So sweet and so cold
I'm off this morning to go buy cheap books at the Harper Collins warehouse sale! (Which is alllllll the way in Faridabad and also I am rapidly running out of shelf space so this may not be the best decision in the world. Oh well!)
New places I tried this week in Delhi: Arriba, Mexican place in the Asian Village Complex (should it be the Asiad Village Complex?). Funny to see how trendy the place is trying to be, considering the first Chinese "family" restaurant, Chopsticks, is there. (The first, not including Golden Dragon, which I have still never been to, but mean to one day before it gets totally swallowed up by a nearby metro.) Arriba is nice, very exposed paint-y walls, Aztec detailing, wooden benches etc and lots of margarita options, including your choice of salt rim. I had classic frozen (because I'm all about the Classics this week) with a chilli and lime rim, and it was like drinking a tequila flavoured bhutta. Better than it sounds though. It is RIDONKULOUSLY expensive, but then so is all eating out these days with all that tax and VAT and Swacch Bharat and what not.
Also tried Locale (with an umlaut-e) in the PVR Saket complex, only because we were already THERE and needed somewhere to go for a quick drink. Their prices are much nicer (six shots of gin at 995? Yes please) and if you get an upstairs seat, it's relatively quiet.
New movie of the week: Finding Dory, the reason I was in PVR Saket in the first place. The cinema there has gone to the literal DOGS, so dirty outside ya, and such cramped seating, it's like being in the economy class of the cheapest Delhi-Mumbai flight you could find that day. Also, since we unwisely chose to go for the 7 pm Sunday matinee, there were rugrats running around the entire time. The kids behaved themselves through the movie though, the adults however. *sigh* The movie is sweet, doing a lot of baby-fish-with-big-round-eyes being cute, but eh, it was like Nemo again, except less glorious.
Old new movie of the week: Angry Indian Goddesses, which, despite average reviews when I Googled it, turned out to be fab. Just what I needed this week anyway, to put some fire in my belly. The Indian Express has a film club ("so fancy"- my mum) and you just need to SMS some random code to a number they put out and you get on the list. They show some very nice Indian cinema, curated by their film writer, and always a lively discussion after. I've liked the Facebook page so I get updates, but they also put out an ad in the paper if you still get a physical paper anymore.
This week in Project Turn Into A Recluse: That time of the month was made significantly better this week. As I lay dying on the couch, a man from Tel Malish came over (someone K discovered in our quest to never leave the house) with all his equipment in a massive backpack and gave me a pedicure that made my feet feel like clouds. Fantastic. K got one too (we were having a hard time with Urban Clap etc because a) very unreliable and b) they only did women) and both of us are very pleased with our results. It's a Noida-based company, but for a little extra conveyance charge, they'll come to you. Seriously you guys, I never leave the house. It's an illness.
Related song of the week: Live Alone And Like It by Cyrille Aimee. Such a fun funky jazz tune, it'll make you happy even if you don't live alone. Totally fits with our work-from-home-ness as well:
Free to call the tune
Free to say if I'm gonna work or play
You can have the moon
But you don't have to have it night and day
Baked goods of the week: Snickerdoodles! Which I really only wanted to make because of their name, but it's a fancy way of referring to cinnamon rolled sugar cookies. With enough butter to make it all cake-y. So easy and bonus: whole house smells like cinnamon. Recipe here. PS: I have just discovered Amul's salt-less butter and my baking has TRANSFORMED.
Book of the week: Shrill by Lindy West. I'm already familiar with Lindy's take-no-prisoners writing from Jezebel, and her memoir is AWESOME. All about being fat, being a woman, being single and dealing with the haters. It made me laugh out loud several times.
Stuff I wrote this week: This is just the one link because I have been writing non-internet things, so here's my relationship column on travelling together and social media appearances.
Links I liked: GAME OF THRONES LINK! SPOILERS AHEAD! (Interview with an actor). This rickshaw driver is also a stand-up comedian. Speeding my way through the new season of Orange Is The New Black so here's a story about a journalist trying out his luck as a prison guard.
And that's all from your intrepid newsletter-putter-together this week. If you liked this, forward it to your friends!
xx
m.