pallavithinksandwrites: Smart Shopper

My friend, Juhi, and I often compare our notes when it comes to shopping for everyday items, especially if we have heard or noticed a great bargain.
So far (besides Juhi) the people who take the cake, when it comes to a great bargain, are my sister Monal (Ketaki) in India and RR.
Maybe because these people have been smart shoppers and independent for so long that they know a good bargain when they see one.
As for me, I tell RR to point to the item that he wants at a shop and then just keep shut :) That speaks volumes about my bargaining skills. Doesn’t it? ;)

The latest find:
This Valentine’s day kept giving back. After we returned from our trip to Boston on Wednesday last week, Rohith showered me with these gifts.

Cacey flats from 9W

Everyday cardigan from Gap (Navy Blue)

Red houndstooth dress from Ideeli

Here is the shocker: The entire attire for under $50! Now that is what I call a 'smart shopper'. Rohith bought those ‘Cacey flats' from nine west’s website during a day sale for only $23.99 (free shipping), the cardigan from a Gap outlet in Bosotn for only $6.99 (can you beat it?) and the red houndstooth dress for only (yes hear this once again for only) $9.99 from ideeli.com’s flash sale. Ideeli.com also offers $25 credit on referring your friends after they buy their first item along with flat $9.99 shipping/month.
As for me, this time I said that you can always teach this old dog a new trick Rohith :) So the entire professional ensemble for only $ 40.97!

The Oscars weekend:
Ever since we came back from the trip, I have been under the weather. So we decided to stay in and it got interesting as it was the Oscars weekend.

Neat trick to take out pomegranate seeds in less than 5 minutes

I was discussing with my friend about the neat trick to take out pomegranate seeds in no time and thought that I will share this neat trick with you all too. So demonstrated above is the assembly required for accomplishing it. Just let me know if you would like the details of how to go about it.
On Friday, I returned with a lot of green veggies from our neighborhood shop. This is what I made with my friend Juhi’s never failing recipe.

Bottle gourd with lemon and corriander with whole wheat pita bread

Brunch on Saturday morning:

I saw photos of our nephew having loochis (bengali version of pooris or puffed breads) along with aaloo bhaja (potato curry) on Saturday morning. It was just the perfect dish for a lazy saturday morning for us too. This is how they looked. I made one especially in heart shape for Rohith. He found it to be really funny!

Pooris with sookhey aaloo ki sabzi

Saturday evening:
I spent the entire Saturday evening watching my favorite old movies on TV all by myself. It was a wet and dark evening and sadly Rohith had to run an errand in the city in such a depressing weather. I watched my favorite actor Morgan Freeman’s “Shawshank Redemption” and “A Few Good Men”. I can watch these movies again and again. My favorite dialogue from “Shawshank Redemption” is “Get busy living or get busy dying”. From “A Few Good Men”, everybody knows that it is the dialogue in the end by Jack Nicholson.
Rohith brought back burrito bowls from Chipotle to give me a break from cooking dinner. It was perfect!
Question for you all:
Is there a favorite dialogue that you recollect every now and then from one of your favorite movies?
Sunday:
Most of Sunday was pretty uneventful. We had a lot of pooris leftover from the previous day. Rohith whipped up some scrambled eggs, which went perfectly with them for the brunch.

Leftovers can be yummy too!

The Oscars:

I had already told Rohith that he will have to bear with me as watching Oscars is not his thing. To escape that he took charge of the kitchen last night. The stir fried noodles were out of this world, however watching him prepare those was equally heavenly! It was just the perfect menu for the Oscars night :)

Prep work

Party of the veggies inside the wok

Lip smacking

To cut the heat from the noodles, I quickly whipped up this dessert for us.

Blueberry and brown sugar yogurt

I added pomegranate seeds to mine. Yum yum!

Monday mornings:

I am really beginning to like this new drama series on TNT. It comes every Monday night at 10 pm. In reality, Monday mornings spell out a different meaning for a lot of people (including Rohith) and generally speaking they hate it. As for me, I am an exception and I look forward to Monday mornings. I always have.

Breakfast:

I planned on making dalia (whole wheat Indian porridge) but as fate would have it, it didn’t go as planned. My plan B always goes back to my favorite sandwich. This is what I had for breakfast/brunch today