swanky party

Yet another picture of only me...I am so vain huh? Chris and I were leaving a party last night and couldn't resist a belly shot in the art deco lobby. Chris had to work yesterday so I spent the day being pretty lazy before picking him up and heading to the beach. Our favorite time is 6pm on the beach, the sun is setting so it is bearable. We usually go for a walk and a swim together on the weekends and during the week I go by myself or with other neighbors. Last night we met our friends Andrea, Tomas, Maria and Ricardo on the beach and stayed until it was dark. It is truly my most favorite thing about living here and I try to be thankful for it every time I think about Dubai. Later we went to Ruby Tuesday (seriously...) it is one of the newest restaurants in our complex and we just had to check it out. I don't think I have ever been to one. I don't think I need to go again but the salad bar was yummy! Our complex Jumeriah Beach Residences is a bit of a Dubai sham in many ways but really nice in others. We rented here knowing the "plans" would most likely change and indeed they have now that the developers have sold all the apartments. Outside of our apartment there will (allegedly) still be a free pathway to the beach but all other areas are being used for public parking lots and private beach clubs. A bit of a shock to all the people that thought they were buying into a private community that would provide amenities. They also nixed the construction of all but two gyms in the buildings (that house 30,000 people) figuring we could all just pay to use private ones...Oh Dubai! The upside for us is- we still get the free access outside our door and one of the two gyms is going in our complex-we got lucky. We are hoping the beach clubs will offer pre-sales and deals for residences as well because it could be worth it depending on the price of course so we aren't getting our hopes up too high... The major benefit to all the development around here has been the shops and cafes. Sure it is just more places to blow your money but it is nice when I am working from home to be able to pop downstairs for a coffee and feel like I did get out a bit. It will be nice with the baby as well since there are different options in each block so you can walk a lot or a little...we are just hoping a grocery store will open soon, there are four planned but so far none are visible. Here is a link to a commercial for JBR- I am sure it is disgusting PR but probably intriguing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-csM4I9Drfg

After our wonderful meal we walked to a party at a friend of Andres and Maria's. Now you are probably thinking we do walk a lot for a place we always complain about not being able to walk in...well the party was at the same place I wrote about a few weeks ago that I said we walked to. The party was hosted by an American woman whose party was a modern day version of the one Audrey Hepburn threw in Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a very international and cosmopolitan crowd full of random personal connections. We ran into someone Chris knows through a work friend and also some friends of mine that I know through a completely different group of friends. The hostess wore a colorful dress, heels and flitted about laughing loudly. There was even a cat that perched itself on a high bookshelf to watch the crowd. Chris actually got tired before me so we didn't stay too late. These days I feel so great that I try to soak it up as best I can. I know there will be a lot of tiredness in my future! I was talking to our great friend Brad the other day on Skype (with video) and my sharp eyes noticed his glass of chilled white wine in a tumbler- it seems like the days of a glass of wine in the afternoon are a lifetime away...so he asked me how I feel and I said great, I always wondered how I would feel if I cut out sugar, alcohol and caffeine for an extended period of time and now I know...it make you feel really healthy! Now a true detox would be cutting out dairy and wheat too but I don't see myself ever doing that, especially not pregnant! So it is Saturday afternoon here, Chris is at work...again and I just got back from Satwa to pick up a couple of skirts I had made. I had a moment of Dubai bliss as I left the tailor because he gave me a great price on the skirts, because Satwa is loud, dirty and gritty and because a guy at the grocery store insisted on carrying my bags to my car for me (being pregnant sure does have perks) and this bubble of total love and euphoria was burst as I noticed a huge Range Rover with tinted windows had parked parallel behind me preventing me from leaving. Oh well, the owner returned in about 10 minutes and my good mood prevailed. Sometimes I love that Dubai doesn't have tow trucks and sometimes I hate it!