OOTD-Shrug off the Weight of your Own Judgements!

As women, I think we're just wired to focus on the details.

On the plus side, this makes us Super Managers of our homes and the grease that keeps the gears of our families' daily lives functioning smoothly. Unfortunately on the down we tend to use this same attention to detail to pinpoint every lack or excess on our poor ever changing bodies.

Muffin Tops and Thunder thighs, Belly Flab and Grandma arms...We make these and other such "Problem Areas" seem so much more worse in our heads than they actually are!

Many of us then resort to wearing oversized and baggy clothes to "conceal" these perceived shortcomings and end up adding more unnecessary bulk.

With trial and error, I  have come to realise that wearing fitted clothes is actually far more flattering. All I need then is light layering to gently accentuate. A fitted blazer or a flowy shrug are perfect choices to do so!

Chubby thighs and sunny skies!😄

A completely easy, basic outfit of leggings and soft cotton Tee that any girl with a smaller or regular body would wear casually! But modified just a bit with that helpful sleevelesss shrug. 

A large oversized Tote to pack in a packet of bicuits, water bottle (and a few diapers even),  large animal print sunnies, comfy flip flops and hair thrown in a quick side plait. I was all set to spend a sunny, fun Sunday with my family!

My monkey Faith

My World

Product details about all the items of  plus size clothing and accessories as follows:

Sleevelesss Linen Shrug: BIBA
Cotton T shirt :MAX Dubai
Stretchy Leggings: MAX India
Flip Flops : Westside
Black Tote: Street Shopping in Thailand
Oversized Sunglasses: Splash Dubai

I purchased the BIBA shrug Online via Amazon.in and the Leggings were picked up from the MAX store at Mall De Goa in Porvorim. I love them because they're perfectly ankle length, go upto a size XXL and are actually of good quality for the price ( INR 349/-) as well.

Look at your self with a less critical eye and you'll find you're very easy on the eyes to those that matter!💗

Beautiful Regardless of the Beholder

What is female beauty?

Time and again, I have been told I'm the opposite of the Indian concept of Beauty  which is " fair skinned, slim and docile".

But as a young girl in my childhood home my mother taught me the sum total of the rest of me : my intelligence, my talent, my personality, my ability to love and care were far greater than my looks so I never had the low self esteem and lack of confidence others with my looks are plagued by.

It was only after I left my home did I realise that there were ignorant and shallow people in the world who placed a very high value on physical attributes. The television and magazines told me I wasn't good enough either. Too dark, too fat, too bold to be accepted, loved or successful.

Today, I'm entrusted with molding the minds of two little girls who will no doubt find things about their body that do not " fit into society's and  someone else's idea of beauty" and it's my job to teach them what my mother taught me.

Show our daughters they're so much more than their looks...Don't let their inner beauty be trapped inside this bag of flesh which will wrinkle, stretch and age regardless!

Don't force our girls to fit any moulds.

For you see there is no mould or template for beauty through the centuries! 

For eons we have been desperately playing catch up to meet the beauty standards and trends of the times. Being objectified as Art, or purveyed as an object of lust on the screen be it on mainstream media or porn and in recent times filtering and obssessing over the perfect picture on social media to garner those "likes"

We need to call out on the this "Beauty Business" all together!

Beauty is as beauty does is all our little girls need to hear.

In all it's forms, shapes and colours the feminine is divine and our daughters need to know that!

Video courtesy CNN

Hope's "Coco" inspired Mexican Fiesta 2nd Birthday!

My little Leo turned two this month and we threw her a Mexican Fiesta because she's so fascinated by Disney Pixar's Coco.

Coco is such a beautiful touching movie set in Mexico, steeped in tradition and tells a heart rending story of family, living your dreams and sometimes having to chose between the two. I absolutely adore it myself and my girls have watched it so often we all know the lines in it by heart!haha

As usual,( I love planning my girls' birthdays!) I started by making my planing lists and designing the invites.

A Simple invite that I designed

Unlike last year for her first when we had a little Kitty themed party for her (I'll share those pictures and ideas one of these days as well) I was very short on time and busy at work. So I had to make sure my ideas were doable with minimal effort and in the shortest amount of time!

I decided to make the Papel Picado or coloured paper flags which are cut out to make pretty designs  as the main design element and went about using it everywhere. I used them on the Invites, Food Tags and on other paper decorations. Papel Picado are also easily available in Goa as well and used for festivals and feasts. I suppose its the Latin Influence. So I just had my husband Felix pick up a pack from the Panjim Market. Shop No. 9 inside the Municipality Market stock them besides other stationery and party supplies.

Our Front door outside

The Living Room

Coco playing on the Screen!

Inside the Front door- Dante the Spirit Guide Dog guards the door

The fun (and exhausting) part was making the food! I wanted it to be Mexican themed but have our guests be confused by it either so I adjusted it suit everyone's taste as best as I could. I tried to create an Ofrenda to mimic the one in the movie and had all the snacks and desserts arranged on it. We had the whole place strewn with orange marigolds that appear everywhere in movie as well.

The Ofrenda laden with Snacks

Mini Empanadas!

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A Nacho Bar! with home made dips- Cheese, Salsa and Guacamole

I made a couple of Non-Alcoholic concoctions to drink but forgot to name them! Too many balls juggling in the air..

The Dessert Table had Churros made by my brother Len(Also my partner at CAKED). These he had pre-dipped in White chocolate with sprinkles and Dark chocolate. I made Arroz con Leche aka Rice Pudding. Len also baked a Chocolate Fudge Cake which I decorated with buttercream, edible gold and fresh flowers!

I also cooked dinner and we set up a simple buffet for our guests.

I wanted to do favours/ give-aways that were easy to put together and inexpensive. A quick search on the internet pointed me in the direction, I quickly made up a Thank you Tag and a large batch of Hot Chocolate Mix giving it a bit of a Mexican twist with cinnamon and chilli! And we were good to go!

Favour Tag I designed 

But the pièce de résistance was definitely the large Pinata my husband Felix made for the kids. I suggested we make it look like Ernesto De La Cruz, the villain in the movie so we could give him a well deserved whacking in the end! This, for obvious reasons, was a hit with the kids..haha

Our little "Frida Kahlo" enjoyed her  Fiesta with her familia tremendously as did we enjoy planning it for her!

And guess what? I will be sharing my recipes for the Beef  Empanadas and the Arroz con Leche with you soon blog familia! Salud!!

Recipe File: Goan Patoleos - a Bite of Harmony!

In the tiny state of Goa, the Indian Independence Day coincides with two local celebrations: the Feast of Our Lady Of Assumption and Naag Panchami which usually occurs around these dates.

The feast of Assumption which marks the death and "assumption" of Mary, mother of Jesus, into Heaven is celebrated by the large population of  Latin Catholics in the state while the majority Hindu community will revere the naag or snake/serpent because they hold great significance to Hindu belief and mythology.

 Both the communities will mark these festivities by the making of a unique sweet called the Patoleo( also referred to as Patolyo/ Patoyo/Patoeio)!

Such religious and communal syncretism is evident in a lot of ways in Goa when sections of the local Hindu population coverted to Catholicism under four hundred years of Portuguese Rule.

Today Patolyos will be exchanged between Goan homes all over, from Hindu homes and Catholic ones. A poignant sign of the communal harmony that prevails between the peace loving populace of my beloved state and a hopeful celebration of the Independence Day.

This year Faith, my older one assisted me to make our Patolyos along with my dad. As always making something with family makes it that much fun and special.

And now I'm sharing it with you!

The coconut and jaggery filling has variations from region to region and house to house. Some use cane sugar jaggery which is lighter and sweeter, others add boiled chana dal ( split grams). Ours is a simpler version with the rich dark coconut jaggery.

GOAN PATOLEOS

Ingredients:

For the dough
3 cups parboiled Goan Rice
Salt

For the filling
2 medium coconuts
2 large pyramids of Goan coconut Jaggery
2 tspns cardamom powder

35-40 Turmeric Leaves
Water as required

Method:
Wash the rice and soak it in sufficient water overnight ( atleast a minimum of 4-5 hours)

Drain Rice and grind to a thick, almost dough like paste in your blender using minimum water and salt to your taste. I had to put it in 2 batches and used about a 1/2 cup of water each time. You can adjust as it suits you but be cautious as you don't want a runny paste.

Now cover this and set aside in a cool place.

It's time to make the filling. Prep the coconuts and grate finely. Use a large thick bottomed pot or pan to grate your coconut jaggery into it. Add the grated coconut to the pan along with the ground cardamom and a 1/4 cup of water.

Put the pan over a medium flame and cook through till the water evaporates and you have a rich molasses like sticky and dry filling. Keep aside to cool completely.

While filling cools, prep your turmeric leaves.  Or have a lovely assistant do it! Here's Faith trimming the leaves to size. Then after I washed them, she carefully wiped them dry on a clean kitchen cloth.

Next, set up your assembly line! It's time for the fun part!

Also keep a bowl of clean water handy.Place a scoop of the rice dough on the centre of your prepped leaf. 

Now dip your clean fingers in the bowl of water and gently pat away at dough till it neatly covers the leaf in a mostly even manner. Keep the edges free and keep replacing the water it as it gets murky!

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Now neatly spoon the filling down the centre in a straight line. Then fold in half gently and press down lightly at the edges so that its seals.

Continue repeating the above process till your batter or filling or leaves get over!

Start up your steamer and gently place the patoleo in a single layer without too much overlapping. Cover firmly and let steam for about 20 mins. You'll know they're done when the leaves will change colour to a dull green and your whole house will start smelling of the familiar wonderful patoleo aroma!

Take out carefully, peel open and enjoy these delicious steaming bites of nostalgia!

Bon Festa!Happy Naag Panchami!