baby fever

I'm in the middle of my second week in OB, and it has been my favorite favorite favorite rotation so far. I always thought I would go into OB - I'm very interested in women's health, I love babies, and I've always surrounded myself with amazing women in both my personal and professional life, so OB seems like a perfect fit for me. Yesterday I got to deliver my first baby - from the first push to the clamping of the cord (with doctor assistance during the most important parts, of course). It was an absolutely amazing experience. 

I've found myself getting emotional while being present for the births of these babies. I've never watched/participated in medical procedures before where I saw myself as the patient. I've never had to have bowel surgery, and I've never had to have someone explore my sinuses, nor have I wanted to. But I do want to have babies of my own, so while these women are giving birth, I often think about my own future birth experience, or if I will ever even get to have that. It may sound strange, but I've always thought I will have a really hard time getting pregnant. I'm scared that by the time it's the "right" time (if there's such a thing) to start trying to have a baby, it won't work. So I see these amazing women having these adorable babies, and having it be something I know I'll so desperately want eventually, I get a bit emotional. Not that I'm crying while these ladies are in labor! I just think about it a bit more now that I am around it 8-16 hours a day. 

Maybe that's normal - other med students talk about getting "baby fever" all the time while on their OB rotation, and I think that's to be expected. Many of us in medicine put off things that others are doing at our age. None of my friends are married. Most definitely none of us have babies. I know all of my girlfriends struggle with that sometimes, and maybe it's not pointed out to us as much as it is when we are helping to birth someone else's baby. 

But I have a feeling that this month, and my second month of OB in the spring, will be my absolute favorite months of the year, baby fever aside ;)

Blouse: Loft [similar]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Shoes: Ferragamo c/o Shopbop [same styles]

Belt: The Limited [similar]

Watch: Michael Kors [save | exact]

LWD

After a bit of trouble finding the right size, I am now head over heels in love with this dress. I've always wanted a casual white dress for the summer, but I never found one that was exactly right. I love that this version can be dressed up more, or kept casual as well. It, along with cognac leathers and my jean jacket, will definitely be packed in my suitcase for Santorini!

Dress: Ann Taylor [exact on sale!]

Sandals: c/o Nordstrom [exact]

Watch: c/o Larsson Jennings [exact]

Earrings: Kendra Scott c/o Rocksbox [use code franishxoxo for 1 free month]

Ann Taylor is currently offering 50% off all sale items - here are just a few of their cute dresses currently on sale + an extra 50% off (no code needed).

one | two | three | four

diamonds are forever

In a break from the snow (YES SNOW..okay fine, just a few flakes), we had one really nice day this week - it may have only been 50 degrees, but that is nice enough weather in my books to break out the sandals. 

If I had a choice in life, it would be to never have to wear shoes. Since that is not socially acceptable, I do the next best thing and wear as little shoe as possible. Many people seem to be concerned about my feet in the winter because of hussyankles the fact that I wear non-boots for most of the winter. My general winter rule is that if it's not actually snowing, then the ground will be clear enough to wear flats. My summer shoe rule is that the shoes need to be cute, go with a ton of different things (because I generally only own a few pairs of sandals), and they need to be something I can walk in longer-ish distances. 

So that rules out gladiator sandals for me....

But luckily there are so many cute summer shoes currently out that fulfill that criteria! When I was approached to pick out a pair from Nordstrom for the spring, I immediately picked out these half sandal half espadrilles from Louse et Cie. I loved the pattern, that they were a bit unique, and that I could see it going with a bunch of things in my closet. Unfortunately the fit was a no go as I couldn't tighten the ankle enough - luckily, Nordstrom offers free return shipping, which makes online shoe shopping so.much.easier. The second pair I picked out was this sparkly pair from Sole Society and they more than fulfill the summer shoe criteria. The red color is exaclty what I've been looking for, the crystals make them a bit special, and they are very comfortable. I find that they run very true to size, if not a tiny bit small - I'm between a 9 and a 9.5, and ordered it in a 9.5. They also come in black and gold if red isn't your favorite color (and if it isn't your favorite color, I'm afraid we can't be friends).

Dress: Old Navy [exact]

Denim Jacket: Paige c/o Nordstrom [exact sold out | similar for $75]

Sandals: Sole Society c/o Nordstrom [exact]

Bag: Madewell [save | exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [exact 25% off]

Here are a few more options that also fit those same requirements, all under $100. If you're looking for sandals you can walk long distances in, these Clarks are probably your best bet. These rose gold slides are sitting in my cart though - thoughts? 

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

Disclosure: thank you to ShopStyle for sponsoring this post! 

roadtrip!

After a summer of lazy dressing (I was in my jean shorts and these tees 90% of the time), I'm a little excited to get to wear some of the clothes I haven't touched in months. It's still way too warm to layer or wear blazers (although I'm so tempted because I looooove them), but a light button-up is just fine for the almost 80 degrees we have currently. That's not to say that I don't rip all these clothes off the second I walk into my house and change into leggings and a tee (because I do), but for now, mornings are a bit more fun than they have been!

Every morning I get dressed though, I always feel like my shoes and belt have to match. I feel that it just pulls an outfit together so so easily without any effort, but I'm always scared that it gets really boring and repetitive. Am I over-thinking this, or does it not matter? Do you have a "get ready quick" tip to share with the rest of us? 

Blouse: J.Crew [cute similar]

Pants: The Limited [same style]

Necklace: c/o BaubleBar [exact]

Shoes: Old Navy [similar below]

Watch: Fossil [similar]

BaubleBar just started a Global Road Trip - all you have to do to participate is snap a picture of your BaubleBar jewelry, tag it with #BaubleBar and #Nordstrom on Instagram, say what state you are in, and you're entered to win a ton of prizes. On the website all of the pictures are organized by state so you can even find other fashionable ladies from your part of the country. I wore my shiny new necklace to participate - you can find my entry here!

be right back.

I was a litttttttttttle stir crazy this semester. We live in a city of 100,000, which is a fairly decent size, but still somewhat small. The closest larger cities are about two hours away, so with very limited free time, I didn't leave the city all semester. Now that we have all the free time in the world (!!!), I can't wait to get out of here and visit other places. 

This weekend we went to Cleveland - I've only ever driven through on my way here from Wisconsin, so I was so excited to explore! After a quick twitter crowd-sourcing, we decided to see the West Side Market (where we got amazing desserts), stopped for a quick beer at Bier Market, walked around the little shops, and then drove to Crocker Park to go shopping (there are a few pictures on my instagram...mostly about food). Although most of the big stores were visited, I ended up only purchasing a tie, and it wasn't even for myself ;) I had hoped that I could have tried these shorts on at Gap, but they only had size 25s and 33s. It's probably for the best that I didn't find anything though because I just ordered this dress as a "congrats on finishing your first year" present for myself. I had set a bit of money aside to buy myself something (not out of the budget) so I'm hoping it works out! I'm so happy we got out of town for the day and got to see a city that is so close to us. We're already planning another trip back at the end of the summer to go see some of the museums and go on a brewery tour!

Blouse: The Limited [exact - everything 50% off]

Jeans: Madewell [exact]

Belt: The Limited 

Shoes: Old Navy

Earrings: Tiffanys [exact]

helllllllo summer

I'M DONE! My first year of medical school is officially over and I truly can not believe it. The first weeks of school are still so vivid in my mind because the transition from working/funempolyement to sitting in class all day/studying all night wasn't the easiest. But I survived, learned a whole bunch of things, and plan on enjoying every last second of my last free summer. I'm working in our cadaver lab for 4 weeks, but other than that, my summer is going to be all about being outside, traveling, camping, and sitting by the pool. I CAN'T WAIT!

Ten free weeks away from school also means ten weeks of no dress code! We luckily get to wear scrubs to work in the lab, so I'm excited to take full advantage of shorts, sundresses, and sandals any time I'm not skinning bodies (my life is so so glamorous, I know). I got this dress last week and love the pattern and fit. I'm debating making the crew-neck into a v-neck though in the near future - anyone have any tips?  I like that I can dress it up now for school (and even in the winter with boots and a cardigan) but I can also wear it casually this summer.

If you haven't received the email yet, J.Crew Factory is currently having their huge Memorial Day sale. I ordered these shorts (in blue and red in different sizes to try on), this fun tee, and these simple sandals. I really wish that they made the 4 or 5 inch shorts in this grey color, but they don't, so I may have to check out these from Old Navy instead. Otherwise I really don't want to get too carried away with summer clothes as I basically live in Everlane tees anyway. 

So those are my summer plans! Okay, and maybe studying just a tiny tiny bit ;)

Dress: Target [exact]

Belt: The Limited

Shoes: Old Navy [these would be fun!]

day 293 of the rest of your life

Shirt: TJ Maxx

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Necklace: c/o Le Tote [exact]

Shoes: Old Navy [want these so hard]

Watch: Fossil [similar]

Belt: The Limited

Today was the last day of classes for us - all that stands between me and a summer of lounging by the pool (...and dissecting cadavers) is one clinical neuro exam and one comprehensive exam for everything we've learned this year. 293 days ago I wore this same shirt, but it feels like a lifetime ago - I feel like a completely different person. While I'm not really ready to reflect on the school year as a whole (probably because I have like 40 more hours left in the library that is taking up all my free brain time), it is interesting to see how much has change. 

I have longer hair...and maybe a few extra pounds on my thighs from mostly sitting all day. A group of girls I had only known for a week became my "Erie family". I have a guy in my life now who makes me laugh and feel special every day. My dogs have their own friends they have dates with. I actually know and understand some real medicine now (okay, really just science book medicine). I know what the inside of a human body looks like. I can walk into a room and do a full physical exam on a person I've never met before. If your neck hurts, I now know several ways I may be able to help. I have so so much left to learn, but 70-some credits (for real) of medical school classes later, I feel like I do at least know a thing or two about the vast field of medicine.

BIF exchange: scarves

 

I am positive that my absolute favorite thing about blogging is getting to "hang out" and chat with you ladies every day. Even better than that though is actually getting to meet some of you in real life, so to say that the friendship I have with Bri is a blessing is such an understatement. This is our second BIF (best internet friend) exchange (our first was this) and we exchanged scarves because hi, who doesn't love a fun new scarf to wear during the fall? Bri obviously pays attention, and sent me this pretty red number. She got one of my favorites, a leopard scarf, in return. I love that it's like we are just borrowing something real quick from each other, even though we live on opposite sides of the country (for now wink wink).

Tee: JC Penneys [exact]

Skirt: Thrifted

Scarf: BIF exchange with Bri

Belt: The Limited 

Shoes: Old Navy [super want these]

Bracelet: c/o Color by Amber [exact]

P.S. I guest posted for Anne last week while she was on blog maternity leave. Please make sure you check out my post on remixing AND go oogle her adorable son. 

familiarity

 

Today as I was taking these pictures, I felt like I had worn this outfit before. The nice thing about documenting what you wear most days is that I can go back and check - turns out I haven't actually worn this blazer with this shirt, but I do tend to stick to black and whites when I wear it. It's familiar, but still slightly different.

ALSO: YAY BLAZER TIME! 

question: what can I wear my navy schoolboy with now that I can't wear it with jeans? :(

Blazer: Old Navy [cute save | spend]

Blouse: Forever 21 [similar]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Belt: The Limited

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

white blouse, many ways

 

Blouse: H&M

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Belt: The Limited

Earrings: Tiffanys [exact]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Watch: Fossil

Today I'm linking up with Audrey's One Piece, Many Ways post. Make sure you visit all of the other blogs to see how they re-wear their items - ya know, the way normal people do ;)

previously worn here

roller coaster

Dress: Target
Cardigan: Target, thrifted
Belt: The Limited
Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Yesterday was somewhat of a roller coaster of emotions - it started off with an exam. Not the greatest start to a Monday. I left it feeling uncertain, but my mood greatly increased when I found out how well it actually went. Then I received my student loan refund, and then found out I had a 4.5 hour window of time in the middle of the day - so much money and so much time!!

Then things went downhill fast when I went to anatomy lab - I'm still pretty cautious and weary around the cadavers. I try really hard not to think of things like "oh, this is the hand that held his probably wife's hand for 50 years" and "here is that part of surgery he had to suffer through" but I still think about it every time I first enter the lab...and then we just probe around in their body. It's the strangest thing. Once we are digging around trying to find certain nerves in the arm I tend to forget those things, but it ends up being so emotionally draining** that all night I'm exhausted, but still somehow need to get caught up. gahhhhh.

at least I liked my outfit today.

P.S. Please tell me this defined 1998 for you as much as it did for me.

** Doesn't that sound ridiculous to all of you who are working with patients? I know I'll be wishing for cadavers instead of "real" lives in a few years! :(

linking up with wiww.

but i'm le tired

Blouse: J.Crew Factory [exact on sale]
Pants: Gap
Belt: The Limited
Necklace: gift from Whitney
Shoes: Old Navy
Bag: Target

Yesterday was our first real day of classes, and it was really only a half day of learning. I haven't been in school in for two+ years, so going from having a job that didn't require that much brain power, to funemployement, to having to focus for five hours, and then going home to study for another five is like....oh man. And this is the easy part! Next week we start anatomy and that's when it's going to get ccccccrrrrrrrazzy. 

My brain, it's tired. 

via instagram

P.S. In case you haven't watched this since 9th grade...hokay.

P.P.S. Have you signed up for the latest Chippmunk contest? $600 up for grabs!

linking up with Audrey for the ways I've worn this shirt!

goodbye madison :(

 

I distinctly remember the day I moved to Madison. 

I had been looking forward to that day for four years - ever since my freshman year of high school when I decided I had to go to the University of Wisconsin. It had been my dream for so long, and finally I got to move to the big city from my tiny hometown. I remember sitting in my parents Surbuban and as we were driving up to my dorm, my dad played On, Wisconsin over the stereo and as dorky as that was, it was like...yes, this is it. It was so exciting - my dorm room right down town, so many things to see and do, and all on my own. I was just so excited to meet new people, live in Madison, and experience something completely new to me. As I stood at the front door of my dorm building waving good-bye to my parents, all I felt was excitement.

Over the next five years of school, I met so many great people. People who were from similar backgrounds, or from somewhere I had only read about. 500 people over five years who stomped around dirt fields with me for two hours every day for the love of our school. People who taught me about love, about organic chemistry, about friendship, about human sexuality (the class!), about how to live a better life. I got to travel all over the country, march my final show at the Rose Bowl, and do it with my closet friends. The people I kept closest were strong, smart, and ready for everything which is so evident by what they are doing now - studying to be doctors, living abroad, moving to bigger cities to follow their dreams, engineering things. My friends are going to change the world, and Madison gave me the chance to meet them.

If you haven't been to Madison, you must visit. It's a city of lakes, beer, cheese, trees, sportsmanship, and architecture. If you come, come in the fall - middle of September when the leaves are just barely changing, warmth is still coming off the lakes, and everyone is wearing cardinal red. Go eat cheese curds at The Old Fashioned, enjoy a pitcher at the Terrace, and ride a b-cycle down the lakeshore path. Watch my successors play my favorite song while 80,000 people wave along in my favorite place on campus. Walk down state street (more than likely having to side step someone protesting something) and watch all the walks of life coming together enjoying the nice weather.

The last few days have been really difficult for me. Every time I think about how I won't be here to experience those things, I become really sad. I love Madison. I found love, my friends, and myself here, and to leave it terrifies me. While I feel I've traveled quite a bit in my life, I've lived within a 60 mile radius for the last 18 years of my life. I like that I can drive an hour and be home. I like that I know every street here and the shortest way to cut across town. I like that I know where the closest Culvers is, what time to avoid the beltline, and where the best place is to watch the sunset. As I was driving home from my parents' house last night after saying goodbye, I felt especially emotional (listening to this song as I drove away was probably a terrible idea). I called my friend Ben, and after ugly crying over the phone, he told me exactly what I needed to hear - that Madison will still be here when I'm ready to come back, that I've worked towards going to medical school for so long that all I should be feeling is that same excitement I felt seven years ago, and that this is a new adventure and it's going to be just as great as the one in Madison was.

As I pack up my car to move ten hours away from my boyfriend, my family, and my friends, I'm sad to leave, but so thankful that I got to experience it in the first place. 

I love you Madison. I'll be back :)

Dress: Madewell [exact]

Belt: The Limited

Shoes: Old Navy

Purse: Coach

it'll be pretty quiet on here for about the next week, but you can always find me here and here :)

linking up with Mix and Match Fashion.

four

 

I accidentally matched my glasses today.

This morning I wasn't really feeling getting dressed, and as I longingly stared at my new shorts, I reached for the most comfortable pair of jeans I own (which is why you see them all the time...) and this simple top. I bought this shirt at the Banana Republic Factory store a few months ago, but have only worn it once since then because it had this weird bell sleeve going on which I knew I could fix myself. I borrowed my mom's sewing machine a few weeks ago and cut those suckers off to make normal sleeves. And because I can't help but combine black, white, and red (see below), I figured this would be as good of a time as any to wear my new prescription glasses from GlassesUSA.com.

Although I could wear contacts, I mostly choose not to. I think I look better in glasses as they balance out my chubby cheeks and my smaller eyes, and I honestly just feel a bit naked without them....I even go to push them up when I'm not wearing glasses. I have a really great pair of glasses that my aunt, an optometrist in Germany, made for me last November, but it's always nice to have a bit of variation. I was excited when GlassesUSA offered to send me a pair to test out. It took me a while to decide which eyeglasses to get (see some choices here) because they have quite the selection, but the try on view with your own picture made it a bit easier. I like that the pair I chose are black from the front, but then have red sides. I used to wear all red glasses, so this was kind of a throwback for me. I think they frame my face nicely, and were fairly inexpensive. If I could change one thing, it would have been to upgrade the lenses to the anti-reflective kind. If you are interested in mixing up your glasses routine, you can use the virtual mirror below to buy glasses and use the code BLOG10 to get 10% off your order.

Shirt: Banana Republic Factory [similar]

Jeans: American Eagle [exact]

Glasses: c/o GlassesUSA [exact]

Shoes: Old Navy [cute save | WANT]

Watch: Fossil [similar]

Belt: The Limited

Black and White and Red all over:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

P.S. Virtual hugs for everyone who clicks on the little heart :)