Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit

Happy belated Chinese New Year! I thought I could blog yesterday but my computer died in the library. On the other hand though, I fully organized my biology notes so that now I fully understand cell metabolism and glycolysis. Not that you needed to that particular detail. Anyway this year is suppose to be not so good to people born in the year of the rooster so my mother is going to send me a jade rabbit pendant from all the way in Hong Kong to New England for good luck? It's a tad strange that she would go such lengths to do so but it's all for my sake I suppose.

I was pretty down all day yesterday and today because I realized that it would be very hard to do pre-med and go abroad my junior year. It also doesn't help that I haven't been taking much pre-med prerequisites except for maybe calculus and biology. But thankfully, my order from Lands' End finally arrived to cheer me up in time for the weekend.

I had ordered a white oxford, a pair of skinny cords and a pair of straight leg chinos. The most disappointing one of the three must be the oxford blouse because it ran a little tighter than I thought it would. The only place I really order online from is Urban Outfitters and I know that their sizes run pretty small, so I knew I should get medium sizes. However on Lands' End,'s website, people commented that they actually run just right, and by looking at the sizing chart I ordered a size four. Little did I know that it doesn't match my shoulders too well and it seems to be a bit tight in the bust area. It's got great details and pretty well made for the price, but I am just bothered by the fit. I think I will send it back to Lands' End soon for a replacement of maybe a larger size so that it fits loosely. I had been trying not to buy loose clothing and more fitted ones, however I suppose I am most comfortable in looser tops. 

These are the straight leg chinos. I'm sorry that I don't full-length pictures of the pants but alas, the lighting is so bad. Why do I have such a bad habit of suddenly remembering to take outfit photos at night? The chinos sit pretty nicely on my hips, and is of perfect length and fit to body but the cut on one of the legs is kinda funky. The seam runs a little inward compared to the other leg. But it's a minor detail that I'm willing to overlook (I did get it dirt cheap!). Hopefully in the future, Lands' End could leave a little less to be desired. It's super comfy and soft to the touch on the bright side.

Now for the cords, these are truly perfect. I like the shape of my legs the best so I do like to wear pants that are of a tighter fit. They're amazing and I find no fault with it whatsoever. Again the fabric, the buttons, the cut and all other tiny details are all good and I can see myself wearing this almost everyday! Now if I could get my little grubby hands on a pair of L. L. Bean duck boots, Hunter green wellies and a Barbour jacket...

P.S. I'm so sorry about the constantly changing of names and banner and such. I am the most fickle person on and I love to fidget with small minute changes. I promise to stick to this name! 

Winter Habits

So more than a week ago,  I ordered my first preppy basics from Lands' End, which included a white oxford blouse, a pair of khakis and a pair of chinos. Normally I have the patience and civility to wait for it, but the curiosity towards seeing the final items are driving me crazy. Never before had I really envisioned about building a wardrobe -- finding things that fit and work together. In the past, I had not really given much thought as to what kind of things to buy. If it looks good, fits, and is within my budget then I would just go ahead and checkout. This is different this time round, that I actually envisioned what would be the cornerstone of my style and the way I present myself.
Meanwhile because I really have nothing to say much, except for doing a lot of school work and reading, I could share my winter skin must-haves. Again, this is probably not so preppy, but its is something that I care about regardless whether it is truly "preppy" or not.



These are the type of things I use almost pretty much on a daily basis. From the left, there is Crabtree and Evelyn's Hand Therapy collection to which I faithfully use everyday (at least the moisturizer). Then there is Pond's Cold Cream to remove mostly eye and lip makeup and then Aveeno, as body lotion. These are not really any cool, new products per se, but it's something I like and stuck by.



Out of the hand creams that I have tried, this is the best one that I have used. I have even used L'Occitane (which smells wonderful) but this is the finest formula yet. My skin, en general, is very dry and my hands in the winter is even drier. If I leave my hands unattended for even a brief few hours in the cold without any sort of cream, the skin puckers up, cracks then eventually bleeds. It's awful and painful and this Gardener's Hand Cream really saved the life of my hands.



Because I have such dry skin in general (that is exacerbated in winter), I really need a makeup remover that does not dry me out at all. Best yet, if it is moisturizing and does not remove the water content of my skin at all. I don't wear as much makeup as I use to, at least now during just normal school days, but I do like to wear the occasional mascara, eyeliner or eye shadow. Anyhow, I first came across this particular brand of eye makeup remover through the interview of Karlie Kloss on Into the Gloss. She was saying how that she and the models really swore by it and it removes everything very easily, I was thinking why not give it a try. It also helps that it is very cheap. Though I like the normal kind of eye makeup/general makeup remover by Pond's rose oil makeup remover (only sold in Asia I think) from Japan is better for use on normal days (i.e. summer), this one is surely better for winter. It is the most moisturizing makeup remover ever. It does not use any water and requires only a tissue or a towel to wipe it off. Therefore you do not need to use any water that could potentially strip you of your natural oils. (I suppose with gentle tugging, wrinkles could be prevented.)



It's really, ok, VERY annoying to apply this with the bare hands and finger tips. However it is incredibly good at keeping my lips soft. I guess with the Asian genes my lips are a bit fuller than norm which makes it prone to be dry quickly and get flaky, this lip balm really does its job. I do not have all that much to say about it, but get it and you will get results. I do suggest to wear it only before at night with a thick layer sur la bouche and wake up with soft pillowy lips.
And then there is my darling Aveeno, which I will live by and die by because it is the best skin lotion that I have used since my early childhood (though you can argue it wasn't all that long ago). This does not require much explanation and I am sorry to say that I forgot to take a photograph of it. I really should get back to my school work now and stop procrastinating. Bisous.

Taking Advantage of the Snow Day

Lately, I have been swamped by the amount of reading and problem sets we have to do in my lil' o' liberal arts college. Perhaps I have been spoiled silly by winter break but now we are surely getting whatever work's equivalent of a one month break. I would haven't posted this back on the day I was wearing said outfit because I was plagued by the aforementioned problems. However, we have a snow day today!
A snow day. In a college where everyone lives on campus.
It was strange because all my morning classes were done anyway, nevertheless, it meant that I had no three hours of biology lab to go through. We also got tomorrow off. Before you sniff at the liberal arts college's cowardly attitude to the cold, all my friends from UChicago to Washington University in St. Louis have their day off. Except maybe UMichigan.



The lighting would have been better if it was taken during the day but alas, I forgot so I promise to take better photos in the future. Also something to be forgiven, this was taken by a point-and-shooter (which already dictates the quality and resolution of the photo) propped on a shelf on a timer. Who knew boyfriends could be so useful in taking photos of oneself for the blog? The Zara pants were already shown before in a previous so sorry if it's kind of a repeat of the previous post. The jacket I bought from an decidedly unpreppy story of Urban Outfitters which I got for a steal. The gray flannel I purchased somewhere in Montréal when they had the big boxing day sale (which they should have here in the MA à mon avis).
The bag is also bought from Urban Oufitters. I wish I had more whimisical, amusing and witty things to say but I think I might be suffering a case of brain freeze and general overwhelmed-ness of school.  I am still recovering from what was a god-awful party of the liberal arts college nearby.
It's sad and strange to lament that I have not yet been to a party where I have thoroughly enjoyed myself (sober or not). I should probably catch up a few chapters worth of biology reading, finish Notre-Dame de Paris, start Maupassant's Contes et Nouvelles I & II among other things. Should I suddenly come up with something introspective and insightful I will add it in due time. Enjoy that cup of hot chocolate et bisous.