Vintage saris

my mum's Shalwar

16 of my mum's 20+ saris!

the body of the sari to the left, the pallu (part that goes over your shoulder) to the right
Gorgeous right? It's spun with gold thread

the pallu of another one spun with gold thread.

 

Most of the saris pictured above were bought on eBay. eBay can have some gorgeous (and useless) things, and this just proves it. Next time you are looking for a dress for a formal event, try a sari. Chances are, a used, vintage, formal sari will probably only put you off about US$25 plus under-garments.
The only problem now is trying to figure out how to tie it!

Outfit of the Monday

pretty bangles that I wore with the outfit

shalwar top and black denim leggings, because as you will see later on, the pants that came with it were a tad off

close up

try to ignore the face and focus on the pants

Most, if not all schools, allow you to wear Indian wear to school the day before divali. I simply wore what was pictured above with my trusty brown Birkenstocks. My denim leggings are from Macy's and I got my bangles and Shalwar from an Indian fair (which is exactly what it sounds like).

Tomorrow, the final day of our "celebrations" is sure to be your favourite!

The festival of light

2 dozen diyas, not much but enough

Today is the 3rd and main day of a 5 day festival known as Diwali. It signifies good over evil and light over darkness. Tonight India and Hindus all over the world will light little clay pots known as diyas and welcome Mother Lakshmi into their freshly cleaned homes.
Most Hindus light hundreds of diyas to place all over their yard. They invite friends over and bake sweets to share with their family, friends and neighbours.
Where I live, Diwali is a public holiday and everyone, Hindu or not, lights diyas and makes (or buys) sweets to share and enjoy. (Like my family!)
You and I will "celebrate" the final three days of Diwali together!
So enjoy tomorrow and Thursday's Diwali themed blogs!

Bows on bows on bows

Yay! Aren't homemade bows awesome? Especially when you can use Lilly ribbon to make them. :)

Art showing

On Tuesday I went to a art opening after gymnastics. The artist's name is Shalini and she does really detailed abstract, Indian drawings, mainly of people.
My favourite thing about her work?
She uses nail polish for some of the detailing!

Here's a little bit more about her

The artist herself

one of my favourite pieces

Camisole: Old navy (old)
Skirt: Ralph Lauren (just a plain navy cotton)
Cardigan: Talbots (similar)
Sandals: Lands' End


P.S. Talbots usually has my favourite cardis. I'm 5' 5" and the petite (just petite, not petite small or something like that) fits me pretty well.

my favourite headband!

a simple tutorial on how to make my favourite headband

YAY!

A couple months back my camera was working really slowly, so I thought I needed a new one. I asked for one for Christmas this month. Dad tried to fix it and it turned out something is wrong with the flash.
In July, I entered a regional competition to celebrate my country's 50th anniversary. The prize giving was today, I won 2nd place in my age group (our school was the only secondary group that entered!) and guess what I won...
Yep, a camera!
It's a 14 megapixel Olympus camera.

Here's the poem that I wrote:

Berlin Day 7

Friday:
That day we went to the Olympic stadium of Games of the XI Olympiad held in Berlin. The architecture was amazing for something built around 1936. There were little write-ups posted everywhere on the history of it dealing with the wars, Hitler and so-forth. After that we went to the site of Checkpoint Charlie and saw a line (which runs through the whole of Berlin) signifying where the Berlin wall once stood. I had a crêpe and ate some more brats. Oh, and more ice cream, YAY! We went into a GIGANTIC chocolate store with replicas of Berlin monuments made of chocolate. I can’t believe we went all the way there to buy Trinidadian and Tobagonian chocolate. We ate at a cosy, Italian, family restaurant with nice people.

Pastels with some POP!

Top: Random house brand (similar)
Shorts: J.Crew
Cardigan: New York and Company (similar)
Ballet Flats: Lands' End (similar)
Earrings: Claire's (similar)
Handbag: Lily Bloom (same style, different print)

Mum loved this top while I was a little iffy on it. It was 10€ so we bought it. I thought it look a bit like a pyjama top, but when I got home, I realized the blue in the top and my cardigan were the same. I just had to add the shorts and it was perfect! Some may find it a bit too much, but I will wear my Lily Bloom purse with just about anything! The leopard print is fairly subdued, so I think I can get away with it. It's so colourful it can match with almost anything! I love how the earrings and the shoes match perfectly.

P.S Forever 21 and Claire's have some really nice costume jewelry for reasonable prices