Hong Kong so far...

First of all, thanks for all of your incredibly sweet compliments for the Style Files Birthday! Some of you have been asking about Hong Kong and I know it's about time for an update. The first few days were a bit tough for Olivia- she cried constantly every time I got on the metro.  She was really confused and sick but she's doing great now and we are really enjoying Hong Kong.  A lot of people tell me that I'm a trooper but I actually really love this crazy, transient life we're living {Olivia is the real trooper}! I feel blessed to have the opportunity to experience these diverse parts of the world and learn to appreciate other people and cultures.  I could write for hours about all of the beautiful/funny/weird things I've seen in the last 2 weeks, but for now I'll just say that Chinese culture is fascinating. Hong Kong is a busy, crowded city that's full of life and color. You know that I love Chinese decor and patterns, so I'm constantly stopping when I see intricate fretwork and cool geometric patterns.  It's so amazing to see where some of my favorite fabric designs come from. I'm making sure to get out and do something new everyday so it's pretty much been a constant stream of inspiration for the last two weeks. A few images...

{This is a common way to decorate blossom trees in celebration for the Chinese new year - I loved this one I saw in a mall with the pink hydrangea and the gorgeous ceramic pot.}

{I can't believe how much these people LOVE armani...there's every kind of armani shop- this is ARMANI FIORE}

{I wanted to jump in and get to work}

It's been a pretty easy adjustment this time around for me {despite the large amounts of chocolate that I've consumed in the last two weeks}, and the fact that my husband's company puts us up in a serviced/furnished apartment is a big help.  Sadly, I won't be decorating a new place since we don't know how long we're going to stay in HK...but I will still show you our tiny place and the little things I'm doing to make it feel like home. Luckily, our furnished apartment is really tastefully decorated and has alot of modern Asian flair.  

{A headboard in one of the other apartments that I spotted}

 One of the pros of Hong Kong is that there are a lot of nice grocery stores that sell American products that you'd find at Costco and Whole Foods. Here we are doing some shopping...

A shot of central Hong Kong from one of the many skybridges. All of the buildings are connected so you almost never have to cross the street. Kind of crazy but I'm sure it will be nice in the heat.

And the most inspirational thing of all...Yesterday morning, as I was working on an article/trying to entertain Olivia, I thought I heard bagpipes outside my window. Although it's easy to forget where I'm living, I knew we hadn't moved to Scotland, so I was intrigued.  I ran to the window to see a parade of locals celebrating Buddha's birthday on our street.  I could see that they were turning down the side street, so I threw on a sweatshirt, grabbed Olivia (we were both in our pjs) and ran out the door with my camera. I had alot of fun photographing the parade and even managed to get a little video - it looks much better in HD but at least you can get  little taste of Hong Kong!

As you can see, my life in Hong Kong is far from boring.  I have some ambitious goals to achieve while I'm here so I'll be sure to keep you updated on my projects.  I'm hoping to get out to one of the fabric markets this weekend so check back soon for more Chinese inspiration!