My sister-in-law, Mandeep, threw me a beautiful, whimsical, baby shower. It was absolutely perfect! I wanted to have a chic vintage feel and since one of our goals with Diya is to surround her with literature, the storybook theme was perfect. With the help of our cousins, she put together a very memorable shower.

Thought I’d share some pictures of this beautiful day of family, friends, and so much baby fun! The evening was dedicated to the already most perfect dad, Sundeep. His birthday night was so much fun; just danced the night away! I have no idea how I lasted till 4am being how pregnant I was at the time.

Nina Rahal-Kharey – Engineer by day, fashion designer by night, Nina Rahal-Kharey’s life reads like something from a Hollywood pitch meeting. Unlike Hollywood, Rahal-Kharey sees no reason to subdue her “nerdy side” for the sake of her glamorous alter ego. Rahel-Kahrey created House of Nonie, a progressive fashion design house inspired by Rahal-Kharey’s Indian heritage. Surrounded by fashion growing up Rahel-Kharey learned to sew at an early age. Her father worked as a manager for a knitting company and her mother worked for clothing manufacturer. Rahal-Kharey credits her plunge into fashion to the memory of her brother, who lost his life to gang-related violence five years ago at the age of 25. A passionate volunteer with the anti-gang unit, she is called upon regularly to speak to kids at schools and at other police-sponsored events. “I’ve never actually thought of myself as a role model,” she says. “I just think that I have a story to tell.”