spot : home [tea trails]



this ancient tea-planters bungalow snuggled in the sprawling hills of ceylon tea is a true sanctuary. take your pick of one of the five rooms. we chose castlereagh because it sounded regal, but maybe alston and jamieson are more your style. the architecture is old colonial with a full beauty-and-the-beast library and a few roaring fireplaces [in case the seventy-five degree weather isn't warm enough for you]. put your feet up now because we're about to go exploring through the never-ending fields of tea.

taste : family recipes [epiphany]


epiphany is more than that einstein moment when you realize what peanut butter does to chocolate or that a zebra and donkey can be breeded together [zonky]. it is also the holiday on january sixth, the official end of the holiday season. the magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh back in the day. we brought wine, sri lankan curry and fancy pasta to this year's party. with a spread like this, we want to make every day an epiphany [insert cartoon light bulb here].

spot : home [colombo]


it can be an apartment building. it can be an unfinished model home [looking at you ryan atwood]. it can be an area you grew up, a place you spent the most time, a park you climbed trees in, a hippie commune you ran away from. we have at least eight homes split between the two of us. the h-word may have a thousand definitions, but we know that home is where the dessert/laundry/heart is.

taste : family recipes [faux-ranchito soup]


sometimes your great, great grandmother passes down the ingredients of the family's secret sauce. other times, you eat something ridiculously delicious and all you want to do is rip it off and make that recipe yours. this was the case with el ranchito's chicken soup. we've all suffered through flu chicken soup, canned chicken soup and chicken soup for the blah blah soul. but this was different. it was a hot-lime-herb tongue explosion followed by the cold pico de gallo topping and a creamy avocado finish. we recreated this west-coast delicacy, replaced the rice with quinoa [for the extra protein] and tweaked the amount of citrus [the lime-ier the better]. thanks newport for the gastronomical inspo [as if the summer/seth spiderman kiss wasn't enough].

spot : home [bridgehampton]


it can be an apartment building. it can be an unfinished model home [looking at you ryan atwood]. it can be an area you grew up, a place you spent the most time, a park you climbed trees in, a hippie commune you ran away from. we have at least eight homes split between the two of us. the h-word may have a thousand definitions, but we know that home is where the dessert/laundry/heart is.

sip : juice [hundred acre]


the new year starts and juice cleanses are all the rage. don't worry, we've tried them all : the blueprint, the green day, the master cleanse, the servant spruce. day one you're a human, day two you're a zombie and day three you're beyonce. yes, juice cleanses work, but we always miss chewing. plus, peeing every half hour is only acceptable if you're a puppy, not if you're the girl forcing pit stops on the family road trip to yala [or during a snowed-in sherlock marathon]. so instead of a full on cleanse, we ripped off parts and added them to snack time. hundred acre has the potassium punch of banana, the popeye powers of spinach and unbearable cuteness of pooh [grizzly pun intended].

taste : family recipes [eggnog tiramisu]


eggnog is usually synonymous with santa and snowflakes, not sunday brunch with seventy five degree weather. but we took the seasonal drink and made a delicious [and enormous] tiramisu. substituting mascarpone for local curd and cream cheese, this is a sri lankan twist on an old italian favorite. everyone grab a spoon: there's enough here to feed the family, a whole pack of lion cubs and more.

fete : book art [jannah's picks]


sorry, after-school specials, kate hudson rom-coms and teachers of the world : we always judge a book by it's cover. the two of us have distinct taste when we walk into a barnes & noble [or flip through apple books]. jannah goes for the neon backgrounds, pop art photographs and playful fonts. savera's opinion carries a bit more clout [being a casual book model and all]. she sticks to the ones with a south asian vibe. throw a diety on the binding or an ancient chant on the dust jacket and she's in. let the paperback prizefight begin.

look : staycation [belle-bottoms]


our staycation is split between time zones. one of us is sunbathing with elephants and drinking lime juice on the beach. one of us is waging snowball war on the neighbors and sipping gourmet hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. this month it is savera's shorts v. jannah's parkas. may the odds be ever in your favor [spoiler: there will be no bloody battle...just some sartorial slaughtering]. 

taste: family recipes [acai bowl]


a couple years ago, acai was everywhere. acai will cleanse your liver! acai will protect you from alien invasion! acai is the second coming! the craze has since died down, but acai bowls are still as good as ever. we made them for brunch [extra thick and gluten free]. the greek yogurt base and peanut butter topper helped to up the protein. once we licked the bowl giant teacup clean, we ran three miles, won a twerk-off with a truck driver and pole-vaulted into a tree to save a kitten. acai superpowers.

sip : juice [market fresh]


the new year starts and juice cleanses are all the rage. don't worry, we've tried them all : the blueprint, the green day, the master cleanse, the servant spruce. day one you're a human, day two you're a zombie and day three you're beyonce. yes, juice cleanses work, but we always miss chewing. plus, peeing every half hour is only acceptable if you're a puppy, not if you're the girl forcing pit stops on the family road trip to yala [or during a snowed-in sherlock marathon]. so instead of a full on cleanse, we ripped off parts and added them to snack time. these market fresh juices from sri lanka have the vitamin punch of citrus and the digestion benefits of mint and papaya. queen bey approved.

taste : family recipes [pink peppercorn brownies]


savera's rich umber skin tone does not come from the sun. it comes from two decades of gorging on chocolate. as a bonifide addict, she has perfected hundreds of recipes all starring cacao. this spicy twist on brownies will leave your tongue humming for more. you can serve them three ways : on a porcelein platter as the centerpiece for high tea, on a doll plate as a birthday cake for a barbie or at the museum as a contemporary art piece glorifying nips.

look : staycation [fourteen carat]


our staycation is split between time zones. one of us is sunbathing with elephants and drinking lime juice on the beach. one of us is waging snowball war on the neighbors and sipping gourmet hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. this month it is savera's shorts v. jannah's parkas. may the odds be ever in your favor [spoiler: there will be no bloody battle...just some sartorial slaughtering]. 

fete : book art [savera's picks]


sorry, after-school specials, kate hudson rom-coms and teachers of the world : we always judge a book by it's cover. the two of us have distinct taste when we walk into a barnes & noble [or flip through apple books]. jannah goes for the neon backgrounds, pop art photographs and playful fonts. savera's opinion carries a bit more clout [being a casual book model and all]. she sticks to the ones with a south asian vibe. throw a deity on the binding or an ancient chant on the dust jacket and she's in. let the paperback prizefight begin.

look : staycation [effeuiller la marguerite]


our staycation is split between time zones. one of us is sunbathing with elephants and drinking lime juice on the beach. one of us is waging snowball war on the neighbors and sipping gourmet hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. this month it is savera's shorts v. jannah's parkas. may the odds be ever in your favor [spoiler: there will be no bloody battle...just some sartorial slaughtering].

sip : [purple graze]


the new year starts and juice cleanses are all the rage. don't worry, we've tried them all : the blueprint, the green day, the master cleanse, the servant spruce. day one you're a human, day two you're a zombie and day three you're beyonce. yes, juice cleanses work, but we always miss chewing. plus, peeing every half hour is only acceptable if you're a puppy, not if you're the girl forcing pit stops on the family road trip to yala [or during a snowed-in sherlock marathon]. so instead of a full on cleanse, we ripped off parts and added them to snack time. purple graze has the health benefits of matcha and the antioxidants of blueberries. drink up. it's queen bey approved.

the list : [january]

1. look: staycation

   2. spot: home

       3. taste: family recipes

           4. sip: juice

               5. fete: book covers

                   6. wild card: emergency exits


*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


[inspiration]
  tina fey's bossypants  .  the candy kitchen in bridgehampton  .  coconut sambol  .  green juice  .  marc jacobs in pajamas  .  sri lankan elephants