Saving Tips for your Christmas Beauty Expenses

The festive season is in full swing so here are some ways that help you to save money on beauty expenses this Christmas.

The festive season is just around the corner knocking at our doors, so it’s time for celebrations, decorations, bonding with friends & family and buying lots of stuffs. It’s also that time of year when the expenses spiral out of control. In fact, Christmas is among the biggest expenses of the year. Cutting costs wherever possible is the best way to stay within budget. This Christmas, you can look more beautiful without spending a fortune. Here are some money-saving tips for your Christmas Beauty Expenses.

Ways to save on Christmas Beauty Expenses

Beauty School

Instead of paying high prices at normal salon, try beauty schools for your makeup, haircuts, manicures, facial, spa, etc. and have quality work done at a great price. Beauty schools charge up to 50% less than the salon, as the services they offer are part of their student’s training. Other benefits of getting services done at a Beauty School are student works under the watchful eye of experts and use the latest techniques.

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Special Traditional Recipes for Navratri Festival In India

Enjoy playing garba in navratri and tempt your tongue with special Indian traditional recipes to make your celebration a cheerful and delicious as each recipe.

A variety of cuisines accompanied with each special celebration is a heart of every Indian festival. An energetic celebration of nine nights – Navaratri is celebrated all over India in various forms. In Gujarat, people do fasting and play garba by taking decorative pot on head to worship Goddess Jagdamba. In Kolkatta, people worship Goddess Durga for nine days. Besides traditional rituals, people also do fasting to get blessings of goddess. While doing fasts, devotees do not eat all the usual food. So, they have to stick for special navaratri food. If you are wondering that what you will eat during your Navaratri fasting then, check out the full recipes of special traditional dishes to eat during nine nights of navaratri.

Milkmade Kheer:

Ingredients: 1 litre Milk, 1 can Milkmade condensed milk, 1 cup rice, 100 gms sugar, handful of raisins, cashew, almonds, pistachios, 4-5 cardamom and cherries for garnishing

Preparation method:

• Boil milk in one deep pan and add sugar in it
• Add rice into the milk and continue stirring occasionally
• After 5-7 minutes, add full can of Milkmade condensed milk into the pan
• Do not forget to stir occasionally
• Add cardamom for flavor and stir on medium for long time till it becomes half of the volume
• Add all dry fruits and let it cool down
• Serve it garnished with cherry

Sabudana kheer:

Ingredients: 1 cup sabudana, 2 cup milk, cup of jaggery or sugar, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 10-15 raisins, 10-15 almonds and cashew, 1 tbsp Margarine, pinch of saffron

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Navratri Puja Vidhi and fasting rules

Worship Goddess Durga during Navratri festival in order to seek her divine blessings by doing Durga puja at home and observing fast for nine days.

Navratri festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy across India every year in different forms including Durga puja and fasting, playing garba, etc. Devotees worship various avatars of the Goddess - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati for nine constant days to seek her blessings, ask for peace and prosperity, and protection from any unknown fear and probable risk. Each Devi amongst nine divine forms of Goddess Durga is connected with particular day (tithi) of Navratri, thus worshipping of that Durga on that specific day of Navratri gives best results. It is very important to know the proper way of performing the Navratri puja vidhi and following fasting rules to seek her divine blessings. It is assumed that those devotees who do Navratri fasting and puja with full faith and sincerity will find bliss on earth and will get ‘moksha’ (salvation).

How to do Navratri Puja?

Items required for doing puja:

• Photo or Idol of Goddess Durga in the Puja room
• Durga Saptshati book
• A dupatta or saree for goddess
• Gangajal or plain water in Kalash (pitcher)
• Fresh grass
• Fresh and washed mango leaves
• A coconut
• Rice
• Cloves
• Cardamom
• Sandalwood
• Gulal
• Kumkum (vermilion)
• Supari (areca nuts)
• Paan (betel leaves)
• Roli (red sacred powder for tilak)
• Moli (red sacred thread)
• Fresh flowers like rose, jasmine or red hibiscus
• Fresh fruits like pomegranate
• Sweets like 'laddoo', or 'peda' for prasad
• Few incense sticks, a deep and matchstick

Get your house cleaned and ready on the Amavasya, a day before the starting of Navratri as you are inviting Goddess into the house. On the very first day of Navratri, you have to wake up early in the morning (get up sharp at the sunrise), take bath and wear laundered clothes. Keep 'deep' at the left side of the goddess, and light the 'Akhand Jyot'. Don’t keep the house vacant if you are lighting the 'Akhand Jyot'. Put incense sticks and other necessary things on the right hand side of the goddess, and then get ready for performing Puja with full dedication and focus.

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Importance Colours to wear on Navratri 2014

Celebrate Navratri festival 2014 for nine days by dressing up in attractive colors each day and worshipping Goddess Durga, doing the dandiya dance, and enjoying good food.

Colors hold special significance in any festival, and the popular Navratri festival in India also has an interesting ritual for the women who wear 9 various colors during the 9 days of the festival season. This auspicious festival is celebrated with great zeal and devotion all over the country, and people offer prayers to give honor or respect to the different forms of Goddess Durga, enjoy feasts, dance and music, and celebrate the victory of Good over Evil. Furthermore, the color themes are mostly followed by the men and women of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and on every day of festival, the devotees offer a specific colored saree to the Goddess, and each color has an importance of its own and represents different forms of the Goddess. Do you know the 9 colors used during Navratri festival for 2014? If you don’t know, then go through here the list of those Navratri nine colors to wear or dress up and share the spirit of joy and happiness.

Which color to wear in Navratri 2014?

Day 1 - Ghatasthapana / Pratipada - Yellow

September 25

The first among nine Durgas is Shailaputri Maa, who is the daughter of Himalaya, holds trishul in the right hand and a flower in the left hand, and wears Grey saree. The color to wear on the first day on Navratri for devotees is ‘Yellow‘.

Day 2 - Dwitiya - Green

September 26

The second day is dedicated to Maa Brahamcharini ("Brahma" means "Tapa"). The idol of this Goddess is supposed to be very beautiful delivering a message of love to the whole world. She is full with high spirits, has rosary (mala) in her right hand, Kamandal in left hand, and decorated with an Orange colored saree. Devotees can wear Green color on this day.

Day 3 - Tritiya - Grey

September 27

The third day signifies Maa Chandraghanta, who establishes justice universally and wear crescent moon on her forehead. She is dressed in a White saree, exceptional image of bravery, and seated on Lion. Wearing Grey color on this day would be auspicious for the devotees.

Day 4 - Chaturthi - Orange

September 28

The fourth day of Navratri is contributed to Maa Kushmanda, who is said to be the creator of the universe. This form of Maa Durga is dressed in Red colored saree. This day represents the source of offering basic requirements to all. Devotees should wear Orange color on this day.

Day 5 - Panchami - White

September 29

The fifth day is dedicated to Maa Skanda, who provides the gift of differentiation between right and wrong to the globe. The Goddess is draped with Blue colored saree. Wearing White colored clothes would be very fruitful for the devotees.

Day 6 - Shashti - Red

September 30

The sixth day of Navratri festival signifies Maa Katyayani, who firmly battles against the evil and deceitful entities. The Goddess is dressed in Yellow colored clothes. Red color should be worn on this day.

Day 7 - Saptami - Blue

October 1

This day is contributed to Kaalratri, who is one of the fiercest forms of Goddess Durga and her appearance itself evokes fear. She is known to be the destroyer of all demon entities, and is dressed in Green colored saree. Wearing Blue colored clothes would be very fruitful for the devotees.

Day 8 - Ashtami - Pink

October 2

The eighth day of Navratri festival signifies Maa Gauri aspect of Goddess Durga. Durga Ashtami Puja is held in several parts of India. Maa Gauri wears Peacock Green color on this day. Wearing Pink color would be auspicious for the devotees.

Day 9 - Navami/Dashmi/Dussehra - Purple

October 3

This day is dedicated to Maa Siddhidatri, who showers knowledge that intends in making each soul pure. She is dressed in Purple color and is known to have great supernatural powers. In 2014, Navami and Dashmi are on the same day. Devotees should wear Purple color on this day.

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Special Recipes for Navratri Fast

This Navratri, try these mouth-watering and delicious farali recipes to satisfy your taste buds for your Navratri vrat or upavas.

The auspicious festival of Navratri is celebrated nationwide by worshipping Maa Jagdamba, a form of Goddess Durga. Navratri marks the beginning of spring or autumn, which means change of season. During the change of seasons, our immune system becomes weak so we are advised to consume light and nutritious meals. This is the reason why people should practice fast on all the nine days of the festival. People who practice fast avoid eating foods like meat, grains, alcohol, onion, common salt, garlic, etc. which are harder to digest. Fasting in navratri is an effective way to cleanse and purify the body and mind. Enjoy each and every bite of fasting food without compromising with your health and taste with these special recipes for Navratri vrat or upavas. These recipes are irresistible and more mouth-watering compared to regular food.

Special Recipes for Navratri Fast

Idli and Sambar
For Idli:

• 1 cup Sama (Moraiya)
• ½ cup Sabudana
• 1 cup Fresh Curd
• 4 tsp. Ginger-Green Chilli Paste
• 1 tsp. Oil
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 cup Boiled Potato Cubes
• 2 tsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Lemon Juice
• ½ cup Roasted Peanut Powder (optional)
• Rock salt to taste

For Sambhar

• 5 tsp. Coriander seeds
• 4 Round Red Chillies
• 2 Tbsp. Roasted Peanuts
• 1 Tbsp. Grated Dry Coconut
• 25 mm Cinnamon Stick
• 1½ Cups Bottle Gourd Cubes
• 1½ cups Peeled and Chopped Yam
• 1 cup Peeled and Chopped Potatoes
• 2 tsp. Oil
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp. Lemon Juice
• Rock Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

Idli:

Clean and wash sama in seeds. After that, add the remaining ginger-chilli paste, potatoes, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Once the mixture cool down, divide it into 16 equal portions. Now, put 1 tbsp. of the idli batter into greased idli moulds and spread the stuffing over it. Sprinkle peanut powder and top it up with idli batter. Steam them in an idli steamer until done.

Sambhar:

Make a fine powder of coriander seeds, 2 red-chillies, peanuts, dry coconut & cinnamon and keep aside. Boil a vessel full of water and add bottle gourd, yam and potatoes. Cook them till the vegetables are cooked. Drain and make a smooth purée. Transfer the mixture to a deep non-stick pan and add 4 cups of water. Then add ground powder & rock salt and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

For tempering, heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. After that, add 2 red chillies and sauté for a few seconds. Pour the tempering over sambhar and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Lastly, add the lemon juice and mix well.

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Halloween Cupcake Recipes and Ideas for 2013

Celebrate Halloween with the latest, creepy and spooky Halloween ideas of cupcakes and decorations to make your Halloween party full of excitement.

Halloween celebration countdown has begun and you might have started your preparation for it. Halloween is an abbreviation of All Hallows Even or it is a day before all Hallows day that is also known as All Saints Day begins. It is a catholic holiday and we buy or prepare scariest costume for Halloween theme party and many unique and delicious dishes for our loved ones on this day. We also decorate our home with scary decorating items such as scary lightening with carved pumpkin. Check out Halloween cupcake recipes and different ideas to make your Halloween party scariest and enjoyable.

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Navratri Health Tips and Food to remain energized

Check out the health and food tips that will make you more healthy and energetic during the nine nights of Navratri to let you play garba with full of energy.

Navratri is a vibrant and most energetic Indian festival that is loved by all, especially youngsters. For nine divine nights of Navratri, people play “Garba” for late night and this may lead them to different kinds of health issues due to less sleeping hours and long hours of playing garba that leads to tiredness. People also do fasting in Navratri days to following our ancient tradition to worship Goddess Durga also for cleansing, detoxifying and getting their bodies rested. This is the main reason that Navratri is also known as festival to follow internal cleansing, physically and spiritually. So, check out some health and food tips that helps you stay healthy and full of energy during nine nights of Navratri.

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