Sunday at Starbucks

Sunday snacking-studying at Starbucks. Their petite treats are so adorable and three for $2.50 isn't that bad. Look at the adorable mini edible pearls on the birthday cake mini doughnut! To complement the have-a-bite-of-everything tactic, JJ and I walked a few strides down to Barcelona in Clayton for tapas (wish we could just walk to the real place!). We found a mint green wall next to an Irish pub which had this cool abandoned feel not far away. Phone camera op to capture all our yummy treats and my slouchy studying outfit.

I am so hyped up on Benadryl right now. Suffer allll the allergies zzZzz ... 

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Bluebird

Ralph Lauren royal blue LS w/ emblem (XS) (gift from Aunt) // H&M bird print scarf (worn as bow) //

Pitaya grey pleated skirt (S) // Predictions for Payless black pumps (5) //

Nordstrom BP brown and mint green ombre wayfarer sunglasses // 
Aldo blue floral vintage rucksack backpack // Urban Outfitters double face watch //

Photography: JJ

BYE BYE BIRDIE. This was my makeshift tie-bow blouse attempt with a solid top and matching colour scarf (from last spring's bird print craze). But because the scarf had a bird print on it, it contrasted too much for a good imitation but still turned out fun to wear with a girly bow to decorate my neckline. Keeping it simple and relatively monochromatic for one of the first signs of warmer weather this year (3/7). And hey, it blended perfectly with my new backpack too.

The last few days have been "ugh" with studying, not sleeping, and attending to exam season. Luckily there has been a lot of fun, adventure, and food embedded with the mundane, so it ain't half bad. Been riding my bike more and thoroughly enjoying the sun. Looking forward to a less hectic half of the week and Girls Night Out @Saks !

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'90s Mom

United Colors of Bennetton lilac tshirt (M) (gift from JJ's mom) // H&M belted khaki high-waisted shorts (4) //

Merona orange strappy sandals (5.5) // Aldo blue floral vintage rucksack backpack // Blue gym bag lol //

The weather was so gorgeous today post-2-exams, in the 80s, sunny, perfect. Perfect for biking to Forest Park, cooling down in the art museum, laying out on the spiky verdant grass and being inspired by everything.

This was yesterday's random outfit (3/26), thrown together in a mad rush to get to racquetball practice on time. High waisted shorts, with a simple lilac tee (twisted the bottom, secured with hair tie, tucked into shorts for an embellished fan effect to keep it from looking sloppy/nerd/granny. Two bobby pins tucking back the sides of my hair and I transformed into a '90s mom. Bring back the good Saturday morning cartoons and boy bands please. Last minute decision to snap these with the phone - better than nothing.

Readers - do you miss the '90s?

$2000 Lens: 85 mm f/1.2

Photography and editing: Thomas Roach (the handsome feller above)

Preview of more photos to come: My photog friend Thomas Roach rented this $2000 lens (85 mm f/1.2 prime) for much, much less than that. It was for a special event but we pranced around campus Thursday afternoon test-shooting each other and our other friend-photog, Vince. It had just stopped raining and there was a decent golden hour, and these photos made me want to pee my pants hot pink skirt. Shooting full-body outfit pics means backing away the length of a small schoolbus, so the benefit of having sexy bokeh may not be practical for personal style photography. Not sure camera remotes even sense that far - imagine running that distance every time you self-timer hahaha. 

Aren't these boys so sharply dressed too? Thomas and I practically live in our brown leather oxfords. Funny thing too, we're all science majors xD

I just took a long swim in nostalgic tears last night at the St. Louis Symphony Final Fantasy concert (Distant Worlds). Going again tonight and ready to see me some more Nobuo Uematsu, the composer himself! He's soooo shy and cute in person. In other news, this week JJ and I watched Kiki's Delivery Service and X-Men: First Class (sooo good!). Hunger Games movie this Sunday if I behave and get my study on. The beautiful 70-80 degree weather makes it impossible to focus anyway ... oh, and second semester senioritis. Have an exciting weekend!

Readers - do you like the ultra-blurry background or prefer more detail?

Glamour Photos 3: Modern & Casual

Photography: Tank, Modern Concept Photography in Taipei, Taiwan

This is the third and final installment of our glamour photos from Taiwan last year (of 3) - see the FIRST SET and SECOND SET. In honour of March and le birthday month (it's madness), saved the most natural and "us" set for last. We worked with the limited clothes we had in our suitcases, which was mostly casual and comfy jeans, printed tees, and my favourite black fitted blazer. Turned out great after they curled and tamed my hair from the hot mess it was in! Thanks JJ for doing this with me - it was so fun and part of an adventurous trip to remember.

Readers - have you taken glamour photos before? Share a link if you have!

Vintage Style Backpacks & Cat Eye Glasses

Vintage styled rucksack backpacks from Aldo. I got the blue and purple floral one on the left but the striped grey and white one on the right is cute too ($50). An adorable black with tiny white polka dots backpack that I didn't see in stores.

Grey and white striped tote with a silk scarf attached.

Urban Outfitters cat eye sunglasses. These are the perfect cat eye shape for my face but alas they're clear. Still on the hunt!

Forever 21 Burberry clear raincoat dupe (similar from Topshop). Looked good on their lookbook but this is pretty eww in person.

Filler randomness: these were mall sightings from a few weeks ago. Sitting on the top floor of the library surrounded by panoramic greening foliage and in clear view of the stained glass windows of Graham Chapel. Oh spring, never leave my sight again.

Readers - any cute mall sightings recently?

Pepper{MINT} St.{PATTY}

Pitaya bunny print mint peter pan collar top (S) // Lush mint green scallop hem shorts (S) //
Faded Glory white tank top (underneath) (S) //

From Taiwan mint green Longchamp Le Pliage dupe tote bag (gift) //

Predictions by Payless white low heel pumps (5) // From Taiwan grey and white striped socks (gift) //
Nordstrom BP ombre brown and mint green wayfarer sunglasses //

Bracelets: pearls from Forever 21, white bead from H&M // Forever 21 white plastic bow ring //

Lips: Clinique chubby stick lip color balm in Super Strawberry //

Photography: JJ

FRESHLY MINTED. Haha, clever title, no? This was the all-mint green outfit I was aiming for this St. Patrick's Day but it rained the entire day in San Diego, so yesterday (3/19) was the perfect opportunity to wear it back in St. Louis: 84 degrees and sunny (someone needs to fire that meteorologist, because we all felt like losers in our rain gear) and SPRING SPRING SPRING! There's nothing more mood-lifting than the blossoming pastels of flowering trees on campus and spontaneous trips to Starbucks and the Loop. In fact I think the Midwest skipped spring and went ahead and did summer on the Spring Equinox. Warning: this post may lead to visual overdosing on mint green. This exceeds your recommended daily amount by 10^9. Proceed with caution and open-mindedness towards my pastel obsession problems.

Can you believe this mini Longchamp Le Pliage look-alike was a free gift from a contacts store in Taiwan? At first I had no idea what I would use such a tiny thing for but it surprisingly holds a lot: my EKG manual, sunglasses, keys, cards, notes, etc. It also folds up and buttons shut and is quite sturdy. The socks were free gift along with a cute plastic popsicle container when I got my Tarepanda mini-scale too. My white pumping disappearing into the lush grass, almost feeling their cool soft spikiness between my toes, add a few pearls to balance the mint with cream. This big tree with all the gorgeous white flowers finally woke from its slumber and gave off such a wondrous aroma. It felt like playing under a giant mushroom and then the bumblebees scared me off. Ha.

Here's a funny story: since I've had this outfit planned for a week now, I wasn't taking no for an answer - rain or shine. But alas, after pulling both mint items out of my suitcase, they were and have been wrinkled (the most frustrating fabric) and unsightly. So I dripped some water on them and hung them on my window, hoping the sun would dry them before class, but they remained sopping wet. Then I threw them in the laundry. Then I aired them out during racquetball practice. Then I went to the locker room and held them under the hand dryer machine for 20 minutes. Yay finally dry and unwrinkly! Then I put them on and they immediately wrinkled FML lol.

I really need to go to bed earlier - self, at 3 AM.

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Zen Garden

Pitaya/Lush abstract cocoon cardigan/wrap (S) // Old Navy taupe v-neck cable knit sweater (S) // 

H&M forest green skinny jeans (6) // Predictions for Payless black pumps (5) //

H&M gold segmented choker necklace // Silver inspirational words cuff bracelet (gift from Alice) //

Lipstick: Revlon Colorburst Soft Nude (base), Wet n Wild Wine Room (top) //

Photography: Alice Gu (& JJ for face shots)

SPRING TRANSITIONING. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Was planning on going all-mint green this year but that's a surprise for tomorrow :) Either way, safe from pinching with the forest green, eh? Remember my all-green shabang a few months ago? Ha, grubby finger-proof. This is the outfit I wore for thrifting at Scholarshop (3/9). I wore this ensemble for school before but didn't take outfit photos, but thanks to Alice as my photog, we perfectly caught the Golden Hour and the lighting was beautiful as it lit up the parking lot. Layering this flowy cocoon wrap over my lightweight cable knit sweater provides extra warmth and an interesting mixture of layers and textures. NEUTRAL + ABSTRACT PRINT + BOLD PANTS. Had the hardest time coming up with a title too, almost went with "Abstraction" before I thought of the lines on the cardigan like rocks and the pants like evergreen. This silver cuff bracelet also means a lot to me because it's a heartfelt gift from Alice, giving me strength to take each day hour-by-hour, and to remember that I always have loving people around to pick me up when the pain is too hard.

One more day until I head back to STL to finish off my college career and graduate (time flies so fast wth). That means primary objective has been shifted to stuffing my face full of the city's treats and reveling in the warm Spring. Meanwhile, almost done with the Hunger Games trilogy and can't wait to see the movie!

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