So-Saree's Second Anniversary Giveaway

Last month So-Saree completed two years of blogging.
I have been contemplating hosting a giveaway on my blog for the longest time, but it never worked out.
So here I am today, hosting this giveaway where two lucky winners will win fashion jewelry from Romwe.com
This is not a sponsored giveaway and is open to international readers as well.

You have a chance to win:

Fashionable Mix Style Crystal Full Rhinestone Chain Necklace

Flower Shaped Pendant Earrings

All you have to do is, follow the steps mentioned above and comment either on this blog post or our FB post that you have completed all the steps.
Giveaway closes on the 28th of February 2015 at midnight and winners will be announced within a week after the giveaway ends.
The more you share, the more are your chances of winning.
So start playing and start sharing.

Disclaimer:
1.So-Saree reserves the right to change the rules, guidelines and anything pertaining to the giveaway.
2.Winners will be decided on the basis of a lucky draw from a pool of participants who have fulfilled all the necessary steps.

The Mystery Girl

Time and again I have been asked on my blog, why I crop my face from my pictures?

I have always dodged this question, so I thought why not answer it in this post.
So here I go...

1) I am not good looking enough.

2) I don't have to worry about looking good while taking outfit pictures. No concealer, no lipstick... I chop my face anyways. Saves me a lot of efforts.

3) Cropping my face, creates a certain kind of mystery around me. The cropped face could that be of any angel with a halo, or a devil with horns. Who knows..?

 

And now, if you think I am bordering into non-nonsensical stuff, cut the crap and scroll down to the pictures.

 

This polka dot top is one of the most used item in my wardrobe. I teamed it up with a black brocade skirt and faux leather boots.

The pearl necklace and the clutch complete the look.

Clutch: Limeroad.com  Boots: Walmart

Avacado Paranthas

Hey guys, I am back with a quick and healthy recipe for you again.
This one is again from my SIL's kitchen.

Ingredients:
4 cups Wheat Flour
3 Avocados
Some chopped spinach if you like
Green chilly paste as per your taste
2 Tsp Geera powder
1 Tsp Crushed Black Pepper
Salt as per your Taste


Avocados, Spinach, Green chillies



Knead the wheat flour without using water. The avocado pulp will give the right amount of moisture. If you still feel it is not soft enough, add some yogurt or sour cream.

Start making dough balls immediately and start rolling out the paranthas.

Once rolled out, roast them on a hot non stick pan with some salted butter.

Healthy Avocado Paranthas are ready to be relished.

Serve hot with green chutney or a pickle of your choice.


Tip: Start making the paranthas immediately after you have kneaded the dough. If you let it sit, the dough becomes soggy.

Feeling Retro

Lately I have been craving everything floral.
Though I own a floral dress I am looking forward to updating my wardrobe with a floral top, floral pants, floral blazer and floral shoes.

A few days ago, when I spotted this saree in my MIL's wardrobe, I so wanted to wear it.
So off I went. 
I decided to team this floral saree with my latest purchase from Fashionandyou.com, the chunky pearl necklace.
When the pictures were out, I was so happy.
I kind of felt very Retro in it. What do you think?

                                         
Yes I love sarees..and I have no regrets. :)

P.S. The last pic was clicked and used for my friend Heena's Blog. 

Nail Art - Leopard Print

It's been a while since I shared my nail art pictures on the blog.
Last year I was really lazy as far as doing nail art was concerned. I did the easiest and the quickest nail art and finished it off as a chore.

I am looking to change it this year. Lets see how it goes.

Leopard Print Nails are the easiest to do. All you need is two colours of your choice, a tooth pick/dotting tool and a finishing coat.
I used Sally Hansesn's White on White and Invisible(Top coat), Revlon's Totally Toffee and a Black Nail art sketch pen.
Apply White nailpaint as the base. Using the broader end of the toothpick, do random spots on your white nails with the brown nailpaint. Now dip the sharp end of the toothpick in black polish and unevenly border the spots. I used the nail art sketch pen to do the uneven border. Finish with a top coat once nail paint dries.

Easy isn't it? So when are you giving it a try?

Move Beyond "OR"

Story 1:
It was 10 pm that night. I was still at work, working on a killer presentation. The phone rang and it was my Super Boss. He told me, that they had decided to appoint me as a Board Of Directors at Pepsico. I was elated. I shut my laptop to rush home and break the news to my family. My husband's car was parked in the garage. Good..I thought. He will be so happy to hear about my promotion. The moment I stepped in the house, I saw my mom. I hugged her and told her I have big news to share. She calmly said, the news can wait. First go out and fetch some milk for the morning. I asked her where our maid was? She said she had taken a day off. I asked her why didn't she ask her son-in-law, my husband to get it, since he was home early. She said, he was tired.
I was very upset. I drove my car and got the milk. Handing over the milk to her, I said I have been promoted as a board of director of my company. This is huge and you send me to fetch milk at this hour of the day?
My Mom replied. When you park your car in the garage, I want you to leave your invisible tiara there. When you enter this house, you are just a daughter, a wife, a mother. Nothing more.

Story 2:
After completing my MBBS from Grant Medical College in Mumbai, I enrolled for MD in Gynaecology and Obstetrics. A few months into my M.D. and I received an offer to do a TV commercial. The offer was tempting. I decided to give it a try. My parents didn't object either as they thought this was a one off thing and it would make me happy. The moment I faced the camera for the first time, I felt at home. The shoot was completed successfully and the ad was a huge hit. Post this, more offers started pouring in and I thought it was finally time to break the news to my family. I told them, I didn't want to pursue my education further and start modelling. This was a big shock to my family and they tried to convince me. I was determined and wouldn't take no for an answer. My family told me, that the shelf lives of a model is limited. Most of them don't even get married and kids are out of question, as child birth will mess up your body and your modelling career will come to a standstill.

Story 3:
After a lot of resistance from my family, I finally started competing for state level boxing games. A lot of hard work, training and years had transformed my body and more importantly my mind into iron. Nothing could beat it, nothing could defeat it. After winning the state and national level championships, I finally won my first international game - Asian Women's Boxing Championship. I was at the peak of my career having won a fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship and a gold medal at the Asian Indoor Games and the inevitable happened. I fell in love.
When my trainer learnt about my marriage, he got too upset. He told me I was spoiling my career. I tried to convince him that I would play even post marriage, but he argued everyone said that in the beginning. Once reality sets in, you will be doing dishes and laundry instead of push ups and weight training. And before you know, you will be pregnant. What after that?

                                                 *************************


Three stories of three different women. All labelled and restricted by the society.
It would have been very easy for them to give up and accept life as it is.
But they decided to go against the tide, because they knew, because they dreamt and because they believed that they were so much more than what the society had labelled them as.

They were Indra Nooyi, Aditi Govitrikar and Mary Kom.

Indra Nooyi, the Current Chairperson and CEO of Pepsico.
Indra is a Business Executive and a Daughter and a Wife and a Mother.

Aditi Govitrikar, the only Indian to win the Mrs. World Title.
Aditi is a Model and an Actress and a Daughter and a Mother.

Mary Kom, the only Indian woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships.
Mary is a Boxer and a Daughter and a Wife and a Mother.



You are Beautiful And you are Smart.
You are Kind And You are Strong.
You are Unconquerable, because You are a Woman.

 
P.S. The above illustrations were drafted drawing inspiration from the lives of these three beautiful women. They might not necessarily be exact depictions of their real life incidents.

“This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus“.

Get. Set. Bolt.

Tata is a name I grew up with. My Father worked with the Tata Group for almost a decade.
And almost 70% of the things that we used at home were Tata products.
Our first car was a Tata Indica and my husband's first car, a Tata Manza.

This wasn't a mere co-incidence.
Both my families have immense trust and respect for the Tata group.
Though we have been talking about the Make In India campaign only for the past few months, the Tata group was a pioneer in supporting this ideology decades ago.

So, when I heard about the Tata Bolt activity conducted by Blogadda, I did not take a second and registered for it immediately.

Driving is more than a hobby to me. The feeling of being on the wheel liberates me.
The car that I drove back in college and then at work, was a compact hatchback and the comfort it provided me, never allured me towards sedans.
Post marriage, I had to settle for a sedan, and though sedans have their own advantage, I miss the freedom I feel, while driving hatch back cars.
Their compact designs make it easy to manouvre, park and to speed off.

No wonder, when I had the first glance of the Bolt I was floored. It was just like the car I would have loved to own.
Compact, smart and plain gorgeous. And the fact that it came from the House of Tata was an additional brownie point.

A premium hatch back car with looks that scream perfection, Bolt is a car of today's times.
I am confident, it's compact and functional design will make it a favourite with one and all.

The Bolt offers multi-drive feature where you can switch to different modes as per your requirement. You can use the sport mode when you are in a mood to speed off on the freelanes, the city mode for your regular everyday drive and the eco mode when you want to drive on a fuel efficient mode.
The Bolt comes in petrol and diesel options and the petrol version comes with a Revotron 1.2 engine that gives you an exceptional driving experience.
After I had checked out the Bolt from outside I sat on the rear seat of the car first and I was surprised with the kind of leg space it offered. What surprised me even more was when I saw that the Bolt had collapsible rear seats, which can be used as a makeshift bed during long drives. Perfect for families traveling with kids. Also the rugby shoulder seats make it a relaxing drive for all.

The Bolt offers the ConnectNext Touchscreen infotainment system by Harman that is touchscreen and has connectivity features like the advanced voice command recognition and smartphone enabled navigation from MapMyIndia.


And last but not the least, the Bolt comes with the 9th generation ABS by Bosche, corner stability control and dual air bags. A car that is stylish and safe..now that gets a big thumbs up from me. 

And for all those who are still not convinced, click on this click and book a test drive now.

“This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda.”.

So-Saree Turns 2 !

Source

Can you believe it..?

It's been two years, since So-Saree took birth.

It makes me so proud and happy today.

I am so tempted to go out and celebrate my blog's birthday, but it's a working day and I have so many deadlines to meet.

The last year, we had a month long blogathon. This year I am not too sure, but we are definitely planning to have more fun for the next one month. Because at So-Saree, we celebrate birthdays for a month, and not just one day.

For So-Saree's Second Anniversary, I decided I will do something that would make me happy.
And so after years of procrastinating, I finally registered to pledge my Eyes.

If you too have been thinking of pledging your eyes, I recommend you do it now.

I am urging all my readers, followers and fellow bloggers to pledge their eyes today and make someone less fortunate see this world through your eyes.

So-Saree Highlights - 2014

Just like last year I would like to highlight the journey of So-Saree through the past year.
It gives me a chance to relive those moments and the not so regular readers to catch up on some interesting posts. So here, we go...

January:

It was So-Saree's first Blog Anniversary, and we did a month long Blogathon where we published a post every day for a month.
Some of the popular posts of the month were:
A Little About Me
Inspired by Nikhil Thampi
Saree Inspiration- Priyanka Gandhi

February:                                
I had to travel to the USA for a work trip at the end of January and the only thing that helped me survive the month long blogathon was the support of my Bloggers Friends.
The Blogathon was possible, because 10 of my favourite bloggers did guest posts on So-Saree to ease some pressure off me. How sweet is that!
Some popular posts of the month were:
So-Saree Readers Speak_Payal
So-Saree Anniversary Guest Post_ Fairytale Style
So-Saree Anniversary Guest Post_Pineapple-ish

March:

After the month long blogathon I was too tired. So the month of March was slow and relaxed.
The post on Maharani Gayatri Devi holds a special place in my heart, because she is my ultimate saree icon.

April: 

I decided to dedicate the month of April to food and so I posted a total of four recipes this month.
Watermelon Sabji and the Coolwhip Fruit Salad enjoyed most popularity.

May:

In the month of May, I kickstarted the So-Saree in America Series, which by the way is not even half way to be completed. I promise to complete it this year.
My Favourite post from the month: So-Saree at Pismo Beach- Part 1

June:

The month of June began with the America Series, but ended on a special note. I finally made it to my first ever Bloggers Meet: Kama Jewellery's #DatewithDiamonds.
Special thanks to my Blogger Friend Heena who coaxed me into attending this event.

July:

Sayuri Dalvi - A True Mardani

It was Contest time in July for So-Saree. I joined BlogAdda and Indiblogger and started writing for various contests hosted by them. It kind of got too much for me to handle, but I thoroughly enjoyed participating in them.
Some of my favourite posts:
Ishq-E-Oman
The Story of a Mardaani

August:

August was when I reaped the fruits of the labor I put in July.

I won the Kama Jewellery and Mardaani Contest for Blogadda.


September:

September covered my travelogues from Nashik, while my friend Paras shared pictures from the countless Ganesh pandals he visited in Mumbai during Ganeshotsav.
His post on the eco-friendly Ganeshas of Mumbai was quite a hit.

October:

In the month of October, So-Saree hosted its first ever #BloggersMeet in association with the E&G group at Koroli.
This event not only added a feather to my Blogger's Hat, but also gave me the opportunity to meet more fabulous bloggers. A full day picnic in the lap of nature with my girl gang..couldn't have asked for anything better.

November:

The Month of November saw me doing my first guest post on my friend Manisha's blog - The Panetar Story.

December:

Coz December is my Wedding Anniversary Month, I started the So-Shaadi series where my friends shared their wedding pictures and rituals with So-Saree readers. Also, for the first time in four years I shared pictures of my wedding outfit on my blog.
I was really hoping a popular publication would be willing to pay me a bomb for releasing my wedding pictures.
You must have already guessed, that didn't happen. 

That was it.
The So-Saree Highlights has become an annual ritual now. I love it doing it and I hope you like it too.

Let's all welcome the new year with a big smile and bundles of positivity.
Happy New Year Everyone.