News and reviews in my shoes.

I’m in this video for Options for Cars!! haha And more importantly, so are two of my songs! <3 Check it out and share!

So many wicked-exciting things are going on right now!! Keep an eye on your inbox for a newsletter soon! (Not signed up? Go here and get a free download for signing up!)

- J

Fashion: the cure for jetlag

My sister and I in our shalwar kameezes

We arrived (finally! Crazy long flight.) in Dhaka, Bangladesh in the early afternoon.

Bangladesh, to give you some background, is a country consisting of 161 million people in an area just larger than England. Most of the land is less than 12km above sea level, so floods are common and there is a lot of marshland. It’s also home to the largest mangrove forest in the world <3 One of my favourite trees! Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 after being part of India and then East Pakistan for a while. 3/4 of their exports are garments, and 60% of the population is under 25 years old. Woah. Bangladeshis love cricket and soccer, the currency is Taka, and Mercedes are THE car to drive. :)

Our work contacts picked us up, and we experienced Dhaka traffic for the first time! haha It was light traffic apparently as it was a holiday. lol By 4pm, I am trying to wake my sister out of a severely jetlagged nap so that we can take our first trip out into Dhaka! We had a big dinner planned with our potential business partners and their families and were getting all dressed up (see pic above)! En route to dinner, our friend also wished to show us this huge shopping mall in the centre of town called Basundhara.

As you can see, even my camera was overwhelmed!

I wish we had not been so jetlagged and could have spent an entire day here. lol It was really overwhelming - the size, the number of people, the public reaction to our curly foreigner hair, the number of stores, the array of stores, the low prices…I did end up pulling myself together long enough to purchase a new ring and a silk clutch <3

Following the mall, we went to dinner! We were a group of about 10 people. The Bangladeshi sense of hunour is fantastic!! Such great people to hang out with :) We had a delicious buffet. The wife of the Chairman showed us around the foods explaining what each one was. I was so thankful for that! Delicious. The GM of the hotel also ate with us, AND we met the star cricket player in Bangladesh <3 I had no idea who he was until after seeing as I have watched all of 5 minutes of cricket in my life, but super cool! Talented guy :D

By dessert, my brother was literally passed out at the table. haha So, we headed back to the hotel to give in to the jetlag around 9:30.

Have you been to Dhaka? What was your experience like?

Asia, here we come!

Check out this great little package from Emirates Airline! Sleep mask, toothbrush, and warm socks.

Happy New Year, guys!!!

I hope your 2013 is already off to a great start! It’s currently blowing my mind, that’s for sure!

I ended last year and kicked off this one with a ridiculous business-meets-pleasure trip to South-East Asia! I work with a company called Options for Homes during the daytime (and as most of you know I’m a musician by night!), and there are contacts in both Bangladesh and Cambodia who are looking at implementing the Options housing model in their countries. My CEO (who happens to also be my step-dad) and I (the marketing department) and my brother and sister took two weeks (three in my step-dad’s case) and travelled there to meet with contacts, see the sights, and have some really delicious food.

We got on a plane on Boxing Day at 9:20pm. This would be a great idea if I could actually sleep on planes. lol Instead, 5 movies and some failed sleep attempts later, we land in Dubai for a 7-hour layover. Thankfully, Emirates rocks and gives you a hotel to crash in (mind you, it takes 3 hours to get out of the airport…lol).

Instead of sleeping for 3 hours, we took 1.5 and spent the rest of the time cab-touring Dubai! Why not, right? None of us had been there!

The Burj Khalifa

With my sister and step-dad at Dubai International Airport

I am really looking forward to coming back to Dubai for a longer period of time and exploring the city! Dubai has a vibe that I instantly connected with - I felt really comfortable there. I realize Dubai is in an interesting spot from a sustainability point of view, and I look forward to watching it grow and change also. But it really is beautiful all lit up at night :) Gorgeous architecture. And the cars. Everyone drives a hot car! And they`re all shining clean.

By 4am we were back in the air and en route to Dhaka, Bangladesh! More on that later :)

Please leave your comments and photos below! Have you been to Dubai?

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

My dad and I have been creating Christmas recordings since forever!! Music has always been one of my favourite things about Christmas, and I hope these add to your festive spirit! Thank you all so much for being part of my world this year. You’re amazing <3

Listen here:

https://soundcloud.com/jessicaspeziale

Mention in the Lipstik Indie 2012 Wrap-up! »

I’m so honoured to have been mentioned amongst so many incredible musicians in the Lipstik Indie 2012 Wrap-Up!! Unreal!! Click the link above to read it :)