Chocaholic-Alert!!

I am currently reading The Chocolate Lovers’ Club by Carole Matthews and finding it the perfect accompaniment to my baking escapades. I can’t give a detailed review on it, cos’ I am only half-way through.....

But what’s not to like??? Four friends, four different personalities, each with problems of their own but all joined together by a common cause.....the no-hold-barred love for Chocolate!!

I will write more when I am through, but as for now.....am just going to wallow in the gratuitous chocolate scenarios that pop up in almost every page!!!

The Motorcycle Diaries....

A movie am looking forward to see.....a road-trip in the life of the legendary Che Guevara which seemingly changed his destiny. To read more about the movie, click on: http://www.stfrancis.edu/historyinthemovies/motorcyclediaries.htm

Salon-Set to Rat-Tails......all in 15 minutes.

After months of postponing.....and coming up with a million excuses, I finally…FINALLY went and got my hair chopped off. Ok…that’s more drastic than what I actually did.

In reality it was just a snip-happy hairdresser and me cringing at regular intervals. Months of “grown-out" hair fell away like a line of pigeons enjoying a mornin’ poop! I was feeling lightheaded (literally) and that took getting used too! But all the length-related misgivings went up in smoke with the finishing touch…the oh-so lovely blow-dry!!

Suddenly my hair looked good.....no....GREAT.....even SENSATIONAL!!...It’s swished and shimmered and caught the light at all the right angles!!

I could almost here the angels sings. It was a divine moment. Under the benevolent smiles of the parlour-ladies and the happy woof of the parlour-dog (yes, it has a resident dog and he smells like a freshly-mowed lawn.....seriously!!!) …I headed back, in search of more compliments (yep... I had crossed over to the land of the delusional!!)

The ride home.....which had more than it’s fair share of dust ‘n’ wind worked blunders for my new cut. By the time I was ringing the doorbell…..I looked like the scatter-brain I always was……bye-bye salon sweetheart…..welcome back Raggedy Ann!!

Needless to say.....compliments were a bit late in coming, since my family’s tends to place a lot of stock by thick, long hair!! And with the well-styled look M.I.A, they failed to see what I had spent good money and valuable time on!!!

Ah well.....time to “curl up and dye”!!!.....(couldn’t resist using that….just couldn’t!)

Second.......third and many more helpings to come!!!

I did my second reading of “Second Helpings” by Megan McCafferty (please excuse the unintentional pun!).....and let me just that this could very well be the tome at which all YA Novel-Authors, wannabe writers and bursting-with-beans teens/adults with an overactive/hyperactive/mile-a-minute imagination should prostrate themselves……and pay homage to this magnificent book!!

I can’t write a review which would do justice, so am just going to leave you the link where people with more than mere mush for brains could give you their opinion!!

Editorial Reviews : Second Helpings

The Cookie-Monster has NOTHING on me!!!

Yep..it’s that time of the year again. A time for overindulgence and no-holds barred gluttony.....when all thoughts of calories.....trim tummies and non-existent love handles are put on the shelf.....(to be revisted at resolution-making time ofcourse!!)

And what screams out Christmas more than home-baked Holiday Cookies!! From the easy-peasy Sugar Cookies to the tangy Lemon Bars to the deliciously decadent Coconut Macaroons……there’s something to entice everyone.

It is extremely gratifying to whip up a tray of perfectly done.....golden-brown cookies. Thoughts of home, hearth and all things cozy and comforting immediately leap to the fore-front. Your first inroad into a crisp yet crumbly Gingersnap and everything seems right with the world. Something akin to the whole “butterbeer” phenomenon!!

And yes……I am going to be nauseatingly perky, bursting with holiday cheer and goodwill….atleast till the new-year. So please bear with me…it’s a temporary phase and I can sincerely swear that it happens only once a year. As 2008 rolls in…..I’ll be back to my charming impression of the “bear-with-a-sore-head”!!!

Getting back to the cookie-craze……please feast your collective orbs on these delectable concoctions and undesrtand the method behind the madness...

My Visual DNA

I am a big fan of Psychological tests…infact, anything that delves into the deepest darkest recesses of the mind and spews out the so-called “REAL ME”. I don’t know if it’s another one of my infamous ego-trips or just good, ol’ fashioned inquisitiveness!

Get me within writing/clicking distance of a personality test and I am instantly poring over it and answering feverishly.
So when I came across a new site: imagini and saw a Visual DNA Test, I had give in to the inevitable. The outcome of this trip down cranium-lane goes somewhat like this:

PERSONALITY : MOODS
GOGETTER (har-de har har!!)
You are a bit of a romantic with a taste for the exotic. You love feeling the sea-breeze in your hair, sun on your skin.....slip of those shoes...you like to kick back (yes...yes...yes and a resoundingYES!!!)
When it comes to art you are definately unconventional - seeing art in all corners of life. (that explains why I was poring over that cinkly potato chip yesterday with acute concentration!!)
As for music....it's the soundtrack of your world. You like to unwind and switch off: it gives you a break from reality (as Gloria Estefan very chessily put it....The music IS going to get you!!)
Your choice of treat shows you crave relaxation. Maybe you lead a pampered life (this is where I snort in an undignified manner and the cofees spurts out of my nostrils..) - or maybe you are so busy you don't seem to get any time for yourself (!!!)

PERSONALITY : FUN
ESCAPE ARTIST
You love to be far away from your everyday life. (well, not really. Except when I get hounded by the matrimonial brigade!)
You love the sun and like to live life at a slower pace than others. For kicks, you like to indulge in your grand passions. You are fiercely loyal and passionate. (I sound like a cross between a labrador and an aging-theater actress!!!)
You like to be part of something big. You love the chance of being in the wilderness and the freedom of being in charge of where you are heading (watch out Tarzan......there's a new 'Queen of the Apes' in the jungle!!)
What grosses you out? You favour the natural look and can't stand a pumped and plumped, plastic appearance (knowingly plunging needles in your body??? Good God, why!?!?)

PERSONALITY : HABITS
NEW-WAVE PURITAN
Even if you have a healthy approach to life, you still have your vices and a craving hunger drives your needs. (say hello to the bottomless pit!!)
Clean and pure....your choice of drink shows that you care about your health and make sure that your putting the right stuff in it (damn, this halo is BRIGHT!!!)
As for the home you are traditional: you invest in quality and history. You like your home to be as stylish as you are. (I love the way that "blink-and-you-miss-it" complement got squeezed in!)

PERSONALITY : LOVE
LOVE-BUG
For you love is about long-term commitment, it means devotion and tenderness. (yep, lobsters mate for life and am waiting for my crustacean comrade!)
When you think of freedom: you think of living for the here and now....

And this is a Visual representation of my personality.....Say hello to the benevolent beatnik from Bandra!!

Air-Tel Ad......Breaking Barriers.

A simple and beautiful ad with a fantastic message. I especially liked the passage accompanying the print ad, which goes.....

Barriers break
when people talk

The simple act of talking can bring the world together.
In the future,
countries will no longer be divided by languages but shall be united in
dialogue.
Familes will come together in lively conversations,
And people
will be set free by reason, understanding and speech.
Simply put, the world
will be a better place, if only
we talk to each other.

The POTTER Parade

A litte treat for all Potter fans......from a brilliant artist...*MAKANI*

Candy-Coated Literature

Continuing in the vein of yesterday's post........here are a list of "light & frivolous" reads, that I hope to lay my hands on in the near future....

Chick-Lit....a guilty pleasure

The much-maligned “Chick-Lit” genre of books is steadily creeping it’s way into my list of favourite categories.

Sassy heroines.....stylish urban settings.....loving/interfering parents (take your pick!!!).....weight-woes.....office politics.....snotty colleagues.....scummy boyfriends and if things finally decide to look upbeat.....a dashing knight in a Savile-Row suit!! That pretty much sums up your average chick-lit novel.

To all the fans of serious, heavy-duty tomes...chick lit seems shallow and pretentious. The heroines are either scatty blondes, over-worked brunettes or fiery red-heads. They crib about everything under the sun, go on shopping sprees, bag the coveted contract, pull one over their bosses, strike a blow for feminism and in the midst of all that chaos.....manage to end up with Mr.Right!!!

Maybe a little more common-sense and a tighter grip on the purse-strings would help. But at the end of the day it boils down to a blend between escapism and a sense of déjà vu.

Somewhere along the line, we associate with the madness.....the faux-pas.....the search for love or even a pair of killer Jimmy Choos!!! When you have made an absolute fool of yourself.....it soothes the bruised ego to know that there are others like you, treading in the same pile of dung as you have!!

Here are a list of my favourites, which I would recommend for anyone looking out for a breezy, laugh-a-minute read. Enjoy!!