Babymoon-ish

Okay, so yesterday, I mentioned we went to Beijing. If you follow me on Instagram (it's where all my online fun happens since the Great Firewall doesn't block it- pop over and say hi so I can see all your goodies, too!), you got to see some of the adventure as we went. Check out Rob's feed, too- request to follow, he's expecting you guys.

So, Monday was part of the Qingming (Tomb-sweeping) Festival. And since we have no ancestors over here, we thought we'd utilize the long weekend to get away and spend a little time exploring more of China sans-diapers before this little one arrives. I got to spend a few weeks in Beijing when my sister lived there a few summers ago, but Rob's time was restricted to a short day during the December Recruitment Tour. And, despite being 34 weeks pregnant, I was determined to pack in as much as we could. Oh. My. Gosh. So worth the angry feet at the end of each day. We hit most of the tourist highlights.

Baby McClure visits the Forbidden City and gets side-eyed or flat-out stared at by thousands of Chinese people.

Day 1- Saturday. Up early to catch the fast train from Suzhou to Beijing. 5 hours later, we arrive and hop on the subway to our hotel, which was 1/2 a block away from my sister's old apartment, so I knew the area well. We had Mexican for dinner (Beijing is more internationally established and momma's been craving pico and guac), milled around the neighborhood instead, did some Saturday night people watching, and headed to bed early.

Day 2- Sunday. Temple of Heaven, amazing people watching and enjoying Beijing park culture, along with eating a popsicle we bought for 2 rmb ($.32). Met up for Peking Duck lunch with a long-time family friend who helped out with my little brother's adoption 15 years ago and then went back to Holt International Adoption's Beijing offices to play with babies who are preparing for or recovering from surgeries before going back to their home provinces to await matching. A little cleft palate girl (still teeny tiny at 13 months) was nearly snuck out under my jacket. We headed off to an overpriced, but totally awesome Acrobatics show (tourist trap, but way fun anyway) and ended the evening with roadside cart tiny oranges, which we ate in bed back at the hotel.

Day 3- Monday. Long subway ride out to the Summer Palace and a comically strenuous hike up 108 meters of steps to the top of Longevity Hill. We also wandered along the Long Corridor (one of my favorites- the inside ceilings are painted with unique scenes of birds and flowers and legendary heroes) while I walked in front and Rob enjoyed the "holy $)*^, a really pregnant white girl!" stares I kept getting. We popped down to Panjiayuan Market for some antique/fake junk shopping (way more great stuff a few years ago) and walked away with only a thank you vase for our friend who was watching the cat. We were reeeeally hoping for a junky and awesome gong or huge singing bowl. No luck. Great Thai food for dinner, and a beer for Rob at Great Leap Brewery, right near our hotel (and great sadness for me, the beer lover).

Day 4- Tuesday. It was the evening of my dad's birthday over in the States, so my whole family hopped on Google Hangouts together (Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, and Suzhou) to catch up and love on him a little. We checked out Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, eating popsicles every chance we got. "Hey, Kate, do you want a popsicle?" Fake exasperation- "Rob, you already know the answer to that dumb question... Yes." We popped over to the train station and got back into town not too late, but happy and exhausted.

I know Babymoons are supposed to be relaxing and all about reconnecting and spoiling yourself and your loved one before a kiddo arrives, and most couples go to a beach of some sort, but we've never been a couple that "does" convention. A 10-15 km each day walking tour of a seriously enormous city? Oh, for sure, count us in. It was so much fun and we're excited about our next big-China-city-visit, maybe sometime at the end of my mom's post-partum visit this summer.

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.

The Do-Nothing Floating Vacation

We're baaaack.

Rob and I were given the unwarranted and completely appreciated gift of a cruise vacation by my sweet mom and dad in celebration of his degree, new jobs, and making it through the last few years. I'm so grateful for the chance to really unwind (something it usually takes 2-3 full days to do when I'm working) and enjoy my husband's company.

Cruise highlights:
- Reading (sporadic and with a background 90's pop soundtrack blaring through the ship's speakers)
- Lounging in shady areas during bright days, both on and off the ship
- A 75/25 ratio of swimsuit and coverup to real clothing
- Choice beach lounging locations as a reward for getting our buns out of bed early during days in port in Roatan and Cozumel\
- Awesome dinner tablemates- we spent every evening together at the piano bar or pub, singing our guts out
- Being the only person in the lounge (including a few 40-60 folks) who knew the words to the Cheeseburger in Paradise "rap"
- Comedy shows
- Watching numerous children in the midst of a sugar-induced meltdown since there was 24-hour access to soft serve ice cream
- Accidental 5-course meals at dinner upon requests to "try just a little of XXXX"
- Holy Blue Water, Batman
- SPF 30 reapplied a thousand times and no sunburn to show for it
- Saw a pair of monkeys on the beach and held an iguana, who felt like a heavy sequined purse
- Shallow water snorkeling with our own equipment- no expensive tour guide necessary

If you ever get a chance to cruise, I highly recommend it. We had a lot of fun people watching and gorging ourselves on the ship, explored new countries as we got to port on the cheap by just hiring a taxi for the day, took borrowed snorkel gear from my family, and bargained like crazy whenever we could.

I'll share my dinner looks later on in the week, it was really fun to have an excuse to get dolled up each evening!

Up on the "Adults Only" deck of the cruise, sipping on unlimited sodas and reading

Overlook on the ridge roadway in Roatan, Honduras. I spent literally half of my waking hours in a swimsuit and that coverup wrap.

Reading on the beach on Roatan, Honduras

Windy departure from port

Pina Colada, private cabana with hammocks, and loud waves in Cozumel.

Nerd. I love him.

No joke. Water that perfectly blue.

I was so grateful for a table full of cheerful, chatty, and low key couples. We had so much fun with this crew all week!

Tucson, I Wonder if My Name is Alice

Backin' Up for a recap of "I Wonder if My Name is Alice" by Artifact Dance Company in Tucson, AZ, with collaborative murals by Joe Pagac, and Act II music by Robert McClure.

Holy Crap, these women are talented. Creative Directors Ashley Bowman and Claire Hancock knocked this spectacle show out of the park. The sets were simple, but graphic and incredibly effective. The collaboration with painter Joe Pagac to literally "paint the scene" for the audience was exciting and such a dynamic way to get the most out of the live interactive performance, I was sucked right into Wonderland as an audience member. The costumes were jaw-on-the-ground beautiful, with the movement and wearability considered to the maximum potential for beauty and believability. And, well, my husand's music kicked off the journey down the Rabbithole and it. was. awesome. This young company is going to make a major dent in the Dance World, watch for them the next few years, they're going to be doing some really cool things. Probably because they like the combination of way outside of the box creativity and don't bother to sleep. Worth it.

He painted this within a minute, and then dropped the center to reveal...

the caterpillar herself.

The Cheshire Cat, making sure Alice doesn't know which way is which.

Poor Alice, completely lost.

The White Rabbit with Ben Nisbet, Artifact's musical director.

Tea Party! They got sloshed.

The Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Queen of Hearts, Alice, the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, March Hare, and the Gryphon.

Packing Light

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Blouse: Banana Republic, thrifted...Cardigan: Gap...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Necklaces: Target...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Pack: Osprey

white shorts...striped skirt...white skirt...mint tee...white blouse...striped tank...green tank...navy tee...sweater...belts...scarves

As I was packing Wednesday night, I put my clothes into a small carry on... and realized it was overkill. So, I thought I ought to give packing in my small backpack a try and, while it's pretty packed between my computer, charger, bathroom / makeup bag and clothes, I'm glad I gave it a shot. I now have all my stuff in a small Osprey pack with only 1098 cu in capacity (vs a standard backpack somewhere between 2000-2300). I plan to wear the heels to the nice party on Saturday and the cardigan is a back up for chilly buildings, but I've packed mix and match options for 5 days out of town in this pack and my normal purse. I don't want to brag or anything (I definitely do), but I don't think there's many women out there who can fit stuff for a trip including both a nice event and church into a tiny backpack. It pays to be flexible and to have your formative years spent camping... your standards end up pretty low as a result. My techie gear (chargers, download cables, spare memory cards, headphones) are in a little zip pouch in my purse, along with my glasses (in case dry airplane air makes me blink out a contact), camera, wallet and boarding pass. 


Happy Trails, happy Friday and I'll catch up with you soon!

Road Trip, the Second Half

In chronological order: 

Our 5-extra-hours-but-totally-worth-it detour to Yellowstone, including Old Faithful and Prismatic Geyser Springs (mineral/ microbe affected to render the bright turquoise and electric orange). A little bonus: we saw a bison on the roadside and jury's out on whether or not we saw a pair of moose or deer in a far field.

A feet-up view of Boss Lady's house up in northern Idaho. No wonder she spends summers up there. There's nothing better than good, usable outdoor space. (PS- my mom and I play a game where we snap a photo of our Chaco sandals in front of the awesome place we are and send it back and forth. I'm winning so far, but that's only because my mom is forgetful.)

Day Trip: We came across a roadside stop that featured a view of the Kootenai Falls and a Swinging Bridge suspended 50+ feet above them. My Guy, the music nerd we all know and love recorded the water for possible use in an electro-acoustic musical composition. I jumped perilously on the bridge. Old growth cedar grove with absolutely amazing giant cedars. (They're over 400 years old!) Beautiful scenery and wonderful exploring with my husband. 

We flew home yesterday and specifically booked the long inconvenient layover in Phoenix juuust in case my sister was free to leave work a touch early and meet up. She did. And we got to see the house she bought last fall and the pup she adopted shortly after. I can't even tell you how full my heart is because we got this visit in.