LOL ..OK OK may be not atyachaar..but Ms.Aadya sure knows how to emotionally blackmail me.For the last couple of days,she has been asking me to make cookies..but,all the walking,the cold has been making me too tired to even think about baking.She asked again today at nap-time.I told her if she slept,I’ll make some..She didn’t ..so I didn’t make any.I thought the matter was closed.But I thought wrong!
I had a headche all day long and just got through it,one hour at a time,waiting for DH.When he came home,I finished cooking dinner and gave Aadi a massage.And then,I occupied the lounger seat of the couch and vegetated..ummmm NO! No sooner had I settled my heavy bottom on the seat,that Ms.Aadya started her emotional atyaachaar..”Noo..Noo you cannot sit down..Noo “
I moved to the next seat.“Noo I said,you cannot sit down..you have to make cookies“..
I begged ,grovelled ..”please baby..I’ll make it tomorrow”
” No then,I will be very sad..and I will cry..you have to make it today..koi good day main nahi banana..” [don’t make it in the morning]and on and on she went..till I finally took pity on my pounding head,told her to put her fingers on her lips and sit on the couch..she did..atleast for the first 10 minutes.
Then came to remind me..”Mumma,bhoolna bhi matt*,I want chocolate chips..” yes yes..how can I forget! [*Mumma Don’t forget]
5 minutes later- Mumma I am going to sit on the couch fingers on my lips,can I pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee get chocolate chips?
5minutes later-“Mumma,I want sit her and watch you..I want to watch my mumma“..By now,I was rolling the cookie dough.I have to tell u..we have a rule-She cannot pick the choc-chips from the dough..and when I am rolling..I cannot stick the ones that fall off,back..So,she took her place ,next to me..watching ,waiting for the choc-chips to fall.
Then,she helped cut some and the put them on the tray.When the cookies were ready,one little girl was veryyy happy.And we were give strict instructions to not touch ‘her’ cookies! I asked DH to taste and the cheeky monkey says,”No no Papa don’t eat,its too sweet!” LOL
Here are the said cookies:

I played around with Monika’s Recipe ..and added some oats to the flour. I love Monika’s recipes because..we think similar,in terms of reducing fat/sugar and using whole wheat flour instead of maida..do give this one a try!

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment on my Li’l Birdie Giveaway post .thanks for the name,Shruti! To avoid confusion,I will not be replying to comments on that post,no offense anyone:)

P.P.S.-This post was written yesterday..but I need matter for a post everyday,because I signed up for NaBloPoMo again..so,I changed the date of the post!

This post is long over-due.I think way back..sometime in April,I said,that this blog’s visitor count was hovering near 15,000 and when it hits 15,000 I will announce a giveaway.No,I didn’t forget about it..I just didn’t get around to write a post about it.But,I didn’t stop thinking about it.
I thought long and hard..and I then I thought some more..about what to giveaway..to thank you lovely people for stopping by and for coming back,again and again..One thing kept coming to my mind and it was..”hand made”.The other thing that I thought about giving away was a collection of souveneirs from Melbourne..then,I thought no..there was nothing personal about that.So..I am going to stick with HandMade.
Remember Chup-Chup the birdie? No? Then,look here

Like it?
Well that’s the giveaway..
A pair of these cuties in one of the following colors- Maroon,orange,yellow,white.
You can also pick two different colors. The choice is yours.
All you have to do is,leave a comment to this post,telling me what you like most about my blog and what is that you want to see more of in this space. And tell me the color of your liking,in case you win.
The giveaway will run for the month of June and I will pick the winner by random integer generator in the first week of July.Umm..on second thoughts,to make things more interesting,we will have two winners..one picked by the random integer generator..and one picked out the old fashioned way.. lucky dip-drawn by Ms.Aadya.
You can leave multiple entries,to increase your chances of winning.
Sounds good?Please spread the word to others you know.
And again-Thanks for visiting and do keep coming back!

I took some pics of the gifts I wrapped for the party this weekend.

This one is dance mat,that came in a rectangle box. The triangle on top is just a folded newspaper. And the doors and windows are made of aluminium foil.It was a present for a 5 year old and she was kicked to see the details:)
See the CD box behind the wrapped present?That is a box of crayons.I wrapped it up like a toffee,in tissue paper,like this:

Tell me what you think:)
Edited to-change the order of the pics.

I am forever looking for wrapping a gift in a way that’s simple yet cute.
When wrapping my presents,I use all sorts of things-wrapping paper,cellophane paper,newspaper,stamped butter paper,fabric,strings,leaves,fresh flowers,beads,ribbons.And though I love the classic clean gift wraps,I can’t help but play around.
If I am giving a soft book/or a tubular roll of colored pens..I just roll it and wrap it to look like toffee,using slightly longer length of the wrapping paper and ribbons.
Same thing goes for something flat and round like a cookie box.
I don’t have many pictures of my own gift wrapping,except this one:

This is simple jewellery box,wrapped in crepe paper with colorful string,to resemble a potli or hobo-bundle! I was going to add a twig to it but it was too dark to go outside and look for it 😛
I also found these cute gift wrapping ideas,on google.(all images courtesy google images)

These bags are the best alternative to store bought gift-bags-economic and ‘Green’.

And look at this-So cute-just right to wrap up that scarf or book.I love it!

And this one-The gift is wrapped in a soft blanket-you are giving not one but two gifts!how cool is that!

While you are at it,do check what Martha has to say- I absolutely HEART her plant wrappings!
P.S. this is my first time,doing this type of a post..so please excuse my unpolished take on it!

Gosh..its already Thursday!!Where did the week go??
We had a super-busy weekend-Indian grocery,vegetable market,gift-hunting,a house-warming party,baking/cooking,a dinner and before we knew it,the weekend was over-Poof!!
On Monday morning,we woke up sore-the kind of soreness that comes from excercising a lot!*Starting to digress-In a way thats good-i dont feel so bad about not being able to start week2 of the Couch25K..Mornings are so cold,these days..I tried going out for a walk,early morning by 7.30 am,but came back with a headache,that last 2 whole days.So,I gave up.But,we have been blessed with good sunny afternoons,so I go for walks..I have been walking almost 40-45 minutes,3-4 times in a week.OK digression over.
So,Monday was playgroup day..Aadi was so tired,she woke up just half an hour before the scheduled time..ideally,when we leave home..but I have a rule,about not waking her up,in the morning.Most days she is up really early and every once in a while,she sleeps in and makes up for all those early mornings.So,anyway,she woke up late,and we reached there late. After playgroup,we went over to a friend’s house,the one whose housewarming party we attended,spent the afternoon there and then went to the park and then finally reached home-Walked 45 minutes.
Tuesday,was spent in cleaning..-somehow,I just dont get that happy feeling after cleaning these days.May be because,I am so stressed-first about the mammoth task of gathering Aadya’s toys from every corner of the house..then the size of the house.I can never clean the whole house in one go! and so even if two rooms are clean,other two are still taunting me! So,after cleaning the next thing on my list was baking.A friend’s daughter S was turning 5 and I offered to bake cupcakes for her kinder class.I gathered all my baking supplies and started to line up the muffin pan and realised,that I had the wrong liners.Aadi was sleeping,I woke her up half an hour early and hated myself for it..but time was short..It was almost 4 and I had to get the cupcakes baked and frosted by 7.00 pm.I almost ran to the shops,got the right liners..and was back home by 5.00.Then,started aggressive whisking,folding,pouring,baking! I had to bake 30 plus a few more..so,I made 4 batches of cupcakes.
When the third batch was in the oven,I started to work on the butter-cream.And it turned out PERFECTTTTTTTT,if I say so,myself!it was just light and fluffy.I finally got done by 8.00 and left to drop off the bounty!A doll got dropped on one tray and then the other..and finally we managed to deliver them safely..with only two smudged frostings!My friend fed us dinner and we came back,only at midnight.
Wednesday-Took Aadi to the library for story-time,then hung around in the mall with one of the mums and finally walked back home.cooked lunch,and dozed off with Aadi.Woke up,cooked dinner..by now,the un-vaccummed floor was beginning to prick me in the eye..After dinner,I sent DH and Aadi to the bedroom and started cleaning,furiously.Vaccummed the floor,loaded the washing machine/dishwasher,cleaned the kitchen..washed the baking trays..and then finally sat down to enjoy the silence and clean living room..the mopping ,toy room and guest-room can wait till thursday.
Phew…just writing about the week..tires me out.Thursday will be spent at home,finishing up the cleaning..and Friday is school day.Saturday is S’s birthday party and hopefully I will get to rest on Sunday!
Sorry,I havent blog-hopped or commented..but now u know why..hope everyone is doing well.

I think this was a tag that did the rounds nearly two years back.I was wondering what to write today and remembered this..Here’s the ABC of my life-

A – A is for Aadya..that covers pretty much my life.And A is for Addicted..to blogging and chai,
B is for Books ..I have to read every night and every morning and anytime I catch in between.
C is for Crochet..Love to crochet little knick-knacks.
D is for December is the month we got married.
E is for Elephants..My favorite animal
F is for Fan..I need a fan in my bedroom.The fan has to be ON and running at full-speed,every night for 365 days..no matter how cold it is.
G is Ganesha,my favorite God and Google is my answer to everything!
H is for House-keeping is not my strong point..but home decorating is.
I is for India..Need I say more?
J is junky-I am a junky and I love hoarding my junk..be it old bills,old clothes,anything!
K is for Knits,Kitchen,Kids..My 3 fortes!!LOL!
L is for Lakheri,my home town
M is for mischief..which was one word to define me,ummm about 10 years back.
N is for-Never give up..thats my motto..No matter what I am doing,I don’t get frustrated and give up.I am not bragging..may be its a vice..
O is for O.J…Freshly squeezed orange juice,is my favorite juice.
P is forPaints..Love my paints..I dabble here and there,but I want to take professional painting classes.
Q is for Quick..which I am so Not!
R- Rum and Coke was the first alcoholic drink I ever tried.
S- DH’s name starts with S and so does my nickname.
T- My favorite letter..after all my name starts with it.
U- U.S.A-Where my darling Baby was born.
V- Variety is the spice of my life.I have to read 2 books together-I have to work on two craft projects simultaneously.
W is for weekend sleep-ins..I have to have my weekend sleep-in..If I wake up early,I end up being grumpy..grr..LOL! I am kidding..I am not grumpy..but I feel the weekend isn’t a weekend!
X is for Xmas..My earliest Xmas memories date back to when I was 5.Xmas was the festival that was added to our (DH and me) list of festival,that we celebrate ,when Aadi was born.
Y- Yoga,my new found love.
Z- Zzzzzz..I need my zzzzz and can fall asleep ANY TIME..If only I had the luxury to do that:P

5 women,across 4 continents,a lot of emails equals to a yummilicious Mud Cake..you wonder how?Let me tell you
It all started with an email from GM,asking a bunch of us,if we had any good,tried and tested mud-cake recipes.I had one in a book that I hadn’t tried yet..there is something about mudcakes that I used to find daunting.I couldn’t pin point what exactly..may be the fear of failing or the fear of getting our taste-buds all excited and then not meeting the expectation..but whatever it was,I had never attempted baking a mud-cake before.
‘A’ generously shared a mud-cake recipe that she had used to bake cupcakes.And GM tried it.It didn’t quite turn out the way,that she/we expected and a flurry of emails later,one by one all of us decided to try our hand at it.First it was ‘A’,then Smitha,then Monu and me..
A’s cake was the best looking and I am sure it tasted divine..Actually all the cakes tasted delicious…
These tonnes of emails exchanged,left me,with so many tips.And what amazed me was,how each one of us,added our own twist to the same recipe-either by choice or by necessity 🙂
The recipe called for dark chocolate and I thought I had some,stashed in the back of the chiller tray,but it turned otherwise.So,I just substituted the dark chocolate with cocoa powder-equal quantities and increased the sugar.I found Monika,online and she suggested the same thing.I love this virtual hand-holding.
I am always a little vary of adding melted chocolate to the eggs…what if it isn’t cool enough..what if the eggs curdle?I waited a little longer for the chocolate to cool and then added it to the eggs and then the rest of the recipe was like a breeze.The batter tasted divine and I poured it in the tin.Only,I wasn’t sure,how much it will rise,so,I just filled the tin,till it was half full.The rest of the batter went into a cupcake pan and the remainder into a 9 inch round.
The cakes came out beautifully..the cupcakes,slipped out perfectly.The main cake had one-two minor cracks,but nothing that couldnt be covered with frosting.
I had recently tried butter icing and whipped cream frosting,this time,I wanted to try a chocolate glaze.The glaze turned out ok..it tasted nice but wasn’t smooth enough.
I liked reaching out to the girls,if I had a doubt,or needed to substitute something.I loved the generous exchange of tips and recipes,that flowed in those emails.I loved connecting with other baking-loving bloggers.
Here are the pictures of my cakes-

Just out of the oven

DH and Aadi,had finished 3-4 even before,it could cool down and I could take pictures.

And lastly,my attempt at decorating with a icing syringe and nozzles!

This has by far been the best cooking/baking experiment,I have participated in.I really hope we can do this more often,ladies.
Do check out what Goofy,Smitha,‘A’ and Monu have to say about this.