Loot. Pictures.

Some of the items brought back from India. Gifts I received, and items I bought for myself.
In the picture above are gifts I received from different relatives.

Gold earrings from my inlaws

Cute elephant earrings from a sis in law

fabric for making into an Indian outfit, from an aunt and uncle

A pretty watch from friends of my in laws

Now onto things I bought myself:

I love this mug. It has a vintage picture of an Indian woman on it.

Bindis, postcard packs of vintage Indian images,

The tunic part of my new outfit(seen in picture a few posts ago), a journal of handmade paper

Here's bags of things we brought home to give other people like my family and friends! I love shopping in India, especially for gifts.

If anyone wonders about the bindi(forehead adornment), in India most women wear that along with sindoor(red color at the part of your hair) to signify being married. So since most of the married women in my husband's family follow that tradition, I do as well while in India. It also makes me feel more secure while we are out, wearing obvious signs of being married.
Summer started while we were in India(Indian summer season) which is not an ideal time to visit. The only air conditioning at my in laws' was in the bedroom we slept in. A window unit. It was usually warm in the rest of the house. I say house but it's a flat, or like a condo because they own it not rent it. So in the rest of the house, ceiling fans were the only relief.

The first week and a half we were there, the temperatures were in the mid to upper 80's outside so inside it wasn't too bad with the fans on. But the last week it went into the 90's every day and got even more humid. So then inside the house with the fans out still was hard to handle, as a spoiled a/c loving American. :P It was very hot outside the day we took the picture below(and other pics like it). We only stayed outside for about 15 mins to take pictures then went back inside.
One day during the hotter week, I cooked lunch for the family. I was very nervous, making Indian food, since I felt like I was cooking for the experts! I made a potato/cauliflower dish, a spinach and paneer(indian cheese) dish, lentil(it's called dal), and rice. If you are familiar with Indian food you might recognize the Indian names of the dishes, but I will leave it more simple sounding. There was not even a ceiling fan in the kitchen, but I pushed through the sweat and hot feeling to make a meal that would hopefully please the family. They said they liked it a lot, it was their first time having an American cook them Indian food! They had no idea what to expect. Thanks to my husband teaching me Indian cooking tips over the years plus my own learning, I succeeded.

Here I am, after sweating in the kitchen for 2 hours!