on the end of TOPIO

We are officially at the end of a month of Take One, Pass It On, started by our fearless leader Sarah. I really appreciate that Sarah started this challenge because as I mentioned on the my first post, I'm already fairly limited in what I can wear to work, so a 30x30 doesn't really work for my current lifestyle. TOPIO allows me to have closet challenge and work on my "remixing" skills (or as I like to call it, wearing the clothes I already own in different ways....)

I started reading personal style blogs as a way to be inspired to re-wear clothes I own. There's a lot of pressure to always buybuybuy more, especially when you read blogs about all the amazing clothes available, but I think it's really important that as real women actually buying and wearing our clothes in the real world that we show different ways to wear clothes. I never ever want to buy something and only wear it once. I want the clothes I buy and wear to be versatile and re-wearable and loved. I want to love the clothes I own, and wear them as much as possible. With that in mind, Whitney and I are going to have a fun little challenge coming up later this month - more details to come!

Thank you for indulging me in this little experiment. I had a great time planning on my outfits (I should do that more often, huh?) and seeing how all of the other ladies re-wore their clothes. You are all remixing queens.

Blazer: H&M  | save | spend | splurge |
Blouse: Forever 21
Tank: Old Navy  | similar |
Jeans: Gap  | similar |
Boots: Steve Madden
Necklace: Forever 21  | similar |
Watch: Fossil  | similar |
Bracelet: souvenir

18 Frans, all in a row.

One | Two | Three | Four
Eight | Seven | Six | Five
Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve
Sixteen | Fifteen | Fourteen | Thirteen
Seventeen | Eighteen | TOPIO!

wash | wear

I read somewhere once that only poor people wear the clothes they just bought right away. So rich people must either have a lot of clothes, or a lot of restraint because when I buy something new, I want to wear it right away, like my new shirt I just bought. I don't even wash most things (besides underwear and tank tops) before I wear them

...that's kind of gross actually.

So spill. Do you wash everything you buy right away, or do you wear it first? Do you have a closet full of clothes with the tags attached? Am I the only one who wants to wear a new purchase the next day?

Shirt: J. Crew  {$20 in stores!}

Blouse: H&M

Necklace: Forever 21  {exact}

Jeans: Gap  {exact}

Boots: Nicole  {exact | splurge}

Watch: Fossil  {similar}

Bracelet: Tiffany & Co.  {save | exact}

P.S. Next weekend I get to spend 36 hours with one of my favorite ladies Sam. We're meeting in Chicago for day-drinking, tipsy shopping, and deep dish eating. If you are in the Chicago area and want to meet up for dinner with us, LET US KNOW! Let's hang out. We're fun, I promise.










Linking up with Plane Pretty!

taxed

Are you guys sick of me talking about school starting in 5 months? Me either...

But...with school starting and only working for another 4.5 months, I am really working on tucking money away. I'm putting my entire work bonus, a certain percentage of each paycheck, and the money I make from this blog into savings. I am also putting all but $250 of my tax return into savings. With those $250 I was planning on purchasing a few items from "the list". Last Friday I ordered this blazer as it was a color I was looking for, I wear my blue version all the time, and I knew what size I thought I needed. Well I received it today and it just didn't work - it was a little too tight in the shoulders and it felt too short. I think the 2% spandex in my blue version makes enough of a difference in fit that it just wasn't worth the money to keep.

So while I was returning the blazer, the sales associate convinced me I needed to look at the sale section (it took a bunch of convincing...). Another one of my items on my list is a pencil skirt. They had a lot of the black #2 pencil skirts on sale, so I tried a few on. I tried on my normal skirt/pants size, but it didn't even close. I went up one size, and it still didn't look right. Several ladies said that they sometimes have to size up two sizes. I think that's important to remember - it's not about the number on the tag but how it fits. I walked away without a skirt even though the price was good because the size they had in store wasn't going to work. I don't think I'm ready to put a bunch of money down on something I can't wear right now anyway.

What I can wear right now and in the future is this cute striped shirt, so it did come home with me :)

Shirt: Gap*

Blouse: J. Crew Factory {save | exact}

Jeans: Gap  {similar}

Scarf: c/o The Posh'mina

Boots: Steve Madden  {save | splurge}

Watch: Boccia

*I found this shirt hiding in my closet this weekend. I'm certain the last time I wore this shirt was in this picture, taken at a house party my sophomore year of college. so classy.

Linking up with wiww and Bri's Third Thursday Threads (POLKA DOTS!)

20ish days in, and no one has realized that I'm re-wearing something every day. Either I'm really good at TOPIO (not as likely) or people at work aren't paying attention (most likely).

slip & slide

First of all, thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind words yesterday - I am so excited!! To answer a few questions, I do intend to continue blogging as long as it still is fun for me. Medical school is a crazy time, and I always regret not documenting college better (other than lots of facebook albums haha) so I'm hoping to document this new chapter. There are many ladies out there blogging through med school/residency (find some here under Dr. Blogger) that have really inspired me so I hope to follow their lead.There will be lots of changes, of course - I'll need a somewhat different wardrobe (more skirts, less ripped jeans), I probably won't blog daily, I'll be wearing a white coat instead of a lab coat (just kidding, that'll pretty much be the same). I'll take it all one day at a time, but there are several more months until anything really changes.

Second of all, don't let what looks like a clear road here fool you. While there isn't any snow, the road was covered in some fun black ice. Which I didn't realize until I started sliding all over the place, which included accidently taking this:

Feel free to laugh because I laughed for about 5 minutes when I saw it on my camera.

Blazer: J. Crew  {exact}
Tee: Forever 21*  {exact}
Gingham: J. Crew Factory  {very similar}
Jeans: Gap  {similar}
Boots: Frye  {exact}
Watch: gift from my Oma {similar}
Earrings: Tiffany & Co. {exact}



* Thank you to Audrey for finding this gem. It's actually a t-shirt but it worked so well for layering as long as I kept the blazer on - otherwise it looks kind of funny

ok so not the most innovative take one pass it on...but I loved it so much the first time I wanted to wear something similar!

friend ♥...and cold ankles

After I graduated from college in May 2011, I had somewhat of the "recent graduate blues". Besides the whole "real world" stuff, I'm not exaggerating when I say that all but one of my girl friends moved away to go to graduate school, or go on adventures in other states/countries. Chris was also in the middle of hardcore studying, so I felt really alone a lot of the time. I mentioned that I'm so thankful for all of you blogging friends I now have because you make me feel like I have friends I connect with every day...which is probably why Chris doesn't always understand why I spend so much time typing on my computer ;)  

But we all need to have people in our real lives, so this is all just a rambling way to tell my last Madison friend standing, Lizzi, how much I appreciate her. She's the friend that I go to concerts with, the girl I go pilates-ing with, and the girl I call when things don't happen like I want them to. We met up Saturday afternoon just to chat, and I think the signs of a true friend are when you get chat for hours and could keep the conversation going with ease. So thank you Lizzi, for being a true friend, my confidante  and sometimes photographer.

Sweater: J. Crew Factory  {exact}

Scarf: Forever 21  {save / splurge}

Jeans: Gap  {similar}

Boots: Frye  {exact}

Belt: H&M Mens

Watch: Fossil  {similar}

Bracelet: J. Crew via eBay  {similar}

P.S. I know some of you have expressed a bit of concern about my bare ankles during the work week. Please know that I'm not some cold ankle baring hussy all day - I park my car in our attached garage at home, and only have to walk about 30 yards from my parking spot into work, so I spend minimal time outside during the winter. On days where it has snowed, I wear either my real boots, or I'll wear my ugly $10 Target fake Uggs into work and change. I didn't want you to think that wearing thin ballet flats is the norm for Wisconsin winters ;)

Weekend: Vests and Puppies

Look at that face. Seriously, his puppy dog face (even though he's no longer a puppy) gets me every time.

Today I did some cleaning (ok, napping), going to the outlet mall with my friend Emily (I didn't even buy anything!), and catching up with college friends. Tomorrow involves baking cookies and visiting the dog park. I hope you are enjoying the best days of the week :)

Vest: J. Crew  {exact}

Sweater: H&M  {save / splurge}

Jeans: Gap  {very similar}

Boots: Steve Madden  {save / splurge}

Scarf: DIY

Purse: gift from my friend Hannah

P.S. I participated in At the Pink of Perfection's  Stocking Stuffer Swap. I was partnered with The Mayor's Wife and loved getting her a few girly treats before her baby is born. I completely forgot to take a picture of my gift before tearing in, but she sent me great gifts including a great water mug, nail polish, chap stick and homemade treats. Thanks girl, I loved them!

Altering Thrift Finds

In an effort to save some money and to be a smarter consumer, I've been trying to buy more clothes secondhand. As I've mentioned in the past, my mom is a huge thrifter which has been a great influence in my own thrifting. My rules for buying second hand clothes are the same for buying clothes new - it has to be something I can see myself wearing multiple ways, and it has to fill a hole in my closet.

Even though I live in Wisconsin and our winters are brutal, I don't have that many thick sweaters. I did just buy a maroon (NOT oxblood!) sweater, but wanted a cream colored one as well. I found this sweater at Goodwill this weekend for $4. I loved the color, the neckline, and the length...but I hated the sleeves. Luckily I still am in possession of my mom's sewing machine, so with a few stitches and snips I had myself the perfect slightly oversized sweater.
















Sweater: thrifted and altered
Scarf: Forever 21
Purse: Gift from my best friend
Jeans: Gap  {very similar}
Boots: Frye  {exact}
Watch: Target  {only in stores}
Bracelet: DIY (you can win one here!)






Linking up with Real Girl Glam, Work Clothes I Suppose, and wiww.