wallpaper

i don't like wallpaper for the usual reasons - it's hard to put up, hard to take down, hard to work around if u like to change up your decor...but i could make an exception for this one.



a friend found it at lowes, it's called Graham & Brown Tranquility, and it would be awesome in a bathroom.

jodhaa akbar

i was at the container store the other day and a really nice woman asked me where i was from. i could have said "baltimore" but i knew what she meant - so i said "india." she then gushed about how she loves bollywood moves, indian food, and is taking bollywood dance classes. she asked me about any new bollywood movie recommendations and i told her about a movie i had recently seen. she was very sweet and so obviously interested in many things indian - i had a great time talking to her. my husband could hardly move from his spot in front of the elfa shelving system b/c he was so enamored with this woman's rapturous talk of his homeland. he operates on the transitive property: he loves india, and if u love india, he loves u.

i probably watch one bollywood movie a year, and that's usually b/c someone coerces me into it. so i'll make some snide comment, and grudgingly watch the movie. then after it's over i'm -- again -- suprised at just how "not bad" it is.

so in the last few weeks i'm hearing about how anthony bourdain likes bollywood, so does the lady at the container store, and lots of my non-indian friends, watch and love these movies. friends from the middle east, europe, and africa tell me how they grew up watching indian movies back home. and the new bollywood dance class at the community college had huge wait lists before the first class even started. so i'm thinking bollywood isn't as bad as i thought - yeah, the movies run long, they can be melodramatic and a bit cliche -- but they're also fun, glitzy, filled with song and dance, and stories about family and love. i mean, 1.2 billion people can't be wrong, right?

a week ago i saw the movie jodhaa akbar. it's a love story about king akbar - a great ruler of india who was muslim and his beloved hindu wife, jodhaa. like we learn about george washington and how great a person he was - so do children in india learn about king akbar -- that in a land of so many religions he was kind hearted ruler and accepting of all faiths.

i liked it, and the music is beautiful.

bourbon (!) maple syrup

i know maple syrup is more suited to an autumn blog post - but i saw someone talking about it this bourbon maple syrup on the martha show, and i thought it sounded soooo good! so i looked it up and this is what i found out:


"Blis Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup is aged in specially selected twelve to eighteen year old single barrel bourbon casks. The intense flavors of butterscotch, vanilla, charred oak and the seductive bourbon take maple syrup to new heights. Celebrated chefs around the world use this unique product, and of course it’s one of Oprah’s favorites."

tiny scrapbook

i made this little accordion scrapbook of my friend pam's birthday party. we had so much fun, and it was big night for her, so i thought a mini handmade album would be a special way to keep those memories close at hand.

don't u just love black, white, and red?!



the front says, "celebrate. the best is yet to come." and there are 12 black and white pictures from the party - great pics of her and all her friends -



on the back i included a quote from emerson about friendships -



i think she liked it :)

cute

i think this is just the cutest thing. it's called The Little Book of Hindu Deities by Sanjay Patel, and has these sweet, child-like illustrations of many of the hindu gods. i can just see these simply framed and running the length of a hallway in a cute bohemian chic home.

happy spring

so, how are you? great i hope :)

i know i haven't been posting regularly, but i have been a little busier than usual, and i'm not sure i had anything interesting to post. i did go thrifting -- it seems like a long time since i've done that -- and found some cute things. i also got a new stove for my kitchen - finally! i tried the atkins diet for about 3 days and absolutely could not do it - there is no way i can eat that much meat! so i realized the only way for me to ever lose weight is to exercise b/c i love my veggies and just the general eating/ cooking/ experimenting/ socialising too much to give it up. the only way i've ever really lost weight was to just moderate everything and increase my activity. so i'm going to do that.

i'm working on a few long term projects and waiting for the weather to warm up just a little bit more - i think our last frost date is very early april - so i can get out and start some gardening & painting projects. you know what they say abut march - it comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb - so the weather will be getting warmer everyday. and then rainy april comes - yeah!

i'm also keeping my fingers crossed for a very sweet girlfriend of mine - i'm hoping her dreams come true this spring - is that love is in the air? :)

so that's all i have to report for now - nothing too new or exciting - lets see what good things this week brings for you and for me :)

roa - NO! - ke

i'll be doin' the "roanoke slowpoke" for a couple of days. that's what my sister calls it when we visit b/c we always say how "slow" things are there - just kinda boring and blah. she and my brother in law called last night, asking if i was all packed and ready to come down, and i said, "packed??? what do i need to pack for roanoke -- a compass and some granola bars?!?!"

i really shouldn't say that b/c people *do* live there and there are lots of wealthy retirees moving there from places like NY, and they have a barnes and noble, and a starbucks, and some new big deal upscale grocery store. they also have a road called "luck ave" - not perfect, but close enough :)



have a great weekend!

blame it on the rain

because it made me start thinking about cute umbrellas...




make it a double for you and your honey, sky if rainy days aren't your thing, everyone loves the roming gnome, rainy day in paris for the francophile, hawaii for its graphic punch, and bright interlude if u love the beauty of a rainy day.

perfect!

it has been a beautiful, cloudy, 70F day! wonderful shades of grays and blues - my absolute favorite weather of all - and it's *more* of the same tonite! hopefully we get some awesomely dramatic thunder and lightning - BUT please, no damage or tornadoes for anyone anywhere. but here at house no 8 - bring on those gorgeous thunderstorms!!!

the sky is getting darker as i type !!!!

party at pazo's

Happy Birthday Pam! and remember - The Best Is Yet To Come!

saturday was my wonderful friend pam's birthday. she had a party with a bunch of her friends at pazo in downtown baltimore. she wore a beautiful grey dress with silver beading and had a fab new haircut. she looked radiant and very happy - and i was so happy for her. we had a cool VIP room, great food, drinks, and music, and 14 happy women wishing a friend all their best - what more could you ask for on a birthday?

i don't have any pics form the party yet - but these are some pics of the restaurant from their website - click for a bigger pic.