Winter :: White and Shine

Its winters and all I can think of is New Year celebrations, snow on the ground and crackers in the air; the gorgeous festivities, marriages and decorations :D 

4.33 pm on Friday 22^nd Nov’13 |Listening to Bryan Adams - Summer of 69 and pinning to  #GnS (read as Glitter and Shine)

Whenever I think of winter vacations/ trips, ‘Home Alone’ somehow manages to strike an instant cord in my head. Plum cake - lots and lots of it, is a close contender to 'home alone' in my Christmas memory list. I distinctly remember my first moment of the OH! SO DEVINE!  plum cake. It was love in the first bite. 

At Mathematics teacher’s place, a bunch of happy little girls, we sit on her couch and twin bed with our legs swinging back and forth in the air. We laugh as we enjoy the freshly baked plum cake. God! I remember it like yesterday. 

I was born in a lovely weather during the month of September and was raised in the northern part of India. I never actually got to witness or live the snowy part of winters while I was a kid. But thanks to the recent love bite by Travel Bug and my loving partner in crime, I try to plan a trip whenever feasible without temperature posing a real concern.                    

          However with the soaring temperatures, the numbness is ought to set in. So while travelling, be all geared up to not let that winter chill effect your travel plans. Read things to carry for winter travel here.

So, getting back to all the #GnS and white, I am all excited and hoping to witness some good white snow this winter along with tons of shine on New Years’ eve. Pinterest is further adding fuel to the travel fire keeping me quite hooked on to all the glittering loveliness during wither travel and is getting me in the mood for some serious partying.

Since it's a friday and I have a party date, I am going to stop writing RIGHT HERE and leave you with some gorgeous images of nature and glittering, shiny manmade things. Hope you enjoy’em.

P.S: No matter how your week was, Cheer Up! Afterall, it’s freaking Friday! 

Love and Drink up! and as Ellen says: You’re Gonna Be Ok; Dum Do Doom Doom Doom; Just Dance!

Cheers!
- Rakshita

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Zoned Out

Its 14/11/13 1.00 o’clock in the afternoon | I am in the office, listening to “Moves Like Jagger”

Juggling, sorting my way through tons of excels listing Telcom Spends data, I’ve got a hell lot to do today, so I shall come back once I have something interesting enough to talk about. Meanwhile all those who are travelling in winters, check out my post on must keeps for winter travel called “7Keeps for WinterTravel - {China Calling }" 

 

Maybe I should write about how to dress up for Office in winters.

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7 keeps for winter travel - { China Calling }

November is almost here, do you have any trips planned this winter? Ski or maybe a simple snow play somewhere in the highlands?

I am planning to travel this winter, I haven’t yet zeroed down on the destination yet, but China is on my radar. Considering its incredibly low temperatures during Dec – Jan time, it’s an ambitious decision. So if at all I zero down on it, I’d prefer to have all my basics in place. I always try to travel light (after all, it’s me who has to carry and drag all the weight around), but here are the must haves that I’ve decided to carry no matter how heavy my bags get.

Here goes the list of my 7 items for winter travel:

1.     Layer, layer, layer: Carry good thermal wear and lots of basics for layering. It works best and can save you even in the harshest of winters. {Firsthand experience: During one of the trips to Europe, I visited Mt. Titilis. As stupid as it might sound, I took out all my woolen wear to reduce baggage weight and didn’t have even a single sweater, woolen jacket or a scarf. To avoid the chill of the Alps from running down my spine to every bone of my body, all I did was layer up in my basics. I wore T-shirts one on top of another and topped off with a cotton blazer. Popped a couple of cod liver oil capsules and I was all fit and active like an elf on the North Pole.}

Layering - Winter Fashion

first and third from left: DKNY Fall RTW 2013 collection & Phillip Lim Fall RTW 2013 | Image courtesy: Style.com

Second and last images are from Pinterest. 

2. Big fat jackets: Leather jackets with fur lining go a long way to keep you all warmed up. For places like Beijing, a down coat can come in handy as a protection against the chilliness. 

Big Fat Jackets - Winter Fashion

Left and center images are from Pinterest 

Right most Image from 10 Crosby Derek Lam Fall RTW 2013 collection| Image courtesy: Style.com

3.       Slouchy woolen sweater with a belt: It’s so chic, comfortable and warm even without a jacket. Try on some cashmere wool and you shall not need a bonfire.

Slouchy Sweaters - Winter Fashion

Left: Alexander Wang Fall 2013 collection| Image courtesy: Style.com'  

Center and right images are from Pinterest. 

4.       A good trench: One trench coat can go a long way to save life and yet look chic. I am already digging these short pastel colored trench coats, though I wonder how warm will these be.

Pastel colored Trench Coats

Image courtesy: Pinterest

Check out this gorgeous user generated collage of trench coats http://artofthetrench.com/ on an app by Burberry? 

Art of Trench

5. Shoes: I am not a big fan of Uggs however I know many, who look equally stunning in Uggs as they look in 6 inch heels. I’d rather stick with comfortable, yet smart selection of calf length boots from the likes of Hush Puppies and Steve Madden, a great option to go with jeans, trench coats and dresses alike.

Winter Boots - Hush Puppies and Steve Madden

6. Accessories: Scarves, woolen socks, leg warmers, gloves and caps. I love woolen nech rings/warmers, got one last winter from Germany. They feel and look great and are a must have this winter on any trip to the winter lands.

Winter Accessories

Image courtesy: Pinterest

All indivisual images are on my Pinterest board: {Winter Fashion} 

7. And a good pairs of denims. No trip with complete without JEANS

Apart from all the fashion and clothing must haves during the winter travel, I have listed a few to do things below. Hope you find them handy and helpful, let me know your thoughts either way.

-     No matter how cold, always carry a water bottle to keep you hydrated

-     Moisturizer and sunscreen to avoid chapped, dry skin and sunburns

-     Explore the winter food. I am not sure if I’ll get any vegetarian food options in china, so if I don’t get anything fancy, I’ll try to stick with tea and hot clear soups with vegetables + some fried eggs on a slice of bread to go with it.

-     A comfortable small cross body sling bag (not a tote) with sufficient space, to keep cash, travelers checks, passport and camera.

-     Keep a woolen scarf handy. Instead of keeping it in a carry bag, I prefer keeping it close to me, tied snuggly on my sling bag.

-    For evenings carry a warm LBD in the length that suits, team it up with leggings, maybe a statement necklace, good pair of 4 inch heels and a trench coat to finish off the look.

-     Be warm inside J If possible have two capsules every morning to avoid any and all cold problems, sneezing, whizzing and going crazy on a trip that you planned to enjoy. If you eat sea food, salmon is a great option that will keep you cozy in winters.

Cod liver oil capsules

Check out all these indivisual images on my Pinterest board: {Winter Fashion} 

Until the next trip

- Rakshita

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