Ootd: A little help from my friends

Hi! I'm "le tired," so I'm going to keep this short and post an old outfit from awhile back. This is actually the day after I pin curled my hair, so you can see what it looks like the second day. I touched it up in a few places with a curling iron, but nothing major. I think it looked pretty nice on the second day, too!

This flower clip was a gift from one of my dear college friends, Kendall. Oddly enough, it exactly matches so many things in my wardrobe, including the Wind Rippled Tee. I love wearing it, but I love it even more knowing that it was from one of my greatest friends.







Wind Rippled Tee, Looping Lanes Belt, Speckled Tights (Anthropologie)
Hair clip: gift from Kendall
Dress: Penny's, super old
Softwalk shoes

Goodnight all!

I got an award! And a little outfit for you!

Happy Friday! Now that I'm finally awake, I wanted to thank Terrie so much for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award. My very first award, hooray! Thank you so much, Terrie. This makes me so happy. (I'm not gonna lie, I might have squealed in lab.)

When you get the Versatile Blogger Award
Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog in your post. Tell seven things about yourself and award seven recently discovered bloggers and contact the bloggers to let them know they received the Versatile Blogger Award.

1. For those who may be wondering, my area of science is neurobiology! I do EEGs and study sensory processing in kids with autism.

2. I love Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus, and (but you knew this one) Taylor Swift, and if I could only listen to them for the rest of my life, my life would still be pretty happy. But if I could add two more to the list, it would be the Eagles and Billy Joel.

3. I don't have pierced ears!

4. When I'm not thinking about science, blogging or fashion, I'm probably thinking about swimming. I was a competitive swimmer for thirteen years, and I still teach lessons and coach off and on. My events were the 500 freestyle, all butterfly (50s, 100s, 200s, I did it all!), a little bit of 1650/1000 free and sometimes the 100 or 400 IM. I hate middle distance and love distance/endurance. I used to hate backstroke the most, but now I hate breaststroke! Oh, wait. I'm a coach now. I'm not supposed to say that I hate strokes. You won't tell my swimmers, will you?

5. When I'm not thinking about... any of the things in #4, I'm probably thinking about writing. I've written several novels, and most of them happened in less than thirty days. I am a four-time "winner" (read: I successfully wrote 50K words in thirty days) of NaNoWriMo. Currently, there's a young adult horror novel in the works with my sister Ria that I'm super excited about!

6. I was an English and Psychology major in undergrad, and I was originally going to be a lawyer. Then I was going to be a first grade teacher. Then I was going to be a psychologist. Indecisive, me? Never.

7. Sometimes I still stare at my closet and think, "I have nothing to wear!"

I apologize in advance for repeating any of the award-ees that have already been assigned, but I wanted to list blogs I have honestly discovered recently and am loving, so here we go with my seven recently-discovered awesome blogs:

Molly @ Anthromollogies; Jenni @ Found in My Closet; Lori @ Lorispeak; JG at Stuff Jewish Girls Like; Lili @ Relatable Style; Kristin @ Lovely Apidae; and Sil @ Compiling My Closet

ETA: Sil, I tried to comment on your blog, but I am dumb and couldn't figure out how to make the comment interface work, and I couldn't find your email, so I hope you see this post instead!

I hope you enjoy checking out all of these great blogs as much as I have!

With that, I'll leave you with a boring, rainy-day outfit that reflects just how much I need this awful weather to quit it. I hate wearing jeans! My camera died before I could get a proper picture of my boots, but you can find them here, and if you're looking for cute, funky rain boots that will keep you warm and dry, I highly recommend them. I seriously get compliments every time I wear mine, and they've never leaked.


Picture Frame Blouse (Anthropologie)
Necklace: Gift from my sister
Jeans from Penny's (super old)
Rain boots: You can hardly see them, but they are Kamik and you should check them out!

OotD: Sometimes you just wanna be comfortable

Lolland Sweaterdress (Anthropologie)
Tights: Macy's
Necklace: Kohl's
Boots: Grandma

It has been absolutely disgusting for nearly a week in my neck of the woods, and I'm definitely feeling the need for sunshine and warmer days. I only like cold and rain when I can stay in bed all day, and since I can't do that, this weather is simply unacceptable! I put on one of my comfiest warm dresses yesterday to try and ward off a bit of the doom and gloom outside.

I wasn't sure about these tights and almost put a different color with it, but in the end I took a "chance." I honestly ended up liking how they looked. I think I'm finally starting to trust my fashion "instincts" on what will go well together, and I find that that little voice in my head is right more and more. This is a great feeling! Don't you love it when you feel like an outfit comes together?



Ruffle overkill with the Frill Force Jacket (Anthropologie)

I'm completely exhausted, so I'm going to wish you all goodnight and end this here! I'll be back soon with the Versatile Blogger Award which was kindly given to me by Terrie! Thank you so much, Terrie! If I wrote seven things about myself right now, 1-7 would be "I'm tired," so I'll wait till next time, but check back soon!

Current Wishlist!

Well, hello, Monday! (And goodbye, Monday. I think I speak for most of us when I say that you will not be missed.) If there's one thing good about a Monday, it's the possibility of an Anthro sale tomorrow. Do you have a good feeling about this week? My wallet and I are still sitting this one out unless some crazy second cuts happen and I get really lucky, but good luck to everyone hoping for items!

Because the weather here has been soul-suckingly-cold lately, I thought I'd bring a little warmth to my blog by posting some lovely spring items that have made their way onto my wishlist. I like to pay attention to the new arrivals around this time because they're probably the options that will be hitting sale around birthday-discount-time for me (Dear June, please arrive faster, love, Katie). Here are a few things I have my eye on:

Make A Wish Skirt

This beauty sure is pretty, and I think it would be a great skirt for spring and summer (and knowing me, fall and winter, ahem). I love the shape, but over $120 for polyester? No thank you. On second cut I'd consider this.

Epoch Blouse

Ria, you are a horrible person for showing me this top! Ruffles, flowers, girliness, and a vintage vibe? I'm in love. The price is too rich for my blood, but maybe with a good sale and a birthday discount I could make this happen. It's backordered till JUNE online, so I'm taking that as a sign and having hope. Foolish, foolish hope.

Imaginings Chemise

This just in: I don't will never have enough ditsy floral dresses. This pretty looks like it could totally fit into my Loungewear As Daywear Problem, and as a huge fan of impressionism I was immediately drawn to it online. I think it would look adorable with white tights and a pastel cardigan for spring and on its own (or maybe with a brown belt) for summer! So excited to try this on.

Tippi Dress

Oh dress, how you continue to haunt me. I still haven't tried this one on yet. I know that a lot of people don't like it, but Roxy gave it a favorable review, so I'm still holding out hope. I'm crossing my fingers I won't be sized out of this one! (And that it'll stick around for a second cut!)










Also on my wishlist but as-yet undiscovered:

Spring/summer shoes! I have a horrible lack of these in my closet, guys. I really need some flats and heels that I can wear without my tights and that will look cute without killing my feet. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them! I'm on the hunt particularly for simple but cute, solid color flats, gold or brown sandals, and round toe medium-to-low heels. Comfort is a must; I can't do the zero-support piece-of-cardboard flats or the toe-murdering heels. I want to find something that feels like something you'd wear to walk around a nursing home but looks like something a young scientist might want to wear a few decades before she needs help with her hearing aid. Impossible? Maybe, but hope springs eternal! I'm particularly hoping for these to hit sale! Did I mention I love Mary Janes?

What's on your wishlist for spring and summer?

Ootd: Sincerest form of flattery

First thing's first: holy crap, 40 followers!! I am so excited! Hello to each and every one of you, and I love you all.

Hi everybody! Hope you had a marvelous weekend! I'm sad to see it end, but at least I don't have any major tests due for awhile, so I have a weight or three off my shoulders for the time being.

Today I wanted to share an outfit that was inspired by two of my favorite bloggers, Maria and Kim. I saw Maria pairing this skirt with this top a long time ago, and it inspired me to track the top down so I could duplicate it. If you read her blog, you know that Kim has an affinity for the color mint, so I added this cardigan in the spirit of her romantic, girly style. Kim and Maria really got me into fashion, blogs, and Anthropologie last year, and because of them I can honestly say that my closet (and life!) are much more colorful, beautiful and put-together. Before I found their blogs, I had no idea how to dress myself and thought that ill-fitting black dress pants and a poorly-made top from high school was a "nice" outfit. I think I've come a long way since then, and though I still have a long way to go, I'm so grateful to all the bloggers who helped me on my way. Thank you for inspiring me to learn about fashion and figure out how to dress, lovely ladies. If I can ever be half as stylish as you, I'll have it made!




Night Skating Top, Thousand Days Skirt (Anthropologie)
JCrew cardi
NY and Company necklace
Softwalk shoes

Have you always been into fashion and dressing up, or have blogs (or something else!) inspired you to put more thought into it?

OotD: Test-takin'!

Hi all! I wanted to post a quick backlogged outfit for you! This is actually what I wore to take my test; an Anthro addict needs some good luck in a pretty dress, right? I stupidly did not buy this dress when I had the chance in stores, but luckily Annie at the Trade Market was kind enough to sell one to me. Thank you so much, Annie! I love wearing it.





Crop Patterns Dress (Anthropologie)
Target cardi
Grandma's boots

As you know, I've been trying to take better pictures, but between the wind and a few persistent bees, it just wasn't happening the day these were taken. I got frustrated, and this happened:



Did I mention I'm a dork?

OotD: Curly girl

Good Thursday evening! I don't know about you, but I sure am excited about the weekend. This was a tough week at school/work, between an exam and starting to learn some complicated new software in lab. I do have good news though: I got an 86 on my test! YAY. That's better than I thought I'd do, and I was so relieved and proud. I've also got another poster presentation in a few weeks that I'm starting to prepare for -- just submitted my abstract, and I'm pretty happy with it. I remember my very first poster presentation over two years ago. I thought I was going to die! Now I'm actually excited for the chance to talk about the new research we've been doing. Plus, the free food is a bonus. Mmm, hope they have the delicious cupcakes they had last year!

Onto more important (ha) things, yesterday evening was a first for me: I tried pin curls for the first time! I found an awesome tutorial at Vintage Vixen (her blog blew me away, wow, such beautiful pictures and style) and decided to try it. I love curls, but I hate damaging my hair with heat. I thought this would be a fun new style to try, so after an entire pack of bobby pins, last night I looked like this, in all my make-up-less glory:


(Do you see the things I do for you, readers?)

I must confess that I am not very good with hair, so this was a little tough for me, and I probably did it wrong. But I think it was workable enough for my first try; here are the results:






Chantilly Chemise, Sweater Cuffed Booties (Anthropologie)
Kohl's tunic/dress and necklace
Macy's tights

On my outfit: I've worn this general combo before, but hey, if it ain't broke, right? When I bought this slip, I was so looking forward to using it to make my shorter "dresses" decent, and I was thrilled to try that today! Also, this is actually my OotD. I have more backlogged pictures that I'll be posting soon though!

If you're looking for a super easy video to help explain pin curls, check out this one! That should answer all your questions, and like I said I am not the best with hair, so I think you'd be better served watching it. I think I did pretty well for my first attempt at pin curls! I think this style is best if you're looking for a lot of volume and not necessarily tight, defined ringlet type curls. I don't have the thickest hair in the world, and it looked like I actually had some! Yay! (Also, I felt a little like I had Taylor Swift hair. As you know, this pleased me greatly.) I will say that my hair is naturally wavy and holds curl well, so if you have straighter hair you may need some products, but I didn't use any.


Close-up!

Overall I thought this was a fun style, and I'll definitely try it again. I admit that I was skeptical and didn't think someone so dumb with hair as myself could make this work, but I was pleasantly surprised! Any fellow curl-junkies out there? What method do you use? (And if yours is natural, color me jealous!)