All This Marriage Talk Makes Me Want To Eat Nutella

If you've been wondering what I've been up to on the other side of the world....

Well, its official. I moved to China, met the man of my dreams and got hitched.

Ha! As if there is a man that exists at the moment who can actually hold my attention for longer than 10 minutes.  If so, can you send him my way? So no worries, boys. Compose yourselves.  This hot commodity is still on the market.

In other news....

I shot an editorial for a Chinese bridal magazine.  After asking my agency a few times to push me for some type of magazine job, I was surprised to hear they actually did.

Oh but can we say a bit frustrating? The thing about some Chinese clients (and I was warned) is that they have little imagination.  I was given a sheet of poses they wanted me to copy. And I mean EXACTLY.  

I was allowed to smile only one way (see above), and my individual poses consisted of hands at my side or one hand on my hip.  No matter that I know what poses look good with my body and face and I know how to make the dresses look best on me. Nope. Stick to the sheet! All I could think was, "Omg this going to be the most boring editorial ever!"I slipped in a few sensual hand positions to my face because I'm a rebel like that, but for the most part I had to focus on remaining still while not feeling completely stiff.  

At one point, they were getting frustrated at me for not getting my hand positioned correctly. Umm... hello? You want me to position my right hand to show off the wedding ring even though the model on the sheet is modeling her left hand. First of all, that's why its not working. Second, you guys wear the wedding band on the right hand? This is what I was trying to explain and inquire from the clients who couldn't speak English. 

But then again these moments are what make all this an adventure and like all us models say, "Its China. Whatever!"

But enough about my fake marriage. 

My little sister is getting married!!! (For real I promise). Aren't they adorable? (And yes I know they look like they are fresh out of high school.... but I assure you they are not.)

And he's amazing. He'll make a good addition to our family!

Congratulations to Janna and Kevin!

Fashion Shoot in Beijing

I was warned about shooting fashion photos in Beijing. The photographers, as talented as they are, tend to shoot photos that aren't taken seriously in the major markets like New York and Europe; photos that tend to be "magical" or "whimsical" with too much makeup and crazy wigs and way too much photoshop.  

And its true. Most of the photos from the shoot, as interesting as they are, I cannot use for my portfolio. For example, at one point during the photo shoot I was in a sexy cave woman like outfit holding a stake in one hand in a pig's heart in the other.

Yes people. A PIG'S HEART. This was after some protest on my part and somehow it still ended up in my hand. And like I find myself recently saying often in instances like this... Only in China. 

Yet, as with many test shoots, you shoot enough and you tend to get at least a few usable photos. And actually I think these turned out quite amazing and I'm happy that I'll be leaving China with these in my book.  My current book is so commercial and these will give it a fresh fashionable turn.  

And can I just say this dog was awesome?! She was so goofy and kept trying to upstage me in every photo.  As you can see.... she almost succeeded! 

For Your Inspiration

  

I'm not one to usually repost quotes, but today I came across this and I just feel like it! Spotted at the blog of the lovely and inspiring hey amber rae via workisnotajob.

Ni Hao!

Ni Hao! I can't believe it has almost been a month since I arrived in Beijing. Here are some of my favorite photos so far to help showcase my experience.

The first two nights I stayed at an adorable guest house along a Hutong, a traditional Chinese alley.  The family, who was very helpful and generous to this newbie in China, was super excited to have a model living in one of their rooms. They wanted me to stay longer and offered me a very discounted price which I had to turn down. I do, however, get to go back soon and be their guest for a family dinner!

The third day I met with my agency Fusion Models and signed a two month contract.  I moved from the  guest house to a model apartment close to my agency.  This little guy insisted he help me carry my luggage to the taxi.  

A few hours after the contract was signed, I jumped in a van and joined the rest of the models for 6 castings that day with the last one ending at 10pm.  I realized quickly that its not going to be easy to fit in all the things a tourist gets to do. But it will be done! And I am thankful to be going on so many castings every day.

And at least I get to go see beautiful places on photo shoots, like this one below. I'm not sure where this was, but it was breathtaking and my camera did not do this landscape justice.

I sure lucked out and have some really great roommates from Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. We walked around the outside of Forbidden City . The Chinese often times approach us and want to take photos with us. This particular session lasted for 20 minutes. We couldn't get away from the crowd!

At Jingshan Park we relaxed outside this temple and enjoyed the view.

Walking back and catching the border of Forbidden City at night gave this destination a completely different feel.  

Beihai Park was peaceful and I loved the all the lily pads floating on the river.

Summer Palace was amazing. I spent hours walking around the entire park until the sun set on the lake.

After I had my afternoon tea of course :)

And this bridge was just so lovely....

I'm not going to lie. The first few days I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay. Beijing is not an English speaking city at all. I was having difficulty navigating the city by myself. Where I was staying initially was very dirty and a lot of the food grosses me out. I didn't really eat the first week.  However, once I was settled in my new apartment with the other models I began to enjoy Beijing a little more each day. Now I am loving it and I know that the next month will go by way too fast. 

Which of course means I have a lot more things to fit in because the clock is now ticking!