Harps is an award winning blogger who shares her remarkable journey of motherhood after experiencing post natal depression and an unexpected diagnosis of Down’s syndrome. Her readers have often coined her words “relatable” and “warming”.
Hope you had a great week last week and an even better weekend!
Here’s ours (a little late) in pictures (mostly!) x
Last weekend my birthday celebrations continued at The Dorchester with my sisters and best friend while daddy and Arjun spent the day watching Moto GP. You can see more pictures from our day out in London here.
We went for leaving drinks as Arjun’s buddy, Pranay, is moving to Florida. We will miss them lots but look forward to visiting! Arjun enjoyed all the cuddles from his uncles and aunties!
We were visited by Amrit Masi x
We went for a cafe lunch x
We went to Taran Masi’s ladies Sangeet and Arjun was super fascinated by all the colours and people around him x
We had a play date with E and Josie. On the same day we went to Taran Masi’s mendhi where Arjun wasn’t quite himself. You can read about that slightly challenging day here. x
As passed on by our Mothers, Masi Jis, Mami Jis, Grandmas, Pua Jis, Chachi Jis, Thai Jis, the random aunti at the Gurdwara and any other passing Aunti! … A huge shout out to you all. I love you!
1. Panjeeri (a concoction of nuts and other super foods and stuff) is the best thing since sliced bread – out with the cravings, in with the panjeeri.
2. Your kid is destined to be a doctor or an investment banker from the moment they’re conceived … All by the age of 11.
3. You’re a prisoner post birth for 40 days – as if you weren’t physically confined enough whilst heavily pregnant. That means no stepping foot outside of the house. For 40 days. Yep.
4. Apparently eating ghee helps stimulate a smooth labour if ya catch my drift 😉
5. You can never wrap your baby up too warm. Ensure you have ample storage for rajai’s/blankets. Probably my baby brain again but apparently we’re living in the North Pole.
6. Have a pint .. Or two! .. Of milk that is … Apparently that’ll give your baby a clear complexion. Totally makes sense.
7. Sohnf Paani (boiled water with fennel) is the shizzle! Whether you like it or not – it’s the ONLY drink you’re allowed. It’ll solve all your problems (a dodgy tummy, a flat tyre, a broken down washing machine etc) … And baby’s.
8. The “you’ve gained a bit of weight haven’t you” comments – no kidding! I only carried another human inside me for 9 months and I’m sure it’s nothing to do with being force fed panjeeri, ghee and full fat milk?
9. From the moment you conceive you’re bed bound, like pregnancy is an illness, too delicate to move. You might strain yourself lifting the remote to turn Star Plus off. The doctors are crazy telling you to walk up and down.
10. You’re automatically susceptible to an “evil eye” and these are warded off by burning chilli. I don’t know about an evil eye but mine choke and cry a river from the fumes!
Hope you’re well and had a great weekend!:)
I know my birthday was weeks ago but I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to since we got back from the Maldives!
I celebrated with my family and my in laws at Blue Zenzer which is an Indian Italian fusion restaurant located on a golf course. It was the perfect place for the occasion – the atmosphere makes you feel uber chilled out combined with the hustle and bustle of a slightly fancy restaurant in London!
I had a really nice day celebrating my nearest and dearest. We had lunch and Arjun was passed around the table lapping up the attention. This was the first time that we had all gone out for a meal since Arjun’s been born. It’s crazy that it’s taken so long! Now that I have a baby, I feel like I have a real measure of how quick time passes.
The food was yummy – my favourite is the chilli cheese garlic bread and spicy mogo. Arjun enjoyed his pizza and a few chips.
When it came to cutting my cake, Arjun decided to get stuck right in and pulled off all the chocolate sticks before I even realised what he was about to do! He then decided to chomp on one – his first taste of chocolate and totally out of my control! No surprises – he really liked it!
After our lovely lunch and catching up, we decided to play golf. We headed to the driving range and everyone got involved. This is something I really love about my own family and my in laws – everyone is fun and up for anything! The boys took it pretty seriously whilst the mums and us girls had more fun laughing at each other. I was pretty impressed with the mummies – they were able to at least hit the ball unlike me(!). Arjun even got involved! He found it really funny every time someone was able to smack a ball.
All in all, I had such a lovely day with the people that matter the most – family.
Part 3 of my birthday was a surprise day out with my sisters and best friend, Amrit. I knew we were going out and was told to dress “nice” – whatever that means, but I didn’t know where we were going. Considering I mainly live in my trackies and hoody at home (Tom boy at heart), it was actually a nice change to get dressed up though my feet would tell you otherwise this morning!
I got ready and was picked up and we drove in to central London. Our first stop was afternoon tea at The Dorchester. My initial reaction as I walked through the lobby was “wow”! The decor is absolutely stunning! The hotel reception and the afternoon tea area is adorned with huge marble pillars, breathtaking floral arrangements and gorgeous Victorian style mirrors – it’s all gorgeously grand and right up my street. I loved it.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/MobileViewPhoto-g186338-d1071328-i37674721-The_Promenade_at_The_Dorchester-London_England.html
The staff were exceptionally lovely and all so welcoming.
Once seated and settled, I went for The Dorchester brand English breakfast tea (because I’m proper exciting!) which was delicious though Harv’s hot chocolate looked pretty tempting too! The sandwiches were really yummy – my favourite was the mango chutney and cheese one. Not something I’d normally go for either. They catered for vegetarians really well. The caramel and chocolate wafer cupcake was my favourite sweet thing followed by a hazelnut mousse type cake and the scones! The staff also brought out a chocolate cake to mark my birthday which was really yummy too.
All in all, I’d really recommend afternoon tea here, we had a lovely afternoon and it’s by far one of the best teas I’ve been to. We had a lovely relaxed afternoon whilst catching up. It was so pretty.
After The Dorchester, we went to browse some make up and food (two of some of my favourite things!) at Harrods. I picked up some marmalade, Chanel eyeliner and chocolate!
After Harrods we headed to part 2 of the day – we drove to Coco Nail Bar in Notting Hill. I loved the idea! It’s basically what it says on the tin – somewhere where you can get your nails done and have a drink too! A nail-bar!
I went for a paraffin wax manicure as I’d never had one before. The ladies at the bar were so accommodating to ensure we had a good time – they even suggested rearranging the seating so Amrit and I could face each other while talking haha. We all had a great time getting our nails done whilst sipping on mocktails. I went for the colour “cute as a button” by Essie.
I’d highly recommend the paraffin manicure – it really helped restore moisture in my hands which were pretty dry as I suffer from eczema sometimes and have been since coming back from the Maldives – I think I need to emigrate, it’s too cold for my hands here!
The Coco Nail Bar is a really nice place to go for some girl time. They can also arrange for hen parties. On a Tuesday morning they accommodate for mums with babies if given enough notice, they arrange for a nanny to come in while you get your nails done.
After getting our nails done we decided to grab some dinner as we were really hungry by this point. We all fancied a burger so we went to GBK before returning home to be greeted by my little monkey.
Arjun and I had cuddles in bed before I put him to sleep – It was the perfect end to a perfect day with my lovely sisters and bestie who have been by my side through my highs and my lows. I felt totally spoilt and so blessed.
I’ve had a fabulous 30th celebrating with my nearest and dearest – I feel super blessed but now with June officially here, it’s time to get my skates on for Arjun’s big day!x
A few of you have asked me about my recipes for Arjun’s first Indian meal so here goes!
To be honest, it’s a pretty basic recipe just excluding the salt and chilli. My health visitor advised that it’s totally fine to get Arjun used to Indian flavours so that’s exactly what I did!
Hi, I’m Harps, an award winning blogger who shares my journey of motherhood after experiencing post natal depression and an unexpected diagnosis of Down’s syndrome. Readers have often coined my musings “relatable” and “warming”. I have gone on to turn my passion of connecting people into working with brands ranging from household names through to small businesses and sharing with my engaged audience.
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