Channeling my inner Bollywood

Every time I eat Indian food something funny happens. Well, besides my brow perspiring from the punjab heat, I swear my type 'O' negative blood turns Hindi positive! That joyful song from "Slumdog Millionaire" goes off loudly in my head, my pasty pigment changes to a lush caramel-ish toffee color, I am clad in a fine silk sari (green, of course) and my wrists are jangling with copious silver bangles. Alas, I am awakened upon leaving the restaurant to the bland reality check: Adrianne, you are merely an American mutt, a mixed up specimen of German, English, Irish, French and Cherokee. Kind of hard to extract any inspired sensual experience from that bag, boo...courtesy of Mom and Dad's collective gene pools I suppose. Hmmm.

Thankfully, on occasion, I do luck into creating flowers for an Indian bride and/or groom. The jewel tones, spicy hues and unexpected textures of the culture really flip my global lid.

Event coordinator, Kelly Aull of Mint Weddings http://www.mintweddings.com/ brought 2 fine clients my way, Pamela and Craig...she being Indian and he, French Canadian and THEY = foodies! All the tables were named after exotic spices, so cool. Custom chocolates made with cardamom, chili and curry were abundant, while clove-spiked orange pomanders were placed on everything that stood still and don't get me going on about the cake - doi!! Artero Photography http://www.artero.com/ captured the event at the San Diego Natural Natural History Museum http://www.sdnhm.org/ where the most beautifully dressed Indian women of every age swirled about the dance floor - a rainbow blur of brilliant turquoise, saffron yellow, marigold orange and watermelon pink. Aaaaaaahhh, such magic!

May my next dinner at "Monsoon" transport me straight to a steamy Bollywood movie set via a creaky bamboo rickshaw with sassy mango lassi in hand. I could get used to that.

Cheers,
Adrianne

Valentine's Day - what's that?

Right, the questions of all questions...what is the origin of this lovey-dovey holiday?

Lets go back to 270 A.D. During this time the iron-fisted emperor, Claudius, was enlisting men to fight in his mighty, manly wars. These poor, sensitive male recruits, however, didn't wish to leave their sweethearts to wage battles in far away lands. This angered the feisty Claudius, hence he forbid any marriages to be performed and cancelled all engagements - the nerve!

Cue in Valentine, a popular and kindly priest, who secretly arranged marriages within his church. Claudius, armed with a anger for this sort of romantic, gooey disobedience, promptly jailed Valentine and sent these poor love struck men to fight in his bloody wars.

Here is where my little funky history lesson gets interesting. Now the People Magazine twist on all this was that while incarcerated, Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter, hmmmm. He wrote her woozy, swoony, beautiful love letters signed, "from Your Valentine". Awwww! Basically, he made a martyr of himself...and, so naturally, he is known as the patron saint of lovers and for those wishing to marry. Hence, a holiday was born!

Sooooo, get on it love struck lads - a romantic expression speaks volumes! Got flowers? For San Diego ordering information, please send an email inquiry to: info@asmithfloral.com. We'll get you set up for sweet love this Valentine's Day.

Cheers,

Adrianne