Last Forest.

During our last trip to the hills of Nilgiris, we were taking a walk down the sloping roads of Upper Coonoor looking at all the quaint shops...when we came across a wooden board which read 'The Green Shop', intrigued, we entered and were engulfed into a space filled with honey bottles, beeswax candles, aromatics, organic spices and many exotic things.

We learnt that the place is run by Keystone Foundation-whose work has been concentrated in the areas of apiculture, micro-enterprise development, non-timber forest produce, land and water management, revival of traditional agriculture, and other issues concerning indigenous communities. 'Last Forest' is the brand under which they sell all the products produced by the indigenous tribal communities like the Kurumbas, Todas etc
Don't know how time flew and when we came out we had bags full of the Last Forest goodies to savour...

a lot can happen over coffee...

Hot Cappucino & warm brownies at Cafe Coffee Day.

The brownies at Cafe Coffee Day is one of the best I have tasted!

Also check out 8 facts about me in Rang-Decor :-)

Bye!

Will be away from cyberspace for few days, till then :-)

* Drink loads of 'Garam Chai'
* Float rose petals in a bowl (read more in Rang- Decor)
* Sing loudly while you are driving alone in the car.
* Gossip with your friends.
* Eat hot jalebis...(if it's available in your part of the world;-)
* Enjoy the colours of your lives....

morning after the showers...

I

* am a morning person, actually I am an early morning person.

* enjoy my morning walks.

* inhale the freshness of the chill morning air.

* see one wet leaf fall silently to the ground.

* feel the raindrops fall on me from the trees, when they sway to the gentle breeze.

* hear buzzing of the bees in the cluster of Frangipani flowers.

* feel the wetness of the grass.

* see the bright colours of the flowers after a night long shower.

* experience the beauty that surrounds us.

Enjoy some pics taken during my morning walk today...Beautiful Frangipani/Plumeria flowers drenched in the rain...

Raindrops on a lily bud.

Feel like a queen...

...or a princess in these exquisite clothes by Ritu Kumar.
Ritu Kumar is one of Indian's well-known fashion designers, she is also one of my favourites.
I had posted about her beautiful clothes last year. I just checked on her site today and was completely bowled over by her 'Bridal' Collection.
Ritu Kumar's name is synonymous with traditional Indian designs and revival of ancient textile crafts.

She has a sub brand called 'Label' aimed at the younger customers.

Loved these ads and the graphics :-)

(images from Ritu Kumar.com)

Auroville Papers

I *heart* handmade paper & products. I have posted about them before here, here, here & here.

Auroville Papers has some amazing products. They are made out of only natural vegetal fibres. No trees are cut in the making of this paper, they have fantastic textures, patterns & colours, all inspired by Mother Nature.

Posters from Auroville Papers. They can be framed and used as pieces of art!'Poems of nature' range of gift items. (Inspired by nature..just love the impressions of the leaves!)
Range of 'Gift wrapping paper' is exquisite! Check out the textures!!!

You can check out their site. They have loads of interesting products like Paper earrings, Gift Sets, Wrapping Paper and more...Do visit!

(all images from Auroville Papers)

One Dancer & One Designer.

Today I posted about Anuradha Vakil's Studio on Rang-Decor.

I just couldn't resist these pics of my favourite Indian Dancer wearing one of my favourite Indian fashion designer's clothes.
(images from Anuradha Vakil.com)

Calm...

* 7.45 a.m.
* Feeling of calm envelopes me.
* I see colour.
* I smell cardamom.
* I think of my 'to-do' list.
* I hear the traffic far away.
* I remember it's Friday.

Have a great weekend all of you :-)

Thanks decor8!

Rang-Decor is the 'Blog of the Week' on decor8.

Thanks a lot Holly!

Ceramic love...

Rhine Stone Art Pottery & Auroville mugs

* For me ceramic containers are pieces of art.
* When I drink a tea or a coffee in a particular ceramic mug, it's an experience.(some of you are smiling)
* In some I like the colours, the texture, the patterns and in some the sheer imperfections!
* The fact that it was just a blob of clay and now it is this piece of art in the hands of a potter makes it special.
* I use them for tea, coffee, beverages and also place plants & flowers in them.
* I pick up ceramic mugs from art studios, exhibitions, craft fairs, regular crockery stores, dollar stores or sometimes on street corners.
image from Forest Pottery Ceramics Khurja Pottery image from Mantra Pottery.com
Enjoy these...

~ Bloesem Vintage Ceramics
~ Vessel Wednesday

~ diana fayt

~ karin eriksson

~ Mantra Pottery
~ White Forest Pottery
~ Vintage Ceramics
~ White Bike Ceramics

Ceramic mug by Karin Eriksson( image from karinerikkson.com)

image from white bike ceramic.com
image from white forest pottery.com

Some eye-candy here-
* little japanese pitcher
* green and blue mugs
* new mugs
Next time you drink tea or coffee..enjoy your mug :-)

My Top 3 list!

Was over at deborah's blog and came across happysilly's top 3 list.

Here is my top 3-
* the fragrance of medimix herbal soap (I completely love it!)
* the frogs croaking down at the neighbour's garden.
* this drawing by my daughter.

( When I asked, 'What is this Mallika? She said, 'Kissing Birdies Amma' as a matter-of- fact.
I think the expression is adorable)

What is your Top 3 List?

The early bird gets the worm er...the dosa!

* My husband & I are complete foodies (waiting for mallika to join the club:-)

* I love cooking and my husband loves eating.

* We also love eating out- trying out the various cuisines.

* Breakfast is our favourite meal of the day.

* Every weekend morning we venture out in search of a new breakfast place.

* A typical south indian breakfast would consist of Idli-Vada combination starter, a masala dosa, kesari bath, khara bath, uttapam, set dosa, akki roti, ragi roti, rava dosa...well, now I am getting carried away;-) and then finally washing it down with a piping hot cup of filter kapi or coffee.
There are a whole lot of great breakfast places in Bangalore. Some personal favourites are-

* Sri Krishna Udupi Bhavan, Balepet
* Brindavan Hotel, M.G. Road
* Halli Thindi, Basavangudi
* Bharathi Vidya Bhavan, Gandhi Bazaar
If anyone knows of good breakfast place do let me know:-) Strong Filter Coffee.
Bharathi Vidya Bhavan Dosa made with molten white butter & served with chutney.

Okay Okay...I also love taking pics of my breakfasts :-)

Wrapping gifts...?

*I love getting gifts.
*I love getting gifts, wrapped in lovely wrapping paper.
*I love handmade, blockprint wrapping paper.
*I love wrapping gifts.

P.S. The green wrapper is from Chimanlals -one of my favourite brands.
Handmade one is from Fabindia.
The cards are also from Chimanlals.

Orange Sunday...

Orange has been on my mind lately...
Some pics from my archives.Sea of corn on the way to Lepakshi '06 Cashew fruit & my orange flip flops.
Fabindia quilt.
Gerbera floating in water.
Dokra Sun God pendant.
My Bandini (Tie & Dye) dupatta
Freshly squeezed orange juice.
Pic from my first post 'The Orange toothbrush family'
Freshly picked Marigolds with a Sun God incense stick holder.