Joyeux Anniversaire Papa

Antique shop in the French Concession

Today would have been my father's 72 birthday, he died in 1996 at the age of 58. He was a big Francophile, and he even moved us to France when I was in the fourth grade.  I have celebrated his birthday every year with a special French dinner, and I will do the same here in China. We are looking forward to dining in the old French Concession in Shanghai tonight, he would have loved this very French area.

French Concession, Shanghai

It has been fascinating coming across some of the papers he wrote, as they are being digitized and released on the internet. I have also discovered that he held a patent on "Thermal Decay Time Logging Method", whatever that is! Sadly, I don't understand a word of what he wrote either. His titles include: "Neutron Scattering from a Solution of a Polymer", "The Effect of Long-Range Heterogeneities", and "Time Dependence of Neutron Pulses in the Slowing Down Energy Region", huh?  It looks like I inherited his love of France, his propensity for putting his foot in his mouth, his sweatiness, but most definitely not his brains.

The Fabric Market

The Shanghai Fabric Market had been on my "to do" list since moving here, and I picked the hottest day of the summer to finally make the journey. It was an overwhelming experience of beautiful colors and patterns. I bought two silk pillows and I scoped out tailors to make some vintage inspired dresses for me. The prices are extremely reasonable and I may never buy off the rack again.

Sweet And Sinister

I am so thrilled to have been invited by Kari Ramstrom to participate in Artsy Mama's dazzling blog/swap event! Sign up for the festivities here.  Over a dozen artists are sharing their ideas for creating wonderful autumnal and Halloween projects.

Antiques + Warehouse = Love

My first trip to an antique warehouse in China involved stepping over small piles of burning garbage and one dead animal. That said, I was still thrilled with what I found under all of the filth. Today I ventured to a snazzier warehouse, no dead animals and no fires. I bought an old basket (below) and the large pink papier-mache pot (pictured above). I can't wait to return with a few more coins in my pocket!

Big Stuff

The ones that got away

Giant Maos, you will be mine!!!

Migrating duck boats in Shanghai

You would think I would have learned my lesson! Why did I discuss with my husband my plan to buy a kiddie ride that was for sale in our classifieds? Blah, blah, where are we going to put it? Blah, blah, why do we need a kiddie ride? Blah, blah, how will we get it back to the U.S.? Sadly, the kiddie ride suffered the same fate as the Big Boy I wanted to buy in New York, and the vintage photo booth I was bidding on in Omaha, and the swan boat sale in Chicago's Lincoln Park.
My next big purchase is going to be large sheets, I will use them to hide the giant Maos and duck boat.

New House

Our new house in Shanghai looks like it could be just about anywhere. It is not exactly our style, but it suits our needs for the time being. I always imagined that we would live in an old lane house in the French Concession, but the kids weren't keen on the two hour commute for school.

We found everything at the flea market, antique stores and one very cool furniture shop.

Shanghai Junk Shopping

 

The Notions Market

                                           

                                           

 Opera Prop Store

                                           

                                         

The Cricket Market

The Notions Market

It has been a very long time since I updated my pals. We moved from an apartment to a house last month. It is nice not having to hush Deke every second or tell Lulu to turn down her music.  I am hoping to meet more people in our new neighborhood, but I will have to wait a few more weeks for our neighbors to return to their homes. We are apparently the only people on our street toughing it out for the summer. I don't plan on leaving the house until the temperatures get under 100 degrees, so I can finally update my blog. I have pictures of our house, and photos of some of the things I have found to make it seem like our home. I can't wait to show you!!!