My Pretty Simple Day

I created this very simple board, with the name of my blog on it, including the hyphens that are a part of my blog link. I keep it propped up on my table, and it reminds me what I am working towards - making my little spot of the internet the best I can make it. So today, I just decided to click a few pictures with it. Taking my board out in the pretty sunshine. Here they are:

Hello board!

Photo Credits: Mikhil Mehta

In other news, I'm going to head out for the BNLF briefing soon. Been looking forward to the event for quite a while and it arrives tomorrow, I just can't wait! Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for updates, BNLF and otherwise. My facebook page is up, too. Thank you for all your support, and do comment and let me know what you would like me to write about.

xx

Myra 

Alternatives to Heat Styling - 1

In a previous post, I wrote about how heat styling is not good for your hair. I'm sure you guys are thinking, 'well, yeah, but what else can we even do?'

My favorite go-to style tip for when I want some natural wave in my hair is to braid it. I do not use product at all. No mousse, no gel, no hairspray. Nothing that would suffocate my hair. And it works!

This would require washing your hair the night before.
Okay, let's go -

Brush out the tangles using either a wooden comb or a boar bristle brush. I personally prefer a wooden comb.

Make sure you remove all tangles.

Wash you hair as per usual - shampoo, condition, deep condition.  Whatever you normally do. There is no extra step to be taken here.

Don't brush it or comb it. This is why we did that step before washing.

Let it air dry slightly, till it is semi-damp. 

The reason we do not braid it immediately after washing is because the hair is very porous when wet. This increased porosity leads to the hair being very stretchy, which in turn leads to hair being more prone to breakage and formation of gaps in the cuticle. Braiding it or styling it when wet can irrevocably damage your strands.

Tie your hair into a loose braid. Or two, like Heidi. Or more. To get the effect in the picture above, I had tied 4 braids. Go crazy!

The more the braids, the tighter your waves will be. Mine actually had a crimped effect.

Sleep on it. 

Since your hair is still a little damp, it'll take the shape of the braid as it dries.

Wake up, shake your hair out of the braids.

Revel in your awesome effortless wavy hair. 

Note : After a few hours, when I had been messing with my hair and running my fingers through it a lot, it still looked like that; just the waves had loosened up a bit, and it gave a little more effortless air to it.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and do comment below if you would like to know about more alternatives to style your hair with no product and lots of love :) 

Restaurant Review - Mövenpick

Food: 5/5
VFM: 3/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 5/5

This Swiss brand has now come to our little part of the world, and that is definitely a good thing. Their products are 100% organic and 100% expensive. I suppose one can go splurge for special occasions. You might be wondering why I still gave it a 3 in VFM? Well, one cannot deny that the offerings are just that good. It is exceptionally well made and though expensive, it is delectable.

The three of us picked one thing each.
 
I had the Chocolate Fondant. It is like what we are familiar with as chocolate lava cake. It was topped with chocolate sauce and served with raspberry and strawberry sorbet. The sharp tang of the raspberries contrasted perfectly with the sweetness of the fondant and it just elevated the experience to another level; making each bite a sensory pleasure. There were pieces of fruit in the sorbet as well. This was by far the best of all ice creams I've tried there.

Next up, the Maple Walnut Indulgence. That consisted of two golden pancakes, with authentic maple syrup, served with two scoops of walnut ice cream. It was divine! And I'm not a fan of walnuts but I couldn't help but love the walnut ice cream. It was the best walnut ice cream I've ever had.

And then, the Creme Caramel Obsession. Belgian waffles are of course amazing. These were freshly baked, with caramel sauce, and served with Crème brûlée and Caramelita ice cream. My friend liked the Caramelita but I adored the Crème brûlée.
 

All in all, a definite must visit, but it's really quite expensive, so save it for a special occasion.

Overall Rating - 4/5

Follow me on Zomato for more reviews, and find me on Instagram and Twitter! 

BNLF - Five Days to go!

As you all are aware, BNLF is coming up soon! I have previously written about it here, you'll find more information there and on the BNLF site so be sure to check it out.

Five days to go!
Let's have a countdown, shall we?

Monday - Well, today, it's evening already. You're probably reading this on your way back from work. Check out the tweets by indiblogger and various other bloggers who have written and tweeted about what they're looking forward to at BNLF! It'll make for an interesting read, and you'll feel good that you get to be a part of something so awesome. Go out for drinks, maybe? Get rid of the monday blues!

Tuesday - Get annoyed at work. Countdown the hours. It's much more difficult when you have something to look forward to and it just doesn't come soon enough. Get productive, finish up work, go home early. And maybe write something nice. Share it with us. Spread the word. Contribute to the excitement!

Wednesday - I know, I know; you're daydreaming at work, and you can't really concentrate. It's okay. Happens to the best of us. Write something, watch tv, tweet your #BNLF feelings, go out for dinner, go to sleep. Or go crazy on social media. You know you'll end up doing that. So why not about what we all are looking forward to?

Thursday - Start packing, dither over what to pack, pack a lot of things, remove half of it, put some other things back in. It's okay. Just pick whatever you feel awesomest in. Pack accessories, makeup, equipment, whatever. Dress to kill. Prance around the house wearing that. Feel good about yourself. Take it all off and put it in your bag. Done. Packed. Fellow Bombayites, I think we just have to have a regular day. But I guess we can still dress up. Get ready for the weekend!

Friday - Prepare yourself mentally for the awesomeness that begins tomorrow. Out-of-towners, I hope your bags are packed. I told you to do that yesterday itself. Out-of-town crew members, I hope you have reached the city! Don't forget our briefing meet in the evening! And for all of you coming from all over the country, I hope you are taking advantage of BNLF and Stayzilla's generous offer to stay here for free. Check it out here. Only a few spots left, me thinks.

Saturday - The big day! You'll find me running around as part of Indistage, and I would be happy to help you with any queries that you may have. I'll be covering the event across social media too - like live tweeting, as often as I can. So, be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for live updates, and feel free to tweet or mail me (or anyone else who is part of the crew) if you have any questions about BNLF.

See you there!

Myra

Little Stories - 1 - Coconut Monkey

So, I was on my way back from dinner, walking along the road, when I come across this little shop, selling all sorts of stuff - snacks, water, bags of air with a few chips inside, cigarettes - you get the gist? Those tiny convenience stores (for lack of a better word), that we have on street corners all over the city.

At this shop, there was this little carved monkey sitting on top of the jars, with a cigarette in it's mouth! It even had hair. It was really cute, and I was intrigued. 

I spoke to the shopkeeper there.

Me - Where did you get it from?

Her - Oh, this. My brother carves these things out of dried coconut husks.

Me - Really? Does he sell these?

Her - No, he does this just as a hobby.

Me - Why doesn't he? I'm sure people would buy it!

Her - I know, and I've told him so, but he doesn't want to.

Me - Does he live in Bombay too?

Her - No, at Goa. Near the beach.

Me - Are you kidding? People would totally buy this at the night markets or flea markets!

Her - I know, but he doesn't want to sell it. We are simple people. We are content.

Food for thought, y'all. Learn to be happy with what you have! People like these who live such simple lives and yet are so satisfied and content. They aren't greedy for more. We could learn a lot from them. Have a good week :)

Find me on Twitter and Instagram. Comment below if you have any such small stories that resonate so beautifully :)

Restaurant Review - Doolally Taproom

Food: 5/5
VFM: 4/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5

This place is good fun! I know it's a microbrewery, and I should be talking about the various brews and blends, and how awesome the beer is.

But I'm a teetotaler. So I really have nothing to say in that regard. However, I will make up for it by speaking about the food, the ambience, and the atmosphere.

First, the food.

Now I'll make it clear, we were 7 people so it was more food than I would usually order. We ordered the house fries - served with five dips, of which I liked the herbed cheese the best, followed by the wasabi mayo. I didn't really like the aioli but the others seemed to like it so I suppose it's a matter of taste. The fries were not the freezer fries, but actual thick fries that were almost like wedges. We ordered it when it got over. And then we ordered it again. Thrice. We ordered the house fries three times.

house fries

five dips with the house fries

We also ordered the blondue! That's beer melted fondue! I am not very sure how beer was involved in the process but hey, it didn't taste like beer, so I'm cool with it. It was so divine and thick, coating the croutons just perfectly. It was out of this world. Ended up eating the sautéed veggies just like that because we tried dipping it in the fondue pot a couple of times but they just stayed inside, holding onto the cheese and refusing to let go.. How could we separate the two? (No, we honestly couldn't. We tried.) So we just ate up the veggies solo. They tasted fine without, if you ask me. I don't have a picture of the fondue pot but you can see the croutons in the pic below. And the lovely house fries too!

Next on our list was the pizzettes, which were quite cute. The paneer achari was quite tangy, and I didn't taste the rest but it did get over very quickly, so I can safely assume it was well-liked.

The table also ordered chicken skewers.

chicken skewers

Now, the ambience. It has its own charm, really soothing yet lively at the same time! Even the music is set at just the right volume. There's Uno and Jenga and what I totally love - Cards Against Humanity. Oh my, we spent hours playing this, the table next to ours borrowed some cards from us, we did the same from them later. It's so easy to strike up a conversation here. Another table was playing Jenga very loudly. It just works at Doolally. Here, it isn't noise. It doesn't disturb you. It's just fun.

cards against humanity!

I really appreciate that it is properly lit, unlike a lot of pubs that often end up looking shady even if they're not. I never understood why pubs and bars are so dimly lit and I love that Doolally isn't. 

This picture below is an adorable little stool which I thought was cute, and so I took a picture - only to find out later that it's an actual keg that they use to transport their beer! They just put a cushion on it to double up as a seat when there are high footfalls.

A taproom that a teetotaler would love to visit again, they have captured the attention of someone who isn't even anywhere near their target audience. I will surely go back soon! 

Overall Rating - 4.5/5 

Follow me on Zomato for more reviews, and find me on Instagram and Twitter! 
 

Why I don't like Heat Styling

All of us know that using hot tools and heat styling isn't really good for our hair. Yet we insist on doing so. Why is that? Just to look a little better, we are sacrificing the health of our hair. We already know it is damaging. We know about split ends, and straw like hair but we continue doing things. Today, I'm talking specifically about heat styling though.

Hair fibers are essentially made up of proteins. The protein in our hair and nails is called keratin. therefore, even though our hair fibers aren't technically living, it is still made of proteins and they need to get nutrition for the hair to be healthy. For this, you need to baby your hair and care about it just like you care for your skin. You don't skimp on moisturizing and treating your skin well, so why not extend the same courtesy to you hair?

When you use hot tools, you are making your hair brittle each time you use it. The strands become dull, dry, damaged; not to mention scary split ends! Reducing the use of hot tools can go a long way in repairing the hair damage to your strands.
 
Heat makes your hair brittle from the follicles all along the hair shaft - all the way to the tips. So it isn't a healthy option under any circumstances. The heat actually boils and drives out the water from the shaft, leading to cuticle damage as well as breaking the proteins, leading to brittle, easily breakable hair.

I do not use hot tools AT ALL on my hair. I experiment with my hair a lot, but I do not use any daily heat treatments on my hair. I use it very very rarely. The last time I used a hot tool was at my cousin's wedding a few months back. And I used a hair dryer set on low. That's all. No hot tools, no products.

I understand that not all of you would be able to completely quit heat styling, as many of you are so used to it, but trust me on this, try to cut back a little everyday, and you'll get used to going all natural with your hair. And your hair will thank you for it too!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and do comment below :)

BNLF - Blog Now, Live Forever

BNLF - Blog Now, Live Forever.

What is it exactly?

It's a disruptive conference on blogging, spread over two days. That's 31st Oct-1st Nov. Organised, of course, by Indiblogger! Because who else would make that kind of effort for us bloggers? It's really awesome how much effort the Indiblogger team puts into making this a truly engaging conference that would help bloggers at every stage of their blogging career. Indiblogger is, without a doubt, made up of the most supportive team I've seen, and they give us so many opportunities. Thank you, Indiblogger!

Read about the Agenda. I'll wait.

Back? Isn't it awesome? Yes, I can't believe it either. 

I applied for passes for both days immediately. I was so happy when my blog was approved. I was looking forward to learning a lot as well as having a great time. I found out about Indicrew. Indicrew is made of awesome-sauce people who will be running around all day, helping the Indiblogger team, and trying to make your experience comfortable. I applied for it, assuming I wouldn't be selected, because I'm only a newbie. But guess what? I was! I'm part of Indistage. See the badge on the side bar? *proud*  

I'll put it here again. Because I can.

So, you'll see me and my fellow crew members there, having a great time and making sure you do too.

For more information on the keynote speakers at the event, check out Shashi's blog. He has written quite comprehensively about the event as well as the keynote speakers and the agenda. He is also part of the crew.

I'll be covering the event across social media too, so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for live updates.

See you there!

Myra

I'm lovin Bloglovin'!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I recently discovered Bloglovin', and I'm so glad that this exists! It's such a convenient way to follow all your favorite blogs, and stay updated with all their new posts. As a blogger just starting out, it is great to have that kind of inspiration that takes you forward everyday. For that, I am grateful.

Also, I have a tendency to bookmarks posts that I am unable to read just then, which then proceed to get lost in the multitude of bookmarks I have in the first place. Here, you can just mark them as favorites, so it can hold all my favorite inspiring posts as well as stuff I can keep for later!

I wish I had discovered this sooner! Bloglovin' really simplifies things for all bloggers and readers out there. And that's what The Pretty Simple Life is all about. Keep reading! And follow me on Bloglovin' :)

Goody Bag from the Dabur Vatika Hair Oil Launch

As you might know, I attended an event last Saturday, for the launch of Dabur Vatika hair oil. I received a goody bag from the event.

What was inside?

A bottle of Enriched Coconut hair oil, along with their newly launched Jasmine Coconut Oil, and a gift wrapped box! Wonder what's in it?

It's a Philips ceramic hair straightener! Quite a generous gift, but I try to use heat styling products as less as possible - say, once or twice a year at max. It is quite sleek, however.

I am definitely looking forward to trying out the hair products though.

 
Thank you, Vatika!

Dabur Vatika Jasmine Hair Oil - Product Launch

I attended the Dabur Vatika Jasmine Coconut Hair Oil product launch on Saturday. It was part of a special feature, Dabur + Indiblogger, where 40 female bloggers from all over the city were invited to be part of the exciting new launch.

This was the very first launch I attended and it was a great experience. Being my first, I really have nothing to compare it with, but I'll tell you what happened there; and I'm sure you'll agree with me.

First off, a live band performance, including Vineet of Indiblogger! It was a pleasant surprise and super fun. Everyone sang along (whoever knew the words) and the others were swaying, foot-tapping, and just generally enjoying the music.

After that, there was a bout of headbanging, both on and off stage. The stage effects were very well executed and it really made a difference to the atmosphere of the place. 

That definitely took the energy level up a few notches.

After that, there was a session with Dabur representatives who told us about the history of Dabur as a company as well as the evolution of their hair products with time. They sell way more merchandise variants globally, as compared to their India offerings. I wonder why they don't sell the same in India?

Then came the actual product unveiling.

The background you see in the band pics? Yep, that actually slid apart to reveal a human size model (not life size - a bottle's life size would be the bottle size. Because that's true to life. However, this was human size). Also, the light and smoke effects were there even previously at the band performance. But this was a step ahead. When the big reveal happened, the air filled with a jasmine scent that seemed to come out of nowhere! I was glad to be a part of live experiential marketing, again a first for me. I even tweeted about it here.

After that, the Dabur reps and the bloggers discussed remedies and tips for hair care.

Post the bonding session, we had lunch. Here's some dessert:

Ferrero Rocher Ice cream!

Cheesecake

Oh and another cool thing: there was a station outside where once could get 'champi' or hair oil massage with the new Jasmine Hair Oil from Vatika. This was followed by a wash, and hairstyling. Such indulgence! And a few of my fellow bloggers waiting their turn :)

I got a goody bag too! But that's for another post.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram!

And do comment below - constructive comments are always welcome.

What is Beauty All About?

All the world over, everyone strives for beauty in some form or the other. 

Inner beauty, 'outer' beauty; whatever it may be. And that's a good thing. Making yourself the best version of you is an admirable goal. It's a process; a journey. And both aspects are equally fulfilling.

Making yourself a good, warm, amazing person is one of the most selfless acts you can do. You are making yourself a better person, and spreading happiness all around. If you come in even passing contact with such a person, they would just brighten up your day. They're so full of positivity that it adds a touch of sunshine to your day.

Making yourself more attractive - physically - is also a good endeavor. Of course you want to look good. Everyone does. So why not be pretty in each sense of the word and make yourself happy, while spreading joy all around?

When it all ties together and gives you a sense of satisfaction; that is when you know that you have truly unlocked another level of peace, and this is what we all strive for, knowingly or unknowingly.

Photo Credits:
indulgy.com