Diwali Outfit Idea

Hey Everyone,

I am sure most of you are done with diwali shopping and can't wait to doll up for the festive season. But if you are someone like me, I am sure you are still searching for the perfect outfit.

I was looking for something ethnic with a modern touch. Not too blingy and over the top and I came across a few pieces on Myntra. Sharing the idea with you all. Maybe it will be useful for the last minute shoppers.

Diwali Outfit

The Blue Jodhpuri Salwar was love at first sight. Beautiful colour, with  golden embroidered taping makes it perfect for the festive season. Pair it with a simple Pink kurti . The kurti has a delicate hand embroidery around the neck line so skip the necklace and go for a pair of matching hoop earrings . A potli bag to carry your make up for touch ups, etc. Complete the look with these kolhapuri chappals. They are not only pretty but also super comfortable. And don't forget the pink lipstick before you step out. And you are ready. Head to Myntra now and check out their Cracker Of a Sale. They have some great offers lined up.

Liked the idea? Do let me know in the comment below. 

Wish you a very happy and safe diwali.

Ghar Wali Diwali

Hey Everyone

I know its been really long since I wrote the last post. But trust me new job (with working Saturday : ( ) leave me with no time to do anything. Kudos to all the Bloggers who manage both work and blog regularly.

Yesterday, I managed to leave early from office and on my way back home, I was making a list of things that I can do once I reach home - Clean, my room, update blog, order a pizza and watch a movie before I doze off. But as they say - Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. 

All my plans went down the drain when I saw that the door was locked. I didn't have house keys. I never carry them as I usually come back late and there is someone at home all the time. Locked out on Saturday evening at least for an hour. Poor me. 

So I went down sat on an old  bike with earphones plugged in. I still prefer to sit on old bikes even if the seats are empty. And when I looked up, saw only one diwali lantern lit up. Only one of the 32 apartments had diwali lights with the festival less than a week away.

Are festivals really choosing their charms? I remember how grand diwali was when we were kids. I started with 10 days Diwali vacation. Mummy made so many sweets and savouries. I always wanted the first karanji that she fried and she would say "thanda hone do. Muh jal jaayega" . How the house was cleaned and painted every year just before diwali. Early in the morning, on the day of Lakshmi pooja, beautiful rangolis were made. We would dress up  in new clothes and go down to light up some phuljharis. No bursting crackers because we were told its not a good thing. The last time I burst crackers was when in class 3.Hated it back then but I am really happy now that we didn't. After the pooja we had a lavish diwali dinner cooked with love by Mummy. This is how diwali was celebrate. Simple but filled with love. Everyone is busy now. Away from home for studies, work.  I so miss  Ghar Wali Diwali .

How do you celebrate diwali? Do let me know in comment below.

P.S. : I had put up the diwali lighting  as soon as I got into the house yesterday night. Mummy was puzzled "Itni kya ghai hai?"

Happy Diwali:)

Everyone Has A Reason To Pray

Hey Everyone!!!

What did you guys do this weekend???

With Diwali just a week away, I helped my Mom with the pre-diwali cleaning, shopping, etc this weekend. And believe me it is a tedious job. If you think I am talking about cleaning house, wait my friend. I am actually talking about the shopping part.You think I am kidding, don't you?? Well I am not. Shopping for clothes and all the girly stuff is no doubt my favorite thing like your but when it comes to shopping for household stuff, it is not at all easy. And it gets tougher when you have to shop for Diwali Pooja.

Diwali is one of the most important Hindu festival and belonging to a Baniya family Lakshmi Pooja is of GREAT importance for my family. Every little thing from what goes into the pooja thali, the new account book and much much more goes into the preparation.

Image Source

I was not much involved in all these years except for eating all the sweets after the pooja. But then this year my darling Mother has not been very well and being a good daughter I had to go shopping with her. I had no idea, so  many things go into the pooja thali- kumkum, haldi, diya, agarbattis, and a lot of other things. Apart from that the Lakshmi and Ganesha statues and you have to know all shlokas  and aartis that are to be recited ( I read them out from a book while Daddy knows them by-heart).

So when we went shopping though we had most of the things, Mom wanted to buy few things that were short and 1 complete set of everything. Why one set of everything??? How could I forget, my younger brother stays in Hostel and won't be coming down this Diwali to be with us :(. So she wanted to send him a pooja set. But then I said don't. These days we get everything packed together. Just open the box, assemble everything as per directions and you are ready. But Mom won't listen. So to convince her, I quickly took out my tab, googled " Diwali Lakshmi pooja kit India" and found Sampoorna Lakshmi Pooja Pack in top results.

Me: Mummy let us send this to Bro.

Mom : No no these ready made packs don't contain everything. Don't you know how important Lakshmi pooja is?

Me: I know that. Okay, lets do this. You name what all is required for Lakshmi pooja and if this pack contains everything  we will send him this.

She started naming everything one by one and to her surprise, this pack did contain everything.

Me: Mummy not just what you named but it also has a Lakshmi Ganesha statue  a CD with all the prayers which like me Bro doesn't know either :P. And yes its on for Rs. 630/-  (Actual price Rs. 700/- )

Mom: Okay, you win. Send him one but be sure it reaches him before Diwali.

Sampoorna_Lakshmi_Pooja_Pack

This Pooja pack is a great find for people like me who cannot remember everything that you need for Pooja or don't get the time to go out and buy everything and is reasonably priced too :)

Oh yes and I also came across this cute video when I was searching for Lakshmi Pooja packs. This is so me .

I am not some one who is very very spiritual and prays regularly. Someone who knows all the aartis and bhajans but every time I am I am confused, I am in some kind of  trouble - big or small, HE is the one I talk to.

Every time I didn't do my homework in school I would pray to God that somehow teacher should not come for the lecture. That I get so and so gift from so and so person on my birthday. That I pass my test with good marks. That Mom should not notice one plate from the new dinner set she bought is missing.  And so many more that I have lost count of. God may or may not listen to what I ask for ( and he actually cannot. I ask him to possibly do everything for me :P) but that does not stop me from asking. And yes I do thank Him back when he listens and complain when he doesn't. God to me is like a secret buddy and prayer is our telepathic chat :D

Everyone has a reason to pray. What is yours. Let me know in the comments below. Would love reading :)

And yes A VERY HAPPY DIWALI in advance to you all. Enjoy and be safe :*

Image Source

This Bog post is a part of Everyone Has A Reason To Pray. Blogger's Contest by at www.pureprayer.com 

Do you follow me on GFC?? If not join now :D

Also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest  for regular updates.

love

Shopping Challenge by Cashkaro.com

Hello Everyone!!!

If you are an online shopping maniac like me, I am sure you are familiar with cashkaro.com . 

Cashkaro is India's No.1 Cashback & Coupons website. With cashkaro.com you can now EARN 

CASHBACK every time you shop with websites like Yatra, Jet, Flipkart, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Myntra, Jabong & many more.  Just go to cashkaro.com first & then go to other websites from there. Shop normally & get cashback. When you have Rs 250 confirmed cashback, you can request it to be paid to your bank account via NEFT or request payment via cheque.

Now cashkaro.com has come up with a challenge for the bloggers. They gave us two topics to select from-

1.      If you were given Rs 10,000 how would you spend it? How much would you save via Cashkaro.com and what will you do with that money saved?

2.      Shop via Cashkaro & share your experience. How did Cashkaro save you money and would you recommend Cashkaro to your friends?

I found the first topic very interesting and thought why not challenge myself to buy an entire outfit including clothes, footwear, accessories and makeup.  Also with Diwali so near, why not go for an ethnic outfit? So let’s get started. I’ll first try to fit a complete ethnic outfit in the given budget and at the end of this post tell you how much money I saved using cashkaro.com and more importantly what I will do with it J

When it comes to online shopping I always prefer Myntra and Jabong as they have the latest collection, great discounts and a very good customer service.

Clothes:

Biba had recently launched their showstopper collection which I instantly fell in love with. Also for ethnic wear, Biba is my favorite brand as they have unique designs and fit really well. I don’t have to go for alterations most of the times J. I chose this beautiful black and red cotton suit set.  This dress was love at first sight.

Biba-Suit

 Footwear:

I came across these pair of wedges by Metro browsing through Jabong’s footwear section. Aren’t these a perfect match for the suit set above?

Metro-Sandals

Jewellery:

The suit has a big golden border and prints so I didn't want to add too many accessories. So I chose a pair of long drop earrings in black and gold.

Ethnic-Earrings

Clutch:

With too much of black in this outfit, I chose a red and gold toned clutch by Shree to break the monotone. It has ethnic print all over and the studded stone piece gives it a royal look.

Red-clutch

 Makeup:

I chose Maybelline Clear Glow Natural Bright Benefit Cream 03 for base makeup.

My favorite eyeconic kajal for creating a dramatic winged eye as well as on waterline.

A red lipstick by Maybelline Colorensational in Rubylicious Jewels Lipstick 630.

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Waterproof Mascara to add some more drama to eyes J

And lastly nail polishes from Maybelline’s latest color show range in Downtown Red 216 and Blackout 220 to do a  simple nail art using these two.

Diwali-Makeup

 And here I am all ready for Diwali evening J

 

Now coming to how much I saved using cashkaro.com

As of now cashkaro.com is offering 6% cashback on anything bought through them from Jabong (check here)and Flat Rs. 180/-  cashback on Myntra (check here).  So let’s do the math now. I know everybody hates math but don't you wanna know how much money I saved??

 

Product from Jabong	Actual price of the product	Money saved using     cashkaro.com
Biba Cotton Suit	Rs. 5595/-	Rs.335.7/-
Metro Wedges	Rs. 1190/-	Rs. 71.4/-
Maybelline Nail enamel in Downtown Red and Blackout	Rs. 150/-	Rs.9/-
Lakme Eyeconic kajal	Rs.199/-	Rs. 11.94/-
Maybelline Mascara	Rs. 350/-	Rs. 21/-
Maybelline BB cream	Rs.199/-	Rs. 11.94/-
Total	Rs. 7683/-	Rs. 470/-

 

  

Product from Myntra	Actual price of the product	Money saved using     cashkaro.com
Shree Clutch	Rs. 1399/-	Rs.180/-
Maybelline Lipstick	Rs. 3500/-
Earrings	Rs. 156/-
Total	Rs.1905/-	Rs.180/-

Hence in all I spent Rs. 9588/- out of the stipulated budget of Rs. 10000/- and managed to save an additional amount of Rs. 650/- using cashkaro.com (excluding the discounts offered by the website J )

If I saved this amount I will spend this money along with the money I save on by not bursting crackers during Diwali, to buy sweets for the less privileged kids and light up their day too J

Follow cashkaro.com on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates on exciting offers :) 

Did you like this post??? Do let me know in the comments below :) 

*This is my entry for blogger's contest by cashkaro.com

Do you follow me on GFC?? If not join now :D

Also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest  for regular updates.

love