Shalini's Sewing Space

More Scrapping Never have I scrapped so quickly. I mean I finished 2 Layouts in 1.5 hours. They just came together by themselves. This is so not a norm with me. I usually can spend anywhere from 2 to 4 hours on one LO. But these were quick. My sister (finally) scanned and emailed me some old photos yesterday. She's sent two of our childhood photos (one I already had), one of my mom's as a baby, one of our kitty when she was a baby. We had taken her to the photo studio to get her photographed LOL I adore that photo. We lost the kitty a couple of days after I moved to the US. There are whole bunch of other photos too. I love this one of the three of us. It was taken in Haridwar when we visited back in 1999. I am on the left, my little sister in the center (she looks so tiny), and elder one at the right. I have shared LOs of my elder sister and my neice here before. This is the first one of my younger sis! I didn't have any of her pics before. Now, my brother will feel left ou...

Nice, Relaxing, Short Weekend Nothing major to report. I stitched a lot on the Angel of Love . There is a lot of beading in this one, but I just love how pretty it looks. Beading takes longer than just plain stitching. I remember when I started this angel, I was beading with the long beading needle. It was going painfully slow. I had asked on my stitching board, and got a suggetion to use small quilting needles. They work so much better. But the needles are tiny so I have to be very careful with them around Mehul. Didn't get any scrapping done due to the lack of reliable internet. I had to download new goodies as I've scrapped with pretty much all the kits that called to me :) I have some more now. I love this part about being on a CT, all the new kits that the designer puts out are free! I can even ask for an old kit, if I want to scrap with it. The only requirement is that I have to use the kits I download and show off my LOs in the required # of galleries. Who doesn't lo...

Weekend Plans *Edited to add Credits. Thanks, Erin!* I plan to put some hours in the 'Angel of Love' and do a couple of Digi LO's. I did two LOs last night. I'm trying to come up with a plan to carry on both stitching and digi-scrapping more or less regularly. I think stitching 3 nights a week, and scrapbooking the rest of the time is going to be enough. I already stitched 2 nights this week, and scrapbooked only 1 night. Wish I had more hours in the day to dedicate to this stuff. Ofcourse, the nights I cook and clean, I can't do much else. Weekends should usually be free if we keep the house relatively clean throughout the week, which is the plan. I make the beds in the morning after getting up, wipe down the bathroom counters after using, same with the kitchen counter and stovetop. I'm trying to get back into the habit of keeping everything back in it's place again. When we had our Townhouse for sale this summer, we practiced this and the house was always ...

I got it! Well, I decided to check this coat out yesterday while going back home. I picked Mehul up from the daycare and went to Kohl's. Yes, this is from Kohl's. I don't normally shop there, but I had to look at this coat. I figured, it's worth a look. I'm wearing it today LOL It's really beautiful. The photo doesn't show the back, which has more embroidery and a built-in belt. It's really cute. I had to go one size up on this. It doesn't have any give. When I tried it on, a lady who was passing by complimented how beautiful the coat was. And then, Mehul said "Nice, Mama". His first compliment to his mama :) I also got some stuff for Mehul. I can't find the track suit pants online, but they are OshKosh. The Jacket is also OshKosh and has a removable vest. These Big Chill overpants will be so useful in snow. Most of their winterwear is on sale. I think I'll be going back there again :)

Nothing Exciting going on It has gotten rather cold this week here. I have to drop our overcoats at the drycleaner's. I also need to wash our other jackets. Every year, I buy atleast one new coat/jacket. This year, I'm thinking of getting one with some sort of embroidery. I saw some on a site when a stitching friend mentioned it. It would be great to wear over my Salwar Kameez or Sari. I normally avoid wearing these dresses in winter, but if I had a pretty jacket, sure. Something like this would work. I could even wear this over jeans or other pants. Stitching. Yes, I have started stitching again. Yay for me. I picked up the 'Angel of Love' to renew my love of stitching. Here is a WIP Picture from ages ago. Not much done after this. I have to also update my webshots album. I have started a bunch of new projects, and completed some. Scrapping. I'm still scrapping. In fact, I am downloading some new goodies by Diamante Designs (Lori) today. Speaking of that, Lori ha...

Tired The party went very, very well :) Couldn't have been better. Everyone LOVED the food. They said it was like 'Wedding Food' which is the best compliment anyone could get! Everything was done on time, and I even had some time to relax before the guests started arriving. But, somehow we had postponed wrapping up the party favor gifts long enough that there wasn't enough time to do that in the end. That's okay, the kids care less about the packing, and more about the stuff ;) BTW, we decided to get the age appropriate puzzle cards for the kids. I have never received so many compliments on my cooking {blush} I was ecstatic. About 25 people attended, but there was way too much food. My friend M stayed back and helped me clean up afterwards, which was great. We were so busy enjoying the party, we forgot to take pictures! Our regular camera backup friend, N, had to leave early and we didn't think of giving someone else the camera LOL We did get pictures of the cak...

Happy Diwali! Today is Diwali. I usually make a Rangoli and put up the lights outside, but this year I can't. I'm busy preparing for the party tomorrow. Plus, I don't know where the lights are. We'll put them up on Christmas :) We're Online We got the phoneline. Finally! My home is no longer an Internet, Phone Free Retreat! LOL. Party Party prep is in progress. I have done some dishes and will do a couple more more today. Rest will be done tomorrow. The items that are prepared, or bought_and_need_no _prep are in silver. Starters Small Samosa/Chutney Sausage BelPuri Nachos/Salsa Jaljira Dry Fruits Tray Paneer w/ Chalmasala Kids Menu Chowmein Main Course Shahi Paneer Chicken Makhani (Take out) Bhartha Chole Raita w/ Bhalle Tricolor Rice Roti Crunchy Salad Papad Dessert Nemo Cake! Kheer Icecream Drinks Sprite Diet Coke Whiskey White Wine Red Wine Beer Tea

The 10 Stitching Projects Challenge I am having the itch to start stitching again. I have abandoned it for more than 2 years. Right before DS was born, I was stitching Victoria Sampler's Gazebo Roses . I remember sitting on the Tennis Court, stitching, while DH and his 3 friends played Tennis. I was around 7 months pregnant with Mehul. Ah, all the free time we used to have! August 2004 - We had just moved into our Townhouse - our first house. We had a handle on everything, from jobs to cleaning and organizing the house, to home improvement. We had so much time to plan and do things. We had time for hobbies! Poor DH hasn't played Tennis since Mehul was born. After Mehul turned One, I quit my job and stayed home to take care of him. I was home for about 7-8 months. Very few people know this, but I was offered to work from home, part time, flex hours by my Program Manager. I took it but wasn't sure how it was going to work. Afterall, we were not going to send Mehul to daycare,...

House update and a LO We are nicely settling in. I'll do a review of the current state: Lower Level All the furniture has been assembled. This includes the Dining Room, Family Room, and Home Office Furniture. 80% of the Kitchen Cabinets have been loaded. The Fridge is 100% done. LOL. That's the one thing that doesn't need more work. There is clutter in the Family Room and the Kitchen Island, but I guess that will be a continuous effort! The pretty curtains we got custom made in India have been hung. The curtains were 3-part ~ Main curtain, embroidered sheer that goes behind it, and swag (or, valance). We have only hung the main curtains for now. There is no time to start hanging the sheers before the party! In the Townhouse, we had only installed the main curtains and the sheers without the swags. It looked perfectly well without them. I think the swags would make the room look too formal, and I don't want that. Not in the Family Room! We will have to buy more curtains ...

Powder Room makeover...Take 2 The makeover is underway. The plumber installed the Toilet and the Sink last night. It's funny how we got the plumber so quickly. We had not even started looking! Last week, we had gone to Lowe's to pick up our faucets and things, and we ran into P, who is actually a friend from my neighborhood in Delhi! Her parents house is on the same street as us. She moved to Virginia a year after I moved. We've been meeting since then. They too have recently bought their Single Family House in VA, and moved a little farther away from us. Anyhow, they were there to look for some stuff for their Basement Bath remodel at their old place that they're renting. They said good things about their plumber. We hadn't even had the time to call anyone or look for a plumber. So, we went that night and met him as he was doing work at their place. Luckily he was available this week. Plus, he's cheap. I like it when things work this way :D So, he has finished ...

Do you notice any changes around here? Do you? Do you? I have been butting my head with this Beta version of Blogger for the last 3 hours. I think it looks pretty decent now. I decided to update the blog to beta since I love the Label feature. I get to label my posts with one or more label. That's the major change you'll notice as a blog reader. A neat thing for me is that this Beta version allows me to drag and drop sidebar elements (see the lists, dropdowns, etc. on the sidebar) I had made a lot of customizations to the original boring template. For instance, I had added the left sidebar. Also, I had added dropdowns, changed the fonts, colors, etc. Added the Header image. With this new version, you can't use your old, customized template anymore** You have to start from scratch. Poo. So, I had to code it again. It involves HTML/CSS/XML. This version is supposed to help those that are not experienced coders, but want to make changes to fonts, colors, add linked lists, drop...

Party Plans We are planning the Birthday and House Warming Party this Sunday. We figured, since it's the same group that would be coming to both, we'd club them together into one party. I did't want people to feel obligated to come to two of our parties and give us two gifts, so now they don't have to :-) We don't know a whole lot of people here, so it's just going to be bunch of our family friends in this party. We do have another group of friends that we do potlucks with, and they would come in another party we'd throw the next month as one of them is going to India this month. Anyhow, the meal. I am preparing everything myself. Yep, I'm crazy enough to do that. We started planning the menu last night. So far, this is what I've got. If you're reading this AND are coming to the party, all I have to say is Bring Your Appetite! Starters Small Samosa/Chutney Sausage BelPuri Nachos/Salsa Jaljira Dry Fruits Tray Paneer w/ Chalmasala Kids Menu Chowmei...

Just Random Stuff The outside temperature this morning, 38F. Thirty Eight. That is 3C. That is how cold it EVER gets in Delhi! Froze my butt off. Have I mentioned that all my warm jackets are still packed away in a box in the garage somewhere. I wore my jeans jacket today. Brrr. Mehul is fully transitioned now. He is handling it really well. And me too! I haven't cried even one time! We left him at his new class today. They have rotating schedule for the 2 year olds. Left him at the Computer Lab and he instantly got busy puttering away. Who's child is he afterall! LOL. This Sunday is our monthly potluck. I offered to make Aloo Gobhi (Cauliflower & Potato side dish). My Pindi De Chole (Chickpeas) last time was a hit. Got a reputation to keep! We have a lot of unpacking to do this weekend. Apart from Sunday afternoon, we're pretty much free all weekend. There is no Cable or Internet yet, guess we don't have an excuse. LOL

Powder Room Remodel..Take 1 The freshly minted house keys have not yet cooled down, we're ready to remodel. LOL. Yep. That's us. We are Self Professed Home Improvement Junkis. We had ordered some of the things from Lowe's when we ordered our Refrigerator and Washer/Dryer before we closed on the house. We did have the option of getting the same from the Builder but we did our research and found that we can get it for much cheaper (almost half) the price outside, and get it installed at a fair rate too. So, that's what we're doing. Our very first remodel. Kohler Pedestal Sink - Portrait(Bisque) Kohler Toilet - Portrait(Bisque) We have selected the Faucets and accessories too, and will be picking them up this Sunday. (Psst..Lowe's is clearing out it's inventory of a lot of items, so many things will be 50% off this weekend. Check out your store.) Ok, you want to see pictures of what we've picked, right? Delta Victorian Lavatory Faucet Delta 2-Light Victor...

Yesterday's KarwaChauth So, I know not everyone is familiar with this. Karwa Chauth is a Hindu festival that all married women participate in. It's more popular in North India, but now, it's gaining popularity in the South too! This festival is very well played in the Hindi movies, and is a big attraction for everyone. This happens once a year, always at the begining of fall, though the date changes each time because it's based on the Hindu calendar that is based on moon positions and so forth. The main objective of this is for married women to pray for the well being and long life of their husbands. For this, they keep a day long fast. They stay without food or water until they perform rites upon moonrise. The festivities begin the night before. Traditionally, all the women in the family would gather around and decorate their hands (and sometimes, feet) with Henna. They wake up early morning at 4AM, take a bath, and eat 'Sargi', which is basically noodles with...

Layouts I want to show all the LO's I've been doing the last few weeks, but I probably will not be able to if I continue scrapping like I am! LOL! It's a good thing, I am certainly not complaining. And I'm not under any pressure from CT or anything. I am on 2 CTs - Miki Ferkul's and Diamante Designs. They are both very understanding of my time commitments due to work and family obligations. I'm so lucky to be a part of their CTs. I did this LO just for me. I wanted to scrap with these beautiful pages by Buddhini . This is from her ScrapArtist Apprentice Challenge 1st round freebie kit, and seeing as she has reached the 3rd round(!!) today, I feel it appropriate to post them now. Congratulations, Buddhini! Knew you could do it. All That Hair Credits: Papers: Buddhini's Elegance kit (Edited: I do know how to spell Elegance!) Black Ribbon, stitching, buttons: Ztampf Syrin Seamstress Needle, Pin: Ztampf Pink Tag: Michelle Coleman's Tutti Frutti Butterfly: Mi...

Officially Moved Yesterday was our first night at our new house. Technically, it was our second night as we had stayed the night of House Blessing or 'Havan' ceremony, but that was just us, without any of our stuff. Almost all of the furniture has been moved, with the exception of a side table, some decoration items, etc. Both the houses are currently looking as disaster areas, as is to be expected. Lower Level Girish assembled the Entertainment Unit that is in the Family Room. With some rearrangement of furniture there, that room will be done. I started setting the Kitchen, Refrigerator and that's all looking good too. In the Dining Room, the China Cabinet has been moved to it's proper place, inbetween the two east side windows. The table needs to be assembled. We couldn't find the drill bits for the electronic drill, or it would have been done yesterday! Manual process takes much more time LOL We don't have any furniture in the Living Room currently, as in ou...

In the middle of Packing Most of the stuff has already moved, I am packing up the kitchen now. Just taking a short break. Girish had to go to work today, Mehul and I are home. I am also cooking a couple of meals now, so that we wouldn't have to worry about unpacking the kitchen right after moving, or eat out (like last time LOL). I have done a couple of layouts that I'm not finding the time to upload here. You can browse my gallery at DST if you're so inclined. I have also made a card for Mehul's daycare teachers. I haven't posted that one, but I will post it after giving them to the teachers. Speaking of that, Mehul will start transitioning over to the 2 Year Old room tomorrow. They ease them into the routine, so, tomorrow he'd be there for 1 hour in the morning. Next day, he'll be there till the afternoon but will come back for lunch in his toddler room. The next day, he'll do lunch and afternoon nap there, and so on. They take a full week to do the t...

Quick Post I just returned back from work. Yes, on a Saturday. My life sucks LOL. I had to do a software upgrade at a client site. Since it was Production system, the only available timeframe was weekends. This is a long weekend here (Columbus Day), so I still get 2 days off, and I will take the next Friday off and make that a Long weekend. Someone ask them, where is it written in my job duties that I'd be expected to do upgrades/installs. I am the only Documentum 5 person they have, and they're milking it! Grump. House News We got our Refrigerator today. Girish got it installed. I haven't seen it in the kitchen yet. I'm totally excited. We're just heading to the house now to start moving stuff over. The movers are coming tomorrow. This is it! The next two weeks will be absolute chaos LOL On the down side, we will lose our high speed internet connection. The community is brand new and they don't have the transmitter (or whatever else they need) set up. The wire...

Erin tagged me last week. I'm a teeny bit late, but I hadn't forgotten. Here it is. The Rules List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to. I'm going to change it up a bit (when did I ever play by rules ;)) I'm going to list what are my all time favorites, as I don't really get a chance to listen to music on a daily basis nowadays. I listen to fast beat songs while I workout, but they're not what I really like at other times. I enjoy listening to Ghazals and old Hindi Movie songs. Slower the better! So, here they are, in no particular order. 1. Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti, Woh Barish Ka Pani (Jagjit Singh) 2. Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho (Jagjit Singh) 3. Aap Jaisa Koi Meri Zindagi Mein Aaye (Movie...

Let's rewind I'm so pooped today. Yesterday, I had to do a lot of running around to get all the things ready for his party. We had gotten most of the stuff beforehand, but had to pick up the balloons (can't do that in advance, right), and the cupcakes. I got off work at lunchtime. The cupcakes were specially prepared for us (by Wegmen's; their staff is so helpful) with Red and Yellow icing. Did I mention the two stores are at the opposite ends from my house? Anyhow, I picked both up and went home to relax a bit and have lunch. Prepared a salad quickly. I was going to eat cake later in the day so didn't have a big lunch. Girish was stuck in a meeting at the last moment, but thankfully it ended right on time. He came home around 2:25. When we reached the daycare, our little angel was fast asleep, along with a lot of other little angels. I took a picture, ofcourse. The kids had already started waking up. I set the table and put the food out. Miss O. had to wake Mehul u...

Happy Birthday, Mehul We were scheduled for an induction for October 4th, 2004. We were supposed to show up at the hospital, at 8PM the night before, to get us to settle in and start induction. I had Gestational Diabetes and the danger of going over the due date was that of having an extremely big baby. The ultrasound I had at around 36 months put your weight at around 6 lb, not huge by any measure, but these things aren't accurate! The hospital called us and let us know that there wasn't a bed available yet, so we wouldn't get to go just yet. We waited and waited. Finally, we decided to go to sleep around 10PM. At 11:15, they called and asked if we wanted to come in now, or in the morning at 7. We decided to go. We were ready, bags were packed (for the last couple of weeks actually). The wait was finally over, we were going to the hospital and we would finally get to meet you! At the hospital, they hooked me up with the monitors and started IV fluids. Told me to relax and...

Secret's Out About our new house, that is. I thought several times about posting about the house that was being built, but didn't. We had kept it a surpise from mine and DH's family. Didn't want to ruin their surprise at the off chance they visit this blog. I know MIL does, sometimes. My sister does too. We own a townhouse already, which we bought in 2004, just before DS was born. It was only 2 years old, and everything was in great shape. What it lacked was a back yard, and the extra storage space. We always wanted to move into a bigger house, but didn't have a specific time in mind. This year, we casually started looking at single family houses. It had to be a new construction, for sure. I wanted to specify what I wanted in the house, and see it take shape. We saw the plan we absolutely loved, and after *much* discussion, we signed up. It's a dream come true! An unfinished post from my other neglected blog, that has been kept in draft...I wrote this 2 days aft...