Do or Don’t: Red Lips and Nails

Recently I came across this picture of Léa Seydoux and was immediately drawn to her immaculate red lip, and matching nails. How stunning does it look? I am digging the colour combination of Léa’s outfit with the pop of red from her lips and nails.

A few years ago, I was at a restaurant—to celebrate my birthday—and an elegant couple was seated next to me. Both husband and wife were dressed in sharp black suits but the wife was wearing red lipstick and nail polish, just like that picture above. Throughout the dinner, I couldn’t stop glancing at her every chance I got to admire how stylish she looked. Prior to that night, I thought matching red lips and nails is not elegant but that woman proved me wrong. She is one of the most stylish women I have ever seen. Ever since then, I have always made red lips and nail polish my go-to look for special occasions. Most of my friends used to think it’s “too much” to match lips and nails, especially in that hue but I changed their mind with a simple trick. Keep the outfit simple and classic just like Léa Seydoux and the woman at the restaurant. Any thoughts? Would you wear red lips and nails?

P.S. This red lipstick and nail polish shade are beautiful.

Photo via Vogue.com

Five Spring Trends

Have you noticed, nowadays trends don’t last a season, rather they remain in trend for years? I like it better this way because most of us tend to shop for clothes we can visualize wearing for years. For example; straight leg jeans. I don’t think it will be out of trend for quite some time. I, for one, can’t stop wearing them. The five trends for spring/summer this year is very exciting to watch, and I am leaning towards plaids! What is your most favourite out of the five?

Cropped jeans; Blouse; Lace dress

All-white everything
An all-white outfit paired with tan sandals or bag is a classic summer look, but my favourite part of the look is the white blouse. I can’t get enough of them.

Blazer, Pants, Top

Plaid

This is my favourite trend, and I am especially digging the plaid blazer with jeans look. How stylish are those plaid pants with marron oxfords?

Pants, Tunic, Jacket

Lilac
I am so glad the pink or “millennial pink” trend is out (even as a millennial, I was sick of it). Lilac is popping up everywhere and it looks very sophisticated.

Sailor pants, Utility Jacket, Hoodie

Utility

Army green colour is another hot colour for spring. I have seen pictures of girls pairing utility jacket with floral dresses and it looks very cute.

Top photo via Net-a-Porter. All photos via links listed.

A Fun Update / Spring

I’ve been absent from the blog for some time, not because I didn’t have time, rather I was suffering from writer’s block. I don’t want to post just for the sake of it. Last year, after being absent for a month, I did an update post on what I was eating, wearing, reading and watching. So, I figured this might be a fun thing to do every season. Even though it’s spring, according to the calendar at least, it sure doesn’t feel like it, so this update is something in the middle of winter and spring.

My Diet
My local farmers market is still looking like winter so my diet has been mostly potatoes in lots of different ways such as cut into chunks and cooked with beef stew, or mashed with shepherd’s pie or simply made into fries. Recently, I discovered these tortillas and have been on a twice-a-week taco diet. They are so, so good that they would be perfectly fine with just guacamole. Yesterday, I had fried chicken tacos with guacamole and aioli which was perhaps the best taco I ever made. The recipe for that will be coming soon.

My go-to clothes
I have been wearing my big down jacket non-stop and seriously looking forward to giving it a break. Under that, I have been wearing this turtleneck (similar here) quite a lot and only giving it a break because I don’t want any questionable looks. I love the soft look of the turtleneck with my bulky jacket.

The best show or movie I watched recently
These days I have been mostly watching shows, documentaries and movies on Netflix. The best thing I watched recently is the documentary called Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. It tells the saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. I am on the hunt for some new T.V. shows to watch so I’d love to hear any recommendations if you have.

A book on my bedside table
I am in the middle of this book, and so far, I would highly recommend it to anyone. The story is one of the most interesting and distressing I have ever read.

Top photo by Biegun Wschodni. Corn tortilla photo via. Jacket photo via.

Tips on How to Decorate a Bookshelf (And 9 Beautiful Objects)

A bookshelf is the first furniture piece I notice in an apartment. My bookshelf, although small, is my favourite furniture in my apartment because it is where all my best-loved things reside, from books to objects to art, albeit a very small collection. A bookshelf in a library would be easy to arrange but at home, you need to bring in a little personality to mix. Recently, I was rearranging my bookshelf and realised that it lacks any personality and, frankly, looked quite boring. It desperately needed a couple of new objects. The tricky part was, I didn’t know what kind of objects to buy? So, as anybody does in the modern age, I went down the Pinterest hole, looked at a whole lot of bookshelf pictures for inspiration, and narrowed down three essential tips for decorating a bookshelf.

Genius Tricks: How to Remove Excess Salt, Unpleasant Smell, and Unruly Nail Edges

Do you swear by any kitchen hacks? I love to read tips and tricks people know especially when it’s related to cooking and cleaning. Usually, the best place to find out these tricks is from mothers. They always have one or two mind-blowing tips and tricks that you would be glad to know. For this post, I asked my mother about her go to tricks. From about a dozen or so that she shared with me, there were three that are not commonly known so I decided to share it here after testing them out.

1. An easy way to remove excess salt from anything you’re cooking without adding anything extra is by making a small dough ball using just plain flour and water, and adding it to your sauce, stews or rice. Leave it in there for a few minutes and remove once you have checked the salt level is perfect. The dough ball absorbs all the excess salt and leaves nothing behind so you don’t have to compromise on taste.

2. Want to get rid of any unpleasant smell in the refrigerator or kitchen cupboard? Leave an open bottle of distilled white vinegar in there for a whole day. The vinegar will absorb any unpleasant leaving the place smelling like nothing or regular clean refrigerator, whichever you prefer.

3. The last one is a beauty hack, but fear not, it is nothing bizarre :) This hack is for unruly dry nail edges. If you suffer from dry and peeling nail edges, butter it up. Yes, massage the area with a little bit of unsalted butter, cover them with cotton gloves and go to bed. You will wake up with nourished and soft nails edges.

I’d love to hear any hacks you swear by.

Photo via Getty Images.

Recipe | Oven Naan

Naan is just the perfect type of bread - soft and crunchy, not too thick or thin, and goes with anything. From curries to cheeses and desserts. It is impossible to not love something so humble yet so delicious. The best type of naan is tandoori naan, made in a traditional clay oven. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find the perfect tandoori naan in the U.S. Of course, there are many places you can find tandoori naan, but it’s not the same. It is fine fresh but cools down to have the texture of rubber (have you noticed?). This is why I have been attempting to make naan in my oven.

Snow Day in Northeast

We are having a big snow storm and I couldn’t be happier. There is something about waking up and rushing to the window to see everything covered in snow. It is always such a beautiful soothing sight. What are your plans? I am having an off day so I am spending the whole day indoors. I am also going to make the creamiest very chocolatey hot chocolate, and if you would like to join me here’s how I plan to do it.