Out with the Cold, In with the New

Actually, this will mostly be dedicated to the "out with the cold" part. As in, I am not ready to share anything new today. After such a long hiatus in posting, I'm going to have to ease myself back into things. Otherwise I might get blogger-shock and not post again for another 2 months.

First on the agenda, we have what I wore 2-- possibly 3-- months ago!

Top: American Eagle Outfitters | Cardigan: Express | Pants: J.Crew | Boots: Hunter | Necklace: thrifted
The necklace is a seashell and reminds me of Ursula from Little Mermaid.

Top: made in Vietnam | Dress: J.Crew | Boots: Macy's

Here I am showing off a new star bracelet which I actually haven't taken off since the time of this photo.
Otherwise I am wearing a random assortment of Talbots, Loft, and H&M.

This was a moment of sartorial eureka for me so I am including extra photos.

Top: Urban Outfitters dress worn as a top | Cardigan: Gap | Skirt: J.Crew | Necklace: Target | Belt: F12
The shoes I got for $5 from Famous Footwear, huzzah!

  

There, I made a return to posting! In the next few days I will try to summarize my adventures from the last 2 months in visual format. If I made a preview slideshow, it would include, but not be limited to: mousse, anime, the MICU, scallops, taxes, and most importantly: new apartment!

Outfits to Span a Season

Oy...I just emerged from beneath a rock and realized that October and November have elapsed and December lurks dangerously close.

But look how festive our apartment has become, adorned in twinkly lights!

It goes without saying that my protracted disappearance from this blog reflects my ever-presence in the hospital and/or other locales. Ok, mostly in the hospital.

One of these "other locales" I allude to is Atlanta.  I went to Atlanta for a national scientific meeting! During my 4 days there, I rotated the same key clothing pieces in various combinations, ever-changing from day to night.  Not a soul was aware of how light I packed (I detest checking in  luggage). Here are some examples:

J.Crew (No. 1) pencil skirt (ca. 2011), Etienne Aigner boots, and Forever 21 scarf display their versatility

I love that funnel neck sweater. The funnel seems to have slouched down in that particular picture but I still love it all the same :)

Back home, I proceeded to blast through the ensuing autumnal chill while maintaining my loyalty to color (as you will see in the ensuing line up). Unfortunately, I did not emerge unscathed--I suffered a horrible cold and actually had to take the day off as the inside of my face melted and was expelled via incessant sneezing and nose blowing.

It was during this nadir of November when I discovered Downton Abbey.

J.Crew (Collection!) Midnight Trench does not insulate that well but looks and fits great!
Talbots espadrilles add some height to make a long skirt work (found amongst my mom's Toss Pile.)
First time wearing the J.Crew Clea dress (spring 2012) to work, made sillier with addition of F21 glasses necklace.

Spearmint hues with Anthro San Pedro skirt and Free People squishy sweater.
I went to the mall wearing these J.Crew Hutton Trench Trousers and everyone liked them.
Sometimes when it's cold, I don't take my hair out of  my sweater.

A Pink and Brown Milieu!
In the end, I actually chickened out on the F21 pink pants and wore black skinny pants instead.
Mixing maxi check and feather paisley was hard, but all the brown elements tied it all together  (I hope).

J.Crew Pixie Pants are becoming more and more ridiculous and NEVER go on sale! I keep entertaining the thought of obtaining them in charcoal but having 1 indestructible pair is quite is enough for now...
Thanksgiving food shopping made possible by adding and sweater and trusty J.Crew Carlin Coat (ca. fall 2009).

 Bought this lovely pink top in Madrid many moons ago. It was a EU size 8, therefore it fits??
Anthro Just Right Skirt looks good with everything in all seasons!
New thick cotton J.Crew top boasts awesome back zipper. 

 I've strangely lost the desire to label all of my outfits. So I decided to make random comments about them instead. I just recovered from several events, including interviewing for fellowship, submitting my rank list, quaking in wait for Match Day, and cooking a full Thanksgiving Dinner (post to come). But look, even in the aftermath of having people for Thanksgiving, the apartment stayed clean and nice:

Note my psychedelic drawing in the wall and our wedding album...among all the other crazies :)

Next up: Thanksgiving cooking adventure and who knows what else!

Wanted: Pearl Necklace

Woah, blogger keeps on changing! I have been in a perpetual state of the rug being pulled from underneath me.  No, I am not falling down a lot...except for in the figurative sense. Attending: what are the 5 most common causes of brain farts? Me: uh, 1. Ingestion of too much cheese, 2. uh...Iron deficiency? 3. Infection....
Please feel free to substitute all that for actual medical terminology.
At least I dressed myself to go to work.



1. Dress from Vietnam (it randomly fits me better now!), grey tights unknown brand, booties unknown brand
2. Ann Taylor top, Loft pants, Calvin Klein shoes
3. UO dress and hat, Target cardigan and necklace*, Calvin Klein shoes

 *sad: I am mourning the breakage of this necklace.  Necklaces are not meant for brandishing. Nor for striking Mike with. Nor should I end sentences with prepositions (get out of my head, Mrs. Maloney from 10th grade English!!)



I just think its funny that I have THE SAME EXACT expression in #1 and #2! haha!
1. H&M blouse and pants. Banana Republic wedge booties. F21 necklace.
2. Dress from Vietnam, tights from Target, BR wedge booties
3. Tshirt Charlotte Russe, Aeropostale tank, Target leggings, shoes from Vietnam, thrifted necklace



1. "French" outfit: shirt from Gabes, Anthropologie San Pedro skirt, Gap belt, J Crew flats
2. Shirt from Vietnam, Old Navy skirt, Gap belt (the brown one's sister), UO tights, unknown brand oxfords
3. Target cardi and dead necklace, UO dress worn as top, Charlotte Russe earrings, JCrew double serge pencil skirt (1st generation), Calvin Klein shoes

 Sometimes, I loooove my clothes and think that they look like sheer genius (like the UO dress worn as a shirt in combination with the mustard yellow skirt).  I love playing with colors and feel elevated and giddy when colors unexpectedly complement one another.

Other times, I get frustrated and break my necklaces.  Sigh.  I was on the lookout for another one, but there is none exactly like it, with its little glass beads as spacers and accent bead with the rhinestones.  Therefore, I have been crawling on the floor gathering all the beads.  Alas, I looked everywhere around the site of the incident (the crime scene) but could not find the accent bead.  Then, yesterday, my dad picked it up under the kitchen table! Huzzah! Soon, you will meet Pearl Necklace, the Reincarnation, muahaha.

I love my Anthropologie San Pedro Skirt!

Ugh, I had a terrible night on call.  I am post-call and haven't slept yet since I can't...let's just leave it at that.

Four words: second cut/damage discount.  So lately, I've been reading the blogs of Anthropologie lovers who know how to find a great deal so I decided to wander around near Anthropologie yesterday and see what would happen. Original plan was to buy flour since I had used up all the flour during my Cinnamon Bread Adventure.  So I headed for Trader Joe's conveniently located next to Anthropologie.  Accident or Divine Intervention?  Or completely volitional on my part. (Never allow self to wander near an Anthropologie unless serious mission in mind. Also, aren't all TJ's near Anthro's anyway?) I was pretty excited when I saw this skirt, only a 0 and 4 left.  Blah blah, if you go to that link (which I did AFTER I had already bought the skirt) you might not be so keen to get this skirt.  Conversely, ogle and sigh below at Anthro's gorgeous styling of this sleek Eva Franco skirt with its well-positioned diagonal seams and luscious turquoise tweed fabric:

Image credit: Anthropologie

So how did this skirt only score 3/5 on the reviews?

Alas, I agree with the reviews: Fits small and snags like a professional snagger!  Unhappy! Actually the 0 fit me just shy of snug, no need to throw up my breakfast to be able to zip up or anything.  Unfortunately, while trying it on just now to take pics for the blog, I may or may not have passed out from overheating.  So summer skirt, I think not due to polyester content.  Maybe if I don't like it anymore I can re-spin the polyester into a single mitten or something.  Just kidding, you'd have to pay me for me to learn how to do what I just said.
As for the snags, they were only noticeable when I was holding the skirt closely up to my face.  They disappeared while I was wearing it (not sure why), and while I was clutching it to my bosom all night (hey! don't judge, I was on call and needed comfort!).  But I whined to the SA and she took off 15% and gave me her blessing to vanquish the snaglets with scissors, which I also did while on-call.  Sigh, so why was my call so bad?
As a cure for the spiraling of terrible on-call events into a downright disaster (no details here my friends, HIPAA prohibits), I came home and immediately put my skirt on again.  Unfortunately, all of the handling of the skirt overnight and the careless refolding sort of uncrispened that back pleat.  Nothing I can't take an iron to...if the thought ever crosses my mind again.

Here is our friend, the Anthropologie Eva Franco San Pedro Skirt in Turquoise pictured with:
Top: JCrew, tailored. Now it is so tight that I have to detach my arms at the shoulder in order to get in and out of it. FAIL!
On the other hand, it does look much better.  Oooh please disregard the VPL, I am post-call, not going out into public!
Belt: Gap
Wedges: Banana Republic
Flats: JCrew

Ok, ok so the secret is....I had an original turquois skirt love.  No surprise, it was the No. 2 Double Serge Pencil Skirt in veridian green.

(cue: angelic vocalizing)

This green is too sophisticated for my poor post-call addled brain. I have to be honest, this skirt's coloring is more mesmerizing than the Anthropologie one.  I WOULD consider it if it went on sale. Hey! don't say that that's impossible, after all, I got last season's yellow double serge pencil skirt on siggily sale!

Ok, stay tuned for some baking by me!

Gap Jeans for $7.78

Just in case you were wondering how much I got these jeans for, they were $7.78 (!)

As I talked about in my last post, I was trying on jeans at Gap in the mall away from home but after my risk-benefit analysis I decided that $12 was too much for jeans with a chocolate stain and 4 miles of extra length that I didn't need.  But $7.78-chocolate stain = sealed deal. Seal Deal!

I found these at my local Gap for $12.97.  With an extra 40% off, I was finally able to overlook the several inches of denim that I was stomping on and tripping over in the dressing room.  I think I have found the perfect wide legged, high-waisted pant.  My search ends here....or DOES it? 

In Gap spirit, I wore my Gap belt which is probably 10 years old and also scored for ~$7 (with inflation it is probably a $10 belt!!)

Here they are compared head-to-head (leg-to-leg) with my James Jeans--
ADHD MINUTE: ideeli.com is having a James Jeans sale!  I wanted all the jeans but then I remembered I had my own.  These were my 1st splurge on anything EVAR, and the store had complimentary hemming, using the ancient and special technique of  re-attaching the ORIGINAL hem (this was very important to them...and me after being brainwashed) .  Anyway, these are like the PERFECT length for 3" heels. 
See? I would only have to hem the Gap jeans by like 1.5 or 2".

I was planning to hem these myself as I have been known to undertake simple sewing tasks on my own.  But then I was having dinner with a friend and she was wearing this ridiculously well-fitting top and I exclaimed, "Where on earth did you get such a well-fitting top???" and she referred me to a tailor down the street who charged a reasonable fee.  Earlier today, I dropped these Gap jeans off at this tailor's...I also threw in an ill-fitting blouse and 2nd pair of pants (J Crew and Limited, respectively) for good measure.  Come next week I be the proud owner of 3 well-fitting garments. Cha-ching!

I learned how to make gif's in Adobe ImageReady:

I'll say it if you don't, this is pretty entertaining!
Top: Forever 21

Speaking of James Jeans and Gap Jeans.  I apparently own 20 pairs of jeans!!! I stopped buying jeans for a whole year in order to control the jean population.  I tried to neuter them, spay them, give out free birth control, institute a one child-jean-only rule.  But still, they kept on multiplying.  I've been buying jeans since high school; I suspect I do it while sleepwalking.   I mean jeans are so thick and blue and theoretically should last years and years. Therefore, whenever I find a cheap pair of jeans, I think that that I've encountered something of high value!  Most of the jeans I own cost less than $20, less than $15 even.  I started to reflect on my little denim children and felt an unquenchable need to catalogue and classify them by leg type and color.  When I get the Gap jeans back from the tailor I will finish my little Jean catalogue project.