Do you believe in fairies? If you believe, clap your hands!

Once upon a time, in a land not so far way, there lived a little girl who did not like to take afternoon naps. Her mother would put her to bed and strictly ask her to stay there for the next 2 hours, because if she missed her afternoon nap, she would feel drowsy in the evening while doing homework. But the girl was clever. She would pretend to drift into a peaceful slumber, and when her mother became busy with other things, she would tiptoe her way to the bookshelf in search of the most fascinating thing she had ever laid her hand on: a compilation of the most wonderful fairy tales ever written. It was a book that her mother had owned as a little girl and had passed on to her, knowing how she loved to read.The book was not in a very good condition; the pages were yellow and tattered and the cover had been torn away a long time back. But to the little girl,this was no ordinary fairy tale book. To her, it was a treasure trove; it was magical, and it came alive the moment she opened the first page. It was her key to her very own realm of fantasy, where she could witness for herself how little boys turned into deer and how wicked stepmothers planned to kill the innocent maiden who was about to become the next queen. To the little girl, the characters were as real as the people around her,and she shared the fright of the little brother and sister when they got lost in the woods, took each step with them and rejoiced when they found their way out. Such was the magic of that magical book.

That little girl was me, and I had forgotten about that magical book for a long time until I happened to come across one of its pages lying in the drawer that day. The book has long gone, lost somewhere while shifting houses maybe. But the memories that lay cuddled in a corner of my mind came flooding back. And I felt a sudden urge to read those mystical fairy tales once again. Thanks to the wonderful Google, I came across a website that satisfied my craving of drifting into the world of fairy tales once again. Of course a website could give me the pure pleasure I get from reading a book, but I was satisfied enough. And I spent a whole afternoon reading tales of wicked stepmothers and innocent children in distress.

 If you like fairy tales as much as I did as a child, I'm sure you would like to check out this link ! And may also this :)

 

 
Title credit: James M. Barrie in Peter Pan

Stylish Blogger Award

A little more than just a month since I've stepped into the blogosphere, and someone has already been generous enough to give me a Stylish Blog Award!!! Thank you so much for this gesture Reenie :) It really made me extremely happy!!

 Ok, so apparently there are some rules for accepting this award, and they go like this :

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward to 15 great bloggers.

Since I've already thanked Reenie, here are the seven things about myself:

1. I love dancing! I don't care that I can't seem to be able to pick up the cool moves, I just love swaying with my body and heart and soul, when the music is right!

2. I am a foodie! I adore food, and the extra pounds that keep adding to my body almost every other month can never take me away from my love for food!

3. My favourite weekend activity is lounging at home in my PJs with a bunch of girly magazines :)

4. My dream holiday destination is Greece. From a very young age, Greece has fascinated me with my absolutely breathtaking beauty and culture steeped in history. I hope I can make my way to Greece some day real soon.

5. I was known as a tomboy in school, because I always had very short hair and never got along much with girls. Thankfully, my femininity has come a long way since then :P

6. I suffer from several phobias: arachnophobia(fear of spiders), arithmophobia(fear of numbers), acrophobia(fear of heights) and zoophobia (fear of animals).

7. For a long time, I dreamed of becoming a host for a travel channel. Right now, that dream seems to slip further and further away, but I think I'll keep it alive in some corner of my heart, in case I ever find a way to live the cherished dream.

Now, I'd like to pass on this award to 8 cool people with very stylish blogs. I know the rule asks for 15 people, but I'm still new to the world of blogging, so my circle is still quite small. So here goes:

1. Anna at A Jobless Muse in her London Shoes

2. Warm Sunshine at The Perfect Line

3. Reenie at Reenie's Scribbles

4. Chandana at A cup of coffee and a spark of madness

5. Mia at Que Sera Sera

6. Meh A Star Without A Name

7. Rukman at Live-Love-Dressup

8. Brish at Perfumed by B

I hope you people pay these blogs a visit, for you will definitely enjoy the read :)

The sun, the sand, the sea and us

I find is hard to believe that more than a week has passed since my last post on V-day. I missed my blog a lot, and I missed reading all of yours too. For a person like me, who feels the constant urge to put down in words whatever is crossing my mind, 8 days is a long time. However, it's not like I was gone for no reason. The past weekend was a long time, 2 public holidays back to back added to the weekend to give us time for a mini-vacation, and we leaped at the opportunity! So, hubby and I along with two of our friends headed to the sunny shores of Cox's Bazar, the beautiful beach city of our country boasting the longest beach in the world (120km of absolutely dazzling sandy beach)! And what a trip it was!

The mini-vacation turned out to be everything we had hoped it would be. Frolic and foolishness in the huge waves, lavish relaxation on the beach chairs, sufficient adventure with a cave exploration and abundance of romance with long walks along the moonlit beach (we were lucky to be in Cox's Bazar during the full moon nights) were the perfect makings of a memorable trip. We also visited a secluded island near Cox's Bazar, and it was breathtaking! And of course, the food! For lovers of seafood, Cox's Bazar is heaven! All in all, it was the perfect weekend getaway I had been craving for a long time. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Posing at the beach

On the speedboat, on our way to Shonadiya island

Couldn't fight the urge to do this :)

We climbed a hill to watch the sunset!

    

View from the top

At Mermaid Cafe, a beautiful beach cafe

Trying to be Yellow, Running from Red

Yesterday was the first day of spring here in Bangladesh today, according to the Bengali calendar. Pohela Falgun, we like to call it, because Falgun is the first month of Spring in the Bengali calendar. The colour for the day is yellow; you go out on the streets on Pohela Falgun, and almost every other female you see (i don't think the boys even know it's spring!) will be wearing yellow ensembles. Some like to go traditional with yellow saris and big bindis, with a yellow marigold or dahlia neatly tucked in behind an ear; others like me, who are too lazy to take the time dress up, stick to the everyday salwar kamiz. Sometimes yellow is sidestepped by mustard, orange, ochre and sometimes even green, but the mood of the day always remains yellow, with all its sunny characteristics. Usually I wear yellow on this day every year, but yesterday I somehow was just not in the mood. I didn't feel the spring in my step, nor did I feel spring in the air. So I decided to stop trying to feel yellow (yellow, to me, always means happiness) and stuck to a dull mauve. And the day went by in a blurry maze.

Red is the order of the day today. I had been hoping that this year, my lack of enthusiasm about Valentine's Day would take a break, and I, like almost everyone else around me, would be able to join the bandwagon of mushy so-in-love individuals who can't wait for this day to show up on the calendar every year. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very romantic person at heart, and romantic novels and movies can turn me into a big ball of sappy mush in a matter of seconds; but Valentine's Day and I have never been on good terms, and hence I dread this red letter day every year. Even though red is one of my favourite colours, I refuse to wear red on this particular day and I dread going to cafes adorned with heart-shaped balloons. However, this year I was determined to change my attitude towards this day just because I figured it would be a huge surprise for the hubby and might even make him feel special. The plan was to surprise him with a handmade goodie basket the moment he woke up in the morning. I went out last week and bought a cute stuffed chimpanzee which I knew he would love, and an adorable little Scooby Doo which I hoped would add some life to his workstation. I further planned to fill the basket with chocolates and munchies, and maybe some red candles, and even wanted to string balloons with the basket of goodies but thought it would be better to buy these stuff right on the day before. But like I said, yesterday did not go too well for me. I was absolutely not in the mood to go out shopping for tokens to express my love, and just like that, I found my newborn enthusiasm towards February 14th fade away into oblivion. Oh well, the hubby did get his chimpanzee and Scooby Doo at midnight, but there were no chocolates, no candles and certainly no balloons. I, in turn, got a hair straightener, a big box of makeup products but what stole my heart was the card with the most beautiful words I've ever read. And the words were the hubby's own :) Well, that worked a little magic on me, and I decided I would wear red today, and maybe try a little bit harder to like this day a little bit more from next year onwards, only because this day brought out the writer in my hubby, a part I never knew existed :)

Return to Innocence

Shoily, one of my four best friends had her birthday yesterday. Being the most vivacious among us all, it was no surprise that she wanted a big colourful bash to celebrate her last birthday as an engaged woman before she ties the knot this summer. And what a party it was! Forever a little girl at heart, Shoily planned her party to be a refreshing blast from the past, with Winnie the Pooh and Barbie themed decorations all around the place. Balloons and confetti in happy colours added to the cheery atmosphere. It was hard to tell whether the birthday girl was really turning 24 or just 4! :) To actually relive our childhood memories of birthday parties, we played games like Pillow Passing and Statue Dancing, which were both super duper hits!!  The sight of a bunch of twenty-somethings all hyped up to pass on the pillow to the next person as quickly as possible just to stay in the game a wee bit longer may have been hilarious to the bystanders watching the game, but hey, it was HUGE fun! For a while, it was like everyone had forgotten about the mundane responsibilities of adult life and we were just kids, whose only worry in life at that point was to scurry the pillow to the next person or to muffle the bouts of laughter that tried to push their way from deep inside us while we tried to stand as still as statues!  It was hard to tell that just a couple of hours ago, most of us present there (not me, I’m still unemployed) had been slaving away at some boring desk job or other. For once, everyone forgot to complain about nagging bosses; there was no talk about big wedding plans, and I, after a long time, forgot to worry about the future. For a couple of hours, we were the kids we had forgotten we used to be. Life will never be as simple as our childhood again, but I guess, it helps to let go of the worries sometimes and try to relive the innocence some way or the other. I know it helped me.

Try it, it takes away a lot of the stress!

P.S. I won my first ever prize in a raffle draw (at the party, of course, and no, being best friends with the birthday girl had nothing to do with this!) after years of futile attempts at numerous events. Here it is, my cute Winnie the Pooh coffee mug. Seems like my daily cups of will be all the more enjoyable from now onwards :)

Stay tuned...pictures from the party coming up in a couple of days!

Just trying to get a good night's sleep

" There are things we don't want to happen, but have to accept...things we don't want to know, but have to learn...and people we don't want to live without, but have to let go."- J.J, Criminal Minds

This quote has been playing over and over again in my mind for the past few hours, ever since I heard it while watching my favourite TV show. Such simple words, yet so true; a truth and a fact of life I'm still learning to deal with, a truth I wish wasn't true. So I thought of sharing it with you all, just because I felt that bringing this whirling thought out of my mind into the real world would give me the comforting blankness that I'm craving for right now, nah, the blankness that I now NEED to shut my eyes and drift away to La-la-land .

I needed to get this truth out of my mind and turn it into something concrete, and so I put here, my secret safe where I can stash away all that my heart/mind has been churning inside. There, I feel good already. That's it, nothing much to say today. Hope you all have a great weekend!