Just at dinner tonight, I said to friends, “Now that I’m back in Taipei, I don’t ever want to leave!”
My declaration was met with overwhelming enthusiasm from the dinner party. Naturally, because everyone’s living here by choice. It’s the small things here that make life easier. If i have to choose one thing that I love the most about living in Taipei, it has to be the convenience of the life style. And what’s so convenient about living here? Everything!
今年不管是因公出國或是跟家人旅行，出國的次數比往年的多，而在旅遊方面的最大新突破，就是首次體驗現在非常夯的Airbnb – 日租房網站!
Airbnb 這個民宿網近年來越來越受歡迎，今年更打算要強攻台灣市場，其實現在歐美許多旅客在計劃旅行的時候，已經不會去先考慮要住哪家飯店，反而是先上這網站，看看要去的目的地，有哪些民宿符合自己的預算和要求？ 不僅可以更實惠划算，還可以在沒出發前，結交一位住在當地的朋友，也就是你的房東啦！ Airbnb 特別適合喜歡避開觀光客的行程，實質去體驗當地居民生活的旅客。 如果碰到志同道合的房東，馬上就交一個好朋友，這樣四海皆兄弟，拓展世界視野也不錯！
之前老公就非常大力推薦這個網站，而我因為比較old school，喜歡住我所熟悉的飯店品牌，不過因為七月的時候，要去美國找姐姐，而她家附近的飯店都滿了，所以我決定讓老公去選一個在姐姐家附近的Airbnb 民宿，就姑且一試吧！ 一天的房租林林總總加起來，一天大概是兩百元美金，都預定好了之後，我們一家四口準備入住一個在矽谷郊區的兩層樓房子。房東也住在裡面，而她是要出租二樓空出來的兩間房間。當天，我門開著租來的車子，一把車子停好，我姐的第一個反應是，『這房子房價一定超過百萬美金』！
I love surprises – good surprises that is. I love watching movie stars surprising their fans, Oprah surprising her audience members with a free trip to Australia, or Ellen DeGeneres surprising a school teacher with a $10,000 check from Target. Surprises gets me every time. Although surprises don’t come that often in my life, my girlfriends from Taiwan gave me one of the best surprises this weekend, as I was heading to our regular Girls Night Out dinner on Friday night.
話說，我最喜歡看明星surprise fans, 或是歐普拉surprise 忠實觀眾，送她們一張免費機票，然後全場high 翻，哭著抱成一團，當然在現實生活中，我想強尼戴普不會來敲門，劉德華應該不會唱歌給我聽，我還在癡癡等待歐普拉送我一棟房子，不過，幸虧我有一群超級貼心的死黨姐妹淘！今年給了我即將到來的里程碑生日一個最棒的禮物.
最近香港小姐選美比賽剛圓滿落幕，而賽果也一如外界預期，由熱門人選奪得后冠。
冠軍麥明詩不僅是長相甜美，多才多藝，從小到大成績優異，曾經就讀香港數一數二的女子高中，又以優異的成績成為香港所謂的『十優狀元』（榜首），還是英國劍橋大學的法律學士，不僅是人生勝利組，更是組裡面的VIP。
只不過在她贏得后冠之後，上演了超級尷尬的一幕。 當晚，名次公布，主持人也宣布節目結束之後，一如慣例，全部佳麗湧上去跟獲得名次的冠，亞和季軍擁抱恭喜，只見全部佳麗自動分成兩邊，紛紛包圍著站在冠軍左右的亞軍和季軍，而麥明詩則是一個人孤拎拎，因為完全沒人上前向她祝賀，只好掛著甜美笑容站在舞台中間，微笑的看著左右邊抱成一團的佳麗們。 幸虧，見到如此場面的鄭裕玲，一個步向前，跟麥明詩握手，稍稍化解這個尷尬。 不過這畫面已經持續烙印在觀眾腦海中，選美結束，這話題持續延燒，成為香港民眾茶餘飯後的八卦話題，大家都在熱烈討論，這個集美麗與智慧於一身的香港小姐怎麼那麼沒人緣？
I love having professional photos taken of the kids. When you look at your kids through someone else’s lenses, you always find something that you haven’t notice before.
This summer is a special one because we decided that finally, it’s time for Max to go and stay with Grandpa/Grandma in Canada for 2 weeks by himself. He was going to fly there with them, Mom and Dad will pick him up at the end of two weeks. Mei Mei, however, didn’t go because she’s still my little baby girl. Before Max left for his summer adventure in Canada, I found a photographer within a day, thanks to the power of “HK Moms”, a Facebook group. I booked a professional photo session for the kids and the grandparents with Paula, a fellow HK mom and a professional photographer. This was my “Thank You” gift to the Grandparents for all the free babysitting that we were getting. Here are some of the photos that I LOVED.
今年的暑假對小麥而言，好像是他的成年禮一樣。 因為我們終於答應讓他跟爺爺奶奶飛去加拿大，住上兩個禮拜，然後爸爸媽媽跟妹妹再飛去跟他會合。之前我們總是擔心他太小，會想家或者是不習慣，ㄟ爸爸媽媽想太多了，小麥簡直是玩瘋了，每天的節目都非常豐富，晒得跟小黑人一樣，我想要離開加拿大之前，他可能會嚎啕大哭，跟我說他不想回香港吧！
在他離開之前，我在香港找了位攝影師，讓她去捕捉小麥和小艾這個年紀的神韻，而透過她的鏡頭，我的寶貝看起來淘氣，調皮，看起來天真無邪，可是看完整組照片，媽媽也很感慨，因為『我的寶貝真的長大了』！
想要到土耳其很久了，但是久久沒有成行，因為溫尢堅持那邊很危險！ 我跟來自科索沃的攝影老大講到這，他嗤之以鼻，非常的不以為然，但是問他可能不準，因為他老兄是從科索沃土生土長，哪可能覺得區區土耳其會危險？不過看他那經歷風霜的臉就知道，人家可能是在戰火中長大的，所以知道我要去伊斯坦堡，攝影老大說只要小心那邊的男人，我會玩的非常開心，真是說的一點也沒錯！ 在坎城影展結束後的第一天，我從尼斯飛到伊斯坦堡，準備來個土耳其初體驗！
After Cannes, I made a two day stop over to Turkey. I’ve heard so many good things about it and have been wanting to go, but SOMEBODY stopped me because he deemed Turkey “too dangerous” to visit. Since I bought my ticket to Cannes on Turkish Airline, a stop over in Istanbul was inevitable. However, it didn’t stop the old man from worrying. He insisted I took off my wedding band and engagement ring before leaving. I don’t think my husband’s intention was to make me feel single again, but I was basking in attentions from Turkish men who were trying to grab a piece of me or my money. Either way, I was thoroughly enjoying myself in this ancient, exotic and amazing city.
The last working day at Cannes, I decided to make a half day trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco with a friend because I’ve always wanted to go. Plus, I’ve always wanted to know if it’s just like the movie scenes from my favourite James Bond movie “Casino Royale”. Well, it wasn’t… probably because I didn’t go to any casinos, but here are the places I did go to.
在坎城影展閉冪那天，老闆特赦我們當天下午四點半才要開工，當然是因為閉幕典禮之後，還有漫漫長夜的一整晚工作等著我們，但是抓住半天的時間，我和一位遠從香港而來的朋友，起了個大早，準備啟程到摩納哥去，因為從來沒去過，想看看是否蒙地卡羅就像電影裡頭般的美麗！
就是這個新加坡廣告，引起許多媽媽們不滿，紛紛上網幹譙。
原本廣告訴求只是要提醒新加坡的外傭僱主們，讓外傭一個星期至少放假一天，因為許多在新加坡工作的外籍家傭，一個月只休假一兩天，有些甚至完全沒休假。近幾年政府才明文規定，家傭應一個星期放假ㄧ天，但還是有很多僱主不遵守規定。於是這個廣告找來了ㄧ群母親和她們的外傭，請她們回答一些關於孩子的問題，然後播出孩子的答案。結果在廣告中所呈現出的，是外傭一面性壓倒勝利，答對了所有問題，對小朋友的大事小事都暸如指掌，最後一張黑底白字的字卡出現，寫著『請給予家傭她們法定性的休假日』。
我看完廣告第一個反應是，『這個廣告也太歧視女性了吧？！』 首先，它把照顧小朋友的責任都歸咎於媽媽以及外傭身上，那爸爸是在幹嘛？ 爸爸都不用負責照顧小孩嗎？ 再來，這邏輯也很奇怪，因為如果母親沒有答對答案，就表示妳不太瞭解小朋友，所以妳應該讓外傭休假。 但是試問，如果母親若答對所有問題，是否就表示外傭不需要放假？ 我討厭這廣告的另外一個原因，可能是因為它觸痛我這位職場媽媽內心的最深恐懼 – 小孩跟外傭關係緊密更勝過於我。
If you’re a budget conscious shopper like me, I know you get quiet a thrill when you come across these small hidden gems, tucked away from the bustle and hustle of Hong Kong. On my way to get Vietnam visa for our upcoming vacation, I stumbled across this hole-in-the-wall pop up store on Wanchai street. I was ecstatic because A. I’ve been thinking about getting a new set of dinnerware, bowls, and serving plates, but didn’t want to go to Ikea because the selection there is really lacking. B. I didn’t want to pay over-the-top prices, because let’s face it, living in Hong Kong, what is NOT over-the-top $$$?
I remember buying from a similiar shop like this also in Wanchai a few years ago, but it disappeared a few days later. So I could hardly contain my excitement when I found this one. Let’s go and take a look, shall we? Continue reading
deartaipeilovehongkong.com 