Thanks Are In Order

Today, I want to say 'thank you' to a wonderful gal. A little while ago, Aki, of 7% Solution presented my little blog with an award! Me! So, I'd like to thank her, because she's a) awesome, and b) apparently thinks my blog is lovely, haha.


There are a few rules that accompany accepting this award....

• Accept and thank the person who gave you the award.
• Post it in your blog including the name and the link of the blogger.
• Pass the lovely award to other bloggers that you've met along the way.
• Lastly, inform them that they have chosen for this award.

I think a lovely blog is one that's got spunk. I like to see personality of the writer in the blogs I read as well as a nice balance of an interest in lovely things and everyday life, and the one I've chosen is no exception. Cate of Confessions of a Shopaholic Med Student has, what I call, a lovely blog. I mean, the girl's in medical school and still rocks awesome outfits somewhere in between managing to read for fun, cook delicious meals, and watching How I Met Your Mother! Seriously, girl got game. Check her out!

TED Talks

Perhaps it's because midterm season* has begun, or possibly I've just been in a strange mood, but in the last couple days, I've found that all I want to do is read articles or watch lectures. Some of the stuff I've seen/read is just so interesting. Usually, when I'm in a mood like this, I go to my personal mecca of awesome lectures.

Let me introduce you guys to TED. TED's motto is "Ideas Worth Sharing" and they take amazing, visionary, and often famous people from a huge number of faculties and careers, and they have them give talks on their subjects of expertise. Personally, even though I like biology ones the most, I've watched some truly impressive talks on economics, global health, music, fashion, aging, and politics.

Some samples I thought you guys might like:

Isaac Mizrahi on Fashion and Creativity

Hans Rosling on New Insights on Poverty

Mathieu Lehanneur on Science-Inspired Living and Design
Some other prominent speakers to check out if you like these that they've had: VS Ramachandran (neuroscience/psychology), Bono, James Cameron, Bill Clinton, Richard Dawkins, Noah Feldman, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Malcolm Gladwell, Jamie Oliver, and Craig Venter!

*On the quarter system, it's a season, because you may have midterms anywhere between week 3 and week 8, and that's just how it is.

"Break Their Neck!"

I am back and (mostly) better and my physio midterm is done! Yay!

There was an interesting question on our midterm about what substances we might administer to someone facing the death penalty, specifically to: a) put them to sleep, b) paralyze them, and c) stop their heart and the mechanism of how the substance works. Gruesome question, I know, but I thought the answers were fairly straight forward from what I'd studied and what we'd learned in lecture. However, when I turned my test in, I noticed the paper underneath mine said: a) Ambien (which, technically, is right, but he totally didn't explain how), b) break their neck! (which does kill them, I guess, but the exclamation point's a little creepy), and c) Poison (Vague much?). Seeing that not only vastly improved my mood, but also made me feel significantly better about my own test. I mean, really? "Break their neck" isn't even a substance. I would have accepted severed spinal cord between the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, but wow.

I know that was particularly nerdy of me, but I wanted to share. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Pills and Chills

Well, after that wonderful night on Sunday, I woke up yesterday with a 102˚F fever and a throbbing head. I dunno what it's been because my immune system is usually so good! Boo. I hate being sick.


I will probably wait till I'm a little bit more back-in-commission to post. Plus, I have like a million things to do from missing one day of class and work. Oh, and a midterm on Friday. Trying to study when your sick is the worst. Double boo.

I Am Thinking It's A Sign

I spent my day yesterday working and studying a lot, so I felt like relaxing a little at night and reading a bit for fun. One of my favorite songs is "Such Great Heights," by The Postal Service, but rather than the original, for calm-time and reading, I prefer the Iron and Wine cover.


Seriously, you guys, check it out.
And while I was on my calmness kick, I discovered this awesome reading playlist on Infiniti Tracks which made my night. Perfect moment of peace to end a busy day and begin a busy week.

This and That

I've bought a bunch of random make up in the last month or so, some of which I want to review for you guys really quick:

Disclaimer: These reviews are my personal opinion. I'm not affiliated with any of these brands, nor am I being paid to review. So don't sue me. Kthx.


L'Oreal Color Riche Lipstick in 'Vagabond Mauve'
I'm not really going to bother with a swatch, because my skin's color changes so ridiculously from summer to winter and back, that it's not gonna give anyone a good idea of the real color. Anyway, I was looking for something a little plummier or pinker than the bright red I always wear, and this is it. Sometimes, it looks a little too pink on me, but mostly it's just bright enough that it doesn't look tacky and I can still wear it casually. Plus, super moisturizing, yay!

Covergirl LipStain in 'Saucy Plum'
This one, not a fan. I usually really like the long-lasting feature in lipsticks, so I really wanted to try this stuff out, but what started out well ended up being really sucky. It went on well for a while, but I noticed even with my usual coat of DP chapstick on top, it was drying out really fast. And then, the whole thing dried up in like 2 weeks! I can't even use it anymore without soaking in water/vinegar for a few minutes before I apply it! Definitely wasn't happy with that.

The Falsies Volum'Express Mascara by Maybelline
Overall, I would give this a thumbs up, because truly, it's not a bad product, and I'd read a lot of good reviews of the stuff. However, personally, I didn't find it spectacular or anything. It does about the same job as my Covergirl Lashblast at separating and elongating, but I just like the Lashblast brush better. Maybe that's just me, because errbody else is raving about the stuff.

Revlon|perle Eyeshadow in 'Black Galaxy'
Loveee it. Maybe one day, I'll take pictures with it on, but basically, I was a gonner from the second I saw how it sparkled. While, I like matte eyeshadows, I think they tend to look bulky and weird on me, especially for casual wear, and especially in black. This one is light and sparkly and sometimes I just wear it by itself without eyeliner and it continues to look non-hooker-y (which, really, is the most important thing).

Also, remember that Lush stuff I bought a while ago? Well, I love it. Honestly, even just for the smell, I'd buy more of it, but the kinds I have have a wonderfully exfoliating and leave me feeling minty fresh, so the perfect ones, I think.

Hope you all are having a good weekend!

Throw Me Tomorrow, Oh, Oh!

Top: (from my mother, shoulder pads removed); Cardigan: H&M; Shorts: Old Navy; Tights: Target; Boots: Ross
So, first of all, I really want to say thank you to all of you who gave me tips and consolation about the MCAT. It's truly appreciated. I'm freaking out a lot less after talking to some good friends and I think it was just a big shock to realize it's so close.

That being said, my first real tripod pictures! Yay! Also, my favorite Zumba session is today! So, I hope you'll be enjoying your Thursdays as much as I'll be enjoying mine!
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Too Little Time

As I was so rudely reminded yesterday in my state of it's-only-been-two-weeks-of-school bliss, I am taking this exam in eight weeks. EIGHT! That's barely any time at all! I'm pretty sure my stress level and blood pressure sky rocketed hearing that. My point is, studying tips and personal mantras and stress relievers and whatever else you've got, throw them at me. Because as of last night, my motto went from "Keep calm and carry on" straight to "Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit." Yikes.

Quirks

Recently, Lisa of Respect the Shoes did a cute little post where she appreciated quirkiness, listed some of her quirks, and invited people to tell her about theirs. I loved this idea so much that I decided to do my own post on them! Plus, who are we kidding? If I'd listed off all my quirks in her comments section, the poor girl would have been reading them for hours. Though, I promise I won't bore you with hours about me, haha.


LOLcats make life better.
1. I, like that cat, am obnoxiously particular about things and routines and schedules and lists and whether that frame I put up is perfectly straight. I brush my teeth for at least a minute. I only eat Honey Nut Cheerios or oatmeal for breakfast. I like my things to all have a proper place, even if they sometimes aren't in that place. The volume on my car can only be set to even numbers and I can't just have one window down (for symmetry, you know?). I split up my college reading by number of pages per day so as to finish by a certain time. There are so many little things, but I think until I start organizing my closet by color (which I've thought of doing many times, but haven't executed yet), I don't need to see a specialist.

2. I am a huge sucker for science. I love reading science news and fun articles about all the amazing work being done in so many fields just blow me away. It's really cool to read about what we're discovering about our world and our bodies and space! Needless to say, I think research was probably the right short-term career choice for me.

3. I'm slowly becoming obsessed with TV. I do this thing where I start watching new TV shows over breaks, so you can imagine how I've accumulated quite a number of shows I watch. My recent favorites have been The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Parenthood, and Gossip Girl. I love being able to relate to families, people, and concepts in TV shows, because they're so much better developed than in movies, most times. I'm especially into comedy, so it's no surprise that my all-time favorites include sitcoms like I Love Lucy, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Three's Company. I have to watch my shows!

4. I like good grammar. There are phrases I purposefully will not use because I'm unsure about their grammatical correctness. Often times, I pause during sentences to determine if something I'm saying is correct. I tend to edit and re-edit my blog posts a hundred times over. I also occasionally outwardly flinch when other people use poor grammar or switch in "then" instead of "than" on their blogs. I'm trying really hard to work on this, but especially with blogging, misuse of their/there/they're is kind of a deal-breaker on which ones I decide to follow...

What are some of your quirks?

Fashion and Magic!

In my internet adventures the other day, I discovered the most fabulous thing EVER. College Fashion had done a series of posts on fashion inspired by Harry Potter! It included posts inspired by the characters in Deathly Hallows as well as each of the four Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Basically, I'm considering trashing my entire wardrobe and just buying all the things they used, but for now, I'll just share some of my absolute favorite sets with you all.


Seriously, how chic is this? Perfectly Fleur!

So summery and fun and not even as tacky as Luna could be!

Gryffindor Casual. I am totally madly in love with that cardigan (read: will probably be buying it).

Hufflepuff Formal. Want the shoes.

Slytherin Casual. Looks so comfy!

Slytherin Business.

Slytherin Formal. I would love all the Slytherin outfits, haha.

Ravenclaw Casual.

Ravenclaw Formal. Mmm, the color of that dress.
I know that was a TON of pictures, but seriously, how awesome are these outfits? I couldn't wait to post them, I was so excited. Now, tell me, ladies (and gents), how good of an idea is it for me to sell/donate all my clothes and just...you know, buy this stuff?

Countdown in a Dark Town

So, apparently, I had way more outfit pictures saved up than I thought I did. I'm starting to get antsy because I want to hurry up and get to the ones that were taken with my tripod, so today, I'm doing two. I am impatient!

Top: Charlotte Russe; Jacket: Banana Republic; Necklace: F21; Bag: thrifted
My sincerest apologies that it looks like I'm standing inside a lemon.

Tops: F21; Belt: ?

This was a night where I forgot a jacket and it was 30˚F outside. I learned the hard way that lace, while pretty, is not warm. At all. Fail.
Okay, so, I lied. Those last two were with my tripod, but I don't think taking pictures with bad lighting in my old room counts, so (almost) onto the new, better pictures! Happy Friday everyone, and have a WONDERFUL weekend (and a happy long one to all you US-ers)!

Light Nostalgia

I've been in the mood for sparkly things all day. I'm not totally sure why, but it's made me want to go back to the Phoenix Zoo. In wintertime, they put up a ton of lights all over the place and they're actually pretty cool to see. I went with some friends over break.


Cool orb thing over the lake.

The trees that sang "Carol of the Bells" haha.

A monkey, a turtle, and....PEDOBEAR?!
Warning: This next one might be NSFW!

Um...what?! There were little kids present!
And lastly, this gem:

I prefer to think the mother is shooting laser beams out of her eyes rather than that she's angry her baby squirted her with water...but that's just me.

All in all, it was quite the amusing trip. I know it's a little past wanting to see all the lights again, but man, I need sparkle!

Out of the Desert and Into the Sun

Blazer: Macy's; Scarf: Handmade (by my aunt); Jeans: Airways (from India)
For a little while, I was all about this blazer. Well, blazers in general, but seeing as I only own two, this blazer mostly. I love the pinstripes and how it adds a little formality to my favorite Something Corporate band t-shirt.

Today, I ran into a friend from a class I'd taken over the summer and we decided to get coffee and catch up. He's taking a Kaplan class for his MCAT in April (a month after mine) and we ended up discussing study habits, among other things. It made me realize that, a) I need to step it up by like 200% in the self-motivated studying department if I want to do well on this test, b) people seem to think I'm smarter and more motivated than I would ever give myself credit for, which is an impression I should probably strive to maintain and c) I should really try to stay friends with the people I meet in classes. Some of them are nice, down-to-earth, smart and don't turn out to be pompous douchebags halfway through the quarter. Plus, study-buddies; I need them.

Off-The-Shoulder

Recently, I have been simply dying to get an oversize, off-the-shoulder sweater. Maybe because it's winter, maybe because they just look so darn warm and comfy, but either way, I want one. I keep reading reviews for various ones (because I'm obsessed with reviews) and some of the ones I want, people have said that they slide up the shoulders and run small. Boo.





Tips? Suggestions? Knowledge that somewhere is having a massive sale? Let. Me. Know.

Dance It Off!

I'm a big fan of dancing. Of all kinds. I've mentioned my love of ballet before, but I've also done a ton of other dancing. On the other hand, I'm decidedly not a fan of forced exercise. Going to the gym is like going to the DMV for me, because it's ridiculously boring and often excruciatingly painful (and sometimes excruciatingly, painfully boring). I always loved playing sports because they don't feel forced and I don't feel like I have to guilt myself into playing them. Same with dance. It's beautiful and fun and it works everything out without having a sticker on the side of the machine telling you which exact muscles you're not going to be able to use without cringing for the next week.

So, four years ago, I discovered Zumba. And I was ELATED, I tell you. Dancercise?! Yes, please. Dancercise with awesome hip-hop and latin beats and tons of styles of dance? DOUBLE YES. It can be tough, but honestly, it's probably one of the best workouts I have ever done and now, I wholeheartedly believe their claim now that a one-hour session can burn over 500 calories. You don't even have to know how to dance. And, you hardly notice, because it's so much fun! Even if your instructor isn't as peppy as some of the ones I've had, as long as you get into the music and the moves, you'll love it! Even some of the guys I know have said they loved it. I realize I sound like an ad, but I really really love it. I hadn't done it since I started college, but, after finding out about classes being offered for free at my university, I'm getting back into Zumba!
Seriously, check it out, guys.

Have a great weekend!
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Slowly Unravel

Top: Old Navy; Vest: PacSun; Belt: Charlotte Russe
If I'm not mistaken, this was sometime around the beginning of what I'm calling "Mission: Success" or my ridiculously ambitious attempt to own at life this year and set the (snow)ball rolling.

Skipping Around

I'm like...two weeks behind on outfit posts, meaning that I seem to have gathered this immense collection of photos of things I wore that I haven't posted yet. But I like some better than others (like this one)...so I'm just going to post them entirely out of order at some point because half of them, I can't even remember when I wore. Okay. And I'll let you know when I'm all caught up!


I wore this dress like 5 times over 3 weeks of break. ♥

I realize this is super blurry, but we look like we live somewhere cold!
I spent New Years Eve with some really good friends, including Amy of VeryAimee. Since she's a personal style icon of mine, and on the command that I "make sure to dress fabulous!!" I got dolled up (sort of) and we ventured (probably grossly under-dressed) into freezing cold weather.

A Recipe for: Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm back in San Diego again (because, get this, classes started today. Yup, January 3rd, and I'm learning Mammalian Physiology and Biomedical Ethics. Yay! Anyway, what's important here is that this means no more mommy-missed-me-and-wants-to-spoil-me-with-delicious-food dinners. I have to cook for myself again. I use the term 'cook' somewhat loosely because my culinary skills leave a lot to be desired, but one of my favorite and easiest recipes are stuffed mushrooms. They're super easy, and if you make a lot of them, they'll make a perfect meal-for-one.

Ingredients: Mushrooms, 1/4 cup finely chopped Spinach, Salt, Lemon juice, Herbs (of your choice), Chili Powder, 1/4 cup finely chopped Green Onions, 2-3 slices shredded Wheat Bread, Shredded mozzarella cheese

Wash mushrooms (thoroughly; remember, they're fungi) and remove stems.

Mix the shredded bread, chopped spinach and green onions, a little bit of cheese, and add lemon juice and salt to taste. Microwave for 1:00 till cheese melts a little.

Stuff the mushrooms.

Add a little more cheese on top! Bake for 10-15 min. at 350˚F

And eat away!
They were delicious, if I do say so myself. And, for the record, my roommates thought so as well. Here's to hoping I will be cooking more often this year!

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The New Year

This is going to be long.

I had an awesome New Year's Eve. It hit a chilling 30˚F in Phoenix last night as some friends and I went to dinner and the Tempe Fiesta Bowl Block Party. The experience has humbly forced me to admit that I seem to know nothing abut dressing well and still being warm. Eventually the outfit pictures from it will get posted. The biggest surprise for me, though, was finding out the night before that Jimmy Eat World was going to be playing! One of my favorite bands since high school, and I was going to get to see them live for only $20! Let me gush a little and say that they were so good live. "Hear You Me" in particular was just heart-wrenching and I'm so glad I got to see them live, even if I was freezing my ass off the entire time. That being said,

Happy New Year!
May all your guys' 2011 wishes and resolutions come true! This blog has introduced me to some truly awesome people and I'm grateful to them, and to all of you guys who've been reading/following me for helping shape and inspire the progress of this blog. I can't wait to see what this new year brings!


On to the self-reflection: This was not a good year for me, generally speaking. Some really great things have happened, that I won't contest, but overall, I wasn't as happy with myself and my actions and achievements as I was in 2009. For me, this is truly disappointing because I'm kind of obsessively ambitious. I'm a strong believer in the idea that each person has the ability to start winning and bettering, and when you start winning and bettering, it snowballs. Up till now, I allowed myself to condition this with the notion that I needed to catch some sort of break in order to set this snowballing in motion, but in the last month or so, I'm realizing that I'm just going to have to make my own breaks here, because that's the only way to guarantee them happening now, when I need them. So, I've made my resolutions in the spirit of making my own breaks:

• Be kind, polite, and more sociable. Don't waste time worrying about little things and just get right out there.
• Don't get behind. That isn't to say don't procrastinate (because if there ever was an impossible goal, that'd be it), but don't leave things to the point where you're going to have meltdowns.
• Interact more with other bloggers. Have features, guest posts, and more email interaction with these people you think are awesome.

And lastly, accept things that are long past changeable. As the frame I have above my dresser says,

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