TV show Archives • Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog

Knope We Can – The Story of My Room

Magali Vaz — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Today I’m going to talk about a part of my everyday life that is as real & unglamorous as it gets – my room.

But first, some Parks & Recreation talk. Have you seen it? It’s full of funny, well rounded & overall lovely characters. Though the entire cast is brilliant & I would have a hard time picking a favorite, I have a soft spot for the main character, Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler!) She’s determined, funny, hardworking & so much more; but I have never loved her more than when they gave us a glimpse into her home. Her crazy hoarder nightmare home, to be precise.

You see, I too have a crazy hoarder nightmare of a room. It’s four years & ten months since I moved into a new house (with my parents). I had just finished high school & it was a time of amazing change – I was starting college! I had a room of my own! The first few months I was deliriously happy – I chose all my own furniture (everything is crazy childish, but that’s a whole other post) & I obsessively decorated & re-decorated. But the months passed & I started to spend less & less time. My dad is away at work a lot so I shifted all my everyday essentials into the master bedroom with mom. And ever so slowly, the room I loved was used only for storing my books / clothes / jewellery & other miscellany. I went in there to dress up or drop whatever I had just bought. But that was it. In the beginning I loved it when guests came to see my room & complimented me on how cute it looked but now my pretty room stayed shut whenever we had guests, because somewhere along the line that place stopped being so pretty & became a big disorganised mess. Clothes on the chair. Books spilling out of the cabinet. Shoeboxes everywhere. Desk filled with old college books that I obviously no longer need (but failed to ever get rid of). Every time my dad came back from the ship, he tried every trick in the book to get me to clean it up. Everytime he did those things, I basically behaved like this –

Whenever I perceive someone’s behaviour as controlling, I want to do the exact opposite of what they tell me (even if their advising me for my own good). I am the very definition of headstrong – you cannot make me do something & if I’ve decided to do something, you cannot change my mind.

Of course I knew that keeping my room clean is a good thing. But along the way I had collected so many things, the task of getting the place together was really intimidating. Besides, I told myself that I was sentimental, that I liked storing those things, that they were little bits of me. The longer I waited, the messier (& scarier) it got. I’ve broached the subject on this blog multiple times, thinking that writing about it would encourage me to actually do it. Those things help but in the end even that can’t make you do it.

You may have noticed that I’ve become an interior design / décor nut in the last few months. I actually want to blog more about those things but I felt like such a big hypocrite everytime I thought of my room. Finally a few weeks ago I was browsing some lovely homes when I just decided to shut my mac & go to my room. I sifted through the stuff there for the first times in months. Do you know what I found? That sentimental line that I kept using on myself was a bunch of bullshit. Most of the things I kept were junk. Shoeboxes are sort of useful to store things, but the rest I’m going to toss. Scraps of paper are going to get thrown out. Textbooks & clothes I’ve grown out of are going to get donated. I’m not setting any deadlines but I’m tackling a bit every day. It feels so good & more importantly doable. This is my new mantra-

The first paragraph on this post (& coralcrue’s comment) were just what I needed. If I can do it, so can you. Plans & lists are beautiful but nothing beats action. This story about my room is the perfect allegory for any kind of dream / plan / project & I’m hoping it will encourage you to do at least one thing you’ve been putting off for a while. Nike has the right idea, Just Do It!

You can definitely expect more ‘room talk’ as I get it organized & find the perfect furniture & accessories for it.

love,

The post Knope We Can – The Story of My Room appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Transitions, Stuff to Do, Photography, etc.

Magali Vaz — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:07:00 +0000

Hey there? It’s been a while since since I’ve written a rambly random post so here is one.

Recently there have been some major changes in my life, especially with regards to college. They were unexpected but not unhappy.

So now I am left with a lot more time on my hands, that makes me ecstatic but I really need to learn to manage it well. I’m contemplating taking up a job, certainly not something full time though (I do wish we had the option of flexible hours here). But I don’t need to right away, & it’s no use if it’s not something I love. So I’m just indulging in some nice things for now ->
Some things I would really like to do with my free time:

1. Start to exercise; for the first time in my life!

I already have some flab & if possible I’d like to nip it in the bud. I don’t know where to start. How much, how often? I’m planning to at least start with skipping & take it from there.
2. Clean my room.

This has been a struggle. When we first moved in to this house I was so excited about having my own room, I put so much thought into decorating it. I called school friends over for sleepovers & they reminded me about how lucky I was to have a room of my own (they all shared rooms with siblings!). But I hardly stayed in it, as my dad is sailing most of the time I spend my hours in the master bedroom. So slowly my room became my place to store my things, & then other random things from the house & now it’s very crowded/messy. My dad, in complete exasperation has agreed to let me get a cat/hamster/bunny & much more, despite his disdain for animals, if only I clean it up & live there! He sometimes jokingly threatens me that he’ll rent the room out to a paying guests. Now I really do want to start cleaning the place up, get some more furniture in there, & organize the place. I will start on it soon.
3. Rearrange / Redecorate our home.
This too has been long pending. Remember the rustic Bandra home from this post? I really really loved the Prayer Flags. I have always been a admirer of Tibetan Buddhism, & I love that these flags are not just decorative but are traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all. I had thought I’ll buy them if/when I go to Ladakh, but I gave in & ordered a big batch of Lungta style prayer flags from Nepal. I know they’re traditionally hung outdoors because wind has to get to them but I’m going to try to make them work indoors.
4. Cook more.
I love to bake, but our trust old oven-toaster-grill has gone on the fritz (it isn’t heating up enough! Stuff takes double the time to bake & still doesn’t turn out exactly right), & till we can replace it I will have to keep myself content with cooking, you know, on a stove.
5. Blog More Often.
Because it feels right. I have a lot to share with you, mostly photographs. Oh & while we’re on the topic of blogging, I’m looking for guest bloggers. Are you interested? Details here.

Also I’m a teeny bit bored with my beloved dslr Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS. I have my eye on the Canon 1100D (yay for movie recording) but that is not going to happen anytime soon, I think.

Now about TV- Is anyone reading this a Criminal Minds fan? (If not you may want to skip this paragraph) Do you remember when executives at CBS screwed up royally by dropping Paget Brewster, then rehiring her after fans really made a noise? Well it has emerged that Paget is leaving the show, this time for good, by her own free will. She had a early (memorable) stint in FRIENDS, & the reason she’s leaving is because she wants to purse comedy. I broke the news to my CM fan-friends on twitter & we were all upset because Emily Prentiss is such an amazing character, but of course if it’s really what Paget wan’t then the fans will always support her.
I’m super glad that Psych is back! (after two whole months & then some) I was waiting for the new episode & Indiana Shawn and the Temple of the Kinda Crappy, Rusty Old Dagger (which guest starred Cary Elwes & John Rhys-Davies) didn’t disappoint.
And about Two and a Half Men. Since I’m a huge Dharma & Greg fan (& I don’t mind Big Bang Theory either) I really thought Chuck Lorre was a genius. I watched Two and a Half Men sporadically in the past but when Charlie Sheen was replaced I started to watch regularly, mainly out of curiosity. There isn’t much doubt that Ashton sucks as compared to Charlie Sheen but after watching two episodes back-to-back with so many pee & puke jokes I’m wondering whether the show always had this much toilet humor or is Chuck getting desperate? Your thoughts?

That is all.

Love,

follow | bloglovin’ | twitter | facebook

The post Transitions, Stuff to Do, Photography, etc. appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Back with a Bang

Magali Vaz — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know that I’m back from vacation. I got back on the 7th actually. The bus I was returning in was in an accident. In short, the driver took a wrong turn & drove it into a ditch. The bus was about 40 degrees on it’s left & I had to jump out a window (well over 7 feet high) & the whole experience was somewhat scary. There were no serious injuries, just some scratches, cuts, etc.

What made the whole experience so scary was that it was just so close. The driver took a bad turn & fell in a ditch, he could have very well fallen off the side of the mountain. Everyone was just so thankful to be alive. After we were out safe I think I just hugged my mom extra tight.

I admit that the first day after I got back passed in a haze of laziness & constant thoughts about the accident. But then I had some impossible deadlines to meet so I couldn’t blog at once. But yes I am back now. Expect regular updates! ^_^

I went for my first Lomography India photowalk ~~today~~ yesterday. The sky was overcast & it was pouring cats & dogs, but it was oh so much fun!! :] (The journey back was a lot of fun too! ) Did I mention how much I am enjoying shooting film? Way more than digital, that’s for sure. Will talk more about it when the photos get back from the lab! I look forward to shooting with a whole lot of film cameras in the upcoming days!

So much stuff is happening in my life right now. I’m a little stressed but still very happy that I’m busy doing the things I love.

Bye for now.

love,

PS– Executives at CBS, what the fuck is wrong with you? Quit screwing with Criminal Minds & give Thomas Gibson a contract.

The post Back with a *Bang* appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Days go by…

Magali Vaz — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:05:00 +0000

I know I haven’t posted for almost all of this vacation, so I’ll just share stuff I did in one rambly post (don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

The plan to do a short post every day just flew out of the window because of my current internet connection. (more on that soon).

Anyway the last few days consisted of two breezers & tequila shots, too much tv, lazing around, etc.

I was watching this show No Ordinary Family (which has been cancelled, btw) & was super surprised to see Lucy Lawless in a recurring role. *squeal*

Also I am very happy that those dumb executives at CBS & ABC have managed to get both AJ & Paget back for the next season of Criminal Minds And also that they let Rachel Nichols go. I feel sorry for her & all, but she just sucked, okay?

I also did watch a ton of Jackie Chan movies. Karate Kid was awesome, but I prefer his campy, dubbed ‘Hong Kong films’ more. I saw New Police Story & Rob-B-Hood

Now after spending two whole weeks in the resort (bliss!!) we are back at our Goa home for some quiet relaxation.

Now, getting back to the internet connection- Tata Photon+. A salesman came to our home a few weeks ago. Of course I am aware that salesmen always make tall claims, but after paying all the money we found out the connection is beyond crappy. That’s when I looked it up on the internet where most users claim it’s crappy, & the customer service is even worse!! We have been using Airtel Broadband at home for the past two years, the speed is decent, it has very little downtime, the customer service is superb. It’s great that we live close to their office too, whenever we complain the engineer is here within 15 minutes.

I am not just ranting here, I just need to tell you that Tata Photon+ is really shitty. I didn’t know anyone who had it before we got ours, so I didn’t know it was this bad. I find it throughly amusing that Tata Photon+ has a ton of ads on Star TV claiming it gots some consumers choice award. All the consumers are dissatisfied. Suspicious, much? Anyway, that’s enough ranting for now. This holiday has been awesome, & I can’t wait to get home in a week.

Also, do enter my giveaway if you haven’t already! (You could win an awesome quality writing/drawing book).

love,

The post Days go by… appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

My Week in Pictures

Magali Vaz — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:02:00 +0000

I know I haven’t been posting many pictures lately, so I came up with a new way to share them: My Week in Pictures.

All the pretty things that I’ve seen/got/done this week. I hope to post every Sunday.

This post is picture heavy but there are some pretty things in here, do have a look.

Everything posted in Chronological order, starting from last Sunday (20th March 2011)
On Sunday…

I got these two hats (felt bowler & paper trillby) came to me from Auckland, New Zealand. A gift from my mom’s friends. I had asked them to get me some hats because there are hardly any good ones available here. Thanks A. Lygia & A Sylvina. <3

On Monday…

I got this gorgeous hand-painted bag from Aarti of Art Meets Fashion. I won it in a giveaway on her blog. It really is so stunning & completely one of a kind. One photo cannot show you how beautiful it is, so I am going to dedicate a whole post on my style blog to it, really soon!

On Tuesday…

I got a new book: Truly, Madly, Deeply! by Faraaz Kazi & started reading it.

On Thursday…

I got hold of my Yamaha SHS-10, purchased when I was five! Also, I got some very happy news about it. The story is worthy of a Pixar movie, & I will post about it in the next few days. (Also, I <3 my childhood!)

On Friday…

I went shopping with mom, for food stuff mostly (Dijon mustard stock was running low! I use a lot of it for devilled eggs & honey mustard dressing too). Since my holidays have started, I am planning to bake a lot, so I bought a lot of baking supplies & ingredients. These cupcake liners & star sprinkles were the prettiest.

We then had rose falooda to reward ourselves for a successful shopping excursion.

I also got this super cute tee from my mom’s friend (same one who got me the hats!) I love that red bow.
When I got back, a lot of stuff from the post & couriers was waitings for me…

First, this Criminal Minds coffee mug. You guys know how upset I’ve been that Prentiss is no longer going to be a part of this awesome ~~once awesome~~ show. I can go on ranting about the shitty decisions that CBS executives make, but I’d rather not. So I ordered this mug to cheer me up. In case you’re wondering this is not official merchandise. I’m not sure about the availability of official merchandise, besides, it would be insane to get something like that shipped from USA (and make those evil CBS execs rich). So I just found a high-red image off the internet (fun fact: this is also my current desktop picture) & used a very popular photo printing website to get this printed on a coffee mug. I love it to bits, because this is the team at my favorite stage: Season 5, while JJ & Prentiss were still a part of the show.

Second, this E25 Blending Brush (travel size) from Sigma arrived. The shipping was very quick! The brush feels heavenly on my skin, expect a review of it on my style blog within a few days.

Third, this LipIce sheer color might just be one of the most amazing & reasonably priced lip products out there (possible exaggeration there. But i really think it’s magical!) Expect a review of this too on my style blog.

On Saturday…

Some more childhood nostalgia! (If you’re curious about what this is, don’t fret. A blog post is coming up soon in which this will feature extensively!)

Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies, for the first time ever (with mom’s help). And guess what? They turned out awesome! I am so happy. Baking is magical, I tell you.
If you guys are interested in the recipe let me know!

I had an awesome & fulfilling week, how about you?
And lots of super exciting things are going to be happening this coming week.

love,
Magali

The post My Week in Pictures appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Smelly Cat

Magali Vaz — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:51:00 +0000

After the really depressing turn of events on Criminal Minds (that I blogged about here), I really needed something to cheer my up. So I came across this:
I’ve always liked FRIENDS (though I was never a huge fan). Among the girls, my favorite was always Phoebe, ever since I was a little kid (my mom knows I always love the quirky ones). Even as a ten year old I really identified with her.
So this video was just too much fun. I miss the 90s.

love,
Magali

The post Smelly Cat appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Bruce Campbell & Books

Magali Vaz — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:14:00 +0000

I am a huge Bruce Campbell fan. I first saw him in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys & subsequently in Xena: Warrior Princess when I was five or six. He didn’t have a starring roll, just a recurring one. I didn’t know his real name then, or even the character name (Autolycus) but I knew him as POT (an acronym for Prince of Thieves, something Autolycus liked to call himself!)

Anyway, a few years ago I found out he wrote two books. And that they were actually pretty good. I was dying to get my hands on them. But they were obviously only available in USA. And they were pretty cheap on Amazon.com, but the delivery prices were exorbitant. So I wasn’t able to get them.

But then around Christmas this year I decided to try out flipkart. They got my the two books I wanted, with free delivery! And this is not the free delivery that takes forever to come. The first book arrived just two days after I paid for it. The second book took a while because it was coming from USA (I was informed well in advance that it could take up to 30 days). It arrived in about 20. And no I am not getting anything for saying this (though flipkart should consider making me their brand ambassador). Though I shop online a lot, I can say this is the first time in weeks I was satisfied with how the order went through, delivery time & the state of the package (in came in tissue paper & a padded cardboard box.

The books I ordere were:
1. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor (2002)
A memoir written by Bruce Campbell almost a decade ago, this one went on to become a New York Time bestseller.

2. Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way (2005)
This one is part fact & part fiction. In Bruce’s own words: Is it an “autobiographical novel”? Yes. I’m the lead character in the story, and I’m a real person, and everything in the book actually happened, except for the stuff that didn’t.

So… I have been feeling a little blue now that two of my current favorite TV shows are between seasons (Psych & Burn Notice) & one of my favorite TV shows Criminal Minds is getting messed up because those asshole executives down at CBS are firing the best cast members.

I have been a member of GetGlue for a while, and my first batch of stickers arrived a few weeks ago.

I only just noticed that this photo is a tad out of focus. Sorry about that.

My favorite stickers from the lot.

I think this goes to show that I am a huge TV show junkie. I mean, I think I love TV shoes more than movies. Films have bigger budgets, better production, cinematography and whatnot. But only TV shows can create complex story lines and great characters.

Magali

The post Bruce Campbell & Books appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Double Dare Review

Magali Vaz — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Double Dare is a documentary film by Amanda Micheli released in 2004 that aims to shed some light on the life of television stuntwomen, focussing on two of them in particular.

These two stunt women are Jeannie Epper and Zoë Bell.

Jeannie Epper & Lynda Carter

Jeannie Epper is most famous for being Lynda Carter’s stunt double on the The New Adventures of Wonder Woman television series in the seventies and has been a stunt double on RoboCop and Tanya Roberts’ stunt double on Charlie’s Angels (the original tv show, not the films). She has done the stunts for over 200 television shows and feature films. She is now a grandma of four but she still wants to continue working until she can.

Lucy Lawless & Zoe Bell.

The second stunt woman is Zoë Bell, who got famous for her role as Lucy Lawless’ stunt double in Xena: Warrior Princess. She later went on to be Uma Thurman’s stunt double for both the Kill Bill films too, and recently she has been acting in Hollywood too, most famously Death Proof, Bitch Slap (which I have reviewed here) & Whip It.

I got completely dazzled after seeing the trailer, and being the Xena fan that I am, I had to watch the film.

For Jeannie, it shows some footage of her filming a stunt for Wonder Woman, and how she’s still looking for work. She comes from a background of horses and most of her family is into stunts. For Zoë it wasn’t the same, she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to become. She is an absolutely amazing stunt woman, other than being an expert at jumping or getting hit and not injuring herself, she’s also trained in martial arts. The opening scene of the film might be my favorite. It features Zoë Bell in a harness, getting ready to film a stunt for the finale episode of Xena (you can see a part of it in the trailer). The stunt involves fire, and it is pretty amazing to see it being filmed, and I marvelled about how different it looked in the episode. It shows Zoë leaving her native New Zealand to go to USA to work, where she lives with Jeannie who helps her get a CV, head shots, etc. She also auditions to be Uma’s stunt double in Kill Bill, and her ecstatic reaction at being selected for the part. I think the film also aims to show you the deception present in Hollywood, like when Zoë is asked to fake her weight (15 pounds less than she is) because “All the actresses do it.” Stunt Doubles are needed whenever there are serious stunt in a film, yet up until recently they weren’t even given credit. They are like the unsung heroes of action films, and it’s great for them to get some screen time dedicated to what they do.
All in all I think this was an amazing film! I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it. I also loved the DVD special features that include exclusive interviews with Renee O’Connor, Lucy Lawless, Steven Spielberg, Lynda Carter, Min Windle & Quentin Tarantino. An added treat!

xoxo

The post Double Dare Review appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

The Power of Three

Magali Vaz — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:16:00 +0000

Here’s a little tag I decided to borrow from Psych Babbler– What attracted me to it was the title- it reminded me of Charmed. So here it is.

3 Famous names of mine

Mags
Maggie
Mowgli (lol)

3 Things that scare me

Most insects/reptiles
Losing someone I love
Awkward situations

3 Things that make me smile

Good photos (no matter who clicked them)
Cameras (I always want more!)
Bangkok (I that place!)

3 Things that I love

Vacations
Sleeping in
My Parents & friends

3 Things that I hate

Nosey strangers
Litterers
Getting hurt (physically or emotionally)

3 Things I don’t understand

Small mindedness
Pathological liars
That some human being like economics!

3 Things I can’t do

Dance (never tried it. Too self conscious)
Drive (But I really want to learn!)
Kill critters/pests

3 Things I think you should listen to

Your parents (In the end, they’re right at least 80% of the time!)
Music… lots of it
me!

3 Shows I watched as a kid

Xena: Warrior Princess
The Powerpuff Girl
Scooby Doo

3 Things I want in a relationship

Trust
Honesty
Stability

Numbers 1 & 2 on my favourite fictitious characters list.

3 Things of the opposite sex that appeal to me

Expressive eyes
Sense of humor
Respect for women

3 Favourite fictitious characters

Xena
Gabrielle
Jesus

3 of my favourite hobbies

Blogging
Photography
Sleeping

3 Beverages I drink regularly

Water
Coffee (cappuccinos preferably)
Bacardi Breezer

3 Things I like about myself

My vast knowledge
My independence
The fact that I’m so head strong

3 Things I hate about myself

My ability to jump to conclusions (sometimes too quick!)
My impatience (about almost everything)
The fact that I can be too much of an impulse buyer

3 Things I am wearing right now

Spectacles
Silver Jewelry
Scrunchie

2 Truths and 1 Lie (You choose)

I love Twilight (book series)
I am not religious
I dream of owning a vespa

3 People I pass this tag to

You
You
And lastly you!

,
Magali

The post The Power of Three appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.