Singing in the rains

 

Sometimes words are just not enough to express the sheer beauty of what is in front of your eyes..... don't you feel the same. Yes I'm talking about this magical city of Venice even better when you are lucky enough to catch the rains and drink in the beauty around. The last evening of my Italian holidays coming to an end ..... sigh. 

Spring Fest : Holi

 

          Spring celebration - Holi  the festival of colours  is celebrated in India with lot of fun and fervour. Had a holi themed party arranged at my nest to celebrate Spring. Sharing in some ideas to arrange a holi party at home with your loved ones, hope you like it!
 
Wishes from India
  xoxo
 Auro

Partying @ Ivy & Elephants
                 @ Colors Dekor
 


 

Welcome spring 2015

 

Hello peeps! sorry for not being here, most of last year but promising for a blog filled year this time !

Watch this space for more.

Hugs Auro

 

Festival of lights

 

Ushering  in the festivities of light, good luck and wishes from India.

 

Khowsuey Fun!

As the mercury levels rises, one doesn't feel like cooking or entering the kitchen to start from the  chopping, arranging,cooking, plating and lastly clearing and washing the dishes. So how do you feel, if a friend then calls you and says drop in, there's some soul stirring comfort food awaiting to be gorged. 

 It's like a god sent invitation and when I reached boy! I was impressed. A bowl of Khowsuey was waiting to be picked up. It was actually a lot of hard work, must say. A closer look at the accompaniments will tell you exactly what I meant.
  There is a bowl of boiled  noodles(rice noodles), chopped boiled eggs,chopped and fried garlic, fried onions, green chillies, crispies, peanuts(optional) which  all needs to be added to this bowl of chicken and coconut milk broth.

and its ready to be relished.

Yes , I did ask my friend for the recipe of course to share with you all and here it goes -:

                                 Hope that helped, do write in on how it tasted ?

                                                    Hugs Auro

Spring break

Its surreal up here with the hills and the lake, the air is so fresh with a slight nip in it and the birds chirping around.What a beautiful spring morning aha!

Some endless hot cups of beverages to sip on and a view as this in front of you,what more could you ask for?  We are just back from a short weekend spring break, and oh how much we loved it all! 

the fairy tale cottage where we stayed overnight. 

 and the next day a bright cheerful morning was there to greet us, with this small garden and the garden furniture laid out overlooking the spectacular view. It was so peaceful and tranquil that we didn't want the morning to roll on to the day.

but soon we had to head for some  scrumptious breakfast at the garden restaurant of the property.

and see what I clicked here, this bread holder and how cool it looks!

  then we had a nice wholesome Indian breakfast starting from hot steaming idlis and sambhar, puffed up bathuras with choley and at the chef's request we tried a cheese omelette too, washed down with orange juice served in these cute tumblers.

 A much needed spring break to enjoy nature at its best. Just did not feel like leaving this heaven on earth and by now everyone must be curious to know where is this?
 It's a small boutique property called Anandvan Resort; up in the hills of Maharashtra, India near Nashik in Bhandardara. Heard its even more beautiful during the rains, would love to come back again here sometime soon.

hugs & cheers
xoxoxoxo
Auro

Linking up here@ 
Ivy and Elephants 
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Scattered Thoughts of a crafty Mom
Glamorous Affordable Life

The Last Chills

The New Year came in with so many targets to achieve that I never realized the first month of the year is already gone!

  and while the winter chills still lasts I pulled out my pashmina shawl, jamevar cushion covers and created a cosy reading corner with a hot cuppa to enjoy the morning sun.

This shawl is a wedding gift to the groom from his in-laws, which has been lying in the closet for the last 15 years! So the bride pulls it out and finally puts it up for a good usage as a throw cover!

 Couldn't stop myself from uploading this small detail of the craftsman's signature embroidered here..... wish he  could see it and smile.

 Wishing all a very romantic and fun filled month ahead while welcoming the spring.
 Hugs.
                                                             Partying at
                                                 Ivy and Elephants
                                                 The Dedicated House

The New Year

   Wishing  all my blogger friends a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. May all your dreams and aspirations be fulfilled this year.

                                                             Hugs Auro

Last Christmas

As the year comes to an end, it gets all the more busier.This is the time when schools arrange their annual concerts, sports day,winter picnics( in this part of the sub continent) and the Christmas carnivals.Time to have fun and taste lots of goodies. I have so many things to share with you all but hardly getting the time to do a post. So thought of sharing my Christmas vignettes and decor from last year before I  get busy with all my to do's to get them ticked off before the year ends!

 This lovely cherub was picked from the night market in Phuket. It was lying in a corner, amongst  the many other Asian treasures! I pulled it out this time, as I have decided to display the artefacts around my house according to the seasons and festivities.One needs an occasion to celebrate each small things in life after all! 

There goes my pine cones, hand picked by me  during our honeymoons in the hills! Boy that was many years ago and that reminds me our marriage anniversary is just around the corner next month,next year !

Who said one needs a full grown Christmas tree, if you don't have enough space to flaunt ... decorate a branch in a crystal vase I say! 

As a child I used to love these jujubes and I remember my granny used to love them too, they reminds me of her .... she was the baker's wife as my grandpa used to run a famous bakery.So Christmas was the time of the year when we used to visit the bakeries and earn shiny coins, if we could wrap the chocolates and candies and help with the packaging. It was so much fun amongst cousins and family of who earns the most. I still have a newspaper cutting of me with my cousins staring at the cakes made for the advertisement pages! 

Ah,there goes my Holiday corner all bling and happy!

Tables getting ready with the holiday colours Red/ White/ Green, the little bit of bling ,the stars, the wine, the cakes,the turkey roast and more.... 

                Sparkling wines and scrumptious food to enjoy with family and friends.

This was a nice window corner of a restaurant where we had gone to for a Christmas brunch, I could not stop myself from clicking this one. 

 Check out these angry birds cupcakes sitting pretty wearing the Santa's cap .

                    Some Christmas party favours .... Santa pens aren't they cute?

 Can't stop smiling looking at my cosy holiday corner, set in the right mood and the right setting.

         Yes of course I had another small tree tucked up in this corner thought of spreading around its branches, warmth and wishes in the corners of my house for a change!  

                           
                                                Wishing all a very merry Christmas
                                                                  Hugs Auro
Partying @ Ivy and Elephants
                 Have a daily cup of Mrs. Olson

Beat the Blues!

  To beat the Monday morning blues and for that early morning rush hour this recipe is a super time saver for preparing school tiffin and office lunch boxes. Full of nutrients(veggies,eggs, shrimps) carbohydrate and protein to face the  busy week ahead.

                                                                          Bon Apetit!

Joining the parties @ The Dedicated House : Anything Blue Friday
                                The Style Sisters
                                Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday
                                A Delightsome Life 
                                Ivy and Elephants    

Remnants of the Colonial Raj

Today I am sharing some beautiful postcards of the city I was born in Kolkata,India. The remnants of the British raj and its influence  perhaps is the most prominent in Calcutta(Kolkata) than in any other Indian city as it was the capital of British India.The British rule in India was known as " the Raj" which was derived from the Sanskrit word raja meaning king.The rule of the Raj as it is commonly referred to is a chapter closed but its resonance is still heard. Calcutta has grown and has been able to outstretch its wings yet an umbilical relation to its British predecessors and its colonial past undeniably binds it.

Built in times of great flourish in the like of the British palaces,these gracious buildings and palaces are still standing tall like the guardian angel of this City of Palaces,as Kolkata is humbly called. Although the shine and shimmer has dimmed and the walls have surrendered to the destructive powers of time the dignity of these mansions triumphs over the decay, as they exist to live on as beautiful reminders of the past.

One of the most beautiful of all the reminders is the Victoria Memorial, built by the Indians themselves in reverence to their empress Queen Victoria.This formed indeed the architectural climax of the British Raj in India.The palace of white marble with its green fringes,designed in the Renaissance style remains forever an asset and Calcutta's very  own heritage site. 

These mossy obelisks and columns, a place rescued from semi dereliction.

The lingering Britishness of the first capital of the Raj continues in the nearby St Paul's Cathedral, with its soaring Canterbury inspired towers.

Calcutta is bursting with dozens of 19th century buildings,those red brick stone or white washed crenelated edifices with stucco decorations,balconies,turrets now crumbling with trees sprouting on their ledges and begrimed with over a century of pollution!

                           These colonial trellis still looks so grand with all that detailing.

                                                 and that winding staircase to heaven!

                             

Its a curious blend of the old and the new, the crude and the urbane.The old is giving space to the new ....  symbolising the rise and the fall.

Old  louvered shutter wooden windows with peeled off paints and wearing a distress look will now be available at the local flea markets, making a style statement named as" shabby chic", if not razed down and sent off for recycling. 

The imperial past has been so well preserved and curated in this city, amidst the old houses of the Zamindars (feudal lords) goverment officials and even the gentry or "Babus" of Kolkatta. They are still full of treasures  and  houses so many odd memorablia of the bygone eras, left unattended and uncared for unless realized and curated by some art lovers and curators.

 

From the Gramophone Company HMV a gramophone treasure curated at my ancestral home in Kolkatta.

One such treasure is this vintage chandelier of hundred lanterns(jharbati). My heart skips a beat staring at this beautiful piece and for some odd reason I am getting hooked onto it like some old connection revived somewhere and finding myself  lost in the tide of time.

    Wishing all a very happy weekend ahead.

                                                                          Auro

Partying @ Ivy and Elephants
                             Have a Daily Cup of  Mrs . Olson