50 followers and a giveaway!!

Yay!! Thank you all my lovely followers, readers and commenters :) I love hearing from you. Your thoughts, opinions or just a "hello" means a lot. 

And so on this historic occasion [a li'l melodrama is always fun, ain't it?] I will be having a giveaway. Yippee!! I know, I love giveaways.
This one will be dedicated to all my followers and one lucky person shall receive a gift from a place that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! [Take a guess people].

Keep watching this space for more on the giveaway. Coming soon!!

Image via Google Images

Paper love

I am a VERY big paper hoarder :) At any point in time you will find at least 10 wrapping paper sheets (in all kinds of sizes though) at my place. This weekend was loads of fun, more so because I bought some more paper. Yay!! 

Friday we met up friends for dinner, Saturday I took mom and N to Mother Earth on Inner Ring road. I wanted to pick up some Tulika books, especially bilinguals, for friends and family abroad. N had a great time - plonking himself on the sofa next to the bookshelves and browsing through all the books. He kept pointing out at books that he had at home saying "Mamma, look, my book!". I got some great books and a golden metal Buddha bust (a separate show case coming up for that one). Mother Earth has a sale going on and you should check it out. There are some things available for a steal. 

Sunday was a relaxed day. S and I took off to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with my mom babysitting N. And I am so proud of N. As he's growing up he's listening better and being a great guy overall. He very nicely took in the news that dad and mom will be going out for some time. According to my mom he played with her, solved a few floor puzzles, had his lunch, watched a cartoon and then napped. Love you baby!!  S and I grabbed a drink after the movie like the good 'ol days and felt happy just chilling out. 

Now to my love for paper. This is what I have currently. 

I have all sorts - the formal prints to the funky and weird ones.

I picked these 2 sheets (from the right) from Mother Earth yesterday (they are from Chumbak). You can pick them at Orange Bicycle also. The alphabet one is from Landmark, Koramangala and is a cute thingy for wrapping those little one's gifts.

These assorted sheets were picked up at various places. The topmost pink, purple, off white and red were a set of 5 sheets with gift tags from Crossword Koramangala.
The grey and purple satiny smooth was again a set of 2 sheets of paper + 2 gift tags and 3 mts of ribbon by Etcetera (picked from The Orange Bicycle store, couldn't find Etcetera online. If you know their website or FB page please let me know).



I also keep some tissue paper sheets (its very thin bright coloured paper) to stuff in gift bags. Some of the colours are really bright but they look good in neutral or pastel coloured gift bags.



I also like gift tags, ribbons and other gift wrapping accessories. These are my latest buys - The elephant gift tag/card is from Haathi Chaap and is made from recycled elephant poo. Don't worry it is completely hygienic :) I picked it from the Dastkar Bazaar.
The one behind it, along with the pink sheet at the bottom, is from Temple Tree. I picked this at a Christmas exhibition last year and still haven't the heart to part from it ;)

Check both these out, they have a lovely collection of products. If you are a paper lover, you will definitely drool :)

 Linking in to Patty's Weekly Story party and Tanya's Tea-Time Thursdays party.


                       









Happy Monday!!!

Cookies and Salsa

I get the inspiration to cook like the monsoons in Bangalore. Somedays there is nothing - zilch, a very dry spell. Whatever the cook makes, we shall eat.  And on other days there are heavy showers of motivation and an intense desire to cook something. Last week we had one of those heavy shower days and the after effect was very pleasant and mouthwatering.
And I started watching Nigella Kitchen recently so am inspired all the more :) Cheers for Nigella Lawson, the hot sexy mama who cooks awesome food.

I collected some of these beautiful coloured veggies and roasted them in the oven.  

I added these for some tangy yummy flavours.

Pulsed them in the mixer and made this hot tangy roasted tomato and capsicum salsa.

What's salsa without some nachos? Umm, yumm and like N says "Yummy in my tummy" combo.

But that couldn't satisfy my sweet tooth. So, I took these ingredients (in pic below) along with some butter and sugar.

And made these simple, flavourful and melt-in-your-mouth cookies.

If you need exact recipes or process, let me know, will share.

Linking this in to Patty's Weekly Party and Tanya's Tea-Time Thursday!














Happy Monday!!

Edited to Add - Here is the recipe link for the cookies (It is by Rachel Allen) - http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/8947/basic-cookie-recipe
I modified the basic version, slightly, by adding Hersheys cocoa powder and reducing the amount of plain flour to accomodate the cocoa powder. You can go light or dark based on taste and colour preference. I added some crushed walnuts too. And ofcourse I did not want to make 35 cookies, just a trial sized amount so I reduced the quantities by 1/4.
Happy Baking!
The salsa was as simple as the pictures show - just roast/grill the veggies (tomato, onion, capsicum, green chilli (as hot as you want) and garlic) in the oven/microwave (use grill mode). Then blend them along with the coriander, lemon juice, salt and some cumin seeds. Now dig in with some nachos (for the ideal combo) or some chips :)

Featured on Prismma - the design and decor magazine

Yay! Moi is very happy :)
Prismma is a design and decor magazine. It has 3 formats - a magazine, website and news blog. They have some beautiful home tours, decor tips and blogger show cases too.

My entry for Vignettes and Tablescapes was chosen and featured in one of their articles - here.
Go on, check it out.

100 ft - Boutique. Bar. Restaurant.

My mom is visiting us. She offered to baby sit N while we went out for lunch one Sunday. I wanted to go to 100 ft since quite some time. S and I had been there P before marriage. I wanted to revisit the place to re-live those memories. And the place is beautiful as ever. In fact it has become better. I loved the ambiance, food and the boutique.
100 ft is bang on the 100 ft road in Indiranagar. So no complicated directions, going round and round or getting lost. They have valet service for parking so saves you the hassle of finding parking space.



They have 3 areas for dining - the open courtyard on the ground floor, an indoor dining area surrounded by the boutique and the covered terrace on the 1st floor.

The gound floor dining area has a mini lotus pond with splashes of teal blue thrown in. Love this colour. Notice the chairs below. There is a bar on the ground floor.

The dining area in the boutique.

The lovely shaded terrace seating. If you want this location on a weekend, making reservations is a good idea.

The boutique had unique, funky, eclectic, kitsch kind of stuff. Eye candy kinds too.

Home decor stuff by Mukul Goyal like the wine bottle rack above. I like his creative twist on regular home decor things.

Vintage hindi film posters.

Coffee mugs and glassware. And yes, that's me in my peep toes. I love love love peep toes - in heels, flats, any form.

Cookie tins from Chumbak

More from Mukul Goyal

Funky umbrella anyone?

Notice the antique lamp shaped candle stands?

Chai ketli painted with hindi movie names

And shoes, so many of 'em!

The boutique is a shopper and collector's paradise. I could spend hours there. Sigh!

The restaurant was great. There was a bar in the terrace restaurant too. Loved the chef's specials of the day. The food is true to the cuisine - Mediterranean.

Service was quick and efficient - the servers did not hover around irritatingly and were around just when you needed them. In fact when I asked for my drink to be changed they did it quickly and with a smile.

This is a place I would definitely recommend if you love your pastas and wine. Oh did I mention that they have a good collection of wines.

Edited to add - The place welcomes kids. But IMO, if you have active adventurous brats, like mine, who like to see, touch and explore things, it is better to leave them at home and enjoy your lunch/dinner in peace.

Linking in to Patty's Weekly Party and Tanya's Tea-Time Thursday. Have a great week ahead!

Flower Show at Lalbagh, Bangalore.

Friday was a holiday for kids at school and so a friend, A proposed that we take them to the flower show at Lalbagh. So came morning and N was woken up promptly at 7:00 AM. He was more than happy to oblige even though it was a holiday. The excitement of going somewhere was more than enough.After bags were packed with a set of spare clothes, a hat, water bottle and enough snacks to keep an army happy, off we went. Traffic wasn't that bad and the weather was pleasant.
Once we were there, we were treated to beautiful sights in all colours. 
Though I personally felt that the flower show is a hyped up event. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to look at and spend, maybe, 30 minutes, but other than that its nothing great. You can spend time in Lalbagh taking a walk, other than at the flower show.
Anyways, here are the visuals. Again a-too-many-pictures-post!

Did you notice the bunny rabbit in green in the pic above?

The yellows

The reds

The star of the show was this...

A replica of the Baha'i Lotus Temple in Delhi made with white roses, carnations and greens.

Replacing the wilted flowers with fresh ones. My mom was sad about the fact that so many wilted flowers would go into the bin.

Chop chop chop the stems to make the flowers the right size.

Carnations anyone?

Anthuriums

Some flower arrangements

The kids enjoyed watching the water fountain

And they even learnt about trees, roots and trunks from A.

Today is the last day of the Flower show, so go on and catch it if you haven't done it yet!

Linking in to Tanya's Tea Time Thursdays at Kreative Korner!

And to Patty's renamed linky party The Weekly Story! 

New header image

I wanted to change the blog header image. I picked these elephants up at the Dastkar Bazaar last weekend. And they seemed just perfect for a header image along with my mother's green saree as a backdrop!

Though I wish I could do something smaller for a header image. I love Anu's header over at My Dream Canvas and have always wanted to mimic hers. But that just doesn't happen in spite of efforts on Piknik :(

I'll leave you with another glimpse of my new elephant pair.

More about these beauties and my other picks in another post.

Dastkar Bazaar in Bangalore

Dastkar is back! It is on at Palace Grounds (Gayathri Vihar entrance). From 5th to 14th August. 11:00 am to 8:30 pm every day.

I went yesterday with friends and family. We were there by 11 am so we escaped most of the traffic and crowd. Spent about 3 hours there - including the food breaks. Got to see the puppet show and dances. N loved it and so did I, like last time. Picked up some stuff too. I feel like going again - one more round of feasting my eyes with things from all over the country. Lets see if that happens :)

Here are some of the people and things at the Dastkar Bangalore (Nature) Bazaar '11.

WARNING - Picture heavy post!

The colourful canopy

Kites in all shapes and sizes

Cloth wall hangings in bright colours

Photo frames and other accessories from Assam

Bells, anyone?

Jewellery from West Bengal

haathi chaap is also there - yes they actually make products from elephant poo. Read more here.

Of course there were performances and music at regular intervals.

Beautiful kantha work sarees and dress material

Colourful things from Gujarat

There were lively dance performances which were enjoyed by everyone present!

 

Linking this in to Patty's Weekend Wrap Up and Tanya's Tea Time Thursdays. 

Happy Monday!!