Diwali Dessert Corner

Happy Diwali everyone. Diwali is the biggest Indian festival and there is so much excitement in our home in preparation for it. Sweet treats are a big part of the festival with people sending boxes of Mithai (sweets to their friends and family.)
Heres a nice way to set up a dessert corner for your guests to enjoy.


Easy home made flower shaped Kalakand

The winter nip is already in the air, piping hot Gajar ka Halwa
(Carrot dessert)warms you up.


Gulab Jamuns is the most popular Indian dessert in the world, so of course it has to be served for any Diwali party. Served on candy sticks to make them less messy to eat.


For the decor I used two Satin curtain panels bought at a discount store the stands
are basically cardboard boxes tucked under the satin panels.Lots of Dia's with the battery candles on them (don't want to start a fire.)

Simple Diwali (festival of lights) craft Idea.

Diwali is just a week away and I am trying to build
anticipation for my girls.Here is a easy craft idea
that can be fun for the kids to do.
A simple rangoli table runner made on brown paper.
I wanted to create,the simple mud hut rustic rangoli feel
for this project specially because of my limited drawing ability.











Diwali is certainly my favorite festival so stay tuned for more.

Indian Desserts for Diwali

Diwali is oct 17 this year & of course its celebration time for Indians all over the world.This Post I have gathered some videos of Diwali Mithai (sweet treats)ideas

Kaju Katli


Diwali Special Gujias



Ras malai

Thai Food

So To reduce our eating out costs I decided to do a Thai food night at home.

To begin the evening Lychee Martinis and Satay chicken



The Lychee Martini recipe is from About.com by Brian Nishii



Picked up packets of Pad Thai paste & Green curry Paste at Ranch 99 market along
with rice noodles,lemon grass stalks, bean sprouts, basil leaves & Canned Lychee
for the Martini.





Next stop the Dollor store, Its summer and they have a lot of Hawaii theme items
available I was able to pick up silk orchid flowers & leaves,stones in various
shapes and colors. By sheer luck those lil lotus shaped plates and on a previous
visit I had bought the big lotus flower with the hopes that I'd use it some day.



The lil Statuette is from a stopover at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

On the whole this did require a good amount of planning & a lot of time cooking but the food was really good and the girls loved it. Can't wait to invite a few friends over .

Pad thai

Thai food is our family favorite. We love trying out new restaurants.
lately we have been trying to cut down on our restaurant visits. So I am trying to
come up with simple Thai inspired recipes for a Thai food night at home.

Mothers Day Home Spa

A Victorian home spa for mothers day

Home Spa for mothers Day

Home spa treatments for Mothers Day

Mothers day is coming up and in the past I have received a pet rock,mens perfume,
old toys, for mothers day.No I am not complaining I have the two most precious gifts
anyone could ever want, but I do not mind a day of being pampered.Going to a spa in this economy! too expensive to think of.So why not set up a spa at home for the whole family to enjoy.
Starting a home spa series for mothers day. home spa treatments tips tricks etc stay tuned.

Celebrating Earth - one small step

Its Earth Day tomorrow and our family is taking baby steps towards going green.
We turned off our second refrigerator.My husband took off most of the bulbs in the
bathroom vanity area (there are 8 bulbs in a row)

We turn off any extra lights around the house. The girls have started their own little kitchen garden with tomatoes,herbs,chilli peppers,cucumber etc and have been quite enthusiastic about it so far.

Last weekend after they worked on their garden all afternoon I rewarded them with a
special dinner in the backyard.


Picked these cute chocolate bugs at the after Easter sale at Walmart.

Easy and affordable way to perk up a spring dinner table

Heres one party I'd love to be invited to.But don't think I can ever host

A Spring Celebration.

So spring is here, and the weather is just getting warmer and the sun in out in full
force,here is sunny California.We had a lil spring tea party for my four year old daughters play date and it was all floral with flower cupcakes,candy floss all
very girly.



The Favor Bag was full of goodies fit for a lil lady

The Menu was simple and easy

Strawberries,Lil Debbie Boston Creme Rolls,Nutella sandwiches,Fruit triffle


The cupcakes stole the show.The girls loved the fact they they could have the cake
and get a lolipop too! I baked some for the preschool Easter party too.

The Princess Party on a Budget

So I finally got to post on The Princess party on a Budget.
Everything turned out perfect and now the complete breakdown.

I used plain white favor bags 12 for a buck and pasted these printouts on them.



Next table setting The Boa's we had brought from the $ store when they were available last year. Also the flowers and the vases.
The cute pink glasses I bought before valentine were 2 for a $ and they give the
setting a very nice touch.

I also did a seperate Knights table a we had about 4 boys

The Cake was a mini princess with pink frosted cupcakes. I decorated an old cake stand I had with a tiara on top a pink boa. I also got the Canopy from my daughters
room to give the cake cutting area that royal look.


The rest of the food was pretty simple

We also served Mini Pizza's from Trader Joes.
So mission accomplished for me and the kids had a wonderful time.

$100 Princess party 1 day to Go.........

I am running around like a headless chicken so many things to do no time to post!!!!!

3 more days to go for the $100 Princess Birthday Party!!!

Three more days to go and I have my favors all ready the party activities are all set.
For the party table I will be using things I already have so no additional costs there.
I do have a mini princess cake mold that I will use to make a cake and the rest will be cupcakes.

Here is our party menu.


Another idea that hit me a few days back was the the dress up idea. It has the potential to throw me off budget but I am not spending any money on this.
Why not involve parents in the Dress up? So I looked in the closets and garage and found Hats a crown,Tiara a wig all used in past Halloweens

So while our lil princess's and knights are all dressed up we get a chance to have the whole family pose for a Royal picture.

Picked up gold colored plates from party city on sale &1.49 for 20!! wow I am nearly all set.