Cherry Blossom | Washington DC

After a long cold winter, spring is a breath of fresh air and warmth. Everything gets back it's color but the biggest and the most awaited festival during this season is the Cherry Blossom festival in DC. This year I got a chance to witness the gorgeous blossoms, it sure was the most significant highlight of my move here to the US.

Cherry Blossom trees were a gift to the US by Japan and were planted on the Tidal Basin. These carnation trees reach peak bloom during the onset of spring i.e. between March 3rd week to April 2nd week. This year the trees reached full bloom during the second week of April. People from all over America travel to DC during this time to experience this festival. 

Each year the Cherry Blossom festival has a number of events including a parade. I couldn't attend the festival but I did manage to visit DC during peak bloom. The peak bloom lasts only for a couple of days and the dates vary slightly every year, hence it's advisable to plan your trip keeping that in mind. In my opinion, the best time to visit the blossoms would be early morning on a weekday. The crowd would be the least which would give you an opportunity to experiment with your photography skills.

We reached DC before sunrise which gave us ample amount of time to experience the place and then click pictures. I had such an amazing time strolling along the basin and watching the stunning flowers. The entire place looked magical with all the pink and white blossoms. It was such a lovely day and I am already excited for the blossoms next year! Please do not get lost in clicking pictures, just the feeling of being there is beautiful so don't forget to experience that.
 
Here are some of the shots we clicked. Hope you guys like them :)

Love,
MYD   

Settling in & First Collaboration!

It feels so good to be finally sitting down and writing for you all. Its been about two months since I landed in the US and slowly I have started to settle in. The past two months have been absolutely crazy from adjusting to sub-zero temperatures, learning how to cook, spending the weekends grocery shopping, doing truckloads of assignments to writing mid-terms!

Amidst all this craziness I only kept thinking of one thing- how am i going to manage the blog? I barely had any time to sit down and write but I also wasn't ready to let go just yet. Although, I wasn't sure what exactly I could write about. Grad life isn't as fancy and one can't really travel much if the temperature outside just wont rise beyond 4°C!

I was confused and majorly demotivated. Priya and I had worked so hard together in Bangalore to maintain our blog and starting from scratch again, this time alone, was a nightmare. I didn't know where to begin and being stagnant was frustrating me. This is when 6th Borough Boutique got in touch with me to collaborate with them. I don't know about other bloggers but when a brand gets in touch with me I feel very appreciated because it means that my work has caught someone's eye and that, I feel, is a pretty good way to motivate yourself to work harder.

I have been in the blogging world long enough to know that simply collaborating with every brand that comes your way is the best way to kill your blog and lose readers. Nobody wants to waste time reading adverts on a blog, they want a story. Hence before responding to 6thBB, I made a quick Google search and realized how lucky I was because the first brand that got in touch with me was exactly what I was looking for. 6thBB, owned by Stephanie Gandelman and located in NYC, is an amazing place to shop affordable eco-friendly jewelry. They have a huge collection with jewelry for every possible event and if that still doesn't please you then you can customize your own!

When the three neck-pieces that I decided on arrived home, I was so glad that I decided to work with them! The quality was amazing and the jewelry looked exactly how it did in the pictures. The best part was that it was so light that you don't even feel like you have any accessory on! 

Now coming to the main part, the pictures. All the pictures were taken by Helena Tewolde. The pictures were exactly what I had pictured and I am so grateful to Helena for that. She is not only insanely talented but also the sweetest person to work with! You can check out her work right here.  :)
Hope you guys love how all the pictures turned out!

Here are the links to the jewelry items featured:
- Dainty Turquoise Necklace
- Dainty Onyx Necklace
- Gold Signature Lariat

Love,
MYD

  

Embracing my roots!

I am a true desi at heart and traditional Indian outfits are and will always be the closest to my heart. I enjoy dressing up in kurtis and sarees but my ultimate favorite is a classic lehenga! I eagerly wait for events where I can go all out and dress up in one.

I feel that anyone can carry a lehenga gracefully and that is the beauty of Indian attires. I have always wanted to shoot in a lehenga for the blog but I never got a chance or a perfect one to shoot with and that is why I was ecstatic when Iza invited me to their gorgeous store to take a look at their collection.

Iza is a multi-designer store with a huge collection of western, indo-western and traditional Indian outfits. You will be surprised with the wide variety of outfits that they offer. I was a little confused at first regarding what to pick because each of their ranges were beautiful, however the moment I saw their lehenga section I knew I was gonna get a picture-perfect one. I was spoilt for choice because they had plenty of options for various occasions. From nude light weight pieces to extremely heavy bridal ones, there was something for everyone! If you are in Indiranagar, Bangalore anytime then you should definitely give this store a visit.

After spending hours in the store I found a stunning pink lehenga and I instantly fell in love with it. It expressed my style flawlessly and it gave me a feeling that it was designed for me! Both the color and the patterns on it were breathtaking. It was neither too light nor too heavy, it was just right and fit me exactly the way I wanted. The material was incredibly soft and comfortable which was a huge advantage. I also picked the jhumkas from their store which belonged to the brand 'Fuchsia by Ritu'. They paired with the lehenga beautifully! 

For such a royal outfit the shoot location had to be royal too, hence we decided to shoot this in the spectacular Nandi Temple! I love how the pictures turned out and I hope you do too. We have put more effort in this post than any other one on the blog until now. We managed to catch the golden light and Sharan framed every picture to perfection!

I am so thankful that I got to do this before leaving the country or I would have regretted it so much. Shooting in such a pristine location has been my dream since forever and I hope I did some justice to it. Nobody can capture the beauty of the temple in a picture but we tried to capture the essence and I am very happy and proud of the outcome!

Let me know your thoughts on this outfit!

Love,
MYD <3

Hello 2018!

Hiii Guyss!
How has 2018 been treating you so far?  <3 I know I'm a little late to the 'new year, new me' game but better late than never, right?

With starting a new job to moving out of my house, it's been quite a roller coaster for me. Not going to lie, I'm not really enjoying this routine life after chilling at home for over 6 months. It's really hard. But had to get back to the grind some day, didn't I?  Wish I could skip to the part where I'm travelling the world already! *Eye roll*

2017 went by like the blink of an eye. I took me quite a bit to reflect upon how the past year was and it's safe to say, it taught me a hell lot like where to keep my priorities and to be selfish ('cause, why not?).

And as far as 2018 is concerned, I'm really rooting for it to make me realize I really want to do with my life and where my passion truly lies. I know it's okay to feel lost but I guess I'm just tired of that feeling. I'm almost desperate to find some direction.

Honestly, I was even dreading the 9 to 5 corporate job I signed myself up for. I took it up anyway with the hope of finding a niche. Let's see how that goes but so far, I'm doing fine. I guess. Will definitely keep you updated on that. :P

Apart from all this, here's a list of a few goals I'd like to acheive this year -

• Focusing on the present. For example, starting my day job may not have been one of the most fun decisions I've made but I do want to give it my 100%. Focusing on the present is everything. 

• Creating unique content. I want to invest all my free time in converting the million ideas I have in my head to reality. I also want to learn how to edit my photos properly - always comes in handy.

• Getting fit. It's time to accept and take action. Wait for my before and after pictures :P 

• Being completely independent. This I'd do solely for my parents happiness.

• Managing time smartly. Currently, I'm juggling between a full time job and running around to create some content and its truly exhausting. I need to figure out where, when and who to invest my precious time on and be more organised. 

• And lastly, travel. Definitely ticking off a few more states from the map of India this year. 

• Be more thankful. This reminds me, here's a big shout out to my brother for always getting bullied into taking my pictures. The ones here are some of my favorites from a fun little shoot we did recently. 

 

I apologize if this post sounds something like a rant. I'm just trying to be brutally honest. I take this platform as a space where I can talk to a virtual family about anything and everything. This will definitely sound like a cliche but I'm all about making the best version of myself this year. More importantly, I want to look back at this post at the end of this year and say to myself  'Girl, you got this!'

Feel free to stalk me on my social media :D
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/priyanjalimittal/

Much love,
MYD!

New Year Post + Life Update

I wanted the first post of the year to be a personal one and with so many new things happening around me a life update seemed apt. As promised on Instagram (if you don't follow me there then click here first - aditi_khare11 :P), I will be posting a lot more about myself on the blog so that we can get to know each other better this year!

                                                                                  

I graduated as a Telecommunications engineer last July and made the best decision to take a break of about 6 months. I always knew that I wanted to pursue my higher studies and enrolling into a college for the Spring 2018 semester was my best choice. It not only gave me ample time to prepare and apply but also gave me a good extended vacation between the two degrees.

To be honest, I didn't actually think that the admission process would be difficult for me because I had a pretty good profile and I thought that I will get admitted in the university of my choice easily but I had forgotten that absolutely nothing comes easy. Out of the 8 universities that I had applied to I was pretty sure I will get one of my top two choices but then the exact opposite happened and I got rejected from both! I was obviously devastated but more than that I was extremely confused as to what to do next. I did get accepted in a few more places after that but I wasn't very interested in going there. After a long wait of 8 weeks I finally got an acceptance from George Mason University and I was ecstatic! I was extremely happy because GMU offers a brilliant course structure in Networking under the Electrical Engineering department. 

After getting an acceptance I thought okay what can be tough now but well then came the visa interview. Anyone who has ever gone to a US Consulate to get a visa approval knows the trauma one goes through there. It's heartbreaking to see people come out of the building crying and howling with a rejected visa and it makes you wonder why you're putting yourself through this in the first place! Anyways I survived the entire process successfully and my visa was granted on 29th December. After all the ups and downs I am finally leaving to GMU for MS in EE on 10th January and I can't tell you guys how excited I am.:D

I have realized how important it is to cherish all the happy moments because no matter how difficult or hopeless anything seems, things do work out in the end. This never ending process was so stressful because I had no plan B but I did get through it. If you are having a hard time with anything just remember that it's a phase and it's going to pass real soon.

Here I am sharing a few happy pictures from some of the shoots that I did in 2017. I may or may not have shared these pictures on their respective posts or social media. Let's make it a point to cherish every little happy memory this year!

Love,
MYD <3 

Dining at Ambari!

Hii guys!

We all have a weak spot for food in our hearts, always. So here we are, with yet another food post! This one is in collaboration with one of our favorite shoot locations, Shivas Gateway :)

Shivas Gateway is a business hotel on airport road with beautiful rooms and a restaurant that serves the most delicious food.

Ambari is a multi cuisine restaurant here that serves it's dishes in a very unique way and will definitely take your take buds for a ride :D We loved every dish that was served to us. Look at the pictures, they're mouth watering <3

Strawberry Delights

Mediterranean Salad

Grilled Pomfret

Chilly Garlic Prawns

L-R: Tandoori Roti, Dewani Handi and Dal Fry

Fruit Salad

Everything about the restaurant was amazing - the ambiance, service and the food. We loved the serving size of each dish as we felt that it was the perfect quantity. The Grilled Pomfret and Dewani Handi are a definite must try.

We thank Shivas Gateway for having us at their lovely restaurant. We cannot wait to go back and enjoy another yummy meal :)
You too can enjoy their scrumptious dishes with a discount of 20% on your bill amount! Cool right? Just use our code MYD20 after having a memorable experience there :D

Do let us know if you try out the place. We would love to know what your favorite dish was! <3

Until next time,
MYD :) 

Bohemian Diwali 🎆

"A useful image to help us conceptualize the thread of personal unfoldment is the mandala. By mandala I mean a field with a midpoint, such as a sphere with a center. The field is the totality of your experience – your thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, actions; it is the totality of your life at each moment.The center is where Being's dynamism touches your field, touches your mandala. This is where the transformation of experience begins, which then ripples through the whole field."

Mandala art is something that has always pleased my eyes. The intricate designs are just SO good to look at, it makes me want to be an artist.  I am so obsessed with mandala art that I even got a coloring book full of mandala art in it :P

So, when I saw this dress, I fell in love instantly. And brownie points for it being in my favorite color. Plus it was the perfect time to find one. I always wanted to try something unique and different with my Diwali outfits and this piece fit in so well with that criteria.

And the best part about this bohemian beauty is, you don't have to worry too much about the styling. It's so easy to carry. Just put on your best lipstick and you're good to go! 

Hope this look inspired you to do something different this Diwali! 

MYD wishes all of you a happy and safe Diwali ✨ May you prosper at everything you decide to take on because you deserve nothing less than the absolute best in the world :D

Photography: Sharan GC 

Lots of love, 

MYD! 

~ MYDxMuchLove ~

I have been wanting to upload this post since forever but each time I tried something or the other would come up. Even though this post is super late I am still extremely excited to share this one with you all :)

It's been a while since we had any chatty posts on this blog and that's why I wanted to give you all a quick update before I get into the outfit and location details of this collaboration. Priya recently started working in an amazing startup where she is learning a lot along with meeting loads of exciting new people. On the other hand I have applied for masters in the US for the Spring 2018 term and now I am just waiting for the admission decisions. I shall keep you guys updated with the entire university scene soon :)

Now coming to today's post, we collaborated with a lovely clothing store called Much Love. The owner of the store Sujitha is not only really friendly but also extremely professional. They also have an amazing collection with some very new and refreshing pieces with which anyone would fall in love. Also the pricing of the clothes is going to make you smile and maybe even go overboard while shopping! :P 

I picked three pieces from their collection - a bright pink cold-shoulder top, a silver one shoulder top and a beautiful maroon colored gown. I think each piece was very different from the other and they all suited my body type perfectly! 

Look 1 

This is more of a day time look. I have paired the pink top with classic black jeans and  a pair of tan heels. It's such an easy look to recreate and is also extremely comfortable. You could skip the heels and go with flats instead but I think the heels add that little bit of glamour. You could wear this for a day out with your friends or even a brunch :)

Look 2

The second look involves a gorgeous one shoulder silver top. I generally don't prefer wearing one shoulder pieces as I don't feel comfortable enough but I am so glad I picked this piece. I absolutely love how this looks on me and I am looking forward to buying more one shoulder outfits. I paired the top with a black skirt and heels. This is again extremely easy to recreate as who doesn't own a well fitted black skirt? You could also make this look edgy by pairing the top with a pair of black leggings and boots. It all depends on how you want to play with the looks!

Look 3

This is by far my favorite outfit. I absolutely adore this sophisticated maroon gown! This is a piece that Sujitha decided to send herself without showing me the pictures and I am so glad she did! This gown fits me perfectly and hugs my body in all the right places. Also I feel the slit is just right - its not too less or too much! You really don't have to do much with this outfit, just put it on and slay girl ;) 

Also I would like to give a big shoutout to Nitin from Shivas Gateway for letting us shoot in his lovely hotel. The place is absolutely gorgeous and we managed to get some amazing pictures. The hotel is strategically located near the airport so if any of you know anyone travelling to Bangalore soon then let them know about Shivas :)

Photography - Sharan GC (You can check him out on Flickr or Instagram)                    

Outfit - Much Love

Location - Shivas Gateway 

Until next time,

Love,

MYD :)