Translations: Farida Khanum: Muhabbat karne waale

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Mohabbat karne vale kam na honge
Teri mehfil mein lekin hum na honge

Jamane bhar ke gham ya ek tera gham
yeh gham hoga to kitne gham na honge

agar tu ittfakan mil bhi jaye
teri phurkat ke sadme kam na honge

Mohabbat karne vale kam na honge
Teri mehfil mein lekin hum na honge

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 Translated to English on a Sunday morning...

There will always be someone to love you,
It just won’t be me.

Life without you would be sore,
This one sided love hurts even more,

Darling I need to leave, its time.
Coz, even if you were you were to become mine,

The coldness in your eye that I see
Would haunt me forever, I would never be free.  

There will always be someone to love you,
It just won’t be me.

Minu

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Is Nail Paint only for Nails?

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I guess NOT!!

I had these useless dark brown ear rings that did not show at all against my dark brown/black hair. So they just sat there, moved from one jewelery box to another, doing nothing...

Then I happened to buy this really fabulous jade green nail paint, and once I had put on my toes, I wanted to paint everything with it. Guess what? The ear rings wasn't a bad idea at all, not at all.

More fabulous from Fabindia!!

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I cant say enough about the prints at fabindia. They are just fabulous. My sister had gifted me this wonderful fabindia dupatta with beautiful vines and red flowers at my wedding. I waited 2 years to buy something matching to go with it (could not go to India, hence fabinida for 2 years). I was wearing it for the second time I think, while visiting my aunt. It was the monsoon season, we were roaming about the streets of Rishikesh, and it starts pouring. Alas! my new kurta bled onto this very wonderful dupatta and ruined large parts of it.

This is the day I am talking about

Once again not willing to let go of the fabric, I decided to turn into a scarf. But the scarf did not turn out to be large enough to wear without it flying off every two minutes. Here is my Anthropologie  fix. (pun intended )

A string of beads keeps the loose ends in place

Step 2: Make figure '8' with the scarf

Step 3: Fold over and slip it on

Kombucha Tea: Bottle love: addendum 1

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Saw these re:usable corks at Target today. I thought these could go well the Kombucha tea bottle storage idea. I had tried plugging it with a used cork but after some time, the cork absorbed some of the oils and went through. I think the bamboo top of these corks will help hold it in place and also make it easy to pull out.

Beads after beads (my version)

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Ingredients:
Wooden Beads: Hobby Lobby: $3
Paint: Utrecht: $5
Thread:Hobby Lobby: $3.6
Color: Your choice!

Mossimo Supply -- meet -- Fab India

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I had been wanting to get a pair of red shoes but did not want to spend too much on them coz I knew I would be wearing them occasionally. I saw these flats at Target for $14. They felt comfortable, they were red and they were cheap. But Alas! not perfect. Faux patent leather was just too shiny for my taste and my wardrobe.

Enter, some scrap fabric from Fab India. I actually had set aside an old faded Kurta (long shirt worn in India over slacks like pajamas) from Fab India - my favorite store in India. The print on the fabric, though faded in portions was too good to give up!

They look cute together. Don't you think?

Edge of fabric secured by stitching

Once upon a time, there were a pair of pants that made me look fat...

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... and then one day, they died.


I bought these grey linen pants from HnM last summer and every time I put them on (which was 3 times), my husband had the same comment -"they make you look err..umm... you know.."

I loved the fabric and was not willing to part with them easily. So here is what happened to them...

snip snip..off with the legs

patched in fabric from the leg part (hand stitched)

trimmed the extra fabric

...hem... hem... hem... ahem (by hand again)

A Breakfast Fix we both like...Finally! - Muesli Bread

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I recently tried the Starbucks protein box for breakfast and really liked the combination. It contained a boiled egg, apples, grapes, two slices of cheese and piece of something called "multigrain muesli bread". It was hearty and had great texture. I wondered if I could make a batch of this bread on the weekend, to last the week, it would allow for breakfast on the go. Usually one of us (between my husband and I), one of us does end up being late and there is no time for a sit down breakfast.

As I dug for recipes, I found that muesli is a cereal concoction! This has to be the holy grail for breakfast. Now muesli I concluded is hard to find and so just substituted muesli in this recipe with the Kashi cereal we usually get and it turned out great.

The 2 cups of Muesli were replaced by 1 cup of Kashi 7 whole grain puffs + 1 cup of Kashi go lean honey almond cereal + handful of this "other cereal" that we don't like and are trying to get rid of somehow. Also threw in some pecans and sunflower seeds.

Kombucha Tea: Bottle love

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One day a colleague asked me to pick a bottle of the "wonder tea" for her as I went to pick my lunch. Even before I tried the tea, I had my eyes on the bottle, simple, elegant and NOT at all "use and throw" worthy!!

1. Kombucha wonder tea bottle: Using a wine cork, I think this is ready for rustic kitchen counter top storage (EVOO) or the bathroom (bath oil, salts)

2. Added rubber bands of different widths to my favorite bottle to make an elegant vase.

3. Added coffee stirrers under the rubber bands to make an ear-ring organizer, the possibilities are endless...

Tip: the sticker does leave behind some nasty glue but olive oil works great to get it off.

i tin CAN - and so CAN you

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So what can you do with the tin cans? Apparently lots of things!

My favorite is to simply use them a pen stand or a flower vase. Simply peeling off the paper label reveals a shiny interior, with undulating rings. Hooray for the industrial look! Or I say - the stainless steel look for less!

Other uses?

>>Seed planting (don't forget to make a drain hole at the bottom). Wont it be super cute to plant tomatoes in a tomato can?

>>Cookie cutter

>>more handy ones at apartment therapy

De:Plastifiy Part 4

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Guess What? I am not the only one thinking about packaging, which has no where to go but the dustbin (usually). Checkout a company called Braswell. They bottle their yummy goodness in jars that can be reused as drinkware! Their secret? - The jars don't have the usual ring on top for a screw type lid! So simple and so effective. I Just started my collection!

Painter's Tape: Love at first use!

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The first time I saw this blue tape being stretched across walls and along trim on HGTV I did not realize what a miracle it is. A simple blue tape can change your life forever!

I bought it for the first time when I decided to spray paint my dresser. The painting experience was horrifying to say the least. The dresser had the absolutely wrong kind of finish for spray painting, and then it got real windy and dust starting blowing all over (I was doing this in an empty parking lot). And to top it all, I ran out of paint three quarters of the way. I ended with an even more hideous looking dresser than I started with.
But,
but,
but,

As I began to peel off the painter's tape, revealing some order in the midst of an irreparable mess, I realized that the day had not gone waste. I had discovered THE PAINTER"S TAPE. Now this blue roll is always present in my DIY kit, not just for painting furniture, but load of other things:

1. Packing: I found this to be great for packing furniture while moving. I padded up edges of furniture with newspaper to prevent chipping, holding packaging in place with the painter's tape. You can rest assured that this tape wont leave behind that nasty glue behind on your furniture!

2. Painting: You can use this tape to paint almost anything- a lamp shade for a custom look, a scarf, cushion covers or your apron!

3. Its great for pest control too. Tape up the areas that you want to spray before spraying. It can serve as a reminder to kids (and to your self) where to stay away from. Peel off when you are done for chemical free floors etc.

4. Use it under double side tape to hang art work. This is great when you don't want to punch holes through your walls or don't want to mess with the walls of your rental!