The Stanford Theater Experience

It has been a while since I updated this blog as I haven't been on any trip after my the Las Vegas tour during Christmas. However, I have been busy with quite some interesting activities-movies, books, shopping, lunches and job interviews.

One Sunday, while we were waiting to be seated for our brunch at Hobbees, V casually found a bunch of brochures on the table. It was a flyer for the Hitchcock film festival at the Stanford theater. And luckily for us, it has started that week, so we didn't miss out on any films.

Stanford theater is located on University avenue in Palo Alto downtown. We now have a rental car so didn't have to be dependent on the Caltrain. Stanford is a movie theater with an old world charm and features Hollywood classics.

Everything about this theater gives you a chance to experience the movie-going experience of the past. The illuminated movie hoarding, the quaint box office, the food counter serving nothing fancy other than the mandatory pop corn and soda, the seating at two levels and of course the screen with its red curtain. What is even fantastic is that a live organ is played before the evening shows on weekends. They also have a gallery with original posters of many yesteryear classic films. 

They are currently playing the Hitchcock films-2 movies per week. The best part is that for the price of one ticket ($7), you can watch both the movies back-to-back. So far, we have watched all the movies screened every week and intend to continue doing so until the end of the festival in April. 

I had never watched a single Hitchcock flick until now. And I'm glad I got to experience it on the big screen. My favorites films so far have been Rear Window, Rebecca and Rope. 

Diwali

My first diwali in the US. Since we don't know a lot of people, I knew it was going to be a low key affair.

The fun and exciting part of my diwali was that I prepared a few of the traditional snacks and sweets at home all by myself. I went grocery shopping and got all the required things and tried out 5 different things-4 of them turned out well. But hey for a first timer, that is a pretty good number.

Take a look-this is what I made.

That is chivda, shankarpali, namakpare and maladu for you. Doesn't it look yummy?
Since I'm all about healthy eating these days, I baked the shankarpali and namakpare.

On diwali morning, I got all dressed up and then distributed the sweets to my neighbours and got some sweets in return. And that was my simple diwali celebration.

Ganesh Chaturthi

The first Indian festival after our big move here. With all the crazy, hectic schedule, I definitely wasn't prepared for it. However, I'm proud of how well I managed it :)

Since I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew, I decided to keep it simple. To begin with, I didn't even have a Ganesh idol. I went to the nearby Indian store and picked up a Ganesh photo. 

Now for the prasad. Last year I had bought some modaks from a sweet shop and used it as prasad. This year I wanted to make something on my own. I spent a lot of time going through YouTube videos on modak recipes. They didn't seem too easy and I wasn't in a mood to take any risks. So I decided to make this:

Choco-coconut barfi-my own version of the barfi with a twist. Although I wouldn't say it came out perfect but it sure as hell tasted amazing. I packed some and gave it to my neighbours. "It tastes exactly like my grandma's barfi" they told me. It felt so good to be appreciated for the hard work. Next, I took some along with me to my gym. I fed the instructors and they were ooh-ing and aah-ing about the delicacy. I knew it was a hit with them. 

I just lit a lamp, offered the barfi, played the aarti on YouTube and prayed. That was how simple my first Ganesh Chaturthi here was.