STEALING FROM THE BOYS

The pull of the siren song that is Target's clearance on me is comparable to that of the moon on the ocean's tides. And its the one store where even the kids racks attract me like moths to a flame. Okay, that is plenty of metaphors for one post! My excuse for shopping the kids section is of course to look for cute stuff for my little girl. But do I just buy my daughter's clothes there? No siree. 

Quite some things from the girls section and a few from the Target boys section have found their way into my closet too. Here's one example. 

Parents of pre-teen boys, please don't be mad at me for stealing your kids clothes before you have a chance to buy them! 

Can you guess what item in today's outfit came from the boys department? If you guessed the shoes or tee, you would be wrong. If you picked the jacket, then you are spot on. Denim jackets are very much in vogue in the summer, and while this is not a color I would gravitate to under most circumstances, there was something about it I really liked, besides the $6 price tag. Yes, I did say $6.

I guess the knowledge that wearing kids clothes would definitely make my ensemble one of a kind was a draw. Am I also one of a kind to steal from the kids or do you also shop the kids section for yourself?  Please do let me know in the comments. Don't leave me thinking that there is something wrong with me!

Tee: Old Navy | Pants: Old Navy | Jacket: Target (similar, similar, similar, similar)

Shoes: Target | Purse: Who What Wear for Target (similar, I have and love this) |
Earrings: Sugarfix by BaubleBar (similar, similar, similar)

Since I took something from the kids, its only fair that I share a picture at least of my cute photo-bomber kid! I know the lighting isn't doing me any favors, and neither are my lack of photo editing skills. The yellow in the background was just too irresistible to me. I am also attracted to yellow like a lot of other pestilent insects and bugs! Maybe I should have my head examined after all!

Thanks for reading!

-Supriya.

LAME-O-VALENTINE'S DAY

I hope you have been well and I apologize for being MIA for so long. There is no one specific reason for my prolonged absence. Some amount of grieving, some being busy and nothing creative to report would be the main causes for my silence. I am back now, with an outfit pic from Feb 14. Yes I know, in June. But hey it could be the outfit I am planning on wearing next year for V-Day. In which case, I am a tad early!
I do think Valentine's day and many other "days" like this are lame. At least for me. I understand that its an opportunity to express one's feelings and more power to folks who are successfully able to do so. In my household though, these "opportunities" end up becoming pressure cooker situations with the weighty expectation of trying to make this day as memorable as it should be. And it ends up being a disaster. I learnt that lesson the hard way through my many birthday, anniversary and mother's day celebrations. So for me, its easier to let this day go by unnoticed.
The other reason for giving this day a miss is because my brother's birthday is 5 days after Valentine's Day, and its terribly painful for me to celebrate anything at all when he can't celebrate his birthday.
We got a small cake with candles and sang for him, and made a birthday card on what should have been his 34th birthday. He would always tell me to get my daughter a piece of cake on his behalf for his birthday, and now it gives me some small solace when I do so.

Back to what I was wearing - I wanted to include some red and/or pink, but not overwhelmingly so, and this sweater seemed just right for my intentions. But now that I look back upon it, I find the fit a little lacking. Maybe that's what happens when you look at winter clothing in summer!
I have a jacket in the same print as these pants as seen here, and one day perhaps I will wear them both together. Monochromatic dressing is very happening these days!
Please excuse the weird pose with my hands on my hair in one of the pictures below. I promise its not one of the poses I practice in front of the mirror! It was an un-posed one and just happens to be one of the few acceptable pictures of the 15 or so that my poor husband took of me. I am still working on being myself in my own pictures! Did that statement sound as bizarre to you as it did to me?
Do write and tell me how you celebrated Valentine's Day this year, and your thoughts on celebrating such events.

Sweater: Ann Taylor | Pants: Who What Wear for Target (similar, similar, similar) | 

Shoes: Old Navy | Purse: Who What Wear for Target (similar, I have and love this) |
Pearl Choker: Ann Taylor (similar, similar)

Thank you for reading!
-Supriya.

IMPROMPTU DATE DRESSING

One February morning as I was pottering about at home in my PJs, my husband declared that he had to run to Staples on an errand. Spontaneity being his middle name and all that, he suggested we turn it into a date. Lucky for me, the local Staples is right next to Target so it only required a millisecond for me to say yes. I did not shower or even wash my face. I just threw on this top and shoes both of which are from the girls section of where-else-but Target. And off we went on our date, right up to the entrance of the shopping center, where he marched off purposefully into Staples while I floated into Target like a lady of leisure. After an entirely too short a browsing session at Target, when we met up to head back home, my husband volunteered to take pictures for my blog.

My jaws dropped in suspicion. Mostly I have to harangue him to take pictures for my blog. Why this sudden nicety? Either he spent way too much at Staples or I must be looking awful and hence the joke's on me. Turns out he was feeling guilty. Not because of his choice of date location but because I did not even get to spend 15 mins at Target. I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and before he could reconsider I accepted his offer. Shortest date ever. But at least I got some pictures out of it.

Where do you go on impromptu dates? Let me know in the comments.

Top: Target (Girls) | Jeans: Old Navy | 

Shoes: Target (Girls) (Toddler sizes here) | Purse: Zara (similar, similar) | Cart: Staples!

Thank you for reading my post!
-Supriya.

NOT A CANADIAN TUXEDO

By definition, my outfit is not a Canadian Tuxedo. "What is a Canadian Tuxedo?", you ask. "Depends on how you define 'definition'", I say. I was under the impression, that wearing two different tones of blue denim is called a Canadian Tuxedo. (Now that I think about it, do both tones have to be blues?)

But it seems I may be off the mark. Potato, potato..

Here is the story of its origins: The Canadian Tuxedo

I have no idea what I am doing in the picture below. But it seems to be a pose I frequently adopt, although unintentionally. Here is the proof. I just hope that unbeknownst to me, I am not breaking into this pose every few seconds when I am walking. Hmm..that probably explains why my daughter and husband usually trail me instead of walking with me.

 Necklace: Swarovski | Pants: Banana Republic | Top: Target (Boys section) |

Shoes: Target | Purse: Forever21

The necklace I am wearing is a gift from my brother. He bought it the evening before he left the US to travel to India for his wedding. It pains me to think that this is how he spent his last evening here. I wish he had spent it doing something for himself. But that's who my brother was. Even as he was leaving, he focused on the ones he loved. Even in the final moments of his life, he was reassuring his new bride that he was going to be okay. Liar!

When I wear this necklace, I am transported back to the day he gave it to me, and it is so vivid in my mind, that I feel him around me. I wish I could go back in time, and change his story and not let it end so soon before his time had truly come.

I will always miss you and love you, my dearest baby brother.

-Supriya

FLORALS AND STRIPES

 

 Jeans: Old Navy | Blazer: Gap Factory  (similar - here, here and here) |

Shoes: H&M (similar - here and here) | Purse: Zara (similar - here and here)

This outfit came together in under 2 minutes. That's all the time I had between stepping out of the shower and when I had to be out the door to make it to my daughter's school for my volunteering gig. So I wore the first things I laid my hands on. And these shoes were lying by the door, so without even pausing to think or care whether they worked with my outfit, I was gone.

After I was back home, I realized I had a free hour before having to head back to the school, so again without much thinking I ended up at the mall where 2 things of import happened - 1) I ran into another woman who I enjoyed chatting with. Both of us recognized that we had seen each other somewhere before, and just got talking. Only later in the day did I find out that she was actually a former colleague of my husband's. But neither of us knew it when we were talking. We just bonded "organically" over shopping talk. And 2) A sales associate at Ann Taylor complimented me on my ensemble. She said I had put it together very well and she liked my styling.

What did I learn from this? Don't think too much about what to wear. Close your eyes and grab the clothes and they will style themselves. "Hmm...probably not...that has the potential to get out of hand very quickly. What if I grabbed my bathrobe?" is what you are thinking. But wearing a robe on your clothes is a perfectly legitimate style these days.
What else did I learn? It pays to be a little lazy with housekeeping, or if you want to put a spin on it then lets put it this way - always have a pair of shoes on the ready for a quick getaway. I can see Bond, James Bond nodding his head in agreement.
And what else did I learn? Its okay to talk to strangers sometimes. They don't always bite!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day.
-Supriya   

BLUSHING IN LEOPARD

Jeans: Old Navy (similar) | Sweater: Old Navy (exact) |

Jacket: Who What Wear for Target (similar) |

Shoes: Old Navy (similar) | Purse: Aldo (available here)

I don't know how models do this for a living, but I feel extremely self conscious while posing for a picture. It would probably help my cause if I looked like one, since I keep imagining onlookers and passersby thinking "Who does she think she is?". Although, I am sure the reality is the general population has better things to think about than torturing their brain cells over random strangers and their poses. If I keep telling myself that, someday I will be confident enough to pose unselfconsciously for a picture. Either that, or I magically morph into a model. Whichever comes first. 

Fashion gurus preach that "Leopard print" is in style, and apparently "Neutrals never go out of style", so by that dictum, I am doubly trendy! And of course I have the "statement purse" too, so I claim that I am triply trendy.

-Supriya

Learning to Dance with the Limp

Life is a journey that sometimes takes you down paths you would never choose for yourself.

My brother died in July 2016, under horrifying and tragic circumstances, while he was on his honeymoon. Eventually, when I feel that I can, I will write more about his death.

The only way to cure grief is to bring back the person you are grieving for. I would give up everything to make that happen, but since I can't have that at any price, I have no cure. As anyone who is struggling with grief knows, grief is a life long companion. And while it is more bitter than sweet, the sweet part is that through this pain, you continue to love, honor and cherish your loved one.

Eloquence eludes me on the topic of grief, but this oft-repeated quote summarizes the essence of living with grief:

“You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly – that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”

–Anne Lamott

So, this is what I focus on now - learning to dance with the limp.

When I started blogging, my brother was very proud of me, and encouraged me to write. I know he would want me to continue. As much for him, as for me, I am going to try and get back to blogging, ocassionally even posting articles or thoughts on grief.


- Supriya.