Things

After a few months of lovely domestic life I have surrounded myself with things that

- I don't really need.

- I don't ever want to do without again

- I would never have bought before said life of domesticity.

1. Shower Radio - I now own a waterproof shower radio so I can blare Dhoom FM even as I struggle to open my eyes completely and get ready to face the day. I had bought this as a part of a birthday gift for music lover husband but in reality I have enjoyed it as much as him if not more. I have been known to bathe multiple times (up to 4 times) a day just so that I can relax and face something afresh.

2. Euro pillows - Since I wanted our bed to look all pretty, color coordinated and inviting I invested in two Euro pillows. This I think was a part of the first baby steps towards the creation of my "adult" avatar. My bed looks lovely of course but these pillows give me so much more. The pillows are also perfect for cuddling, leaning, throwing.... just lovely.

3. Hair straightener - After meeting with fashionable old friends I decided to spend some money on clothes/ makeup apart from comfy t shirts, dresses that are 80% off at Kohl's and pajamas. So I bought myself a chi hair straightener. I have used it only once and I feel similar to how I felt when I turned up for my school farewell in my mother's silk Saree. It is not quite me but I like the end result :).

4. Carpet runner - 7 months ago I would have scoffed at the idea of buying 50 dollar scraps of carpet to put on top of a perfectly functional carpet. I was unjust in my opinion of carpet runners. They make a totally plain room look pretty, a lot of them are really soft and just nice to put your feet on and most importantly they are a great way to hide all those carpet stains that are a result of eating your meals in all areas of the house except the dining table.

5. An entryway bench - This is positively the single most scarcely used piece of furniture in the entire house. My husband and I continue to lace our shoes while staring at the TV and store our coats on top of the dining table for easy access (not eating our meals at the table has its advantages). But the real purpose of an entryway bench is to hide clutter. I had the foresight of buying one with big baskets underneath and that in turn results in a clutter free home in less than 15 minutes.

6. A gel fireplace - Our condo came without a fireplace so we bought an indoor one that can burn gel fuel. This fireplace had given so much. The fireplace, as can be expected, is great for a romantic evening. The other less obvious advantage is that lighting a fireplace gives you good reason to dim the lights. So on an exhausting Friday evening you can ignore the clutter around you not by cleaning but by turning off the lights.