Boudoir

I have many dreams for my house one day. One of which, as I declared to hubby tonight, is to have my very own "girly room." As it turns out, there's a name for it, the "boudoir." No, I'm not talking about a genre of photography but a type of room! Leave it to the French to know my thoughts and all things feminine! Per Merriam Webster, a "boudoir" is a a woman's dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room. I envision my boudoir to be a place where my teddy bears can hang out in midst of my clothes, shoes and of course fabulously fun accessories. I want the walls to be some shade of pink and adorned with all things cute. It'll be a place for me to retreat and do my girly things. At first I thought it might just be an over-sized walk-in closet with a generous mirror, but I think I'll have a corner for gift wrapping, and maybe knitting or sewing, too if I ever take these hobbies up. Here are some pics for my future boudoir inspiration.

Dressing room of Carolina Herrera Jr.

The "Princess Room" of Xiaxue.

Fashion Blogs.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of fashion bloggers out there. Some are devoted to a single fashion item, like denim or purses and other cover all-purpose fashion material. Many have become famous enough to have a strong and loyal fan base and that have garnered them money-making advertisements and free promotions. Pretty cool to be doing what you're passionate about and earning a few bucks. Here's a few that I visit frequently.


1. Ma Petit Chou
http://www.ma-petite-chou.com
The blogger is a Chinese Canadian and she posts all kinds of fashion from couture to everyday. She introduced me to Yesasia and Yesstyle, a Korean on-line shopping place. I don't shop on-line 'cause I have to try on and feel my clothes before I commit but I love Korean fashion so I visit Yesstyle to "window shop".

2. Frugal Fashionista
http://frugal-fashionista.blogspot.com
This site features a different celebrity outfit almost daily. Then it tells you how to copycat the same outfit for much less at affordable prices. This is where I ascertained the fact that skinny jeans are still "in" as evidenced by Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan. Okay, these two people are not worthy role models in terms of their personal lives, but they are the vanguard of trendy fashion, hands down.

3. Kasmira's What-I-Wore-Today
http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/
Kasmira is a prolific blogger who's been blogging her daily outfits since 2006. She is super creative and have a uncanny sense for colors. Her outfits are always bold in colors and she's not afraid to bend fashion boundaries. In fact, her favorite pair of shoes are yellow pumps! Her svelte figure makes her look good in about eveything she wears although her eyes at times look scarily large to me. I visit her site for insipiration and admiration.

Down with Step 3

I'm done, I'm done! Finally, took Step 3 today, a beast of a test that's 400 questions and 8 hours long. Now, there's that dreaded waiting period of "did I pass??!"

Dog as accessory? It's all the rage in Hollywood, just google Paris Hilton, Ashley Tisdale, Rihanna, Blake Lively and on and on. As for Hiro, he's too big, he's no micro mini maltese or teacup poodle, he won't fit into the palm of my hand or handbang. But he's a full 10-pounder piece of lovey-dovey!

Eye Candy

So, what makes you feel like a kid in a candy store?? Here are my inciting things:

A Louis Vuitton monogram handbag in white muticolor. I don't know this bag's specific name (maybe a Speedy 25 or 30?) but I love the splash of colors on the white canvas, like an artwork. Practically, I wouldn't know how to match it with an outfit, the bag would defnitely have to be the focus while your clothes take a subdued background role. Well, I'm not getting this bag as it would take my whole month salary to pay for it, so luckily, I don't have to worry about what to wear with it!

If a handbag ever took my breath away when I first saw it, this one did! It's a LV Damier Azur Berkeley at around $1,500. I think it's just beautiful. . . the bag, not the price.


The LV Monogram Neverfull. Not sure what size it is, as it comes in 3 sizes. "Neverfull" is a really apt name. This bag purportedly holds upwards of 200 lbs, yeah, my back would break first before this bag does! Sturdy and stylish. Isn't it lovely with the white roses?

I Couldn't Resist. . .(PART II)

nice work dresses. . .

Love this dress: with smart shirt collar, geometric figures in a no non-sense neutral brown/beige color.

Paired with my white coat. So this is what I wear on days I'm not in scrubs or pants.

I Couldn't Resist. . .

. . .pretty dresses. I simply love dresses, so feminine, cute, comfy and easy. No need to match a top or bottom, just slip on and go. Not all dresses are flattering on all body types, of course, but when I find one that fits me well and looks pretty, I just can't resist. I've been wearing more and more dresses to work these days since it's summer time, most goes well under my white coat. Paired with peep-toe heels, I feel womanly and professional.

Okay, this is NOT a work dress, it's so whimsical. I love the wide red band that ties into a bow at the back.

Paired with a cardigan --because I'm not/rarely a spaghetti-straps-in-public type of person.

A SAK satchel. I have a penchant for red accessories these days, red sandles, red shoes, red satchels.

A GUESS handbag. I'm now a hoarder/collector of handbags, whichever way you choose to look at it!

Shoes and Coffee

There are days that just start out bad for no reason at all. I woke up in the morning with absolutely no energy and no motivation to go to work. In fact, the only things that got me going were my new shoes and Starbucks coffee. Thank goodness for cute shoes and flavored coffee!

They are patent grey pumps. Got several compliments that day.

Would you believe they're super comfy, too?--thanks to the roomy front for all my toes.

This Dog of Mine

Can I have too many peep-toe pumps? I don't know. . .then Hiro chewed up my receipt for some of the shoes. Guess I won't be returning them. A girl can't have too many shoes, right?

One with Many Labels

My first fake nails!

I got my nails done last weekend. The picture is not an actual picture of my real nails as I'm too lazy to get the camera and take a pic, but my nails look just like that. I was convinced I wanted the new gel overlay french manicure but the Vietnamese lady convinced me acrylic tips would be stronger and longer lasting. The truth is, not many people are experienced enough to do gel overlays which takes longer and costs more. After a week, I'm happy to say my nails still look like they were just done, not even a scratch! They really stand up to any activity you put your nails through. Acrylics rule!! It's nice because because only the very tip of every nail is glued on, the rest of the nails are my own, albeit reinforced with a a very strong yet clear layer of acrylic mixture. Ingenious! I love how my nails look so feminine and clean! So, they should last about 3 weeks until new nails grow out after which I have to spend oodles of money again and get them re-filled.

January is gone for good. It's been a good month in the sense I was on Pulmonary and had my weekends off, but the bad side is my days were 12-13 hour days. I rarely saw the sun since I left home in the darkness of dawn and returned to an already darkened sky. Not a schedule I liked at all, but it's over for now. I'm back on wards, yes, I'll have to spend some nights in the hospital but atleast the other days I get to come home at a decent hour.

But boy did I make up for lack of sun today! It was a beautifully sunny day and I took Hiro out for a much needed walk. No amount of begging could deter hubby's resolve to study for his exam on Monday (can you believe it?), so I went out alone with Hiro. I discovered a great walking/jogging trail nestled in a nearby apartment property! How happy I was to get away from the hustle and noise of street cars and enter the sanctuary of quiet squirrels and ducks! A rather unfortunate thing happened, though, I lost my phone along the way. When I found it, it was already ran over by a car!:( Looks like I will be shopping for a new phone tomorrow.

Of course anyone would agree, there are a lot of depressing things in the hospital, but to me, people on dialysis and people on ventilators have to be some of the most depressing. It's just a feeling I get when I step into the hemodialysis quarter or the ICU. Sometimes I step back and think, how far medicine has come to be able to take over the function of a whole organ system, like the kidneys and lungs, when they fail. It's a bit unnatural and awe-inspiring at the same time. Anyways, just some of my random thoughts.

I was warned about Dr. H, the pulmonologist, before I started working with him in January. "He will pimp you to death, " is his reputation. He deeply humbled me into realizing how much I don't know. Most of the time, I had no pride to be hurt because the way I see it, everytime I find out I don't know something is an opportunity to patch up that gap in my medical knowledge. Dr .H is not a natural-born American (he's South American, I believe) so he has a peculiar way of being honest and probing. Like when he talks to patients who are smokers, "so, are you going to stop smoking, or is that too much to ask?", he would say with a straight poker face. To this question, the patient would usually give a laugh and pause. Then Dr. H would continue, " I just want to know because I don't want to waste my time." The other thing he likes to do is to calculate for patients how much their smoking has cost them, monetary-wise. "Oh my, you could have bought a house!" or "for that much money, you could take a vacation in Hawaii. . .with your daughter." Somehow, Dr. H has a way of sizing you up and do it unapologetically. I have only seen that kind of straightforwardness and honesty in foreigners. Americans are very big on political correctness and politeness, a kind of fakeness that we get comfortable with and expect from strangers and professionals. Hmm, just another observation.

Another random observatin of mine: I can't believe skinny jeans are still in!! Makes me want to go and buy another pair! Should I or not? Decisions, decisions. . .

I'm working with another nice resident this month, wohoo!! He is giving us five days off, one extra day than usual!:) My attending, however, is one I would rather not work with, and I will just say that much. But oh will, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

I will end this post with this quote:

" Happiness in life is nothing more than a good health

and a bad memory."

Hairy business

Hiro got his first professional grooming session shortly before New Year's. And he really needed it, just look at his before/after pictures. Apparently he was a very problematic client for the groomer. He was squirming, biting, and fighting every step of the way. The groomer had to put a muzzle on him and a usual 30-minute affair turned into a 3-hour ordeal. I suppose it's very hard to make a puppy understand why someone has to clip his toenails, pluck hair out of his ears and all the while he has to stay still. But again, he will get use to this particular quirk of human domination like other unnatural habits and tricks he's now accustomed to.

BEFORE.

AFTER.

Hiro's poodle-ness really comes through, not so much maltese.

And guess who else got a hair cut? Moi!! I was getting so tired of the ponytail hairstyle I've had for ages. Only in the last two years I've adopted side swept bangs. I liked my last hair cut and perm in Taiwain in May of 2007, but since then the perm has grown out. For the first time in my life, I got my hair highlighted. Actually, there are "lowlights", too, but I have no idea what the difference is. You can't tell from the picture, but there are blonde to light brown to red highlights/lowlights in my hair. Hubby calls it my "New York haircut." I suppose he's not used to anything but a conservative undyed pulled back hair on me. Now I understand the craze of Asian girls with colored hair. It's so neat to see the color variations in your hair. Like many other sought-after things in life, it breaks up the monotony. I'm definitely in love with the salon. I went to the Toni & Guy salon in North Park mall.

Before.

After.

I'm so over curls (for now) in pursuit of sleek straight hair. I had a self-tutorial in flat irons over the internet and purchased one. I got the Solia brand as it had the best reveiws. I can't wait for it to arrive! And then there's leave-in conditioners and thermal protectants for the hair. I can't believe how much there is I don't know about beauty products and hair care. There are middle-school girls posting on Youtube about the use of flat irons! I'm such a virgin at this, but I get a feeling that my shampoo-and-air-dry days are over. But if work ever gets too hairy (a pun!), I'll have my pony-tail to fall back on.

In search of beauty knowledge, I came across gel overlay French manicure. Now I'm dreaming of getting a full set. What is that? Before yesterday, I didn't know either but it's the newest technology in artificial nails using dental-grade material, a step above the old acrylic nails. And I haven't even entered the world of facials and spas. I think I've opened a Pandora's box!

I was just pondering of the sheer expense of being a woman in the pursuit of beauty and vanity. By habit and by upbringing, I was the "au naturale" girl, but now I definitely see the light of "artificial" beauty. It's not all about superficiality. I believe the confidence boost we get from a new hairdo or putting on make-up carries over to our family life and our workplace. We all have our boundary of what is too much and each woman need to make that decision for herself and hopefully not judge others for making different choices. Some women draw the line at using a little lip gloss and other women draw the line at getting breast implants. The common denominator is, as women, we need to feel good about ourselves and be proud of our femininity. As the Revlon slogan says (and this is in no way kowtowing to the commercial industry but simplying plucking a kernal of truth from a message), "because you're worth it.

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New Month, New Moments

A new month also means a new team, new resident, new co-intern and new attending. And this month promises to be a very promising one. First of all, I love my co-intern, an anesthesia intern whom I worked with in October as well. When I think of S, I think of calm. She's African-American with a great sense of style and a head of hair to envy. She must live with a hairstylist or something because her hair is always amazing. One day she comes in with dreadlocks, another day with a bun, then the next with a updo in a head wrap. As for me, my hair is always the same, tied back with a rubber band. I must get to the bottom of what's her tress-rific secret. Ha, I love that pun!

Second of all, my resident in December is the super-great CK. I worked with her in July, yep, she was my very first resident in my very first month of internship. I couldn't have asked for a better resident during the overwhelming "First Month." What's more, CK gave S and I the day off today!!! Just like that, CK said, "we are on call on Sunday, so why don't you take Saturday off and I'll see all the patients." Oh my gosh, I had to ask, "are you sure?!" I was afraid if I said too much, CK would change her mind!

I hardly knew what to do with myself today. I slept in, of course. After hubby went to his Saturday class and usual date with badminton, I went shopping --just for work clothes. (Any new clothes in photos are loot from earlier shopping trips of months past). I picked up a couple of new sets of scrubs and a new white coat. When it comes to scrubs, there are name-brands, you know the Calvin Kleins of medical wear, and then there are the no-name brands of the Target variety. Even Grey's Anatomy and Katherine Heigle now have their own lines of scrubs and white coats!! Back in summer, Malini and I visited this little uniform shop (Scrubs-N-Chef Uniform Depot on N. Stemmons) hidden in a half-abandoned shopping center. The store owners are an old Indian/Pakistani couple. Although not a glamorous place to shop, but for only $16.99/set, I have discovered that the scrubs I bought there fit very well and have stood up to the test of time and frequent visits in the laundry machine. So today I went back for more and also picked up a generic 37" white coat. I have discovered that the life of a white coat for an intern/resident is 6 months, at most. My white coat is my single most frequently worn piece of clothing and after several months, it just won't wash clean anymore. It's rather nasty looking and probably colonized with every hospital germ there is. So I was really glad to see a new whiter than white white coat today and decided to get my name and speciality embroidered on it in the store. Unfortunately it was seriously botched!! The lines are lope-sided and a little too high. I didn't realize this until I came home. Maybe that's why the Indian lady gave me some free scrunchies!

As for what I did rest of the day. . .I cleaned up our home a bit and took some frivolous photos.

Mixing the old with the new:

Cropped black jacket with 3/4 sleeves and ankle boots are these seasons trends, but the tee and jeans are last years.

Black n' white jumper dress, black tights and ankle boots.

My new tan cold-weather boots with last year's jacket and jeans. These boots have been "in" for the last couple of years, but I love them, perfect for the snow days.

My new favorite outfit these days b/c it's super comfy: mini jean skirt with black leggings, and black flats.

New work clothes: the ever popular ciel blue scrubs and my new crisp white coat. Even in this poor picture, you can see the screwed up embroidery.

It's Timeless, it's Lovely, It's LV handbags

Then. . .

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and now. . .

BTW, that's Audrey Hepburn circa 1960's and Hillary Duff (TV and movie actress) circa 2005.

Conflicts

I’m a conflicted person. Let me explain why. I strive to be a learned person, but I also indulge in the ultra frivolous. I really want to be thin, only to be trumped by my love of eating. I desire to be godly but I don’t love God enough. I like to see hubby healthy and long-living but I also want him to enjoy the time he has on earth. I love my husband but I’m ever so critical of him. I’m really fun-loving inside but I’m also the biggest worrier there is. In terms of fun, I think laughter ranks right up there with shopping and the other “s” word but I can cry just as easy. I believe I’m in the best profession there is but I would hate to do it full-time. I can’t wait for retirement but I don’t want to get old. I want to be a fashionista but I end up wearing the same old outfit all the time. I love shopping but that’s complicated by a strong sense of frugality instilled in me by my parents. . .

. . .actually, bargain shopping nicely compromises that last conflict. If there was “bargain shopping” in the Olympics, it would be my event. This weekend is Texas’s tax-free weekend for clothing items and so I took advantage. Here’s a look at the damage done (too guilty to ask hubby to take pics for me):

*CLICK on picture to enlarge*

(most pics will enlarge)

Polka dots!! I recently watched the movie "Because I Said So" and fell in love with polka dots! I bought 3 polka dot items today. Don't know why but I was really drawn to polka dots and the color green today.

I love this green top, so cute with red heart-shaped buttons. It's very urban-Asian, I think. I'm wearing it with black capris and red pumps.

I like this conservative and classic dress. You can't see it very well, but this dress looks perfect with with my string of pearls. I'm wearing it to work next week.

But I can also do fun and flirty, which is what this dress is. It's a really nice silver metallic color. Another shopper at the store told me it would go great with black stilletos and a night of dancing. I agree but since hubby and I are not dancing people, I'll wear it to a nice restaurant.

Cute baby doll shirt with empire waist. Why, oh why did I not discover this trend earlier??! It hides my tummy (esp post-eating) so nicely. I can also wear it for pregnancy one day, hehe.

Another fun, cute shirt to wear with my skinny jeans, which I hope is still "in" this fall.

I can't have fun all the time, here's a new shirt for work. It's crisp and clean with nice ruffling details.

The ever so classic khaki trenchcoat for this coming fall. Like pearls and polk dot dresses, every girl should also have a trenchcoat.

Just Having Fun. . .

Gray tunic dress top, black leggings and matching flats.

Hairstyle borrowed from Heather Graham in the movie, "Gray Matters." A delish small bun in the middle with 2 cute hairpins on the sides.

"If You Can Read This, SMILE"

I have never been a tomboy, never. I was never the girl that climbed trees, caught frogs, or played Nintendo with the boys. This brings up a question, why is that all the girl heroines in the books I read as a child were always portrayed as tomboys as if being a girl and a tomboy is the only natural combination to be? The typical girl heroine was tall and lanky who cared less about what she wore and was always getting in trouble because of her sense of adventure or competitiveness with the boys. That was not me, I was short, curvy and girly to a fault. I would have been completely happy to stay at home, play with my toy kitchen set or play house with my dolls. If I was a character in my childhood books, I would have been the nemesis, you know, the spoiled and snobby cousin of the main heroine. But I was not spoiled nor snobby, but the girly girl was never portrayed in an positive light in those books. But that’s all the age-appropriate reading material an Asian girl could get her hands on in Arkansas public libraries in the 90’s. My theory is that the authors of that generation were in the midst of the feminist movement and they wanted to encourage girls to consider themselves equal with the guys and to know that our options are not limited to the home only but include careers and everything else in the men’s world. So back to me, I remember crying when my mother cut my long hair to a short bob. I have early memories of myself drawing designs of girls dresses and playing the hair on my Barbie for hours. My father, while not feminist-minded, didn’t have a son as I’m his only child, discouraged those girly tendencies and directed me towards more intellectual pursuits. So alas, I grew up role-playing teacher and student and buried my head in books.

But a girl will always be a girl. . . I had my LASIK surgery today! I always wondered why I needed glasses in the first place as neither one of my parents wore them. I started wearing glasses in the sixth grade. Oh gosh I still shudder at the thought of those huge pink plastic framed thing that I picked out for myself at Pearl Vision. What was I thinking?! In high school, contact lenses came to save the day until they became too uncomfortable. Hubby took the plunge and had LASIK last June and it took me a year to finally decide on it. This past year, my glasses have become my constant accessory and how I’ve come to deplore them! Yes, I’m excited about not having to reach for my glasses every morning, and not perpetually sliding my glasses back on my non-existent nose bridge, but the most exciting part for me after LASIK is the new freedom to be more girly! In Asia, I don’t remember seeing a single fashionable girl with glasses and believe me, I people-watched a lot! I attest to the fact that there are no outfit in my closet that looks good with glasses. The very thought of wearing glasses discourages me from putting on make-up or wearing a stylish shirt. You might as well put a bag over my head. It’s as if someone stripped me of my femininity when I put those specs on. I know that might sound extreme, but that’s how I’ve felt. Is that vain? I know I’m already married, so it’s not about impressing others, it’s really about how I feel about myself. I think it’s every girl’s perogative to do whatever it takes within her means to make herself look good and thus feel good about herself. For me today, that was LASIK.

So, I was lying there on a comfy back-tilted operating chair and the words, “If you can read this, SMILE, ” previously unreadable by me, came into focus on the ceiling and I knew it was over! Yes, the results were that instantaneous. I wouldn’t say it’s not a bit frightening to have your eyes propped open by retractors and tape and smelling burned cornea no less, but overall, it was a nearly painless 10 minute experience. I felt a burning and gritty feeling for a few hours afterwards which required shut eyes and a nap, but apparently I’m over it because I’m now typing completely comfortably right now. Knowing me and my skin problems, I worry that I might have complications after LASIK, like keloids growing out of my eyes! Okay, that won’t happen I know, but epithelial regrowth can, on rare occasions, and can lead to blindness requiring corneal transplant and all that good Dr. House stuff. I did visit my dermatologist and another ophthalmologist just to make sure my skin conditions do not preclude me from LASIK. But in case I end up blind, hubby has promised to take care of me for the rest of my life, and with time, I think he’ll even get use to scooping Kitty’s litter box, so for that, I can smile.

It had me at "hello"

One of the things I brought back from Asia is lust for this bag! It's a Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 Classic. It had me at "hello,". . . okay, the bag didn't say "hello" but you know what I mean. LV brand bags are ubiquitous in Asia, atleast in Taiwan and Japan. Even the men sport these stylish LV accessories. What is also ubiquitous is the counterfeit (euphemistically called "replicas") LV bags in Asia.

I really really want one! It's the best bag ever, it would go with everything, from frompy summer sandles to an elegant winter coat. And of course it would never ever go out of style. So, you think with all those fashion sensible reasons on top of the fact that I just had the occasion of my graduation and a vow of never asking for another birthday present again until I'm 40, I should indulge myself with this bag? Yes, of course!!. . .except for the fact that this is a $600 bag (the real deal, mind you) safely tucked away on a shelf at Neiman Marcus just 10 minutes away from my aparment. Yes, it would be as simple as getting in my car and swiping my credit card. . . but, but, I realized I'm just not that person, yet, the no-guilt-all-pleasure girl that could indulge in a $600 bag. . .oh, but how I wish sometimes I was that person. . .already. Hmm, perhaps a "replica" then, that would run in the $200 range, but what a moral line I'd have to cross and there's images of dark alleys and shady guys . . . I guess I'll just wait 'til the day I can feel good about buying the real McCoy with all its full-priced glory. Perhaps that day will be when I find my first real job out of residency or when hubby finds his new job after his PhD or when we've finally shed our student staus or the day we no longer have student loans. . .or, or, maybe one day soon, I'll just succumb to my lust and buy this bag and never look back . . .

Good night, sweet beauty!

My Birthday Present

Look at this cute mini thing: Canon Powershot!! Just in time for my birthday! Hubby and I decided to purchase this because our bigger Canon is just too cumbersome for travel. We wanted something that I can easily slip in and out of my purse, and of course for "spy shots" in restaurants or crowds.

My portable travel companion next to Tic Tac for size.

Another outfit.

Okay, here's another outfit I put together from disparate pieces in my closet. I love spring clothes, I can feel free to layer, add a cardigan here, and a scarf there. . .

What's on the outside

Just another Saturday.

"I loathe narcissism, but I aprove of vanity."

--Diane Vreeland, stylist icon and the late editor of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar

Our Saturday.

We had lunch in a small Taiwanese eatery in Chinatown today. If you can get over the rather offensive odor of stinky tofu that is served there, the food is really yummy and authentic. After lunch, Paul played badminton while I settled with a book for a few hours at Texins, the activity center for TIers. And I brought my camera along just for kicks. Later that evening, we went to our usual small group Bible study where we had some rather lively discussions and conversations.

Hubby's favorite sport and favorite time of the week: badminton.

Here's me outside of Texins.

My spring outfit: comfy t-shirt, skinny jeans, and wedge peep-toe shoes. It's my only day to dress up in fun clothes as I'm either wearing unflattering scrubs or boring house clothes during the week.