Color Therapy

I wanted to reassure those of you who visited our UWS apartment that the bookshelf is indeed back to being color-coordinated! It was a job I kept for a rainy afternoon (well, not a rainy afternoon since it hasn't rained since I've been here, but a day when everything else was done and I was looking for something fun to do.) I've caught shit for my color-coordinated bookshelf in the past (ahem, Scott Solomon) and just wanted all the haters to see that it's thriving in Hong Kong. For those of you who like this sort of thing (e.g. Domino subscribers), here are some up-close shots!

The blue books (thank GOD that stupid oversized book about all the baseball stadiums fit in the back!):



The yellow/orange section:



And of course the red section (sorry for reflection, someone needs to bone up on her photography skills!):


Freakanomics and all its kin are Vin's books, which he doesn't actually read. He reads a chapter, takes notes in the margin on that one chapter and then it sits on some surface in our apartment with a pen sticking out of it for months. Bitter, party of one, your table is now ready...

And another living room shot just because!

Pug Life

Sometimes, as I'm tooling around the apartment ironing or cleaning or whatever, I happen to find Victor B in some of the most comfortable-looking spots. I thought I'd share -- especially if it's particularly cold and wet where you are. I remember days at work wishing I could be curled up on my couch (maybe not on a sheepskin throw) watching a Jon & Kate Plus 8 marathon.

Also wanted to share some pix from our recent hike to The Peak with friends Andy and Michelle. It was Victor's first time on Hong Kong Island and also his first time on a ferry. Like all other forms of transportation, he slept most of way. (Get him in his green bag and it's all zzzzzzzzzz.)



Those are our friends Andy and Michelle. They both work with Vin and are engaged (to each other, not Vin). Not sure if you remember my posting about The Peak and how we took a tram to get to the top and the ride was basically like climbing a roller coaster hill? Yeah, well we hiked that. On foot. It was nice...and torture. I think my butt dropped a size or two by the time we reached the top. Even Victor had to stop every once in awhile. Somehow, though, Michelle managed to lead the pack the entire time...and at times she was running and trying to get Victor to follow her. He wanted no part in it. This is him saying, "Is this bee-atch for real?"



I enjoyed the hike -- and really truly pray that my ass shrank, even just a little bit.

Santa Comes to Hong Kong

Maybe, like me, you weren't sure if they celebrated Christian holidays here in Hong Kong. Or maybe you're a smarty pants and knew this city went hog wild for Christmas. Either way, I still think you'll be blown away by the following pictures which capture just how much pageantry goes into the holiday season here. They don't let a little thing like snow (or lack thereof) slow them down.

I'm sure I've mentioned that Hong Kong is a huge mall fest and that these malls are basically enclosed Rodeo Drives and Fifth Avenues. Well, the malls here are D-E-C-K-E-D for the big day early in November...

Here's IFC -- check out the tiny carolers and monster holiday ferris wheel:





Here's a traditional one from another mall in Central, whose name is escaping me:


Then there's my favorite display from Elements, the mall underneath Vin's office in Kowloon. They went with a French boudoir can-can theme, which I'm sure all you Bible beaters out there love to hear! I actually like it -- just from an aesthetics perspective. (Kate Reilly, this is what the DKO Road Show should look like this year -- it's fierce!)




And then there's Discovery Bay, which appears to have the lion's share of all Hong Kong children. You knew they weren't going to be outdone. You can't walk 5 paces in DB without running into a Christmas decoration. And it's not just the town -- I cracked up when I was walking along the beach in 80 degree weather and saw a beachfront house who had a commercial-sized blow-up Frosty the Snowman figurine in its backyard! This thing should've been outside of a Wal-Mart...




They also celebrate New Years Eve here, but it's not as big as the Chinese New Year, which is January 26-28 this year. Everyone gets like 3-5 days off work and the city erupts into this big party. Vin and I are hoping to get away to Thailand for the long weekend during the new year.

Little Known HK Fact #613 -- They celebrate Valentine's Day here on both Feb 14 (the western V-Day) and on Feb 9 (the Chinese Valentine's Day). I don't know the background on this holiday, but will certainly milk two Valentine's Days out of Vin.

Project Progress

"You have your work cut out for you." These were the famous last words of my husband who had been living among boxes and disarray for 4 weeks before I arrived. In return, I asked him to PLEASE not take anything out of the boxes because I would take care of it in an orderly fashion when I arrived. Wouldn't ya know that I get a phone call a few days later from him -- "The kitchen is really bad. I tried to make it all fit, but it doesn't." If communication is the key to a good marriage...

I don't mean to sound cocky but I knew I'd make it all work. Organization is my thing; put me in a Container Store and I'm a very happy girl. I'd be a professional organizer if it didn't involve touching other people's dirt. So when I woke up at 3am ripe with jet lag my first night here Project Progress began. I started with the kitchen -- nothing like proving the hubby wrong! -- and then worked on my clothes. With those two things out of the way, I focused on clearing out some floor space by hiding all the non-everyday items -- suitcases, Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, etc. I'll spare you the rest -- you're probably starting to doze off.

Anyway, in a mere 48 hours this place was livable. Next up on the agenda is paint -- which is strangely a rare find in HK (they only carry pastels and non-toxic paint is pretty much non-existent), hanging of the drapes (must find a drill that can withstand the hardcore Chinese concrete walls), and pictures.

Here are some before and after shots. They're not true "after" shots, but give you an idea of what I've done so far. (If you don't see a big difference, please keep it to yourself!)

Guest Bedroom BEFORE:


Guest Bedroom AFTER





Dining Room BEFORE





















Dining Room AFTER






Living Room BEFORE






















Living Room AFTER (don't mind the frustrated hubby who's been dealing with finances in both US and HK!)





Oh and I finally got around to clearing out the guest shower... so book your tickets! Casa Birardi HK is open for business!

Living up to my title

It's official -- I'm a tai tai. I came to this conclusion when I found myself ironing my husband's shirts whilst (they use "whilst" instead of "while" over here so I thought I'd try it out) a load of towels swirled in the washing machine. This shouldn't come as a huge surprise -- I knew ironing and laundry were part of the housewife bag. What I didn't expect was to fall into it so easily. I got excited about assembling my new Ikea spice rack (is it so wrong to love a spice rack?) and love making the bed. I spent an hour organizing all the items that go in the cabinet under both bathroom sinks and chopped 10 different kinds of veggies for a special Peking stir-fry I made for last night for dinner. After 3 years of marriage it was nice to finally break the wok out...











Sure, there have been some obstacles: The toilet in the master bathroom stopped working and our doorman fixed it with a paper clip. I don't have enough space for all the stuff I bought at Costco so it currently resides in the guest shower, something the hubby just looooooves.



But is this really the life of a tai tai? Something tells me a proper tai tai spends her days at tennis lessons and martini lunches. Not this tai tai. Maybe it's my midwestern roots. I'm chalking it up to the newness factor and think in a few short weeks, I'll be writing about how much I hate ironing and how making the bed is for suckers. But for now I'm reveling in the use of an iron and mop.

No Fouling

He's here. He's really really here. I think I speak for most of you when I say that I was optimistic Victor B would make it to Hong Kong, but also scared to death that he just might not. Of course neither Vin nor I said anything along these lines to each other; we were all rah-rah "I can't wait for Victor B to get here" in the days leading up to the big trip.

While we were a nervous wreck, I like to picture Victor taking full advantage of his 2-day cross-country trip to HK -- smoking a spliff during his lay-over in Amsterdam, that kind of thing. Whatever happened along the way, Vin and I were the big dorky parents who were standing in the window of our apartment waiting for him to arrive. I'm sure George, the man who picked him up at the airport and got him through customs, thought we were nuts -- 2 raving lunatics waving maniacally from the 5th floor as he drives up to the building. Our poor unborn children...






Anyway, I'm happy to report that Victor took to Disco Bay like pigs take to mud or big girls take to cake! Here are a few pictures from his first Disco Bay walk -- taken right outside our apartment. Isn't our fountain awesome? I give it 1o days before Victor tries to jump in.

Oh and as for the title, instead of saying "Curb your dog", the signs in HK read, "No fouling." This could be confusing on its own, so they have a picture of a crouching dog with poop coming out of his butt. Why leave it to chance?!















Peeing on palm trees -- another first for Victor B!

Victor has already met tons of dogs. Just today we met the local vet's wife and their chihuahua Pico. I was very "proud Mama" when she told me that Justin (the vet) had mentioned Victor B to her. Erin (the vet's wife) seems cool (in the 5-minute conversation we had!) so now I'm already plotting how we can hang out, with Victor and Pico, of course. Is that too stalkerish of me??











Our walk ended at the beach where Victor chased waves and showed off his digging fetish.



















We hope he's not trying to dig his way back to New York. Check out the sandy face, which is cute in pictures and not-so-cute in a "choking on sand and hacking up a lung in public" kind of way.















I leave you with an extra adorable picture of Victor B napping on our couch. The family unit is officially in tact!

My Hubby Rocks!

Hey everyone,

I'm back! I hope you're as excited to read that as I was to write it. The whirlwind Bon Voyage Tour is officially over -- and while it was wonderful, Victor B and I are happy to be reunited with Vin in our new home -- Discovery Bay.

Before I dive into all the new updates since arriving here on Thursday, I wanted to post a quick video and photo from the marathon. My super-fit and super-duper motivated husband ran the marathon (26.2 miles for those non-runners out there) in 4 hours flat. Hot, right?!




(A special thank you to Randy Garutti for the voice-over.)



The other big news from my hiatus is that I became an aunt! My nephew Luca Cole Gentile was born on November 13th, same day as Tom Brenner's birthday. While it's pretty clear he's a Gentile, we're hoping the Birardi genes start to come out in the next few months! Ain't he cute?!


I have lots to share -- pictures, stories, etc. and promise to add more postings very very soon.