Happy Rakhi Day!

Rakhi is a very sweet Hindu holiday where brothers and sisters celebrate each other.  Sisters tie a bracelet, a rakhi, on their brothers.  Brothers give their sisters a gift and pledge to protect them.  I love this so much.

When I told Avinash and Nandini they immediately got excited.  In no small part thanks to the Elmo episode "Rakhi Road".  We have watched that episode over and over since it aired about a year ago.  Avinash was quick to remember all the girls he 'thinks of as a sister' (Lily, Nisha, Olivia to name a few) and wanted to make rakhis for. 

We made Rakhis with my twine stash and set up a little thali.  Nandini was not fully involved but sat down and gave Avinash tika and even feed him a piece of chocolate before taking one herself.  I was shocked at that.  And, I totally had to scavenge the chocolate from the advent calendars I already bought because I was too lazy to make ladoo like Avinash (and Elmo) suggested. 

I did make paneer and rice for dinner.  Thank goodness for holidays or I might never cook Indian food at home.  Also, thank goodness for my family who consider such a simple meal a real treat.  I even bought the paneer at Whole Foods, not the Indian store, because one grocery store trip a week is traumatizing enough.  I made ghee on the stove at the same time so the whole house smelled like melted butter.  This may have influenced taste buds a bit as well. 

It was such a simple and happy family night.  I am blogging this because I really want to remember this as well as I can.  Even one night later I hardly remember half the cute things they said and did.  Avinash sat down and made cards and colored pictures to send to people while I cooked.  He and Ryan sat down to read some Indian stories before dinner.  Both he and Nandini made plans to watch the Elmo episode again soon.  Seriously, what would we do without Elmo?!

Amazon Mom Prime Primer: Extreme Amazon Coupon Code for Diapers

 {If you have an awesome memory, you may remember a very very similar post from a few years ago.  I just found out about an amazing coupon for Amazon Mom, so I decided to share all the information on saving at Amazon again.}

Close friends of our just had a baby.  In fact, I know three (four? I can't keep track) couples who had babies this past month alone and several more with one on the way.
I was about to type my friend an email about my diaper strategy and I decided to just post it here.  For everyone. You're welcome.

First- Sign up for Amazon Mom.  It's free (for three months, after that you can pay for Amazon Prime) and gives you perks like free 2-day shipping.

Second - Choose the type with the most diapers per box.  For the same price, the sensitive and Swaddlers pampers come with about 50 to 100 less diapers.  Not worth it for a little extra 'softness.'
Baby dry is the best value in my experience.  My most recent order offered a coupon clip at the time I put the bow into my cart for an extra $1.50 off.


Baby Dry, Size 1, 276 count


Baby Dry, Size 2, 246 count


Baby Dry, Size 3, 222 count

Third - Click on the Subscribe&Save option when ordering.  It will save you an additional 20%.  You will have to choose to receive the same package of diapers in 2 weeks/1 month.  Do it, even if you aren't sure you want more diapers.  After the order ships (usually within 24 hours), go to your account, click on my subscriptions and cancel it.  There are no penalties and you keep your extra 20% off.

Fourth - Use the code BABYTIME when you are checking out.  This unfortunately only works for new Amazon Mom customers. But if you can find someone willing to share their credit card info you can sign up again with a different email address :) 
This code has now expired.  Sorry guys!  I will post again if another great coupon comes up.  But you can still get the 20% off.

You end up saving 20% off, plus $25 off, plus free shipping. 

The price goes from 47.19 (17c/diaper) to 37.75 (13c/diaper) to 12.75 (4c/diaper).  The boxes last about a month or two. Overall, I think it is a pretty good value.
I sometimes buy diapers from Target or Babies R Us using coupons, but I rarely have more than 5 dollars off, plus maybe an extra 1 or 2 off from pampers. Plus, the boxes I get there are smaller in size not to mention the fact that loading up the cart with diapers really prevents me from filling cart with essentials, like more stationery from Target :)

I have always used Pampers because my babies always seem to leak through the huggies samples I've tried.  And, don't use those newborn size diapers for too long.  Once the belly button falls off they are obsolete so you don't need many.  And, having a snug diaper only leads to more blowouts.  So, there's that. 

Another way to save is of course early potty training.  I have tried elimination communication training with Nandini a little bit, but have trouble being consistent, so we are way off accomplishing that.  Now she says delightful things like, "No, YOU go potty!" when I suggest she try it out.  She is nothing if not stubborn and contrary (I honestly have no idea where she gets that from) so I don't think that pushing is her is the right way to go.

Another way to get gift cards for Amazon is Swagbucks.  I have belonged for about a year, but have only recieved 15$ in gift cards.  I recently found a great site that offers daily tips on getting more swagbucks.  The numbers are climbing.

Let me know if there are any questions.  Happy Diapering!

(disclosure: affiliate links used.)

Project Life: Whale in a water!

This week: We visited the Wildflower Center for one of the last late night summer programs.  So crazy that it is still 100 degrees out but all these summer things are ending.  It rained, which is totally PL worthy here.  We went to a Jedi Knight 'training session' at the park with all the nerds and geeks.  Of course we made a friend, who we still hang out with :)  And, over the weekend we spent one day at Sea World.  The character block party was a huge highlight, as was getting splashed by Shamu.  We talk about it daily (almost a month later).  I also wrote about some of the songs we are singing lately.

 The full spread.

 First Page:  I bought a physical Midnight Core Kit and find myself reaching for it whenever I need filler cards or something to mat a photo I printed too small.  The grey striped card behind the rain photo is Midnight kit.  I also used my Studio Calico cards a lot this week. 
I turned a 4x6 pocket into a mini layout, with two mini photos, a journaling card, washi tape and some cork thickers.  I mostly just love the way Avi charge Ryan across the hill with his light saber. 

I still love these old metallic Hardcover thickers, using them here in silver.   I like to go back to my spread after I'm done and add little bits, esp wood veneers like this little flower.

I used a BG frame to highlight this photo.  The grey alpha are from my KP kit.  

Ryan loved this little card paired with the snow cone photo.  The big flair is another KP kit item. 

 Second Side: KP and SC kit cards.  A few of the new Amy Tangerine vellum stickers.  I cut around the ampersand to slip in the Grover photo. Most of us were pretty shocked to get soaked by Shamu but Nandini loved it.  She seems to think that Shamu was trying to splash her personally and was totally in awe through the whole show. 

I included this random photo of a bee.  Turns out it was all Ryan and Avi really remembered about getting snow cones anyway.  I popped a sticker on top of a little camera paper clip.  A little change from my usual wood camera.  

I have resisted this nautical stamp set from Kelly Purkey for a long time, but I recently saw it in action at a friend's place and decided that I needed it, lol.  I used the silver ink from this month's KP PL kit and regular grey dye ink together.  Another simple stories sticker.  I really want to finish a pack of stickers but I think I need to pick up the pace and use all the leftovers in one place now ;)

I am linked up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday. The PL kits I am using generally are the Studio Calico kit, Kelly Purkey kit and Midnight kit, with multi-pack page protectors.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks for visiting, I appreciate all of your support.  Please, leave your links to any PL pages in the comments so we can check them out too.

Day in the Life: July 2013

I am having so much fun with this little project.

I followed along with Ali Edwards pre-set day at the end of the month, though it seems she didn't really do it this month herself.  Not sure about that one.  If I miss the day and do it the next day, it is fine.  I just like the sort of randomness it gives the process versus a day I might select myself which would more likely be a certain type of day.  Turned out this day had plenty of specialness to it anyway.

I used a silhouette cut for the title card, but I did not use the negative so there is no see-through element this month.  I am in love with this design from Kal Barteski (and used it already here.)  I painted the hello with Heidi Swapp gold mist to echo my story page.  The airmail envelope is from an old Jenni Bowlin kit.  I love airmail.

I decided to try some more night shots.  The fact that we randomly had a date night on a Wednesday helped with that.  

 I used another Kal Barteski design as a mask here.  I just placed the die cut on cardstock and dotted gold mist around it with a paintbrush.  I have seen this idea on pinterest, using embroidery on negative space. The effect of the color+texture of the thread give the design it's appeal. I have no where near enough to sew that much, but luckily the Heidi Swapp mist has little bits of gold in it not just ink so it gives the look of some texture at least. 

 The pages open to hold more stuff.  I just attach two photos together a piece of washi tape (use white washi and save yourself some headache) then glue the inside photos on top. Easy and has held up so far.

 The tabs this month are more vintage bits from Jenni Bowlin. The cardstock is simply a 4x12 piece folded in half and slipped into the page protector.

I finally used one of the actual Kal B stamps.  I stitched around each story page for a simple border.  I think it adds a finished look to the mostly bare cardstock. I used a few life.love.paper labels here and on the photos as well.

 I used a few Carta Bella stickers because they really worked with my color scheme.  And yes, getting a second dinner of Vietnamese food at 11pm made me incredibly ill after we got home.  Romance was everything on date night though and Ryan stepped up and cleaned the mess.  Now that is love.






Thoughts on this project so far:

• I still love the see-through title page and will likely return to that next month.
• I could be a little more creative in my photo taking.  I'd like them to be brighter and less cluttered.  (Just like my life in general, ha.)
• A continuing theme of gold is developing which I think helps to keep the album cohesive and seems to work well throughout the different seasons.  Same thing with adding a touch of paint.
• I love keeping it simple, but I also like the little bits of texture and color too.  I think it is important to do this to give the pages a nice finish, otherwise it looks too incomplete.
• I like doing one visual thing (sometimes borrowed from Pinterest) for big impact each month.  It keeps it fresh and keeps it fun for me. 
• I like my story cards a lot more when I really focus on my handwriting instead of letting it get sloppy.  I also make the first word a little decorative.  It is a little detail that makes a big difference in the final look for me.  
• I would also like to try some different story telling.  In the future I would like to include some lists, like books we read or songs we sang throughout the day.  I could keep a running list on my phone to record it. 

linked up with Jessica.

Hello Story.

I started taking this class with Ali Edwards a few weeks ago and am happy to report that I am still keeping up with it.  With a lot of online classes, it is easy to lose steam a couple lessons in.  I have found over the years that Ali Edwards is a great source of inpsiration and someone I go back to over and over again for ideas or just a push forward.  I started one of my favorite projects of the year, my Day in the Life mini book, because of her inspiration to name one.

Here are some of the projects I've completed so far.

I made a timeline of my life.  I really loved doing it and I realized that I have a lot of old stories I want to tell. The old pictures are photos of photos I took while at home a few Christmases ago.  Turns out they did come in handy.   I kept it simple with kraft paper, sequin paper (from Michael's), washi tape and some subtle ledger patterned paper.  The embellishments are from a very old set.

 

 

Apple.  I combined my love of rainbows and recording what my kids say on this layout.  The photo is from this year's Holi.  In case you can't read it, Nandini has always called oranges 'apples' (and used to call all snacks apples), and now refuses to call the color orange anything other than apple.  So cute and so strong ;)
I used my Studio Calico kit for the stamps and leftover patterned paper strips, stitched in place.  I used the bubble mask to mist on white and silver because the strips were looking to disparate and needed something to make them into a cohesive background.  I added some random chipboard pieces and wood veneers here and there too.

Noted: Nirupama.  More pages for my sad little 'this is me' handbook I started months ago.  Finally motivated to go back to it.  I filled out a mad libs about myself.  Then I watercolored over it.  I used mist (mint julep, gold) and the neon blue paint dauber because it can be really hard to get a nice soft teal blue with a regular watercolor set (for me anyway).  I added some dear Lizzy embellishments (I think most people use that cute little fox for their daughter, but I totally used it for me), chipboard letters and strips of SC patterned paper and washi on top.

Hello Journey.  One of my favorite layouts.  I worked on this while at a crop with a friend.  That made it super fun in and of itself.  I cut out the large Hello before even getting my August SC kit.  Just adore this design.  I used the previous month's paper from Kesi Art.  I love this brand, but luckily I had two so I felt free to use it, lol.  I combined circles with some large hand cut triangles to echo the paper and add a little balance. I was actually happy with my cascade of journaling for once.  I wrote about enjoying the journey.  Something I know my mother also valued a lot while we were growing up.

Tell me, what projects have you been working on lately?

Around here.

 I am working on a makeover for this site.  New name, new domain, everything. So many little decisions to be made with no methodology behind them.  Just going with what feels right.
We finally got off the wait list for Avinash's preschool.  Technically it is not even a school, it is a 'child and family laboratory'.  We are super excited about this one.  It seems sort of a given it will be more open minded than our last preschool experience. I had a lot of fun on our adventures around Austin this summer but I am so needing a little more 'me' time when school starts.  Hopefully we can still keep up the friends we made here this summer. Playdates are fun but harder to do on a limited schedule.

Ryan and I actually did go out together this weekend. Double date to the totally 80s sing-a-long at Alamo Drafthouse.  I'm telling you, Austin has the best stuff to do.  We haven't even begun to check out the live music scene.

Ryan was so good and took the kids out so I could get some alone time again today.  I watched a Scandal marathon and worked on Project Life. It was wonderful and left me feeling so refreshed.  I actually had the urge to vacuum and put away laundry tonight. Trust me, it has been a really long while since I did either.
Afterwards we had a little family movie night. We all voted and Pete's Dragon won.  I absolutely love all the old mixed animation/real life Disney movies and I was so happy when I saw this DVD at Target the other day.  I'm just lucky my kids love it too.  Nandini's favorite scene is Pete and Elliot eating apples together.  I love how she can communicate more and more now.  All the excitement took place before the movie, however, when Ryan found a lizard crawling down his leg.  I think the poor little thing was more scared than we were (and possibly suffered a head injury) but it did seem to be still moving when he put it outside.
So, what was the weekend like for you? 

Project Life: 4th of July

This week: I've officially lost track of what week it is.  Maybe next week I'll be mentally present enough to figure it out. I at least know we had a major holiday this week.  We had a picnic in the park and watched the fireworks. Avinash also had camp this week and we had a playdate with his new friend from camp and met up with old friends from Houston for breakfast.  It's always nice when old friends remember you and check in, it is so easy to feel left behind and forgotten after a move.  I think the timing with my miscarriage just made it extra hard.  I know it's awkward to talk about but it would be nice to have people check in on you once in a while.

The full spread.

 The first side: Lots of red white and blue.

 Some white text on a photo (font: neo retro draw).

 Studio Calico '4' card, with a wooden star and black letter stickers on top.

I saved this business card more because I loved the watercolor-y letters than because I liked the food. I added some circles with a sticker (KP kit) and wood veneer to balance all the blockiness. 

More Studio Calico kit cards, stamps and cork letter stickers.  I love how my subtitles in PL can be really basic. I hate coming up with creative layout titles.

Probably my favorite card ever, made for me by Avinash.  (It's a rainbow of course).

 Second side: The little hello die cut from Basic Grey is great.  I usually can't use a whole package of die cuts, but I like almost all of these and there are two of each which alleviates my hoarding problem when it came to use this favorite piece.  The little 'you are here' sticker is from Simple Stories, I also used another one on the picture of Avinash at the bottom

Picnics are my favorite. I had to take a picture of the food. I used a simple SC card then added a wood veneer camera.  To me, they are the perfect little something to add to a spread to give it texture and interest. 

I love this letterpress card from KP.  I paired it simply with a luxe gold star in keeping with the week's theme.

I am linked up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday. The PL kits I am using generally are the Studio Calico kit, Kelly Purkey kit and Midnight kit, with multi-pack page protectors.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks for visiting, I appreciate all of your support.  Please, leave your links to any PL pages in the comments so we can check them out too.

I'm pretty excited that Two Peas is already getting new CHA collections in stock, I love MME's new Cut&Paste line.  Plus, EVERYTHING is on sale 20% off until 8/11. 

Oh the feelings,

happy ...
about the Happy Closet series by Pink Ronnie.  I know it is much more fashionable (and profitable) to blog about Stitch Fix and the like, but her take on being happy with the closet you have and not being in a rush to buy new clothes really resonated with me on a number of levels.  My closet is still an unorganized mess post-move, but I have found peace with the fact that I never need to step foot in there since all the clothes I'll ever need are in laundry baskets on my bedroom floor.  Perfect.

guilty ...
after getting my first pedicure in over a year at our new 'gym' Lifetime.  I left the kids in childcare only to find that Nandini was missing from the toddler room when I got back.  The teachers were happily watching TV while I looked for her.  I finally found her in the big kids jungle gym crying her eyes out because some kids knocked her over.  Hi, I don't feel guilty at all.  Also, we cancelled our gym membership the next day.  When I spoke to the manager she said, "oh, the parents want us to keep the TV on."

eating...
 this cold sesame noodle recipe from Pioneer woman.  Eating is a feeling right? Don't answer that!  I love the simplicity of her recipe, but I just couldn't do raw garlic and I had no sesame oil, so I toasted sesame seeds and garlic in oil, added the rest of ingredients, using honey instead of white sugar.  I had enough for leftovers but I pretty much ate half a box of pasta in one sitting. 

ps.
Does target sell chalkboard paint?
Yes it does! I saw a smallish jar of black Crayola chalkboard paint in the scrapbooking/craft aisle.  Score one point for Target.  And, you could totally use said paint to re-do a Target/Circo bookshelf like I did. [I have been getting this question a lot, so I thought I would help random googlers out.]