Teapot Dress & My New House

GUYS, THIS DRESS. It's got TEAPOTS on it. I'm pretty sure that this is one of the best prints that I've ever seen on a dress. And you can get it here if you're as in love with it as I am. Oh, and see this new background? I'm at my new house! And I have this pretty new photo-taking spot, and apart from the window behind me kind of making it look like I have antennae coming out of my head, I think it's pretty nice. Anyway, speaking of my new house, it's almost all set up and it's very very pretty and I'm really proud of it, so I'll hopefully get some shots of it up soon (if that's something people would like to see?) dress - c/o Sheinside shoes - Chicory clips - DIY Something amazing happened in neuroscience the other day and I of course have to share it with you. Image Source Scientists from Stanford University developed a technique which can turn biological tissue transparent (they showed this by making a mouse brain completely clear), while keeping it's original shape. This is going to make it so much easier to study cells like neurons,  which are all densely packed inside the brain, without having to make a billion million individual slices of the brain. And the technique can be used on any tissue, not just brain tissue. It's an exciting time to be going into neuroscience :D Read more here. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Guest Post: Cat Eye Glasses (buyin' & stylin')

Hi, I’m Amy!  I’m a personal life and style blogger by pure hobby (find me at A. Loo's Closet). I dress with a retro/vintage vibe, blog photos of my daily outfits, and write about random happenings in my life. I’ve been married for 5 years to my husband, Josh, and together, we have two darling, little girls, Emeline (3 years) and Odette (18 months).  Psst. See that skirt I’m wearing? I made it using one of Annika’s DIY tutorials. Can I get a what-what?  A few days ago, Annika and I were chatting via email about what I could write about for her lovely, little blog, and she mentioned my collection of eyeglasses and sunglasses. She said -- and I quote -- “your glasses collection is so enviable!” So, per dear Annika’s enthusiasm towards my glasses, let’s talk about glasses!  Here are a few shots of my current collection: One | Two (I have Brown) | Three (I got these from ASOS a while ago, but I’ve linked to a very similar pair from eBay) | Four | Five (I have Tortoise) | Six I’ll admit it. I’m a fraud when it comes to eyeglasses. I’m a girl who’s blessed with good vision, and while I’m not complaining about that in the least, I do have a ridiculous soft spot for a great pair of retro eyeglasses. So, I purchase plastic, clear-lensed pairs from eBay in order to achieve my vintage, smarty-pants look. Anyone else sound like me? For those of you who do, know that you can achieve the look! And very inexpensively, too! We’re talking under $10.00 including shipping, folks. Win-win.  eBay is my go-to for sunglasses and fake eyeglasses. As a mom to two little girly-girls, I just can’t afford a super-expensive pair of glasses. I don’t want to. One: because we’ve got important family stuff to provide with that kind of money; and two: my girls like to try on my glasses from time to time, and though they do have little hands, they can be unintentionally destructive, and I’d have a stroke if they accidentally broke a pair of glasses I’d paid a pretty penny for. On eBay, I get a quality product for a small price, and if my glasses accidentally get broken or lost or stepped on, I don’t risk brain damage. Personally, I’ve had excellent service from ebay sellers monovoltz, deadstocksunglasses and ejey. Okay, now that you’ve seen my collection, you want to see my wishlist, right? Of course, you do! Pictured below are a few pairs that are on my wishlist. I so plan on owning these babies soon. One - Two - Three - Four - Five  Gorgeous, aren’t they? If any of y’all are looking for a great pair of fake eyeglasses or sunglasses, browse around on eBay! I guarantee you’ll find something you’ll like! A huge thanks to Annika for allowing me a small piece of her beautiful blog. She was one of the very first style bloggers I connected with when I started out a few months ago, and she remains one of my very favorites. Good luck with your move, dear Annika! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Guest Post: DIY Map Backpack

Hi there! I’m Lauren, a South African university student and crafter from over at LDP. I am currently studying English and Journalism, though I spend much of my spare time making just about anything and everything that takes my fancy. While Annika packs her things, I’ll be showing you how to DIY your own map backpack! I’m currently in my first year of university, and I’ve just started my second term for the year. I spent my first term lugging around my books in a shoulder bag that was uncomfortable and inappropriate for holding so many books – in fact, towards the end of the term, it was even beginning to break! Because of this, I was almost forced into buying a proper backpack in which to carry around my books. But rather than running the risk of having the same bag as someone else, or, on the other end of the spectrum, having a decidedly bland backpack for the rest of the year, I thought (as usual) – why not just DIY my own? I picked up a fairly plain beige backpack rather cheaply at a market, and decided that I’d convey my perpetual wanderlust by decorating it with an old-fashioned map! You will need: • A backpack • Leather or faux leather • Mod Podge • A printer and paper What to do: 1. Make sure that your bag has a flat area on which to place your map. I had to remove a bunch of plastic buckles and straps from mine to achieve this, so don’t let that put you off!   2. Cut out the size and shape of the area on which you want your map from the leather or faux leather (mine was in two sections, so I had two pieces of faux leather, which I painted with a base paint of acrylic paint first, though this isn’t completely necessary). 3. Print out your map image. (I just did this on normal printer paper at the print shop down the road!) 4. Mod-Podge your map onto the leather or faux leather, ensuring that it is completely stuck down and secured. 5. Cover the map in another layer of Mod-Podge and wait for it to dry completely. 6. Sew the leather or faux leather onto the backpack, covering the appropriate section. I hope you enjoyed this DIY, and I’d love to see photos of any attempts to make your own! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Undercover Superhero & The Science of Spiderman

Well hello there! I'm back from my moving adventures (somewhat, although I will still be a little bit absent for the next few days as I finish moving everything and settle in).  I just wanted to say a massive thank you to my guest posters, for helping me out while I was going to be away from here for a while. There are still 2 more fabulous guest posts to come, one on making your own map-print bag and another on buying and styling cat-eye glasses! I have already found a new spot to take photos at my new place though,  and I managed thus far not to break my camera or tripod in the move, so expect some more outfit posts from me sometime next week :) Anyhoo, this particular outfit is a super-hero inspired number, matching my DIY shirt (from the other day) with this amazingly cool new skirt courtesy of Koogal. (p.s., Koogal are also having a $250 giftcard giveaway, which you can enter here.) shirt - DIY skirt - c/o Koogal socks - c/o Sock Dreams shoes - Chicory I felt like this video was very apt for today's post: The 'science' of spiderman (and other superheroes). Enjoy! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Guest Post: Smarts and stereotypes need not kill your style

Hey guys, how's it going? My name is Style Killer - I'm a girl from Canada and recent graduate with a Bsc in Psychology (aka neuropsychology nerd- I love the human brain and what it's capable of) who is hopefully going back to do her Master's in the fall...oh yeah, I'm also a fashion blogger.  There are two things that always surprises people when they meet me. They are, that for someone who loves fashion and beauty (and all that fun girly stuff) as much as I do: 1) when it comes down to it, I'm really just one of the guys (I can crack crass, inappropriate jokes, watch football and drink beer with the best of 'em); and 2) that I work in a non-creative, fairly conservative and intellectual environment. Because of this, I am no stranger to being asked why I am as interested in (read: obsessed with) fashion, as I am. I'm actually surprised that I get asked this so frequently because really, I don't see why loving to play dress-up and having fun with my appearance has to put me into a category or associate me with certain other types of things/people...I guess maybe I'm just surprised that no matter how progressive society is, people still tend to think in terms of stereotypes, when it comes to certain things. I am all for going against the grain and allowing yourself to define who you are and who you want to be, instead of letting stereotype and societal norm dictate. It's frustrating the looks and raised eyebrows I get from people in my professional/academic world when I say that I have a fashion blog...they're actually the same looks I get from people in my fashion world when I start describing a shirt pattern as resembling sulci & gyri. People who are so wrapped up in their one world and who let that world define them sometimes can't see that it's ok, and perhaps even commonplace to let different worlds collide and thrive either separately or together. There doesn't need to be a reason why scientists can't be fashion bloggers, the same way that an elite athlete could be really into cake decorating- it does not have to be a church and state issue! Keeping this in mind, imagine my amusement when I came across an article on scientificamerica.com that talked about online traffic trends, the relationships between different topics...and made specific mention that physics and fashion were correlated! Don't get me wrong, I love science (hell, I took it in university because I love it so much), but even I was a little shocked at the idea that the same people who were searching the internet for physics papers were the same people reading fashion blogs. Even more so (both shocked and amused) when I found Annika's blog and how she fuses both science and fashion together- something I could totally relate to and get excited about. That just goes to show you though, anyone can be interested in anything, no matter their job, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other interests. I love that both fashion and science are entities that unite people of all different backgrounds and can be used as a tool to break down all those other barriers that exist. That being said, what does a neuropsych nerd/fashionista who works in a non-creative, fairly conservative office look like? This. xoxo SK Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr