Sean and Ruchika

A couple from #USA and #India posting our adventures. Met in #Delhi, lived in #Toronto, currently in #Chicago. Proud parents of a new little human named Viraj.

“On vacation since Sept 17, 2014…” ❤️❤️❤️

#travel #vegetarian #vegan #food #cafe #coffee #indian #indianfood #urbanexploration #city #citylife #art #nature #adventure #boardgames

Profile: Us at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, OR, USA from 07/23.

Header: Sunset in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India from 03/18.

Current Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Sean's Mastodon: https://mas.to/@seanbala
Ruchika's Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@dohappybelove

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npub1gz50kalvklwdx4ky526w34d0zah2xtrmwjmuwknrrqpg0xsfx08sryhn7a

NIP-05 Address

bunvoyage17_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

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Published at

2026-03-31T18:04:47Z

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Last Notes

2025-07-07 17:36:06 UTC

We are going to be traveling to #Portland #Oregon at the end of the month. Do you have any recommendations for any of the following?
1) A good #vegan or #vegetarian place? (Esp. South Asian and East Asian)
2) A good, cozy #coffee shop / cafe?
3 Good #tea shops?
4) A good #bakery ?
and a bonus question -
4) Any activity that might be good for a very curious nine-month old?
We really like the city and are looking forward to our trip!
#PDX #PNW @npub1adp…tyak @npub1rxy…avta #Travel @npub1vfk…t09q #parenting

2025-03-21 01:30:55 UTC

We did it! The plants should arrive around 4 May. We've always wanted to grow something and now here is our chance.
Here's to our 2025 gardening adventure! 🍅🍅🍅
#Garden #Gardening #Chicago #Tomato #Tomatoes #UrbanGarden #Plants #Vegetables @npub1v5a…ny6w
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/197/817/203/762/414/original/21482e4d10bfef59.jpg

2025-03-20 17:46:45 UTC

Hey #Gardening people - we're thinking about ordering some #heirloom tomato plants from the #Chicago #Tomato Man. We are complete novices at this and need some guidance.
- We need to grow in an apartment (dwarf or tabletop) or on our balcony in a south-facing building with lots of sunlight.
- We do a lot of #Indian cooking.
- We don't have a lot of experience with tomatoes.
Here is a link to what is available:
https://www.chicagotomatoman.com/new-page-2
Thanks!
#Plants #Food #Cooking #Garden

2024-12-25 12:54:19 UTC

Christmas Eve in our house!
- Hot cocoa with oat milk (with a sad attempt at oat milk whipped cream);
- Books to read with cocoa;
- Pav Bhaji;
- And DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE (DDLJ)
Merry Christmas everyone! May your year be filled with light and love!
- Sean, Ruchika, and Viraj
#Christmas #ChristmasEve #MerryChristmas #Cocoa #Vegan #Bookstodon #Books #Japan
#IndianFood #PavBhaji #PavBhajiTime #Cinema #Bollywood #DDLJ #ShahRukhKhan #SRK #Kajol #India #MastIndia #Movies #Family #Love
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2024-12-22 09:54:29 UTC

Viraj's first trip to the library last week. He is two months old but we don't think it is ever too early to start a reading habit!
#Chicago #Library #Libraries #CPL #Parenting #Child #Newborn #Book #Books #Bookstodon #Family #Children #reading
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2024-12-09 20:36:03 UTC

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Just did it again this afternoon. Confirm that it works in the daylight too.

2024-12-09 03:51:37 UTC

@npub1rp5…2edh discovered today that little one calms down to him singing "I Am So Glad I'm Finally Returning Back Home" AKA The Trololo Song.
We made a short video but won't post it because neither of us can stop laughing 😂😂😂
https://youtu.be/oavMtUWDBTM?si=ORld_TtG8iUv4DEA
#Music #Meme #Newborn #Parenting #NoSleep #Russian #eduardkhil #Children #Baby #Singing #Funny

2024-12-06 03:07:51 UTC

Mumma's Book.
Papa's Book.
Baby's Book.
Lazy afternoon cuddles ❤️
#Family #Parents #Parenting #Book #Books #Bookstodon #Newborn #Child #SilentSunday #Quiet
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2024-11-29 04:48:32 UTC

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Irani Chai - https://www.archanaskitchen.com/irani-chai-recipe
Veg Berry Pulao - https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/berry-pilaf-berry-pulav/
Dal Dhansak - https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/veg-dhansak-vegetable-dhansak-recipe/
Veg Recipes of India is our GO TO for Indian vegetarian cooking. Archana's kitchen is our second source usually. You can find the Berry Pulao recipe in Madhur Jaffery's "Vegetarian India" - one of our favorite Indian cookbooks!
2/2
#Indian #IndianFood #Parsi #Food #Cuisine #Cooking #india #Cookbook #FromTheKitchen #Dinner #Vegetarian #Vegan #Thankgiving2024

2024-11-29 04:48:31 UTC

Happy #Thanksgiving from Ruchika, Sean, and Viraj! We decided to do #Parsi Thanksgiving again this year. We started with Irani Chai and butter biscuits. We then had berry pulao and dal dhansak. Everything was #vegetarian (and could be made #vegan. Just to be "traditional" we had an apple strudel from Aldi for desert. Such a special day for little one's first holiday!
Recipes below!
#Thanksgiving2024 #Indian #IndianFood #Parsi #Food #Cuisine #Cooking #india #thankful #Recipes #Chai
1/2
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2024-11-23 02:29:07 UTC

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Assalamu alaikum -
Thank you so much! 🙏
Also, it appears that you may be new to Mastodon - if so, welcome!!

2024-11-23 02:03:42 UTC

Game night during one of the little one's all-too-brief naps. We played "Ticket to Ride London." We really like this one - we picked it up at a severe discount at a Walmart one year. It is small enough to play quickly but still be challenging. It is also one of a handful of games we have that is for more than two people, LOL.
#BoardGames #Boardgaming #GameNight #TicketToRide #London #Parenting #Quiet #brettspiel #brettspiele
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2024-11-20 08:59:27 UTC

Some positive vibes during a late night feeding of our newborn ❤️
#Night #Children #newborn #parenting #parents #studioghibli #ghibli #Anime #Totoro #MyNeighbourTotoro #TonariNoTotoro #animation #LateNight #hayaomiyazaki #miyazaki
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2024-11-04 17:08:22 UTC

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Thanks Kiran :D

2024-11-04 17:07:32 UTC

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Thank you Bala - hope all is well!

2024-11-04 17:06:57 UTC

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Thabks!

2024-11-04 17:06:44 UTC

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Thank you! Nice to meet you! One of the best parts of the Fediverse is its cozy randomness. Hope all is well!

2024-11-03 01:43:07 UTC

We are pleased to announce the birth of our son Viraj Jain-Bala! He and Mumma are healthy and we all are overjoyed. We have come so far from that day we met in August 2014. We have come together and built a good life of respect, love, and joy. Now we are embarking on something very new, scary, and exciting. All three of us will now build something new and wonderful together. Wish us luck!
#Chicago #Family #Life #Milestones #Love #Joy #Baby #Parenting #Parents #Children
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2024-09-18 13:42:31 UTC

Yesterday, we celebrated our 10th anniversary of when we started dating seriously. It was over two icecream cones on the back porch of our former boss’s home (residential campus building) that we carefully thought through what if we do end up being together years from now, which date would we want to remember and Sep 17th it was!
#anniversary #couple #couplegoals #togetherness #life #beautiful #marriage #love #food #goodlife #celebrate
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2024-09-16 15:59:46 UTC

Sean and I cherishing our us-ness by doing our fav thing: flaneuring! Taking a scroll by gorgeously greenish-blue riverwalk in Chicago, buying Indian snacks from @chiyachai (bhelpuri)! We were taking pictures of each other, when a very kind and happy stranger man asked us if we wanted him to take a picture?
#chicago #couple #pregnancy #togetherness #marriedlife #marriage #love #life #ChicagoRiverwalk #kindness #weekend
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2024-09-02 02:00:02 UTC

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We've been wanting to go but have not gotten there yet. We live really close to Andersonville so maybe will go soon! We go to the neighborhood pretty often. We've gone to Lost Larson, and they actually have authentic princess cake - it was delicious!! 🤗

2024-09-01 21:42:33 UTC

More photos from yesterday! Before getting started with shopping, a little fika break at Ikea. No cinnamon bun but an apple cake will do. A little fortification before climbing the mountain!
❤️❤️❤️
#MardiPatisserie #Fika #Coffee #Ikea #Shopping #Cafe @npub1adp…tyak #Chicago #Pastry #Cozy
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2024-08-17 04:19:04 UTC

Friday Night Board Game - tonight is it is Mandala, one of our favorite 2 player games!
#boardgames #boardgame #brettspiele #brettspiel #friday #fridaynight #gamenight
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2024-08-16 03:39:54 UTC

Happy Indian Independence Day! 🇮🇳
This is a photo of us at Amber Fort in Rajasthan in October 2018.
India is such a large, beautiful, and diverse country. You would need a hundred lifetimes to explore its depths <3
#India #IndianIndependenceDay #Rajasthan
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