minted Archives - My Inner Shakti

Three Things Thursday (10)

There’s been a whole lot of Italy happening on the blog lately, so I thought I would mix things up by sharing some current (and random) tidbits via a Three Things Thursday post.One – Apartment hunting in St. Petersburg

Vishnu and I are driving up to St. Pete to do a little apartment hunting this weekend. We’ve narrowed down our list of potential homes to four apartment complexes, and we’re crossing our fingers that at least one of them pans out for us. And even though I’m dreading the actual move, I’m kind of excited about living in a new city for a year. Vishnu, on the other hand, is a little nervous. But that probably has more to do with the fact that in about two months’ time he’ll be starting the next big chapter in his life…as a doctor!

[Source]

Two – Voluspa candle

My colleague and friend Thea gifted me a beautiful Voluspa candle for my birthday, and after using it as a decorative piece for the last four months, I finally used it for its intended purpose last night. Thea gave me the apricot and aprilia candle, and it smells heavenly. I think I’m going to make post-dinner candle lighting a thing now. It’s such a relaxing way to end the day!

Three – A Minted winner!

I’m excited to announce that Rachel is the winner of my Minted giveaway! Rachel, please email me at myinnershakti@gmail.com for all the details.

And a big thanks to Minted for helping me host this giveaway!

Well, that’s all I have for this week’s Three Things Thursday. Check in tomorrow for my final Italy recap post about Florence!

Your turn to share – what are three things you’ve been thinking about/doing this week! If you’re a blogger, write a post and link back to one or all of the hostesses: Raj from Pink Chai Living, Nisha from Love Laugh Mirch, or Salma from The Write Balance. Then share a link to your post (not your blog’s home page).

Minted Artwork + A Giveaway

written by Parita 13 Comments

It’s been almost two months since I’ve blogged about Minted. Remember? I asked for your help in choosing a piece?

Well, for once, I didn’t forget to update you. I postponed this post on purpose. Why? Because one, Vishnu and I wanted to wait and see where he matched before we moved forward with our decision. And two, we had to wait for the pieces to be delivered before I could share more.

So here are the two prints we selected…

As I mentioned, we chose the foil art Georgia picture because that’s where we met and fell in love. Regardless of where life takes us, Georgia will always be home!

And the second piece of artwork we selected was the foil art Chicago city picture. This was the wait and see piece. Just like how Georgia/Atlanta holds a special place in our hearts, we’re certain Chicago will also be very near and dear to us.

While we decided to order just the prints, Minted also frames your selected artwork if you so choose. Since we know we have two moves coming up in the next year, we decided to hold off on framing these until we get settled in Chicago. That way there’s no chance of something will breaking and shattering during the actual moves!

I am totally in love with these prints and can’t wait to put them up in our new home! I also love how there’s a foil art print for every state and even some major cities. My next purchase will be a foil art print of Florida – our first home after marriage! Depending on how many moves we have in our future (hopefully not many), we can document our journey using this artwork.

And I have to note another cool aspect of Minted artwork. All of it comes from a talented community of independent artists from big cities and small towns all over the world. For example, the two artists who created our chosen pieces are Alex Elko from San Francisco and Eric Beckett from Los Angeles.

So now I have an awesome giveaway for all of you who may be looking for a fun new art piece to display in your home! Minted has graciously offered to give one reader a $50 gift card to used on Minted.com!

To enter please visit Minted and share which piece of artwork is your favorite.

I will be drawing a winner upon my return from Italy…so you have lots of time!

And speaking of Italy, I won’t be blogging while away, but feel free to follow along on mine and/or Vishnu’s Instagram accounts! I’m sure we’ll be posting lots of pictures from our adventures.

See you all in a couple of weeks!

Disclosure: I received Minted credit in exchange for writing this post. However, (as always) all opinions are my own.

10 Random Updates

written by Parita 21 Comments

Mom’s new job – First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for your sweet comments on the post about my mom, her job, and her big message. We loved reading them and marveled at how amazing perfect strangers can be! I’m happy to report that mom’s absolutely loving her new job! She loves her boss, she loves her team, and she loves the work. Win, win, win!

Minted – Thank you for all the feedback on the Minted post. I loved reading about why you chose the picture you did. So after going back and forth for a while, Vishnu and I decided to go with the Georgia picture! We may also purchase a similar print once we find out where we’ll be headed come June. More on that to come (along with a giveaway)…I promise!

Big Little Lies – Big Little Lies is the book I’m currently reading, and it is SO good so far! Liane Moriarty also wrote The Husband’s Secret which I really enjoyed. If you’re looking for a book that will grab you from the start and keep you guessing the whole time, Big Little Lies is for you.

House of Cards – This weekend + Vishnu + Me + Couch + Season 3 of House of Cards. Enough said!

Italy!!! – For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to visit Italy and take in all its beauty – the sights, the people, the FOOD! And in a little more than a month, Vishnu and I will be doing just that. I. Cannot. Wait!

I plan on sharing more about our trip and the cities we’ll be visiting. But in the meantime, if you have any suggestions (and I mean anything!) for the following cities, we’d really appreciate it — Sorrento, Naples, Rome, and Florence.

Puerto Rico – But before Italy, there’s Puerto Rico! I’m so excited to celebrate my friend Sweeti on a beautiful island with beautiful beaches. And it’s my first time visiting PR!

Highlights – For the first time in 31 years, I’m doing something drastic with my hair. And by drastic I mean highlights! My stylist promised she would keep things as natural as possible since I’m going for more of a sun-kissed look. To be quite honest, I’ll be happy as long as my grays are covered. They’re out of control right now…like give me a few months and I’ll be sporting a full on salt n’ pepper look. I’ll post the after picture on Instagram. Fingers crossed that my new look turns out ok…eep!

Work dinners – One of our sub teams met in Miami this week. I’m not a part of this particular team, but they were kind enough to invite me to some of their dinners and lunches. I’m happy to report that I stuck to my dairy-free ways (it was so hard to say no to baked brie!). I did not, however, say no to the wine!

Healthy eating at home – After our trip to Atlanta, Vishnu and I vowed to eat better and cleaner. Well, I’m happy to report that we’ve been doing just that. Lots of salads for lunch, veggie centric dishes for dinner, juices in the late afternoon (check out our latest juice – recipe included!), and fruit for dessert. I know this sounds boring, but you’d be amazed by what a little coconut oil and spices do to vegetables.

Ripped in 30 – So far so good! I did level one three times last week and started level two this week. I’ve also been running and walk a ton. I plan on writing a more detailed post about my experience with levels one and two soon. For now, I’ll say this. Even though Jillian’s super annoying, she knows how to put together a good workout!

Well, that’s all I have today. I hope you have an amazing weekend – enjoy!

Help Us Choose a Minted Art Piece!

written by Parita 17 Comments

Whenever someone walks into our apartment and compliments how it’s decorated, I have to give all credit to Vishnu. While I’m good at giving input and sharing my opinion, I honestly have zero design sense. Vishnu, on the other hand, has an eye for all that stuff! In fact, if he wasn’t already on his way to becoming a doctor, I’m 100% certain he’d be an architect. I’m also pretty sure he has our future home built, designed, and ready to go…in his head of course!

So when I was approached by Minted, an online stationary store powered by a global community of designers, to select a piece of artwork for our home, I knew I had to consult with Vishnu before I settled on a design.

Just for kicks, I went through and picked a few that stood out to me. Later that night, I asked Vishnu to help me select one that suited both our tastes. Of course, we had a slight difference of opinion but eventually settled on a few designs that appealed to both of us.

As an aside, I just want to note that this process took us almost an hour. The art collection on Minted is amazing…and huge! There are so many unique pieces that appeal to everyone from travel lovers to food lovers.

Now we’re stuck again and need you to help us narrow down the perfect piece of artwork for our home!

To help us out, tell me which design you like in the comments section.