Maps are all over the place!

I have been noticing maps and globes everywhere on the Internet - envelopes, gift wraps, walls, tables, cushions. It's quite a trend internationally and you can see the Earth or a part of it in trendy homes around the world. So how can you bring your home up-to-date and be a trend setter in this part of the world? Here's some ideas you can use and do share with me if you end up trying something.

1. Framed maps on the wall, wall art that won't cost you the earth. Fantastic. (I am liking the tripod lamp. Raam, this one's for you.)
2. Surround your favorite picture with a map. Brilliant.
3. An entire wall papered with an antique map? A great idea but will require someone with a lot of guts to try it.

4. Get a globe, splice it into half. Fill it with potpourri or shells. Beautiful earth.
5. Get an old window frame, distress it and fill map pictures.
6. Get a map lamp from etsy. This one's gorgeous.

7. Just because I may lose my heart to Paris.
8. Envelopes from maps. Simple.
9. Gift wrap with a map. Simple. Sweet.

10. Another wallpaper. With a map of Paris. In black and white. Je veux.
11. Framed on the wall. With red furnishings.
12. Framed and hung. Yet so happy.

1

13. Cushion covers from the etsy shop of mybeardedpigeon. If you are too chicken to try anything dramatic then this is the simplest way to go mappy (map+happy).

Don't you think this is a lovely way to decorate the house, if you love travelling especially? 

Do you follow trends?  I guess we don't follow trends in home decor in general and we follow trends only when it comes to fashion + clothes + shoes + accessories. 

Would you try any of these map ideas in your home?

Have you seen any of these map in Indian homes anywhere? 

And here's some maps with words to go 

one, two, three, four, five, and this DIY that is interesting.

Paisley Tuesday - My paisley top

In this photograph there is very pretty paisley top that i wore today. Magenta, white and black. Really pretty. I am not being lazy. Honestly.

Oh, i did post this photograph in the 30-day photography challenge. Not lazy. No. 

On growing older, and maybe wiser

Whatever will be will be. 

So you quit a job you were great at. (ex-colleagues and ex-bosses said this often enough.  especially since they said it after i quit.)
Without a plan.
It's scary but then you get used to the fear.
Especially when you are doing this for the third time.

So in answer to a question i am often asked about how do i keep busy:
Travel.
Plan.
Enjoy the Internet.
Plan to travel.
Think.
Shop.
Cook.
Write.
Take pictures.
Think about tomorrow and make castles in the air.
Travel.
Write.
Meet friends.
Plan some more.
Help people who need help.
Watch films.
Bake.
Surf some more.

I know I will continue to write, take pictures, shop and travel. And despite the haziness about the tomorrow I am content today. And tomorrow when i grow old, I want to be fierce, just like this lady who wrote this post thinks.

What are your plans for life? And how did you end up where you are? Do share. I would love to know.

What should I read next?

What should I read next? That's one question I find most difficult to answer.

This despite the fact that I always have a lot of unread books at home, I still go to bookstores to find myself a nice read. (do you do that too?)

And even though i read a lot, i am always undecided about what book to buy when i enter a book store - it's tough when there are so many to choose from.

And then, I came across this site - What should I read next? that helps you choose a book after you enter the name of one that you have read and loved. Pretty neat!

Try it if you face the same dilemma as me.

And do tell me how do you choose the books you buy?

1. Do you go by the author of the last book you enjoyed?

2. Do you check the bestsellers list?

3. Do you call your friends and ask for recommendations? 

4. Do you go by the book's cover?

5. Do you just go to the aisle of your favorite genre and pick one at random.

And do you need quiet when you ar reading? (I get irritated when someone calls me when i am reading. Or the doorbell rings. Baah!)

*****

 

Other book stuff I had to share. 

I so need a window-seat. Someday, I will have a window seat with fabulous light where i can snuggle up, lie-down, sit back and read. Till then I will read lying down on the bed. 

If you are looking for a gift idea for someone who likes to read - then how about this book buddy?

An illustration of a book-shelf. And someone's house of books. (where they are doing everything but reading!)

A book on a cupcake.

How about a bookshelf that looks like a tree? Or this one which looks like a tree too! And this one that vaguely reminds me of a tree. See this page which has 46 ideas for bookshelves. Or this one that hides the books.

Here's some advice from John Waters that i found pinteresting.

That's all for now. Have a lovely week and do join me in the 30-day photography project. 

30-day photography project

Are you up for this?

 

Not for name or fame or money or prizes.

This project's just for fun.

And to experiment with our cameras. 

We start Monday June 27 and end on July 26. 

One picture a day, following the rules in the poster, for 30 days. 

Upload the pictures on your FB page or your blog and please do share the link with me. 

You can upload the pictures daily, weekly or any other way you like.

Art of Photography

book: the art of photography

author: bruce barnbaum

source: flipkart / gifted by bila

published by: rocky nook

 if you are interested in photography then i recommend you get it.

It's got very good reviews.

you can read reviews on Amazon, Flipkart, and Photography Bay

i have read a few pages already and it's got me thinking. which i guess

is a sign of a good book.

Eggless Pineapple Cake

Awesome tasting pineapple cake that I baked for Somak's birthday. It vanished moments after it was cut. 

(It is not possible for me to be modest here. Sorry.)

I used the recipe from Wilton. Other than the fact that it took forever to bake, it's an easy cake to make. The frosting is a coconut + white butter one, and here is where i made the most mistakes. I didn't grind the sugar fine enough and I should have made a cream frosting rather than one with butter. But I guess that's how you learn!

PS: I replaced the egg with curd. 

Paisley Print

Isn't this such a pretty print? I would love to make a simple sleeveless shirt with a men's collar and add tiny ruffles. Can someone get me some?

On etsy.

Musings

i wish. 

to make beautiful things.

and not worry if anybody cares.

A Hugh Fan

Smokin Hot. 

After a long time.

HUGH JACKMAN

You think he's hot?

Or not.

(Get your eyes checked, if you don't.)

Again, love him more in his bearded avatar. 

Baking and other things

 

In the midst or rather the beginning of baking a cupcake for Somak's birthday, I realize I don't have oil. Ow. Then i find that the baking powder tin is also empty. Bah. So while waiting for the neighborhood grocerywala to deliver the needed ingredients, I sit and blog. About baking naturally. :D

See Meghna Punater's blog called Arth and Nitya. She takes nice pictures, makes nice drawings and bakes clay to make pottery that's dreamy. Go see. And do tell me if you love this drawing of a dog from Meghna's blog.

Time to go bake now. Enjoy your weekend people. And if the experiment with cupcake goes well, i will post em pictures.

Pottery pictures from Arth and Nitya. via Freeda's blog (the Koo Koo n Kute lady i had blogged about earlier).

5000 and counting!

Though i am still coughing my lungs out and my head hurts like it's being crushed under, i am super-happy. My blog which had been languishing since several years has touched the 5000+ visitor mark. No big deal for a lot of bloggers out there.... but for me, it's a huge huge achievement considering that i have been blogging regularly / seriously only since the last 3 months.

I shall now go back to rest / recuperate. Meanwhile, you can read Restricted Entry for a good laugh.

I will be back soon.

Have you been missing me?

For love

I’ll stop at nothing

To keep from breathing

To be with you where the sun will always shine

Just so that I

Can share the same white cloud with you
Tonight

via the quotebook

I want

i want this tag so bad. as bad as i want to keep wandering.

one of my favorite quotes. 

(i must confess here that i have never read any more tolkien than this quote.)

(but i want to.)

(and i will soon)

via joanna @ etsy

Craft Village from Pune

I saw Ketki Matkar Torane's Craft Village on FB

a few weeks ago and I had to share these here. 

Simple, elegant and bright with a dash of gold. Sweet.

 I am going to be ordering these cushions very soon.

I think these would look lovely on a dark colored diwan / day bed

or combined with printed fabric cushions. 

the mustard-magenta combination makes me ooh. 

only it won't match anything at home. 

but i can just see it on a cream colored fabric couch.

a room that's all is cream with these cushions.

divine.

*****

Don't you think they are lovely?

If you want these pretty squares for your home, 

then you can contact her here.

*****

I took a lot of pictures this last week and also uploaded them. (Finally)

You can see my clicks with the DSLR here. 

I also cooked, played table tennis and partied a bit.

A nice week. A nice holiday.

What have you been up to? Do share!

Friends and charts

Bila has just come from Bangalore and this is the atmosphere at our home right now.

Oh, we do prefer beer and breezer to champagne.

*Also see this medical chart, college chart and this one on parenthood.
*And this one on generating an idea. Cute. 

*One more, if you like dogs.

Now, I gotta go and play some TT and get some much needed exercise. You have a happy weekend! 

via joannagoddard & ilovecharts

Photography in the night

On the way back from Kung Fu Panda we stopped at Tank Bund .

My first (almost) night-time shots of Hyderabad. 

You may want to click on the pic to get a better look.

Talk to the hand

Mirrored

Mirrored II

Mirrored III

Whoosh

Figo

A false sense of quiet.

Buddha

Buddha II

Lines

With my camera, i am discovering new facets to the city 

that has been home for close to three decades now. 

Making me fall in love with it all over again. 

Despite the bad roads and bad public transport.

Kung Fu Panda kicks ass

Like i had said earlier, what's not to love.

We got to watch the movie on Sunday &

loved it enough to want to watch it again.

The detailing in every frame is brilliant. 

Loved it even more than the witty dialogues

 and their crazy antics. Oh, and i loved the

snake, even though i otherwise find them

eww-yucky. Brilliant movie. And there's 

this scene that would remind you of Rajni 

who can do anything. When Po finally 

finds Inner Peace.

***DONT MISS THE MOVIE***

Going around the Internet, Page 1

The weather has been nice and the sky spectacular these past three days. 

Here's hoping you have a spectacular sky to look forward to.

meanwhile take a look at some of the things i found on my web crawls...

funny

Do you punctuate? 

Wikihow tells you how, if you want to know.

cooking

Ice cream cookies. Shaped like flowers. Drool!

movies

Have you watched Eight Below?
If you like dogs, then you got to.

home decor

I think i want to make cushion covers inspired by this. 

listen

Oh yeah, before i sign off for today, 

here's something that made me laugh out. Loud.

It's called Mozzarellasura Linguini Stotram. Listen to it.

Mozzarellasura Linguini Stotram by krishashok

*****

Have a fabulous weekend! 
I am going to be attending my 5-year old nephew's birthday party and possibly watch Kung Fu Panda. And you?

Salman Khan's Ready

 Now, when the man is 47 do i go and fall in love with him. Call me mad. 

So we go catch the first day's second show of Ready. 

My parents, The other A's mother, his brother and wife 

and child and of course, Raam. Yeah, 9 of us.

The movie may be boring, pretty much so, 

but then did i really go to watch the movie? 

Just looking at him on screen was good enough.

Oh, btw, i dint realize the drinks and munchies were so cheap at CinePlanet.

Rs.15 for Popcorn and Rs. 10 for a bottle of water. 

I still can't get over it. :D

*****

PS: Guess who's going to be on Smokin' Hot this Monday then?

Eggless Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

 

When friends come visiting i entertain them by directing them to the kitchen so we can bake goodies together in the oven that we borrow from other friends.

We made Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits that tasted heavenly, but not quite like the biscuits i have had before (translated to not quite crisp but more like buns.)

We got the recipe on the net but adapted it a bit.

*****

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits / Buns

Preheat oven to 210 degree C.

Combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, 4 tsp baking powder,

 1 tsp baking soda, 2tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt in large bowl.

Cut ¾ cup chilled butter into little pieces and mix till you get sand like consistency.

Add ½ cup chopped coriander, 2 tbsp chilli flakes. Mix

Add 1 cup grated cheese and 1 cup buttermilk.

Mix till moistened.

Drop about ¼ cup  blobs on baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake at 210 degree C for fifteen minutes till top is golden brown on colour.

Wait for it cool before you dig in.

*****

If you end up making this, do let me know whether it turned out crisp!

Update: Biscuits in America are like this only. What we call biscuits, they call cookies....

Limited Edition Bags

Limited Edition. 

Just fell in love with these bags. 

How can i not? Indian kitsch and super-styling. 

love the combination of prints and stripes.

 

between the two which one would you choose? pink and black checks. or black and white?

hot pink and embroidery too. super-sexy.

love quilting. love the shape and the color too...

and this... all i can say is i do love to save the best for the last. 

*****

(i know a lot of people are scared of buying colored bags. 

my tip: don't over-match stuff. 

add more color to your wardrobe

and be a style diva. 

and a bag is the best accessory to add pizzazz to any outfit)

*****

i love cloth bags. and more the colors, the better it is. 

and you? you like leather? or fabric bags? 

all pics from Limited Edition

Hangover 2

And here i am, still wondering what on earth possessed me to go for part II.

Wafer-thin plot, inane jokes, grossness and too-much-in-your-face-silliness.

And on top of that, Bangkok is portrayed as a ugly place, which it really is not. 

Except for Brad Cooper who looks cute, there is nothing really to recommend this movie.