Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Picks

The Nordstrom Anniversary sale is so cool, this upcoming season's merchandise is temporarily reduced in price for a few weeks and then it goes back up to full retail price after the sale is over.

Bloggers have been going crazy the past couple weeks posting photos of how they styled some of the sale looks, which means many of the most popular items have been out of stock, or out of stock in the size you might want.  

Nordstrom is also great because you get free shipping and free returns (postage sticker included with your order for the return)! I ended up sending a few things back and the process was quick and easy! 

Here are some of my favorites, I purchased a few of these but the rest I found were just favorites from researching and seeing them on others!

One  :  When I saw this I thought it would be perfect for under my white coat and also great without a white coat :) The shirt feels luxurious and it's very flattering on! I was pleasantly suprised that it's longer in the back too and covers some of your hiney! 

Two  : These BP plaid shirts have been extremely popular and everyone seems to think they have exceeded expectations as far as quality goes. I loved the green/black one (no longer available) but this black one is cute too. This shirt also is long enough in the back to cover your butt! 

Three  :  Last fall I bought a jacket similar to the one pictured in my collage, and I wear it all the time.  This camo jacket would be really cute too. (I would wear that camo jacket all the time too if I didn't have to dress up every day)

Four   :  This item was a hot item for the sale. I think the oatmeal color would look great with leggings!

Five  :  I knew I wasn't going to order this shirt because I have a lot of striped shirts but if you are looking for a reasonably priced, nice quality, striped shirt that is long in length on the back then go order this!

Six   :  This fall dress was very popular on instagram this year. This summer I didn't jump on board with the lace-up tops because I had no where to wear any of it, but the lace-up top is transitioning into fall with sweaters and dresses and this dress looks like a cute way to wear it from what I've seen from others! (I didn't order it, just saw it appear multiple times and thought it was cute) 

Seven  :  This flowy top is perfect under a blazer (or white coat in my case)! Very flattering and the back of it has a nice slit with layers too, I'm sure I'll wear this every week this year.

Eight  : These were my picks for leggings in black if you needed a new pair. I've read the reviews and they seem to be a great price for how thick they are! I've always loved the "moto" details in leggings like these. 

Nine  :  I picked this shirt last year during the sale and it's very flowy and just looks very nice on. Unfortunately, my white one is pretty see-through (It's thin, silky material) so I have to wear an undershirt. I bet the darker colors aren't as bad. 

Ten:   This scarf is my pick of the selection this year, but they had some really really cute ones that sold out right away (of course). 

One  :  Unfortunately this item is back ordered during the sale, but who knows it may come back! Love that old adidas logo. Here's a tank on the sale in the same logo but it's out of stock right now too.

Two  (more colors here) :  I've heard about the Patagonia Snap T pullovers for years but never wanted to spend that much on a pullover. When it went on sale (and the promise of free returns) I went ahead and ordered it to see what it was like (since we don't have a Patagonia store in Nebraska). Yeah...it's not going back to the store, loving this one. If you are ever looking for me in the late fall or winter I'll  be wearing this.   (get a size larger if you have a long torso, you'll want some extra length)

Three  :  These Adidas Superstar sneakers are all over my instagram and were one of the most popular things I saw people purchasing from the anniversary sale. 

I didn't buy any of the beauty picks from above, but I wanted to go ahead and list them because they still would be my "Picks" from the sale.

The T3 featherweight 2 hairdryer  I do own, but in black, and it's on this sale at a great price if you've had your eye on a nice hairdryer. My prior hairdresser recommended it a long time ago, and I should have taken her advice sooner (she was a hair God) .... But anyway, it's extremely lightweight and uses ionized technology to dry and seal your hair (whatever that means). Through a few studies it's been "proven" to be healthier for your hair than just letting it air dry. I haven't read the studies but I can say that I love this hair dryer! It makes for a fast morning! I hadn't bought a hairdryer since 8th grade, and so this was a dramatic change in how amazing and smooth my hair looked! 

I usually wash and blow out my hair 1-2x per week and just add dry shampoo and some touch up flat iron or curling iron every morning in between.

Burberry Beauty Set I know that three of the six things in this set are amazing and I use them every day. The full size Pale Barley eyeshadow is an every day eyeshadow, the full size Fresh Glow Pen I also use every day and I use the Luminous Fluid Base almost every day. I described the Luminous Fluid Base (mix with foundation) and the Pale Barley in this blog post with pictures! 

The Fresh Glow Pen is a dewy highlighter (NO glitter, just a light attractant, it's hard to describe but it looks way more natural than the glitter highlighters).   This kit also comes with a full size tube of universally flattering lipstick, a perfume sample, and a cute makeup bag. I didn't order it, but I know from using the products if you want to test them out this is a great kit!

YSL Beauty Set . If you've been wanting to test out a YSL lipstick and/or that highly pigmented gloss then this is a good deal. I still think it's a little pricy but I've seen those colors in person and if you have zero nude lipsticks or want a nice set then this is a good bet. 

These Lace Up Shoes are very cute. I didn't order them because I'm not sure how comfortable they are since I stand up all day every day, but if I had a desk job I would order them in the blush color! I've seen them so often on others that I know they would be great with so many outfits.

Lip Fillers without the needle

I hate hate hate posting selfies on here, because I don't like knowing you all are looking at it me judging, but I really wanted to share about this lip pencil. 

The Charlotte Tilbury 'Lip Cheat' in "Pillow Talk" is exactly what it sounds like.

It's a lip filler without the needle. I've been wearing this every single day so I really wanted to do an entire post on how great it is.  

The product won't last all day long, but it lasts me until lunch time.

I'm a small lip person, like really really small . Keep scrolling and you'll see the change!

The pencil is the color of natural lips and it doesn't dry your lips out! 

Line the lips with this pencil following the border of where your lip meets your normal skin and fill in the entire lip area with the pencil. 

(Yes I know Kylie Jenner has been telling us to over line our lips for a while now, I'm late on this ... whatever) 

Then you're done just like magic! 

+ some lipgloss and head out the door

Click to shop:

painting copycat

I love to paint, but I always have problems coming up with my own original designs. Instead of purchasing prints or expensive paintings I like to try my hand at recreating them. Before you look down on me for using others' designs, I want to tell you I'm not selling anything nor do I claim to be as great as they are. I just enjoy the process and so I wanted to share a recent painting I did based on a print I saw on Etsy and Anthropologie.

Forgive the poor lighting, this was intended to be a tutorial but I didn't know what the heck I was doing so....here's just the process.

 I've also recreated this Anthropologie bird (you can see my recreation in this post - I'm most proud of this recreation! haha) Check out some my other DIY paintings here and here.

P.s. how cute is this painting Jake made at a work function (the same week I was painting this) at one of those "wine and paint" places. 

pediatric lessons

I've been at an outpatient pediatric clinic the past couple weeks, here are some fun things I wanted to share with you all about one of the most common problems I've been seeing with the kids.

Recognize some physical signs of allergies in kids:

That white line on kids' noses they get in the summer 

(photo from here)

Allergic shiners 

(I started taking my allergy medicine again when I realized my dark circles may just be allergies....turns out they went away :) )

(photo from here)

Dennie Morgan Lines

(photo from here)

Cobblestones in the conjunctiva (pull back the lower lid a little and you can see these)

Allergies manifest in different ways and sometimes kids and parents don't even know they have them! But if the child is having problems with a cold, cough, or itchy eyes, he or she just may need to try some over the counter allergy medicine!

eyelash growth serums

A few months ago I started a new product that multiple bloggers had been recommending and swearing by. I love learning about the science of beauty products and I thought this product would be a fun science experiment for me too.  

Jake thought it was dumb when I ordered a eyelash growth serum, even though I was so excited and lighting up about it while telling him.  He may still think it's dumb, however, Neulash definitely does work. I waited for 20% off to spring up on the site and free shipping and saved lots of money. This product is expensive, and even though it lasts a very long time you could probably go get eyelash extensions (which are more expensive your first appointment I think)  or spend money on the serum to grow them yourself but keep in mind the serum lasts a long time. Dermstore.com has 15% off and free shipping when you sign up for their e-mail list, but other retailers carry it too (dillards, nordstrom) I ordered the 0.11 oz not the 0.2 oz. and it's lasted two months so far and not running out anytime soon. Other eyelash serum brands that would probably work just as well because they contain the same active ingredients include Latisse and Revitalash. (Keep in mind not all of the serums on the market contain the prostaglandins and other ingredients needed to make the product actually work)

This product would be really great for people with really short eyelashes looking for some extra oomph. One tube of this stuff will last at least 2-3 months. You need the teeniest amount, no double dipping after applying on one eyelash line and then after the first 6 weeks you don't need to use it everyday. The prostaglandins have been deemed safe by the FDA, just don't get them in your eyes, that's another reason to only use a small amount.

It takes the full 4-6 weeks of once a day application to actually see any results at all. Try hard not to miss an application, and once you stop using the serum the eyelashes will slowly return to the old normal. So to maintain you'd have to get another tube of this.

My eyelashes are now long enough that they dirty my glasses when I blink! They kind of look    spider-y, and the lower lashes have gotten pretty long too. The lashes have also gotten thicker.

 I do occasionally now find random stray eyelash/eyebrow hairs growing in odd places around my eyes, but I just pluck them. I have had to start really paying attention because even though I don't apply it on my brows, I'm getting stray hairs I never had before growing that show up anywhere in the eye area .

The before pictures are on the left and four weeks later on the right.

 (click the picture to enlarge)

Click here for other peoples Neulash results. It definitely works differently on different people. I don't think I had as good as results as some of the people but I'll definitely keep using my bottle until it's finished. I'm not sure if I'll repurchase another bottle, it will depend on how long this one ends up lasting me. I would probably miss my lashes though if they got shorter and went back to normal.

Shop the product here

P.S. 

They have a NeuBrow too, which I think is cool for those of us with crooked eyebrows (one higher than the other)  or if you have patchy spots within your brow. I'm very impressed with the results of that product that I've seen online (it's basically the same stuff as the NeuLash except they add almond oil so I won't use the NeuBrow). Click here for some of those results

finally all moved in

It's been a long and stressful process moving into our downtown loft. Although we are very happy with our little place right now, we've had multiple issues with the unit, and we were very unsatisfied with the shape of the loft when we moved in. 

I never expected the place to be perfect, but I spent hours wiping up the floor of the bathroom, wiping food off the cabinets in the kitchen, dusting our window blinds (which take up an entire wall in the unit), wiping down the stove, putting in requests for lightbulbs that were out or drawers that were broken. Paint is splattered on the baseboards in every room from the bright colors the people before us used. 

Our carpet was not cleaned upon move in like they told us it would be (multiple medium to large black stains were on the carpet), and it was also flat as a board from the prior tenants use. We'd requested new carpet, and then they told us no they would just clean it.  Then they said it was cleaned but the stains were still present. Then we started noticing leaves and stuff on the carpet and wondered if it was vacuumed. Turns out, it was never even shampooed. So the shampoo-ers came one day without notice a few days after we moved in, did one row in the hallway and then left. We had boxes everywhere, there was no room to shampoo. I walked in the unit and said they'd better come back. Eventually, they did. We also were told they didn't have time to put new carpet in because we "moved in too fast", even though we gave 70 days notice.  But over two weeks since move in, we finally feel like the place is clean and more comfortable now that we can move our furniture back.

I also found my nordstrom package outside of someone else's door. Luckily I grabbed it. This place sure is taking some getting used too. We finally got everything put into place today, I need to work on hanging some wall art and then I'll post a little tour. But for now, enjoy the views.

vietnamese iced coffee recipe

In the hot sun on my commute to Lincoln in the mornings I don't find myself enjoying my hot coffee as much as I used too so I went back to this old favorite iced coffee recipe. It's really easy, and it makes your drink just as good as one you'd get from a coffee shop! 

Using your freshly brewed coffee of choice, pour over ice and stir quickly (sometimes I just let mine sit out and get cold by removing it from the hot plate on the machine). 

Add a couple spoonfuls of sweet and condensed milk (found in the baking aisle) to the cup and keep stirring until it's well mixed. (If you don't do this it will all settle on the bottom)

If you made it in a to-go cup with a straw then you're ready for your Monday commute to work like I am! 

Happy Monday! 

Working on some more posts for this week too!

day in the life: Step 1 studying

To continue with the "Day in the Life" series, here's how I spent the last month studying for Step 1. I'm so glad to be in the clinics this year and away from my desk! To some of you this won't mea

7:00 a.m.  Wake up and catch up on social media

7:30 a.m. : Firecracker Questions, then review schedule for the day (this planner)

8:30 a.m.  : USMLE World Question Set (40 questions) and review

(didn't want UWorld to sue me...so it had to be blurry)

10:00 a.m.   :  Read through <subject(s) of the day> in First Aid

12:00 p.m.   : Lunch and watch SketchyMicro or Pharm videos

12:45 p.m.  :  USMLE World Set (40 questions) and review, then break if any time

2:30 p.m.   : Finish reading about the subject of the day, read Pathoma and watch videos

4:00 p.m.   : Firecracker Questions, maybe workout

5:30 p.m.  -  7:00 p.m.  : Talk to Jake, cook dinner, watch a TV show

7:00 p.m. - Bedtime : Review the day material, do questions, review UWorld Journal

10:30 p.m. : Peek at tomorrow's schedule, check social media, and then sleep