For the love of food & friends

For me a party becomes perfect when great food combines with great friend . When these two combine laughter and good time roll on its own. So when Indiblogger & Kitchen of India announced a ' 

My Weekend Party with Gourmet Food' contest , i decided to host a party with my best friends. Well so what if all four of us are in four different city across the globe and after college time have only been able to meet a few handful times but i cant imagine having the best party of my life without these three special ladies, so this is more of imaginary party for now.

Now that my guest list is sorted coming to the other most important part , Food. Now this is the tricky part, for once all four of us have hugely different taste and most important part if i spend all my energy in chopping sauteing cooking, how will i have time and energy left for actually enjoying the quality time with my friends ? This is when the repertoire of selection from Kitchen of India comes in handy, no fuss great food all the time !

They have a variety of selection from curries to dessert , from chutney and conserves and various masala mix to suit every palate. An icing on cake , you can actually order it online so really you have plenty of time to tidy up your home ( seriously in my party case, i really needn't bother i mean i have practically grown up with them have been room/ flat mates for eons know each other inside out, but i guess big bunches of flowers are good for 'Gourmet' night touch !) 

So having gone through the entire selection, here is my menu for my party night 

Starters 

This is easy, you see  what really happens with women is when we start our day / dinner we want to keep our options healthy (most of us are 'on diet' all the time), just as the night progresses and the laughter flow and wine intake increases some how we progress from healthy olives & nuts to greasy kebabs & curries. So my starting options are easy Olives, sliced vegetables and fruits  served with, yes you guessed it right, Rose wine 

Maincourse 

For vegetarian (non paneer eating) friend - Mirchi ka salan and veg biryani

For vegetarian (loves paneer) friend - Paneer Malai & veg biryani

For my non vegetarian friend and myself - mutton biryani, Chicken darbari , Yum !! 

And since all of us are huge , huge fan of dal bukhara at ITC , Dal Bukhara for all of us 

Served with Red wine - i am keeping few bottles ready for this night long feast 

All this and  assortment of chutneys - Mango garlic chutney, Carrot blackpepper chutney (i am really intrigued by this , ordering it right away) , papaya raisin chutney, basically to use as a dip for all the crackers and sliced fruits and vegetable to last all night of gup shup.

Wow just writing about this made me nostalgic, those were the days. We used to have so much fun. I remember times when we used to be  awake all night playing card and decide at 5 in the morning that its too late anyways to sleep and arrive  in college at 8 with crushed clothes & eyes that we can barely keep open or one Holi where no one went back home and to compensate we decided to prepare an elaborate lunch ourselves. No body had plan to play holi, but somehow we started and it went on till 2 pm , when we started prepping for lunch realized that cooking gas has run out. Some one had a electric hot plate and we cooked an typical holi meal (puri, malpua, puloa paneer ki sabzi, mix veg, papad, raita )   , we finally at our lunch at 6 pm and trust me till date i can taste that food in my mouth, its arguably the best meal i have had till date !

And just we are talking about good times, i leave you with this ..always brings pleasant memories 

Note: This post is an entry to a  Kitchens of India contest

Sc(h)airy Experiment !!!

Remember how excited i was to recieve the all the sample couple of days ago. Well i tried the first one i recieved TRESemme Shampoo & conditioner. I was happy that i sample i recieved was Smooth and Shine meant for dry and rough hair like mine these.

I had mostly seen this range in salons and i was looking forward to this experiment, hoping i would finally find a solution for all my hair woes. But Alas ! much to my dismay and disappointment , this one fails to deliver. My hair didnt turn sleek and shiny per the claim on contrary, it felt rough and dry. I was not at all happy with my first experiment but i still gave it a second chance thinking it might turn around the next time (and i dont know why i would think that !) but it didnt.

My hair feels rough and lifeless but since i cant really throw anything out just like that , i would probably use the remaining shampoo to clean my combs and brush (yeah that bad !)

All in all quiet a disappointment, I expected a lot given all the claims and fact that they have been around for 60 years in hair care market :(


So for now in search for better hair care continues , next experiment the Sunsilk range :)

Spring surprise

Yesterday I had three courier delivered .....from indiblogger and blogadda. Seemed like a early ( very!) Christmas to me :)

All reviews coming up next .

Lovey 'Dove'y

So last week when i came back from Delhi, i got a welcome back gift from Indiblogger , sample pack of Dove shampoo & conditioner packed in super soft creamy leatherite pouch (now my travel makeup kit). 

This is part of the indiblogger contest  Beautiful ends to your beautiful braids contest that is encouraging bloggers to try their range of split end rescue system hair care for split free hair and re-gain our soft beautiful beautiful braids. 

Dove Split End Rescue System.

Now its been a long time since i have braided my hair, (though its super fashionable these days) but I remember the time back in school where we were wear these as a part of school uniform. Our school was strict in terms of dress code (i guess all convent are like this), red check skirt - 2 inches above the knee, pristine white shirts,no long nails or nail paints   ..all long hair to be braided and no not a loose single plait like all other public school girls would do but two tight plaits hanging by our ears ahhhhhhhhh ..what fashion blunders and trauma for our young teenage souls !!
And our moms would be a very happy and willing  partners in crime with the Sisters at school, ensuring that the plaits are braided tight enough and any flyway hair to be settled with a layer of oil. But these rule were applicable only for school campuses so  first thing we did after stepping out of school campus (for even the chowkidaar bhaiya at school gate were hawks watching our every move) was to unbraid and let it loose like Simran in Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge ....yes that was THE movie of our time (I was in 10th standard when it released and despite the board exam pressure we actually watched in theatre with entire school, but that's for another story)

In retrospect i do realize now, all that oiling and braiding was the only reason my hair is still okay state, years of neglect post school has taken its toll and like most other women i suffer from split ends, early greying and massive hair fall, but still compared to others its okay ..not great or good but just about okay , guess mums and Sisters were right all along !



So now back to the present world, through out my early twenties i experimented with all popular shampoo brands and finally settled with Pantene wash and conditioner and been using it for few years. I am quiet happy with it as it softens my frizz prone hair without making it too oily, if i wash my hair twice or thrice a week. Couple of months ago i shifted to Loreal conditioner and i was even happier coz it made my hair softer. I had used Dove before but i wasnt too happy with it so it was it some apprehension that i tried this sample pack,
, first time when i washed my hair it was greasy and dirty with all the travelling and the fact i had not washed it in a week due to fever and cold. I was happy with the result but i felt it became too soft and slightly 'out of control'  but i was happy enough and tried this time when i had oiled my hair previous night  and i am really happy this time, what i really liked about this was not only my hair is softer on the day i washed but it continued so on even third and today which is the fourth day after the wash. It claims to take care of the split ends which i am yet to see since i have only used it twice but i am willing to try it for few months and see for myself.

Am i convert now ?? Hmmmm not sure ...but i am willing to experiment !

Another day - Another blogging event (HP blogger meet)

Ooooo another blogger meet in bangalore, this one courtesy HP & Indiblogger. When i checked in morning the registration was closed, was quiet disappointed :( , but seems the lovely people at indiblogger got a message somehow and just got an invite again.

Register quick, there are some 30 odd seats left.

See you all soon !

kale , ghane, sundar baal - The Straight hair experiment

We are having a bit of blogger moment , after attending the indiblogger meet , reviewing book for blogadda and creating a party look, again for indoblogger now is the time to create a crazy post for Sunsilk The Straight hair experiment courtesy indiblogger .


The idea is to share all the whacky out of world ideas that can get the straight black hair look. I mean who doesn't want a gorgeous straight black hair, an epitome of indian beauty ? My husband is after my life to get my hair straightened but after looking at some of the post effects i am really really scared.

I am so looking forward to Pantene straight hair shampoo, how cool would it be to have a shampoo that gives you a straight hair within 5 mins  and that too without any side effects ?

And while i have been slightly less adventourous in trying to strighten my hair, a simple google search revelead a few outrageous ideas ..sample the following...

Option 1 :

apply some oil and water... comb you hair straightly...
and then put a cap over. for an hour... that should keep it straight for a few hours...
do this daily for a few weeks.. and your job is done...
trust me .. i tried this some time last year and it worked great!!
ps: Instead of cap, I put on my helmet and took about 25 mins to ride to work, and the hairs were straight for whole day!!

(From : Yahoo )


Option 2 from you tube using lot of hair bands 

Option 3 


Hair Wrapping, details here , essentially wrapping wet hair around your head for a day ! 


Option 4 

Hair transplant !!!! (a bit too much i think) 


Well so far i have not given to any of these ideas , love them too much (atleast whatever has remained after years of neglect and pollution of delhi) ..will wait for a shampoo to make my (or rather my husband's) dream true.

My shopper stop party look

Shopperstop is playing fairy god mother this season ..courtesy indiblogger, bloggers can now create a festive look online and get  a chance to win goodies from shopper stop. Isn't that cool ?

So this christmas i want a look that is easy to put together, versatile enough to change as per time  and occasion.

And what better way to do that than with classic LBD

With the dress sorted , time to look for perfect accessories ..simple statement pieces, keeping it to three ..so not to "crowd" the look

I know red  or golden is the classic combination with black, but this time i would like to give a twist with this soft pink clutch ..

adding a killer pair of heels :) 

  

little bit of play with jewel tones in make up 

Splash of perfume 

And i am ready to rock the night away :) :) 

Now the best part , converting this look for office next day.

Same dress ..with different accessories . 

Keeping the jewel simple

shoes sensible 

bag professional 

 a nice scarf 

a to add a bit of oomph a statement watch 

And now i am rocking the board room. 

One dress two looks covers you from morning to night ..have fun  !! 

(All image shopperstop.com)