college educated, she graduated

This weekend I traveled to Minnesota to watch my youngest sister graduate from college! She has worked incredibly hard, and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in marketing. Basically she's a genius, and we are so proud of her. 

It's been so long since I last posted an outfit picture! The scrub life definitely severely limits buying and wearing clothes, so I rarely do now a days! I did recently buy this amazing Old Navy dress though and I'm obsessed...so much that I also bought it in black! It fits true to size - I tried on both a tall large and a large, and found the regular length to hit me right above the knee rather than below. The fabric is a thick ponte fabric, so I find it to be a bit more flattering than a thinner cotton material. Overall, probably one of my favorite dresses that I currently own! It also comes in a really cute grey/white strip combo that I'm eyeing...

Dress // Old Navy [exact]

Shoes // Jack Rogers [exact]

Jacket // Paige [very similar]

Purse // Coach via eBay

see, speak, hear

I think I'm probably one of the worst bloggers when it comes to blogging while traveling. When I travel, I should see it as the perfect opportunity to put together cute outfits, research good photography locations, and see this as a way to really expanding the amount of outfit posts I do on here. Instead, I very rarely put together outfits beforehand - instead, I throw a few of my favorite items into a suitcase and hope it all works out. I'd rather spend time doing my sisters' hair than my own, so I'm always less likely to want to take pictures when my hair has been tossed around by the wind. And outfit pictures should be taken right after putting on an outfit, not after crouching an an uber for 20 minutes and sitting down for a delicious brunch for a few hours.

So typically, I don't really take outfit pictures while on vacation because I'm lazy, but when we were in the Wynwood neighborhood exploring all of the murals, I couldn't help but take just a couple of snaps (thanks again to my sister for always being my photographer!). It's like a bloggers dream down there! So many beautiful walls, all with different colors and stories to tell. We all had so much fun, just walking around, taking pictures of various walls, and popping into the stores in the area. If you are planning a trip to Miami, this is definitely a great way to spend a few hours outside! Especially if you need to go on a long walk after eating a delicious salmon benedict breakfast... 

^ how good looking are my parents? (my dad's glasses are particularly on point...)

Dress: J.Crew Factory [similar]

Belt: Gap [similar]

Purse: Coach via Etsy [similar]

Shoes: Jack Rogers [exact]

Sunglasses: Ray Bans [exact]

Nails: Essie in Spool Me Over [exact]

J.Crew Factory is currently having a flash sale for 35% off everything + free shipping. Below are a few of the adorable items currently on their site. I'm personally ordering the striped dress (I've wanted one like this for years!) and possibly the leopard loafers (I used to own a similar pair years ago and was obsessed with them!). I'd also recommend the layered pearl necklace - I have it and wear it constantly. It's been one of my favorite jewelry purchases over the years!

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

make it work

A couple of months ago, I did a mini review on snapchat about a dress I bought from Loft. There are certain things I loved about it - the color, the lace, the front of the dress. But there were things I didn't like - the elastic waist band hit me at a weird spot, and then weird mini sleeves were not my favorite. So I decided I was going to return it.

Well, a few days after I that, we left for Philadelphia to take our board exam, and while we were there, a friend went through some personal things and needed a place to stay, so we offered her our "spare" bedroom, which is really just a tiny room that only fits a bed, and it's also the room that has the closet with my clothes in. So when we returned from Philly that Sunday, I had 45 minutes to both clean up the room enough for our friend to stay in, and for me to pack to move away for a month. So I did what any adult would do, and stuffed everything, including the Loft bag with that dress in it, under the bed. And then I promptly forgot about it.

Well, last week when I started do a bit of cleaning, I found that bag again, with the dress in it, along with a receipt saying that the return by day had passed. So since I could no longer return the dress, I just made it work for me! I took out the elastic waist band, cut off the mini sleeves, and sewed a pleat in the back to bring the fabric together. And you know what? I really really like the dress now - it still has all the parts I loved about it without the things I didn't like. Now it's just a pretty summer dress, customized to me ;)

Dress: Loft [similar below]

Belt: Gap [similar]

Shoes: Jack Rogers [exact]

My little DIY dress is obviously no longer available, so below are four options that are (and they're all under $100)! And while I was looking for white dresses, I ran across this beautiful wrap dress from June & Hudson - I have literally no where to wear this, but isn't it so darn pretty?

Ellen Tracy | Cupcakes & Cashmere | Eliza J | London Times

...sweater weather?

My gosh you guys, it has been so hot lately! Do I need to say again how much I dislike summer? I do though. But with all the talks of fall clothing (thanks to the #NSale, mostly), I was excited to wear pants again so I tried to wear a couple of my transitional pieces a few weekends ago, when it was just really warm instead of unbearably hot. White jeans are a summer closet staple for many, which is why I was thrilled when I finally found a pair I liked last spring after years of looking. Mine are from Articles of Society, and are actually currently 40% off the original price! I find they run true to size, and haven't had a problem with them stretching out through the day. I paired them with my new "tunic tee" from Loft - it's a super light weight sweater that I've actually worn several times now. It's one of those baggy oversized sweaters that lets some air in, is comfy, and can be worn every season. It does have those dreaded drop shoulders, but I find them to not be that noticeable in the black. Looking at this pictures, I feel like I look really covered up, but the thin layers were actually quite comfortable! Until I got back home, where we don't have AC... ;)

Sweater: Loft [exact]

Jeans: Articles of Society [exact on sale!]

Shoes: Jack Rogers [exact]

Bag: c/o Torregrossa [exact - use code FRANISH20 for 20% off!]

Ring: Catbird [similar at Shopbop]

And I can't really talk about fall clothing without mentioning the current Nordstrom Anniversary sale. This is the first year I've had a Nordstrom card, so it's my first time shopping early access (the sale is open to the public tomorrow, so hopefully they will have a lot of it restocked). I think the sale is really wonderful for certain reasons - you can get the upcoming trends early and at reduced prices, and you can get brand name items at prices you really can't otherwise. I think there's a lot of "extra" stuff in the sale that tends to make it kind of a hassle to pick through everything, so that's a downside, so some things aren't as great of a deal as the internet may make it seem. 

What I ended up doing is focusing on trying to get a few things that I've wanted for a while, now at a discounted price. So for me, that was a pair of black distressed jeans, a pair of blue jean distressed jeans (both are waiting at home for me to try on, and I'll only be keeping at most one of them), and black riding boots from Tory Burch that I've been obsessed with for years, as they are marked down $200 from their regular price. So those are all designer pieces I typically wouldn't purchase at full price, especially when it's 90 degrees outside, but the deals are really too good to pass up if you've had your eye on anything. Below are a few of what I think are the best deals during the sale. Quality denim, cashmere sweaters, real leather products. Since I haven't actually tried on anything from the sale, I'd love to hear about your experiences with any times you've tried (any must haves?).

one | two | three [the non distressed version that I ordered]

one [reviewed by Krista here] | two [I ordered the tan] | three [really want the light grey version!]

one | two | three

gingham in santorini

Now that our vacation is almost over (today was our last full day!), I figured it was time to share just a few pictures! While my goal on this trip was never to turn it into a daily blog photo shoot, how could I not take advantage of the beautiful backdrop? This was one of my absolute favorite outfits on the trip - it's so simple, but I just love it. If you told me I could have only packed one outfit, this would have been it. Luckily I was allowed to bring 20 kilos, so I still had options ;)

Dress: Loft [save | splurge]

Belt: Gap [super cute similar on sale]

Shoes: Jack Rogers [exact]

Sunglasses: Forever 21

via instagram 

gingham love

Early last week, I had one of the best days. CR was off on a canoe trip with my dad and his buddies, so I spent the day in Madison. For those of you not familiar with Madison, WI, it's basically the best city in the world. I'm probably biased because I lived there for seven years, but it's seriously the greatest. I always knew I wanted to go to the University of Wisconsin, so my time at the UW, and the couple of years after, will always hold a special place in my heart.

I started my day off by stopping by Loft, "just to look". I don't always have the best luck finding anything in stores, but as I was glancing through the sale section, I found the gingham dress I fell in love months ago, now priced at $50 + 50% off...and the only size left was my own. I was so excited about it that I changed into it in the parking lot! It's now sold out, but this version is very similar, if you are looking for the perfect little gingham dress of your own!

After my dress success, I spent the afternoon studying at the cutest little coffee shop on the square (while consuming a nutella crepe and a flat white...yum!), then met up for drinks with Jessica. We've been following each other's blogs for years now, so it was so great to meet up in person. She was such a delight to be around, and I'm sad that we didn't know each other better when I still lived in the area. For those of you in the Madison area, we went to Gib's Bar on Willy Street - we both had the dark and stormies, which were delicious!

I then met up with one of my college besties, Lizzi. You may remember her from her posts about moving in with her boyfriend. We met in the marching band, and have remained close since our years of wool uniforms. She's one of the smartest (she's an engineer!), kindest, and funniest people I know. She was kind enough to snap a few pictures before we went to eat, and then we continued to spend hours catching up and stuffing our faces with cheesecurds, the true Wisconsin way. 

I miss Madison terribly, but the best part about moving away is getting to come back to visit and seeing all of the highlights :)

Dress: Loft [similar below]

Bag: Michael Kors c/o Shopbop [exact]

Sandals: Jack Rogers [exact]

Watch: c/o Larsson & Jennings [exact]

Nail Polish: Essie [exact]

via instagram

one [on sale + 25% off] | two 

three [my favorite] | four

jean shopping made easy

Jeans are absolutely my favorite type of clothing. I could wear them every single day, and be fine with never having to wear a skirt or dress ever again. The strange thing is that for as much as I love jeans, I hate shopping for them. It takes me a really long time to find some I like, which is why I rarely buy any. If they fit in the hips, they are too loose in the waist, or if they fit my thighs they are too short, or any one of those combinations.

A few weeks ago, Fitcode approached me to test out their site with no obligation on my part to share my experience. Free jeans that supposedly will fit me like I want them to? Sign me up. 

The way it works is that you take a super short (5 question) fit test to describe your body type, and then it tells you what jeans would fit you best. 

I'm Fitcode 710. The jeans include all my favorite brands like Paige, Hudson, Joe's Jeans, and all the jeans sold at Nordstrom. Once you pick out the style of jean you like, you can even see a video of them on someone with your same fitcode, which I think is genius because we aren't all size 00 models like on most websites. They then show you the different places you can buy the jeans, and for how much. It really takes all the work out of jean shopping for you.

I decided to go with this lighter wash of jeans from 7 for All Mankind just because I've always wanted a lighter pair, and honestly, I'm obsessed. While us girls with thicker thighs are told that dark washes are more flattering (which I do agree with), I think it's okay to mix things up sometimes. These are actually the only jeans I've worn this summer (when it's cool enough to wear jeans), and they really do fit me great. I didn't have to get the waist taken in, like I have with some other jeans I own. The fabric is thick, doesn't loosen up a ton during the day, and has just been holding up really well. 

Like I mentioned, Fitcode did not ask me to write this post, but I offered after having such a great experience with the process. I know how difficult it is to find clothes that fit you the way you want them to, so maybe this will help you out too the next time you are jean shopping!

Jeans: 7 for All Mankind c/o Fitcode [exact]

Tee: Nordstrom [exact, on sale for a few more days!]

Shoes: Jack Rogers [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [save | exact]