06 December 2012

My Top Three Winter Drinks


 Just like what I mentioned from my previous post, I easily feel cold especially in my extremities, hands and feet, so I need to find ways to keep myself warm else I might freeze to death. Hahaha! Anyway,one of the ways that I do these days to fight off the cold weather is to drink something hot to warm my body inside and it works. Having said that, let me share with you my three favorite hot drinks this winter season.

GREEN TEA
Green tea + Green fruit = VERY HEALTHY DIET
I never really liked the taste of green tea, or any kind of tea for that matter, but I know that it is loaded with good stuff and of course, who wouldn't want good stuff in their system? I prefer my tea plain and hot of course. Some people like adding a bit of cream or milk or sugar or a combination of those stuff in their teas but I am not sure if it will be as healthy as a plain cup of tea. As for tea brand, I have not really tried different kinds of brand but I like to stick with a brand that is known worldwide because it does not only mean that it is reliable but it also means that I will not have a hard time looking for it wherever I may be.

Tea in a mug.
In preparing my green tea, I simply boil enough water for my mug (yes, I like my tea in a mug), put the tea bag in the mug, pour the boiled water in the mug, let it sit for a couple of minutes or until I can manage to sip the drink and I let the tea bag sit in there until I finished the whole mug.
My stash of green tea! Not that much right? LOL

HOT CHOCOLATE

Now, what better way to warm my system than to drink something hot and something sweet! My sweet tooth is very happy about this hot drink that I enjoy from time to time. Again, I do not have a particular favorite brand of hot chocolate because I have not tried other kinds aside from the ones that I got. But as you can see, I like to rely on known brands because it gives me a sort of assurance that they are good and safe for consumption.

This is my oh-so-yummy hot chocolate!
Hot chocolate preparation starts with boiling enough milk for my mug. Remember to give enough space in your mug for the hot chocolate powder. Three teaspoonful of the hot chocolate powder is enough for me because I do not want my drink to be too sweet. Anyway, make sure that you have already put in the hot chocolate powder in your mug before pouring the boiled milk in so that you can mix it properly.

 
COFFEE
I stir my coffee with a teaspoon.
When I was a kid, I had this thing about coffee that I should not drink it because it is only for adults and being the goody two shoes that I am (well, at least when I was still young. hahaha!) I never drank it for so many years and there were very rare occasions during those years where I had to drink coffee because we ran out of Milo, a chocolate malt drink for kids, and I need something to warm my tummy and give me energy in the morning until the rest of the day. It was only during my college years when I started drinking coffee, and still very seldom at that point, so that I can stay awake and finish some school related projects and what not.

One of my favorite 3-in-1 coffee!
Anyway, going back to the present time, coffee has become one of my favorite hot drinks and I prefer it with cream/milk and sugar. Actually, I like 3-in-1 coffee packets/sachets for practical reasons and I'm not one of those people who enjoy drinking their coffee by analyzing every bit of detail that they can get from their drink. I like to keep it simple. Hot and tastes good.


What about you? What is your favorite hot drink this winter season? 

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Dear Winter, I Love You but then I Hate You Too

I grew up in a tropical country where the only seasons I am aware of are summer season and rainy season. And now that I am located yet in another country that is famous for its soaring temperature during the summers, at this moment, I am experiencing the cold winter season, apparently they have it here also, for the first time and I am telling you, I love and hate it the same time.

Now, let me tell you the reasons why I love the winter season.
Yours truly chillin' like a boss in our living room.
  • Not having to feel the icky and exhausting Delhi heat is something that I am very pleased about.
  • I get to try on winter clothes that I've been dreaming of wearing but could not because back in my country, it does not get that cold unless we go somewhere high up in the mountains.
  • I dont really need to worry about sweating.
  • It makes me appreciate hugs and snuggling even more.

Okay, now that we're done with the positive things that make me love winter season, let me tell you this time the reasons why I hate it.
Yours truly tryin' to get some sunshine and warmth while I'm at our rooftop.
  • Since we do not have a boiler or any kind of air conditioner that can keep the temperature inside our house warm, once the coldness gets nasty, the chilling effect of a very low temperature really seeps in my bones and it's not fun at all.
  • And since we do not have an automatic water heater system, tap water is like water from the fridge and man! It can wake up all the senses in you once it starts gushing on your hands. We have a heating rod that we can use to heat water for stuff like bathing.
     
  • Because I am not used to this kind of weather, my body's still adjusting to it but still, I easily feel cold which can really be a tough thing to shake away especially when I just woke up from my sleep.
     
  • The coldness makes me wanna do nothing at times but just bury myself under our thick blanket.

I guess I just have to be thankful that at least it does not snow here because I'm sure that it is going to be very difficult for me to get by each day considering that we do not have a central heater at home. Or who knows, maybe the setup will be different around here if it does snow in this place.

It's funny because I'm already complaining of the cold weather when in fact, winter is just starting and the temperature will drop even more as days go by. For some days now, I find myself wishing that I am back home in my country, braving the heat and humidity because I think it's more bearable than the cruel winter cold but then again, maybe it's because I'm used to my tropical climate.

Oh well...

What about you, do you love winter or do you hate it? Or are you just like me who both love and hate this cold season at the same time?

Hope you enjoyed this post!

03 December 2012

It's (almost) the Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

Time really does fly so fast because would you believe it? We only have 22 days left (in my side of the planet at least at this moment) before the most wonderful time of the year comes! Well folks, if you are still wondering what I am referring to, I am talking about Christmas!
Yours truly a couple of years ago posing at a mall's Christmas decoration.
You see back in my homeland, the Christmas season actually begins the moment the first month that ends with BER starts and that month is of course none other than SeptemBER! Radio stations will start playing Christmas carols. Social networking sites will be flooded with early Christmas greetings. People will start thinking about their Christmas lists and what they are wishing to get for the holidays. Malls will start selling Christmas decorations and even Christmas gift packs. And many households, including ours will start taking out our stash of Christmas decorations including our fake Christmas trees. We don't get fresh pine trees here so we rely on plastic trees. And come to think about it, it's more practical and we don't need to cut down a tree just to celebrate the biggest event of the year.
Our tall Christmas tree back home filled with gifts mostly from us, Riju and I.
It is said that it is my country that celebrates Christmas the longest in the entire world and of course, I have no problem about that. However, here in India, since Christianity is considered a minority, they still have about at least 10 million followers, Christmas is not really a big celebration in most places unless an individual is in Kerala, the birthplace of Christianity in India.

The beautiful thing about Christmas in my country is that it is considered the most special time to be with the people you love the most. Yes, any time that you have with your family and friends should be special but during Christmas, there is that extra special and extra wonderful feeling of being together with your loved ones because you are commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Humanity together and at the same time, you are also feeling the same feeling that Baby Jesus Christ was feeling inside that manger where he was born, warmth and unconditional love.

Having said all that, let me now end this post with my advance holiday greetings dedicated to you, the one reading this.
Yours truly posing beside our Christmas tree last year!

MAY YOU HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR AND MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES LOTS AND POTS OF BLESSINGS!!!

02 December 2012

Every Indian Woman's Accessories MUST HAVE

My hoard of accessories. Well, partial hoard actually.
In this part of the world, several of the most striking things about the local women are their accessories that they put on no matter what the occasion is even if they are just going about their daily activities. And because I want to somehow blend in with the local and get a taste of what it's like to be a local settler, I bought some of their MUST HAVE accessories and let me share it with them with you here so keep on reading.


KAJAL (kohl)
Yours truly applying kajal on my eyes for the first time.
I consider this as the most used and most common accessory that local women here (and even men and children at times) enjoy. Basically, a kajal is an eyeliner made up of kohl and even if its main purpose is to highlight the eyes, there are some locals who wear kajal for religious purposes. There are so many make-up brands that sell kajal here and the prices range (as far as I know) from as cheap as less than 20INR to as pricey as 300INR.
Lakme Kajal - affordable and made by a trusted brand

Maybelline Colossal Kajal - specifically made for Indian women's kajal needs.

BINDI
Another very famous and a definitely must have accessory for every Indian woman is the bindi. A bindi is worn on the forehead and again, while it is considered as a fashionable accessory for women, it is also worn for religious purposes by some well, religious people. In a local market, bindis come in different sizes, shapes, colors and of course, price. The cheapest bindi set will cost you around 20INR and a pricey one can cost an individual thousands of bucks or even millions if it is made from gold and expensive stones such as diamonds.
I hoarded some bindis. Price range is between 20 - 180 INR

BANGLES
A local fashion experience will never be complete if you will not wear a beautiful set of bangles. Aside from bangles being a type of fashion accessories for women, it can also serve as an indicator that a woman got married recently. A newly wed woman will wear a set of white and red bangles to symbolize her marriage that recently took place. In addition to that, people who are more on the traditional side believes that every bangles color signifies something such as wealth, power and prosperity. But if an individual, a foreigner like me for example, wants to wear a set of bangles just like that, I think that is just fine although I should be ready to receive the inquiring looks and weird stares from locals when I am passing by especially if I chose to wear a white and red set of bangles.
Can you count how many individual bangle makes up the entire set?

EARRINGS
People can actually consider India as the accessory capital of the world especially when it comes to earrings. There's just so many kinds of designs, colors and sizes of earrings in here. If you are willing to submit your pair of ears for a couple of hours of torture, you can buy those big and heavy looking pair of earrings that will definitely pull your lower ear lobes down. I only bought those cheap fancy earrings found on the sidewalks since I don't find the huge, heavy and chunky ones appealing and there's really no event where I can use them and most of all, I don't want to harass my ears. Hehehe!
Some of my cheap but beautiful Indian earrings.
Close up shot.

So there goes my take on the MUST HAVE accessories if ever you find yourself one day traveling towards this part of the planet. These accessories are pretty affordable to even dirt cheap, if you know where to buy and you are not afraid/shy to haggle, that you will not have to worry about not having enough budget for these trinkets.

What about you? What is the MUST HAVE accessories in your side of the world?

Hope you enjoyed this post!

01 December 2012

Other than the Saree

The national costume is one of the things that will show the rest of the world how beautiful, colorful and vibrant the culture of a certain country is. And in this place where I am currently located, they certainly have one of the most colorful and most lively national costumes in the entire planet and even up to now, men and women still wear those costumes not only during special events but even in their daily lives.

However, in this post, I will not be tackling about the most famous national costume for women in this country, the saree, and instead, I will be showing you some of the many other traditional attires that the female population in this part of the world still enjoys wearing up to this date.
My other than saree traditional suits.

The moment I set foot in this country, one of the things that I am looking forward to experiencing is wearing the traditional clothes of the locals and I am happy to tell you that I was able to!

First up on the list is the lovely Anarkali suit. The origin of this traditional costume is from a famous historical story long time ago where a dancer named Anarkali in Lahore long time ago allegedly had an illicit affair with the prince in their kingdom and that she was put to trial for having such illegal affair with a royalty but in the end, since there was not enough evidence to prove that she's done something wrong, she was freed by the king. Anarkali wears a dress called mujara whenever she performs and once her story started spreading all over the place, people started calling the mujara dress as Anarkali in honor of the dancer who fell in love with the prince.
Yours truly in an Anarkali suit during a friend's wedding ceremony.

A typical anarkali suit has embellishments both on the top and bottom parts of the dress. It also comes with a dupatta (scarf) and an inner pants called churidar. When you buy an anarkali suit, it usually comes with a pair of long sleeves that is not yet sewn on the dress which means that it is actually optional. As you can see below, I had mine sewn just to really be on the traditional side but modern women these days prefer a sleeveless anarkali.

An up close shot of the Anarkali's bottom embellishment.

The second traditional costume is called a kurta (long and loose top) and churidar (pyjama). Usually, women wear a salwar, another type of pyjama that is tight at the bottom and loose in the middle. Kind of like Princess Jasmine's pyjama in the Disney cartoon Aladdin. However, I prefer a pair of churidar, think leggings, because I think it looks better that way. A kurta can have a full blown pair of sleeves or 3/4 sleeves or without sleeves at all. I both have the sleeveless and the 3/4sleeves kurta only the latter looks almost like a full blown one because I am on the smaller side if you know what I mean. Hahaha! Anyway, when wearing a kurta and churidar, a dupatta or a multi-purpose scarf usually comes with it. And that the dupatta is of the same color of the suit. 

Yours truly in what is supposed to be a 3/4 kurta, churidar and dupatta ensemble.
Yours truly wearing a sleeveless kurta.

The last type of traditional costume that I will show you is called a Lehenga. A lehenga aka ghagra is a long skirt that is pleated and has embellishments on the bottom part. It is usually worn with a choli, a tight top that bares the wearer's navel. Think of the top that women wear inside their saree, that's a choli. Anyway, the kind of lehenga that I bought is not really intended for special occassions such as weddings hence it is not as dramatic as the ones that you can google up. Aside from that, I opted to wear a usual blouse with just the right amount of tradition in it and that's about it. If given the chance, someday, I also want to wear the full lehenga choli suit. 

I'm in love with my hand painted Lehenga!

Now, as for the saree, the most well known traditional costume in this place, I will make an entire post just for it in the near future so don't worry about it!

Hope you enjoyed this post!


ShareThis