My motivation is to learn and create.

I am my biggest critic and you will see me touching upon the subject of perfectionism, high standards and creativity in the blog posts. I believe everyone has an innate creativity and they just need to tap into it. I hope this blog motivates you to find yours!

I’ve researched and brainstormed blog names for years now. The names that I liked were not available and the ones available were not to my liking. At one point, I even planned to use my full name as the blog name. But recently, as we were walking our puppy in the park, this name popped into my head. I thought the name goes really well with the content that I produce and my style of writing. We all dream of escaping the mundane and travel to dreamy destinations so why not name it “A Charming Escape”.

I discovered Napa Valley after moving to California and with each visit, fell in love with wine more and more. I found that winemaking is an intricate science and wine tasting is an art and a sensory experience. To learn more about wine, I did two certifications through Society of Wine Educators (CSW) and Court of Master Sommeliers. Most importantly, I learnt how to TASTE and not DRINK wine. Now wine tasting is an experience that I enjoy and learn from.

I always loved writing. I love writing so much that once I started, words flow like a river and I could fill pages without a break. Years ago, I created www.lifestylediaries.com by myself as I wanted to journal our travels to South America and Jamaica. I wrote there on and off over the years but started writing regularly in the last 2 years. After all those years, I decided to have a professionally built website and blog here. Thus, A Charming Escape was born.

There is no learning curve, you just have to write and soon you will get better at it.

Majority of my photos are shot by my dear husband Ranjeeth, who is also featured in some posts. He is the stoic complement to my restless, wandering soul; the yin to my yang (I am not kidding).

I primarily use Adobe Lightroom to edit all my blog photos.

For Mobile, I sometimes use VSCO and Snapseed.

Early bird gets the worm, ALWAYS!

Visit the landmarks and sights as early as possible for relatively fewer crowds and peaceful visits!

Sounds cliché, but you just have to start and dive right in!

It is so easy to start a website. I use WordPress but there are so many new platforms like Squarespace and Wix to get your website started with minimum effort.

Keep creating content and soon you will have a blog!