bachelorette!

 

This weekend I made the trip down to Milwaukee for my friend Carrie's bachelorette party. Carrie and I lived two doors down from each other in the dorms our freshmen year, and we've stayed friends since then. Carrie has been with her fiancé for 9 YEARS so we are all excited that they are finally making it legal! It was great being with all of my closet girlfriends from those years - even though I haven't seen some of them in years, it was like nothing has changed even though so much as. Look at what babies we were in 2006!

and now - getting better with age :)

For her bachelorette party, the plans were to do a bit of outside grilling/drinking, and then going to the Eric Church/Kenny Chesney concert. I'm not really a country girl at all, so I wasn't sure what to wear. I figured the biggest belt I own is a good start ;) In the end, it didn't really matter what I was wearing because we had so much fun. I was surprised how many Kenny Chesney songs I actually know - that's what you get for growing up in small town Wisconsin! At the concert, I found out through instagram that Pamela, who blogs occasionally (come back girl) at Ginger Girl, was also at the concert so we had a quick meet up! She's so sweet and I hope she finds some time soon to come back to blogging. 

Shirt: Forever 21 [save | spend | splurge]

Jeans: American Eagle [exact]

Belt: Gap [same style]

Necklace: made by a friend's sister

Bracelets: Forever 21

Shoes: Sam Edelman for AE [retail version]

via instagram, where you can see more of the shenanigans. like penis straws.

mind changer

I don't really plan my outfits in advance (I really should though, as I keep telling myself) so the great thing about blog challenges is that it gives me a direction when getting dressed. Marion's monthly trend this month is lace, so I knew I wanted to wear my Forever 21 lace tee...as it's one of the only lace items I own (so that makes the decision for me!). Bri's link up for Third Thursday Threads was winterizing a warmer weather item, so what's better than...a tee! 

So to winterize it I decided to wear a button down underneath it like I have in the past. I wore my leopard button up, that I generally shy away from, in hopes that I could find a new way to wear it. Although I liked the outfit just fine when I left my house, I quickly grew to hating it when I started to take pictures. It felt unnatural - the colors didn't go together, the leopard always scares me, and I dont know - I just didn't like it!

So I hopped into my car, took the shirt off, and felt much better. 

Tee: Forever 21  [exact]
Blazer: thrifted
Jeans: American Eagle [exact]
Necklace: Ann Taylor Outlet  [save | splurge]
Watch: Target
Shoes: Tory Burch  [exact]

via Instagram

also linking up with wiww.






Have you entered the above the knuckle ring giveaway yet?

chance of flurries

oh hey! surprise! it's still snowing here in Wisconsin. I know that if you read any fashion blogs at all you would think that spring has sprung, that the birds are chirping, and that flowers everywhere are blooming.

not here.


don't worry, we're used to having flash blizzards in May so a few flurries in March is fine...

...except when you try to take pictures of yourself outside.

Blazer: H&M  [similar]
Tee: Forever 21  [exact]
Jeans: Joe's Jeans  [same style]
Scarf: H&M
Shoes: Crown Vintage [save | splurge]
Purse: Madewell  [exact]
Watch: Target [check in stores]
Glasses: c/o Firmoo*


*I received this pair of glasses from Firmoo last week and I've really enjoyed having a second pair to rotate with my other glasses. I really like the color and style of frames available - I had a pretty hard time deciding which frames to get so I choose to get something similar to what I already works on my face. The glasses are great - my only hesitation with ordering glasses online is that no one fits them specifically to your head like they would at the optometrists. If you are interested in trying out a pair, Firmoo offers first time customers a free pair - you can find out more here.

Also. The nice thing about documenting what I wear every day (ok, most days) is that I can go back and see how I've worn items in the past. I went to go see how I've worn this blazer and I realized that the second to last time I wore it was the day after I found out I was rejected from my #1 school choice. Today when I wore it I turned in my notice for my last day of work for when I leave to go to my #2 choice. Kind of interesting, no? No? Fine.











Linking up with Style Elixir and wiww. 

february budget

1. Burberry Jacket, thrifted: $8
2. Barbour Vest, thrifted: $4
3. Ralph Lauren Oxford, thrifted: $4, $0 with Goodwill points
4. Forever 21 Lace Tee (seen here): $22
5. Nicole Boots via DSW (seen here): $110
6. J.Crew Tee (seen here): originally $45, $20 on sale
7. Blazer, thrifted & DIY altered (seen here): $8
8. Urban Outfitters Jeans: $40 with coupon code + $8 alterations
9. Christian Dior Blazer, thrifted: $8 + $25 alterations
10. Nine West Flats (seen here): $18, $0 with a Christmas giftcard from my girl Hannah

= $252

Well. I did not do that great this month. Even if I take the $25 "leftover" from last month, and the $25 I made from selling two things on eBay, I'm still about $50 over my self-established budget of $150. I do feel guilty about that because although I purchased some of these items before I found out I got into school, I didn't really try that hard to stick to my budget afterwards. My new boots are largely at fault - they're 2/3 of my entire month's budget! Besides that purchase though, I feel I found some really great deals. I found a Burberry jacket for $8, a Christian Dior Blazer for $8 (it needs to be altered around the sleeves though, so that jacks the end price up), and a Barbour vest (although I'm debating selling it on eBay as they go for around $60 on there) while thrifting. I also added ribbon piping and a new button to another thrifted blazer, so it was like a craft project/entertainment and a new clothing piece in one ;). I ordered the high-rise Urban Outfitters cigarette jeans in a size longer than my last pair so I can get them hemmed to the perfect length, so I'm really excited to have black skinny jeans again.

So in the end, I did fill a few holes in my closet with the boots and the jeans and I found some once in a lifetime thrifting finds. Like I mentioned, I'm really going to work towards saving money the next ~4 months while I'm still working. I am allowing myself $250 (around 10%) from my tax return (the rest is going straight into DO NOT TOUCH savings) to shop next weekend in Chicago. There are so many stores down there that we obviously don't have in Madison, so my goal is to find some of the following items:

- dark wash boot cut jeans, hopefully at Nordstrom Rack (like this pair, this pair, or this pair)
- tweed/boucle blazer (like this one, this one, or this one)
- Hunter rain boots (this color, this color, or this color?)
- bright floral scarf (like this, this, or this beauty)

I think having a list of things will curb my "throw money at all the stores and buy all the unneeded things" feelings I will have having that "free" money in my wallet. Hopefully I'll find a few things I'll really get some use out of. Of course, none of those items are actually necessary in the sense that food and water, and only having one pair of pants is necessary, but they are items I am hoping to add to my closet as I know I would get a lot of wear out of them, unlike some of my impulse buys in the past have.

So how did you do this month? Better than I did? Just as horrible and guilty? Link up below with budgetting bloggers! Please make sure you link back so your readers can discover and be inspired by all of the other bloggers who budget (even if they fail at it ha)



P.S. Linking up with Thrifters Anonymous, Random Wednesday, and Penniless Socialite.

turn a t-shirt into a scarf

The other day I joked about wearing my scarf as a skirt as a way to try to branch out during TOPIO. While Heidi tried to convince me it can be done (see her attempt here), I was intrigued when Kate suggested I wear the shirt as a scarf. I really can't tell if she was joking, but it did get me thinking...could I do that?

Turns out I can. Today at work Emily stopped me mid work-related conversation to say, "Oh. My. God. Where is that scarf from?!!"

So if my most fashionable friend was fooled, I feel anyone could be fooled by this little trick.

take tee  |  grab furthest apart pieces
tie with hair band  |  fluff

In other news, I was searching on the Urban Outfitters site this morning in a fit of black jean desperation. They are currently have a sale on all of their BDG jeans, so even though my favorite pair of jeans isn't available in my size, I'm hoping that this pair works just as well. If you looking into trying the BDG jeans, now would be a good time as they are about $20 less than they are normally!

Cardigan: Thrifted  {save | splurge}
Chambray: Old Navy  {exact}
Shirt as Scarf: Forever 21  {exact}
Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}
Belt: Gap
Earrings: Tiffany & Co.  {exact}
Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington  {exact}
Shoes: Tory Burch  {save | exact}

interesting techniques : interesting faces







linking up with plane pretty!

adding piping to a blazer

If you follow me on instagram, you are already sick of seeing this blazer but I appreciate you all sticking around ;) I bought this blazer last week at Goodwill, and while I really like the color and fit, it was a tad...boring. I was itching  to do some sort of project, so I decided to add ribbon piping to this blazer.

by hand.

(because how else would one do this? please don't answer that question or else I'm afraid I'll go throw myself against a wall)

I was first debating doing leopard or a gold patterned ribbon, but some fellow bloggers brought me back to my senses. Leopard would have been fun, but cream is a lot more versatile.

It only took me one SNL episode (with the Biebs...shudder), the Grammys (red carpet and show), and one episode of the RHOBH to finish it. With Christopher on another away rotation, only quality television is watched at our house. So it did take me a while, but I'm thrilled with the outcome. 

I used a 7/8 inch ribbon purchased at JoAnn's Fabric Store for about $2.50 (if you have one near you make sure you download their app - they always have 40% off coupons, sometimes 50% off!). I ironed it (with my hair straightener...) in half. I used a binder clip to keep the ribbon in place, and then just stitched down the line. I also replaced the button with a gold button, also purchased at JoAnns. Overall, this blazer + revamp cost me about $11. Not to shabby, especially with this similar blazer costing 8 times as much.

Blazer: Thrifted, altered  {similar}

Shirt: Forever 21  {exact}

Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}

Belt: Aeropostale?

Necklace: Forever 21  {similar}

Bag: Madewell  {exact}

Watch: Target

Shoes: Rocket Dog via DSW  {exact}

...a total cop out for TOPIO, but I was just too excited to wear this blazer to wait.

linking up with thrifters anonymous!

slip & slide

First of all, thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind words yesterday - I am so excited!! To answer a few questions, I do intend to continue blogging as long as it still is fun for me. Medical school is a crazy time, and I always regret not documenting college better (other than lots of facebook albums haha) so I'm hoping to document this new chapter. There are many ladies out there blogging through med school/residency (find some here under Dr. Blogger) that have really inspired me so I hope to follow their lead.There will be lots of changes, of course - I'll need a somewhat different wardrobe (more skirts, less ripped jeans), I probably won't blog daily, I'll be wearing a white coat instead of a lab coat (just kidding, that'll pretty much be the same). I'll take it all one day at a time, but there are several more months until anything really changes.

Second of all, don't let what looks like a clear road here fool you. While there isn't any snow, the road was covered in some fun black ice. Which I didn't realize until I started sliding all over the place, which included accidently taking this:

Feel free to laugh because I laughed for about 5 minutes when I saw it on my camera.

Blazer: J. Crew  {exact}
Tee: Forever 21*  {exact}
Gingham: J. Crew Factory  {very similar}
Jeans: Gap  {similar}
Boots: Frye  {exact}
Watch: gift from my Oma {similar}
Earrings: Tiffany & Co. {exact}



* Thank you to Audrey for finding this gem. It's actually a t-shirt but it worked so well for layering as long as I kept the blazer on - otherwise it looks kind of funny

ok so not the most innovative take one pass it on...but I loved it so much the first time I wanted to wear something similar!