CARNAVAL!

Hong Kong sure does love their carnaval themed parties! M and I have been to 2 black tie carnaval theme balls in the past 2 weekends.

Two weekends ago we volunteered for the Child Development Centre Daddy Daughter Ball at the Aberdeen Yacht Club. The CDC is a wonderful organization that provides intervention programs for special needs children. We were so happy to help out. It was adorable to see all of the dads in tuxes enjoy an evening with their precious daughters.

The beautiful Aberdeen Yacht Club

M testing out one of the games for the Dads

We helped the daughters make masks for the masquerade

No carnaval themed party is complete without brazillian dancers!

This past weekend, we attended the Ivy Ball, organized annually by the Hong Kong alumni associations of all the Ivy League schools. While I did not attend an Ivy school, M did, so he was pretty excited to get into the school spirit.

The theme this year was Carnaval at Copcabana. The dress attire called for black tie or Carnaval at Copcabana. M of course teased me all week long that he was going to dress according to the theme. He even stopped by Pottinger Street to pick up a "Rumba Man" costume, the closest thing he could find to the Brazilian theme. Our friends joked that he really should have gone with feathers and a thong.

I was relieved to see him Saturday night dressed in a tux as handsome as always. However, he did bring his Rumba Man costume with him in case he wanted to change.

In a taxi on our way to the ball

Yes, this did happen

Needless to say, M was quite the entertainment!

One of the annual traditions is to invite the alumni from each of the schools to come on stage and sing their school song. At the end of the evening, everyone votes on the best school song. Here's a youtube video of the Columbia alumni singing their school song back in 2009.

I am not quite sure who won last night, but it was fun to watch all of the enthusiastic alumni sing their school songs.

Columbia alumni singing their school song

M with his fellow Columbia grads

The evening was such a blast. Hope you had a wonderful weekend too.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there! We so wish we could be spending Father's Day with our dads back in the States.

Below are some of my favorite pictures with my very special Dad. I love you Dad!

DETOX

We have officially been living in Hong Kong for 5 months. While the past 5 months have been extremely exciting and filled with new adventures, moving to a new city can be stressful on the mind and body, which are sort of put on the back burner until you feel more settled (cue emotional eating and no time for the gym!). 

Back in NYC, when I began to feel unhealthy from overindulging in eating and drinking, it was easy to find a juice cleanse program that could reset my body. There were plenty of delivery options, such as Blueprint Cleanse or Organic Avenue. Or if you wanted to grab a juice during the work day, you could stop by several places such as Norma Kamali's wellness cafe in Midtown or Liquiteria in the East Village. I had so many options (all I really needed was willpower!). I got in the habit of doing a juice cleanse for 3-5 days every 6 weeks to really flush out the toxins in my body. It felt great.

When I moved to Hong Kong, I searched for local juice cleanse programs or juice bars and was disappointed with the limited options. The available options were more catered towards offering sweeter fruit juices or smoothies, not green juices, which really help detox the body. I have to admit that drinking a berry and banana smoothie sounds way better than drinking a cup of kale, celery and parsley. But, I know which one my body needs more...

So when Genie Concepts, a fresh pressed juice store, opened in Sheung Wan, I was thrilled but skeptical at the same time. Would the juices at Genie Concept cater towards people wanting to seriously detox?

The answer is yes! I just finished a quick 2 day cleanse and I have to say that it was pretty good. The juices reminded me of everything I liked about the Blueprint Cleanse juices. They were fresh, not as thick in consistency and followed a similar juicing pattern, by starting off the day with a lemonade, drinking green juices in the middle and ending the day with a more fulfilling raw cashew juice (Genie adds raw cocoa and cinnamon, an added plus!).

Below are some pictures of the juices. Sorry I didn't get any pics of the green juices. "The Hulk" (Celery, Cucumber, Parsley, Cayanne) and "The Four Leaf Clover" (Spinach, Apple, Parsley, Himalayan Salt) were great!

Your juices come in a great carrying bag, which makes it easy to transport them to and from work.

"Splash" Juice #1 - Filtered Water, Lemon, Lime, Raw Agave and Himalayan Salt

"Orag Utan" Juice #4 - Carrot, Celery and Ginger

"Sweet Dreams" Juice #6 - Filtered Water, Raw Cashew, Raw Cacao, Raw Agave, Cinnamon, Coconut Flower Sugar, Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

I ended my juice cleanse last night with a detox yoga class at Pure Yoga and woke up this morning feeling extremely refreshed, energetic and healthy.

My only improvement suggestion for Genie Concepts would be to include more green juices in the "expert" level. I would have definitely replaced the carrot and beet juices with the green juices.

If you live in HK and are interested in doing a detoxifying juice cleanse, definitely check out Genie Concepts by visiting their website or store in Sheung Wan.

Also, for more on the benefits of juice cleanses, check out my friend Noelle's website at www.greenlemonade.com.

Genie Concepts
Shop B, G/F, Universal Building
5-13 New Street, Sheung Wan
+852-2803-0369
www.thegenieconcept.com

BEIJING'S FORBIDDEN (AND HAUNTED) CITY

I was in Beijing last week and was able to make it to the Forbidden City just before it closed. Depending on the time of the year, the Forbidden City closes either at 4:30pm or 5:00pm. I asked a friend why the Forbidden City closes so early. Her response, "Ghosts." I looked at her shocked as she nodded her head up and down.

Many people were executed in the Forbidden City during the Ming and Qing dynasty's. Evidently night guards have witnessed ghosts after dark, such as odd animals running around the grounds or crying women in the concubine quarters. According to the locals, the Forbidden City is haunted.

I hadn't been back since my trip with M in 2006 and had forgotten what a grand and expansive palace the emperors built six centuries ago. It consists of nearly 1,000 buildings marked with detailed carvings and decorative art. And just before you exit, you walk through a beautiful imperial garden. Lucky for me, I exited well before the sunset.

I can't believe it's been 6 years since our first trip to Beijing. It's crazy to look at our old pictures and see two very young people who had no idea (and continue to have no idea) what was in store for them. Here we thought traveling to Beijing was a once in a lifetime trip. It's funny where life can take you. And man, we are on quite the adventure.

Our trip to the Forbidden City back in 2006

COSTUME MARKET

Everyone in Hong Kong is looking for an excuse play dress up. Whether it's your pirate themed birthday party, Top Gun themed Rugby Sevens party or Halloween, there are plenty of reasons to keep your costume drawer stocked with goodies throughout the year.

So where does one find a costume in Hong Kong? Meet Pottinger Street, home to the costume market in Central. Walk along the granite stone steps and enjoy all of the costume vendors and their gems. You will be sure to find something that fits your theme.

Pottinger Street
Central, Hong Kong

LIFE LATELY

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past week or so. I have been traveling throughout China. It's good to finally be back home with M.

Here are 10 recent pictures from my iphone and Instagram too!

HK Landing

Show at the Wynn in Macau

View of Shanghai from my hotel room

The Shanghai Pudong

A Nanjing sunset

Room service

Costume shopping on Pottinger Street

Pepper crusted tuna steaks from Secret Ingredient

This sign made me smile

TEA ANYONE?

Looking for a place to relax while you enjoy a cup of tea? Look no further than Teakha in Sheung Wan. You will not regret it! Teakha has a great selection of teas (I highly recommend the Thai Iced Tea if it's still on the menu) and delicious homemade scones (the Roselle scone was our favorite).

They only offer one brunch special. Lucky for us, we picked the perfect day to go. We will never turn down eggs and sausage!

We are officially hooked!
 
Teakha
Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
+852-2858-9185