happy holidays everyone!

shameless self promotion

ok, so let me geek out for a sec and show you my first couple of sewing projects - did i mention i love my new machine?!!! click pix for a more detailed view if u like that sort of thing:)

a canvas pillow with an applique made from a lucky brand tshirt that was headed for the trash. my 2nd zipper!




a black corduroy scarf with some awesome shannon lamden fabric:




"girls night in" white felt coasters with black embroidery




a little canvas make-up bag with an indian girl applique, a zipper charm, and my first zipper!

happy holidays to me!

i got my first new sewing machine! it's a singer confidence 7470. i had been looking around for the last few months and settled on this one b/c it has been getting consistently glowing reviews since last year. it has a drop in bobbin, some 170 stitches, and a scary looking needle threader. check out my first practice run - see them straight stitches?!!! the stitching is so smooth - i'm in love. on my 1st night i made 3 projects! i'll show 'em to ya tomorrow :)

12 days of christmas indian style!

and to all my single friends, you gotta check this out.

better staircase

when i was in raleigh over the summer i spent 3 days looking at houses, and i really liked the entry in this one.



instead of the stairs in the foyer, they were in the great room just beyond. it was a really great layout - because the foyer felt large, open and a bit formal. and the great room was large enough that the stairs didn't take away from that space. i also loved that the summer cooling bill for a 4000+sf (!) house was $90 a month! the decor is way off base for me though :)

making an entrance

don't have a formal entry? look what you can do with 3 stock bookcases. 2 face the living area and have peg hooks attached to the back, and the center one faces the new foyer for immediate storage space.

i'm starting to

really like textured wallcoverings: grasscloth, raffia, and bamboo. i imagine pretty resistant to scratches, stains, and even small nail holes - and you get a timeless organic look.





images from phillip jeffries.

best kicks ever

saucony grid propel plus in white. just bought 2 more pairs after having my first for over a year. 112 5-star reviews on zappos, and sold out everywhere else. they are seriously that comfortable :)

uk holiday

some cute - last minute and doable - ideas form across the pond :)








images from living magazine.

slumdog millionaire

in a lifetime of seeing movies i have only walked out of a movie once. last night i saw slumdog millionaire, and almost walked out for the 2nd time.

i can see why people love this movie, it has basic classic ingredients for a good film, an exotic - in this case not beautifully exotic - just hyper different - location, a love that won't be denied, and a rags to riches story.

but the start of the story was really difficult for me to watch. the brutality exhibited with children really impacted me, and there are now images of children that i cannot get out of my head. i know that brutality like this exists, and i've seen trainspotting - i know what twists ol' danny boy is capable of - but this was so hard to watch. i remember the outcry when my girl came out and people had issues with the death of a child in that movie. compared to slumdog, my girl was a walk in the sunshine, in the proverbial park.

the children were the standouts in this movie. as far as the story - i guess it's original but i'm also wondering if it has some similarities to quiz show which i haven't seen. my friend sabreena commented that the music was fantastic - that a.r. rahman is a fantastic composer. me and most of south asia would wholeheartedly agree. overall, worth seeing, i give it a 7 out of 10.

but millions are enthralled, calling it the best movie they've ever seen. so once again, i guess i just don't get it. the payoff didn't seem worth it to me.

and my answer to the question of destiny: is it written? at this moment, as i think about how i could have been born in any circumstance, a part of me says maybe...

would love to know what you think if you go see it :)

1 bathroom 3 ways

instyle home edition spring 2007

i never thought

that i would think dwight was cute.

Julia thinks she's all agog?! she should have seen me when i found out she had tagged me! i was positively giddy cuz it's my first one! and that too, from someone whose blog i love and visit every time i do my blog rounds. you gotta check her out - i love her sense of design and her taste in outfits! oh, and she has an imaginary dog - i've always wanted one of those!

so she says i'm supposed to tell you 6 things about myself, so here goes:

1. when i was in elementary school i wanted braces really bad. i thought all that mouth gear rocked. and the first time i saw those rubber band braces i almost passed out from the sheer cool factor. so at lunch i would get tinfoil and roll it up, and flatten it out, and wear it in my mouth like braces. i did this for 3 years.

2. i have always been insanely jealous of people who look good in and can do their own french braids. and if they have little trinkets woven in - like beads or flowers, it kills me.

3. i am very scared of boy bikes - the kind with the bar that goes from handle to seat. i still cannot look at them b/c of a very painful accident i had in junior high. yup. that kind of pain. i was okay in about 20 minutes but i blacked out when it happened.

4. if i even think of the word "booger" i start dry heaving. i get grossed out really easily by bodily functions, but just the thought of that word and i have convulsions. and if someone tries to really f@#! with me by talking about eating them (b/c they know i have an abnormally intense response to the word, and they have no life, and they just all around suck) in about 30 seconds of visual suggestions, i will throw up on the spot.

5. i love the rain and clouds like no one else. heavy dark black clouds lift my spirits like you won't believe. i respond viscerally to the colors, the mood, the smell, the atmosphere. a stormy sky is my most favorite event in nature. anyone who knows me knows this.

6. i like to stick weird stuff in my mouth. (insert a million jokes here) i have had a metal ice cube tray, a single hole punch, a ceramic drink coaster, barbecue tongs, and a battery stuck in my mouth at one time or another. it was always my dad who fished them out, and he was always laughing while he did it.

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ok, now i tag the following (i really would love to tag about 30 people - but 6 is the max :(

1. elizabeth whose always got goodies at strawberries in paris
2. thoughtful heidi at faboolosity
3. cosmopolitan meg at pigtown design
4. awesome kay who promised me coffee at apartment tbd, etc.
5. the incredibly talented patricia at pve design
6. affectionate and sweet "i just want to spread a little bit of happiness" sparkle at sparklesparkle

Here are the rules:

* Mention the rules on your blog.
* Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
* Tag six others
* Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they are tagged.

:)

last week was a tough one. after what happened in india, i went on a news and internet and pc moratorium - i really needed it.

when something like that happens it's a reminder of the worst that humanity has to offer. a brutal attack on innocent people and families and cities and countries that will never be the same again.

but there are the other innocents - young people, harmed by circumstance, primed for hate, indoctrinated with twisted religious ideals and political agendas larger than they (or we) can imagine. i feel for them too. wherever there are people that are feeling continually marginalized, oppressed or unrepresented, we all risk a backlash - its a dark and fundamental law of nature. we can't change the results unless we change the equation. if the new government adjusts our current political stance or we open up more lines of communication - would that work? if we practice more inclusion rather than exclusion - would that work? every day that things don't get better for the disadvantaged on our planet, in any country or of any religion, we give birth to people who feel that they have nothing to lose and then these horrible acts of desperation take root in local communities and eventually become global issues.

i keep thinking about what Gandhi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." if we can't practice patience and forgiveness within our own families and with our friends, then what possible hope do we have for the planet? it's like the joke about someone getting pissed at another driver while on the way to their yoga class to practice serenity and peace. we have to practice tolerance and generosity in our everyday. give everyone benefit of the doubt, have a big heart, have a tougher skin, smile and go on. don't harbor bad feelings. don't be petty and small. if you can't say something nice about someone else - don't say anything. discipline our kids, teach them to rise above, be strong, and live by simple humanitarian principles. show respect, love, and inclusion. we have to teach our children, and each other, by example. we have to be the change we wish to see in the world.

peace :)