Why I Decided To Take My Baby Outdoors Before He Turned One, Never Mind What Anyone Said

Every new mommy receives a fair dose of unsolicited advice from well-intentioned family members. Even from strangers. This starts while she is still in the process of learning and understanding the needs of her newborn baby. It can get really annoying at times, particularly when the rookie mom has to pretend to follow that advice in an attempt at keeping her loved ones unhurt. Moreover – and this is even worse – when people unknowingly induce anxiety in a mommy’s mind, she faces a huge dilemma of whether to follow societal traditions or her own instinct. When I travel down memory lane, I recall the time when I also went through this situation. My baby and I were sequestered inside our house for many weeks – and I was helpless about it.

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The Kylin Experience (Chandigarh) : Restaurant Review

Winter Mornings, Warm Sun and Weekends. Isn't it an awesome blend? And if you get to spoil yourself with a dine-out opportunity on a lazy Sunday, your day is made.

The last weekend, I got an invite to review The Kylin Experience, Chandigarh that is recognized as one of the finest restaurant for multi-cuisine dining. 

Location:

Kylin is located at the third floor of Elante Mall, Chandigarh which happens to be the most sought after hang out places of 'The City Beautiful'. Elante Mall is the second largest mall of Northern India and it's top floor boasts of a spacious food court, an amazing courtyard full of cafes, food joints and restaurants. And here is where Kylin welcomes you proudly with an easily accessible locus. It is quite trouble-free to reach the restaurant.

Ambiance:

The interior of the restaurant is aesthetically designed with exposed red bricks on the walls all over. The walls have got gracefully implanted geometric frames decorated with tiny colourful plants in them which pleases the senses. The restaurant entrance flanked by an alluring Budhha statue kept at a rack marks holiness at the place. 

Critical to any restaurant, whether it is casual, sophisticated, rustic or modern, is Lighting. At Kylin, the entire space is sufficiently lit with assortment of multi-coloured pendant lights hung on the ceiling to spread omni-directional glare. Not only the lights are functional to the purpose, but create an intimate ambiance to impress you enough for a return.

One can notice the extra efforts put to combine iron-grill panels behind with colored lights to pull off a richer texture and color.

Seating:
At Kylin, the seating layout emphasizes on the comfort to add to the diner's experience. They have variety of seating options within the allocated area. You may choose to enjoy wall-side comfy seating with wooden partition fixtures between tables or occupy center seats which are space-efficient and encourage conversation during dining.  

The line between a restaurant and bar is getting harder to parse these days, so Kylin presents an exclusive high-rise bar-stools arrangement for its bar area on one side of restaurant. The spectacular bar features a great display where one can indulge in watching the bartenders crafting a perfect drink for you. The bar area is well-managed to introduce dramatic lighting from behind the premium liquor bottles to manifest the pop lighting effect.

Food & Service:

Talking about the foodies delight now; I had been invited to taste and review the newly introduced Winter Special menu at Kylin that offers an incredible mix of Soup Meals and Sizzlers.  

The cuisine offered at Kylin is an amalgamation of Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Burmese, and Asian, so they guarantee you to offer delicacies beyond the monotonous.

Before I could begin my food tasting session, I informed the Kylin staff about my Vegetarian preference. An usual kind of menu with a wooden base arrived at my table and the head chef himself came to greet and guide me about his dishes. The experienced and friendly chef gave me utmost information about the preparation and ingredients gone into every dish. 

For the starters, the small bite-sized portions of Dim sums arrived in cute bamboo basket having Mushroom & Bok Choy,  Broccolli & Almond and Tofu & Vegetables variants. The flavour of each filling could be felt in every bite as the aptly steamed, nearly transparent dim sums melted in my mouth.

I demanded my all time favourite Mojito on being asked for drinks, while my son who accompanied me to the venue, got to sip a specially made mocktail by the chef. We opted for refreshing yet non-alcoholic versions, ofcourse.

Moving to the main offerings in the winter menu, we were served these soup meals -

Asparagus & lotus Stem With Dumplings, is a clear broth with vegetables, mushrooms, star anise and rice noodles in it. 

Thukpa, is a yellow coloured Tibetan soup with tangy taste with loads of veggies, baby corns and noodles in it. People who enjoy non-vegetarian food can get the veggies substituted with chicken in their Thukpa. 

Now this one had been a beautiful presentation indeed. The family-sized serving of this soup is named as Steam Boat. Resembling to a real one, it's one of  the finest offering in the menu. There are options to customize the  soup with choicest veggies, chicken or sea food as per own liking. You can even enhance the flavours using the variety of condiments served with the dish.

There is no tampering done with the ingredients to bring out authentic flavours of dishes so that they may represent the cuisine they actually belong to.

So we slurped and spooned our way through the restaurant’s finest 'meals in a bowl'. I recommend these soup meals especially to those who prefer a quick lunch and avoid heavy fried food. These soup meals are generously seasoned and don't push you to compromise in either taste or health, rather you feel 'full' and 'content' after finishing one bowl.

For a complete Kylin Experience, we were served delicious Sizzlers in the second phase-

Chilli Paneer With Hakka Noodles, is a full meal prepared with paneer and capsicum with gravy made of combination of vinegar and oriental sauces. It was truly the tastiest accompaniment to the noodles. The deep fried baby potatoes and crunchy bell-pepper in the platter tasted yummilicious.  

Another flavourful sizzler variant came all decked up with bowlful of veggies and a huge spring roll sleeping over a bed of hakka noodles and it's named as Exotic Veggies in Ginger Chilli With Hakka Noodles.  

I'm usually a more-n-more veggies kind of person who loves to munch veggies really fondly. With many slices of baby corns in the dish, I simply devoured this dish to my heart content.

The sizzlers menu at Kylin also offers variety of non-vegetarian delicacies like Chilli Chicken With Veg Fried Rice and Duck in Orange Liquor Sauce With Flat Noodles. 

The chef insisted on tasting his signature dish i.e. Kylin Special Sushi and my son was absolutely delighted to know that chef had a Veg Sushi Platter on his menu for us. Though the attention paid by the staff towards minute details was especially apparent in the presentation and quality of every dish, the Sushi platter instantaneously won our appreciation. 

The tiny dipping bowl were filled with soy sauce and dipping a piece of sushi into soy actually improved the flavour of vinegered rice with a bit of savouriness

Concluding the fine dining experience at Kylin with desserts was amazing. The chef presented a trio of homemade icecreams in basil, star anise and coconut flavours which made for an even better dining experience. 

I couldn't leave without admiring fast paced service by staff throughout. The service scores full marks for friendly, quick and accommodating experience.

On a cue, The Kylin Experience absorbs the grandeur of the city for being one of best place for casual dining and a must-visit restaurant for lovers of multi-cuisine food.  When you visit the place, don't forget to glance at this corner where the extensive awards won by the restaurant are exhibited with pride.

Timing: 11 am to 11:30 pm

Contact Info: 0172-4012542

Other Branches: Delhi & Gurgaon.

Cost: Rs. 1200/- to 1500/- for two persons.

I rate the location, food, service, hospitality and pricing of Kylin, a perfect 5/5.

Discover Your Inner Fashionista With Bornprettystore

To add a touch of luxury to your look and to discover your inner fashionista, just put on some makeup and compliment it with beautifully crafted pieces of jewelry. You may find countless number of websites dealing the makeup and accessories, but to stay ahead of the trends with an unparalleled selection of chic fashion stuff, my preferred shopping destination is none other than BornprettyStore.

My association with the website is quite mature now and whenever I explore it after a gap of some days, I notice the collection gets updated with numerous irresistible fashion items. And you may easily guess why I'm telling you all this..bcz I've again shopped with them at guilt-free prices with Free Worldwide Shipping.

So here is the time to indulge in the striking beauties I bought in this order..

When you're getting preparations done for some special occasion, you may need some classy jewelry. Golden is the colour of festivity, celebration and merriment. I always choose to wear tinkling bangles set with ethnic outfits. And if I go for something western or indo-western, there is always a gold cuff bangle with me like the one I got from BornprettyStore. 

It has an outstanding appeal and looks glam. You can wear it for all kinds of situations, for a holiday or a party; and it takes your fashion appeal raised up effortlessly. 

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While scouting the site for some more glam jewelry pieces, a dazzling collar necklace almost stole my heart <3 The design is elaborate, yet light-weight. I chose the multi-coloured necklace out of the four options available and I loved my selection.

It's not excessively sparkling and gives a smooth matte look which is exactly how I want my accessories to be. It's neckchain is made of Resign material which is synthetic organic polymer. It's flexible and airy-light to wear around my neck for even long hours.

And next, I ordered this Professional Lipstick Palette. I'm seriously fallen head over heels in love with this pretty makeup companion. What I can recall, that's my most expensive purchase from BPS till date ;)

It has 32 high quality lipstick shades ranging from primaries and neutrals to bold brights. The makeup enthusiasts like me would love to create an endless array of looks by mixing and customizing these pigmented, long-wearing lip shades. The lipshades are quite moisturizing while on lips and has sassy finish.

The sleek size of palette makes it travel-friendly. The only regret that I have on this palette that the applicator brush is not provided with it, but it doesn't lessen my fancy for the adorable palette.

Overall, it's a wonderful beginning of my BPS shopping series for 2017 ;) For those who are planning to buy some great accessories can use coupon code WEMT10 for get 10% off on non-discounted items on entire collection on the website.

I'm eager to know how you liked my choice :) Do share your views.

Win Premium Bedsheets in #MyIconicHomeContest (Closed)

Starting from tomorrow, we will post one trivia question every alternate day related to the sponsor website Myiconichome.com or my blog on our "Facebook" timeline. 

All you have to do is to answer all the questions on the contest posts.

COMPULSORY RULES:

1. Subscribe to my blog via email and verify your subscription.
2. Follow Alive n Kicking PUBLICLY on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.
3. Follow Myiconichome PUBLICLY on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram.
4. Share this blog post and every Trivia post on your Facebook timeline using hashtag #MyIconicHomeContest. Do tag both pages and atleast 5 friends (the more the merrier) while sharing.
5. After completing all 4 steps above, just mention your email address, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube names in comment section of this blog post (we will not be able to track your entry if you don't comment here) 

Prizes:

THREE lucky winners who complete the compulsory steps mentioned above, give all answers correct and are interactively engaged with us during contest will take home a beautiful premium quality Welhouse double bedsheet each. 

P.S. Your efforts will be closely monitored.

Its a sponsored giveaway, so I won't be held responsible for delay or damage of prize hamper in transit.

Winners Update (31.01.17)
Congratulations Latika Dheer, Aishwarya P Krishnammachary, Saloni Almal. Wait for an email from us to claim your prize.

Decor Diaries ft.myiconichome.com

Your bed is somewhere that you return to every day for rest and recovery from your busy lifestyle. Naturally, you’ll want the very best premium bedsheets, so that you get the best night sleep possible. What’s more, your bedsheets also form a major part of your interior design, topping off the look of your bedroom. 

I believe, most of you will agree to what you read above... Actually this is vision of Myiconichome which is an online portal to provide its customers with the ultimate home decor products to bring a touch of luxury and comfort to the heart of your home. During my recent collaboration with the brand/portal, I was veritably impressed by the quality products they deal in. And so, I decided to shop for some bed linen for my new home <3

They stock some of the highest quality bedsheets available in the market, including Thuhil, Home Elite and Welhouse. These brands are all well known for their great degree of comfort, and are available in a wide selection of fantastic patterns, designs and price range. Whatever is your style and budget there’s something for you. I was yearning to get some soft fabric bedsheets for daily use. While browsing the wide selection, plenty of ideas spring to my mind when I found these interesting tips- 

Tips to choose bedsheets online:

• Consider the mood that you want to create in your bedroom. For those looking to make a big statement, the bold colours and geometric designs provide a focal point around which you can shape the rest of the room. 
• Stripes, on the other hand, help to create a flow in the room- the eye is naturally drawn along these lines, taking in the general ambiance right away. 
• For those who prefer a more subdued approach, the soft pastel colours and textured designer patterned bedsheets are the way to go. 

Now, I could made a clear choice and ordered 4 print bedsheets from Welhouse. I received all my order details via SMS and email instantly. The progress about the order status was regularly updated on the mail and finally the order arrived at the given address quite well packed without any delay or hassle.

Check out the individual pics...

 

The double bedsheets that I received are incredibly soft to touch. The quality seems to last much longer than the cheaper alternatives. I'm excited for a wonderful night sleep in utmost comfort. This site is undoubtedly the perfect place for those who care about the look of their home.

Tell me honestly, was I able to spark up your zing to own these beautiful bed linen?? I'm all ear to receive your opinion. If I loved your feedback, then you're IN for a treat for yourself...

I'll reveal the surprise soon!! 

Win Mama Earth Baby Products (closed)

Hey everyone

When I asked you to vote for your favourite giveaway gifts, many of you were eager to win something for your bundles of joy. I had recently introduced Mama Earth on my blog and reviewed their skin-safe baby care products also. If you missed reading the post, check it out here. The products' efficacy really impressed me, so I proposed the brand to do a simple contest with us and the innovative mommy Ms. Ghazal gave us a thumbs up :)

Now coming to the contest rules...

The contest will run simultaneously on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The participant can play the contest on ANY ONE or ALL of the platforms.

For Facebook Users:

• Follow Alive n Kicking and Mama Earth on Facebook.
• Name one of the Mama Earth products that you would love to gift to your little one in the comment section of this post.
• Share the giveaway post (public) on your timeline with with #WinWithMamaEarth and tag at least 5 friends (the more, the merrier). 

For Twitter Users:

• Follow artisanme79 and Mama Earth India on twitter. 
• Name one of the Mama Earth products that you would love to gift to your little one in reply to this thread. 
• Retweet the giveaway post (public) with #WinWithMamaEarth on your timeline and tag at least 5 friends (the more, the merrier). 

For Instagram Users:

• Follow shilpabindlish and Mamaearth_India on Instagram
• Name one of the Mama Earth products that you would love to gift to your little one in comment section of this post.
• Repost the giveaway post (public) with #WinWithMamaEarth on your timeline and tag at least 5 friends (the more, the merrier) 

Additional Information:

Giveaway Duration: 17 Jan to 31 Jan.

Valid for Indian residents. 

Prizes:

3 lucky winners will be selected on basis of maximum engagement (one on each platform). Winners will get a baby essential kit for their kids. 

P.S. Its a sponsored giveaway by Mama Earth & the brand will be sending prizes. We won't take any responsibility of delay or damage in transit.

Winner Update (2 Feb, 2017):
Congratulations to Jagjeet Kaur, Preeti Tiwai and Shweta Ahuja for winning the Mama Earth gift packs for their babies. Kindly look for our message to claim your prizes.