Silent Weekend: Philly in Photos...

Celebrate....

Sometimes life... gets in the way....runs away from you... makes you forget the little moments that need to be paused and enjoyed... has its own agenda... is never certain... makes you run in circles figuring out why...makes you wallow in the tactical and forget the big picture...

Last weekend, I got a notice from Google to renew my domain. My website, my little space of joy, my creation. I had forgotten it was born four years ago about a couple of months back. Much has happened in the last few months. My life has changed a lot. But, that was no reason to forget.

This morning, my landlord passed away. He was 72. A lovely person who always had a smile for me. I saw him last week. He was working. His heart failed, they told me. He was a good person and a good house owner. He was fair and friendly. His son and friend run the shop downstairs. We were talking last week about his plans to renovate the building. His father owned it, until today. It was sudden and unexpected.

I didn't know him well, but well enough, to make me pause.

It is indeed easy to get caught in the little curve balls that life throws at you, submerge in self-pity and forget all the amazing things that are in life. Forget to be grateful for what is and celebrate what should be.

So, today I am going to celebrate, because I am grateful..

... That I have people in my life I can trust

... That there are those who love me for who I am and nothing more

... That I can live in New York, one of the best cities in the world

... That I am strong, smart and capable of sustaining myself

... That I can make people smile

... That I have inherited an incredible talent to let people I care about know I do, because they are special

... That I know who I am and what I want (for the most part) and will not and need not compromise

... That I have the freedom to make choices, unshackled by conventions or opinions

... That I have self-respect

... That I am loved. Period!

So, I choose to celebrate all that and more.

This cake was originally in remembrance of the belated birthday of this blog. But, it truly is my gift to myself. Because, I am proud of who I am, and, today, I celebrate the strong woman and soft feminine in me!

And, because, I am worth it! :)

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Under Renovation.....

So, yes.. I have been a bit MIA or atleast not really regular in this space and that's because, I doing a "little" Summer project... Renovating my apartment, giving it a fresh look and total new look... mine! :)

I started with the kitchen. A complete do-over...Color, warmth, decor and importantly, lot less clutter :) Spring cleaning and Summer breath all in one.... I will post the "after" photographs soon...


And, I will be back with more food as soon as I can! :)

Of expectations... failing... and living...

I am Asha. A blogger, a foodie, a photographer, a writer.. oh so many things... But really, I am a girl who wants life, love and happiness... Nothing more, nothing less...

I rarely speak about myself in public, here or elsewhere. People think I am a closed person. I think you don't know. I think I don't know.. But I want to...

Growing up in India is simple, yet very complex. In a land that excels in "behind closed doors" and "within four walls" a lot happens, a lot felt, yet little seen or shown.


A land of billions is a land of many hopes, more expectations and perhaps, a lot of failures. Those are the lucky ones. There are some who don't fail, are not allowed to fail, cannot feel failure..

A collage of achievements is how I described myself. A poster child for my family.. Good grades, best schools, top universities, nothing shy of reaching for the stars.. and I did... As did a lot of kids along with me.. We were pushed, prodded and encouraged in one direction and one alone.. academic superlative-ness guaranteeing a good life

Uni-dimensional, repressed, silent for fear of offending... Afraid of failure...


Yet, how can you live if you don't fail. If you never tripped and fell, you never know how to pick yourself up, take another step and reach higher... A lesson preferably learned sooner than later. But not all of us are that lucky. But, learn we do because life is not singular in any respect...

And, that's what makes it worth living!! Finding oneself and finding happiness when the mask slips... So, I am try! :))


The only link to these rambles to today's recipe is my experimenting with spelt flour and attempts to make croissants with them. It failed horribly but I am ok. Because really the croissants became like cookies, crumbly and nutty in flavor (spelt is a nuttier grain). Then the Anzac ones happened and later, I found an even better use for the "croissant" dough and learned something that will make spelt flakier without adding gluten.

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