: the bag :

this is a trader joe's bag that bobbi sent along with her box o goodies for vanya...she told me that this bag has been so popular, its flying off the shelves or not available and even has its own blog and followers!!!! crazy huh? i feel lucky to have received it now and just make the swedes drool at its lovely color palette and cool design. we'll be stylin' as i intend on keeping it in the stroller to use for our trips out and about. plus, swedes are just as eco-conscious as trader joe's and bring their own bags to grocery shop...so its a good thing. :) thanks again bobbi!!!

vintage wear from the hershey man...

bruce hershey...my dear friend that i met while being an art director at my days at ingram micro has been a trendy friend of mine for about 3-4 years now...

bruce is an internationally acclaimed photographer of humans and he does a fantastic job getting people to look fabulous in any light!!!

bruce a.k.a. mr.big is always checking out cool spots for great photographic shots and travels around the states for work and pleasure. he is fluent in spanish and spent some time in mexico...and can smoke a mean cigar...and loves talking about so many things over a good cuppa jo.
having a friend in bruce has enhanced my life three-fold.

bruce has sent some vintage wear for miss vanya...cool kitty cat prints for this cute feline.

and for a pic of bruce i found a pic of us at an ad club event...shows the fun nature of the spirit we have together!

work it bruce!!!!!

loving gifts from madame lewis

bobbi lewis....is a designer friend of mine that lives in los angeles and has sent some outrageously hillarious and fabulous presents for swindubaby a.k.a. vanya :)

bobbi is an abfab designer for trader joes ( shop created by god and loved by me dearly ) and has sent trinkets from there and an assortment of gifts, each of which made me smile from ear to ear and laugh as well. vanya's FIRST levis!!!!!!! who'd thunk they made baby sizes??!! and a hootchi mama top that will be worn with a tshirt when in india of course (dont want the authorities after us). products from wry baby...which are obviously for the creative minded and hillarious...and can be found at: a place in Monrovia called Suburban Martini. It's this little "round the way" store with fun, kitschy gift items and vintage clothing.

then bobbi has sent a unique gift..a trader joe's signature recycled plastic bag...which is gorgeous in itw own right with its fantastic designs and color schemes...and in sweden taking your own bag to the grocery store is the norm and we will be looking stylish...and bobbi informed me that this bag has been selling like hotcakes and is hard to get your hands on and it even has blogs talking about it and its coolness...only in america, folks :)

trader treats...nuts and chocolate...need we say more?






bobbi and i met when she joined the first ad agency i worked at in irvine, calif....and we've just kept in touch admist the moves and the fact that bobbi hated going down past the OC since she is now a bonafied LA chiquita banana. :) gotta lov the bobster!!!

from the frechette!

kadie frechette...is a fine female from whom i received some über cute gifts for vanya.

who is kadie? yes, anyone and everyone wants to know. well this chick came from new hamphsire to the OC and got a culture shock of her life when i started working with her at an ad agency in newport beach. little miss kadie had never experienced anything indian in her life and found the way i talked to my parents (when they called) hillarious! i change my accent when i talk to them and sound like apu's cousin. and she was in splits with certain names...and situations that just fascinated her. so it was fun to see a spark in someone who was honestly just curious and interested in something new. i remember there was even a few parental 'marriage set up' situations that were wuite colorful now that i look back on them.

anyway...kadie is a tough cookie, super fit and sunky mom of two cute kids and now lives in rancho santa margarita, california...kadie you want me to give out your soc. security number as well? heh heh....

kadie has sent the ONLY pair of shoes miss vanya has received...that are sooo cute..with giraffes on them ( sarah kerr is drooling - i know) and a long sleeve onesie that is super soft and perfect sized for when we make it to india in december - good for mosquito control with the long sleeves. and a pooh blankie toy that sits in vanya's crib as we speak...or write :)



thank you kadie!!!!! your friendship thru the years has been soo nice to have and im thankful for email that keeps us in touch. so now we have motherhood as well to keep us in cahoots!!!!

my sister from another mister : kelly early

well, to talk about my dear friend kelly, would require thousands of pages, hours, months...shots of vanilla vodka.

kelly sent us a ginormous box, very cute box (piperlime.com), filled very neatly with 3 baby bags of baby gifts! clothes..cute clothes for vanya...trinkets..very well thought out ones...sunglasses (hello, we're edging into 24hr. sunlight time soon), butt creme (says it all), hand rattlers (no, not baby snakes) that are so perfect and actually something we saw at the baby store and thought we shd get after swindubaby is a little older, baby laughs-a book about the 1st year by jenny mcarthy, baby einstein tunes, diapers (practcal and a brand that we use) and the most await 'haute burp cloths' designed and made exclusively by kelly..she is a master at sewing and creating amazing things. jamison, her daughter is a lucky girl as her mom is such a talented seemstress.

kelly and i should have met at the 'surprise girls scout pancake breakfast' in mission viejo around maybe 1981? she lived a few streets away from me growing up..we never met in mission viejo. then we both ended up going to design school in arizona..me in tempe at ASU and her in flagstaff at NAU...but we never met there. then we both returned home to the OC and decided to join a nat'l design group called AIGA...which is where we finally met and realised we both laughed at our own jokes..and were pretty damn funny. we keep tossing around the idea of going on tour - mahogany & ivory..it could happen. anyway...if you've ever spent time with both of us in the same room, you'd be laughing..cause well..you just would. and kelly is beyond talented as a designer and has a full fledged freelance career creating fabulous solutions for graphically challenged clients :)

thank u kelly for your creative and very nice gifts! and your mom too! man..im spoiled and lucky to have friends and their moms sending swindu baby loving gifts :) claudia...you are too kind..thank you!!!

oh and these gifts are coming in handy while im sitting in the room pumping away..like the swindu dairy factory i've become :)

june 1 : one week old!!!!

yes, friends...i have emailed most of you about our little arrival...but here it is officially on the web.

VANYA SOMESHWAR : 2.3kg : 45cms long: was born on may 25th at 2:25am at nykoping lasarett.
very healthy and happy and calm

mama and papa are proud, happy and blessed to have such a beautiful girl.

the gifts keep rolling in for swindubaby i.e. vanya...and i must say we are a bit overwhelmed.
for anyone still wanting to send us something...i'd like to request..no more clothes...we are full up with so many wonderful clothes from all of you...and she is a bit on the small side...so its going to be awhile before she even fits into all of it.

we came home on may 29 at 15:00 and her grandparents arrived from bangalore that same night. so it was a full day!

now we are at one week today...and things are going well...adjusting to all the new changes and roles.

we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your support, love and supplies!!!! :)

more later!!!