Of Families, vacations, birthdays and stitching

Hola dear stitchy, bakey, crafty friends!! Am back after being MIA, from the blogger world, for 2 months. That's because life has been crazy busy in a good way. July/August is always like that when cousins and families, brother and family all come from several parts of the World and hence the busiest months of the year for us. By the end of August, they all return to their worlds and we to ours hungover from the holidays holding on to the energy till the next year

This year we all went on a very short trip and almost all of us cousins were there, making it even more special. We travelled to Pollachi, a short drive from Coimbatore. The resort where we stayed was a quaint little one and we had the resort almost to ourselves, so we could make all the noise without fear of disturbing other guests. 

There was beautiful river flowing right behind the resort and we had full access to it. A very scenic place and so many peacocks around

It was a very nostalgic trip - recollecting childhood memories, catching up with the new members in the family, getting to know them all better. Our kids enjoyed themselves too, with so much open space to run around and no fear of traffic etc

We celebrated a few birthdays too in August and September

August is V's birthday. I baked a pinacolada cake this time with fresh cream frosting

Dad turned 76 last week. As his birthday coincided with Ganesh Chathurthi this year, we decided to bake a Kozhakattai cake

Amidst all this I did manage to stitch some the last 2 months

That's the progress on project Amma. I have progressed 2 more pages since my last post and can say that I am a little more than half way through

..and here's the ORTS for the last 2 months

That's all that's been happening in my part of the world the last 2 months dear friends. Till next time.. take care.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir!

A birthday and some stitching

Hello dear friends. It is the festival season and also season of birthdays in the family. It was dad's 75th birthday on the 18th and we threw a surprise party with a few very close relatives. Dad was totally overwhelmed and extremely happy

We ordered a blackcurrant cake which was absolutely delicious

V started college last month. She's now doing her undergrad in BSc psychology and she's loving it so far

After quite a long gap, V baked these delicious snickerdoodles - the recipe from my William Sonoma's Baking

I was able to catch up on some stitching this month

..and here's the Orts from the month's progress

..a closer look at the progress. I am almost done with the 4th page now. With the holiday season coming up, hope to get some more stitching done

That's the update from me tonight dear friends. Till next time.. take care.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir!

Sweet 16!!

Guess who turned 16 this week.. that's right, V is sweet 16 now!! 

She wanted a chocolatey cake this year. A friend had shared this recipe for Salted Caramel chocolate cake sometime back and I had a bottle of store bought salted caramel. 

Basic recipe idea is from this link - https://bakerbynature.com/salted-caramel-chocolate-cake/. I used my go-to eggless chocolate cake recipe from Nita Mehta's Eggless Bakes book. Used the buttercream frosting recipe from this link. For the first time, tried caramel shards as topping

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel buttercream frosting

Stitchy Update

Here's progress on Snowy day

All I have left now are the whites. Hope to finish it by next weekend

So, that's the update from me today friends. Till next time.. be happy.. stay safe.. Keep stitching.. Au Revoir

A b'day and a finish

What a busy 2 weeks it's been. There was so much work at work, at home. everywhere. Just seemed endless!! But looking back am happy and satisfied with whatever happened

So, let me start with the birthday. V turned 9 on 19th!! My little baby is now 9!!

It has been 2 years since we had a party for her birthday, and this year she was sure she wanted one. Not just any party, according to her she wanted the "best party ever", whatever that meant.

I had already decided that I wanted to move out of my comfort zone and try something new for her birthday cake. So, I ventured into trying a shaped cake

I did not have a cake board big enough to hold the cake. So, I had to prop it up on a circular tray. The cake was yummy and the kids just loved it. It was a basic vanilla sponge with buttercream frosting.

You can view a video of how to make a simple butterfly cake here  It is really simple

V and I made ear-ring for the girls as a return gift.

And guess what dear friends.. I have finished my cottage series!!!

Atleast the stitching is all done. Am soooo thrilled with finishing december, but can't believe that the series is over now. I will put up a picture of all finishes once I proper finish them into ornaments.


I am going to pick up seashells again now. That's about it from me today friends. Till next time.. Take care.. Be happy.. Keep stitching.. Au Revoir

TUSAL and a finish

Oh, sooo much has happened the last week. Let me start with a celebration.

My dear mom completed 60 years!! We had a small gathering at home. My aunts happened to be with us on that day. They had come down to Chennai to attend a wedding, so we had an impromptu gathering. I baked a cake of course.

My mother does not like chocolate cake. So baked her an almond cake with almond butter cream frosting. V did the frosting and the message. We initially started off with edible markers, but the frosting started sticking to the tip of the marker. So we used gel for the rest of the message

I tried a different version of the savory bread, with corn and paneer. 

This definitely is a super hit at home. The whole loaf is finished for a single breakfast. The hubby and V demand this for breakfast every Sunday now!!

Last night I baked some cookies. I call these health cookies, as I used a health mix powder instead of whole wheat. 

 The original recipe is for whole wheat walnut cookies from here. As I had a carton of the Manna health mix at home and not being used, I used that instead of wheat. The result was absolutely yummy. V had a few when they were still warm and was totally thrilled. Boy, I have been on a baking spree!!

Now for the TUSAL. 

 It's already the 2nd one of the year!!

 And finally, I have finished August, my version of it

Initially when I replaced the red with orange, I had a little doubt. But I love the was it has finished. I am also very happy with the Indian flag, standing there tall and proud. Now I am all set to start September. I have decided to finish the cottages fast and then resume the seashells.

Wow, quite a lot isn't it?? With that I take leave today. Till next time.. take care.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir :)

Bead-a-roll

I have been on a roll on the beading front the last week. I did so much over the weekend for my cousin's charity event coming up. Here are a few of them

My dad completed 65 last week and I baked this yummy vanilla cake with fresh cream vanilla icing

I used the ready-made gel that my brother brought from the US for the decoration. The cake was fresh and very light. I used a different recipe this time for the cake from here.

With so much beading, I have not been able to progress too much on June

With that friends, I take leave today. Till next time.. Take care.. Be happy.. Keep stitching.. Au Revoir

Soo.. much to update

Hello my dear friends. It has been a while since my last update. But, boy do I have updates for you to make up for all the silence.

Let me start with some celebration. 19th was V's birthday.. she's 7 now!!! Time sure does fly.

 

Clicked this picture just in time to catch the flair of her gown, hence the shake. 

 

This time we ordered a Dora cake for her. I wanted Dora to wear a similar gown like V's!! Mother's fancies I tell you

Ready to make a wish :)

I tried something new in beading - something more than just 2 strands. This time a more funkier look (I think). Used some multicolor seed beads and Coral chip beads.

For the ear-rings, tried something different than the usual hanging. What do you think?

And now for the juicy part.. Guess what, I have Stash!!! I know, am very bad when am going at a snail's pace with my current work. But just could not resist ordering some fabrics from 123stitch when little brother was coming home from the US.

Ordered the required threads and fabric for LHN's The Bookshelf pattern too. Hoping to start on that soon. Also ordered some red silk thread.

Now for my stitchy progress.

Am taking my own sweet time to finish this up. Am loving each stitch I put in this.
That's my updates for now friends.Till my next update.. Take care.. Be happy.. Keep stitching.. Au Revoir..