Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Positive Is How I Live

Over the weekend I met up with Elliott's parents in Temecula. It was a gorgeous weekend day of wine tasting. His mom is so sweet and she surprised me with a new Alex and Ani bracelet. The Positive Is How I Live bracelet supports the Joe Andruzzi Foundation which provides financial and emotional support for cancer patients. Considering all the chaos of the past few weeks and what lies ahead as interview season starts, I couldn't think of a more perfect mantra for myself.



Best I Ever Had

With only 211 days before graduation (yes, people are counting) it only seems fitting to show a little love to some of the best friends a girl could ask for. Would never have made it through the days without these guys. On a side note, the new Gavin DeGraw CD is amazing. Do yourself a favor and get it now. I promise it's the best you've ever had.



Photo Credit to Christina Vu <3

Monday, October 14, 2013

Umami


On Thursday afternoon we had a serious treat- a half day of school! We almost never have any afternoons off so we knew we had to make the most of it. The weather was cool and I was so excited to spend some time outside and enjoy the beautiful (almost) fall weather. I was even able to wear my J.Crew field jacket and a scarf to walk around. Josh and I headed to Pasadena for some pre-interview season shopping. I had hoped to find a shirt to wear under my suit. Unfortunately there wasn't much to match with my brown skirt and jacket, but I did get a pretty coral swing sweater on clearance at J.Crew. The big win of the day came at lunch. We stumbled upon Umami Burger and decided we needed to give it a try. No lie, this was the best burger of my life. I ordered the Truffle Burger medium rare. I almost never order my meat that way, but our waiter suggested that we have the burger cooked like that to get the full flavor of the meat. I am so glad I listened! The burger literally melted in your mouth. The bun was perfect and stamped with the signature "U", the ketchup was homemade and full of tomato flavor and the fries were shoestring cut and crispy. We basically ate in silence relishing in the utter deliciousness of it all. I highly recommend it to all red meat eaters. Umami takes the cake! This is the best burger in LA!

Photo credit: Josh Hoa Pham

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Rock Stars

On Friday night I went to the Bon Jovi concert with the besties, Kendall and Christina. It was a last minute decision after finding a deal on Travel Zoo. We had dinner at L.A. Live at Rosa Mexicano. It was so good! My cheese enchiladas and the mound of freshly baked tortilla chips were delicious! The concert was super fun; we could not get over how energetic Jon Bon Jovi was. He sang and danced all over the stage for almost 3 hours. Whooaaaaaa Livin' On a Prayer!!!



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Silly Stuff

One of my favorite things is picking up silly accessories at Forever 21. They have something for everyone. I love that you can pick up some really trendy or unique pieces there at a low price point. No need to invest in something that might go out of style quickly. This weekend on a shopping trip with my friend Stella, we grabbed some cute finds at the Ontario Mills Forever 21.

Cozy Spotted Pom Pom Beanie, $8.80


Dinosaur Stud Trio, $2.80
I think these would be cute mixed and matched! Perfect for a trip to the museum or even for everyday!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Fall Colors

I got this new nail polish over the weekend at Kohl's. I didn't even realize they sold Essie polish in the beauty department there. I chose Ballerina Slippers because it is a perfect neutral for school. The color almost looks like you don't have anything on. The After School Boy Blazer is from the new fall collection. I love that it is a flat navy color with no sparkle or sheen. I can't wait for a few days off from clinic at the end of the week to try this one out.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Be A Peach


Lately the instagram of Miss Courtney Kerr has been filled with inspiration. I have been feeling like there are some days where I put a lot in: I spend a little extra time getting ready in the morning so I look really put together; I get to school early and am super prepared for the day ahead; I help people in little ways that I don't want recognition for. But there are still some people that never seem to be quite satisfied. I am the type of person that takes everything to heart. I am realizing more and more that you need to let things slide off your back most of the time. Maybe the other person is just genuinely unhappy and no matter what you do you cannot please them. Maybe they have nothing better to do than worry about you.  Life is too short to spend your time worrying about these kind of people. The best advice I have heard all week: "Be a peach."

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Eyes.Lips.Face




Ever since I started getting my Birch Boxes in the mail I have been a lot more interested in learning about makeup and beauty products. I love the stuff that I get in the box and the tutorials they post during the month. I noticed that the girls in the videos always have great makeup. Their eyelashes look long and full, their nails freshly painted and their lips in some awesome color. While I will never be a slave to beauty, dental school certainly doesn't permit the time, I thought it would be fun to learn more about the proper brushes and new products that I have never used before. Instead of going on a $500 shopping spree at Sephora to try some new tools, I perused eyeslipsface.com. This site is amazing! They have tons of brushes and products for, you guessed it, your eyes, lips and face. They also do nails. I am sure these products are not quite up to par with some of the things you could purchase at a high end makeup counter at Bloomie's, but I am super satisfied with the first shipment I received. I used Pinterest to help me pair up some of the best (and expensive) brands' colors with exact copies from E.L.F. Everything was spot on. For those of you that swear by Urban Decay's Naked palette ($50), I was able to score the exact some colors in a palette for $6. Makeup artists swear by Nars Orgasm blush; E.L.F. makes that one too. Brushes and beauty tools range from $1-$6. My new favorite lip exfoliator was $3. If you want to try new colors and new tools you absolutely cannot beat the prices on this site and they offer free shipping on every order over $35. 

Now I am not saying that you should never splurge again. I have recently gotten addicted to Benefit's Hoola bronzer and Porefessional and I will probably continue to purchase those at Ulta. But as far as new brushes go, if they start to get kind a little sad looking after a few months, toss them and buy another for $1. That has to be way better for your skin and also your wallet than constantly purchasing expensive brush shampoo (which E.L.F. sells too for $3) or replacing high end brushes from MAC or Sephora. 

I found out this week that they sell their products at Target and Walgreens so if you don't think you can rack up $35 worth of products for the free shipping, you can snatch up most of what is online at the store. I really like this brand and the great products that they have. On a dental school budget it's a no brainer to try some of these out!


Friday, October 4, 2013

Game of Thrones

I don't know why I am sort of embarrassed to say it but I am obsessed with Game of Thrones. I don't want to give away any spoilers or anything but it is such an addicting show. I love the overlapping plot lines, the costumes and the English accents (even when they are a bit off). I was totally resistant to start watching it; a friend gave my roommate the first three seasons and I reluctantly let her put one episode on when there was nothing on TV. It takes some time to get into it in the beginning. We had to re-watch some episodes and look at some websites that explain how everyone is related and where they come from. Once we got the hang of it though, we were totally hooked. I am halfway through the second season and I am getting nervous to reach the end of the third. The fourth season isn't scheduled to air until early 2014 and that's still a few months away. I am thinking I may have to read the books in the mean time and see how they measure up. Normally I like to read the books before watching the show or movie, but I am glad this time I made an exception. If you are looking for something new to get into on TV and want something with plenty of episodes to watch, I highly recommend Game of Thrones.


This weekend I am going to be interviewing applicants for the class of 2018. It is absolutely crazy to think I will not even be at school anymore when these students start in the fall. I wish them the best of luck in the interview process. It feels like yesterday I was in their shoes and I am very grateful to be sitting on the other side of the table now.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

It's Fall After All


It's hard to be believe how quickly September flew by. Everyone told me fourth year would go by in a flash, but I never could have imagined that I would find myself two months into the semester this fast. It feels like yesterday that I was coming back from Connecticut after August break. This has been a tough semester. Clinical exams are always looming. Boards are complete but I am still waiting for my results. I scored an externship at Yale for a week which is exciting and super scary. I even have two GPR interviews coming up in the next few months.

One of the ways I love to de-stress and focus on something other than school is reading blogs. My favorites are the College Prepster, Gal Mets Glam and What Courtney Wore. These women have inspired me in every way- from what to wear to where to eat, how to organize my life and what new products to try. It is important for women to be able to share their thoughts and ideas with each other and I think blogging has given us a way to connect with and learn from each other.

I also am a serious Pinterest addict. I love finding recipes and testing them out in my kitchen. I have been trying to incorporate some Paleo meals into my life and this has been a great source of ideas. I have been buying organic chicken and grass-fed beef from Trader Joe's. I wish we had a Whole Foods closer, but I am thinking a trek out to Pasadena will be in the cards for the weekend so I can stock up on the non-perishable items that I need to make some Paleo desserts to keep my sweet tooth satisfied.

When I was younger I had a book called Freddy the Leaf which I am sure you can guess was about a leaf. He changes color and falls from the the tree. It was kind of a sad story, but it was also really beautiful. While spring is the time of rebirth, fall also feels like a new beginning to me. I am excited so wee what changes in my life come with the changing of the leaves.