Dropped and China Photo Shoot

First of all, thank you ladies so much for the amazing advice!!! I don't know why I make these things so scary in my head? It was a wonderful day with out the anticipation of struggling for an afternoon nap that he is no longer tired for.

I was going to wait until after our trip next week, but then thought if I waited that would be about 4 weeks total of crazy days for him. I also thought, "he's dropped it, what am I waiting for?"

It was a fabulous day!!! We actually got to do lots of fun things without the stress of running back home for a nap. Ahhh. Freedom, I've missed you. I felt like an old piece of me was back! The "busy bee" part.

He only slept 1.5 hours and we went to bed at 6:30 (an hour earlier). I hope the nap grows so he can stay up and play with Daddy more!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

.......................

By the way, I posted back in December about getting some professional pictures taken here. Well, the photo shoot was ridiculously silly, as they gave him silly outfits, crazy props and tacky backgrounds, so I haven't been in the biggest hurry to pick them up. Horrible, I know.

Well, we had time yesterday!!! Here is what came in the package:

The big one is a piece of wood to hang on your wall.

A board book. Carter is LOVING it.

A crystal-like key chain.

The best pictures taken....to enjoy in tiny form.

I love my crystal key chain.

We have no keys! Ha ha.

A few highlights from the book.

There is my son, with a pipe. My stomach turned when they gave that to him.

Yes, it's a toy, but still.

(he is crawling on the book in this picture...sorry for his arm shadow)

Side note: Two random men have tried to give him a pack of cigarettes to play with while in line at the grocery store. I am very persistent with my "Bu Hao!" (Not okay!)

They insist that they do not mind if my little baby plays with their new, unopened pack of cigarettes.

My head says this: "I don't care that you don't mind...I DO mind. Do not get one inch closer to my little baby with those things!!!"

The security guard came over both times and told them to back off.

Love the English words on this page.

"Thank you very much Carter, but you can just call me mom!"

Oh, and that is their outfit. At least I was persistent on him NOT wearing a military uniform.

Aside from the random package of photo goods, there were some really cute pictures in the book. I just wish I could print them out in normal size for picture frames! Ahh...memories!

Like everything in China, trial and error. We'll have to do it again!

P.S. Now I'm all worked up again thinking about those men and their cigarettes! Breathe, breathe Sarah.

Shanghai Weekend {Antique Market}

Here in Nanjing, we don't have many dining options so it's usually Cafe McCoy, Jimmy's Pizza or room service (but we are pretty OVER that menu).

So, one mission while in Shanghai is to eat as much good food as we can.

Bright and early, we headed to Hong Mei Lu.

(The sign says Hong Mei Pedestrian Street and it's right between that building and that car.)

A little Chinese Lesson for ya:

1. If the word ends in Lu it is a street.

2. If you EVER go to Shanghai, you NEED to know that street! It is fun!

It's actually a long alley off of Hong Mei Lu with TONS of restaurants and bars. We love this area. There is every type of restaurant you can imagine and lots of outdoor seating, which is always a fun atmosphere.

(Notice we are the only ones here at the moment. Think 6th Street and North Gate at 8:00 am.)

We don't mind being here that early!

Hey buddy! I see you through the window!!

Breakfast is ready!!!

Come and get it! We had waffles, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, eggs, hash browns, bacon, fruit and coffee. What? Carter was hungry, okay!

One of the things I love about a big city is that there are SO many things you can do in such a short amount of time. When we head "to town" for the weekend, I'm a busy bee!

So on Day 2 of our weekend, which was actually Monday, due to the Chinese Tomb Sweeping Holiday, I snuck out again durning Carter/Daddy's nap.

I headed to Dong Tai Lu.

Remember what Lu means? Street! Yes!

This is a SUPER fun antique market!!!

Notice all of the goods! I heart the bird cages.

Tons of Chairman Mao memorabilia.

Tons of abacus! (I got one like the dark middle one! Eeek!)

Look at these printed tins! So cute! I like the black one with the flowers.

See the red colorful painted decor? That is Tibetan furniture. Beautiful!

P.S. I have that blue plate, bottom, second from the left. I bought it when we first moved here at a not so good antique market. I thought it was original and paid $25 USD. Oops! Tai gue la/ too expensive! Most of this is all replicated and you should only pay about 1/3 of their starting price.

I love those hat boxes on the bench! I forgot that I've wanted a pointy one! Maybe next trip. John will be so happy. :)

He teases like:

Sarah, I think you should buy more abacuses, you can never have too many.

and

I think we need a big Chinese drum in our living room. (It's coming!!!)

He secretly likes it and thinks I have good taste. We make a good pair!

I also love those old wooden benches. They are so little! Cute for maybe a plant to sit on! Also, the oval tub holding some trays looks really neat too. Wouldn't that be cute with some rolled up towels in a bathroom or to hold drinks at a party!?

Finally, my favorite!

I LOVE these paint brushes! They look like jewelry to me and they have beautiful mahogany stands to hang them on.

Here is what I got:

1. The abacus like the one shown above. (No picture)

2. I filled in and completed my Paint Brush collection. Still working on the arrangement though. I'm not sure if I like the smaller ones hiding the larger ones. :(

My little Chinese corner! There is the blue plate I was telling you about!

I found the orange pottery there a long time ago. Both the blue and orange have dragons on them! That is for good luck! I'm kind of in love with dragons now. Strange? I think this old pattern is so ornate but the hidden dragons make it kind of cool and edgy.

And in case you are wondering those are chopsticks in the orange vase.

3. My third and final purchase:

What? We NEEDED a horse! I bet you didn't see that one coming! Again, I think it's ornate yet edgy! And to me, ornate and edgy cancel each other out to keep the room laid back and comfortable. (Not sure if this makes sense to anyone else but John and I! Ha!)

Oh...and that blue vase in the back is also a Dong Tai Lu find from way-back when!

Remember everything is at Wal-Mart SALE prices! Fabulous!!

Fabric Negotiating and Pillow Cases

Today, on our daily trip to the grocery store across the street from our house, we took the long way home to peek at a fabric shop.

I am trying to walk past this shop a few times a week. Each time I walk past I make sure that the owner notices me. I wave and give him a "Ni Hao!" (Hello!) I want him to know that I live here. I'm not a tourist. I'm comfortable here, not intimidated, confident, friendly and shop (DAILY). "You want me as a customer, you want me as a customer."

China business is run with the term Guanxi (pronounced guan-she) which means: relationships. And this is very real. You need to establish relationships for good deals. Because nobody pays the same price.

Grocery and big chains...not so much. Little businesses...for sure. Except for a Chinese Airline (I'll have to ask John the name, it has slipped my mind), if you have to read the website in English you pay 3x the amount. If you can read it in Chinese characters...a third of the price.

Okay, so back to the fabric. In Shanghai, they are so used to foreigners, negotiations are "game on" for all. No matter what color your skin is! Of course, you can never negotiate as low as a local. They will let you walk away if you try to pay that little. BUT here in Nanjing, they are trying to charge ridiculous prices!!! I can't stand it. I got pretty good at navigating the Shanghai markets but am way out of practice since I've have the little man in tow. Nanjing is a whole new ballgame.

I am trying to get some table linens made from this man. I want him to be my "fabric guy" because he is SOOO close and this all takes so much time. So a few weeks ago I went into his shop, picked everything out and started the negotiations. He was at $180 for table cloth, 2 runners, napkins, chair pillows and place mats.

I'm so used to Chinese prices now that I don't even know if that is good at home or not. But not good here. Nice joke guy!!

Usually, they throw a price, you throw half (or a third of the price), and you meet near half of the starting price. You have to have a mean face, act all serious, business like and fake walk away a few times. Gather your purse, calculator, pen and paper, huff and puff, etc. They usually say "okay, okay, okay."

Well, Mr. Nanjing Fabric Guy....didn't budge. At ALL!!!

So today, he was selling some extra pillow cases he made. I collected this hodge-podge of extras for $15! Not too shabby!!

One of these.

Three of these. Okay, maybe if we have a girl someday? Who knows, but I thought the fabric was cool.

Three of these. I can always use a little blue and brown!

2 of these gray. My least favorite, but could look neat with black.

One of the bottom right. I liked the two on the bottom even though they didn't have any matching, they look pretty neat together.

I'm sure I'll find a home for all of them!

How do you like me now, Mr. Nanjing Fabric Guy!? I see how low you can go!! Because your mama (seriously) sold me 10 pillow cases at $1.50 each. I'll be back for my table cloth later! Get your game face on!

China As We Know It

"We are now in March, next month we head to Thailand for a nice beach holiday and then....we should be gearing up to leave China."

That is what consumes my head in the quiet moments of the day. Usually, as I'm pushing Carter in his stroller on the way to the grocery store or to McCafe (I refuse to call it McDonald's) for a coffee. So I'm going to try to write a bit more about our lives in China.

So here we go....

First of all, I have to say, we have LOVED living in China. This country is so cool in so many ways. More times than not, we don't really talk about all of the wonderful things. I don't really know why, maybe we don't want to rub it in! Ha ha. Or maybe we feel the need to vent about the struggles more. Who knows!

The people here are SOO friendly. They LOVE foreigners and LOVE babies. Having a little one here, you are constantly told that you have a beautiful baby. (As if you didn't already think so!) It really boosts every parent's ego. Ha ha.

The younger generation is learning English starting in 1st grade. They know so much! Sometimes they are too shy or embarrassed to use it. But it is VERY impressive. Sometimes when they see a foreigner, we don't really blend in, they want to speak English to you! Other times, you will be frustrated trying to communicate to someone like at a restaurant or store and out of no where, a random person comes up and helps to translate! They are so friendly!

Shopping! I have to say, it is addicting. This needs bullets of it's own:

• Furniture: This is a reason I'm not ready to leave and am willing to do another round in China. Seriously. I feel like I have more furniture to be made, fabric I want to buy, and random antique accessories. Addicting. I just got a new dining room and chairs made and am now looking for a big antique Chinese drum to be made into a coffee table or ottoman. If you show them a picture of something you want, they make it, but with REAL, solid, wood and for about a third of the price!!!! AMAZING! You also get to pic out the fabrics, wood color, finish, knobs, etc! Ahhh....I may have him throw in a little apolstered couch/bench, and an old shutter screen.
• Fabric: I want more table settings for all kinds of fun future family events and pillows to match!
• Jewelry: if you bought some that I've brought back to the US, you know the addiction. REAL stones and REAL pearls for a few bucks! I have them copy cool designs from stores I like. But the stores at home use plastics and charge about $40-$120. CRAZY! I'm going to miss having jewelry made and all of the people I've met doing this.
• Fakes: I love the fake markets. Big shopping malls full of designer goods for a few dollars. I've really learned lots about this business too. Ha ha. People here study hard in this business. This isn't some slum shop. It's huge. There are several big malls around Shanghai (and other cities) and the copy business is serious. There are good copies and bad copies. ALL...look amazing. Even the bad is just used with not as good of a quality of leather. You wouldn't know. Trust me. We even had a "hand bag guy" who lived in a hidden apartment complex. So fun! Ahhhh, I can't leave this place!!!

We've also made so many wonderful friends here! I love them all and want to take them with us where ever we move next.

Last thing for today, we have learned so much Mandarin! Did I ever think in my life I would be able to have a simple conversation in Chinese? Or be able to give directions in Chinese? Negotiate prices??? I would love for Carter to learn Chinese too. But sadly, he will miss the boat on this one.

Okay, I could go on and on, but I don't want your eyes to get tired.

That is all for now!

Being Artsy-Fartsy on Taiking Lu

Recently, we have joined forces with a fun group of people. They are showing us the in's and out's of Shanghai and seem to know all of the really cool spots.

First lesson: Eating Duck. Wonderful...love it.

Second lesson: Brunch is a weekend must.

So our first brunch to join them, they took us to Taiking Lu (Lu means street). From the main street...this place looks very shady. However, once you get into the alleys it is amazing! It is a crazy combination of old and new. The bottom floors of the old homes have been converted to cafes, art gallery's, photography studios, boutiques...you get the idea. The upper floors are still homes. VERY COOL.

View of some cafes.

Here are some pics of the new group! Bohemia was our brunch spot. Yummy.

After brunch we wandered the area and got some pretty "different" pictures. I seemed to have taken more pictures of the strange stuff...and not so much the whole idea (or new, normal stuff) of the place. But as I've already explained, we are not the best tourists.

Love the lanterns.



Random arched alley way.



Birds in the upper window!

Laundry hanging above all of the alleys amongst cafes and art galleries. Strange...I told you!

Loving the birdies!

A larger view. See the mixture!

Pantie Chandelier!

Last but not least...........


Chicken anyone? Need I say more?

I'll leave you with that. Another day in the life of China.