i n • p u r s u i t

That's what some Bangladeshi man said to us as he pointed at these kids. Or it may have been stray children. Either one is accurate. We had just gotten off a long train ride from Chittagong to Dhaka and were waiting for Rick to come pick us up. As we stood leaning against the gate that separated the parking lot from the train platform, we were slowly surrounded. Children in front of us and men behind us. They wanted to check out the bideshis or foreigners. One of the men wanted to practice his English with Mike and towards the end of that very short conversation, he pointed to the kids. "Street children," he told us. The boys mostly stood there and smiled at us. They kept trying to speak to us and Mike kept responding with "Bangla nah." They were waiting and hoping for handouts, but they weren't begging. Mike said I could take their picture, that they would really like that. Sure enough, as soon as I pulled out my camera, the kids put their arms around...

There are so many things I could say about Bangladesh. The driving is insane. I don't know how many times I have narrowly avoided a head-on collision! The poverty is intense. It's everywhere and it is so sad. We were out of the airport less than five minutes when a child was knocking on the window of our taxi begging. The food is spicy. The weather is hot. The people are wonderful. Us with Thomas & Colleen Kühn at the Home of Love And about the wonderful people of Bangladesh, I got to meet some amazing folks,at a place I've been wanting to visit for several years. On the 21st, Mike and I headed down to Chittagong, Bangladesh where the Home of Love Orphanage is located. HOL is probably my favorite place in the wold now. I think "orphanage" and I imagine a sad and depressing place, but at the kids at HOL are beautiful and loving and happy. Me and some of the kids at the orphanage We pulled up to the orphanage around 7 at night and the truck was imme...

I think we went on Saturday afternoon. Mike worked most of the morning (being stuck in a hotel was a bit of a blessing because Mike was able to get a lot of work done) and after a late lunch, we headed into the city. Neither of us had spent much time at all in the city. Mike visited years ago...but there was a city-wide power outage. I visited a few years ago, but was on my way home from Boston and only saw the city from the charter bus window. We took the train from Ronkonkomo station and it took us about an hour and half and $43 to get to Penn Station. After walking up to street level, we looked around, spotted an H&M and poked in the store. I had never been to H&M before, but I will have to visit again to actually browse. It was more crowded than the mall on the day after Thanksgiving! We were on 7th Avenue and just started walking. We walked around Times Square for a bit, but being pushed for time (had to get back to make the 8:15 train and catch the hotel shuttl...

Yep, we finally made it. We weren't even sure it was going to happen! Sunday morning, we had tickets to fly out out to Greenville that evening. Then our travel agent called and told us that Air India wanted us at the airport NOW. So, we gathered our stuff and Mike said to me "Don't mention this to anyone else." We had been told there were 900 people trying to get to Mumbai that we were afraid of losing our seats. Well, when we got down to the hotel lobby, it was full of Indians and their luggage! A sign said "Sorry to see you go!" and a bus was on the way to take us back to JFK. Upon getting to the hotel, I was grateful that our flight was one of the first canceled. We got into the hotel but there were cots set up all over the airport for travelers who didn't get as far as we did. More waiting on the floor of the airport until we were able to check in. There was a bit more hullabaloo and waiting, but eventually we found ourselves India-bound. Our s...

...don't have any idea where we're going. Yep, we're packing up our stuff and gonna catch the train to JFK. But we don't know yet if we're headed home or to Bangladesh!

You may have guessed this, but we're still at the hotel. We won't get to leave until Sunday. This is kind of a bummer because I would so much rather be in Bangladesh instead of stranded in a hotel in Holtsville. However, when we watch the news and see travelers sleeping on cots in European airports, we feel very blessed that we got stranded in America. Because we're at an Indian run hotel, we've been getting Indian cuisine for our meals--except breakfast. And this isn't the kind of Indian cuisine I order in Greenville. This stuff is not made to accommodate Americans (because, now, I think, the Americans in our party are down to 2 or 3) which means it's SPICY! Our first meal, I ordered a quesadilla because the Indian food was very spicy and I told them I just couldn't do it. For lunch today, they made some penne vodka along with the Indian food, so I had some of that. And for dinner today? Saag ! Saag is my favorite Indian dish and I told the cook how muc...

I'm sitting in the Crown Plaza in Long Island, New York instead of on the plane to Mumbai. We've not even left the states and we've had first crazy little experience. (Forgive me if this post if rife with typos. I wanted to be sure to get this story down before I forgot, and it's been a long day.) It started when we found the Air India check in counters in JFK. I didn't really suspect anything while we were waiting in line. Then a man approached the end of the line and asked where we were traveling from. We were allowed to skip in front of everyone else in line, along with a couple of ladies from LA and a man from Minneapolis. Mike and I were the only westerners in line, the others were the most western dressed. I looked at Mike and asked him what that was about. Why did we get to skip in front of everyone else. Mike shrugged, "that's just how these things work." As it turned out, being in the front didn't help us much. Our flight was "indefin...

Have I told you yet about the canker sore from Hell? Oh, I am so not exaggerating. This canker sore it the WORST I have ever had, and whoo boy have I had some doozies. I would even rather a cold sore than this! I have a canker sore on my uvula! On my uvula? Are you kidding me? How did that happen? It hurts like where it came from--especially while eating or drinking. I've found that eating soft warm food is okay, but anything else, especially cold, acidic or crunchy is super painful. I thought I'd eat a yogurt with my lunch today. Nope! Pasta or rice is what I've had for dinner the past two nights, and those work just fine. Sore throat spray and ibuprofen don't do much for it, though I'm still popping ibuprofen like a mad woman. Actually, the sore throat spray was pretty much useless. I'm planning on getting some good pain meds before I leave for Bangladesh tomorrow. Thank goodness! Any advice would be appreciated!

I usually have a hard time packing for a trip because I want to take everything I own and I end up over packing. I bring too many pairs of shoes and my blowdryer and straightening iron and all this jewelry. and, of course, too many clothes I won't need "just in case." I have been known to bring an extra bag just for my shoes. I once packed a terrycloth robe, it took up a LOT of space. This trip, I'm bringing a back pack. It's a Deuter pack that never got much use. I bought it because I though 1) it was way cool, 2) it was cheap (sale + employee discount) and 3) I used to go backpacking. Well, it's too small for much of a backpacking trip and also I haven't backpacked in forever. So, this lovely pack just sat in my closet for years. Well, I finally get to use it! Yay. Oh, I bet you see where this is going. The chronic over packer is fitting 10 days into one pack. Well, I'm only bringing one pair of shoes (two if you count my house slippers) and no ...

You know, shots hurt a heck of a lot less than I remember. I got two vaccinations today: typhoid and HepA. I was totally freaked out about getting these shots. Because, I mean, shots are ridiculously painful. Right? That's how they are in my memory! I told Lauren, the adorable little girl to whom I am a nanny, about my shots. She told me all about how she was so brave at her four-year-old shots. She didn't even cry. Not even a little bit. She looked at my very seriously, "I think you'll be able to be brave too, Miss Tiffany." Nah, I wasn't brave. I was terrified. But as it turned out, I couldn't even FEEL my typhoid shot! After the typhoid shot, she moved over to the other arm with the HepA shot. "This is going to be worse, isn't it?" The nurse laughed at me. "Who told you that?" Which, duh, mean yes! So, it was worse. But not, like, painful. There was this weird oozy pressure of the medicine going in, but it didn't ...

So, a few weeks ago, I woke up super early (5:30am), made a bunch of earrings and I haven't even told you guys about them yet! So, here they are. And remember, all of these are $4-$6! Allie Earrings: mother of pearl and glass beads dangle from silver tone ear wires ($6.00) Blue Hearts Earrings: wire wrapped glass beads hang from silver tone ear wires ($5.00) Spring Blooms Collection, Clover Earrings: Green teardrop beads dangle from silver tone lever back earrings ($4.00) Darby earrings: silver and marbled glass beads on antiqued silver tone ear wires ($5.00) Spring Blooms Collection, Iris Earrings: Teal and pink teardrop beads on silver tone lever back earrings ($6.00) Helene earrings: champagne colored glass pearls on silver tone ear wires ($5.00) Lilli earrings fuchsia stripped glass beads on gold tone ear wires ($5.00) Sweet amethyst: square beads dangle from silver tone ear wires ($5.00) Zoë earrings: brownstone bea...

Domo bunny! [ source ] Wikipedia says that the Easter Bunny was not an original Easter symbol (um, no kidding!) and I know that Easter is way bigger than bunnies. This Domo bunny, however, is just too dang cute to not share. *squee* I have a bigger Paschal-themed post buzzing around in my head and not the time right now to blog it.

I have tried intricate seed beading and have given up. I gave up because it was too hard for me...which is precisely why I have chosen to showcase Flower's Creations today. Her jewelry is gorgeous and clearly made with real skill! If you're in the market for a gorgeous statement piece, be sure to check out Flower's Creations ! Libellule verte beaded bead necklace ($130) Resille spirale necklace cream and peach ($150) Marshmallow peyote bracelet ($130) --- Saturday shops is a new weekly feature on In Pursuit that showcases some of my favorite Etsy shops. These spots are not paid or, often, even known about by the artisan (at least, until I notify them). They're just Etsy shops I love. If you sell on Etsy and would like to suggest your shop, convo me on Etsy (tiffanyanne) or send me an email (fraukuech@gmail.com). --- Follow me @fraukuech

via via via via via via I love these old signs! The first two are photos I took in Reno, NV. The last two are from "The Boneyard" part of the Neon Museum in Las Vegas.

...and lucky her, I had just taken a few! :) I don't have pictures of all the flowers I planted, but here are a few of the honey suckle bush and a few teeny red flowers popping up on a tree. Expect more pictures soon, because we've got thunbergia , primroses, impatience, and Chinese fringe flower waiting to be photographed. Also, wild flowers, hostas, freesias and other unknowns waiting to pop up! (this one's my new desktop background!)