My Fall Project: Dining Room Update

Happy Thanksgiving lovelies.  Hope you all had a great day filled with tons of food and love.  I am forever thankful for the food on the table but more so for those who surround it.  After a massive thanksgiving day lunch I sit here writing with the last piece of left over pie. NOMS.  Much love to all my family, friends, and you :)   

A little over two and half years ago when my (at the time to-be-) husband and I were shopping for furnishings for our apartment, thought it would be a great idea to keep our place somewhat modern and go for a high top table and bar stools as a dining room set.  Our main living space is somewhat open to the dining room but has a completely closed off kitchen which leaves the dining space feeling extra tight.  The high top table looked great but really served no purpose.  It literally became a catch all for basically anything that walked through the door.  I can count the number of times hubby and I actually ate a meal there on one hand.  Hosting was a whole other issue in itself.  I’d use the table to lay out beautiful spreads but everyone would sit in awkward positions around my low coffee table or would try to balance their plate and glass while standing around – all in all it just didn’t work the way I had wanted it too. 

Here are some before shots, although I do miss the spreads I’ve done in the past, I hope to have prettier and tastier ones on my new table.  What purpose did those beautiful spreads serve when everyone wasn’t seated comfortably or together? 

UGH

Mother's Day Spread

Birthday Tea Party

 We gave away our table and barstools; hopefully they can get more use out of it as they’ll be using it in a different manner.  I found our new table at West Elm. Got tons of criticism and questions as to why I only purchased the table and not chairs.  I want to emphasize that our dining space is really limited, the table takes up a huge chunk of the space and I didn’t want to tie myself down to more chairs. I decided to repurpose my entry way/ additional seating chairs as our head dining room chairs.  They were from Home Goods and a great buy {est. $200 each as compared to the chairs at pottery barn and west elm costing $400 on sale and upwards} Commitment phobia much?! But realistically why spend an excess of money on extra chairs that I may use once every so often.  

I love these chairs more than my right kidney...

Now you’re probably thinking I didn’t exactly help my hosting/ guest accommodation situation but I did. We decided to go with these foldable chairs from IKEA and these seat cushions for comfort but also to easily store away once the guests have left. We decided on 4 foldable chairs for now, costing less than $15 each with the cushion; and can always be multifunctional as well.  Check convenience box here. 

I did however use all that saved money on a new fall work wardrobe -- smart savings if you ask me [hubby rolling his eyes right now]

My thought process at the time of purchase was that the brown/nude tones would match any décor pattern I decided to go with but ultimately I ended up going with white, black, grays, and some sort of pop of color (started off with turquoise/teal but now obsessed with yellow).  I mention this because I like the flow of my décor to carry throughout the main living space.  Once the dining table came home and daylight savings happened (to ruin my life) I felt like I needed an update to the entire space and all the summery white just felt like it didn’t belong even though I had hoped to keep summer alive forever… tears.  These gray curtains were a mere $15 per panel and add a high end feel to the space. Here's your first glimpse at our new and improved dining area.

This is what it looked like the first night

Wait for it ...

:: TaDa ::

Hope you enjoyed my little renovation fall project and had an aamazzingg Thanksgiving. Here's my the only picture I got of my spread from lunch today.  

& thats a wrap loves. Have a fabulous Black Friday & Weekend!

|| Happiness Never Goes Out of Style ||

TimeOut Friday!

Guys !! I totally forgot to post this on Tuesday.  I've been swamped with work deadlines this week and have barely had a good nights sleep butttt its FriYAY and it's finally time for this Mrs. to enjoy her weekend!

1.  Sabyasachi!
First Pottery Barn and now with Christian Louboutin.  I can't get enough of Sabyasachi!! Kind of sad my items at Pottery Barn are still on back order and haven't shipped yet. 
http://www.vogue.in/content/accessory-sonam-kapoor-swears/#s-cust0

Kind of wish I was a fashionable dude right now.....

2.  Marriage.
Married for 2.5 years and I wish I had the right words to express my feelings and experiences ... until I can check out this article ...

http://theeverygirl.com/5-ways-marriage-taught-me-to-be-independent

3.  Hold the phone - Is Thanksgiving reeally next week?! Are you ready for your celebrations? 

4.  Obsessing over this pastel Thanksgiving Table. 

https://laurenconrad.com/blog/2016/11/inspired-idea-a-pastel-pumpkin-tablescape/

5.  Someones trash is another's treasure.  

Referring back to my previous Timeout post - I finally finished de-cluttering my tiny home.  I had no idea how much junk I actually accumulated until I filled my entire car with charitable items this Sunday. I'm sure I can use another round of de-cluttering once spring rolls around. But for now I hope someone else's holiday season is brightened with my brand new clothing and home essentials donation.  

6.  Upcoming blog posts.

• I mentioned previously I took on a fall project to re-do our dining room and that should be completed this weekend. Stay tuned for a full blog post on the deets.  One more trip to HomeGoods should do the trick. 
• Ladies (and Gentlemen) if you follow me on snapchat (high five if you do) you know an Air Fryer has recently made home for itself on my kitchen counter.  Once I've made a variety of dishes, (I've been pretty repetitive thus far)  I'll do a full on review but let me give away the suspense by saying I absolutely LOVE it. 

7.  Fashion Haul

So we all know how excited I am for black Friday sales but I think I hit the mall at the right time this past Saturday where there were still some great Veteran's Day sales. 

• Victoria's Secret had bras on sale for $14.99! 
• Nordstrom Rack had an additional 25% off their clearance racks! Cannot wait to start rocking my new outfits. 
• The limited had 60% off the entire store and an addition 70% off final sale items. Literally paid single digits for some awesome pieces that may not be for the upcoming winter but some great pieces I can either layer or save till spring rolls around.  This girl never says no to a bargain!
• Bare minerals had their friends and family sale (20%) off. I stocked up on my favoritest foundation ever and picked up a few matte lipsticks... obsessing with this color right now.

8.  About to invest in some good skin care products - please leave me some suggestions! I have had super oily acne-prone skin my entire life.  Over the past couple of years the acne has subsided on its own with a random outburst every now and then but rare.  *Thank Heavens* I think the bare minerals foundation has done wonders for my skin.  But for the last couple of months I've seen my skin become un-flawless - patches of dry skin as well as skin pigmentation.  Thinking about trying some of these out - if you've tried them I'd love to hear your review of if you have any other suggestions..

• Rose Gold Elixir
• Face Masks

9.  Dinner this week...

 Had taco night this week | Home made shredded chicken and spicy corn; guacamole and pico from Trader Joes. Satisfied so many cravings! 

10.  Flashback Friday.

Our one year anniversary photo shoot in Central Park. Are we really coming up on 3 years?! AH! 

& thats a wrap loves. Have a fabulous Friday & Weekend!

|| Happiness Never Goes Out of Style ||

Time Out Tuesday

1.  November 8^th, 2016: Election Night!

Hold on tight America – your fate is being decided today.  I’m not a political person and hate to get into debates over politics unless you’re my husband of course… Regardless of what party you stand for – I encourage everyone but more so my ladies – all you beautiful woman have to stop complaining about how unequal equal pay is, or how you’re publicly shamed for breastfeeding your child, or how other countries allow women YEARS off for maternity leave and some of us have to go back in just a few weeks’ time to put food on the table, and the list goes on but if you’re not voting you’re not doing anything to change your situation.  Less than 100 years ago women didn’t even have the right to vote!!  Hit the polls before it’s too late. Do it to honor those that worked day and night to make it happen. Regardless of who you vote for or how you may feel - Hillary has made history.  Maybe one day you or your daughter could be President of the United States of America. 

2.  Dining Room Make Over!

Currently obsessed with redoing my entire apartment but took on my dining room as a fall project. With the holidays being right around the corner, West Elm and ZGallerie will not stop emailing with me elegant decor and over-the-top hosting ideas... #homedecorgoals My tiny 700 square foot apartment does not allow for any of these elaborate dinner tables but they’re just so gorgeous... I’m working on recreating these for our tiny home; I’ll do a full post on the update process soon.  I hope to be done before Thanksgiving. 

   

3.  De-cluttering.

Previously mentioned that my apartment is only 700 square feet.  I think I’ve just been in denial that the storage place was so limited and kept forcing things to fit behind closet and cabinet doors.  I forgot about so many things we received as wedding presents, so many things we’d purchased on our honeymoon, and so many pairs of shoes and clothing items I owned.  They’ve been pushed to the back of my closet but really what purpose is any of that serving me? I’m taking a small area of our apartment each weekend and purging things into 3 categories: Donation, Toss, and Re-purpose.  I initially tried to stay away from the re-purpose category but there were somethings I could not bring myself to give away due to the sentimental value … Here are some tips to follow.  http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/pro-organizer-tips-what-not-to-do-when-decluttering-your-home-168836

4.  21 Day Fix.

As you all may know I’ve gotten more than halfway through the 21 day fix challenge before but now I’m determined to complete it.  This week I’m doing a mini detox by cutting out bad carbs and the excess sugar I’ve been eating post Diwali and Halloween and have started doing the workouts nightly. I will start the 21 day fix on Sunday – I know I’m setting myself up for disaster because I already have multiple Thanksgiving Dinners lined up :-O Wish me luck!

5.  Arijit Singh.

Recently obsessed with Arijit Singh all over again if you’ve been following my on snap chat.  Our wedding song was Tum Hi Ho but check out these songs – they’ve been on repeat on our car rides and decluttering sessions at home.  Soch na Sake, Channa Meraya, Itni Si Baat Hai, and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

6.  Indian Fashion.

Sometimes I wish I could have a wedding every year (to my hubby of course) – can we take a moment to look at Manish Malhotra’s latest festive collection.  

                                                                                  

7.  Speaking of Desi Fashion – 

Here are a few of my recent desi outfit of the day {OOTD} that I never got a chance to write up a full blog post about.  It’s so much fun using statement pieces with multiple outfits.                                             

This outfit also has a chooridaar pajami if I ever decided to not wear the skirt.  Love multi-functional everything. & I ALWAYS come for cake. 

This lace jacket was a part of another outfit (I designed this out of an old Sari of my moms - made into a beautiful lengha and choli with this lace jacket over) but I have not found a formal enough occasion to wear a lengha to recently and so I used the inner-shirt and pajami of another outfit... the color matched my shoes and popped against the lace jacket beautifully! 

So many Indian designers are fusing traditional desi clothing with the western styles.  I paired this brocade asymmetrical jacket with a lace jumpsuit (great find at Marshalls last summer!) I paired this look with my polki necklace - which is an absolute obsession of mine right now. It is the perfect statement necklace - if I could wear everyday I would.  Disclaimer : statement necklaces are life especially ones this beautiful * thank you hubbs! 

& That's a wrap lovelies.

|| Happiness Never Goes Out of Style ||

Time Out Tuesdays

Here's my spin on the Three Things Thursday Post now on Tuesdays!

1.  Marriage is for Losers

If you're married - or about to be (anytime this century) check out this article! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-m-flanagan/marriage-is-for-losers_b_4369869.html?

2.  How to Make Your Work Day Go Faster

Most of us start our work week dreading Mondays, praising God that we've made it to Friday! (Been guilty of this some weeks but these tips really help you enjoy being at work and make your week fly by!) http://me.popsugar.com/how-to/How-Make-Workday-Go-Much-Faster-42469473 # 2 is my holy grail!
My afternoon must haves are : chocolate covered almonds and 100 ounces of water all day... which in the end gives me a reason to take a walk to the bathroom.

3.  Spontaneous Date Nights

As mentioned in a previous blog post that my hubby's work schedule limits our time together.  The days I'm at work he'll be off.  Last night after work, I planned on picking up some groceries for the week but we ended up at the movies instead. I love this new weeknight spontaneity in our relationship now!
Also - why are the trailers soooo long? My popcorn never even makes it to the actual movie ... #firstworldproblems

Its 2016 - Am I the only one who still saves ticket stubs?!


4.  :: Calling all Bollywood Fans :: 

I saw Ae Dil Hai Mushkil - let me know your thoughts in the comments below if you've seen it. I was kind of annoyed in the beginning of the movie but {{ SPOILER ALERT}} SRK completely made my night with his surprise appearance for a whole 2 minutes.  Karan Johar you have rocked it one more time!! - The controversy over this and other movies with Pakistani actors has just rubbed me the wrong way - Fawad Khan had a small but strong role - why discriminate against great talent??  Aishwarya's come back was hot to say the least! Check it out if you love a Karan Johar movie !!

Aishwarya Rai | Ranbir Kapoor | Anushka Sharma | Fawad Khan

5.  Rose Gold Utensils - SAY WHAT?I temporarily lost my mind over these. How UHmazing would these look on my Thanksgiving Dinner Table?!

6.  :: Fan Girl Moment :: Sabyasachi for Pottery Barn!!

If you don't know who Sabyasachi is, please google him right now you are missing out on a legendary Indian Fashion Designer.  He just teamed up with Pottery Barn and even though none of the items match my white/gray home decor I could not resist ordering some statement pieces.

7.  Happy November lovelies!
Can you believe there's only two more months left in 2016?! The holiday season is right around the corner and I cannot wait to start shopping. I'm so excited for Thanksgiving but you know I'm counting down the days to the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday in the US / Boxing Day in Canada, etc etc)  Every Shopaholics Holiday! I know the day-after-Christmas sales are better but how do you just say no to all those "Deals of the Day" ?! 

Side note - recently Confessions of a Shopaholic was on TV when I was flipping through the channels and I couldn't help but laugh because I saw a bit of myself in her, sadly! 

Until next time loves.

|| Happiness Never Goes Out of Style ||