Dress: from Rome, Shoes: Payless, Bangles: Mango & Parfois, Ring: New Look, Watch: Swatch

Many of my readers have told me that I have inspired them to go out and buy new clothes; and they have started experimenting with what clothes and accessories suit them. Basically, they're taking more of an effort in their dressing. (I'm very grateful to those readers for letting me know this. You know who you are!)

This makes me very, very happy. Because that is the whole purpose of my blog. To get women to take an effort in getting dressed up.

Appearance matters. If you say it doesn't, you know you're only fooling yourself. Can you think of any famous actresses who are NOT attractive? What's inside counts, I know, but why not be beautiful inside AND out?

So dress up. Wake up just half an hour earlier, do your hair, make up and put together a nice outfit. Even if you're only staying home. The most important thing is that this will make you feel better about yourself. When you know you're looking good, confidence radiates from you. And it tells other people that this is not a woman to be trifled with. This is a woman to be respected and taken seriously. Because she takes herself seriously.

On a style note, I decided to go all matchy-matchy today. But I swear, this dress is the perfect summer dress. So cool and light when it's bloody hot outside!

Enjoy your weekend!

Top: Camaieu, Blazer and Belt: Mango, Skirt: H&M, Shoes: Dorothy Perkins, Ring: Gifted, Earrings: Accessorize

Top and Blazer: Zara, Pants: Mango, Shoes: Dorothy Perkins,  Earrings: India,  Bracelets: Various.

Tuesday again! If you squint really hard, you can almost see Friiidaaayyyy. So, here are the small things that brought me joy since last Tuesday:

Complete outfit: Mango, Shoes: Dorothy Perkins, Earrings: F21, Rings: Right hand: India, left: Gold Souk, Watch: Swatch

Feisty little fighter.

Guess what I did yesterday? I went and got myself a kitten. A teeny tiny one. I adopted her from Tony the Dogfather, a man with an enormous heart who takes in stray animals and then lets people adopt them. He told me she'd been beaten up very badly when she was around 4-5 inches long, and was handed to him by a lady who found her on the road. She's alright now. She's a feisty little fighter. I picked her from many other kittens because she clung onto my shoulder and wouldn't let go. She was letting out the cutest little mews when I tried to pick her off my shoulder. So I decided: it's her.

I got her home. She adapted pretty quickly. Now she's scampering all over the house, biting my fingers, playing with my hair, and letting out cute yelps when I'm out of sight. I haven't named her yet.

This was the last thing I needed to do once I moved out into my own place. So it only befits to say: Stick a fork in me, I'm done. :-D

Top, Belt: Mango, Pants: Zara, Shoes: Dorothy Perkins, Earrings: Gifted, Ring: Gold Souk, Bangle: ?

I don't lie, unless it's really needed and will get me out of serious trouble and I know there will be no repercussions. I've always been upfront about anything and everything. To many people, this is refreshing, to others, very annoying.

Last night a friend and I were talking about precisely this: honesty and lies. We both agreed that it's always better to tell the truth, even if you risk upsetting the other person, than whitewashing it and then later risking the other person's trust in you.

For example, once when my mom was on vacation, she called me and told me to get a carpenter to look at an old cupboard in the house, to use the wood to make a new one. My dad and I were in the car when she called. Now I hated this cupboard and wanted to just get rid of it as it was quite old. So I told my mom, "No, I'm not asking the carpenter to come over, because I'm getting rid of the cupboard." My mom being a typical Gemini went on trying to convince me. I being a typical Aquarius kept on saying no.

My dad, seeing me arguing over the phone, said, "Just tell her, ok, yes, fine, we'll get the carpenter to have a look. Then later we'll tell her that the carpenter said the wood was too bad." I said "No. That's lying. I'm not going to lie." And I ended the argument still saying I was throwing the cupboard away.

My dad didn't agree it was 'lying'. But yes, it is lying. And the main thing is, why should I not make my intentions clear to my mom that I will not keep the cupboard? What if I lied like my dad said, then later my mom said the same thing for some other piece of furniture? I'd have 2 options then- Lie again, or come clean about the earlier lie. Both options not good because at some point the lie WILL be exposed, no matter how small, and my mom will lose at least a little bit of trust in me.

This is a small example. I'm sure you can relate this to other such sitches in life. So, don't lie.
And a lie is a lie is a lie.

On a style note, I recently got this top. I love the neckline and the lightness of it.
Enjoy your weekend!

Top: Alcott, Blazer: Zara, Leggings: Gap, Shoes: New Look, Earrings: Accessorize, Necklace: H&M

Tuesdays. Hump Days in Bahrain. Now now, get your mind out of the gutter, Hump Day only means that the weekend is downhill from here. So Tuesday is Hump Day in Bahrain (and wherever else Friday and Saturday are the weekend).
Usually everyone starts getting annoyed by the middle of the week and looking forward to the weekend. So I decided I'm going to start a weekly thing where every Tuesday I'm going to list all the little joys and delights in my life. It's always been the smallest of things that makes me happy.

So here's my list for this Tuesday:

1. Getting complimentary magazines delivered at work with my name on them.
2. Licking peanut butter off the spoon.
3. My bestie knowing exactly how sad I feel just from my expression.
4. My female colleague saying "Look at you! You look so cute!" in the morning.
5. My mom hugging me when I think she's mad at me.
6. Driving down the highway with the windows down, with my music really loud, the wind in my hair.
7. Looking at the perfect shade of pink on my nails.
8. Guy colleagues who always call me 'dear' on the phone.
9. Wearing these fiercer-than-fierce shoes.

That's my list for today. Now I want you to add yours in the comments. Go on. You know it'll make you happy! 

Shirt: Playlife, Skirt & Belt: Mango, Shoes: Dune, Earrings: F21, Ring: Gifted, Watch: Swatch

My first pencil skirt. Finally. I've been dying to wear it, but just couldn't find one with that perfect fit. And I got this one on sale. So I decided to do a simple formal look today. I can't wait to mix and match this little baby up with the other items in my closet.

On another note, have you seen my bougainvillea plant? I've wanted one for ages and ages. A good friend gave it to me as a housewarming gift. And it's got pink flowers, just like I wanted! There are already 4 flowers blooming. Now I want it to grow and take over the terrace!

So that's that. Two things I've wanted for a long time, I've gotten them this week. Let's hope this streak continues...

The door on the left is the bathroom, the one on the right is the kitchen.

My vampire curtains!

What I'm wearing: Top and shorts: Mango, Earrings: ?, Bracelet: Goa, Watch: Swatch.

So, here they are! Photos of my home! It was hard work, but I'm happy with how I decorated it in such a short period of time. Two weeks to be precise. I'm especially proud of the cupboard, because I measured it, chose the patterns, got them made by my graphic designer at work, printed on vinyl stickers, and got printers to stick them on. I love it now. I could just sit on my bed and stare at the pattern all day. (Me, weird?). Plus
I had the loveliest housewarming, with close friends who filled my home with laughter and warmth. What more could I ask for?

Tunic: Sewn by mom, Jeans: H&M, Shoes: Dorothy Perkins, Earrings: ?, Watch: Swatch

I saw the lunar eclipse last night from my terrace. It was a wondrous and mesmerizing event. The sky was clear. All the other stars were becoming shinier and sparklier as the moon slowly got covered by the earth's shadow and the sky turned inky dark.

Eclipses or any planetary phenomenon usually get me very excited. That's why I'm so glad it was visible this side of the world, and that I had a terrace all to myself to see it and quietly contemplate life and the Universe.

But this also meant that I slept very late. I've already got a huuuuge backlog of sleep. And driving to work when you are horribly sleep-deprived and have tonnes of stardust in your eyes is not good. I nearly avoided having around 4 accidents on the highway. I fell asleep while waiting at a traffic signal. I mean, proper, REM, delta sleep. I was even dreaming! When I opened my eyes with a jolt the light was green and cars in front of me had moved.

Moral of the story: Don't drink be sleep-deprived and drive.
Second moral: Don't be sleep-deprived and blog, or you write boring posts such as this.

Top: Playlife, Skirt: Zara, Shoes: Marks & Spencer, Necklace: H&M, Bangles: Mango, Watch: Swatch

I heart this gypsy skirt from Zara. It makes me feel so free and err...gypsyish. And it swishes around so beautifully when I walk.

Ok enough of me talking, read this below. I found it on facebook, and I think it's an excellent summary of living life.

Dress, Belt: Mango, Blazer: Zara, Boots: Piazza Italia, Earrings: Accessorize, Watch: Swatch

Passing this on!

Yesterday I received this Award from not one, but two of my favourite bloggers. Pascale from Scrapwedo and Anne from Poems, Stories and Humanness. I am honoured, and now according to bloggy tradition, I have to pass this Award to my favourite blogs as well as tell you 7 things about myself.

First, the Awardees. (I'm too big of a Narcissist to let you forget the 7 things about me. So those come after.)

And now, (drumroll please) the blogs I Award this Stylish Blogger Award to are:

Kat from Mama's Losin' It. She has THE most hilarious blog I have read till date. She's a mom of 3, runs a daycare and yet manages to find time to crack up the entire world with her writing. If you're too lazy to read, just looking at her photos will have you in stitches.

Terri from Terri's Little Haven. She is a 49 year old Grandma, who blogs about recipes, her adorable 3 year old grand daughter Abby (I really mean adorable, go check out the pics and read her antics, you'll agree) and many other things under the sun. But you need to check out her blog for her AMAZING photography.

The last, and I put this one last because you HAVE to check out what this amazing woman does with her blog:

Melinda Raleigh from My Year Of Hugs. Melinda (from the U.S) has started on a quest, 2 months ago, to hug as many people as she can every day and then blog about it. By doing this, she has started a movement where people read her blog and are now hugging others. The effect has also reached as far as Bahrain, influencing me to hug more people in my life (I hope they hug more people and it goes on). She is a great inspiration and just what the world needs at this time. Read her posts and you'll see how she uplifts people on a daily basis through the very basic act of hugging. Ok scratch that, read her posts just to feel her virtual hugs to you.

That's it for my Awardees. Now 7 things about me. These are all weird, whacko and wise-ass. Like me.

1. My friend's 4 year old son insists I'm his wife. He is so obsessed that he throws a tantrum if his parents tease him about me getting married to someone else. (I know, I can't get married to someone else if I'm his wife, but you know what I mean.)
2. I cannot light matchsticks. I'm too afraid. Recently a friend tried to get me to do it. I did it. Once. Never again. (I hope he's not reading this.)
3. I don't like watching TV. I think it's a bloody waste of time. I'd rather read instead of watching TV.  
4. I love my solitude and am quite brazen about being independent, so much that I have gone to Venice alone, taken a Gondola ride alone, and have had couples staring at me, with one guy actually pointing me out to his wife. Very amusing. They all probably thought- Oh the poor girl, she's been dumped. But why is she so happy about it?
5. I'm an animal magnet. Cats, dogs, horses, they all gravitate towards me. Once, a buffalo left it's herd and started walking towards me scaring the hell out of my mom who was with me. (Oh btw, Thank You Universe. Couldn't make me a man magnet, no?)
6. I cannot sleep at night unless I have 2 blankets on top of me, with the air conditioner turned on full.
7. I sketch. One of my favourite ones is below.

Ok, I can't finish the post without writing about what I'm wearing, so... I've been dying to try the belt over blazer look, so here it is. And how I love these boots!