2018 in Pictures

2018 was kind of an under-the-radar, but life-altering year. Moving cities, taking up exciting new ventures, setting up a new home, celebrating birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, there was quite a lot of buzz, but looking back, I can say that I just went with the flow, making one decision at a time, while not letting my world crumble. So, let's have a roundup of 2018 in pictures, shall we?

January

Baby's Naming Ceremony

As our baby was premature, we waited around 3 months to introduce her to our extended family. The small, intimate ceremony saw our little one taking her name "DHWANI" (sound) quite seriously; She cried through the entire ceremony.

Turning 30

This was a major milestone. This Aquarius girl turned 30 in 2018. Not looking forward to the grays in the coming years. This year, Mr. G learned to listen (finally) and ordered a cake exactly how I wanted. The cake was done by Incredible Art Boutique.

February

Feb Santa

My brother, after a month's international trip, came home bearing wonderful gifts. Also, I moved to my in-law's house for a short while.

March

Color Me Copper

I got my hair colored after 2 years! I usually, color 2 times a year and due to pregnancy, I let my color fade in 2017. Post-pregnancy, getting my hair done was among the top 5 things to do (the first thing was: to eat a cake (GD life y'all). I went to Makeover 2.0 Salon and Spa Kadavantra. My baby was on BM only, when asked for the choice of color, I had just two requests; 1. Shouldn't be loud 2. Should be done within 4 hours!

G Turns a Year Wiser?

We celebrated G's birthday at his place. G has already made a list of the "2019 Birthday Gifts" as I write this post.

Nykaa X Shreyaa Jain Event

My first ever event, and boy was it eventful. I met @thedessertrosejournals for the first time, after years of interaction with her online. It was amazing to see the beauty community in Cochin coming together. Flashback, 2 years back, the landscape was quite bare, and now, there is a wide audience for Malayalam YouTube videos. I met Shreyaa Jain, undoubtedly "THE" best beauty YouTuber in India. What a down to earth, humble human being, and a delight to interact with.

April

Miss You Appu

Appu with Amma

I lost my grandfather, whom I fondly call Appu. He was 89 years old and was suffering from memory loss for some time. I was lucky enough to have spent 2017-2018 with my grandparents; My grandma took care of me during my pregnancy. Appu, left us just a few weeks before my brother's wedding and that, caused a lot of strain for my family. I went and met him during his final hours, he held my hands and I could see his eyes getting moist. We knew it was almost time, and the entire family was prepared, but it is hard to imagine someone hale and healthy in January suddenly spiral to bad health so fast.

Solids, Here We Come (Darn It)

Dhwani baby and G

Baby was introduced to solids this month. I had this vision that if I had a baby girl, she should take her first morsel at Chotanikkara temple, I am a big believer of Chotanikkara amma and it was only rightfully so for my baby to be introduced to solids there.

#SS Gets Hitched

Sister Duties, feeding the newlyweds, milk!

We have been waiting for this event for quite some time. My lil brother got hitched for good. The whole event was so confusing, I always thought that planning a girl's wedding was more stressful but looks like the groom's side is no better. There was an ample dose of family drama (mostly owing to my grandfather's demise and ritually, we mourn for a 2 week period), mismanagement, and a ton lot of random outbursts this time.

May

Back to Office

The month of adjustments for both me and baby! As much as I love being a mom, I also take immense pride in achieving greater success at the workplace. This month saw me running around like a headless chicken trying to figure out the hierarchy and getting into the groove of work. I like to believe that we both survived, not albeit the huge support from my parents.

June

Mini Get-Together at Grifu's Place

View from Grifu's flat

I can't even begin to tell you how badly I miss my friends in office. Last year saw half of the gang move out to different cities. All the OG's baring few met at Grifu's place for lunch and tea and what can I say, it was bombastic!

July

Girl With a Pearl Earring Travels to Andamans

Havelock Beach

This was a very impromptu decision. My parents were over at my brother's place and he received info that he was transferred back to the mainland. I knew that if I couldn't go then, I would regret my decision for the rest of 2018. I booked tickets and decided to pack my bags and the baby to travel to Andamans, on a 5-hour flight journey. What I didn't anticipate for, was a very cranky baby. God bless the passengers on that flight cause it was brutal.

August

Pray For Kerala

Playground filled with water

This was a very traumatic month. Kerala went through the worst floods it has seen in years and what followed was a stand of solidarity and resilience to overcome the damage. Personally, we were not affected by the floods as my house was stationed in a safe zone, but a major part of my family suffered losses to their property. My brother speared headed the rescue ops in Kozhikode and Malappuram and his dedication and enthusiasm truly filled our hearts with pride and joy.

Moving Out

Last Picture from the flat

We bid adieu to the first flat we stayed for the longest. It was bittersweet to pack out all the things we owned, the home where I experienced joy, loss, sadness! Celebrated anniversaries and birthdays. The house and its belongings were in a rut, as we were not staying there actively post birth of my baby. Dad and I packed up all our stuff, donated a ton of unused items and bid a tearful adieu!

 

September

Dad's Retirement

After 42 years of service in the Indian Revenue Department, my dad hung his uniform for good. Now, he is a full-time grandpa and annoying as ever dad whose Ghazal nights have extended to the entire day ♭♭♮.

Dad giving his farewell speech

Vanakam Chennai

I semi-moved my life to Chennai for good. My husband had moved to Chennai a few months back and I waited out for him to unpack before I headed to the city with the baby. Also, this was the first time, I was left alone with the baby (always had family support), and I was overwhelmed. Pushing through the housework, office work, a clingy baby who needs a special diet (underweight baby problems) and readjusting my priorities with the Big Baby took a toll on me.

October

Pondy Trip

This was one epic trip with family. I just ate, walked and gossiped for hours. The trip was one of the best I had taken and was the first roadtrip with the fam! My uncle and his family basically made the trip what it was.

Lil One Turns 1 

Ms. Vedu turned one, and we had an Elephant-theme party for her. I was not in planner mode, and was so chilled, about the process (which I regret now). Vedu thoroughly enjoyed the attention and as my husband puts in "First birthdays are really not for the baby, but for the parents", and I agree whole heartedly.

November

Oops, I Did it Again

I went ahead and colored my hair again, this time from Chennai. I got my hair done by Mahesh Reddy of Vurve Salon. The entire process was an absolute delight! And people still comment on my hair. Next time, though, I would plan a little ahead and give myself a solid 6-7 hours for getting the hair done.

December

Last Family Day at Nielsen

If things are how it is planned, this would be my last family day at Nielsen. I was lucky enough to be part of the Fashion Show, representing Ashtami as part of the festivals of India theme. Can you believe I learned how to tie a Bengali Saree from YouTube in 2 hours?

Snap from the fashion show

That's it, folks, now that we are in 2019, I am planning to make a few changes to this blog. I would love to diversify the topics to lifestyle and organization, etc. As much as I love beauty, that's not who I am as an individual. Cheers to an awesome 2019!!