Five Tips to Keep Baby's Skin Soft & Pampered

"A Child has a special way, of adding joy to everyday"

Children are the gift of God. They are miniature angels, the bundle of joys that are sent on earth to remind us of playfulness, joy, and innocence. I am so much besotted with children, their soft demeanor, their sweet smiles, innocence, little hands and legs, joyfulness and their soft skin as well. I feel like being the Knight rider and guard their lovely, soft, baby skin, from the harshness of weather, age and anything that could harm them. 

Babies are naturally blessed with soft skin but if not taken good care of, their skin can lose its primitive softness and in turn, can make babies go cranky too.

So here's sharing Top 5 tips that will be handy and useful to keep baby's skin soft and delicate as they are born with.

Tips to keep Baby's Skin Soft

1. Essential Cleansing- Kids are clumsy we all know. Their tiny hands are too small to hold a hanky but they want to hold the milk bottle, water glass and what not. In the bargain, they often end up spilling milk or cereal on their bodies, if not wiped properly may cause a rash. Always ensure to clean and remove their bibs and change their clothes if required. Even if they have not spilled anything, ensure that you change their clothes twice a day at least.
2. Essential Clothing- We know you love to dress your kid in that beautiful Lord Krishna's costume or that pink gown from princess and its fairytale gang. But mind you, your children are not dolls though they may look like one. Often such dresses are not made of soft cloth and can harm the maha mild skin of your babies. Ensure that you buy them smooth cotton dresses or any other material that is conducive to season and baby's skin.
3. Essential Diapers- One of the major reason for skin rash in children is due to the long wear diapers or the excessive wetness. Be very careful with the kind of diaper you select for a baby. Go for premium brands like Pampers which has age-old experience in child diapers and still continue to innovate to suit a child' growing needs. My grandma would always use a cotton made nappy at home and advised to wipe/ sponge the baby skin with water and soft towel while at home, after doing the toilet. She would prefer to let it breathe some air sans diapers



4. Essential Bathing- Bathing is not just about soaking the child in the bathtub with baby soap. A lot goes around it. It starts with giving a good "made for babies" oil massage few hours before bath and then bathing them with mild soap or cream in a tub of lukewarm water. 
5. Essential Nutrition and Hydration- We all know how important is water for a human body. so it is a baby's body. Apart from water, milk and baby food too keeps a  baby supple and in check. Avoid feeding a stale milk to a child. You can throw the leftover milk or use it for your chai but never give a baby, a day's old milk as well. There is some reason that makes mother's milk vital for babies. Stale milk or leftover milk for more than 30 minutes build up gaseous content and cause stomach trouble in children, which in turn starts affecting their skin via producing rashes or so. It is better to avoid stale products for self and baby especially when you are feeding a baby.

Well, these were the top 5 Essential Tips to keep your Baby's skin soft. These are quite proven, age-old, tried and tested tips that have always worked. If you have some more, share with us.

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“Pampers brings you the softest ever Pampers Premium Care Pants. Its cotton-like softness is #SoftestForBabySkin and allows it to breathe, thus keeping baby’s skin soft and healthy, and your baby happy. ”

Pic source: Daily mall, Telegraph

This Diwali Create Magic and Smiles with McCain

Athithi Devo Bhava

It's Festival time and our house is filled with discussions on what to make for Diwali especially for the visiting guests and family members. With every new arrival, a new challenge is thrown. What to serve to our guests?As the festival season is onset, everyone is eating Sweets and Samosas and, all those usual stuff, and grown quite off of them.

We were still wondering as to how to innovate and bring forth a new twist to usual snacks and savories in given time period. Something that is -

• Kind of standardized
• Doesn't take much time cooking
• Looks good to serve
• Traditional yet contemporary
• Liked by Guests- Young, old, kids alike

They say no, when you want to do something for others, universe helps you in finding a way, we call it creating magic. McCain ka Magic!

I stumbled upon this video from McCain and this has got me thinking.

Eureka! I have decoded the secret to spread a smile across the face, and that too in healthier and tastier way

Eureka Food with McCain
Time to put a smile on that face and many other faces. And smiles are doubled when shared. So this Diwali, we have chosen McCain Smileys as our smiling partner. It is time to create magic

So what did we do? We did a pilot cooking for Diwali savories with McCain. We took some greens, cheese, hung curd, sour cream, Ketchup, olives, onions, herbs, dry fruits, chocolate sauce, fruit cubes and more to create our own special McCain Canapes.

It is time to create Magic.

McCain Healthy Indulgences
To make this you would need-

McCain smileys
Hung curd
Iceberg Lettuce or Rocket Leaf
Grated Carrot and apple
Black-Pimento Olives
Chat Masala
Cheese

How to make-

• Take the McCain Smileys from the freezer and bring them to room temperature.
• Now grease an oven plate and place the McCain and bake on 180 degrees till it is well cooked.
• Take a tray and place a rocket leave or Iceberg Lettuce on it
• Transfer the baked McCain to a tray atop the green
• With help of a piping bag, squeeze hung curd at the centre of smileys.
• Time to dress it up. Sprinkle some Grated Carrots and Apple on it, add grated cheese
• Slice the Olive in two parts and place it atop at the centre of smiley
• Sprinkle Chat Masala on it as finishing touch

Voila your healthy and tasty McCain Healthy Rocket Indulgence is ready. Make this for your guests and we guarantee you that you gonna have house full and plate empty day.

Trust us on this, for you will soon be popular among your guests including the diet conscious and taste conscious junta who are just tired of eating same old sweets and savouries in Diwali.

At Haute Kutir we aim to bring happiness and smile. Cause sharing is caring. So do share your McCain experiences with us and we would love to showcase them on the blog.

Pictures? Come home on Diwali and we would be happy to host you with love, festivity and McCain Magic.

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5 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying a Home

Home is where a heart is. Hence, while buying a house that we plan to make our home, we need to put little more than just our hearts. I call it caution and carefulness. You can read them in the tips below-

Five Mistakes to Avoid When buying A Home

1) Going Overbudget- Oh you have seen that colourful Dossier from the Builder and, even though your budget is 2BHK, you want to get investing inside 3BHK flat at per SQ feet cost more than your budget? Hmmm since you made a budget, better is to follow it unless the margin of change is minimal enough.

2) Mistaking Advertised Super Built area as carpet area- Actual carpet area would be lesser than what is advertised. Read the fine print. Do a carpet Area Analysis and buy a house with higher floor efficiencies

3) Not Doing thorough Research before finalisation- The glitz, the increasing demand created by builder/marketer and indeed the low offer price may entice you. However, before you get lured in and finalis\xe, do check expert and social ratings of the project. Check out the other existing or completed project by the same builder and if possible, do check for feedback from existing buyer.  Remember, a stitch at a time saves nine.

4) Uncertain of your Tenancy- If you are planning to move to another city, you may want to contemplate projects there. A lot of people make mistake buying a house thinking to rent it out. Renting out a house is not easy unless the area it is in has a high rental value attached to it and is a location for rental merits.

5) Not factoring "Added cost"- Buying a house is not a cake walk. There is additional cost likes registration, maintenance, duties, utilities, property taxes etc that comes along and needs to be factored. It is not just your "rental amount" replaced with "EMI" but lot more. So do not forget to consider them.

Recently a friend of mine had a bad experience with a company called Realty compass. Do not let people or companies fool you in name of your dreams. Be well prepared and play safe. It is your money after all. Companies like Realty Compass etc are not worth your time and money.

Remember a smart investor is a happy investor. Weigh your pros and cons before investing into real estate and make your house a fond investment memory to live by.

Dabur Vatika #FrizzFreeHair with Indibloggers

Frizz is a hair condition when hair form into a mass of small, tight curls

Freeze is to harden into or be hardened into a solid by loss of heat

So when Indiblogger in association with Dabur Vatika, invited the female bloggers of Mumbai for a bright #FrizzFreeHair session, they had both- Frizz and Freeze in mind, to tackle towards freedom!

The invite read- Unlock the solution to Frizz Free hair, and the agenda spelt Registration followed by IndiBlogger Band, to 30 seconds of fame.

The product demo along with Frizz remedies was to be followed before you say- I'm hungry. But trust me, when I walked into the venue, with India and Playing, soon after their first performance ended, I shouted- I am hungry. Voila! They played some more numbers.

We need no Education meet

Surprisingly, when their last song ended which was - we need no education, we were joined by a big group of MBA FY students from NM College, including a male blogger friend- Rafaa.

The music got louder and we couldn't stop ourselves gyrating to same. Little did we realised that the session coming next is gonna be even louder, entertaining and fun.

There is one thing that I like about Indi is that they do not outsource their fun. In fact, they have their own home-grown Emcee who doesn't stop entertaining you event after event, be it Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore. Yeah! I am talking about the effervescent Anoop who is just the too much fun and entertainment ever since my first ever Indi meet.

Anoop, took the session by storm even if it was 30 seconds of fame or finding the "self-appointed weird blogger" or conducting Rock, paper, scissors game sans Spock.

The Launch

Team Vatika talked about hair, hair in Indian Movies, frizz, what causes hair frizz and more in simple and concise session. The launch was smooth, dramatic and quite appealing with the hall fragrant with Jasmine fresheners while a big human size bottle of New Vatika Jasmine emerged from the stage. 

Frizz Remedies

While the brand did showcase its solution for Frizz Free hair, Indiblogger team went ahead and asked the beauty bloggers about the different home-made tips they can share on controlling frizz. Some said eat Also, some suggested homemade shampoo, given my personal experience I rooted for my favourites- Hot towel therapy and Good diet.I guess it worked too as I recently heard from a co-blogger who was amused by my diet thingy and asked me further details about it, had gone for a blood check up to find her Vitamin D low. She has actively concentrated on Vitamin based food including multi Vitamin capsules and could vouch for the difference.

Whoa! Indiblogger you always makes us happy and hungry. Yeah the hungry us were treated with a delectable vegetarian delicatessen at BJ hall. And the IndiHospitality does not end there, for they have organised a hair camp where bloggers were getting to try the new Vatika Jasmine Oil along with a head wash and hair style session. Man! the woman loves getting pampered and rushed to the kiosk.

Indiblogger events- fun, laughter and good networking. Check this out-

After seeing my pictures from the event, I'm contemplating to open a laughter club soon. What say?

Male Grooming 5 Times Sharper with Gillette Fusion Flexball Shaver

 Holla all you metrosexual, uber cool man out there!

We know how much grooming and looking good is important to you. [as much important it is for us too ;)]

We know the struggle that you go through every morning for Roti- Kapda and Shave. While there is a little that we can do about the first two, we have something up our sleeves for the latter. So lather your stubble and get going with the new- Flexball Shaver from the house of Gillette.

Change the Game, with Gillette Fusion Flexball

Gillette, with its 100 years of innovation, built another technological breakthrough.  It aims to change the way a man shave. Gone are the days when a man has to scrunch up, stretch out, pulls or press his face to make sure that his razor does not miss any facial hair. Now, the men across the world can shave without all the above act with a razor that responds to their face contour. You call it magic, we call it breakthrough and, Gillette calls it- Flexball.

The Flexball technology responds to your face contour for maximum contact and gets virtually every hair. Wants to know more? Well here's the key features and benefits that it offers-

• The Flexball Handle Technology- The star of the show, with 4-way flex for maximum contact over contours. It comes with a well placed ergonomic grip for better control and manoeuvre.
• Blade Stabilizer- It's not just the flexi-handle but the technology that allows blades to adjust your facial contours
• Re-engineered Low-cutting force blades- It has not just one or three but 5 advanced, finer edged, thinner with low-resistant coating for effortless cutting through the hair, with less tug and pull
• Improved Precision Trimmer
• Enhanced Lubrastrip- To enable smooth movement over skin, even on repeat strokes. Though we do not think that with 5 blades, you would need repeat strokes.
• Streamlined Comfort Guard- This helps maintain optimal blade contact and stretches skin for a closer, more comfortable shave.

So if you worry about the few missed hair while you shave, try Gillette Fusion ProGlide. And that will make all the difference.

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Taste of Chettinad at Dakshin Coastal, ITC Grand Maratha Mumbai

When one of the finest Hotels of the country invites you to experience its one of the finest cuisine in the presence of maestro Chefs especially flown from south India hub- Chennai, think you can ever say no?

Neither did we. Having lived in Chennai, the good old Madras for some years, South Indian Cuisine is quite a favorite. If you combine its rich preparations with spicy punches of Chettinad and flavors from the coastal heartlands, you are inspired for some good gastronomic pleasure.

ITC Grand Maratha, located at Andheri Sahar, Mumbai was hosting a fest surrounding the "Coastal Cuisine" from Southern India at its flagship Dakshin coastal. Chef Sundar from ITC Chennai had flown in to stir some magical taste for a special feast, including a bloggers table. To know more about Dakshin Coastal at ITC Grand Maratha, do visit- page

Here's the exclusive blogger's table that was set for the 8 of us. On arrival, we were welcomed with the glass of warm, soothing Rasam and applam baskets. It came in two variant- 

Takkali Rasam - Tempered extracts of Lentils, Tomatoes, and Tamarind

Kozhi Rasam- Tempered extracts of Lentils, Tomatoes with Chicken and Tamarind

The Rasam and Appalam is one of my favorite Starters for a mild evening and really loved the balance tangy- spicy concoction. The menu was set by the chef in advance, and look nonetheless interesting. 

Chef Sundar talking about South Indian Cuisines and his approach towards the menu.

Before we proceed, let us have a quick brief about the cuisine.

About Chettinad Cuisine- Chettinad Cuisine is one of the spiciest and the most aromatic cuisine from the Chettinad, the southern part of Tamil Nadu. A region famous for its hospitality and food. It is famous for the variety of spices it uses like Fennel, Red Chilli, Star Anise [for aroma], Lichen etc, especially for non-vegetarian food. Most of the dishes are eaten with rice or rice-based accompaniments like- Appams, Dosais, and idlis. 

Haute Kutir Experience at Dakshin, ITC

The dinner was planned in three segments-

Arambham [The start] or say starters.

Bhojnam [Dining] or Main Course

Maduram [Sweets] or Dessert

The detailed menu can be seen here-

The thali was set with a traditional banana leaf along with necessary cutleries. The place smelled neutral devoid of any strong smell of non-veg food [in the interest of vegans]. Here are few glimpses-

If you were not enticed enough from the way the thalis are set [read with banana leaf], you would have drowned yourself in Rasam [ A lentil, tomato soup] that not just wonders to your tongue and shaken spirits but, is a good appetizer that helps in digestion and sometimes it soothes sore throat. Frankly, many places offer rasam but very few could perfect them. For us, this was awesome.

Given my love for Appalams [ Did I tell you that I was fondly called Poppadum by some of my high school mates?], I could have finished the entire dinner with mere Rasam, Appalams and Vazhappo Vadai with those finger licking chutneys. Yes, there were four variants of them and I just loved them. I am more of a chutney person than Sambhar ever. Wherein a lot of times, the chutneys decide the value of a restaurant or efficiency of its south Indian cuisine. Dakshin nailed that quite well.

The starters were good except for the Deep Fried Baby Corn that played 5th fiddle to Iyer's trolley and the vadai.

Since the main course took some time to serve, we took a quick view and visit of the cooking area including the live cooking station for Appams.

The kitchen looked clean and well arranged. Now we cannot wait for the main course further and gorged ourselves with another round of Appalam love.

The main course was good and the Katrikai kotu, eggplant cooked with lentils and spices, was the star of the show for me. My friend loved the lobster cooked in Coconut and onion mix.

If you are a Kadhi lover, must try- Okra simmered in tempered butter-milk.  I could have eaten them happily with even steam rice. Like I mentioned, Chettinad food is often served with a rice-based accompaniment, we were served thin Appams, parotha, and tomato rice. The appam were soft and went well with the spicy vegetables. However, the tomato rice could have been better.

Overall the main course was delectable and the spices were toned to suit the palate of different guests especially the foreigners.

A meal or any hospitality is never complete without a dessert. Well, we tried two different desserts including- Basundi [Saffron flavored milk reduction] and Pacha Payire Payasam [Green Lentil cooked in sweetened milk].

The best part about them was the balance of sweet. They were neither too sugary nor very heavy considering you had just finished a heavy, spicy meal full of rice and coconut. A perfect way to end the meal. In addition, there was Pan [Betel] just in case you want.

Haute Kutir Verdict- Being a fan of South Indian cuisine, it was a good gourmand fare. The menu is indeed vast and keeps on changing so as to avoid monotony. The ambiance was subtle, quiet and an absolute delight for your family and business dinner alike. If you are a fan of Coastal or south Indian Cuisine, this is indeed a great option in the city. Even if, south Indian cuisine meant only Idli, Dosa and Uthappam for you, you must try Dakshin at ITC Maratha to explore your taste for South Indian cuisine further. The meals are available at La carte and group buffet too. Except for the price that is 3k per pax which is Veg or Non-veg, which we found on a little higher side, the coastal fare was indeed brilliant for us. 

Our verdict is that if you love eating but not have tried much of this cuisine, you must give a try and treat your taste buds with the colorful coastal cuisine from Chettinad at Dakshin, ITC Grand Maratha, Mumbai.

Bon Appetite.

Haute Kutir

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Special Preview of Clarks AW 2015 Collection

When we featured Clarks X Orly Kiely in 70's inspired shoe collection, we got overwhelming responses from our readers,inquiring about the same. Good news to all those who love Clarks or love wearing good shoes, the Clarks and "queen of prints" Orly Kiely shoes are now available across the stores in Mumbai and Delhi.

One word- #MustHave. One Advice: Go, Grab it!

Introducing Clarks AW 2015 Collection

Needless to say, how Clarks had hit right spot at every shoe lover's hearts. Every women worth her salt loves to have a pair of Clarks in her shoe wardrobe. I too didn't believe this until I saw my niece picking up a pair of Clarks shoe over a very fancy brand that I thought would interest her more. I wasn't surprised but she was overwhelmed when I told her about my invitation from Clarks for a special preview of their AW2015 collection. 

Recently, I was invited by the beautiful team of Clarks India for a bloggers special preview . Our love for their shoes, Haute Kutir's focus on select yet good brands and a little pestering from the alpha pup [niece] made me accept the invitation and I am glad that I did so.

A Fun British Afternoon at Cheval Mumbai

What : AW15 special preview

Where: Cheval, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai

For: Clarks Shoes

Well we always believed that fashion is a lot about visuals. A lot of high end buying behaviors are based upon "what you see" and off course quality. A shoe lover would know what makes a good shoe and a good buyer can always estimate the quality of shoe and shoe making, seeing the basic cuts, stitches among others.

So at Haute Kutir, we thought that this time, we will keep the gyan away and instead showing you what you want to see. [Damn if you have to tell people about a brand like Clarks. Its like telling how good a brand Taj Hotels are].

Here's sharing the "real to life", almost unaltered, pictures from the collection for all our readers and friends of Clarks Shoes-

Ciao!

Haute Kutir

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