Eat.Shop.Love.

These three words quite sum up my current state of mind that is still reeling under Goan trance. A mid week break was the perfect excuse to sneak out from the city for an idyllic getaway and what could be better than Goa at this time of the year. It turned out to be such a crackerjack holiday that even a week-long break left me salivating for more!

Goa has become a second home of sorts for us and we rarely go through a year without holidaying in Goa…at least once and sometimes even twice. This was our fifth time there so sightseeing wasn’t figuring on my wish list at all. I’d rather planned to laze around the beaches and soak up the heady mix of sun, sand and surf. In midst of doing lot of nothing-at-all, I indulged in making the most of Eating, Shopping & Loving! The eating and shopping bit will get a room on this post and I’ll reserve the details of the loving bit :D

The gastronomic journey that I experienced had some stellar pit-stops which deserve a respectable mention. Had the best brick-oven pizza ever, gorged on cheesecakes and banoffee pies and savoured a delectable array of seafood. Here are a few of the images I clicked to keep the awesomeness alive in memory…

Seafood Pizza at Magic Italy (Palolem -South Goa)

Cheesecake at a German Bakery (Baga -North Goa)

Apart from being immensely hip & happening, Goa never fails to surprise me with the effortless style in clothing. A nip here, a tuck there and ta-da u have a beautiful gown made from a traditional sari or few seams conjoined to make a wraparound out of almost anything. Barring a few items that cater to the ‘Butter Chicken & Dal Makhni’ crowd like block-print kurtas, cotton dresses, straw hats and souvenir t-shirts to name a few, the flea market can churn out highly interesting stuff if you have the eye for it.

The flea market is also the pulse of latest trends and this time around I found few things dotting the market

• Scarf Dresses

• Harem pants in all dimensions (short/medium/long) and different fabrics (cotton/ tie-dye/silk)

• Jump Suits

• Hot Pants

• Shimmer Bags

• Ruffle Lamps

Flea Market at Palolem

The colorful ruffle lamps in the flea market

I grabbed a whole lot of stuff from the flea market which gave me a head rush and made me feel good. And at those prices, it’ll make me feel less guilty even if I don’t use them more than once.

I will post some pictures of outfits I wore and those of my flea market buys in subsequent posts…after I figure out how to manage 2.5 GB of pictures spilling out of the folder on my already saturated hard disk and each one vying for my attention. Damn these digital cameras!!!

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Nourish Bath & Body: Product Review

My Nourish Bath & Body order from 99Labels came just in time for stocking my vanity bag for the harsh winter ahead of my vacation. It was delightful to receive an order just the way it was seen on the internet and saving some bucks on a planned TBS body butter buy added to the delight! I grabbed only the body lotion from the combo box for my trip and made a note to post a review once I’m back for the interest of the fellow makeup & beauty bloggers who’ve stuck around…

Now that I’ve used all the products atleast a couple of times, I would like to share my experience. The Nourish Bath & Body Care Combo included two handcrafted soap bars, a body lotion, a body scrub and a complimentary soap dish in beechwood.

Café Latte Body Bar – This body bar has a creamy texture and comprises of milk, cocoa and a dash of nutmeg and scents of vanilla , honey & ofcourse coffee , hence the name. A coffee icon on the bar does more that just refresh with the heady blend.

Ingredients: Soap Base, Glycerine, Vitamin E Oil. 

After 8 AM Body Bar – This body bar is made up of a mix of natural oils, has a creamy texture, smells of after dinner mints and has embedded jelly chunks of chocolate flavor. Quite tempting, isn’t it?

Ingredients: Saponified oils of Olive, Coconut ,Castor & Palm, Vitamin E Oil & Fragrance.

Sweet Almond Oil Body Lotion – It’s a nourishing moisturizing lotion with pure Sweet Almond Oil as its base and a host of other oils with good moisturizing properties. It has a distinct Almond Oil fragrance, protects the surface of the skin and keeps it soft & supple.

Ingredients: Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Aloe Vera, Vitamin E Oil, Glycerine , Fragrance & Preservatives

Madras Coffee Madness Body Scrub - I absolutely loved this particular product! It contains a sugar scrub with coffee beans, cocoa butter and nourishing oils and it shows great results on skin on application. It melts on the skin leaving it satin smooth and is believed to be effective in busting cellulite. A good substitute for my cuppa morning coffee – just the smell is enough! :)

Ingredients: Coffee Beans , Cocoa Butter, Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Fragrance & Preservatives

Pros: Products are totally organic and handmade; Offbeat products with complex blends and interesting packaging; Good on skin and easy on pocket: p

Cons: The fragrances are bit too strong (as a personal preference I don’t mind smelling of coffee but surely don’t dig smelling of almond oil all day long!)

Price : INR 1300 for the combo (individual prices not available)

The product is manufactured in NCR that explains its limited availabilities in cities other than Delhi and online. Hope it hits the shelves in your neighborhood mall soon. If you do come across Nourish, go ahead & take your pick for a sensual experience…

Which one did you like best?

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Holiday Tales and a Tote

First things first. A very happy new year to all you lovelies. I was MIA on the blogging front for over a fortnight as I was vacationing in Dilli ki Sardi but I’ve been missing blogging terribly. I was hoping that I’ll have exciting holiday tales to dish out but I’m afraid those are bordering on disappointing :(

My wintry excitement went for a toss the moment our flight got cancelled due to heavy fog. Train tickets that I’d booked as a backup plan came handy but I was in for a rude shock when the overnight journey was completed in double the time due to abnormal weather conditions. Landing in 2 degree celsius at 2 in the night on wasn’t really my idea of winters!

Anyhow, with our itinerary gone awfully haywire there was little we could do except eat, drink and be merry! I needed minimum 3 levels of layering to withstand the extreme cold and my winter fashion was lost somewhere between those layers. Now that I’m back to my warm snug zone and the teeth chattering and mind-numbing cold is behind me, I’ve got lot to catch up on and a series of posts to make.

Between the traveling, the dinners, and the in-laws, the holidays turned out be a stresser but the saving grace was quality time with family and a gifted Liz Claiborne Tote (about which you read here).

It’s a nice BIG carry-all tote in which I can practically carry my household, apt for a GOG (girl-on-the-go) like me and since the big, big bag is in fashion, I’m delighted to have it. The tag details read that it is from the Liz Claiborne Paige Signature Collection and comes with a 10 year warranty! The fabric is signature jacquard in a cotton/poly bend with LC initials dotting the exterior and hardware detailing is quite distinct.

It has a separate padded section for laptop which was my preference. Though a 14” laptop compartment was what I was looking for, this one can carry a 17” one which is also fine.

Apart from this, the most vital feature that I noticed in few days of usage is that it manages to fit it anything and everything from a laptop to a bulky camera to a spare set of dress and a pair of shoes and still carry it comfortly. Ok, I haven’t tried the shoe bit yet but I did fit it my fluffy jacket inside so full marks for dat! Overall, I think I like it and its just perfect for my ‘heavily loaded’ workdays.

Let me hear from you what do you think about it…

P.S. Hauling myself to the shopping malls seemed to be a difficult task in the chill but I managed it somehow. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! More posts on that coming up…Stay connected :)

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Winter Funk

I never tire of saying “I love winters”! Well, moderate winters to be precise – not the ones which leave u bunny faced (pink nose & red eyes :)) There’s no greater joy than sitting in front of a crackling fire with your family, or snuggling up with a good book under a cozy quilt or sipping endless cups of chai and eating piping hot food with sinful amount of ghee & butter. Hailing from a winter heartland but settled in a place with maritime climate (read: Mumbai), a vacation in the north every winters for meeting family & experiencing some chill has become a tradition of sorts (the former activity driven largely by the latter!)

I’m off to Delhi this weekend for this season of Meet the Parents (his & mine –in that order) which usually makes me nervous and excited at the same time (for obvious reasons :P!) However, this year the news of unprecedented cold is making me li’l nervous and sending chill down my body already. But on the brighter side, a hope of getting a chance to don my wintry best is leaving me far more excited...

I enjoyed this long weekend to the hilt. I’d been on a shopping frenzy for last two days primarily scouting for gifts to carry home and also to arm myself for the winter fashionably. The mall hopping was both exhausting and exhilarating as I ended up picking up some stuff for myself at almost every store I shopped at, which I obviously did not need but what the heck! Its festive season and time to cheer :)

Winter clothing wasn’t on my shopping list this time around. I have accumulated a fair amount of winter clothing & accessories which can last forever considering the rate they come out of my closet. But more accessories, definitely YES!


Here are a few of my mention-worthy picks from the shopping haul

Leg Warmers - Thrift
I got a wee bit carried away while shooting :)

Cape -Globus

A cape has made a comeback this season and how!



Scarf-Shoppers Stop

 

Clutch - Cherokke

Purple is HOT this season !!!



  Doesn't this clutch look good without the chain too?



Kewl, isn’t it? And to add a dash of delight to an already fabulous day, I spotted Akshay & Katrina promoting their latest flick in one of the suburban malls and got locked inside the mall with the berserk mob. Katrina looked quite a stunner but my heart went out for Akki, looking dapper in a classic combo of white shirt & blue jeans. I couldn’t help smiling the rest of the day for reasons more than one…



P.S. How did u find my buys? Any suggestions what I can team up that black cape with? 



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Bloglovin' & Christmas Cheer

‘Tis the season to be merry! Christmas is just around the corner and I’m loving it. Don’t we all just love the feeling of Christmas?! With the streets dressed in the reds and whites, the Santa grinning from hoardings, the shops boasting stockings and bells, the colorful lights and cheery aroma pleasing your senses, this Christmassy feeling sure gets me moony-eyed! It brings back my childhood memories where Christmas would spell the start of winter vacations and I seem to have stuck in that frame of mind forever.

Like every year, my contribution to the festivities will be restricted to putting up & decorating a Christmas tree in home and office, eating to my heart’s content, decking up in the colors of the season and taking a break from work this jolly season. There’s abundance of merry-making at work so I’m enjoying this paid vacation of sorts and looking forward to the upcoming long weekend (and to the shopping extravaganza I’ve planned!)

I took this opportunity to catch up on the blogs I’d been wanting to read but never got enough time to spare, comment on fellow bloggers’ posts, discover new blogs and follow them. In the process, I introduced myself to Bloglovin’ and found it incredibly handy to keep updated on the blogging front.

I’ve gotta claim my blog on Bloglovin’ that’s the reason for this out-of-the-blue post but stay hooked for the updates from my shopping haul.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

The facebook freaks can follow me on facebook here

Merry Christmas to all of u !!!

Picture Credit : My friend & follower - Mili (http://www.tclphotography.com/)

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Baggit Blues

I had been mulling over the idea to post a review on Baggit but could not find the reason compelling enough to ramble – neither had I bought a Baggit bag in the recent past nor had I been following the trends too closely.

But a column in yesterday’s newspaper about their latest Autumn Winter’10-11 Collection grabbed my attention. The teaser was enough to rouse in some curiosity and I made a quick dash at the nearest Baggit store (in a bid to grab the best one before they run out of stock…Gosh! What a hoarder I’m turning into! ) I didn’t pick up anything, though (did I hear a sigh of relief?) ‘cuz a just-in-time SMS reminder of my credit card dues convinced me I don’t need another bag right now and definitely not a blue one ( alrite, atleast not NOW!) Nevertheless, it definitely merits a mention. Baggit’s new collection of bags is called True Blue range and is funky, functional and VFM as always.

From what I read and saw the Baggit True Blue Range is glamorous and high on style with exquisite detailing and superior craftsmanship in variations of color - blue: navy, marine, turquoise, electric blue and light dusty blues. The designs range from crisp tailored, sophisticated silhouettes to casual slouchy bags to cater to a wide array of fashionistas. Elegant and fun - this true blue collection will surely beat the winter blues away. This value for money collection from Baggit is available from Rs.1,500 onwards.

Images : Baggit Website

Baggit is a premium brand of Bags & accessories for women that is designed and manufactured in India and leads the pack in the non-leather category. The brand came into existence in 1990 in Mumbai and today it is retailed across country in all sales channels. The offerings from the Baggit brand includes Handbags, Wallets, Mobile Pouches, Belts, Caps, Scarves and Footwear. Baggit’s objective is to merge design with social and environmental consciousness, to provide stylish, functional, and durable products that people will love to own.

Baggit unveils exciting new ranges every month as part of its AW ’10–’11 Collection and with each range within the collection, the brand introduces an assortment of trendy new designs and styles in rich color palettes to create perfect bags and accessories that are voguish and exciting each season.

Now these are some blues you’ll love to bring to work instead of Monday morning blues or make your friends at college ‘blue-green’ with envy! : P

Would u buy a blue bag?

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Nubuck Newbies

I'm SO in love with my new nubuck ballerinas that whenever someone tells me "I like ur shoes", without sparing a moment pat comes my reply immodestly " Me too!". And wherever the ballerinas go, they evoke a fair amount of reaction and discussion -“Is it velvet?”, ask most of the people.“No.Its Nubuck”, I reply. “Oh, its suede?”, remark others. “No. Its Nubuck”, I repeat. “But what is Nubuck?? Is it leather or fabric?” When I saw myself answering that more than twice, I realized that it deserves a post. So here it goes…

Nubuck is a type of leather with a soft, velvety surface. Both nubuck and suede have the same look and feel but there are basic underlying attributes that differentiate one from the other. Both types of leather are sanded to produce the desirable velvet like soft feel. The main difference is that nubuck is sanded or buffed on the outer surface of the leather, essentially the part that would have been the exterior skin of the animal, while suede is sanded on the inner layer of the skin. The sanding process gives a slight nap of short protein fibres, producing a velvet-like surface. The nap is finer in nubuck than in suede and is very soft to touch.

Nubuck probably gets its name from new + buck (skin) [Source:Wiki].Though nubuck is generally more expensive than suede, it is far more durable, lasts much longer and wears well with time. However, on the flip side, it is susceptible to easy staining and does show imperfections in the exterior layer of the skin much more easily Therefore , it must be treated with dyes or colors to disguise any significant flaws from the sanding & stamping process.Nubuck is used in a variety of applications – apparels, furniture, footwear and other goodies.

Ballerinas from Catwalk

Now to justify why these ballerinas are my current favorite - I find the velvety look pleasing and the bows very cute. And,ofocurse,the comfort these flats offer makes them an instant hit! Every time I wear 'em, I often find myself wondering if I should have bought two pairs instead of one to make them last as long as the nubuck does :D

So did you like them too? Lemme know...

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Old wines in new bottles

I absolutely adore this particular time of the year. There’s a lovely nip in the air and the mood is upbeat as the festivities come rolling in one after the other. My birthday and wedding anniversary being less than a fortnight away pumps up the happening quotient even further as we consciously plan for a vacation every year around this time for a twin celebration. Though this year a long, idyllic vacation is on the cards for a later time of the month, we sneaked out from the city to bring in our anniversary this weekend.

Being the diehard travel junkie couple that we are and largely of the road tripping kind, we’d been itching to hit the highway and with indulgence on our mind, a road trip to Sula Vineyards fit the bill completely. Sula Vineyards in Nasik (180 KM from Mumbai) is India's most popular winery that churns out India’s leading premium wine brand, Sula Wines and is developed to be world-class. The winery is open to visitors, who can enjoy a tour, tastings, courses, and fun events. Read more about Sula Wines here

Wine has evolved into a lifestyle staple. It plays diverse roles as a conversation starter, a romantic prop, a style statement, a dinner delight and a heady beverage that gives health benefits when had in moderation. And one of the rare things that get better with age! Experiencing the multi-faceted wine at its full glory was an absolute joy. We packed in a tour of the vineyard, a process demo of grapes from plants to wine bottles, a tasting session, a lip-smacking spread of kebabs, a sumptuous Italian meal and a sinful walnut brownie and loads of pictures – all in a day trip.

The wine tasting & appreciation session was quite informative. Here r a few things from the session that all wine lovers must know:

• All types of wine fall into one of these six categories: White Wine, Red Wine, Rose Wine, Sparkling Wine, (including Champagne), Dessert Wine, and Fortified Wine.

• Generally, bigger round bowled glasses for reds and tulips (standard wine glasses) for whites. Champagnes can be served in flutes (tall, long, thin wine glasses) so that the bubbles don’t escape or in tulips.

• Always hold the glass from the base or the stem so that the warmth of your hand doesn’t affect the temperature of the wine

• There are four stages to tasting wine – look, smell, taste, savour

1. Look : evaluate your wine’s appearance for color (both hue and depth), and clarity. Move the wine around in your glass by tilting it from side to side. Hold it up to the light or in front of a white background.
2. Smell : evaluate your wine’s nose, aroma, and bouquet. Swirl the wine gently in your glass to open it up to more surface air. This will release more of its aromas. Take a few moments to let it breathe. Dip your nose into the glass and inhale deeply.
3. Taste : evaluate your wine’s taste or palate . Sip a small amount of your wine, but do not swallow it yet. Let it roll around inside your mouth for a few moments so you can detect its flavors. Note the body of your wine, or how it feels in your mouth. Wines will be light-bodied, medium-bodied, or full-bodied.
4. Savour : evaluate your wine’s finish , the sensation left in your mouth after swallowing. The longer the flavors linger on your palate, the longer the finish.

While I was faking enjoying wine like a connoisseur but being an utterly poor drinker, I got tipsy in just a few sips of wine. What a perfect way to end a great day! They say “Love makes the world go round?” Not at all! Wine makes it go round twice as fast. Hic…hic…hic

P.S. Images by Inky Pinky & Mr. Husband

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Juice-y Times!

My hair desperately needed a makeover (read my sob hair story here) so this weekend I decided to do something exciting with my otherwise boring straight-ish, long-ish, brown-ish hair. Mumbai’s hip and funky Juice Salon opening near my place could be more than a coincidence; I like to believe its universe’s conspiracy (a la Paulo Koelho)! Though Juice has been working its magic on the celebs and plebs of Mumbai for years now, I never really got to experience it for the lack of drive and energy to commute far distances. So when their new salon opened at closer distance, it got me all excited and eager to try out this ‘Juice’!

Juice, for those who don’t know, is one of India’s trendiest salon with branches in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Dubai and cater to the beauty needs of celebrities and fashion forward folks alike. Juice has been in existence for over a decade and it shot to fame particularly when its ex co-owner Adhuna Akhtar (Farhan Akhtar’s wife) worked her magic on ‘Dil Chahta hai’ cast giving birth to a nation of spikes and goatees !The dream run of cult hairstyles and look makeover continues to rage on ever since which has catapulted Juice as a brand synonymous with extremely stylish, funky, international and cool!

A cloud of not-so-pleasant experiences in the past continues to reside in my memory and plants a seed of doubt whenever I think about trying out a new salon. I stepped into the newly opened Juice Salon with the same frame of mind but all doubts vanished in thin air looking at the swanky interiors and the level of professionalism.

A bunch of energetic young stylists greeting and welcoming you sends out positive vibes and it did make my maiden visit a pleasant one. When asked during the consultation what I wanted to get done, “a makeover”, pat came my reply with the risk of sounding like a wannabe-cum-desperate 30-something! Before my hair stylist could roll her eyes in confusion, I added with a grin, “a haircut”. In return she offered me three choices of stylists and their respective charges – junior level, middle level and senior level. Without hesitating I chose the senior level hair stylist to wave the magic wand.

Contrary to my belief that such upmarket Mumbai salons charge a bomb for their services, the haircuts were reasonably priced at 500, 700 and 800 bucks for junior, middle and senior level stylists respectively. And shampoo, conditioning and blow dry come complimentary. Now isn’t that deal a steal?!! (I’m getting good with rhyming :))

So the ordeal started with me snuggling into an uber-comfortable backwash with a back massager to get my already washed hair another wash with professional hair care products as the massage chair continued to work its spell on me. In the meantime, Ms. Senior Stylist introduced me to hair spas and TIGI’s range of hair care products but that’s a story for another day. After the wash, I was seated into their chic-looking hair lounge and my stylist took a brief from me of what I’m exactly looking for and it read:

• Wash-n-wear cut

• Layered with a slightly long fringe

• Retain the length

• Make it look voluminous

And with that I left it to my stylist in whose hands lie my looks and locks. She went snip,snip,snip as I looked on my hair transform. After a good 20 minutes of showcasing the power of her scissors , she wielded the blow dry with élan. A round brush here and a paddle brush there.. EE-I-EE-I-O. After lot of gushes of hot air and movements of brushes all over, she brought her hands to rest and Voila, I had indeed transformed into a much younger looking and more stylish self!!

Just when I was about to leave after getting myself snapped by my stylist, they offered me another freebie on nail care and with that a cross-selling of their unique nail care services that included a wine manicure. Wine Manicure?!! With that they just secured another appointment on their calendar very soon…

P.S. Highly recommended by Pink Diaries :)

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Go organic with Nourish

I am fast becoming a 99Labels aficionado. What came across as a chance encounter in the form of an email is evolving into an addiction and I can’t imagine going through a day without peeping in at the current sales on their website. Though I’ve always been averse to the idea of online shopping, 99labels made it seem like a breeze. And with the extra mile they are walking in customer service, this shopaholic is likely to be hooked for life :)

Today I am mighty pleased to place my first order with them. Pleased because I did shopping while at work and mighty pleased because I found a product I’d been searching all over and that too on sale! I’d been looking for Nourish Organic Soaps for quite some time now. So when I received a mailer on Nourish Bath & Body Care products on offer, I promptly snaffled it up!

If you are confusing the above image as any kiddo’s toys or stationery items (which I initially thought!), look again. These are some of the handcrafted products from Nourish’s delectable array of luxurious and fragrant high quality organic products. As claimed, all the products are handmade, with the purest of ingredients like honey, Aloe Vera, olive oil, almonds, cocoa butter and more natural goodies and can be used across all ages.

My order of bath & body care combo looks delicious and the product names are as fascinating as they look – Café Latte Body Bar, After 8 AM Body Bar, Madras Coffee Madness Almond Coffee Scrub, Sweet Almond Lotion and a complimentary Beech wood soap dish. Isn’t that a bountiful of goodness to kick back and enjoy life’s simple pleasures? I’m anxious for my order to arrive and I just hope it’s totally worth the wait!

P.S. For more exciting offers on 99Labels, get onboard now! Here's the referral invite http://www.99labels.com/v1/Become-Member.aspx?re=anamikasingh28@gmail.com

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