I’m back from China!

& I’ve got a few bullet points to share.

– I had to cut my trip short a week or so. I had planned visit some of the Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province, but because of Tibetan protests, many cities have recently been closed to foreigners. Blurg. It sucks, but that’s one of the risks of traveling in China.

– I started to feel sick a few days before flying out of China. It’s a good thing I came home because I have a horrible health mixture of strep throat & a sinus infection. I’m really glad I’m not in China for this ickiness.

– 30 hours of flights & layovers sucks when you have strep throat & a sinus infection. It is also not pleasant for others sitting around you.

– While trying to change my return flight, I learned that Expedia has really bad customer service.

– So now I’m at home trying to get over jet lag, sleeping 20 hours a day, and staying hopped up on cough medicine. Hopefully I’ll be over this gunk soon. In the meantime, I’ll be trying to answer my overflowing mailbox, but no promises!

xoxo,

Alex

I love this little boy’s enthusiasm at Melissa & Dave’s wedding!

I had so much fun meeting up with Kendra & Matthew in Knoxville for their engagement photos! We had a blast in the unusually warm Knoxville weather & I learned that the KMA has free admission everyday. Who knew? What a gem!

Can’t wait for their wedding in June!

I love all the unique bridesmaid dresses that I’ve seen on Pinterest & many wedding blogs! & I love that David’s Bridal is getting a little bit of competition. Sure, it’s great, and they offer every style possible in every color, but there are some definite gems to be found elsewhere. For some reason David’s Bridal has almost tricked everyone into believing that the only types of bridesmaid dresses you can have must be labeled bridesmaid dresses. Not only are these non-bridal boutique dresses unique, but they are all under $50!!

I stole my sister & her friends to illustrate this idea. We went shopping & found a ton of dresses that are under $50 & would be awesomely unique for a wedding. The purpose is not to showcase each particular dress, but to show how easy it is to find dresses that are creative, affordable, and available. And your girls will thank you when they can re-wear the dress :)

Most of these dresses are from Target, Delia’s, and Dillard’s. Other great online retailers are Ruche, Lulu’s, J. Crew, and ModCloth. There are tons more, of course, just let your imagination run wild!

I’m only about half way done with my to-do list, but my mind is wandering.

Tomorrow I board a plane, then another plane, and then another plane. And then I get to see the two wonderful ladies you see below in those goofy pictures of us.

I think my heart might explode. Tan Wei & Wang Hao were my “girls” in China. We ate lunch together everyday for almost a year. They helped me buy cell phones & they listened to me complain about my teachers. They introduced me to their families & to their friends. They spoke for me when I could barely order a plate of fried rice. They went with me every time I wanted to eat hot pot but was too embarrassed to eat it by myself.

Now 1.5 years later, I get to see them again. I’m gonna step off my plane in Changsha & squee with happiness.

See you later, America. 你好，中国！