a trip to IKEA.

Last week, my friend Dani and I made a trip to IKEA. We talked beforehand and agreed we were in no rush and were okay with taking our time, browsing, chatting, dreaming up ways to make our apartments and classrooms better.

I had a (short) list of things I knew I wanted to buy, but was so glad Dani was happy to browse. We spent 5 hours(!!!) shopping, but the time passed so quickly. It helped that there were a few funny moments.

+ A couple of young guys approached us, trying to sell us shoe cleaner. This is common in malls and other public spaces. Dani told them no, but they didn't listen, and one started to bend to show her how the cleaner would work on her shoes. That's when I told them (in Mandarin), "She said no! She likes her dirty shoes." One of the guys looked surprised, but the other one laughed and we did too. They left us alone though!

+ Towards the end of the fifth hour, I wandered over to a wall and was looking at some hooks. I didn't realize I was talking to myself about whether I should get silver or gold until a young girl beside me asked (in Mandarin), "What?" Without thinking, I responded in English, "Oh, I'm just talking to myself." She gave me a nervous look and moved away. I turned around to find Dani laughing at me. *insert face palm emoji here*

I wanted meatballs!

We even laughed (after a few minutes of whining on my part) about the restaurant being closed and having to eat our IKEA hotdogs outside. 

On a completely different note, I remembered Bridget's Target posts, and was inspired to share the things I wanted to buy at IKEA, but didn't: 

I spied these ottomans (they come in yellow and black) and thought they might be perfect for Mabel and Clarke in our entryway. The kids are always plopping down onto the floor to put on and take off their shoes, and while I'm sure they don't mind, it might be nice for them to have a place to sit. Plus they have storage! This would be greatly appreciated for hats and mittens once the cold weather arrives again. I didn't buy them because I need to measure the space, but they're on my wish list. 

Mabel has been asking to paint her bedroom walls pink, and while I'm not ready to commit to that, I did tell her we could get more pink accessories for her room. I spotted this pillow and took a picture to see if it met her approval. 

I can't decide if I would love or hate this coffee table for storage. Good for things like blankets or will I be annoyed that I can see everything?

I want a new lamp for the living room but haven't found any I love. Maybe this? Or is it too short? Too office-y? 

Okay, I'm not sure I like the look of these, but thought one might be good on the wall in our small bathroom for storage? Or maybe on the wall of the entryway? I showed T and he ixnayed it, but I'm still pondering, especially after reading this article. 

Would love this Hemnes shoe cabinet for the entryway. I don't think I'd use it for shoes though; I'd use it to corall a bunch of our junk. 

We have an art area for the kids where we keep paper, markers, watercolours, etc. The paper is all just stacked, but I want some kind of storage for it to keep it organized. These are a possibility but I'm wondering if they will be sturdy enough.

These organizers remind me of similar ones at Muji, but for a fraction of the cost.

This cart and the cutting board on top would be great as a side table in a small apartment, wouldn't they?

We're supposed to sort our garbage, recycling, and compost, and I'm still looking for an easier way to organize it all in our small kitchen. I want to check if this can be attached to the inside of a cupboard door under the sink. 

Another pink thing for Mabel. I actually ended up ordering this for her in pink and it's already hanging on the side of her bed, storing the Junie B. Jones book we read every night at bedtime. 

Also ended up ordering these pink storage containers. Mabel and Clarke put their "treasures" in them as soon as they arrived. 

I don't need these bowls, but I want them. They remind me of Tupperware we had when I was growing up. Perfect for making and storing taco salad or cuddling up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn. 

I wasn't sure if Tony would want this storage container for rice, but my hunch was right and he did! Unfortunately, it was too big for our space (luckily I measured before we ordered it), so we ended up getting this smaller container instead. 

I can't stop thinking about this lamp. If it was available to order online, it would be on my bedside table already. It'll have to wait until my next trip. 

Pretty storage; need I write more? 

I actually ended up ordering this mirror too. I like it, but not sure I love it. I just don't like clutter and don't use a small mirror very often. 

I'm so happy I live in a city that has IKEA. Not so sure my bank account is though. 

Do you have any fave IKEA purchases or something that's on your wish list?

christmas cookies!

In last year's Christmas package, my mom sent Christmas cookie cutters, red and green sprinkles, and the recipe for the cookies we made every Christmas while I was growing up (and sometimes Valentine's Day and Easter, too). Her hope was that Mabel and I could do the same. I was excited and loved the idea, but was too fresh out of the first trimester to commit. Next year, I thought.

This year, I didn't have pregnancy as an excuse, and while I thought of using the "I Have a Toddler and Baby and Am So Tired" excuse, I decided not to. Mabel will love it, I thought. She's always "baking" with her play dough. Mostly "happy birthdays" (cakes), but I figured cookies would be acceptable too.

So Friday night I took apple sauce out of the freezer to thaw (That's right, we had homemade apple sauce on hand; let me be smug for a second.) (Tony made it with Mabel months ago with the Instant Pot that I was so excited to get and it's the only time it's been used. Not so smug now, am I?) to serve as our egg substitute. (Mabel can eat baked goods with egg now, but I didn't want to risk her handling dough with raw egg. If she had a reaction, that would put a definite damper on the Christmas cheer.)

I have to be honest, I woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit of dread. I didn't want to bake cookies with my two-year-old. But I also did want to so as I nursed Clarke, I asked Tony if he could please check the apple sauce to see if it had thawed so we could make C-O-O-K-I-E-S. (We're at the stage of parenting where we need to spell things we don't want Mabel to know). Well... Mabel came running over with a big smile, "Mabel apple sauce make cookies!!!"

I looked at Tony, "You told her!" He swore he didn't. "You must have mentioned it!" He swore he didn't. "She didn't ask to eat the apple sauce and you told her she couldn't because we were going to make cookies with it?" He shook his head emphatically and swore he didn't. And that is how we found out that Mabel knows how to spell "cookies."

I put Clarke down for his nap, chose a Christmas playlist, and got out the butter and the sugar. After a brief argument with Tony about whether to double the recipe or not and if we really needed that much sugar and butter, and telling Mabel, It's butter, NOT cheese, and no you can't have a bite!, we got to work.

And...

It was fun!

I'm proud of myself for how much fun we had and that I didn't stress about the mess or about Mabel playing with the dough or dumping a bunch of sprinkles everywhere. She made her own cookies, sans cookie cutters, and I let her bake them and that is how we ended up with a burnt cookie that looked like a snail (I should have taken a picture) and a blob of brown dough (red and green sprinkles don't mix well).

Mabel was proud of herself too and we delivered cookies to her friend Lucia and Auntie Jo. She proudly carried a container of cookies to school on Monday to share with all her classmates. She insisted that I sit and eat a cookie with her after school, her friend Quinn happily ate one and stole another, and she's already asking to make cookies again.

I don't like sugar cookies very much, but I'm excited to make them now! Mom/Grandma, I think we're going to need some Easter cookie cutters.

why you should visit china!

A couple of weeks ago, Joella emailed me to ask if I'd like to participate in a collaborative post about why people should visit China. I got so excited that Tony asked me, "Um, is this girl famous or something?" She's not famous, but I love her blog and she was a fellow expat living the Beijing life before she moved to sunny California. (Is there a jealous face emoji?) 

I've lived here for almost 4 years and I haven't had a visitor yet, but the good news is I'm here for at least another 2 years! So friends and family (and friendly strangers), pop over to Joella's blog to read why I and 13 other people think you should visit China, and then buy a plane ticket!

I'll be here waiting, ready to give you chopstick and squat toilet lessons ;)

P.S. Welcome to China and Chinese New Year in photos.

my first juice cleanse.

I have felt so blah for a long time. Bloated, gassy, tired, blah. So I decided to do a juice cleanse.

For some reason, I decided to do the Transformation Cleanse: "This cleanse is made for green juice lovers and health nuts! Our most intense cleanse that digs DEEP inside the body to rid yourself of built up toxins that have been stored in the digestive system for years.  This cleanse will yield the biggest results from weight loss to glowing skin.  Transform your body from the inside out with this extremely powerful cleanse."

Um... I am not a green juice lover or a health nut. But I went for it! 3 days of it! (Wednesday-Friday)

Before I started, a few people asked me how I felt about it. I was excited! It wasn't until the night before I began the cleanse that I started to get nervous. Nervous because I wasn't going to eat any food for 3 days! And nervous I wouldn't like the juices.

The juices were delivered the night before and I was ridiculously excited. Not kidding.

It turns out, they were delicious! They definitely tasted "green" but in a good way. I really liked the second one, Green Love. I had been warned by a friend that the Slim-o-nade was disgusting and when I first began drinking it, I agreed. But after a few sips, it got better and I actually ended up liking it. I ended up looking forward to the Cashew Mylk all day... it was almost like a dessert. And now that I'm done the cleanse, I've even been craving the greenest juice, Master Green.

Does this cooler make me look dorky or cool? :)

Now, daily recaps.

Day 1
I woke up excited to begin! The first juice tasted very green, but I got used to it.

I felt great all morning. I almost felt like I was bouncing up and down the stairs, feeling lighter than I'd felt in a long time. I felt good. And then in the afternoon, I started to feel sick. Like I might even throw up. That feeling only lasted about an hour though and I was okay again.

When I looked in the mirror in the afternoon, I thought, I think my face is less red. But I didn't know if that was just wishful thinking. I was hoping someone would confirm it. And then! A little while later, a friend—totally unprompted!— said, "I have to say, your face doesn't look as red today." (My face is always red.) Hooray!

I went to the bathroom 16 times throughout the entire day. And there were a couple times I had to run to the bathroom and out came runny, green... you get the picture. Ick. But as someone said to me, that means the juice is doing its job. My body was getting cleaned out.

Note: I had a slight headache the entire first day, but I don't think that was because of the cleanse because it had started the night before. Although, the company recommended cutting out caffeine for two days before beginning and I did that. Maybe that was the cause?

Day 2
Pretty much the same as Day 1, minus the stomachache and headache. Also, I was definitely feeling less bloated and two more people commented that my skin was looking better. Still liked the juices and was even thinking maybe I should have done a 5-day cleanse!

Day 3
I felt fantastic! My stomach was definitely flatter! I don't think it was visible to other people, but I could see a difference in the mirror and it felt flatter. I wasn't bloated or gassy at all. I was wishing that I had done a 5-day cleanse and was even a little sad that this was the last day.

The day after
I was nervous about what would happen after the cleanse. What was I going to eat? Would I make healthy choices? Once I started eating, would I feel gross again? I was determined to try and eat healthier, so I had made a plan. We'd go to Moka Bros for brunch and then go grocery shopping. (I couldn't wait for brunch, so I ended up eating an apple.)

I was a little surprised to realize that from all the things I could have chosen from the menu, I was craving greens! A salad and green smoothie it was!

I had planned out what we'd eat for the week and made a grocery list the night before, so shopping was a breeze. Lots of fruit and veggies, eggs, chicken and salmon, Greek yogurt, etc.

That night, we went out for a friend's birthday, and the plan was drinks and then all-you-can-eat teppanyaki. I felt like I shouldn't drink any alcohol or eat anything at the restaurant except for veggies and fish, but at the same time, I want to live a normal, balanced life. I ended up having two cocktails, but then drank only water at the restaurant. And I did eat all the food I wanted. And I felt a little gross when we got home.

The next morning, I felt so disappointed in myself and asked Tony, "Did I just ruin everything? Did I drink juice for 3 days for nothing?" But then I realized that I had made better choices. And I definitely didn't eat or drink as much as I would have before.

General thoughts and observations
Did I actually look better or was it just in my head? Honestly, I don't know for sure. Only a few people said they noticed a difference, but I did. And I definitely felt better. And even if it was more mental, does that really matter if it's helped jumpstart me and my body, and I'm making better choices as a result?

People kept asking if I was hungry and the truth is, I wasn't at all! I would think I was hungry, but then I'd pay attention to what I was really feeling and I'd realize I wasn't hungry. The juices really filled me up!

I did miss the action of eating though. Being around other people who were eating, I didn't feel jealous of their food, just that they were biting into something.

Evening was the hardest time, and I'm not even a snacker; I eat dinner and that's it. I think it was because I missed the action of eating and without work to keep me busy, I was thinking about how I wasn't eating for 3 days.

Cleanse like a "lǎobǎn." (Cleanse like a boss.) Love the branding!

Final thoughts
I am so glad I did this. I still feel good and I'm definitely making healthier food choices and motivated to keep it up. I'm already planning to do at least one more cleanse before I go home to Canada for the summer, if not two more. Green juice for the win!

If there's anything you want to know, a question I didn't answer here, ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer!

This post is not sponsored. I wanted to do a cleanse, I paid to do the cleanse, and I wrote about the cleanse, partly so I remember how I felt and partly because I know people are curious.

(Top photo: Juice by Melissa. All others are mine.)

highlights from datong.

Remember last year when I told you we were taking a 3AM train to Datong for the Tomb Sweeping Festival weekend? Well, I'm finally going to share some highlights! 

We arrived in the morning, so we spent that first day just wandering around the city, with our friend Nemanja as our guide.

The air and skies were beautiful the whole time! Something to be grateful for, especially in China.

There were lots of statues, some scarier than others. 

The detail everywhere was breathtaking!

After climbing a couple sets of steep stairs, I opted to go back down and enjoy the sun while everyone else went to the very top. (Heights are not my friend.)

Again, all the details! Wow!

Another scary statue. But the detail!

Contrary to what this photo would have you believe, we were less than impressed by the Nine-Dragon Wall.

Not the first time people have asked to have their photo taken with us.

I also skipped climbing this wall, and ended up missing a nice view and a dragon made of plates. But I made friends with some little kids using my limited Chinese!

I admired his work...

...and he gave me a chance.

Street food! (Pro tip: You should always try street food. Really, most of it is delicious!)

See? Delicious! (We went back for more later.)

The morning of the second day, we went to the Hanging Monastery. As you can see, it was only a little crowded ;) (Nemanja's aunt snuck to the front of the line to get our tickets.)

Spoiler alert: Despite my fear of heights, I went through the whole thing. And I cried. But people were pushing! And the sides only went up to maybe mid-thigh. It was scary!

Yah... this is on (in?) the monastery and it's really high and really crowded. This was probably the last time I smiled until I was back on the ground. 

Only a little high...

In the afternoon, we went to the Yungang Grottoes.

The details here were incredible, too!

The statues were huge!

Candy art! (Dude's got skills.)

We left around 9 or 10PM the night of the second day.

Overall, the trip was a success! And writing this post makes me want to take more weekend trips to other parts of China. Two places I really want to go: Xian and Harbin.

P.S. Highlights from Shanghai.