♥ “Joie de vivre” is a French phrase that denotes living life to the fullestĀ ♥
I cannot find a better phrase to sum the delightful month I had which flew by in a blink of the eye. Not only are we in the second half of the year, but the first month of this half is also over. Well they say time sure does fly when you are having fun š
Pin it!,
Monsoon Magic
♥ First week July is when the rains started pouring their magic in Gurgaon, bringing down the mercury. There is something lyrical about watching a downpour from ones balcony, accompanied by hot brew and nashta. Entire July was a symphony of rains and pleasant weather all around – grateful and happy for this blessingĀ ♥
Healing & Fitness
♥ After a 15 day break in June, I headed to the gym with a vengeance and re-started the yoga regime. But an unexpected break came in it towards mid of July and am on a gym hiatus sinceĀ ♥
Blog banter
♥ This year’s Bar-A-Thon became special a series I decided to blog about my one year with Thyroid and how it’s affected me. I was unprepared for the deluge of messages and calls from friends and family, afflicted by this terrible disease too. The appreciation for the posts was unbelievable and I am so happy I decided to share it allĀ ♥
♥ Towards end of July, I got a shocker when my web hosting company sent me an email for renewal. The subscription amount was almost 4 times than last year. Disheartened, I began a search for a feasible host to suit my budget and needs. Grateful to my blogging family who went out of the way in sharing advice, recommending potential hosts and generally offering help at any time for this. Still undecided on the fate of my website, but overwhelmed by this show of strengthĀ ♥
Social front
♥ July began awesomely well as M came calling from Chennai. It 
was just the excuse needed to cook loads of food. Her stay had the entire Ā gang coming together for good food, wine and conversations. Such a recharge this turned out to be
♥ July is when I attended the 90th birthday bash for my sisters father in law. The warmth and love I am showered with when I meet her “sasural” always humbles me to the core. It was a great lunch to catch up with so many people who love to bond with meĀ ♥
And yes, the saree swag was in full attendance š
Arty indulgences
♥ I had been planning on being inked again since ages but someĀ 
how things hadn’t worked out. One afternoon post gym, I decided to take the plunge and ended up getting not one but two tattoos.
Well to be fair to me, got the other one because I had to miss yoga for next two weeks. Apparently, one is not supposedly to gym Ā as stretching of skin while the tattoo is healing is bad for it. Plus the sweating might cause infection in the sensitive skin patch. So I decided to get the other one right now as I didn’t want two breaks in my gymming schedule.
Absolutley in love with my tattoos and looking forward to joining up on my yoga sessions soonĀ ♥
Holiday haven
♥ A called up with an invite to spend some time with her in their new home in the hills, close to Nainital. The thought of rains, fog and hot cups of tea, made me jump on an early morning Shatabdi to land at her doorstep with glee. I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday. She has been cooking delicacies for me and we have been indulging with several cups of assorted hot brews. Walking in the rain or watching the clouds waft inside the house, are of course the icing on the cakeĀ ♥
TBR progress
♥ Reading was a bit slow in July and I managed to read about 4 books out of the 6 that I wanted to read. But I plan to catch up on my reading while on this holiday and am aiming for reading 8 books in all. Best part are the gorgeous books in my hostess’s equally gorgeous bookshelf whichever are calling out to meĀ ♥
Well that just about sums up my delightful month and I am looking forward to the August tidings with gusto.
If you enjoyed reading the gratitude post, you can read the previous one here
Linking with Vidya for the Gratitude circle
Linking with Corinne for Monday Musings
What a lovely exciting month you had, Shalini! No wonder you called it joie de vivre. Loved your tattoo. I am scared of getting inked, but might get it done for my 40th, it’s in my bucket list. Also, need to make friends with someone who stays in the hills and invites me over, no luck so far. Have a great holiday! 4 out of 6 is not bad…!!
Shalz, what a beautiful month you’ve had. So happy for you Love your tattoos. I am so tempted to get one done. And being pampered in Nainital is the stuff dreams are made of. Sorry to hear about the gym break. Hope the injury is not too bad. Whatever it is, rest it well. And 4 books seems so good when I am struggling with my reading mojo! Here’s wishing you a fabulous August!
Shalinee! A lovely post…cool tattoo, reading and the birthday bash. And you are so pretty and keep the gratitude coming!
Interesting you got told no gym after the tattoos…I’ve never been told that except for on the day. I’ve been told no beach, pool and no baths {showers are okay} but have always gone back to the gym the next day or the day after without any issues. The only reason I get mine in winter are so I don’t have to miss out on the beach for two weeks! š
Glad to hear July was a lovely month where you lived it to the fullest. There seems to be so much happening and yes, it did go by extremely quickly! I had to bow out of Bar-a-thon and apologies for not reading all your posts! Four books in the month is pretty awesome!
Hope August is amazing for you š
May you always be this happy and excited about life. Love the energy in your post and zeal for fitness, and the tatoo too. I don’t think I have the courage to go under the needle I am a chicken that way.
Aww thanks so much Raj for such loving wishes. So happy to hear my posts make for a happy reading. Tattoo is just an addiction with me, the pain is really not that great actually. Threading, waxing hurts more.
Your gratitude post shows how well you enjoyed your life – lovely month and I wish many more such.. This month I heard many getting tattoos done, I am really scared about ink getting into flesh and its effect and also pain! Wish you happy and healthy August Shalini.
Thanks so much Shilpa. Yeah the tattoos are actually an addiction and not that painful really. I find threading pain much more š
That sounds like a fabulous month. I specially liked that you got two new tattoos. Hope your thyroid is under control now – it’s such an insidious ailment.
Hey Kalpana, yeah the thyroid is well under control for now. Thanks so much for stopping by š
Wow, you seemed to have a truly amazing July, what with family get togethers, impromptu vacations, and those new tattoos! I hope you are able to get back to your fitness regimen soon too. Here’s to an even better August!
Thanks so much Shanaya. July sure was an awesome month for me and I am hoping to finish August on an equal high.
Oh the friend in the hills is to be treasured and pampered Anshu. I had such a blast and am looking forward to spending some time in winters too with them.
Yay to the tattoo – start deigning/planning it from now to get the most awesome one! I changed my mind so many times before I settled on one.
Yup – the logic was no stretching the skin and no excess sweating as that was healing. Interestingly I had black ink impressions on my bedsheet for 2-3 days in a row; guess the ink was bleeding or something. They said it was ok. Next time I am also going to get it done in winters only Sanch š
July was a fab month for me and I am so grateful I could enjoy the barathon; its one of those blog hops that I really look forward to.
As for reading, I read 10 books in August – I am zapped at it too as I have never read so much in my life!!
Thanks so much Vishal – cheers
Hey my gym break happened because of the tattoos and not injury š Thank God!!
Hill break was the best thing I have done for myself in years – it was just fabulous Rachna – looking forward to being there in snow time again. Fingers crossed!
I missed this post earlier–catching up on everything I didn’t see when I was offline. Reading has been slow for me, to–hope it picks up this month. A hill station break sounds like just the thing I need right now.
tu as raison, ,on devrait vivre la vie heureusement, , je connais petit franƧais , ,et adorƩ lire votre blog, au revoir, meaning you are right and one should live life happily, i know little french, and loved reading your blog. . its full of life.
Oh wow thats a whole lot of french for me to decipher š
Thank you so much for stopping by and your kind words have just made my day!!! Hope to see you soon again Mehek!!
Thanks so much D and I glad to see you back. been missing seeing your peppy tweets and posts!! I hope you get a vacation soonest š