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At the risk of sounding like a total cliche, Michelle Obama, and every.damn.thing about her, and her book BECOMING was my #1 FAVORITE thing from April. Yep, finally finished a book, didn’t read it (because that would never happen with my crazy busy schedule, I know, excuses, excuses!), but listened to it on Audible, narrated by the author herself. 

And in parallel, I also binge-watched, rather, binge-listened to several, several, several of her old interviews on Youtube, and boy oh boy, is she the epitome of inspiration and wisdom or what!? I feel blessed to be born in a generation where women like her are out there doing all the ah-mazing things and inspiring everyone around them! How I wish she would be the first female president that this country so badly needs (but we know that’s not gonna happen, come on Michelle, about time you changed your mind!). 

And speaking of Audible, why the heck did I wait this long to sign up for it!? I mean, I have known about this app like forever, but never really took the next step, arrrgh! But now I am hooked, like hopelessly hooked!! Amazon surely is a gift that keeps on giving… You guys know that I love listening to Podcasts (read more here and here for some of my favorites) but I sure was missing out on reading books (in the name of busy busy busy). Though Audible can’t replace the joy of holding a hardbound book in hand and flipping through pages, this is as good as it is going to get for me for now. I already have at least a dozen books to read on Audible and that makes me soooo excited! If you have any recos then please send them my way. 

If you follow trends, then you know that everybody and their grandma is trying the high ponytail trend lately, something that I have tried for far too long (since the days of genie, anyone remember her hairdo?) and had given up, cuz my thick, silky, long hair (not trying to show off) won’t stay put in its place and the high pony becomes a low pony in no time. But, a few months ago I used these spiral twisters (something I have had at home for a long time now, not sure why I didn’t think of putting these to test high pony earlier) to try a high ponytail hairdo, and wahooo, my high ponytail now stays in its place for a long long time. You might have seen me rock my high ponytail a lot lately, thanks to these hair ties 😉 Other choices: option 1, option 2, option 3. 

These SHOES… if there is only one pair of shoes that you want to buy all of spring and summer + if you love wearing heels/wedges then this is the pair you should own, like yesterday. It is less than $35 (got mine for about $26 I think, during one of their sales) and I can walk miles and miles and miles in these without complaining. 

Brought them on many of my trips already, and hubby would go ‘are you sure you want to wear these shoes to explore the city?’, like duh!). These wedges come in 4 neutral colors and you can wear them with almost all kinds of outfits. BEST $26 I EVER SPENT! Been waiting for these shoes to go on sale again so I can snag another color (I mean, I am not one to pay full price if I know they will go on sale, and knowing this retailer, they almost always go on sale). 

I finally watched the most popular TV show that everyone (by everyone I mean desi friends and IGers (Indian)) have been raving about since it came out on Amazon Prime Video. It is so refreshing to watch a show that is not the typical ‘Indian Soap Opera’ (seriously, so sick and tired of those Indian dramas still airing on TV, even to this day and age. Those shows are far from reality and set an annoying and impractical standard for people (mostly women), and not to forget, they are so dumb and senseless. Those shows are really ruining peoples lives, taking away from the wonderful opportunity to educate and inspire people through TV, makes my blood boil). 

But this show, on the other hand, has such strong storytelling and portrays the subtle nuances and complicated relationships with oneself and others. I wish Indian TV and cinema produced more shows like this #foodforthought #makesyouthink. And honestly, having been away from home for the last decade, it also shows NRI’s like us what current India looks like. 

Won’t be an exaggeration at all if I said I might have (still do) gone a tad bit overboard giving my money to Amazon (primarily Amazon Fashion lately). Can’t help it when they are selling such amazing quality and trendy stuff at such great prices. While it warrants an entire blog post exclusively on my recent Amazon finds, I definitely have to tell you guys about at least a few things I recently purchased and absolutely LOVE here – this floral jumpsuit, $15 when I bought it (crushing over it), these statement earrings (comes in dozens of colors), these bestseller sneakers (love the print), and this space saver storage bags (we also brought these on our travels, they help create so much space!). 

And speaking of fashion, you know that I shop quite a lot from this online store as well. Again, warrants an exclusive post but these two things are ones I am currently crushing over big time – this drawstring hoodie is for all you huge ‘Friends’ fans, and this is such a versatile front wrap coat (less than $15) for spring that I made full use of during my travels (comes in a ton of colors, and between you and me, I want to buy them all, shh, don’t tell the hubs). 

Last but not least, this crossbody bag, it is an oldie but a goldie. I might have dozens of bags in my closet (like most other hoarder girls do) but when it comes to the ones that I get the most use out of, this one takes the cake. I probably bought it for $30 bucks a few years ago, and given how much I have used it in the last few years, you can bet that this is great quality. When it comes to bags I like the ones with a good number of zippers, and this small crossbody bag has 4, which means, a separate place for everything – from earphones to phone to cosmetics to credit cards and cash to everything else in between. Plus, this is such a pretty color and totally on trend for spring and summer. Again, one of those items that I have been bringing on all my travels, crossbody bags FTW! I couldn’t find the exact one I own online but these are all pretty close to what I have – option 1 (comes in gazillion colors), option 2 (love the colors), option 3 (such a fun shape), option 4 (expensive cuz leather). 

That’s it, for now, you guys… 

Now go enjoy all the sun, sand, and beach, I mean, it’s May after all 😉

Kusum