OPENING MY BIRCHBOX: AUGUST EDITION

Before we move onto October lets get something off of our plate, the august month birchbox. I know its way late, but i got great products at good sample sizes this month, i was just enjoying them and didn't realize that i haven't posted the reviews yet. So, with no further delay lets open the august month's birchbox.

One good thing about this box is there are no sample sachets, i don't like those, cause there is never enough to use and no way of knowing the results. So i was very happy seeing the following products with good sample sizes in my box.

RESTAURANT REVIEW: ARAYA'S PLACE

Lets get this season rolling with a restaurant review on AGT. We are planning to spend our cold days either snuggled up at home with movies & madeleines, or eating out at restaurants. So lets get started, one restaurant at a time.

Araya's Place - Vegan Thai Restaurant - http://www.arayasplace.com/
Yup, its Thai and Vegan. So now you know that this is a one of a kind restaurant, and why i chose to review it here. Being a non-vegetarian myself i was skeptical but Tee kept singing praises of how the food here is so good. So we gave this a try on the eve of Tee's birthday, dinner date and celebration, two in one!

NEW SEASON'S GOALS

Happy first day of autumn/fall everyone! As we all welcome the new season, i have set myself some goals. Starting and posting regularly on this blog has been my one main goal the past spring/summer season, and it has inspired me in so many ways to write & share more with you all. There have been some other goals which were equally challenging and inspiring in my life. These goals help me keep myself motivated throughout and eventually when i do achieve these goals there is nothing that makes me happier.

But this season's goals are nothing big or fancy. This season, its just simple goals that will help me learn new things, appreciate the life i live with Tee, and be happy this holiday season.

THE PERFECT FAMILY ROOM : HOME DECOR - FL EDITION

Today i am sharing details about my(Tee's as well) most favorite room in my SIL's house in Florida, the family room. We all had the most fun decorating this space and the whole family just loves spending time in there. The highlights of this room are the floor length arch windows over looking the pool in the backyard. I love Palladian windows, they give such an elegant yet grandiose feel to any place. Also the windows bring in the much needed natural light, the room always feels bright and lively. I am sure this room is what ultimately made them sign on this house.

WEEKEND STYLE: CASUAL & BRIGHT

Hope you all had a great weekend. We tried(emphasizing a lot on the word "tried") to clean up our guest bedroom although its totally not in a state to accommodate any guest at this point, did some furniture shopping(yay!!), had an awesome brunch (pancakes, hash browns, waffles, the whole shebang) outside after a long time(last was in port angeles during our trip to Olympic national park, read more about that here), and did a movie night.

Today's outfit is perfect for all the activities i mentioned above, for a casual day out shopping, or sunday brunching, or to the movies, but definitely not for cleaning up your guest room aka store room;) Sun is still blessing us around here, but it does get cold sometimes, especially at night. So opting for something bright and colorful(its still summer y'all), and adding jeans and closed peep-toe shoes(to battle the chill) are just perfect for these inconsistent weather days.

FASHION ONLINE: CURRENT FAVORITES

It is the summer's great last heat,

It is the fall's first chill: They meet.

–Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt

This is my second year in Seattle, away from India, although my second summer was great, i am more excited for my second autumn/fall here. Fall excites me for so many reasons, the autumn leaf color, the pumpkin spice latte, the holiday mood among people, the perfect weather, and of course the new arrivals in stores. One more reason to love autumn is the outerwear, I have quickly developed a love for outerwear of all kinds, trenches, coats, parkas, puffers, i love everything! And this month, i am loving the tops and dresses in dark orange, oxblood(love!) and army greens. And its also the perfect time of the year to go for blues, blacks and grays. Here are some my current favorites.

Anthropologie

FOLLOW ME AROUND THE DISCOVERY PARK

I have been pestering Tee for quite sometime to take me to the discovery park and finally on the labor day weekend he did! Discovery park is one of the largest parks in the city, it has some properties that are part of the military, you can see old houses and buildings which probably housed some men of the army/navy before. We just covered a part of this park on that day, the famous west-point park. The west point park is on the shores of the puget sound and has a lighthouse. There is a shuttle service(only on weekends i guess) from the visitor centre to the west-point park. You either have to take the loop trail(don't forget to pack your shoes for this one) to go to west-point or take this shuttle. There is a parking permit available for people with disabilities, senior citizens or family with kids, they can drive to the west-point with this permit.

NOT JUST ANOTHER DIY PAINTED WOODEN SPOONS

Hope you all are chirpy this monday, because after a sumptuous lunch at a friend's place yesterday, and having a friend over today, this monday is all but blue for me and i have something fun and colorful to share with you all today. 

I have a cute little DIY (do-it-yourself) project for you all. Its very simple, and simple totally does it for me. If you have couple of wooden spoons and left over paints lying around in your home, then this project is what you need, and it takes just a couple of hours. If you don't have the supplies, you should go get them, because this project is just fun, and you will have something unique and colorful on your kitchen counter in the end. There are probably a million other painted wooden spoons DIYs out there, but i tried it myself for the first time, and thought i would share(in detail) how i went with it here. So, lets dig into it, shall we?

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK : VIDEO

Hope you all are having a relaxing weekend. Today i have a little video i made of our olympic national park road trip we took during the july 4th weekend, its super short. If you are in the pacific north west or planning to visit, then this national park is a must visit. You can read more about the trip here and here.

Subscribe to my youtube channel here if you are interested to see more such videos in future, i promise to improve the quality :) Enjoy the rest of the weekend. xo, Hems

VINTAGE CHIC: TUNIC + TOP-KNOT OOTD

Lately i have been thinking a lot about changing my look with a new hairstyle. While the change is still in my thoughts, i decided to work with what i have for now, and try something basic. This particular day i decided to try the top knot with proper tutorials, not my usual "pull-all-the-hair-up-and-pin-it" one. I watched some videos, grabbed my comb, hair tie & bobby pins, began twisting and turning my hair, in the end ta-da, i had a decent top knot without using a lot of products. Its not perfect obviously, i plan to practice while i binge watch new york fashion week live at http://newyorkfashionweeklive.com/ for the rest of the week.

LIVING ROOM & HOME OFFICE : HOME DECOR - FL EDITION

Hope you all had a fun filled long weekend. I didn't want it to end, but here we are into september, back to school, to decorating the dorm rooms, to changing up the closet, to taking out those scarfs and ankle boots. Here's to a new season, let it be an epic one!

Usually in large houses, there is a formal living/front room, mostly near the entrance which is widely used to receive and entertain guests, for reading, etc., and a family room, usually adjacent to the kitchen where the members of the house hangout everyday. Today I bring you the formal living room or the front room, and its workaholic neighbor, the home office of my SIL's house.