Bibimbap 비빔밥 is a delicious Korean dish, meaning “mixed rice”. It’s serious eat and you should try it. But yes… I have a really random post so it reminded me of bibimbap. LOL

The hubs and I had afternoon tea at Nana’s Green Tea in Xin Tian Di. The above collage of pictures has the Green Tea Chocolate Cake and our iced green tea lattes. (Oh I know HJ will ask this: YES I took lactaid, thank GOD) Then we walked around, mostly window shopping and that’s usually my favorite time with him. Just being together, whether it’s doing something or doing nothing. Any time I have with him, I’m happiest.

When I got back from NYC, my friend Alina was absolutely THRILLED to see me. She came over immediately and gave me a bunch of gifts that she had bought for me. One of which was a Chanel nail polish that is the prettiest powder blue. It’s my first high-end nail polish and she may have started a bad habit for me… It’s perfect because my favorite color of nail polishes are pastels. I don’t have a huge collection but it’s growing! 

The hub’s childhood friend Rennie was visiting from Hong Kong so we went out to eat with him. It was interesting to talk to him about life in Shanghai and how it differs from Hong Kong. He mentioned to us that the boys (all the friends from the hub’s primary school) are coming to Shanghai in August to celebrate Rennie’s birthday so we better get ready. LOL I love that they still keep in touch and always hang out. I don’t have any early childhood friends that I still keep in touch with and always wondered what that would be like. Though, HJ and I have packed quite a few years of being BFFs and I wouldn’t trade that for the WORLD. She means so much to me and to me, she is and always will be my sister. And NCMC (my friends from NYC) are friends for life and I know when we’re all grandparents, we’ll still be the closest of friends. So even though I don’t have close friends from childhood, I’m not missing out at all because I have really awesome friends.

Alina, Kin and I went to the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra over the weekend. It was absolutely horrible, just TERRIBLE! The orchestra itself was OK, nothing that great and reminded me a bit of the youth symphony that I was in during high school. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t good. The reason why it was TERRIBLE is because of the audience. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing: people talking, laughing, on their cell phones (talking), little kids running around and the list just goes on and on. I was mortified, angry and visibly upset. Being a musician, this is the ultimate insult. NO MATTER WHAT THE LEVEL OF MUSICIANSHIP – you are their GUESTS and while they are performing, they deserve you’re respect. I don’t know if it was just the concert I went to but I was seriously disappointed. Sad.

I finally put up the gift HJ bought me, which is a quote from Winnie the Poo. 

“Promise me you’ll always remember: you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

I put it up in our living room with some Laudree candles we received as gifts from Paris. I have to say that HJ really is amazing at gifts, she is so thoughtful and observant. She remembered when I posted it on my blog and got it for me as a gift. I can’t wait to have a child so I can hang this up in his/her nursery. I want to tell my babies to keep those words close to their hearts. Hell, we all should! 

Last night, the BRO sent me a voice message of my little niece (Claire) saying “sum sum”, “HI!…. sum sum” , “sum sum….. HI!”. I think my heart skipped a million times and I sent messages back screaming that I miss her. haha What a wonderful way to end the day. I miss all my little nieces…. Claire, Aerin and precious little Zoe. 

And if you’re looking for a great way to keep in touch with friends and family… I suggest using We Chat! and Kakao Talk. They are free, you can share pictures, voice/text messages, group chat and it’s really easy to use. We Chat! is popular in China and Kakao is popular in Korea. 

Random entry, I know. Forgive me… I had to mix it all together.  

What’s new in your side of the world?

and/or

Do you still keep in touch with your childhood friends? 

Ciao for now!