Style Must-Haves

I love fashion and everything associated with it. I love dressing up, coordinating my style and reading about fashion. When it comes to fashion there is no one more knowledgeable than I, the year peplums first came out, who invented the LBD and many other fashion trivia is at my fingertips, ready to impress everyone I know. When it comes to my wardrobe, I ensure that it is equally stylish with custom fitted shelves for my clothes, shoes and accessories. But no matter how stylish I get, I always remember to keep a few things in my closet to help me maintain my fashionable self. They are:

An electric iron: Why spend so much on expensive clothing when you are not going to wear them the right way? A good iron helps me keep my clothes looking fresh, crisp and helps my folds fall beautifully for maximum attention. If you purchase nothing else, then you should at least invest in a good electric iron.

A hairdryer: To keep your hair looking silky, smooth and to hold styles like curls and waves a good hair dryer is a must. A good hair dryer also helps you add volume to your hair and helps your straighten it without an iron.

A leather punch: Now this may sound obscure, but trust me, when you find that you have lost another inch and need to take in that belt, this is the tool to have, not the screwdriver you usually use.

Pre-threaded needles: Nobody’s got time to waste on threading needles. I keep needles threaded with threads of a few basic colours, white, black, grey and pink to reduce stress when it is one is 30 mins late and the shirt has popped a button.

Safety pins: Torn clothes? Popped buttons? Broken straps? All these tragedies can befall anyone and sometimes all on the same day, not that I am speaking from experience. 

Black sketch pen or sharpie: Nothing is more irritating than a scuff mark on a shiny black shoe. A sharpie helps me cover it up in a jiffy till I have time to better take care of the issue.

Lint-roller: As the proud mama of a two year old kitten, a lint roller is a blessing for days when I want to channel my inner Morticia.

Stain remover: Boy oh boy! Is it irritating to have a stubborn stain on one’s shirt! A stain remover pen gets it all out and that too without a fuss!

So that’s my list of must-haves for one’s wardrobe. While some of them are optional, some like the electric iron is a super must-have for anyone, even people who are not as fashion crazy as me.  It will not only change the way you carry yourself, but looking your very best can even boost your confidence and self-esteem. So keep yourself looking stylish, on-point and Insta-ready at all times with my simple tips! See you next time!

A Brief History of Light

Light is life. Almost all living beings need light to thrive. During the day sunlight, apart from being the crucial element of photosynthesis, keeps us healthy by helping us produce Vitamin D. At night, electric lights take over and free us from living our lives like in the olden days depending on the sunlight or weak candle or lamp light. Not only that, lights are also a part of our social, cultural and religious life. As the days begin their inevitable shortening, it is time to appreciate lights a little more with a look at the history of artificial light. Let there be light!

                                               

Candles: Hot, drippy and curiously a favourite of errant ghosts, candles were certainly no LED light. However, this humble wax stick powered generations of human evolution, close to 2000 years, before giving way to newer technologies like the gaslight. Even though newer technologies power through, the joyful candle still holds its ground, being usually the first thing we reach for when we face a power cut.

Gaslight: Powered by burning of natural gas, gas lights appeared in the early 1800s, forever changing the way the world lived. Unfettered by the flickering candles to lead a fuller life, gas lights powered mankind’s march of progress for quite some time. 

Edison bulb: The symbol of great ideas and a result of 99 failed experiments, the Edison bulb was the first electric bulb known to mankind. This humble glass bulb forever changed the way people looked at the night forever.

Incandescent bulb: The ubiquitous incandescent bulb is what we think of every time someone mentions a bulb. Unfortunately they use a lot of energy so they are in the process of being phased out, taking away its cheerful yellow glow in to the annals of history.

Fluorescent lights: If the Edison bulb is the symbol of great ideas, the tube light is the symbol of slow apprehension. Fluorescent lights use a low pressure mercury-vapour gas-discharge lamp to provide light. They are still spreading their light around though they have been overtaken by new technologies.

LED light: The latest entrant into the long line of artificial lighting is the LED light. These tiny but solid light bulbs pack quite a punch when it comes to efficiency and long life. They’re also much more durable than an incandescent bulb and are therefore much safer for the environment. Their reduced maintenance costs and cost effectiveness are making them the toast of the town with a wide variety of applications ranging from aviation to residential. 

When we look back, it is astonishing to know how a simple glow has so markedly affected human progress. These days we hardly take any notice of the electric light unless there is no electricity at night, what a far cry from our cave dwelling ancestors who huddled around a fire trying to keep the terrors of night away. So the next time it is dark turn on the light and thank it for powering the way ahead.

Simple Hairstyles With A Hair dryer

My hair is the only thing that makes me incredibly vain. I inherited my thick, waist long tresses from my grandmother and I could not be more proud of it. I love the way they swish after a good shampoo and how they flow in the wind as I take my daily run. But lately I have been feeling a little unsatisfied with it, as I realised that my go-to hairstyle was becoming my only hairstyle. It was time for a change. 

                                       

Armed with the need to change things I went online and looked up a few simple tutorials to help everyone achieve a great look in a short time. All these hairstyles were simple, no fuss, and most all were a welcome change from my boring old ponytail or bun! Here are some of my tips you can try to shake up the way you do your hair.

• The upside down blowout: Need to add volume to your hair in a jiffy? Flip your hair upside down, section it and dry it using a good hair dryer. I prefer my Morphy Richards hair dryer, but you can use whatever you feel comfortable with. 

• Sea salt curls: Spray a little sea salt spray in your hair and set your curls with the diffuser. This is a great way to achieve those perfect beachy curls without a curling iron.

• The quick wave: This one is so simple you guys! Just braid your damp hair, dry it with a hair dryer, untie, set with spray and voila! Super wavy hair with little to no effort at all!

• The banging bangs: Remember to give your bangs some extra attention with your hairdryer. Use a blowdryer to give yourself some mysterious and sultry looking bangs.

Of course there are a few things to keep in mind while using a hair dryer like:

• Use a heat protectant spray or serum if you frequently blow dry your hair
• Clean your hair dryer regularly to avoid overheating.
• Use a natural brush like a boar’s hair brush, not metal ones to avoid damage to your hair.
• A round brush will give you curls and waves while a paddle brush will give you luscious straight hair.
• Divide and rule: Always remember to section your hair when you blow-dry it for even drying and texture.
• Use a cooler setting at the end for glossy shine
• Keep your hairdryer moving constantly to avoid focussing on a certain section and damaging it.
• Don’t dry wet hair. Dry it when it is damp instead.
• Don’t use high heat all the time. 
• Use a proper hairdryer like a Morphy Richards hair dryer.

I hope I have been able to show you how a simple hair dryer can shake up your hair game and give you a much needed change from your regular hairstyle. So what are you waiting for? Grab you hair dryer and get down to creating the most fabulous hairstyles and let me know how they worked out!

Making Mom’s Life Easier

I love my mom and more than that I suspect that I like cooking. My mother is a wonderful cook. No guest ever leaves our home without a plate of food and they almost always rave about the quality of her cooking. Her secret lies in using the freshest spices that she grinds herself right before cooking. She still swears by her old mortar and pestle, though now it hurts me to see her spend hours in the kitchen labouring over the stone in her advanced age. Deciding that things simply must not continue as they are, I decided to be the best child and gift her a mixer grinder this Mother’s Day.

As I headed online to buy a mixer grinder, I found many that would have suited me but the Morphy Richards mixer grinder caught my eye because of its sleek stylishness, my mom has a keen sense of style and this mixer would fit right into her kitchen. Just a few clicks and I was set to surprise my mom with what I hoped would be the best Mother’s Say gift ever! Gifting her the mixer grinder would also ensure she could have her favourite cold coffee right at home without trekking to her favourite cold coffee shop across town. Another added advantage would be that she could keep herself healthy by drinking milkshakes to increase her calcium, a must for a woman her age.

   

                                   

The wait ended and the mixer grinder arrived. Mom was initially shocked at the idea of with what she thought was an unnecessary expense, but when I sat her down and explained that the mixer was not only affordable but also a necessity, she agreed to give it a go. No sight can be more beautiful than that of my mother smiling at the sight of perfectly ground cumin made in her brand new Morphy Richards mixer grinder that she made in just a few minutes as compared to half an hour earlier. 

Now my mother and the mixer are best friends. She quickly learned how to use it and frequently surprises me with her creations, like a mouthwateringly good pesto that she made from scratch! Her calcium levels have also gone up as now I make her drink delicious smoothies, lassi and milkshake. And I cannot even begin to describe the smooth and silky textures of the gravies that she is making! And the meatballs? I don’t even have words! 

Contrary to her initial apprehension about the mixer grinder spoiling the taste of her cooking, I think my mother’s cooking tastes even better now that it isn’t flavoured by her backbreaking hard-work in the kitchen. In fact, I even overheard her telling her sister about the wonders of her new mixer grinder and advising her to buy it too! As you can well understand, my chest swelled with pride and joy at my mom’s happiness. I think i will teach her how to use a microwave oven next. That should be fun!  

How I Learned To Love Cooking

Make no mistake, I love food. Rich gravies, sinfully delicious pulaos and crisp parathas are what I live for. But what I hate is cooking, ok, not cooking but the process of cooking. I hate standing in the kitchen, sweating over the gas, unable to switch on the fan for fear of extinguishing the flame, while cooking up the next meal. Then there is the whole issue with the cylinders, keep an eye on their levels, order one before the previous one was over and the whole running around to get a new connection every time I changed homes. I had almost given up on the idea of cooking and was contemplating the idea of hiring someone to cook for me when I hit upon the solution by accident! An induction cooker!

Inductions cookers use electricity to help one cook food. When one switches on the cooker it creates an electromagnetic field with alternating current to produce heat. It is a very efficient process as the heat is transferred directly into the pan unlike conventional stoves that first convert the energy into heat and then transfer the heat into the pan, thus losing around 60% of the energy. With an induction cooker, upto 90% of the energy is transferred into heat so cooking becomes much faster! Compare that with only 40% in a conventional gas stove! No wonder I was sweating buckets! I was dealing with an inefficient system. Induction cooking is also safer as it only works when a pan is kept on it thus reducing chances of accidental burns. In fact, the only thing that does get heated is the pan itself, leaving the surface cool to touch. The glass top is also easy to clean, though the auto cut-off ensures that one does not have to deal too much with spills. 

But the best part about the induction cooker for me was that it does not transfer the heat into the surrounding and as it is flameless, I could merrily use the fan while cooking! No more sweating and wailing about the heat! I was ready to face the culinary world with the induction cooker by my side! After searching for quite some time I found a Bajaj induction cooker that was perfect for my needs and quickly brought it home to begin my culinary journey!

I danced into the kitchen, switched on the fan and put on some music to help me cook to my heart’s content and began cooking my favourite daal. Fortunately, my utensils were usable on induction cookers so I didn’t have to buy them as well! As the daal bubbled merrily, I let of a smile of pure satisfaction. Cooking was great again and I was determined to never stop! 

Nowadays it is difficult to drag me away from the kitchen! I love spending time there, thinking up new recipes to delight the palates of my loved ones, comfortable in the knowledge that my induction cooker will help me create it all with effortless ease.