Sunday, January 31, 2010
Welcome to Taiwan
There are three Taiwanese men in my living room right now, and I have no idea what is being said. Chinese dialogue goes back and forth between them. One is hammering something into the wall, another is on the phone, and the last one (my landlord) is looking very confused at a paper. This is my new life.
I am now freshly married to the love of my life, Andy, and living in Taiwan. A year ago I would have never guessed this would be my life.
Since then, Scott and Trent have introduced us to so many great people. We now have quite a few friends, which is wonderful since we just moved here. We have also found an apartment. Another of our friends is Canadian, but has lived here for 8 years. She also speaks Chinese really well an was able to make some calls and help us find an apartment. The apartment that we decided upon is in an area called Banciao, in Taipei County. We live down a network of busy, scooter filled roads, and on the 5th floor (top floor) of an apartment building. We have a wonderful little porch, a wide open living room and kitchen that came furnished, a bedroom, and a bathroom. It seems to be the perfect space for two people...and then some for when visitors come. Andy and I have been having fun setting up the apartment and making it ours. Everything in it seems perfect, accept for the mosquitoes. For the past few nights we have woken up in the middle of the night with annoying mosquitoes buzzing in our ears and biting our faces. Gross! So Andy will jump out of bed, grab the fly-swatter and go on a killing spree. It is mildly entertaining.
Andy cleaning the kitchen as we move in.
Well, there is laundry ready to be hung on the line, and Andy is anxious to go run some errands and cook dinner. I think we'll eat on our porch tonight since the weather is nice.
I am now freshly married to the love of my life, Andy, and living in Taiwan. A year ago I would have never guessed this would be my life.
Upon arriving in Taiwan, my friend Scott and his friend Trent picked Andy and I up at the bus station in Zhongli. Zhongli is a city near Taipei where Scott lives. We dropped our luggage in his big one room apartment and then we hit the street for some food. Scott has been in Taiwan for 4 years, so he speaks Chinese quite well. He took us to a little stand on the corner, gave us each a little basket with tongs and told us to pick out what we wanted and then give it to the lady. The lady would then cook it all together in a soup and give it back to us. There were about 5 different kinds of noodles, and 30 or so options of what to put in with the noodles, all of which I had no idea what they were. Scott picked one up and said, "Oh this one is good. Try it, it's pigs blood." Of course, what else would it be?! Andy was all over that, but I wasn't so interested. After consulting with Scott and Trent, I decided upon spinach noodles, broccoli, tofu, and mushrooms. It turned out to be a wonderful soup. Andy's soup on the other hand, included rice noodles, pigs blood, pigs ear, seaweed, cabbage, and bean sprouts. What can I say, the guy will eat anything. :) This was our introduction to Taiwan.
Choices of things to add to your soup.
Choices of things to add to your soup.Since then, Scott and Trent have introduced us to so many great people. We now have quite a few friends, which is wonderful since we just moved here. We have also found an apartment. Another of our friends is Canadian, but has lived here for 8 years. She also speaks Chinese really well an was able to make some calls and help us find an apartment. The apartment that we decided upon is in an area called Banciao, in Taipei County. We live down a network of busy, scooter filled roads, and on the 5th floor (top floor) of an apartment building. We have a wonderful little porch, a wide open living room and kitchen that came furnished, a bedroom, and a bathroom. It seems to be the perfect space for two people...and then some for when visitors come. Andy and I have been having fun setting up the apartment and making it ours. Everything in it seems perfect, accept for the mosquitoes. For the past few nights we have woken up in the middle of the night with annoying mosquitoes buzzing in our ears and biting our faces. Gross! So Andy will jump out of bed, grab the fly-swatter and go on a killing spree. It is mildly entertaining.
Andy cleaning the kitchen as we move in.Well, there is laundry ready to be hung on the line, and Andy is anxious to go run some errands and cook dinner. I think we'll eat on our porch tonight since the weather is nice.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
November - January Recap
Recap
I have neglected this blog, for that I am sorry. What I am not sorry for is what has been happening to cause me to neglect my blog. Oh life, and love, and travel!!
Here is a recap since my last blog:
-traveled through Mozambique with Andy and Julie. We basked on white sand beaches, cooked in outdoor kitchens, stayed in grass huts, ate mangoes upon mangoes, went snorkeling, endured 12 hour bus rides in 90 degree heat, and the adventures went on.
-Eloped with Andy (we're married!!!) Andy and I decided that planning a wedding before going to Taiwan in January would be too stressful, and waiting to have a wedding after living in Taiwan for a year would be too long to wait. So, we eloped in Tofo, Mozambique. It was perfect and wonderful. We sat in hammocks and wrote vows to each other. Then, we took a walk on the beach at sunset, found a nice spot and said our vows to each other. It was a very special and emotional time for both of us. Afterward, we went to the market and splurged on two cold beers and a chocolate bar. It was a wonderful way to get married.
-traveled to Swaziland. We stayed at a school with a bunch of volunteers, laughed late into the night with new friends, relaxed, got tested for Malaria and passed as healthy, watched the thunder clouds roll in, and enjoyed the last stop on our Africa trip.
-Flew back to the States in time for Christmas. Andy and I arrived in DC (from Africa) after a huge snowstorm, to find his old car buried under a foot of snow and not wanting to start. It was a battle to get that car dug out and working again, but after much effort we were on the road in a battered car with everything expired on it. We drove to Virginia and North Carolina to have Christmas with my family, and then drove to Texas to have Christmas with Andy's family. Driving this car was an adventure, we never knew if it was going to start, and we were always scared the cops would pull us over, but in the end it made it!
I have neglected this blog, for that I am sorry. What I am not sorry for is what has been happening to cause me to neglect my blog. Oh life, and love, and travel!!
-traveled through Mozambique with Andy and Julie. We basked on white sand beaches, cooked in outdoor kitchens, stayed in grass huts, ate mangoes upon mangoes, went snorkeling, endured 12 hour bus rides in 90 degree heat, and the adventures went on.
-Eloped with Andy (we're married!!!) Andy and I decided that planning a wedding before going to Taiwan in January would be too stressful, and waiting to have a wedding after living in Taiwan for a year would be too long to wait. So, we eloped in Tofo, Mozambique. It was perfect and wonderful. We sat in hammocks and wrote vows to each other. Then, we took a walk on the beach at sunset, found a nice spot and said our vows to each other. It was a very special and emotional time for both of us. Afterward, we went to the market and splurged on two cold beers and a chocolate bar. It was a wonderful way to get married.
-traveled to Swaziland. We stayed at a school with a bunch of volunteers, laughed late into the night with new friends, relaxed, got tested for Malaria and passed as healthy, watched the thunder clouds roll in, and enjoyed the last stop on our Africa trip.
-Flew back to the States in time for Christmas. Andy and I arrived in DC (from Africa) after a huge snowstorm, to find his old car buried under a foot of snow and not wanting to start. It was a battle to get that car dug out and working again, but after much effort we were on the road in a battered car with everything expired on it. We drove to Virginia and North Carolina to have Christmas with my family, and then drove to Texas to have Christmas with Andy's family. Driving this car was an adventure, we never knew if it was going to start, and we were always scared the cops would pull us over, but in the end it made it!
-Elopement Party. Andy and I were happy to have eloped and escaped the stress of planning a wedding, but were sad that we would not be celebrating with our friends. So, our families helped us plan an elopement party. The party was held in the Clementine's Lounge in Harrisonburg one cold winter evening. About 100 of our closest friends and some family were there to help us celebrate and give us some words of wisdom. It was a wonderful night, and we were so grateful to have celebrated with so many people.
Our Families and us at the party.
Our Families and us at the party.-Move to Taiwan!! About three days after our elopement party, Andy and I packed up everything we owned and moved to Taiwan. It was a full two days of travel, with 4 flight connections, one delayed flight, one changed flight, a lot of luggage, and finally we arrived in Taiwan with all our luggage intact. Wow, lucky us! So here we are starting our new life together on the other side of the world. Stay tuned for Taiwan adventures!
Enjoying night market cuisine.
Enjoying night market cuisine.Thank you Funky Junk
Wow, was I ever surprised to visit one of my favorite blogs Funky Junk and see my Ballard Knock-off DIY project highlighted. I am humbled that my project was considered worthy of being posted on this fantastic blog. Thank You Funky Junk!
Please visit Funky Junk to view all these fantastic DIY projects as well as the current giveaways. You can also view my Ballard Knock-off DIY with tutorial Here.
Please visit Funky Junk to view all these fantastic DIY projects as well as the current giveaways. You can also view my Ballard Knock-off DIY with tutorial Here.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Inspirational dining rooms
Indeed, I have changed my blog lay-out. I adapted my blog less or more to the lay -out of the website of my company http://www.lefevre.be/. I tried to use the colours of the site in my blog.
Some days ago I was reading an interesting post about 10 tips to create a well designed blog (here). The post was written by Maria Killam at the Colour Me Happy Blog.
Since a few weeks I really wanted to publish larger pictures. My goodness, what a difficult job it was to me!! But in this blogger community there are such a nice people, who are so patient and willing to help! I have to thank Vanessa from the Decor Happy Blog and Julie from the Being Ruby Blog for their support!
I also want to thank my sister-in-law Nathalie to help me with the use of photofilter to create the new header of my blog!
Enough about my blogchange!
Today a post about beautiful, inspirational dining rooms. I am working on a dining room re-do for one of my clients and I was searching for pictures of dining rooms to show my client. Going through my files I stumbled upon some dining rooms of different styles that I wanted to share with you today.
This dining room by John Saladino is one of my favorites.
Beautiful colours for this dining room. And a beautiful chandelier.
No clutter for this contemporary dining room.
Classic furniture in a contemporary area.
A mix of classic and country style. I love the contrast of the dark brown painted walls and the white painted mantelpiece and doors.
Very classic but classy.
Sitting at this dining table makes you feel like a “chatelaine”.
Country style with a Swedish touch.
Solid table and gorgeous lighting.
Love the beach chairs around that table.
Don’t you love the combination of a dining corner and a sitting area in one room?
Royal dining room.
I love these chairs!
Royal dining room again ! This is one of my favorites!
Blue and white in combination with mahogany is always successful.
I always have loved a pair of wall tables placed at each side of a window.
Dining room by N. Haslam.
Not only the design of these chairs but also the colour of the fabric that matches the colour of the paneling, I adore in this room.
Comfortable chairs I guess!
I simply love this dining room.
Have a wonderful weekend!
xx
Greet
Inspirational dining rooms
Indeed, I have changed my blog lay-out. I adapted my blog less or more to the lay -out of the website of my company http://www.lefevre.be/. I tried to use the colours of the site in my blog. Some days ago I was reading an interesting post about 10 tips to create a well designed blog (here). The post was written by Maria Killam at the Colour Me Happy Blog. Since a few weeks I really wanted to
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Impressions of Maison & Objet and blogger "meet and greet"
Although I am back home from Saturday night, I really did not found the time to post about our trip to Paris for the Maison & Objet exhibition.
It was a very nice but exhausted visit.
I have taken a lot of pictures but I will show you here some impressions of Maison & Objet and a few of my favorite pictures.
There were so many items to discover as table wear and table linen, bedlinen, fabrics,...but I have to say that I was in particular interested in furniture and lighting companies.
I hope you will enjoy this little tour!
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At the entrance, beautiful coloured presentations of Maison Hermès!
This picture speaks for itself!www.cotemaison.fr
Exquisite "pièces d'orient" at Nadia Lazibi , France.(no website)
Nadia Lazibi
Solid exotic wooden tables at Lysimport.
www.lysimport.com
Yummy yummy!!!
Again wonderful wooden furniture and artwork at Jerome Abel.www.jeromeabelseguin.com
Socles made of wooden trunks.
Socles made of wooden trunks.www.poldermans-group.com
I loved the presentation of the lighting at the entrance from the JNL stand.
www.jnl.be
www.jnl.be
www.jnl.be
Again a company of which I can't find the name anymore, but I loved the combination of black and orange throughout their stand.
Again a anonymous picture of a beautiful chandelier.
Burlap at Chehoma.
I loved the presentation of the lighting at the entrance from the JNL stand.JNL is a Belgian luxury furniture company.
www.jnl.be
www.jnl.be
www.jnl.be
Again a company of which I can't find the name anymore, but I loved the combination of black and orange throughout their stand.
Again a anonymous picture of a beautiful chandelier.
Burlap at Chehoma.www.chehoma.com
www.poterie.com
Beautiful facade detail of the House of Porters.
www.poterie.com
Beautiful facade detail of the House of Porters.www.houseofporters.com
Impression of Scapa Home.
Entrance of the Ralph Lauren stand.
This was the place to be....
....and here we are!!!
Maryanne and me
Amanda and me
Tracey and me
Haley and me
My husband Jan in a good conversation with Peter!
It was so nice meeting Maryanne, Peter, Amanda, Tracey and Haley. We talked a lot and learned to know eachother better!
Impression of Scapa Home.
Entrance of the Ralph Lauren stand.You know that I wrote about the blogger "Paris meet and greet" in my previous post!
This was the place to be....
....and here we are!!!Tracey Leeson (Australia) of Porchlight Interiors blog ,
Peter (husband of Maryanne), Amanda Harris (Australia) of Oliveaux blog,
Haley Leeson (sister of Tracey) and me.
Maryanne and me
Amanda and me
Tracey and me
Haley and me
My husband Jan in a good conversation with Peter!It was so nice meeting Maryanne, Peter, Amanda, Tracey and Haley. We talked a lot and learned to know eachother better!
I am so thankful that they all did an effort to meet us there!!
So a few cocktails and glasses of Champagne later, we kissed good bye and went to our hotel room because we were all tired of walking around at Maison & Objet during the day.
Hotel Le Tourville
This is the hotel where we (Jan and me) stayed.
We haven't seen a lot of Paris itself of course, but driving from the Maison & Objet exhibition to the hotel, who was situated in the heart of Paris, we had a beautiful sightseeing of Paris.
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I hope that I inspired you to visit Maison & Objet in September!
xx
Greet
All images by me (except the one of the Hotel Duo Bar website).
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