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:

Holiday Outfit - From Work to Holiday Party

Hello!
It's been a crazy couple of weeks and I am finally back with some outfit posts that I have been working on! Last week was rather stressful and I was pulling some late nights in lab so I can finish everything up before I headed to the east coast for the holidays. It is rather nice to relax and shut my brain off from work, and not have to think about anything "complicated" other than what I am going to eat and do that day! It is really nice. My headaches have started to go away and I realized they are all caused by stress! I am also trying to catch up on my sleep, something I got very little of this past quarter and had never been able to catch up on!
This last week was full of various holiday parties after work, so I decided to wear some cute transitional outfits that were appropriate to wear to work and also could easily transition to a holiday party later in the evening!
I have been posting this latest outfit on Instagram, if you haven't caught my sneak peak, here is the outfit! I am obsessed with wearing red this holiday season! My mom sent me this red lace top that is perfect for the holiday season, that I believe is from Target (Shop similar here). I also paired it with these black leggings that are super comfortable, and they are actually my workout pants from Fabletics, but I have been wearing them to work and outings because they are so cute and simple! No one can tell they are workout pants! For work/lab, I wore my hair up in a pony tail so it would be out of my way and these black hidden heeled sneakers from Sketchers, that give a little length to my legs, and then before I left for the holiday party, I just let my hair down and changed into these knee-high leather heeled boots that I have had in my closet for about 3 years now -- I bought these from Ross/TJ Maxx (Search Similar Here) a while ago and never wore them! I have been doing "shopping" in my closet and finding pieces that I haven't worn in a long time, like these boots and also this really pretty red jacket from Forever 21! (Shop Similar Here). It is kind of nice to find these old/new pieces because I was starting to get really bored with my wardrobe and been itching to go shopping, even though I don't have money! Accessories I pulled together this gold bracelet from Charlotte Russe, a neutral tassel bracelet from the Yayoi Collection at Boyajian Trend Gallery, and some earrings also from Charlotte Russe.

Daytime/Work:

Makeup Tutorial - Urban Decay Vice 3 Festive Holiday Look

Happy Friday!
I am so so glad it is the weekend. It has been a crazy few weeks in this December with long hours in the lab so I am happy it is finally holiday time and things are starting to wind down and celebrations are starting with office holiday parties!
Today my department is having an "Ugly Sweater" Holiday Party, and I decided to do festive eye makeup to match my ugly sweater (see my instagram @phd_fashionista for a peak at my cool science-y ugly sweater! lol!)

I broke out my Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette that I have been in love with for the past year because of the great pigmented colors, but I haven't used it in a while. Since I knew it had a vivid green and red, I decided to use them to create a holiday look! See the look and take a look at the tutorial below!

5 Cheap and Unique Holiday Gift Ideas that won't break the bank

Hello!
Wondering what to get your friends and family this holiday season without breaking the bank? Run out of ideas of what to get someone who seemingly has everything?
I just finished paying my rent/bills and doing my finances and realized I don't have extra money to spend the rest of this month (and it's only the 7th! eek!), so I came up with a list of cheaper and unique ideas for gifts for my friends and family!
What do you think about this? And I love checking out Amazon for gifts because they are always cheaper and super easy because if you have prime then they get delivered super fast (depending on your city, sometimes here in LA I have received things next day when ordering the night before!)

1. A Cute Quotation Mug - Who doesn't love a cute mug for coffee or tea? I know lately I've been so busy to wash dishes, and all of my coffee mugs get used and sit in the sink - it's always nice to have an extra mug! And if there's a cute quote or design, all the better! I thought these were super cute and motivating. Check out similar here, there are too many cute ones on amazon for me to just link a few!

2. A Cute Tea kettle/tea set - I have been wanting a tea kettle/tea set for some time now! I like drinking tea in the evenings now as it is calming and not as much caffeine as coffee, and what better to make tea than with a really cute tea set! It's not a complete necessity but just to make yourself or your friends/family feel cute, why not! I couldn't find a single one I wanted, as they are all too cute, but check out similar here ! A tea pot set is definitely on my wishlist for the holidays!

3. Wine/Whiskey glasses and accessories  - If your loved ones and friends are of legal age and enjoy unwinding with a glass of wine, whiskey, or other beverage of choice, what a better gift than some cute glasses or accessories (corks, openers, etc.?) They should be relatively inexpensive and can be super useful at parties or entertainment, especially during holiday parties this season! Check out Whiskey Glasses, Wine Glasses or alcohol and wine accessories.

5 Cheap and Unique Holiday Gift Ideas that won't break the bank by andreah227 

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!