Leather Pants, MIU MIU & Embellished Camera Bag

Bon...nuit everyone!

I hope everyone had a lovely thursday! After all, tomorrow is Friday! *hoot hoot*

My outfit for today was super clean: Black leather pants, a sheer, flowy white shirt 

with bandaged booties and the cherry on top of my week...

my new camera bag!!

When it came in the mail 2 days ago, I decided that it was a must-bring to Chicago so you'll see it in the next 2 or 3 posts.

I originally decided to get myself a camera bag after a link from my sister, 

listing the many ways that one can get pick-pocketed in Paris and how to avoid such misfortunes.

Turns out those tips can be super helpful for ignorant people like the one writing this post...

I never really gave my camera's safety a second thought.

She's a simple Canon Rebel xsi and did not cost an exuberant amount of money so I didn't think that people would try to pop it off of me while walking or sitting with it on a cafe tabletop.

After some good ole ponder time, I decided to get my camera some cover

but the problem was that I didn't want to haul around an big, chunky and rather unattractive, thick strapped rectangle!!

This was a while back so let's just say that I had given up on buying a camera bag.

Yet here I am, several months later, just taking the usual stroll through online shopping sites when I came across this beaut, which I didn't know was a camera bag until I saw the description!

Anywho, I suppose someone's watching over me to make sure I'm not a walking, pick-pocket target and covering my valuables properly!

Here are my newest buddies~

Made of suede and wrapped in those multi-colored bandages made these booties ultra chic and added that subtle attraction towards the feet.

They were surprisingly comfortable as well. 

Even so, I always recommend women to add the paddings to the bottom of your shoes. 

It's always nicer to feel like you're walking on a jellyfish!

The blouse here was soft to the touch and had lovely pleats in the front that reminded me ever so slightly of a crisp tuxedo shirt~

Right before I left for Chicago, I stopped by my favorite local supermarket, which always has 3 fresh glass water dispensers with different combinations of fruits in it each day.

Today, I grabbed a cup of the strawberry water and I must stress how amazing the aftertaste of it was.

I highly recommend throwing some slices of fruit into your water and let it seep for a couple of hours for an extra *omff* to your day!

The colors make the water look more cheerful, don't you think?

Have a lovely start to your Friday!! I am off to explore the nooky treasures of Chicago!

Thank you so much for reading!!!

Outfit:

Top: Elizabeth and James

Bottom: 7 For All Mankind

Bag: Tory Burch (Purchase Bag Here)

Shoes: Miu Miu

Banana Shirt & PINK SATIN NINA RICCI

Bon soir~

The shoot for today's post was taken in front of a most nutritious food shop called Jazzy Veggie!

In front was this lovely waterfall-like structure that I had the urge to walk on.

The shirt and skirt in this post are rather special to me particularly because they are some of the most well-worn articles in my closet and are very well travelled fellas.

In my opinion, this skirt has neither a conservative not a provocative vibe, which makes it perfect to casually pair with a T-shirt 

or zest up with a deeper cut blouse on spicier occasions.

It's a bit difficult to see the pattern but the skirt has a beautiful misty grey hue with peachy gold patches of velvet on it. You can see the subtle clips of sheen from the velvet in some of the pictures!

This shirt is so comfortable that I often wear it as sleepwear 

and the simple "Banana" writing somehow gives it enough boldness to wear out with a more flavorful skirt or black leather pants/jeans.

I found the color of these shoes to be the perfect, fruity touch to the look.

Walking around in them, I think it's safe to say that they're attention hogs.

While the pink satin clearly makes them statement shoes, 

I wanted to get a close up of their transparent, plexi-glass heels with a thin gold trim in the center.

When I purchased them, I wasn't aware of these details 

so when they arrived in the mail, I was more than satisfied.

Buying something only to discover that you got what you paid for and then some is a feeling that doesn't happen often so I think everyone should try to predict these things.

Before you decide where to eat out, look up ratings, recommendations, any info possible 

to help you picture yourself after the purchase.

If you think future-you won't get as much bang-for--buck and slightly regret spending that money, maybe that's a red flag not to buy it.

Anywho, I am off to Chicago tomorrow but 

I will upload another post before leaving in the evening. 

Rest assure, I will have lots to jabber about and many, many pictures to upload whilst there!

I hope everyone had a swell Wednesday!

Thank you for reading!!

Outfit:

Top: (old from http://k-styleme.com/)

Bottom: Club Monaco

Shoes: Nina Ricci

Accessories: Club Monaco belt, J.Crew scarf

Hummingbird Cake & Fig Vanilla Latte

Bon journée!!!

I was unable to take shoots yesterday because I had the most exciting finance exam this morning!

Although it has been a rather long morning, it's been a happy one 

from the minute I walked out of the test room!

All this beautiful, cool weather is giving Ann Arborians a spring to their step~

It's as though everyone's spirits have lifted 

because people are prancing rather than walking.

Anywho! 

I'd like to announce that I am leaving for Paris in a month and thus, 

must drive to Chicago tomorrow evening for my interview with the French Consulate.

Oy...Visa gobble gabber.

After my exam, I drove North to Songbird Cafe, got myself a hot fig vanilla latte, un morceau of hummingbird cake and sorted through the required documents for tomorrow.

I'm always the type to ask the nitty gritty questions about what's in my food. 

Although it sounds a bit like something only weight-conscious, health-nuts do, 

I've found that knowing the ingredients makes me that much more aware of the flavors when I take that first bite. It also helps me to decipher which ingredients I like or don't like.

For instance, I like mint/basil in my drinks but oregano in my rice and pasta. 

Simple flecks of flavor like that.

By the way,

the hummingbird cake had chopped pineapples, bananas, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and walnuts in it!

On another note, here is a children's clothing company called "C'est Chouette," which basically means "cool."

I just wanted to post these dresses because I wish I was a little girl again, wearing around couture, outlandish dresses that you can't wear as an adult without being stared at or having people question why you're dressing as Little Bo Peep.

Welp. That's enough of my ranting for now.

I hope you come back to read tonight's post!!

Have a lovely Wednesday~

Suede, Stripes & LEOPARD PRINT

Bon soir! 

Today is a fine day because the rain has come and the humidity has finally lifted!!

When I'm lucky enough, the day after a long night's drizzle makes way to a clear, sunny morning.

On days with 0% chance of precipitation and the assurance of dry ground, 

I jump to suede!

Suede is such a lovely material and once I saw that bright splatter of red, my self-control was beat.

Personally, the texture of suede is quite entertaining. 

Why, just a few hours ago I was able to stroke my shoes whilst waiting for my finance professor to arrive.

Now that I've established that I'm weird,

here is a simple one-piece dress with...

pockets, which I actually used regardless of the fact it made my left hip look bunchy.

Quite frankly, unless we're going to a gala, pockets should be used for their utilitarian glory.

Yet another shot of my splendid marble ring.

Today I have matched it with my hearty, red shoes.

I admit it's subtle, but the ring really did give a bit'o color to the top half of the look.

There are few shoes more comfortable than a wedge sandals. 

These are great, particularly because they give you the height and lengthen your silhouette without the strain of elevated heels in the back.

When I don't want to wear a conventional black, white and (bold color of your choosing) look with a white shirt, black blazer, etc., 

poking people with prints is always a *thumbs up* with me.

In this case, the red provided the black and white, leopard-stripes dress a solid color to stand on so if desired, I probably could have added another crazy print or two!

I would love to experiment different ways to be black, white and red all over.

Just as a side note, here is a picture of my attempt at making homemade pizza.

I admit, it's not the prettiest and the crust is mighty chunky but the turkey sausage and mozzarella were freshly bought from local meat/cheese shops, the pineapple was organic and sweet, 

the italian parsley added a refreshing kick that made it taste like a slice of a home garden 

and the whole grain dough, eaten as it is, truly had a flavor all its own!

Hope you're having a lovely Monday!!

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Outfit:

Dress: Zara

Shoes: Prada

Accessories: Club Monaco belt, ring from http://www.gotallyourmarbles.com/

Men's Shirt & SILK TROUSERS

Bon aprés-midi!

Today is a beautiful, breezy Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, which makes me quite excited because I can finally take out my silk trousers!

Although topping this look off with a sheer, breezy blouse would have made it the perfect casual look for such a cool day, I felt a bit more on the formal side this morning and popped on a crisp, striped shirt, which is actually from the men's section.

I think the mix between masculine/feminine style gives women a lot of wiggle room to be comfortable.

In being able to wear clothing that's a bit loose, women can ease up on pieces that stick to their every curve and move around comfortably on those putty-belly days.

 

Although some women go all-out when choosing to man-suit themselves up for the day, I prefer my overall look to have a feminine *ring* to it, which is why I paired hyper-girly heels and plopped on an oversized necklace.

Here is the beauty I purchased from the Street Art Fair and as you can see, I have switched the center with a clean, transparent marble.

These pictures were taken at the University of Michigan School of Public Policy, which is a building full of velvet furniture and bustling graduate students. 

My mother always reminds me, "Work hard, play hard," so it's always encouraging to see students living to their fullest: Studying their butts off, cracking jokes in the lounge, doing a little chat-and-chew outside a restaurant on this breezy afternoon.

It always feels better to take a well-deserved rest after you've worked hard 

or rev up to work after a nice period of relaxation and fun.

I hope everyone remembers to dip their toes in both, even when stress levels fly through the roof~

Here are some resources that have helped me to understand more about stress

and steps that can be taken to reduce it:

•  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S_BB7R8NMU
•  http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/stress/manage-stress-10000001550513/page2.html

STRESS IN A NUTSHELL:

If you don't feel like reading through all that, here are some key points that I took away from other articles:

Stress is basically your body’s natural instinct to protect itself: the theory of a “fight or flight” response. When we're placed in a dangerous situation, our body prepares to either fight or run away, both of which require the body to pump that much more energy in preparation.

Now, this was useful for our ancestors (i'm talking cavemen) because they actually faced life and death situations but in today’s society, we don't really come across life threatening situations on a daily basis. 

Stressing yourself out causes your body to react in this same manner (as though you're in a life/death situation.) 

As a result the body is sending constant streams of danger impulse signals, telling it to produce surges of energy and brace ourselves for the danger (adrenaline rush).

This is an example of "the response" being out of proportion to the actual "threat." Our body is producing maximum energy for danger but we don't really need all that energy! We're certainly not preparing to run away from a tiger! but rather, most of us cause our bodies to react this way due to emotional stressors. This experience is called dis-stress. 

When Emotional stressors such as frustration with a job or a relationship accumulate, the fight-or-flight response is constantly ramping up.  If we're stressed out all the time, we're making our bodies constantly produce this energy without rest. 

"We become overloaded" and as a result, we begin to feel tired, edgy, and rundown. This can eventually wear down our body, exhausting us, weakening our immune system, and much more.

I always picture a little fellow in my brain, cycling to produce energy for my body.

If I'm always stressed, that little guy cycles all day/ all month/ all year...

Everybody needs some rest and although resting your mind is definitely more challenging than resting your body, I believe there are ways for everyone to breathe and shake thoughts away; you just have to find what works for you.

I'm quite a fan of bikram yoga. 

Of many other lessons, it's taught me that even simple, 2 minute, breathing techniques can gradually release a frustrated, tense, cluttered and tightened mind.

It can also help to be like Gwyneth Paltrow and take a bath at the end of each day, using salts that specialize in relaxing the mind and body, as commercialized as that sounds. I've found that Lavender salts work wonders for me!

I hope this helps and that the rest of your Sunday goes swimmingly!

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Outfit:

Top: French Connection

Bottom: Rag & Bone

Bag: Chloe

Shoes: Walter Steiger

Accessories: Kate Spade necklace, ring from http://www.gotallyourmarbles.com/

Pineapple Cup, Kebobs & Medley Chips

Bon soir tout le monde!! 

Given that today is the last day of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, I wanted my post to wholly cover the final bustle of this charming town~

Above is a picture of some fork men I have become acquainted with; they are happy men who would love nothing more than to graciously hold condiments. 

Although I don't like to pick favorites, I quite fancy the little guy all the way to the left. 

He carries the salt and pepper shakers as though they were heavy grocery bags.

I think it's safe to say that these radiant molds caught the eyes of everyone. 

I imagine the marketing strategy for these big bloomers to be quite advantageous. 

I mean, they're basically brighter, less delicate, more convenient versions of real flowers, non?

Even so, I've found that tending to real flowers teach certain habits, however small, and give a sense of gratification that one can only really get from nurturing a living thing, especially when it has a beautiful end.

Moving on, here is a collection of objects created from alcohol bottles.

Quite a quirky gift if you ask me, assuming the person you're buying it for has a memory or two.........

or many with certain brands.

They also come in chopping board form.

People who perform on the streets never cease to amaze me. 

It's quite incredible to really sit back and wonder just how well they multi-task.

After running into Mr.Banjo up there, I saw a large poster of this earring.

I think this is such an easy, simple way to dress up the ears 

and they were quite comfortable, might I add.

Although I couldn't take pictures of the entire line of food carts, I was able to capture the biggest and best of it all: everything I ate.

 I also snapped this charismatic, thin, neon fellow.

Yes, this appears to be a simple kebob but rest assure, it is filet mignon in disguise.

This glazed, chicken kebob was quite honestly, the most juicy, flavorful, satisfying hunk of meat I have ever laid lips upon.

To add a crunchy side, I shared this basket of chips drizzled with sweet sour cream and bacon bits.

I was hesitant to post a picture of little ole sweat hog me but that's life, right?

We're not always the polished and proper, non-perspiring ladies in our pictures and so here is a very happy me with a Pina-Colada filled pineapple.

I cannot express in words how refreshing this pineapple-coconut mixed smoothie was but I hope that everyone has been having a yummy weekend~

Enjoy your Saturday and thank you so much for taking the time to read my hullahbuhloo~

Outfit:

Top: American Apparel

Bottom: Zara

Bag: Alexander McQueen

Accessories: earrings by Earlusion