Fall Neutrals + Matching Leopard Details | Wear to Work

Old Navy beige v-neck cable knit sweater // Forever 21 burgundy wine lace pencil skirt //

Target faux calfhair leopard print flats // H&M leopard print super skinny belt //

Photography: self; tripod and remote

Because I'm impatient and need to catch up on kidney knowledge before delving into editing NYFW eyecandy ... today's outfit, a go-to work ensemble that gets me through hot summer days and chilly air conditioned indoors without losing pints of sweat. Featuring neutrals and matchy-matchy leopard print belt and flats. I never thought leopard to be too wild for work, as long as it's toned down with solid colours or used for accenting. In other news I was at the airport at 3 AM and arrived in Columbus at 11, drove directly to homemade brunch & mimosas with my friends, caught up on sleep all afternoon, back to my med school life on Monday. Our a cappella group sang a surprise version of Little Talks for the first years and I even squeaked out a solo into the mic. I may feel slightly like Clark Kent today ;)

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Summer Work Uniform: Lace Colorblock

H&M cobalt blue lace detail top // Forever 21 burgundy lace pencil skirt //

Pitaya yellow faux patent leather skinny belt // Merona faux calf hair leopard print flats //

Photography: self; tripod and remote

Happy Tuesday! Though I was a public school kid growing up, I quite admired the look of uniforms. Since college, I've developed my own personal formula for a no-brainer uniform. By now you know my year-round go-to is a top+skirt combo, always tucked in and usually belted, often mistaken for a dress. It'd be nice to have this many dresses, eh? This morning I grabbed two lace pieces and added a yellow belt to make it into a primary color palette for clinic. Props to the women who can strut in clinic for 10 hours in 5 inch heels and not complain a peep, but a few inches of vertical help aren't worth the toe-squishing for me (and my patients are kiddos so I'm usually taller ... usually).

New concept: take < 10 pictures and magically blogging the way out of my outfit backlog become less of a dreaded, harrowing task. Apparently everyone has figured this out years ago but obstinately, I keep snapping away for different poses to fulfill my OCDish-ness. From now on I hope to streamline this process so that even during my busiest weeks I can still update. Last week: swooned by crooning Bruno Mars in concert, painting a night skyline while munching on cupcakes, chasing giant butterflies through the conservatory greenhouse, attempting to birdwatch, spontaneous dinosaur origami making, getting lost in a 32-room bookstore, David Sedaris, Pacific Rim, buffalo chicken grilled cheese. Have a great rest of the week and stay cool in this heat!

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Strawberry Banana | Spring Transition Work Outfit

H&M light pink scallop edge blouse // Thrifted Escada bright yellow pencil skirt (steal) //
Pitaya patent yellow skinny belt (steal) // H&M opaque black tights // 
Target Merona faux calfhair scallop edge leopard print ballet flats (steal) // 

Photography: self, tripod and remote

'Ello there! Welcome to my new and improved blog design, clean and minimalistic. Thanks to JJ for helping me work out all the kinks in this old tangle of code and sharing his artistic eye. Last week/Spring Break was a fantastic blur of food, reading, snoozing. Key highlights include reinventing Lunchables with gouda cheese, crackers, and deli slice turkey, watching The Croods and Hercules, dusting off my interior design/DIY renovation skills, observing strange animal behavior at the zoo, exploring the botanical gardens, discovering a vegetarian reuben that features savory wheat-meat (cray, I know) all with JJ. What I would give for another week to spend with my best friends in Arizona and Kentucky and my St. Louis babies.

This was my work outfit for today (4/1), featuring a silky light pink blouse with a scallop edge that I picked up on sale this weekend. Something needs to be done about the way it poofs unruly when tucked in, but besides that the girly touch makes this top very special. My much beloved bright yellow pencil skirt is also too big, so soon I will be searching for a tailor to fix up these two pieces. A quick fix to make the skirt more playful was to tie a yellow skinny belt to cinch it like a paperbag waist style.

Spring is just around the corner (I hope), and here's to rekindling old passions. A fresh blog face has made me more excited to post and share tidbits from my daily life again, especially because of the busy-ness. As Ferris Bueller says, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

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Pumpkin Patch Rendezvous | Corn Maze

Thrifted leopard print long cardigan (from Thrift Town, San Fran) // H&M hunter green skinny pants //

Not shown: Ralph Lauren white cableknit sweater underneath //

H&M camel leather belt // H&M oatmeal chunky scarf // Hot Topic lace up combat boots (old) //

Michael Todd vampy dark lip stain in Disco //

Photography: Tim S. and Erika B (fellow med students!)

AND SO IT BEGINS. The weather gods have a sense of humor, that they do. After teasing us with a week of nice balmy 80-degree weather, things turned ugly and frigid when I finally decide to take a study break. Picture me wistfully daydreaming to be where the people are, staring longingly from a window inside a coffeeshop, library, wherever there is coffee and ample lighting for all-day PowerPoint marathons (most likely staring past the white wall where there is in fact no window) ... and then the oblivious med student realizes that this is all because of Hurricane Sandy. When I think of Sandy with a sour frown I picture Sandy the Space Squirrel from Spongebob. Our puny umbrellas are powerless against her! Stay indoors and safe, East Coasters. Surprisingly Ohio's getting hit too with rain, snow, high winds, and possible power outages (oh please no, my computer-based notes can't be studied with a dead battery by pumpkin-scented candelight)

Layering on the good stuff: tights underneath pants, long sleeve shirt under cableknit sweater under cardigan, massive chunky scarf, combat boots. Thanks so much to Tim and Erika for snapping these photos and helping me pretend I have a normal life, enjoying the finer fun things in fall despite the craziness that is finals week: stumbling through muddy corn mazes, munching apple cider donuts (best.ever.holycrap), trying to choose between really oddly shaped vs ginormously giant vs manageable and cute vs pageant carving material in the pumpkin patch. This semi-makes up for not trick-or-treating or freezing my butt off in a costume. I Tossing a few more mini marshmallows into my hot apple cider and back to the books slides! Normalcy shall be restored after Thursday - wish me luck!

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LEO

LEOPARD | LEOTARD. Sorry gals and lads! Been extremely lazy on the blogosphere, which means very adventurous in life the past week. Between petting stingrays at the STL Zoo and floating with my fellow graduating seniors down the Meramac River, these exciting events have left me pooped at the end of each day. It's ironic that I'm finding less time and energy to update after school's out versus during stressful exam weeks. Here are some old pictures featuring my faux fur leopard coat from Forever 21 ($10 on sale). It's really strange to strut around in the middle of the Midwest in broad daylight sporting this, so I usually reserve it for the occasional night out. Maybe it'll get some use while strolling through Soulard tomorrow night. Still, I feel self-conscious because even though this is obviously fake fur, it still gives off the idea that I think it's okay to wear animal fur, which I do not. Happy weekending, y'all! 4 days til graduation !!?

Readers - do you think it's okay to wear faux fur?

Enter my CLAWS Jewelry giveaway for a beautiful handmade designer necklace!

NYE: au casual

H&M silver tinsel/sparkle light sweatshirt (XS) // H&M deep blue satin button down top  (Euro 6) //

H&M Pants Collection dark green slim fit colored jeans (Euro 6) // H&M multicolour bracelets (XS/S) //

Merona calf hair leopard print flats (5.5) // Wet n Wild lipstick in Wine Room //

Photography: self-timer/remote & tripod ; Thanks Dad for helping with the photos

TINSELTOWN & JEWEL-TONED. My subtlely sparkling silver top, thin as can be but still with a bit of weight to it - reminds me of mithril, for fellow Lord of the Ring fanatics out there.  The annoying thing is it started falling apart before I put it on, but for $10, who can complain? It reflects light beautifully but my camera doesn't want to capture it properly. Wore this over a satin sapphire button down and some emerald skinnies out to Red Lobster with the fam a few days ago and finalized it for a New Years Eve-Eve (NYEE, pronounced knee, or like the Knights of Ni?) on 12/30/11. Also felt effortless and channeling Alexa Chung while walking my dog, if only she wore more messy buns.

Since I have nowhere to be, I figured as much as I want to get dandied up in my sequined and posh best - the glitter's best left on the dance floor. Someday though, I will count down in Times Square (think of the potential riffing: NYE in NYC). Someday I will attend opulent holiday parties and be decked in boughs of sartorial awesomeness. Reality check? Bumming at home with my parents, watching the ball drop a whole three hours early. At least there is White Zinfandel and a trunk full of hope for 2012 involved. Happy New Years, everyone! (Am I the only one who only feels comfortable when it's an even numbered year?)

The two winners for the UNESTABLISH giveaway have been selected and announced here. Congrats!

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Indian Summer

Lush/Pitaya abstract cocoon cardigan (S) // Forever 21 maroon floppy wool hat // 

Forever 21 magenta tank (S) // DIY/Union Bay distressed denim shorts (Jr 3) (old) // 

Merona faux calf hair leopard print flats (5.5) // H&M wood and gold bead bracelets //

Urban Outfitters double face watch // Charming Charlie pink bauble gold necklace //

Photography: JJ

THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER ARE BACK. In the middle of October, one week in the 50s, then rare days like this (10/25) in which it's flaming 80s with a strong wind. Just hopped off the plane from Ohio, rubbed the 10,000 vertical miles of oxygenated cabin pressure from my eyes and slipped on something comfortable and reminiscent of summer, summer, summer. Boy do I wish I had a whole three months to lie out in the grass and write poetry, read Murakami and Sacks, paint the sky with oil pastels. But no, it was all day in the lab, studying to wits end, writing my life story. Still, in times when life speeds past, you have to be like the Clockstoppers (remember that movie from 10 years ago!?) and just hit ||.

We took these photos right before the sun went down in Brookings Quad, on the Stage. An alternative name for this outfit was "Bohemian Rhapsody" since there is such flow in the deliciously boheme pieces fluttering in the wind. Finally! I found my maroon floppy wool hat that I've coveted ever since I saw those Free People and Urban Outfitters catalogs. There was a navy and brown one at Nordstrom, but it just wasn't maroon, and luckily at F21, there were 2 left. For some reason fedoras look funny on my head so I tried to stretch this one out by stuffing a sweater in it overnight xD This abstract cocoon shawl/cardigan is the coolest piece I found during my Labor Day Pitaya sale spree. It's so comfy, soft, and effortlessly stylish. However, I do get caught on doorknobs and chair handles a lot xD Still.

I've noticed that many petite ladies have been buying the Ann Taylor calf hair leopard pumps. Personally I think the spotted pattern features too small dots and it doesn't quite look right but these flats from Target haven't failed me yet. If you look closely, they have the calf hair too, which makes them feel more luxurious. Beware, these run small and they squeeze the feet, leaving blisters on the sides of the toes and on the ankles :( Pad, pad, pad!

Readers - what would you wear on a very warm day in the fall?

My Darling Clementine

H&M orange cropped sweater (S) // Snorgtees light blue tshirt (c/o Nikki) // 

Paris Blues bootcut jeans (Jr 3) (old) // Forever 21 leopard print bootie wedges (6) // 

ShopRuche leather messenger bag (c/o PetiteLittleGirl) // Aldo faux foxtail //

Charming Charlie pink bauble bib necklace // Dork&nerd black frame glasses //

Photography: JJ

MORANGE. This to-ze-chopper mall outfit was taken over a month ago (9/23), and the original title of "Wake Me Up When September Ends" goes to show how much of a backlog and crazy month of nonstop busy-ness I've had. This is the first day I've had to slow down and just sit somewhere and have an ounce of forced chillaxing. As my friend Cassandra put it, "Personal time, what's that?" Going to try my best to double post every day until I'm caught up.

Outfit breakdown: ORANGE. I have way too much vibrant orange in my closet (this sweater, 2 skirts) that I'm getting tired of it. Most of the pieces are old - the jeans are from a long time ago in high school when I would snag all sorts of ill-fitting bootcut and flare jeans at Ross for under $15. This one has an interesting bootcut/half flare going on and I like the shape it creates. Rule 1 of flares: always, always wear with high heels or wedges. I've been out of practice because every time these leopard print babies are dusted off and slipped on, I'm walking on sunshine wobbly stilts. Charming Charlie necklace from Florida (pricey and overly-girly store, no offense Cassandra) - another great statement piece. Note to self: do a post with the awesome Bat & Robin tee from Nikki's giveaway I won so long ago. Here it's just a light blue underlayer.

My interview weekend turned out to be a mini vacation. All around it was a fun day full of small talk and deeper discussions, but there really wasn't any pressure. No attack of the "pimping" interviewer. It was good to be back home in Ohio and amongst good family friends. Another thing to jump and scream about (see my Angie-acts-weird-photo reprise) is the fact that there is food in our fridge and Hello Panda snacks in the pantry.

Readers - is bright orange a hot colour for fall or are you over it?