Escape the Mundane!

Recently I was asked what sort of books I like to read.
I felt a little embarrassed to answer but the truth is I like fantasy, magic and out-of-the-norm stuff.

What topics interest an individual is subjective to the individual and I do not stand in judgement over anyone's taste. And I hope no one judges me! :D

So I'm just going to state why I like what I like:

When I read I like to escape to a world different from the one in which I live. 
True stories, stories-inspired-by-true-stories or real life fiction like novels etc. are touching, heartwarming, inspiring and beautiful but they don't help one escape to the wild and exciting arena of IMAGINATION! 

From the magical folk up the 'Enchanted Tree' to the mystery solving clubs of 5 or 7 by Enid Blyton to the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (the fantasy novel series on which the famous Game Of Thrones TV Series is based) by George R. R. Martin; Mystery, Mystic, Adventure, Enigma, Super Natural Power, Enchantment and Magic has always released me from my earthly bonds and opened to me the universal possibilities of creation of the human mind. 

Blessed are the imaginative! 
LOL
Haha
Writing about it makes me sound like some mystic right? 

Well I am not - I am a normal woman caught up with the ticking clock and the rushing traffic - a part of the usual hustle of the everyday world. 
I am not Khaleesi who commands the dragons and cannot be killed by fire 
I am not Galadriel the greatest of elven women, immortal and unmatched in beauty and character.
I am not her or she, I am I, and I am You... 

Now you might me thinking that this post is absolutely unrelated to the blog page. 
But it is!

Forgive me if I took too much of your time to come to the point: :) 

Weddings, Parties and Events are one place/occasion where you can actually 'live' (at least one day) in your fantasies. The one day you can create the world as you would like it to be, the day you become Khaleesi or Galadriel! 

Girls, if you want to do it, and you can do it, DO IT! 
Create the craziest atmosphere on your wedding day or your 21st birthday! 
Dress up like Bella of Twilight, have those flowers hanging from the roof, go to a forest, set up the tables and chairs, bring in the flowers, wear a crown or even wings! 
If you are not in to twilight then something else of course! :) 


Live IT! 

Love
~Portia~

After the Diamond Ring...

How I planned my Wedding: 

There were three things I knew for sure: 
1. The man I was going to marry - Randy 

2. The colour of the wedding dress I wanted - Dull Gold - white is a complete no no for me  
3. The theme that I wanted - Forest (something like this actually)


So the first thing I did was raid google and pin all the reference I wanted on Pinterest - Click here to view my board. All brides out there, I recommend you create a board on Pinterest for your wedding planning. Get it all printed on to a paper if possible for easy reference. Take a few colour prints of especially the dress, the hair do, the bouquets and anything that you will have to give to another person as reference.

The Second thing I did was make the Wedding Organizer (WO). Which should look something like the book in this picture. Of course I custom made mine.

I haven't seen most people do this in SL - but many have borrowed my WO and it is something I learnt from my 
mom - the super organized perfectionist. lol 

My husband on the other hand maintained an excel sheet noting down all the expenses. It helps. But nothing interesting about it right? 
We girls want something more personal... :) 

So I sectioned my WO and went to meet my chosen vendors about prices and availability. 
One more piece of advice girls - go alone if you have to don't wait on anyone, including your fiance. 
[Of course a wedding planner would come in handy at times like these]

I had about three people in mind for each service, because as much as you may like one person, that person may or may not be available for you. 
ALWAYS have a back up plan - a principle my husband adamantly follows.

I spent about a month getting all the quotations I needed. Visiting every place I had to. 
My parents drove me around in most cases. Nothing could happen without my mom knowing it. I mean I needed her she is 'the planner' on top of being my mom! 
[btw she worked out some neat discounts with the vendors she always worked with - another perk of having a wedding planner - they're equipped with networks of merchants who honor their patronage]

Once all quotations were stapled in to the pages of the WO - I re-did a background check on all the vendors I had chosen, just to make sure I had chosen right. 
My husband was very helpful in that matter: Being girls we might easily be overwhelmed by all the pretty things and therefore clouded in our judgement. 
Mind you, the vendors in SL know that! They will mystify you by their advertising, their talking, their branding etc. But always read through the lines. Do not hesitate to ASK what is included in their service package and what is not included. If the merchant is impatient or hesitant - do not hire! 
You need someone with patience and passion; NOT one who could do better behind a cashier in a bank.
The more questions the merchant answers (honestly - identifiable by a straight face) the more marks you should give them. 

Anyways, getting back to the original topic: 
After confirming the merchants I started giving them the orders and paying the advances; asking for receipts at all points of transaction and stapling them to the WO. Always ask for receipts. 
[Of course if you're hiring a wedding planner these will get done - rest assured]

O! And I did not miss out on chances to spend relaxing day outs with Randy while in the process. 
Most brides get so caught up in the planning that they do not have time to communicate with their fiance - unless it is something about the wedding itself. 
Not Good!
[Another reason to hire a wedding planner]

Yeah ok, I think I've come to the point where I should say that on the day of my wedding I regretted that I hadn't hired a wedding planner. Honestly, as much as it has been our family business to do so, my mom being the chief planner, it came as a disadvantage that she was the mother-of-the-bride (MOB) too! 

So, all you Very-Creative girls out there,PLEASE get someone outside to help you! 

Not even a wedding planner should plan her own wedding - or her daughter's wedding - or any wedding in which she may be a key participant!

See, my mom being my mom, had to think about me ON TOP of so many other things she had to attend to as the MOB. 

• What everyone in my family was going to wear? 
• Where was my brother's shirt? 
• My father's socks? 
• Where do the photographers settle down? 
• Were the relatives staying over at our place all attended to? 
• Did she have someone to tie the back of her sari jacket? 
• Who was making breakfast? 
• Who was going to see that my grandfather received his medicine on time amidst all the hassle? 

She surely had a 101 things going on in her mind. 

She wanted to be there with me while I was being dressed at the beauty shop - but she couldn't coz she had to receive the guests who arrived at our place in the morning. She had to see that they were fed. etc. etc. 

I on the other hand did my own nails, waxed my own arms and legs, worked my own dress, designed my own shoes... all good but is it needed? Couldn't it have just got done by someone else? Of course I would overlook it all - but did I HAVE to do it myself? Answer is definitely NO. 

I felt less prepared, less glamorous and less fresh on my wedding day when I put on my dress. I was hoping I would feel fresh, clean and rejuvenated - unfortunately not so much, because I had stressed myself out.

I hadn't visited the salons and spas as often as I would have loved to, because I was busy planning! I was walking out in the hot sun along the dusty and narrow roads of Pettah (Colombo) searching for the perfect ribbon to match my dress or the perfect lace to hem my veil. I regret all of that. 

That is what happens to girls like myself who think we can do it all! 
Now I envy the beautiful brides for whom my mom handled the planning. They were beautiful, radiant and every detail had been attended to. 

Ok, I'm going to stop writing here, coz I'm beginning to feel all upset again... :(
My wedding went perfectly, people were impressed, nothing went wrong, all done on time! 
BUT I believe I could have looked much better on my wedding day if I had just left the details to someone else. 

Here is a photo of me and my Hubby 

And this is my Mom - on my wedding day 

I'll share more wedding pictures later :) 

Adios for now 
<3

~Portia~

A Petite Baker

Part of the Blue Roses team is a lovely young lady who most would know for her pretty face. 

But I got to know her first for her pretty-Pretty-PRETTy cakes! 

I searched allover and contacted all those whom I know to find the perfect cake decorator - perfect meaning 'Perfect AND Unique'. Because to be honest there are many perfectly skilled cake artists, but not all of them are unique - at least not like she is.This girl here is a different kind. 

I was standing with my photographer and my husband (of whom I'll write soon) in front of a stone wall and a narrow iron gate next to a cactus. It was almost 5.00 p.m. 

I looked for a board - but saw none. So I gave her a call, not sure if I was at the right place. A couple of minutes later I wad greeted by a guy (her brother-in-law) who walks us in through a narrow passage to a sitting room where she was seated before she stood up and turned to face us...
Her face was so full of excitement. I liked that - I loved it actually - there is nothing like a big smile and twinkling eyes in a person when meeting for the first time. That is far better than any hello. 

So we walked over to where she was pointing - a dark wood table which was laden with the loveliest blush and white madness. When I say madness don't get me wrong it was very neat and beautifully arranged, but the sight would drive any cake lover mad and I wasn't an exception. 

Take a look at these photos.

A feast to the eyes and undoubtedly an indulgence to the palate!

Meet Karandza Fernando of Petite Gateau! 
I typed that in pink because that is her favourite colour :) 

Take a look at this GORGEOUS wedding cake!  

Am I not proving a point here? 

Lots of Love to you K,

xoxo

~Portia~

A sisterhood of pink laces

I was turning pages of a very old album, its pages were coming off, most photos were tiny and they had this neat little white frill running around them. Something like this to be exact: 

Sadly I don't have the real photos of which I am writing about... :/

So, as I was going through this ancient album of my grandparents' engagement party, I saw even through the faded black and white and peeling off surface of the aged photos, how pretty my grandmother was dressed! 
She was wrapped in what looked like a white lace sari, a simple hair do, but she was such a beauty. My grandfather wasn't lying about her charms when he did talk about it with us: I always caught the twinkle in his eyes as he spoke of those early days of courtship... 

So I inquired from her about the sari, and to my absolute delight and surprise she said that the sari had been baby pink! 
"How sweet that would have been" I thought out loud. 
She simply smiled and went about her business as usual. 
A baby pink cotton lace sari! I kept repeating to myself. 

"It would have been quite expensive?" I asked her. 
She smiled as she looked at me and said; "Well, I made it myself, as I do your ones these days" 
"Of course!" why would I think otherwise? 

She is some 70 odd years old, but she still fondles with her old machine, tomato shaped pin cushion full of needles, a huge basket full of all colours of thread and lots and lots of beautiful fabric; making wonderful things! 
It is magical to watch her at work, earnestly bringing in to life images she creates in her head. 
No, she does not refer to anything! 
Just off her head she begins work and ends it so beautifully. 
O, thinking of her brings tears to my eyes... What a wonderful woman... 
'Archamma', I call her.

She tells me tales about her mother, who my mother says was even better than my grandmother. 
Lol 
I suppose grandmothers just become a girl's ideal - at least in our family that seems to be true :) 

My great-grandmother was quite the perfectionist - she was petite, proud, always well dressed and carried herself with poise and purpose - says my mom and grandmother 

My grandmother is humble, sweet and so talented - she sews so beautifully, she is a passionate lover of the art of gardening and she bakes deliciously (O, there is nothing like her love cake! - she told me that she baked a love cake for her engagement too - must have put her in-laws right in the basket! lol) 

My mother again is a perfectionist (traits skip a generation they say) - a neat-o-holic she wants everything just right. She also does the prettiest flower decor I've seen done in SL - of course that may be a subjective opinion, but when was an opinion ever objective? :)

My aunts (5 of them) are also equally skilled in different areas, like doing make-up, sewing, singing, cooking, organizing, managing, teaching etc. etc. 

And I've got a bit of all! 
Lucky Me right? 


~Portia~