I'm Baaack!!!

Hey y'all! So it's been awhile....China has decided to block lots of websites - blogger being one of them. It took awhile, but we found a way back on. I feel like throwing a party!!!!

Disney - TEDA

I was wasting time searching the web and happened upon this depiction of TEDA, the little hamlet in China where I live. This looks a lot more like Tomorrowland at Disneyland than anything I have ever seen in TEDA. I mean, we do have a tall "space needle-esque" building, but not like that. And I have never once seen the sky that blue with white fluffy clouds. I call this false advertising!!!

Expat Wife does NYC - Day 2

Day 2 was a day of pampering and luxury. We started things out at one of my favorite place, Le Pain Qouqidan (or something like that). Good thing Summer loves it too! Then we met up with all the bridesmaids and mothers for pampering mani/pedis at Dashing Divas. Side note on that, my nail polish has never lasted longer - I don't know what they put in it to make it last so long!

Here Jami and the two Katies relax during their divalicious pedicures!!! Highly recommended!

While drying, Dinah came in and had just been to a place where she got her eyebrows threaded. Always one to try something new (just reference the cannibal fish blog). . . we scooted on over to try this wonderful alternative to waxing. Again, highly recommended!

Now that the pampering and beauty regimen was complete, Summer and I could focus our energies on other, just as important matters - no we weren't hungry yet. BUT we were invited to a swanky to-do for an upper eastsider's birthday (neither of us actually knew him, but were invited my an acquaintance) but had nothing to wear!!!! So, shopping was on the docket.

We found appropriate outfits and ran back up to 161st street to grab our belongings, makeup, and pj's. Summer's teaching friend, Rachel, was the one who had invited us to this shindig and she was picking us up (in her car that she has in the city!!!) to go get ready at her apartment (which happens to be in the same building as Ed Westwick from GOSSIP GIRL!!!!!!!!!!) Sorry, I'm a huge fan!

We were looking hot and headed out for dinner (at 10ish) at Bar Pitti. Now for those of you who aren't in the know, like I was before I went to Bar Pitti, it is a place to see and be seen. Beyonce, Jay Z, Seal, etc all eat here. There are no reservations, not even a list to put your name down on. You stand out front and the owner comes out and scans the crowd, then he decides who comes in to eat and when. We were looking good so we got in in about 10 minutes. I'd like to thank my new bra from Linda's for helping with that situation - the girls looked great!

As we are walking in, we notice this scarily thin blond woman walking away from us. We all comment on how she should order the fattiest thing on the menu. Ha ha ha . . . When we get seated, we are near her table. Summer looks over and says "Isn't that Ann Coulter?". Now, I don't care your stance on politics, my mother taught me it isn't nice to discuss them, and still won't tell me who she votes for to this day. But, you have to admit, for a girl from Texas, seeing anyone recognizable, even Ann Coulter, is a huge deal!!!!

DISCLAIMER: Sorry there are no pictures of any of the celebrity sitings as Rachel was a little embarrassed when Summer and I whipped out our phones to text everyone we knew - I can only imagine if I whipped out my camera.

So, then a gorgeous blond girl walks in carrying a little dog. No, it wasn't Paris Hilton, it was the model Agnes Deyn.

If you don't know who she is here is a little info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agyness_Deyn

I'm sure there were plenty of other celebs there, but they were going incognito and I didn't recognize them. Despite it being a hot spot, Bar Pitti actually had wonderful food (you know how I love to eat!). The mozzerella ball ap is fabulous! If this had completed my day of pampering and luxury, I could have died a happy woman . . . but no, it continues!!!!

So off we tromp thru the West Village to the Birthday Party at Casa La Femme on Charles Street. This place was amazing. First off, it has real grass as it's floor!!! Yep, and the bartender told me that they replace it every week (not very "green" but definitely chic).

It was too dark to get any good pics of the decor so here is the website :

http://www.casalafemmeny.com/

Pretty swanky! I have this bad habit that I picked up while working at Design Associates, we take pictures of things that strike us as interesting, no matter where we are to show the other designers as inspiration. This is the light fixture in one of the bathrooms - love it!!!

So, after I picked my jaw up off the floor, I met the birthday boy, David, who gave me a VIP card. This little card gave me more power than I should be in control of, an open bar on his tab!!! So, it would be rude not to partake - so we partook!

I met all of his friends and soon realized that I was in the real-life Gossip Girl. I met a guy named Charlie, who is Chuck Bass (sorry if you don't watch the show, you will be lost for the next little while). There was a Georgina there too. I caught her in the bathroom speaking with a horrible fake British accent to someone on the phone and then 10 minutes later she was chatting to me in a nasal new york snob, no hint of British!

It was so surreal that I didn't even really realize what I was witnessing until the next day. My one night of membership in that oh so sought after society was truly amazing. And not entirely without true character, not just characters.

Meet my new best friends, Eric and Christine. Summer and I chatted with them for a long time and found them funny, charming, and interesting.

Sadly, that part of the evening had to end, but that doesn't mean I'm still not making friends! While casing the lobby of Rachel's building hoping to catch Ed on his way back in (yes I am shameless), I made friends with Jerry the doorman.

Love ya Jerry!!!!

Stay tuned for Day 3 - it just gets better and better!

Expat Wife does NYC - Day 1

One of my sorority sisters from college, Jami Stig, had the most amazing wedding in New York City last weekend. The ceremony, the reception, it was all "Jami and Joe", but the best part was getting the chance to see all my friends and hangout in NYC.

I flew in on Wednesday and went straight to Summer's apartment in Washington Heights. Summer is my former boss' daughter, a kindergarten teacher, and an amazing opera singer. If you need an opera singer for anything, let me know and I will get you two in touch. We chatted, ate, and drank wine - just catching up.

This was a wonderful start, relaxing. Because the rest of the weekend was non-stop!

First stop in NYC . . . Bra shopping with Linda the Bra Lady.

Dinah, Summer, and I all got some great new bras thanks to Linda's Ladies. If you are ever in New York you have to go there, it's on Lexington. It is so true that most women are wearing the wrong size, and these experts will have your girls looking good!

Bra shopping makes a girl hungry. So, Dinah took us to one of her and Jami's favorite places for Aerapas. If you don't know what these are, you're not alone. They are corn cakes filled with all sorts of goodies. This one is chicken, avocado, and Chimichiri (I totally spelled that wrong). It's in the East Village and so close to a great cupcake shop!

Butter Lane has the tastiest cupcakes I have ever eaten. I highly recommend the Chocolate with Peanut Butter icing and the Espresso Cupcake.

Just when you thought all we were gonna do is eat our way thru the city - we decided to mix it up a bit and go shopping. We hit Fab 208, an absolutely mah-velous re-purposed vintage store that Dinah turned me onto. The owners are inked and fabulous! On official Maid of Honor duties we accompanied Dinah in picking up the veil from the veil maker (yes her entire store was veils and headpieces!!!). We tried them all on and had a grand ole time. Next stop, Cloak and Dagger where we met the designer and chatted fashion thru a rainstorm.

Once the rain subsided we headed up to the hotel to drop off Jami's veil and Summer went home to rest and relax. Dinah and I then ventured on to torture small dogs.Meet Darcy.
This picture says it all. My apologies to Linda, Darcy's mom. In our defense, she did seem very interested in that strapless bra!

Well it had been almost an hour since we ate . . .

So on to Lombardi's for

THE BEST PIZZA EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to admit something embarrassing, I watch Gossip Girl. Not only do I watch it, I love it! So on the show the are always going to this place called Pinkberry. It just so happens there is one near Lombardi's so of course we had to eat again.

Mmmmmmm FroYo!

We hopped into a taxi and hot-footed it to Jersey Boys where we met up with Jami, aka Mrs. Andosca, and some of the wedding party, family, and friends. Living overseas I am constantly reminded of what a small world it really is. To prove me right once again, my friend from waaaaayyy back, Heather Ferguson, happens to be in Jersey Boys!!! Heather reminded me of her first role in a play. It was as a squirrel in Snow White. Her oldest sister Jenna played the lead role and I was the evil queen Brangomare (yeah, I bet none of you knew what her real name was!). I think I was 14 or 15 when we did that show and Heather is one year younger. I guess I really can say, "I knew her when . . . "


If you haven't seen or heard of Jersey Boys, I'm sorry. It was a spectacular evening. The show is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Season, complete with all the hits that you know and love. I told my father, this is one Broadway show he could even stay awake through (if you know him, you know that means a lot).

Hanging out at the stage door with Heather was only made more exciting by the first real-life street fight I have ever seen that happened mere feet from us. It was so enjoyable to watch, mostly because they were drunk imbeciles, but also because even after the cops came and the "Perps" ran for it, they circled around the block for more. After an hour or so of that repetition, I finally grabbed a cab back to "The Heights" to rest and prepare for another day in New York!

Homecoming!!!!

I stepped off the airplane and ran straight to Mi Tierra's for some Margaritas and Mexican food!!

Lily Lady Day Spring Spa

Could we BE any more relaxed????

Early Bird Specials were our favorite. Now that both Donna and Angela are back in the states, somehow I will have to muddle through without them. How will I manage?

Mahjong

In a little town in China, cut-throat competition is a way of life.

People spend hours practicing each day - with only one goal, to be the best!

That little town is TEDA

And that competition. . . is MAHJONG!

(Or for those Canadians out there Mahrjong)

Cannibal Fish

While the boys were off playing golf, we ladies decided to try something a little different. These fish eat the dead skin off of your body. It feels like a million little suction cups tickling your feet, knees, hands, wherever you have dry skin (and believe me, you have dry skin everywhere !!!)

This is another one of the hot springs at the "spa" we went to. We don't know why it's green, we hope it is aloe or green tea, so we'll just pretend that's what it is.

The Farewell Ball

Good friends we've met so far in TEDA.

From L to R:

Ryan, Ana, Will, Sharla, Naomi, Andrew, Bita, Ruh, and me

They Boys, at our house. Don't they look handsome?

From L to R:

Jannick, Ryan, James, Aaryn, and Will

Us, all dolled up for the ball. We both had our outfits made here in China - pretty good, eh?

The TEDA International School Parents and Friends Association put on a ball to say farewell to all of the families that will be leaving TEDA following the end of school and most importantly, in honor of Andrew Watts. Andrew was the principal at the school for many years and is heading back to Canada with his wife and daughter. They will be missed as will all the other friends that we have met so far on our journey.

Golf

Aaryn, Mike, Bob and Will

The Golfers

On the links.

Aaryn has found something to fill his free time - GOLF!!! And there are many willing participants here to go along with him. These are some of the pics from his outing last weekend. The weekend before that was a holiday here in China, and Aaryn managed to fit in golf each day of the three-day weekend. Hmmm . . . if I ever want to see my husband again, I may have to develop an interest in this sport.

More KTV!!!!

We have been KTV'ing a lot lately! Here are some of the highlights. . . .

The Teachers from the local International School - everyone loves KTV.

Sing out Maryanne!

James belts out "Lady"

Feel it!!! Sometimes you gotta dance.

Just watching the show.

Duet anyone?

The local shows us how it's done :)

For any of you who plan on visiting us here in China, be warned that KTV is a must!!!! Don't worry we have done a ton of research, many Friday and Saturday nights spent singing poorly to find the best spot in TEDA to go KTV'ing. Still wanna come????

Classic

This picture speaks for itself.

Chinese Fashion . . . well, if you can call it that.

We spotted this fashion disaster in Beijing last weekend. I've heard of matching your belt and your shoes, but do you have to match your hair color to your outfit too???? And who walks around with an empty birdcage? I about fell over laughing when this walked by!

Martha Stewart you have met your match!

These are my new vases from the Dirt Market along with some other little items I picked up. I went with Shannon to the Flower Market and we got these gorgeous lilies and roses. I hate to brag - but it looks good!!!! Just call me the Chinese Martha Stewart!!!

Dirt Market

Last weekend we went to Beijing on the Bullet Train. We did tons of fun things but my favorite was the Dirt Market. In chinese is it called Panjiayuan Juihuo Shichang. It might possibly be my favorite place on the planet right now.

Like my new Ray Ban sunglasses? I got 'em at the Silk street market. These pictures are just from the antique portion of the market. We went thru it and thought this was fantastic. Then later that day when we were trying to get somewhere completely different, the cab driver brought us to the other side of the market. It is giagantic!!! We walked down one more aisle and then had to leave.

I love just the piles of old pottery. I dug thru and got myself a few vases to put fresh flowers in from the flower market.

Aaryn, in his new shades, carrying all of my purchases (from the first aisle). I had to stop because we couldn't carry anymore, but there was a huge bowl that I REALLY wanted - I am still thinking about it 4 days later so it must have been great.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been very busy and youtube is still down here. Don't worry, there will be a flood on posts once I can get my videos loaded.

Now the Adventure Really Begins

We are officially in our apartment. Now it is real. We live in China! It didn't really feel real while we were living in the hotel. Now the fun can begin. It is just so exciting!!! I will have more videos up soon of the apartment but youtube is down in China right now. Stayed Tuned!

This is the package from the loofa I just bought.

"The Frosting Takes a Bath The Turban"

That's exactly what I think when I take a shower!!!!

Just one more laugh from China!

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