2016: a year in review

For many people, 2016 was not a great year. Between the election, some of our favorite celebrities dying, and whatever else the year has brought, I think many people are excited to have a fresh start. 2016 was definitely an interesting year for me, luckily one with more ups than downs. The beginning of the year brought a ton of learning opportunities, and the chance to do two months of ObGyn that solidified my decision to pursue it as a career. Over the summer, CR and I kicked Step 2's ass (and scored the exact same score #soulmates), went to my ten year high school reunion, and have since spent the past six months living apart as we each did our sub-internships. It was a great learning experience for our relationship - it required us to focus on our communication skills, we learned to cherish our limited time together, and in the end, we are coming out of it stronger than ever...and engaged! We spent weekends camping and catching up with Dave. The fall brought us to California for a long weekend, and the chance for me to visit ObGyn programs for residency interviews all over the eastern side of the country. 2016 was a good year, and I have a feeling 2017 may be the best yet. Between Match Day, graduation, moving for residency, starting our careers, and planning our wedding, it may just be the busiest yet! But before we look ahead...we have to look back, at the good, the not so good, and everything in between. Thank you for being such an encouraging part of my life - I hope 2017 is your best year yet!


favorite outfits

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

2016 was the year that I blogged the least amount of outfits - there were many weeks where I didn't post a single one! Most of my rotations this year have been hospital based, so I wore scrubs all of those rotations (9 out of 11 rotations this year), plus busy months of studying for Step 2 and living away from home for sub-internships - all together, it left little time to wear real clothes, much less take pictures of them! I did manage to get in quite a few I loved though. It's quite interesting to look through the previous year in review posts, and see how my style has changed over the years. My wardrobe now is very neutral based - the colors I do wear are either blush or blue, with red accessories mixed in. This means I can mix and match more, and it also makes it easier to shop! 

least favorite

There is nothing really inherently wrong with any of these outfits, but as I looked through the last year's worth of posts, these are the ones I was mostly meh about. Sometimes that's what it's like to wear your normal clothes in your real life - sometimes they will be just fine outfits, but maybe not really worth putting on the internet. Finding that balance between sharing every day outfits with trying to keeping it interesting is definitely something I'm still working on.


best purchases

These were pretty easy to pick out, just quickly scrolling through the last year's worth of budget posts. The poncho is one I love to wear, and pack with me on every colder weather trip we go on (see it on here). I wear my Michael Kors loafers constantly. The J.Crew blazer is definitely the best purchase I made this year (see my review here and it on here). I haven't shown my Coach purse a ton on the blog, but it's currently my go-to purse on the weekends.

regret purchases
My least favorite purchase was the flared jeans I bought earlier in the year. I never grab for them, and it was definitely one of those instances where I fell prey to the trendiness of it. Lesson learned!


most popular posts
Looking at my stats for the 169 posts I've written this year, the ones that always get the most views are ones related to school or review posts. The highest viewed post of the year is a post about what to wear on clinical rotations, followed by posts about what a day on internal medicine is like and a 24 Ob call. My review posts are always the most popular of the month - I'm not sure if it's because people like to see how truly awful some clothes look on me, or if it's because google searches bring people here. Either way, I plan on continuing both types of posts in the future as they are clearly what people are most interested in!

beauty
This was the year I really started to incorporate more beauty and skincare posts, and it's been one of the things I'm most excited to write about nowadays! I'm always looking for the next best mascara / dry shampoo / face mask, so having a way to share those with you has been so much fun for me. Highlights included:
    - How I wash my hair only twice a week (with this lifesaver of a dry shampoo!)
    - A review of Essie's new gel couture line (possibly my favorite beauty product of the year)
    - How to trick people into thinking you have thick hair
    - The easiest way to apply self tanner
    - Before and after pictures using a tretinoin gel
    - My current skincare routine
 

medical school
Now in my fourth and final year, life was very busy, and now is very awesome. The first part of the year involved taking Step 2, doing three sub-internships, going on residency interviews, and now it's about enjoying the last five months until graduation! Posts throughout the year about school include:
    - A day in the life on Internal Medicine
    - 24 hour Ob call
    - A day of Step 2 studying
    - Great discussions about residency interview suits
    - Essentials for clinical rotations
    - Gift guide for medical students


in written form
I've always enjoyed writing, so I definitely enjoy writing longer posts once in a while. Longer posts this year included:
    - How we found our wedding venue
    - Thoughts on being curvy
    - Our engagement story
    - Real tips and tricks for growing your blog
    - My experience with Invisalign (complete with before and afters!)


favorite instagrams

Still my favorite social media app of choice (although snapchat is getting up there - follow along @ fhasselhof). This is an older post about how I edit pictures, although I've changed a few things. Any interest in an updated post?

resolutions for 2017
I like the idea of coming up with a few things you want to work on every year. Not vowing to become a whole new person, but just a few things to improve on. This year I want to:
    - Not wish my time away. I'm excited for our future, but want to enjoy every month of the year.
    - Start a wellness series on here, mostly to hold myself accountable to stick with cleaner eating
    - Read real books. for fun. First up: the history of cancer. Should be a quick read ;)

P.S. 

2012 review

2013 review

2014 review

2015 review

2015: a review

I seem to have a theme for every year when I look at it as a whole. 2013 was the year of changing, 2014 was the year of figuring it out, and I think 2015 was the year of adapting. Adapting to studying for five months straight without a night or day off. Adapting to living with CR and combining our lives. Adapting to being at the mercy of the hospital - from what I wear to when I eat to what time I get up in the morning. Adapting to being asked questions at any moment, and having to come up with the answer. 

It really was a wonderful year though. I passed my boards, moved in with the greatest man, discovered my love for OB, went on a once in a life time vacation to Santorini, and have all around really enjoyed getting to actually be a part of medicine rather than just reading about it in a book. Every year I've blogged I've liked looking back at the year - the good, the bad, the regretful, and the favorites. Thank you for being a part of this year, for all of your words of encouragement, suggestions, and thoughtfulness. I hope you have a great and safe New Years!

Favorite Outfits

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

Lots of black + white, stripes, with a bit of red thrown in for sass. 

Least Favorite

Can't win them all, I suppose! I think overall there is nothing majorly bad about these, I just don't love them. The first two I find a bit lackluster, and maybe not particularly blog worthy. While I love the dress in the third picture, it was worn the weekend after I took my boards and I may have had just a little extra stress weight that caused it to not fit the way I would have preferred. And in the last one, I think the scarf doesn't really go with the rest of the outfit.

Favorite Purchases

express pants | loft top [similar] | loft blazer [similar]

ann taylor dress [similar] | jack rogers sandals | loft dress [similar]

These are the items I reach for the most - when I'm getting dressed in a hurry, when I'm packing, or because I can think of a ton of ways to wear it. The express ponte pants are currently my favorite things just because they are so comfortable and flattering. I've worn the striped shirt countless times now, and while I seem to stick with a theme when wearing the chambray blazer, I just think it's so fun. Two pretty dresses, and a simple pair of sandals, and I basically don't need any other clothes...if I lived in a more temperate climate ;)

Purchases I Regret

• My uniqlo cardigans: I used to wear cardigans all.the.time, so when I finally found a kind I thought would be great to replace the ones that needed replacing, I bought two. As it turns out, I don't really like wearing cardigans that much anymore. So now I own two cardigans I just don't wear. Dumb. 
• That tan Aritizia sweater. I spent a little (a lot) more on a sweater when I was in NYC because I thought I was paying for the quality. After one wear and washing, it has already shrunk and pilled. Luckily, Aritizia has offered to let me return it for store credit so it's not a complete wash. 
• Frye flats. I thought these were going to break in better than they have, but they are still just completely destroying my feet every time I've tried to wear them :(
• Banana Republic Midi skirt: I actually love this skirt (it's a part of one of my absolute favorite outfits of the year) but I just never wear it. I would feel strange wearing such a flouncy skirt to work, and I don't have any where else real fancy to wear it to. It will be one of those items I hold on to for a very long time, and will love wearing, but it kind of sucks I will only wear it like once or twice a year. So I guess it's not that I regret it, it's just that it may not make that much sense in my wardrobe. 

Medical School Related Posts
Day in the Life: Board Studying
Day in the Life: Family Medicine
Day in the Life: General Surgery
What's in my white coat? 
Day in the Life: OB-Gyn
Ask Me Anything: medicine edition
What to get a 3rd or 4th year medical student for Christmas


A little more about me
The amount of clothes in my actual closet
How I do my daily make-up
How I afford designer goods while on a budget
How I made my gallery wall
Where I live
What I carry in my bag
How I do my hair

Favorite Instagram Pictures

Still my social media of choice :) you can find me here!

P.S. 

2012 review

2013 review

2014 review

2014: a review

If 2013 was the year of change, then 2014 was the year of figuring it all out. I figured out what I wanted in relationships, how to do this whole med school thing, how to be a healthier person, and generally what my style is. The end of 2014 is a much happier time in my life than it was a year ago, and I can't thank you all enough for the support you've provided me over the past year. Thank you for all of your blog comments, kind emails,  and funny tweets. Can't wait to see what 2015 brings!

Favorite Outfits

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

I already knew this, but going through a year's worth of blog posts really drives home the fact that I'm definitely more of a neutrals girl. I'm all about black+white, cognac leathers, maroon accents, and stripes stripes stripes. I would say 2014 was the year I really started to define who I am, style-wise...

Least Favorite Outfits

...But with every learning curve comes some flops. There isn't really anything inherently wrong with any of these outfits, but they just don't feel right to me.

one: Individually I like all of these pieces, but together, the proportions are off
two: Probably my least favorite of the year. The dress is slightly too short with see-through tights, and it all seems a little too young but risque at the same time. I wore a similar outfit this fall, and liked that version a lot more.
three: Everything seems a bit ill-fitting. I was trying to make an effort to wear items in my closet that I wasn't wearing a lot, and that dress was one of them. I didn't feel super comfortable in it though (reason I never wore it!) and after seeing these pictures, it quickly was sold.
four: A bit too much pink and too girly for my taste. It just didn't feel like me.


Favorite Purchases

My favorite purchases are all favorites for different reasons. My DVF wrap dress is something I've wanted for years and years, and while I don't wear it that often, it's one of those items I hope to wear for many years to come (I used a small portion of my tax return to buy it off eBay). The chambray shirt is one I wear at least once a week, if not more, both to school and to study in. The straight dress pants from the Limited are my favorite dress pants - I love that they are like a more appropriate version of skinny jeans. The scarf is a recent favorite (with my plaid scarf being a close second, of course!), while the earrings are a really trendy item I've fallen in love with.

Regret Purchases

J.Crew pants: I loved them on Kendi, but they run a bit small, so they weren't that comfortable to wear. I only wore them once in the fall, but they are more spring/summer pants, so hopefully they'll be worn more in the warmer months of 2015.

ON Graphic Tee: Every else has one, so I wanted one too! It cost me under $10, but I haven't really worn it at all so far. I'm kind of scared to try to wear it to school, so I'm still playing around with it. Not a huge loss, but maybe not one I really needed to buy.

Target dress: I loved this dress when I first bought it, but when I bought the black and white version a few weeks later, the blue version kind of got left behind. I also find it less versatile than the black and white, so I may end up passing it along to a girlfriend who fell in love with it.

Most Pageviews

one | two | three | four

I'm slightly surprised about the most viewed posts of the year. The first one was at the top of my "most popular" widget for a long time, which is why I think it was viewed so many times (if you're a blogger and don't have a most popular widget, I highly suggest adding one!). The middle two are kind of surprising since they are pretty normal outfits, but the third one does have a video and some key words that people have searched for a lot this fall (about how to wear a blanket scarf and how to tie one). The last one I can understand because I've received a lot of questions about the diet I've been doing for close to half a year. I know some of you have tried it out - I would love to hear what you think of it, and if you have any must-try recipes!

Medical School Posts
School is obviously a huge huge part of my life, and so I love getting a chance to talk about it more, whether it's about my own study habits to what it's like to date in medical school (especially since I've seen it from all sides now!).

day in the life of a first year
day in the life of a second year
medical school and dating
medical school AMA
my study habits
cute study outfits 

Favorite Products

one | two | three | four | five

I've always loved playing with hair and make up products, and like most women, I'm always on the lookout for the next miracle worker. I actually found a couple this year! 

My hairdresser was using this dry texturizer on me every time I went in, and after accumulating a few giftcards, I finally purchased one for myself. It basically gives your hair volume without the teasing and fussing - just a quick spray and voluminous hair is yours. I initially bought the travel size just to make sure I really like it, and it lasted a full two months with almost daily use, and so I just bought the full size version. 

Mascara is my "one item" - the make-up item I can't live without. I have relatively long eyelashes, but they are super blond and kind of thin, so I'm always always looking for the world's best mascara to thicken them up. My mom actually sent me a tube of the Better Than Sex mascara for my birthday and I fell in love. Usually I'm coating on mascara over and over again, but with this, I do one coat of this L'oreal primer, and 2 quick coats of the BTS mascara and I have beautiful thick lashes. My first tube lasted me 3 months, which is longer than many others I have tried.

I have really dry skin all year long. I've tried all sorts of moisturizers, from the basic drug store kind to the most expensive at Sephora. The Say Yes to Cucumbers moisturizer is the one one I keep buying over and over again though. While fairly expensive for a drug store moisturizer, a little bit goes a long way, and it's the only thing I've found to keep that tight skin feeling away.

My mom wants nothing more than for me to wear bright lipstick every day, but I feel it always draws attention to the fact that I have big lips but a small mouth. My boyfriend also hates lipstick, so this lip balm is a great compromise. It's a balm that obviously moisturizes, but also works with your own body's chemicals and heat to create a custom pink color. How much of that is actually true I'm not sure, but I do love how moisturizing it is while providing me with a subtle pink lip. It's pretty expensive, but if you're looking to treat yourself with a pretty lipstick, I recommend this one :)

Now that I'm in my late 20s (WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN), I've been trying to be very good about taking care of my skin. I've always been very good about taking my make-up off at night and all that, but know it takes a bit more than that the older you get. I added in this overnight serum at the beginning of the year, and I've noticed a pretty big change in my skin. It really does make your skin look better overnight! I just ran out of this after using the same bottle for close to a year, and I very willingly just ordered a second bottle. 

Favorite Non-Outfit Posts
While my blog is primarily a style blog, I have always seen it as an extension of my life, not just my closet. Here are a few non-outfit posts (some of course are still clothing related haha) that I've written over the year. Let me know if there is anything I haven't really ever talked about that you'd be interested in hearing about!

closet inventory (I plan on doing another one soon!)
outtakes, part 1
outtakes, part 2
how I edit instagram pictures
ask me anything: life and blogging
my experience with the 4 hour body
bloggers and photoshopping - how are is too far?

Thank you for following along - Happy New Year!

P.S. 2012 review + 2013 review

2013: a review

I'm kind of a nostalgic sap, so looking back at this past year puts my heart all over the place.

2013 was quite the year - probably the biggest I've had in a long time. I was accepted to medical school, quit my job, enjoyed funemployement, moved hundreds of miles away, started medical school, ended a half a decade relationship, and finished my first semester of school. I found a great great great group of friends who have been a blessing - I don't think I would be anywhere as happy as I am if it weren't for them. I love my living situation, and having such an amazing roommate. My dogs are happier, my calendar is busier, and my heart is fuller.

In a blogging year, I've finished a whole year of budgeting. I worked on defining my wardrobe. I took one, and then passed it on! I showed how to wear five things five ways for five days. My budget changed to reflect living off student loans while still needing to be dress code appropriate. I hit over one million pageviews since starting this thing. Blogging friends became real life friends. I had to learn to adjust my time towards blogging as school picked up - I'm still working on that :/

Overall, a wonderful year! Here's a little look back over the year, with similar topics to last year's review. Thank you for everything! I'm so glad that we "met" over the internet (and in some cases, in real life!) and how supportive you've all been. Here's to 2014!

Favorite Outfits:

one | two | three | four | five

2013 was a year of figuring out what I like and don't like. I gravitate towards layers, heaps of scarves, and more basic colors. I generally stick to two similar silhouettes - slimmer pants with layers on top, or skirts with shirts tucked in. My accessories tend to be matchy matchy but I like that, and it's easy! I like simple patterns - stripes will always be number one, followed closely by polka dots.

Least Favorite Outfits:

Along with figuring out what you like comes with the price of figuring out what you don't. I tried to take a few "risks" for my closet, but it turns out that I should stick with the color palettes and proportions I know and like. Neon and 80's geometric prints are great for some, but not for me. Now I know!

Favorite Purchases:
I've really tried to curb my spending from where I was a few years ago, and really am proud of how far I've come when it comes to making purchases for my life and bank account. Having a budget, and sticking to it, means I buy less, but what I buy I really do like. I try to think more about what I need for my current life, and what I still want around in five years. These ponte pants are a staple for me - I wear mine so so much that I will be buying a second pair during the next great sale. My birthday present to myself, a classic Burberry trench coat (at 50% off retail price), will be one of those lifetime pieces, truly. The tax refund purchase, a pair of Hunter boots that fit just right, was one of the more practical purchases of the year - I wear them every single day!

Biggest Regret Purchases:

This goes right along with my least favorite outfits. The Madewell sweater was something that I was initially excited about, but once I wore it the one way I thought about, I just didn't know what to do with it anymore. The pastels and pattern are just not "me", which is why I sold the sweater during the big closet clean out. The neon shirt, while inexpensive, was a purchase inspired more by other bloggers than what I wanted for myself. Makes for a good lounging tee though!

Most Pageviews:

Same as last year, a post about how to layer more efficiently took number one, mostly thanks to Pinterest. A few reviews, including these unflattering pants and my favorite t-shirt, made it to the top by google searches. I posted about wanting a herringbone vest, and due to the overwhelming popularity of that item, it also made it to the top thanks to Google.

Favorite Discussions:

Investment Pieces - made up words to convince ourselves to spend more on certain items?
What's "Blog Worthy" - are we trapping ourselves in by only showing the best of the best?
Who knows about your blog? - what happens when your classmates/co-workers find out?
The Business of Blogging - where does the money come from, and where does it go?
The Perfection Pressure - do you feel the pressure from blogging to always be "picture perfect"?


Thank you again for all of your support! Hope you all have a safe (and awesome!) New Years :)

6 months of 2012: a review

Well, all the cool kids are doing it, so I felt obligated to do it too. Don't worry, I won't show you every.single.outfit of the year because if you cared that much, you know where the archives are ;) I only started blogging this year, and spent a good 2 months of that time as a "hiding in the bathroom faceless blogger" (my first real world post is here! such a baby) so it's really only a "best of the last 6 months" kind of roundup. Either way, here's a list of the best, worst, and wtf was I thinking of the year:

Favorite Outfit of the Year: This outfit is my favorite for several reasons. It has my new favorite purse in it, I really like this (new to me) color combination, and it has the perfect feminine/masculine vibe going on that I've realized is what I tend to gravitate towards. Plus the photography gods were on my side that day so overall, favorite.

Biggest WTF of the Year: This pattern-on-pattern monstrosity. In theory, not too bad since pattern mixing is all about staying in the same color family. Unfortunately, this is just too much, too bright, too overwhelming. You live, you learn. I'll stick to little pattern mixing instead.

Biggest Regret Purchase: Although these pants were only $20, I've only worn them one time. I don't really love drawing that much attention to my legs so bright green pants weren't the smartest purchase for me. I think this was one of those "everyone has colored jeans, I NEED THEM TOO" purchases. I've definitely learned my lesson.

Favorite Manicure of the Year: Although extremely simple in design and execution, I love this manicure and hold myself back from recreating it every week.

Biggest Learning Experience: I'm a huge fan of and participant on GOMI. There are some really smart and sassy ladies on there, and I love going to place that allows me to feel sane when looking at some of the more out there blogs. I've met some of my favorite bloggers on there as well. That being said, being on an anonymous site doesn't always mean you're anonymous. I've learned that as unoffensive as you try to be on the internet in general, you aren't going to please everyone but for every 1 person who dislikes you, there are in general 10 that do like you. My face and thighs aren't those of a supermodel, but I think I can add a little bit of value to "fashion" blogging as a whole in a normal girl kind of way.

Most Pageviews of the Year: This post about a little trick Bri taught me has 3 times as many views as the next highest viewed post. I hope all of the repins on pinterest have helped a lot of other women with the art of layering ;)

Favorite Thrifted Item: I'm pretty new to thrifting. My mother, literally the most stylish woman I know, is a huge thrift store person, so it's almost embarrassing to admit that reading blogs motivated me to finally go to a thrift store. I haven't purchased that much, but this mustard cardigan is my favorite. I'm unsure what the original brand is, or how old it is, but I love the color and fit, so I don't even care.

Favorite DIY of the Year: My tube bracelets are my favorite thing I've made this year, with my flannel scarf coming in as a close second. I made them in gold and silver, and reach for them almost every single day. Plus the materials cost less than $10 and are super easy to make - cheap and easy: sounds good to me!

Most Worn/Favorite Purchase: My favorite purchase of the year is also my most worn (makes sense, huh?). My J. Crew Schoolboy blazer, which was a birthday present to myself, is the most expensive piece of clothing I own, but I know the cost per wear will eventually be less than a lot of my cheaper pieces of clothing.

So that's it! I hope 2013 brings me the foresight to make smarter purchases to fill the holes in my closet, to still expirement with my clothes, and to continue to have fun with this little hobby.