25 Random Questions Tag

I had a chance to read all my favourite blogs for the first time in 2 weeks. I saw this on Anshita's, Mehak's and Classy&Fabulous' blog and I figured it'd be nice to do. So here goes, 

1.     Where were you 3 hours ago? At work. Not working, but sitting in the cafeteria chatting with my work friends.

2.      Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? – My blanket

3.      What are you wearing right now? – Still in my work clothes.

4.     What are the colors of your bedroom walls? – Mauve

5.     Who is the last person you sent a  message or comment /BBM? – My bestie, Apurva

6.     What does your last text message say? – tomo’s your mom’s bday. Don’t be a moron.

7.     Can You Taste The Difference Between Pepsi And Coke? -  Yep. And I prefer coke.

8.     Is your hair curly or straight? - Poker Straight..

9.     Which is the hardest thing you ever had to do? –  Decide if I liked Thai or Chinese better.

10.  Favorite 2 color combination? – white and gold

11.  What is your favorite accessory? Neckpieces.

12.  Which current celebrity's style do you admire most? -  I like Sonam Kapoor. She’s got a very quirky style and it’s refreshing. I like Blake Lively as well.

13.  What is your favorite fashion store/shop? – Forever New, Benetton

14.  When was the last time you drove out of town? – Never. I’m not a big fan of driving.

15.  With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? – Everything at Once by Lenka. It’s been on repeat on my ipod for a few days.

16.  What was the last thing you bought? – Jeffrey Archer’s latest book. Ordered it 20 mins back.

17.  What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? – Reasons to skip work.

18.   Favorite Food? – Thai and Chinese. It’s a tie.

19.  Biggest turn off? – Body Odor, Show-offs

20.  What do you always have on you/wear? – Kohl, lip balm and my watch.

21.  What does your screen name mean/ how did you come up with it? – Mine is probably the most boring answer. But I think it was something I randomly came up with. I’m not really sure.

22.  Favorite style of top/blouse? – I have an obsession with v-necks and I love interesting prints.

23.  Favorite TV show? – Grey’s Anatomy, Vampire Diaries and Big Bang Theory

24.  What is a favorite TV show from your childhood? - Small Wonder, Full House

25.   What does your dream bedroom look like? – Very spacey, white walls, red furniture, and a bookshelf covering one entire wall. 

I'm going to try and start posting little by little from now on. I've been working 12-13 hour shifts Mon-Sun for the last month, and I'm still a little hungover. So, its going to take me a while to stop feeling like I'll drop dead any second. A big thank you to all my readers for not forgetting I exist. 

I'm a Saggitarius Now?

I've been hearing a lot about this Zodiac change business lately. Half of the facebook statuses I read are about their new zodiac signs. I'm not a believer in zodiac signs. I believe that the positions of stars and planets do affect us, but I don't think they can decide what's going to happen in my life. I'm a capricorn cusp, but I don't really care about that. My horoscope for the day is not something that I turn to first thing when I pick up the newspaper. There are people who believe in astrology. I just don't happen to be one of them. But the whole buzz about this zodiac change got me curious. So, I did a little bit of googling. 

Astronomer Parke Kunkle claims that the position of the Earth with respect to the Sun has changed in the last 3000 years since the zodiac signs were first decided by Babylonian astronomers. This has resulted in the introduction of a new sign called Ophiuchus (which, by they way, I can't even pronounce). 


Not many believe in this change though. But it's also true in a sense if you see the difference between Sidereal Astrology and Tropical Astrology. 
According to wiki, "Sidereal astrology is the system of astrology used by some Western and all Jyotish astrologers who base their interpretation around the use of the sidereal zodiac. Its primary feature is that the signs of the sidereal zodiac approximately align to the sky constellations of the same name."
and
"Tropical astrology is based on the idea that early astrologers (mid-to-late first millennium BCE) defined the star signs according to the seasons in which the sun rose in them. For tropical astrologers therefore it is irrelevant that the solsticial points (tropics) have drifted from one constellation to another over the millennia, due to the precession of the equinoxes. The underlying philosophy remains unchanged in spite of precession, because it is based on the Earth's (and therefore our) relationship to the sun, not to the stars."


This article from cnn explains it: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/13/no-your-zodiac-sign-hasnt-changed/


So, if you're Indian, this has most likely effected you. But if you follow the more common Tropical astrology used by westerners, then you have nothing to worry about. 


A little bit of info on the new sign: Ophiuchus is derived from the Greek word for 'serpent-bearer' The sign is portrayed by a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations proposed by Ptolemy in the second century. It was earlier known as Serpentarius, a Latin word for serpent-bearer.

The symbol for Ophiuchus

The personality traits of those born in the sign of Ophiuchus are said to be honest, intellectual, sexually magnetic, prone to change and of course, jealous. This covers those born between Nov. 29 and Dec 17. 


The rest of the zodiacs have shifted as follows: 


Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18- May 13
Taurus: May 13- June 21
Gemini: June 21- July 20
Cancer: July 20- Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10- Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16- Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30- Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23- Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29- Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17- Jan. 20


I'm now a sagittarius apparently. What's YOUR new sign?


P.S. If you're wondering why I spent the last hour writing a post on a topic that I don't believe in, then the answer lies in the word boredom. Unfortunately, even though its a weekend, I have no plans because I'm lazy and had no inclination to step out of the house. 

Yet Another Year Passed By

First of all, I want to apologise for the lack of posts. I've been super busy recently and haven't been near a computer in a while. Thankfully my mobile internet saved my life, else I would have been showing some serious withdrawal symptoms. Second, I will announce the giveaway winner in a few days, as soon as I can work the excel sheet.

Every year on my birthday, I spend a relatively large amount of time pondering about where my life is taking me, have I done anything even remotely worth mentioning in the past year, and other such profound things. None of these thoughts take me anywhere. I still end up extremely lost afterwards. But one thing I've learnt in the past few years from all my pondering is not to worry about what you have done, or are going to do. Live in the present, be happy in what you're doing right now and don't worry about the past or the future. I spent a substantial amount of my life planning out my future, and then letting my past experiences shadow my present.

I spent a huge amount of this year trying to meet upto people's expectations of me, and at the end of the day, I was miserable. What's the point of making others happy, if you aren't happy yourself. And it might have still felt like it was worth it if those people gave a crap. At times, I wonder why I still try to hold on to friendships that are far past their expiry dates. I think it's time to bring a change in my life, to discard what's not helping the moving on process.

There are friends that you'll have your entire life. Then there are those friends that are like seasons. They come, they go, and you have no control over it. Then there are those people who you think are your friends, but wish nothing good for you. Should I feel guilty for wanting to cut out the latter from my life? Isn't part of growing up moving on, and learning to leave certain things behind? But there's a part of me thats scared of this change. There's this voice inside my head telling me to just let things be.

I had a relatively good year. Not all of it was good, but not all of it was bad either. I finally settled some past accounts. I finally decided to flush some things out of my life, and I feel good about the future, even if its sprinkled with a tiny tinge of guilt.

I met some really good people this year, made new friends, rekindled a few old friendships, and I'm on the right track finally.

But, like always, there are some things in life that never change, and I'm glad they don't because I don't know what I'd do without those few constants in my life.

Also, I heard 22 is the marriageable age. My mom and I had a good laugh at that. Both of us know that's not happening any time soon. I personally do not plan on marrying before 30. But my mom's more reasonable and predicted 27. Lets see. But 3 of my dad's friend's daughters are getting married the coming year. They are all 22-23. Sigh.

I might be MIA for a while. So a Merry Chirstmas!! to all of you in advance.

50 Random Things About Me

I read this somewhere a few weeks back and it really made me want to do it. I can't remember which blog, but if it was yours, please let me know. Since I'm a super lazy person, I've just gotten around to doing it.

1. I hate chocolates.

2. I love icecream. But I hate chocolate icecream.

3. I make really good butter chicken.

4. I have an extremely sweet tooth. So much so, I sneak around at night when my mom is asleep and steal sweets from the fridge.

5. I watch a LOT of tv shows. I think I might need an intervention.

6. I'm not a morning person. Wake me up earlier than I'm used to and I'll make a face at you all day.

7. My dad and I disagree on everything under the sun.

8. I love action films, especially those based on superheroes and video games.

9. I have a vampire fetish.

10. I want to go backpacking through europe.

11. I'm incapable of living outside a city. I get bored out of my mind.

12. I'm really scared of heights.

13. I have an irrational fear of being stuck in an elevator with a stranger, similar to Aunt Josephine's fear of realtors in the Lemony Snicket movie.

14. I was once mistaken for a lesbian.

15. I've never been able to watch Casablanca in its entirety.

16. I've watched Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and The Notebook more times than I can count on both hands.

17. I buy notebooks just because they look cute and never use them.

18. I have a collection of 400 books, and I'm currently in the process of making an inventory.

19. My all time favourite movie is Roman Holiday.

20. I have an unending capacity for junk food.

21. My favourite place to go when I need to feel better is a Bookstore.

22. I never swear. Never use bad language. I used to. But i made a conscious effort not to and now it feels weird coming out of my mouth.

23. I am geographically challenged. I get lost quite often.

24. I hate drinking tea. It's coffee for me all the way.

25. When I was a kid, I used to think that tv shows were real people being filmed, and I wondered if I was secretly being filmed.

25. I get annoyed by bad spellings.

26. I cried like a baby when Sirius Black died.

27. I also cried like a baby when Heath Ledger died. I thought he was the best thing that ever happened to Hollywood. I still watch 10 Things I Hate About You when I miss him. Though, I think Joker was his best character.

28. When i was younger, I used to frequently have dreams that I was falling off a building, and subsequently ended up falling off my bed. One time, i fell on the other end of the bed, and my mom didn't see me and thought I'd gone missing.

29. I used to play the flute.

30. I once crashed my dad's car into a tree while parking. He still doesn't know about it.

31. I love kids. I would do anything for them.

32. I never say no to kfc and chinese food.

33. I think Fight Club and The Incredible Hulk were awesome movies.

34. I love watching movie trailers.

35. I have the world's worst neighbors.

36. My IQ says I'm above average intelligence.

37. I hate italian cuisine.

38. I have a giant crush on Jude Law.

39. I have a thing for British and Scottish accents.

40. Ever since I got hit while crossing the road, I am mortally scared of crossing roads.

41. I once dated a guy who already had a girlfriend, though I knew nothing about it then. I found out years later.

42. The day after I saw The Ring with my best friend, the newspaper had a giant ad saying '7 Days To Go'. On the 7th day, I called up my bff to make sure she was alive, couldn't get hold of her, and had a mini panic attack.

43. I'm in the category of obsessive people. When something interests me, I get obsessed about it.

44. I want to be a teacher someday. I have an unexplained love for teaching. And for kids.

45. I listen to Arctic Monkey's Cornerstone on repeat when I'm sad.

46. I've never had a fracture my entire life.

47. I find Craig Ferguson extremely funny.

48. My favourite cartoon strip is Calvin and Hobbes.

49. When I was 18, my favourite author was Danielle Steel. I own over 20 of her books.

50. I want to live in NYC someday, even if it's temporary.

School Life

I’m not sure, but i think i saw this on tanvi’s blog. It reminded me of my school days and I really wanted to do it. So here goes:

What was your favorite back to school item to buy?
Stationery. I loved buying new books, pens, pencils, the whole shebang. I still have a habit of collecting fancy stationery.


What was your favorite subject in school?
Without a doubt, math. I was always a logic person. I loved applying theorems, or proving them, or deriving something. Math fascinated me to no end.  History comes a close second. History, to me, was like a story book, only none of it was fiction.


Did you ride the bus or get a ride from Mom/Carpool?
Rode the bus for most of the years. Though the initial years, when dad was still in the army and we were living at cantonments, i used to ride in those army one-tons. Used to be a lot of fun.

Did you have a sack lunch or cafeteria food?
Till about 8th, i carried lunch every single day. But after that, i would occasionally eat at the cafeteria. My mom’s food was better than the cafeteria one any day. So, i carried lunch as much as I could. It was another story that I barely got to eat much of it.


What is your favorite memory from your school days?
I can’t think of a single one in particular. But i loved school activities, hanging out with friends, having fun. Especially, school choir used to be a riot. It was a miracle if we went through an entire rehearsal with a straight face. And our music teacher was the most fun teacher I ever had.

Bibliophilic Tendencies

I grew up in a family of voracious readers. And both my parents made sure I cultivated the same habit. They tried that on my brother too, but failed miserably. Anywho, I’ve been reading since the time I can remember. When I was younger, my second cousin had this huge library at home. She had every single book by Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew series, Hardy Boys, Mallory Towers, and several others. And every weekend, I would force my dad to take me to their house so that I could borrow a few more books. Then there was the school library. I checked out a book every single day. At one point, the librarian didn’t have any more books for me. The only gift I wanted as a kid was a book. When I started getting pocket money, I spent it all on books. Today, its reached a point where I can’t leave a bookstore without a book in hand.

So, when I saw this post at Swayambhu’s blog, I couldn’t resist doing it myself.

Here goes:


Favourite childhood book?
The Secret Seven books. I loved reading them. Every time I finished one, I’d get restless till I could get my hands on the next one.


What are you reading right now?
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I’m on a mission to finish all of Austen’s book. 2 down, 4 to go.


Bad book habit?
Letting my reading take over everything else, even my studies.


Do you have an e-reader?
No. And I don’t really want one. I enjoy the feel of a book. Its not the same on a machine.


Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?
I can never read more than one book at a time. I feel like I’m cheating on the book.


Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I’m a fairly new blogger. So, no, not really.


Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
Roller Coaster Ride by Saumil Srivastava. I’m just so tired of all these indian authors writing about IITians.


Favourite book you’ve read this year?
The Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I know it’s not one book, but I loved all three of them.

How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I don’t have a comfort zone. I’ll read anything that catches my fancy.


What is your reading comfort zone?
Same as above


Can you read on the bus?
Honestly, I can’t. I get sick and nauseous. But I can’t resist and end up doing it anyways.


Favourite place to read?
I love reading outdoors. In a park, under a tree, at a bus stop. Anywhere and everywhere.


What is your policy on book lending?
That I don’t lend my books. I have OCD when it comes to my books. I can’t stand to not have them with me. My brother lended MY book to a friend of his once. I got so pissed I refused to let even my brother touch my books.


Do you ever dog-ear books?
Never. I have a hundred million bookmarks for the purpose.


Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Nope. I like my books to look like they’ve never been touched.


Not even with text books?
I was one of those people whose books looked brand new even at the end of the school year, and not because I didn’t study. If I absolutely had to, I used post-its.


What is your favourite language to read in?
English. That’s the only language I read in. Never ended up reading hindi, except for school. And I read my mother tongue, malayalam so slow, that I'll be 60 by the time I finish a book.


What makes you love a book?
The characters. More often than not, I find myself becoming one of the characters from the book I’m reading. Of course, the plot, pace, and all matter. But the characters are what reel me in.


What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If the book really impresses me, I will. I don’t have a lot of friends who read, so it’s not something that I do much.


Favourite genre?
Crime. I like coming up with my own theories about the culprit, and then finally finding out who it was at the end of the book.


Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Biography/autobiographies.


Favourite biography/autobiography?
I haven’t read that many, so can’t say.


Have you ever read a self-help book?
That is the one genre I stay away from.


Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
I really can’t think of one.


Favourite reading snack?
Potato chips.


Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience
None really.


How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I never read reviews of a book before reading it. I find that it corrupts my judgment.


How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If a book is bad, it’s bad.


If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
German. I’ve always wanted to read books by Goethe, Franz Kafka, Schiller, Lessing etc, in their original versions. And I also want to read ‘Dead Souls’ in the original Russian version.


Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
How can a book be intimidating, maybe except in size. But as far as I’m concerned, the longer the book, the better.


Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Like I said, no book can be intimidating.


Favourite Poet(s)?
Lord Byron, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Prem Chand, are just some of them. And I also love Shakespeare’s sonnets. I’m not much of poetry person, but I like reading them from time to time.


Favourite fictional character(s)?
Sherlock Holmes, Lisbeth Salander, Garfield, Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes)

Favourite fictional villain?
Professor Moriarty


Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Chick Lits. They’re light reading. And I’m normally able to put them down in order to enjoy my vacation.


The longest I’ve gone without reading
A couple of months during college. Studies got in the way.


Name a book that you could/would not finish-
Quite a few actually. Mostly when I was in college. I'd start reading a book, but would then get burdened with college work, and completely forget about it. I'm currently in the process of finishing those book.


What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Internet, phone, sleep.


Favourite film adaptation of a novel?
I personally loved the Sherlock Holmes movie, but that had more to do with Robert Downey Jr., than the movie (which actually was equally good). The movie does take a lot of liberties with Holmes’ character, but it was a delight nonetheless. And plus I loved all the quotes they took from the books (“Data, data, data — I cannot make bricks without clay”)
Another movie I liked was the swedish adaptation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.

Most disappointing film adaptation?
Harry Potter series. The movies skip so many scenes from the books, I feel like I’m skipping chapters and reading.


The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Not much really. At the most, I’ll buy maybe 2 or 3 books at a time.


How often do you skim a book before reading it?
There are times I get really curious and skim a few pages ahead.


What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If its extremely slow paced. I hate having to read 10 chapters before anything substantial happens.


Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes. I have 4 bookshelves in my tiny room, and I keep all my books well organized.


Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I love collecting books. I’ve never given away books, except for text books maybe.


Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Not that I can remember.
UPDATE: I just remembered. 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' by Irving Stone. I got it as a prize. I've had it for years, but haven't been able to bring myself to read it. I'm not really sure why.


Name a book that made you angry –
Circle of Light by Kiranjit Ahluwalia. Domestic violence is something that I cannot tolerate. Just hearing about it makes me furious. And Kiranjit Ahluwalia’s story literally brought me to tears, and made me angry at the same time.

A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
5 Point Someone


A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Sleeping with the Enemy  by Nancy Price


Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Chick Lits


Books I love or “the ones I can read again and again and again and…..”
I normally never read a book a second time so as to not ruin my image of a book. But I have read the Harry Potter books 3-4 times. and Calvin n Hobbes.


Books I love to hate:
Books about IITians. Same old love stories.
UPDATE: Also the twilight series. Loved reading the books, inspite of the spineless female lead. Totally against my feminist principles. But the writing is good. Plus I love vampires. I've been dying to order the Vampire Diaries books and the Southern Vampire Mysteries.


Books that left me underwhelmed:
Above Average by Amitabha Bagchi. It wasn’t bad, but I was expecting more.


I encourage all you bibliophiles to do this tag. If you do, let me know in the comments.

Gender Stereotypes: Isn’t it getting old?

The other day, I was going to a classmate’s engagement party, and I was unfortunately forced to hitch a ride from this moron guy who I really really hate. I hated him already, but this particular ride made me loath him. I’m right in the car, and this guy was talking about how he hates this other girl from class only because she speaks her mind in front of guys.

Which century do we live in? Does a girl really have to conform to gender stereotypes in this day and age? If a girl is not docile and soft-spoken, then she’s not a girl. There are plenty of things I do that I supposedly shouldn’t be.

• I’m loud. I can’t be soft-spoken. I’ll say what I want, when I want. And I never back down from a fight.
• When I’m pissed, I’ll either punch you in the guts, or kick you in the shin. I don’t do slaps.
• I hate wearing heels. My converse are my best friend.
• I can’t stand girl bands, or boy bands, or pop, or any of that crap. I love my alternate music.
• I played rugby in school. I’m not scared of getting dirty.
• I’m not a big fan of pink.
• I loathe cooking.
• I prefer men’s colognes.
• My only friends are guys.
• I’m a car-freak. Love them all (mostly)

There are many other things. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my girly moments. This is, after all, a beauty blog, and its proof of that. But I should have the liberty to be the way I am, however I maybe.

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been told, “Don’t sit with your legs far apart.”, or “Don’t laugh so loudly”, or “Don’t beat up guys” (The last one was only once, and was from a lecturer in college. In my defense, the guy totally deserved it :P). The point is, why is there this pressure to be conform to these gender stereotypes? It’s not just for us girls. Even guys feel the pressure. I have a perfectly heterosexual male friend, who gets a manicure once a month. He gets so much crap for it, its pissing off. Why doesn’t a guy have the liberty to look well groomed? Is it reserved for girls? I personally love guys with clean nails.

I remember, a few years back, a friend of mine took our whole gang to this restaurant for a buffet on his birthday. Now, I’m a healthy eater. I took 3 full plate helpings, and I’m not ashamed of  it. But then the girls in the gang were giving me weird looks and one of them even told me that I’m not very lady-like. A guy can eat like a bloody animal, if he wants to, but if a girl eats more than a salad, it’s a crime.

I have nothing against  the girly-girls or the so called Ubersexuals. What I have a problem with is these gender stereotypes, which are frankly insulting. Every person is different and unique in their own way. Why is there such a need to classify human beings in pre-defined categories? Its about time people came out of their comfort zones and realized that different is good, even interesting.

We might have become more modern in our lifestyles, but most people, even today, stick to their archaic beliefs and think that they’re perfectly right. We, as a society, will never evolve, till we learn to change our mindsets, and accept the change that’s beckoning us.

Okay, i’m done with my rant. Have a lovely weekend, all you guys.

Spreading Cheer, My Way

Every year for the past 5 years, I’ve been gifting one random person every year on my birthday, which falls on the eve of Christmas Eve. I do it as a way of showing how thankful I am for another birthday spent with my family and friends, the people that I love.

It started when I was in grade 12. There was this girl in my language class. We had that one class, 4 times a week, for 2 years and I didn’t even know her name. Then, sometime in December 2005, we got put on an assignment together. And I realized what a wonderful person she was and how I’d missed out on a great friend the past 1 1/2 years.

She lived with a roommate close to college. Her parents were divorced. And every year, her parents would fight over who got her over Christmas break. To avoid all of that, she decided to just stay back and not visit either of her parents.

When I heard her story, I was heartbroken. Her roommate was gone for the holidays. She was all alone during the holidays. Can you imagine not having your loved ones around during Christmas? Or for us Indians, during the 357852 festivals we have every year. Diwali just went by. All of those who live away from their families must know how lonely it feels to not have your family around during festivals.

Anyways, I obviously got her to stay at my place during the break. My parents wedding anniversary  is on 21st, my birthday on 23rd and Christmas on 25th. So it’s a lot of celebration for us. I accidentally got a sneak peek of her college ID and found out her birthday was the day after Christmas. She didn’t even tell me. I felt even worse that her parents weren’t with her on her birthday. So, I threw her a birthday party. It was also half my party. I can’t really afford two parties. I love birthday gifts (who doesn’t?).  But seeing her happy that day made me more happy than all the gifts in the world. And that was the first time I did something so big for someone I barely knew for about 2 weeks. Every year since, I gift someone who really needs the cheer, on my birthday.

This year I’m gifting my best friend’s girlfriend. I don’t know her that well. We must have met barely 4-5 times. But she’s a really sweet girl and I honestly adore her. But she’s going through some really tough times with her family, and I want to be able to cheer her up.

I don’t do it as charity. All the people that I’ve gifted have been people I know. I do it as a friendly gesture. And it’s my way of being thankful. And since Christmas comes right after my birthday, it’s a good excuse for gifting.

This year, I also have a blog. I’m so thankful to all the people that follow my blog. I can’t thank you enough for reading my mindless ramblings. I wish I could send a gift to each one of my followers. But I’m pretty sure I can’t do that without my bank balance going into negative. So, I’m going to go the classic blog way, and hold a giveaway (I honestly didn’t mean for that to rhyme. creepy. lol).

I won’t tell you the contents of the giveaway because I honestly want to surprise the person who gets it. But since this is mostly a beauty blog, the gifts will be beauty-related. I really hope all of you will participate.

I’ll put up the form in about a week or so. I’m currently super-duper busy and haven’t had time to go shopping. I will, hopefully this weekend. And then I’ll put up the official giveaway post.

I’m looking forward to all of you participating.

Favourite Look of the Week: Nina Dobrev

Nina Dobrev kept it classy and simple in a LBD at Spike TV's Scream 2010 awards.

What she's wearing: Rock & Republic’s “Marisol” matte jersey v-neck long-sleeve minidress with shirring and paired with the “Pavia” clutch and Diesel Ava Chain Strap Sandals.

And while we're here, a little eye candy from the awards:

101 Started

Compiling a list of 101 goals wasn't easy. But I've done it. And I start on Oct 18. The sooner the better.
I started a new blog to keep track of my progress. Its more for me than for anyone else. But I'd love it if you guys checked it out and shared your opinions with me.

Check out my blog here: http://thejourney101goals1001days.blogspot.com/

101 in 1001?

 

So, I was reading this great blog by DAME RENÉE and I was reading about her 101 in 1001 project. It’s really interesting and then I googled it and found it’s quite the rage. I found so many bloggers doing it and I was really inspired to try one myself. I think it’s a great way to re-analyze your life goals and actually take a step forward in fulfilling those goals.

I’ve had a million to-do-lists in the past and I’ve failed all of them. I wanted to learn to play the keyboard, I wanted to learn to cook, I wanted to do some social work, I wanted to get my Java certification (started the course, so not bad), have a proper exercise regimen, and so many other things. I haven’t done any of those.

I’m a big fan of to-do lists. The organisational freak in me loves compiling list, but its the doing part that always gets me. So, this 101 in 1001 project really appealed to me. I’ll have 2.75 years from the start of my project to complete the list. That’s not bad. I’ll have plenty of time to complete my goals.

College finished a few months back and I don’t start work till November end. All this free time has made me extremely lazy, and I feel like I’m completely useless. I haven’t done anything worthwhile in ages. This list might finally get me back on track.

I’m going to start working on my list, and if possible, I’ll start another blog with constant updates on how my list is going. I think having other people know about my life project will help me keep up with it.

About the 101 in 1001 project:

Read about it here: http://dayzeroproject.com/about/

And I found this great website which really helps in creating your list, tips and stuff.

http://101goalsin1001days.com/

 

So, What do you think? Will you make a list of your own?

Dresses and Clutches

I saw these clutches this morning and I’m seriously lusting after them. I’m on a no shopping ban which means I can’t buy any of them. But I can look right?

And these are the dresses:

Now, this dress below I fell in love with. But I took so much time  deliberating whether it was worth breaking my shopping ban over that it got sold out. As soon as October gets over, I’m going to go look for this dress. Or at least try finding this print so I can get it stitched.

The clutches are on sale at brandmile.com and the dresses at fashion and you. I’m not advertising for either one. Just sharing what I liked and maybe it’ll help someone else.

Both of these sites are invites only. So, if you aren’t already a member, here are your invites.

http://Pooja531541.fashionandyou.com

http://www.brandmile.com/invite/9fMdW/

Jenny Returns

Source: http://www.spoilersguide.com/gossip-girl/season-4-episode-6-easy-j-promo-photos-2/

I was quite enjoying the show without whiny Jenny in it. I guess no more of such luck. Jenny returns next week and looks just as trashy as she did when she left. 

Gossip Girl Preview

This is a snapshot from Gossip Girl’s next episode. Don’t they both look adorable? Especially love the dress on Blair. And Serena’s necklace.

I NEED A GIRLFRIEND

I’ve never been a particularly girly person. From my early years till today, I’ve mostly been surrounded by the members of the opposite sex. When I was younger and dad was still in the army, the only female influence in my life was my mother and fortunately or unfortunately, my mother has never had any interest in fashion, jewellery or makeup. So, I spent most of my formative years not really caring how I looked or dressed. I was always well dressed, my parents made sure of that, but I never put too much effort into it.

I was 12 when I came to Bangalore. Since then, 90% of the friends I made were boys. It wasn’t something I did consciously. I didn’t even realise it till I was much older and the comments started about my hanging out with so many boys. My parents never cared and neither did I. I can count on one hand, the number of girlfriends I have today, out of which 3 have moved out of Bangalore. My best friend of 10 years is a girl, but she’s in a live-in relationship and works close to 80 hours a week. Its almost impossible to get hold of her.

My only other female friend in Bangalore is in an extremely unhealthy relationship that has caused all of her friendships to fall apart.

 I spent most of the 4 years of my college with 5 boys that I was really good friends with. I don’t have a single girlfriend that I met in college. It’s not that I didn’t make a single girlfriend, I did, but all of those friendships fizzled out sooner or later.

My friend’s girlfriends thought I was trying to steal their boyfriends and so I never got to get to know any of them either. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t know they existed. I’m pretty much a drama-free person and always tried my best to not get involved. Anyone who’s best buddy is a guy will know how hard it is to maintain your friendship and at the same time make sure you’re not the reason he gets dumped.

As much I love all of my guy friends, its not always easy being friends with them. They talk a lot of crap, they can be quite insensitive, and well annoying. And there’s the problem of not getting too close to them cos they might think you’re in love with them ( I talk from experience). Men and their giant egos. They think everyone’s in love with them.

And all of these things I can live with. I love my friends. They’ve been there for me through some really tough times and they’ve always looked out for me. And my parents love them too.

But there are times I really wish I had a girlfriend I could talk to about the girly stuff. Can you believe I have no one I can talk to about boys or take along for shopping or discuss fashion and makeup with? I wish I had a friend I could go with to watch chick flicks and shop and try out makeup with and go to the salon with. Someone who’d tell me honestly if something looks good on me and let me know when I look like I got hit by a truck. Someone who’d notice that I got a new haircut or that I’m wearing a new top.

I've spent most of the recent years convincing myself I don’t need a girlfriend. But who am I kidding right? I miss those days when I had girlfriends and we would spend half an hour on the phone every day discussing what to wear the next day.

Every girl needs a girlfriend, whether we admit it or not.

Favourite Look of the Week

 

 

Blake Lively wore this gorgeous Elie Saab dress  to the launch of the Tiffany and Co. Spring 2011 eyewear collection. I love the lace on the dress. Perfectly worn with a side braid and those cute peep-toe pumps.

Her makeup looks so fresh. She looks like she belongs on the beach.

Another Boring Day.. *sigh* I wish

 

I’m one of those weird people who gets herself into awkward or embarrassing situations more often than not. I can’t help it. I have a penchant for it. They make for interesting stories.

So, me and my girlfriend (i know the grammar’s wrong. I’m a rebel. Sue me) were shopping at the mall. We were at it for two hours and my friend had spent the last 20 minutes trying to decide which color to buy for a particular dress. I do NOT have that kind of patience. Plus I was thirsty and starving (i skipped breakfast). So I left her at the store and headed over to the food court for some much needed grub. I felt like Chinese. So I was waiting at the Beijing Bites counter to place my order, when this guy comes up and starts chatting me up. He’s really cute, talks well, dresses well and frankly, I was enjoying the attention. He seemed to be alone and that’s weird, I mean who hangs out at a mall alone? So I ask him and he says he’s with his bro and sis-in-law and he got dragged into shopping for his parent’s wedding anniversary. All’s well and good. We get a table and I’m eating and he’s flirting (I might have flirted a little. It wasn’t my fault. The guy had the cutest smile. What sane girl could resist?).

A while later, and there’s no sign of my friend. So, I look towards the entry gate to see if she’s coming and guess who I see. An ex-boyfriend of mine that i haven’t seen in ages, with this pretty little thing on his arms and he’s walking towards me.

Now, for a little bit of history. I dated this guy back in high school and he was much much older to me. Haven’t we all fallen for the older guy atleast once in our lives? We ended on pretty bad terms and I haven’t heard from him since.

So I see this guy after all these years and he still looks the same. I don’t. I was a nerdy geek back in high school, who didn’t even know what mascara was. Now, I’m superficial and vain, but I look good.

Now, two things happened during this encounter that left me wondering if  fate’s playing a cruel joke on me.

1. The cute guy I was chatting up was my ex-bf’s brother.

2. The cute guy I was chatting up was a 17 year-old kid.

The pretty little thing on his arm turned out to be his wife. When did the dude get married? And he didn’t even recognize me at first. I don’t blame him. It’s been 6 years.

So, lets sum up my trip to the mall that I won’t be visiting for a while (scarring memories). My friend is a crazy, annoying shopper. I met my ex-boyfriend, who’s gotten hitched. He has a 17-year-old brother that he caught me flirting with.

Just lovely. *sigh*

I’d love to tell you about the remaining part of the awkward encounter which lasted till I could take it no longer and SOS’d my friend, but it doesn’t get more interesting than this.

On a completely unrelated note, I’m loving that jacket and the belt on Nina Dobrev. The rest of the outfit is kind of meh. Too stereotypically bad girl. I must give credit to Dobrev for the heartless bitch acting though. Very sexy.

Drool Worthy

I am in LOVE.... I am totally crushing on the Salvatore brothers....

But then.. who in their right minds can blame me?

They are definitely a treat for sore eyes...

Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B look at the Mercedes-Benz fashion week

 

The Make-up:

STEP 1 Dream Liquid Mousse: apply all over your face like you would with your moisturizer.
STEP 2 Eye Studio Quad in Give Me Gold: apply gold shade on the crease and intensify with darker one.
STEP 3 Color Sensational Lipcolor in Red Revival: apply directly from the tube for full on glamour.
TIP OF THE DAY: to create a very dramatic look contour your eyes with a black pencil and draw a cat eye.
Sources:
http://justjared.buzznet.com/photo-gallery/2480989/gwen-stefani-lamb-fashion-week-07/
 http://www.maybellinelovesfashion.com/page/main.php?page=thelook_18

DelMarTimes.net | Maybelline heiress will sign her new book

DelMarTimes.net | Maybelline heiress will sign her new book

Sharrie Williams, heir to the Maybelline cosmetics legacy, grand niece of the founder, and family steward of the vast documentation that traces Maybelline's history, is on tour to promote her new book, "The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It."

Her tour will bring her to the Earth Song bookstore in Del Mar from 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 2.
The Maybelline story is pure glamour and glitz and it goes like this:

In 1915, when a kitchen stove fire singed his sister Mabel's lashes and brows, Tom Lyle Williams watched in fascination as she performed a "secret of the harem," mixing petroleum jelly with coal dust and ash from a burnt cork, and applied it to her lashes and brows. Mabel's simple beauty trick ignited Tom Lyle's imagination and he started what would become a billion-dollar business and remains a viable American icon after nearly a century. He named it Maybelline in her honor and began selling mascara and brow powder.

According to press materials advancing the book, throughout the 20th century, the Maybelline Company inflated, collapsed, endured, and thrived in tandem with the nation's upheavals - as did the family that nurtured it. Setting up shop first in Chicago, Williams later, to avoid unwanted scrutiny of his private life, cloistered himself behind the gates of his Rudolph Valentino Villa and ran his empire from a distance. 

Now after nearly a century of silence, this true story celebrates the life of an American entrepreneur, a man whose vision rocketed him to success along with the woman held in his orbit, Evelyn Boecher, who became his lifelong fascination and muse.

Captivated by her "roaring charisma," he affectionately called her the "real Miss Maybelline," and based many of his advertising campaigns on the woman she represented: commandingly beautiful, hard-boiled and daring. 

Boecher masterminded a life of vanity, but would fall prey to fortune hunters and a mysterious murder that even today remains unsolved. 

The book tells it all, and includes eye-candy glamour shots of Hollywood beauties and starlets, which proves something most women already know ... a little mascara can take you a long, long way.