Pale Canary

H&M light canary yellow tank with sheer back // H&M bird print mini skirt //

Mossimo light grey ankle boots (get it here) //

Photography: JJ

Reminiscing about this awesome Labor Day weekend after a harrowing "Monday" Tuesday ... JJ drove over from Pittsburgh on Saturday and we went exploring down in the Short North Arts District by where I live. Gallery hopping, boutique exploring, ice cream nomming, an unexpected discovery of the North Market indoor public market complete with pho bars. This lightweight tank saved me half the time when I was in sweaty humid Beijing and the sheer back is just a tad of naughty. This new bird print skirt is no-surprise too short for my thighs, but still rocking it with a longer top for contrast and the cute little white doves that I still can't get over since Miu Miu a few years back. Been living in these boots, will keep living in these boots. Best. Shoes. Ever. Too hot and lazy for accessories.

Obligatory med school update? It's technically a chill week but every day is still full throttle. Long live my coffee thermos and water bottle (and of course ZUMBAAA!)

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Sea World San Diego

Outfit of the day: sailor suit! It suits the occasion, eh? Haha oh my bad puns ...

Giant penguin stuffed animals! They're so cute

Bat rays! The aquarium looked like Atlantis indeed

Dolphins and killer whales (luckily Shamu are nicer than wild orca)

Journey to Atlantis ride - full of surprises and splashes

DOLPHINS AND ORCA AND WALRI, OH MY! Yesterday I went to Sea World San Diego for the first time with my Dad. I remember going to the one in Cleveland as a kid but this one takes the cake. I didn't expect there to be roller coasters and rides in addition to the world-renowned Shamu and Blue Horizons shows but they were fun and the marine animals plentiful. Another thing crossed off the summer bucket list! I think my favourite part was the underwater shark viewing tunnel. Pictures using my new iPhone 4S, which is so convenient in everything compared to my old smartphone.

Have you seen my blog sale yet? Brand new or lightly used clothing starting at $4 :)

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How to: Safari in Style

A jacket is a lifesaver on chillier days (60 degrees F), especially if biking. I barely even took it off the entire time.

When I'm behind the camera, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of getting the perfect shot. To savour the fun and experience, I left my camera at home and instead brought some notebooks to scribble exciting memories and moment down in. The small one is from the St. Louis art museum gift shop and the big is a recycled notebook/pen set from JJ's visit to Northwestern.

H&M butterfly cropped top (4) // Forever 21 black quarter sleeve underneath (S) // 

H&M khaki cuffed shorts w/ belt (4) // Chinese Students Association dragon jacket //

Xhilaration cognac oxford flats (5.5) // Sammies panda backpack (gift from friend) //

Nordstrom BP ombre brown and mint sunglasses //

Photography: JJ

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS. This past Saturday was the first full day of my last college Spring Break and of course, what romantic getaway could we do? A bike trip to the zoo! The St. Louis Zoo is free, which is really nice so we have plenty of lunch money to spend on delish funnel cakes and other obscenely overpriced snacks. Hope you enjoyed this breakdown of how to look cute at the zoo while dressing practically so that your sartorial plumes don't get in the way of your adventures. We had loads of fun guffawing at the penguin gang fight (Gentoos vs Emperors '12) and watching a snake molt. SB2012 - so it begins. Yes we also finished the Lord of the Rings trilogy this week! What a marathon.

Readers - what would you wear to the zoo?

Little Blouse on the Prairie

H&M monarch butterfly cropped top (4) // H&M grey chiffon pleated midi skirt (4) //

H&M chiffon bow black flats (US 5/Euro 6) // H&M gold snakelike segmented necklace ($6) //
H&M faux leather biker jacket (4) //

c/o Poshlocket gold and silver Celeste roped bracelet, H&M multicolour friendship bracelets //

H&M small faux leather crossbody bag // H&M gold glitter mini envelope purse //
Lipstick: Covergirl LipPerfection in Rapture

Photography: JJ

BUTTERFLY IN THE SKY. A spring-minded school outfit for warmer February days (2/22). Inadvertently almost all H&M ... my my they've been making bank off of me. The monarch top is so boho and carefree, matched with a flowing off-grey (tinge of purple) chiffon midi skirt with pleats, oh pleats. If only every day of the year were like this :)

I was planning on crossing off things on my mall to-do list on Friday, but the weather took a turn for the worse. Cold, windy, dreary. Despite the Debbie Downer weather, I still went berserk at the mall over florals and leather, met up with more friends, and had a blast of a 22nd birthday with my best college buds. They surprised me with Moscato, cheesecake, champagne, and watching Paranormal Activity 3 together, and best of all, themselves! The weather gods stopped being poo and today was sunny gorgeous, high of 75 but with super strong whisk-me-to-Oz winds.

During a cellular biology seminar on Friday, I was inspired by a Ben Franklin quote one of the presenters said: "Energy and persistence conquer all." My persistence fuels my strength but the energy is a bit lacking. Recently, there are a lot of honestly fun and happy moments and there's also periods of grief and really missing my Mom. Talking with people helps, and especially being able to connect with others going through similar hardship. Thanks to every one of you who have offered hugs and words of support ♥. A giant bowl of basil pesto chicken soup also helps warm up the spirit. Mmmm foodie.

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Animal Farm

Forever 21 sheep jumper/sweatshirt (S) // Pitaya bunny print peter pan collar top (S) //

H&M pastel pink bird print pencil skirt (Euro 2) // Forever 21 burgundy tights //

Xhilaration wingtip oxford flats in Cognac (5.5) //

Photography: JJ

SHEEP + BUNNIES + DOVES. You guys don't know how long I've been waiting to wear this outfit! (1/30) A few things barring me from just throwing on a massive animal pandemonium: this is a size 2 H&M skirt, meaning it's like a 00. My intake of half chicken tenders/half fries (we call them half and halves here) and other heart-stopping meals makes fitting into that a sick joke. Second, it was "oh ... there's my butt, I suppose it just froze off"-cold. But last week, St. Louis was really dishing out the beautiful weather - 60s to 70s and sunny. What!? in a very, very good way! Alas now it's back to mediocre attempts at snowing and being unjustifiably cold.

I'm not a fan of the way this skirt looks on me - my thighs push up the pencil-skirt-like part on my thighs and there's a poofy balloon thing going on in the front. Either way, at the time a $25 bird print skirt was irresistable for my Miu Miu dupe-hunting craze. The navy shorts with the same print looked way cuter on Jen (herwaisechoice) but never caught them in stores here last spring.

This semester has been utterly fantastic - hanging out with a different group of friends everyday, almost always spontaneously. Classy wine in plastic cups, making a scene in the library cafe at night, laughing and more laughing. Viva esta vida loca. Second semester senior also translates to "more time to ogle architecture on campus" - after all, this is one of the deciding factors for choosing my specific university. Side note: it's already February and I'm still writing my dates like 2.8.11. It's 2012 and my brain is a little slow on the gear-turning process for this factoid. Cray.

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Chicktopia

Apologies for my lack of updates in the past few days. Meet the (zomg adorable) reason why ...

Chickee! Or Robunctius (as my friend named her) ... or Xena, Henny, Dora ... or whatever we'll call her but so far we've been saying "Chickee." I know, we're so creative with pet names. She's about 2 weeks old and can already fly and catch bugs (6 today!) in the yard. How did we come by this baby chicken? Long story. Basically my friend Tim got stuck with two that his coworker brought from an Amish farm and ... here we are. Spontaneous me didn't think this one through and now JJ and I are showering all our time and attention on this little bugger. She's super cute and cries when we don't give her attention xD Can't tell what breed she is yet (help?) but we think she's female. Yes, she will be able to lay fresh eggs for us when she's older!

She likes to perch on our necks/in our hair haha

We had to take her away from Tiberius, the white chick. She's with Tim and soon enough we'll reunite them for a playdate.

Readers - do you have any unconventional pets?

Enter my Highglossfashion jewelry giveaway

Everybody's ZOOIN' IT

"Honey, what are you looking at-- we're vegans now, remember? Stop staring at the fat toddler."

Who says petite giraffes don't exist? I believe ...

Yes, that is a black giraffe. I don't get it either (not Photoshopped!)

Camel Mafia

Zebra + Donkey = ?

Check that baby into a club ... and note the false equation above.

Sleepy lizards! Shingleback skinks are such romantic creatures and can stay with the same lover for over 20 years. They even stay by their dead loved one's side if they get run over and appear to mourn them. Now that's commitment and that's love.

Herpetarium love

Photography: Me

The Saint Louis Zoo is one of the best things in the city. It's free, has a ton of creatures and almost all the popular wild cats, and is a perfect date place for animal geeks like JJ and me. We would exclaim at insects we saw in our favourite David Attenborough documentaries and try out our behavioral ecology skills. I used to read nothing but animal science books as a child and memorize tons of facts and their Latin names. Nerd much? Definitely.

There's a stingray exhibition I'm pumped to see when I head back into town. Maybe I'll snap more interesting photography to share with any of you animal lovers out there. My favourite place at the zoo? The open indoor butterfly garden. One landed on me once, they're not afraid of people either if it's not a crowded day.

I still miss the Toledo Zoo, home of some of my fondest childhood memories. I miss you, Ohio ♥

Life update: I have recently been obsessed with Netflix. Watch Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time if you haven't already. It is an awesome remake of the video game and the movie does deliver! The action scenes and running from the bad guys really look like something you'd see in Uncharted 2. Sorry, my nerd is showing! Has anyone seen Pirates 4 yet? Any other summer theatre recommendations? All I do is stew in my chair all day and watch TV, such a bum. Headed to the coffeeshop today for some good ole caffeine-induced productivity!

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