Well, Hello there.

Hi bloggie-land! I am still alive! This is good news, as there were moments in the past 3 weeks that I questioned whether that would be the case. Not sure I was prepared for the stress of graduate school, since my Master's program was pretty easy, while this Ph.D. thing sort of feels like my eyelashes are being ripped out one by one, veeeerrrrryyyy slowly. Hyperbolic? Yes... but sadly, it's how I've been feeling. I know it's just an adjustment period, and YES, I will make it out alive *this is my mantra*.

(p.s., to those thinking about going to get a graduate degree... umm... forget what I said! It's wonderful! La-dee-da, YAY. (believable? I'm trying.))

I'm thinking I'm beginning to regain that groove I was talking about but it's still lagging a tad, so bare with me. But there are some things I need/want to attend to with y'all, so I'm jumping back into the world of blogging. I have been bad and have essentially taken a total hiatus from social media, including reading others blogs, using twitter, etc... so I apologize if you've tried to contact me and haven't gotten adequate response. But I promise I'm regaining my footing in the real world. Promise!

And hey, look what I found! (You can take the fashion out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of fashion, hmmm?)

The Budget Buster:

 

Milly La Sorbonne Cardi

The Stylish Substitute:

Target Merona Vivre cardigan sweater

Granted, the differences are there... Milly's sweater is much more intricate. But for a fraction of the price, you can get the chain detailed look from Target! I saw this in stores and it's actually adorbs, so I very much recommend.

I'll be back soon with some of my Tucker for Target opinions, a product review and some other nice, non-book/school-related things. :)

OOTD: tried and true.

I have worn the bejeezus out of these shorts this year, lemme tell ya. One of my best purchases to date, I think! I got them a year ago at F21 and bought a pair in white and tan as well. Somehow, the tan ones stopped fitting after one season but the white and black ones have kept up with my incessant wear/wash schedule. With a record 24 days of over 100-degree temperatures, shorts are a necessity. Thankfully, there really are a plethora of ways to wear them, but I tend to wear them with a tank and sandals. Maybe I can style them a bit more interestingly once the weather cools down (I'll even take a 90-degree day! please?).

Top: French Connection beaded tank, supah-old

Shorts: F21

Sandals: Diba jewel sandals(from DSW)

Also, if you can tell, my hair is darker and roots are harder to notice! Thanks to my MIL for dyeing me right out of the box. It has blended really well with my blonde and I think this will be a great, cheap way to continue to dye my hair when funds are tighter. Yippee, hooray!

Also also, thanks to all who were so kind on twitter to send me well wishes. For those of you who didn't see via my tweets, hubsters and I were involved in a car wreck on Sunday that totaled hubs' car. We're all ok, minus a little neck and back ache. We're hoping to simply get the money from the other car's insurance company and get the same car, used. See, the car hubs had was all paid off, so getting a new one would mean incurring another bill (which we really don't need!). So cross yers fingers that we can find a nice (old) Honda in a used car lot somewhere around here.

Also also also (ahem), T-minus 6 days until my first day back to school in two years. It simultaneously feels like forever and feels like yesterday since I last attended a class, so I'm anxious to get back into the student groove. I don't really know what to expect, but I do know that it's going to be quite a 5 year ride! Here's to living the student life!  :)

Budget Buster vs. Stylish Substitute

Although I do these posts few and far between, I saw this one today and got a leeeeetle excited, because I kinda like the cheaper version better. Yay!


Budget Buster:

Free People Stripe Sweater, $138

Stylish Substitute:

Forever 21 Striped Stud Trim Cardigan, $32

I think I like F21's version better because of the studs and the length, but Free People's color is much better. Well, the price is really what would do it for me, since I would gladly pay $100 less for the F21 version!

No OOTD today. It's so cold they closed schools, which means I'm wrapped up in a sweater and jeans. Not very exciting. Let's hope the weather getss a teense warmer.

Also, GO HORNS!!! (Texas vs. Alabama tonight 7 pm CST. I'll be watching it with bells on. Eating Buffalo Wild Wings. Yum.)