what a lovely week...

I'll be taking a short break for this week as I will be frantically trying to do well on two test as well as begin research for two separate final papers. (Plus I kind of have one event to put on this week... That's kind of a thing too...) I'll be back next Monday, everyone. In the meantime, have some music that I've been obsessed with lately.





I watched this show over Spring Break with the 7th floor of my building and the music's been my obsession ever since. Hope you like the music as much as I do! (I will warn you that the series will destroy your emotions, but it's so good...)


ps: I will, however, be posting on twitter and facebook with various things that I'm enjoying while I take breaks from frantic studying, so you should go follow them!

my faves

This has been a rather...taxing week. Hurt my knee last Sunday (the 17th) and wound up only making it to classes twice this week - Tuesday and today. Not the best thing to do right before my upcoming tests... Oh well. My knee isn't protesting nearly as much when I'm walking around and all, so it seems like it's been worth it to rest a lot. Next week is just tests and research for papers, so...really "fun". I'll potentially be taking a midweek break during that to study for my Econ test, since a lot of my work this weekend will be for Accounting. I enjoyed a lot of the things I found online this week - no wonder, since I was online a lot - and it was actually a bit difficult to narrow it down. Still, here are some.

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This is from a line of gorgeous vintage-inspired gowns. Need I state how desperately I want it? That open back and the mermaid shape... Definitely in love.

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I've been obsessed with tutu-ish skirts for a while, and while browsing some of the blogs I check less frequently, I spotted this on one of the Sisters 4 and fell in love. So. CUTE. Plus you can just wear it under other skirts to make them poofier, which is just as cool as wearing it because tutus.

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I don't think I need to say much about how cool this kind of boot is, do I? Yeah. The set of interviews the photo is from are also super cool.

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This story is probably the best thing I heard all week. I absolutely love anything that is a pushback against hatred, and this response to a 'for sale' sign across from the Westboro Baptist Church is just the best. (Plus, it's the prettiest house exterior I've seen... It'll be a lot of maintenance, I'm sure, but it's gorgeous and a good idea).

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I love these little tassels so much. They're really cute and fun, and might be a cool idea for sticking somewhere in my room next year.

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theSkimm is my latest internet obsession. It's a kind of curated news service email thing, and it's a nice read in the morning when I'm not really conscious enough to process many articles but still want to be reading these things. Its founders are pretty stylish too!

What were your favorites for the week? I hope your week was better than mine!

spring blazers

I follow a lot of blogs seriously (as in I comment just about every day), and I tacitly stalk quite a few more. They inspire me a lot, especially when I begin to fall into ruts or routines. As I've mentioned before, I rather enjoy having a bit of chaos in my life, and sometimes that comes from trying really odd combinations or just from seeing something that sparks a weird train of thought. (I'm not entirely joking when I say that one of my current ideas for my COGS final paper comes from Pinterest - a dress I saw on there earlier yesterday, while in class, reminded me of a TED Talk I saw (and shared with y'all) by a model, and since then, my thoughts have been in a more or less steady movement towards compiling those notions with what we've learned in class). Most of the time, I get a much more straightforward inspiration than that, of course, such as today. Everywhere I've looked, I've seen really cool blazers. I saw a really cool fading-into-floral one a while back, and while I couldn't find it, there is this gorgeous (and expensive, at $450) wrap dress that reminds me of the pattern...

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I might consider adding a companion to my current, solo, black blazer. I'm sure it needs friends, right? Right? So, some of my favorite blazers right now...

1. LuLu's / 2. F21 / 3. Nasty Gal / 4. Zara / 5. LuLu's / 6. F21

Personally, I think my favorite of these is either the floral blazer or the hot pink one. Somehow, I think the floral one is more in my price range, though... What about you?

some sleep would've been nice

I think I have an addiction to sleep, and life, regrettably, interferes with this addiction. I was lucky enough to shadow two Cleveland entrepreneurs last week, and to interview for a position that would allow me to remain in Cleveland over the summer, which I would absolutely love. Still, the best part of break is a tie between the times I was sleeping and when I was hanging out with the floor below mine (Panda hats and anime happened a lot). It was a good break, despite not getting to sleep and laze around till the very end. This week... Well, let's just say it wasn't set up to be too complicated until I injured my leg on Sunday. I don't know how or what I did, but I crouched to pick some Nerf darts up, and suddenly there was horrible pain in my leg. I should probably see someone about it, but I don't know how I'd time it to avoid missing my classes. If I'm lucky, it'll go away soon. If not...I know how I'll be spending my weekend. (And it won't be the sort of fun thing where I sleep through it like I did yesterday).

Monday was the only "lazy day" at the start of the week, and I took advantage of it by sleeping and doing things online. I also got to go to Chipotle with a mix of people I did and didn't know. It was pretty fun, definitely!

Jacket/dress - F21 | Tights - WalMart | Boots - Charlotte Russe



Tuesday was my first shadowing day. Even though I was supposed to start at 1:30 PM, I managed to be late, thanks to bad directions on Google maps. Apparently, the best way to get to the location I was going to is to take the rapid miles and miles away and then walk. Not. Luckily, the person I was shadowing was willing to pick me up from a different spot. Apparently, I helped him get lunch, so at least it had a positive effect? It was a fun shadowing experience - I got to help out with paperwork (trust me, I know it's weird, but other people's paperwork is fun - you get to see everything they spend money on and see how things flow and oh my god it's just really fun). I also was able to attend one of the events he put on in conjunction with other local businesses. It was really fun, and definitely interesting.

Jacket/pants - F21 | Shirt - present (I never remember where from, I tend to put what pops into my head...) | Boots - E's Closet Boutique


Wednesday was another shadowing experience, though this particular one was much easier to get to - I didn't even really need to consult Google Maps. (I did still get a little lost by bypassing the building, but I was super early, so it didn't matter that much, other than proving how awful I am at directions). It was an early morning to afternoon shadowing experience, unlike Tuesday, which was afternoon to evening, so it required waking up fairly quickly. Most of what I did was speaking to the various people who worked in this particular startup to see what they did, and how their different jobs fit together. I also was able to go to lunch with the person I was shadowing (and his co-founder) to meet a bunch of other entrepreneurs, who they had worked with before they all began their own businesses. Like on Tuesday, it was really interesting for me to see how seemingly unrelated businesses could make connections with each other to the benefit of both. I went home after that, and promptly ceased productivity by messing around online. I think that's also the first night I hung out on seventh floor - I watched NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind with them. (Sidenote, NausicaƤ is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films, after My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky - I think it ties with Spirited Away for third favorite). Also, I'll admit that I rewore an old outfit, and didn't bother to shoot it because I already had pictures of it. I think I might have changed my hairstyle up on Wednesday, but I can't really guarantee it. Basically, it was identical to the last time I shot it, down to the accessorizing.

Sweater - present | Shirt - Deb | Pants - F21 | Necklace - thifted

Thursday was the last of the non-lazy days (until about 10:00 AM). I had an interview, got myself so nervous during it (I...just don't ask, usually I work myself up beforehand and calm down during) that once I got home, I simply went back to bed. I won't speculate on how I did in that interview - I did enough of that during! - and I'll just wait to find out. (Fingers crossed!) Once I woke up again, I vaguely attempted homework, and watched more movies with the seventh floor - post a Chipotle run with my roommate, of course. I also managed to wear two separate outfits that day, but I mean, interview clothes aren't necessarily my kind of "normal clothes".

Blazer/pants - thrifted | Shirt - swiped from Mom | Shoes - I don't remember what I had on

The outfit I wore later, when I woke up again...

Jacket/boots - F21 | Dress - Fallas | Leggings - Target


Friday and Saturday were uneventful - I messed around online more, watched more things with seventh floor, and lazed around in t-shirts and jeans. I don't quite remember if I left the building, but it was fun. Sunday...I slept, did homework, forgot it was St. Patrick's Day, but still managed to wear green (go me!) and forgot to shoot my outfit. Oh, and hurt my leg, as I've already said. I know, I'm truly talented  - this is my second leg injury of the semester (last time was at the start, and was my ankle). To quote my friends' response to this... "Do you even leg, Sue?"

Hopefully you had a better St. Patty's Day than I did!
(Also, let me know which collage-y style you prefer - the ones with days or without! I'm experimenting right now, so I'd love to know what you think!)

wish I were sleeping

Yesterday and today have been dominated by migraine inducing fire alarms going off for around seven hours, as my building is having its system replaced, and therefore they have to make sure they can hear it and have updated it in every room on every floor. 12 floors (including first floor and basement), and, specifically on the residential floors, (10 floors, 20 rooms per floor - 200 rooms not including the miscellaneous ones in the basement and first floor) sooo it's been an adventure. I might have just refused to get out of bed yesterday and just buried my head under my pillow in attempt to sleep through it. Spring Break is almost over, now, and I'm sad I missed the opportunity to really just laze around doing nothing, since I now seriously need to do homework and study for my upcoming tests. Alas, I now need to do that stuff. Obviously, homework and fire alarms aren't among my favorite things for the week, but some things that are...

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ps: Just to clarify, that's NOT my little brother, that's someone else's! I've got a brother seventeen years older than me, but that's all I've got in family! That kid is the brother of some person on tumblr. Sorry if there was any confusion!

music!

Today, I'm going to be occupied with updating my blog - pages, the general setup and layout, y'know, fun things - so I would like to offer you music in stead of my wonderful wordiness. These are some of my favorite current songs, and total obsessions lately. (Seriously, Kill the Lights got 35 plays on repeat a few days ago, when I bought the song).




Have a great day!

inspiration for difficult pieces

Today's a light piece - I've got a shadowing experience today and I'm excited!!! I recently got some thigh-high socks (I'll write about them later) and it got me thinking about how to wear difficult pieces so that they integrate well into your usual style. If you're Kim Kardashian, than yeah, something like thigh-high leather high heeled boots easily fits in your wardrobe. If you're anyone else...it can be difficult to figure out HOW to wear them so you don't raise too many eyebrows. Same thing with thigh high socks, or various other things. I can't claim to be the absolute expert (I might have a guilty conscience here for my own thigh-high boots, lurking in my closet, worn only once - I'm still madly in love with them, but it's hard to integrate sometimes, guys). To that end, well, we're going to try some styling ideas for items I've got issues with, thanks to the powers of Google!

Thigh-high Socks
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Basically, the trick to thigh highs is making sure it's obvious they're thigh-highs - and not taking it too seriously. Making them really cute also helps, as does putting them with pieces that would be classified as 'adorable', like the skirt from I Spy DIY's picture.

Thigh-high Boots
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Thigh-high boots seem to be best worn when there's as little leg skin showing as possible - jeans, good; skirts short enough for you to see more than about an inch, not so good. I personally think they look best with jeans, or, like the two pictures with skirts, worn in the same color family as the skirt and the tights these ladies wore beneath the boots. (On a side-note, if you filter out 'Kim Kardashian' from the search results, you get under a hundred pictures).

Midi Skirts
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I know...the midi skirt is like, old news. It's still so fun, though. (And besides, I gotta compensate for the dumb sixteen year old moment where I decided to buy shoes over one because "who would even WEAR that!?" If only that younger me knew that she'd one day catch herself running around to classes in super short shorts, or a sheer shirt, or all pleather, or maxi skirts...) Midi skirts are dressy and pretty, but the advantage I see in them is all practical: they will not be dragging on the ground, which maxi skirts can do, but they're long enough to cover most of your legs and, if you're in a cold area like me, they'll be helpful in keeping that area warm while looking cool. I like them best paired with structured items, like the runway image where it's paired with a leather jacket. Probably the most important thing with midis is to make sure that they don't make your legs look super short, which they can, due to that mid-length endpoint. Basically...nude heels or flats are your bffs with midis, because with heels, you get that lovely lengthening effect AND they don't cut off the line of skin, and with flats, they simply don't cut the line of skin. Or wear them with matching solid-colored shoes and tights.

(And yes, yes this post is more than partially for my own reference when I'm trying to figure out how to dress up certain items I own... Hopefully it benefits you guys as well!)

Are there any items of clothing you find particularly difficult to wear?

ps: a snap of my thigh-high socks... They're long enough flat that they reach my chest when held so the foot touches the ground
from Sock Dreams

previously in my life

Last week was relatively uneventful in terms of events, but pretty crazy in terms of what I had to get done. Midterms and panic are over now, though, and I've got a week to relax over. Well, relatively speaking - I get to have some shadowing experiences and I've also got a job interview lined up. It's also a week to deal with some things that have been plaguing me all semester. It's going to be a quiet week, for once. Tuesday was a mild day - I even had one class off! - and the main interesting thing I did was attend chapter for AKPsi, as it was used to give us pledges some time to interview members of the chapter who don't necessarily show up to many other events. I got an excuse to be slightly fancier than usual off it - not that I ever really need excuses, but yanno.
Top - thrifted | Skirt/boots - F21 | Belt - some boutique | Necklace - JoAnn's | Ring - Jewelmint

Wednesday was fairly quiet as well - I went to Pledge Class, and that was really about it. Well, other than studying for the entire night...and into Thursday morning. Naturally.






































Shirt - DEB | Sweater - The Limited | Jeans/gold bracelets - F21 | Boots - E's Closet Boutique | Ring 2/white bracelet - gifted

Thursday was a day where I'd slept very little, had a midterm, and basically gave up on being sane for at some point. The high of the day was meeting the people I've decided to room with, the low was my midterm (shocking, I know...)

Headband - I don't know | Sweater - thrifted | Skirt/booties - F21 | Tights - Target

Friday, I really couldn't tell you what I did, other than sleep. I believe I went to Presti's, an Italian Bakery, with my friends. Saturday I went shopping with my roommate and our suitemate - we're always the three who stay behind for breaks - and had plenty of fun. Sunday, my roommate and I cleaned our room, so, naturally, I looked fancy for it. How else would one clean!? (I suppose it's an improvement over my usual "this barely qualifies as clothing" cleaning-wear... At least I took the jacket off for most of the day). On that sidenote, look who finally got a pocketwatch necklace! Not the same one I showed off on here a while ago, but a pretty damn neat one nonetheless.

Jacket/dress/unseen shoes - F21 | Necklace - Claire's | Barrettes - CVS

What's going on for your upcoming week/was last week a good week?

time for a break! YAY!

Okay, it's not really that much of a break - I'm still going to be updating here, I have a job interview, and I'm shadowing a couple different people, but I won't be attending classes or frantically keeping up with homework for one week, at least. Plus, I'll have the time to leave campus, which is always fun, and one of these days, my suitemate, my roomie, and I are going to go shopping! I'm particularly excited for that, actually. I rarely go shopping with other people, and the suitemate we're going shopping with is a pretty stylish gal - I couldn't wear the same things she does, I don't think I have the courage for some of it, but she looks so cool in it - and my roommate's just awesome and fun in general. It'll be a busy break, but it looks like a fun week's ahead!

This week was not so fun - frantically writing a post of some sort and running between classes and studying for a midterm while editing papers and panicking all the while. It was the sort of not-fun chaos that makes you dislike having lots of things to do, rather than the fun "everything is so COOL" kind of chaos that convinces me to do more things. Still, there were some cool things this week, namely on my Pinterest.

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I saw Annie Hall in late February, and while it's a somewhat confusing story, and kind of sad and upsetting in lots of places, ultimately, I loved it. No love story (or even a "like" story) is necessarily linear and things can just fall apart without any warning or any real understanding between the people in them as to why they fell apart, and yeah, you do find yourself thinking about it constantly afterwards. It's definitely something I'd recommend seeing.

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This is a full Harry Potter chapter written under the stairs. It's won my heart completely.

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Alas, expensive shoes seem to be everywhere I look, taunting me with how pretty they are. These are one of the cutest pairs I've seen recently. Look at that little tassel, and the slight, pretty wedge, and the way the bands come together... I just really want these, and yet, I cannot have them, nor would I be able to wear for a while them if I could, because it's still so cold here. :c

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Things I want in my life, Exhibit A. I think I might do this as a project sometime soon. Maybe with slits on the side? And then I'll have them as my Medieval Combat clothes, and feel appropriately cool when I'm beating people with foam swords. Ah yes... Now I just have to actually make it to another practice. I'm getting good at juggling my activities - I think I ought to be able to get it together by at least next semester.

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I loooooove these doormats. They're cute and such a nice pop of color. I know the link is to where the product used to be sold, but the pin suggested spray-painting a doormat to get the same bright effect, and I'm totally in favor of doing that. Also something I might do, and then keep it in my room so I have a spot for my boots, jacket, and umbrella to recover from voyages into the rain/snow that we get so frequently.

What have been some of your favorite things this week? Do you think next week's going to be good?

ps: that discount code for Kohl's I mentioned a while ago is still good for one more day! Use the code TENFORBLOG before March 9th for 10% off! (pps: Go follow me on my new Facebook page!)

March Shopping List

I'm hoping that Ohio's spring is like an extended version of Texas' spring that just starts a little later, even though this is probably a vain and doomed hope. While I may hate Texas' nigh-endless summer and not be such a fan of its weirdo winters (although 50 degrees Fahrenheit sounds kinda nice right now... I'd still be shivering, but I wouldn't have the occasional problem of losing feeling in my hands because of cold even with wearing gloves...), but Texas springs are wonderful. Well, here's to hoping!

Regardless of what spring is like here, though, I've got quite the planned shopping list for the month...


These are the things I'm planning to buy for the first half of the month. I really am feeling Great Gatsby-ish things. That headband's simply elegant, as is the necklace. Backpacks... I just want something other than the same thing I've had since junior year. Thigh highs are my obsession, and I finally found a store specifically for socks. Washi tape...well, that's something I just want to play with! It's so pretty and cute, and I wanna see how useful it is. There'll be a part two to this later, but these are definitely my first priorities.

What do you want this month?

in honor of midterms...

It's the week before Spring Break, I have a midterm tomorrow, not much time to study, and all I really want in life right now is to have the time to make something delicious (aka not dining hall food... I love my school, but I'm so tired of the dining hall). I haven't had fish since some point this past summer, and while I'm not the biggest seafood fan (I can't eat shellfish at aaaall), I do love some salmon every now and then, so I've been wanting to make this recipe ever since I found it a while ago. Maybe I'll try it out sometime over break, when I have the ability to cook because I won't feel guilty about all the money being spent on mealswipes by my parents?


Seriously... I just really want to eat salmon. Or something not hamburgers or pasta, really. Oh well. I have a week to cram in as much variety as I can.

Do you ever just really crave things?

ps: that discount code for Kohl's I mentioned a while ago is still good! Use the code TENFORBLOG before March 9th for 10% off!

a bit of chaos is fun!


(This video totally fits the mood of this week, promise, plus it's great music). Being organized and having everything planned out in advance sounds great. It really does. Unfortunately, whenever I try to do that, I get bored and annoyed. Things are too predictable and there's no interest for me that way. While I wouldn't precisely say that I enjoy chaos and always being in a state of near-crisis, it definitely keeps me interested and engaged in what I'm doing. I like to have some pieces of stability and sanity, but I tend to find that in other people, rather than some sort of routine or a static environment (or too much planning ahead). This past weekend, I made the difficult decision to not form a suite (and floor) with my friends and current floormates. Part of it was that I didn't really want to adjust to a new roommate - my current one and I are practically the same person in every possible way! - and part of it was developing a sudden longing for a single room. Part of it, too, was that I feel living with the same people, in the same building, would be a repeat of this past year. I've already found myself growing restless with the routines my floor and I have fallen into. It's a very insular floor, and most of my floormates lack friends outside of the floor, and also lack interest in acquiring them. The same people are always around, and there's almost a bit of pressure to just confine yourself to the floor. Even if that weren't there, I already know a lot about these people, and I'd like to get to meet and know and live with a bunch of people I don't know, all over again. I feel like I go stagnant when I stick to the same thing for too long - I've already felt it happening this semester, and even part of last. I get comfortable with something, I get bored, but it's easy, so I just kind of go along with it and get upset with myself for not changing it, but don't do anything about it. It's a horrible emotional trap for me, and so...I did something about it!

I'm now a free-floating and unattached person with no defined plans for where I'm living next semester, other than wanting a single. It's kind of scary, but mostly, it's terribly exciting. It's like how I felt last year, once I accepted my offer of admission, all giddy and hopeful and bouncing around. It's absolutely a wonderful feeling. And it's led me to do something I didn't do last year, where I had someone else's aesthetic sensibilities to worry about (well, we wound up doing nothing to decorate our room, really, but that's okay, because we're barely in it). I've even dedicated a Pinterest board to it. Secretly. Because it'd be embarrassing if people that personally know me enter my room later and see none of the stuff I say I want to do and...find it to be boring and blank. Luckily, I don't particularly have that embarrassment on here! (Even if some people I know personally have checked it out...my illusion has not been fully shattered yet).

Some of my favorite ideas for my room next year are...
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While I don't know if I'd actually be able to have this up in the dorms, I really want something bright and rainbow-y and colorful on my walls. My walls this semester have been too bare, even now that I've been printing out pictures and putting them all over. That hasn't been a particularly organized process, anyways... I like the idea of this, because it's so much color all at once, and fun.

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In that same vein, I also like this style of rainbow-y stuff. It's pretty cool! (I so wish I was as cool as the gal who shared this - Gabby Noone is evidently a pretty boss kind of freshman college student, I mean, this is so thought out, jeez). It's definitely making me think about how to be more creative with my furniture organization as well, next year. I'm going to have a much smaller room, after all! Maybe I can stick my bookshelves on my dresser and save space, if it's out from under my bed? I am definitely going to have to get a corkboard/posterboard thing too. We have ones in our dorms now, though not every room had one (and some had multiples???) so I don't know how or if that's even a thing on the other side of campus. I want one, regardless!

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While the Strikingtruths store doesn't offer this as a print, I feel like I seriously need this plastered somewhere in my room. Fear is so easy to bow to, and often, I really just need a reminded smacked in my face that I can't just give up on ideas and thoughts and stuff just because it's scary to go with them or defend them. (Same thing could be said for my love life, too, actually...)

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Finally, a really fun thing! I really have an almost obsessive love of nebulas, so having a pretty pillow of them sounds wonderful. It's something nice to look at, and would be another great splotch of color in my room.

How do you guys handle organization and chaos? Any other cool ideas for a miniscule room?