Vivanta by Taj

I had gone to Viva, the coffee shop at Vivanta by Taj with a bunch of friends before it was officially open and loved the place - the menu is interesting, the food presentation gorgeous, and the lobby music / interiors fresh and refreshing.

We weren't too hungry and we ordered very little but all of it was superb. I went in for the dessert platter from the buffet which was sumptuous (and quite a bargain for Rs 250 + taxes). We also ordered some potato starter whose name i have forgotten that was sexy-yummy. The boys vouched that the kheema-khichdi was fab too.

So do go try it soon when they are new and working hard to please!

{Pic from the VbT site. If you'd like to go you can find more information on VbT here.}

A surprise concert - Prem Joshua

I first came across Prem Joshua's music when i purchased a CD from the flea market on my Goa trip with Yamini (yes, the same guest blogger who writes even shorter posts than i do). The collection was called Shiva Moon and it was love at first sound.

So yesterday, when J, my dearest friend, called to ask me if i wanted to go to the Vivanta by Taj opening, i politely declined. When he told me Prem Joshua and ensemble were going to be performing, the no became an yes immediately. How could i miss this since i totally love fusion music.

The glitterati donned in their sparkly shiny  clothes and flashy jewels (read: seriously over-dressed) were busy hob-nobbing, air kissing and generally making sure they were being seen and heard. The concert was exquisite, even though there was no seating and you had to stand to listen, and really there were only a handful of us who were really there for the performance. (I think at one point i even said, that this is like a wedding orchestra, who are there just to provide the background score. Sad really that we treat artists with such disdain.)

I had gone in knowing i'd feel seriously out of place but strangely i dint feel all that uncomfortable. Maybe it was the effect of the scotch or maybe it was the music, but i surely did have a grand time.

If you'd like to listen to Prem Joshua, here's something to get you started - Monsoon Journey and Flight of the Swan.

Please accept my sincere apology Prem Joshua and ensemble. There are some of us who don't yet know how to behave in concerts. This time of course, the setting contributed largely to our behaving like we did. 

Movies i missed and want to see..

Rajneeti
Aisha
Guzaarish
Rockstar
The Dirty Picture
Sherlock Holmes 2

Anyone have a DVD they don't mind lending? Of course, i will take care, and return in the same condition. Promise.

I heart potatoes

Who doesn't love potatoes?

You can boil, fry potatoes, roast them, grill them, bake them, burn them even and they will still forgive you, and taste divine.

And when you patiently use a cookie-cutter and cut them in heart-shaped bits, then it would make a lovely tiffin-box treat for your loved one. (Valentine's Day celebrators anyone?)

Makes me think now why didn't i think of this?

{found on a really delicious blog - Haniela's food and photography}

PS: I know one person, just one, who doesn't like potatoes. Silly girl!

Hello!

Good Morning! I know it's almost afternoon... but hey! i don't really start my days early ever... not even when i am working... unless it's something i can't avoid.

So how do you start your Mondays? With moans and groans, suffering from a bad case of the blues?

And how was your weekend? I had gone to Bidar with a friend with who i had never travelled with before. But it was like we had known each other forever.

Pics and the story later (Later is like my new favorite word, don't you think? But since I have to rush now, i really have no choice!)

Meanwhile, here's wishing you a fun-filled adventure-filled week.

Have a good one!

  

Lo chali main

I am off to Bidar on a road trip today and will be back tomorrow. Bidar has a fort and is home to the artists who create Bidri work.

I have been looking forward to go there since quite some time now and hope that it is all that i think it will be. Wish me luck :D

Craft + History - what more could this Material Girl want?

{Bidri plates from here. More on Bidri art here. And Bidar tourism here}

Tee to tote

Hey there! You can make these if you have a sewing machine. You could use a tank top / spaghetti strap / sleeveless top that you dont wear anymore (rather than let it just eat valuable wardrobe space)

Isn't this a lovely idea? I don't (yet) have a sewing machine but i know someone who does so i am going to try making them soon... will you too?

{find the how-to here on CraftNest}

Skinny denims

I have just one pair of jeans. Ok, that's not really true. I wear only one of the several pairs i own. The rest just languish in the wardrobe and eat up valuable space.
(Am i the only one who does this?) 

So this one pair that i had been wearing / abusing were in a pretty dismal state and i needed at least one more that i love. Yamini needed to get a pair too. The pair of us headed to Levi's to try out their CurveId fit. And we were impressed.
(Go try! CurveId rocks. Or would you like to recommend something nicer to me?)

We both needed to get a size smaller than what we usually wear (what we usually wear is actually a size larger, perfect on the hips but loose on the waist).
(Do you face a similar problem with your chosen brand of denims as well?) 

While Yamini chose boot cuts, i chose skinny. I don't know what she got, but i needed Bold curve.
(i am loving the way it looks on me, making me look slimmer! Yay!! *GRIN* And yes, my denims look exactly like the one in the pic above!!)
(What style do you wear mostly - follow fashion trends and wear what's fashionable or do you have a specific jean fit that you almost always get?)

{Image courtesy}

PS: The best part of the shopping was that i did not have to pay anything! Thankies Yamu... I will think of you as often as i wear them which i know will be very often!

PPS: If you live in Hyderabad, then you must head to the Levi's store in Secunderabad, near Shopper's Stop. The girl there is extremely patient and super-helpful. 

And Google doodles again

Love this Google doodle that they have done to mark our 63rd Republic Day.

I got lazy and missed the Republic Day parade even though i wanted to... did you get to watch it?

{More google doodles}

PS: The other A's cousin marched in the RD parade years ago when he was younger. Apparently, if you work for the Government of India, you get brownie points if you have participated in the RDay extravaganza at Delhi. 

Illustration Love: Alphaville

How amazing is this illustration of the alphabet by Gwenola Carere?

{This and more gorgeous illustrations on ShelleysDavies}

PS: Have you also heard a lot of people use the word Alphabets incorrectly. They don't realize that it is either the letters of the Alphabet or the Alphabets of different languages. 

Imany

Imany was recommended by a friend recently and when i heard her, i fell in love with her songs and the music. The first song i heard was called Slow Down and reminded me of Tracy Chapman (Fast Car, i can listen to on loop and it's ironic isn't it that Imany's Slow Down reminded me of Tracy!)

PS: She is one gorgeously pretty babe, don't you think? Find more pics here. 

Booted

I never ever ever ever thought i'd wear these some day. But i did. That too these, which were knee length and had heels (and lent by Sangeeta, the friend from fashion school i met on my trip to Delhi).

What do you think of my boots? Do i 'rock it', as they say or not?

PS: The bag is from Westside and my current favorite. I dilly-dallied and didn't pick them up for the longest time and finally gave into the temptation. The best part is it can also hold my laptop.

PPS: Did you notice my eyes. Oh, you can't. Coz they are covered. By my new yellow Ray Ban aviators :D

PPPS: I got boots for myself too (picture coming up soon). And i was almost strip-searched at the airport. Take off boots and jacket, mam, i was told! 

Bookmark this quick

Ok, how adorable is this page corner monster bookmark?

{If you want to make these, you can find the instructions here. And also find instruction to make paper pillow gift boxes.}

To old friends and Facebook

Between last week and now, i have travelled from Bikaner to Delhi, spent two days catching up with old friends from fashion school after umm, fourteen years (doesn't that make me sound really old?), travelled back home (which was even cleaner than when i left, more than 9 weeks ago; umm, yes, wayyy cleaner) spent a weekend in a resort to celebrate Sunny Side Up turning five (more on that later) and getting my hair cut and a tattoo (more on that later as well).

Phew!

I will be back with more later today (or tomorrow) but i did want to come and say hello.

So hello. Hope everything's great at your end. Have a lovely week.

X0X0
Binki (That's one more of my nicknames. Did i tell you i have many many?)

PS: From L to R - Sandeep Mahajan, Sangeeta Singh, Me (in killer knee high boots that you can't see but i wanted to say it, and yes, more on that later) and Amit Khare (Sangu's darling hubby).

PPS: Sandeep, Sangeeta and i studied together, but got busy with life and lost touch with each other. FB helped me find them. So Thank You Facebook. No matter what people say, i will always be grateful to you for helping me find them.

PPPS: I also met another friend - Pratima, who dished up yummy Andhra food that SS and i were both just dying to eat. And yes, more on that later.  

Just add some sunshine

Wherever you, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine.

And be happy always. Have a lovely, sunshiney, gorgeous weekend.

XOXO
Material Girl

And so we end the Sunny week. Accept my apologies, if you think i went overboard with all this yellow.

{from}

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This is one of the most hauntingly lovely movies i have seen. The entire movie is almost dark, kinda surreal, but very beautiful.

It reminds us how love is, with its warts and wrinkles and pains -  nothing is ever perfect and we must learn to accept life and love as it is.

If you haven't watched it yet, you must do so. Soon, before you forget. 

When life gives you lemons

When life gives you lemons... you are in for a yummy meal. Oh yes, i like it sour... :D

I squeeze a lime wedge over any savory curry / dish / vegetable that is unpalatable or palatable and immediately, i can easily eat double the quantity.

What's your favorite food flavor?

{lime picture from Pinterest}

PS: There's, quite appropriately, a lime tree growing in the SunnySideUp office premises. Yielding tons of lemons. Give me a buzz if you want some. 

Illustration love: Jason Munn

This illustration would be perfect for a study.

{Jason Munn on BaubauHaus. Find loads and loads of fabulous illustrations on BBH.}

A bento lunch

This sunny sandwich looks cute, doesn't it? It's part of something that Japanese women spend a lot of time and effort in preparing for their husbands and children - obento / bento

A bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal that consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables imaginatively and creatively packed in a box. 

If you want to know more about Bento, then read it on Wikipedia.

If you want to see more interesting and creative Bentos, then you can go here.

{photo via}

Wise Mr. Whitman

Keep your face towards the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.

Must remember. Must do.

:D

{found on Apartment 34}

Mr. Sun Cupcake / How do you present food?

I don't know how people find the time, energy and patience to get so creative with food. By the time i am finished cooking, i just have time enough to sprinkle some coriander and that's the most i can manage. I do a little bit more when i bake but again my knowledge / skill is extremely limited...

What about you? How creative do you get with your garnish?

{image from Betty Crocker}

Shabby chic?

There is something about this room i am totally loving - wrinkles and all. Maybe it's the painting. Maybe not. What i love most that it looks lived in and totally comfortable.

{found on Apartment Therapy}

When you plan on having a whale of a time

When you plan on having a whale of a time... you need lots of tissues handy.

{Whale tissue holder available in other colors as well. But why would you buy anything but sunny yellow?}

PS: SunnySideUp turned 5 yesterday. I am celebrating with yellow. You will find something sunny here. All this week. 

Sunshiney Macarons

I have yet to find a recipe for macarons that does not need eggs. Please do share if you find one.

Of course, the macarons have to be yellow.

{pic courtesy}

Little Miss Sunshine

A close look at an American family that's slightly dysfunctional. Go watch. It's entertaining. 

Daisies are so sunny

Here is one way to choose the colors when you want to do up a room. Find a picture whose colors you really like, break it down, and there you are... the colors that will all work to make a room look and feel fresh and sunshiney and bright and pretty.

The easier way

{The easier / smarter way would be to go visit design-seeds and find a photo collage you like.}

PS: For all those looking for design or color inspiration, Design-seeds is a must visit. 

Double yolked decor

This is silly, but it kind of goes with the Sunny Side Up theme i am doing today so please just bear with me.

Happy Birthday, Sunny Side Up

{via}

Sunny or silly

Do you think you can work this look? I definitely can't. 

You are my sunshine

Sweet sweet song. Don't you like love old numbers? 

Yellow boots, can you imagine?

Yes, they rock. And ok, there are not really yellow. More like mustard. But they rock. And mustard is a shade of yellow...

{Aldourie fling booties from Anthropologie}

Embroidered sunshine

I remember when i was in fashion school, we had to learn to embroider. i hated the embroidery classes. It was slow and painstaking and you had to be extremely patient - which i most definitely was not.

So when i found this, i had to post it. It's so freaking gorgeous. I cannot imagine the number of laborious hours the person must have taken to create this work of art.

{via}

PS: Can you embroider? My friend / guest blogger Yamini knits and Aru, she knits and crochets. And Bila, she is a closet Martha Stewart.

PPS: Can you see the crocheted sun shining? After all, Sunny Side Up turned 5 today...

Yellow Lovebirds

How about you find a nice illustration of a couple or birds and gift that to a newly-wed couple, rather than the ghisa-pita clock, bedsheet, or mixer?

{On Suzy's etsy shop for $20}

How you can rock a yellow cardigan

Team it with neutrals obviously :D

Of course, the yellow is really strong and most of the people i know would totally hate it, but me, ahem, i am totally loving it.

{the olmeto cardigan on toryburch for $175}

The Sunny Side Up of Life

5 years ago
5 people came together
(4 actually, 1 came in a little later)

Fire in their bellies
Smile on their faces
(And a little bit of fear too)

The 4 worked long hours
And many many nights too
(While the 5th, just watched from the sidelines)

It was tough to break in
The timing was all wrong
(But not for a moment did we think or say it)

5 years now, Sunny Side Up has grown
There are 15 of us now, or maybe more
(And all set to shine brighter and sunnier)

Happy Birthday, Sunny Side Up :D

Yellow!

I hope you are out flying kites and not sitting in front of the computer like i am :D

But if you are reading this, then i just wanted to tell you to come visit the Material World tomorrow. Normally, i don't post anything on Sundays, but tomorrow, tomorrow is a very special day and there are a lot of posts coming up that i am sure hope you will enjoy.

And then i am planning to take a week-long blogging break. So, if you'd like to guest blog in the coming week - this blog is all yours.

Have a fun Sunday!

PS: Or this blog is going to be lonely. Send me an email to ambicasrimal@gmail.com for your guest posts.

PPS: Anil, your post is coming up this week!

Happy to you, from me

Happy Pongal / Sankranthi / Lohri / Bihu.

Cheers to the first festival of the year that celebrates the harvest.

Here's to good things, always.

XOXO

PS: This is Basava, who i got on our Coorg trip from Chennapatna.

UPDATE: If you are looking to make the festival food but don't know how... Aru has just posted Pongal recipes.

What can you do with Silica Gel?

Lots, apparently. This humble sachet that you find in almost everything you buy - jackets, electronics, shoes has so many uses that after you read this, you won't toss it into the bin like you usually do.

{pic borrowed from popular mechanics where u will find what you can do with Silica Gel}


PS: Keep the sachets away from little ones - the two legged and the four-legged, both.

Shooting the moon

I haven't been able to take a good shot of the moon yet. The other day, on the Lunar Eclipse, i tried and failed miserably. There are some people however, who shoot the moon and do it well. Take, for instance, Laurent Laveder, a french photographer who shot these pics of the moon. Aint it lovely?

Find his portfolio here and more moon shots here

Illustration love

Quirky and sweet. Simple and beautiful. This would make such a delightful gift, don't ya think?

{find more on studiotuesday's etsy shop. }

ps: if there was one thing i wish i could do, it would be to be able to illustrate.

pps: am i sharing more about me than you'd care to know? 

The font wars

Love this, do you?

{on etsy}

How to wish your wife on your wedding anniversary

Crazed Ad Man whose videos i posted last evening, made this to wish his wife. If you think, you are the most patient person on earth, you thought wrong, obviously.

There is nothing quite like a real book

If you think this is insane

Then what will you say to this

PS: This is all over the Internet but i loved it so much, i had to post it. Just in case, you haven't seen it yet. 

Dikhayi de yun

Have been listening to a lot of soulful ghazals since yesterday. Missing home just a little bit and feeling a little blue. Maybe i should change my playlist...

Fossil Henley Slippers

Something to keep your feet warm in - Henley slippers from Fossil for $18. Total cuteness.

I love the simple design with just the little bit of the viridian green of the lace.

{buy here}

PS: Don't ask me why i was browsing through the Fossil web store. 

Tumbling about

So i stopped the 365 day blog coz i just couldn't keep up. But i started posting some of the pics i clicked on Tumblr.

I am still trying to figure out a lot of stuff including a nice theme and all.

Any help / suggestions are welcome.

Do see and say. (You will have to come and say it here coz there i still need to figure out disqus to allow comments.)

Design interpreted

Agree / disagree?

{found}

When i miss Happy Singh...

... and i can't find stray dogs around to play with, i pet camels.

Have a playful day, you all!

The fire dance at the Ladhera Camel Festival

Last evening i travelled 60 kms to Ladhera, a small village that is hosting the camel festival. There were camel races, traditional games, camel decoration competitions, and some other activities lined up. I, as usual, started late and reached late and missed almost everything except the cultural program that was also about to end. However, i still came back happy.

Here's why:

I got to catch the most amazing dance performance i have seen to date. The Jasnathi men of Bikaner perform the fire dance. The mood was sombre, quite unlike anything i have seen in Rajasthani culture before. A fire is lit on a stage with charcoal and wood. Men attired in white dhoti-kurta and yellow turbans walk / dance around the fire to a strangely sombre music of cymbals. They jump, clap and suddenly one of them will walk on to the fire and stand on it or sit on it. Not just for a split second either. They will also reverentially walk up to another seated man who will give them a glowing ember that they will eat and then spew embers out of their mouth. The men appear to be in a trance-like state through out. Finally, they kick the fire around and the dance ends.

Phew! Very strange and totally worth a 120 km drive. Of course, we also played on the sand, kicking and throwing it around like 6-year olds. And also took a ride on a camel cart that was super fun. And ended the evening with a dinner at a Dhaba.

(That's the 4 of us who went to LCF - Mohit, Prerna, Pooja and Me)

Ruh kamzor si hai

दिन के उजालों को ढूंडती, 
शाम की हवाओं को चीरती,
आज मेरी रूह ज़रा कमज़ोर सी है! 

A friend rediscovered her love for writing. After reading this beautiful poem on her blog i wanted to share  it with y'all...

{Read the entire poem here on Yamini's blog Random Sufi.}

PS: This one's a different Yamini, not the guest blogger you all met. And the photo here, i clicked this on my trip to Machilipatnam. Have a lovely sunshine-y day dearies!

I need an Ikea

I always want a zillion things from Ikea. On our last trip to an Ikea city, i made sure i went to the Ikea store there and spent a few happy hours browsing and looking at all the beautiful products and displays.

Raam is off to Dubai and though i'd love to give him a list that is a kilometre long of the things i want form Ikea, i am going to exercise restraint.

Meanwhile, do tell me what you think of this hot pink 3-seater modular sofa? Too much?

Oh, if you are looking to get yourself a sofa, go look at the Ikea catalog for ideas / inspiration (and wonder why you can't just go buy; so much easier and cheaper that getting it made!)

PS: Aru, am thinking of you and the hunt for the sofa while i am writing this. An Ikea here would have made our life so much simpler, don't you think?

PPS: I haven't told you already, have i, that i think Ikea is totally fabulous. 

Tie a knot

Whenever there's a wedding in our family, there's one person in demand - the one who knows how to wear a tie. All the men wait impatiently for their turn and this one person goes all nuts trying to help everyone. Hopefully, i should now be able to help the poor hapless person who knows how to tie the perfect knot.

{found on Lauren Conrad's blog}

Would you like to build a terrarium?

With all the space-constraints we have, living in little boxes, terrariums are the perfect way to bring in green into our homes. Learn to make them here.

{photo via Brittany and Dylan's clean slate}

PS: The place where i have been staying since the last 5 weeks is big and open with green grass and blue skies. There are some foggy mornings, late sunrises and cold, windy evenings and then there is the constant sound of birds singing followed the chirping of crickets in the evening. It's always pretty spectacular here in Nal during the winter and when i return home, i will definitely miss the gentle, peaceful life of Kushlayatan. 

Sherlock Holmes: A games of shadows

*Sigh*

My dear darling friends: this is what i want for my birthday. A date with the man. Or the next best: a girlie date where we go watch A Game of Shadows and i can drool.

*Sigh*

{more RDJr here}

Pinkie monsters

You must go meet the absolutely adorable pinkie monsters that my friend Somak has created. He is the Creative Director at Sunny Side Up and a total genius - he paints, writes, is a brilliant photographer, plays the guitar, sings, and also plays with clay.

In his words, Pinkie Monsters are pink magic finger puppets that keep real monsters in your cupboard away from your bed at night. Research shows, no kids wearing Pinkie Monsters (or sleeping with one under the pillow) were ever eaten alive by a real cupboard monster!

{more Pinkie monsters here. They just made my day. Go make yours now.}