Goodbye 2010 (almost)

Taking pictures in December was ... definitely not much fun because after a while every part of my body felt numb. This is probably my favorite cardigan from J.Crew, it is so soft and the color is gorgeous. This tank is also perfect, with just the right amount of sequins. 

I should come up with some new year resolutions...we'll see :) Doubt I would actually be able to keep any of them...hah. 

+2

Two more cardigans bought after Christmas Day...No more cardigans. I promise!!! At least for a very very very long time. Dried Papaya from J.Crew and Periwinkle Fizz from Banana Republic. Both in XS. 

J.Crew Goodies

I ordered three cardigans from J.Crew couple weeks ago:

Marled melange cardigan in XXS

Merino chiffon placket cardigan in XXS

Perfect-fit mixed tape cardigan in XS

Okay, so usually J.Crew cardigans are loose on me when I buy them in the stores (size S?) so I went and ordered the smallest sizes in stock -  the XXS's are SO tight, especially in the arms. They fit, but this time a little too fitted. Maybe next time I will stick with XS. Other than that, I really like them! Especially the chiffon placket cardi in heather gray, the chiffon adds a nice feminine touch an otherwise very plain gray cardigan

JCrew Catalog

JCrew, why is your model's mouth open in every single shot? ... Not a good look.

[untitled]

So creative. Right? Makes up for my title.
This skirt is actually a strapless dress that I got at Urban Outfitters for $5 two summers ago.

Superhero

I really like the cardigan...it's so big + comfy. I got it at one of those vintage thrift stores last winter. 

It's raining right now. Sometimes weather accurately reflects how people's emotions...

Oxford Shoes + Leopard Flats

Orange and Gray

I do like this sweater dress...except for the collar area. It is way too big for my narrow shoulders. Not sure why I didn't really see it when I bought it last winter. Oh well. :) Overall I still like it. 

I painted my nails last night...in a red-coral gradient pattern, like what the notebook doodles did here. 

I will take a picture of my nails later...

Reach for the Moon

And if you fail, at least you will land among the stars. Soooo cliche. In this case, it's "Reach for the Sun" but that just doesn't sound as good.

My feet hurts from jumping. :)

There is always an explanation for the way life turns out. If you can't find the answer, then just wait and see :)

a weekend in november

I went to the farmer's market this weekend and had lunch at Kosmos again. It's so good!! Especially their special 'tempura' dish + really good sauce.  I forget the name, but it's SO amazing.

Sunday - had brunch with old friends @ Sabor Latino? Food wasn't that great, service was not good...but an awesome group of people!

On a more serious note. I made my first loan on kiva.org yesterday to a woman in the Phillippines who needs money to purchase material for her tailor business. If you do not know what Kiva is, you should definitely go check it out. I understand that you are not loaning to the people directly...instead, the loan to the institution that they borrow from and helps backfill the loan. So I guess the loan goes to the institution to help them give out the loans to the people. Anyway! Hopefully I get repaid from this loan so I can re-loan.

Hello J.Crew

Met up with Clare today to take pictures up on the 6th floor of business school - I absolutely love the lighting up there. Now that I think about it, I want to watch the sunset from up there one of these days...and eat sushi :)

This outfit was inspired by J.Crew's collection from last year...when they incorporated sequins into almost every outfit. Now that I look at the color in my outfit, it reminds me of Clare's outfit from Wednesday, except reversed.

What is Love?

This is just what I think at this point in my life.  All the images came from Le Love and the messages are from me. (I just noticed there are a few typos...lol. I was distracted when I did this so it's understandable :) I wrote this post because I feel like recently, a lot of people have been going through relationship problems and this topic have been coming up a lot in conversations lately too. So it has been on my mind. This is what a blog is for right? To share my thoughts.

11.3.2010

Today was definitely too chilly for what I was wearing. 

Hi Michigan weather, you are finally back. 

I gave up on my 30 for 30 and ended it early. One of these days I will go back and see which pieces I wore the most and which ones I did not. :) I am not sure how I feel about these tights -  the geometric pattern is not really my style...but I guess since it's so sheer, it is not too noticeable from far away. 

I decided to change the color scheme of the blog. As of right now, I like this better because it is cleaner. I loveeeee white/gray together. Also! the colors reflect the cold snowy winter that is Pure Michigan. 

Giving Thanks...

By giving back:
31 days 

1. Buy a holiday turkey for a family in Baton Rouge (home to thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees) for $25 atbrfoodbank.org.
2. Offer snow-shoveling services to an elderly neighbor. Excellent exercise, and there may be cocoa in it for you.
3. Support the troops with warm socks, deodorant, Cheez-Its: Find their wish lists at anysoldier.com.
4. Donate new blankets to kids in homeless shelters at projectnightnight.org.
5. Buy funky gifts at thrift shops that give back, such as Out of the Closet; sales help support the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. For locations, see outofthecloset.org.
6. Before you shop online, go to goodshop.com. Then buy from participating retailers and the site donates a portion of your purchase to the charity of your choice.
7. Give manicures at a local nursing home.
8. Spend an hour or two a week helping an immigrant learn English (check outliteracyvolunteers.org).
9. Help protect half an acre of rain forest in South and Central America with a $25 donation at rainforestalliance.org.
10. Donate old cell phones to victims of domestic violence for emergencies (go toncadv.org and click “donate”).
11. Vaccinate 50 people around the world against deadly diseases such as meningitis, measles or polio with a $50 donation at doctorswithoutborders.org.
12. Provide a month of care for a woman or child rescued from sexual slavery for just $30 atsharedhope.org.
13. Get friends involved. To find group volunteer projects, go to thevolunteerfamily.com.
14. Clean out your closet! Then donate old glasses (neweyesfortheneedy.org), shoes (shareyoursoles.org) and even wedding gowns (makingmemories.org).
15. Go to glamour.com/woty to get inspired by our 2007 Women of the Year winners and to support their charities.
16. Find projects that help people in your very own zip code at dosomething.org.
17. Make a $10 donation to freethechildren.org and a special matching-funds program will turn it into $100 worth of medical supplies for kids around the world.
18. Mentor an at-risk teen online at icouldbe.org.
19. Volunteer—inside or out—at a national park (nps.gov).
20. Play the Mozart concerto you’ve (almost) mastered for seniors. For local programs, seevolunteermatch.org.
21. Help an aspiring student pay for college at scholarshipamerica.org.
22. Send a DVD or video game to hospital-bound kids via childsplaycharity.org.
23. Staying home for the holidays? Donate frequent-flier miles to injured soldiers’ families atheromiles.org.
24. Tutor a future J.K. Rowling at 826national.org.
25. Look at your medical history, then donate to a cause that could help your loved ones, be it the American Heart Association (americanheart.org), Susan G. Komen for the Cure (komen.org) or another charity.
26. Loan money to a budding entrepreneur in the developing world at kiva.org.
27. Train your pooch to be a therapy dog for nursing homes and hospitals at tdi-dog.org.
28. Sell gifts you don’t need through eBay’s Giving Works program (givingworks.ebay.com), which earmarks a percentage of sales for the charities of your choice.
29. Give to donorschoose.org; a small donation can help create cozy reading nooks for underfunded classrooms.
30. Upgrade your laptop; worldcomputerexchange.org will send your old one to a child in one of 61 countries.
31. Give blood (to find out where, go to givelife.org). What better reason to stop and lie down for 10 minutes?

bye bye october.

happy halloween

stores are already decorating for christmas (*Express) so I thought I would join in on the festivities.

Lie to Me

I am watching the show Lie to Me right now...I really like it and  I wish I can read facial expressions like Lightman. This show reminds me of my job two years ago, when I had to read facial expressions on 4 year old kids. It's totally different though, to read the emotions of toddlers who are playing games and those of murders.

Hm...

Although it would be such a pain to be friends with people who can read every single expression on your face, know what you are thinking at all times and when you are lying.

Secrets make life more interesting, right?

25

This shirt was actually not a part of my original 30 items, but since I never wore one of the items, this is the substitute :)

I love the JCrew necklace...got it last Thanksgiving at midnight.

23 * 24

Oh, and I returned the JCrew Ever Peacoat...the shape was not very flattering (the website lied...). Instead, I got the Stadium Cloth Elements Coat. I really like it. (It looks too big on me in the pictures though). I especially like how the hood doesn't stick out that much. 

michigan time?

I reminded myself to stayed online until 12am to sign up for an interview. Since I am an alternate, I had to be on time too.

12:07am: I remembered and logged into career center connector. Slots are all full. What happened to Michigan time??

So around 10pm, I was getting hungry but told myself that after I sign up, I can just go to sleep...and the hunger will go away.

Now, nothing has been accomplished and I am even hungrier.
Wonderful.

Life sucks. 

Why does this one tank cost $495?? I know it's all pretty and shimmery.
But really. $495?  That's like 50 cents per sequin. 

an afternoon @ starbucks

I am studying ("studying") at Starbucks right now, I don't know about you guys but it's hard to not listen to other people's conversations. Some people are really loud and share their whole life story to the rest of the world. I know, I know...I am the one who choose to listen to them. Still.

It is fun to people watch at Starbucks...and imagine what that person is like, where they live, what they do for a living, etc. For example, there is this woman who looks like she is in her late 40s, sitting on the couch across from me. She is reading some kind of newspaper and drinking frappuccino. She carries a bright turquoise backpack that has thin rainbow stripes all over, with the words Peace + Love.

Hmm...

Back to linguistics anthropology.

P.S. I really want an iPhone or iTouch :( I guess iPhone is out of the question since I am with Verizon.

eff...

i lost my jcrew headband at jcrew.

i'm stupid.

[Week 4] Recap

My favorite of the week is #17. I love the sheerness of the black tights.... The outfit was pretty casual but the black tights + leopard flats dress it up more. I love the color of the purple sweater...only $3 from AE :)

22

confession: i shopped today. bought a jcrew tee and ordered the ever peacoat. 

this is what i wore earlier this week when the weather was warm and sunny