LOOK WHO'S TALKING!!

Time sure flies....

It's going to be 15 years this December since I moved to Chicago, my home away from home.

Unlike many of you,  America didn't happen to me by accident.  It was planned.  I had always dreamt of settling down in this country and God was kind enough to grant my wishes. When I first landed at the O'Hare airport in 1997, the feeling was exhilarating, I felt like I was landing on the moon. Quite an inexplicable and  priceless moment that was!  Even after all these years, I clearly remember my drive from the airport to my then home in Evanston. I was mesmerized by the sight of fresh snow, tall buildings and  super shiny, squeaky clean roads that looked like they had just been shampooed and conditioned. There were cars everywhere with rare sightings of human beings, quite contrary to what I was used to in India.

 

Like any other Indian who had newly moved to the U.S, it took me a while to get adjusted to the new way of life. But I never complained as this is what I wanted all my life. Some things came easily to me and some I learnt the hard way. And today, when I look back fondly at all the years spent on this dream land, it gives me sense of achievement and fulfillment.

Chicago is the only place that I have lived in. I was this starry eyed new bride who moved to this alien land 15 years ago, leaving behind her kith and kin, with new hopes and aspirations of starting a new life of her own. Chicago holds a special place in my heart as it has given me a chance to live a life that I have always dreamt of. It has embraced me with open arms and today I am trying to make the most of this beautiful life that I have been blessed with by imbibing the best of both the cultures.

And now if you are wondering what cupcakes have to do with my story, hang on, I am getting there. Like I said, some things came easily to me and some took forever and one such thing is the brutal Chicago winter season. Coming from a coastal region, this is one thing that I am still having trouble adjusting to.

I absolutely dislike Chicago winters. The lush greenery and the clear blues skies reluctantly make way for snow and  dull grey skies. Sassy summer dresses get replaced by layers of wool and warm clothing and comfy flip-flops by tall boots.

Come November, I go into hibernation and all my partying comes to a stand still. It's during this time, I reminisce about the fun parties that I hosted during summer. Out of the many parties I hosted this summer, this particular one is special as it was for my "SUNDARI" and her young friends. And the good part is, I don't restrict her friends to her age group. Anyone who enjoys her company and vice visa is invited.

This time "CUPCAKES" was the theme as I was in a mood to bake. The date was finalized, the color theme and the menu was fixed and I decided to set the table outdoors and take full advantage of the awesome summer warmth. After much brainstorming, I decided on 4 different flavors with some unique toppings. Chocolate & Red velvets were much in demand.

Silver- aqua & a mauve pink table setting welcomed them. Candles were lit, flowers were arranged and the cupcakes sat pretty on their stands. It was a friday evening and as the sun was going down, my little guests started arriving in their finest outfits and happy spirits!

From here on, I will take a back seat and let all the cupcakes, table and my little guests do the talking .... the PARTY HAS BEGUN, so sitback, relax and ENJOY!!

Chocolate on Chocolate topped with marzipan cherries....

Krupa Sudheendra....

Lemon cake & French vanilla topped with fresh Blueberries....

Classic White cake & Orange Mousse topped with fresh Oranges....

Apsara Attavane:

Red Velvets & Cream Cheese topped with Caramelized walnuts....

Meghana Mohan.....

 Dhruv Nagesh....

Fresh Strawberries filled with cream cheese and topped with powdered Grahams cracker....

Lemon Basil potatoes...

Fresh cucumber & goat cheese sandwiches...

Svanik Tandon...

Megan Mehta:

Riya Hegde & Nikita Pawar:

My Sundari....

STANDING TALL...

We, the team of "Sage&Slingback" are extremely elated to know that "VASUDHARINI" is so well received by our readers. All your appreciation and love that has poured in through e-mails and comments has made us realize that all the effort and the hard work behind this post is so well worth it. Thank you, we are touched!!

I am sure most of you had a fantabulous Diwali this year amidst friends and family. Once again, we wish you all a year filled with happiness, good health and cheer. God bless!!

We asked our readers to share their "Diwali stories" with us. We wanted to know how they were going to make their diwali more special this year. Out of the many entries, the following 2 were compelling and very inspiring. 

ENCHANTED or REKHA NAIR???, We were in a major dilemma.

ENCHANTED: is about the selfless story of those parents who planned to celebrate this Diwali in it's true essence by awaking their "Inner light". They had their child on the Lakshmi pooja day, 7 years ago, only to realize that their child had afflictions of a rare & a severe degree ( I was told that their daughter was even allergic to water) which prevented them from socializing. They sacrificed their career and a cushy lifestyle to be there for their daughter. They were focused & determined to cure their daughter by leading a selfless lifestyle of staying safe and within the parameters of do's and don'ts. 

We are so happy to know that their daughter is slowly getting better now and this weekend for the first time in 7 years they attended a social gathering, where their daughter along with her dad walked the ramp, resplendent in their "inner light"!!

REKHA NAIR: I got goosebumps reading her hard hitting story at 3 a.m on the diwali day. I took a minute  to salute her " Never give up" spirit and her zest for life. I couldn't help but share her story on my FB status that day. Her sheer determination to fight CANCER and LIVE life to the fullest is commendable. Keeping the true spirit of diwali in mind, she was all determined to celebrate the victory of good ( BLESSED LIFE) over the evil (CANCER). Her story inspired many of us to stop sweating over the small stuff, think differently and count our blessings!!

To us, both REKHA and ENCHANTED are the winners of this game of life but if we were to pick one out of the two, then it would be REKHA NAIR!! 

Not out of sympathy, but out of sheer respect and her positive outlook towards life. 

Congratulations REKHA for being such an inspiration. Get well soon and continue to be a role model for many of us. LIVE LIFE like everything is a miracle, just like those "GOLDEN GIRLS" whom you always admired!!

You win a gift voucher of RS. 5000 from SAKHI FASHIONS. We can't wait to see your picture in a SAKHI SAREE....ENJOY!!

Miss Neeta Rajendran of SAKHI fashions will contact you soon. Please inbox your address to us.

Thanks,
 SAGE & SLINGBACK!!

VASUDHARINI

She represents purity, prosperity, fortune, wealth, beauty, grace and generosity.

Her four arms, Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha are the four ends of life,

She is the bearer of this earth, she is "VASUDHARINI"

Sage&Slingback wishes all its readers a very happy & a prosperous Diwali.

Oh boy! believe me, putting this post together wasn't easy. Quite a few things like concept, styling, the weather, a Diwali giveaway and the schedules of my busy girlfriends had to all fall in place. I wanted something extraordinary and beautiful, something that was visually brilliant for this post. So, through my pictures, I decided to bring in the festive essence of Diwali by celebrating goddess Lakshmi in her most beautiful form, as "VASUDHARINI", a perfect embodiment of grace, charm & beauty.

Apart from the traditions and fun this festival offers, Diwali is also about dressing up in gorgeous Kanjeevarams and donning traditional Mangalorean jewelry. Remember the famous John Keats quote "A thing of beauty is a joy forever"? I completely believe that anything and everything beautiful has to be shown and seen. So, I decided to showcase the beauty of these timeless Kanjeevarams and traditional South Indian gold jewelry, in an artistic way through "Sage&Slingback". I chose our dear friend Mr. Shreeni Rao, an ace nature & event photographer for this special photo shoot and decided to use Kanjeevarams from "Sakhi", a store back home that carries traditional, one of a kind Kanchi sarees.

My association with Sakhi goes back a long way. In the year 2008, when I was in Bangalore for my infertility treatment, I was living in a service apartment on 100ft road, Indiranagar. The lovely balcony of my apartment faced the Sakhi store and I initially thought it was just another saree shop in Bangalore and resisted visiting it. But one evening, when things weren't going my way medically, I opted for retail therapy to cheer myself up. When I entered the store, I was dumbfounded. Their rich and elegant Kanjeevarams had designs ranging from the traditional motifs to concept weaving, from cut work to Kundan. I was impressed with their impeccable service and professional approach. Instantly, I became a Sakhi fan and soon, I was a regular at their store. By the end of my 4 month stay, I had 2 suitcases full of Sakhi sarees. Today, after almost five years, it's my privilege to present "Sakhi" by Chandras to my readers.

Before I begin, it's important that I mention my lovely girlfriends without whom "Vasudharini" would have been incomplete. One phone call, and they were all there for me, in their gorgeous Sakhi sarees, with their hair done and nails painted. Thank you ladies, that meant a lot to me. Also, heartfelt thanks to Mr. Shreeni Rao for these lovely pictures.

ABOUT SAKHI:

Sakhi is a niche boutique run by a mother-daughter duo Chandra & Neeta. 

Sakhi celebrates the new-age woman and is committed to unveil her real beauty and progressive personality. Sakhi has perfected the art of combining traditional fabrics, craftsmanship with contemporary themes, to create an ensemble that embodies the values of the modern Indian woman.

Their website www.SakhiFashions.com was set up in 2009 and has been enabling clients all over the world get the quality designer wear. Sakhi has exclusive boutiques in Bangalore (Indiranagar, Jayanagar) and Hyderabad ( Banjara Hills).

SAKHI CONTACT DETAILS:

Indiranagar- Bangalore # 305, 6th Main, Defense Colony, Indiranagar, Bangalore-560038 Ph: +91 80 6570 3388 Mail: sakhifashions01@gmail.com

Jayanagar- Bangalore # 10/1 1st floor, Ashoka pillar, Mariyappa Road, Jayanagar, Bangalore-560011 Ph: +91 80 6570 3399 Mail: sakhifashions05@gmail.com

Banjara hills- Hyderabad #1428, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500034. Ph: +91 40 40045550 Mail: sakhifashions02@gmail.com

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

1.Tell us how you are going to make this Diwali  special?

Please enter your answers in the comment section of this post.

The best entry will win a gift voucher of Rs. 5000  from "Sakhi". The voucher holds good for all  FULL PRICED ITEMS from their website www.SakhiFashions.com.

The contest opens on NOV 7th and closes on NOV 17th.

2.LIKE Sakhi Fanpage on Facebook.

3.LIKE Sage&Slingback page on Facebook.

ABOUT MR.SHREENI RAO ( Nature & Event photographer).

 Mr.Shreei Rao started his first photography stint accidentally at a wedding using an Agfa Click III in '84 and there was no looking back since then. He migrated to digital in 2000 and stuck to the Canon equipment. Event photography is his forte and he really excels in traditional Indian classical dances. He has covered several arangetrams, visharads and ranga praveshas here in Chicago land. In December 2011, he ventured out on his first Nature & Wildlife photo tour and have been consumed by it currently. With his lovely wife Veni, who also shoots, he spends endless time in the forest preserves observing and photographing birds and critters. An ardent foodie and a cook, he aspires to learn food styling someday.

You can view some of his amazing photography here: 
http://www.shreeni.net

Anu Gupta is wearing an exquisite kanchivaram silk woven as a concept saree with the pleats pallu and blouse in dual tone bluish hue and the rest of the body in contrast mustard colour- this concept is called Patli Pallu. The saree also features unique slant lines on the blue hue called "Leheryian lines" to add to a contemporary feel.  

 Chaitra Rao is  wearing an exclusive creation by designer Chandra, a mélange of colours of  lovely mustard, brilliant Pink contrasted by detailing in bottle Green. This Kanjeevaram saree is hand woven in a unique "Half n Half" concept where half  is mustard followed by brilliant Pink, featuring rising pattern of Paisley inspired motifs and ellaboarte hand embroided border in contrast green Kanjeevaram. 

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 Nirmala Mohan is wearing a cut work Kanjeevaram.  In this form of embroidery, portions of the background fabric are cut away and the edges are worked over in buttonhole stitches. The pallu and the lower part of the saree has kundan embroidery.

 Veena Nayak is wearing a "Moombagam"( meaning 3 parts) saree where the upper part is mustardy yellow, the lower is red and  the middle is magenta with woven zari paisleys. The  paisley cutwork on the top and the bottom gives this traditional saree a very contemporary  look.

 Vandana Rao is wearing a kanchivaram silk, woven as a Patli Pallu concept saree featuring modern Zig Zag on pleats, Pallu and Blouse in pure gold zari. The trendy colour theme in golden mustard, shocking pink, sea green and aqua blue brings to life theheritage weave- "Payadi checks".

Jayashree Rao  wearing a pure kanjeevaram saree where one half of the saree features eight unique designs in pure gold zari on deep violet base and the other half featuring modern zig zag on green base. This concept kanjeevaram saree can be worn either ways, with either the violet or the green on top.

With Mr. Shreeni Rao, man behind "VASUDHARINI" !!

Let this Diwali illuminate your life with endless love, joy, prosperity, health, wealth And happiness!!