Bada-Bling!

People are getting married left, right and centre and that means lots of good food and SHOPPING. :D

As much as I love to splurge, I know I wouldn't wear all the bling very often after the wedding season's over. And that's when the Budget-Shopping-Princess in me wakes up. 

So a trip to a nearby accessory store was made with mummy dearest and here are some pictures of few of the things I picked. 

All these and some more pairs of earrings (15, to be precise) and some necklaces for a total of INR 1500 only. 

Happy Wallet = A Happy Mum & A Happy Me. :D

What are your picks this season? 

Much love
M

Id(e)licious.

Dealing with leftover food is an art in itself. Today, I'm going to tell you how to make use of one of the most common leftover foods at South Indian homes - Idlis.

Idli, when served hot with Sambar & Chutney is one of my favorite things for breakfast. But more often than not, amma ends up making way more than how much we require for breakfast. As good as it is, having idli all through the day is certainly not my favorite thing to do. 

There are quite a few ways of using leftover idlis and I will post one easy-peasy recipe every now and then, PROMISE. :D

Today's recipe is going to be 'Podi Idli'. I used mini idlis that paati sent over. These were one of my favorites when i used to go to school since everyone else used to get bigger idlis while I got to be the cool one who got mini idlis. ;)

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

1. Leftover Idlis. Duh! 4-5 idlis or 20-30 mini idlis
2. 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
3. A pinch of Turmeric power & a pinch of asafoetida
4. 2-3 tbs Milagai Podi* (as spicy as you want the idlis to be)
5. 1 1/2-2 tbs edible Coconut Oil

Method: 

1. In a kadai, add the oil and once it is heated, add the turmeric powder, asafoetida and the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Ensure it doesn't get burnt. 
2. Now add the idlis and sprinkle the milagai podi on top. 
3. Gently toss the idlis without breaking them so that each piece is nicely covered by the milagai podi.
4. Wait for 4-5 minutes till the idlis get crispy at the edges.
5. Serve hot with coconut chutney or raita. 

The Final Product. Yum!

Do let me know how it turns out in case you try. :)

Till the next most,

M.

*Milagai podi is a powder made with red chillies and lentils. Recipe here. 

Review: Park Avenue's Beer Shampoo

I'm so tempted to start this blog post with a 'Dear All'. Just for the heck of it. :D

Anyhooo, hope you guys are having a good 2013 so far.
Mine has just been the usual with the only change being my love for chocolates and everything sweet has increased manifold in the last few days and at the same time I've been looking for healthy breakfast/lunch recipes on the internet. I know, hopeless is an understatement. :D

Anyway, coming back to the point, after hearing a lot about this Shampoo from one of my cousins, I have been looking for it for a few months now and last week, when i went to supermarket nearby, i spotted this. One last piece remaining and i *HAD* to pick it up before the aunty walking towards the Shampoo aisle did. Small joys, you know? 

I have been using this for a week now and I have to tell you, it's FABULOUS! Instead of making this a long boring post, I'm just going to quickly put down the +ves and -ves for you guys.

The Good Things:

1. Price - Inexpensive: 160 bucks for 200 ml.
2. Packaging - Absolute win! Why would someone not love a beer bottle? ;)
3. Fragrance - The shampoo smells like beer. Duh! But it doesn't make your hair smell beer-y post the wash. The smell stays on only till your hair dries post which all you have is soft, smooth, voluminous hair. Brownie points for this! 
4. Makes hair less frizzy
5. Leaves hair smooth, shiny and soft post every wash
6. Mild enough for everyday use
7. No conditioning required post wash

The Not-So-Good Things:

The only not-very-good thing I can talk about is the availability of the shampoo at the supermarkets. It took me almost 3 months to grab a bottle. (oh, I have now asked the Supermarket guys to save a bottle for me every month. Yes, I'm brilliant like that) 

Without a doubt, this is my favorite shampoo at the moment. Which one do you use? 

Until the next post. 
M

Cliché.

So, 2012 is over and the world did not end as we thought it would (I even hoped for it, sometimes). 

It feels like 2012 just started and it has still not sunk in that we are into the next year already. I did a lot of things last year. Many firsts & many that were just the usual. 

I made new friends, lost some, went through the I-don't-care-about-socializing phase, went through stress at work, saved nothing, spent everything, traveled, shopped, made mistakes, learnt new things, spent time with family, read books, sketched, got obsessed with things and bored with some, played in the rain, babysat my nephew, baked, cooked, spent time doing nothing, got high on coffee, got high on chocolates, laughed, cried,  loved, lost, grew my hair long, ate lots of cake, learnt to eat alone, spent time alone, got to know some people better, let go off some for the best, brushed my driving skills, painted, did a lot of crafting, ate jars of Nutella, posed for pictures, clicked a lot of pictures, started Tweeting, started blogging, started Instagram-ing and the list goes on. 

Come to think of it, it was not a bad year after all. In spite of some ups & downs here and there, the year was pretty nice. And I'm really hoping that the new year is just as good. 

Here are some snapshots of the year that was. Me being me, I just couldn't make up my mind as to what to post and what to leave. So here are 48 pictures from last year. :D

Coffee, Cupcakes, Mehendi, Nutella, Long hair, Family, Cakes, Shoes, Nailart, Books. 

Weddings, Mangoes, Gifts, Jewelry, Cheese, Zentangle, Crackers, Friends, Flowers.

Hope y'all had a lovely New Year! :)

What are your plans for this year? 

Much love,

M.

PS: I know you have had enough of 'the-year-that-was' posts. Just couldn't resist. Sorry. :D