top three [05.03.2015]

medicine

• Munchhausen by proxy is a psychiatric disorder that revolves around making someone you are the takecarer of sick, so you can assume the caretaker role. It's a horrible disease that often affects those who can't stop it the most - it recently killed a young boy whose mom was using his "sickness" as a basis for her blog. It is heartbreaking how messed up psychiatric disorders can be. 
• Many of the diseases we learn about have a "triad" of symptoms that are classically associated with one another - I have a running list of at least 75 of these triads that are tested on all the time. One of the more random triads of associations is that of iron deficiency anemia + glossitis (inflammation of the tongue) + esophageal webs. This is called Plummer-Venson Syndrome, and it always makes me wonder how many patients it took for someone to figure out that those three symptoms are related. 
• Strokes can lead to a variety of conditions post-stroke. One of the more interesting ones is Foreign Accent Syndrome - patients develop a foreign accent after their stroke! I remember watching this video during neuro last year and finding it so strange. I think I'd prefer to wake up with a French accent. 

spotted

• Because the dress I would love to wear to the wedding at the end of the month is back-ordered until July (why, cruel world, why), this illusion yoke dress may just be suitable replacement. It's just so pretty!
• I'm getting all itchy about decorating our new place (that we haven't found yet...). The bedroom will more than likely have a blue theme to it though, so this duvet cover will HAVE to happen. Next step is figuring out how to keep animal hairs off of it. Think I can convince CR that these side tables are manly enough for our bedroom? 
• I wish I could pull off the off the shoulder trend (how do you wear a bra? can you move your arms above your head?) because I think it'd be so fun to wear a fun lace dress like this one. Another trend I'll admire from afar...

on the internet

• Did you complete the 10 item challenge? I wish I had been able to participate! 
• Rachelle hit it out of the park this past month with her outfits! I'll take one of each please.
• How precious is this embroidered dress? If only I had the time, or patience (or looked like Merrick...)

on franish

• on the blog: this month's budget post!
• on the instagram: Hansi gets really excited about playing with other dogs....
• on the twitter: how I really feel when bloggers complain how hard blogging is. 

notable sales

• Ann Taylor: 40% off sale items
• I have this tee and love it - it's going to be perfect for dressier nights this summer!
• Gap: 35% off + free 2 day shipping
• This sweater + white shorts = summer perfection
• Macy's Friend + Family Event
• A bright and hooded trench coat? Yes please!
• How chic is this black watch? I want it and I want it now. 

personal

• Two of my friends from college recently quit their jobs and are biking from Wisconsin to the East Coast, down that coast, then driving to the West Coast, and riding all the way from San Diego to Seattle. They crashed at my place the other night and man, what a life! Part of me is jealous, and part of me is thankful to know exactly where I'm sleeping every night ;)
• Tomorrow we have 6 house showings to go to! I'm really excited about a few of them, and a bit nervous about a few of the other ones. At the end of the day, all I hope is that we fall in love with one of them, and that the owners pick us to live there too. Please keep all your fingers and toes crossed for us!
• We are now 2.5 weeks out from our board exam. I'm quite pissed that I basically lost an entire week to being sick, so now I have to really make up for lost time. You probably won't see that much of me on here or on social media (except probably snapchat because that involves very little effort). I can't wait for this all to be over so I can feel like I can breath, eat, blog, and sleep normally again. It has been the longest 4 months of my entire life.

milly for all

I'm alive! After truly the worst timed cold ever, and almost a week of trying to study from bed while coughing up half a lung and drowning myself in cough syrup, I'm finally getting better. 

Today was the first day I actually got dressed, and I figured a little color was in order for such a joyous occasion ;) I was recently asked to share Kohl's newest designer collaboration, Milly for DesigNation, and I jumped at the chance because I've had a secret love for Milly for a while now. It's one of those loves where you admire from afar (and behind walls) because I can't afford any of the designer pieces, nor do I have a place to wear them, so I just stalk in the privacy of "in your dreams" land. SO, the chance to try out one of their pieces for Kohl's was exciting! The collection was inspired by Capri, which is truly on the top of my travel bucket list - CR and I are hoping to go on a European trip the month after we graduate (something has to keep us going the next two years!) and I'm insisting that one of the places we go to is Capri. The entire collection is just beautiful - bright and cheerful and inviting. Besides the skirt I'm wearing, I'd love to own this striped dress for casual days off this summer...or ya know, my future vacation ;)

Skirt: c/o Kohl's [exact - I suggest sizing down!]

Tee: Ann Taylor

Trench: Burberry [save | splurge of all splurges]

Wedges: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Also planning for a vacation, or just looking to add a bit of color to your wardrobe? Here are my favorites from the collection:

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

Disclosure: Thank you to ShopStyle for sponsoring this post! 

april budget

J.Crew Field Jacket: originally $148, on sale for $77
J.Crew Blouse: originally $70, on sale for $60
Target Sandals: originally $22, on sale for $18
Ann Taylor Dress: originally $149, on sale for $75
J.Crew Factory Necklace: originally $52, on sale for $15
Loft Chambray Blazer: originally $128, on sale for $55
Old Navy Dress: originally $25, on sale for $15

April total: $315 + $25 in tailoring costs = $340 + March ($70) + February ($89)


So I've come down with the most annoying and ill-timed of all colds, so I apologize for both being completely MIA the last few days, and the fact that today's post is going to be short. I had a review post planned for Monday and a longer Q&A based on recent budget questions, but every minute I'm not drowning myself in cough syrup and pillows is spent doing UWorld questions and reviewing for our pathology shelf exam on Thursday.

So this month was a bit more spendy than recent months, but that's the nice thing about my current quarter budget. I didn't spend a lot in February or March, so I had a bit more wiggle room this month to buy some things I'm really excited about. The Old Navy dress has already been several times in the short amount of time I've owned it - it's going to be a definite staple this summer (I suggest sizing down if you are interested - mine is a medium)! The spring has been rather chilly and rainy, so the J.Crew jacket has been a real winner as well. I was also pretty excited to get my hands on the J.Crew Factory pearl necklace - I've admired it for a while, but could never justify the full price. During a flash jewelry sale, I got it for $15!

I'm going to do a review on the Ann Taylor dress soon (beginning of next week maybe?) but I just wanted to talk about it real quick. I fell in love with it online, and love it even more in person. It just fits me so well and it has all the features of a dress I'm always looking for (v-neck, sleeves, waist flattering). I wasn't going to keep it though because I didn't really have a place to wear it - it's too white to wear to a wedding and it's too pretty to wear to work. I was telling CR about it and he told me that if I loved it that much, I should keep it, and he'll make an occasion for me to wear it to. Date planner and shopping enabler? Definitely a keeper ;)

I was also very fortunate to be able to pick out a few items c/o this month. I had saved up a few months worth of credits from Shopbop to pick up a Tory Burch dress and a Michael Kors crossbody bag during the sale they had at the beginning of the month. From Nordstrom I picked out a jean jacket, sandals (seen here), and a pretty little red dress (seen here). I include my c/o pieces in my budget because I think it's only fair to also tell you guys what I add to my closet that didn't directly come out of my wallet. Thank you for supporting those who have so graciously supported me!

top three [04.26.2015]

can't stop won't stop with my favorite white tee

medicine

• Alkaptonuria is a genetic disease that makes your body unable to process certain amino acids. It is lovingly called black urine because those who have it have brown/black urine. Their eyes and certain cartilage (like of their ears) also tends to be pigmented. Here are a few pictures of these changes (as always, look at your own risk!) 
• In french, folie à deux means "madness shared by two". It is a type of shared psychotic disorder where the delusions of one person are then transmitted to another, usually between two people in very close relationships like in a couple or between siblings.  Here's a short 3 minute video by a psychiatrist who explains it much better than I could!
• Intussception is a condition where one part of the intestines folds into another, kind of like a telescope. It can be attributed to both anatomic problems or infections. It always reminds me of this meme:

on the internet

• Obsessing over a bunch of different things we never knew we needed - this Lilly x Target recap couldn't have been anymore spot on (on target?) if it tried.
• I could never be as cool as Jentine, no matter how hard I tried (and her analysis of good colored walls is spot on - those poor non-photographer men in our lives!) 
• Is your birthday in April? You lucky lady, you!

spotted

• How great is this floral + striped shirt ? It does the pattern mixing for you!
• I'm going to hopefully be doing a bit of traveling this year, so I think it's probably time to upgrade from my 9 year old $20 suitcase. I'd love to be able to get something like this subdued floral + rose gold hardware suitcase - okay, a girl can at least dream, right? 
• This dachshund sweater must be mine - MUST! Thank you, Sam, for sharing this find with me!

on franish

• on the blog: so many great tips from you guys on how to kick out some of your clothes
• on the instagram: my little sister got into the University of Wisconsin! Can't wait to have another Badger in the family :)
• on the twitter: more and more every day.

personal

• Thank you so much to everyone who has filled out my recent survey. You guys have all been so kind, have left the funniest comments, and given me some really great feedback that I am hoping to implement in the coming months. One of the most requested items was more dog and cat pictures! While they already grace my instagram quite a bit, you can see a ton more of them on my snapchat (@fhasselhof). 
• We went on a little house hunting trip yesterday and lets just say it was more than unsuccessful, it was down right scary. I'm so nervous that we won't actually find a place to live! It's not exactly the most convenient time currently to find a new place to live, in a different state no less, less than a month before our board exam.
• I'm sick :( 

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! 

knowing when to let go

No, this post will not be about knowing when to let go of a boyfriend, although trust, I could write a whole book about that topic ;) Instead, it's going to be about letting go of a piece of clothing. Not nearly as scandalous to write about it but maybe a bit more applicable to this here style blog.

So I bought this striped skirt two years. It was soon after I found out I got into school, and I was really excited to get out of my lab clothes and into more "fun" clothes (jokes on me now, I miss those jean days!). I found this skirt on a sales rack at Banana Republic, and bought it in preparation for school. Well, school came, and I found myself never reaching for this skirt. I never really thought about why, until I was doing a bit of closet rearranging the other day and tried to make an outfit around it. The biggest issue for me is that it's actually a navy + cream combo, and that means it restricts what I can wear with it. I would much prefer it to be black and white, because it means I could mix and match it with so many more of the tops in my closet. It is also too large on me. But I still like it enough, so I paired it with my favorite chambray top and cognac wedges, and went on with my day. Turns out, chambray goes with just about everything.

So I have this skirt that in theory I should like (hello, stripes) but in reality I don't. The thing is, I would like to own a striped pencil skirt because I could see it being pretty versatile, but I would never go and buy a new one because I already own one, although it's one I don't really wear because it's not what I want. So the issue is - do I keep a skirt that is fine, there's nothing really wrong with it, or do I get rid of it and move on?

I've had a lot of people ask me how to do a closet clean up. Between the time I found out I got into school and before I moved two years ago, I got rid of a lot of clothes in my closet. It was right around the time that I was getting better about figuring out what worked on my body, what I wanted in my closet, and what I didn't, and so I got rid of the clothes I had accumulated over the seven years I lived in Madison. Over the past two years, I have really honed in on my style, and realized that works for my dress code and what doesn't. I've held on to quite a few pieces over the last two years that I bought before I started school because I thought they would work in my current lifestyle, but I realize now that I never ever reach for them. With another move coming up, I've been slowly working my way back through my closet. There's definitely certain items that are easier to let go - ones I haven't touched since moving, or ones that just aren't as nice as they once were. I've either passed them on to friends/family members, sent them in to ThredUp, or donated them. 

The harder pieces are ones that you just don't wear as often although there is nothing really wrong with them. I have a really hard time letting go of those pieces. I paid good money for them, I should make it work somehow! But because I have clothes I like a lot more, I wear those instead, and occasional try to make something work that I'm just not as excited about. So when a closet clean up comes around, and I come across something that I haven't worn in a while, I try to make it work. I tried this skirt with three or four shirts before I found one where the colors worked together, and a belt that kept the skirt from falling off. While I like this particular outfit, I don't think that getting dressed should be such a hassle. I've spent years trying to build a closet with clothes I'm excited to wear, so holding on to something because I paid $20 for it two years ago is not a good enough reason to have it take up a hanger. 

So to wrap up this novella about a striped skirt....I'm selling the skirt. I know that once it is gone, I won't even miss it. And then some day, when I come across a striped skirt that is in the colors that I want, in a size that fits me, I won't feel guilty about buying it. Or I'll never find one I like, and that's okay too. 

What tips do you have for getting rid of those pieces that are fine, but not great? Do you hold on to them in hopes you fall back in love, or get rid of it and move on? 

Chambray: J.Crew [exact]

Skirt: Banana Republic

Belt: Gap [very similar]

Shoes: Frye [exact, some sizes on sale]

Watch: Michael Kors [exact currently 25% off]

a survey, a giveaway, and a thank you

via 

Three years ago today I started my blog. Like most people, I stared it on a whim - I took a picture with my computer, used a nickname my friend Lizzi gave me, and somehow here I am, three years later. Blogging has been such a blessing - it's kept me in touch with my family, I've met some of the coolest people, and it has given me the opportunity to do things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.