This Calls for a Celebratory Architecture-Centric Post

After my very long hiatus from posting I am finding that no hard work goes unrewarded and time slowly heals all wounds.  After two very long and stressful years of taking my Architect Registration Exam (a.k.a.7 controversially impossibly difficult tests @ 5 hours each of sitting in a testing center) I have finally emerged victorious as an officially certified lady architect:)  I literally cried tears of happiness the moment that I opened my letter...It was certainly a bittersweet moment.   I'm still mentally hagard after the whole affair, but I'm sure that I'll recover after a flurry of holiday parties...In light of my current achievement, I'm posting some architecture eye candy from Interior Design magazine.  I'm loving the juxtaposition of rough utilitarian concrete with the colorful floor tile.  So simple yet speaks volumes about the house's cultural context.

 

Embracing the Inevitable

Well, the much dreaded age thirty milestone came and went last month but not without a blowout party and night out with my fantastic family and friends. 

After all that has happened this year, I'm learning that all you can do is embrace the inevitable, enjoy every minute of my life that I can, and appreciate all the amazing people that I have to support me in life.  Thanks to my Chinese partner in crime-Jenn- for organizing an amazing birthday event complete with bartenders, a DJ, and M&M's adorned with pictures of yours truly :) 

My mom makes cupcakes from my favorite Giada de Laurentius pastry recipe

Our dinner feast at Area 14- a fabulously hip private venue 

next to Tani Sushi in Clayton.

Jenn and Danielle.  As you can see my party had 

to compete with Cardinal's baseball fever!

My fabulous friends Emily & Megan

All Good Things Must Come to an End, but at Least Some Things Can Be Preserved in the Blogosphere

Apologies for my lack of posts these past few months   have been spent studying for ARE’s, dealing with endless work deadlines, and going through some insane life changes.  Upon returning from China, Bart and I made the difficult decision to part ways and take some time alone to pursue our interests and goals independently.  Though we remain incredibly close friends, the past few months have been spent in reflection of the good times, the sad times, and plans for the future.  

One of the many sad things that I must deal with is leaving my beloved condo, for which I spent so much time decorating and collecting one of a kind antique furniture, art from good friends (and some from my school days), and indulging in fabulous modern pieces.  Our condo is located in a lively and eclectic neighborhood north of the loop and it has served as an incredible venue for throwing parties with friends, making incredible meals, and for chilling out together during the course of our seven and a half year relationship.  It's calming and cozy atmosphere will be very much be missed.

 The building itself is over 100 years old and is jam packed with architectural charm.  My architectural style tends to be clean, modern, and simple, but my style for my living space is very much a mix of sleek modern, affordable Ikea pieces, and art deco inspired antiques.   I also clearly have a love of color!  Here are some shots of my favorite rooms before they were deconstructed for the big move.

Art- personal sketches, sectional - Gus Furniture, lamp & coffee table- antiques,

throw pillows- Urban Outfitters

Screen- World Market, Chairs & side tables- antiques, light fixture- IKEA 

Personal photographs, photographs from friends

Personal sketches from Italy, picture shelves & bookcase- IKEA

Bed & sidetables- IKEA, mirror-Good Works Furniture,

photographs from friends, framed antique fabric above bed

Photograph from friend

Wedding photobooth photographs

 Desk, jewelry boxes, and perfume bottles- antiques

Photograph from friend, silver tray- antique, vase- IKEA

personal photographs, dining table/chairs- antique, candle holder- UMA

Tile backsplash- American Olean

Sights from NOLA

Just had the opportunity to spend a few days in New Orleans to work at our office booth at ACUHO-I , the Association of College and University Housing Officers.   I was especially impressed with the keynote speaker, Professor Roland Fryer, a Harvard professor who collaborated with the authors of Freakonomics.  He spoke about his involvement in the NYC Opportunity Project which is studying how students in low performing schools respond to financial incentives.  It was a very inspirational speech with some very interesting ideas about how people and children are motivated.  I certainly will be borrowing Freakanomics from Bart when I get home to check out some more of these insightful ideas about human nature.

The other benefits of the attending the conference: enjoying the charmingly scaled architecture of the French Quarter, eating  New Orleans cuisine, and sampling beignets at Café Du Monde!

St. Louis Cathedral

Gold scuppers!

Loved this freestanding facade

Each building has it's own distict look and color

A storm is coming!

I always have to make a stop here when I'm in town- so good!

Yum!

Grabbed some dinner at Mr. B's

Belated China Shout-outs

So.   As I have settled back into American culture (how else to do that but to enjoy a relaxed fourth of July weekend filled with BBQs, chasing cows at Bart’s family farm, a trip to Bass Pro and shooting guns) and returned to the craziness that is my life, there are still so many highlights of the trip that will not stop running through my mind.   Even as I am constantly juggling work deadlines, travelling for conferences, and returning to my studying schedule for my much dreaded (but almost completed) Architectural Registration Exams (ARE), I can’t help but stop and laugh to myself about what an incredible experience this trip was for me.  And so I would like to complete my travelogue with an appropriate quote and some shout outs to the people, places, and things that made our trip so memorable and fantastic.

What better for settling back into Midwestern culture than some good old fashioned fun with fireworks?  We found that the “Sky Rippers” were quite good for blowing all sorts of things up…Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

“Ones destination is never a place rather a new way of looking at things.”  -Henry Miller

Can't get over how adorable this little boy at the dirt market was!

 Oh the split pants...I got a great shot of this one!

I will never travel without my Belle by Sigerson Morrison heels ever again!

I wore them all over China and danced all over Hongy Kong into the wee hours

of the night and they never hurt my feet AND they are fabulous!

Thanks to the Wagyu crew for the fun nights out in Hong Kong!

Thanks to Fodor's for keeping us on the path of the

sophisticated traveler, Jenn never left home without it!

 Stay tuned, next week I'll be in New Orleans for work, so I'm hoping to have some more pictures from my travels!

Last Day: Dim Sum at City Hall and Climbing Victoria Peak

I’m going on about 4 hours sleep in the last 48 hours at this point, and I’m showing no signs of slowing down.  Today we had plans to hit the horse races in Kowloon, but after our night out we found that we unfortunately didn’t have the energy for it...so, next time I come to Hong Kong, this will be #1 on my TO DO list!  Our first tourist item on the to do list today was to get Dim Sum at City Hall Maxim's Palace and then head to over to Victoria Peak and take the tram to the top for some bird’s eye views of Hong Kong Island. 

Dim Sum at City Hall Maxim's Palace 

It was literally the size of a reception hall

and full of people! 

I have no idea what these are...dumplings of some sort

Yummy but scary looking calamari and some sort

of fried chicken thingy...

A dumpling with hair...after being out all night partying this

looked less than appetizing to me...but I tried it anyway.

Sort of tasted like sweet refried beans

We finally try one of those rice things wrapped in a

banana leaf...it was anti climatic

So this is what I look like when I've had 4 hours sleep

in 48 hours and have been out drinking all night.

Thank god for makeup and fedoras!

All the girls for our last big meal together in China

So...the architecture nerd in me has to give

a shout out to the restroom signs that we

saw in City Hall...

Who doesn't love a handicap Pac-Man??

Climbing Victoria Peak

So this is a must when visiting Hong Kong, but I have to warn, it's full of mainland tourists pushing you out of line and out of the tiny trolley that takes you to the top.  You have to be able to stand your ground and be aggressive if you ride this thing to the top.  I have found these past few weeks that the Chinese are not really the most patient people, although if I were competing for 1.3 billion people then I would probably be the same way.

Sooo...many...people!!  It's claustrophobic, really.

Here comes the trolly!  Prepare to get pushy, 'cause those trolly doors are tiny and

something like 100 people are trying to get on this trolley!

Ahh, it's nice up here...and there are great views of the entire island!

Skyscrapers everywhere...

I think this is where the high rollers live....

I wish I could have added this poster to

my China poster collection.

Hong Kong:  The Riviera of the Orient

After this I crashed….we were ready for a serious nights sleep, to say good bye to Hong Kong, and to return to real life.  But don't worry Hong Kong...I will be back.