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.

Like Mother Like Daughter

I am my mom's clone.

I really can't get enough of wearing shirts from the dudes' section while my midsection is expanding. It's so comfortable and, let's face it, long enough and less hoochy than most stuff in the women's section. I feel like I can get the same popular "casual, slouchy chic" look by buying boys' clothes rather than a boutique oversized sweater for triple the price.

So, how's my momma fit into all this? She's my neutral-loving inspiration and boy clothes pioneer. She spent much our our childhood wearing khaki, white, grey, and navy. She's the queen of the Hard Rock Cafe tee. And I can't count the number of times she bought men's pants and sweaters. While I'll probably stick with ladies' jeans, I am happily walking in her footsteps with the whole neutrals thing. Ivory, white, grey, and black. It's my go-to lately. Plus a pair of lady-like animal print shoes. But, she'd never go for that, so at least I'm a little bit of my own person.

Meeting Mommies

I got out last week to visit with other local Expat mommas in town. It's going to be a lot of fun getting to know many of these families and going through the adventure of having tiny ones in China together, getting all the tips and tricks of where to find what we need, commiserating over the strangeness of motherhood abroad with occasional nights out together. It's a great group of ladies and I'm really excited to finally have the time to get to know some of them better in the upcoming weeks. More than anything, after my nervousness about my little booger hanging out breech (I won't speak too soon since I haven't been to an official appointment yet, but I felt a decidedly rotating movement on Sunday), I got two offers to email friends to gather intel on moxibustion and acupuncture specialists in town. Beyond kind, exceedingly reassuring, and incredibly thoughtful.

Plus, it's really fun to hang out with so many lovely people who have THE. BEST. ACCENTS. I am far and away the minority as an American- I've met tons of German families (Bosch is in town), women from the UK, India, several from Spain, Pakistan, and one from Ireland. And the best part? I said adios to the remnants of my nasally a-sound Ohio accent and never picked up any y'all's in Texas, so nobody can place where I'm from.

I mentioned last week that I've been buying and wearing boys' stuff as maternity wear. Here's more proof (and a bump-hiding oversized woolen sweater- my very favorite fiber!). Also, my wispy shorty-bangs of new-growth-pregnancy-hair (the only hair "benefit" I've seen from these hormones) are popping out in every frizzy direction to say hello.

Wasted Brain Cells

Not much to say. I've been getting dressed and I don't do a good job of taking photos. Whoops.

We've been re-watching That 70's Show on DVD in the evenings. I really forgot how much we quote back and forth from this series. You, know- silly everyday expressions that you've plucked from a line in Pop Culture. Like, if I overzealously pour granola all over the counter, Rob will quote "Whoa, that really shot outta there," from the episode where Red accidentally eats special brownies and shoots off a fire extinguisher. Or, when offering one another something to eat, we quote, in our best Wisconsin accent, "Hey there Bob, you wanna piece of pie?"

All obscure references and quotables for which my darling husband has a mind like a steel trap. He's like a bad Pop Culture encyclopedia. Anyone else have a loved one with genius skill in something useless?

Good, Small Stuff

It's been a really funny week. Good and bad yo-yo-ing. But that's life, right?

So- let's focus on the little stuff, the tiny anecdotes and small moments that bring a smile.

Spring is always and forever going to be my favorite season. Starting three weeks ago, I saw a flush of lime green lining the canals as Willow trees started to sprout tiny new growth leaves and forsythia blooming literally overnight. Tiny blooms exploding on the trees and watching buds turn into miniature leaves over just a few days. I'm in love with the abundance of fresh and growing things in Suzhou right now.

Finding an H&M kiddo tee of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA album- which, for a kid to be born in China, is hysterically false advertising.

While travelling by bus to the train station, Rob totally got shoulder napped-on by the coolest looking dude on the bus. Like, tall, a little punk, tattoo'ed and wearing combat boots. And his girlfriend kept giving Rob a little "Well, sorry, man" side look every once in a while. And I died of laughter.

Playing a game of Taboo in the Ikea cafe, Rob was trying to get me to guess a word... I guessed patio, veranda, porch, and terrace. Not right. When he told me the word, I told him he should have used "Upper blanking a toilet." And he had no idea what that phrase meant. I officially out-gross-dude-ed my husband.

There's an exorbitant number of beyond-cute toddlers running around the city. Several of whom think my dog is the coolest and whose mothers and grandmothers are freaking the heck out about it.

Eddie is still a snuggling machine.

Jif Crunchy peanut butter is my favorite and apples and carrots are both especially sweet this season. Lunchtime win.

My bump is finally big and obvious enough that I've been offered many seats on busses and subways by adorably considerate college boys. So sweet.

I've made quite a few clothes purchases lately (almost all from H&M), and my style has shifted decidedly into dude-inspired (like, swiped from the boys' department) maternity. I can't get enough of wearing oversized sweaters with parkas and maternity jeans. I am doing my mother proud.

Sweatshirts and Positive Attitudes

Thanks for the flipping a kid tips and resources, you guys! I've found a local expat who has a reputable seller in Shanghai for essential oils (German import) and will try Grace's rad peppermint trick in tandem with some inversions (as carefully as my bruised up tailbone will allow). We'll see how it goes- keep your fingers crossed for me please! My OB was awfully cavalier about the whole thing, saying not to worry about the position, don't force a spin, we can do a C-section, changing the baby's position could be dangerous... Um, a major surgery to remove said child from my person is also dangerous, just more convenient for a busy hospital's schedule rather than allowing my lady parts to do what they do while I'm screaming for hours. So, my very sweet bilingual friend, Yen-Ling, affectionately known for her firm and effective direct approach to communication as "Yelling" will likely be helping me translate a birth plan and joining me for a doctor's visit in the next few weeks to more firmly communicate that I WILL be supported by the hospital, to the best of their abilities, to have a normal labor and delivery, no scalpels allowed. In the meantime, send out lots of good vibes because this is the first time I felt like I was going to run into a culture clash that is going to be tricky to overcome. And I need to keep a good attitude!

Other stuff happening- I'm off work and it feels sooo good. I spent Monday running errands, including picking up a bag full of loaner maternity pants in a bigger size for when my backside and belly inevitably get larger and larger. And errands that happen all the bleep way across town (50 or more minutes by public transit) become a whole lot more doable, as in they actually get accomplished, when one is freed from obligation to a daily desk job. Bonus? My beagle doesn't spend his whole days crated and naps his afternoons away from the comfort of a sofa. Oh, and we're both walking and exercising lots, yadda yadda yadda. Plus, I'm wearing a lot of boy clothes, sweatshirts, and adorably casual jeans. And that always helps.

Flip

Ladies, I need advice. Kiddo is still hanging out breech (actually, it's a little more transverse) at the beginning of 32 weeks. And I know I have no real need to be nervous yet, but what worked for you all to flip and spin your little ones in utero and how did you make sure it stuck? Kindly remember that I live in China, so special products and special spa treatments are both non-options and my ability to communicate safety concerns with masseuses and acupuncturists is limited. Please and thank you.

Second, I love/laugh that this adorable swing jacket that I usually wore belted (like here, or here) is now beautifully fit for my rapidly widening pregnancy hips. And this ridiculous new pair of maternity pants so perfectly walks the line between casual and work-wear appropriate. I love them mucho. I can't wait to wear them with not-sweaters and jackets as the sun keeps popping out to say hello.

Free Fallin'

A few major steps to manage in our website redesign project, administrative stuff for a faculty meeting, and whatever other madness comes along this week, and I'm outta the office. Just in time for some sunshine coming up!

The bad news? It rained at the end of last week and I slipped on the metal steps of the stairwell of the faculty cafeteria on my way out and landed right on my tailbone. No butt meat or cushion, just tailbone. I don't think it's cracked, just a mean nasty bruise and a little back muscle tightening. And kiddo is completely fine; in fact, I didn't even feel any jostle in my belly when I landed, but daaaaang, it's hard to sit in an office chair all day now. The other bad news? I broke my own fall with my right forearm and sat directly on my right middle finger. The worse news? What should have become a really rocking forearm bruise to rival the mystery table run-in bruises my sister gets faded perfectly after I used coconut oil on it. I didn't even get a chance to long-distance show it off.

To all my pregnant blogging buddies- watch your ass. Literally. A banged up tailbone hurts like none other when you go down with extra little person weight. Oh, and coconut oil is filled with miracles and rainbows.

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.

 

 

Solo

I'm alllll alone today! It's Rob's first day of the school year, and he's off to meet 'n greet the first ever new class of students.

On the docket? As many girly movies online as I can find. I'm 45 minutes into Little Women. Yes, yes, yes.

Skirt: H&M...Blouse: thrifted...Belt: Target...Shoes: Chacos...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Holiday Look Link Up

Skirt: Target...Turtleneck: J Crew Factory...Blazer: J Crew via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Target...Shoes: Steve Madden...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Festive, bright, but not blatant? Huzzah! This blazer may be more versatile than I was expecting it to be.

We had an awesome night with neighbors last evening! We were supposed to do a potluck outside in the courtyard, but the temps are dropping (overnight low of 33!! last night) and we didn't want to freeze our buns, so we aaaalmost cancelled. And that would have been a bummer, so 10 of us and 3 dogs packed into our place, gathered a bunch of tasty food, sipped wine, chatted, and enjoyed each others' company for the evening. What an awesome jumpstart on the holiday weekend! (P.S.- I'm glad the Mayans were wrong.)

So, what have you been wearing or plotting for Holiday Festive Wear? Link it up and meet some new friends! The link's going aaaaaall the way through next week- hook up your day of Christmas look, Saturday party looks, whatever you want.

Here's the rules for the Holiday Look Link Up:
Follow The Perpetual Student's Wife (via Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin')
Link the URL to a specific recent-ish post showing off your favorite holiday themed or holiday party look.
Link back to The Perpetual Student's Wife so your new friends can navigate easily.
Ummm.... that's it! Can't wait to see what you all are rockin' for Holiday Festivities.

Baking Skillz

Skirt: Target...Tee: Target...Blazer: J Crew via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Naturalizer...Belt: Target...Tights: Gap...Necklaces: thrifted...Bag: knockoff Longchamp

Day two, what I actually wore to the evening Young Professionals mixer last week. Festive, one of the only red articles of clothing I own, a slim olive weave running through the plaid... Meant for Christmas!  PS- do you notice the plaid lined up perfectly on the pocket? Mmm, I love details.

I baked Russian Tea Cakes/Snowballs/Sand Tarts last night. They turned out better than I thought they would, fortunately (the reason for baking at all is to send them to someone... They had to turn out okay). Here's the scoop: I am NOT a baker. I can cook, I can make up dinners from crap we have on hand, I can saute any number of things like a pro. But, I can't bake my way out of a brownie box. Two part problem: As a cook, I have leeway to play with proportion of veggie and quinoa to garlic. With baking, if I use my normal dash-of-baking-powder-in-my-palm measuring method, cookies fall flat. Shocker. I don't "do" recipes. Part two is that my oven is pretty much an easy bake oven. Tiny apartment sized ovens don't really heat things to a consistant temperature.

Is anyone else buying that blame game? Okay, okay, I suck at baking.

Can't wait to see what you all are planning for Friday's Holiday Look link up. Start plotting- I expect a sequin or two!

Hanging In

Skirt: thrifted & refashioned...Tank: Old Navy...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

That's twice in one week for that little olive belt.

Not much to say, I'm working long, long days, I'm tired, I'm managing to keep my spirits up, and my husband made a really tasty pot of chili. Life is good. Days are long. It's okay. This is what your late 20's are for, right? Overcommitment, a flurry of trying to fit everything in, and eating something delicious.

Messy

Skirt: Target...Tank: Target, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Necklace: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

This was not a great look... Too contrasted, too stylized, too loud. Just because the colors are there, doesn't mean you should use them all to be matchy-matchy. But, I did indeed wear it all day, so here you all go. Holding myself accountable.

It's down to the final two weeks before the Gala... the auction is a wreck- stuff and information scattered, undocumented, verbal conversations only between the Chairs, none of whom are keeping track of the data... so we've got a lot of holes in our database. And I'm a little nervous! It will fall together, it always does, but c'mon! Fill out the dumb forms, turn them in like you're supposed to and follow, at least a little bit, the protocol we've set up. That way I have a fighting chance of answering your out-of-left-field questions about the status of an item. And don't get mad when I've never even heard of a new piece of art. If you don't tell me about it, I have no way of knowing! Shocker how that works, huh? I'm really not that worked up, but I think it's so funny how messy these events get.

KaPow. Zing. Gotcha. Kate, the little guy, smack talking the Chairs. I'm the worst.

Aaaalmost a Pajama Dress

Skirt: Target...Sweater: Sparkle & Fade via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Frankenstein'd from an H&M skirt...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Earrings: Old Navy...Shades: Gap

Happy Monday, folks! I really hope your weekend was as awesome as ours- got lots of errands run, spent time with our neighbor's doggies (they got to come hang out for dog parties while we're taking care of them), I altered and took in sleeves and armpits on a looot of blouses that were waiting for a little TLC, we ate burgers, tons of celery and peanut butter, went to a friend night/ pool party and ate our body weight in guacamole, we finally went to the theaters to see "Dark Knight Rises," it was cool and rainy outside with absolutely amazing scattered stormy skies. It was a very rejuvinating couple of days off, which we all know both my Guy and I could use after the stress of our beagle's self-inflicted stomach upset and his maaajor comprehensive exams (he officially passed the massive three-day written exams and only has the 2-hour oral exam left on Wednesday!). I also read this amazing post by Audrey late last night- Shopping Mistakes... who doesn't need a little help diagnosing what they suck at figuring out in their wardrobe?

I thought for a nice Monday morning, something simple and stretchy would be nice to wear... with a minty belt and kicky floral shoes to ramp it up a notch. Easy, sophisticated, neutral and, the best part- totally stretchy and weirdly pajama-like with all the cozy fabrics. I'm telling you, these pencil skirts have been big winners. Target. Try one on.

Aaaand for a little adorable overload- Miles, our beagle boy with our dog-sitting charges. They were such lovely houseguests for the weekend.

New Week, Good Concert

Skirt: Target...Tee: UO...Belt: Target...Scarf: Liberty of London via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Calvin Klein via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx

A recipe for easy ohmygoshwhyisitstillhot dressing? Or just lazy? Don't know, don't care. After last week, I'm pretty sure brain-rot and lazy are my reasons. Aaaand, like I mentioned yesterday, Marion is hosting a Trend of the Month Challenge with Animal Print... so started the week off with easy leopard flats, today I move up to stylized leopard kitten heels. Tomorrow, we're going for the gold, and I have some plans to continue the trend for the rest of the week... Will you join me, just for fun?

Last night, we went to a University of Houston Percussion Ensamble special concert to pay homage to John Cage. If you're a New Music geek of any sort, you probably know what an impact Cage made on the music community. His best known piece 4'33"is a work that highlights the ambient sounds in a performance space as the musical element for three sections of time that equal 4 minutes and 33 seconds. Sound is music. Music is in everything. Combinations of sounds can come about by chance mechanisms. A percussion piece doesn't necessarily need to be played solely on traditional percussion instruments. Our dear friend, who is a musicology professor at the school, played several small prepared piano pieces on the concert (this means an extraordinary collection of items are inserted into the piano body to alter the sound, like bolts, rubber balls, pint glasses... piano and percussion all in one.

But, here's the highlight: Isabel Ganz, who knew Cage well, sang his amazingly lighthearted Aria. It is written out with basic voice inflections drawn out and color-coded to coordinate with an effect or voice style. She bounced around the stage, sang her heart out, did a cartwheel during the improv sections.... and she's over 70. Amazing woman, brilliant and fascinating. And she is an absolute legend. I can't believe I got to see her perform, what an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime treat that was.

Sorry to geek out on you all, but I think this stuff is fascinating. And I'm SO glad my guy is done with 18th century opera studying... You can't get much further from "classical music" and dive into a breath of fresh air than you can with Cage.