the last post, there was some travelling done as well. We were in London for 12 days and spent it mostly at home with family showing off the young boy.

Anyway, I am now armed with a new computer and things are settling to a sane speed so I am back with my first post in months.

The new house is looking great but still, finishing touches required. Pictures and shelves need hanging but that will be done quickly enough. We shipped in our own from KL because we were tired of living in rented furniture. Besides, they were bile. I was convinced the couch had lice and felt itchy each time I got close.

So now, with that stuff out, and my plush cream couch in place, I went in search of decorating projects. The first on the list, is a cheap armchair with a cream cotton cover. The cover was looking ragged and I had some dyes in my box. A packet of Ocean Blue and Bahama Blue. Perfect for my first experiment with ombre, a technique of creating graduation of colours on dye jobs.

Here are some stunning examples.

Ombre curtains from Anthro.

What about these dresses!

I watched a few youtube tutorials and was ready to have a go.

The ends were dunked in the different colours but for the middle portion, I shuffled between the two dyes to achieve a gradient. Well I tried.

 

I must have left the cover in for too long or perhaps the buckets were too tall as you can see the line across the mid section. 

 

The end result was splotchy but I can live with it. Might try it again but with a lighter fabric this time.

Welcoming M's Number Two

This week, M in Brisbane, my old friend and fantastic ex-housemate welcomed number two into the family. Congratulations M and you still haven't told us her name yet.

No pressure, names are really tough. We didn't have a name til days before the event and even then after deciding on Z, we were unsure for at least a week.

So congrats to you and take care of yourself.

Your days ahead will be Cloudy with a chance of rainbows. Cloudy only for a couple of weeks anyway, it gets easier once you hit 10 weeks, that's my experience anyway.

 via here