New-Blog-Update!

Hello you,
Its been a while.

I've been awful. Not a single post last month. (It kinda spoils the way my Blog Calendar looks)

BUT,

Post August 28th 2014, My life has taken a complete 180 degree turn.

Its been pretty exciting, a little unnerving, a whole lot of laughing, a few spells of crying.
But for starters, its been a satisfying experience.

Apart from the fact that I put a ton of salt in my Masala Chai, (Its not my fault! America makes Salt and Sugar look the same) There have been tons of things that have filled me with awe.

So,
Here is my new blog!
The main purpose of the blog is obvious by the name :)


Read Read.

Lots of Mumbai-missing,

Juie

To-Do

So,

In about 35 days my life is going to take a complete 180 degree turn.

Just so you know, 

I'm going to a new city in a new country to a new college in a new surrounding with new people and a new house which is actually new and sparkly clean with new windows and doors and wooden floors. 

Basically, I'm going to America - To Chicago - To study Integrated marketing Communications - At Northwestern University (Dream College-woohoo!)

And so because my life is taking a 180 degree turn there are little things in my to-do list :

1)Drink More Water

2)Talk more, Text less.

3)Sketch a lot. Sit by the lake and sketch.

4)Organize my Desk

5)Mind-Map

6)Read one good book every month

7)Be more Direct & less diplomatic

8)Create a brand

9)Start a new blog 

10)Eat weird food

11)Wear less Makeup

12)Make a mood-board

13)Sky-Dive

14)Stop dwelling , Stop worrying

15)Read about the economy and about money

16)Save 

17)Spend less on clothes and more on food

18)Get retweeted 100 times

19)Design a typeface

20)Get comfortable on Skype

21)Send postcards back home

22)Watch foreign movies in languages that I don't understand

23)Learn a foreign language

24)Fewer emoticons :(

25)Learn to use Google Maps better

26)Learn to make really good coffee

27)Be vocal, be honest.

28)Start an online portfolio

29)Do 16 Suryanamaskars and Tibetan Yoga everyday

30)At the end of these15 months read this to-do list and feel happy about yourself

Also, I've already started a new blog. Its called "New Girl in the City" and it'll be more about the experiences I have, the people I meet, School, Emotions, Names, Places, Animals and Things in Chicago.

Lots of Mumbai-love,

Juie

People

They're made of skin and bones, freshly pumped crimson running through their fragile veins, thoughts and fears and technicolor dreams that emit light through the radiant sparkles in their eyes. Remarkable, sometimes helpless, sometimes misunderstood and sometimes magnanimous. Thinking,dreaming,loving grenades with skin sometimes sun-bronzed  and sometimes pale, some white and some in varying shades of brown. Some wish upon shooting stars and eyelashes.Some make machines, some are machines, while some are free in their own madness. 

Mostly fire with a crust of ice. They have the depths of the ocean within them .They all err sometimes, in fact they're made to err. Personification of the most perfect form of imperfection. 

They all have their ways to feel free.To Blow away like dandelion seeds? 
Some sing and dance and write, some laze with a good smelling old book, some rave and some choose intoxication.But free? That's an anomaly! They're strangled by society, culture and religion. Sometimes they're strangled by the very thought of being free. 
Their minds are trampolines and they all have invisible wings,believe me they do! They all fly in the wee hours before twilight to places that they want to see. Places where they feel free. Little caverns full of love and light. 
They fly in wakefulness too, through parts of their mind that they are ignorant about. 

You know what affects them the most? The same living, walking, temporarily beating and pumping material that they're made of. They all hate to hurt but they hurt each other. Some forgive and some don't. Some dwell and some forget. 

They build empires sometimes, earn a lot of green crisp paper, some live simply in little homes full of belonging. Some have never heard of love. They all suffer in the same quantity. Some are homeless and some live in white marble palaces.Some wear rubber gloves and have grease in their hair and some have a diamond band tied tightly to their wrist. Some eat sugar cubes and bread, they drink some water and fill their stomachs. Others fine dine in style. But they're all starved.

Looking for something that they don't know off. They know there's something out there. They don't know the shape, the color, the texture or the feeling. But they know its there. 
They're made of hope, people. 

Huge wells of hope and that's how they survive. 

The Mind

Yesterday I promised that I'll post my Half finished drawing soon :')

If someone asked me what my mind looked like,

I'd like to call this drawing "The Mind."

"Coz after all there's black and white and everything in between,

 It's so convoluted and a lot goes unseen,

Before the daylight dawns , before the twilight ends,

A million dreams turn real between the rainbow bends,

The ones with wild eyes and wilder hearts they dream,

 the ones that know that its not as difficult as it'll seem,

And they say,

It all comes to life."

My Fine-liners

It was 9:30 pm.

I finished dinner.

It was yummy. The mother had made Chaat and she sure knows her way around it because she never goes wrong. 

I had the last sip of my lemonade and I went to my room.

As I glanced around looking for my laptop I saw my sketchbook.

Bam! There was a moment of sudden desperation and energy. After a rather tiring day, I picked up my wallet and I rushed to my living room and mumbled that I need to buy something and that its really urgent. My parents were a little taken aback but I left no space for a conversation and ran down the staircase. They surely wondered what could be so urgent at 9:30 pm.

I reached the stationary shop and I picked my favorite pack of Stabilo Fineliners, paid and left. 

I went home with a huge smile and a brand new pack of colors :') 

This is what happens when you follow your calling.In that moment all I wanted to do was sketch. The feeling completely took over my mind and I couldn't even resist it. There was no procrastination in that moment and no boredom. I didn't even care about the polka dotted Pajamas I was wearing in a street full of people. Because there was something I wanted that made me happy. There was happiness. 

Maybe that is why they say,

The things you're passionate about, They're not random,

They're your calling.You make time for those things however busy you are and however tight your schedule is. Those are the things that keep you going :')

Go paint a picture, sing a song or read that book. Don't do it for someone, do it for yourself! Hopefully Ill sketch, sing and write a lot too because in the end its just the happy days that matter!

A half-drawn sketch that I'll post soon,

Juie :)

D.I.Y Fridays - Earrings

Friday mornings can be liberating  when you have pretty stuff to make.

I have a soft corner for earrings. Big droopy chandeliers with emeralds. Tiny sapphire studs. A simple diamond hoop. Earrings can completely change your outfit and in my case my mood as well. Wearing a new pair of earrings can make the day seem perfect, trust me!  I'd advocate wearing them over a cutesy pair of pajamas too. You never know, you could create magic ;)

Anyhoo, I made big stud earrings today.
The kinds you'd see at fancy stores at malls and spend a fortune over?
I made 8 pairs of those for not more than 100 bucks each. 

You can do it too!

What you need:

1) Pretty buttons in pairs. You'd get them at any Lace store.
 There are loads at Santacruz, Lokhandwala and Manish Market.

2)Big Golden flat sequins. (You'd get these at the same stores)

3)Feviquick - One minute adhesive

4)A pair of scissors

5) A wirecutter

6)Earring needles/ Earring posts- The part that goes through your pierced hole (You get these at many shops that sell jewelry material)

7)Earring backs/holders

Here's what you do next :

Pick a pair of pretty buttons! There's a lot to choose from at the stores. This is what I picked out:

1) Buttons have hoops at the back. Gently remove those with a wire cutter.

2) Cut open a packet of the sequins and cut a sequin into the shape of the earring.It can have rough edges as it is just to make the surface flat.

3) Apply a thin layer of feviquik on the edges and firmly paste the sequin on it. Hold it in place for a minute.

4) Place the earring post in the center and fasten it with Feviquik.



5) You're almost done! Let it dry for about 10 minutes and secure it with the earring backs!

You've got yourself a new pair of earrings!



They look really pretty on wearing too ! 




Here's to creating lots of pretty things!

 A treasurebox of love and a new pair of sparkly baubles,

Juie :')

Birthdays

I love birthdays.

I think I'm one of the biggest birthday people I know but I love the entire vibe of celebrating life! The vibe of feeling the moment you've entered human life, its intricacies and details! The smell of balloons and the smell of burning candle wax. The awkward look on your face when everyone's singing happy birthday to you! Wine and Toasting, birthday wishes, hugs and kisses, Giving surprises, Baking, huge gift boxes with thick red ribbons, little notes to tell someone how special they are and how glad you are that they were born on that day. Birthdays are the best.

But today,

is my blog's birthday!
It turned 1 :')

This was the place where I started to express- out in the open. I'm not sure how many people like it, hate it or how many lives it impacted but I loved writing here every month. I loved that I could write and there was somebody who'd surely read it. This was the place I created, rambled, stumbled, drew, scribbled and laughed and I thoroughly enjoyed! Sometimes I couldn't write too often and sometimes I couldn't stop writing but this one year was great! I hope next year will be even better and I hope to write some more of what makes you & me happy! I also hope to proof-read what I write before I post it because I'm pretty impatient like that!

Anyhoo, Thank you for reading & appreciating :')

Make sure you sing a birthday song while my blog smiles coyly.

Here's to more writing!

A big slice of the red-velvet birthday cake,
Juie 

The smell of your dreams coming true

I've always associated different things in my life with different smells. 

There is a smell you know? When you know that your dreams are about to come true? When you know things are on your way and the aroma is faint but nearing ?

It is the smell of fall; the smell of a new country and new roads; new people and new emotions; a new studio apartment and leather winter boots; crisp grocery lists and good cooking days; the smell of being alone and missing people back home; the smell of roads and maple trees; of new friends and new struggles; the smell of newly gained knowledge and new textbooks; the smell of the stage and a lot of  good old library books; of a new comforter and a new bed; The smell of a new peculiar wine; the smell that my clothes will absorb being in a new wardrobe; smell of not having the mother around so falling asleep covered in her old soft cotton saree that smells like home; the smell of growing, learning and dreaming all by yourself; the smell of being scared to death and still facing the sunlight; the smell of being out of your comfort zone; 


The smell of getting to know yourself.


Also, the smell of a big bowl of homesick-khichdi you have proudly made for yourself.

Someday you'll smell a similar smell too,
Juie

Sketch-Happy

Homebound Thursday afternoons can be boring.
Especially when Mumbai's getting warm.
So I felt like putting the boredom to some use and went stationary shopping.
I came back with a new sketch book and two of my favorite Stablilo fine liners.

I came back home and decided to make pretty things but inspiration was being a moron.
Saw something like this somewhere and thought it was really pretty and thought of drawing it.


However,
These lines popped up in my head before I drew it :

"I am but made of the Sand and Sea,
The colors of the flowers they color me,
My lips painted crimson by the solar crust.
After all we're made of Fairy dust."

Random Thursday afternoon sketches :')

You should try sketching on Boring Thursday afternoons too.

Gives you unmatched glee :)

A palette full of paints,

Juie

Fab-ruary

Everything about February has been quite fab.

(Except that I haven't written a single post & I broke my iPod.)

I read an awesome book. - The fault in our stars by John Green.

Thats my favorite part: 

Read it before the movie is up! Its coming in Summer '14.

Apart from the book, February has been fab for a lot more things!

The best friend's birthday on a yacht ; Baking cheesecakes ; Sending college applications ; Reading real things ; Teaching little kids Bonsai ; Valentine's Day Lunch; Wine and Dine, GPA-Happiness ; Jitters about college Decisions ; Little shopping trips;  Creating Ad-campaigns and Posters; Stationary Happiness :A new set of 250 Felt pens ; New songs to sing at Karaoke ; A new favorite Cocktail ; Learning to cook ; www.tut.com- notes from the Universe (Please Check it out! It'll make your day) ; Making a clock; Painting pretty things ; Redoing my dreamcatcher ; Winter in summer ; Smiles.

That is what the Mumbai Sky-line looks like from the yacht :

Salty air & Sunshine,

Juie 

Ink-blue finger tips

I wanted to write something.
You know those nights when you're just itching to write? I'm not sure if you know,
But you crave to hear the intensely fast clatter of the keypad as you move your fingers at lightening fast speed or the squeaky high frequency scribble on a sparkling white piece of ruled paper?
Yes that.

Writing is immeasurable happiness to me,

So I thought I'll start writing and see where it takes me,
Because words, they take you traveling. You start at one pole and end at another, and the story in the middle is what manifests on its own.You think you're doing it, but you're really not. That's the thing about wordplay, its insanely mysterious and double-insanely powerful.
This could be really messy because I'm letting my words flow,
But then again,
That's writing to me.

Today I use the keyboard to type words, 

but writing with a blue fountain pen with ink dripping all over my fingers was close to heaven.

The smell of ink is divine. If dawn and dusk had a scent then the smell of ink is the smell of dawn and dusk with a white lily in it.

The shabby ink blue finger tips that last for days is a happy memory of a peaceful hour gone dreaming, rummaging and scribbling. 

Writing is a life within a life. Blue words on white crisp paper take you into a new world where you need nothing but your words to add color, glitter and sparkle to your story. These same simple words have the capability to make us feel things. Deep Human emotions! Two words can make you want to rip somebody's head apart and one word can make a life-long friend.Sometimes half a word is enough to fall in love. Some power isn't it?

And words, they make you feel so vulnerable and vulnerable is so damn scary but so beautiful! Where you let it all out and place it messily on a piece of paper. This is me, all of me, nothing more, nothing less. Nobody else could bring out that kind of unconditional vulnerability.

But these words, little buggers made of alphabets, they've got double standards too,
They make you feel vulnerable yet extremely powerful. They help you communicate and sometimes they help you stay away from communication. They help you love and hate, they help you imagine and ideate. Little love letters, novels, a thesis on archeology. Emotions, history and philosophy. They're all but words. Nothing more nothing less.

After all,
It all starts with ink blue finger tips and a whole lot of happiness.

Pajamas or Killer Pants?

Aren't we lost sometimes in this extremely convoluted world?
Don't we feel really little sometimes?
Like tiny humans in this big world of lots of  choices?
Between all the big dreams and all the humongous desires, between practicality and idealism, between people and between things, amongst feelings floating deep inside?
Its funny how we get lost so often,
In the midst of what we have and what we really want, whether its love, money, success or fame? Or maybe we're just greedy (Insert cuss word).

I had to make the decision too,
Between I-am-floating-in-soft-cotton-clouds-and-I-dont-think-Im-wearing-anything-oh-my-god-this-feels-so-Liiiiiiberating Pajamas, and tight black pants with a sexy golden zipper and cutesy pockets. I did not know what I wanted to be.
I felt like lounging around reading a good old smelling book in a grey sweatshirt and those dream pajamas.
But then, I also wanted to strut around wearing those killer pants with a sparkling cocktail in one hand and a Chanel Bag in the other.

& Then I thought, who am I?

Okay, this was just about clothes. Such a silly thing. Go on, I can hear the snigger.

But don't we feel like this often?
About really crucial choices in our life. The tug of war between simplicity and fanciness. Two sides of the same coin?
Choosing between a cup of skimmed milk coffee and a caramel frappuccino topped with a thick payer of cream swirls? Choosing between a small job that pays a big buck and a big job that hardly pays? Choosing between soul searching and clothes hunting ? Choosing between saying the truth and hurting feelings or saying a lie and creating sparkles? and obviously between Pajamas and Bodycon dresses?

 Is it really the choices in life that makes us?




Too Sombre for the first post of the year. Blame it on the hormones ;)

PS - I bought both the Pajamas and the Killer black Pants. Complicated beings.