Leavin' on a jet plane

We've started packing!

Somebody knows something is up.

...and he's not happy about it.

Neither is his mama. 

We'll arrive in the USA Wednesday night.

Although we HATE leaving Dudley, we're so excited to see you!!!

xx,

Lauren

Seaside Dining

We've been wanting to try the South African restaurant, The Stoep, for months now. It's located in Mui Wo (Lantau Island), about a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Island...and located right on the beach. Lindsey & Paul, and Dan & Laura joined us for a great afternoon. 

It was a perfect Sunday lunch, complete with chicken breasts, lamb, ostrich, and the most delicious bread. We don't have great bread here in HK, so it was a welcomed treat. 

After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on Cheung Sha Beach.  

There were loads of families celebrating Father's Day, which of course made me miss my dear dad and Mr. P. 

I'm a pretty lucky girl to have these men in my life. 

(p.s. I LOVE this pic of Mr. P!

For the record, he was not coming after me with that gun, but the poor bunnies who love to eat his flowers). 

Happy Father's Day to all you Daddies out there. 

I'm missing my two daddy's today.

xx,

Lauren

Row Your Boat

Yesterday was a bank holiday in Hong Kong...we were celebrating Dragon Boating. 

We headed out to Stanley... in the 100% humidity day... to watch the races. Dragon Boat races have been happening for over 4 decades. There were more than 4000 paddlers and 130 teams that participated this year.  It was way crowded....

The paddlers row in unision to a beating drums and gongs.

Junks will tie up so spectators can watch from the water.

Many teams dress up in crazy costumes.

We were cheering hard for Morgan Stanley, as Damien was part of the team.

I think they ended up coming in 3rd overall, which is an amazing feat for a bank team. 

Here we are...hot, sweaty, and loving Hong Kong. 

xx,

Lauren

3 Years

In August we'll celebrate 3 years of wedded bliss! 

We've decided to go here for a few days. 

And then we'll make our way here...

There are a few perks to living in Asia.

Can you guess where we'll be?!?!

xx,

Lauren

USA! USA!

It's World Cup craziness here in Hong Kong. 

We stayed up from 2:30-4:45 am to watch USA vs. England.

All for a 1-1 game.

We had a great time though, and love representing the USA when we're so far away. 

Enjoy the games!

xx,

Lauren

Gloom

This is what the past 3 days have looked like.

Welcome to rainy season.
(Reason 2,712 that I had my hair straightened.) 

 Makes me want to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. 

You'll be happy to know I haven't succumb to the pressure, and have actually had a busy week :)

 

Crossing our fingers that it clears up for the weekend!

xx,

Lauren

My First Brazilian....

Get your minds out of the gutter kids....
BRAZILIAN STRAIGHTENING...
for my hair...
that's on my head!  

I have been wanting to do this for months, and the rain combined with the humidity finally made me cave.

 Oh. My. Gosh.

My life may have just changed, forever. 

Why have I waited so long?!? 

My hair is not straight. It's frizzy and wavy. Not the beautiful "looks like I just went swimming in the ocean" waves, but the ugly, flat "I just rolled out of bed and have never seen a hairbrush" waves. In this above picture, my hair is STRAIGHT, and he's only drying it with his FINGERS! Never in my life have I ever seen my hair wet, and straight, at the same time.

I read alot of reviews about the Brazilian Blowout, and some really scared me. In my treatment today, there was ZERO formaldehyde, which I was really pleased about. It didn't stink and was completely painless (many reviews said the formaldehyde would almost make you cry it burned so much). 

This is the "after" photo. My hair was only dried with fingers. No brush. It's pretty straight right now, but I should be able to get the body back into it once I wash it. 

I have to wait 48 hours to wash it, and can't put a rubber band or clip in it until Saturday. 

 I also had to buy a special shampoo and conditioner that doesn't contain sodium chloride. I can't believe how long my hair looks when it's straight. I think it grew about 3 inches today.

The results aren't in yet, but so far, I'm really happy. 

I'm saying goodbye to my straightener for the next 12 weeks.  Ya-hoo!

Will keep you posted on how the hair progresses :)

xx,

Lauren, and her new hair.