Valentine's Night Out on the Town

Hello!
I have been super stretched out lately due to overload of work and starting the last 6-9 months of my PhD (!!!!), so I haven't had a chance to shoot some outfits, but more will be coming soon. Since it is almost end of January (!!! how is time flying so fast?!?), I decided to do a post on my Valentine's Outfit that I am planning - the boy hasn't said anything about plans yet but who doesn't love shopping for new dresses! We don't usually do anything big other than go to dinner sometimes the weekend after, but I'm going to suggest we do something a little bigger this year.

I was inspired by the glam feel of San Francisco Fairmont Hotel - I've only been to San Francisco once before, but I would love to go back and go out to dinner at one of the chic upscale restaurants in the district or at a fancy hotel! If you are looking for great hotels in San Francisco, do check it out and let me know what you think!
I came up with two outfits that I could wear based on my mood and what kind of vibe I wanted to give - both I think are romantic and super stylish, but whether I was feeling like a bad ass (top) or more romantic (bottom), I could choose. I know its cliche to wear red on Valentine's, but I'm in love with burgundy for February. It is a color that I think I look good in.
For bad ass chic (top): I went with a flowy sleeved dress that is super boho and clean. Silver accessories like a necklace and a black bag and heeled boots complete the outfit look. I'm also feeling floppy hats, even though it'll be evening, why not? I've seen people wearing them inside and if we do something before earlier in the afternoon evening, why not wear to dinner? And as far as makeup, I love a classy cat eye with some glitter glam, and some burgundy red lips! So perfect! My favorite burgundy lipstick is a shade from Hikari that I love, so I would totally wear that!

Valentine's Night Out on the Town 

Winter Wonderland - Winter 2016 Fashion Trends

Happy weekend!
I can't believe it is already the middle of January! 2016 is already flying by!
We have had some rainstorms here in California because of El Nino, and it has been a little refreshing. The weather has also been a little cooler and chilly here, but not as bad as in the east coast and the midwest. I got a little taste of winter when I was home for the holidays, but got back to LA just in time for the cold and snow to hit the east coast!
I wanted to blog post about winter trends I have been seeing lots of bloggers rock this season - winter wonderland clothing!
I love love love light colors this season, like beige, white, and metallic! I have seen many a beige jacket and I really want to incorporate one into my wardrobe! I'm also digging ombre style sweaters, especially with lighter colors!
Metallic nails are also something I'm super into this season - I love silver as it reminds me of the holidays and winter!
And something I'm obsessed with now are scarves. I wish it was colder in LA so I could wear them more often. I love lighter patterns and also chunky knit ones! So cuddly and warm! Scarves definitely kept me warm while I was on the East Coast!

Winter Wonderland - Winter 2016 Fashion Trends by andreah227 featuring a beanie hat

Whimsical Ugly Sweater - Dreams and Flying with an old Top Shop Sweater

Hi everyone!
Sorry for lack of posts last week!
I have been super busy with work and working on keeping my stress level low - trying to work until normal people times and not stay in lab late unless absolutely necessary - and I think I was good about that! I am trying to not take any unplanned breaks throughout the day (unplanned as in getting sucked into my phone scrolling on instagram or facebook), and just getting everything done that I need to and not stress out about not finishing everything. I'm only human!
I have also started a workout and nutrition plan, called the 21 day fix, and I am using it as a platform to just get myself back into shape and back into the routine of working out and I can do the work outs at home (it beats going to the crowded gym right now) and also eating healthy (I noticed it has improved my headaches!). So I will probably post an update about my progress in 2 weeks (one week down, two more to go!). If you are interested in talking about your health goals, send me an email!
Well anyway, back to fashion. I thought this was a fun outfit that I decided to wear and the photoshoot was rather fun and silly. I bought this oversized rainbow sweater from Topshop when I was studying abroad in the UK like 5 years ago (another piece of clothing I haven't worn and has been sitting in my closet! I'm shopping for new outfits in my own closet!). It was super comfy and retained the warmth! I wore a plain black tank top underneath, and some black leggings along with my black Sketchers heeled sneakers, and it was the perfect outfit for chilling in lab and then just chilling at home while keeping warm during these chilly LA days!
I originally was going to wear this to an ugly sweater party, as it is kinda ugly, but it is still a little chic I think, if styled correctly!

New Year's Eve intentions - Setting goals for the New Year

Hi loves!

I can't believe it is the last day of 2015! This year has flown by! I had one of the best years but also one of the hardest of grad school I think, caused hitting a slump and really struggling to get thru the last couple of months because of stress and experiments gone wrong.

I traveled a lot this last year, I got to go to Boston for an amazing conference, Barcelona for another amazing conference and further growing my network, Cyprus to visit family, sequoia national park with the boy to relax and enjoy nature, and back to Boston to spend the holidays with family.

I am going to be sappy and say that I really struggled with stress the last 6 months. If I'm real with myself, it started in June when I really started to put a lot of pressure on myself to finish and advance two projects faster, and beating myself up when those projects didn't go as planned. I then went on my trip and didn't give myself any time to actually relax, as I felt I had to be productive every single day. And then when I got back, I went straight back into work mode and I was so stressed when many things went wrong (thanks, science!), my anxiety kicked in and I had lots of headaches, month long migraines, and weight gain (anxiety and stress kicks cortisol production into overdrive, leading to weight gain, in addition to working long hours, not making time for myself to work out which I love and not having time to cook healthy food). While I'm in no means fat or anything, I am unhappy with myself when I look in the mirror, and I think it stems from me not taking care of myself and not taking time to relax. I went to a neurologist and they gave me drugs for migraines, but after just resting during thanksgiving and Christmas, I noticed my migraines and headaches went away! For real! The second I started feeling stressed again I felt a headache coming on. That made me immediately tell myself relax etc. and it helped! It really shows that you have to take care of yourself! That is my number one goal and resolution this year!!!

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: