Guest Post - Pranita via Artyheart

Meet the cutest and most adorable girl on the block! She's an artist with mind boggling creativity - check this, this and this. And she has the most enviable and lustrous hair ever! Our very own Indian Rapunzel ;) Wouldn't you agree? The girl who never fails to look perfect from head to toe, all thanks to her impeccable style - Pranita from Artyheart! Over to you :)

Hello new readers! (waves) I'm Pranita from Artyheart

Before I start talking (which FYI goes on forever) I'd want to thank Chandana for having me here! :D
I was staring at my pile of clothes wondering what to wear for a guest post (my first guest post, yay!) & found the perfect outfit in a jiffy! (Lies. Truth = I was so nervous, I wanted to impress you girls and kept re-thinking about this outfit for about 15mins) I know its fall & its supposed to be breezy, airy and fun, in Mumbai, it isnt! The October heat is KILLING me! So thus this outfit !
For a warm climate, white or lighter colours are necessary (or the heat Lord will take you away). Floral print is my all-time-favourite thus a flowy floral skirt & happy sunglasses for your happy eyes! :)

sunglasses - Goa, dress worn as a blouse - Bangkok, skirt - ASOS, snake ring - Vero Moda, ring - Tanya's giveaway , Shoes - Girly

Hope you girls enjoyed having me here! Feel free to ask/tell/suggest me anything ! : )
Happy Diwali / Halloween/ holidays beauties! :D

Don't you just love her shades? Pranita, only you can carry it off. I am 100% sure I'd look like a dork wearing those! 

Thank you for the lovely post :)


p.s - Am a little busy! Will get around to commenting on all your blogs soon! 

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Few of my favorite things.

Things that never fail to cheer me up...

1) An episode of FRIENDS. Any episode will do!
2) Ice cream in a soft serve cone.
3) A new pair of shoes.
4) Music.
5) A long shower with an amazing smelling shampoo.
6) Painting
7) Courier guy coming with my online goodies, about which i'd totally forgotten!
8) A solid nine hours of sleep.
9) Fresh lilies (white lilies are my favorite flowers)
10) A new novel
11) The smell of a new book/old book/any book
12) Cash in hand
13) A full tank of gas when driving
14) Puppies on the road
15) A light drizzle (NOT heavy rain)
16) Thinking about the good old school days
17) A phone call or message from the past (a typical blast from the past)
18) A new haircut
19) A cup of heavenly coffee
20) Good skin day :D

Well these are just a few that I could think off the top of my head. There are a LOT more(few that can't be mentioned here ;))

What about you? What is it that never fails to cheer you up?

I love this tee with asymmetrical stripes (at the top and bottom which you can't see)! This is the first time I've tried the half-tuck but am not quiet sure if I like it. 

RLC - Diwali

I can hear the loud bursts of crackers and I can see the sky light up with fireworks every few seconds as I sit on my bed typing out this post. Since the last two years it was a 'green diwali' at home. If I am being honest it was more because I was depressed and not at all in the mood for celebration rather than because of love towards the environment. Yes I am selfish. Aren't we all?

The plan was the same this year too when my cousins landed with a HUGE bag of crackers. So I went ahead with participating in all the fun. Time to burn down the past and make way to a brighter future. Time to light diyas and ignite that little ray of hope inside me. Time to bid goodbye to all the bitterness, all the worries and all the pain. Its never too late to have a new beginning and this seemed like the perfect moment. To new beginnings! To new aspirations!

Very recently, a very special person in my life knocked some much needed sense and perspective into my life. When was the last time I truly lived every moment without any worry? When was the last time I let go of all my inhibitions and be myself? When was the last time I got lost in the present with no thought about the future? When was the last time I stopped to look at the simplicity in life? When was the last time I did what I was passionate about? When was the last time I was truly happy? When was the last time I trusted myself and my heart and my decision and went ahead without any hesitation? When was the last time I followed my instinct without a care about what people would say? When? 

At some point I even stopped being honest with myself. I tried to deny what I was feeling. I tried to lock it all up and move on. 

I am simple. I am plain hearted. But after a while I stopped being that person. I crave innocence, purity, honesty in everything including relationships. But I made everything complicated and painful. I see it all now. I am fiercely proud of the kind of person I've become thanks to all these circumstances in my life. I am not going to give this up, I am not going to let this person die at any cost now.

After an hour of bursting crackers, I went up to the terrace with my camera and simply started clicking pictures of the fireworks, lost in the moment. It felt so liberating. It took me 12years to feel that way but it was worth every bit of the effort. I'll try my best to make this last but even if it doesn't (in case Mr.Murphy has some plans of his own) it'll still be worth it - worth because of that one overwhelming moment.

Let all our lives be filled with light and joy and brightness from today onwards!

1) Diyas 1 - to ignite your mind

2) Diyas 2 - to guide you on your way

3) Candles - to burn away the past

4) Living the moment

5) From behind the trees.

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Destiny

Your life is perfect. Its even better than what you dreamed it would ever be. Everything fell into place just the way you planned. Things are going great and you are happy and content. Sometimes it almost seems too good to be true and in time you realize that it really is that way. It is too good to be true. Your carefully woven plans start to fall apart. The people that you thought you knew are now strangers. You get trapped. Its your worst nightmare, its what you have always dreaded. You are hanging by a thread and you have no clue what to do.

Now replay that exact scenario backwards. That's exactly what happened with me.

You know that feeling of a perfectly lovely dream turning into a nightmarish situation? I do. You know that feeling of being trapped in a nightmare for so long and one day you are out of it and everything is a dream again? I do now.

I still feel trapped. But in a dream. And I like it.
I feel great-full.
I feel happy and content.
I am glad of the struggle and even more glad that it was worth every bit.

Life isn't fair to any of us.

But sometimes it surprises you in the most unexpected ways. And the best part is I know its not going to go away, this happiness. The best part is I know even if I wanted to push it away, it won't budge.

They say change is the only permanent thing. I can see that changes are going to happen but only the good ones. There is no way that this is going to spiral down. Being so sure about it - that is the best part.

This is permanent. I know it. I am willing to bet my life on it.

p.s - Hardly anyone commented on the guest post (read previous post)! Am beginning to wonder if you guys love my posts so much that you decided not to comment if someone else has written it...  :P (vain much?) 

I know that's highly unlikely so make your (comment) presence felt.. Where you at people???

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High Noon - Guest Post By Agam

Agam is a management student and also one of the most down-to-earth and sophisticated girls I've ever known in blogosphere. She perfectly integrates all the latest trends into her daily dressing with a dose of her own individual style and that's what makes her stand apart(we all like a little personal touch don't we?). As most of you know, the main aspect that attracts me to any blog (even a fashion blog) is the way that person writes. And this sassy young lady writes so well and how! She isn't afraid to experiment with her style. She's bold, she's fun, she's hot, she's classy.... and she's agreed to do a guest post for me! ;) 
Check out her blog - Trimmings and Lace.

HIGH NOON

A big, bright hello to all the lovely readers!!

I am Agam from TrimmingsAndLace. It came as a wonderful surprise to hear from Chandana offering me a guest post for her amazing blog. I’ll be candid to admit that it was indeed ‘THE MADE MY DAY” moment and I was delighted and super excited to jump onto this voyage.

However, the moment I sat down to pen this post it seemed like that the words would never come. Perhaps it was the pressure of fitting into Chandana’s shoes and making your effort to come over to her blog and finding me here exciting and interesting.

So, to talk what I perhaps talk best - the Autumn / Winter runways saw a powerful comeback of long skirts – from pencil skirts to long column skirts, from the flared ones to the floor grazing ones, skirts definitely seemed to rule the roost. For this very post, I too adorned this effortlessly chic garment to create an autumny option for the day.

Here’s a look:

I wore an A–line side cut column skirt in rich purple with a basic stripped T – shirt. I went a mile more when it came to accessories by wearing these light beaded earings, a bangle and a cocktail ring. I am the one who likes keeping accessories subtle and let statement pieces do the talking, but isn’t it always fun to experiment and come out with good results. Well ya that’s what I would like to believeJ.

However, I did make a conscious effort to keep the outfit and accessories in more or less dual tones. I did not incorporate much of colour. But I did bring in some texture with my snake – skinned sling bag and pumps.

Wearing:

Skirt: Thrifted from Dubai

T – Shirt, Sling bag and Cocktail ring: Forever 21

Bangle and Earings: Thrifted

Pumps: Aldo

So what do you guys think of my outfit?

Skirts always present multiple options as to how they can be worn. I leave you guys with my favourite ‘skirt options’ for the season. I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I did putting it together. Please visit me on my blog with your comments and suggestions. I shall be honoured. Once again thank you so much Chandana for inviting me to do this post and sharing my take on fashion with your readers!

1. A whole lot prim and proper, team up pencil skirts with chiffon, georgette, crepe or lace blouses for that super feminine look. Try tweed skirts or jackets to exude that Audrey Hepburn charm.
2. The day outfit I wear can be carried forward to the night by wearing a sharp blazer. If you wish to go edgier team a similar outfit with the classic black biker jacket.
3. Try super glam sequined skirts from ZARA. Wear them with pristine white shirts for a sophisticated yet super glamorous look.
4. It’s autumn and the stockings are out!! Add strong, colouful contrasts to woolen and patterned skirts.
5. Bring in colour, smile and enjoy – that’s the real fashion trivia that never fails and a trend to make not only your outfits but your life beautiful.

Thank you for stopping by…

Love

Agam

The non-outfit post.

First of all, sorry for not replying back to the comments on the previous post. Between Diwali cleaning going on at home and sneezing like my nose would fall off, I haven't had any time to reply. I had expected comments like 'It happens all the time. Get over it'. But what I hadn't expected was how many people would support what I had to say! It just goes to show that voicing your opinions/thoughts honestly is definitely worth it. Thank you all!

Secondly, I've requested a few people to guest post for the blog and as soon as those awesome people are ready with their posts you'll have a chance to read something new and different instead by own blog-voice droning on and on!

Thirdly, I still have no outfit to post. Umm... I have no valid reason as to WHY?. Its not like I am lacking any inspiration. In fact its just the opposite. I have tons of ideas for outfits but I am finding it impossible to take any pictures. Universe conspiring against me? Well not for long!

In other news, its been almost 1.5 years since I bought myself a pair of earrings. Whether I went street shopping, or to buy a gift for a friend or to my favorite local boutique, I would come back with an earful armful of earrings.
My cousin sister decided to gift me a few pretty pairs for diwali. Nothing fancy. Some are downright cheap. But who am I to refuse a gift? ;)
(Sis if you are reading this.... which am sure you are... Thank youuuuuu!!!)

Since I had nothing better to do... I did this.

What's in a name?

I recently got this mail from Vogue India (as would have hundred other bloggers I presume).

Hi Gia,

Just came across you blog today and really enjoyed reading it. We have just launched  new Vogue India widget that pulls the newest  stories and images from Vogue.in.  Being a blogger, you get to be one of the first few to receive this , so please do add it to your blog and let your readers discover the latest from Vogue on your blog first! You can choose the section that you would like to get content from. Pick from Fashion, Beauty, Living or Trends & shopping . You can also choose from pink, white and black as the colour of your widget to suit your blog.  It is very easy to add. All you have to do is get the code from  here  http://www.vogue.in/bloggerwidget and add it to your blog.  Do let us know if you need any help.

 Sincerely,

 Maneka

Well Maneka, I can see your sincerity radiating from your mail. Right from the very first word where you called me Gia. Now I don't remember sleep walking to the registration office and changing my name to Gia. Granted that I did consider changing my name when I was in the ninth grade but I assure you, that was a long time ago. But now I love my name and am perfectly happy to stick to it for the rest of my life. But who cares about such trivial things. What's in a name after all! I got a mail from Vougue India! Isn't that supposed to make me leap with joy and blindly do whatever you ask me to! I'd gladly be Gia, Dia, Mia, Tia... whoever you want me to be!

Now, exactly how few is that 'first few'? The first few bloggers who had a mail id on their blog page? The first few who you thought would be desperate enough to put up your widget? *Hmmmm* I am not sure.
And what's in it for me? A range of colors.... really? What am I.. a five year old? Offering pink, white and black is the best you can do? That is your marketing gimmick? If this what an MBA Marketing person does, then I seriously need to reconsider my career options. And NO I dont need any help with this *eye roll*. Whether you are a friend or Vogue India or even the president of India... I only respond to genuine mails. I don't care if this sounds harsh. I don't care if you are a HUGE successful company.

I replied back with one single line saying,
Hi
You got my name wrong. Its not Gia.
Regards
Chandana


Any guesses for the reply?

Dear Chanana,
Very sorry for the mistake.
Sincerely
Maneka


Really?
Again, how do you expect me to NOT doubt your sincerity? If you are going to tell me that's a just a typo, it pisses me off even more. I have tip for you. In fact I have many tips for you. Learn English(you can start with spellings),  learn PR skills (I would have said 'brush up your PR skills' but I doubt you have any in the first place), have someone else (with some common sense) send your mails for you, or better yet quit your job (who have you the title of 'marketing consultant' anyway?).
Look what you've done now. Got yourself a big, fat, bad publicity blog post from me when you could have been honest about wanting  some free publicity and wanting me to put up a widget of your vogue thingy and I might have actually done it!

Anyway this was just your bad luck. You happened to send me this mail at the worst possible time i.e when I was already pissed and was looking for some reason to vent. So thank you for that. Sincerely.

p.s - All this venting is more towards that person who sent the mail rather than Vogue.

I scream, You scream.

Yesterday I was opening the door to my room when I thought I saw something scurry past my feet out of the corner of my eye. For some reason I thought that 'something' was a lizard and I let out tried to let out a scream. Fortunately it turned out to be a piece of paper. Somehow every time I see a lizard (or any creepy reptile/insect), my first reaction is to scream. Creepy crawly disgusting things, who can blame me? But all that comes out is a gasp and a squeal while I am silently screaming my lungs out in my head.

And this worries me big time. Fine, I see a lizard-I try to scream-I cant, no big deal. But what if I cant scream in a real scream-worthy situation? What if my brain is frantically sending signals to my vocal chords to scream and they just freeze? What if I lose those precious moments that I can gain if I do scream? What if I come face-to-face with a burglar? Or if somebody snatches my purse? Or something worse?

That's when my friend suggested that I practice screaming in fake real-time situations (Yes i gave her that exact same are-you-crazy look). Anyway we gave up practice soon. Screaming is a spontaneous reaction and it simply cannot be 'practiced' without bursting into laughter halfway through. Some people (like me) cannot scream when in fear. They can only scream when angered. I have absolutely no problem with yelling at people who annoy me, irritate me and waste my time. Or for that matter even at a lizard that annoys me... All I ask is don't appear out of thin air and scare the living daylights out of me!

Off all the crazy things, who knew screaming would become a cause of worry?

To top of off, while I was shooting the below pics, there was a garden lizard near the plants. Luckily, I noticed that only after I was finished or else I would have half-squealed and run away from there.  As much as I try to avoid it, sometimes I can't help but behave in a very annoying-girly-damsel-in-distress-way. You know, just to let the guys have their hero-moments ;)

I've lost count of how many times I've worn this white skirt on the blog and otherwise. Its my summer staple. This time I tried it out with a darker shade top, to give it a more autumn-y feel. For some reason I din't feel like accessorizing this look.

Skirt - UK

Top - C&A (Prague)

Belt - Stolen from sis

Shoes - Local boutique

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Pet Stories...

My neighbors who have never had pets of any sort have suddenly decided to get one - a hen. An annoying, loud hen that has its biological clock all wrong. The first morning when I heard it crowing, I was in deep, deep sleep. For a second I thought it was someone's cellphone with an annoying ringtone. But when it din't stop even after 15 minutes, I was forced to get up and see what it was. Now I thought (according to all those village stories that I heard) that it was supposed to crow at the crack of dawn. Definitely not at 8am when the sun was up bright and shining. 


The first few days my grandmother got really excited and nostalgic about "those days when we were young and living in the village". But this thing here has no sense of time at all. First it crows in the morning, then mid morning, and it continues throughout the day, and doesn't shut up even at night.


A hen? Really? I live in a colony full of retired army generals and colonels going for morning walks with their fancy St.Benards and grey hounds. And these people had to get a hen for a pet? Annoying little git. I would have strangled it or shoo-ed it out, if I wan't scared of going near it. Don't judge! I had a traumatic experience as a kid from which I am yet to recover. A mad crow flew out of no where and pecked the hell out of two of my friends. I wasn't there to witness the situation but I did hear a lot of people talking about it. But then we were in the first grade so probably no one knew what they were talking about or if it had really happened. But I have a pretty wild imagination and as far as I am concerned it happened and I am going no where near this bird!!!


Oh wait. It stopped crowing. Its making choking noises instead. Probably somebody trying to strangle it. I should't get my hopes up. Fine! Don't look so shocked. I am against animal cruelty... so let me go and check out the situation while you guys check out the pictures below!

Denim Dress -AND

Shirt - Benetton

Belt - Borrowed from another dress

Bangle - Prague, Europe

Shoes - Paprika

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Having Faith in Faith.

When I was younger I believed that if you prayed hard enough for what you wanted, you would most certainly get it. It was an innocent simple logic - The harder you pray, the better your chances. And I stuck to it no matter what. Until I realized that my logic had a lot of holes in it. Huge heartbreak for a small kid.

Of course I went through the phase of cursing my luck and screaming "Why me?" for a while until I realized another truth. Its not just you moron. Its everybody. Huge "Ohhhhhhh!" moment for a small kid.

Then I regretted some more, stopped praying altogether (Bad I know!), stopped asking questions and stopped trying to find answers. And that was when (few) answers found me. I was happy with some, unhappy with some others but accepted them more or less. I din't get over it but got used to it. Huge growing-up-moment for not-so-small-anymore-kid.

In the end, all this made me realize that I am lucky. So damn lucky. Now that I could replay all the situations and scenarios in my head, I could piece together all the missing pieces of the puzzle, connect the dots... and finally look at the big picture. And the big picture looked pretty awesome from where I was standing right now. Its only after everything has happened and considerable amount of time has passed that you realize whatever has happened, has happened for your good. That something good came out of it after all, but only because you chose to let it come. There is always a choice.


*Hmmm* Where did all this suddenly come from? Call it the Navarathri effect. The festival where we celebrate the victory of good over evil, set me thinking. Although I would have preferred other effects, like sore feet because of a lot of dancing, philosophy won over. I guess too much is never enough.

Moving on to my oh-so-traditional look! Frankly I am a little tired of the typical 'bling-bling' sarees that all youngsters seem to wear. Netted sarees or sarees with a heavy dose of work seems to be the uniform for every festival (and more so for navarathri). I opted for a very simple, traditional looking cotton saree. I love the elegance and simplicity that comes with cotton sarees. It also helps that they are so easy to manage and so comfortable in the sweltering heat!

Language Barrier?

I still remember the time when someone asked me asked me if I was from either Mumbai or Delhi because of the way I spoke Telugu (which happens to be my mother-tongue).  That was the first time someone had ever said that to me, but unfortunately not the last. The first time was a big shock because I never felt even for a second that there was anything wrong with my Telugu. Agreed, I don't know half more than half the words but my whole family converses in Telugu at home and never did anyone mention that I had a weird accent!

My first language was English so, naturally I spent all my school years talking in English with friends. Or rather, I happened to hang out with people who spoke only in English. It wasn't intentional but it just happened that way. Next came four years of college where my English was officially butchered and murdered in the most horrible way! Everybody spoke in Telugu and I found it so odd at first! I found it hard to switch from English and Telugu between school friends and college friends. I got a lot of weird stares and expressions from both the groups. My English, Telugu and Hindi accent went through a lot of weird changes and I ended up mixing all three languages while talking to people. 

While in the car today, my friend asked me to read a hoarding which was in Telugu, and by the time the car sped forward I managed to read three words of the sentence and even that was wrong. *sigh* At this rate I'll forget everything in a couple of years. Already I pause and think twice while writing the script. And instead of spending some time improving my mother-tongue, I went ahead and learnt German and french and Tamil! Not that I am fluent in those either!  BUT its time to brush up on ALL my languages. I've always had a thing for languages. I really want to learn Italian and Spanish and Chinese too! Three thousand odd alphabets - that should be fun! ;)

If I look tired in these pics, its only because of the lighting! I had a rather enjoyable day!

Skirt and belt - Max

Top - AND

Scarf and Bangles- UK

Shoes - Paprika

A new Max showroom opened close to my house (I can avoid trips to the city now!). I used to visit Max only for their very very cheap kurtis, which I would use as casual wear to college and replace them after a few months ('coz they are so affordable!). But this Max amazed me with their collection of belts and casual tees! They are so cheap and a lot of variety and quality is pretty amazing too. A great alternative to thrifting and street-shopping!

The last few Questions.

After 4 months of no-weekends and a lot of studying for an exam which I dint do very well.. I took a much needed break from everything computer and internet related. No blogging, no facebook. Just lazing around, meeting up with friends, lunching and shopping and more munching, reading a book, watching tv!

Anyway here's the last installment of questions!

Q. What made you stick to blogging after the initial charm wore off?
Asked by PeeVee

Hmmm.. The truth is the charm din't wear off! If it had worn off, believe me, I would have dumped this hobby a long time ago! I used to blog every day (as a rule) for a while, but now I don't and that's mainly because of lack of time and nothing else. In fact the urge to blog is stronger now than ever before. As the number of people reading keeps increasing, the feedback from people keeps flowing in, i'll be hooked to blogging!

Q. Do you design your own outfits or buy them from somewhere?
Asked by Muhammad Israr

I am no fashion designer. All my dresses are bought.
Sometimes I design an outfit in my head and it proves to be quite a pain. 'Coz I either spend hours explaining to my tailor how I want him to stitch the dress and in the process confuse him to the point that he refuses. Or I spend months going from shop to shop hunting for that exact design that I dreamed. I've been thinking of learning the basics of stitching for so long now! If I do manage to learn, I would surely design my own dresses!

Q. What do you do when people call you thin?
Asked by The Dragon In the skin of a goat

First of all I am much much better than how I was a couple of years ago. I was thinner than this. This, right now is me at my fattest (If that makes any sense). I was always skinny (thanks to my mom and dad who are both skinny). It took as much patience and persistence for me to gain weight as it would take someone to lose weight.
Some of the most annoying questions I get from people (both strangers and relatives)
1) "You look sooooo thin! Don't you eat at all???"
(Am I not human? WHY wouldn't I eat?)
2) "You should eat well and put on weight *with a beaming smile* The you'll look nice!"
(Maybe I don't want to look nice.. at least not by your definition.)
3) "You are soooo thin but cute!"
(Huh! Why that 'but'? It is wrong to be thin AND cute? I thought that's what everyone wanted!)
4) "How do you manage to stay so thin?"
(This is slightly better. But really I don't do anything. Its just the way I am! )
5) "I saw you two years back and you are still the sam thin girl. You dint change at all!" (From a very annoying fat relative)
(Good for me. But you have changed a lot. You seem to get fatter and fatter!)
6) "You are so thin! Doesn't your Dad give you any food?)
(Now this is crossing the line. Don't you dare drag my dad into it. I end up giving my angriest glare and my most sarcastic response to this one.)

I am not at the type to judge someone by their looks. Fat or thin, Good looking or plain. Earlier I used to mentally cringe, give them a smile, mumble something and be on my way. But now when the same person keeps repeating the same thing year after year, I give a smart but polite answer and that usually makes them shut up.
If you make fun of me then right back at ya! We have the same feelings and sentiments that people who are fat have!

I din't take any outfit pictures over past one week... here are a few while goofing around!

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