A Week to Remember...

"People seem to get nostalgic about a lot of things they weren't so crazy about the first time around."


My stay in Hyderabad reminded me of this line, I've read somewhere. I had an amazing week!! Thanks to my friend, who invited me to come to Hyderabad! Syl's parents live in the outskirts of the city in the crpf campus (her Dad's an IG). It's a lovely colony; greenery all around, away from the crazy city life. This place is exactly (well, almost) like the colony I used to live in, when I was growing up. In the evenings, I (with friends) used to cycle around....and guess what? that's exactly what we did these five days of our stay here! We would work the whole day and by evening, we would explore the place riding aimlessly!! And we were lucky enough to spot some peacocks (sad that I couldn't take a good picture as they disappeared in the woods). It's like riding in the country side! So peaceful and pleasant. I felt like a little girl again!

with Don

Hyderabad :):):)

with Syl in the train (en route to HYD)

Sorry, I was MIA around here for a while! January is turning out to be an eventful month and I'm hoping the same for the rest of the year! :):) I packed my bags and came to Hyderabad for a quick trip, with my friend Syl (she's visiting her parents and I tagged along). It's not a vacation (I'm working from here), although it surely is a break from my daily life back in Bangalore, and I'm loving it! :):):) Of course, I'm missing R (my husband, in case u'r wondering) and I speak to him like three times a day, but I'm sure he is having a fun time too with his gang!!

I've come to this city a couple of times before; well this time around, it's different!! How? hmm...let me take another post to tell you about my experience here; 'coz I need to run now! Spicy Hyderabadi Biryani (one of the many things I love about Hyderabad!) is waiting for me...and I'm literally drooling!!

cya soon!

P.S. - As I thought outfit #4 and outfit #6 were the best of the lot. I knew it from the start!

Which one is your favorite?!

Here are all the six weekend-go-to outfits that I posted over the last couple of days....

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Which one is your favorite?

1 2 3 4 5 6

P.S. We had a rocking time at the cyclothon! Sad that it ended early due to the political situation (let's not even go there!!). So we cycled for only around 13 kms (not 25 kms). Hey wait a minute, that's wrong calculation; we also cycled to the venue where the cyclothon was held, so I guess we covered almost 20 kms altogether (not bad!!!)

Outfit #6

I'm wearing - Skirt - Lifestyle, Top - Ginger, Boots - Trendz, Bangalore

So, this is my last 'weekend-go-to-outfit'. This is an easy one again - miniskirt, loose top, tights and boots. For some reason, I love wearing loose full-sleeves top with mini skirts. :):)

On a totally different note - (this is to my fellow Bangaloreans) are you guys participating in the cyclothon on Sunday? Me super excited!! R and I have registered for 25 kms. Can't wait!! :):)

A picture from the last cyclothon (Oct '2009) with my dear friend Daph.

Another illustration

Original picture here

Check out another cool illustration created by Samridhi from serene j desi! She posted it a couple of days back, but I missed it somehow! (Sorry for that!!) A big THANKS to Samridhi!!

...and here is go-to-outfit #5

Dress - Ginger

Shoes - Charles & Keith

Black knitted T-shirt - Shopper's Stop

Spicy Prawns

The 4th weekend-go-to outfit is all black, 'coz you can never go wrong with black. Wear a plain black dress, and black tights. Throw on some nice color heels and matching scarf and you are ready to rock the night!

….And here is my quick, yummy and spicy prawns recipe.

You will need

500 gms prawns

1 tbsp oil

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tomato chopped      

2 sprigs curry leaves

2 green chilies slit

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp black pepper powder

2 tsp red chilly powder

2 tbsp grated coconut

Freshly crushed – 2 cardamom, 1 clove, 1 inch cinnamon

Salt to taste 

Clean prawns and mix it with salt, turmeric powder and pepper powder; keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, fry the chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves, till the onions are translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for some more time, then add chilly powder and tomatoes. When the tomatoes are soft, add the prawns and fry for 6 minutes. Let the water from the prawns dry and then add the grated coconut and cook in high flame. Once the water dries off, throw in the crushed cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Adjust salt. Serve hot with phulkas or brown bread or you can have it just like that with some cold salad. :):)

Try it and tell me about it! Have a fun week ahead! :):)

Bitter memories...

I hope, you all had a lovely weekend!! I had a nice family time at home. Sunday was more of a lazy day, with back to back movies (on TV), lots of black tea and left over food!! And oh yes, I re-organized my wardrobe (I had to do something productive, else I know I would have a bad week ahead) JJ

Anywayyyy, last night I was going through some of my old albums…some sweet, and some bitter memories; they all are precious in their own way! Yes, bitter memories are precious too, you know! Hmmmm, it got me thinking; what if I had only sweet and fond memories of my past? What if I never had any of those bitter experiences, never met those horrible people? what if I never made any wrong decisions? The answer is simple - I wouldn’t be the strong person I’m today! If someone ask me to name one incident/person/decision that I would want to erase from my life, I know, the answer would be NONE (honestly!!). Not that I never had any difficult times in my life; I had my share of ups and downs and I believe, I've evolved as a stronger person because of everything I've been through!!

OMG! Too much philosophy, no? Well, I guess we are done for today; more in my next post. ;o) 
Now lets get to my weekend-go-to-outfit # 3. This is one of the easiest and simplest outfit that I can think of (apart from jeans & t-shirt, of course!) - take a simple printed dress, wear a complementing or similar color cardigan, add a belt over it (if you like), throw on some heels and you're good to go!
I'm wearing -
Shoes - VNC
Dress - Bouquet, Bangalore
Cardigan - from some random store.
For anyone who is new to my blog - I had promised to post six different weekend-go-to outfits and this is my third one. Check out my outfit #1 and outfit #2. Three more to go...

It's family time...

As I promised in my last post, here is my weekend-go-to outfit #2 - Wear a girlie skirt and a top, put on your favorite boots and add a belt if you want. You like? I call it -  “coffee & juicy gossip with friends”.

Okay, I’m going to keep this post very short. I’m busy planning our family dinner for tomorrow. In-laws are visiting and I decided to cook a (hopefully) yummy Indian meal for them. So, what are you guys planning for the weekend? Have a fun time!!

Skirt - Ginger

Boots - Trendz, Bangalore
Knitted Top - Shopper's Stop

Procrastination!!

I hate to admit that, lately I’ve been procrastinating things a lot and that small voice inside me keeps taunting me for that. Someone teach me the art of beating procrastination and I’ll be the happiest person!! I like all things/work done on time and everything in place. But then, another voice inside me chuckles – Jahn, it’s not a perfect world!! I’ve realized that very soon I need to do something about it, else I’ll go crazzzyyy!! The list is long –

L the blinds I ordered (months ago) for my bedroom window are still in the workshop.

L that “thing” I wanted to complete at work.

L re-organize my wardrobe and put away things I don’t need.

L go for that body massage that I’ve been longing for.

L file and re-organize all my important documents.

L put up that small balcony garden I’ve been planning for a while now.

Well, I’m not done yet; the list seems to be never-ending, and I’ve decided not to bore you with it anymore! From now on I’m on a mission to make this list shorter! It would make me a lot happier! JJ Do you have a list too? I bet it’s not as long as mine.

Anywayyy, let's have some fun now, shall we?!! For the next few days, I'll be posting six different weekend 'go-to' outfits (one outfit each post), starting today. :):) Today's outfit is a simple floral summer dress, teamed with jacket and boots. I call it "Long Drive & McDonald's". Stay tuned for more!!

Dress - Ginger

Jacket - Shopper's Stop

boots - trendz, Bangalore

Lead Role...

In the past seasons, they were an outfit's sidekick. Now they're playing more of a lead role.

- Cosmopolitan, Autumn-Winter issue, 2010

I'm obsessed with all kinds - sheer, opaque, pattern, plaid...Yeah, you guessed it right! I'm talking about tights. :):) I promised here that I'll dedicate one whole post for them and here it is (sorry for not posting it sooner!) ...Apart from the fact that tights keep you warm, they add texture and interest to any normal/plain outfit. Here are some of my favorite variations of tights and the ways I love to wear them -

Patterned - I love wearing patterned tights with simple dress/skirt; gives a real lift to the outfit.

Opaque - These are my favorites!! The technique I use is wear a printed dress/skirt, take out one color of the print in my tights and cardigan. And if I want to highlight  the color of my tights, I simply wear a plain black or any other neutral color dress/skirt.

Plaid - This is a little tricky....I prefer keeping it simple when I wear plaid tights and let them be the focal point of my outfit.

Black and Grey - These go with almost everything :):) and easy to pair up.

Of course, there are plenty of other ways to include them in my outfits, but these are my favorites. :):)
So, what's your favorite kind? And how do you like to wear them?

After 25 posts...

Check out the original picture in my first post

Okay, so I scribbled this post yesterday, but didn't have a picture for it (I cannot publish, until I have a picture for my post; that's my thing!!)..And guess what, I got a hand made sketch today!! How cool is that? Chandana from A Cup of Coffee and a Spark of Madness offered to make a sketch of me for her new blog section - blogger sketch. I'm super excited as this is my first feature. Do check out her blog. It would surely make you chuckle; she is a funny writer!! :)

So how’s 2011 treating you all? Hope you had a blast with family & friends. We had a quite and cozy New Year’s Eve for a change and I loved it!!

It’s been almost three months since I started blogging and I’m happy to admit that I love it. Initially, I didn’t have much idea what to write about. Seriously!! I mean, I went as far as naming my blog “blah blah”!! haha… And now after 25 posts I know where I’m heading to. This space is just for me and my personal style! Of course, I would scribble random ramblings, reminiscences and anecdotes of my life. JJ I promise to keep it short and stylish.

Oh yes, about the new look of my blog, I decided to keep it simple, ‘coz I plan to post loads of colorful pictures this year. I want my pictures to speak so might as well have a plain background and simple header (that’s why I chose black and grey). You like? JJ

Anywaaayyyy, I feel this post is getting longer then expected; but how can I sign off without thanking you guys who inspire me (with sweet comments) to blog. Thank you so much to all you fabulous people!! Your comments mean a lot to me!! J

XOXO

Happy New Year!!

May the New Year bring you good health, wealth, happiness and glory throughout! 

P.S. : Sorry I'm MIA for a while now. I'm getting back in action very soon. Promise!! 

Also I'm giving my blog a new look; please bear with me for little more time. :):)