Bright Beads

Just a tad bit obsessed! I've been looking for a lighting solution for our bedroom since we don't really have space for nightstands. These bohemian-style wood pendants would make my dreams come true. 

They're called Bright Beads, designed by Australia's Coco Reynolds and handcrafted using FSC certified timbers. Aren't they gorge?

Pinky Lakes

I am still recovering from a very different sort of Valentine's Day, I'm still seeing through rose colored glasses. Have you heard of a pink lake? There are a number of famous ones that have popped up on my desktop via blogs and Pinterest. They are just the coolest. According to Wikipedia, the lake's color is "usually due to the presence of algae that produces carotenoids, such as Dunaliella salina." Have your travels ever found you on the banks of a pink lake? Kunal Shah - these should go on our list of must see's !! 

Destination : Melbourne... Event : Bachelorette Party !!

Let's be honest. Sometimes there is nothing harder in life than being happy for somebody else. Like lottery winners. Or extremely successful people who are 27. And then there's that hell on earth that only your closest friends can inflict on you -- the most amazing Bachelorette Party !

I am a soon to be married, engaged 25 year old Indian CITY loving Girl who is caught in the dilemma on the destination of her “MUST BE AMAZING” bachelorette party. Hey I’m not boasting, but if you are me and you have been to 34 countries in this wide world – you have got all the basic “go to” destinations covered. Which brings me to the big question… Where to throw a Bachelorette Party ?? Something Fresh, somewhere all my bachelorettes have not been. Here is a Checklist :

Bachelorette Party !

ü  City Life

ü  Art / Theatre Scene

ü  Cute Cafes

ü  Roaring Night Life

ü  Touristy / Architectural delights

ü  Fine Dine Restaurants / Bars

ü  Parks for picnics

ü  Live event / Concerts

AND OFCOURSE

ü  SHOPPING and SPAS

Sticking to my filmy-ness I stuck a world map on the wall.. took my gun and aimed mindlessly to see where destiny takes me. The vacuum on my FOAM-bullet ( just in case you thought I own an actual gun) hung onto the region of Victoria – MELBOURNE… my eyes became wide and my room full of bachelorette’s started dancing with excitement ! We popped a bottle of ‘Diet Coke’ – ( not to forget, 3 months before the wedding every calorie counts.. no Champagne till “The Day” ) and I raised a toast…. “Girls, it's your time to visit Melbourne NOW!” .

Ofcourse my girls and I did not waste much time figuring out the logistics and the financials. We can rule the world with our blackberrys’ you know. One Google search and a couple of clicks through www.visitmelbourne.com/in and we were sorted with fine tuning my Bachelorette Party.

Rhea was quick to add ..Sex and the City is going to have to film a “Partir Deux” featuring us in Melbourne ! All the girls laughed and it was an icing on my ever-growing cake.. Conde Naste describes Melbourne as, “Sophisticated and slick, edgy and rough, Melbourne’s physical and cultural landscape is shaped by a dynamic population, ever-ravenous for a bite of global culture” added Amirah. What more does a girl want than being the center of attention ?? I am going to be the protagonist of my very own Sex an the City, Melbourne THE MOVIE !!!!

My movie starts with us girls walking against the backdrop of Opulent Victorian-era architecture which will offer a stark contrast against the conventional boulevards of Fitzroy with its small café’s eateries and restaurants where we will have lunch. After which we take the tram through the urban frenzy through central Melbourne and neighborhoods’ of different characters. Of course nothing screams more Elizabeth Taylor than us girls bi-cycling through St Kilda and Carlton with the air in our hair and a bounce in our voices.

Under the afternoons sun, ofcourse its goinging to be the best part.. visiting some of the world’s best art, music, cuisine, fashion, performance, design and ideas on the Collins Street, Spring Street and Exhibition Street. Everybody has seen some amazing artists on my blog who originate from Melbourne through Flinders Lane and what a better way than to actually see them in person ?? I’ve also heard that some of the best exhibition of early Australian art on display at the National Gallery of Victoria… nothing like getting a piece or two of Melbourne to feature on my blog, isn’t it ?

The evenings will be perfect for some eye-candy… go bird watching ;) ( if you know what I mean by that )  around the Australian Football League or the Melbourne Cricket Ground . Of course other evenings I want to come back giggling and discussing haute couture while parading back to our hotel with crispy paper bags with perfect ribbons…no bachelorette if complete without a shopping spree…WE LOVE TO SHOP !  After dropping our bags we are going to attend the myriad music festivals that the city offers.

In the nights, oh the nights are going to be glamourous – we are going to put on our best dancing shoes and head to Federation square, Crown Towers Entertainment Complex or simply Eureka 88 for night out in the city and a toast will be due for my impending WEDDING. Of course we will be discussing diamonds, beauty and honeymoon and our lives beyond.

And when we want a change in landscape we are going to go to Philip Island and pose next to the Penguins, drive to 12 Apostles and the great Ocean Road and see the dramatic Victorian coastline and visit the Grampian National park for some rugged mountains and wild flowers.

A day trip to Yarra Valley & Dandenong Ranges to sample some fine Australian Wine or a quick stop on the way to the Great Ocean Road or the thermal springs at the Mornington Peninsula at a spa will leave us rejuvenated to come back to my honey with sweet memories and inside jokes and a lifetime of  it was “The Best Bachelorette Party” in “MELBOURNE” !!!

Ahhh… My girls and I cannot wait … “It's your time to visit Melbourne NOW!” It’s my time to Visit Melbourne NOW ! … It’s everybody’s time to Visit Melbourne now !”

Visit www.visitmelbourne.com/in for more details NOW ! 

Disclaimer : This post was written for Indiblogger + Tourism of Victoria Blogger Content :) Wish me luck folks.. ! 

Master Chef India

From the time I was 13 – and My mum started the whole, “You should learn how to cook !” I often wondered how much fun it would be for Sanjeev Kapoor to cook – for everything is fine chopped and cling film wrapped in pretty looking bowls in a spotless kitchen with some really cool gadgets. I would often pretend I am hosting the show myself – and start explaining to the 4 walls of a pretty Greyish boring kitchen at my house to make the learning process bearable.

And when I grew bigger –Life just got colourful with the Niggela Feasts, Rachelle Allen’s Bake or Kylie Kwong, Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef – hosted by our very own Padma Lakshmi finding their way into our television channels. And then the real show of all shows – MASTER CHEF comes along. In no time it became one of my favourites and has been entertaining me with different spin offs like Master chef Australia – currently being aired, Celebrity Master Chef, Junior Master Chef, Master Chef the original !!

Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston serve as the show's main judges in their Australian series. The USP of this show is that just when you thought now they have given the ultimate of all challenges, or now they cannot possibly have something new, or the presentation just can’t get any better, or the participants are the cream de la cream... Each new series and episode takes you by surprise !!

The Best episode by far according to me was that of the "Mystery Box”. Each one was given a box of ingredients. I would possibly never know how to put these bizarre elements together.

1. duck breast,
2. raspberries,
3. pinot (I’m assuming noir),
4.red cabbage,
5. lavender,
6. Fennel
7. dark chocolate.

Oh, what to cook? What to cook !! What, what did they cook !! Oh, What are they cooking anyway ?? Oh My good, they COOKED – was my reaction.
And at the end of 30 mins – here is what the MASTER CHEF’s made out of the bizarre combinations - Glazed duck breast, pancakes, lavender custard, a chocolate Ganache tart with lavender cream and crispy duck with raspberries marinated in wine with fennel fronds, chocolate and raspberry soufflé with lavender cream. And The DRAMA Quotient is upped each time – the presentations are impeccable.

Looking at my excitement – I was SUPER DUPER Happy when Master Chef announced their INDIA Series... But to my uttermost disappointment, even before it has started – we have some RUBBISH NEWS... It is going to be hosted by AKSHAY KUMAR. Didn’t anyone not see his miserable performance in Khatron Ke Khiladi ?? , his lack of real ideas and a style mis-match to this show ?? Even after being a CHEF in his past, did he not FAIL in Chandani Chowk to China !!! Why have the producers signed him on then ?? Where is the INTERNATIONAL APPEAL ?? ... Don’t we want people in Australia to watch MASTER CHEF INDIA ?? Why couldn’t they have chosen someone WORTHY of this... Oct 9, just got a bitter bitter start. Now I am only hoping the contestants work their magic and overshadow the crook of the show !!

We are Family - Review

I walked into the theatre and sat next to my mother. Now for those of you who know my mother would agree – and for those who don’t know anything about her – here’s the thing. She is a lovely lady. She be-friends the ugliest person on the road. She is not god fearing – she is rather god loving. She believes in destiny and her favourite dialogue of all times is, “If it’s written in your destiny.. it will happen !” She has some solid children in us. When I say solid – I mean highly opinionated, strong headed, fiercely competitive and street smart individuals and above everything God Loving like her. But – she knows and the whole world knows that when it comes to Love – her ways are different. She is not the mother who will feed you when you are ill by your bedside – she would rather ask you to pull yourself together and come to the table. When you fall, she will not come running to your rescue, she will wait for your to respond. And if you cannot manage, she will give advice – but would let us make our own decisions. It’s not that she lacks the basic emotion of LOVE, she is rather full of it. She has other ways of showering LOVE – which only us being her children understand.

So – when we walked into the movie – WE are FAMILY she was sure it’s going to be a hell of a drama teary eyed type of a movie – she had already written it off. My sister was not feeling well – and my mother did her thing – gave her a medicine and asked her to rest – for she had movie tickets for us, lest she would have to sell them if she decided not to come. Throughout the afternoon we kept harrowing her and told her she didn’t love us so she talked about how she does not need to show us she loves us – but she loves us.

I on the other hand was so sure of myself.. that I am going to cry. So sitting next to a strong mother would prove better than sitting next to my brother – who against all his machismo at home cries at a drop of a hat in the Movies. I was careful enough to not put any eye-liner – I did not want to look like a horror movie character (something I learnt after watching In Pursuit of Happiness) The movie is not pretentious. This is what I liked about the film – in the beginning itself it said – it proclaims - Inspired by the movie STEP-MOM. I had seen that movie – Julia Roberts being my favourite Hollywood actress and all ! Kajol being my Indian Julia – ofcourse I was going to watch the movie on the day of its release.

The film is very predictable – Happy modern lives – father photographer loves a designer. Single divorced mother with 3 loving kids, who hug her every possible moment. Everything is okay until the kids know about the other woman in the father’s life. Of course there is going to be some resistance on the part of the kids and the single mother – but obviously poor her is stricken by cancer one day and then the bitch becomes the saviour – and that’s the happy family we are going to talk about. Straight out of its Hollywood counterpart.

What I love about the film is.. That Kareena Kapoor for the first time in my eyes, plays a dignified role. The simplicity of her character makes the audience in me love her. By the way I have never been a big fan of hers. Never say never I suppose. Next up is Arjun Rampal. Totally daddy material. At one point in time we could even see a white hair in his head. A believable character. Could have done with some more screen space – but the movie is short – which works in the positive – and the movie is but of course all about the mothers. Then are those kids ! The 2 little ones are cute to the core – the eldest girl could have been a more tyrant.

And then comes the gorgeous Kajol. I cannot see 1 person in the entire industry who could have replaced her. Being my favourite actress – maybe I am biased towards her... but I absolutely adore her !! Brilliant dialogues, excellent expressions, no long shots – making her look absolutely gorgeous – I would say even if she put of another 100 kilo’s – she would still be my favourite – do hell with people who shun her weight.. her craft is precious !!! Every emotion strikes the right chord with me – and the general audience. The mothers – especially the one sitting next to me is now relating to the character. No one in the entire movie theatre is left behind – the movie takes everyone ahead with them. Everyone weeps in unison.

Even those heartless little college brats - the biker types are reduced to seriousness when Kajol collapses on the kitchen floor. These are signs of how gripping the story is. Hats off the Director Siddharth Malhotra – for having made such a strong film that grips you till the end. The sets are fantastic. The music and the background score are in tune. The costumes are neither over the top, nor are there any signs of them not being a Dharma Productions movie – Top Notch I would say !

The only thing I had hoped for is for the movie to have ended with Kajol’s death. I love the fact that there is no atim sanskar – else it would have been more crying than actually feeling the pain and the sadness and a void. I understand the whole Aliya marriage dialogue... to have a happy ending – but a not-aged Kareena leaves the audience wondering of the time period lapse..!

But the movie has a strong message – that of LOVE. We are Family can be anyone’s Family. My mother left the theatre’s teary eyed. The film had touched the mother in her. The movie left me teary-eyed... ! All in all, I absolutely loved the film.