Hey guys, so we are about 30 days out from the big day (excuse me while I quickly take some deep breaths into a paper bag), no but in all reality, I am SO excited to marry my fiance, Maan on August 27th. Another thing I’m excited for? Getting to put my hell beast of a glue gun away for a little bit. Maan and I decided to make our own centerpieces for the wedding. You know, cue the sappy rom-com music, we stare into each others eyes while we plan our fairy tale wedding, all the while crafting these glorious rustic, yet charming mason jar burlap masterpieces….yea…that’s not exactly how it went down. It more like me creating a new language of curse words as I chug straight from the bottle a nice aged Syrah, while Maan restrains me from throwing the mason jars against the wall every time the scalding molten lava like glue seeps through the burlap and removes any traces of fingertips that I once may of had.
I have never been great at all things crafts. (probably not something I should admit as I am starting a lifestyle/food/crafts/blah blah blah blog.) But its not that I cant do crafts or be creative, its more that I have always just had this mental block when it came to those types of activities. You see, I may be just a tadddd bid of control freak/ perfectionist. Any time I would try to take a painting class, or sculpture or photography or anything like that, I would watch all these amazingly creative souls who seemingly crafted diamonds from dirt, as I sat their attempting to make which in comparison looked like a half assed macaroni necklace, and it would almost put me to tears. I would get so upset and defeated that I would actually destroy  whatever I was working on, throw it away, leave the room and never try again. Basically, I had a temper tantrum…yea, I know, not the most attractive quality. But for me, it was a defense mechanism against failure.

Lately I have been wanting to try new things. I have seen these awesome creative things that people create on sites like Pinterest and Etsy and I think “that looks so fun, I want to try it.”…and then….I just do. With our wedding coming up and as new homeowners to a house we are fixing up, there just wasn’t really any avoiding it. I had to open myself up to new experiences and trying to create things on my own. And guys, I LOVE it. Now let me make something clear, I didn’t wake up one day and suddenly become a modern day Martha Stewart (or some other more relevant homemaker icon, minus the “orange is the new black” vibes). I am still learning and some projects are complete failures, and sometimes I still get frustrated, and feel those pesky negative thoughts come back. Whats changed, is that I am lucky enough to have something that I didn’t have before, Maan. I have a partner who is so completely supportive. Someone who deals with me when I have my tantrums when the twine doesn’t line up just so, or the left side of the chandelier hangs a hair more than the right. He snaps me out of it, makes me take a breath and brings me back down to earth. He’s given me the most precious gift that anyone has ever given me, he has given me the ability to fail. And it is freeing. It allows me to create with abandon and without consequences. Its truly a great feeling and I am so excited to take some of the ideas we have thought of together and craft them into reality.

This new found freedom in my soul has created a spark. I have been so inspired with all the beautiful and one of a kind fabrics, beads, spices and more that Maan and his family bring back from India. I opened a closet at his parents house one day and seriously almost drowned in a sea of gorgeous silk and cotton hand beaded fabrics from their village in India. I told Maan and his parents how much I loved the look of the fabric, and we came up with an idea. Those fabrics will now become pillow cases, and tapestry’s and duvet covers. The beads will become earrings and necklaces. I will learn some of my favorite recipes from his family, package the spices, and they will all be sold on our soon to be Etsy Shop, Fine Chhina Designs. I am so excited to explore this new path with my soon to be husband and in laws.  I will keep you all posted with the progress on the shop. And in the mean time, you my pretties get to be my test subjects! I will be posting the recipes that I learn. Give them a try and let me know what you think. I will also be documenting my progress on creating the decorative pieces that will be soon for sale. Let me know your thoughts. Anything you see that you think might improve the products? Any colors you would want to see? Design aspects that you think are missing? Feel free to be brutally honest. I’m sure a glass of wine and a pep talk from Maan will get me through any negative feedback. 🙂

I am really excited for this new chapter of my life guys, and I hope you guys come along with me. Its going to be a hell of a ride.

I think I will end all of these blog posts with a quote, as I am a huge fan of word porn. Today, I’ll end with this little gem:

“Creativity is intelligence having fun” – Albert Einstein