Oversized Block Print Shirt

I cannot believe Fall is here already! Daylight Saving Time ends on 2^nd Nov; that is a painful reminder that good days are over.

Each time of the day, including peak afternoons, is accompanied by cold winds; the sun is hiding behind clouds.

Gosh, summer is really over!

This whole week, I have been layering and covering myself completely because not just outside, inside of my workplace is freezing too. Well, not exactly freezing, but that’s how it has been feeling.

Of course Fall dressing can be fun – plaids, infinity scarves and boots. But it also makes me sloppy and immobile. I also dislike wearing jeans the whole day. I crave the freedom summer provides.

Summer is 5 months away and I am already longing for it. Not good!

Here is my outfit post from 2 weeks ago. Even though mornings were nippy, afternoons were scorching hot. I bought this Ann Taylor shirt recently and even though it is one or two sizes bigger, I enjoy wearing it. Oversized shirts look great tucked-in into pants or skirts. I also like the fact that it is block printed. A wonderful ethnic touch to a casual Californian look.

Shirt: Ann Taylor

Shorts: Gifted (from Bangkok)

Necklace: The Basic Closet

Shoes: Catwalk

Pattern Play

Have you ever been so taken with a TV series, film or novel that you look for its instances and scenes in real life? I have been greatly influenced by.. hold it… Tom & Jerry cartoons!

Oh yes. I have perhaps watched too much of them, not just in school, but even later on. I can still watch the episodes I remember by heart and laugh as much. I remember scenes; I remember common instances that appear regularly on the cartoon. And I keep comparing my real life to it. I mean, really.

Like, we went to this Persian restaurant the other day and they served turnip with kabobs. I remembered an episode of T & J where Jerry goes shopping inside a fridge for food (for his magician uncle) and puts in Tom’s nose in his cart. When Tom taps him from behind and points to the place where his nose once was, Jerry quickly removes something from his cart and hands over to Tom. Tom attaches it to his face only to realize that it’s a turnip.

Yup, turnip reminds me of that.

How Tom’s face becomes flat when hit with a pan. How tom fluffs up his pillow before dozing off on it (I do the same with my cushions). And so on.

(Should I be embarrassed that I do things that Tom, the cat, a fictitious cartoon character does too?)

Lately, Law & Order obsession has taken over me. I talk to my husband often as ‘If Jack McCoy heard you say this, he would have said…’ or ‘Goren would have found out about this in minutes…) or ‘I saw a suspicious looking guy outside my gym today; I noted down his bag, clothes, etc in case I am called as a witness’. I actually have a deep desire to be contacted as a witness in a crime or such. Every time a van drives by me, I try to observe its color, painting, etc. If I see workers working on roofs or in gardens, I look at their faces.

I am perhaps going crazy over it. I feel so close with those characters and expect to see them around me in real life.

I have always been fond of murder mysteries; so watching 2 or 3 one hour episodes in a row is no surprise. But getting so carried away by fictional stories and characters.. well, this is something new.

Do you have any such imaginations to share? Or are they too scandalous to tell?

Outfit details:

Jacket: The Basic Closet

Jeans: Bossini

Floral top: Valleygirl (Au)

Shoes: Singapore

Bead necklace: Colaba Causeway

Bracelets: Street finds Bangalore, Baroda

Lipstick: Piccadilly Pink, Rimmel London

Sunburst Pleats

Sometimes, I just want to do nothing. And not feel guilty about it. All of us are running. Running everyday after things, after goals, after more challenging, difficult dreams. There is no end to it. There are social networks, blogs, blogging networks, work, household chores, social obligations – when do we just sit and do nothing?

I, for example, don’t know where my day goes. I have my morning coffee also between writing mails and looking for jobs. I don’t feel like I deserve to sit back and watch a movie. If I do so, I feel, I am wasting time! I must forever be doing something – productive. Its either college assignments or house cleaning or networking with bloggers or noting down ideas or working on them. And then, of course, there is the constant deliberation of what I am doing and what I want to do in life and how?

When did I last sit in my balcony garden with a cup of coffee? When did I last sit in a coffee shop with a novel? When did I last chat aimlessly with friends? When did I last go shopping for no reason? When did I last lie lazily on my bed and watch 3 movies in a row?

Can’t remember.

There is always something I want to do. I want to finish this and go on to the next task. Like today is the last day and I need to do everything today.

I wake up an hour before my alarm goes off (an hour, can you imagine!!) because I can’t wait to check mails and notifications and get on with my to-do list for the day. Well, it is good in a way that I have so many things to do and look forward to and that I am planning my days well but you know how all work and no play makes jack a dull boy!

So, as August begins, I resolve to give myself some real free time. Get away from all electronic devices and social networks for an allocated time during the day and enjoy with nature or music or a novel. Connect with an old friend and ask them about their lives. Take a stroll in the park and sit down under a tree with a novel. Sit in the balcony in the evening and watch mothers take their kids for a stroll. Watch a classic movie at the end of the day.

Just the thought of it makes me want to really do it.

Join the challenge with me?

The outfit.. Very casual, very easy with some of my favorite pieces. Elephant necklace from Linking Road Bandra, Croquet vest from Lifestyle, Pleated skirt from Bugis Street, Singapore, Tote Bag & Flats from Westside.

Things To Be Happy About

Even though the outfit for the day is grey, I am hardly feeling grey (despite all the struggles I am going through right now that my friends and family know about). There are so many exciting things happening with me right now. Nada, don’t expect big events. Small, daily things have the power to fill me with joy. A new piece of outfit, a bar of delicious dark chocolate or even a new pen! Yeah, these really little things make me happy; make me look forward to the next day.

So right now these are the things that are keeping my mood high.

I have been gardening a lot lately. I trimmed off the overgrown succulents, propagated some into new pots. I have added a few grown plants to my balcony garden. I propagated two from seeds and cuttings yesterday. I am anxiously waiting from them to grow now. It will take atleast a month for roots to emerge but that doesn’t stop me from going to the balcony and gazing at them 5 times a day.

I had reeeaaally long hair till June. I chopped them off in short, messy layers before I left India in June end. My hair has never been good with short layers because it is wavy. I have never been able to control layers and fringes. But this time, they are behaving really well and winning compliments for me. Moreover, they are so so easy to manage during exercising.

I am blogging a lot. Like, day and night. And I love it! God knows why I shirk away from blogging every now and then. i am loving connecting with other bloggers, going through interesting websites and sharing stuff. I started blogging in 2011 on travel and fashion. While my travel blog thrived, I stopped focusing on my fashion blog. Alas! But well, I am doing it now and am lovin’ it.

It is summer! No other reason is big enough to make me happy. I love this season for the ease of living it offers. Ease of moving around, freedom to wear whatever you want and the activities it has to offer. I am enjoying this season to the fullest while it lasts.

I wore this recently for a casual outing with a family friend to a nearby fabric store. I felt this was perfect for the heat, the surroundings and had reasonable amount of style.

Technology and Me

I was reading Shweta’s blog post earlier today about how technology can seize you and burn you down eventually. She recommends that one cuts off from social networking on all devices for some time everyday and do more meaningful things in life.

While I have always considered technology a blessing to mankind, I agree that technology (excessive, unnecessary social networking, rather) is just a waste of time and is tiring. We can now access all mails, chat options, social networking sites – everything – from our cell phones. And so, we are hooked on.

I am, for sure. I access mail, Watsapp, Hangout, WordPress, Facebook, etc, on my cell phone. My hand automatically picks up my phone every few minutes to check for notifications. Even though I know nothing would have come in, I still tend to check. I just end up with a headache by the time half the day is over.

When I switch on my laptop, I actually have nothing specific to check. Because I have seen and accessed everything already.

Sometimes, I feel like uninstalling apps like FB and WordPress from my cell phone. It makes no sense checking them 20 times a day. Moreover, there is no surprise element left when I start my laptop at the end of the day! I’d rather have the joy of checking lot of notifications and mails at the end of the day rather than browsing through apps aimlessly and getting frustrated.

But, I will not uninstall the apps completely because sometimes you really need to update or share something with your readers or friends and family at a moment and you need to do so right then. Delaying would dissolve the essence. This is one of the reasons why I love technology. Well, why I love technology calls for another blog post.

What do you think? Technology is really a blessing?

This is what I wore for errands running. What do you think of errands, by the way? Another debate, huh?

Tank top: Clothes Rack

Skirt: Bangkok

Flats: Target

Bangles: Fabindia

Necklace: Gifted

Tote: Need I say??

New It!

Human beings tend to resist change. Why? Is it because they don’t think there is anything better beyond their current state? Or, is it because they are afraid to come out of their comfort zone? For me, it is a bit of both. And a few recent experiences have proved to me that one must try out new things and widen their outlook.

I have never been into sports. But I couldn’t have avoided Sunday’s FIFA finals. All the excitement happening around me didn’t catch up on me until I landed up at a sports bar with friends at half time. The dark restaurant was filled with people and beer towers. A friend was helpful enough and explained the concepts to me continuously. Pretty soon, I was involved with the game. And what a game it was! Thank god I was open minded enough to agree to go to that place and sit through patiently. Very frankly, the game wasn’t what I was interested in initially. It was the experience, the crowd, the energy. I wanted to feel and experience those vibes.

I am happy I did. And they had a good effect on me.

Another thing I have undone myself to is wine. Alcohol was a strict no-no for me and still is, except wine. Now, I love wine. These pictures are from my recent trip to Napa Valley. I went for two wine tastings (one of which was an amazing wine and food pairing thing) and loved the experience. Not only did I drink ALL the wine, I listened intently to all that we were told about the wines and asked questions. Indeed Napa is a beautiful place. But it is incomplete without wine. And just having wine isn’t as fun as tasting different kinds of wine and understanding their origins.

So next time you are asked to try something new or are expected to exit your comfort zone, just go for it. You may just surprise yourself with your own response.

Linen dress: Globus

Neon gladiator sandals: Unionbay (via Kohl’s)

Wooden Bangles: Mysore

Sunnies: Polo Club

High Heel Talk

Ever had anyone mock women who dress up well? Met men who think women who spend time on their looks are plain dumb? I get really disturbed when anyone has this thinking. My husband often teases me when I wear heels. The walk heels generate on a woman and the sound that heels make are clichéd in a certain way. I get upset when I hear such remarks. High heels do not mean dumb or cheap. They just mean classy or sexy. Spending time on looks is not stupid. It is a reflector of confidence, attitude and zest for life.

This is 2013. I still find so many old, traditional thoughts floating around that it scares me. If we haven’t opened up our minds yet, then when? Women are still targeted and are the ones justifying or fighting back. So, so unfair.

On a positive note, I read about so many women entrepreneurs on Women’s Web, it is greatly inspiring. I want to be one of them, some day. It is a big dream. And given that I am starting afresh, mid-life, into a totally new career, is a little nerve-wracking. I had started off with fashion studies with a lot of optimism and enthusiasm. But as I get deeper into the field and it is time for me to start attempting things on my own, I am shaky. I wonder if I would be able to do it. There are so many talented people out there; it’s going to be a lot of challenge and hard work.

But hey, you see obstacles only when you take your eyes off your goal. And that’s what I need to do. I could do with fewer distractions like baking, cooking and cleaning. And focus.

Flea Market, Country Music, Summer.

Summer is such a wonderful season. Summer has everything cheery and colourful related to it – floral prints, flowy materials, cheery music, fruity drinks and lots of color in every way everywhere. I tried to enjoy those precious few months of summer to my fullest. Holidays at school made summer feel all the more special – relaxed, happy and joyous. I tried something new every other day – some new outfit combination, new cake recipe, different types of music (have lately loved country music). Of course, I preferred to just drift and not to stick to my grand plans of practicing patternmaking and stitching and blogging more. Which is sad, actually. When my 3 month long break ended, I was shocked how those months just flew by without me doing much productive work.

Come to think of it, I have difficulty sticking to one thing. I keep drifting between ‘hobbies’. If I am doing something, I tend to think of some other activity that is more appealing. When I was working in Corporate, I tried finding as much time as I could for blogging. And now, when I have all the time in the world to blog (and topics too), I rarely blog. Earlier, fashion was my biggest passion. I dreamt of having my own venture and saying goodbye to Corporate life forever. And now, when I am already into the fashion line (studying, of course), I think of everything from baking to cooking to socializing to home decoration!

The worst part is, at the end of the day, I find nothing achieved! My whole day has flown but except a clean house (that gets messy by the end of day anyway) and food (that gets over in hours too), I haven’t got anything done. That makes me feel reeeaaallly lousy and inefficient. Where does my time go? More thinking than doing? I guess so.

Coming to the outfit post, this is what I wore to the flea market on a very warm Sunday afternoon. The biggest San Jose flea market is minutes away from my place and I decided to walk (hence, the sneakers). It was a brilliant day. Lovely weather (I love warm weather), good live country music and the most amazing cool Melon fresh juice. Sluurrrrp. This makes me want to run to the flea market asap!

Violet Flowers

Its been 10 days into the new year and I have not made any resolutions. Resolutions never work for me. Something pushes me into action and then it fizzles out. And anyway, there is the new marriage to cope up with. That makes resolutions look very small and menial in front of it.

The only resolve I can think of is getting back in shape. After leaving my job and sitting at home hence, pre and post marriage food and pampering has made me lousy and lazy. Its time to put on my tracks and running shoes again.

Fashion bloggers are resolving to save money and ban shopping for some weeks/months. Hhmm, I wonder if I can do that. Most probably naaah!

Striped

I definitely hate winters. I love my shorts, chiffon tops and gladiator sandals too much to be dressed from head to toe in winter wear. But now I am in the US and I cannot avoid winter! I might as well enjoy it.

Being a great Salman Khan fan, it was blasphemy that I watched Dabangg 2 in the second week but well, I am married now and marriage changes so many things.

So, the first time I watched a movie in a US cinema hall full of loud, over excited NRIs. Hhmm, quite an experience. As for the movie, of course I loved it!