unworn blog

.

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:39:00 +0000

...just two more photos from our road trip

♥ CA

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:06:00 +0000

We spent the 3 day weekend driving along the California coast and back for around 1300 miles, about 800 miles of that on the windy, narrow, scenic and rather treacherous at times, hwy 1. We stopped for scenery and photos at Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Carmel, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, Stinson Beach, Muir Woods, Hitchcock's Bodega Bay, Mendocino, Fort Bragg and collected glass pebbles at Glass Beach.

The views throughout the drive are breathtaking and we drove by rolling green hills dotted with many many cows, some sheep and horses, at least 6 llamas, many ranches, redwood forests, big waves crashing against steep cliffs, gorgeous beaches, sleepy towns, endless fields of yellow flowers, dense fog, and so many unique sights all along the California coast. One evening we drove about 100 miles in the dark on a very windy road and there was not a single car going in our direction, which I confirmed when we stopped for gas. It was beautiful, sometimes a little scary, but absolutely amazing. These are a few photos on film from the road trip.

love and rainbows

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:52:00 +0000

This past weekend, Nikhil and I took a road trip along California's beautiful coastline on the very scenic hwy 1. I'll post photos from that soon but I have to say it was beyond fantastic. I had never imagined we would see nature in such glory for 800 miles! We were on the road on Valentine's Day though we have so much fun together every single day that I don't end up thinking too much of that one day in the year. This trip was another fine example of such beautiful times and I am so grateful and happy :)

So last week when it rained here, we were blessed with a beautiful sight of a rainbow and gorgeous yellow light shimmering in the evening for about 5 minutes before sunset. I ran out to take photos but somehow didn't take my digital camera with me and took the rainbow photos on film. And then, while rolling the film to get it processed I messed up and exposed the last few shots which had the rainbow on them and sort of ruined them! ah well.

food!

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:44:00 +0000

I thought I'll post some food photos from the last roll of film to start off this week...on a Tuesday since a lot of us had a holiday yesterday.

☁

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:26:00 +0000

I took a few photos on film around the house when it was raining outside and it was the perfect time to bake some banana bread.

▲▼▲

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:51:00 +0000

These are the first and last few shots from the same roll of film that travelled with me on a hike along the east fork san gabriel river and then to India. The first 4 photos are from this hike and the last 2 are from India. I've messed up quite a few of those first photos on several rolls but I sort of like that red gradient.

ps. I changed the layout a bit and added a new header to the blog.

hiking, rain and film

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:05:00 +0000

LA is always so different in the rain and afterwards. I can see snow on the mountains since it's so clear! It's just such a unique phenomenon around here and the reactions of Angelenos to rain amuses me quite a bit. The first 4 photos are from a recent hike in Griffith Park. There's some crazy lens flare going on. The other 3 are from this hike in Santa Anita Canyon. Happy Friday!

a few on film from here and there

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Here are a few photos taken in the last couple of weeks from a recent roll of film. I enjoyed every bite of that turrone in the second photo from Planelles Donat in Barcelona...so good!

jan / feb 2010 desktop

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:26:00 +0000

For the first desktop/calendar of 2010, I combined January and February since it's so late in the month already. I hope you like a bit of Barcelona sky for your screens.

download it in 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1680x1050

●●●happy food weekend●●●

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:17:00 +0000

This weekend's food fest included korean bbq, sake+desserts at geisha house, paru's south indian food, dumplings at din tai fung and a few of those delicious circular foods are featured here. The others didn't get a chance to be photographed.

an ode to food

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:21:00 +0000

I apologize in advance for the length of this post...but it's all photos!

I never quite posted our intense collection of food photos taken during our time in India. Some photos are from last year's trip but the food fest is essentially the same so it is still valid for this recent trip. Some of these aren't the best photos because we are usually very eager to eat. But trust me when I tell you that each of the dishes (and more!) amount for the best food fest a stomach can enjoy in just a span of 3 weeks! I sincerely hope this makes you hungry.

▲▲▲▲▲▲

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:35:00 +0000

Here are photos of the beautiful camera that Ranjit gave me and some curtains I picked out with triangles on them. Can you tell what's in the lens? It's those curtains that I bought at Fab India. The triangles are stitched in gold and silver. I always want to buy so many things at Fab India and I am glad these curtains worked out without measurements.

rainy day hike

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:51:00 +0000

We went back to Santa Anita Canyon for a nice and relatively easy hike to Sturtevant Falls. It was drizzling the entire time and we got back right before the downpour. Santa Anita Canyon is so beautiful and seemed pretty unaffected by the big Angeles Forest fires. Hiking is perfect for being in the moment and clearing your head, and I love hiking with Nikhil. I should add that we topped off the nice day with a delicious Thali dinner at All India Cafe where they cook Indian food as close to home cooked as can be and it's one of my (very few) favorite Indian food places in LA.

babycakes

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:22:00 +0000

delicious!

NYE in Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:27:00 +0000

We started NYE with another visit to Gaudi in the morning. This time it was the Casa Batllo with it's gorgeous rooms, woodwork, tiles and chandeliers. I love that the architecture is not just beautiful but that Gaudi also thought of things like ventilation and heating and how much more sun the windows on top get. Later we took the cable car to Montjuic and soaked in the twilight view of Barcelona. We partook in a bit of the revelry on Las Ramblas but called it a night pretty early and were home well before midnight.

Park Güell on film

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:51:00 +0000

(click to see big)

the sagrada familia on film

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:13:00 +0000

The magnificient Sagrada Familia is hard to photograph and I tried to, on film.

barcelona day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:10:00 +0000

I guess water became the theme for the first day in Barcelona. It started with a very rainy London airport, then flying over the coast along Barcelona, walking around a slightly rainy Barcelona at night, and spotting beautifully tiled water fountains in Barri Gòtic.

garden

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:52:00 +0000

more mumbai

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:31:00 +0000

Another day in Mumbai was spent in Bandra, checking out the new Bandra-Worli Sealink and no trip to Mumbai is complete without a trip to Colaba Causeway. This time we had delicious pasta at the famous Leopold's Cafe.

borivali-juhu-santa cruz

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:39:00 +0000

We started the day at Ranjit's lovely apartment where I got the most amazing gift. I will post that later. Later we went on a wild goose chase for something in Juhu, followed by snacks and good conversation by Juhu Beach. Ranjit's friends were amazing hosts and treated us to a wonderful time around the city which they know so well. It's weird how last year's mumbai post had photos with a similar mood. I guess it's an evening thing.

2010

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:24:00 +0000

happy new year, from barcelona :)

(photo taken at Fundació Joan Miró)

wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:12:00 +0000

The big highlight of this trip for me so far has been my cousin's wedding. We made it here in time to partake in every single ceremony and all the festivities. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun, laughed or danced this much in a span of less than a week. I met family members whom I hadn't seen for decades. Since I moved to the US right after High School, I hardly ever see family outside of my immediate relations, even when I visit. It's so amazing to meet everyone, laugh all the time and dance like there's no worry in the world. I realized that all my family is comprised of so many independent, accomplished individuals yet very close knit with so much love.

I have also been spending time at home with my parents and brother. My dad's knowledge of Indian and World History is very extensive and I love listening to him. I found a very interesting link in our lineage and our facial features dating back many many centuries to when Alexander came to India. Though every trip home is full of gratitude, longing and love for me, this one feels more so than ever. I am always amazed at the closeness that prevails despite our physical distances and gaps in communication. Our worlds are so far apart in everything yet something keeps us so together.

(photos: I got my mehendi done and also carried the ghari gharoli which is the beautifully decorated matki)

dilli haat

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:40:00 +0000

This was one of the (possibly several) trips to dilli haat that I always make when visiting home. I also stock up on juttis and this is one of the two pairs I bought this time. Seeing the talent and skills of the local artisans is a little bittersweet. I doubt they ever make enough to provide for their livelihood though I suppose they're probably better off having a space at dilli haat due to all the well-deserved tourist traffic it gets. Dilli Haat is a great sampling of all the great imagination, craftsmanship and diversity that is inherent in India's arts and crafts across all regions. There is plenty of representation abroad for some of the crafts and I always hope the compensation is at least somewhat fair in comparison to the amount of profits some secondary sellers make off of these goods.

All the support for handmade products and the popularity of etsy often gives me hope for crafts. But, all such ideas fail a little bit when I come here. The economic disparity makes me restless and confused. With respect to crafts, I just feel sad that unlike US and some other countries, there will never be enough support to help enough artisans and craftsmen. There is also that uncomfortable little thought about so much skill being exploited for possibly huge profit margins. I try to be easygoing when I flip through Indian Elle and Vogue with clothes and their exhorbitant price tags but it's never not irksome.

LAX-LON-DEL

noreply@blogger.com (Nidhi) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:26:00 +0000

The terrain from so high above is endlessly fascinating. I think we flew over Iran, Afghanistan and that first photo is near London.