My Thoughts on the Anthro Ordeal

I'm sure most fashion bloggers have heard about the controversy that's unfolded in the past few days.  I don't really feel the need to re-explain the whole situation since it's plastered on blogs and forums.  If you're interested, here are a few links:

GOMI Discussion
The Pursuit of Hippyness: Her Personal Experience
Anthroholic's True Colors
Effortless Anthropologie's Post (read the comments)

I'm really new to the fashion blogger world.  I only started reading the majority of these blogs a few months ago before I started my own blog.  I unfortunately don't blog often, but I do read posts every day on my breaks.  I have been a fan of Anthroholic's blog for months, and even posted at the end of August that I was featured in one of her Reader Outfits posts.  I wasn't even aware that she offered a personal shopping service.  I only knew about recent contests on her blog because I entered a few.

I have a lot of sympathy for the countless victims of this deception.  There is no good reason that this should have happened, and I really hope that everyone receives the refunds they are entitled to.  The manipulation and quite frankly abuse of those affected is wrong on every count.  I fully understand why the victims kept believing the lies and deceitful messages they received, because the impression Kim gives on her blog is one of a sweet girl who's unequivocally in love with fashion and Anthropologie.  When you read someone's blog and exchange messages for a long enough time, you start feeling like they're a friend, and therefore someone that can be trusted.  Unfortunately, this situation has rocked a lot of people's confidence and trust in the fashion blogger world.

In all honesty, I'm just surprised it took so long for all of this to come to light.  If a seller was doing this on any of the clothing exchange sites (Lululemon Exchange or Ebay for example), they would have been banned a long time ago.  I'm just glad this got exposed before even more people got affected.  Whatever the true reason is for why this happened (debt, personal problems, mental issues), the fact of the matter is that it is inexcusable.  The victims deserve more than the apology given on Kim's blog (which isn't even up right now).  I just hope that she can find the help she needs.

I'll close with some links helpful posts from Effortless Anthropologie and J. Crew Aficionada detailing how to avoid getting scammed online.

Alert! Protecting Yourself From Online Transaction Scams - Effortless Anthropologie
Make Sure You Are Protected With Online Transactions - J. Crew Aficionada

Mini Happiness Project - Reflection

I will shamefully admit that I did not succeed nearly as well as I wanted to on my mini happiness project.  Let's break it down:

1. Write A Yelp Review Every Day

This actually didn't turn out too bad.  I ended up writing 23 reviews for the month of August, which is 8 away from my goal of 31 reviews.  I can't really beat myself up for that one.  I wrote a few multiples in a day, but the point of the matter is that I worked towards my goal of being Yelp Elite.  I'm not Elite yet, but I'll keep working at it until I get that shiny badge on my profile.

2. Contact A Different Person From My Past Every Day

Fail!  I wrote maybe 2 lengthy facebook messages.  I wrote an email to a girl I've semi kept in contact with since I moved from California.  I wrote a quick message on a few facebook walls.  Not even close to my goal.  I want to work towards fixing old friendships, but I feel like graduate school is the start of a brand new chapter in my life, and that some of my old friendships weren't exactly healthy for me.  I think I can forge many new friendships while maintaining some of my older ones I cherish.  I think I'll still reconnect with older friends, but I don't know if I necessarily have to write a facebook message to everyone.  Besides, a lot of them haven't tried to contact me at all!

3.  Write A Blog Post Every Second Day

Well I was smart on this one knowing that I wouldn't write a post every day.  According to Blogger, I wrote 8 posts in August, which is halfway to my goal.  August was just such a mess of plans and getting orientated in the lab.  I'm not saying it is going to be easier to write more often in September (I mean, it took 6 days to write this post), but I do enjoy updating my blog and I'm really excited I have some followers!  I'll keep working at it readers.  Don't give up on me yet!

4.  Spend Less Than 30 Minutes Wasting Time On The Internet In The Morning

Bingo! I rocked this one.  So many wasted hours were being spent on the internet in the morning, which made me late for everything in the past.  Now that I'm back to set schedules (and 9am classes!), I simply can't be late.  I'm getting better at checking my internet and facebook on my phone in the morning, and then just letting it go and getting ready.  I have unfortunately noticed that I'm on the internet a bit more in the evening, but old habits die hard.  At least I can make it to school early now!

5.  Accomplish One Thing On My To-Do List Every Day

This has mostly involved household chores, so it hasn't been that successful.  At all.  I mean, stuff is getting done at home.  Things are being dealt with, I'm caught up on all of my forms and duties that way, but there's a pile of laundry sitting in the bedroom that hasn't been sorted since Thursday.  That's 4 days of laziness!  I mean, I've had other things to do, but that 10 minutes I need to accomplish that has definitely been there.

So, what have I learned?  Well, one thing I learned is that I lost interest in keeping track of this on Excel really quickly (like August 6th quickly).  I should really write things down in a book, not on the computer.  I have an agenda for such purposes now.  I learned that I really need to work at things, because I get in crappy habits and I don't change them unless they are brought to my attention again, and again, and again.  I also learned that I don't really need to sit on the internet checking websites constantly. 

So, what's next?  Well, for starters, I need to start setting long term goals that are more meaningful.  I really want to be a better, more rounded person, but I have to work at it.  I think the next step is to try to figure out what I want to accomplish by the time I finish my Masters.  I am going to over-haul my Day Zero List completely, and then write it out and keep it where I can see it.  I will blog about that once that happens (which may take over a week!).

I have so many fashion posts in my head, I just need to take pictures and write out posts.  Look forward to more posts soon!

Recent Adventures

I know, I promised I'd post a few days ago about my adventures.  But then I went and had more adventures!

Let's start with some Jenga action.  My boyfriend and I were at a going away party for some friends of ours who are leaving Canada for Australia, and one person at the party brought Jenga.  Jenga is one game I can't pass up.  The guy who brought the game had a record for 31 levels.  Of course, we had to beat that.  During our first 3 attempts, I kept knocking the tower over (which led me to refer to myself as the tumbler).  On our next attempt, we made it to 31 levels, with one block missing.  It was my turn.  I was really worried that I would knock it over again.  Fortunately, I managed to handle it like a champ!  Here is my victory photo:

32 levels of awesome.  Unfortunately, the tower fell over during the next turn.

I also went and saw The Help on Friday.  I'm very thankful I went with some girls, because the movie was such a chick flick.  I think 12 guys were in the theater.  Regardless, the movie was great!  I heard the book was amazing, and women we talked to afterwards said that the movie is definitely on the same level as the book, which is rare!  The actresses were all great, especially Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.  Bryce Dallas Howard was definitely believable as a villain.  The movie sucked me in, and I am very glad I saw it :)

I also went to the Pacific National Exhibition with my boyfriend over the weekend.  We checked out the Superdogs show, went on a few rides (including the super awesome wooden roller coaster), and indulged in deep fried oreos and deep fried pop tarts.  We could only do a few bites of each, but we mostly did it for the experience.  The oreos were definitely better than the pop tart.  My boyfriend also won me a pink domo from the midway (he popped balloons with darts like a champ!).

On a different note, I got featured on Anthroholic's Reader Outfits!  This was really exciting since I read Kim's blog all the time.  You have to scroll down a bit, but I'm beyond excited to be on there.  I'll have to make another outfit and submit it soon :)

I plan to post more soon, particularly about what I learned from not succeeding at my mini happiness project.  I also want to post more personal fashion!

Some Of My Favorite Things...

I was going to write a post about my adventures lately, but apparently it takes over 8 hours to send a picture from my cell phone to my gmail account.  Who knew?  I feel like the laziest person because my camera battery has been dead for over two weeks and I haven't taken the effort to actually dig out my charger.  Hence the lack of posts and personal pictures in post.

Instead of waiting another day to write a blog post (so much for that vow in my Mini Happiness Project), I thought I'd write about some of the things I've been enjoying lately.

Tiny Tower

Hello Sims wannabee.  Tiny Tower is a free game (yes, free!!) on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that lets you build a tiny tower and manage the businesses and bitizens that inhabit it!  The style is 8 bit, which makes it feel like an old-school video game.  The type of businesses range from a tea house to a laundromat to a tattoo parlor.  I've been addicted to it since I downloaded it (but that's probably because I was addicted to the Sims).  

Scarves

I really, really like scarves. All kinds of scarves.  I own at least 10, ranging from hand-knitted to light and airy to thick and warm for winter.  There is a reason girls everywhere are wearing scarves, even in the warm summer weather.  They're just so fashionable!  They can complete any outfit.  I actually purchased a second Vinyasa Scarf from Lululemon (more on that later) because I was lusting for a second one.  My first one comes with me to school every day in my backpack since it doubles as a scarf and a blanket.

Reading on the Bus

The one part of my commute I like in the morning is that I have an uninterrupted 20 minute period to (and from) campus to read.  I normally only read late at night, so it's nice to use these 20 minutes for some me time.  I just started reading Water For Elephants, and I finished Mini Shopaholic and Further Adventures of a London Call Girl  in the last two weeks.  I'm a huge reader anyways, and it's nice to start working down my list of books I want to read.

Wraps and Cardigans

I've become a total wrap and cardigan addict.  I recently ordered some more cardigans from J. Crew (well my mom did), and I've been wearing them steady the past few months.  My personal favorites are:

J. Crew Jackie Cardigan

Dynamite 3/4 Sleeve Hanging Sweater

Wilfred Diderot Sweater

Clinique Toner and Makeup Remover

My skin is normally really clear, but when it has problems Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 takes care of all of them.  The bottle costs around $20, but if I use it every day my skin becomes nice and clear. 

As for the make-up remover, I only really wear eyeliner and mascara, and nothing takes it off better than Clinique Rinse Off Eye Makeup Solvent.  One swipe and most of it come right off.  Only the stubborn stuff needs a second swipe, and that's because I wear waterproof mascara.

Outfit Envy

I've been suffering from some major outfit envy lately.  Now that I'm on campus, I see lots of girls in super cute outfits that I wish were in my closet.  I've been doing some organic synthesis this week, and according to safety guidelines I have to wear closed toed shoes and long pants.  I can't really argue with that, because I really don't want any chemicals burns on my skin (I touched something that penetrated my glove over two months ago and my hand still isn't healed). 

Anyways, here are some of the basics I absolutely wish were in my closet:

Flower Print Skirt (such as the Springtime Floral Skirt from Forever 21):

North Face Rosanova Hoodie in Black (A girl that works in my lab has one and it looks absolutely amazing on her):

Gladiator Style Sandals (even though I'm sure they would cause major blisters before they are broken in):

Wilfred Charlotte Shawl Top (and other Wilfred wraps):

Marc by Marc Jacobs Nylon Pretty Little Tote:

Instead of being jealous, maybe I should go through my wardrobe and see if I can make some cute outfits.  With so many clothes, there has to be some possibilities :)

Now For A Little Chemistry...

At school yesterday one of the researchers snapped a picture of me doing some actual chemistry!

Oversized lab coat? Check. Bright blue gloves? Check.  Real pipetting action? Check.

If you're curious about what I was doing, I was filling a pipet to inject some cell extract into a protein gel to separate out the different protein bands by size.  Are you curious how I did it?  Go here for a chemistry lesson on gel electrophoresis.

On a chemistry related note, I saw this post on J.Crew Aficionada showing J.Crew's incorrect periodic table.

Do you notice what's missing?  They eliminated groups 14 and 15 entirely.  I think it's really awesome that J.Crew incorporated some science into a store display.  It would have been cooler if they were more accurate.   Although, it's not like carbon and nitrogen are important anyways ;)

I always enjoy when science things are used in the fashion and beauty industry.  Here are some examples:

A Clinique magazine ad:

PS: Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 is awesome.  I use it every night.

The use of beakers at MAC Cosmetics:

Aveeno's ad campaign with their own "elements":

I know for myself I stored my makeup in beakers for ages.  I haven't done so in awhile since my beaker is sitting in a box at my parents place.  I just think that chemistry is everywhere, and definitely has a place outside of the lab.

On a random note, if you're bored, go to the Black Acre Brewing Co. website and say you're under 21.  My boyfriend showed me this tonight and it made me laugh.

Goodbye Vacation, Hello Graduate School

Yesterday I started the next stage of my career: graduate school.  I was unbelievably nervous before my first day.  I believe I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but I switched from analytical chemistry to a biochemistry lab where I'll be doing more synthesis and product characterization.  This is completely out of my chemistry comfort zone, but it's something I want to do.  I feel it's a much better fit, at least in terms of my interest and future career goals.  I was mostly worried that I would be completely lost in the lab and have zero idea what was going on.

Luckily for me, my lab group is super nice.  I know all of the theory behind the lab techniques, but I've never done any biology or biochemistry labs.  I'm not really sure why I was so worried.  They don't expect me to know how to do everything.  They are also happy to explain a lot of things, which is good because I'm full of questions.  I know I'm only a few days in, but I can confidently say that I chose the right lab group.

That being said, in terms of my Mini Happiness Project I'm failing.  I missed 3 days of Yelp Reviews, 5 days of blog posts, and 6 days of contacting people I haven't spoken to in awhile.  I've managed to get some things off of my to-do list, but it's mostly cleaning.  The one place where I'm succeeding is getting off the internet quickly in the morning.  I've only been on my computer for 30 minutes twice in the morning this month so far.  The rest of the days I'm able to walk away after 10 or 15 min. 

The best part about this is that I was actually able to fit in Level 3 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred this morning before I went to work.  This never would have happened before.  It felt good to knock out the workout in the morning since I've been slacking the past few days.  On that note, Level 3 is vastly superior to Level 2.  It's much easier on the knees and you really feel the workout afterwards.  I'm especially a fan of all of the jumping.

Okay, enough text.  Let's end on a fashion note.  I'm hooked on these Talula Bustier's from Aritzia.  I now own it in 4 colors: black, white, purple, and bright pink.  They're excellent for wearing when I go out at night, and for $30 the price is definitely right.