I’m a bags-and-shoes kinda girl. My best pal, now, she swoons over designer threads. So, to celebrate my Bottega metallic hobo and the best friend’s front-row seat at Dior’s Haute Couture spring-summer 2009 in Paris, where should we head but f Bar & Kitchen, as new as our acquisitions.

The interiors were as chic as we could wish: All wood and warm colours, set off by black leather upholstery. The bar was fitted out with a ramp and LCD screens playing, you guessed it, Fashion TV (FTV), the parent brand of the dining chain. But since we had lots of notes to compare — shopping sprees in two different cities! — we opted for the restaurant, but could still keep an eye on the telly, thanks to the bronze glass dividers.

Initial ground covered, we moved on to the menu of Lebanese, French, Italian and Spanish dishes. The mushroom and porcini soup complemented the Rubiyan Meshwi — Lebanese spiced grilled prawns with tahina sauce and mesclun salad — as well as Galliano’s admiral-style jackets sat on his flower-power skirts earlier this week, my BFF told me.

For the main course, we split a porcini-crusted John Dory with bouillabaisse butter sauce. As smooth as silk. And washed it down with drinks that would go down well in the fashion capitals of the world: A Hook’d on Fashion (vodka, sugarcane juice, triplesec and lime juice) for me while the Dior-aficionado sipped a Coco Chanel (vodka, pineapple juice and coconut cream). For afters, I opted for the Tiramisu (with three flavours: coffee, raspberry and apple) while my pal had the baqlawa, a Lebanese rolled nut pastry. Superb.

Nothing beats fashion. But food comes a close second.

f Bar & Kitchen, 3rd floor, Mahanandi Plaza, 2, St Marks Road, Bangalore 1. Tel: 99800 62226 & 99800 87932. Meal for two (without alcohol): Rs2000.

Every time a unique creation zoomed past on the streets, you could be sure it was the handiwork of a name whispered with reverence among auto enthusiasts. Known just as DC, Dilip Chhabria has been the go-to-guy for all things designer when it comes to four wheels.

Touted as the celebrity guru for larger than life stars to customise their larger than life vehicles, his client list includes the Khans, the Dutts and the Kapoors of Bollywood with several industrialists thrown in for good measure. He’s even competed with international firms to complete an order from Europe for prototyping the new Aston Martin, Renault, Ford and GM!

From having started with a car accessories business, moving to complete customised car designs and then aviation, after which he diversified into furniture, DC is now finally showcasing the babies that have seen the better part of three years’ hard work — paintings and sculptures.

Flowing lines and mesmerising curves in 3D, the acrylic paintings and sculptures, which are a combination of wood, glass reinforced plastic, aluminum, crystal and steel, evoke the speed and aesthetics of his one-of-a-kind automobile creations. And yet, they seem to unleash something more, a restrained vision of the craft and magic that go into creating any work of art. The rather large pieces elicit the same awe one would experience at a race track, watching sleek metallic bodies defy gravity, inertia and more laws of physics than I could shake a stick at, with a feline grace.

Breathtaking without the dust and heat. DC says he spent more than 2,000 hours toiling away at one of the sculptures; truly a labour of love.

Zoom in for a dekko to catch them before they leave the track!

Dilip Chhabria’s show is on January 30 and February 1 at the Crystal Room, Taj Mahal Hotel Palace and Towers, Colaba, Mumbai; Tel: 66653366; Price: Ranges between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 14 lakh.

I’m getting that tingly feeling all over again. Valentine’s Day coming up soon and I’m thinking I should get my shopping done early. Okay, okay, I know you know I’m single. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting a treat for myself. Something exclusive, something precious. Something like that glittering gem that had caught my eye on my last visit to the de GRISOSGONO store at the Emporio Mall.

I race back without missing a beat and am greeted by shiny glass shelves of their latest collection winking back in the lights, and two smartly dressed girls. They lead me to the VIP lounge — all silver baroque — where I can check out the pieces in peace. At first, I have eyes only for the coral drop earrings I’d seen in the window. In yellow gold, set with a whopping 460 diamonds, they’re even more stunning up close. I decide I can’t wear them unless I have a matching watch. I’m in a Swiss store, for heaven’s sake. So, I look no further and get the pink gold frame one, set with 184 diamonds, with a dial in cream and pink mother-of-pearl and pink gold numerals. Then there’s the bracelet in rose gold, set with (believe it or not!) 1993 diamonds, which has me swooning right there. I’m wondering whether buying it for myself counts as my good deed for the day.

But, angel with a halo that I am, I decide to save the money and buy one of those exquisite lacquered leather handbags instead. So much more value for money and it goes with almost all my clothes. Or at least all the ones which have a hint of mint in them. And people say I’m a shopaholic. As if!

de GRISOSGONO, Emporio Mall, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. Phone: 46040777 Price: Rs 8 lakh onwards.

My teens are behind me. Down-the-road ‘parlours’ just don’t cut it for me anymore. I’m ready to go out of my way for that special hairstyle, the one-of-a-kind facial. So when I heard about Jean-Claude Biguine, a new salon with a French pedigree that’s been making waves in Mumbai, I knew I just had to check it out if it was special enough for me.

I called up for an appointment and walked into the cream-and-white interiors that immediately set me at ease. Patrick was my pick and I loved the way he let his fingers do the talking — I was so not in the mood for irritating chatter, dahlings. As he played with my hair and suggested taking off a few inches. I agreed, and let him do his magic. He spritzed, clipped, snipped, and when I looked at myself in the mirror I couldn’t believe that gorgeous creature looking back was me!

After that, Patrick could do no wrong: He highlighted a few streaks and then rinsed off the colour with a Biguine organic shampoo as I relaxed in a comfortable leather chair that massaged my back.

On the way out, I glanced through the spa menu: bio-normalizing facial, sea essential intense treatment facial, French massages, aromatherapy and hot stone massage — hmm, I knew I had to go back soon. What’s more, they have a whole range of hair services, as well as nail care, manicure, and pedicure, exfoliation and skin treatments from French therapist with 100% certified organic bio-products, and update their styles twice every year, in accordance with Parisian trends.

I’ve made my next appointment — and one for my other half as well: JCB has a special menu for men with personal care and grooming services like cuts, colour, massage, waxing, shave and shoe shine.

But what I’m really looking forward to is the haircut. After all, it’s an accessory I wear all the time.

Jean-Claude Biguine. The Collective, 40 Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore 1. Tel: 65469290. Haircuts start at Rs600, French Day package including French manicure, pedicure and Biguine bio facial at Rs 3500, Biguine Day package of body scrub and bio-oxygenating facial at Rs 5500.

My mum may have given me my peaches-and-cream complexion, but it’s my aunt who’s always nourished my grey cells. It’s been our little ritual to visit the Strand Book Stall together, right from the time I was old enough to tell a good read from a bad one. We’d go there and browse the shelves for hours. And I’d get to pick the most promising one and take it to the twinkly-eyed gentleman who wrapped it up especially for me.

As I grew older, it was the same saint, TN Shanbhag, who’d give me discounts on discounted prices just so I could get a fix of my steadily growing reading habit. But it was only when I visited my first Strand Book Festival that I realised how there was a whole generation of word addicts like me, whose habit had been fed by one man’s large heart.

This year too, as I entered the Sunderbai Hall, with tables groaning under stacks of books, I felt my pulse race. As the fragrance of printing ink wafted up, I felt the urge to grab every book I could afford. And thanks to the fabulous offers (the discount can go up to 80%) I could purchase quite a few.

I snagged the complete works of Shakespeare and Rowling for a steal. And just so you know that this sale isn’t about shifting their deadstock, I must tell you that I got almost half off on some of the latest pulp fiction. No wonder my personal saint was accorded the Padmashri six years ago.

Sixty years in the business, thousands of faithful clients and still, each shopper’s considered important. And since Mr Shanbhag probably knows you’re a procrastinator, if you head to the sale today or tomorrow (the last two days), he may just gift you a copy of Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of NOW! Or at least a whopping discount on the 40,000 titles there.

Strand Book Festival on until January 28 at Sunderbai Hall, Near Churchgate Station, Mumbai; Timings: 10am-8pm; Tel: 22661719; Website: www.strandbookstall.com.

I love facials. I so do. And I pride myself on being on top of all the latest face treatments available, but when my beauty expert friend raved about the latest ‘medical facial’, I was first stumped, then intrigued, and resolved to give it a whirl, as quickly as possible!

My friend informed me that this was at the A+ MediSpa, the only spa in Delhi that offers facials with products from Dermalogica a top medical-grade beauty line developed by the International Dermal Institute.

The spa was all pristine white and glass decor and soft music at the reception, and like an ultra-swish medical centre from inside — it’s headed by a dermatologist. After a detailed skin analysis by the skin specialist (a trained doctor), I was advised a treatment that would target my dryness by using all kinds of good things like algae, vitamin C, Niacinamide, Lactic acid, Salicylic acid, Hyaluronic acid, and more.

It sounded perfectly intimidating, and the room I was led to reminded me of a place where I had once had a minor surgery, but when I surrendered to my therapist (trained and certified by Dermalogica), it was all good. The treatment started with a face mapping — a skin scanner checked all parts of my face for congestion and pigmentation. Then the usual cleansing, scrubbing, exfoliating procedures followed, topped by the serum and the cream, and finally the masque.

What made it completely different from the other facials I’ve had was the fabulous massage — no rubbing, only gentle pressure, a technique developed by Dermalogica, I was told later. The whole operation (yeah, it felt like that, but one of extreme pleasure, no pain!) lasted 1.5 hours. At the end of which I emerged, hugely relaxed.

And luminous.

A+ Medispa, Plot no A, Basant Lok Community Centre, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. Ph: 46075757. Price: Rs 2,500 for the facial. Other Treatments: Rs 1,800 onwards.

I’m a sucker for stuff that goes on the skin and face, and I’ve lost count of the times I’ve come back from the cosmetic counters with things I’ve dumped, because there was something so generic, so not right about them.

I’ve been hitting up my dermatologist for creams and moisturisers, but I’ve reached the point where I don’t want to fix a doctor’s appointment to get a face cream, you know? In fact, I don’t want to go anywhere at all, if I can have the right stuff come to me.

So when I heard that Sonita Dass’s uber-classy beauty store, Urban Shore, had gone online earlier this month, I lost no time logging on. And there I found, oh joy, everything I was looking for, and instantly ordered up a batch of body and bath works.

Why Urban Shore? Dass, who’s a walking advert for her store with her glowing skin, says that the name fit her concept of what her store would stand-for: an urban oasis, filled with things that actually work. Her flagship store in GK (Greater Kailash, New Delhi) is all of that — it’s a quiet, soothing place, and Dass is usually at hand, to help you make the right choices.

Clean lines, and rows of shelves with handpicked products, formulated by doctors and skin specialists, that she gets in from her frequent visits to her London, her other home. Here’s a list of some of my faves: a rich moisturizer, and shower cream from This Works (it does!), the Rodial lip balm, an intensive face repair serum from Leaf & Rusher which I swear by, and the face mask from Purelogicol (like me, Madonna never travels without one!).

Now I’m humming. In anticipation.

Urban Shore, N8, N Block, Greater Kailash, New Delhi. Ph : 46548122. Log on to www.urbanshore.in. Prices from Rs 1,000 on. In Delhi, free delivery the next day.Everywhere else in India, three to five days. Minimum order, to avail free delivery outside Delhi, Rs, 3,000.

Long weekends are all very well, but planning for them is another matter altogether. Not for me blocking out dates months in advance, packing bags days ahead and travelling for hours together — I like to head out with a full tank and a phone number. And for the Republic Day holidays, I have just one number on my speed-dial: That of Praveen Khanna, who runs Silver Oak Farm in the shade of Nandi Hills, just 90 minutes away from the city.

After settling in the foothills about four years ago, Praveen and his wife Meera decided to throw open their home to visitors for breakfast and lunch, as well as short stays. Meera serves up delicious meals (don’t miss her delish homemade star fruit juice) and day-trippers can soak in the views from the large sit-out, with resident Alsatians Mickey and Minnie for company.

I, however, like the idea of spending a couple of nights with the Khannas. On offer are candlelight dinners, walks through the working farm — inexperienced helping hands are welcome too — treks through the surrounding countryside, bird-watching, miniature golf and indoor games. And, of course, the option of doing nothing at all.

As Praveen regales you with his experiences of running the farm — and how he began, when the farm only had huge boulders and no tree cover at all — try battling those back-to-nature urges. Instead, enjoy the moment, weave those dreams. And open your eyes underneath the eponymous silver oaks to know they can be realised too.

Not a bad takeaway from a weekend, I say.

Silver Oak Farm, Nandi Valley, Sultanpet Village. Contact Praveen and Meera Khanna on +919845652267. Open only on weekends (Friday-Sunday) and public holidays. Reservations required. Cost: Breakfast and lunch around Rs 700 per person. Rooms start from Rs3,500. Visit www.silveroakfarm.com for directions, menus and other info.

I’ve always thought that I have it all wrapped up. Witchy woman that I am, I find it easy to charm my way in and out of places and have the guys under my spell in a twinkling.

But recently, as I zoomed around Bandra, I chanced upon a sizzling new store that took my breath away. The signboard tantalisingly read ‘Magick’ and before I knew it, the shop had whisked me away on a magical carpet to a whole new world of possibility.

Imagine an array of crystal hangings, wind-chimes, spiritual books, aromatic candles, tarot card sets, oracle cards and lots more, packed onto glass shelves and divided into five categories — Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit — based on nature’s elements. Add a sprinkling of rare objects straight out of a Harry Potter book, such as magickal wands for energy healing, crystal balls, cauldrons, chalices, pentacles and pendulums. Now tap your wand and realise that it’s all true and right there for the taking!

I was entranced by things I’d heard of but never seen: crystal runes, divination sets, spells, herbs such as catnip, Jericho flower, mandrake root, ginseng, etc. I was intrigued by others that I hadn’t even imagined existed: Bagua mirrors and black scrying glasses, floor washes for prosperity, soaps to attract love and spell-writing kits.

When I slipped on the topaz satin dress from their display, I knew it added a certain something to my own magic. The sacred jewelry fascinated me too. Apart from the stylish evil-eye protection stone bracelets and pendants, I saw seven chakra healing pendants and pentacles and the sacred geometrical flower of life in sterling silver.

I also had a very interesting reading with Tarot reader Swati Prakash, who owns the store. One that filled me with positivity. I may not always believe in magic, but Magick sure did wave a wand of happiness at my inner shopaholic who came away sated.

Until the next time that magic beckons, of course.

Magick, Shop No 2, Sai Pooja, 16th Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai. Tel: 64104135, 98678-59058; Timings: Noon to 9 pm; Prices: Start at Rs 100.

Weekends make me happy. What makes me happier is a long weekend! A three-day vacay is just right to rest, recharge and renew myself for the rest of the year. No parties, sightseeing or shopping trips, what I want is quietude. I’ll find all that and more at Bob’s Place, a quaint little cottage resort set in the midst of a fruit orchard in the heart of Kumaon.

Getting to Nathuakhan is a visual feast. Verdant valleys and mountainous forests, a melange of gold-y greens and browns. About 325 km from Delhi, the drive can take you up to eight hours. But once there, every bumpy bit on the road is worth it.

This isn’t the usual touristy place, it’s like a warm homestay, named after a former Kumaoni caretaker, who went by the improbable name of Bob! The main stone and wood cottage is enchanting — plush sofas and book-lined shelves, a huge fireplace, beautiful lamps and curios, even a television.

Me, I’m going to say tata to the telly.

Instead, I’m going to laze in my warm and toasty bed (there are bukharis in every room), catch up on some reading if I feel like it, maybe get started on that story I keep threatening to write. I may step out if I’m feeling more adventurous, to a lovely old temple just a short walk away. And stop off at a beautiful green nook made perfect by the stream that gurgles past.

If the temperature plunges and I choose to stay in, the staff does a wonderful selection of pakoras (onion, alu, gobhi, mirchi) with steaming cups of chai. The meals are simple, home-style (spicy chicken curry, bean salad, dal), and taste divine in the sharp mountain air.

Last year, I did a solo rejuve trip. This year, my BFF has signed on.

I’m so looking forward to it!

Bob’s Place, Nathuakhan, District Nainital, Uttarakhand, Phone: 05942-285510, Email: holidays@welcomheritagehotels.com. Tariff: Starts Rs 2,200 for a single room and up to Rs 7,700 for a cottage