Incoming storm

I love kurtas is a major understatement, I could use the word obsessed but I am trying to avoid words with ableist connotations. But I can tell you this, I constantly dream about kurtas, the designs, the fabric options and how I would style them. I've only been back from India for a few months and I already have fabric and sketches ready to update my kurta collection for my next trip.

Lately I've been wearing heaps of kurtas with curved hems and longer tail. And I absolutely refuse to call kurtas; tunics, if the world can learn to say pyjama and jodhpurs we shouldn't have to use tunics when we mean kurtas.

I think its high time we wore more than just short kurtis to work. Cotton anarkalis in my opinion makes great summer dresses, Patiala salwars make wonderful relaxed pants, churidars make great drop-crotch pants, sarees make wonderful evening wear, cholis/ saree blouses make interesting crop-tops, I could go on but you get the point.

I genuinely don't understand people who keep their traditional clothing for special occasions or just wear them during ethnic get togethers. I dunno why anyone would want to blend in. The silk kurta in these photos is ages old and as is the beaded necklace, I have worn it before here.

Running around in an embroidered choli

In my opinion things can't get better than hanging out with one's loved ones in a tropical jungalow by the coast with three massive dogs and a cat wearing embroidered clothes made by kickass women!

This choli was bought off a lady from Kutch and is among my most treasured objects. I cannot wait to go back to Kutch's magnificent white sand encrusted desert plains soon.

The landscape and arts and crafts are exquisite, while Rajasthan is being marred by unsustainable tourist influx thankfully Kutch is off the trail for most. I find people who go to Jaipur for three days, Jaisalmer for two, buy some shiny looking clothes only tourists buy, then come back to the first world and start calling India Motherland and decide to wear bindis to every music festival. People like that are just so ignorant and very funny to me.

Two days to Fridaaay, yaay!

Autumn roadtrips: In the woods, around mountains and by the sea

One of my most favourite things to do is to go through instagram feeds of National Geographic, various travel photographers and mountain climbers. For weeks now this urge to go away and be closer to nature has been hard to control and finally this long weekend we've rented a campervan with a tent and are going away camping into this wonderful continent that I have come to love so much.

I wish things work out as planned and we are able to travel a bit more in the coming years, so far having our families on two different continents and us living in the third has ensured a lot of moving and I can't wait to add more destinations to our "already visited" list.

As the temperature drops and the leaves start to change colour it is the best time to run around trees, up the hills and walk by the water. Here are a few things clotheswise that I am packing for my roadtrip, do you have any suggestions?

I can't be bothered wearing jackets on top (unless I have to) and hide my flowy tops so I generally do my layering under my clothes; which is when my collection of merino baselayers come very handy.

As the glorious Vix says "None of this running off to the shops for a new wardrobe when the season changes. Its lurid Hawaiian prints and gauzy cotton maxi dresses all year round for me. After all, isn't that why thermal underwear was invented?"

Outfit 1: Silk blouse, denim cutoffs, tall fringe boots with a merino baselayer under and a pair or merino leggings if needed with a Morroccan backpack from the Glebe markets.

Outfit 2: For those days in the mountains when its too cold to wear shorts; Icebreaker merino singlet with a Kathmandu merino pull-over on top, colourful pants to not look too wintry, a gifted suede bum bag from Pondicherry,my trusty Palladiums with thick woollen socks.

Outfit 3: Torn jeans with a merino singlet, an old tee, a block print scarf, Vintage chunky sweater and my broken in Converse with thick socks.

What are your road-trip must-wears?

Lakeside whiteout

Spend an afternoon kayaking in a lake, generally having fun meeting kitties, puppies, baby ducks and collecting plant cuttings to start bringing the green indoors. The best kinda day and the sunset over the lake was spectacular.

The clouds make for wonderful photos in my opinion, I could watch the patterns in the sky reflected on the still water for ages.

Happy Sunday world.

Badass Goddess tee-shirt

Another day, another Goddess tee shirt, worn with shorts & grandpa cardigan, a Mexican backpack and docs because it was raining. Taking overactive puppies out for exercise in the rain means one has to be comfortable and prepared to get dirty jumping in puddles and wrestle in the muck. Not that I am complaining, give me puppies and kitties over most people anyday and I am a happy little girl.

This time the lady on the tee-shirt is one of the avatars of the Hindu Goddess of power who is known for her annihilation of evil forces and as one can imagine she is one of my favourite-st. I mean she gets drunk on the blood of the demons she destroys, dances in a frenzy on the corpses, almost destroys the world and frightens powerful realms. Badass Goddesses make the best role models, what's not to love?

Hope everyone's had a wonderful start to the week, happy Wednesday.

Post cards from the hills

Aah to be back where it smells of the fresh mountain air, where there is so much to marvel at, so much to stop for & stare at, little rivulets of delight flowing down mountains, few people except for the special individual/s one is travelling with, every moment feels like a tremendous memory is being made and the pictures bring back those feelings of being utterly happy in that moment.

Exploring the world has been a passion since I was a little girl and I haven't been able to shake off the gypsy bug yet, every few years I yearn to pack my bags and move to another corner of the world. Travelling is one of the most exhilarating things on this planet, I wish I can travel the world soon-ish.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend spend camping at the Blue mountains away from the hustle and bustle of the city just a simple life of walking/ climbing all day, eating/ drinking by the campfire and sleeping in our little van. Ah bliss!

We go on the road soon to camp around this wonderful continent and I can't wait to start. One of our friends just visited us on his travels round the world and it got me fired up once again to go off on our little adventure. You can visit his blog here (if you like) he writes in French but his pictures are wonderful and inspires one to pack up and go.

Fingers crossed we save and start off soon.

Happy Thursday world!

Sea spray

There are days when one goes to the beach and the weather is just right, not too sunny so no hordes of tourists, just cloudy enough to make wonderful patterns in the sky and ensure a spectacular sunset.

Nature puts on such stupendous shows for us, it has me awestruck every single time.