Wednesday, October 8, 2014

blown away

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By:

- the wind. clearly.
- how much I'm looking forward to cardiology being over
- how much I love this scarf
- and how much I've worn it in the days since I got it

So much that you're going to be sick of it by next week when I've worn in for the third post in a row ;)

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Blouse: ASOS [similar]
Scarf: Target [exact]
Skirt: Anthropologie via eBay [inexpensive similar]
Shoes: Sperry [exact]
Watch: Michael Kors [save || splurge]
Ring: Jewelmint
Nails: Julep
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as seen on instagram:
p.s. scarf tying "tutorial" in the next post with this scarf :)

Monday, August 4, 2014

the beginning of the end

DSC01574 Today is my last first day of classroom school....EVER. It was surprising to me how fast first year ended, so my plan for this school year is to treasure the last year of "free time" - this will be the last time when I have control over most hours of my day. After that, good bye self-made schedule! 

We are starting school with GI, which was my favorite section in anatomy last year so I'm excited to learn about it more in depth. I'm still continuing with my bone research, and I may also work as an anatomy TA, so this is going to be a busy fall semester!  
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Skirt: Anthro via eBay [similar below]
Necklace: Forever 21 [exact]
Belt: Gap [exact]
Watch: Michael Kors [exact]
Shoes: Banana Republic [save | exact]
Purse: Kate Spade [similar]
Nails: Essie [exact]
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all my favorite ladies :)

P.S. I was recently interviewed by Abby - check it out here!

Friday, October 25, 2013

to the mall we will go

tweed skirt, cobalt sweater, tan accessories
Shirt: H&M
Sweater: J.Crew Factory [exact]
Skirt: Anthro via eBay [similar]
Necklace: c/o Tryst Jewellery [exact]
Shoes: Banana Republic c/o Chippmunk [exact]
Belt: H&M

Life after anatomy has definitely been different, at least the last few days. My learning pathway means from here on out, I spend less time in lecture and more time learning on my own. This is awesome for several reasons. One, I can't learn from people talking at me, so lecture was mostly useless for me. Second of all, I get to wear whatever I want on the days I'm not in school! Yesterday was the first day really all week where I had to dress up to go to school. I initially was going to try to wear this outfit with my boots, but I don't think I can pull that look off.

After the studying was done for the day yesterday, my friends and I drove to the bigger mall a hundred miles away. We mostly just wanted to get out of town for a little bit, and really, I'll just take any excuse to go shopping. We stopped at Banana Republic first as they were (and still are!) having a 40% off store event. I tried on this sweater, and while I liked it, I wanted to see what else I could find in the mall before I bought it. The material is thin without being transparent, and because it is a wool/nylon/spandex mix, has a bit of stretch and "sucking in" to it. I'm wearing my usual size here. I've come to realize that v-neck sweaters are my favorite kind of sweaters, but I own very few of them. This emerald color would be a fun one to add so I will definitely keep an eye on it though in hopes that it eventually ends up in the sale section. I did find this cute dress in the sales section, and while it was really flattering on, I could really only think of about 2 ways to wear it, so I left it behind (it's cheaper in stores than online if you are interested - it's a really soft and stretchy, but still sturdy, dress).
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On a mission to find the nearest pretzel stand, we discovered a Madewell store which I'm not sure was there when we were at this mall over Labor Day. Either way, I love Madewell but I stick to the sale section there. I found this sweater in a really pretty maroon, only one left, my size, on the sales rack. It's funny since just yesterday morning I was thinking about how versatile a sweater like that would be, and here it was waiting for me. With the 30% off sale prices, plus an additional 15% off for being a student, it came to just over $30. I've been carrying around a visa gift card for months now, so it technically didn't take anything out of my budget.

Our last stop was J.Crew. I originally just wanted to try on this peplum top and that scarf sweater that is sold out online. I found a whole stack of them, just waiting to be purchased by me. But then I tried it on:
j. crew scarf sweater
I mean, it's fine. But it's not $100 LOVE. I'm glad I at least tried it on just so I could stop thinking about it. After a couple more thanks but no thanks items (namely this sweater and this dress - both horrible on me), I fell.in.love with this tee. I initially saw it on a mannequin and made four trips around the store before I found it hiding between some coats. Is it outrageously priced for a tee? Yep. But it is thick and beautifully embroidered and long enough on me, so I just bought it. At least with my student discount, and the rest of the gift card, it only cost me $10 out of pocket. I'm so excited about it. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

j.crew embroidered front tee
So that was our little half day trip out of town! This weekend I'm having a little girls weekend with my friend Caitlin as all of our other girlfriends are with their boyfriends or at home. MANICURES, PEDICURES, BRUNCH, HAPPY HOUR. I can hardly wait :)

P.S. I'm closing the Ask Me Anything survey at noon on Sunday. I've received some pretty awesome questions so far, but please feel free to ask anything you've been wondering about.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

over-thinking it

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Navy. A color that should be so easy to wear, but I always have a problem with.  Back when I got to wear jeans every day (THE GOOD OLD DAYS), wearing blue was easy because what doesn't go with jeans? My schoolboy blazer (which is currently on sale for less than $120, down from $200) was worn at least once a week. Now that I have to wear dress pants/skirts/dresses, I'm always a bit confused about what to wear with the few navy tops I have. Navy doesn't go with black, but can I wear it with other blues? What about red? Do I always have to wear my cognac shoes/belts since my black ones would clash?

Is this the dumbest blog post you've ever read or what? Just wear your clothes Fran! I know, I know. I tend to over-think getting dressed. I want to improve my style while sticking true to what I like while re-wearing all the pieces I have, but in different ways. Oh, and then take pictures of it, and put it on the internet. Writing this blog has definitely helped me do those things - figure out what my style actually is and work on building a wardrobe that is composed of pieces I love but can re-wear, and if I go back to even a year ago I can see the improvement (OMG. I just went to look what I wore exactly a year ago, and it's this same shirt. Promise I did not plan that). At the same time, it makes me hyper-aware of things that are just so dumb: 

"My buttons are gold, but the metal on my belt is silver!"

"The watch band is dark brown, but my shoes are cognac!"

"WHY DOES THIS SKIRT WRINKLE SO EASILY"

Looking for a friend here. Anyone else over-think it?
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Skirt: Anthro via eBay [similar]
Blouse: H&M
Scarf: H&M [similar]
Belt: H&M Mens
Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]
Shoes: BR c/o Chippmunk [exact]
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linking up with wiww.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

pantyhose: do not want.

everlane silk blouse, banana republic ashley flats 
Blouse: Everlane
Skirt: Anthro via eBay
Necklace: gift from my mom
Bag: Target
Belt: H&M
Shoes: Banana Republic c/o Chippmunk [exact]
Nails: Essie Fifth Avenue

you know what isn't fun to wear all day? pantyhose.

I was putting my favorite pair on this morning, and they completely ripped. I was so upset, so then I had to wear this whiter/sateeny pair, and I just was not happy with them. They were uncomfortable all day. 

I honestly think the best feeling in the world is coming home, tearing off all of your clothes, and putting pajamas on. 

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P.S. I ordered one of those gorillapod tripods so I can take a few quite pictures on my front porch without lugging around a huge tripod so hopefully the quality of photos improves somewhat soon.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

june budget

1. Gap Swiss Dot Henley [seen here] - originally $55, on sale/discount for $33: I purchased this shirt as a way to get free shipping, but also because I was a little bit interested in after seeing it hanging in stores. I really liked it when I first tried it on, and when I wore it a few days ago, but then throughout the day I was getting a bit annoyed with it - it fits me well in the shoulders/arms but is way too loose in the waist. I think I'm going to take in the sides like I have with my chambray popover and polka dot popover so it gives a bit more definition, something someone with my figure desperately needs.

2. Target Sandals [seen here] - $20

3. Old Navy shorts - on sale for $7, with giftcard $0

4. Tabita Skirt via eBay [seen here] - $20

5. J.Crew Factory Shorts [seen here]: on sale for $20

6. Old Navy shorts [seen here]- on sale for $7, with gift card $5: rounding out the shorts purchases of the month as inspired by Whitney.

7. Gap Dress - on sale/promotion for $33: This was the dress I purchased with my set aside money for a dress I can wear for several different occasions so really it's $0 in the budget. I ended up getting it online for half the price it was going for in stores. I wore it to a birthday party this past weekend but I was constantly tugging at the slip inside - it barely covered my butt so I always felt like I was showing the good China even though everything was covered. I think I need to invest in a good slip anyway, so this is a perfect reason to get one.

Not pictured: Gap Outlet shorts ($20), J.Crew Factory Skirt ($20), Banana Factory Top ($20), Gap Outlet Sandals ($10), Forever 21 Scarf ($10), Thrifted Red Skirt ($4), Thrifted J.Crew Blazer ($4)

= $178 - $80 sold = $98 overall


Although I've spent half of the month not at work, and therefore more time with opportunities to go spend money, I did very well this month when it comes to my budget! There are several reasons for that - I felt I needed to hold on to my money a little tighter now that I don't have any income until I receive my student loan money in August, I did a ton of window shopping but not much felt good on, and I was lucky enough to receive a few nice pieces from sponsors and through Everlane credits that that "need" of wanting something new went away.

For July I plan on rolling over that extra money as I will be in Seattle for the first part of the month and plan on doing some shopping/damage with Kimmie, Bri, and Katrina. I don't have many items I'm really on the hunt for (except I'm still waiting for my black pants for school to come back in my size at Banana Republic) so I'll just go into it with an open mind although I would like to add a special piece or two now that I'm pretty set on basics. I also have my $100 giftcard I won from the Chippmunk contest (huge congrats to Kimmie for winning the grand prize! Of course I would have loved to win, but Kimmie is on such a tight budget every year that I know she'll get a ton of use out of it, plus having a close friend win is almost just as good) that I choose to get from J.Crew so I can specifically order this blazer that I've been eyeing for months now! You know what it'll look good with? EVERYTHING

;)

Anyway, how did it all go down for you this month? Great? Poorly? WHAT BUDGET?! Link up below with the other budgeting bloggers! Please make sure you link back to this post so that your readers can find other great bloggers to read and follow.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

one

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I'm done! Yesterday was my last day of work and now I'm frrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee. Alright, so I'm only exaggerating a little - I was very lucky to have the job I did for two years. It taught me a lot about the pharmaceutical development world, how to get the job done, and how to be an adult. There are parts I will miss a lot - the stable hours, the ladies I worked with, the insight to developing crazy new drugs, having my evenings for my hobbies - but there are also certain things I won't miss, such as never seeing the sunlight, having to wear pants all the time, and being around hazardous materials eight hours a day. 

This is what I wore on my last day. The shirt is the shirt I wore on my first day of work two years ago - I don't have a full length picture but you can see it peeking out on my work badge. I bought it when I was a sophomore in college when I worked at the Gap (man do I miss that employee discount!), and while it mostly fits, it's now too tight in the bust so I've only been keeping it specifically to wear on my last day at work. What can I say, I live for that kind of sentimental stuff ;)  The skirt also has a story behind it. As I was looking through the skirt section of Goodwill last week, I found this amazing tweed skirt. The tag looked interesting, so I googled it to see what came up -turns out it's a brand from Anthropologie. Unfortunately for my closet, it was a size two, but I figured I could sell it on eBay for a little extra spending money. As I was looking for the general prices on eBay for the skirt, I found the skirt in my size! Like the exact same one. So I bid on it, and ended up winning it for $20...and then I sold the one from Goodwill for $35. So...win win! 

I also didn't wear tights because what are they going to do, fire me? REBEL.

So now I have six free weeks and I'm cramming as much in as possible. I'm doing a bit of shadowing on Monday, then I'm off to Chicago for two days, then on Friday I leave for Germany for ten days. Then I have a fun little appointment with immigration services before I hop onto another plane for Seattle for another six days. Then I have a week left and then I move! I'm proud of myself for completing another one of my 30 before 30 - saving enough money to not work for a bit. It wasn't always easy to put as much money, including my work bonus and tax refund, away but I'm now happy I did. Let the festivities begin!
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Skirt: Anthropologie via eBay  [similar]
Necklace: Forever 21 [very similar]
Belt: Gap [similar]
Watch: Kate Spade [exact]
Shoes: Tory Burch via Goodwill [similar]
Nails: Essie Spagetti Strap
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ok, no more countdowns! ;)
and the last time I beg for votes (even if you voted before) - thank you!!