Tag: notre dame

Saturday Musings + Plants – Derby Day

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It seems that people outside of Kentucky don’t really do anything for the Derby.

At least, no one really does anything at Notre Dame. I think I saw that there was one Derby-themed darty somewhere, but I was in class, and darties aren’t really my scene anyway.  I have heard of a few people who were traveling into Louisville to actually attend, but I can’t imagine that it’s many.

I’m not really sure what I was expecting —  I mean, Kentucky people hardly do anything for the Derby, so it’s not like Indiana people were going to do any more. I’m just sitting here by myself streaming it on my laptop in the student center while I work on some essays. Or at least pretend to work on some essays.

For the record, I’m rooting for Firenze Fire, mostly just because he shares the name of a Harry Potter character. He’s almost certainly going to lose — but that’s okay, because I’m not putting any money on it.

Anyway, here’s a little update on my plant collection! My roommate and I have a little jungle growing in our dorm. I won’t go through every single plant here, especially since you saw a lot of them the last time I went on a plant photoshoot spree, but here are a few new ones:

First up is this money plant I got in Chinatown in Chicago. I was between buying her, a bonsai tree, or a bamboo plant in the little tourist shop, but I went for the money plant because it looked like it was in the best health for the cost. I’m a little sad it’s not a Pilea peperomioides, the kind of money plant with sand dollar shaped leaves, but I’m happy with this Pachira aquatica instead. If it brings me money like it’s supposed to, I’ll be satisfied.

This tiger’s jaw succulent is also a new one. I got him from an event my dorm was holding where everyone got to take and pot a succulent. Definitely the best dorm event all year. I wish they’d had even more succulents so I could’ve taken more — inevitably, a lot of the people who took succulents are going to kill them or otherwise neglect them, which is unfortunate because I would love to take them in and care for them. Oh well.

Speaking of neglecting plants. here are some four o’ clocks I grew from seeds I got for free at a “sustainability fair” some club was putting on. I didn’t expect them all to germinate, and so quickly, so I planted the seeds in way too small a pot. Once the seedlings are a little more mature, I’ll give some away so that the ones I have can thrive.

The rest of these plants are old, but have made important new developments. My African violets sprouted flowers, my baby saguaro cactus has grown hairy, and my sunflowers seedlings have gotten taller!

On a more somber note, whatever kind of plants were growing alongside my saguaro seedling are pretty much all dead. I’m just disappointed that none of them will ever get big enough for me to figure out what these little guys were supposed to be. They started growing around the same time as the saguaro did, making me think they sprouted from the cactus seed mix I planted, but they sure don’t look like cacti. No idea what they are.

I love being a plant mom. It’s like having being a real mom, but you don’t have to talk to your kids.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Bloglovin, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

April 27, 2018 – Holy Holi, Batman (OOTD #274)

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What’s this? Haven’t I already done an OOTD post for April 27?

That would be correct! I have. This, then, is part 2 — the sequel, if you will.

April 27 was a massively busy day for me, but all in a good way. It was one of the last days of classes, meaning that a lot of my remaining schoolwork wasn’t due until finals week and could theoretically be put off until later.  Needless to say, I took advantage of this.

It was also a Friday, which, this semester,  I ended at about 2pm, meaning most of my afternoon was pretty open.The first thing I did after my classes let out was get a new ID card to replace the one I lost a week ago. I’m still surprised it never turned up. Meanwhile, my missing shoes are also still MIA.

There was a “sustainability festival” going on on South Quad, and since it was a beautiful day, I decided to stop by. My decision was also influenced by the fact that they were offering free plant seeds, which, if you’ve been following my slow descent into plant madness over the last few months, you’ll know I was very excited for. I now have a pot of 4 o’ clocks in my dorm room waiting to sprout.

After that, some student organization (can’t remember which, oops) was putting on their version of the Indian Festival of Colors, Holi. That’s were all of my pictures here are from, and why I decided to bother with a part 2 to my April 27 blog. They were too nice to just throw at the tail end of another OOTD or Saturday Musings post.

Later that evening, there were some food trucks on South Quad offering free food, so you know I was all over that. And later still, the Chainsmokers were giving a concert in the Joyce Center that I got last-second tickets for from a kid who was no longer able to go. Being totally honest, the concert was probably one of the lamest I’ve ever been to (they barely sang! They had practically no instruments! I mean I know that’s how EDM works but I guess I’m just not a fan), but it was also cheap, so I can’t totally complain.

It was a very nice way to wrap up the school year. I mean, it wasn’t a true wrap up — I still had half a week of classes and an entire week of finals still to stagger through — but I was able to pretend for an afternoon that I was at college for the purpose of having fun.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Bloglovin, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

April 27, 2018 – Equestrian Kentuckian (OOTD #273)

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For a person who hasn’t seen a horse in months and who won’t even be in Kentucky in time for the Derby, I sure look like I’m going to go out and work with horses in this outfit.

Horses were always something I took for granted for years — they’re all over Kentucky, probably one of the most common sights in the entire state. Here, at Notre Dame, though the most common sights are white boys in Vineyard Vines in the business school building and giant squirrels. There are no horses here, since the Four Horsemen don’t count.

Not seeing horses everywhere was pretty easy to get used to though, considering I’ve never really been a horse person and can only kind-of sort-of ride. I can do trail rides, but so can pretty much anyone with a little training.

I’m a sad excuse for a Kentuckian.

I do like to pretend I’m an equestrian-minded Kentuckian girl, at least, through my fashion choices. Have these riding boots ever once been used for riding? Nope. But they look like they might, and that’s what counts for me.

Meanwhile, I still haven’t found my missing black shoes , which is absolutely baffling to me, since there’s really no where they should be other than my dorm room. And yet I’ve searched around my dorm room repeatedly to no avail — it seems like, unless they pop up sometime in the next few days, I shall be going home without them. Sad lad. That would mean that I’ve gone through two pairs of black booties during my year here at school, which, while kind of understandable given the fact that they’re my go-to shoes for everyday wear, is still kind of dumb.

Speaking of dumb  — that’s what I am for not doing any work so far today, and for spending hours looking at plant blogs instead of anything productive. Guess I should start on my history paper now that it’s 11pm and I need to be up at 6 tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Evan Picone (thrifted)

Turtleneck: Free People

Jeans: Hollister (a new, better-fitting pair of white jeans than my old Abercrombie ones!)

April 26, 2018 – Turn to Page Three Hundred Ninety Four (OOTD #272)

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I’m getting some serious Severus Snape vibes from this coat, no?

I’m pretty sure a friend of mine whom I passed in the hall even described it as a “cloak” when she told me she liked it. I’m not sure a cloak is really the best fashion statement to be making in spring-almost-summer 2018, but I’ll make an exception for this one.

On the plus side, I fit right in with the priests and nuns wearing long robes who wander around campus.

I’m still not used to seeing these clergy people walking around in their 13th century robes. I’m sure people who are used to Catholic schools think there’s nothing weird about it at all, but for me, a person who went to public school and contemporary hipster churches all her life, it’s still kind of strange seeing a guy go by in a long black dress with a white collar.

Ironically, my actual coat is from AMIClubwear, which is probably not where the priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross are buying their clothes. I could be wrong, and I’m sure priests can buy clothes wherever they want when they’re off duty (is that what it’s called? Do priests go off duty?), but I’d be surprised.

I’m down to only one day of class left, and while I’m excited to not have to go to class anymore, I’m not excited for all the work I’m going to have to do before all of my final papers and projects are done. I have about 25 pages still to go (which is wayyyyyy down from the 62 or so pages I was looking at a few weeks ago), but I’m not in the clear yet.

Almost though. Just a week and a half more before I get to go back home to Lexington.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Coat: AMIClubwear

Jeans: Hot Topic

April 25, 2018 – All Denim Everything (OOTD #271)

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Actually, don’t do that — all denim everything is a very bad idea.

A little denim-on-denim can be acceptable though — it’s a trend that I am personally quite a fan of. It allows me to wear my denim jackets with something other than leggings, which I feel like I wear a little too often.

This jacket is another item I got from AMIClubwear, and I’m just as much a fan of it as I was the dress/leggings combo I posted about a few days ago. The pinstripe/embroidery combo makes me feel trendy — not that I really needed any help with that, given the trendiness of the denim-on-denim look.

In other news, you know the pair of black booties I pair with basically every outfit I wear? I can’t find them for the life of me. They disappeared sometime about two weeks ago, and haven’t shown up since. It’s the strangest thing — it’s not like I take my shoes off anywhere but in my dorm room, so I have no idea where they could be.

Since I don’t have my go-to shoes, I’ve been trying to make my outfits around the other shoes I have in my wardrobe here at ND — which actually isn’t much. I mean, there are al\The remaining shoes I have are also kind of uncomfortable for walking around campus in, so I’m hoping that my black booties show up soon.

We’re in the home stretch of classes, and by extension, the whole school year. It’s also been like 70 degrees consistently for the last few days, which makes it super difficult to actually focus on my work. Not that I’m a super outdoorsy type — but it seems depressing to be cooped up inside the library when I could be outside enjoying the weather.

Speaking of schoolwork, I should probably be getting back to that. I have a few papers and projects due in the next few days, and then a big exam to start studying for so…whoop. On the plus side, I got a nice nap this afternoon so I should be good to stay up and get some work done.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: AMIClubwear

Top: H&M

Jeans: Hollister

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Penultimate Peril

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In case you don’t know, that’s a reference to the second-to-last novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. 

Like the Series of Unfortunate Events novel, this blog post is the second-to-last in my Saturday Musings series from my freshman  year of college. In two weeks, I’ll have officially have completed a whole year of school, and I should hopefully have spent the last night in my dorm until fall.

I’m not going to go on about I can’t believe this year is over, since I’m probably going to be doing  that a lot in the next couple of blogs. I’ll spare your ear for now from when I harp on about that topic over and over again for two weeks. Rest assured, I will definitely be discussing that reality soon.

In case you were wondering, I have started eating again! I did not, however, find my old ID. I caved and bought a new one. Still have no idea what happened to the old one — I’m beginning to wonder if I accidentally threw it in the trash in the bookstore when I threw away my bagel wrapper and smoothie cup on Thursday night. I thought if I had dropped it, someone would have turned it by now, and while it’s possible someone stole it, I have never once had to deal with theft while here at Notre Dame.

That’s perhaps one of the things I was most surprised by when I got here — people just leave their wallets and phones and laptops out unattended. You do have to be a little more careful on football weekends when there are visitors, but on average days, you can pretty much trust that your stuff was safe. Had I done that in my high school, I would be out all of my valuables within hours.

Yay human beings with good values?

But now for the “peril” part of that title — before I get to rest from the whole year of school, I’m going to have to get trough all of my finals. I have dozens of pages of papers still to write and a massive exam to study for before I’m home free. It’s a truly perilous task I face.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

April 24, 2018 – Accidental Wes Anderson (OOTD #270)

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Disclaimer: This post contains products that I received complimentary from AMIClubwear for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Just kidding — this wasn’t accidental. I’m not often this well-coordinated, but every once in a while, I manage to get a really beautiful color combination aesthetic reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s cinematography.

I’ve been attending a film series course for another one of my classes (it’s a little complicated — so basically, I’m in a regular three-credit class that’s requiring me to attend another course that’s the equivalent of a one-credit class but that doesn’t offer any actual credit), and in it, I’ve been learning a lot that I didn’t know about filmmaking. A lot of the films we’ve been watching have been on the artsier side, focusing less on plot and action and more on framing and symbolism. I’m no film connoisseur — most of the movies I ever watch are kids’ animated films — so it’s been really interesting watching some things I would never have watched otherwise.

Anyway, thanks to this series (and maybe also a little bit the beautiful color palette of La La Land), I am now a sucker for nice color combinations — like my yellow tights and this blue background.

I got this dress and these tights from AMIClubwear as a part of their fashion blogger program where, in exchange for a blog post or two, I received a few pieces from their collection for free.

At first, when I was considering whether or not to join the program, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find anything from their store. With a name like AMIClubwear, I thought all they would have was clubwear and lingerie, which, while cool, isn’t really what I wear everyday to class.

I was presently surprised to find I was totally wrong — they have a huge selection of casual and everyday clothes that were appropriate and comfortable for me. Yes, there are sexier pieces, but there are also plenty of classier, more conservative looks that went along perfectly with my aesthetic. With affordable prices, frequent sales, and a wide selection of stylish clothes that span different aesthetics, I would definitely have to give AMIClubwear my recommendation.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Dress: AMIClubwear

Tights: AMIClubwear

April 23, 2018 – Life Detected (OOTD #269)

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This just in: evidence of life on the Notre Dame campus!

And no, I’m not referring to the students — we’re definitely pretty dead. Thankfully, there are only a few weeks of school left.

While it still gets pretty in the evenings, it’s not freezing anymore, which means the plants are finally coming to life — which if you’ve been following my recent fascination with plants, I am very excited about.

With this outfit, I also got to break out my bare legs for the first time in forever. It was like, sunny with a high of 75 — perfect skirt weather.

I think you can tell how happy I was about the weather just based on how my outfit was put together — the happier I am, it seems, the the more likely I am to put together a cool outfit.

And not to brag on myself, but I think this was a cool outfit. It’s a composition of some really cool pieces — architectural jacket, asymmetrical shirt, and structural skirt — so maybe I can’t take as much credit for the cool factor, but I still put them all together, which counts for something.

I’m a little disappointed the asymmetrical-ness of the shirt isn’t really evident in these shots, as it seems the jacket kind of covers up the hemline, which is shorter on one side than the other. Oh well. Here’s what the shirt looks like by itself — I guess you can use your imagination?

Speaking of this jacket, I got it from Yellowcake Shop, the boutique of Project Runway designer Valerie Mayen. I actually watched her season a long time ago, so getting to do this collaboration with her was really cool! For the promotion, I’m going to be doing a social media post soon featuring this jacket, so keep an eye out for that! There’s no giveaway attached, but there will be a promo code for Yellowcake Shop.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Yellowcake Shop

Top: Psylo

Skirt: Zara

April 19, 2018 – Happy One Year! (OOTD #268)

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Can you believe it’s been one whole year since I started this blog?

I certainly can’t. I’ve come a long way since my very first post here. When I began LEDJ, I meant it as a hobby I would play around with every once in a while. I didn’t really mean to commit to it every day (not that I’m always perfect at the everyday posting schedule — I do try though), and at best, I figured I’d do it for a few months over the summer and give up once I made it to college and had more important things to worry about.

Surprisingly though, I’ve managed to keep it up! Like I said, I’ve gone several days — even a week or two — without posting, but otherwise, I usually manage to put something out there every day.

How do I stay motivated? Part of it is simply that I enjoy this — forget the fact that I get free stuff from sponsorships (rarely — but it’s nonetheless super exciting!), forget the kind and lovely comments I get on my Instagram posts and blogs — and still, I just like to write. I always have, and it’s nice to have an avenue for more casual writing since most of the stuff I do for school is very formal and academic.

Blogging is also a really great way for me to keep a record of my outfits and how I felt when I wore them — in a way, it’s basically like journaling. In fact, it’s kind of strange because it’s almost like having my diary out there on the Internet for anyone to read — including people who actually know me. It’s always a little weird to have my parents mention something I wrote about in a blog but that I didn’t tell them otherwise.

It would be wrong for me to talk about this blog without also mentioning my gratitude for anyone who’s ever give me a view, a like, a comment, a retweet, or a follow. You guys are part of what makes this blog worth it, which keeps me motivated even after I’ve had a long hard day of schoolwork.

One of these days when I’m not a poor college student, assuming I’m still going at this, I’ll do one of those nice giveaways that I see other bloggers do for anniversaries. I wish I had the resources to participate in those sorts of things, but I don’t right now.

I would however be happy to offer shout outs to anyone who leaves a comment here on an upcoming blog! I know it’s not much, and I’m not a huge blogger, but maybe it can help direct a little traffic to your corner of the Internet.

Again, happy first birthday for LEDJ, and here’s to many more to come!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Lilly Pulitzer (you might notice it’s the same one featured in the April 19 blog of last year, the very first post I dd for this blog!) 

Shirt: J Crew (thrifted)

Jeans: Hollister

April 16, 2018 – Indiana Jones and the Empty Classrooms (OOTD #267)

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Get it? Because I live in Indiana and because I spend half of the time I’m not doing homework wandering around empty classrooms?

Empty classrooms are so underrated — why study in the stuffy library or the crowded student center(s) when you could stake out your own private classroom? It’s a particularly useful strategy when you can find said empty classroom in a 24 hour building, which, at Notre Dame, means basically any of the arts buildings.

I did once accidentally fall asleep in an empty classroom and didn’t wake up until 7AM when a cleaning lady came in to get ready before 8AM classes, which probably would not have happened had I been in a more public place. At the same time, I’ve never had someone vomit in the seat right next to me like happened to me the other day in the student center, so, you know — pros and cons.

Speaking of pros and cons, my schedule turned out much better than I expected it would! I didn’t quite make it into every class I wanted, but I got into the majority of them, and those that I didn’t, I still found alternatives that hit about the same requirements. I saw one girl running across south quad holding her laptop and crying this morning, so clearly, I didn’t have it bad at all.

As it turns out, it doesn’t look like I will have any art classes next semester, but I think a break will be good. I wasn’t a huge fan of my drawing class this semester, despite all of the complaining I did the semester before about missing art classes. Will I ever find a balance between wanting to do art and not wanting to be stressed out about it? The world may never know.

Most of my classes will work towards my history major and some university requirements, but I did pick up French for fun, even though that doesn’t fulfill any requirements for me. I’m also hoping to get into a one-credit course about local plants, but it closed hours before my registration time began, so fingers crossed I can email the professor and get in.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Forever21

Sweater: The LOFT

Pants: The LOFT