no accessories needed

I have always loved the idea of a pussy bow blouse - it's very Joan Harris meets menswear meets 'needs no accessories'. I picked this one up when it was on mega sale a few weeks ago - I got it for $16! It's definitely not the nicest shirt I've ever owned (it's a bit too big in the waist and the fabric is a bit shiny) but I think it will be great for wearing under a white coat the next few years. Because it comes with its own accessory, there isn't a lot of need for adding necklaces or scarves (things I won't be able to wear anyway). 

I'm starting to think a bit more about what items I need in my closet for clinical rotations, so for those of you going through it or have gone through them, any tips or tricks are appreciated! A few more work appropriate pants and comfortable shoes are in order for sure.

Blouse: Loft [exact - similar below]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [save | exact]

Belt: Gap [very similar]

Shoes: Banana Republic [save | exact]

Bag: Kate Spade [similar]

and here are a couple of other cute and inexpensive bow blouses.  number two is definitely my favorite (it would go with literally everything, but especially my new midi skirt!)

one | two | three

four | five | six

bows on my (red) toes

 

one: a soft leather version of the classic ballet flat

two: available in a ton of fun colors/textures

three: a sleek take on the more expensive Ferragamos 

four: a leather shoe for $10 is a win win

five: a flat with just the right amount of cushion

six: a sportier take on the classic ballet flat

seven: possibly the cutest shoes ever

eight: the black trim makes them a bit unique

I bought my pair of red ballet flats from Old Navy for $8 on a total whim almost 3 years ago. I didn't think I would get that much use out of them, but I was trying to branch out and try new things, so red flats seemed like a great place to start. I've worn these shoes countless times since then, and so therefore, it's time to replace and upgrade them. 

I've been such a fan of the Salvatore Ferragamo flats for years. Many of my favorite bloggers, who are all working ladies whose taste and opinion I highly trust, can't stop raving about them (see the teal on Jessica, the red on Adina, the blue on Rachelle, and the nude on Jean). Since I teamed up with Shopbop last fall, I've approached it as an opportunity to add a few pieces to my closet that at this point in my life (ie finances) I couldn't otherwise. I've been hoarding my credits for the last few months, and I'll finally be able to order my own pair at the end of the month. I know that a pair of classic red flats will be a staple in my closet, and so I'm excited to add this beautiful pair to mine. 

top three [2.08.2015]

a light weight sweater across the season

medicine

• Capgras delusion is a mental disorder where people believe that their loved ones have been replaced with impostors. The cause of this hasn't been discovered yet, but it sounds horrible. Here's an NPR story about it!
• If during a pregnancy a mother has hypothyroidism, the fetus suffers severe deficiences once born. The medical term for this is "cretinism", which is a word that stems from the word Christian, because at the time it was discovered, people believed that these people were so mentally impaired that they were incapable of sinning. 
• Don't google carbuncle. or furuncle. 

spotted

• I saw this watch recently on pinterest via instagram and I'm so in love with it. I definitely don't need another watch right now, but it's fun to daydream. 
• Wouldn't this top look great with some dark skinny jeans, cognac leather, and gold accessories? 
• Do you have a hot date for Saturday and don't know what to wear? This dress will be perfect (now, and in the spring!)
• P.S. Did you see that Everlane came out with a striped tee?! I'll be sure to do a full review when mine comes!

on the internet

• Looking for a homemade Valentine's Day cake to make? I suggest this one - you can make the heart on top by gently placing a heart cookie cutter on top of the icing, and filling it with sprinkles (thank you pinterest!)
• Alcoholic frozen hot chocolate? Sign me up!
• Loved this perfect-for-work look - now that I have cognac wedges, I'm excited to wear a bit more navy!

notable sales

• BaubleBar: 25% off their top 25 date night pieces (hurry, it ends tonight)
• I love the style of the 360 studs, and this necklace definitely lives up to its name (plus it comes in 4 different colors!)
• One of my favorite BB necklaces (I just wore it Friday night) is marked down too!
• Banana Republic: 25% full priced items
• This trench coat is what dreams are made of
• Loft: 60% off sale items!
• I have a new found obsession with dalmatian print, so this top is perfect in my eyes
• I realllllly wish I was brave enough, or had a place to wear, this jumpsuit 

on franish

• on the blog: my best fashion tips, how to start a closet clean-out, what I'm saving up for, and more!
• on instagram: a little early Valentines present to CR + possibly my favorite nail polish
• on twitter: my first attempt at gravestone cookies didn't turn out very well (good thing my second attempt did!)

personal

• Happy 30th birthday to my bff Caitlin - we all celebrated for a few hours on Friday night (while responsibly drinking water between each drink) and it was exactly what we all needed. I don't know what I would do without you! 
• I was nominated for student of the month this month :)
• So I live in a pretty cute little townhouse community where half the residents are med students, and the other half are families with small children. We feel super safe there, and feel we got really lucky with our living situation. So imagine my surprise when I came home Wednesday morning to find a bunch of cops and DEA agents outside my house. Apparently my neighbor a few doors down, who I had never seen since they moved in a few months ago, was a member of a Mexican drug cartel and was being busted for cocaine and heroine trafficking. I had noticed some strange people in our area the days leading up to that, and when I mentioned that to one of the agents, he said it was his people staking out the area! It was seriously like real life Breaking Bad. 

just wanting to be normal

The closer we get to the end of our second year of school and the beginning of our clinical years, the more and more I look forward to being a bit more of a normal person. Right now, between school work and studying for boards, we don't get a night, much less a day off. Every hour I'm not studying is an hour I feel incredibly guilty about. But it's also really hard to just go go go and never have a break. The worst times for me are really on weekends, when I see everyone else enjoy their time off. 

CR knows that that really does affect me, so we have a new rule that once a month, we go out for Sunday brunch. The library doesn't open until noon anyway, so once a week we get to sleep in a bit more, actually spend a bit of time doing my hair and make-up, and enjoy a nice meal out together. It really has been nice to have that to look forward to and feel like a normal person, even if it's just for the hour before we go to the library all day ;)

Sweater: BR Factory [not similar, but how cool is this sweater?]

Pants: Gap [similar]

Scarf: gift from Steph 

Boots: Vince Camuto [exact]

Purse: c/o Shopbop [exact] **

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

** Shopbop has updated their sale section with a bunch of cute new items, including Rebecca Minkoff purses, and Paige denim (most under $140). The C. Wonder home decor and some Jonathan Adler accessories (like his adorable phone cases!) are really cheap right now - don't forget that if you have Amazon Prime, you get free 2 day shipping :)

ask me anything: fashion + style

This is the last installment of this round of Ask Me Anything. You can find previous answers to various other questions (med school, budgets, boyfriends) here. Have any questions you'd like to ask but hasn't been answered? Let me know in the comments!

If you could only shop at one store what would it be?

hussy ankles

I grew up in Wisconsin, so me and snow go way back. It's like that slightly annoying friend who you are initially excited to see and hang out with, but then you get sick of real quick after one too many unexpected visits. While I'm all about bundling up on those really snowy and drifty days, I don't wear boots for the 6 months straight there is snow on the ground. If it's not actually snowing, and there's just a slight dusting on the ground, I happily wear my flats for the 45 second walk I have from my car to school in the morning. I playfully call this showing off my hussy ankles because they are so bare and out in the open ;)

 I know sometimes you guys worry that I'm cold or dying of hypothermia when I wear ankle pants and flats in the winter, but once you spend two decades in -20 degree weather with real blizzards (real ones, NYC!), a dusting of snow at 30 degrees is nothing. 

Tee: Loft [exact on sale - love love love, should get a second]

Pants: The Limited [same style]

Scarf: present from Steph 

Belt: Gap [very similar]

Flats: Banana Republic [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [exact]

And on an unrelated note, but because I'm wearing cognac here, I did order those wedges I talked about in my last budget post. They didn't have my size at the time, but I happened to check back a few days ago, and they had one left in my size, plus they were on a pretty steep discount (they are still 50% off from Amazon)!  They came the other day and are beautiful, but I'm also a crazy person and am wondering if the fact that they are slightly darker than my transport tote and leather belts will bother me. Thoughts? 

via instagram - follow along if you love puppies, too many shots of med school books, and very few food pictures ;)

top three [02.01.15]

can't stop won't stop with these boots: one | two | three

medicine

• Locked-in syndrome, or pseudocoma, happens when there is a lesion in the brainstem. Basically, the person has a stroke, goes into a coma for a few weeks, and then slowly regains consciousness, but can't physically move anything except possibly a bit of eye movement, so the patient still seems like they are in a coma when in fact they are fully conscious. Doesn't that sound completely horrible? A journalist and editor of French Elle named Jean-Dominique Bauby actually had this after suffering from a stroke and he ended up writing a whole book with only his eyes. He ended up dying two days after it was published. 
• Oxytocin is a hormone that is released from your pituitary gland that has two big functions - uterine contractions during birth, and milk letdown during breast feeding. Interestingly, our bodies can be conditioned to the sight, sound, or smell of a baby to have milk let down happen. Kind of an unfortunate response if you aren't ready to breastfeed the second you see a baby...
• In 2000, the measles were eliminated from the US. I don't fully understand why we are currently putting ourselves, and especially our infants (who can't be fully vaccinated yet) at risk for diseases that are preventable. I once read a quote that people who are afraid of vaccinations giving their children autism are more afraid of having an autistic child than their child dying of a preventable disease, and that really stuck with me. I don't mean to step on any toes here, but I spend day in and day out learning about these horrible diseases that happen when one isn't vaccinated, and I just don't understand how anyone could put their children at risk of getting these diseases when there are very real, and very safe, vaccines out there. 

on the internet

• I loved Claire's recent outfit and since I have many of the same pieces, I feel I'm obligated to copycat. 
• Katie gave the "dress as a skirt" a whirl, and looks amazing. I love her necklace!
• This is from last week, but I loved reading Lauren's reasons for no longer shopping online. 

spotted

• Besides the Chanel-like shoes, Target has been killing it lately with accessories. This tote would be a great addition to your closet (the reversible red makes me all *heart eyes*), while this watch is veerrrrrry  similar to this $1000+ version. 
• How pretty is this top? I would need to do at least a million push-ups before I felt comfortable in a sleeveless top, but it may be worth it. 
• Thoughts on this dress as a "wear to a wedding" dress? The back is so beautiful. 

on franish

• on the blog: january's budget, and all the ladies who linked up!
• on instagram: snowy mornings call for warm scarves, hot coffee, and cuddly dogs
• on facebook: a throwback of 3 years of layering - upgrade or downgrade?

personal

• I hit a diet milestone this week by finally putting another hole in my belt. Although I've lost close to 15 pounds, I haven't changed dress sizes. The downside of being 5'9'' (besides that most jeans are too short) is that you need to lose quite a bit of weight to change dress sizes, but it did feel great to tighten up the belt a bit. 
• My exam last monday went really really well - I was in the top 10%! Now if only this endocrine exam tomorrow would go that well....
• Baer and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary the other day. He's grown about 40 pounds, still has feet too big for his body, and I love him more every day.