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.

Business Casual - The Interview Dinner Skirt from MakeMeChic

Happy Spring!
Today marks the first day of spring, and here in CA its been pretty nice these last few weeks, although we are expecting some spring showers this week!
I managed to get an second interview for a job next week, and have started writing my dissertation, so it has been a pretty crazy time lately, so I apologize for my lack of posts! I have also set a dissertation date (early June!), so the clock is ticking! I have a couple of outfit posts for this week, but not sure when I will have time to update again after!

Anyway, Today I bring you a business casual outfit to wear to an interview dinner or conference, featuring this High Waist Pleated Skirt from Makemechic.com!
I was very impressed with this skirt, and found it very flattering! It is high waisted and I was worried it wouldn't fit, but it zipped up perfectly! It has an A-line fit, and I am just so happy with the look! It is also only $20, which is a great deal for a quality piece, perfect for a grad student budget! I paired it with a wine floral top I got from Rue 21 at the mall, and some wine colored accessories to complete the look! I loved the pleats of the skirt and found it can be paired very nicely with various tops and colors; very versatile since it is black! I am all about capsule looks, and since I am going to be flying across the country, I want to not have to pack much but also bring pieces that I can mix and match - If I was to wear this skirt for the actual interview I could wear a silk blouse, and some other heels! I would totally wear this skirt and top combo to a conference networking event, poster session, or an interview dinner!

Spring and Winter in LA - MakeMeChic

Hello!
Can't believe we are already halfway done with the month! Time is flying by!
The weather in LA has been rather up and down... we had some big storms, with much needed rain that helped our state come out of Extreme Drought, and then the sun popped out here and there for a beautiful clear day! This weekend it was rather nice, but still chilly.

Since I have been all covered up in lab and because of the cold weather, the first sign of clear weather I put on this really pretty Floral Print Scoop Neck A-line Dress from Make Me Chic. I adored the floral print, and I really loved that it was white with a blue pattern, it felt very classy and chic. The material was also really soft and comfortable, and I loved the sweetheart neckline, I feel like it is very flattering on my body type. It was also a sleeveless dress, which looked really pretty with the design of the dress - I really liked the shape of this dress! Hitting right above the knee, it was the perfect length for me, especially as a petite girl, and along with a pair of heels, made me look a lot taller! The dress also had an invisible zipper on the side, which made it easy to put on.

To keep warm when the sun went down and the temperature dropped, I wore a long black cardigan that you can easily wrap around yourself.

Travel Diary - Part I - Lisbon, Portugal - Conference and Sightseeing

Today I bring you Part I of my Travel Diary, Conference and Sightseeing in Lisbon, Portugal!

I was given the opportunity to attend a Biological Methylation Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, where I was able to meet the experts in the field, whose papers and publications I have been reading since I started graduate school! It was such a great experience, and it was 5 days full of science, all directly related to my field of work! I've been to other conferences, that were more broad and general, and I didn't enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this conference! I was just putting up my poster during the first session (my session was the second one) and I got stopped immediately and was talking about my research the whole two hours, and then the whole two hours at my actual session! It was such a great feeling to have people who knew about my research and were genuinely interested - talking science for 4 hours and getting so many good ideas of things to try! I even won the poster award, along with a travel award, which gave me some funding to help with my travel expenses!

Traveling to conferences is a BIG thing I would suggest to anyone who is in grad school. I have taken advantage of conferences to feed my travel bug, and it has opened up so many doors and networking opportunities! And if your boss/advisor can pay for you, it is a free ticket to travel (most of the time!). I have always taken advantage of vacation time after the conferences I've been to - Like last year I was in Barcelona for a conference and I traveled to visit my family in Cyprus afterwards, and this year I traveled to France after! So definitely a way to enjoy your time by having an international conference and using it as an excuse to travel around! Of course, any travel after a conference is on your dime, but compared to the full price of a plane ticket TO europe, its not too bad :) and I had some savings that I put aside especially for a european trip that I utilized to pay for this trip! It was amazing, because after I passed my candidacy exam, I told myself, when I graduate, I'm going to travel around europe, and I made a list of all of these cities I wanted to visit, and I made part of it happen! Graduation happened and I got to check off a few cities (not all of them, but a few is better than none!).

Scroll down to read more about the various photos I took (all with my iPhone 6!! Amazing camera for a phone!).

The conference even organized a wine tasting tour in the Marfa province, which was about a 45 min drive from where the conference was being held, and it was really great drinking wine in the countryside with professors and experts in my field! It was unreal and like a dream!

Interview Outfit - The Real World seems pretty sweet!

I am in shock that it is almost the end of May! This year is literally flying by, and I can't believe it is almost the end of my 5th year and graduation is in 3 weeks!
I recently had my first interview for a job/post doc after grad school and it was a surreal experience. I have gotten thru three rounds of interviews for the position, and now it is just a waiting game to see if I get an offer! *fingers crossed*
It was awesome to realize I actually am good enough and qualified for the real world. When you are so swamped in your work in graduate school you tend to forget that a real world exists outside! This year has been so difficult and stressful for me, work wise and I think knowing that an end is near has really helped me not stress out so much about the little things! It's all about how you manage stress, and really putting things in perspective. This has really helped me deal with things soooo much better!
Anyway, here is an outfit I had been meaning to post for two weeks now and I am FINALLY getting around to it. This quarter has been so busy and I have barely found time to do anything for myself, and since I finished my workout program at the beginning of the month I kinda fell off track with meals and workouts these last two weeks. BUT! No more, I am getting back on track starting today, with my meals and workouts. I realized I need to make time for myself and I feel strongest and best when I get my workout in!
This is the outfit I wore to my first interview for a big girl job as a research post doc, and I wore this floral blouse my aunt sent me for my birthday (or christmas? for some holiday as a gift, lol), and these dress pants I recently bought from Express, their editor pant, that was a costly $79.99. I bought these at the beginning of April as a last resort because I really needed dress pants that fit for the San Diego conference I went to, and all of my old dress pants wouldnt button..... and so I had to buy a size 8 from Express, and they finally closed. I'm not too concerned with the sizes because every brand is different, so I'm not stressing about having to go up from a 4 to an 8.... Ok - so I wore these same pants at the beginning of April, and when I put them on 2 weeks ago after finishing my work out program and for my in person interview. THEY WERE LOOSE. Too loose! I could easily fit a finger or two at the waist and they weren't hugging my thighs anymore! WOW I was so excited (but sad at the same time, since they were a costly pair) that I am seeing some non-scale victory results, as I weighed myself and the number literally didn't budge. 

Co-chairing a Symposium - Conference Fashion

Hello loves!
I am back with a Conference outfit post!
Sorry for lack of outfit posts, I've been SO scatter brained and swamped since the beginning of the month - I went to a conference in San Diego that I talked about previously, and I co-chaired a Grad Student and Postdoc led session, where I was able to invite two key speakers and selected from the abstracts for student presentations. This is the outfit I wore, it was perfect amount of formal and dressy while still a little casual for drinks for the reception afterward!
I've been a teaching assistant since the beginning of the month and it has been a little (A LOT) stressful, since it has cut up my free time that I can work in the lab. My Tuesday/Thursdays are teaching days, and I have a lot of other commitments such as organizations and other groups I am involved in, so most days I don't find a chance to even sit at my computer! I've been so stressed that I barely find time to sleep nowadays. I'm dreaming of a vacation where I can completely unplug from the world and just relax!
This shirt I received from my aunt as a gift, from Cyprus, the pants are dress pants from New York and Company, simple black heels from Nine West that I've had in my closet, and my large tote back is from Zara.

Spring has Sprung - Happy Friday!

Hello and Happy Friday!
I can't believe it is already March! This year is flying by already, and it will be summer before we know it!
I've been pretty busy the last few weeks with work and trying to figure out the last things I need to do before I graduate, and I have a never ending to-do list, and soooo many things going on, it has been hard to find time to blog! But I am still around, never fear! I am posting to instagram daily, so if you are ever wondering what I'm up to, follow me there :) My golden birthday came last week, and I had a great time celebrating with friends, and alsoI went to the Vanity Fair Social Club event for the Oscars, so it was fun and I got some free goodies which I will blog about soon :)
School has been super stressful and I have felt overwhelmed at times, but I need to start taking it one day at a time :)
I've been trying to come up with outfits that are work appropriate, as I am trying to focus really on professional dress. I got this blouse from a birthday care package from my aunt in Cyprus for my Birthday, and I love it! I love the color and I love the patterns! It also is pretty flattering, and it shows a little cleavage without being over exposed, which I loved! I never feel too comfortable with cleavage, and I was worried this top would be too much - but it was just right! I have been wearing leggings mostly to work - as I spend a lot of time running around lab some days, and some days I'm sitting at my desk the whole time - and jeans aren't as comfy! So this is a usual outfit you will find me in, something stylish and comfy! Matched with these sketchers heeled sneakers that I have worn before! I paired this pretty statement necklace from Minu Jewels, the Botswana Agate necklace! So gorgeous!

Holiday Work to Party look - Part 2!

Hi guys!
I have had a relaxing time in Boston visiting my parents for the holiday and today I am flying back to LA. My boyfriend came along for a couple of days too which was great, and we had a good time going into the city and exploring!
Here's another holiday outfit I wore to a holiday party/out for drinks right after. I did wear this to lab also but without the leather boots, haha! but I loved playing with a light scarf and a moto faux leather jacket! My mom got me this blue lace top as well, that I don't remember where it is from, but you can find similar Here. I then wore my black Fabletics Leggings that I have literally been wearing every day since I have been home because they are so COMFY and WARM! I subscribed to fabletics a while ago to get a cheap outfit and I stayed subscribed but just make sure I skip the month every month, which can be annoying but I avoid getting charged 50$. I would cancel but I like seeing the monthly selections and the clothes are actually super comfortable and stylish! So I really don't mind it, even though some people have complained that it is a scam. Want to know a secret that I do tho? When I enter my credit card info I use Bank of America's shopsafe feature which gives me a limit to how much can charge on a generated number so even if i forget I wont get overcharged because it will get declined if I forget to skip the month! Shhh don't tell anyone I told you that! If you want to check out Fabletics you can see their selections Here!
I then rewore my black leather boots that I hadn't worn in a while but now started wearing them to more and more events. You can see Amazon's selection of boots Here, as I can't remember the brand!
The moto jacket I am wearing is from Express that I bought last year and I love how "bad-ass" it makes outfits look! The scarf I borrowed from a friend and it was perfect to cover up when it wasn't too cold (before I left LA it was rather warm during the day).

Day time / Work/Lab Look:

Happy December - Fall Tribal Print Dress

Happy December!
I can't believe it is almost the end of 2015! Time is really flying!

I have been struggling these last couple of months with work and school, and the stress just really got to me. I have mentioned stress in my previous posts, but I have figured out the headaches I was getting every day were from a combination of stress, not sleeping enough or resting enough, and actually I think it was a migraine that remained during the last couple of weeks, which sucks.
Thanksgiving break came and I had a 4 day long weekend where I didn't think about work at all, hung out with different groups of friends, and relaxed. It was a great way to reset and my headache is gone! My baseline stress level is down, and again, it could be that I actually had a chronic migraine but I'm going to assume relaxing during thanksgiving did the body good!

I also found out I wasted three months of my research because things didn't work/had some fatal flaws where the protein I was working with wasn't what I thought it was... so that was pretty discouraging as well.

My goals for December, as it is a short month (with all the holidays), is to not stress out! to be happy in the moment, and to just take every task and every thing one step at a time! What are your goals for this month and into the new year?

Well, anyway, onto the fashion. I wore this really cute Tribal Print Dress I bought from Target a few weeks ago (Dress Similar Here) - and it was only $20! I loved the skater style of the dress, as it was flattering on my figure, and I really liked the lace pieces up by the top of the dress! I accessorized with some simple bangles and a statement necklace from Charlotte Russe (Similar Here) and a pair of simple black heels that I have styled before from Nine West (See Black Heels Similar Here). Also, I'm sporting the Apple Watch that I won, I have mixed feelings about it but it is cool to have a smart watch nonetheless!

Fall Sunshine and new hair style - highlights and an ombre - Irresistible Me Extensions

Happy Monday!
The sun has been shining here in LA but it has gotten "cold," and I love crisp fall sunshine! Although I guess cold is relative because when I say cold I mean between 50-65F. Since there isn't much humidity here in LA, when the temperature drops and the wind picks up, it can get rather cold! I am definitely a California girl now, but the other day when it was 65 and everyone else was complaining about how cold it was, I was in short sleeves and was fine! haha!
Work has been no different, if anything I am more stressed, but I am looking forward to the holidays as I am going to take a week and a half off to go visit my parents in Boston! And the boy is coming with finally! :D
Well, anyway, to combat this cooler weather, I have been wearing lots of sweaters to work; sweaters are nice because in the morning it is cool and in the middle of the day if I am getting lunch on campus sometimes it reaches 70-75 degrees, and then at night time when I am leaving work (it gets dark at like 5 now, so anytime I leave work it is already cold and dark), it is so cold! I found this cute little sweater that I bought from Kaitlyn Clothing, a little boutique store near UCLA. I also just wore a simple white t-shirt with jeans from Zara and heeled boots that I have worn before on the blog! I forgot about these boots and I forgot about how much I love them!

I also got my hair highlighted and cut on halloween - it had been 2 years since I did anything with my hair! I hadn't even gotten my hair cut! It was super long (longer than my waist), and super thick - the pony tail I would make would feel so heavy! So after talking with Samira, my blogger friend from Stylemesamira.com, I went to her hair stylist and got my hair done! I fell in love with it, even though it is fall my hair is lighter and seems super fun! I got a few colors in my hair to have it all blend and look lighter! At the same time I received my hair extensions from IrresistibleMe.com, and decided to put them in. I had never tried hair extensions before and have always had my eye on them, wanting to try them to make my hair even longer and fuller. I never could qualify buying them when my hair was already long and thick, but it was a great opportunity to try them finally! I have always wanted to dye extensions a different color as well so I could change my hair look without damaging my own hair! I ordered them in the Silky Touch Chocolate Brown, 20 inches, and I received them the day before I cut/dyed my hair! My natural hair was the same exact shade as the extensions, which I was amazed at how well it matched! And my hair was just as long if not longer than the extensions, which shocked me and was when I realized, yes, I need to cut my hair!!! After getting my hair done I added the extensions into my hair (they were clip in), and I curled my hair as I normally would, and I LOVED how the look came out! Since my hair was now a little lighter, when I added the darker extensions it looked like a reverse ombre, where the ends were darker! But it wasn't too drastic as it matched with the rest of my hair! It looked and felt so natural, you couldn't tell that it wasn't my hair! They also added a lot of volume to my hair, which was great since I could have the volume but not feel the heavy weight of my hair always! Before I got it cut, my hair just felt so heavy, so it was a breath of fresh air when I could add them in and take them out at the end of the day!

Take a look at the look below! I fell in love!

How to style a scarf as a main piece - Jordanian Scarf and Zara Jeans

Hello!

It's been a hectic week and weekend, super busy with work and a blogger event (recap post coming soon!) and hanging out with long lost friends (my college roommate was in town so I got to see her for a halloween party in hollywood!). It was so nice because I hadn't seen my friend in 3 years, so it was really convenient to see her! I went to a halloween party at a club in Hollywood hosted by IronMan Magazine, it was a rather busy day because I went to a blogging event #FabDILab in Santa Monica (outfit post to come!), got home, quickly changed into a makeshift halloween costume, and headed out! I managed to develop a small cold too, I think from constantly being on the go and not allowing my body to rest! So I took yesterday off and worked from home. It was a nice little break.

The weather in LA has recently gotten a little cooler, so I'm pretty happy we have somewhat of a fall (but I am still in shorts during the day). On one of the cooler days I decided to wear this outfit I wore to lab, with my Zara skinny jeans and a plain white tank top from Forever21. Since it was a little chilly, I covered up using this beautiful scarf I received as a gift from my boyfriend's wonderful mother from Jordan. It was gorgeous!!! I fell in love with it and the pattern, it is totally fall! Matched with my black ankle booties from Target (Brand: Sam & Libby), I thought it was the perfect fall outfit that could be worn to work or out to dinner, drinks, whatever! Sorry for the multiple photos, I loved this shoot and couldn't decide on just a few photos to post!

How to Style an Elegant Dress - LURAP Gown

Greetings!
The science gods are smiling at me and are bringing good research vibes to me, finally, after toiling and stressing about experiments not working all last month! So I am in a pretty good mood after a successful hump day :)
Today I bring you another outfit post on how I styled an elegant dress I received from LURAP.com - that stands for L-ove UR AP-pearance, which I think is pretty clever! It is a customizable outfit site, similarly to other sites I've come across and worked with, like eShakti. They have so many cute elegant and stylish dresses, and I was very pleased with the price range! I had a really hard time deciding what piece to review, because there were so many options! Since it is fall (although in LA it still feels like summer), I decided to go with a wine colored dress. I picked this "My All Time Fav Gown," (which you can check out HERE) that was originally displayed as a royal blue (which is gorgeous!!), but I already have a couple of blue dresses. I was really digging the high neck and sleeveless gathered bodice look of the dress, as it looks so flattering on the site. As you can see, the high neck has pleats that fall into a gathered waist bodice, and the rest of the dress just falls flowingly and beautiful! This dress and the gathered waist really accentuates my curves and I am in love!
Since I could customize the dress, I picked my size based on my measurements (they have a handy size guide), and I decided to not go with a floor length gown, but instead go for knee length style and gave them my height (5' 2") so they could more exactly tailor it to my height (which is awesome! YAY!). If you read my last post about maxi dresses for petite girls, you can tell I'm a little nervous to wear floor length dresses, at least elegant fancy dresses, so this dress length was just perfect! (Anyway, I don't think I would have anywhere fancy enough to wear a floor length gown, so the knee length is perfect to wear for a special occasion or a wedding!
The back of the dress zipped up all the way to the neck and can be hard to zip depending on the type of bra you are wearing. I was wearing a more padded Victoria's Secret Bra at first and realized it wouldn't zip up, but I switched to a normal type bra and it was completely fine! So as with all pieces of clothing, test them out with different types of bras! That's my one tip!

Lurap.com is a great site, and they have various deals like Buy two dresses get one free site wide, which is awesome! If you have a special event to go to definitely check out their dresses as you can get a great deal on a custom piece!

Vanity Fair Social Club Emmys 2015 Recap - #VFSC

Hi loves,

How has your week been? I am super happy that it is Friday, it has been a rough busy week for me at work/school (what else is new? I have been complaining non stop now, sorry! haha). So I am looking forward to the weekend to relax and shut off. Today I am recapping the Vanity Fair Social Club (#VFSC) Emmys event I had the opportunity to attend, that I had such a great time at! I posted one of my outfits for the Saturday events, but I did attend Sunday as well (it was a two day event this time, the Oscars VFSC was a whole week long event!).

Going to events like these are awesome because I get to shut off from Science for a few hours and get to meet and talk to people in a whole different industry and the industry that LA is famous for - fashion and film. I am so happy and lucky to get invited to these kinds of events, as it is a nice little release from my hectic daily life!

The day started out with different talks/panelists, which was cool because they were able to bring in some stars that were actually nominated for Emmy awards on Sunday night. There were little breaks for food in between sessions, some freebies, and a mini photobooth (was actually a bed with flowers! so cool), and I got to see some blogger friends and meet a lot of new faces! I also snapchatted a lot during VFSC on both days, so if you are curious about these kinds of events I go to, you can follow me on snap chat (andreah227). I snap chat random daily things (my life isn't SO exciting), and sometimes I'm just plain silly. Do follow if you like, but I can't promise crazy events like this all the time... haha!

This is the outfit I wore on Saturday - see my previous post for outfit details, Motel Rocks dress!

Delicate top and blue jeans

Hello loves!
Another day, another week! How fast time flies! I can't believe the weekend is already over and it is already Tuesday! The academic school year starts next week, and while I don't have to take classes, it means back to business. In grad school, the summer is considered most productive and chill, but this year I feel like I didn't accomplish much! I powered through a lot of work in a month and a half in the beginning of the summer (June-mid July), and then ever since I went on vacation, I haven't been able to get back into the groove of things until now. I know I know I keep complaining about how I feel burnt out, but I really am! haha!
Well, to spice things up, I am trying to get some new pieces to wear to work, and I really liked this delicate top I found at Zara this past weekend! It is really pretty and soft, with some felt detail, paired with these Zara jeans and black booties! Super casual but still dressy! Can you tell I am loving Zara lately?!

Chevron Skirt and Crop Top - Zaful review!

Hello loves!

Happy Hump Day! Can't believe it is already Wednesday! Hope you all had a great long weekend (if you took Labor Day off!). I decided to take it off instead of going to work, because, well, why not! I was regretting it yesterday when I realized how much work I have to do and already is closer to the weekend than I would expect... But never regret something in the past because at some point it was exactly what you wanted ;) I seem to still feel under the weather, as I have been the past month, I think traveling has really gotten to me, and it's either stress or I'm actually sick, but I've been feeling tired and have headaches and toothaches rather frequently. I am going to try to get checked out soon.

I was able to hang out with a lot of friends this weekend, which was exactly what I needed! I was out and about all weekend, and I fell in love with this beautiful Zaful Wavy striped crop top and skirt set to go to dinner with a friend! I was a little hesitant to order it online without trying it, because even though I knew my measurements I was worried it would be too small on me, but it ended up being the perfect size! I received it in the mail just when I got back from Cyprus, and I was finally able to wear it and shoot it and let me tell you, in 3ish weeks, I must've lost an inch or so in my waist because when I wore it this weekend it zipped up so easily versus before! I've been trying to be active 4-5 times a week, and it has really made a difference!

I've been seeing so many people and bloggers wearing crop tops with skirts, and I really love the trend! It is super cute, but I always thought it wouldn't look too great on me, but after seeing the set on me, I am in love! It is super comfortable too, with the skirt being super flowy and flattering! I actually wore this skirt again the next day with just a black tank top tucked in and created a whole new look (wish I took some photos of the next outfit, oh well!). The crop top was also flattering. I was worried the "girls" would be too big, but the crop top had a cute little hidden zipper on the side, so it fit perfectly! I had a hard time picking an outfit on Zaful because everything was so cute, and when I first spotted this combo I fell in love, but being insecure of how it would look I kept scrolling, but kept coming back to this outfit! So glad I went with it!

And now the photos ... What do you think about this outfit? I paired it with some really cute wedges, which were the perfect summer touch that I bought from Charlottee Russe, and this really stunning coin necklace I bought while in Barcelona at a shop called Ale Hop. I love my pieces I bought while abroad! 

For the shoot, I found this really cute "Love" wall nearby and fell in "love"! haha! There are a lot of walls like this around LA, it's a rather cool spot to shoot at as a blogger!

Summer in Greece - Denim and Lace

Hello loves! 

I am back in full swing, finally back from my conference in Spain and vacation in Cyprus! I hope you enjoyed my previous posts during my trip, and now I bring you another fun photo shoot I had with my cousin in Protaras, a town of Cyprus with some of the more beautiful beaches on the islands! We stayed at a resort by the beach for the weekend and it was a great time! The resort had a really nice pool and its own private beach, walking distance from other picturesque beaches! I will share some photos from this on another post this week! 

I had a great time at the conference, I got to meet and network with other scientists and make some really great connections! I also got to see and explore Barcelona, which has been a city I have been wanting to visit for a long time now (since middle/high school!). And then hopping over the mediterranean to Cyprus was the icing on the cake, where I got to further extend my trip and relax by the beach and see family! 

I am currently suffering jet lag, I had a pretty awful trip back, making three stops, a twelve hour layover and attempting to sleep in the airport in Barcelona, a delayed flight that caused me to miss my connecting flight to LA, so I had to spend the night in a hotel in Philly. It was a 3 day process (its never taken me more than 20 ish hours to get back across from Cyprus to LA...). So with my lack of sleep I haven't been able to catch up yet and going back to work...its a tiring experience. Hoping I can get back to normal schedule soon!

Black and White - Bringing back a Strapless Sundress

Hello loves!

It has been quite a great trip so far, and I am happy to be able to kick back and relax, away from the lab! Sometimes you need to take a break to be able to come back and be more efficient and active!

Today I am trying to survive the heat of Cyprus by wearing another dress to keep cool! I am bringing back a strapless sundress from many years ago, with this paisley black and white print strapless dress from American Eagle Outfitters. I haven't shopped there in the last year or two, mainly because I don't go to the mall as much, and I think my fashion taste has evolved a bit, but I saw this dress in my closet when I was moving and figured I would bring it back! Only thing is I have to wear a strapless bra, which I don't usually like, but for this style its worth it! And once again I am recycling accessories I have styled before, but they really help pull together a great outfit! The purse is a wallet purse that I have worn before, by Franco Sarto, a necklace that I got from Walmart for 5 dollars and never wore because I didn't know what to wear with, and the strappy sandals I have worn with so many outfits - that I got in Hawaii! These are really the perfect sandals because they match well with everything! So less shoes to pack! And they don't hurt your feet (unless you are standing for hours!).

Summer of the Dress: The Blue Dress

Hello loves!

I am calling this summer the "Summer of the Dress," as you have noticed my last couple of posts have all been dresses (and they will keep coming!).

I fell completely IN LOVE with this Blue Dress I got from eShakti! I ordered it at the same time I ordered the Chambray dress from last week, and it is one of my favorite dresses! It looked rather cute on the website, and I didn't expect it to be this flattering! It is the perfect "poofiness," that makes my waist look small and my legs look long! 

Again, I am reusing pieces I packed with me, in my attempts to "pack light," so I am wearing the same Nine West heels I wore to the conference, and the same gold statement necklace and bangles!  This time I am using my Aldo Purse that I bought a few years ago. I was in love with how the whole outfit came together, perfect for lunch or dinner or even going out for some drinks! It is the perfect summery dress!

Conference Fashion Transition to going out - Chambray dress and accessories part 2

Hello loves!
This is part 2 of the conference fashion post from Tuesday - but now I bring you an easy way to transition this same outfit into an easy going out/drinks/dinner/nightlife post by just changing some accessories!
Trying to pack light, I packed a lot of different accessories, and planned some outfits that I could transition easily by switching accessories, so I could get the most out of my expeditions out into the city without having to go back to the hotel to change! The statement necklace easily fits in my purse and I can carry my blazer! This is my look for the conference happy hour before heading out for dinner and drinks!
By just a simple removal of the blazer and switching the statement necklace, I feel like it looks like a different outfit! The same chambray dress from eShakti and heels from Nine West, and the same fringe purse! I am thinking of wearing my hair up though, since I wear my hair down a lot, and it is hot!

The original business outfit:

Sunny days and pretty prints - Summer lab wear in LA

Hello loves!

I am finally bringing you an outfit post, that I am actually wearing to work today! I shot this look a few weeks ago and never got around to posting it! I am in dire need of sleep, but my experiments leave me no mercy and I must go to lab tomorrow (its Saturday, sigh...).

But anyway, I am wearing this cute comfy outfit today since I have been wearing jeans and sneakers all week. Leggings are my favorite, although I do need a longer top to cover my bum, so this floral print floaty top is perfect! Super cute print that I have had in my closet for years now, and never fails to look great! Top is from Forever21, and leggings I believe I just got them from Ross, but you can find them anywhere - I usually get them from H&M and buy new ones when I get holes in them! Just plain black leggings. The accessories I love, because they are simple yet super cute, with gold accents!