i have no idea what i'm doing

Today was the first day of my third year of medical school - that's crazy! I still feel like I'm supposed to say I'm a first year, when I'm really a third year who supposedly knows things now.

My first month of rotations is in family medicine. I'm in a one doctor clinic, and so far (...one day), it's been really great. All of my shadowing experience was in family practice, so it was the one rotation I knew what to expect. I spent the day following the doctor and the nurse practitioner around. I got to feel some hernias, help with an EKG, and gave someone a shot. All around, I think it was the perfect way to start all of this off.

And since this is a style blog and all, this is what I wore. I wanted to go in pretty conservative as I wanted to make a good impression and I didn't know how the atmosphere would be. Bootleg slacks, my new "watch", and a flower blouse that buttons high enough - can't really go wrong! Turns out they are super relaxed there, so I can play around a bit more with outfits than I will be able to when I'm on surgery for my second and third rotation ;)

For you med students out there - any reading material suggestions for family med? I don't even know where to start.

Blouse: Loft [very similar on sale]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Bag: Madewell [save | exact]

Shoes: Banana Republic [exact]

Belt: Gap 

via instagram

midwest is best

You guys know I'm all about the scarves - when you deal with close to six months of winter a year, you learn quickly that a variety of scarves is needed to deal with the constant freezing weather. I was super excited when Kelsey, a fellow Wisconsin girl, reached out to let me know that she had started her own Etsy shop that sells a variety of beautiful home-made scarves and if I'd like to try one out. A homemade scarf made in my favorite city? Yes please.

I went with the Madison Infinity scarf in butterscotch - it is so soft and I love that it's a little bit of home. The butterscotch color is a great addition to my closet since I own very little yellow, but I love the way it works with my favorite chambray shirt and leopard flats (that are currently 30% off!). 

Interested in one of these beautiful scarves for yourself? You can enter the giveaway below (US residents only please), or you can use the code FRANISH15 to get 15% off an order (good through April 15th). 

Scarf: c/o Midwestern Comfort [exact]

Chambray: J.Crew [exact]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [save | exact]

Shoes: Madewell [exact on sale]

Belt: Gap [very similar]

Nails: Essie [exact]

Ring: c/o Rocksbox [use code franishxoxo for 1 month free!]

a Rafflecopter giveaway

bejeweled

This is one of my favorite outfits I've worn in a long time - it's not particularly fancy or anything, but I love the preppy meets masculine meets girly look. I've always struggled to describe "my style" because I don't think I really fall under one category, but it's usually under those headings. Pulled together but not stuffy, masculine styles with girly undertones. 

I love that the J.Crew tank basically is also described that way and that's what makes it one of my favorite shirts in my closet. Here are a few of the ways I've worn it on the blog, and since mine is no longer available, there are four options below (budget friendly too since they are all on sale!)

Sweater: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Blouse: J.Crew [more below]

Pants: The Limited [similar]

Shoes: Target [exact on sale]

Earrings: eBay [exact]

Bag: Coach [save | splurge]

Watch: Boccia

one || two* || three || four

* see it on Kristina here - now I just need the sweater!

get outta here

This past weekend was our first "free" weekend in ten weeks since school started in the beginning of August. We almost always have exams on Monday, which means our weekends are our hardcore study time, but last week we had an exam on Friday, which meant  freeeeeeeeeeeeeedom. Fake freedom because we still had to do work Friday afternoon and Sunday night, but mostly freeeedom.

CR and I took it as an excuse to get out of town - I've felt super cooped up lately, so I was more than willing to pay for a hotel room for the night. We decided to go to Pittsburgh, and it was so much fun. A lot of walking around, eating at fun restaurants (like a meatball place!), and seeing the sites. There were also a couple hours of television involved (since neither of us have cable) lounging on the king sized bed, and some time spent at the mall. I ended up getting this blouse from J.Crew that's currently on sale - it's perfect since I hate ironing ;)

Overall, it was a really great weekend. We're moving a little closer to Pittsburgh at the end of May, so I'm excited to explore even more on a regular basis. If you have any recommendations of must see/eat/visit places, I'd love to hear!

Top: Ann Taylor [exact on sale]

Pants: The Limited [similar]

Scarf: Victoria's Secret 

Belt: Gap [similar]

Shoes: Banana Republic [exact]

Earrings: eBay [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [exact]

the biggest cliche of all

Happy official second day of fall! This is my favorite week of the whole year - it was my birthday on Sunday (so much celebrating was done while I was in the library all day), the weather is starting to cool down, and all of the TV shows are coming back! I tend to always be a few weeks behind, but then if I get a few free hours, I get to binge watch Modern Family in one full swoop. That, and Grey's, Scandal, and The Mindy Project :)

And going along with fall, FALL CLOTHES. I recently ordered this sweater dress from Old Navy because 1. it reminds me so much of a Madewell dress and 2. it looks so comfy. I ordered it during a recent 30% sale as a "try-on filler" while I ordered this coat, and it turns out I love the dress and unfortunately don't love the coat on me. I'll do a more thorough review on Friday during my budget post but the current 25% off sale ends today in case anyone had their eye on it and wanted to grab it for a steal. (the reviews say it runs a bit short, so I ordered it in a tall, and it hits me right at the knee). If you're looking for anything else to fill your basket, I would suggest this buffalo plaid button up - perfect for those cooler days coming our way!

Blazer: Banana Republic [exact]

Blouse: J.Crew 

Pants: The Limited [similar]

Shoes: Target [exact]

Watch: Bocci 

Ring: DIY [tutorial here]

Bag: Kate Spade [save || splurge]

daytime // nighttime

I've been kind of annoyed with the idea of getting dressed and blogging about it lately. I feel because I don't blog daily like I used to before I was in school that every time I do blog that it should be of something special. I feel this internal pressure that I need to put a lot of thought and effort into what I'm wearing, and make it worth taking pictures and editing and uploading and presenting it as "this is good enough for the internet" kind of thing. A large part of that comes from reading a ton of (awesome) other blogs, and seeing how much effort and talent they put into their space, and then feeling like nothing I can really do can compete with that. Because let's be honest, "work" clothes are kind of boring...and especially when they are being worn in a city that seems to never have nice weather. 

But you know, the whole point here is to show what I'm actually wearing in real life, and not dressing for the blog or putting on special outfits just to take pictures. So here are the two parts of what I wore today. It didn't feel like a costume or fake or something I just wore to blog - it felt comfortable and like myself. The first part is what I wore during the day to go to school. The second outfit is what I changed into to go study at the library - just a few simple changes to make it comfy enough to sit in for 6 hours but also dressed up enough to maybe not look like a freshman on the undergrad campus (unfortunately I think the study-induced forehead wrinkles now give me away!).

Blazer: J.Crew, thrifted

Tee: Boden [exact]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Necklace: Forever 21 [very similar save | splurge]

Purse: Kate Spade [cute similar]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Shoes:  Lucky [exact]

Nails: Essie [exact]

Blazer: J.Crew, thrifted

Tee: Boden [exact]

Jeans: American Eagle [exact]

Purse: Kate Spade [cute similar]

Shoes:  Lucky [exact]

Scarf: H&M

no more.

 

Blouse: J.Crew [exact on sale | factory version also on sale]

Blazer: H&M [fun ~similar version]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Shoes: Lucky [exact]

Guys, this snow thing needs to stop. Earlier this week we had a little break from winter when it was light out past 7 PM, the temperatures were in the comfortable 50's, and all of the ground was visible. Everyone thought spring was here (haha suckers).

Then Wednesday happened, and we got dumped on again by about 2 feet of snow. 

Not cool. Winter can be over any day now.

...and so can neuro anatomy (even though we just started it Monday). 

tickled pink & blue (nile giveaway)

 

I tend to avoid wearing pink and red together (except these two times I've done it) but it seems only appropriate for this time of year. Love is in the air, ya know? ;)  

There's also snow in the air, but we're going to try to ignore that fact. 

Make sure you enter the giveaway below to win the same necklace that I'm wearing - you know I'm all about the delicate silver jewelry, so I was really excited to add this beautiful piece to my small collection. Good luck!

Tee: Loft [exact]

Blazer: Old Navy [save | splurge]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Necklace: c/o Blue Nile [exact]

Shoes: Lucky [exact]

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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]