{The Abode} Quick Staircase Transformation

I will be getting back to posting my amazing India trip but thought I would pop in with this little staircase update that we did in July.

We had some carpet pieces glued to our staircase and wanted to rip them out as soon as we moved in.  Here are two before pics with our old bathroom (and Willow). They were pretty stained and kind of gross.  We waited until after our main bathroom renovation though since there was a lot of foot traffic from that.

Here's a pic after the bathroom renovation was complete, a better view but the staircase treads still looked rough.

We wanted to do natural runners (there are 3 staircases total in the house) but decided to wait and do an intermediate step until we know exactly what we want.  We ripped the old carpet pieces off and cleaned up the staircase. It needs a paint job which is another reason we are waiting on a runner.

We found these carpet treads from Amazon and tried them out.  They don't slide when you walk on them but they do wind up moving a bit with use (which could be remedied with some carpet tape after we paint).

It doesn't bother us and we think it's such a nice, subtle upgrade from what we had.  I love the look of them and might not ever go for the runner (TBD!).

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{Travel} India Trip - Night 3 Sangeet

This was one of our longer days as we had two events.  Earlier in the day was the Vara Puja ceremony at the bride's parents' home and that evening was the Sangeet.

A Sangeet is a pre-wedding celebration that involves music, dancing and speeches.  The word Sangeet, from Sanskrit translates to "sung together" and is usually held a few days before the wedding ceremony.

The dress code was Indian or Western cocktail.  I loved City Girl's gorgeous outfit!

The party was held at the stunning Bangalore Club which looked magical as we entered.

The wedding theme of peacocks was carried out in one of the many incredible flower displays.

It was a beautiful night for an indoor/outdoor event.

The bride and groom arrive!

One of the most fun parts of the evening was seeing all of the dances that friends and family performed for the couple.  There were also thoughful speeches and a heartfelt video montage.

Then the couple performed their own dance for everyone.

Of course I made friends with a kitty at the event.

There was wonderful food, themed cocktails and lots of dancing to round out the most incredible evening!  This was all followed by an after party back at the hotel. It was a good thing we didn't have any wedding festivities until the next night!

to be continued...

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{Travel} India Trip - Days 2 & 3

 We woke up to this stunning view from our hotel window.  I could finally see Bangalore after so much traveling!

Another view from our room of this pretty courtyard.

We slept in and had to quickly get ready because we were invited to another friend's parents' house for lunch.  How lucky were we?!

A quick look at the lobby of the JW Marriott, Bangalore.

The home was decorated in so many flowers.  The family was also hosting some wedding activities of their own so it was extra gracious of them to be having us over for lunch!

The lunch was so lovely and the friend's parents were so kind to have us over.

There was some dance practice going on for the Sangeet (more on that later). This was a group of the bride's friends from high school and college learning the dance.

We spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool at the hotel.

Housekeeping always came up with the best towel animals!  

The lobby, the next morning.   We had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel and then did some shopping.

We could walk to UB City which was a large shopping mall.

We did some more exploring but tried to stay off of the roads because the traffic was crazy and it was so scary to cross the streets.

My outfit for the smart casual dress code.

We had the Vara Puja ceremony that afternoon.  It's a ceremony that honors the couple.  It typically includes:

-Welcoming the groom's famiy

-Giving the groom and his family new clothes

-Washing the groom's feet with milk

-Having the bride's father wipe the groom's feet with a cloth

We were driven over to the bride's parents' house in cars decorated with gorgeous floral bouquets.

The bride's parents' house was decorated with so many flowers.

There was a long walk way to get in and it was covered by tenting.  That area also served as a catering area where we were given some delicious Indian fare.

The whole home was transformed for the ceremony and to accommodate so many people.

We were greeted by some of the bride's family members and given floral necklaces.

The altar set up in the kitchen.

This is the bride sitting between her parents. I think we're all throwing rice at the couple in this shot. It was such an incredible experience!

to be continued...

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{Travel} India Trip - Travel Day(s)

 I mentioned my epic trip to India in this post and I'm finally doing a post (or ten) about it.  City Girl was in a wedding that happened to be taking place in India and invited me as her "plus one". What an honor!

I didn't have a lot of time to think about it and before I knew it, an e-visa was secured and I was packed up and ready to go.   I wore these comfy Costco pants on the plane (trying out the outfit as I packed).  Dark clothes are better for me when I'm flying...and lots of layers!

You may have seen my IG story of how and what I packed in a carry-on.  

I stayed at CG's place the night before we left and here's my luggage, all ready to go in the morning.

We flew out of JFK and flew business class so we headed to the swanky Emirates lounge.

We had some breakfast and relaxed in the lounge.

Ready to fly with some prosecco!

I had never flown Emirates, let alone Emirates Business. I loved my little cubby.  I already had the provided slippers on.

The food was so good, we had a few choices and this was my appetizer mezze plate.

And my entree.

They handed out the softest pjs, a bag full of amenities, sleep mask, slippers, etc. We even got little mattresses for our seats and comfy blankets.

The ceiling was covered with twinkly stars.  I had no trouble falling asleep.

We had a 5 hour layover in DUBAI! We also went to the lounge in Dubai because we were so tired (it was the middle of the night for us) and the Dubai airport didn't have the best places to sit if you weren't in a lounge.

Onto the next flight...I was upgraded to First Class so I had my own little cabin.

I was so tired and not very hungry so I just ordered the carrot lentil soup.

I had my soup and went right to sleep.  I woke up as we were landing in Bangalore.

We had a chauffeur to the hotel where we ran into the sweet bride and groom before checking into our lovely room at the JW Marriott Bangalore.

to be continued...

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