The Year in Review...or similar

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to make a year in review post, especially since I didn't start this blog until March-ish. It would just be ~3/4 of the year in review, which is just pointless.

I'll just tell you my 2010 resolutions.

1. Spend more time doing arts & crafts and less time plotting against evil vampires.

2. Learn to play the guitar.

3. Brush up on my Hindi (I changed my facebook to Hindi! Haha. I can't understand a lot of it now because it is in non-slangy Hindi) and Italian (anyone want to take a trip to Rome? I'm free.)

4. Read more. I got this awesome book called Shatnerquake! from a white elephant this holiday season. Thank you, random person that I probably don't know who brought it to the white elephant. I plan on reading that really soon since I finished season 1 of Star Trek: The Original Series and season 2 is not streaming on Netflix.

5. Go places other than Ann Arbor. If you want me to visit you, let me know and chances are very likely that I'll come visit if you have something to offer me (like a bed and interesting city). I need to get over the 2009 Michigan Football team. Ann Arbor ain't gonna cut it anymore.

6. Blog more! I'm sure that the 6 of you who actually read my blog get annoyed when I go a month or two between posts.

May 2010 bring you a lot of trippy days and sloppy nights!

Damn, Girl!

So I've been obsessed with David Guetta's "Sexy Bitch" because of the slammin' beats and if you watch the video, Mr. Guetta looks like a total tool since he kinda just head bobs while checking out bad girls (I want an "I <3 Bad Girls" t-shirt, too!). But that is completely irrelevant to this post.

Over Thanksgiving, I decided that my apartment needs a new coffee table. And while I didn't get a new one, I kinda stole one from my parents' basement and re-did it.

New coat of paint and some glass frosting made this coffee table acceptably gorgeous.

BEFORE:

AFTER:
I also re-did a sterilite drawer set with some modpodge and gift wrap. I guess I can't gift wrap anything else this holiday season.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Gosh, I sure hope I'm a bad girl. And I wish it were my birthday again. Again, irrelevant.

An Unfunny Post about trees and mosaics

There is a mosaic in Barcelona on La Rambla by Joan Miro. I attempted to copy it using magazines and catalogs (including Victoria's Secret! hahaha) It's super awesome.

Also, these next two home decor projects are something I've been slacking on for oh, about a year. First, the necklace holder! It's a piece of wood that broke accidentally...because I jumped on it. I nailed a bunch of nails into it and suprisingly, without counting, I got the exact number of necklaces I have! I am soo good at estimating. I deserve a prize.
This is a super awesome tree. It's behind my bed. It's made out of contact paper and LOVE. And yes, those are all the Harry Potters on my bookshelf.


Also, wtf: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704779704574551852323420822.html?mod=rss_US_News

Another Open Letter to Michigan Football

Dear Michigan Football,

This time around, it was going to be different. You promised that you wouldn't let me down after what you did to me last year. I, being a hopeless romantic, took you back.

The first few weeks in September, you were a changed football team. You beat Notre Dumb (and I got a 6 pack of Sam Adams out of it - kids, generally betting is bad) and I was elated. You continued to be undefeated and we had a fantastic September. It was glorious - we were ranked. I was love drunk, no alcohol required.

Then, you went away for a game. I understand, long distance is difficult. Only 18% of long distance couples stay together. I thought we were going to be part of that percentage. The first time you lost, I thought, "It's ok, it was a one-time thing. It won't happen again." And I took you back.

Then it happened again. I trusted you. Don't you get it? It's not like when we're apart, you can be unfaithful to me. You told me you were going to win. And I believed you. I took you back again, because when you're in love, it's hard to stay away. 7 games into the season, you had won 5 and I believed we were going to go all the way (to a bowl game). I tried to keep my trust in you, but it's hard to trust a team that loses their little brother twice in a row.

Yesterday was the last straw. The 2009 Michigan Football season, you and I are over. I felt like you were purposefully taking digs at me, throwing playful catches to OSU when you very well knew that I didn't like that. This relationship didn't have to end. It could have continued on for a few more months. But you had to end it. If you really loved me, you would have made an effort.

But you know what? I get it. When a cute girl walks by, you are going to fumble the ball.

Call me next September when you are ready for me. I'll be waiting for you. And I don't want to stop at third base.

Love,
Nidhi

It's been a while for a lot of things...

But luckily, I'm BACK! Also, this blog post is NOTHING compared to my friend Kristina meeting STEVE YZERMAN tonight, but I'm sure she's going to write about it on her blog.

Ain't nobody like my Desi Girl!
Desi Girl is my favorite Bollywood song (which is saying a lot, since I don't usually like Bollywood music, haha). My friend Grishma just moved to ATL and so as a going away present, I made her this wall hanging.


Grishma hates the song Desi Girl. Her parents apparently played it on repeat during the drive to ATL (from MICHIGAN). Poor girl. OR NOT! It's my ringtone so obviously I love it.


Palak Paneer Tofu what?
I got Veteran's Day off yesterday, so clearly the thing to do was attempt to make Indian food. My friend (and fellow Michigander in this godforsaken state) cook together sometimes, so we took my masala dubba (:D) spinach and attempted to make palak paneer with a hint of tofu. Then we also decided to make corn flour roti.

So the palak paneer (spinach and ricotta cheese)...well the paneer is supposed to be cubed and fried, but we accidentally may have melted it...it made the entire dish cheesy. The cubed tofu made up for the accidental meltyness...

And the roti ended up being awkward shapes since our beer-bottle-as-a-rolling-pin idea was a bit..er...sticky. So we squished it with our fingers. My mother would be proud. Not.
It was incredibly tasty. This is the first time I've ever attempted to make roti...and palak paneer as well, unless you count that time I wilted spinach and added spices (I don't).

Complete with a side of soymilk.


Scharffen Berger (but not really)
In 2007, I worked in Pittsburg, CA, and in a nearby city known as Berkeley, there is a chocolate factory known as Scharffen Berger. They have ridiculous chocolate. 62% cacao with cacao nubs in the bar. SO GOOD. I don't have the kind of money to order it online (a 3 oz bar costs 5$!) (I may actually have that kind of money, now that I think about it but oops) so I decided to make something similar.

Except it ended up being very different.

I double boiled the semi-sweet chocolate chips (difference #1: Their chocolate has no milk) very ingeniously - I don't own a double boiler but I DO own pots that fit conveniently inside each other. I melted the chocolate as such...

I also don't own any cacao beans(nor do I know where to find them) so I substituted espresso beans (difference #2).
Well, basically I guess this makes this chocolate bar just chocolate covered espresso beans. I'll take it.

An Open Letter to Michigan Football

Dear Michigan Football,

I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a baby, I've been allergic to any other collegiate football team. One time, some OSU person tried to strike up a conversation with me, but I suddenly gained the speed of that really fast runner who just won some big race a few weeks ago, and sprinted to the Big House to calm myself down. Or maybe I didn't want scarlet and gray pox.

I've supported you unwaveringly throught the Win Drought of 2008. Even though you just kept losing and losing, and even lost to Unmentionable Teams, I still went to Michigan Stadium every time there was a game. I defended you, saying, "They'll come back!" everytime you were losing. I sang along to "Living on a Prayer" everytime you were living on a prayer.

I've endured several hundred nefarious text messages from Notre Dame douchebags (and replied more than once with, "Fuck you!"). Even though I have unlimited text messaging, I still felt as though my text messages were being wasted.

I've sat through the sun, rain, and snow for you. I have glasses tan lines! My t-shirts smelled all mildewy because they got wet in the rain (and subsequently I forgot to wash them).

I did all this because, well, Michigan, I believe in you.

Please don't let "shitfuckballs" be my mantra again this year. Give me something to believe in!

Love,

Nidhi

PS Does anyone have an extra ticket to the game against Western Michigan?

Skirting the Issue: What came first, the Photo or the Frame?

I've been making AND altering stuff (life is awesome when you have a closet full of junk!)

I got this fabric from a friend about 3 or 4 years ago from Suriname, and I JUST NOW made something out of it. The skirt is awesome and flouncy and summery. I love it! It's everything a skirt should be. Haaaaaave you met skirt?
I found a framed picture of teddy bears (wtf) in my room approx 8x10" so I decided to revamp the whole thing. Really? Teddy Bears? Magazine collage. It's a leaf now, in case you couldn't tell.
Before:
After:I found this frame at the Dollar store years ago, in hopes of revamping it. I'm slow. Mod Podge and tissue papery goodness.
Before:
After:
Also, peace signs are apparently back in style like a celebrity. I made a crappy collage of a peace sign. It's really boring and lame, I know.

Happy Independence Day!

I made a new wristlet. (Apparently they are all the rage right now?) It's mainly for July 4, but I'll probably use it all weekend and sparingly throughout the year.

It's got a flag charm too!
The lining is sparkley red fabric but it's unseen in the picture

DELISH.

I'm either a visionary or hallucinating

I started with these (a yellow men's button down short sleeve and a girl's paisley skirt), and decided to put them together since I'm a fan of yellow and purple (but NOT a fan of the Lakers).
This is what I came up with!
Isn't it gorgeous?
Tra la la.

Banned Books

Check out these teensy paintings that I did...on "canvas" of torn up book! :) Approximately 6"x6" each. I want to make a bunch and put them up as tiles around my room!

The Olde English D

The Olde English N

Random Viney Thing

Random Viney Thing 2

Minty Minty Pesto

Now, I know how much EVERYONE loves pictures of food on the internet that looks oh-so-tasty but soo far away because, well, it's a bunch of pixels with no smell or taste.

The food pictured: I raided our mint garden to create this mint-parsley pesto. The ingredients are Mint, Curly Parsley, Roasted Almonds and Walnuts, Garlic, Salt, Parmesan, and Olive Oil. All you have to do is blend it up and add it to some pasta. I put all the ingredients in the food processor, almost started chopping until my mother reminded me of one thing: My poor Grandparents are sleeping off their jet-lag upstairs and probably shouldn't be woken up! So I waited approximately 2 hours. WORTH THE WAIT. It is so delicious.

Check it:

Picture This: Really Random Pictures I Found On My Hard Drive (And/Or Memory Card)

I went to the Tigers game on Friday, and I sneakily took this picture. Basically, the scenario was that they were fake fighting, but real physically poking. This lady stuck her fingers up inside her man's nose and then stuck it in his ear. I can only imagine the thoughts going through their heads. Here is what I imagine: (a) "We aren't in public!" (b) "Man, my snot tastes de-lish!" (c)"That girl thinks we're famous so she's taking a picture of us!" (d) "FOREPLAY"
This is K's dog. We "crashed" the high school parody picnic today and K brought her dog, who is also a model. This is her "porn star" pose, because her back legs are wide open. I renamed her Penny Million but only in my head. My high school English teacher saw her and said, "I like your face!"
I found some picketers picketing something! IDK what though. It says "IBEW Local 17 Supports Organized Labor" or similar. Well I support organized labor as well! Disorganized labor is soo last season. IBEW apparently stands for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, but their website is slightly confusing.
I walked at engineering graduation again, and discovered that our graduation gowns, when worn backwards, look suspiciously like Snuggies! They aren't as fleecey, but they have lots of fun pleats! (note: My gown is too long because I shrunk between 2-5 inches when I re-graduated. It sucks, but I guess that's what happens.)

Very Belated Birthday Presents!

So I am really slow at getting people their birthday presents, and since I *really* like getting homemade presents, I decided that other people should too! I made a bunch of birthday presents for friends whose birthdays were in the date range of February 27 - March 14. And then I gave them their presents at the end of April. So..Slow.

Present #1: for J - An approximately 2 ft. high sparkley poster of Edward Cullen, or as I like to call him, Extreme Creepster. J was disappointed with the internet in failing to provide her with sparkling images of the vampire, so I took matters into my own hands and shimmer eyeshadowed and glittered the crap out of his face. Apparently this poster was held up when her name was called at Graduation (congrats!) but pics or it didn't happen.
Present #2: for A - The OwlGuin! I attempted to make a stuffed owl, but my stuffed animal skills are lacking, so it ended up looking like [Owl X Penguin] = [OwlGuin]. But it's cute and cuddly! And made out of sari material so it might be silk, but who really knows for sure? I think it might be 8 inches high but I don't remember. I hope she cuddles with it every night!
Present # 3: for L, aka the Wifey. A Scarf! It says "I mrs. the mrs." since we are facebook spouses! I made that quote up myself. The scarf, when worn, exhibits no strange writing, but when laid out, the message is adorabizzle! Made from another sari.
Yay presents! Happy belated Birthday!

The Vest of Both Worlds

Yes, that is a Hannah Montana song reference in my title.

I redid a really old, huge blazer to make this adorabizzle vest!!

I made the roses, AND the buttons! I think I will wear this every single day.

Check it:

Adventure in the D!

Today, K and I took a trip to Detroit. Our main intention was to first eat linner (lunch/dinner) in Mexicantown, and then go to Hockeytown Cafe and watch the Red Wings win.

Here are some snippets of our D-venture!

A vastly decorated stop sign--I've noticed that many people like to decorate stop signs. They are octagons, which are less coolly shaped than yield signs (triangles).

The smooshed trashcan tied to a rusty lamp column.

See, if I were trying to be museumesque, I would use the word "juxtaposition" to describe this picture. Whenever I go to a museum, "juxtapose" or a form of it is often used to describe the scene. So...the juxtaposition of the old, decrepit building with the newer, pretty building trying to be seen behind it can be used to represent the D. It's a new city trying to get out of a bad reputation. Also, I really wanted to find a Church's Chicken juxtaposed with a real church but that didn't happen.

The Detroit Public Library has one of the coolest interiors I've ever seen in a public library. There are stained glass windows and a bunch of murals. Go check it out. Seriously.

Yay, my camera focused on something really close to it! FINALLY. This is a fence on the back of what used to be the front of the DIA, and you can kind of see the reflection of the DPL but not really.

Another decorated stop sign, all for you Kwame!

The roaring tiger in front of Comerica Park. RAWR! :) It's kind of cute.
Here is Athena, in a memorial fountain for Russell Alger. (?) I guess he is military.

They had Red Wings Trivia at Hockeytown Cafe, where we watched the Wings get to 3-0 in the series against the CBJ (just another reason to hate Co-LAME-bus). K and my phone-ternet helped us get to the final round to win stuff. But then we didn't win :(

They were giving away playoff beards at Hockeytown Cafe, and I asked the guy for two, so he gave me three. Let me know if you want one. Claimed by Dovbear. They are itchy and the hair gets stuck to everything, especially the mouth.