A casual day and this week's most ...

Nothing incredibly creative today....Just a random casual outfit :)

Blouse: Plato's closet (old)         Shorts: NY and Co          Bag: Prada          Polkadot Scarf: Mayo swag

Enjoyable moments:

1. Roasting s’mores on our deck with good friends.

2. Watching the movie Man of Steel. Henry Cavill…holy cow, I haven’t had a celebrity crush ever since Hayden Christensen from Star Wars

Proudest moment:

Watching Grace take her first few assisted steps using her new walker in physical therapy. She has come such a long way since just 6 months ago, when she was completely paralyzed on the left side after her surgery! Babies are incredible!

Oddest comments:

1. From Aaron (on my poor exercise tolerance and being out of shape)

“Honey, you’re not thin. You’re just a small wad of fat, with no muscles whatsoever.” :\

2. Again, from Aaron. I think this was meant to be a compliment
"You are as sharp as a hawk, with the reflexes of a mongoose, and stamina of a baboon"

Looking forward to:

Seeing my best friend, Rachelle and her new baby in Cleveland this weekend!

Warming moment:

Visiting an old patient with multiple sclerosis at his home, taking him on a walk around his neighborhood in his wheelchair, and seeing his grateful smile. 

What is your week’s most ____ ?

Homemade Shanghai Egg Noodles

Last week we made homemade Shanghai egg noodles for dinner using my dad's famous recipe and our Kitchen Aid mixer that we got a few months ago (which I LOVE, by the way). No more beating heavy whipping cream aimlessly with chopsticks! <-- will save this embarrassing story for another day.

My father is a brilliant biochemist, and he taught me a dough recipe to create thick, chewy noodles with the perfect consistency.

1. To Make the Dough

- 3 cups of flour

- 1 egg

- Sodium carbonate solution: boil 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- Mix together in a blender and knead the dough until consistency is smooth

2. To Make the Noodles

If you have a kitchen aid mixer, you can get noodle making attachments to roll out the dough. You would have to do this a few times, first on the thickest setting. Then between each roll, make sure you spread flour on both surfaces of the dough before you roll it into a thinner setting (to prevent it from sticking). 

- Pass the dough through the noodle slicer

- Boil noodles in pot for 5 minutes

Then pass it through the noodle slicer

Boil for 5 minutes, then strain

3. Vegetable Noodle Mix

You can then stir fry some baby bokchoy with pork slices to mix with the noodles. Any other vegetable stir fry would work just fine.

End product

Loved by kiddies too

Graduation and Father's day

It's amazing how many things can happen in just a few weeks! We celebrated father's day last weekend, went to Chicago for my good friend Sheila's bachelorette party (she's getting married in August!), then I graduated earlier this week. Yes, another graduation, but hopefully my last graduation! These pictures are taken in front of William Mayo's home where we had our graduation ceremony.

You may be wondering what I graduated from. That's a good question, because I feel like I've been in training forever. I'm graduating from a geriatric medicine fellowship. For those of you who are not familiar with the career path physician's go through, it's basically an extra few years of subspecialty training after residency. So for example, Cardiologists (heart doctors) go through 3-4 years of extra training after residency specifically to become specialized in the care of cardiovascular health. Usually this is the last stretch of medical training, unless you decide to go through a different fellowship. I guess it didn't really hit me until I got my certificate... that this is it! After this year, I will be completely independent and be able to do things without supervision. It's such a scary thought, and sometimes I'm terrified that I won't do things right by myself. I just need to trust and have faith that all these years of learning have prepared me somewhat adequately to provide the best care possible to people. I will definitely miss this program though. I have had the incredible privilege to work with some of the best and most brilliant physicians in the nation. It has been such an honor. What's next for me? I'll update you on that later :)

My graduation outfit

Dress: Kate Spade        Belt: Ruche          Shoes: My wedding shoes! haha        Necklace: TJ Maxx       Purse: F21

This year, I was inspired by the phenomenally talented Genevive from Scrapping Crazy to try something a little different for father's day. If you guys have not seen some of Genevive's work, you must check out her blog. I'm usually staring at her projects with my mouth open in awe every time she posts something new :) Anyways, this little DIY canvas is hardly comparable to her work, but we used Grace's little finger's and toes to make a finger paint art project! The flowers, butterfly, grass and clouds were all created by Grace, and I just glued on a few buttons and little pieces of fabric here and there. Aaron loved it! So, this is definitely an idea for you guys who have a hard time shopping for your men. I never know what to get Aaron- his interests are guns (or other non-obtainable military weapons), sports cars and video games. NO CLUE where to even begin.... but you can never go wrong with something nice that you made from the heart :)

Thank you for being the incredible father that you are. Grace and I love you!

Linking up this week with Coffee beans and Bobby pins/Faceit catalog and Plane Pretty

Minty Lace & Introducing Lalamagic

As I slowly become more familiar with the fashion blogs that I follow regularly, I am always so impressed with how consistent their styles are with each post. Wendy’s look book graces us with high-end classy sophistication and elegant couture. Mara from M loves M showcases vintage-inspired, whimsical feminine beauty. Sarah from Classy girls wear pearls shares her creative, preppy New England fashion. All three of these ladies are so different, but their styles are all individually beautiful. I was just thinking the other day that I cannot seem to pinpoint what kind of style defines me. I suppose it’s probably because I recently discovered fashion, and I’m still trying to decide what category of style describes me. My closet is a haphazard explosion of randomness that doesn’t translate to anything consistent. One day, prep seems cool, then the next day I’m in love with elegant couture. Some days I just don’t know at all, and I’ll wear an outfit in preparation for the Zombie Apocalypse, or pretend I’m a CIA agent.

I have noticed however, that I tend to gravitate towards vintage inspired things. Floral, lace, bows, peter-pan collars, patterned dresses and flared skirts always catch my eye. Perhaps add in a hint of modern, business casual infusion. What would that be called? Modern Vintage? That doesn’t make sense. Isn’t that an oxymoron?

My favorite boutiques that sell vintage inspired items have been Ruche and Modcloth. Last year, I also came across a lovely little boutique called Lalamagic. I admired it from afar for a while, as I found their clothing items uniquely different from the rest. The details of their pieces seemed more intricate. The colors, patterns and textures of the items enhanced a feminine vintage, yet modern touch. Recently, I was lucky enough to get to know the shop owner of Lalamagic, a wonderfully sweet girl (also named Grace) who opened this boutique to display her love for vintage inspired things. After trying some of the pieces from her store, I must say that all my expectations have been exceeded. This mint green top has been worn several times to work already as a single piece or used as layering, and the quality is excellent. I’m grateful and happy to be able to form a blog partnership with Lalamagic, and hope that you’ll also be able to experience the beauty of their products too. Right now they are also having an EXTRA 15% off summer sale items.

Blouse: Generously contributed by Lalamagic     |      Lace cardigan: TJmaxx (old)   |     Bottoms: BR       |     Shoes: Ferragamo

Daily Dose of Grace

Linking up this week with Style Elixir
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Guest Post at Sandy A la Mode

Today I am guest posting for the first time ever on Sandy A la Mode!

Sandy is probably one of the sweetest, loveliest and most fashionable blog mom's out there. If you haven't been by to checked out her blog, you are totally missing out! She is not only a fashion inspiration, but also a wonderfully kind person, loving mom, and great writer. She is definitely one of my daily reads! Visit her page today here