In Anticipation

Oh, good, a Canadian Tuxedo.

Friends, I can't wait for Saturday. Over here in Suzhou, Thanksgiving is just a Thursday, BUT, many of our friends here have spent time in the USA and were really looking forward to celebrating. Rob and I are going to try to cook a turkey in our puny oven and everyone is gathering at our place to spend time playing card games and eating a gluttonous amount of food. I just hope my dog isn't a butthole, squelches his beagle-y urges to devour anything not intended for him, and just lets us enjoy the day, rather than holding onto his collar in hopes of controlling his rotten behavior.

Who am I kidding- everyone will be on guard, he'll still manage to steal something, and then the cat will tag-team with him to swipe more goodies, pluck something delicious out of a bowl and knock it to the ground to share. My pets are jerks. Adorably naughty jerks.

Stubborn

Ha, take that olive pants, grey tees, and tan trench coat. I'll counteract my love of neutrals by wearing... drumroll, please... more neutrals in the form of taupe flats, simple jeans, my trench coat and POW! a tomato red sweater. Whoopie, I'm bustin' outta the rut!

All joking aside, it's been a mentally challenging week. Kid was still breech at my last appointment a week and a half ago, and, despite lounging upside down, peppermint oiling my upper belly, good posture, wishful thinking and a few ugly cries, the littlest McClure's head is still easily felt anywhere between just to the right of my belly button and banging into my right ribcage. What's worse is that I've seen several of our kidless lady-friends in the last week and they're interested in how the little one is doing- and instead of saying "Hey, they're kicking and wiggling right now- feel!" because that would mean I'm putting their hand into my pants where the kicking is actually happening, I just say "Good. Growing." And nobody gets to enjoy the journey with me. And that's starting to feel really lonely.

So, little stubborn one, please take a spin southward. I will not schedule you a birthdate surgery. I will not invest any more mental energy into worrying. I will not be gutted like a fish for the sake of modern medicine's views on what's easier and convenient for scheduling and padding pockets (I mean, what's "safest" for baby). I want you here safe and I know that's ultimately what matters, however this goes down- but my family is built for baby-making and baby-birthing and I'm sure as shit not going to fold like a scaredy and schedule a c-section just because you got the stubborn gene, too. Just ask your dad- I can play a mean game of chicken. And I'm the mom- so you do what I say, because I said so.

That said- pleasepleasepleaseplease say a quick prayer and send out some really good energy for me and this booger. I'm not quittin' yet, but the 36 week mark is getting dangerously close and my chances kind of plummet after that.

Spring Neutrals

Spring is just my favorite. I love the sidewalks start getting hot during the days, the rains that feel a little bit warmer, bright green new growth, watching perennials pop out of the ground almost overnight. My favorite thing about moving to a new place is discovering new plants and the way they grow and change in springtime. Seeing what blooms.

So why, for the love of Pete, do I always wind up wearing nothin' but neutrals?

Oh, yeah, that's right- I keep trying to pass off all the non-colors I wear as "classic." And I like it.

Cultured

I'm about a week behind in sharing this look, but here it is, anyway.

Rob and one of his colleagues organized and hosted a pretty extensive World Music Festival last week, which included several lectures about different cultures' music, ethnomusicology, current trends in composition, etc. Plus, one high profile performance (Indian Tabla!) at the Suzhou Culture Centre, which was performed for a full house! Do yourself a favor and go listen to some of Abhiman Kaushal's tabla performances- insane. Better still? He's a heck of a nice guy and a really engaging teacher. And if you're in a New Music mood- listen to some of Shi-Hui Chen's pieces (she's Rob's teacher from Rice and the reason we found out about the job here in Suzhou). All such good stuff last week!

So, in order to impress absolutely nobody except the gaggle of Indian and Chinese 19 year old students who flooded the concert hall for the performance, I kicked my maternity style up a notch and wore this snazzy little stretch dress, a loud overcoat, silk scarf (so beautiful and SO hard to wear since it's a massive square shape) and actually curled my hair. And then stunk it all up when, after the concert, we joined the performers for a late-night Hot Pot meal. Seriously, wear old clothes when you plan to order Sichuan spicy soup. You'll reek for days.

Popping In

This is the very last time I'll wear these ugly boots, I promise.

I won't go as far as to say "It's SPRING!" yet, but there are a few buds on trees, the sun is cracking a smile now and then between drizzly days, and the willow trees lining the canals all have a vague light green hue. Nothing you might be able to call recognizable leaves, but Suzhou is trying to let Mother Nature make her move. And I'm so happy!

I'd also like to give a shout out to Mother Nature doin' her thing across my midsection... I had to laugh out loud when I saw these photos- we don't have a full length mirror, so I really don't have a great conception of how this kiddo is changing my body yet since I can't really see what's going on. I'll just let you enjoy the hilariously too-short sweater action that pops out to say hello in the second and last pictures. Not even my attempt at cheerful pink lipstick can detract from the near-miss belly flash. Sorry, friends.

 

 

Cultural Shifts

Third Trimester. Boom. And it's a bump that's finally a bump, not just a burrito, which makes me really happy. Every few weeks, I get really hungry and kiddo grows like a weed, and next thing you know there's more happening out front. And I'm really grateful so far that family genetics have been good to me and I still feel fine.

I've noticed a cultural difference in attitudes about pregnancy over here. We passed a woman last night who must have been right around the same due date as me. And, while I'm still pretty nimble and limber, thankfully, goooooosh, she was waddling. I've not seen a woman who was visibly pregnant walking like she didn't have a softball balanced between her thighs. It's crazy. I don't know if the Chinese physique really does get very uncomfortable much sooner, but I'm inclined to believe that women are expected to appear faint and helpless and not lift a finger during pregnancy. The wider the waddle, the more effective the baking of a kid? And most of them don't seem to be loving it even a little. Babies must be for grandparents. Because mamas look pretty blah about the whole thing. Weird.

Out and About

It reverted back to winter. Which is okay since I'm still on break and spending most of my time inside, but ultimately makes walking the dog really difficult. We call Miles "Little Mister Prissy Paws" when he gets all worked up about having to *shock and horror!* walk on the cold grass and pavement. And strictly business walks are okay, but it's when he's all wound up and needs to work kinks out of his back leg that it gets tricky. He charges off after a scent, then realizes he's made a horrible mistake, is too far from our building, and gets all tip-toe-walky the rest of the way back. And then can't be bothered to wait for me to use my tap card to open the foyer door and bashes his head into the glass. And let's be real here- if he was still in Ohio with my parents, he's be subjected to the whole snowpocalypse, so he's got it good here.

And despite the chill, Rob and I have made time to get out of the house together and figure out more about our city. We've pretty concretely determined that we'll move to the more Expat-populated area of town next year- convenience, more interesting stuff close by, fewer students, more diverse food (grocery and eating out), but, most importantly, the increased probability of finding friends. It's been a struggle since most of our neighbors in this area are apartments filled with students and multi-generation families. And the English speaking/ bilingual population is either 22 years old or in the midst of a career boom. So, we'll try for friends elsewhere! To kickstart the process, we've found a few restaurants that list things like Taco Tuesdays, Quiz Nights, Mommy Meet-Up's, etc. that we'll start making efforts to go and try to meet people. It's like dating. But worse, because there's not a lot of language overlap. Huge German, French, and Chinese speaking cool-people pockets of young professionals and mommies. And plenty of English speakers, but they're either 23 or 55. Where are my 27-37 kindred spirits?!

Not to worry, I'm putting my extrovert husband on the hunt.

Adios to the Three Musketeers

Skirt, Cardigan, Belt, Necklace: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange

Well, it's happened. We had our first for-real adios. Our friend (Rob, his Bromance, and this buddy all three came into the doctoral program together) is getting ready to skip town for several summer festivals and conferences and he definitely won't be back before we leave. There have been a few friends that have left after the school year ended who we won't see again before we move, but this is the first major goodbye.

And I didn't cry. Don't know how I managed it, but I didn't cry. It may be because his wife is still in town and I know we'll spend time together, so it doesn't feel "real" yet.

Anyway, we did a BBQ, because there really isn't a better way to say farewell than with a potluck and burgers. We started a grease fire, let it burn off and roasted marshmallows a few hours later, sipped a hodgepodge of leftover beers from the graduation BBQ, nibbled on chips until the 90% humidity made them stale and disgusting, and did a lot of really good reminiscing.

Gosh, it's been a good four years here in Houston.

Trenches and Dugouts

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Button-down: Target...Trench: Target...Shoes: Cole Haan via DSW...Necklace: Etsy

Second baseball game toniiiight! Crap, I love Tigers Baseball.

Plus, our buddy is coming back for a visit. Little Roo, Rob's adopted baby sister, moved to LA for her graduate program last year and it's been darn lonely without her!

Happy weekend, dear friends.

Adios, Chambray. I mean "Zaijian"

This isn't the most lovely photo, it's not even decent. But, it's kind of funny how accurate it is of life lately. The proof?
1. Dusty, disgusting mirror
2. Rumpled, filthy rug
3. Beagle furiously sniffing out all of the dead bugs unearthed in the moving around of things
4. Boxes, mostly still empty, absolutely everywhere
5. Stepstool, used daily to fish something out of a high stack
6. Empty furnishings, sad stacked dvd storage behind me, piles emptied from my junk drawer in the bedroom
7. We won't talk about the nightmare happening on top of my dresser just behind that door with the belt haphazardly looped over a knob
8. Wet hair, unbrushed, because I don't feel like it
9. Oh, yeah, and a last hurrah for some of my more attractive clothing, because I'm saving all my good stuff until after the move

Also not up for discussion? The multitude of floor-scattered sorting projects. The plethora of hangers now sadly hanging derelict in my closet since everything good from wintertime is in a duffel. Remnants of my grand plan to get gone a bunch of stuff in a garage sale. We're also without a sofa, kind of. Our houndstooth couch found a new home with our neighbors and, after June 1, the sofa we're temporarily housing for our friends, purchased from another neighbor, is going away and we'll be seat-less for a month. Lots of Hulu watching in bed and only passed hors d'ouvres parties. Mashed up with a box obstacle course in our living room.

Transition is funny. Packing our lives up into four large suitcases and carefully planned boxes of winter coats and books to be shipped in the fall is a tricky thing.

All Over the Place

Skirt: DVF, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Scarf: thrifted...Shoes: Naturalizer...Earrings: Etsy

It's been a weird week already, our Executive Director has been out for two days with a plague of some sort, we have an LOI for a grant due next Monday, a major grant pushed back to EASTER (Sunday due date, what?!) another application due the 1st. And, just for funsies, we're gearing up to man a volunteer-run art activity table at the bi-annual art festival this weekend. Ain't nobody got time for that! And then, Rob leaves early Sunday morning to drive to Tucson for the week because the weekend of the 29th, his dance collaboration is being premiered. I'll fly out late Friday night and we get to drive back together on the 1st. I can't even tell you how badly I'm tempted to "take a wrong turn" on the way home and wind up in CO or UT, just to play around in national parks for a while. Gosh, my heart belongs to the Rockies.

Good morning, scattered mind.

I think I'm just surviving on lists. And I'll write 'em wherever I can just to try to cement it in my head. Whatever, it's aaaaall going to be worlds better after April 11. The darn Gala's just gotta get itself done and over with.

Come hang out over at the Pleated Poppy, Because Shanna Said So, and Style Elixir!

Winding Down

Skirt: thrifted...Sweater: Target...Scarf: Target...Belt: Swiped from a skirt...Shoes: Naturalizer...Earrings: Etsy

It's been a long couple of days. Work has been (and will continue to be) totally nuts, Rob has been getting his dissertation entered into a digital musical score until past midnight most nights, Eddie has an itchy ear that I'm watching like a hawk, Miles is eating garbage and being a real butthole. We all need our schedule and routines back!

The bright spots coming up will more than make up for the madness- we get to sort of help puppy-sit for Homer, our bassett neighbor dog while his mommy is out of town and daddy has evening shifts scheduled (he and Miles had better doggy-playdate-exhaust themselves, they both NEED it!). Hopefully, we'll get a little time in with Matt and Natalie to catch up. Rob and his bromance are making plans to make the best out of a school-stuff-clogged St. Patrick's Day, so perhaps there's a little Beer Golfing to be done after they get finished with a special composition Master Class in the afternoon. We're kind of planning to sneak into Valhalla early to stake a claim at the bar and NEVER leave our seats. That's OUR bar, our SUNDAY TRADITION, dangit, and those MBA poser pub-dwellers better scoot themselves out of our spots. Go find a crappy Irish pub elsewhere and celebrate!

I actually don't have that strong of an opinion on the matter, but Rob's Bromance is a very big St. Patty's fan and I have to send as many good thoughts for a rockstar evening out into the universe for good measure.

Ah, Happy Friday, sweet friends!

Good Blogger? #NailedIt

I just realized that I'm blogging a lot less out of laziness. Taking photos on the way out the door became a whole lot less fun once the dumb spare garbage bins got stashed in front of my aluminum siding backdrop outside. And getting home from work at 7 or after almost every night isn't super condusive to getting excited about non-family/neighbor/friend/critter time, ie. uploading photos.

And then I realized, nope, it's not even quite those excuses. I just reeeally don't want to disturb my lap cat. She has been a permanent fixture all winter. And when there's a doggy behind wedged close into you, it's just too cute and sweet and snuggly to move. So, if you've wondered where I've gone, the answer is a "creating a butt-print fossil on the sofa with my animals."

Oh, and what the hey, here's a look from my failed attempt at getting to a theater to see a show with a freebie ticket, but then getting clogged in construction, missing what maaay have been an entrance to parking, getting stuck on an entrance ramp to the freeway, getting off the freeway far far from the dumb theater, and getting waved past the secondary parking I knew how to get to once I finally got back to it. Already 10 minutes late and still not parked? Forget it. I wasn't meant to see Man of La Mancha.

Pants: Zara...Sweater: F21...Scarf: Target...Jacket: Armani Exchange via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Target

Like a Glove

Jeans: H&M...Sweater: Target...Scarf: Target...Boots: thrifted...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Have I sung the praises of these boots yet? They're the perfect cognac color, not too high that they look like scary stripper boots, not too short that they look like cowboy boots, and they legitimately fit my very narrow calves. I spent the better part of three years reading every review for boots I could find, willing to cough up money for a well-fitting pair. And then I found them while thrifting. Thank you, clueless Arizona resident, for passing along these gems. True, I had to spend a little to have them re-soled since the leather sole was brittle and crumbling away, but the money was well worth it for a pair of just-my-style beauties.

Seriously. No gapping at the calf. Even women with lithe, beautiful runners' legs have a hard time finding that kind of perfect fit. And you better believe I'll find a spot in my duffle for them during the move. I'mma keep these suckers forevah.

Happiness is...

Skirt: Beijing tailor...Sweater: F21...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer

Marionberry Style. Black and White: Trend of the Month. Heck yes. Also, Work Clothes, I Suppose Polka Dot link up (which happens tomorrow! You still have time!). Throw in a little Pleated Poppy and Watch Out for the Woestmans and we've got ourselves a party.

I'll probably pass along a few photos of the weekend in Memphis a little later in the week, but it got me thinking about stuff that makes me happy.
Family Time, especially if we all drive 11 hours for it
Car ride conversations
A cat curled into the tightest little ball on my lap
A cat dreaming and twitching in my lap
Birthday gift of Kindle pre-ordered book by Ron Rash
Azalea blooms in February. I love the South
Kahlua and skim milk
My super cool/terrifying gift from brother. A bad-ass knife. Because he wanted to pick out a suited-to-me version of something he's into
Expensive camping socks doubling as slippers
Neighbors who take care of my critter kids for the price of beer-gift
Neighbors who share their successes and worries and excitements with me, because we're friends
My brownware mug
Beagles who snore so loud they wake up
Making a date with my husband's bromance to see a musical
Perfectly red and pink sunsets

What's been making you grin? My workdays are dragging on a little too long, so send me your little bit of happy!

When Lazy Turns Out to Be Okay

I don't think I've spent a weekend not in one of these sweaters. They came and went in Target a month ago, I scooped up four colors and aaaaalmost returned them, because 4 seemed superfluous. But, I didn't, and I have not yet regretted having an excess. Do they feel a little cheap? Yes. Have I sewn a seam or two back together? Yup. Have they snagged a little and forced me to rework the yarn back into the weave? A time or two. But they are slouchy without being dumpy, heavy without being stiflingly hot, cover my butt with the modest hi-low hem. They look decent enough with a pair of skinny crops and a scarf to hide my late mornings, it's easy to do weekend wear in one.

I wore the blush pink one yesterday for Valentine's Day. I did not take a photo. So, here's the ivory one taking its part in the \ deterioration of a weekend look: run coffee and Target type errands. Get home, yell, "Forget it!" and change into crappy jeans and chacos. I think at around 6 pm on Saturday, I gave up on the jeans and went for fluffy socks and stretchy pants. Again, I did not take a photo.

Guess what we're off to do this weekend? Yearly Memphis meet-up weekend. A week or so late. See you guys on Tuesday, I'll be too busy enjoying my family and sleeping in the car while Rob drives the 2 am shift before I go to work on Monday to care much about scheduling a post. I'm sure you'll forgive me for prioritizing family.

Stripes, Mint, and Confessions

Skirt: Beijing Tailor...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Belt: Target...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I was told I looked "very J Crew" in this. I'll take the compliment, even if I'm dressing for the wrong season.

So, did you all get a chance to see my news (ha, I say "my news" like I had anything to do with it)? I'm really sorry about floating away with no explanation for over a week, but we were waiting on paperwork and researching our brains out and with my normal easy-and-hidden outdoor photo spot still out of commission, taking daily shots was a drag, so I decided the logical thing to do was go missing rather than subject you guys to dust-and-dog-fur mirror shots. Anyway, mumbling aside, I've missed you all and promise to retain a more normal schedule. Because ditching your friends is lame. I have been silently keeping up with you guys, even if I haven't been commenting.

Lots of other big stuff has been happening for my family, too, so I'll either have lots of good stuff to tell you soon or more secrets to keep. TBD.

Graphic Balance

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Sweater and Cardigan: Target...Scarf: Target...Shoes: thrifted

So, what did Kate wear to an Early Childhood Winter Conference to man a table at 7 in the morning last Saturday?

Well, it sure wasn't crummy jeans and a variety of ill-fitting yoga pants, like most of the teacher attendees. No joke. There was a lot of bad hair, cat sweatshirts and bad posture running around the community center. Ladies, you continue to give teachers a very, very, very bad reputation as dumpy and unconcerned non-fashionistas. I understand that it's Saturday and very early, but daaaaang, it's a professional conference!

I kind of knew I'd be groggy and mad about leaving the house at 6:15 to get to the southern side of town in time (coffee stop, fog, and poor directions were all factors) so I went with something easy- tan, cream, and black with a little black and cream floral pattern mixing to balance the look out graphically. Not bad for an early morning, huh? Let's also have a little hip-hip-hooray for dry shampoo and claw clips for overnight twirly hair.

And are you all linking up? It is Wednesday, after all. Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday.