I'll be home for (errands) Christmas...

I know I've been blog neglectful now that I've migrated west for December (FDApp, I've missed you). My own personal to-do list (plus my mom's I've inherited) trumps any real work schedule I had prior to my month-long unemployment (sorry worker bees). But seriously, organizing a life in order to up and move to China resembles a full-time job. I'll love it when my belongings and I inhabit the same continent and I can stop wondering whether that shirt I'm looking for (or my digi cam for that matter) is in NYC, FL, or China. And knowing there's a heaping pile of clothes looming on the bed in our guest room for me when I get back nags at me daily (hangers are few and far between in China, no $5, 20-packs at Target type deals to be found). 

Before I left Shanghai we cultured ourselves (and drank our way through) an afternoon full of art galleries, antique furniture shops and electric cello (who knew?) performances. It was a chilly but gorgeous Shanghai afternoon at M50, http://www.cnngo.com/shanghai/play/m50-329005, and we found plenty to keep us busy (read: entertained)...

Anthony and an ear

Live long and prosper

Newest project: Photographing doors throughout China for later framing/display

 

Cut to days filled with holiday decorating, Target runs (so excite!), stringing lights on bushes and trees (I can do this), moving MLS (my little sister) out of her dorm, dinners with my mom and my girlhood second mom (also the mother of my best friend and blogess extraordinaire, Venessa, http://www.everything-pretty.com/) and nursing an eye-injured, cone-headed shitzu back to health. 

Yes, they have matching readers

Zoe's been better

Usually we head to North Carolina for Christmas...

Our other back yard

But I'm more than ok with a fireplace-blazing 75-degree Christmas this year. 

xoxo,

Jess

The last hoorah

This was my last weekend in Shanghai for the rest of the month. I'm doing a bit of a U.S. east coast final tour prior to the OFFICIAL official move which commences 1/1/12 when Anthony and I fly back over together… for good good. I land in NYC Sunday night (currently writing on the plane) and will be there through Tuesday afternoon when I fly to WPB. There will be a lot of family bonding time (and helping to get the house in tip-top Christmas shape) until December 21st when I fly back up to meet Anthony for our 3 day stint in Delaware by way of Newark. We fly back to WPB Christmas Eve so we can be thoroughly disected and inspected TOGETHER, as a couple, by my family (they've only ever met Anthony sans me, brave soul that one). Then we're back up to NYC for NYE2K11 (my second annual NYE in the city) and on the first day of the new year (or the year of the Dragon) it's off to Shanghai we go. That's 6 flights in the next 27 days folks, in case you lost count. Anthony accompanied me to the airport by way of the Maglev. The Maglev is a train that uses magnetic levitation (aka no tracks/wheels) to suspend the train basically a few inches in the air. The train gets you to the airport in 7 minutes flat, at a speed of 268/mph. It was pretty cool, I must say (just don't tell Anthony, I wasn't in the mood to help, more like watch him lug 40+ pound bags around a train station thus wouldn't concede this point at the time).

I'm excited to get to spend the rest of this month surrounded by familiar faces, places, smells and sounds. Anthony says to wear myself out on all the things I love, like to the point I'm sick of them, the things I can't get in Shanghai. Of course my mind goes immediately to… food. Yes, food. This means I'll be hitting Chick-fil-a for breakfast, lunch and dinner, downing 12 glorious inches of Publix subs like they're going out of style (all you Floridians can understand this) and ordering American Chinese food by the quart-fulls. I'm sure this last want sounds a bit ludicrous, but alas that greasy, addictive, amazingly satisfying (and great hangover cure) known as General Tso's chicken (and egg rolls, egg drop soup and fortune cookies) are about as authentically Chinese as I am. Tough break…

I'll be stocking up on products galore over the next few weeks (get ready CVS and Sephora). You know, the essentials - 55 cans of Pssst dry shampoo, 28 bottles of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer and Morrocan Oil by the gallons are all on my short list of items that will take up the better part of a second checked bag. I've had to become creative as of late with how to come up with suitable substitutions for things I just can't physically get it Shanghai (see my prior post re: faux Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Lattes). As luck would have it, about a month before the soft move a Pure Barre studio, http://purebarre.com, opened up in Columbus Circle and I.was.obsessed. Understatement. If you aren't familiar, get familiar. Any free time I had, I wanted to be there. Let me make it clear, this is NOT usually my style. I go in waves with my workouts, waves where I'm all in and will get myself out of bed pre-dawn to get to the gym. Then there's the wave where the sight of my tennis shoes makes me nauseous (that was the most recent wave, from about May to November, you're welcome Bally's for the $37/month donation). Since I very well can't bring the studio to Shanghai, and exhaustive Google searches have proved unsuccessful for any workout of this type in my new country (the bar method hasn't caught on in the far east) I'll be turning our living room (or maybe the underutilized office) into my own PB studio, with the help of the DVDs I ordered, a resistance band and a tiny medicine ball. I'm PUMPED. Also pumped to not have to use jars of tomato sauce for bicep curls anymore…

About 4 hours, 1 movie and a lackluster airplane dinner in, I'm ready to pop an Ambien and wake up on the other side of the world. Check bag for my next blog post about our cultural Saturday in Shanghai!

Blog you from America,

Xoxo,

Jess 

My new people

Time to get back to CHINA. The Chinese people deserve a post just to themselves. As a whole, they are some of the nicest people I've ever encountered. I "Ni hao ma" my way through the day and find myself more often then not being gawked at like I was literally just lasered down from some planet where tall, white, light-haired people roam free. One example (of I'm sure many that will follow), on Tuesday and Thursday mornings I get my pinyin Mandarin lessons on at the Coffee Bean near West Nanjing Road or Nanjing Xi Lu if you want to practice your Mandarin with me (about a 10 minute walk from our apartment). Coffee Bean's in China have embraced (thank god) Peppermint Lattes (50% off before 10am, the Chinese don't really get down with breakfast, or early mornings for that matter). Starbucks run amok over here like they do everywhere in America, but their "seasonal" flavors are a little less palatable then the ones I enjoy back stateside. I did however smuggle over a bottle of the Starbucks sugar-free Pepp syrup. To satisfy my craving I order skim Mocha Lattes, add my own syrup and TA-DA it's like I'm back on the corner of 51st and Park, just. like. that.


But I digress... sitting near the window finishing up my lesson Tuesday a gaggle of grandpa-ish age Chinese men walked by, stopped, stared then started waving/smiling (maybe laughing?) at me like I was Britney Spears circa her Oops! I Did it Again era. This behavior I've become accustomed to. My first trip here Anthony and I visited the Pearl Tower, an old TV-tower turned tourist attraction and a pretty famous Shanghai skyline staple. Minding my business and enjoying the view, I feel a tug at my elbow and before I know it I'm being pulled into a picture with a Chinese woman...then her husband... then one with her son.

Why not?

A few more anecdotes for your enjoyment; while haggling for purses and other goodies over the weekend (can't post my loot yet since some of the people getting presents read this blog), Junny, one store owner, proceeded to tell me among other things, "I give you good price, I never give ugly girl this price." Welp, Junny you hook, line and sinkered me. Another one of my favorites "This your boyfriend? (gestures to Anthony) He SO lucky!" I know Junny, I know. Not that I'm a great haggler to begin with, I feel bad, or have a heart says AH (I did once give a bum $10 on a NYC street corner, that's a story for another time/day) but start throwing compliments my way and suddenly I stop my barter where I am. When getting a winter coat type deal made at the fabric market on Saturday (picking up it today, hunter green with pink lining!! will post pics later) the shop owner commented (after Anthony got her down to half her initial asking price) "Your boyfriend good bargain!" No, she didn't mean I paid a good price for him (which I in fact did), just that he haggles like a champ. Salesmen, go fig.

South Bund Fabric Market

One other thing, the Chinese have no qualms about being (brutally, at times) honest. While I appreciate this no-nonsense attitude and chalk it up to them having no time to waste, check your ego at the door (or at Customs) if visiting Asia. For example, this morning at language lessons Jing sits down, takes me in in one quick glance and blurts out "You no make-up today?" (It's 8:30am people). Me: "...haha, nope." Jing: (quizzical) "... WHY not?" Me: (in my head -- I'm flipping tired, you can't do my lessons any later than this, I have no where to be when we're done here, instead I went with) "I'm uhh... going to the gym later..." That seemed to satisfy her, for the time being (I wasn't going to the gym, but felt an excuse of sorts was necessary). To further drive home my point, walking through one fake market, I gestured to a pair of wool-ish cropped pants, to which I was met with "those won't fit you" by the shop owner... alright, nvm, didn't really want to try them anyway.

Until next time (I'm going to go do some sit-ups, maybe a lap around the sofa)
Zaijian,


Jess

Learning to live together (and apart)

I like to think of myself as a neat in my own way kind of girl; clutter makes me anxious, I don't mind doing laundry (esp with having a washer/dryer in the apt again, after NYC, huge luxury!) and once I get started organizing OCD-type tendencies will surely soon follow. That being said you'll probably find my clean clothes sprawled out all over the bed until I find the time/will/desire (I now find myself wanting to blog more-so than any other chores on my internal to-do list) to hang them up (in color coded fashion). For all my dear (and fit) friends who trekked the 5 floors up to see my NYC home/cubby-hole, you know when I say my room was the size of a walk-in closet, I'm not exaggerating. I mean, you saw the picture from my first post, I had to sit on my bed to get to my closet. But I loved it - it was mine, it was cozy and it was coordinated in earth tones, all things that make me truly happy.

Now that I have a large, built-in shelved closet (and 2 IKEA wardrobes to work with) I find myself dreaming up ways to store my clothes, scarves, belts, shoes and jewels, because let's face it, not having to crouch down into child's pose and finagle your favorite tank top out of a plastic storage bin shoved under your bed makes getting dressed a totally different experience. Now, I move onto to the point of this post...

I think we all hope the partner we choose is one that makes us better in every way, right? Well, the one I chose makes (read: guilts) me into wanting to be the tidiest I've ever been. Not only have I never lived with a boy, I've never lived with a boy who has to hang all his shirts, hangers facing the same direction, with the top three buttons buttoned (alternating every other one), a boy who has to fold the reusable bags we get from the grocery downstairs into perfect symmetrical squares for storage or a boy has to line up our shoes outside the door smallest to biggest, in a perfect row (just to name a few quirks) before he feels at ease. I could see him die inside a little when my make-up and toiletries were scattered all over the bathroom sink, cringe even more when my mascara, not fully removed after washing my face, rubbed off on the previously perfectly stark white bath towels and have to take 5-10 deep breaths when I got into bed and cocooned the sheets around me, creasing them and causing them to not lay perfectly straight/flat.

All that being said, we're learning, we're growing and we're making space for each other in our previously unattached lives and him in his previously solely-inhabited apartment. AH jokes "you signed up for this...for the rest of your life" when I shake my head or roll my eyes after witnessing the types of behaviors described above. But that's just part of him, and I love it. And (hopefully) he's learning to love me... and all my stuff (that now fills more than my 50% share of the apartment).

Sprucing up the living room

Girl-ifying the bathroom

First home-cooked meal in the apt and the first meal I made Anthony, Chicken Parm (he claims he liked it)

AH got back from a business trip in Hong Kong a few hours ago (will probably kill me for this post once he sees it) and was impressed with meal #2 as well. Good night for me and good Wednesday morning to you all!

xoxo,

Jess

Chinese Holiday?

As I'm sure you can imagine, many, MANY things are different in China. Grocery shopping turns into a bit of a scavenger hunt, a knowledge of taxi-cab Mandarin (or an iPhone app) is essential if you want to get anywhere off-foot, Shanghainese men are found more often than not (gladly, at that) toting their lady's handbag and everything, I mean pretty much practically everything is price-negotiable. Clothes, shoes, purses, sunglasses, incense on the street, you name it (even shots at the bar, this I witnessed Saturday night).


In my 25 years I've spent most major holidays with my family, and to say I missed them this past Thanksgiving is a serious understatement. A mixture of holiday nostalgia and moving half-way across the world five days earlier will do that to you... take it from me. I woke up Thursday morning in China (Wednesday night in America, we're working with a 13-hour time difference) greeted by this from our balcony...

Anthony left for work and I was tasked with the job of finding us a pseudo-American Thanksgiving spread, Shanghai-style. Luckily for us, the American population is substantial enough in Shanghai that many restaurants were offering up traditional Thanksgiving fare. We opted for Boxing Cat Brewery, http://www.boxingcatbrewery.com/enter.html, one of Anthony's new favorite places, which put out an impressive buffet with all the usual suspects; turkey, glazed ham, truffle mashed potatoes (maybe not so usual), green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and of course pumpkin and apple pies. Christmas music blasted throughout the 3-level restaurant, even A Chipmunk Christmas, my personal favorite (right Mom?) made the playlist. To really drive home the holiday, pre-recorded football games (notably Teebs vs. Sanchez) played above our heads. It doesn't come close to Thanksgiving at home with our families, but it was our first one together, and one I'm sure we'll always remember. 

The next day we had a home-cooked Thanksgiving feast hosted by Ken (Anthony's boss by title, friend for all intensive purposes) and his wife, Vicki. Needless to say it was delicious and I could barely sit up straight (or keep my eyes open) by the end of the meal. I contributed 2 desserts; Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (I smuggled over a jar of canned pumpkin from the States, necessary for T-giving in my mind) and Carrot Souffle. The recipes I used are below (if I may say so myself, both were met with rave reviews). Enjoy :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/index.html

Carrot Souffle: 

2 large carrots (14-16 oz.)

1 stick marg or butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 t. baking powder
3 T. flour
1 t. vanilla
Wash, peel and chop carrots. Melt butter, pour in food processor (I used a blender). Add carrots and rest of ingredients. Mix until smooth. Pour in greased casserole. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Nom. Nom. Nom. Make them. Next time you're feeling fall-like. 

Since it's too good not to share, I'll leave you with this. As I mentioned above Shanghainese men are known by all other Chinese as the most... whipped? (for lack of better term) by their women (this was confirmed by my Mandarin teacher, Jing, who hails from outside Beijing). While I can't quite get Anthony to carry my purse (yet), I can get him to side-braid my hair...

Anthony braids hair: Part 1 of 793,284. Now that I know he has this skill, game over.

xoxo,

Jess

P.S. 

While Thanksgiving ain't no thang in China, Christmas kills it over here (thank god).

Cartier Christmas in Xintiandi

Our Charlie Brown Christmas flair

"Soft Move"

Welcome to my inaugural blog post! As my boyfriend Anthony (see us below) has so affectionately coined it, Saturday the 19th of November, was my "soft move" to Shanghai, China (I know... China...). The soft move included me quitting my job at an accounting firm in New York City, my first job out of college and the place I called my employer/source of funds for three (somewhat) satisfying, always interesting, years, packing up my closet-sized living quarters, saying good-bye to the people and city I love and flying the coop on Continental flight #87, 14 hours direct from Newark to Shanghai.

Anthony documenting the move out (found this on his comp today)

How did I end up in China you ask? As luck would have it, my brief stint in NYC (just shy of one year) was one of the most exciting, challenging, exhausting and lovely years of my life. I left behind some dear old friends, made priceless new ones and will now forever hold a special place in my heart for the incredible city I called home for the better part of 2011. Something else I have to show for my time in the city just so happens to be what leads me to this blog. If you will, please oblige me a brief story time...

August 5, 2011 -- one of those perfect late-summer NYC afternoons where no activity seems more fitting other than throwing on your favorite pair of jean shorts, a neon belt and suede gladiator wedges to meet two of your best friends at The Lot at the Highline (a beer garden of sorts) http://www.thehighline.org/the-lot. Waiting in line to enter the beer garden I met Anthony (I use the term "met" loosely since his first words to me were somewhat of a sarcastic dig for cutting the line that spanned the better part of a city block), who fatefully happened to be standing in front of 2/3 of my usual trio (see Sarah and Anna below), with his friend, Kevin. 

The night it all began...

The rest, as they say, is history... the whirlwind romance that played out over the next three months included rendezvous in Chicago, Wilmington, DE (Anthony's hometown), Dallas (where Anthony lived pre-China), Dallas again, West Palm Beach, FL (my hometown, a trip Anthony made alone to meet the lovely people I call my parents) NYC, NYC again and finally, China. Anthony accepted an ex-patriot assignment here with his company beginning mid-September. So now, here I sit, 115 days into our relationship (yes, you read that right, 115 days, or just short of 4 months), fully moved into OUR (ay yi yi) 2br, 2ba, with an office, apt in Jing'an. 

Anthony and I sightseeing in Qibao

Over the course of these blog posts I hope to share a little slice of my/our new life here 7,000+ miles away from all things familiar. 


Until next time,
xoxo, 
Jess