Weekend Errands, Jazz Night and Some More Shopping

This weekend, I mostly did mundane life stuff - did a bit of grocery shopping, researched and selected a desktop for Michael (he is so old school) that has all of the ports and hubs that he needs for his home office, helped my parents book their flights to Sapporo (a side trip when they come to visit Hong Kong in December), discussed my sister's plans for when she and her fiancee (yes, that happened recently!) come to Hong Kong (also in December - our family will be gathering in Asia this year to celebrate Christmas and see the baby, fun!), and, on a whim, purchased a bunch of little succulents and cactus and have lined them up on my kitchen window:

I also purchased a little fern that I plopped into a white pot:

And finally, I did loads of laundry, packed for Australia, researched visa processes for domestic helpers, and continued to follow up with, and interview, potential new helpers.  It's an exciting life I lead, isn't it?

On Saturday night, we also went to a friend's house for an evening of drinks, food, and jazz.  She hired a musician and put together a whole shebang of a party.  I neglected to get any pictures of the food, which was too bad, because it was an amazing spread of hot and cold appetizers (including guacamole and chips, fried potato wedges with dip, sliders, bruschetta) followed by platters of fresh fruit and brownies and assorted cakes, and they had an assortment of drinks, including champagne, wine, beer.  We had a great time.

In other baby shopping related news, we just received the cute Skip Hop Silver play gym (I confess I picked it purely for its soft color aesthetics) and this carseat canopy, and are waiting for the Fisher Price tub.  My parents are going to bring me the Baby bjorn mesh bouncer in gray with this toy attached, and also this little sleep sack from Woolino which my friend recommended.  We were also gifted an adorable Jellycat monkey soother, which is SO soft.

I am also taking advantage of my trip to Sydney to buy some of Australia Target's organic baby clothes, which seem much nicer and cuter than the available selection they have elsewhere, and all still at very reasonable prices.  Another friend ordered this camera for me from Taobao, which we plan to use like a baby monitor:

I personally wanted a baby monitor that would not hook up to my phone, because I distrust the whole cloud/internet connection thing.  But clearly I lost the fight because we are now getting an all-invasive, 360 degree viewfinder, walkie-talkie style, interactive video monitor, and from Taobao, nonetheless.  We might as well have just installed a bug directly into our home for anyone to tap in and watch and listen!  Yes, call me paranoid, but I completely distrust any electronics from China.

Thank you to everyone who has been giving me extremely helpful and insightful tips on what to buy!