fall frocks + a thank you

fashion friday: SALE edition
i have been really impressed with my favorite retailer’s fall offerings, at least online (i haven’t had a chance to visit the actual store in a while!).

i mean, gorgeous, right!?
equally as impressive has been their recently unveiled sale section, full of fall-appropriate items. given that it’s just starting to cool down over here, the timing couldn’t be better. i have also started to realize that 70-80% of what i love from anthropologie will eventually be available on sale if i am careful to track it closely.

this is important, since i do not yet fall into their targeted demographic (“a professional woman aged 30 to 45, well-read, well-traveled and well-educated, with a household income approaching $200,000,” as stated here), at least with respect to income. although truth be told, i actually find this description comforting because it means i won’t be ‘aged out’ of the store anytime soon!

without further adieu, here are some of my favorites from the current (virtual) sale rack:

the stratified dress could easily bridge work and a night out — practically irresistable at $70 (from $130)

the violet gloaming dress would be a unique and pretty choice for a wedding or other fancy event, $130 from $268
midnight’s spring cardigan, $50 from $98, would be more practical if it wasn’t dry clean only
i’m not the hugest fan of this top’s shape, but oh the COLORS! forgotten pond tank, $50 from $98
why buy super-pricey jeans when you can find cute modern ones on sale for $50? pilcro tinted, marked down from $98
i’m not sure how those bows on the hips would translate to real life, but these sweet sipping trousers would be worth a try-on at $60 from $118
i wanted this pattern maker’s coat when it first came out, and now it’s $100 instead of $228!
a final fashion-related note: if you’re lazy into efficiency like i am, the very easiest way to see new sale items as soon as they are available is to follow miss roxy at effortless anthropologie. she posts a list akin to this one every time a new outcropping is released!

thank you, mothers
on a more serious note, i would like to say thank you to everyone who commented yesterday. your words were thoughtful, and i really appreciated hearing from those of you with experience balancing career and motherhood.

in josh’s defense, he says that most of what he was thinking was that because i plan to work part-time, i would have less heartache and fewer feelings of inadequacy related to not spending time with my family because of my job. i have no idea if he’s right about this or not — perhaps it might just lead to feeling even more frustrated, because i wouldn’t have ‘the excuse’ of a full-time job (and ‘part-time’ in medicine is often not quite what it’s cracked up to be . . . ).

that said, i would hope that if i truly were miserable or felt like my family was being shortchanged, i would be proactive about my life and make changes. i am thrilled to hear that there are many of you out there doing both things — “imperfectly” (who does anything perfectly, anyway!?) but with joy and no regrets.

i hope that when i eventually do reach that same juncture, i can turn to you all again for help and advice — it seems there are a lot of wise voices out there!

small victories
it wasn’t easy . . .

and perhaps it even got a little ugly by the end (PREP questions and wine weren’t meant to go together). but i am happy to announce that i am caught up in my study plan!

i have also decided to stop stressing about these boards. i have put in plenty of time. i learned a lot in residency. i’m (thank heavens) a good test taker, and i’m not going to fail. and that’s that.

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10.7.10

workout: 4 miles on the TM + upper body weights. this run was rather obnoxious because a) i forgot my iPod and b) my hairband broke, and then i lost it, so i had to run while flicking my sweaty mane out of my face every 5 seconds. i still did a decent tempo section (1 mi @ 9:13/mi, 2 mi @ 8:00/mi, 1 mi @ 9:13/mi), so all was not lost.

meal prep was pushed aside for board prep. plus, there were many leftover meatballs to be eaten!

board report: caught up, baby! now i just have to do a reasonable amount each night until test day (10/18).