Of Milkweed and Thyme Consumption

H&M monarch butterfly cropped top (Euro 4) // H&M yellow lace tank (Euro 4) // 
H&M ruched mid length skirt (Euro 4) // BCBG Generation metallic foldover clutch //

American Eagle brown peeptoe wedges (5) // H&M polka dot socks // 

Photography: JJ

Vintage wash oh-so-good. Today I timed myself for exactly how long does it take to produce one outfit post. This little experiment will help streamline posts in the future and gauge where I need to speed things up. The not-obvious-til-now bottleneck lies in photo editing. Although Lightroom makes my life sooo much easier, it still takes time to get everything perfect. The vibrance this time took forever to tweak since I don't want to oversaturate but I want all the colours to snap crackle POP. Maybe I should stop being such a perfectionist. If only it were that easy. The lesson learned here is the less photos, the better, faster, harder stronger. I cannot afford 2.5 hours of my day to update every day, so I should top it off at 10 photos max, aim for 8. Maybe I can write a program too to speed things up in LR. Here is the breakdown:

• Makeup: 10 min
• Outfit: 5 min
• Shoot with JJ: 15 min
• Upload: 1 min
• Choose photos to edit: 6 min
• Lightroom to perfection (12 photos): 47 min
• Upload to Blogger and format order and size of photos: 32 min
• Write content: 15 min
• Title, add links, finalize format: 10 min
• TOTAL: 2 hours 21 minutes

Also, I just noticed that my outfit was almost completely H&M. I am dying to try out the Conscious collection and finally get my grubby little paws on some scallop hems! My black hair has also faded again to this weird orangey colour and hopefully one last dye will correct this once class ends. I am so ready for this semester to end so that summer can be here and I can frolic (when I get off my 9 to 5). I am very excited about working in lab full-time but sad that I'll have to wear pants and normal professional people clothing. Tights and slacks shopping, here we come.

By the way there's a freaking deluge going on outside. Tornado season, the sky is ominously purple-greyish and I get the feeling that my ceiling's going to cave in from all the hail. Can I just have one normal day of spring, pretty please? These photos were taken only 2 hours ago o_0

one word

butterfly

• H&M cropped top
• H&M tank top
• H&M skirt
• H&M socks
• American Eagle Wedges

Angela C from United States

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Colours in the Mirror are Blockier than they Appear

H&M black lace accent dress (S) // H&M leopard ultra-skinny belt (XS) // 

Xhilaration mustard strappy wedges (5.5) // Taiwanese brand teal tights // Thrifted camel satchel bag //

Nail polish: L.A. Colors in Turquoise, Pure Ice in Wild Thing (dots), Wet n Wild in Glitz (glitter) //

Photography: Self timer and tripod

Le gasp, a timely update! I remember I wore this on April Fool's Day when the air turned cold again and snapped at my heels wedges. This simple black dress has lace roses across the chest, which adds just the right amount of flair. While trying on H&M sale items, my boyfriend really liked this one and it's a work-appropriate length (good for the limited office wardrobe I do have). Since it was a size small but too loose on me, I cinched the waist with a leopard print ultra-skinny belt, also from H&M. I wanted to add colour, so I put on my mustard summery wedges and teal tights and used my vintage-y camel satchel bag to hold my laptop. I didn't realize I had started colorblocking a long time ago before this trend really took off. Now all I'm doing these days is writers' blocking.

It was also really windy that day and the clouds raced across the sky like mad. My tripod wobbled and shook but I'm glad I posed by the windows outside my dorm hall because it is a clear mirror on the world outside and how rapidly the scene shifts. I also did my nails in celebration of finishing a Physics exam. Speaking of exams, I have a dreadful one for Neuroscience coming up that is daunting the socks off me. Wish me the best! *cringe*

Meanwhile, check it! : )

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Crayola 64

Forever21 french toast print tee (S) // H&M bright floral ruffle tiered skirt (Euro 4) //

Xhilaration mustard strap wedges (5.5) // Forever21 turquoise beaded necklace //

H&M sunglasses // Happy Bunny ankle socks // 

Photography: JJ

Hello beautiful (and handsome) readers! The semester is trickling to a stop and spring is full-on (minus the fact that it was 43 degrees today in mid-April what the hickory). This weekend has been absolutely nuts with programming and fun events - dance performances, water balloon fights, carnival, night market. I think I ate over 10 pounds of food and my waistline is definitely showing it fu fu fu :3 It's also good to see old friends again and I once again feel young and like a freshman in their presence. Pretty soon I'll be a graduate too ... that is so weird. College is nearly over and I barely even started time to breathe and have fun.

This skirt caught my eye during the H&M sale I recently took advantage of and as crazy as the pattern is, the fit is good but length is not when I'm walking. I remember when I wore this on super-windy Friday, the wedges kept inching the hemline up to my dismay and I kept yanking it down. There's a zipper in the back and the tiers aren't as poofy as they may have been once upon a time. Very colourful theme going on, also involving very comfy summer wedges from Target (thanks suitemate for telling me to risk mustard yellow over boring brown!) that fit okay for being 5.5s. There was also tornado warnings going on all afternoon and I had to drag heavy boxes around campus and race against Mother Nature. It ended up pouring enough to turn the deserts into sea but we just escaped in time.

Meanwhile, yes I have been running more and thus my calves and thighs are getting their daily dose of hypertrophy. Healthy is beautiful and don't you ever forget it. Jump shots and necklace-in-face action for your enjoyment. Peace and love for the weekend! (... and brunch and clocks and wikipedia editing and applications ... it never ends)

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I Met Mike Chang from Glee!

Photography credit: Lucy Huo, Vincent Wu, Matt Mitgang

Last last weekend I attended the annual CSA Speaker Event (made possible by many other student groups on campus of course), featuring Harry Shum Jr, who plays Mike Chang on Glee. I KNOW. It was such an experience not just from the fan-crazed side of things but I learned something from a humble normal guy who just happens to dance very well and be on one of the most popular shows to ever have grazed primetime. 

For those who don't know, Harry Shum Jr was born in Costa Rica and grew up in various places in California. His first language was actually Spanish. He inspires me because he fights the stereotype of nerdy, victory-sign posing Asian American (I wish the screenwriters actually did so more with his role in the show). He describes that when he dances, he "becomes a slave to the music" and my favourite line of the afternoon, "Dance is what music looks like." I faced a lot of the same prejudices as he did growing up in places devoid of mass Asian populations, being called names like "bonsai" and "flat-face," being bullied and ostracized because I stood out in the crowd, in the sea of same. And I learned how to break that barrier and speak through my leadership, through my writing, through my fighter spirit. Many times I did break down on this this journey of developing a positive sense of identity, but I came out the other end proud of my heritage, not only being Chinese, but being Chinese American. "Work ethic, work ethnic."

I relearned that day that you have to fight for what you love. Harry Shum Jr lets his feet do the talking, his mouth do the walking. It will be a long time before the American media accepts the Asian American face and voice as a strong vital character, not just for supporting roles or stereotypical "Asian" characters.  I'm glad I got to shook his hand and have my Gleek moment, but mostly I'm glad that I could renew my passion for hard work. I realize that I have not been blogging as much as I like but this is still something I  love to do. When things calm down in this final stretch month, summer will be here! Since my last update, I have met with my four advisors, been accepted to the Neuroscience summer research program, settled off-campus living for summer/next year, figured out how I want to approach medical school and the application process, and had quality time with friends in the STL spring summer. 

I thank you, all my wonderful readers, for commenting and supporting me and letting my voice be heard. To come this summer: 

• Work-friendly outfit posts
• Summer wardrobe
• Busy busy premed
• SLR camera! (Scholarship cha-ching)
• Blog shop

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