May was a supergood month and I cannot be any more grateful for it. If you ask me to list out the things that made me happy, I may not be able to do it. But still, I am going to try. There was no exotic vacation or long drives. It was in the everyday things. The month of May was simply nice.
Gratitude, May and I
I finally got out of the sulking phase and did things which I absolutely loved doing. The first and foremost thing was renovating my study cum reading room and I cannot be any more pleased. I bought accessories for the room that could uplift the whole setup. This includes cushion covers, coasters, posters, a wall clock and the likes.
Room renovation made me go back to those days when I DIY-ed. I got out of the cantonment, roamed around the local market and got yarns of my liking. I spent hours watching YouTube tutorials and Pinterest and got an idea for a wall hanging decor made of yarn. I’m super proud of myself and I’m so happy about how it had turned out.
Now that I was out of my safe cocoon, I indulged in shopping- both online and offline. This shopping spree usually happens only once a year, but then I squander. The local market had stocked on some good quality Chikankaari and I went berserk. From clothing to accessories, books to crockery, I pampered myself.
I came out of the reading rut as well and managed to finish seven books which I think, is a pretty good number. I had put up reviews of few of the books here. While I didn’t really like a popular book – The Upside of Unrequited, there was one book that made me buy the book on its release date itself. Of course, the title ‘Koi Good News?’ itself piqued my interest. For the rest, you can take a look at my Goodreads page. My TBR is still growing as I bought a few more ebooks. Kindle Unlimited was something I was wary of. But the heart knows what it wants.
My home is surrounded by succulents and cactus. No, seriously! And I know zilch about indoor plants. However, I again went back to Youtube for assistance and that’s how my little cactus happened.
IPL! Oh, I am a true blue Dhoni fan and was over the moon watching Chennai Super Kings win. I’m pretty sure my Mom was jumping on the sofa watching her favorite sportsman lifting the trophy 🙂
While the whole country was sweating it out because of the scorching summer sun, I was blessed to be perched upon the hills, enjoying a pleasant weather. An occasional hailstorm had me and the pupper jumping with joy.
My vegetable garden was on full flourish and yielded beetroots, beans, garlic, coriander, and mint. I love my veggies these days and have started incorporating these into our daily food. I can see brinjals, chillies and tomatoes growing and I guess those will make it to the June list.
GDPR got me worried but in the end, all was well; thanks to some dear blogger friends. I should especially thank Shailaja for her selflessness and making the whole process a breeze.
That said, I wrote ten blog posts last month which includes book reviews and a weekly regular – Friday Reflections. I am glad I decided to co-host with Corinne and this is one day which I look up to these days. Friday Reflections challenges me to come up with good content based on the prompt. It widens my perspectives and broadens my thoughts. I am also back to writing for Write Tribe and you should definitely check out the various image editing apps which the Tribe swears by.
Few of our favorite people came ‘up’ to meet us and this home was alive again. How I miss the get-togethers and parties which we had at our previous stations! I cooked up a storm after so long and was pretty happy about it. I also did some local sightseeing. Instagram and Facebook threw me suggestions about a beautiful quaint little cafe and I’m glad we could finally make it to the place. It is a hub for youth and I am glad I now have a beautiful place, overlooking the entire town, where I can take my laptop and work, sipping a cup of coffee. Oh, that’s actually how it is at home too.
Last, but not the least, I am grateful because the Universe is working its magic. I thought I had lost a friend, a couple of years ago. It was quite hard on the heart but I’m glad everything is back to normal.
That’s a wrap! I am looking forward to a fantabulous June. If you are following my Instagram stories, you’d know that I’m on a vacation now! Yay!
How was May for you? Do let me know!
A beautiful reflection and gratitude post. Loved your green hands, doggy swing and the background hilltop.
Glad to hear you had a good May…there’s a lot to be grateful for! Love seeing pics of Muffy as always. I will try harder to join in on Friday Reflections…you guys are doing an awesome job! 🙂 Hope June is just as great for you!
Aha! May was been truly wonderful for you, Shalini.
You are truly blessed to be staying in the hills for the plains are just unbearably hot these days.
Have a great time with your cutie Muffy, books, writing, gardening and of course shopping 🙂
Okay, so before I even start, I am warning you, this is going to be a super-long comment, so buckle up! 😀
I am SO glad that you had such a great May, and I’m especially happy to read that you found your energy and enthusiasm back. I know the grand gestures, and exotic travel can be great in many ways, but it’s the little things that can lend everlasting joy to our hearts. And that is such an amazing thing, no?
I am terrible at any kind of DIY, but I loved seeing your creation. Simple, doable, and so pretty!
Also, I had no idea you grew your own veggies! You are one multi-talented, multi-faceted soul! I wouldn’t have guessed that that cactus was home-grown! It’s so pretty! (never thought I’d use that adjective for a cactus, but it’s the truth!)
7 books is a great number, especially considering everything you have going on. I have heard mixed reviews of that book by Becky, so I see what you mean. I will give it a pass for now, because I have so many other exciting reads lined up. Btw did you say you bought Kindle Unlimited? #sojealous
And girl, your post made me realize that I missed adding something on my Gratitude List! The CSK Victory! I am a HUGE Dhoni fangirl, and so was clearly rooting for them to win from the very beginning, and it was a huge part of my May! In-fact I did more than my fair share of jumping around on their victory! I was so so SO thrilled! 😀
I love your acceptance of finding joy in everyday things because not every day is fireworks and fun. May you continue to keep smiling and spreading cheer with your good words and good food!
What a beautiful month indeed Shalu!!! You are tooo lucky to be nestled amidst the mountains. Where we all sweat it out, the sun being out would be best appreciated by you. I love the way you have been clicking images of your books. I need to work on it ya! So poor at it. You have done well on your blogging froont too. ten posts!!!!! Awesome. Muffy seems to have become a big boy now, and I see that he has been a naughty boy, digging up your beautiful vegetable garden.
You would be home in June, glad your travel is happening, enjoy your June and be back again for a lovely gratitude post 🙂
I am glad you had a fantastic May. I had a good month too. How I envy you for being nestled in the beautiful mountains, while I spent the entire summer trying to protect myself from the scorching Hyderabad heat. I am turning to Youtube for tips about maintaining indoor plants as well. I want some green in my apartment but I seem to have knack of killing them :(.
Hola Amigo- thats such a spell binding month for you sweetheart and I am so happy to hear you are out of your blue funk. I missed your posts in the challenge and hope to see more from you now. I am going to check out your book reviews. I loved reading Fangirl and I hope you do too!! Same with Eleanor…
Your garden/home is just so beautiful – made me yearn to be on that swing just reading or rather snoozing. Blessed be for the great weather as I was sweltering in 44 degrees in Gurgaon and then 42 deg in Jammu – man its hot! Enjoy the beautiful weather for its for the lucky ones only.
Happy to hear your green finger magic is reaping harvests for your table – look forward to seeing some interesting recipes soonest on your blog!! 🙂
Hugs to muffkins!!