Long haul flight to Australia

 I read this bit of marriage advice once about making an effort not to look like you are permanently on a long haul flight to Australia. You can just picture the clothes right - comfy, slouchy, soft.

Tomorrow I am really about to embark on a long haul flight. Fifteen hours to NY. Yes, you want to be comfy, but you don't want to arrive at JFK looking like you've just been on a fifteen hour flight. With the added complication that you change seasons in mid air. You can always spot the seasoned traveller - the one who balances glamour + casual so perfectly. Of course, the above mentioned traveller usually emerges from business class. It is a whole lot easier to look glam and casual when you've had 10 hours sleep on a flat bed. The travelers I really don't understand are those that wear skirts on long haul flights. Really? You chose to wear that for 15 hours during which you twisted your body and bend your legs into all sorts of contortions.

So, what to wear? I think any of these are perfect travels outfits...

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(Shhh - Apparently this outfit will bump you up to first class)

Guest Post: OH YUM: Dark Chocolate Brownies, Ginger Ice Cream & Salted Butter Caramel Sauce

Doesn't this look like the most delicious thing ever?

For the brownies (adapted from Martha Stewart):

Notes: you can replace the gluten free flours with 3/4 cup all purpose flour if not gluten sensitive.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup best-quality unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup superfine sweet rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup millet
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Kahlua or strong coffee

Preheat oven to 350°F and position a rack in the center. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Butter the paper and set aside.
In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt together the butter, chocolate, and cocoa. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth; let cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice flour, cornstarch, millet, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until pale on medium high speed, about 4 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture. Add kahlua or coffee. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes, lift out of pan, and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely. (check at 15-20 minutes if using smaller molds). Cut into 8 rectangles. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

For the ginger ice cream:
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1 cup (200gr) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons freshly and very finely grated ginger

In a large saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, sugar and ginger. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium low heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let steep as it cools to room temperature. Refrigerate, preferably overnight. Strain if desired.
Process the mixture into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's intructions.

For the salted butter caramel sauce:
1 1/4 cup (250 gr) granulated sugar
80 ml water
1 stick (115gr) salted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
150 ml heavy whipping cream

In a heavy saucepan set over low heat, combine the sugar and water. Cook just until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter. Let it come to a boil and cook until it reaches a golden caramel color. Remove from the heat and add the cream ( it will splatter and get crazy). Whisk to combine and put back on the stove. Let it come to a boil again over low heat and cook 25-35 minutes until you reach a creamy consistency. Pour into a jar and try to refrain yourself from drinking it!

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Faces of India (Part Two)

Last week I did a post on the faces of India. But of course, in a land of billions of people, capturing faces takes up more than one post. As such, I present to you, the aptly named, Faces of India Part 2.

 This gentleman is a guard at the mighty Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur. Pretty picture perfect if you ask me, with his twirled 'tache and bright yellow turban. Although, he doesn't look very "guardly" does he? And his actions did nothing to contradict that as he nodded off while perched on a chair, hiding from the sweltering mid day sun.

We passed this guy and his band of three as we exited the fort walls. Their tunes filled the air while sweaty crowds gathered around. I did the touristy thing and had my photo with the band which was a huge mistake since every passing tourist wanted to get one of us too. We were stuck there for quite a while.

 Still at the Mehrangarh Fort, this gentleman somehow managed to look fresh and unbothered despite the heat. I certainly could not say the same for myself. I remember thinking that I should get myself a turban...

This man looked up at just the right time. A drive-by snap shot might be a bit of an exaggeration as you never really go at lightening speeds while twisting your way through narrows streets of Jodhpur on a tuktuk, but it was lucky nonetheless. I love that his face resembles a turtle and the helmet only emphasises that. 

 We went for dinner at the most bizarre restaurant in Jodhpur. We had been told it was one of the best (not an uncommon term to hear in India). Walking up to the front door of this huge, stand alone building, with no one else around gave me an eery feeling right from the start. The creepiness only increased... When we got to the third floor, the maitre d' showed us around a myriad of huge, over-decorated, completely empty dining rooms and said we could choose to sit where ever we please. At this stage I was searching for exit signs but sucked up my fear and selected to dine on the rooftop. And this was our waiter. I actually don't like this picture because of the harsh flash but he had the most incredible face. Needless to say, the service was great and we survived the night.

 Master mixer of scents and smells and liquids, all wrapped up in a bottle.

Another camel, another street. This camel did not belong to this young lad, he just wanted to be in the picture.

Our tuktuk driver and pseudo tour guide around Jodhpur thought the local boys' school was an essential site to see (as it turns out his uncle was the headmaster and we spent the morning in the accounts office, sipping chai poured from filthy plastic bags, learning new languages, chatting to English teachers trying to impress their peers). We were shown the computer room with great pride. Much to everyone's disappointment the Internet was down. I snapped these kids as we left the school.

 A colourful little street store is hard to resist.

We were wondering around the old city of Jodhpur and I passed this little chap. I almost missed him he was sitting so still, just watching the world go by as his mom and sisters slept inside. So dignified, with his legs crossed, and hands on knee. A little statue. As if he would still be sitting like that in a hundred years. I knelt down really close to him to get this picture and he barely even blinked. In the midday heat even that is an effort.  

Glitter + champagne

I am writing this post while indulging in left overs from Cheska's kitchen tea. Not just any left overs - the flourless Belgian chocolate cake from Nice kind of left overs (see image below). It is transporting me back to Saturday afternoon...

It was a perfect early-summers day. Blue skies. Shining sun. But not quite your normal Saturday. It was Cheska's kitchen tea. Cheska is the kind of girl who was born with glitter in her veins so her slaves sisters, mom, and grandmother worked hard to create a day befit for such a bride-to-be. Now the sisters are usually dependent on Cheska's superior organisation skills so we were put to the test. However, after many nights of mid night crafting, spray painting, planning, and generally not getting anywhere, we managed to throw her a glorious party. Think an old fashioned tea party next to a rose garden, with champagne riddled activities, aprons, and golden kitchen utensils. (Not to mention the shoes - Being in the fashion industry, many a fabulous shoe attended the tea. In fact, I could have done a post on the shoes alone).

 Cheska and Human sitting in a tree...

 Tiny little mouthfuls of delight

 Ring biscuits

 Rules for the "wedding cake decorating" activity

 The table with gold and pink kitchen gadgets and what nots

Everyone got an apron

 The glitter bar (yes, those are tiny glitter nail polishes for you to up your glam quotient while waiting for your bubbles to be poured)

Bridey! 

 And this is the cake I mentioned. Oh yum (you know when you should stop but you can't...)

 Creative wrapping

 Decorate your wedding cake

 Our beautiful little sister (and bake queen)

 More cakes to be decorated

The photobooth

 Mother-of-the-bride versus future mother-in-law

 Our wonderful gran and Honor

Related much?

happy friday

Hello you pretty little souls. It is almost the weekend and YAY for that. Tomorrow is Cheska's kitchen tea - I can't wait for the fun and games and sparkles to begin (can't say too much about it because I don't want to ruin the surprise!). What will you be getting up to?

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How's this for a little Friday sundonwer spot

A behind the scenes pic of big wigs chatting

A beautiful kitchen boutique

Camping in a tube

This guy's posts have me ROTFLing

This tumblr will make you want to whip out your old family photograph albums

I want to add more than three things to my basket from here

The scale of the universe (sorry if i have linked this before - but it is awesome enough to be posted twice)

And her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering

A humbling post that you should read (via here)

Look after your lovely selves. 

xoxox

Grumpy wizards make a toxic brew for the jovial queen

 

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 A pangram is a sentence that contains all letters of the alphabet. Less frequently, such sentences are called holalphabetic sentences.Interesting pangrams are generally short ones; constructing a sentence that includes the fewest repeat letters possible is a challenging task. However, pangrams that are slightly longer yet enlightening, humorous, or eccentric are noteworthy in their own right.

By far the most well-known pangram is, "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." Frequently this is the sentence used to test out new typewriters, presumably because it includes every letter of the alphabet. Curiously, this sentence is often misquoted by changing "jumps" to "jumped." The past tense version, lacking an "s," is not a pangram. Often, too, it is misquoted as "the lazy dog" rather than "a lazy dog." This error is not as grievous; the sentence remains a pangram, just a slightly longer one.

Do you know any?

 

A very big box sailed up then whizzed quickly from Japan.

Jack quietly moved up front and seized the big ball of wax.

A quick movement of the enemy will jeopardize six gunboats.

 

Oh they make me chuckle...

 

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Guest Post: 1 MONTH TO GO!

OMG 1 month to go until I put on my pretty dress, walk down the aisle, say I do and then dance the night away! I cannot wait!

I know it is cheese but here are a few pics of the fiance and I over the last 6 years!