Crazy good date-night

This is what I wore on a date night, dinner and a movie! It was one of those rare days when everything goes as planned – house work, cleaning, relaxed afternoon, picture-perfect photo shoot and then a dinner n movie. check, check and check!

Date night started with a cozy dinner at - Karaikudi (in chantilly, VA) - a restaurant that serves authentic Chettinad cuisine. We started off with Rasam (perfect for a chilly night)and then moved to idli-wada sambar (my absolute favorite!) and finally finished off Chicken Chettinad with Chapatis/Rotis & Rice. 
The food itself was finger-licking good but super spicy & HOT! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spicy food; but this was beyond my expectations (and in a real bad way!). The Rasam itself was tasty but again too way peppery for me (I left it half way while husband finished it off). The idli-wada were delish; sambar was served in meager quantities :( I mean charge me more but at least serve a cupful of that delish sambar! The Chicken Chettinad was as authentic as it could get - had a very home-madey taste to it! Awesome! Rotis were a let down (should have just stuck to parathas).
Though most of the patrons are from India, I am pretty sure that not everyone is aware of the fiery Chettinad cuisine. I wish the servers would have mentioned to me the level of spiciness and heat in the food. Well, having said all that, I think I won't mind going back there for the 'original' south-indian taste every dish had and probably will stick to idli-wada sambar/dosa. 

Well, though the dinner experience was a little setback for me (husband loves super-spicy food, so he had no complaints :)), the movie turned out to be SUPERB! We watched Argo that night. If you haven’t watched Argo yet, then go WATCH IT NOW!! Ben Affleck – the director and lead actor – is freaking 'brilliante'! 
I was spellbound after the movie; Argo is definitely one of the best movies in recent times. I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, but I loved watching the 1970's setting and was pretty excited when they showed Washington-Dulles airport in one of the shots. (I live quite close to the airport, you see ;))

It was quite chilly that day (which is how the weather is usually here now) so I picked my quirky skirt and paired it with a black turtle neck. Turtle necks I am not a big fan of! They make me a little bit uncomfortable around the neck area. But the fact that they are so warm and cozy, I do wear them on chilly days. Boots and leggings and a Crazy good necklace completed the look. So you see, I 'winterized' my 'summer' look here. 
I got this necklace from Tanvi’s very own boutique– Crazy & Co. Thanks to my stars, I won a giveaway for a gift card to Crazy & Co. on Vidhya's blog here. I was in love with this tribal-inspired design since I had seen the House of Harlow necklace. The best part is that it's black, which makes it totally versatile.

So on date-nights, do you try new restaurants or prefer the tried-and-tested ones? Do tell. 

What I am wearing: Skirt - Anthropologie (seen here); Turtle-neck sweater - Ann Taylor Factory Outlet; Boots - Born @ The Tannery, Boston; Statement necklace - Crazy & Co.; Earrings - Local boutique in Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA; Ring - Aldo; Belt - NY & Company; Purse - Linking Road, Mumbai, India; Glasses - Burberry; Jacket - H&M

The delicious Chettinad cuisine!

Idli-wada sambar on left and Chicken Chettinad on right.

I wore the statement necklace again on Monday with formal wear and 
it paired great, don't you think? :)

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Denim for Fall

This is how I would dress up a denim skirt for Fall. Wear boots and every summer staple becomes Fall appropriate! Yeah, its that easy. Apart from being fall weather appropriate you can say it's 'Bang for your buck' too. And when it gets too chilly to handle, wear tights (printed/color) or leggings with comfy boots and you are good to go.

Well, this is the first time I am strutting out in my boots; and here's to many more such days! I definitely missed wearing boots back home in Mumbai. Its not exactly the type of climate where you buy bulky boots - the only weather being summer, that too mixed with humidity. I can go and on and on about the Mumbai weather but you are not here for that, are you?

So getting back to my outfit, I am wearing these 'Crazy Indian Roulette' earrings from Crazy & Co. that I absolutely. Love the fact that they are adding color to my denim-on-denim outfit.

Crazy& Co. is an online boutique started by my blogger friend Tanvi where each and every piece is Crazy good! These earrings were gifted by her during our recent InFB meet in NYC (so gracious of her!). I think they are a great accessory to make a statement and they will go well with any colored outfit - score!

In another news, I have (finally!) opened a Facebook page for the blog. Now you can get all updates for 'The Zing of My Life' in one place - on your profile's home page!
So, have you liked the blog's Facebook page yet? If not, you can do it here.

What I am wearing: Denim skirt - Gap; Striped top - Esprit; Denim vest - Levis Factory Outlet; Boots - Macys; Earrings - Crazy & Co. (you can buy them here); Heart pendant necklace - Sears; Clutch - Aldo; Watch - Casio Men's Chronograph (Husband's); Ring - India; Aviators - Tory Burch

Update: Linking this post for the EBEW Boots Challenge!