A catalog of recommendations

Bought a new home? have too much on your plate to figure out? This blog post is dedicated to all the new home owners who are trying to make their home live-in ready! My home was a brand new construction. We bought lot of the stuff online, saving a lot of time and effort. We didn't have a car when we moved in and we preferred door delivery options. So, without further ado, here is a long list of tips, links and ideas for your new home... enjoy!

First things first,  measure your house, every single inch, height, width, length. Measure your drawers (each one of them), kitchen shelf etc., You will be buying a lot of furniture and organizers and trust me you need to know how tall your closet ceiling is :) and how deep the drawers are.

Kitchen & Pantry

1. Stock up on those OXO containers- trust me your pantry needs them. You can either buy them from Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond or even Amazon. 
2. This heat mat works really well on any kitchen top. I also got this or this to save my gas range from my clumsiness ;)
3. Recommended by another friend, these help seal the gap between your stove and kitchen top. These are perfect to save any food falling on the floor (think ants)
4. Show some love to your sink by organizing the brushes in this
5. Spice it up with these magnetic spice jars! They are cute and are convenient to stack on your fridge.
6. Invest in your kitchen drawers, buy shelf liners (I bought  "Variera" from Ikea). Measure all your drawers and find organizers for your spoons, ladles. Ikea has loads of options! I also like these from Amazon.
7. Water purifier - Both my husband and I have sensitive stomachs and cannot digest tap water as-is. We invested in an under-sink water purifying unit - link. We had no trouble installing this on our own and love the taste of the water. I got special discount for buying directly from the distributors. Ping me if you need a referral.

For your Closet

1. Our closet was provided with 2 pre-installed railings and was not enough. We re-did our entire closet with Ikea's PAX closet solution. These were a little painful to assemble due to the height, but made our closet so much more efficient! 
2. You would want to make your closet look uniform with the same hangers, so throw away those old ones and buy these! No matter how big your closet is, you will need this and this to optimize your closet space! 
3. Oh and if you are a shoe person (Who is not?), you might appreciate this shoe organizer
4. Get these moisture absorbent packs. They help keep your clothes fresh, I also have these in my pantry to keep the moisture away

Bathroom essentials

1. Water Bidet - the best thing for some of us who cannot just make do with toilet paper :)
2. Toilet cleaning kit - This one from Clorox is very easy to use
3. This drain protector is the simple and best solution to blocking hair getting into the drain. works perfectly in bath tub and shower stall
4. Get these diffusers for keeping your bathroom from smelling. I have actually found better ones in Metropolitan Market (Seattle) but you get the idea :)
5. Washable shower curtain - Hate the plastic-y looking inner curtain? I got these from Bed, Bath & beyond and love them!            

Furniture - We bought a lot of furniture online (trust me it was a gamble!). We host a lot of friends and family and were always looking for convertible furniture. These are some of my absolute favorites

1. This tri-fold foam sofa converts into a twin bed.
2. This bean bag  converts into a single bed.
3. This indoor chair does not convert into anything, but is great to just lounge and fall asleep 
   

Blinds - Well, we all know how expensive blinds are. For a new home with large windows and no blinds, we were suddenly having privacy issues! We were too lazy to go through an exhaustive list of options so we went with a friend's recommendation to Budget Blinds! Their prices were great and their installation was close to perfect! Highly recommend them if they are available in your neighborhood. They also had screens/stickers for doors and windows and we loved how our main door looked after the treatment

Miscellaneous things

1. If your home has a lot of hard wood - you definitely need this to mop the floors!
2. I don't know about you, but my house has way too many spiders. Buy this for cleaning cobwebs without getting a back ache!
3. Whether you like it or not, you will find yourself doing a lot of DIY and will need a nice ladder. We got this from Home Depot.
4. Call me obsessed, but this and this is the best investment I have made for my bed. I have always struggled to keep the bed sheet intact on my mattress and these do the job just fine!
5. We found these peg boards from Ikea super convenient - I used them to organize my sewing supplies

              

That's all for now! Hope you found this post useful. Cheers! :)

From the daughter's heart

It is exactly 3 weeks since he opened his eyes to the angels of heaven. His last moment is still fresh in my mind. Just about the same time 3 weeks back, all the family members were sitting around him and praying the Quran. His eyes were half open staring at the wall in front of him. I lovingly called him "Papli" and got not response from him. The only indication that he was alive was the movement of his diaphragm. Time was ticking towards the night, and as much tired I was, there was no sleep in my eyes. I didn't want to lose sight of him. I just didn't want to! Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and he started breathing heavily, it felt like he was watching somebody up above. "The time has come" my cousin brother said.
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I had seen him deteriorate inch by inch in the past week. The last hug he gave me was on my anniversary day. He was already a little weak and was coping with a lot of pain. My sister and I had made plans for alternative treatment to give his body strength and immunity. We were planning a trip just after my anniversary to an Ayurveda place as well. But God had something different in mind. Like they say - Man proposes, God disposes!
The next day after my anniversary, he seemed completely zoned out. He had drifted into a sub-conscious mode and had completely stopped talking. His only response was through blinking his eyes. Mom looked strong on the outside, but I could see the turmoil in her eyes. The doctor visited us and after examining him said "Please inform everybody possible". Her estimate was that he would stretch it for a week max! Honestly, I do not have the words nor the courage to explain how the days have passed after that. All i knew was, my parents need me to be the strongest daughter ever; I was and I am! That one week we saw him cripple into a skeleton. From blinking eyes, to half open eyes staring into space. From frequent anxiety attacks to a motionless body. The Doc was right, he survived exactly a week after that.
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All through that week I was only praying to God to stop the torture and grant him relief and peace. But when my cousin uttered those words, I was not sure if I was prepared to handle that moment. For sometime, I moved away from the room. I made a list of people I had to immediately call once anything happened and gathered the courage by saying to myself "I need to see this through". I went back to his room and sat next to him. My elder aunt had taken him in her lap and had her palm on his chest. He kept breathing heavily and tears rolled down his eyes. I closed my eyes for a minute in prayer and when I opened, aunt said "I cant feel the heart beat".The entire room stood still. I looked at mom and saw here eyes fill up. I tried to see if his diaphragm was moving, no sign. Looked at his face, frozen. I shakingly held his wrist to feel the pulse, just one pulse and nothing. I stared at mom and said "No ma, nothing, I cant feel a thing". He was no more! He was my Dad.

Raksha bandhan Special

Today is Raksha bandhan/Rakhi which is a celebration of the unique relationship between brother and sister :) I do have 2 rakhi brothers whom i wish without fail on this day but haven't met for ages :(. Today, however, I started my day thinking, why rakhi was a celebration of a sis-bro relationship?? why can't it be between the same sex? I have an elder sister who is caring as hell and takes care of me and my parents, why can't i tie a rakhi to her? Good question, with no good answer!

As i am known for being a revolt and doing things my way (which is usually not what the society recommends) I choose to write this post today and dedicate it to my sister :) I surely don't praise her too often and a public display of my love in a forum like this is something I have never ever done :) So, here's my dedication to my darling sister who is miles away from me, but very close to my heart. 

A word of caution: this might get too senti to digest, so please read at your own risk :)

Dear Sister,

When I was born, I had no idea I had an elder sister who i had to match with. You gave me mixed feelings about being the "younger one". You were one hell of a competition to beat when it came to studies, and I had to always be OK with our school teachers calling me "Maryam"! Oh BTW, Mom still calls me Maryam when she is missing u too much :P 

You were the Tom and I was the Jerry! I do not remember a single day during my childhood where both of us have not fought. Our conversations would start and end in a fight, and we made no excuses for being as blunt to each other as possible. Thank God we didn't get physical! Nevertheless, I cherish every single fight cos that made us stronger ;) and then the unfortunate (read fortunate) happened - you left us to meet Uncle Sam!

You leaving to US was a big change for all of us at home, it was silence in the house for weeks. Mom, dad and me would look at each other and just have tears in our eyes cos we were missing u so much! I never knew i would miss you cos I initially thought "Happa! good riddance". But I was so wrong! After the realisation had struck i jumped at every occasion to talk to u on the phone and guess what, FIGHT! I didn't know the feeling was mutual until i came to the US and spent time with you. It was the best time i ever had with you and from then on, we bonded like best friends! 

I must say you have flaws (lol)!You are stubborn, You are impossible, You are bossy and you are impatient. You are short tempered and you irritate me (sometimes)! But!!!  You are the best sister one can ever have! The most caring, protective, unconditionally loving and super fun sister I could have ever hoped for! 

So to wrap it all up without sounding like I am writing a Love letter on the Internet - Happy Raksha Bandhan dear Sis. i accept gifts in Cash (USD) and kind! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :D

Why I like to be in Chennai

Recently lots of my colleagues crib about how much they hate/dislike Chennai. Thanks to my non-Tamilian look, people often assume that I would second their feelings and have a similar story of how this place ruined my social life or rather LIFE! Nothing personal against the people who don’t like this city, everybody has their right to liking or disliking something, however, this outburst from my colleagues really got me thinking, is this place that bad? Well my immediate answer was - No! "Why do you like this place Sakina?" you may ask. My answer - this blog post :)
- Chennai is what I call "home". I have had the most memorable memories, the best school life, the most fun filled college life, an interesting career and a very filmy love life. I have lived most of my life here, and do not mind living the rest here. In simple words, I am born and brought up here.
- I believe that this city is one of the safest places in India, especially for the girls. Try going on your scooty at 1 am in the night all alone in some other city and be sure to reach home safely. I have done this many times right here with no fear!
- The weather - yes! I mean it! The weather! (I can totally imagine your eyes pop out reading this). They say Chennai has 3 seasons Hot, Hotter, Hottest - Agreed. I rather enjoy being under the hot sun getting a tan, than wrapping myself in half a dozen layers of clothes. I rather have bath with normal tap water than from a boiling geyser. I rather sweat it out and get my body to cool down than freeze to death in snow. I rather enjoy those few rainy days with joy, than to carry an umbrella/rain coat daily and suck at it! I rather fall sick just once a year during change of weather than be sick all through the year due to erratic change of weather daily!
- The beaches - the world's second longest beach is in Chennai :) - well keeping that fact aside, having a beach at a driving distance is luxury. Beaches are a good way for me to unwind and a good adda to catch up with my friends. I don’t need a food court at the mall to meet someone; I would rather go to the beach with them and eat roasted peanuts instead :)
- The simplicity - the people here are simple and grounded. No show off, no bull shit. People here don't expect too much out of themselves or each other and are happy with what they have. None of us ever missed KFC, or a McD, or EA mall 10 years back.

This place is not perfect and has its flaws. But the point is, which place doesn't? I guess every city, every town, every village has its own good/bad and people who live there (or decide to live there) just see the brighter side of things. This city is special to me and will always be no matter what other people may think about it :)

Rocking Rockstar!

Saw "Rockstar" movie in the weekend and couldn’t stop thinking about it since then. I had already read the reviews of the movie and had gone with very less expectations in terms of story line. The first half of the movie was fun and entertaining. The second half was a little weird. Actually some people termed it depressing and some call it boring. I call it intense.I wouldn’t say that the movie has a very strong story line, but it surely has an effect on its viewers. The mad love, the passion for each other and the suffering both Jordan (Ranbir) and Heer (Nargis) go through when they are apart left me in awe.

The movie demands patience and concentration from the viewers and if by any chance you have come to pass time, this movie is surely not for you! There are several reasons I personally liked the movie, but the one single reason which will make me hate it is Heer! Oh God! What was Imtiaz thinking when he chose her?! Yes! I am allergic to women with pouted lips, and I have a reason too! They are too busy showing the pout that they forget the rest of their face is needed for something called "expressions", and the fact is, their pouted lips wont fulfill the expressions required out of them! The only time I think she acted well in the movie was when she was in "Coma"! No offence to all the fans out there, I really think that she needs some serious acting classes (actually dancing too) before she re-appears in another movie..

Anyways, I am going to completely ignore her presence in the movie and move on to why I really liked it :).
- First, I am a great fan of Imtiaz Ali after his creation of Jab we met. If you know me a little, you probably know how many times I have seen that movie ;-). When I came to know of Rockstar, I was just hoping that Imtiaz will create another masterpiece. I must say it doesn’t replace the love I have for Jab We Met, but he did create a masterpiece :).
- Second, the Rockstar music is extremely addictive. Rahman has done complete justice to Jordan's role and the theme of the movie. The album doesn’t have any dhinchak or item song, but it has some very unique notes :).
- Third, the lyrics; I am a very lyrics person, especially when it comes to Hindi Songs! I don’t mind listening to loads of Tamil songs without understanding them, but it’s a little different when it comes to Hindi. Rockstar song lyrics are simply awesome. Irshad (The lyricist of Rockstar) has added amazing words to Rahman's music.
- Fourth, Ranbir! Oh Boy, can Ranbir act? Darn he can! What a performance in this movie! from the ultimate loser in college to the self-destructive Rockstar, he played every part of the role perfectly! I mainly like the movie cos of him and his portrayal of "Jordan" :)

So what is your reason to love or Hate this movie?

Chai ni Chah

Before I get started,Chai = tea and chah = liking.

It was our first breakfast at andamans, when Vishnu and I were enjoying the hot omelettes with toasted bread and a hot cup of tea! I was pleased with the breakfast served at the restaurant as they offered toasted bread, butter, jam, omelette and yummy tea. :) I dont know why, but a nice yummy cup of tea for breakfast makes my day! I was a big tea addict and now due to diet restrictions I have reduced to 1 tea a day (sob sob)
So back to the topic, of our lovely breakfast, I started enjoying my tea based breakfast and started telling stories about my lovely tea days (before marriage days to be specific ..;)..) and in the process re-discovered the lovely combinations of chai which I have personally enjoyed. I managed to consolidate this list within our half hour breakfast chat, and vishnu thought that I could write a thesis on tea and prove that tea can become the best side dish (in my case main dish) ever! :P

Here goes my list (in no specific order)

1. The most popular and obvious combination is Milk bikis biscuit dipped in tea (my team also enjoys this)
2. Marie Biscuit dipped in tea - Classy!
3. Butter biscuit with tea - Love it!
4. Rusk with tea - dhaba ishtyle (my style, apply butter on the rusk and then dip in tea!)
5. Toasted bread with butter spread and then dipped in tea - my staple breakfast during school days!
6. Porai biscuit soaked in tea (OMG my fav Ganesa bakery porai biscuits..Mariya are u listening?;)..)
7. Wafer biscuit dipped in tea (Another Ganesar bakery special)
8. Rumali roti, roasted on tawa with little oil (sidhpuri ishtyle: The roti soaked in tea is a desi breakfast for most of the sidhpuri bohri's)
9. Fried appalams with tea, and if you are a bohri, you would know meetha papad crushed in chai is super combination
10. Omelette and tea - yes, it is a great combo, ask my mom!

I am sure you would have heard one or more of these combinations for the very first time, and if you are a tea lover, try them and let me know how u find it :) My dear husband thinks that I can eat chicken fry and tea together and claim to be an awesome combination...haven't tried it as yet though ;)

You!

YOU guide me and confide in me
YOU motivate me and irritate me
YOU let me BE, and be to the fullest.
YOU allow me to make mistakes and help me correct them.
YOU stay at work all night when I need to do a night out.
YOU drive me nuts and you drive me around the city too.
YOU are an indispensable part of my life and you complicate my life too.
YOU let me listen to my kind of music, even if its something you hate listening to.
YOU take away my troubles by just making that funny face.
YOU are my weakness and my strength
YOU add logic to my senseless emotions.
YOU are a pain and the medicine to a lot of my pains!
Being with YOU is like being with a Best friend.
I love YOU!