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The Pizookie

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For years and years, I thought that it would be near impossible to improve a chocolate chip cookie. I mean, it’s pretty much perfect right?

Enter BJ’s Brewhouse. BJ’s has an amazing dessert called the pizookie. It is essentially a freshly baked cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. It is the item that started my penchant for hot/cold dessert combinations (such as fried banana and ice cream, fried mango ice cream, etc).

After having this delicious item at BJ’s a few times, I realized just how easy it is to make at home as well. It’s a simple dessert that can be made at the spur of the moment, for as little as one person to five people.

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Change of Scene

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Since I work from home it can get very easy to go stir-crazy and lose all sense of the outside world. So I thought a change of scene would do me good, especially considering the Indian summer we are experiencing.

I went to a coffee shop to get some work done. (Libraries are too quiet for me.) I sipped on an iced chai, ate a marble cookie, listening to my favorite songs and powered through my tasks/emails for the day.

My current favorite songs I’m listening to on repeat and get me in the zone:

1. You Make Me Feel Like – Cobra Starship ft. Sabi

2. Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5

3. Stereo Hearts – Gym Class Heros ft. Adam Levine

4. Mein Toh Margaya Oye (Hindi) – Mausum soundtrack

Life on the Go

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I’ll be honest, I was really struggling with a topic to write about today. So in the midst of my brainstorming, I opened up my Facebook app on my iPhone and browsed through the newsfeed. It made me realize just how ingrained Facebook is in our lives these days. It’s turned into such a big deal, causing divorces and ending friendships or relationships. But that is a whole other blog post entirely!

My favorite aspect of Facebook is the mobile uploads section. I feel like it really gives you a good insight into the person..you can learn a lot about the person based on what they decided to take a picture of and deemed it worthy to share with the rest of Facebook. If you all saw my mobile uploads album, you’d think “Wow, that girl really loves her desserts!”

All jokes aside, here are some of my mobile uploads I thought I’d share with you. Maybe it’ll give you a better idea as to who I am! (If this blog hasn’t told you already. :))

Crumbs cupcakes in NYC.

My own baking and decorating skills (for the India vs Pakistan World Cup Final).

Funny signs I come across.

Beautiful scenery: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

My travels: Maui, Hawaii

Wedding Season

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This summer has definitely been the summer of weddings. I’ve always loved attending weddings because they are such a happy occasion and of course for the desserts! Indian weddings are so much fun to attend, because they are rich in traditions, colorful attire, and the celebrations last 2 to 3 days!

This summer, every wedding I have been to (4 so far) have added their own personal touches. Whether it was a unique dessert or references to the couple’s Alma mater (where they met), I made a mental note of everything I saw because we have a wedding coming up in the family..and well, it’s fun!

Here are a few pictures from weddings I have attended:

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The gorgeous wedding mandap that was filled with fresh flowers!

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The gondola vidai

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For dessert: there was freshly made donuts! So delicious, especially topped with the chocolate fondue and powdered sugar.

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Another wedding had a mixer: all the guests from the bride and groom’s side gathered in a park overlooking the beach to just hang out and socialize. For dinner and dessert, they called a taco truck (my first time trying a potato taco and it was yum!) and an ice cream truck. I love food trucks, so I was excited but I also wanted to have this at my wedding..Guess I’ll have to think of something else-for whenever it happens!

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The wedding took place in a stunning estate in the Malibu hills.

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The reception set up (in the same estate). It is originally a tennis court, but is unrecognizable with all the gorgeous decorations! At night, lights that were strung across were lit up. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

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The cocktail hour took place by the pool, which had a great view of the ocean. The food was equally as good- Italian samosas and paneer tikka (my two favorites) and refreshing tropical drinks, personally named by the bride and groom.

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The desserts- Sprinkles cupcakes! How pretty are they? They also had chocolate covered strawberries and falooda.

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The head table where they bride and groom sat during the program. I like that it wasn’t a table table per say. The color scheme of purple and white was also lovely.

Have you been attending weddings this summer? What did you like about it? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Black and Blue: A Bridal Bash

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About a month ago, my friend and I put together a bridal shower for one of our best friends who is getting married. Having a lot of family friends that are older than me, I have been to quite a few bridal showers, but never really put one on.

So my friend and I got together one afternoon to plan the location, the food, and the games. The location: my house, the food: Mexican, and the games: toilet paper bride, the paper clip game (where you can’t say certain wedding-related words), and how well the bride and groom know each other.

Then, we took the bride-to-be shopping for her dress, so we can decide on a color scheme. She ended up finding a cute black dress, so we settled on black, blue (with the rest of the guests wearing blue), and silver.  Next up came numerous trips to Party City for decorations..lucky for us we found the perfect paper products to complement our theme!

Here are some pictures of the day itself: The spread entailed: seven layer dip, Mexican rice, guacamole, salsa, chips, Mexican salad, and burrito rolls. Delicious and all homemade! The paper products are in the left corner..aren’t they cute?! Here is a closer look.

This was probably my favorite part: the candy bar. We found as many blue/black/silver candies as we could and placed them into martini glasses/glass bowls. It was a creative and easy way to add to the decor of the party.

Our decorations.

More decorations.

For dessert we had a hot chocolate bar..the toppings included cinnamon, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and pieces of Andes mints. It ended up being perfect because the weather that day was very rainy and cold.

And of course we had cupcakes (along with cheesecake – which is not pictured). Yum yum.

All in all, it was a fun experience- from the planning (I love party planning) to the actual party itself. Now I feel pretty confident about planning a bridal shower. Just in time, since I know I have a few to plan next year! 🙂