Happy Fat Tuesday! I’ve had a glorious 4 years of working one block from the best Pazkis in Chicagoland. And now I am working from home like an idiot and I will have to fake Fat Tuesday with donuts. IT’S NOT THE SAME!!!
I’ll start!
Book: Okay, don’t make fun of me!!! Buffalo Gal by Bill Wallace. It’s a kids book slightly crossing into preteen romance, and it is everything I like. Our hero is nice but has a chip on his shoulder so comes off as a little brooding. Our heroine has her own ideas and is trying to grow up. And there’s all of this “OMG, I think he might like me-like me!” stuff. Also, our heroine gets to be an action star and do all kinds of cool things. And it’s set in the American West. And yes, it is for reading age of 12 years old, I DON’T CARE!!! I read it when I was 12 and I LOVED it and I still love it now!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!
Movie: In the Indian film realm, R…Rajkumar and Bujjigaddu. I can analyze them and explain why they appeal to me (stuff about a need to be rescued because life is complicated, the appeal of an immoral universe, violence is sexy when it is to protect you, blah blah), but I can also acknowledge they are generally worthless films. But SO SATISFYING!!!! Sometimes you just want a rough pushy tough unshaven hero to sweep in and solve all your problems.
TV Show: Okay, I just wrote a whoooooooooooooole post complaining about this show, and now I have to confess it is my guilty pleasure. The West Wing. Smart people flirting and having unspoken romantic tension is like catnip. OMG, SO GOOD!!!! I don’t watch the whole show any more, I just watch the super romantic bits. It’s a very guilty pleasure.
Food: Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake. Ever since college, this has been my biggest guilty pleasure option. It’s got that crunchy buttery flavor and the strawberry and the thick Ben and Jerry’s vanilla. I just love it! I would even take it over straight up chocolate, that’s how much I love it.
Okay, your turn! Whatever your choices are, they can’t possibly be as ridiculous as mine. And it’s Fat Tuesday! We are supposed to indulge!!!
Right? Where’s Miss Braganza, she always knows about these things, we are supposed to indulge aren’t we?
dontcallitbollywood 
Book: The Night Circus – Always good and always mind-blowingly good. Having bought the book twice speaks for my love for this magical story. I mean, the descriptions alone are worth the reading of the book. Highly recommend!
Movie: Cinderella (2015) – A remake, but one I love a lot, but it is pure fairy tale magic and lacks the cynical feel the other remakes have.
TV-show: Reign – A historical period drama as a teenage drama and it is GLORIOUS every time and I’ve rewatched this show so many times. It’s trash in its own way and I love it.
Food: Sweet Chili and Teriyaki chips. Either one is a perfect way for me to indulge in.
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None of these! I have read/watched/eaten none of these! And I don’t think I need to feel bad about that? It’s indulgences anyway, they are supposed to be totally personal 🙂
On Tue, Feb 9, 2021 at 10:31 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Book – Now Warrior Cats. I started reading for my son, and now I’m maybe more obsessed than him.
Movie – Dirty Dancing.
Indian movie – I don’t know because I very rarely rewatch movies. I feel that there are so many movies I must watch and so little time I can’t afford to rewatch the same films.
TV Show – everything with simple people looking for love so: Polish Farmer Wants a Wife, 90 days fiancé, Undateables and a polish show about poor guys from little towns and country who dream about having a girlfriend.
Food: Paczki and zucchini-chocolate cake.
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Dirty Dancing, classic guilty pleasure indulgence movie. Your TV shows sound lovely! And I was thinking I had seen something similar, and then I realized it was The Dog House from BBC about people finding their perfect dog. Same thing! You meet both sides of the couple, you hope they find love, you watch their first meeting, and so on.
Can you get Paczki’s in Italy?
On Tue, Feb 9, 2021 at 2:17 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, you can buy Paczki in Sicily ( not as good as polish but not bad either) They have a german name here : Krapfen.
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On Carnevale, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, Italians eat gnocchi made with potato dough. Pasta of any kind is my guilty pleasure so pandemic aside, I’m making and eating them all by myself while I remember better days when there was plenty of wine, more than 20 around the table, and pastiera, a sweet pie made with wheat, for dessert.
Watching the impeachment until I can’t take it anymore but generally I stick to Indian films. Saw The Wedding Guest last nite with Dev Patel and Radhika Apte. They were great. The movie went nowhere.
Listening to WQXR classical music station to calm me down as congress argues.
Reading Siva Purana still. It’s not like a novel with tension and surprise outcomes, etc. But still fun.
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Maria, are your family from Naples? I have never had pastiera, but I know how it’s made, while my sicilian husband had no idea such pie exists.
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Father pure Neopolitan; mom mezza mezza. My nona used to cook the wheat on the radiator before making her pizza de grana. I put chocolate chips in mine. I know she’s cursing me from heaven.
Are you Italian, Angie? Or just married to one?
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Just married to Sicilian guy. I’m originally from Poland.
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My first husband was Polish. Very handsome, the only plus unfortunately. His family was lovely.
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Yes, Siva Purana has no surprises. Someone is going to ejaculate on the ground at some point, and someone else will have lotus like features.
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Book: Carney’s House Party! One of Maud Hart Lovelace’s standalone books, so you get to step into Deep Valley and follow a fun romance without having to dive into several books to get your fix.
Movie: Most rom-coms. Just watched French Kiss and although it doesn’t always work, I enjoyed Kevin Kline’s mad Frenchman and his wanting Meg Ryan despite himself.
TV: The Great British Bake Off! Mostly because I usually end up pausing an episode to go find myself a sweet treat. Although it’s never as satisfying as what I imagine the bakers’ create 😦
Food: Ben & Jerry’s brownie core ice cream, but now I’ve got to hunt down this Strawberry Cheesecake flavor. It sounds yummy!
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I have really got to read that! It’s even on Hoopla so I can read it for free
Oh oh! Give me 90s rom coms to write about for Valentine’s Week!!! Also, watch Pyar To Hona Hi Tha if you can, its the Kajol-Ajay remake of French Kiss.
I still haven’t tried the Great British Bake Off because I am worried that 1. I will be starving and 2. I will be stressed about who wins.
Ooooo, the brownie core is so good!!!
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Yes, if you’re still looking for book recs for your vacation, then I would add it to your list! It’s not a long read.
Oh yeah, I just came across a whole list of 90s rom-coms that I somehow haven’t seen. I haven’t seen The Truth About Cats and Dogs, so that’s next on my list, but Only You and Joe Versus the Volcano are also ones I’m hoping to see this month. I’m def planning on watching Pyar to Hona Hi Tha because it’s on Einthusan, so I’m super excited to see what they changed and adapted! Plus, peak 90s songs.
Gosh for 90s rom-coms I love I feel like I’m blanking. Technically, Pretty Woman is one, but that one feels very 80s. I do like Mrs. Winterbourne! Oh and 10 Things I Hate About You and The Mirror Has Two Faces. How that one hasn’t been remade with Madhuri or Juhi is beyond me.
Hmmm I don’t think GBBO is stressful. It’s not like American reality competitions where everyone’s super competitive and cutthroat. GBBO is much more laidback and most of the drama revolves around whether you’ve got a soggy bottom! But yes, you will probably be hankering after their creations.
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I have seen Only You AND Joe Versus the Valcano AND The Truth About Cats and Dogs!!!! I would say The Truth About Cats and Dogs is the most interesting/well-done of all of them. Joe Versus the Volcano is the most ambitious. And Only You is your standard rom-com, so that’s nice. Have you seen Return to Me? SO GOOD! Watch that one if you haven’t.
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Only You is that one with Robert Downey Jr? I started watching it last year and managed to see only 30 minutes because it was too OTT! It was like written by 13 years old girl.
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Yes!!!! It succeeds only because the two leads are very very charming. And there is an interesting twist at the end of the film, but it’s still really ridiculous.
On Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 9:23 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Book: Crazy Rich Asians.
Movie: Student of the Year.
Tv Show: Bridgerton
Food: Talenti Gelato Layers Mint Chocolate Fudge
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YES! Student of the Year! Another person who appreciates it’s wonderfulness.
On Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 12:28 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Book: Any funny romance (e.g., books by Jennifer Cruisie, Janet Evonovich, more recent find Jasmine Guillroy etc) or young adult fantasy/adventure novel. They are fun, silly, easy to read. Reading a books like these while taking a hot bath with a glass of red wine may be the most perfect/indulgent way to end the day.
Movie: There are so many. Old Amitabh, Shashi, Dharmendra films. Young Aamir Khan films. Anything with Madhuri and Juhi. Obviously hot Hrithik films. Anything by Sooraj Barjatya because it is so bright and glossy and ridiculous and happy! If I had to pick a few movies that I can just watch over and over again, they would be Mujhse Dosti Karoje, Khoobsoorat, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke.
TV Show: Hart of Dixie. I love that show. I love Bluebell and the ridiculous antics that happen there. I love the characters. I want to visit Bluebell!
Food: Goan fish thali, which consists of fish curry and various fried seafood. It’s amazing. Everyone in India knows that if I am coming over there, it is a MUST! And spicy chaat! Every birthday, I would ask my parents to make all kinds of chaat (pav bhaji, ragda pattis, pani puri, bhel, vada pav etc) and I would stuff myself until I could barely breathe. It was AMAZING!
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Oh oh! I thought of the best indulgence!!!
Watch a Sooraj Barjatya movie WITH Chat!!!! Because you know it will make you hungry like nothing else.
On Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 9:18 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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