Donkee House

A Taste of Indian Sweets

A few weeks ago, I signed the husband and myself up for a walking Jackson Heights Garden City tour compliments of Open House New York.  I have always been curious about Jackson Heights and while searching for our first apartment purchase more than three years ago, the neighborhood was a serious contender before we finally decided on Forest Hills.

Knowing that Jackson Heights is home to a huge amount of English style gardens, I practically jumped at the chance to walk through them on a beautiful sunny afternoon.  Also, Jackson Heights being a hop, skip and a jump away from Forest Hills via the subway was also a wonderful incentive to go.

Alas, luck was not with us that day.  That was the fateful Sunday where most of the NYC trains were going haywire or not running at all.  What should have been a mere 12 minute subway ride turned out to be 45 minutes instead.  We arrived at the meeting spot late and the group had left without us.  That’s ok – I wouldn’t have wanted to wait half an hour neither.

So we embarked on our own walking tour of the neighborhood.  Although we didn’t have access to the gardens – we don’t even know where they are located – we took a nice and sedate stroll up and down 37th and 35th Avenues, mainly.  We had a fabulous and cheap buffet lunch at Mehfil – courtesy of a quick search on Yelp.  We discovered a wonderful discount fabric store where the employees (or owners?) were so agreeably helpful.  They were busy too – the store was PACKED.

Lastly, on our way back to the subway, we happened across Maharaja Sweets and Snacks.  We popped in – this placed was packed too – and ordered a box of mixed goodies.  We came home with a few sweets, not knowing what they were, but happily enticed by the silver and the colors.

Some of them were called chums – milky and moist.  When bitten into, there is an explosion of juices in your mouth, down your chin and fingers.  We loved that none of the sweets were TOO sweet so that the other flavors and ingredients came through, not just sugar.  My favorite was the brown ball at the upper left corner – that one was a bit more savory than the others.  Yum…

The Husband’s Drawings

These are my husband’s drawings of the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland on our dry erase board on the kitchen wall.  Mad Hatter’s glass of red wine was my contribution.  These drawings are copies of these salt and pepper shakers we bought from Fishs Eddy last year.

Why am I posting this?  Seems pretty mundane?  Well, the husband thinks he can’t draw for beans.  He claims he can’t even draw stick figures.  I think otherwise, I think he did pretty well here.  Much better copies than I could have done…

When a Co-Worker Steals Your Food…

I know this happens quite often wherever a group of people work together.  It’s sadly part of human nature, in a way.  I wrote this note and taped it up on the fridge at work after discovering that someone had pilfered one of my soy yogurts.  If it were once or twice, then it could have been considered rare isolated incidences.

However, because this happens in just about every office environment a bit too many times, I felt I had to communicate with the resident office food thief.  Come on!  You know every office has at LEAST one!

At least I made it safe for work  by not cursing and issuing threats…

*I put my name and extension at the bottom of the note, but I cropped it off here for everyone’s reading pleasure…*

**I KNOW it’s small and a bit tough to read…sorry!**

***Yes, I know I made a couple of mistakes, I was typing a bit too fast in my eagerness to get this note up on the fridge.  The longer it’s up on the frige, the better chance the food thief will see it.***

Heated Mattress Pad Saves Sleep and Skin

Last winter was our first in this apartment and it was…enlightening, to say the least, as we learned about our old pre-war co-op building’s heating and radiators.  Nevermind the clanking and the hissing, we were actually quite used to that from our previous abodes and it all sounds comforting to me in some way.

The big learning occured in the bedroom.  Whenever the heat was on, the room choked with it.  We couldn’t lower the heat, it was either turn it off or on.  When on, the heat would come on when the building’s heat came on and boy, the result was some of the hottest and driest heat ever.  We tried opening the windows a bit and also run the humidier through the night.  Nothing really made us comfortable – we woke up sweating, turned the heat off, woke up freezing.  My husband is a voice actor and his voice was ripped to shreds due to the aridity that the humidier couldn’t rectify.

This year, though…this year, we’re ready.  My husband found a heated mattress pad from Sunbeam.  We turn that baby on (via the graded temperature control knobs – sort of like stove top knobs from low to high) about half an hour before we jump into bed.  COZY, TOASTY and SNUGGLY!  Feet area is warm, butt area is warm, back area is warm….it’s the best feeling ever on a chilly night.

What else?  There are two controls – one for each side of the bed!  For me and for him!  If I want to be toastier than the husband, I turn my dial up.  If the husband is warm enough and doesn’t need the heat, he can turn his dial off.  Sleep goes uninterrupted due to temperature changes and extremes.  We don’t wake up with dry skin and drier nostrils and mouths.  It’s…nirvana.  Now we don’t have to deal with that crazy radiator – it’s just permanently OFF.

Marrakesh Riad

This two bedroom Marrakesh riad in the medina is featured in The New York Times.  Looking at these pictures, it reminds me of my trip with my husband to Marrakesh and Essaouira about three years ago.  The dusty reds throughout most definitely struck a sensory cord in my memory.

In Marrakesh, we stayed at a riad in the medina and found the architecture so unique.  A riad is a traditional residence centered around an internal courtyard.  This affords privacy and protection from the weather.  To me, it feels almost like being outside and inside at the same time…

Etsy Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important elements in a home.  It can create and change a room’s mood and ambience instantly.  My husband and I certainly need to one up our lighting game in the apartment – it has been relegated to the bottom of our priority list for lord knows how many months (or years) and for whatever reasons.  Major reason?  Our lightng, though not ideal, is adequate.  Therefore, we’ve lived with it while we tackle other more important projects.

Well, it may be time soon to seriously look at some lighting options – that’s the most fun!  Here are some vintage lighting options right now at Etsy…

Above is the Liberty Lantern from Atelier688.

Mid Century Black and White Pottery Lamps by fabulousmess.

Blue Ginger Jar Lamp from GloriasCustomSewing.

French Bright Yellow Pendant Light from birchbeerboutique.

Mid Century Black Lamp from rabbitohrabbit.

Vintage Icicle Glass Globe Spelter from Whimsnwishes.

Tin Ceiling for the Bedroom

I’ve held on to this inspiration for months now and it’s about time I share it with everyone.  I fell in love with the tin ceiling first, the vintage chandelier second and the iron bed third.  We don’t normally see tin ceilings in bedrooms, but in this former opera house, it totally works making it so unique.  The vintage accessories and rustic art, bedside table and the browns throughout finish this bedroom up wonderfully!

Image from Country Living

The Clingstone House – An Island Home

How’s this for seclusion and privacy?  Bought for $3,600 back in 1961 on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, the Clingstone House is beautifully warm and inviting.  The views are, as expected, uncompromisingly beautiful…

Read more at Freshome

Table Grill

I love the idea of the Table Grill by Eva Solo.  Made from porcelain, it can sit prettily atop the dining table while you churn out some grilled corn and maybe even a bit of steak.  Me?  I’d probably try s’mores first…

Tester Beds

A tester bed makes a grand statement in the bedroom.  Popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, testers beds were a sign of wealth and status.  In the current 21st century, tester beds can very well make a comeback…either with simple or opulent upholstery or in the barer variety…

Images from Country Living