Family triumphs money

Yesterday was one of those weekends that was spent with extended family and it reiterates my belief that having a great family beats having more money,but staying alone.

We went to my husband's cousin's baby shower in the morning. Personally, I am not a huge fan of a grand baby shower. When I do get pregnant, I plan to host a baby shower too, but it would be an informal, intimate family function with a maximum of 50 people comprising of the first circle of families on my side and my husband's. But this function was elaborate. They had booked a huge party hall, decorated it with pink and blue balloons(they do not know yet whether they are going to have a boy/girl), there was a huge cake, tiara, sash, jewellery presents from the parents of the expecting mother, sari presents from the inlaws followed by a grand lunch fit for any wedding (they served chiroti :) )

Fortunately for us, when my husband and I went to this shower, we casually mentioned that we would be flying to Delhi this year end, and his cousin (the host of this baby shower) volunteered to give us his house key during that time as he would be here in our city for the delivery of his child. That means we would save around 7000/- that we are currently spending on a hotel. Plus, it is going to somebody's home, which means we have access to a kitchen so we can save some money on food as well :) This was something that we did not expect , the husband and I are still deciding whether or not to accept this generous offer from his cousin.

On another note, last evening we hosted a casual dinner party to my aunt's (my mom's elder sister's) family. I get along really great with my aunt's family and so it was a fun night. I have a cook, she had cooked a great spread and we had a great time. Cooking at home is always cheaper than eating out. There were eight of us altogether and I spent around Rs. 150/-  for vegetables and 100/- for some cashew-pakoda used as garnish. This was all the money that we spent. My mother-in-law took care of the dessert section with gulab jamon and mouth-watering payasam that everyone went back for thirds. We prepared some methi paratas, some mixed-veggies saagu, vangibath, tambuli, rasam, rice and mixed-curd rice. We have loads leftovers that can be used for today. The entire evening cost almost nothing, which is my favorite kind of evening well-spent plus of course we had an enjoyable time.

This makes me feel really happy, because I am in a place in my life where in I am at peace with my own life, with my family, with my inlaws, with my extended family and friends. I was not always like this. So I m blessed.