Love thy Lace

These are the last few pictures left to be posted from my India trip. It was another beautiful evening when I attended a wedding with my family in New Delhi. Not only I miss the food, I miss all the fun I had there.
Anyhow, this is what I wore to the wedding. It’s a black shift dress which I paired with black leggings, I don’t know why but I was in a mood of going with a monochromatic look that evening. And then I jazzed the outfit up by adding the chunky neckpiece which my mom-in-law gifted (just so you know, she has a wonderful taste in jewelry).
On a different topic, I have a big news to share with you all, which I am saving for the next post! Stay tuned for it..

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season and eating fresh and delicious food.. Don’t forget to stay fit and healthy!
Happy Holidays..

Cheers!
Ritika

Dress: Macy's (another similar) | Leggings: Loft | Necklace: Borrowed from MIL | Watch: Michael Kors | Bag: Gifted | Shoes: Payless

Dot Com

Normally when I wear a bodycon (read ‘sexy’) dress like this, I automatically tend to choose sexy stiletto heels to go with it. Guess that’s my personal style – the way I like to dress up, in a feminine and classic way.

So when I opted to wear ankle length boots with this dress, I felt completely different. I was not feeling my usual feminine self, rather quite edgy. You know, I look at people (and bloggers) who sport bohemian and edgy style so effortlessly.. it’s very fascinating to me, so today I thought why not dress up that way! Needless to say the husband was all over me – flirting all the time.. and kept teasing me saying "You only need an electric guitar and you are ready to perform on a stage!" LOL..

On other note, I am very much in a Fall mood specially after returning from Canada, where I was lucky enough to experience much colder weather than Phoenix at this time of the year, however, Fall seems to be nowhere in the plan for another month over here. Anyways, I am traveling next month again. and hope the weather over there would be better than Phoenix :-D

You might have seen me wearing this dress earlier here.

Cheers!
Ritika

Dress: H&M (similar here & here) | Shoes: Cole Haan | Bag: Thrifted | Watch: Titan | Sunglasses: Ray Ban | Wrist-band: New Delhi, India

I like to RUN!

I bought a Groupon three months ago for a month of unlimited Yoga classes. For some reason I never redeemed it. And kept postponing it till the last week when it was finally going to expire.
May be the reason was – I started to enjoy something else. Something I thought I would never like. And that was my evening running sessions. I was never a big fan of running truly. I even hated the 10 minutes of jog on the treadmill which used to be a compulsory warm-up (as instructed by my then gym instructor).
Well, I love doing body weight exercises, lifting light weights, abs-toning workouts etc. But running was something I always disliked and dreaded from!
Then things changed.. I moved to U.S. My work hours changed and hence my gym hours changed too…
Now I had less time to workout since I had to perform all the household activities and go to work as well. So I came up with the idea of brisk walking in the evenings. Slowly those walks turned in to jogs.
And now I can happily say that I RUN! Yes I do and I enjoy it.. But the most fascinating part is the post run feeling.. it’s like an achievement in itself! My strength and stamina increases everyday with every run... No wonder my body is thanking me in so many ways..
And here I am.. thinking why didn’t I start running sooner.. Well its LIFE.. As they say – Better Late Than Never. Right?
So tell me – Do you run? Do you enjoy it?

Cheers!
Ritika

T-shirt: Gap | Skirt: Loft (similar) | Shoes: Aldo | Clutch: Aldo | Watch: Fossil

Nerd Chic

As described in Wikipedia, a nerd is a person, typically described as being overly intellectual, obsessive, or socially impaired. I was never a nerd in my growing years, not even when I was a student or when I started working. I have always been a very outgoing person.
I can strike a conversation with a complete stranger with complete ease. Though I don’t do it all the time (obviously), I am just saying that being conservative was never really my style.. I was very liberal..

And for this, I would like to give all the due credit to my mother. I still remember how my Mom always taught me to be very open and frank with my thoughts. Even when I was in school, she used to encourage me to talk to new joiners in the class, help others with studies, be a volunteer for various activities etc. For obvious reasons, I used to be teachers’ favorite!
Well, over the period of time, this habit has developed in me, and again, all thanks to my mother, I make friends very easily!

Anyhow, for today’s post I thought of dressing up like a nerd ~ in a good way! These reader glasses complete the look perfectly. The red lips add that extra oomph to the otherwise not so special outfit.
Need I say it's a perfect work wear outfit?
P.S. Love these Forever 21 shoes (wore here before), however they are not very comfortable. Hence I wear them specially when I know I would not be doing a lot of walking – and today was one such day!

Cheers!
Ritika

Tank Top: Ann Taylor | Linen Pants: Tommy Hilfiger | Shoes: Forever 21 | Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters | Watch: Fossil

LA Part III: Malibu & Santa Barbara

Read Part I | Part II

This is the last part of my Los Angeles travel series. It was the last day of our vacation and we wanted to use it completely. There was still so much to do and so little time left.
We checked out from our hotel early in the morning and thought of spending the whole day at the beach.

We drove to Malibu beach but guess what – the sun was not shining.. It was cloudy and gloomy! Not a perfect beach-y kind-a day but we managed to play a little in the water! Mind you – the water was cold, very cold (but this girl was having hell lot-a fun!)
We spent an hour or so there and then left for Santa Barbara and reached there after a 2 hours’ drive and boy, did we love that city! What’s not to love? The weather, the city, the shops, the restaurants, the crowd – the whole vibe - Ooh! I can get settled there – like forever!
It would be an understatement if I say that Santa Barbara is the most beautiful city I have ever been to (yet)!

We relaxed (literally slept) on the sunny beach of Santa Barbara for the rest of the day. And when the sun started to set, we quickly set off for city surfing. I loved walking on the streets, clicking endless pictures with my beau.
Sadly my lovely vacation ended here. We then drove back to Phoenix! Our Home-Sweet-Home (Hot Home actually)!!

Hope you enjoyed the series!
Few pictures!

Cheers!
Ritika

Swimsuit Cover-up: Ann Taylor | Sunglasses: Forever 21 | Scarf: Forever 21 | Red Tote: Tommy Hilfiger
Striped T-Shirt: Abercrombie & Fitch | Skirt: Forever 21(old) similar (similar & I bought this one) | Sandals: Asos

LA Part II: Natural History Museum & Beach

Read LA Part I

The next day we decided to go the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Science Center. It was a good experience to learn about so many species which are extinct now.
I wore my favorite flats to be as comfortable as I can for the walking we had to do!

Then post lunch, we went on a stroll – and guess where – Beverly Hills! The whole vibe of that area is so posh. We then came back to the hotel in the evening. Since the sun was still shining – we decided to quickly change in to something comfortable and head to the closest beach!
Santa Monica it was.. (which happened to be one of the most happening beach I have ever been to)! There was a local fair going on the beach. People were laughing, enjoying, dancing, partying, getting tatted, there was this giant wheel, a roller coaster and many other entertaining rides for kids and adults! Fun all around!

The sun kept setting and it started getting cold. We sat there for hours, watching the sea, chatting, making future plans, listening to the relaxing sound of night waves and before we knew it was already half past 10! That's when we realized we did not even have our dinner! We all then rushed to our hotel before we died of hunger! (Don't worry we reached just in time)!! ;)

Some pictures from the day -

Cheers!

Ritika

Sweater: Tommy Hilfiger | Skirt: Thrifted (yes, can you believe it!) | Sandals: Payless(old) |Sunglasses: Aldo | Bag: Forever 21 (similar in blue) |Watch: Michael Kors

Maxi dress: Loft (Asos-similar; Loft-similar) | Denim Jacket: Gap | Red Tote: Tommy Hilfiger | Flip flops: Aeropostale | Hat: Burlington Coat Factory (similar)