Post PhD Summer Trends - Bandeau Bikinis and Cape Dresses

Hi loves!

Hope your week is off to a great start! I'm bringing you the next Summer 17 Trends on my list, featuring Bandeau Bikinis and Cape Dresses! I'm seriously wanderlusting lately, wishing I could be on the beach in the mediterranean without a care... and these trends are totally those vibes! The next trend on my list is the Black Bandeau Bikini, although I need more support up top, so I tend to gravitate towards tops that are strapless but come with straps so I can easily convert it to more support if I need it! These two are two of my favorites right now. I love mix and matching solids and prints, and especially love the colors of the bottom. I also love the molded cups, helps keep the top up! The second one is very scrappy, which I love right now too! I have a very similar swim suit right now in my rotation!

Post PhD Summer Trends - Embroidery

Hi loves, Now that the PhD is done, I have been pretty busy trying to plan and finish up some experiments, attending a conference, and moving. Things should hopefully slow down at the beginning of the month, and I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit. Today was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year, and I am just loving the weather here in LA! It's been quite nice and I love that daylight is longer, I love leaving lab and still seeing sunshine! It really improves my mood, even if I've been in lab late! I have been wanting to go shopping, but I have been trying to clean out my closet as it is packed full, and with my upcoming move across the country, I need to get rid of some old clothes to make room for the new! I have been eying some of the Summer 2017 trends, and one of my favorite trends right now is floral embroidery! And one of the funny things about this trend is that it's totally 90s, am I right?! The 90s trends are coming back!
I have hand picked some of my favorites pieces with embroidery from SheIn.com, and they are all really affordable pieces, perfect for a grad student budget. These pieces can easily be worn on the weekends for summer brunch with friends, heading to the beach, or even dressing up to go to work or a conference (if its appropriate that is!).

    

        Embroidered Dress                           Sheer Mesh Panel Embroidered Shirt

10 Things I wish I knew before going to Grad School

Hi loves,

Well, the thesis defense has come and gone! I will recap the experience in another post coming soon! I did live stream it, although I never got around to announcing it on here, but if you follow me on social media, you should have seen the announcement! It was saved to my Facebook page, so you can replay and take a look! I refuse to watch it again...hahah!
These last couple of days post defense have been a lot of reflection and stressing out about the things I have to finish up before moving on to the next stage, which includes finishing some experiments with whatever time I have left at UCLA and moving two times.
I'm also showcasing an outfit I put together as a conference or social look - with a blouse and a skirt my aunt sent me from Cyprus! I decided to pair orange with a black, patterned top, but I would also just go with a solid black top!

I wanted to share some tips with you, 10 things I wish I knew before going to Grad School, as I feel like I have a lot of wisdom I can share, and help people with things I had to learn the hard way! I wrote a similar post on ways to take care of yourself in grad school, which you can also check out for some tips!

1. You are among the best of the best. 
Something I struggled with was not being the smartest in the room, and putting myself down for it. In order to even get to graduate school, you had to go thru an interview process, and were hand selected to join a few others in a cohort class for whatever department you are joining. You are among the best of the best. And it's ok to not be THE best. It's impossible. At times I felt stupid for not understanding topics as fast as my classmates, and just know that its ok. Everyone learns things differently and at different rates, with different methods. When I did study groups, others would catch the material fast and I would still not understand it. I studied better on my own.