Birthdays and pearls

I have a confession to make:  I am obsessed with pearls.  I wear them with nearly every single one of my outfits...I simply cannot get enough of them!





This past week was exceptionally busy, even for me! After a whirlwind couple of school days, I left town for my dad's SUPER AWESOME BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA.  Spending Veteran's Day weekend with your parents might sound lame, but I actually get along wonderfully with my mom and dad and couldn't have had a better time!  My mom bought my dad an iPad for his birthday, and we were all super excited to give it to him. He had absolutely no idea that he was going to get one, and the look on his face when he realized he was an opening an iPad was truly priceless!



After presents, we went out to his favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner (and margaritas!), and then went to a country bar for some live country music. All in all, it was a great night! I have to admit, after playing with my dad's iPad I really wouldn't mind one myself...

What I'm wearing:
Top - Arden B
Cardigan - Vintage
Boots - Simply Vera
Necklace - Grandma

Kind of a big deal

Today was kind of a huge deal.

At my University, they keep us poor incompetent vet students away from live animals for the first two years of our schooling.  During these years, we basically lived in lecture halls and libraries, studying and striving to learn as much information as possible for the day when we would finally get to work on live animals.  After awhile, I really didn't think the day would ever come when I would get to work on an actual patient.

Well today was that day...our VERY FIRST surgery day!

We were split up into groups of three and each assigned a dog to either castrate (if it was a boy) or spay (if it was a girl).  Each member of the the team was assigned as either the primary surgeon, assistant surgeon, or anesthetist..but we had no idea which role we would be assigned until today!  Our dog was a boy, and I was assigned as anesthetist for the day.  I was actually dreading the role of anesthetist because I am really paranoid about anesthesia...there is just so much that can go wrong!  It was my responsibility to place our dog under general anesthesia, monitor him throughout the surgery, and then wake ("recover") him when the procedure was finished.   I was SO scared that he wouldn't wake up, but he popped right back up after we were all done!  I was so relieved I could have cried...

Our dog was the sweetest, most adorable Rottweiler mixed named "Stocker", and I have totally fallen head over heels for him!  He's from the shelter and is up for adoption, and I would absolutely love to bring him home with me for good.  Alas, I already have two cats and I'm not sure how Stocker would do with a couple of felines.   I am determined to find him a good home nonetheless... there's no way the little sweetie deserves to go back to the shelter!



I love this top and cardigan, but am unhappy with the fit of these jeans. New "skinny jeans" are definitely on my list of need-to-buys!






What I'm Wearing:
Blue bow shirt - Little yellow button, thrifted
Cardigan - Vintage, thrifted
Jeans - Tommy Hilfiger "skinny jeans", thrifted
Braided belt - Chiang Mai, Thailand Walking Street Market
Black flats - thrifted

Fringe-erific!

I am completely obsessed with these super cute boots I found at the thrift store a couple months back. Now that autumn has arrived, they've been making a fairly regular appearance at school. Not only are they super comfortable, but they're really versatile, too! I picked up this fringed cardigan during my last thrift store outing and had these boots in mind when I bought it. Fringe-overload, or fringe-erific? Personally, I kind of like them together!







I actually prefer this outfit belted.  I knew today was going to be a loooong day (9 hours straight working in the lab!), and I simply can't tolerate having a belt around my waist for that long.  I know other fashionistas can do it, but I haven't developed that skill yet! Maybe some day...







I bought this necklace this past September in honor of my summer spent in Thailand. I lived and worked in Chiang Mai, Thailand for 7 weeks this past summer, and it was the most amazing experience of my life! I stayed at the veterinary school in Chiang Mai, and was intrigued to learn that a great deal of their veterinary schooling is focused on elephant medicine. Imagine that! If only there were more elephants in the Midwest USA, because I would totally love to work on elephants!

What I'm wearing:
Skinny Jeans - House of Dereon
Fringed cardigan - International Concepts (thrifted)
T-shirt - Freak Zoo (hand-me-down)
Tank-top - zoey beth (thrifted)
Earrings - Kohl's
Necklace - silver shop in South Carolina
Boots - thrifted. Similar (or same?) boots found here  
Braided belt - Chiang Mai, Thailand Walking Street Market

A day in the lab

Autumn is, by far, my favorite season. I love the cooler temperatures, bonfires, football games, pumpkin pie, apple picking...pretty much everything about it! So when the weather is gorgeous and mild, like it was today, it's all the more depressing when I have to spend the majority of it INDOORS. Alas, I spent today in the lab working on my research project for my MPH degree. A degree which I've been trying to finish up for the last three years, and am concurrently pursuing with my DVM. Yep, I'm that much of a sucker for punishment.

Regardless, I still relished the fact that I didn't need to wear a coat today. That was just about the only bright spot in my whole day. That and catching the neighbor's cat napping on the electric box outside my apartment. She is such a cutie!





I only recently began wearing straight-legged jeans, and I'm still trying to figure out how to wear them correctly. It seems to me that my body shape isn't extremely well-suited for the these types of jeans, but I'm trying nonetheless! Today's outfit was a nice change from the brown tones I usually wear. I find that I'm naturally drawn towards earthy colors, such as brown and green. If you peek in my wardrobe I'm afraid those are the two colors that would pop out at you right away! Does anyone else have this problem? At least it makes it easy to match accessories!







What I'm wearing:
Shirt - Forever 21
Jeans - Tommy Hilfiger "Skinny Jeans" (thrifted)
Flats - American Eagle
Belt - Chiang Mai, Thailand Walking Street Market
Earrings - Jule

Horses and hearts

I woke up feeling really ill today, so not much effort went into dressing. I almost got rid of this tank top last time I went through my closet looking for things to give to the thrift store, but ended up hanging on to it. After all, some days you need clothes that make you smile...and what is more smile-worthy than horses, hearts, and flowers?

Besides, I thought it would be a perfect top for vet school! Next quarter I'll be taking more equine-focused courses, so perhaps this top will have to make another appearance then...









And THIS is my darling boy, Calvin. I adopted him as a kitten when my boss at the time brought him into our veterinary clinic after finding him by the side of the highway.  We gave him a check-up and put him up for adoption, but I had already fallen in love with him.  He was just a little guy, and trashed his cage every day playing with the blankets and toys in his cage.  I used to take him out of his cage and let him sit on my shoulder while I did laundry and cleaned the common area.  Believe it or not, he really was small enough to sit on my shoulder!  I started to take him home with me in the evenings to socialize him and play with him, and secretly dreaded the time when he would finally find his forever home.  So I decided that I would just have to make his forever home with ME, and adopted him myself!   We've been inseparable ever since!



What I'm wearing:
Brown cardigan - Old Navy (thrifted)
Horse tank top - Delia's (thrifted)
Purple pants - Old Navy (hand-me-down from sister)
Red flats - American Eagle
Purple charm necklace - handmade gift from friend
Purple dangle earrings - handmade gift from friend