closet inventory, 2017

In 2014, I posted my first closet inventory post. I found it a pretty enlightening experience - I had more clothes than I really thought, and looking at those pictures now, I was barely wearing most of the items in that closet anyway. Isn't it interesting how our style changes over time? This was at the end of my first year of medical school, so I was still trying to make the clothes from my "previous life" work for my new "professional clothing requiring" life.

We moved between second and third year of school to a smaller older home than I was living in for the first two years. I have much less closet space here - here's my post from when we first moved in 2015. Our house is quite small (around 800 square feet) so I had to make my closet work for me by putting in a second half bar on the bottom, and putting up small shelves on the side for my shoes. It's definitely not gorgeous, but it works for now (but you better believe that one of the things I'll be looking for in our house next year is good closet space!). I use wood hangers because I like that it forces me stick to a certain amount of clothing, and I think it also helps prevent clothes from getting lost like I feel they might with thinner hangers.

So here are the current numbers for the items in my closet! I'm at 153 items now, down from 202 in 2014!

Tops: 72 (78)

Sleeveless: 8 (5)

Tees: 7 (13)

Long-sleeved shirts: 5 (7)

Blouses/Button-ups: 29 (28)

Cardigans: 3 (3)

Sweaters: 10 (11) 

Vests: 1 (2)

Blazers: 9 (9)

Bottoms: 32 (33)

Jeans: 6 (6)

Colored denim: 3 (3)

Dress Pants: 7 (8)

Shorts: 4 (6)

Skirts: 12 (10)

Dresses: 23 (25)

Shoes: 26 (34)

Flats: 11 (17)

Heels: 4 (8)

Sandals: 5 (5)

Boots: 6 (4)

If you're interested in how to do a closet clean out, I wrote a series a while back about building a cohesive wardrobe, where the first step is figuring out what items you're going to keep and get rid of! 

see, speak, hear

I think I'm probably one of the worst bloggers when it comes to blogging while traveling. When I travel, I should see it as the perfect opportunity to put together cute outfits, research good photography locations, and see this as a way to really expanding the amount of outfit posts I do on here. Instead, I very rarely put together outfits beforehand - instead, I throw a few of my favorite items into a suitcase and hope it all works out. I'd rather spend time doing my sisters' hair than my own, so I'm always less likely to want to take pictures when my hair has been tossed around by the wind. And outfit pictures should be taken right after putting on an outfit, not after crouching an an uber for 20 minutes and sitting down for a delicious brunch for a few hours.

So typically, I don't really take outfit pictures while on vacation because I'm lazy, but when we were in the Wynwood neighborhood exploring all of the murals, I couldn't help but take just a couple of snaps (thanks again to my sister for always being my photographer!). It's like a bloggers dream down there! So many beautiful walls, all with different colors and stories to tell. We all had so much fun, just walking around, taking pictures of various walls, and popping into the stores in the area. If you are planning a trip to Miami, this is definitely a great way to spend a few hours outside! Especially if you need to go on a long walk after eating a delicious salmon benedict breakfast... 

^ how good looking are my parents? (my dad's glasses are particularly on point...)

Dress: J.Crew Factory [similar]

Belt: Gap [similar]

Purse: Coach via Etsy [similar]

Shoes: Jack Rogers [exact]

Sunglasses: Ray Bans [exact]

Nails: Essie in Spool Me Over [exact]

J.Crew Factory is currently having a flash sale for 35% off everything + free shipping. Below are a few of the adorable items currently on their site. I'm personally ordering the striped dress (I've wanted one like this for years!) and possibly the leopard loafers (I used to own a similar pair years ago and was obsessed with them!). I'd also recommend the layered pearl necklace - I have it and wear it constantly. It's been one of my favorite jewelry purchases over the years!

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

top three [01.22.2017]

a few snapshots from our weekend

on the internet

• Kecia is killing it in this work appropriate outfit. Definitely need to get a few pointers from her for getting back in the workwear game!
• Although I've been blogging for a while, sometimes (a lot of the time) I feel like I don't know what the "new thing" in blogging is. Alicia talks about why she joined an Instagram pod, and also why she left it. 
• Love this casual look on Kimberly - gotta enjoy that warm weather when we have it!

spotted

• You know what trend I can jump right on? Metallic sneakers. LOVE!
• In another five pounds, these will be my next treat to myself! We do a lot of "runs" at spin class, so it basically counts ;)
• I love the idea of this sweatshirt - wouldn't it look cute with dark skinny jeans and some chucks? I think I'm going to have to make it mine. 

ask me anything

• I am a second year medical student and am starting to look for clothes for my third year. What do you think about doing a blog post, or a series of blog posts about different outfits that would be suitable around the hospital? I just cannot seem to find any clothes I like online so this would be very helpful. 
• I actually wrote a post about this last year! Here's the original post. My advice is to find a "uniform" where you have pieces you can rotate around, especially on mornings you don't have a lot of time. My personal uniform? Black ankle pants (which used to be from The Limited, but now they are closing down - RIP), looser tops that have a higher neckline (such as this one from NYDJ, an inexpensive version from Amazon, or if you want to go really fancy, Equipment makes beautiful blouses), and comfy flats (I have a cheaper pair of flats from Target that I just put in insole in, or you can get something like this pair of flats from Clark). 
• Have you tried any Lush products? What are your thoughts?
• I have tried a few of their bath bombs, which are obviously a lot of fun, but besides that, I haven't actually tried a lot of their products (I'm always a bit overwhelmed when I go in that store!). For those of you who love Lush, I'd love to hear your recommendations!
• I was just hired for my first real job (yay!) and am looking for a work appropriate bag. I love colorful bags. Do you have any suggestions?
• Congratulations! That is definitely exciting, and now is the perfect time to get your first "grown up" bag. I think a fun colorful person can definitely be appropriate for work - I personally carry a bright red bag most days! On the more inexpensive side of things, here's a classic tote from Amazon that comes in several colors. Target also has a great option that comes with a shoulder strap (which I love for when you need to be handsfree!). An option in the mid price range is this tote from REED - it comes in several awesome color variations (my favorite is the red version!). If you want to go a bit pricier,  Lodis makes a gorgeous red tote that I'd love to own, and Kate Spade's totes are always some of my favorites (I have one from three years ago that still looks basically brand new). 

on franish

• on the blog: my at home facial, all laid out!
• on the instagram: airport style = as comfy as possible without wearing pjs
• on the twitter: I assume you're all #WithFran, correct? ;)

notable sales

• Loft: 50% off everything!
• Ohhhh, I love this ruffled bib blouse! Already in my basket ;)
• Their staple utility blouse now comes in a very Equipment-like pattern. Super cute. 
• So glad I waited for a good sale to order this lace top - it's gorgeous (and perfect for warmer days under a white coat (or blazer, obvi). 
• Shopbop sale section: nows the time to save big bucks on Sorel boots, classic jeans from J Brand, and cute shoes from Yosi Samra. 

at home

• As I mentioned, we are currently in Miami for my youngest sister's 21st birthday. Since we live all over the country, and actually haven't all been together in over three years, this was the perfect excuse to come visit the city where my other sister currently lives! We have done a lot of exploring, eating, and beach laying! 
• Last night, I went to my first Cirque de Soleil show. OMG, I was in awe the entire time! I'm pretty sure I never actually closed my mouth. It was the craziest things I have ever seen humans do. Here's a highlights video that basically gives you an idea. Just incredible. 
• I fly back tomorrow night, and then leave again on Thursday to go with CR to his last interview, and then we are off to Rochester and Montreal. Neither of us have ever been to Montreal, so if you have any suggestions for places to see, things to do, or food to try, I'd love to hear your suggestions! 

healthyish, vol. 4

I spent most of the last week at home, which was great because we got a lot of things accomplished (like making our rank lists and starting the cleaning out process for moving in a few months). We tried a few new recipes, made a few old favorites, and went out to eat a few times too. I'm in Miami with my family this weekend, celebrating my youngest sister's 21st birthday, so it'll be a nice mix of lots of walking, getting some Vitamin D, and enjoying the local food!

exercise:

Sunday: 45 minutes on the stairclimber
Monday: 1 hour spin class
Tuesday: 1 hour spin class (which was pretty lackluster, tbh)
Wednesday: 1 hour spin class (which totally made up for Tuesday's class)
Saturday: SoulCyle with my sister, dad, and cousin (so fun!)

diet:

Like I said, this week was a nice combination of old favorites and new recipes (that will become old favorites!). We had our go-to omelets (with avocado - yum!), brunch bowls (1/2 sweet potato, breakfast turkey sausage, black beans, and poached eggs), and chili. We went out to eat two times after second looks at programs near us - I got salmon both times and it was delicious! CR doesn't really like seafood, so it's nice to have it at a restaurant once in a while when I'm craving it! In the new category, we finally followed our friend Carrie's lead, and tried our hand at cauliflower crust pizza (see her post about it here). You guys - this basically tasted exactly like a regular thin crust pizza. It was delicious! With the sauce and cheese it's definitely more of mid week "treat" rather than an every day meal, but seriously, it was fairly easy and it tasted amazing. This is the recipe we used that Carrie suggested.

goals:

Last week's goals: Go to four spin classes, try out a new exercise class with my friend (we want to try kickboxing!), and stay away from the scale until next Friday. 
     - Spin classes: done! 
     - New exercise class: unfortunately the kickboxing place isn't open yet, so that didn't happen this week
     - Weigh in on Friday: done! 

Next week's goals:
     - Pack healthy snacks for our trip to Michigan and Rochester
     - Spin three times
     - Go on a long walk with the dogs

treats:

Like I said, I'm in Miami this weekend, so we are having a bit of fun ;) Trying not to go overboard, but also not worrying too much about calorie counts. We did go to SoulCycle this morning, so hopefully that offsets a few calories ;)

weigh in: down 0.4 lbs, total of 4.4 lbs

I'll be honest guys - I was kind of disappointed to see that number this week. I feel I've been working really hard. I work out more than I basically ever have (thanks, fun spin classes!) and I have been doing really well sticking to my set calories and so on. Some weeks you just lose more than others, so now it's just up to me not to be discouraged by that, and keep doing what is making me feel better, which is eating healthier and doing exercise I enjoy doing.

Hope you guys all had a great week - would love to hear what fun work out classes you took or what new recipes you tried!

day in the life: emergency medicine

as always, some details have been changed

5:47 AM: I have to get up earlier than I normally do because we have an early morning meeting, so waking up was not super easy this morning! It's even harder when your bed is still warm ;)

5:55 AM: After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I put on my moisturizer, a quick sweep of my favorite concealer and powder, and then eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, and mascara. This is my bare minimum routine and I basically have it down to two minutes. I then spray some dry shampoo (the best!) in my hair, and throw it up into a bun.

how to: do an at home facial in three easy steps

Years and years ago during my freshman year of college, I took a sociology class. In it, we learned that the only trait that is seen as attractive across all countries and cultures is good skin - teeth, hair, body type, and make-up all vary, but everyone considers good skin beautiful. This has obviously stuck with me, and for the last few years, I definitely have been trying to get ahead of the game - we're not getting any younger here! I wash my make-up off every night, I use sunscreen, I use my retin-A at night, I do masks fairly regularly, I try to drink plenty of water, and so on. For a while, I was getting a facial every couple of months, and while my skin felt awesome for a day or two, I have over the past year or so not gotten one in an effort to put my money towards other skin procedures (more about my microneedling experience in a few weeks!). So instead, I have figured out how to do my own facials at home that still give me smooth and glowing skin for a few days without dropping $75 every six weeks on the same results. I do these about once a week (usually during The Bachelor!) and feel that it has made quite the difference in how my skin is the rest of the week!

EXFOLIATE: Pretty vital to the process of getting smooth and glowing skin is getting rid of that top dull layer! My go-to process is after washing my make-up off in the shower, I'll do a quick pass with my go-to face cleanser and a cleansing sponge - basically just to remove the last of any make-up, and to get any big flakes. Plus taking a shower before all of this helps open up your pores. After getting out of the shower, I put on a layer of Glamglow's clearing treatment on any blemishes (this jar came in a holiday set last year), and the original mask over the rest of my face. I also put on a layer of KaplanMD's Perfect Pout lip mask. I wait about 15 minutes or so, just until the mask is dry. Because this mask can be drying, I don't like to keep it on my skin much longer than that. I then using a wash cloth, and gently scrub the mask off. 

TREAT: I have loved exploring all the different types of sheet masks out there - they are the perfect product for these at home facials! Once you exfoliate, this is the time you want to address whatever issues you're having with your skin, whether it's dry skin (me during the winter!), acne (especially around that time of the month), dullness (again me during the winter), or oily skin. I first started using the Sephora masks about a year ago, but several of you had mentioned getting cheaper ones from Memebox, so I ordered a whole bunch a few months ago that I'm still working through. Most of those masks cost between $1 to $3, so if one isn't great, it's not a huge loss! So far, I think my favorite mask from them has been the E.G.T. Timetox mask (no longer available on Memebox, but it is on Amazon) and the Tosowoong Pure Propolis Mask. I still have a whole stack to go through though, so I'm sure I'll fall in love with others. I've also tried the Tony Moly pack found on Amazon, which I quite liked (plus it's super cheap and you get a bunch of mask that treat different issues). I still occasionally will buy the more expensive masks, like the Dr. Jart+ mask I tried last night, and the SK-II mask that I'm saving for a special occasion because it's so pricy, but have found there really isn't much of a difference between the more inexpensive versions and the expensive versions, especially because the results you see from either mask aren't going to last forever - it's all somewhat temporary. So once you have exfoliated and dried your face, you just slap one of these on your face and wait 20-30 minutes. I also will put in my teeth whitening trays during this time - you can't really move your face much while wearing the masks, so it's really killing two birds with one stone! After the time is up, you remove the mask, and the rub the rest of the serum into your skin.

MOISTURIZE & SEAL: This part will really vary depending on your skin type. I have quite dry skin, so I like to use a heavier moisturizer, especially after using a product that can dry out your skin like the Glamglow mask. Recently I've been using Nature Republic's steam cream - it's pretty heavy duty, so it's the perfect last step for me (but definitely not something I would use as a daily morning cream). I would say it's a medium weight cream - it's not like a Nivea cream that is heavy but it's also not your light weight moisturizer that goes on super sheer. Like I said, this last step again depends on what you are looking for for your skin.

And that's it! Super easy, super efficient, and gets the job done! My skin always feels so soft after I do this, and while I would love the relaxing atmosphere of a spa while someone rubs creams all over my face, I feel I've gotten similar results sitting at home on my couch watching tv.

And although I've documented this on Snapchat a dozen times, here's last night's facial in all its bare skin glory during The Bachelor (Corinne is crazy and insecure, correct? I have lots of thoughts). Now if only I could figure out an at-home remedy for my dark tear trough (which I've had since I was a kid, so I can't even blame school for them!). 

top three [01.15.2017]

maroon scarves forever

medicine facts will return when vacation is over in three weeks! 

on the internet

• 100% cosign everything Krista says here. Also, I want every single one of those one pieces. 
• Every time I'm tempted to get bangs again, I think of rule #1 and realize...better not. But I love them so much on other people!
• You can never go wrong with tan + black like Merritt does in this adorable outfit. 

spotted

• I'm slowly trying to figure out wedding things (we just booked our photographer!), so now it's time to start thinking about wedding event clothes! We're taking our engagement pictures later this spring, and I'm thinking about a dress similar to this style - it's just so pretty (plus any excuse to wear a white dress!). 
• I've really been loving the look of mock neck sweaters on others this winter...and with this sweater on sale for less than $25, I'm excited to try it out on myself! 
• It's been years and years since I last bought a winter coat, and with many snowy winters in our future, I'm crushing hard for Cole Haan's winter coat...even though with 25% off, the price is still hard to swallow! 

ask me anything

• First semester of my freshman undergrad complete, and all I can say is that I'm extremely disappointed. I'm pre-med, yet I received a 2.69 this semester. I was a 3.7 high school student, and I never saw myself going this low in my first year of college. I took four classes (Biology, U.S History, English, and Precalculus). I got an A in English, B in Precal., and C's in both history and biology. Biology is my major, but I got a C in it. Do you think there's any way I could bounce back, or is medicine just not for me?
• I definitely think there is time to bounce back - in fact, a lot of medical schools say they look at the trend over the years rather than each semester's grades, so in this situation, you can only go up from here and improve your GPA! Now that you have one semester of college under your belt, you kind of know how college and high school differ - you have to have a lot more self motivation to study because there is typically less homework and more exams that count toward your grades. I wouldn't recommend taking a bunch of science and hard math classes at once - you have four years to get all the pre-reqs in, so maybe take one or two science classes next semester, and then take other classes that interest you (that may also fulfill graduation requirements and that may help boost your GPA!). If you are struggling with certain topics, don't be afraid to find a tutor (I had to get one for o-chem - it made a big difference!). Definitely don't let one semester discourage you from pursuing medicine, but realize that you have to work really hard the next couple of semesters so you can have an "upward trend"!
• Are you planning on changing your last name when you get married?
• Yes :) 
• I'm going on vacation to Bermuda next month, and am looking for cute coverups. Any suggestions?
• This comes at a perfect time, as I'm going on a quick trip to Miami next week that includes a lot of beach time! I always love the look of a button up as a cover up, like the one from Tommy Bahama. My dream cover up is from Tory Burch, but at > $300, I think that's very much out of the picture! Luckily, J.Crew Factory has a similar style for a lot more reasonable price! Other inexpensive options are readily available on Amazon - this one is similar in style to the TB one, this one has a really cute floral lace pattern, and then there's always the option of going with a simple cut that you can get in a bunch of colors. 

notable sales

• Banana Republic: 40% off full priced items + 50% off sale items
• I am dying to get my hands on this amazing shirt dress. The red is definitely a bold choice, but I just have a feeling it would be so freaking cute. 
• Everyone always looks so chic in those longer vests, so maybe it's time I finally try it out too. Kind of impractical for days I have to wear a white coat, but I love it otherwise!
• The Ryan fit pants look like a possible contender for a replacement for my beloved Limited pants (RIP). 
• Madewell: bag and shoe sale!!
• The classic transport tote redesigned as a crossbody - perfect!
• My own transport tote is near the end of its life (we've had a good five years!) that I'm very much considering her broader and wider sister - she'd be perfect for lugging all my stuff around next year!
• One of these days I will actually try out their bootie, and (probably) realize it's exactly what I've been looking for all these years. 
• Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale
• PSA: this is my favorite type of bra and it's now < $20!
• The perfect bed to brunch shirt.
• No lie, my pair of yoga pants from VS look as good as they did six years ago when I bought them. 

on franish

• on the blog: recent empties, and which ones are going to be repurchased
• on the instagram: last time wearing the suit!
• on the twitter: tapping is definitely a pet peeve!! 

at home

• This week was such a good one. I had my last interview (yay!), and then spent a few days exploring Chicago with my sister. We stayed at the Silversmith Hotel in the Loop, so we did a lot of exploring in that area. We went to the Art Institute for one morning, had our fill of German dinner and brunches, and got in a ton of steps that day. I just love Chicago - having lived in Madison for seven years, I've been there a ton of times, but always explore a new area, so I'm happy I got a bit more time in the Loop than I had in the past. I also got to take two Soul Cycle classes (one with Hallie, which was amazing because she's amazing), and got pizza and drinks with Liz, so overall, it was such a fun trip!
• Looking ahead for the week, I have a few spin classes scheduled, will hopefully being doing a second look at a program, and then I'm leaving for Miami on Friday! I'm definitely excited to get a bit of sun and spend time with my family - the six of us haven't all been together since 2013!
• I know I promised a Day in the Life post last week, but then I kind of fell behind on blogging...so fingers crossed I can get it together this week! It'll probably be the last one in the medical school series!