Second Blogiversary

Well, well well..guess what!? My blog is two years! Time flies, people. that too with super-fast speed. I mean just yesterday that I wrte my first post so coyly..unsure about the vision fo my blog, what topics I am going to write about, how frequesntly would I post, how would I hndle negative comments and of course the best part, will the blogger community accept me and make me their own!

Two years, and I have say to I am in a better place in terms of blogging. Confident, found my voice and quite able to juggle the blogger duties. Well, the best part has to be making so many friends and meeting them in-person over these years...these friendships I will cherish forever!

And finally, I know I don't say enough but Thank You all you lovely readers, supporters, friends, family, and stalkers (*wink wink*) too! I am so glad to have your support and encouragement, thank you so very much!

This year, I hope to continue doing styling posts (they are my first love!), include makeup tips and beauty products reviews, collaborate with some awesome bloggers for guest posts and of course do a lot of travel posts too. So, watch this space, people, lots coming up :)

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How We Styled It - Floral on Floral print

Thank you for the overwhelming response on this feature and it's very first edition. The best part is getting to work with some brilliantly talented bloggers, and their innovative and out-of-the-box ideas for styling. The encouraging comments from all you readers out there, fellow bloggers and stylists will absolutely egg us on to do better with each post.

Well, when Seepz and I started talking about the feature for this month, the floral print was definitely on our minds. This fresh and vibrant print speaks volumes about the weather, our state of mind and in general the cheerful ambiance around us. But just to amp up the style factor and also to rack our brains, we decided to mix prints and do a floral-on-floral edition to welcome the beautiful season of spring!

Thank you Seepz for the partnership on this month's Style edition, you have done a fab job pairing the elegant flowery prints. I love the pops of color from the bag and belt and the metallic shoes tie the complete outfit together. This chic outfit is definitely a smart and stylish way to dress up for a spring day out!

Over to you gal...

I have always been obsessed with floral prints and there is no better way to welcome Spring than breaking out the florals in your closet. So when my blogger friend Ashy came up with the idea of mixing prints for a blogger collaboration series over at her blog , I couldn't have been happier!

Floral Tunic - Kohl's, Floral Skirt - Boohoo, Ankle Strap Sandals - Steven Madden, Bag - Thrifted, 

Jewelry - Aisha

I have always shied away from wearing a full-on floral outfit which is why I thought this was the right time to break the rules. I picked up a skirt in a subtle floral print and teamed it up with a top in a busy floral print. To break the two prints, I added a belt in a solid color and finished the outfit with metallic heels and a mini bag. Neutral accessories give an effortless touch to a floral on floral look. Thank you Ashy for letting me be a part of this feature on your blog.

One of the best items in my closet is this floral print skirt that I snagged for an awesome deal at Target. Thanks to the vibrant print in an array of colors, it is super easy to style and dress up an ensemble. I have paired it with a bright hue top and of course a basic black (which brings out the beautiful colors in the skirt), but this time I was going for more of a fun and an over-the-top but chic look.

The cheerful hue of the top with subtle flower patterns on the top complement the big and bold print on the skirt. Black pumps and black purse go perfectly with the outfit, without competing with the riot of colors in the outfit. And the same is true for the metallic jewelry. With the cool crisp spring air, I decided to pull out my black tights for one last time.

Old Navy top | Target skirt | Swarovski necklace (gift) | Express black pumps | Aldo purse

So there you go, two ways to style floral-on-floral prints - pairing floral prints with the same base color (black) or mixing the prints on contrasting base colors, but keeping one of the floral prints less overpowering than the other. The basic rule is to keep the prints not competing with each other, either keep them the same size or they large and small, to avoid looking like a cherry blossom tree :)

Well, this was indeed a fun challenge, not only 'cause it was mixing prints, but also to infuse a different way of thinking while styling day to day outfits. Style challenges is what I wanted this feature to tackle on, and I think we did a pretty good job in this one. Hope we have inspired you to try the floral on floral trend this beautiful spring season!

And as always, if you would like to collab with me on this style feature, I would be delighted to get together with you. Do drop a line at: zingofmylife@gmail.com

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Birthday Edition

A dress always makes me feel lady-like and that's the kind of feeling I was going in for my birthday this year. Extra points to the weather, for allowing me to flaunt my bare legs in my absolute fave print - florals! I got this dress on sale during the holiday season last year and had decided to save it for a special occasion. With such a vibrant print, you hardly need any accessories or any other fluff to perk up the look. That's the beauty about wearing dresses, I guess!

Hubs decided to show off some color; love that coral shirt. It's so difficult to get any color (other than blue) in men's wardrobe so this shirt we got whilst shopping in Bombay is just the perfect edition for summer...ooops I mean spring time. 

Anyhoo, birthday was relaxing, husband served breakfast (poha & tea) and lunch (chilli chicken both dry and gravy versions...I am a lucky girl!) while I was busy taking calls, and responding to birthday wishes on Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram...birthdays are getting busier thanks to the social media :) My gal-pals had arranged a special surprise during our shopping spree, a day earlier. So all in all, I had a fun birthday week! 

And yes, spring is finally here! All the trees laden with gorgeous flowers, especially, the cherry blossoms in the DC area, is a sight to behold! Well, hello there Spring..where were thou?

Fossil dress | Payless pumps | Tory Burch purse | Capwell & Co. Bracelets | 

Marc Jacobs bracelet watch

MIA

I know, I know, I have been in MIA (Missing in Action) for quite sometime now...OK not sometime, but one whole month of March! There were Anniversaries, Birthdays, Celebrations, lease expiring, apartment hunting, event hosting, skiing and snow-tubing and many more things going on. Yes, all of these in all the days and weekends of March! Phew! March has to be one of the super busy months for me..I seem to not catch a break.

I am glad April is here, but it does look busier! Oh well, I decided to scram some time and sit down to write up this post..so how have you all been? Its been long we connected..hope you are having a wonderful weather and enjoying the joy that springs brings! 

Any-who, dead-busy as I was, one thing was good that, almost every other weekend I was dressing up my best, feeling gorgeous and, sometimes, I we managed to even get the outfits pictures clicked! Win-win, right?! Moving on to the outfit of the day..I got this dress for a friend's wedding  reception almost 3 years back now and never got to wear it. I ended up having to skip the reception due to a last minute business trip to Ireland. Long story short, I always craved to wear this beautiful spring/summer-print dress and never got around doing it until few weekends back. I wore it with a knit-shrug and I did swap those heels for a nice blue flats for a beautiful spring-day out! 

P.S.: Thank you all so much for your kind words and the over-whelming response to the 'How We Styled It' series. It is my first time starting a feature on the blog other than just outfit blogging. I was humbled by the shout-outs and praises showered by the blogger community...you gals are the best! I look forward to many more working with all you brilliant style bloggers out there!

Jones New York dress and knit-shrug from DressBarn | Assorted bead bracelets c/o Capwell + Co. |

DKNY Watch | Pearl necklace and earrings set gift from hubs

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How We Styled It - Feature 1

This year, I kinda had a mission for my blog and I think I put it out clearly in words here. I am kinda excited to do more style posts now, more specifically on styling particular items in the closet, adapting different styles and so on. And then a blogger-collab feature I saw on J's blog completely inspired me. Why not get together with your blogger buddies and brainstorm ideas in styling a particular style/outfit. Voila! I am adapting this new feature on to the blog >> the How We Styled It Feature, people!

Today, Saumya (you have met her here) and I putting together styles for an all-white outfit. With spring at our doorsteps - well to be realistic, we do have some snow leftover STILL - it will soon be time that a crisp all-white outfit will be something to don with the gorgeous weather and floral landscape all around us! 

Thanks so much Saumya  for agreeing to this style experiment, you are a looking smashing hot in the all-white getup! Love the pop of color from the gorgeous bag, and that fur scarf is for sure need-of-the-hour. A white skirt and blazer definitely looks worth an investment.

Over to you gal...

There is something about this white Narciso Rodriguez blazer that keeps calling out to me, each time I am scouring through my coat closet in search of something white to wear. It's not that I have a closet full of  white toppers, but owning 4 white blazers, 1 white leather jacket and 6 white sweaters, I could call it a small collection.......duh !

Anyways, when my dear blogger-friend ASHWINI suggested an all-white outfit for our first blogger collaboration series, right away I knew this jacket was making it's way to the blog once again. What better  way to embark on this fashion journey, than to wear something pure as WHITE...

I picked out this fun and flirty skirt from forever 21 a while ago and it sure proves to be a perfect match with the blazer. Dressing up in all white could be uninteresting but with subtle infusion of prints,colors and textures- the skirt's lace bottom, the cat print top, the bag, the fur snood and the mirrored sunglasses as examples, one could break through that boredom. I kept my make including the lipstick soft , an ideal choice that falls in line with the aesthetics of an all-white outfit....

Well, talking about my inspiration for today's style collab comes from an afternoon playing dress-up in the closet. I have always been fascinated with monochrome outfits especially, the all-white one. It tends to look ghostly (!!) sometimes, but with right accessories it's one of the most easiest way to dress up chic!

White jeans and white tee were a no-brainer (in style blogger world) to put together and a little bit of tan color from accessories was right enough balance. 

Now for me, I am still reeling from the neon trend (which was so in last year and maybe still is..I keep seeing it in bit-and-pieces in the style mags) and so with a neon band and necklace I was all set to step out in my very own white-out outfit. And oh, with a lingering chill in the air, a trench is a must-have for the spring, no?

Target top and white jeans | Neon hairband from Hill road, Bandra |
Neon necklace from Colaba Causeway | Payless pumps | The Limited cross-body bag |

So, that's how two bloggers styled their own version of white-on-white. If we inspired you to your own version, we would be happy to know about it!

Lastly, if you would like to collab with me on this style feature, I would be delighted to get together with you. Do drop a line at: zingofmylife@gmail.com

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Capital Fashion Blogger Meet

I met some lovely ladies and fellow fashion bloggers at CapFABB's third anniversary bash! CapFABB is a community of Fashion and Beauty bloggers based around the Washington, DC area including Virginia and Maryland.

I am so glad I attended this event. It was nicely done a a cocktail lounge - Dirty Martini - in DC, and and there was a special arm-party and jewelry counter setup by the gracious hosts Capwell + Co. Oh my! what fabulous bracelets, cuffs and bangles in striking colors, beads and metals. I hung out with a fellow Indian blogger - Saumya who writes and styles on her blog, Myriad Musings, and gorgeous DC-based bloggers Kesha and Sahra. It was so much fun to meet a like-minded bloggers and stylish ladies. There was some finger-licking good pick-me-ups and drinks flowing throughout the evening. 

Check out some fun moments and of course my Outfit of the Day - sequins top and fringe statement necklace and a pops of color from the scarlet red pumps and lip-color. I had hoped to wear a nice dress, but owing to the super-chilly weather and plus a long commute to the venue, I decided to go with something comfy and winter-appropriate. Hoping to see more of these blogger meets coming spring and summer and of course dress my best then!

Btw, special thanks to Saumya for the amazing outfit pics (we kinda did a mini outfit-shoot at the event)! 

LOFT top | Express jeans | Fringe necklace from Hill road, Bandra | Red Pumps Payless

Saumya and I

A cool arm-party thanks to Capwell+Co.

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Shawl Season

Nothing much to talk about these days, other than the cold weather and I don't want to start my 'how harsh this winter is' rant, 'cause I know by now, you and I, have been bored hearing about it! One good thing about this weather is that, I have started putting in a lot of thought in dressing-up. Basically, different ways to perk up the same old sweater, pull-over look and also staying right on track of my shopping ban and reinventing theme. There are not a lot of occasions these days to go out and seriously speaking, I am not in a mood to shop in this dreary weather. So well, saving money has been a pro of this harsh winter season (same cannot be said for the heating bills, I am sure :))

Anyhow, cold weather calls for cozy accessories. A floral shawl is a perfect accessory to the same old sweater-and-jeans look. I bought this shawl from my trip to Dalhousie last year. The shops there are stocked with luxurious pashminas in vibrant colors, right enough to ban the cold-weather blues. For all you based out of India, there are pashminas available readily in department stores these days. Throw on a supple cashmere scarf for a polished pop of color.

Well, in today's post I wanted to style the pashmina, and show different ways to wrap it. The second one - over the shoulder- has to be my fave.....what's yours?

Van Heusen sweater | Express jeans | Payless pumps | Shawl from Dalhousie, India

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Blogger Meetup

Shruti and I met up one of the weekends for a late brunch (more like late lunch but since it was a Sunday we decided to call it brunch). Shruti teams up with Richa, her sister, to write at Urban Mantra, which is one of my favorite lifestyle blogs. The sisters describe their fashion, food, travel and their experiences from two happening cities on the east coast - NYC and DC!

We share similar interests in food, travel and fashion and so majority of the time was spent filling in each other about travels to home, travels in US, Doonya fitness, Bollywood, best places to eat in DC, brands, fashion, and weather of course :) All this was in between gulping down fresh margaritas and savoring authentic Mexican food at Oyamel in Penn Quarter part of DC. If you are in DC, do take a trip to Oyamel for yummy Mexican food served tapas-style. It's part of Chef Jose Andres group of restaurants, and they are quite famous for their appetizer servings (another fave is Jaleo that we visited for J's birthday dinner).

Anyhoo, weather being so fickle and cold these days, I opted for tights, booties and a printed dress to give myself a cheery-feel! A bubble necklace and statement ring completed the look. Though most of the time I was wrapped in the black wool-coat and scarf around my neck, but that doesn't stop me from sharing my outfit of the day with you, right? :)

Target Dress | Bubble necklace from Groopdealz | Booties from TJ Maxx | Ring from Francesca's  

Shruti and I on the colorful sofa at Oyamel

Margaritas, Tacos (chicken, fish and mushroom) and Garlicky shrimp

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Winter Cravings

Today I decided to give you an insider's look into what eating-in in winter looks like. It mainly comprises of carbs..loads of them actually, and some hot chocolate and doses of caffeine in between and then more carbs again. Adding on to the winter-weight, blame the weather!

There's something about this weather that makes you super-hungry without stepping outside. And when you are in snowed-in for days, nothing warms up the heart like a big bowl of soupy deliciousness.

So here goes my winter-food diary!

 Nothing more comforting than digging in a bowl of Spicy and Garlicky Dal-Khichadi! Also, it's easy to make and with ingredients right at home. 

 Some left-over paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and potato mixture stuffed in-between two loaves of bread and toasted to perfection with generous amounts of ooey-gooey cheese..lip-smacking to say the least!

 Good ol' Idli, sambar and chutney..breakfast and lunch rolled into one big bowl! I used to think making idlis is a lot of work and preferred making dosas over them. But this time around, my views changed. Idlis are actually easier to make and both of us can sit down for the meal at the same time (and not when one of us is busy at the stove top making dosas) 

A bowl of hot and warming Potato chowder! Yes. More. Carbs. It's been a harsh winter, people! 

This soup was actually a last minute idea. It's a pot with some spices, potatoes, cream and all of it blended together. I do add brocolli or cauliflower if it's available. I serve it with toasted baguette or bread sticks. 

And to keep me going in the day, copious amounts of caffeine. I am drinking Hot Italian Mocha (my absolute fave) in an actual ceramic cup at Nordstrom Cafe. Starbucks is so over-rated, I tell you! 

So..what have you been gorging on? 

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