Like most Fridays, the other day, my coworker asked what my weekend plans were. Most weeks, the usual game plan often includes cleaning/reorganizing, running errands, working out, seeing friends, and anything else that feels “productive” to me. Even when I give myself a little “Self-love Sunday,” it often becoming a small snippet of my weekend, sandwiched between all of my “to-do’s” for the day. I remember telling a friend on Friday that I used to feel bad whenever I didn’t have any social or productive plans for the weekend. I often throw myself into new learnings, events, projects, hobbies– how do you think this blog started? I’m so used to…
5 Favorite DIY Hair Masks Inspired by My Mom
My mom has always reinforced the value of investing in a good hair and skin care routine. It’s no question my beauty routines have been inspired by hers— particularly hair care. Everyone in my family knows about my mom’s fixation over beauty. They would talk about how she would always experiment with her beauty routine and how she could spend all of her time doing so. Particularly, she enjoys making DIY masks— it’s she’s been doing for a LONG time. Even today, she’ll tell me about the latest products she extensively researched and persuade me to try (in fact, most of my favorite skincare products I talk about here are…
Self Care Sundays: Overcoming the Sunday Scaries
I always get the Sunday scaries. I could be anticipating an amazing week, and still feel this way. Even with this new virtual working environment and more time at home, the weeks feel jam-packed and fast-paced. Sometimes, it’s nice to take a day to slow things down. Often, I like to make Fridays and Saturdays as the energetic, social days– often full of travel, errands, and friends. Those are the days I want to go out and get stuff done. On the flip side, Sundays are my day to relax and take it easy. It doesn’t always play out that way, but, I still try to be intentional with even…
Healthy(ish) Red Velvet Cake Pops
I think I’ve been channeling more of my energy into baking projects as a distraction from the world’s stimuli. As I mentioned before, I have been feeling quite drained this past while, and I needed the ultimate pick-me-up. I’ve also noticed I have a greater desire to emotionally eat. I wanted to try something a little unconventional than the usual cookies, cakes and brownies: cake pops! Granted, you could just get one from Starbucks, but considering how I resort to sweets for emotional satiety, I’m still actively trying to bake goodies that are healthy but don’t compromise in taste. Besides, this was a perfect weekend mini-project to get in the…
‘Mums and Mom Jeans
I picked up these beautiful chrysanthemums (aka, ‘mums) while I was running errands a few weekends ago. I’m not someone people would consider a “plant mom” and I normally don’t buy flowers too. My friends can attest to this. Whenever I’m given flowers, I’ll excitedly put them in a vase and put them on display, only for someone else to end up taking care of them… HA! However, these flowers caught my eye and I bought them without hesitation. I put the mums in a vase, gave them some water, and placed them where the sun can glisten on the beautiful light magenta petals. Last week, on a very bright,…
I Miss You, NYC
Given that 2020 has been the kind of roller coaster where you’re pretty much upside down the whole time, and current circumstances have completely changed how I envisioned this summer to be, I have been thinking a lot more about last summer. Summer 2019 was one for the books — I had graduated, spent my first summer in years summer quarter free (yay no school), and most memorably, I went to New York City. It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year. It was my little graduation present to myself. I don’t have a great explanation, but New York was someplace I’ve wanted to visit for a while. Having…
Does Skincare Matter in Quarantine? Yes.
One of the first things I realized when stay at home/lockdown orders were initiated was how I was going to totally revamp my skincare. I was stoked. I was excited to not wear makeup every day and channel my energy every morning and night to my skin. My skincare routine has always been very simple: facewash, moisturizer, eye cream. Since March, I’ve added a few new products to my usual routine, but overall, kept it fairly simple. I have combination skin – a little dry in the cheek, chin and upper lip area, and quite oily in the t-zone (nose and forehead). While I don’t actively get a lot of…
ARITZIA HAUL: Summer Favorites
In high school, Aritzia TNA hoodies were a huge thing, and I could never bring myself to ask my mom to get me an overpriced hoodie just to hop on a trend. Now, Aritzia’s appeal has increased because it’s my go-to aesthetic for work attire inspiration (and now WFH loungewear). I’m drawn to pieces that are chic and put together but effortless. It helps that the quality is long-lasting and staple items seldom go out of style. The price point can be a little rough on the wallet, so I tend to shop for unique statement pieces, high-quality basics, or just a really good deal. Speaking of, I can’t resist…
Understanding my Privilege as a South Asian Model Minority to Become a Better Ally
*Disclaimer: this post contains controversial content. Please recognize that I am expressing my thoughts and perspective.* My heart has been heavy for the past few weeks. It’s important for me to talk about current world issues, specifically, the Black Lives Matter movement (which, btw, Black Lives Matter) and my privilege, before deep-diving into the other content I want to post. And I will try my best to be as articulate as I can — there are a lot of thoughts and emotions. These past few weeks I’ve been trying to better understand the Black Lives Matter movement, and specifically, how I can be an ally as an Indian-American. Yes, acknowledging…
Work from Home: 5 ways to be productive & stay sane
Before the stay at home order, work from home (WFH) was an occasional Friday treat for me. Maybe my team decided to not come into the office, had a long week of weekday travel (and my flight landed at 11:55pm on Thursday), or I wanted to save my commute to kick start weekend. Regardless, it was often something I had planned and communicated ahead of time to focus and recharge outside of my normal work environment. Then came COVID-19. I didn’t mind working from home at the beginning. It’s great not having to commute, sleeping in a little, staying in my PJs, no makeup, and my whole kitchen at my…
