Kaboom

It's been 100 years, I know!

 I need to update you on my newest obsessions...

• Brooches, especially bug brooches. I fancy wearing three bugs at a time. 

• Intaglios (pronounced with a silent "g"). These plaster cameos were educational souvenirs that were all the rage in the early 19th century during the grand tours of Europe. I think of these as the early predecessor of the smooshed penny souvenir.

Portrait Miniatures- The smaller they are the more expensive they cost!  Toward the end of the eighteenth century, America was swarming with the finest miniaturists from Great Britain, France, and Italy. 

• Vintage menu cards, I am fascinated by what dishes were served for holidays and special occasions. 

• Cookbooks having to do with the Presidents and First Ladies. I vote for President Kennedy's chef as my favorite. 

• Pressed glass souvenir plates from royal coronations. WARNING, these plates are very affordable!!! 

What are you collecting?

Made In China...Show..Coming Soon

I have a show coming up! The exhibit will consist of my collages made in China using the wonderful Chinese ephemera found during my travels. The little girl collage shown above was one of my pieces photographed by the authorities in Shanghai during a scary interview. I managed to bumble my way into "trouble" twice during our two years there.  I honestly don't know what I did to get on their radar for the first incident, but the second time was a result of sharing news online about Chinese dissident artist, Ai Wei Wei's illegal detention.

More info coming soon on the super cool venue for the show and the date.

Free To Blog

I have been reunited!

Shanghai was quite an adventure, but I am back  home and enjoying every moment of freedom.  I am officially an international hoarder, I brought back a 20 foot shipping container stuffed with "treasures". There were many things I missed while in China, fresh air and blogging with my pals were at the top of the list.

I made wonderful friends in Shanghai, and I hope to see them on another adventure one day. My lovely friends were willing and eager to accompany me to the shadiest places in Shanghai. With our tetanus shots up to date, and a giant bottle of hand sanitizer, what did we have to lose? We ended up unearthing some wonderful finds and have some ridiculous stories to tell.

I will be posting photos this week and will tell you about my two brushes with government officials. 

2am vs. 2pm

 Broken porcelain reused for this temple decoration.

 The weekend market in Bangkok, Thailand

We just returned from a trip to Bangkok, Thailand.  After seeing the mosaics at the spectacular temples in Bangkok, I now want to cover everything in colorful mosaics. I also did a fair amount of damage at the markets, they have the most excellent junk.
Sadly, our trip ended on a rather sour note, namely my sobbing like a baby in a bathroom at the Hong Kong airport. I won't bore you with the details, I'll just give you the low points. We thought we were two hours early for our 2pm flight from Bangkok to Shanghai. We were actually 12 hours late for our 2am flight. Who flies at 2am? Everything was sold out to Shanghai, so we flew to Hong Kong. We missed our connecting flights, I cried like a baby, we bought 12 one way tickets for four people. The worst part of this ordeal was the flight attendants storing my new pink carry-on case in the bathroom of the plane. Anyone want a pink carry-on case covered in funk?

Blue

One of the most stylish people I know is now blogging at Rue de Emily. Emily's home is brimming with inspiration and beauty, and I always leave her home with an overwhelming urge to throw away everything I own.  Emily is celebrating the color blue this month, and she has already posted some fabulous photos. Please give her a warm welcome.

My blue and green phones.

Nie Hao and Xie Xie

It has been a very long time since my last visit. Facebook, YouTube, and Blogger are all blocked here, so it is rather difficult to post. It is hard to believe that we have lived in China for a year and a half. Sometimes it feels like we just arrived, and at other times it feels like it has been 100 years. It was quickly discovered that I no longer possess the ability to learn a new language, especially Mandarin. I finally scrapped my lessons and Mandarin teachers everywhere celebrated.

I have many new pals here and I drag them to the shadiest places I can find. Here are some photos from my latest outing.

 I am always a bit terrified that something is going to crawl up my pant leg here.

Places like this make me forget about all of the things I miss back home. I especially miss programs about hoarders, best TV ever. Is there something wrong with me? Drinkable tap water and buying shoes are distant memories. People will laugh and point if you require anything bigger than a size seven.

I have developed relationships with many of the vendors at my favorite antiquing street. Negotiations are done by passing a calculator back and forth. My favorite lady says "you killed me" when we finally  reach a price for an item. I have killed her on countless occasions.

Combustible

We have taken four trips around Asia in the past month and a half. We finally made it to the Great Wall, and it is indeed a mighty fine wall! A lovely Chinese family asked to be photographed with us at the top of a particularly steep climb, I think they were fascinated by the fact that I looked like I was on the brink of expiring. Perhaps it was the insane hairdo I've been sporting.

A few months ago I decided to have my hair straightened. Still lacking in Mandarin skills, I had to pantomime what I wanted to the hairstylist, and apparently I am not very good at pantomiming. Rather than communicating that I desired silky straight hair, I asked for highly flammable felted hair. I tried living with hair that resembled a shrunken wool sweater, but I finally ended up with a mannish acrylic fro. It's not a good look, trust me.