Nirupama P.R.V.'s Blog: Catty Opinions of a Book Loving Couch Potato, page 27

Yummy Italian at Olive Garden

We recently went to Olive Garden and had such a fabulous meal that this work’a post is all the pictures of our delicious dinner.

 While we are vegetarians, the food was scrumptious and the menu varied. 

An appetizing Strawberry Passion fruit non-alcoholic  drink.

  

My minestrone soup and Hubby’s fresh salad  – that I helped myself to a little 

  

  Perfect Pasta:

 

  My mouth watering eggplant Parmesan:

  

We also had yummy bread sticks with olive oil and cheesy garlic bread with a spinach artichoke dip. Dessert was  a tiramisu and a chocolate mousse dolcini.

The kiddo  of course enjoyed her Mac and cheese, French fries and mashed potatoes with apple juice.

  

We could not finish our main course and brought home more than half. So, we enjoyed the meal at home as well! 

Book Review: Customer Centricity

I recently finished the audiobook Customer Centricity by Peter Fader. This post is a review of the same.

Review Summary: This book was mostly good and a little disappointing for varying reasons.

Good:

I picked this book because I enjoyed the author Professor Fader’s MOOC on marketing immensely. The book is very interesting.
If you have been following this blog, you’ll know that I have been trying out audiobooks with mixed success. This audiobook is a great choice for those trying to make a dent in their reading lists while being hands free.

Girl Power

Found this inspiring poster by Girl Scouts at the Arlington Heights Memorial library in our city- Arlington Heights, Illinois  [image error] 

Sweet T’s – Delicious Delight!

We recently went to this amazing boutique cake and cupcake place called Sweet T’s Bakery Cake studio in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

   Pretty decor that might grab your attention….

 

But not for too long!  

With cute posters, charming tables to eat in for those in a hurry… to devour the sweet delights; this is a nice place with yummy treats. T and Hubs took the brownie and velvet cake with cookies and wolfed it in a matter of seconds at home. 

An awards winning Bakery, the place was crowded when we arrived. And contrary to my initial thought that T would bel bored and impatient, she was delighted to have more time in the queue…so she could see what all treats are available.

Do check it out! Comment if you have been to the place or with your experience of a similar favorite shop. And have a sweet week ahead.

Spring?

 Waiting for Spring !!!  

Joy of being Published!!!

 Ah! The joy of looking at a bookshelf (not mine or my Mom’s) and seeing my book! Hurrah!!

  

For all those aspiring novelists, do it! Write your book. Start now. How? When? What?

Well  Camp NaNoWriMo is ongoing. Not too late to join a large community of fabulous writers- both published and wannabe-almost-there. 

Have a great weekend ahead!

We recently visited the Arlington Heights library and e...

 We recently  visited the Arlington Heights library and enjoyed the reflection table. T giggled her heart out and enjoyed it immensely, I am looking for ideas to replicate the reflection/sensory table.

 

We also crafted the heart-wrap box that we had done for Valentines Day as well 

 Plus, we created the Kindness cards 

 to hang on the left side of this wall. 

The other side of the table and right side of the cards were for Forgiveness. We had to basically make/write cards to let go of hurt, anger, sadness. T chose not to do it. (Possibly to head over to the kiddie section and not so much due to emotional choice)

We headed to their new restaurant equipment  -pizza and juice setup 

 

 Complete with separate seating area. 

  The instructions were child friendly with pictures and words. Hence, suitable for learners of all ages.

The color on T’s arm is thankfully, not a tattoo but just the result of an art session.  

The kids used this as a menu too, which was very resourceful and creative.   

I am constantly amazed by the amount of hard work and thought that goes into making the kids section educational, fun and novel. Definitely the reason why we visit weekly.

Leave me comments about how you best use your library and other free resources. Happy Spring Break!

Magnetic blocks

This week’s post is about another set of blocks.  

 A birthday gift that we are enjoying a lot, this has been great for T and even her little friends. 

A few pictures:

Simple structures to begin with: 

Fun creations to progress with:

   

The box itself is briefcase style and acts as a handy storage for the pieces. It comes with cards that kids can follow along with:  

As both sides are magnetic, you can have two persons (big or small) playing alongside. And yes, with a little care,you can make multiple creations.  

You can even race if you like as T and I did for added excitement:  

In the spirit of things, we tried another combo: [image error] 

I enjoyed it so much I made this: 

 I was crushed but when T called my “bird” a girl dressed with Easter bunny headgear!

Blogging Tip: About Me Page

Welcome to my new series of Blogging tips where I share simple tips and strategies I follow. Since all my readers are very busy people, these will be short and sweet, aimed to engage and hopefully inspire. Without further ado, here goes.

Blogging Tip:

Update your About Me page to reflect your blog’s purpose and reader Personas.   

Always have a separate About Me page.
While pages are static, you can keep it dynamic and engaging by changing the content to reflect your growing and improving blog and its content.
The content should not be about you, but rather what the reader can expect. 
This is also a great place to place links to your other great content and resources and even your other online avatars/ presence.
Make it fun, let your personality shine through.

What tips would you add? Leave me your suggestions in the comments below.

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Dino Party by DSK’s mom

In this post, I’m sharing the work of a very talented fellow blogger whose creative and now Mommying skills never fail to amaze me.

Miss P’s whose blogs I am linking here has always been the creative one, what with her college fest work, being in charge of the decor at engagements and her witty and tasteful wedding blogging and so on. Naturally as a mom, her party planning skills have upped to a whole new level. (After all, the audience is now very discerning and not very tactful at the slightest displeasure)

She had fashioned a nice dinosaur themed birthday for her little angel. I found them very adorable and inspiring which is why I am sharing some pictures here. 

(Note: I have deliberately colored our faces and initials to safeguard privacy of all kids involved)

 Dino themed cake: 

Dino banner:  

Decor:  

 Hats:

 

 Wall decor: 

 Props for pictures :

 The kids could pose as the cute little Dino!

  I’m hoping this post inspires her to add a detailed post and share more of her creations, so we can all benefit from her expertise.