A Love Letter .. June 16th 2019

Hi Zozo,

How!? How is it even possible? How can you be two years old already? I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant. I remember the day I found out that it’s a “boy”. I remember being in the labor room like it was yesterday. So, it’s quite difficult for me to accept the fact that you are a toddler already. Why did I ever think my life will plateau once I have kids. When in fact, you literally brought me to life. You are my voice of reason. Whatever I do, you are at the core of it. However, I do have a bone to pick with you. I hate how much you make me worry. It’s surprising how worrying and parenthood go hand in hand. But I do realize that it’s something I must live with for the rest of my life.

You are my Strength! You are my Weakness!

Wish you a Happy Birthday My Baby Boy!!! Keep smiling like you always do.

Love you loads,
Mommy

Hi Pandu,

Happy Birthday!!!
Can you please do me a favor and grow up a little faster. That way I don’t have to worry about changing your diapers or dealing with your terrible two’s any longer, but not too fast Ummaaah!!!

Love,
Daddy

Chapter 5

I fall into this category of people known as “self critics”. There are very, very few times in my life when I am proud of myself, let alone say it out loud. But today as I embark on this next adventure, I am extremely proud of myself to be attending The New York University ( NYU ) STERN to pursue an MBA Degree. It was an absolute dream of mine to get into NYU, which is the only University in the country to offer specialization in Fashion and Luxury. Somehow I landed just where I wanted to be. “Follow your dream and the universe will follow”, cannot agree more.

New York, STERN, Fashion and Luxury, MBA – I am living my best life. Well, almost my best life. This chapter in my life is going to be a bittersweet one. For the next one year while I go to NY to attend school, my family is staying back in Seattle. This is hands down the hardest decision I had to ever make. Believe me when I say it’s almost as difficult as giving birth, maybe even worse. But this is the right decision for us as a family and I hope I am strong enough to handle this separation. Luckily I have a very strong support system – my friends and family, without whom I cannot do what I am doing

I know I haven’t been blogging much now a days. I felt like I had nothing to say. Somehow I was lost when it came to fashion. Things that once inspired me almost felt mundane. I can blame it on the baby, baby weight or the busy lifestyle, but the reality is that I just didn’t feel like blogging. This blog has always been a passion project and I hate when it starts to feel like a job. I think I have enough jobs in my life, so I stopped blogging. But, now as I start this next chapter in my life, I feel I am ready. I feel inspired enough to start blogging again. Hoping the city will inspire me

Here is to the next chapter in my life!!! Hoping it it’s half as good as the last one 🙂 Wish me Luck!!

XOXO
-Sree 🙂

Winter Wonderland

Mama and Me

One chilly morning, while I was sipping coffee and checking emails, something caught my eye, an email from babycenter. I usually get emails from babycenter center every week with information about the baby’s growth, what to expect and what not to. I opened it and it’s content took me by surprise. “Congratulations, your baby is now 5 months old”. Wait, what? 5 months? When did this happen? I feel like I have been in the labor room just the other day. That’s when it hit me, the days are going by so fast and my little munchkin is already 5 months old. While I was busy waiting for the perfect moment to introduce him to you guys, he was busy getting old. So, before he gets any older here is our little prince – Riyan.

I am usually not a big fan of matching outfits, but when it came to this shoot, I couldn’t help but color coordinate with my little hero. I think we both look dapper. Don’t you guys agree? Also, thank you daddy for these amazing clicks. You did real good.

Loving this stripes and red combo, it adds a little fun to an otherwise traditional holiday outfit

Even though posing with a baby in high heels is no joke, we had a ton of fun doing it. Atlesat I did 🙂

closet full of clothes with nothing to wear

“Honey, I got nothing to wear, I need to buy some clothes!!!” While I must have said that a million times before, it’s never been more true than now. I got a closet full of clothes, but most of those don’t fit me anymore. With a brand new baby came a brand new body and I have to admit both are equally challenging to handle. Before the baby I knew what would work for my body type to a science, but after the baby everything changed. Clothes that once were flattering started to look all wrong. Shopping, which once was my favorite pass time turned into a chore. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any body issues, I still love my body, but dressing it has turned out to be a challenge. Yeah, it’s true that I could just wear sweats and call it a day until my body bounces back, but why would I do that and pass up an opportunity to buy more clothes. Right? Also, however challenging it gets, I would hate to dress myself in sweats. So bear with me while I explore new styles and embrace this new phase in my life. Here is to building a brand new wardrobe.

Dress shirts – a miracle worker. This dress works overtime to make you look put together while you are being a busy new mom. While I always loved wearing dresses and have a closet full of them, I quickly realized that none of those work for me anymore. For a breastfeeding mom its all about functional that anything else and none of my dresses were functional. So, lately I have been counting on dress shirts. They are both functional, stylish and lucky for me a style that is in trend this season.

Dress : LOFT

Falling for Fall

I have obviously been putting too much pressure on myself for coming up with the perfect comeback post. I have been MIA for a very long time and for a while now have been trying to fit everything that happened in last one year in one big post. Since I am no Shakespeare, I have been failing miserably to do so. So, instead of trying to pen down everything that happened, here is a quick glimpse of where my life currently is at.

+ pregnant
+ bliss
+ exhaustion
+ Hawaii babymoon
+ 30 pounds baby weight
+ love pregnancy
+ hate pregnancy
– sleep
– mom shopping
+ baby shopping
– energy
——————-
= The Cutest Baby Ever – RIYAN

Well, that’s what happened in a nut shell and since you guys are up to date with my personal life, let’s talk fashion. I know, I know, you guys are curious about this most handsome baby boy ever. Don’t worry, I have got plenty of cuteness posts coming your way in the future, but first let’s talk some fashion fellas.

Just when I started thinking that I missed out on all the cute summer floral dresses, fall is here with florals like never before. Yep!! This season you can rock florals like it’s no one’s business. Even though this dress is all floral, I love the fact that it’s a dark shade and season appropriate. I personally think there is something mysterious about black rose prints, don’t you guys agree? Also, this season midi dress is all the rage. While midi dresses are very pretty and my personal favorite, if you do not find the right length for your body type you can end up looking like a sack bag. So just try different lengths before you completely give up on this trend.

I got my dress from ASOS and while this dress is currently sold out, here are some of my favorite floral pieces

Fit and Flare Style

Strapless Bodycon

A-Line Dress

YOINS Review

“Devil wears Prada” is hands down one of my all-time favorite movies. I must have seen it at least 50 times. Come on, don’t judge!! While I love pretty much everything about that movie, the one thing that amuses me every single time is Ann Hathaway’s wardrobe, well after her makeover. I always wanted to re-create some of her looks but somehow could not get around to it until now.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Yoin’s to do a dress review for them and while I was searching their amazing collection, I came across this dress. Initially I had my doubts on how it would look on me, well, everything looks great on Ann, so I cannot just assume it will look good on me. But for my own peace of mind, I had to give it a try. So, I ordered this dress along with a couple of other pieces from Yoin’s website. Their prices are really great and totally affordable.

Shipping is free if your total is more than forty dollars and my shipment arrived in 8 days. The fabric of this dress is great and it was everything I imagined it would be. Overall, I think Yoin’s is a great place to shop for new trends on a budget. Check it out for yourself and also, enjoy a 10% discount on your order with coupon code “Yoins10”

To Celebrations….

Friday, October 31st, 2008, it was my first time celebrating Dussehra (Indian Festival) away from home. Just a couple months before that, I moved from India to The States (New Hampshire )to pursue my Master’s Degree. While I was terribly missing my family, celebrations at home and most of all, the yummy food, I was determined to make the day as special as possible. So, I wore one of my beautiful Salwar suits, met up with some friends, went to temple and at the end of the day ate some yummy Indian food. It was a perfect day.

After a very long day of celebrations, I got back to my dorm and to my surprise there was a party going on. I saw a bunch of people all dressed-up in different costumes and quickly realized it was Halloween. I knew it was sometime in Oct but I did not realize that it was that very same day. Damn it!! I felt bad because I wanted to dress up in a costume and go to that party. Anyway, since it was too late and all the shops were already closed, I decided to call it a day. But, just when I was heading back to my room, couple of people passing by stopped me in the corridor and said “Nice Costume”. I was like, What?!! It took me a second before it hit me that I was wearing a Salwar. Less than a minute later, it happened again, another person stopped by to admire my attire, she thought I was dressed up as some princess. For a second I didn’t know if I should feel happy that someone called me an Indian Princess or if I should be mad for calling my traditional dress a costume. But then again how can I be mad at someone who just called me a princess and gave me a way into the party.

With all the Dussehra and Halloween celebrations around me, I couldn’t resist but share this story. Luckily, Dussehra is on Oct 22nd this year, a.k.a I don’t have to worry about squeezing two parties in one day. Happy Dussehra Everyone!!! May Goddess Durga destroy all the demons and fill your life with happiness and prosperity.

You can find some amazing Indian wear here

Strategy Lab Workshop

“I am usually not one to promote workshops, but once in a while something like this crosses my desk and I cannot help but share it with you guys.
While I am not a business owner, I have always been intrigued by the idea of owning a business and the satisfaction of creating something from ground up.This interest is what drives my need to learn more and more about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. When the email came in from Kim’s staff, I was more than willing to help promote her Nov 19th Event in Seattle. Today I have the amazing chance to introduce you to a new contact of mine. Her name is Kim Flynn and she runs an amazing company, Entrepreneur Simplified. Let me tell you a bit about it.

Every month they host 2-4 live events in cities all over the nation teaching the basics of getting your company on track. Their workshops are always free, which is amazing. They teach things like Marketing, Product Development, Finance, Leadership and so much more at these events. Their team of expert coaches travel to the locations and teach the workshop, they are for sure life changing. Now, I know I have you intrigued. Since this event is free and tickets will be sold out fast I would recommend you SIGN UP for this Seattle event ASAP. To learn more visit: http://www.kimflynn.com/.
Here is a little bit about Kim:
Kim started her business career way back as a freshman in college. She owned a tutoring company, and started it from the ground up. She managed to get the company running so smoothly that she employed 50 people and only worked 3 hours a week. That is right 3 hours! She eventually sold that company and moved in to her latest company. This company is called Entrepreneur Simplified. This company specializes in helping business owners, entrepreneurs or those wanting to jump into business get on the right track. Their goal is to help educate business owners and entrepreneurs to the highest level they can to be the most successful they can. They are an assembled group of coaches and professors in all aspects of business working towards this goal.

This is an event you don’t want to miss!”

Golden Blue

I will get to the dress in a sec, but first, let me talk about this metallic belt. If you already know this well and good, but if not, let me tell you a secret about Indians, especially people from my home town. They love love gold, not any gold the most expensive 24 carat gold. They actually don’t care if you are rich or not, but if you wear a lot of gold, people just assume that you are rich. And, out of all the ornaments you can wear to show-off your riches, gold belt a.k.a “vadhanam” is the IT ornament. If you wear one of these puppies to a wedding, everyone knows you made it to the top, or at least that’s what people think.

So, naturally my mom always wanted me to get a vadhanam and for some reason, I always hated that idea. Don’t get me wrong, these pieces are stunning with intricate details and exceptional craftsmanship, but for some reason I was never tempted to buy one for myself. I always assumed I hated gold belts. However, when I saw this gold belt on Amazon, to my surprise I really liked it. It was simple, clean and I had to buy one for myself. I always thought I hated gold belts, but now I feel like I just hated what it represented. You have no idea how much trouble I am going to get into when my mom sees me wearing this metallic gold plated belt and not the real one.

Now coming this N & Y Dress, I know, I know I did not have to buy yet another blue pleated Maxi dress, I have enough in my closet. But, in my defense this dress was on sale and also in my favorite shade of blue. What!! you had no idea there were so many shades of blue? Well, according to Wikipedia there are at-least 65 shades of blues, so I don’t have to worry about buying a same shade twice. Also, I think Fall is the perfect time to score some summer dresses, almost all the dresses are on sale and I hate to pass-up on a good deal.