Chambray + Leather + Polka Dots | North Market

H&M chambray denim shirt // H&M polka dot shirt //

H&M faux leather pants // Forever 21 cat eye glasses //

Target suede black ankle booties // Black leather purse (gifted) //

Photography: JJ

Throwing back some more to last fall (9/22/12), when JJ and I explored one of my local Columbus favourites: North Market. It's an indoors farmers market that features diverse eats from around the world like Vietnamese pho noodles, Belgian waffles, a hot sauce corner, and Ohio based Jeni's gourmet ice cream. Cut sunflowers next to farm fresh veggies and next to things as eccentric as bison and pheasant give the place a rustic feel. I knotted my chambray top over a bold polka dot top for contrast, and threw on my chilly weather staple: leather pants. These babies keep my legs toasty for sunny-yet-frigid days and post-exam night festivities. Lastly, donned these huge cat eye frames for extra hipster effect. JJ and I unintentionally coordinated with an inverse outfit of leather jacket and denim jeans.

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Class to Work: Forest Green Blazer + DIY Inkblot Top

Class:

Thrifted forest green blazer with bold lapels // DIY inkblot top (Whit & Mal's tutorial) // 
H&M nude cami tank (underneath) //

Forever 21 skinny jeans // H&M black bow flats //
Chicwish gold spike chain necklace //

Work: 

Thrifted forest green blazer with bold lapels // DIY inkblot top //

Forever 21 grey and black roses pencil skirt // Payless black pumps //
Chicwish gold spike chain necklace //

Photography: Cassandra

Throwback time (8/13/12): I remember this was one of the first professional dress outfits I wore for medical school last year. The day was hot, the lecture room was cold, and I needed to switch from morning casuals for lecture to something dressier for afternoon clinical class. By swapping my skinnies for a pencil skirt and tucking in my top, this was a simple class-to-work transition. There's something about the sharp lapels on this blazer thrifted in San Fran that remind me of Romulan starships. Unfortunately, pencil skirts inevitably get shorter on my legs after walking anywhere so truly knee-length pieces are on my thrift list.

Looking back, I am grateful my hair is no longer that fried and this makes me miss summer badly - yesterday morning I trekked through a light layer of snow to get to my 8 AM clinical exam. Frigid winter is already upon us - hide yo wife, hide yo kids, hide yo fingers inside gloves!

Pieces of Fall

A few snapshots to capture my favourite season, despite the shortening days and darker afternoons. Mini pumpkins, farmers' markets, clear umbrellas, and best of all the blanket of gold and ruby transforming the mundane underfoot into a regal runway wherever you go. Endocrine/reproduction finals this week - see you on the other side !

Rocker Chic | Origami Skort + Denim Vest + Black Lace

Black lace cardigan // Black tank top (underneath) //
Thrifted from Goodwill denim vest // Zara dupe black origami skort (bought from Threadflip) // 

Target suede black ankle booties // Wet n Wild lipstick in Wine Room //

Photography: self; tripod and remote

Believe it or not, I found the inspiration for this outfit from a character on The Big Bang Theory - in one episode, Sheldon's assistant Alex was wearing a lace top underneath a denim vest. While sometimes denim vests can look tweenish, the way she paired this unexpected combination made it look feminine and fresh. I wore this to chill in German Village with my friend Marie, where we tried to study at our favourite French patisserie Pistacia Vera (they have the best sweet potato tart - tastes like a mini pumpkin pie!), exploring the Book Loft, finishing with some rainy day coffeeshop productivity (9/29).

Threadflip has been a successful way to sell my clothes and window-shop others' closets too, and since I had $50 of credit from inviting friends, I tried out the buying experiencing with this Zara look-alike origami skort that everyone in the blogosphere was sporting this past spring and summer. It is an asymmetrical skirt from the front that creates an interesting geometric "origami fold" shape on the legs, and a sensible pair of shorts in the back. This pair pays homage to the glorified times as a 90s kid dabbling in fashion, since skorts were THE thing to rock when I was in the 4th grade. This rocker look reminds me slightly of Kat Von D, the black lace standing in for her tattoo sleeves.

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Day to Night: Double Cobalt + Chevron Cape

H&M cobalt blue lace detail top // Thrifted cobalt blue skirt //

BB Dakota chevon cape (c/o Jupe Boutique) // H&M leather camel skinny belt //

Black opaque tights // Target suede black ankle booties //

Thrifted Melie Bianco camel leather satchel // Pure Ice vampy red nail polish in Kissing Cupid //
Revlon lip butter in Lollipop //

Photography: self; tripod & remote

Day: this was the blue-on-blue lace top + pencil skirt ensemble I wore under my white coat Monday for a patient panel in the morning and afternoon clinical case presentations (10/28). We had a panel of speakers from different community resources for victims of domestic violence and a woman who came forward and shared her graphic experience. The auditorium of white coated students were riveted, shocked that someone can suffer so much for such a long time. It is something that we should all be educated on, even if it's difficult to grasp that this is a reality for up to 1 in 4 women in her lifetime.

Night: threw on a cape from BB Dakota and grabbed my favourite satchel for a friend's birthday dinner at Till's a couple weeks ago. It may be an odd thing to enjoy, but their lightly vinaigrette'd brussel sprouts were impeccably cooked. I had a lamb burger and though expensive, it was juicy and not gamey at all. The hour-long wait after we were seated was a little ridiculous even though we had a large party.

Yesterday, with the help of a light blonde wig, pair of scissors to give the wig a haircut, paler foundation, brown eyeliner for shading, and a determination to not crack up smiling, I transformed into one of our infamous faculty much to the delight of my classmates. There's nothing better than a costume that adds entertainment value for everyone around you. With that we bid Halloween adieu and find ourselves in denial that it's already November. Happy birthday, Mom.

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A Harry Potter Halloween

Every 90s kid probably remembers badly wanting to transfer from Muggle school into Hogwarts. You can imagine how pumped I was when our campus gym hosted a series of Harry Potter fitness events on Halloween. That entailed me getting up at 6 AM to attend a spinning (stationary bike) class that turned out to be full before it started! My friends and I did our cardio + squat/bench routine anyway and even had time to spare for a nice breakfast before class. One participant was kind enough to give me her magical chocolate frog box, which contained a massive hunk of milk chocolate and a holographic wizard card of Salazar Slytherin! To my surprise, when it finally split open with a knife, I discovered it was solid milk chocolate (don't know why I expected rice crispy material). At least when I'm surrounded by dementors I won't be in short supply ;)

After going into research lab and analyzing data for a few hours, I returned for Zumba, which started out with a hilarious Harry Potter theme + dubstep remix and continued in an hour-long, sweat-drenched session of dancing, jump squatting, salsa, hip hop cardio. The souvenir for this activity was a massive wand with a hole at the end for my phoenix feather placement, I suppose. We dabbled in trivia, sipped butterbeer (cream soda + root beer + vanilla ice cream), and I even grabbed a tiny pumpkin that I named "Pumpkin 9 and 3/4" after the famous platform. Trick or treating this year would have been a fun last hoorah but Ohio weather decided to dump rain all over Halloween ... classic. Instead of being soaked to the bone and miserable, I opted for a cozier approach to the evening: blogging, watching Ghostbusters, and drinking a chai soymilk latte while studying the thyroid. Happy Halloween!

Readers - how did you celebrate Halloween this year?