A little retail therapy on a miserable Friday .....

Happy shoppers!

It was a wet and miserable day in Wuxi yesterday, and it wasn't just the weather. After finding out in the morning that the lovely principal of EtonHouse Suzhou was 'asked to leave', many people were feeling a little unsure about their job stability. So rather than combat our misery with food, wine and men (that's another story!), some of us decided to do what all girls are good at - shop!

Do my cupping marks look bad in this? Hmmmm, not sure about this one.

We headed into downtown Wuxi to the only shopping place where we can wear normal sizes and don't feel the size of elephants - H&M. I guess it's a little bit like Sportsgirl or Portmans - some nice clothes but nothing special, for reasonable prices (I spent about $200 and came away with 4 new clothing items, some hair clips, an umbrella and a hat). Jeans in China!

The multi-purpose dress - beach, jeans, party!

We had great fun trying on all the new summer clothes and getting extremely excited about the upcoming trip to the Phillippines. One good thing about shopping in China is that if you find something you like but it needs a few things altered, the tailor is just around the corner. So, while I loved the blue dress (above, with the sexy cupping marks!), there were a couple of things I didn't like, so I took some pictures and when I go to the tailor tomorrow, I'll get him to make the dress just the way I want it! I also needed a dress to wear out in Shanghai tonight, but it needed to cover my shoulders and my hideous cupping marks that seem like they are permanent! Hence, the 'multi purpose' dress above - great for the beach, casual and to dress up.

Shorts and tights - go girl!

Yes, it looks great Tracy!

We also ventured upstairs to Hola, a beautiful homewares shop (a little like an upmarket Ikea), where Amy and I both bought ourselves a photo frame just like the one I gave to Kiki for her farewell. They also have stunning tea sets and other nice things. I'm going to be careful not to go there too often because it would be very easy to buy lots of lovely things for my apartment and then have to spend a fortune sending them all home!

Cute new shorts for the Phillippines!

Beach bags and hats for the Phillippines!

After several hours shopping, I was exhausted, so headed home for a bowl of pasta, a comedy DVD and an early night. We have the school carnival today and thankfully the rain has held off, so all the outdoor events will be able to go ahead. I see that it is pouring in Melbourne though, great for the country areas! Go Cats!

Sprung! Just a 'quick look in C&A' led us to the check out again!