Maxi skirt + a wedding outfit

 Denim jacket: J. Crew Nolita, preowned via Ebay

Skirt: J. Crew (old)

Earrings: Etsy

Sandals: Target

My sisters like to call this my "homeschool" skirt (we were all homeschooled until high school). It's true that maxi skirts have the potential to look a bit "little house on the prairie" but I still love them. I was kind of going for this look, although I'm not sure I exactly succeeded:

via

Fav ways to wear a maxi skirt? With a tee and sandals, cropped denim jacket, or statement necklace.

More homeschool skirts (from this post):

Stephen and I went to a wedding last night and the bride wore the most beautiful lace 3/4 sleeve piece over her dress for the wedding mass (I'm all for non-strapless wedding dresses!) Sadly we forgot to take any pictures at the wedding...I did have Stephen snap one of my outfit when we got home (probably would have turned out better before a night of dancing and a glass or two of wine, ha).

Dress: Anthropologie clearance

Cardi: J. Crew Factory

Earrings: Stella and Dot

Shoes: Madewell skimmers (I chickened out from wearing heels)

Sorry for the bad lighting in these pictures, it's 50 degrees outside (I reaaallly want to turn our heat on but Stephen won't out of principle since it's July) and rainy (our sunroom where I normally take outfit pics was super dark today) so inside it was. Stephen also had to snap 'em quick since I'm desperately trying to finish the things on my long to-do list before I go to St. Louis next weekend. This will be my last post this week since I have exams to study for, residency applications to work on, and packing for two months of rotations to finish. For more mass outfits, check out Fine Linen and Purple! Also linking up with Jenny and The Pleated Poppy.

Friday ramblings...

Joining Jen for another Friday round-up.

1. Today's work outfit: I'm totally in love with my J. Crew clearance knit blazer and lavender tee. I've also been taking full advantage of white coats not being "kosher" in the family med clinic to wear cardis and blazers every day that normally would be too bulky under my lab coat...

2. This is my last week in the little house that Stephen and I have called home since we got married last August. There are a lot of things wrong with the house (plus the rent is so expensive) and I'm super grateful that we found a great + much less expensive rental for the rest of the year, but it's still bittersweet to leave the first house we shared together:

3. The OB/GYN textbook that I ordered for next month (in-patient maternity rotation at Mercy hospital in St. Louis, yay!!) came this week along a book by Dr. Hilgers on Napro technology (I thought it was a fitting combo). I've never been much for reading textbooks, but I have to confess that I've already started reading both (more proof of my crazy and kind-of-irrational love for OB/GYN). I also had the opportunity to talk to a patient about natural family planning yesterday which was a fitting end to NFP-week...

4. Because I trust Grace and am always looking for some new hair product to tame my uncontrolled waves, I ordered the sea salt spray she recommended as a ride-along with my texbooks from Amazon. It was a lot cheaper than this one and I'm really happy with the results:

5. And speaking of hair, I loved this tutorial on the J. Crew bun (also, the sea salt spray is a perfect tecturizer for it). Since I wear my hair in a bun pretty much every day, I'm always on the lookout for an upgrade.

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6.  Apparently there has been a ton of hype on how Kate Middleton wasn't afraid to wear a dress that showed her post-partum body (and some hype that there shouldn't be any hype since it's a natural part of pregnancy). Anyways, I just loved her classy polka dot dress...

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8. I have a list of things to do this week that's impossibly long: get ready to move to a new house, pack to leave on Sunday for my next two months of rotations, finalize my Tanzania volunteer trip in October, finish my OB residency personal statement since it has to be sent to the head of our med school's department next week, study for three exams, and fit in quality time with Stephen since we'll be apart a lot the next two months (trying not to think about it). Blogging will probably be spotty these next few weeks/months (I'm hoping not too spotty but we will see).

Have a lovely weekend.

Work/Play

Work...

The majority of my outfits lately have been something that I've worn to the clinic. Not having to wear scrubs and usually not having to wear my white coat (the family docs never wear their white coat in the clinic) gives me an excuse to really get dressed in the morning but also complicates things. Most days I wear either my J. Crew Factory Addison Chinos (which I owned in grey and just bought in taupe and black when Stephen and I stopped in the outlet during the 50% off sale) or one of my J. Crew Factory pencil skirts (which I am not ashamed to admit I own in four colors: natural, bright pink, cobalt blue, and spearmint...practical, I know). My tops are rotated between a handful of J. Crew tees, mostly striped and a few polka dotted. This linen striped tee is a little drapey and dressier than the average cotton and the tan/black goes nicely with a lot of colors...

Top: J. Crew

Pants: J. Crew Factory

Shoes: Madewell skimmer

Necklace: J. Crew

 Play...

I literally just pulled out my shorts last week. It hasn't been that hot here up until now and I haven't done much outside the family medicine clinic and the hospital the past few months so I really haven't had much of an opportunity to wear anything besides business casual (I have my bright white legs to show for it). Also, I love a bright scarf even on a hot summer day...

Scarf and cutoffs: J. Crew Factory

Tee: J. Crew

Sandals: Target

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy//Alison//Shanna//Agi // Mix and Match Fashion

J. Crew for fall...

J. Crew overload today! I got the fall 'style guide' in the mail yesterday and while I can't say I'll be purchasing anything (well, maybe when it goes on clearance), there are tons of great styling ideas for things that I already have in my closet. Here are some of my favorites:

All images from J. Crew

Layered loveliness, denim, and fun jewelry:

Fun patterns, military jacket, classy dress: 

Blazers + denim + heels, pencil skirt/ruffles, neutrals: 

Also, today is the last day of a great sale on closet staples. Many of these items are around 50% off, and all are major wardrobe-builders and nice fall pieces:

1. Chambray popover: for toning down a pencil skirt and layering under sweaters, blazers, and cardis. I own last year's version and loooove it.

2. Navy schoolboy blazer: the quinessential fall staple (that never normally goes on sale).

3. Matchstick jeans: these are the J. Crew jeans that fit me perfectly, in a great dark wash.

4. Nolita jacket: gorgeous denim jacket (although still kinda pricey...I found mine on ebay).

5.Mixed tape cardi: pair it with black leggings, brown boots, and a scarf for fall.

6. The Tippi: I have three of these that I found on clearance, and wear them constantly for work.

7. Vintage tee: not too loose, not too tight fit in a lovely violet color.

8. 5 inch chino shorts: finally, shorts that aren't too short! I have these in the neon pink color from last year.

Oh, J. Crew.

Polka dots...

I've already admitted that I own way too many polka-dotted items, to the point where I should probably ban myself from any more dots. But I decided this weekend that if Rachel Zoe says that leopard works as a neutral, polka dots can too! Ha. Anyways, I *started* cleaning out my closet in preparation for our move and found this lovely polka dotted skirt which I bought pre-owned last year. I think I really need to wear it more...

 

Linking up as always with Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday. Also joining Lauren. 

Top and belt: J. Crew Factory

Skirt: J. Crew (pre-owned)

Shoes: Madewell skimmers

Necklace: wedding gift from Stephen

One of my best friends visited from Chicago this weekend and we had a wonderful time hiking, eating, and catching up on life. I'm trying to ignore the fact that I didn't make any real strides with studying, packing, or residency applications this weekend. Some things are just more important, you know?

Pencil + graphic tee

Most of my energy this week was spent on the cervical cancer screening presentation I did this morning, and I realized yesterday that pretty much all I've talked about in my free time is pap smears. My sister was mortified when I went to lunch with her and my mom: "Seriously you can't say pap smear in a restaurant!" and after a 20 minute dinner conversation the next day on the merits and screening guidelines for pap smears, my youngest sister (age 10) wanted to know what the heck a pap smear was...and was most likely scarred for life when my mom tried to explain. It speaks volumes that I a) don't realize that pap smears may be an inappropriate public lunch-time conservation topic and b) greatly enjoy talking about all sorts of gynecological topics in my free time (although I did not enjoy the massive amount of research and slightly boring powerpoint that went into my persentation today). Clearly, I'm probably meant to be an OB/GYN despite how much people have tried to talk me out of it.

In other life news, Stephen and I found a house to rent! It was most definitely a God-thing, because we were about to sign a lease on an apartment that we weren't entirely happy with (price or location-wise) and that same day, I ended  up reconnecting with a close friend whose dad owns the perfect rental house for Stephen and I (and just happened to be opening up next week). It's quite a bit cheaper than the apartment we were going to move into (her dad is an orthopedic surgeon and so her parents understand the trials of paying rent as a medical student) and it's perfect for us: a cozy, peaceful little house with a rustic feel and a hot tub (which hasn't been used in a while but I'm begging Stephen to get started up again).

Graphic tee & pencil skirt: J. Crew

Shoes: Madewell skimmers

I finally had time today between my presentation/afternoon clinic hours to blog...I've been wanting all week to post this outfit and link-up with Bri (I love stripes) and Freckles in April. Also joining the Pleated Poppy, Penniless Socialite, Jenni, and Agi. 

I really like the combo of a pencil skirt/graphic tee, although I'm still figuring out how to apply it to 'real life'; I could probably get away with it in the family medicine clinic where I'm working now but normally it would be too casual...

Pencil + graphic tee inspiration via Madewell//Merricks Art//J. Crew:

Happy, happy weekend!

Summertime...

This past weekend was the first one that actually felt like summer. We spent it at my parents' camp an hour away and everything was perfect: the peace of no cell phones/internet, sunny 80 degree weather, cool and refreshing lake skims, and my first opportunity to kayak/water ski in two summers. I wish it could have lasted forever (or at least a few more days).

Instapics...

Beautiful lake//boat ride//pink polka dots//catch and release:

Geeky selfie//perfect swimming//J. Crew one piece//peaceful sunset:

Morning kayak ride//water skiing around the lake:

Linking up with Mary.

Pink + aqua

As usual, I can't believe the weekend is over already. Stephen and I spent the day on Friday looking at apartments: our landlord is raising the rent on our current house, and since I'll be gone the next two months for electives and quite a bit for residency interviews, it just doesn't make sense to stay here. My parents offered for us to move in with them, which would save a ton of $$ but Stephen and I aren't sure if it would be the best for us especially considering that these are my last months of "freedom" as a medical student before I start the crazy hours and lifestyle of residency. So we narrowed our 'house hunt' down to two options: this old upper duplex with lots of character and a beautiful lake view (but hardly any space) and a more practical apartment with lots of room. I'm rooting for the lake view and character but Stephen is more practical than me (probably a good thing) and I left the ultimate decision to him (he has made enough sacrifices for me).

I had tons and tons of things that I should have done this weekend: write my personal statement, work on my presentation on cervical cancer scheduled for Friday, study for my upcoming exams, start packing my craziness to move, organize myself to leave for St. Louis in a few weeks...but we went out to my parents' camp on the lake instead. I hesitated, but Stephen said that I needed to get away now more than ever (and he was right). It was such a peaceful weekend (in the middle of the woods with no cell phone/internet service) and also tons of fun (water skiing, kayaking, bear-watching...seriously). I'll post some insta-pics tomorrow...

Tee: Ann Taylor Loft

Pencil skirt/necklace: J. Crew Factory

Shoes: J. Crew clearance

This week's mass uniform: simple tee (these are the best) and pencil skirt plus a statement necklace and fun shoes (same as last week). Linking up with Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday.

Friday round-up...

Joining Jen for the usual Friday round up.

1. I did an interview for Accepted.com last week (you can read it here). It was fun, and a good opportunity to think about why I went to medical school and how my faith and marriage has supported me through it...

2. It's my sweet little nephew's first birthday today...it's hard to believe that he was just a little over a month old at our wedding last year!

3. I got highlights in my hair a couple weeks ago and I'm still getting used to them. My natural hair color is basically the darkest shade of brown that exists before black so I was a little nervous that they would end up skunk-like. I was pleasantly surprised though; they blend into my hair so well that I'm not sure how much you can see them in this picture, but my hair is definitely lighter and more summer-y...

 

 

4. I did another delivery this week on family medicine. This was my favorite one yet; the family doc let me do the delivery but gave me lots of pointers (the last delivery I felt like I almost dropped the baby so I was grateful for the pointers). It was natural, calm, and beautiful, just like a delivery should be. I can't explain the rush of emotions that I felt putting the baby into his new mother's arms...it brought me back to my first delivery ever, in Haiti.

What a moment.

 

5. And for my other accomplishment in medical school this week, I sutured a pig's foot. My suturing has come a long way since first year of med school (fortunately). I did start school knowing how to do basic interrupted sutures from my time in Haiti, but I feel much more comfortable with them now. This week we practiced vertical and horizontal mattress sutures, subcuticular sutures (the one the surgeons here always use), and this weird "boomerang" suture used to close up irregular wounds. I kind of love suturing, and so maybe plastics is in my future? Just kidding.

6. A good close friend of our family's college-age son made this video and just won a national pro-life contest. Disclaimer before you watch that it made me cry like a baby. I think that the video does a good job of showing the pain that many post-abortive women face, something that I've seen firsthand during my psych and family med rotations.

 



7. If you've been following the Bachelorette, you are familiar with Zak W., who has become my favorite candidate since he talked about discerning the priesthood. He is hilarious, quirky, and good-looking and basically I am convinced that when Desiree chooses Brooks over him, he is prime husband material for my sister:

Stephen and I are both off this weekend (yay!) and we are planning on spending time at my parents' camp on the lake. Happy Friday!

Summer Workwear...

Sharing a couple outfits I wore to work this week for What I Wore Wednesday:

Uno: J. Crew Medallion Paisley top (love the covered buttons!)

J. Crew outlet navy chinos (old)

Madewell skimmers in grey suede

Dos: J. Crew striped top (my new favorite)

J. Crew Factory pencil skirt (old) and necklace

Madewell skimmers in nude

A couple random thoughts:

- The Madewell skimmers are my absolute favorite work shoes (although if I'm going to be on my feet all day in the clinic I have to wear my Clarks).
- Summer makes dressing for work difficult: skirts are best but require nylons, pants get hot, sleeveless blouses mean that I can't take off my white coat all day, etc.
- Ways to spice up a work outfit: colorful pencil skirt/statement necklace/fun pattern...
- There's nothing like a perfect striped shirt.

Joining The Pleated Poppy/Alison/Shanna/Lauren.

Sunday neutrals...

This dress was not the smartest choice for mass on a 90 degree, humid day in a cathedral with no air-conditioning: first because it's a thick eyelet lace with a lining underneath and second because I try to not wear sleeveless things to mass (thus the cardi). I started getting distracted during the homily thinking of all the skirt/tee combos I could have worn but brought myself back to reality by remembering working 12 hour shifts in the trauma center in Port Au Prince, Haiti with temps over 100 and no running water. Still, I will not be wearing a cardigan to mass on the next 90+ degree Sunday...

This dress has definitely served me well. I first wore it to my wedding shower, then I wore it on Christmas, and now it works as a great summer dress (minus the cardi maybe). And the shoes. They are J. Crew Viv flats in the best leopard pattern but I never thought that they would be mine (too expensive). I happened to see them on the website months later  marked down to $39.99 but not in my size...so I'm a little embarrassed (but not really) to admit that I called multiple J. Crew stores to find them...and they're perfect (well, kind of: I had some blisters after wearing them when I was in Chicago).

Dress: Ann Taylor Loft outlet

Cardi: J. Crew Factory

Belt: Madewell

Shoes: J. Crew clearance

Stephen was working all weekend but I had some quality sister time, went to the beach for the first time this summer, and made strawberry shortcake #summerperfection.

Linking up with Fine Linen and Purple and Jenni.