Snuggling

While it's still a little too chilly to be prancing around in one of my newly acquired stretchy dresses with shorty sleeves, it's not half bad if one layers supa slim undershirts and double layers of tights (folded way low below my bump- it's getting squishy) under them. Oh, and spend the workday under a blanket.

Desk blankets. They're a thing and they're good stuff.

Also, this photobomber has been all up in my business since the beginning of the break. It got more intense as the fireworks were going off for the Lunar New Year, but she's been a permanent fixture on my lap whenever it's available and my little shadow as I mill around the house. The dog and I are usually little peas in a pod, so it's kind of fun to have this lady hanging around. It really was nice to have a routine of spending the day taking care of the house and critters (while snacking to my heart's content... there's something about cut carrot in a baggie that's way less satisfying that carrots fresh cut and in a bowl). So, Eddie, get ready, because we're going to snuggle like mad this weekend. And I'll snack on potato chips so you can lazily swipe one from out of the bag as you're perched on my lap.

Chinese New Year and Down Time

Honesty is the best policy, no? Because if I'm being completely truthful with you all, I've been in real people clothes for maybe 7 of the past 25 days. I'm not ashamed to say that I've done every single dog poo walk in my pajama pants and have even done one or two of my pop out for groceries runs in them, too. And since I've spent the last seven years working my ass off supporting my family and in work clothes for 40-60 hours any given week, I'm more than happy to revel in sporting sweats daily for the entirety of this break. 

So, what have we been up to? While Rob was out of town for two weeks, I spent much of my time daydreaming, petting the animals, and snacking. The Chinese New Year fireworks (which were set off in the apartment community every 5 minutes by families to celebrate, day and night, for 48 hours straight) was pretty rough on the animals. Miles crapped inside a few times after some jerk set off a string of firecracker in the middle of us walking past him outside. Couldn't wait the 30 seconds for us to get out of the way? And Eddie got nervous, hid a lot (not normal for her), and lost her appetite for about 6 days, so I took her to the vet after she peed on our bed and didn't have a poop for 3 days. No diabetes, no bladder infections, no indication of problems other than stress. Poor little girl. And I swear to you here and now that I won't blog about my child's bowels when they arrive, it's just especially stressful when your cat baby (I've had her for over 9 years!) is showing signs of bladder infection or kidney failure (with a post-holiday diagnosis of "nothing is wrong") and personality changes just as EVERYTHING shuts down for 6 days. But, we're all back to normal, Rob is home, and we've had the really nice opportunity to get out and explore more of the city while all the students are still away and it's nice and quiet. 

Anyway, here's a few photos of the last few weeks and captions to fill you in on what's been up. 

My holiday uniform (pajama pants, crappy socks, and a random cozy top) plus a floppy-eared sidekick.

Daydreaming- making plans to buy a few household things for summer- crib, guest bed (for my mom when she comes to stay for a bit after the baby arrives), and a dresser. Because I'm happy to pay for furnishings myself in my furnished apartment since Chinese interior decor taste is pretty atrocious.

Our morning norm- Miles under the blankets to the right of my legs, and Eddie firmly snuggled between my knees. It's rare that she isn't snuggled into my lap if I'm sitting down lately.

Upon his return, Rob and I have been playing epic and cutthroat games. If you've never played Fill or Bust, find it and give it a whirl. You'll either love it or you'll start a war. 

My ultrasound records. Which the baby was too small for at 24 weeks, so they asked me to come back to try again. And now, the fun of retranslating them (I got the verbal explaination and all is a-okay, but I like having a record for myself).

One of my few for-fun trips out of the house. I went to Shantang Road in Old Town, Suzhou and finally found a pineapple vendor who uses this special v-shaped utensil to prepare the fruit. The big cleaver thing is for stripping and chopping sugar cane. If you see either of these utensils for sale in Williams-Sonoma next Chistmas season, thank my sister, who lived in Beijing and fell in love with how deftly the vendors could fresh-cut fruits for you, and is convinced the American obsession with kitchen gadgets will make these an easy sell. You're all welcome in advance.

Mild Weather and Walks

Suzhou is in the midst of a nice mild break in the weather, so my days at home with the animals have been quite pleasant and layers worn haven't been quite as thick. We're due to dip back down, though, so don't get too harumph-y about my bragging.

I don't think I ever mentioned it, but poor Miles escaped my parents' house while he was staying with them, tore greyhound-speed circles around on wet, muddy grass, and tore a ligament in his back right knee, followed, of course, by surgery. In October. And he's still kind of gimpy (no shock, it's a long healing time). So, a lot of the reason I'm so very glad to have this extensive time home (especially with nice weather) is so I can take him on multiple slow walks each day, in hopes that the muscle mass lost in resting and healing can be slowly rebuilt and get his little ligament stretched out so it doesn't hurt as much. I'm not totally sure it's working yet, there's lots of evenings where he's hobbling around on only three legs, but we're trying. And since it's the week of celebration for Chinese New Year, almost everyone who is from elsewhere in the country has departed and gone to spend time with family, so it's much more devoid of crazy Chinese neighbors who panic everytime they round the corner on the weaving walking paths to see me and my big bad beagle sniffing the ground and minding his own business. Seriously, one 14 year old girl screamed, "DOG!" and ran away from us. Miles was literally 3 feet off the sidewalk, sniffing a discarded skewer from someone's cart food snack.

But, on the flip side, a 5 year old boy was playing some sort of chase or hide and seek game with his dad one evening and was really enamored with this weird looking critter (most "China Dogs" as my sister called them look like this or this. Perfectly cute, but nothing I'd want to love on). Miles could tell this kid was into him and sat down like a gentleman and I told the kid he could come over. He touched the silky ears, patted his head, and squatted down to look Miles in the eye. He then popped up, yelled he wanted to tell his dad, and came running back to show off his new buddy.

Melt me right into a puddle.

Updates and the New Year

Well, hello, you all!

I went a little blog-MIA for a while, which turns out to have been a very good choice. My administrative role at Soochow University turned into a major project management role, which turned into a traveling and cat herding position. I got back in mid-December from a 2 1/2 week concert/ audition/ recruiting tour to Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. And within 1/2 a day of my return, I went back to the airport to pop over to Ohio to shop, visit family, and make the final arrangements to bring my critters to China. 

It was my first time to many of these places, so for that reason, managing the recruitment tour was awesome. And I've done a lot of planning and organizing in many of my past career incarnations, so I know I was a good point person for handling and planning a lot of the logistics and press materials. But, wow, was it exhausting, and completed on a way-too-abbreviated timeline. Never again.

Gangnam  Street Vendors in Seoul. So many fruits and dried fish. 

Singapore views. There's a pool and casino on the top of that boat shaped thing.

View of Hong Kong from up on the Peak. I was so glad for a relative day off during the trip with Rob to show off my sister and brother-in-law's ex-city of residence.

Hong Kong's Peel Street. It's steeper than it looks.

Beijing Bell Tower near the hutongs where we bought a bunch of great little percussion instruments.

As soon as I got done with the tour, I hopped on a plane to go to Ohio for a preplanned pick up trip for the animals. Really sucky turn of events was that my grandmother passed away the day before I was due to leave. Really wonderful turn of events was that the memorial brought ALL of my dad's side of the family together, including all four of us siblings and cousins minus one. The family time was beyond a gift, and exactly the kind of joyful reunion my grandmother would have treasured. We won't talk about the inappropriate high-five I gave my cousin in the funeral home on accident. 

Four siblings and a Dad photobomb. I couldn't love it more.

One of many Euchre games in the hotel lobby. My cousins were all learning at a second game going on behind me.

I returned to China with the dog in baggage and the cat as cargo, so, as of Christmas, my critter kids are finally here and home for good. I'm still working full days until Soochow's Holiday Break (which centers around the Chinese New Year) in mid-January. And Rob is heading back to America for a few weeks to visit with friends and family, but I'm staying in China! A quiet house, no real responsibilities, a schedule that is really all my own. I can't wait! Most of our friends on faculty are leaving to go elsewhere for all or most of the Holiday, but at least one of my Office colleagues is a Suzhou native, so we're here together. Oh. My. Gosh. Girl Time. And loving on my critters. 

My babies in their new apartment. The adjustment is slow, but going okay.

The whole fall season of blogging was also relatively piddled away due to three things- 

1. My computer is getting scary slow and can't hack photo editing and uploads very well anymore. I'm grateful it's lasted our family for 4 years of intense use (Rob's DMA studies and music writing software, then on to me this past winter and all my literally thousands of photos), but it's time to say hello to a new computer instead. 

2. My daily looks in the office are dictated by what can be layered like crazy for warmth and simplicity. Whole-building heating systems aren't a "thing" over here, so between having to be long-john compatible for travel on public transit and a more walking-lifestyle (something I really love about living here), it has to be a good balance of warmth and appropriate layers for wearing inside in the office all day, too. Which is tricky. A lot of my really great winter layering outfits from years past are now total crap because 3/4 or J Crew-esque rolled sleeves in any capacity are going to make my fingers purple all day. Ditto for a single undershirt layer. Lots of black pants and black sweaters- boring as hell, but you can pack tons of layers under a black sweater and somehow still look like you aren't the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Boring? A little. Perfectly professional looking? For sure. Allows me to be lazy as sin in the mornings? Oh, my gosh, yes. Fool-proof.

And the big (well, still relatively little) 3. There's a kid on the way. I was keeping it pretty quiet from colleagues through December so I didn't get the wilting flower treatment during the Tour, because there's really nothing more degrading for a capable person than to be babied when you're conscious about not hoisting heavy crap and wearing sensible shoes during early pregnancy. Aside from a little help lifting my suitcase and avoiding sushi and wine, I didn't want to detract from what had to get accomplished during our travels.

A Mid-May kid! We are  both so happy and I'm pleased as anything that this kid finally looks like more than a big lunch. 

So, joining the crew in the middle of May, there's now a little 20-week dumpling that has made my pants tight and my bathroom runs frequent. And aaaanyone who's read this blog for longer than a minute knows I've been impatiently waiting for mommyhood, so I'm so thrilled about the opportunity to experience this crazy journey in our new international home! 2014 is, somehow, going to kick 2013's ass in the big, cool, exciting life changes department. 

Bonus, we're not finding out the gender- how many huge, awesome surprises do you really get in a lifetime?!- but Rob is still really pumped about a gender-neutral dinosaur theme. It's the most lovely thing.

Dear friends, Happiest New Year to you all. I may have disappeared from the community of blogging for a little while, but I've been reading up on what everyone's been up to, keeping tabs on all the Thanksgiving and Christmas fun, and enjoying the heck out of the joy that's been so present across the fashion blogging realm lately. All best to each and every one of you as we step into this fresh start and the new year.

Dull

I have no photos, you guys. I spent my week in the same pair of black crop pants and rotated between a few black sweater options- one loose, one turtleneck, one crewneck... and just switched out the scarf each day. For being a sickie, I sure could have done worse than chic black passing as glorified pajamas in public. And, this week I went to work, mailed out 1200 letters, managed a gaggle of darling retiree volunteers, and snotted my brains out. There's been some good, some bad, some sick, but mostly, I'm just really grateful it's the end of a work week.

I don't know if our animals felt a little bit lousy themselves or if they sensed and were sympathetic to their ill humans, but Eddie and Miles have been especially chill and snuggly, which I've loved. They spent an afternoon inching closer and closer, Rob caught this adorable photo of them. Aren't Eddie's bright green eyes beautiful?

Have a great Friday, everyone! I get to check out a gallery opening tonight, which will be awesome. But I have to go to a 7 a.m. Early Childhood Education conference and man a table on Saturday, which is a bit of a bummer. Eh, my favorite coffee shop opens at 6. No biggie.

I can't wait to catch up with you all and find out how your weekends went!

Dog on Loan

Jeans: UO...Blouse: H&M thrifted...cardigan: Gap...Belt: Target...Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction via Piperlime...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx

No, it's not cooler here in Houston, I'm not wearing a sweater because I need it outside. It's still dreary and a little rainy and the combination of humidity in the air and relentless AC is literally freezing me. I have numb fingers some afternoons. It's getting ridiculous. I just can't understand the need to cool a space down to 72 degrees. Wasteful, unnatural, and overly cold!

I had a funny afternoon yesterday. I loaded myself into my car a little after lunchtime to go take a photo of the damage to the car Boss Lady loaned to a friend (poor guy got hit while he was on his way to pick up his new car). Oh, my gosh, it's bad, the "knuckle" in the suspension is totally severed, if that means anything to you. Anyway, that's not the funny part of the afternoon. I was walking out to my car in the side drive at her house and trotting up the driveway was this absolutely adorable Cavalier King Charles. He had this wonderfully portly physique, black shaggy tips on his ears, a perfect little underbite. He was the goofiest looking dog I've seen in a while, but he was incredibly sweet. I walked out toward the sidewalk, but there was no one walking nearby. So, I found and dialed the number on his collar (his name is Rudy, by the way) and it rang and rang and rang and rang. I called the neighborhood patrol, who didn't have the phone number on file, but told me to secure him for a while, wrote down his particulars in case the owner called, took my name and number and then we waited.

Guys, I had a dog for the afternoon at work. And it was awesome.

Eventually, his owner did call the patrol and got our address to come pick him up, but I've never before had such an amazing time at work. Ah, dogs are good for the soul.

An Uneasy Truce

Jeans: UO...Blouse: Gap...Belt: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Scarf: Liberty of London via Buffalo Exchange

I got a mosquito bite in my armpit. It is literally the worst.

On a more cheerful note, we've been marveling at how well our critters have been co-existing lately. Miles lives up to a lot of the beagle stereotypes- nosy, loud, needy, snuggly, curious, playful, garbage eater, grinning goon. And Eddie, for the most part, is not a normal cat. She seeks out affection, will practically beg you to play in the evenings, likes to sit on any lap she can find, shares my pillow at night. Which I like. I'm not really a cat person. So a need-machine dog-like cat is right up my alley. But, she's little. As in she was the runt of the litter and is still a whopping and very fluffy 6 pounds little. Miles used to jump up to a table top, grab her fluff and yank. Poor little girl would sit on whatever high surface she could find and do her best to stay completely out of sight for the first 4 years.

And then something happened... I think she finally bit him or used her back claws to scratch him. Anyway, these last few months, I've caught them sitting side by side on our bed in the evenings or hanging out on the sofa together. I don't think Eddie trusts Miles enough to try to snuggle with him yet, but I have high hopes. At least she doesn't take off like a shot when he trots into the room anymore.

Snuggle Bugs

It got CHILLY... I was so glad I took my shower last night rather than this morning so I didn't freeze my buns off walking the dog this morning with wet hair. TMI? Don't care. It's my game plan for the rest of the winter. The downside, however, is a horrible hairstyle (I was reaaaally hoping I could get away with sexy bed-head waves. Nope.) I also crawled back into my warm bed with dog and husband, while kitty napped on my head for a while. Because I had time to.

The upside of the deep freeze (37 overnight!!) is that I get to wear my coats. Sha-bam! I do look forward to more of this.

Pants: Gap really Skinnies, Button down: J Crew, thrifted...Sweater: Gap...Necklace: White House Black Market...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Ross 

I'm making up for mucho lost time on 30 Days Hath November...
Day 24- Something that means a lot to me: I've been talking about family often lately, so I'mma talk about my furry kiddos. And here's why. I know I'm meant to be a mother. My purpose on this planet is to encourage, nurture, snuggle, provide. I've pushed those aspirations aside for the sake of my Guy's academic dreams (a little begrudgingly) so my Critter Kids really are my sanity. Having little beings in my care, providing me with the joy and silliness of experiencing life with fervor. I love that my dog knows when I need to get active and when I need to just be still. I love that my cat likes to share my potato chips and knows just when I neeeeeed her snuggled up on my chest. They're so loving and silly and intuitive. Whoever tries to say pets are just pets are fullovit.

Skipping to 26- Something I'm looking forward to: GET. MY. HUSBAND. OUT. OF. SCHOOL. Ideally forever, but even just the semester. I want to see him regularly in the evenings. 9 pm rehearsals and all-night paper writing can kiss it.

Day 27- Myself one year ago: Last year I was feeling awfully dark about being stuck only half-way through being the only earner. I decided to sign up for Real Estate classes as a diversion of sorts and if it opened a new career, oh good. I thought it might also be a new or interesting way to use some of my Interior Design skills. I didn't continue for more than the Spring semester (4 classes online while working full time was a lot to take on and Summer and Fall schedules simply didn't line up) but it was something I'm glad I did to push myself. Oh, yeah, and I was still working weekends at Gap, too. That's a year I don't choose to repeat.


That was a lot to read through. Sorry you all got sucked in and yanked along for the ride. I've never been a journal-writer, so this is fun and cathartic to go along with the 30 Days!

Sad and Lonely

It's Friday, and I have one night of loneliness under my belt. My Guy is off and away to Electronic Music Midwest, a conference/ festival for electro music nerds. Like, REALLY big geek fest. Without comics and add more speaker cables.

Needless to say he wants to photo-document the whole she-bang and I must leave you with a return of the crappy quality photos. Sorry.

Also, I really need to spend time with friends, but I just get so hermit-y and quiet loving when he's gone. Whaddaya think- solitude or pals? It iiiissss supposed to be Friday night Grad Bar (and Bromance texted to say that it's some sort of free food night). I should go with the dog, huh?

I found this silk blouse (asymmetrical neckline goodness) at the Goodwill a few weeks back. I kept hoping I would stumble in on a clothing sale day, but it never happens the way it does for some of you bloggies out there (Megan and Jentine have posted some monster sale experiences in recent memory- if you have too, lemme know what you got in the comments so I can seethe with jealously and beam with excitement for you all at the same time).

Skirt: Banana, thrifted...Blouse: Ann Taylor, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer

And this gem is from last evening. I sat down to flip through a few new posts in my Google Reader and I think Eddie was sensing both my loneliness and experiencing some neediness of her own, she clamored up into my lap, pressed her little head into my chest, then laid down along the length of my torso, reached a tiny foot out and hugged me as hard as her little kitty arms could. Talk about a moment that melts you.

Please talk me into being social. I know I should, but I really like being home with snuggly critters.

Repair Day!

After yesterday's Cat Tragedy, I choose to spitefully wear this top, the one I repaired, the one that caused a needle to be out for her to swallow. My little girl is fine, she's home and is active post needle-removal surgery. It was all totally my fault that she had access to the needle in the first place, but I'm glad to have her home and doing well.

So, about this demon shirt: I snagged it at Buffalo Exchange a while back and, while I'm drawn to tribal prints and rustic motifs, I just can't seem to find a logical place in my wardrobe for them. They're bold, which is not my MO, as I'm finding. I prefer subdued colors, classic color pairings, mildly preppy inspired, borderline minimalist looks. Ikat doesn't really have a place in that. But at $4, I made room in my closet for a boxy tank with loud olive, turquoise and black striations. I wore it once as-is and decided I really ought to alter it a little. The sewing machine I've been gifted needs repairs still and so I quit stalling and just hand stitched it. With nearly 4" total taken in, it fits infinitely better and can now become a regular visitor in my lightweight fall transition wardrobe.

Poor Eddie cat with her IV bandage.

It's imperfect, but it'll do for now.

I did bind the seam at the armpit so it lies flat and I don't have to trim the fabric.

Blouse: Target via Buffalo...Skirt: China-made...Cardigan... Target...Belt: stolen...Shoes: MaxStudio via DSW

Miles, in front of my mirror, wondering who is rattling around in the hallway.

Black in the shirt with brown accents... I think it's chic.

Kindly pardon the eye puff and bed head. I thought I would try out sleeping on uncombed wet hair for less frizzy waves. I have some tweaking to do, but I think this could be a better looking no effort hairstyle if I incorporate a curling iron for a few corrections. I just need a curling iron.

What else in in your repair piles? I'm down to nipping in the armpits of a really lovely periwinkle tank with a high, ruffled neckline. I might need to enlist a friend with a sewing machine for that one.

Menswear and the Kitty Cat tragedy

Sorry, guys, this is a total sob story of epic proportions... Thank goodness I put out a menswear inspired outfit early last night because I'm too tired and delirious to have put on anything other than pj's this morning. Not true, I didn't even spend the time finding pj's last night, since My Guy left his t-shirt drawer open I stole one. At 2 am. Let me explain:

I was diligently working my way through the repair pile in it's entirety (I'm ready for tomorrow, too!) and left my little snippets of thread on a side table. When I got finished, I tacked the needle into spool, lumped it all in the middle of the table and watched some Hulu on my phone. Next thing I know, I see our little girl sitting on the table, which isn't unusual. I saw her mouthing something, also not unusual. And then I saw the sinister gleam of light reflecting off of the needle. In her mouth. But the time I scooped her up and tried to grab it, she was squirming and it was gone. Mother trucker, the sharp pointy needle is missing, down my 7 lb cat's throat.

I was wailing hysterically and My Guy, being the good husband he is, held her while I pried her mouth open. No luck. So we went to the ER Vet and were waiting and waiting and waiting. I got done at 2 am and the following was concluded:

1. She had an xray that confirmed she did indeed swallow the needle and it was in her stomach, not dangerous to any vital organs for the moment. 
2. She was behaving completely like herself, so we were concerned but not panicked. 
3. She is a joy eater and scarfed her dinner, so there was plenty of food padding.
4. My options were:

• Let her try to poop it out, which was know to happen. But she is very small and it could have gotten stuck partway through, resulting in 'spensive surgery.
• Send a scope down her throat and retrieve it. Also many thousands.
• Take her home and in the morning go to a regular vet that the ER doc trusted implicitly and see what they say.

I went with the 3rd option.

I'm so glad I did. She was still her normal self this morning, but I spent my 3 1/2 hours of sleep waking up, tapping her head to make sure she was still alive. We left the house at 6:30 to drive way out of town to the vet who opened at 7:15. She doesn't do well in a carrier, so she's a lap kitty in the car. All is normal, we're driving through early am big city traffic and, about 3 exits away from where we get off the highway, she barfs. All over my pants. And my first thought was "Hooray! Maybe she barfed up the needle!" Not the case, but at least she was empty for a more accurate 2nd xray. We were shown right in, the ER had faxed over her records, the doc said he could do a little incision and slide the needle out surgery for a few hundred. Like, BAM, easy inexpensive fix for your disaster cat. How the H did we get so fortunate that we didn't have to make a tough call of wait it out or bite the bullet? There was middle ground and I was so grateful.

During our 3 hour ER wait.

So, moral of the story is that my cat will be fine, I got the call that she was done with the surgery at 8:40 and was doing okay and I can pick her up after 3. The funniest part of it is that now my dog and my cat will have matching foreign object removal scars on their bellies.

On to the more fun stuff of the day...
I was more pumped about wearing these shoes than anything else in today's challenge. They're secondhand Salvatore Ferragamo oxfords, they're slim on my feet and they cost me $22. Instead of $300. I win! I've been stashing these since April when I found them.

Shirt: Target...Pants: long ago Gap...Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo via Buffalo Exchange

I do know I look a little dumpy today, but at some other point I will do menswear a little more "my way" with a pencil skirt and vest, but this outfit could not have been better for my day. My pants were barfed upon and cleaned up like a champ. My shirt kept me fully covered as a squirmy cat clambored all over me. And the glasses are both laziness and a little bit of an inadvertant throwback to 50's nerd frames.

Let's hope this is the end of the madness for this week.