Bollywood Archives - My Inner Shakti

Give It A Little Time

We’ve officially been in St. Petersburg for over a week. And in one week, I’ve gone from thinking that this place will never grow on me to actually enjoying myself while exploring our neighborhood.

I had a mini meltdown early last week while talking to my mom. I’ve never been the best with dealing with major change, so couple that with pure exhaustion, and you’re left with a very emotional Parita. My mom, doing what she does best, gave me the best advice she could – give it a little time.

It’s no big surprise, but she was right. I needed to give everything a little time to settle down, as well as give ourselves some time to adjust.

And after a full weekend in our new city, I’m already feeling more at home.

On Friday, we had plans to go for a walk after I got done with work, but as soon as the clock hit 5:30, the rain started to come down. And it didn’t stop for most of the night. So we ended up watching a Bollywood movie at home.

Vishnu’s not the biggest fan of Bollywood movies, but we both enjoyed this one and highly recommend it!

We woke up bright and early on Saturday and decided to go for a run. I’m not quite sure how many miles we covered, but we managed to get almost 8,000 steps each. Always a good thing!

Next up on our list of things to do on Saturday – go to the beach! Even though it was super crowded, we really enjoyed ourselves. Unlike the east coast of Florida, the beaches on the west coast are seaweed free. This in and of itself makes the experience so much fun. Can’t wait to go back!

After coming home and showering, we decided to keep the good times rolling by visiting Costco. You guys! This was probably the best Costco experience I’ve had in…well, forever. You weren’t forced to play bumper carts in every single aisle, people were really friendly and nice, the checkout process took no more than five minutes, etc. As we walked out, I looked at Vishnu and said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that was actually fun.” Haha.

We ended our day with dinner (my first Pho experience!), ice cream, and another movie at home.

Sunday was a little more low-key – gym, Trader Joe’s and the outlet mall. I snagged a cute jean jacket at Loft, and Vishnu got quite a few things including work pants, shorts, and workout clothes.

The rest of my day was spent napping and watching the last half of the NBA finals.

A great weekend overall! My mom’s advice was on point – give it a little time and everything will be alright. In a weeks time, I’m already feeling better and ready to make the most of our year here!

Happy Monday and thanks for reading!

How was your weekend? What was the last movie you watched?

Wedding Update + Indian Playlist

written by Parita 14 Comments

I’d like to take y’all back to the weekend I spent in New Jersey for a family reunion. In my recap of that weekend, I talked a lot about family, food, and craziness. I forgot to mention one major thing. Don’t hate me, ok?

I forgot to mention that I found my wedding outfit that weekend! Yes, I found “the one.”

See, Edison, New Jersey is the Indian capital of the US. What that means is that Edison, in particular, is home to thousands of Indians. What that means is that there are tons of Indian restaurants, grocery stores, and clothing boutiques. Lucky me!

The day I arrived at my cousin’s house, my parents, sister, and I ventured out to Oak Tree Road (the mostly Indian street in Edison). I tried on a couple of outfits at the first boutique we went to and found one I liked but didn’t love. We then headed to the next store, but I honestly didn’t have high expectations. In my mind, we were just looking. Well, lo and behold, I was shown an outfit that I absolutely loved. After looking at a few other pieces, I asked the lady we were working with if I could try in “the one.” I immediately felt like a princess. It was just what I was looking for. My parents and sister also loved it! By the end of the weekend, it was confirmed, that was going to be MY wedding outfit! We went back to the store and put a deposit down.

Now, fast forward to this weekend. Yesterday morning, I headed to my aunt’s house in Connecticut to pick her up so we could make our way back to NJ for a fitting. Smile The best part about it is that I am more in love with my outfit then ever before! Seeing it again made me so so so excited for the big day!

Now, I know y’all are wondering what the outfit looks like, but I’m afraid you’re not going to see it until after the big day! The reason being because I don’t want Vishnu to see the outfit beforehand. I want him to be surprised! And a part of me wants my guests to be surprised as well. At every wedding I’ve been to, you can almost feel the anticipation right before the bride’s arrival. I don’t want my day to be any different!

Soon enough, my friends, soon enough!

Now, on to the second part of today’s title. I’ve noticed that a lot of bloggers like to share their playlists, which I personally find very helpful. But I have yet to see an Indian song on any of the lists. That needs to change pronto because there are so many awesome songs out there that will literally make you want to stop and dance in the middle of your workout.

So, if you’re looking for a fun way to change up your usual playlist, check out these songs…

1. Desi Girl from the Bollywood movie Dostana
2. Laung da Lashkara from the Bollywood movie Patiala House
3. Nai Rehna by Imran Khan
4. Hadippa the Remix from the Bollywood movie Dil Bole Hadippa
5. Disco Khisko from the Bollywood movie Dil Bole Hadippa
6. Chali Chali from the Bollywood movie Bhaghban
7. Aaja Nachle from the Bollywood movie Aaja Nachle
8. Mauja Mauja from the Bollywood movie Jab We Met
9. Ni Nachle by Imran Khan featuring Lucky
10. Uff Teri Ada from the Bollywood movie Karthik calling Karthik

I especially like the last song. Just YouTube the song title, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

It has something to do with this guy…he’s dreamy. Winking smile

Source

Good night! I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

How often do you change up/add to your playlist?

Oh Family, I’m Home!

written by Parita 15 Comments

Hi! As you all know, I’m blogging from Atlanta right now! I got in around 11:30 last night, and yes, I did attack Vishnu when I saw him. 🙂 I worked from home today, but it was still nice to have everyone around while I audited away. I miss being home!

Lunch was delicious, as expected. We all got very very hungry around 1:30, so my mom, with her quick thinking, decided to make us samosa chaat. If you don’t remember what chaat is, read this post. It’s all the same ingredients but with samosas as the base. We didn’t have any homemade samosas in the house, so we used frozen ones, which were surprising pretty good. You can easily find these in an Indian grocery store.

Cooking away...

All you do to turn regular samosas into samosa chaat, is add some sweet and spicy chutneys (sauces), a yogurt sauce, onions, and sev (a thin, stringy, crispy Indian snack food). Take a look!

After lunch, I made everyone try this…

The Pecan Pie Larabar does not disappoint!

Everyone agreed that is flavor is a keeper. However, the PB Chocolate Chip one is still my favorite!

Since I worked until about 5:30 today, we didn’t do too much during the day. This is probably a good thing because tomorrow is a packed day – threading (hair removal done with a thread – don’t worry I’ll explain later!), pedicure, dentist, dermatologist, and taxes. I’m tired just thinking of it all!

My parents don’t really like eating out too much, but Indian and Thai are exceptions to the rule. Tonight was Thai night. 🙂 We headed to one of my favorite Atlanta restaurants – Top Spice. This place is Thai heaven – the food is that good!

Spicy Basil Tofu for me and my mom!

Pad Prik Chicken for sister and dad!

A family affair 🙂

So, remember how I told you that no visit home would be complete without a Bollywood movie night? Well, tonight is one of those nights. We’re watching Band Baaja Barat, a movie about two wedding planners who decide to become partners and create their own company together.