Thursday, May 13, 2010

An OOTD, Looking for a place to live, and I'm exhausted.

Yeah, I am pretty exhausted today! We went out from 9:00am until about 5:00pm looking at a long list of possible apartments to live in. That is seriously exhausting work! My husband is out with friends enjoying 北京烤鸭 - Beijing roast duck. You've probably heard of it as Peking Duck, Beijing is famous for it! I would have loved to have gone but I am seriously wiped out and wanted nothing more than to sit in the hotel room and go to bed early... so here I am. This will be a quick post because of how tired I am!

Here is what I wore around Beijing today:


After my first day walking around in jeans, I switched to wearing dresses and I think thats the way to go! This is the J. Crew double v-neck dress in "shadow," my Linea Pelle double wrap leather bracelet, and my J. Crew multi-strand mixed metal necklace. I wore gold sandals with it. Comfy summer dresses like this are the way to go in hot weather, and anywhere else you need to use a Chinese-style toilet... funny, but true, a dress is not only optimal for squatting but also for making sure your clothes don't touch the ground! Who knew I'd openly be talking about toilets and using the bathroom on here?! ha ha!

We went around to about 10 places today in our search for the perfect apartment, and my husband and I have it pretty much narrowed down to two. Both the apartments are great, they are just in different areas of the city and we are debating which area we should live in. One is in the business district which has great restaurants, both Chinese and Western style, as well as nice shops and just an over all new and modern feel to the area. The other apartment is in an area that feels a lot more busy, though I don't know if that is an accurate description - its in walking distance to school and also great shops and restaurants.

But, like I said, one of the areas feels really busy. Think TONS of crazy cars/drivers, bikers, and people walking every which way. Come to think of it, I am going to do a post on crossing the street in China. Its seriously an art form that I haven't quite figured out yet.. so is the driving here... there is a method to the honking. I'll just start with this: we follow the natives because there is no other way to do it. When we crossed the street yesterday we were literally in the middle of the road, buses passing us on one side and cars on the other, with barely a foot on either side of us between us and these vehicles. No one slows down or stops. I thought I was going to maybe die. lol.

Well, I need to cut this short - I am halfway delirious and falling asleep as I type. (Completely arbitrary highlight and italics, proof!)

SOON - more pictures from Beijing, a post on the art form of crossing the street - maybe I'll need a video of this, that may be the only way to capture it... and information on the apartment we choose!

I'll make sure to post really soon!

Steph

24 comments:

  1. Love love love that dress and how you accessorized!

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  2. Love the outfit.... and I'm so starting to get the itch for that bracelet, the more I see you wear it the more I have to have it!

    get some sleep girly!

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  3. I am loving that dress! I so want one!

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  4. Geez, I don't think I'd be able to stand living in a place so busy like that!

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  5. love the dress and the accessories! Hope u find the perfect apartment soon!

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  6. OMG crossing the streets there is definitely out of control! What about the bikes piled high with stuff? How do they ride like that!? lol

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  7. That dress is perfect on you! I ordered the Linea Pelle bracelet too :)
    I thought you guys were going to live in that hotel? No? Obviously that changed, sorry I missed that!
    I just love reading about your adventures and the cultural differences.
    Good luck crossing the street, it does look like it could be an Olympic sport!

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  8. Hi MsHark! I hope you and your husband find a great place to live and your OOTD is perfect. I just read your previous blog post and I am so impressed by you and your language skills. I really admire your open mind too. You and your husband are going to have the time of your lives in China!

    --mavjen

    p.s. Be careful crossing the street!

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  9. Love that dress on you. The length is modest yet very flattering. And I'm glad to see the wrap bracelet in action!

    Hope you get some rest!

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  10. Have fun and be safe! Looking forward to more updates:) Love your dress!

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  11. The dress is so pretty! I am so jealous you get to live there! Cant wait to see more pictures and your future fashion finds!

    xx
    Jessie
    http://87life.blogspot.com

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  12. Love the dress! We have the same suitcase! :)

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  13. I love that outfit Steph! In fact, I wear easy little dresses like that all Summer long.
    And yes, I bet crossing the street in China is tricky-tricky!

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  14. that's a pretty dress. good luck with apartment-hunting! i look forward to your future posts. :D

    http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

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  15. I LOVE reading about your new adventure in China !! I can't wait to hear about the apartment you pick.

    And your OOTD looks gorgeous, j'adore !!

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  16. Cuuute dress! And I really like reading your stories... I definitely have to travel to China one day!

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  17. Ah good luck finding a place!!!

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  18. Thanks guys!

    Mavjen - so glad you stopped by!!

    Andi - we were planning on the St. Regis, but later learned you can't earn Starwood points if you stay in their residence, and since the St. Regis is slightly out of the way, without points it isn't as attractive a deal you know?! BUT one of the places we are looking at now is an executive residence in the Millenium Grand - its a hotel also, it was gorgeous! We loved it. Deciding between that and the other. I think I will visit again today and take pictures to post!

    Amber - I need to get a pic of those guys ASAP! I don't know how they do it either but its awesome, I've never seen that anywhere but here!

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  19. Cute dress! I totally know what you mean about crossing the street in Beijing! I thought I was going to be roadkill the first time I did it lol... but we always tried to cross with a group of people. One time we tried to across this really big street only to be shooed by a police officer... turns out there was an underground walkway across the street... so that could've been a huge disaster. Be careful!

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  20. I really like your OOTD! That's a cute bracelet. Good luck in your apartment search and get some sleep :))

    -Amanda
    (The Pretty Pauper)
    Feel free to follow my blog :)
    www.prettypauperstyle.blogspot.com

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  21. Crossing the street--the cars will go out of their way not to hit you. If you wait on the sidewalk for cars to pass you will be waiting for a while. Hitting a foreigner is a no no. And the honking? It's to let you know that they are coming. I love the honking noise. Have a fabulous time in China, I'm jealous already :)

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  22. Annie - I totally figured out the honking thing yesterday! When we actually drove around in a car looking for a place to live (we had a driver). very interesting.

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  23. I don't think I could ever get used to that style of toilet! And I applaud you for giving it a whirl! (Granted, when a girl's gotta go, a girl's gotta go...)

    I'm also thrilled you bought the Linea Pelle bracelet. It looks absolutely incredible in this pic.

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