So, Day 2/4 was spent running mum’s taxi , grocery run, more taxing around but I managed to make some Chiwda .

Chiwda

Day 3/4 – started with a sleep-in, followed by a nice facial. In terms of Diwali snacks , I made besan laddu & badam barfi. Then we finished the night with a nice little dinner with neighbors.

Still haven’t decluttered and am now stressing about it.

I will leave you with photos of my sweet treats 🙂

Diwali is just round the corner and I have a 4-day weekend. So, I am planning to utilise it wisely to do traditional Diwali cleaning and making some Faral ( marathi term for Diwali snacks).

After dusting the odd cobwebs in the house( garage & outdoors), it’s only fair to dust off the virtual cobwebs on my beloved blog too.

I started the weekend with my usual mum chores, did the rounds of dropping and picking up the girls. I also squeezed in a workout in between that. SP was craving a nice Malaysian meal , so went to the local shopping centre, where they also had a Diwali bazaar on. So, I shopped for some pretty decorations.

I did feel little guilty about splurging, but then decided it’s ok. Over the last few years, I have been making the decorations at home , my sister sends some and I repurpose them all , so I have really bought anything new for Diwali in a while. But now I am excited and looking forward to decorating the house.

Day 1/4 – spent well.

Today is Day 2/4 – hoping to declutter and tidy up the guest room & start making some snacks .

I will update later about how productive today was . It’s 1:30 PM, so far all I have done is sorted out lunch & breakfast & made a grocery list .

To blog or not to blog has been a constant inner battle lately. I miss the idea of writing, putting my thoughts out there but I am also not sure if I want to share all my deepest thoughts. Nothing profound or earth shattering about those thoughts, but still they are confined to the depths of my mind.

I debated briefly about reverting to anonymity but I am not good at hiding 😃 So I figured, why even bother. And then there is also the small matter of what shall I write about? I started off as a mommy blogger- also shared recipes and crafts and tried my hand as a food blogger. The kids are older now and while I still have lots to share about them, I am sure they’d rather not 🙂 I give them enough reasons to cringe about in real life. The recipes- yes, I can share them, but I am time-poor and not committed enough to take detailed photos. Crafting- yes, I still craft whenever I get a few free days or hours.

So, I asked a younger, wise friend/sister and she suggested that I could be a Lifestyle Blogger. That chat warmed my heart at so many levels and made me stop and think . I like sharing my thoughts, from my perspective. I love finding joy in random places and I love sharing that joy. A few years ago, instagram and facebook replaced blogging for me, because of instant gratification- you know the high you get from all the likes and comments. But lately, I have realised that likes and comments don’t matter as much. I still continue sharing what I want to, regardless of who is liking, commenting etc, because I like seeing the photos, posts and reading the little stories that prompted me to click and post in the first place .

And this little post is probably nothing but me saying my thoughts out loud . Sharing things that make me smile, may bring joy to someone else . Sharing things that moved me, may help someone else relate and feel less lonely. If not, that’s ok too. I know it will make me smile or tear up again in a few years when I go back to read it.

Here’s to many more random musings ..❤️ Trish

Easter long weekend is here and we are staying home for various reasons.

I am snuggled up on the couch with the cup of coffee and reading. MsA is awake, making herself a mug cake for breakfast.

I stopped reading to write this – only to freeze this memory. So I can read this in a couple of years. This quiet moment in time , where I can hear the sound of the whisk against the mug, scrolling through my kindle, saffron oil in the diffuser. Everything is just as it should be 😊

Now that I have documented this, I can go back to my reading.

After a long time , we had a quiet Saturday and what better way to spend it than cooking for the family 🙂

So, I made Zucchini Fritters as per MsA’s request. She promised to help and how could I say no to that . I love cooking with my girls . This is a simple enough recipe that even younger kids can try their hand at.

• Ingredients:
• 1 medium sized Zucchini- grated
• 1 egg
• 1 cup self raising flour
• Salt & pepper for seasoning
• Milk ( if needed to make the batter runny)
• Method :
• Combine all the ingredients together in this order – zucchini,salt,pepper, egg, flour and finally milk as needed . Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed . The batter should be slightly runny like pancake batter.
• Scoop a ladle full batter on a pan, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Then flip the fritter till well cooked on the other side.
• Serve hot with avocado & a dollop of sour cream.

I am more of a ‘dash of this, splash of that’ cook but this recipe is almost foolproof, as long as you mix the batter well to break any flour lumps. Its super quick and so versatile. Sometimes, I add grated carrots along with zucchini, on other occasions I have added chopped onions to the mix as well. Anything goes, really.

Do try the recipe if you haven’t before and if you do , please let me know if you liked it 🙂

Much love,

Trish

Friday night, work done for the week- now on mum duty. This is me waiting to pick up MsA from the shopping centre.

I am starting to realise that most of my Friday nights are about hanging out on the couch and/or picking and dropping the kids . Very exciting! Not! I guess that’s what getting older is about.

I was talking to a friend the other day and I mentioned ‘getting older’ and she corrected me ‘ageing’ – I flat out refused! No I am not in denial, but I am realistic. Age is just a number and we are as old as our mind is.

Mentally I am still 16, although physically my body says otherwise. But hey! It’s all in your mind, right? My mind does question me as I start to plan MsA’s 16th birthday in my head. Ok- that I am half in denial of! How is she turning 16 in a few months? It’s absolutely crazy!

In other news, it’s Father’s Day weekend here in Australia and we are planning to try a new burger place that serves Indian style burgers. So, that sounds promising.

What are your weekend plans? Do share if you are reading.

Love, T

First day of Spring! Spring always brings hope. I have Facebook memories telling me that last year on this day we were in lockdown, but we (MsAn and I) stepped outside to soak in some sunshine.

Today we were both home, but didn’t step outside. She is sick with cold & cough and I have headaches and cramps. So we just stayed in. She slept most of the day. I worked for part of the day before clocking off & taking a nap. Turns out it was just what I needed, as I woke up relaxed and refreshed.

Speaking of relaxed, a couple of months back, we visited the Great Stupa at Bendigo,VIC and found beautiful quotes and chants to do for various situations or even just spiritual enlightenment. I love visiting such peaceful places, peaceful and all inclusive.

I absolutely loved the energy and vibe of the place, warmth of the staff and frequent checking in to see if everything was ok or if we needed help. We need more places like this in the world.

On that happy thought, Happy Spring everyone.

May we remain healthy and happy..

More later!

Love Trish

Hello world.. hope you are well.. and I hope at least one person is reading this. I suppose, it’s ok even if no one is reading . This is a just a random nothing post. I have been watching Chesapeake Shores since Friday evening . It is just such a beautiful feel good show. I think watching this show has rekindled my creative mojo a little.

I don’t know if it’s because its a story about siblings – getting along, loving and hating each other , yet coming through for each other, or is it the beautiful characters, small town charm or just the no- nonsense story, that makes me happy. But, it makes me happy and I felt like writing.

MsAn has claimed my laptop since I finished studying, but tonight I asked her for it, so I could type this post. I had/have no plan. I didn’t know what I was going to write about. I just wanted to feel the keys under my fingers and enjoy the sensation of stringing together some words, that I can read later, smile and remember this pleasant feeling.

I bought some yarn over the weekend – picked colors that I know the girls will like. Winter is almost over and they don’t make special requests anymore, but I hope to pick up the hooks or needles, whatever suits my fancy and make a scarf or two. I could be ambitious and aim to make a blanket, but I know that’s not going to happen anytime soon so its better to be realistic and try for a scarf.

I had MsA with me when I bought the yarn. We went to our local Reject Shop and indulged in some ‘feel good shopping’ , you know buying things that you don’t need but want and they make your heart happy. Yeah.. just that 🙂 We had had a very busy week and it’s just want we needed to comfort ourselves – that and some delicious chicken burgers.

Speaking of burgers, my meal planning has gone out the window . Well, not completely, I look at recipes, save them on pinterest, browse some more and then am too tired or lazy to plan and implement.

That’s all really . As I said, I just wanted to type a random nothing post, so I can read and smile later. I am getting ready to brace a wet and cold week here in Melbourne and hoping there are sunny periods and rainbows to brighten the days to come.

Take care.. I will see you when I see you

Much love,

Trish ❤

… of blogging or at least pretending to 🙂

I realised today is the last day of February.. how did that happen? I feel like the days are dragging on but the months are flying by.

The girls are well settled at their respective schools and the routine monitoring continues. They are still testing twice a week and so far the tests have been negative.

Oh one Sunday we did get a positive test and isolated immediately. But we also decided to get PCR done within 12 hours, as there were no symptoms at all. Guess what? The PCR came back negative and we were approved to leave Iso. Isolation, even if for 2 days was an experience in itself- one that I don’t wish to relive again.

In other news, I turned another year older and this year, I asked for a nice day out and some plants for my birthday present. Oh and a nice massage 😃 Here’s my favourite one from the lot 💕

How has 2022 been for you, so far? If you are reading this, do leave me a comment:)

Cheers, Trish