Saying Goodbye to Spring 2018 | #WeeklyWednesday2018

One of the many benefits to having lived in a university town as long as I have is that I meet SO MANY new friends from all over the world and most of them have continued on past our year of being in the same office / class to an international level friendship!

There was much to be done before leaving for my upcoming Singapore trip, so we tried really hard to make these meetings work out!

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IHOP Breakfast with the Bayarsaikhans

Two such ladies that I have no intention of losing touch with are my office-mate, Anu, and her older sister, Oyu (who is my age). They are my FIRST pair of Mongolian friends, lovely inside and out, and SO TALENTED. They also came over to my place to help me with crafty things back in July of 2017! Check it out here :)

We went out for a pancake breakfast to catch up, update each other on what we were going to be doing over summer, and just generally enjoy each others' company before we split ways.

Here are some photos! :)

pictured on left, Oyu.

pictured on right, Anu.

my order of chocolate pancakes that I shared with the rest of the table 

and also passed some along to another fellow student later lol

mandatory group photos!

I miss these girls already. Oyu is headed off to the UK to continue her studies and Anu has a job up on St. Louis. 

Until next time, girls!! xoxo

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Champaign Surprise! 

So, in lieu of the fact that U of I only wrapped up its semester right the week before we were going to leave for Singapore, we went up to Champaign to help Ash move back home. There are no photos of the moving process, as we were very busy and trying to get things done as soon as possible to make it back to Carbondale post haste!


We ran into...wait for it...ERIC!!

I had thought that this guy would've up and gone by the time we got to Champaign, but lo and behold, he was moving out as well and was JUST about to head out. Managed to snag a quick pic with him before he disappeared. Congrats on your graduation, my friend!


Our final surprise came when I realized that Chipo (my other Champaign based friend) was the one coming to give Ash's apartment a final once-over. 

She was SO sweet when we first met (she threw us a mini tea party of sorts) and also when we went out for lunch over Spring Break, and I can't believe this was likely to be the last time we'd see her!! She returned home to Zambia (I think...? Yikes!) to get married!! *update, she was a LOVELY BRIDE!

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We returned home and hurried on with our Singapore packing (and Ash's temporary unpacking in order TO pack). Singapore + Langkawi, Malaysia + Penang, Malaysia photos coming up!

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely summer, everyone!

~ Ariel

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Elissa's Bridal Shower | #WeeklyWednesday2018

Somehow, in the grand scheme of things, I amazingly managed to order my dear friend (are we childhood friends, Lis? lol) a beautiful selection of gifts for her bridal shower.

There were three gifts in all that fit our budget (when combined) and shouted LOUD AND CLEAR that it was from the Loh family. What else was I supposed to do but represent? lol XD I had ordered them through Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but in my mild panic of the shipping date being April 20 - 25 (her bridal shower was going to be on the 22nd), I figured I'd better play it safe and pick up two of the items in store and have the third one (that wasn't in stock in stores) shipped. Better to have ONE present late and one present wrapped than to show up to a shower with no gifts, right?

Better yet, I even had the foresight to bring coupons with me when I picked the two items up in store and ended up $14, yes I said FOURTEEN DOLLARS under our budget. Praise the Lord for He is good!! I was so excited, I returned home with an unabashed cheer on my lips that almost made my mom drop a bowl. Whoops lol XD

The picture you see above is the happy conclusion of the fact that the THIRD GIFT arrived the day before the shower, so I was able to wrap it up and we showed up with two gifts! You'll notice that one looks very Asian (it's from the Lohs, so...hehehe) and the second is very rustic chic, which is what Elissa's going for with her wedding. The wooden plaque on the second gift is something that I picked up a couple months ago and had set aside to give to Elissa, titled "A Recipe for a Happy Marriage".

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Day of the Bridal Shower!

Lots of photos, some of which I "borrowed" from the photos posted by one of the bridesmaids, MJ. Enjoy the photos. I managed to get a video of Elissa opening our gifts, which unfortunately, is too large for the blog. I'll share what we got her at the end of the post. lol So keep reading haha XD

MGP in 2, 3, and 4

featuring Auntie Vicki (Elissa's mum), Elissa, and my very own mum :)

I thought this idea was cute with the flowers :)

gave a very darling girly feel to everything lol

Elissa with the food for lunch. Can I just say...SO. MANY SALADS?

This was all before we even made it through the doors to the sanctuary, guys. 

They did a fabulous job. :D

eating area and games :)

dessert close-ups

more desserts

MORE desserts

my eventual dessert haul lol

These were all in her registry and I consider it a hearty "here you go" from the Lord that no one had gotten them yet. lol We gave our girl a wok, a coffee maker, AND a rice-cooker. Can anyone say GIFT-GIVING WIN?! <3 I was so. dang. proud of myself. lol XD

Thank you, Jesus, for supporting our family's gift-giving efforts. lol

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Flowers and things fall out of my hair and things like flower crowns make my head look ridiculous, but this was a rare occasion where it actually looked decent, so here you go. Enjoy lol

Speaking of rare occasions, this is the first bridal shower that I've been to where I wasn't indirectly involved in the decorating or photo-taking or anything of the sort. It was...very different and there were times where I had to tell myself that I was a guest and wasn't actually "supposed" to be doing anything there. hahaha XD

Catch you guys later!

~ Ariel

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