outlet shopping Archives - My Inner Shakti

Shopping + Reunions

FRIDAY

Early office closing + amazing weather = 4.32 mile run (precision thanks to RunKeeper)

And guess what?! NO knee pain. WOO!

SATURDAY

Earlier in the weekend a coupon was delivered to my inbox. It informed me that everything was 50% off at the Banana Republic outlet. With my coupon in hand, I headed to the mall and did a little damage – a few pairs of shorts, a few blouses, a few things for Vishnu. My favorite purchase was this peplum top from the Ann Taylor factory store…

Perfect for date night!

After a couple hours of shopping, I drove to Las Olas for an early dinner at Rocco’s Tacos. My friend and old coworker Allison and her mom were vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, so we decided to meet up for a delicious meal and fun conversation. It was great catching up, and I’m already looking forward to our next reunion!

SUNDAY

Another day, another reunion. My friend Vijal and her husband Jay were vacationing in South Beach this weekend, so we decided to meet up for lunch. Vijal suggested Yardbird, and I gladly obliged. I’m telling you – this place is a Miami must. Everything is delicious.

My kale salad was unique and surprisingly filling – kale, cheddar, apples, onions, raisins, and cornbread croutons. YUM!

And of course, I made Jay and Vijal order a side of mac n’ cheese!

Yay for friends visiting Miami!

MONDAY

I have no idea what I’m going to do with my day off today. With Vishnu at the library, I foresee a somewhat lazy day ahead of me.

On a serious note, I’d like to thank all of the service men and women (and their families) who put their lives on the line for the sake of protecting our country and it’s people. Thank you for your dedication, your devotion, and your selflessness.

Have a wonderful Monday!

The Parental Unit + Isaac

written by Parita 8 Comments

The parental unit came to visit this weekend. So did Isaac. It’s a good thing we aren’t the kind of people who let a little rain and wind get in the way of a good time. I kid…kind of. Regardless, we were able to fit in a few meals out, outlet shopping, and a short visit to the beach.

Here’s a little rundown on our weekend…

On Friday, Vishnu and I took my parents to Lime Fresh – one of our favorite casual places in the area. It was a huge hit! My parents loved it. We left absolutely stuffed, but somehow found ourselves at the fro-yo place next door!

That night Vishnu and I headed downtown for his school’s annual bar crawl. Good times were had by all!

Saturday was dreary, yet we still made our way to the beach.

Quite literally, it was the calm before the storm.

Next up, it was time to shop. No major purchases were made – just a couple of pairs of shorts for me ($12.99 at Banana Republic!!!!) and a shirt for Vishnu.

After completely tiring ourselves out, we headed to Sublime for dinner (post to come on this soon).

And then came Sunday – the day we stayed inside. We looked through the professional wedding pictures, watched The Kingdom, and ate.

The parental unit hard at work!

One of our tasty meals of the day – Aloo Tikki (small potato pancakes, chickpea curry, onions, and both sweet and spicy chutneys).

The parental unit left yesterday morning. Sad smile Because of Isaac, I worked from home, and it was sad not having them around. But as one of my aunts likes to say, you always have to look ahead to the good times waiting for you in the future…there’s no point in looking back.

While I did over prepare for Isaac (radio, flashlights, water, canned goods, etc. all ready to go), I’m so glad that the worst of what we got was some heavy rain and wind. Talk about thankful! From what I see on the news, other parts of the country have not been/may not be so lucky. Please keep those people that have been/may be affected in your thoughts and prayers.

Quite the Debate

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Thank you VERY much to whoever thought of weekends. Best idea ever!

I started my weekend off with an oil change after work. A one hour stop at the dealer turned into two, but I didn’t have to pay a cent. My dad was very excited about this, but I, on the other hand, was a bit irritated because my time is worth more than a $20 oil change. Oh well, it had to get done.

Yesterday was actually really fun. A coworker and I went to the Orlando outlets for a fun little shopping trip. (We are a company full of shopaholics!) I got some workout clothes and skirts for me and my sister and jeans for Vishnu.

Neither of us had plans later on that night so we decided to make it a homemade pizza and movie night….

Extra sauce and veggies please!

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So much fun!

And for those of you who haven’t watched Horrible Bosses yet, do it now! I actually watched this for the first time a few weeks ago in Boston with my friend Monica and her roommate. We loved it and thought it was hilarious, so we picked it up again last night. And I honestly thought it was ever funnier the second time around. My coworker and I both thought it was very comparable to The Hangover. Funny stuff!

So…on to the debate that the title of my post is referring to….

Last night, Vishnu and I were talking about the song we want to walk in to our wedding reception to. And we’re having a bit of a hard time deciding on a genre, never mind song. He loves the idea of it being a rap song or a rock n’ roll song. I love the idea of it being a hip hip song or a late 80s/early 90s song. And when I say early 90s, I mean C&C Music Factory. How fun would that be?!

After throwing out a few other ideas, watching countless YouTube videos, and vetoing each other’s songs, we called it quits…for now. However, I think we agreed to the following criteria – the song must be upbeat, contain no curse words (or we can use the radio version), and be a reflection of us as a couple in some way, shape or form.

I think I have a good one picked out that meets all of the criteria and our individual preferences for the genre! Let’s see what Vishnu thinks though…

More updates on this great debate a little later. Ha!

Well, I’m off to start my day with my very first Zumba class at my new gym! Woo hoo!

If you have any song ideas for me and Vishnu that at least meet the first two criteria (since most of you don’t really know us as a couple), let me know! We need help!!!

A Girls Day

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When I jive with a person, it’s inevitable that I’m probably going to get close to him/her. My mom says that I get ”attached” to everyone…I would say that’s a bit of an exaggeration! Honestly though, I wouldn’t have it any other way because by being an open person, I’ve made some awesome friends.

Speaking of awesome, I spent the entire day (literally from 9-9) with my coworker and great friend. Her husband was out of town, and I am currently a one person family, so we decided to make yesterday a girls DAY. I still can’t believe we did all that we did.

First up – outlet shopping!

My purchases included…

A Vera Bradley duffle bag

Two VERY comfortable pairs of shoes

And a blouse from Banana Republic that I forgot to photograph.

We worked up an appetite from walking around for a few hours, so I decided to open up a whole new world for my friend by introducing her to the Whole Foods hot bar. YUM! Unfortunately, I remembered the whole picture thing after we finished eating.

We also made a quick pit stop at Starbucks so I could introduce my friend to the wonderfulness that is the Salted Caramel Mocha. This little drink has become quite the dangerous addiction for me. Smile

Next, we headed to the movies for some eye candy a la Mr. Gosling and Mr. Clooney…

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For those of you who haven’t seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it. Not only does it have a powerhouse cast, but the story is well written. It takes you into the gut of a presidential campaign (and kind of makes you sick <— once you see the movie, you’ll get what I mean by this).

Finally, we met up some coworkers for dinner at Solea – a fun tapas restaurant.

The food was perfection, but the lighting was horrible for pictures…