A Harry Potter Halloween

Every 90s kid probably remembers badly wanting to transfer from Muggle school into Hogwarts. You can imagine how pumped I was when our campus gym hosted a series of Harry Potter fitness events on Halloween. That entailed me getting up at 6 AM to attend a spinning (stationary bike) class that turned out to be full before it started! My friends and I did our cardio + squat/bench routine anyway and even had time to spare for a nice breakfast before class. One participant was kind enough to give me her magical chocolate frog box, which contained a massive hunk of milk chocolate and a holographic wizard card of Salazar Slytherin! To my surprise, when it finally split open with a knife, I discovered it was solid milk chocolate (don't know why I expected rice crispy material). At least when I'm surrounded by dementors I won't be in short supply ;)

After going into research lab and analyzing data for a few hours, I returned for Zumba, which started out with a hilarious Harry Potter theme + dubstep remix and continued in an hour-long, sweat-drenched session of dancing, jump squatting, salsa, hip hop cardio. The souvenir for this activity was a massive wand with a hole at the end for my phoenix feather placement, I suppose. We dabbled in trivia, sipped butterbeer (cream soda + root beer + vanilla ice cream), and I even grabbed a tiny pumpkin that I named "Pumpkin 9 and 3/4" after the famous platform. Trick or treating this year would have been a fun last hoorah but Ohio weather decided to dump rain all over Halloween ... classic. Instead of being soaked to the bone and miserable, I opted for a cozier approach to the evening: blogging, watching Ghostbusters, and drinking a chai soymilk latte while studying the thyroid. Happy Halloween!

Readers - how did you celebrate Halloween this year?

VivaGambita Petite Jeans Review + Giveaway

H&M oxblood cableknit sweater // DL 1961 Toni Cropped Jean in Switch, size 26 (c/o VivaGambita) //

Firmoo round cat eye tortoiseshell glasses (c/o) // Zac & Zoe for Payless penny loafer pumps //

From China black and crystal detachable peter pan collar //

Photography: self; tripod and remote

Today the temperature took a dip into the nippy 50s and a lightweight cableknit sweater from the colder months still left me shivering. Today's outfit was inspired by the hipster librarian - cat eye tortoise shell glasses with a strong cat eye eyeliner, comfy sweater with a little sweet, comfy jeans and "mannish" shoes. I pulled on these fit-me-like-a-glove jeans that are the perfect length for 5'3" petite me and surprisingly stretchy to leave room for my thighs and acrobatics. Getting creative here, I wore my detachable peter pan collar backwards because of the more subtle rounded shape. Popped on some pennyloafer heels and we were good to start off another week of work.

I got lots of compliments on these glasses too and my classmates kept asking if they were new prescription glasses (they're not). Firmoo contacted me again for another collaboration and let me choose 2 pairs (the other one is quite unique - the frames are totally clear) to style and review. As you remember, they offer stylish frames and prescription glasses on the cheap. Whenever I pop on some cat eyes, my whole mood becomes surlier and cattier as the corners of the glasses are tugged past my eyebrows.

VivaGambita is a brand new petite clothing store that I am excited about. From their adorable mint and white logo to their curated inventory, their chief Caroline has it covered. This pair of petite denim came cuffed but when tried rolling it down, I was surprised to see that it was the perfect tailored length. While I can dish out a few bills and get all my pants rehemmed, the fit around the rest of my leg is much harder to manage. This dark wash pair does it all and from the lack of unsightly bunching lines and muffin top, they are finally a true "ready to wear" piece for us petite ladies. We are excited to give away a pair of VivaGambita's legit denim - enter via the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.

Click to see more pictures → → →

Nerdy Chic, Grandma Style + Forever 21 Scallop Hem Shorts Review

Two weeks ago (seems literally eons from this side of the timeline), I woke up to a lovely package from Forever21. I was amazed at how much they could pack into that tiny envelope but not so thrilled when I opened it up. The Twelve by Twelve Scallop Hem Shorts I've been dying to get turned out to have very slight scallop detail and the belt was packaged so poorly that 2 crystals went flinging off as I unwrapped the plastic. For $26.00 USD, these shorts were flimsier than some things I've gotten for $5. The material is paper thin but not see-through, but from the back I look like I totally have no butt. This is the miracle flatten-outer. Can you say, grandma tush? When I sit down, the crotch area puffs up in such an unsightly manner, it really does look like I'm wearing granny diapers underneath or something.

Some of the good: I like the grey colour, the crystal belt loop is so pretty albeit flimsy. I love that the belt is very fitting too and makes this Small fit like an XS. The pockets are pretty deep and are linked with silky materal. These pros aren't enough to make me keep this pair though. I was really looking forward to a pair of high-waisted scallop hem shorts, pretty much since spring. I thought that these were an accessible cheap alternative to some of the UO and YesStyle ones I've seen, but I guess you get what you pay for. Not tucked in, these look like normal shorts with a long shirt over them. The belt detail is too pretty to pass up and since it's high-waisted, I would wear them with shirt tucked in.

I was always hesitant to order anything from Twelve by Twelve because their clothes don't make sense and it looks like they took all the worst trends from the past century and mashed them into one clothing line. I see ruffles and pearls were they don't go, and colours that remind me of the condiments aisle - dijon mustard, bad ketchup, etc. Their promo pictures are very bold and high-fashion, which I like, but their clothes simply aren't wearable on a daily basis. This will probably be my only attempt at purchasing from this Forever 21 line again.

I returned these at a local store (too lazy/cheap to mail back to LA) for store credit and hauled some major AMAZINGNESS in Escondido's new ginormous Forever 21. It is seriously the size of 10 normal ones - I could do nothing but stare and say "omg there's so much stuff!" as I turned every corner. I wish Forever 21 would make some normal scallop hem shorts in pastels. I would throw my wallet at them if they did. Is it bad that I took outfit pictures in these? I have to show you the fit, don't I? ; )

Today's outfit was inspired by the Nerdy Chic trend going on. I sported my glasses and these granny shorts and jumped around like a crazy person outside. More cars slowing down and little kids pointing at me. Whatever. It makes me feel like a neighborhood celeb. Hah I wish : )

Wearing:

Bunny ears headband, F21

Glasses for Legit Blind People (could that ever become a popular brand name?)

Panda "Come Ride With Me" tee, F21

Suspenders, F21

Scallop Hem Shorts, F21

Converse All Stars

Highlighter Yellow Bunny Silly Band, from my brother

As always, these are self-timer pics. The more I take them, the more I love running back and forth between my camera and a pose spot :D Yay exercise! Hahaha

I feel like Larry King with these suspenders : )

Scratching my bunny ears

A successful jump shot!

Lolol the most hilarious/awkward picture of the day

Lean Back by Fat Joe

Thinking very hard about theorems and the thin lens equation

 Check it! Granny pants rollin' in style

The pretty crystal belt. I really love the buckle but it's so fragile :( See how it already broke?

Pretty colours

I ♥ my Chucks. I have 3 pairs - black, sky blue velvet with lime green, and magenta high tops

There's a kind of sheen to the bunny ears. Not bad for $1.99. They stay on my head pretty well without clamping and giving me a headache

These Silly Band things are so amusing. They look like nonsense on your wrists but then you take it off and un-torsion it and ta-da! It's a bunny :D

Now for the F21 Scallop Hem Shorts review photos. As you could see in the outfit pics, the inseam is wayyy too long. If they took off a few inches, it'd fit perfectly and it'd be trendy instead of granny.

This is how they look on F21's models. Unfortunately, I'm not 5'10" so I can't balance out the long inseam with mile long legs

 Here is what they really look like

Very cute tag

The unfortunate crotch bunching. See the huge flap of excess cloth? Eww. Such a pity because the scallop hems are so cute

I had a very exciting day shopping today. I can't wait to share with you guys! Hope you have lots of exciting plans for the weekend : ) I'm probably going to see Inception tomorrow (finally) and hit the zoo on Monday. So excited to see kawaii pandas eat bamboo and sleep hahaha, pretty much the ideal lifestyle.

Also, according to my poll (woot woot 55%), the majority of my readers like seeing everything at once! Personally I prefer this as well because I'm too lazy to click a simple link hahaha. I will turn back all my shortened posts into my original picspam glory. Thank you for voting!
- 8 (26%) said Yes, prefer new shortened posts
- 16 (55%) said No, like seeing everything at once
- 5 (17%) said No preference
- Lots of people gave lovely suggestions. Thanks loves!

OOTD: Businesswoman or Librarian?

Yay for pretty clothes and dressing up for no reason : ) Blogging like crazy because school starts tomorrow! D: I have homework due before class even begins too. That's lame. Gah. Thus begins the quest for cute and fashionable outfits!

Blouse: Charlotte Russe from a LONG time ago $10?
Belt: Forever21 $7
Houndstooth Skirt: Forever21 $9
Tights: Forever21 $6
Pumps: Payless $10

Full-length view in our bathroom mirror hahaaa

With flash:

No flash:

Belt detail:

Forgot to take pics of the shoes. Will do and edit : )