Monday 25 November 2013

Importance of Color play in the bedroom

Everyday you get up in the morning, you see light and colors around you. You perceive them your way. You head start your day with certain things in your mind, leaving that comfortable and most important place your house i.e. your Bedroom.

Bedroom is a place which gives you comfort, solace and calm after a whole day of hush hush. Bedroom needs to be treated well for what it does for you. It needs your love, tender touch and care in the form of colors and lights. It not only will make your room look appealing but also will have effect on your psyche. The perception, the thoughts and how we react are influenced by the colors around us. Our mood, emotions and even physical feelings have a great deal to do with colors. That is why it is very important how we choose the colors of our bedroom, which mostly depends upon personal choice and then the appeal.

Colors can be categorized in to Warm and Cold. Depending upon personal taste a person can choose the color to paint the bedroom. Also getting the right kind of furniture and accessories plays an important role. Since both things need to compliment each other, else the place may end up looking weird. One need to be cautious.

A tour through choosing the right colors for your most personal place -

  • Things to keep in mind before opting for the colors:
    • Interior Design
    • The Room Size
    • Existing Furniture
    • Lighting - Artificial and Natural
    • Psyche of person(s), whose bedroom it is.
  • Shades of color - Warm vs Cool - Warm colors are known for stimulation and excitement while cool colors have far more relaxing and chilling effect.
    • Warm colors like red, orange, yellow are known for activity based rooms. Also they make the room look small, while the use of Cool colors like Blue, White, Purple makes the room look large.
    • But you can use combinations, like use of light colors of your choice with pastel color of same shade or any other contrasting color.
    • You can also paint the whole room in one color while painting only one wall in contrasting dark color where you can put photographs of couple if its the room of a couple or children in case of its a child's bedroom. 
Example - 
If you choose white color for your bedroom, you can have one wall painted red / maroon with couple's photographs of happy moments or other pictures as per your mood or style with solid color base frames hanging on them. In this kind of color combination you can also go for same shade (red / maroon) bed set and curtains. And yeah tiles also play an important role. If walls are white, tiles better be white or wooden.

For the furniture other then master bed, you can either go for typical wooden furniture or even colorful ones.

You can accessorize your room with decorative pillows, vase, side lamps, small shelves and even some funky showpieces to enhance the beauty of your room.

Accessories for Bedroom
The main thing to keep in mind is that color of your bedroom shall compliment both your personality and the furniture & other accessories kept in the room.

A few bedroom samples from pastel to solid, light to dark and simple to creative are here below for your reference.
Because, its all about the right balance and harmony. Creativity is great but play it the way you don't spoil it. After all it gonna represent you, your identity and personality.



Hope I was of some help and you enjoyed reading it!!

Have a colorful day ahead.
Cheers!!!

P.S. This post is a part of the Fab Blogger contest by FabFurnish.com, India's largest online home store. Get the best deals for bedroom furniture, wall clocks and bed sheets online.


Sunday 24 November 2013

An Unforgettable Meet with MasterChefAustralia: Rishi Desai

I watch Master Chef Australia rigorously. 
Naah!! I am not fond of cooking, instead a foodie. I just love food. Different kind of cuisines, their texture, smell and of course the taste; after all variety is the spice of life and I believe in eating with all five senses, sometimes sixth too :D

Back to MasterChefAustralia, well, I love watching contestants cook, followed by their nervousness and judges’ comments, followed by smiles on contestant’s faces. It is like a magical world fomme. I always wished, that somehow the ready dishes pop out of television and yeah one more thing as I casually used to tell mum that how I wish, I get an opportunity to meet Rishi (Hrishikesh) Desai, the indi-heartthrob of MasterChefAustralia with great sense of humor & food.

Rishi Desai's, visit home has made at least one wish come true. I just couldn't believe, that yesterday I saw this guy on TV at 9 and today he was in front of me. Thanks to Godrej Natures Basket's workshop which opened door for many to come and interact with Rishi, like real chit chat about food, his life etc. He is a real chatter box and he knows how to keep the show going with his talk and his charm of course.

As he entered, the whole aura changed, everyone welcomed him with loud applause. He unveiled the ‘Celebrate Australia’ fest in association with Tourism Australia at Godrej Natures Basket. Camera started rolling and he got started with cooking.
A complete "house full" watching him cook his first dish of the day - the Greek Salad
First he showed us Greek Salad followed by lamb steak, which he cooked in some delicious Australian BBQ sauce and last Halloumi cheese dish and everything looked so delicious. We watched Rishi with all smiles while he kept cooking and telling us stories about his son, his life at Australia, work, future plans and the show. He kept cracking jokes and enlightening us with his cooking techniques or “engineering” techniques of cooking. After all he is a scientist and is inclined towards innovation.
We Mesmerized, Rishi cooking and laughing with us & finally Greek Salad with Lamb Steak tossed up in plate
As he said, cooking is also a science, and that we shall try to break conventions when it comes to cooking too. We shall know why we are doing something and shall not continue doing so just because it has been practiced the same way since ages. Something he has been doing and planning to get in his cook book too which is in progress, that is he wanna turn Indian food upside down with his creativity.

Szechuan Dumplings with Caramel
Soy Sauce and Chinese Tea
He has experimented and has brought Indian touch in Master Chef Australia (MCA) too while preparing his dishes, he also spoke about Heston's episode when we all praised him for the Szechuan Dumplings (inspired by Indian modak) with Caramel Soy Sauce and the Chinese tea, he did in that episode which was praised by MCA judges too. We teased him for his snowman dessert too ;)

He told us that his cookery book will be out by 2014 and will comprise of Indian dishes with whole new touch and will in fact comprise of many Kolhapuri dishes which are his roots.

The session ended with CEO & MD of Godrej Natures Basket handing out a token of appreciation to Rishi,  as we all waited to go and meet him personally. Thanks to the event organizers, they organized the whole one on one meet with Rishi for us post workshop. We could meet, talk and get clicked and yeah autographs too. Hats off to Rishi's patience that he greeted and spoke to each and everyone with all smiles and posed with each of us coming one by one for the camera.

My best moment of the day was, when I got my snap shot with him :) 
Me with Rishi
It was a indeed a QUINTESSENTIAL event and a non-stop grinning day fomme :D
Truly mind-boggling and mesmerizing. Thanks Rishi Desai, for coming to India. It was pleasure meeting you, an unforgettable meet.

A sneak peek @Rishi Desai -
A 35 yr old scientist from Canberra, who is basically from Kolhapur, India. 
Has been fond of cooking since he was 5 and gives the credit for all the cooking he has learnt to his mum.
Studied in India and worked here for sometime till he moved to New York for further studies and then to Australia in 2008 with his wife Mitra, to whom he gives credit for his Master Chef journey. He has a son named Sharang. 
He also has his pop up restaurant in Canberra and wanna do something great in the field of food.
For food lovers, Rishi's own cookbook will release in 2014. So, ab dilli door nahi!!

Guys dont' forget to watch him come in top 4 of MasterChefAustralia 5 on Star World, next week. 

Time to bid Adios!!


Wednesday 20 November 2013

Boulevard of Culture and Attractions: BANGKOK

Wish we could teleport ourselves at the blink of the eyes, wish we had the superpower to kiss the lands of any place, to watch sun kissing oceans or hiding behind mountains or we could just wander like clouds from one place to another all the time and drop like rains to touch the grounds wherever we wished.

But we are humans, with no superpowers but only great imaginations. We have no time in today’s busy life to fill our appetite of travelling. But I make it a point to travel, go explore and do my bit of photography by leaving Mumbai atleast for a week once a year.

I have seen a lot of places in India, but have never been abroad. I believe it is better to take baby steps. So as a first timer, I wanna go to a nearby place i.e. Bangkok, capital of Thailand. One of the most sought after destination and traveler’s & shopper’s paradise and truly amazing place as per what I have researched.

As per modern definition Bangkok means City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Visvakarman at Indra's behest.


Bangkok appeals to me for its multifaceted sights, heritage, attractions and modern city life; royal palaces and temples as well as several museums and of course the nightlife. In short, it is a treasure house standing strong on four pillars viz. spirituality, culture, freshness and charm.

I like to keep my travel list ready before visiting any place, like what are its must do’s, must visits and must eats (since i am also a foodie) etc. to avoid last minute hustle and bustle. And here is what I have prepared for my soon to be Bangkok visit.

FROM - TO:
Bombay to Bangkok via Air Asia. As it gives a good opportunity to save on my pockets, the saving aka extra money I can splurge on me at Bangkok.

FOR:
SEE AND CAPTURE
See 
  • Grand Palacewhich is huge and within palace grounds is Wat Phra Kaew, the most sacred Buddhist temple of Thailand. And one of the buildings here, houses the Emerald Buddha, which is the most sacred Buddha image of Thailand. (What I also found is that you better not throw away the entry ticket of the Grand Palace, as it gives free entry to the Dusit Palace in Dusit. Free things are always welcome)
  • Wat Pho - home to the world's largest reclining Buddha image
  • Golden Mount and Wat Saket – Wat Saket is a temple which sits on Golden Mount, an artificial hill, from where one can see all Bangkok
  • And many more Wats like Wat Arun - Temple of the Dawn, Wat RatchanaddaramWat Traimit - Temple of the Golden Buddha, Wat Benchamabophit - Marble Temple.
  • Ayuthaya - Old City - If Wat Pho in Bangkok has a golden reclining buddha, Ayuthaya has a brick and mortar Reclining Buddha at the Ayuthaya Historical park, located at the Wat Lokayasutha Ayutthaya
  • Erawan Shrine is a Hindu shrine that houses a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of the Hindu creation god Brahma
  • Museums – like Jim Thompson's House, Ban Kamthieng, National Museum, Museum of Siam and the King Prajadhipok Museum
  • To take a break from the traffic and crowd of Bangkok, Lumphini Park in Silom is a place to relax and chillax.
  • Muang Boran - Ancient City - It is like synopsis for whole Bangkok. An open-aired museum, and said to be the largest one, not only in Thailand but in the world which houses all the important highlights of each province in Thailand
  • Siam Ocean World a underwater tunnel and a wonderful ocean world


DO AT YOUR ON LIKING
Do

Shop and Buy
  • Chatuchak Weekend Market – not to be missed, its a weekend market, housing lotsa stalls setout in separate sections viz clothes, antiques etc.
  • Floating Market – there are many, but the name I came across the most is Damnernsaduak Floating Market; best place to visit for family. Here one can take long-tailed speed boats through the many small canals which will lead to the Floating Market. Here one can see boats of various shapes and sizes used by local merchants to ferry their goods, which is mesmerizing.
  • Suan Lum Night Bazzar – this bazzar houses 100's and 100's of stalls selling from souvenirs to clothes and shoes. It is cheaper if you know to bargain.
  • Khao San Road – is a best place to hang out, it has lots of shops, street buys, local items and gift items, restaurants and bars. A very busy road, especially at night when the lights are on.
Buy – More than malls, better explore street markets for buying clothing. Then there is cheap and locally produced street wear and fancy Thai silk, and all sorts of handicrafts which you can buy as souvenirs’.


Experience -

EXPERIENCE IN MOTION
  • Skytrain is convenient and cheap and connects most of the places in Bangkok
  • Tuk tuk – much-loathed, much-loved
  • River taxi – expensive, so try for short travel if you just wanna experience this ride, try little bargaining
  • Bicycle tours - In Bangkok, cyclists are treated as pedestrians, so one can use bicycle to explore parks, temple complexes, markets etc and in more crowded places one can cycle on the pavement.
  • Canal tours - Another great way to see the Chao Phraya River and the original canals of the city. Most of these special boat trips start at the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya and head through the backwaters of Thonburi, taking in Wat Arun, the Royal Barges National Museum and a floating market
  • Pampering - Thai massage / spa is famous all over the world and if one like can sure experience this.
Gulp
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
  • There are lot of restaurants and joints in Bangkok; for not only Thai, but a wide selection of world-class international cuisine too. There are many vegetarian restaurants in the more tourist-friendly parts of town (especially in Khao San Road).
  • Since Bangkok is hot and humid, it is better to carry water and juices and yeah have ice cream.
  • Street food is among the most delicious food and can be found all over Bangkok.
  • Dinner cruise - Dinner cruises on the Chao Phraya River are a touristy (but fun) way of spotting floodlit temples while chewing down on seafood and watching Thai cultural performances.



WHENNovember to February, which is relatively cool.


HOPEA fabulous experience.


Hope you enjoyed Hopping and Popping...
Cheers!!


P.S.This post is a part of my Dream as well as Dream Asian Destination Blogger Contest in association with Ripple Links to celebrate “World’s Best Online Travel Fair”.

Image and R & D material source: Internet.