Hi folks, I hope you are having a good weekend! Ours has been a quiet one especially after all the power outages we had the previous weekend, we were happy to be home with electricity and happy to have a low-key couple of days.
Today I would love to share with you a fabulous fall garden project that uses foraged flora and natural garden elements. Are you looking for a creative way to decorate your pumpkins this season? Try this foraged flora pumpkin project that everyone can be a part off. All you need is glue and foraged flora and you can make the most beautiful decorated pumpkin that I promise will look like you purchased it from a high-end florist! Continue reading Foraged Flora Pumpkin Decorating with Friends→
I hope you are having a good week and are looking forward to a lovely weekend. For us, this week has been rather somber. We found out earlier this week that my dear friend Nishma’s Mother-in-law whom we affectionately called Masi (Aunty) passed away. She was 90 years old and passed away peacefully surrounded by her family. Continue reading Friday Flowers. Remembering Masi→
I am excited to share with you these images of an Indian floral art form called Pookolam that is “floral artwork” that I saw this week. Pookalam are created in the Southern Indian state of Kerala during their fall-harvest festival. I had never seen a Pookalam until this week when I stopped by my friend Veena and Mani’s home for their annual Navratri Golu celebrations. Every year Mani and Veena put on an elaborate and gorgeous display of mythological Indian dolls and souvenirs for their Golu display, but this year Veena had gone further to create a beautiful Pookalam or flower art for the occasion. Continue reading Friday Flowers: Pookalam. Flower Art→
Looking to make a quick batch of cup cakes loaded with good for you blueberries? This recipe makes the most light and fluffy blueberry cup cakes ever! I picked up this recipe from my friend Nishma who asked me to stop by for a quick cup of tea and a light breakfast after my morning gym workout one day. These delicious blueberry muffins were on her menu. Light and fluffy and sweetened to perfection, these muffins tasted so good with a cup of tea in the morning, that I must admit I did feel a little guilty having it after my workout. But Nishma informed me that it was light on the sugar and made with almond flour. Somehow hearing this made me enjoy the muffin even more. Continue reading Light and Fluffy Blueberry Muffins→
My twins started school this week, which means my schedule has freed up and is more predictable now. The twins are seniors this year, I can’t believe it! One more year and then they are off to college. But I’m not going to delve on that right now as it does make me a little sad, but rather I’d like to share with you some happy pictures of a recent nursery trip I made to my favorite nursery Half Moon Bay Nursery in Half Moon Bay, California. Continue reading Friday Flowers→
Akbar Mashti ice cream is an extremely popular Persian ice cream flavor that I had for the first time last summer when we were on holiday in Vancouver, Canada. At popular local gelato parlor Bella Gelateria is where I had this delectable ice cream and absolutely loved it. Flavored with saffron, rose water and pistachios, seriously folks, this ice cream is creamy delicious! Continue reading Akbar Mashti Ice Cream. Rose Saffron Pistachio Ice cream→
The Alhambra Castle and Fortress in Granada has to be one of the most visited places in Spain with five to eight thousand visitors a day from all over the world. This giant castle and fortress compound spans over 35 acres and is covered in the most stunning gardens I have ever seen. This spectacular Palace, Fortress and Gardens takes over five hours to explore but truly the most amazing aspect of this visit are the gardens of the Alhambra. The flowers, the fountains, the reflecting pools, the kitchen gardens, the orchards, each and every part of the landscape at this thousand year old complex is awe-inspiring. It is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions, and showcases the country’s most significant and well-known Islamic architecture, combined with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden designs. I was so in awe of the gardens here that most of my photos are of the palace gardens and a few pictures of the palace itself. Here is a look at the gardens of the Alhambra. Continue reading The Gardens of the Alhambra. Granada, Spain→
June has been a crazy roller coaster of weather for us here in the Bay Area. We had temperatures in the 90s and 100s and I think we even broke a few records with temps up to 105! Then the temperatures went back down to our pleasant 70s and 80s. Basically we were all over the place weather wise in June. Despite these fluctuations in temps the garden faired really well. Continue reading June in the Garden→
Lemon tart. How hard is it to make this delicious dessert? Getting the egg yolks to cook with the cream without curdling, then add the lemon juice and hope that it all sets into a beautiful custard. It’s a lot of work and tricky to get it just right. That’s why when one of my twins wanted to make a lemon tart – all I could think of is how hard it is to make. But when Rani informed me that this recipe actually doesn’t require eggs, and for that matter you don’t even bake the tart, but instead you just make the lemon cream and cool it in the refrigerator, it really got me interested. Continue reading Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries→
