A road trip to Kondapalli, Machilipatnam, Pedanna, Kuchipudi, Vijayawada, Mangalagiri

I am back from a weekend road trip that covered Kondappalli, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Pedanna, Kuchipudi, and Mangalagiri. It was a gorgeous drive, under beautiful skies, listening to good music, meeting some amazing people. I had great company and had some heart warming experiences. I also have about 1200 pictures to sort through. Here are a few for now with more coming in later.

These pictures were taken at the Machilipatnam Beach.

Mermaids

Our chariot

Old lady at the beach

Aah, to be young and carefree once again

And dance and play with gay abandon

Raam, friend, driver and another crazy cameraman

PS: We were supposed to go to Hampi but somewhere around midnight we changed our plans. :D I am sure glad we did.

Cake pops.

Dear Arundati,

Can we make these sometime soon? Please.

Love,
Ambica

PS: The recipe is here.

Mad World

I discovered this recently. And have listened to it so many times. It's super super. Enjoy!

The Mariott at Hyderabad

The Mariott is a beautiful hotel. I love the stone carved exterior which looks totally Indian and the decor inside which is a good mix of Indian and International.

Last night Y and I went to Okra, the coffee shop and spent a lovely evening. The staff was extremely courteous - from the doorman onwards and the paneer starter we ordered was delicious.

Go there for a relaxed quiet evening. And do sit by the poolside.

Off to Hampi

I visited Hampi in January this year. It was a mad trip with the other A and another friend from Hyderabad and four friends who drove down from Bangalore.

Am excited to be going again. Tomorrow. Yay!! :D

I also realized I have deleted all the photographs from my computer. I deleted the right album and have the wrong one saved. Ouch. Even though I have the lower resolution ones in my Picasa album. Ouch.

HOW COULD I BE SO FOOLISH? I want to kick myself and all such but will refrain from doing so now. Maybe later.

Ottoman. Attaboy.

Ottomans are pretty useful - use them as a centre table, leg rest or seating.

This DIY ottoman is super superb. Especially if you live in a small space and need extra seating or a leg rest. Use when you need and tuck it away under furniture when you don't. Awesomeness! 

I love the way various shades of blue have been put together. And the little pops of yellow?

I admit, yellow is one of my favorite colors especially in pops.

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I heart watermelon

What a cute idea to cut fruit with cookie cutters. I am definitely going to try this.
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A wolf in sheep's clothing

How awesome is this laptop case that looks like a book? Now where can i get one?

I found this on pinterest.

Chalkboard table

The other A and I played scrabble till late last night. I think we should get a table like this.

I love this map and chalkboard decor trend.

PS: Would you get a yellow table for your home?

PPS: I just might, but maybe a little more yellow. When i have a studio of my own.

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Drifter's Inn and the trip that did not materialize

Drifter's Inn

N, A and P planned a trip to Rishikesh and Jim Corbett. P dropped out. Then A was not sure. Soon Raam, Yamini, Nabila and the other A and me were part of this trip. Of course the plan had to be modified because 2 friends told me of the monsoons that made white water rafting and safari-ing impossible in July. So we did some research to find a new place close to Delhi. After I think about 37 phone calls, 65  google chat conversations, 25 google calls, and 100s of links exchanged between N and me, we finally settled on Manali and Spiti Valley. We booked train, flight and bus tickets and this really awesome place at Manali called Drifter's Inn. Today we would have been at Manali and would be leaving tomorrow for Rohtang pass and Spiti Valley. So I was really disappointed when the trip finally got cancelled. Until today, that is.

It's really sad about those people stuck there without food or water.


PS: Isn't Drifter's Inn a really awesome looking place? It was just right for us, not expensive and the kind of place we would have liked. (They refunded the entire amount immediately once I informed them that the trip is cancelled.)

PPS: I am keeping my fingers crossed. To go there sometime this year or next. And to see snow and touch it.

Comfort food

Noon Nembu Ghee Bhaat. That's what we call it. Steaming hot overcooked rice, lime slice, lots of ghee and a little salt. Mix and eat. As children we would love to eat this. For my 30 day photography project, I revisited this childhood memory and found that i enjoyed it as much now as then. 

What's your childhood memory?

Mad Men Recruiting

Ok. It's a game. But Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce offered me a copywriter's position. (And when I tried it again, they offered me Senior Partner based on some random answers i selected.)

If you like Mad Men as much as I do, go play their games.

Hyderabad bans plastic bags

Life without plastic seems tough. Hyderabad recently banned plastic bags of a certain thickness or less. Most shops don't give you a plastic bag for your shopping these days. The ones who do use the thicker recyclable variety which means you only get these bags when your buying things that cost more money.

I saw these E-coexist bags cloth appliqued bags at Daram recently. But I resisted buying them even though they said buy me. (Oh, this picture from their site does absolutely no justice to their product which is so much prettier actually. There are sea-horses and flowers and lots of others pretty appliqued motifs.)

I heart cloth bags. Do you?

Pic from E-coexists

Flowers in a bowl or a glass or ...

I love flowers. They instantly brighten my day.
And I love a bunch that's popped into a glass or a bowl or a serving dish or a bottle. Anything but in a vase.

The orange flowers are mine and the lavender ones belong to someone i found on the internet.

Aren't they lovely?

Try it today. Even if you have done it a zillion times before. And do share a picture with me tomorrow.

Chocolate truffles

My cuz Aditi left yesterday for a two-week course at the London School of Economics (how wonderful for her). I made these Chocolate Truffles getting my hands dirty and chocolatey. The recipe was shared by Aru, my answer to all things cooking. 

Try it. It's simple and you can't go wrong. Really.

PS: Though I used whiskey this time, the ones i had made with rum were yum-mmmmier.

Slingback clogs in red

I have been looking for red for my feet since forever. Everytime i see footwear in red, i stop to look at it closely. But i don't buy it. It's a silly obsession and i need to get over it.  Now I can't decide whether i like these or not. What do you think?

And you have any silly obsessions that you want to tell me about?

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River of Smoke

I read Sea of Poppies, my first Amitav Ghosh and I was completely in love. With everything about the book - the cover, the writing, the theme. I couldn't wait for the next book in the series. And now that it's released, I got it. Yeah. I ordered it on Flipkart.com and it's already sitting on my bedside table. Waiting to be read. But before that, I want to read the Sea of Poppies again. It really is that good. 

(And in the interim between book 1 and book 2 of the Ibis trilogy I got  me a few Mr. AG's books.The Shadow Lines I am still struggling with, not because it's not good but I am getting just too Internet-crazy-busy.)

(Am I jealous of Nabila because she has a signed copy of Sea of Poppies and met the man at a book reading in Bangalore. Damn!)

(Oh, the cover of the book is fabulous.)

(Sigh! Can't wait to start reading.)

If you want to read Mr. AG's interview with flipkart, here it is.

Found: Tiger in a jar

A recipe video that's divine.
Made by a husband-wife duo who run a little creative agency called Tiger in a Jar.
I am still drooling.

via Nags 

Everyone's got a story

{There isn't anyone you couldn't love once you've heard their story.}

I think it's true.

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Nine home remedies for a mosquito bite itch relief

Do you know why the mosquito went to the dentist? 

To improve his bite.

Ok, the rest of the post is not so bad. Honest. Read on...

I found this DIY home remedy poster to help relieve the pain and itchiness of that  bite. It's useful+non-chemical+cute.

Have a wonderful day free from mosquito bites and enjoy the super-fantastic weather (if you are lucky).

PS: Have you tried any of these and have they worked?

PPS:  For more such useful information head to Yumiverse.

Celebrating Freedom

The American flag inside a cake. What a lovely way to celebrate being American.

Happy Independence Day America!

Cake recipe on 17 and cooking. (and picture from there too!)

Map plus chalkboard.

Kids love to write / draw / scribble on the walls. A nightmare for parents. Why not add a chalkboard to the wall?

Yes, there's a map here too. No, I wasn't looking for maps. Not today.

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