Hope you all had a great weekend. Friday evening, my toddler son and I weren’t quite in the mood to go to the park. I discovered a candle making kit earlier that evening while cleaning the loft in one of the boxes, and kept it down. The candle making starter kit from Fevicryl lay untouched for over three years; I had purchased it at Ozone in Pune for Rs.49. When my son asked me what it was, I said” We can make candles with this and light diyas for Deepavali.”

Running out of things to keep us entertained that evening, we both made a unanimous decision of making candles. And what fun it was. My little helper unpacked the small ingredients box, helped me take pictures, and got the kadai out. Most importantly, he kept the energy levels high with his enthusiasm for anything new; it was fun.

Scented Candle

Here I share with you how to make your own scented candles at home in 4 easy steps:

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Every woman’s kitchen has at least one recipe book - either self-bought or gifted. Mine has over 100 of them. No exaggeration. Seriously. Most of them are small supplements that come with various Tamil monthly magazines. My mom religiously collects them every month and hands them by the dozen or more when we meet, usually after3-4 months. That shows her confidence in my cooking Or she trusts me to get inspired and cook a lot of variety dishes, which I do.

The books cover a wide range. Sample this. The collection consists of 30 Chutney recipes, 30 tomato dishes, 64 pickles, 30 soya recipes, 100 age-old home remedies (those granny ideas!), what to do with leftovers, 64 cakes/cookies/chocolates, 64 juice, 200 Diwali tips, 30 biryani masala, 16  types of sambar, and 10 types of rasam. The list goes on. And believe me, it is really handy at times to break the routine and fix something different for dinner.

A teeny tiny part of the collection

One practical issue I face is stocking these in the kitchen where it’s easily accessible; for, I know, if I lay my hands on the stack, I’ll end up cooking a dish. The block is in reaching out to the stack. Right now, it’s stashed in the farthest cabinet. I’m contemplating of binding them into just 4-5 books categorized by snacks, juices, pickles, desserts, and main course dishes.

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Today, I share with you some lovely pictures of floating candles found on Flickr. Yes, yet another post on candles; it’s Diwali time after all.  I stopped by @Home last afternoon to check out their new collection. Pretty disappointing! Most artificial flowers, however lovely they may seem, can be discarded for most of it were broken. And, the candle/diya collection is a shame. They could definitely do better than that. The floating candles are priced Rs.150 a pair. You can get similar ones in smaller shops at Rs.100 for four pieces.

Here are some great decoration ideas for this Diwali:

In a glass with petals and pebbles

Candles with pink blooms

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Klove, a Delhi-based design store, has an exquisite collection of vases in a wide array of materials ranging from hand-blown glass and stone to wood, ceramic, and metal. An impressive collection (time-waster alert! May I warn that I didn’t close the window until I was done viewing all the 80 pictures).  I have to admit, however, that the stone/wood range didn’t impress me as much as the glass and ceramic ones.  Great styling with a good color combination. Worth checking out. Klove’s products are apparently available at select retail outlets in major metros.

Vases from Klove

Image courtesy: Klove

Balcony Garden

An orange hibiscus. Few white nandyavattais. Enough to give a great start to one’s morning. The flowers have bloomed in my balcony garden after a dry spell of nearly 5 months. The balcony has been receiving very less sunshine the past few months, thanks to the incessant rain and gloomy weather of Bangalore. At one point in time, I was afraid I would just have to move all my pots to the common garden area downstairs. Which I did, infact, last week by moving about 8 small pots containing Tulsi (Basil), other herbs, ferns, and assorted flowering ones. It was not a easy decision considering how much effort went into procuring and tending to them.

So, seeing these plants bloom and flower has put a smile on my face. Here are few tips to take care of your balcony garden during the monsoon:

1. Do not water them everyday as you would during the summer months. Once or two times a week is more than sufficient. Dip your finger in the pot to test the moisture content. If it feels wet, then refrain from watering for a day or two.

2. Signs to watch out for or droopy leaves or new leaves turning yellow. Don’t worry if the old leaves (the ones at the bottom) are withering away after turning yellow.

3. Keep your balcony illuminated by allowing natural sunshine to flow in. Take care of not blocking the sunlight by hanging too many clothes or placing furniture.

4. Check for pests at the bottom of the leaves.

5. Call in a gradener to find out if manure is required.

Diwali is just a fortnight away. The excitement begins.. so does the preparations. I’ve been browsing the web to spot different ways to light candles. I share with you a few finds …

Mosaic Candle holders

You can achieve this look with the help of this detailed step-by-step instructions.

The next one is a personal favorite..wonder where you get such bucket holders.

Candles in bucket holder

And finally, we have a collection of candles hoisted on a multi-pin stand.

Multi-pin candle stand

Image Courtesy - Mark Scott Photography

Multi-pin