Apartment Decor: Clinical Rotation Edition

For those of you that don't know, caribbean medical schools, like mine typically have two components: basic sciences which is completed in two years on the island and the remaining two years at a clinical rotation site/hospital in the United States. After the end of the second year medical students are expected to take the USMLE Step 1, and after passing that exam you find out your clinical site. I was assigned to a site right outside of Newark, New Jersey for the majority of my third year of medical school and with a start date one month away from the score I needed to find a place to live and get furniture to live with! 

Which brings in today's post, my parents and I went to NJ for a day to explore 12+ apartments and decided on this cute one bedroom in Cranford, NJ. The apartment was 15 minutes to work and located in an adorable suburban town where I had my Trader Joe's 12 minutes away, an Italian sandwich shop and bagel shop just a walk from my building and was safe for me to live on my own.

We put together the design fairly quickly! My mom and I did a lot of antique shopping in the week's leading up to the move and we ordered the sofa and mattress to be delivered to Cranford. I will do my best to share where the pieces were purchased. 

The design of the apartment was somewhat Boho, Whimsy, with lots of fur and pink... very feminine! Since we had such a slim time frame the pieces came together totally organically, I had no vision until we went out hunting and that is how the apartment came together! 

When you walked into the apartment the kitchen was on the right, a set of closets on the left. Then there was a big open space meant to be the dining and living area. You can see the overview of the space above! 

The dining table was one my mom had as well as the clear ghost chairs which I made my comfy with the addition of these Ikea Sheepskins. 

The living area was mostly antique pieces from family with a few additions. 

Queen Sleeper Sofa - Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams 

Blue Swivel Chair - Family Piece 

Rug - Vintage (we had it cleaned before)  

Coffee Table - Vintage

Desk - Ikea (old), with Ikea desk lamp

Media Cabinet - Ikea Besta

White Fur Stool - Wayfair 

Floor Lamp - HomeSense

Pillows - Patterned Fur from HomeSense, Striped from Anthropologie 

Coffee Table Decor changed by the season (hence the pumpkin)

Books from HomeGoods, HomeSense and from my parent's house

Brass dog - Vintage 

Glass orb - HomeSense 

Coasters - Anthropologie 

I liked the idea of a simple bedroom that was super comfy. As a medical student most of my days were spent at the hospital working with patients, on call or studying. Sleep was essential, especially on post call days after working a 24 and during my surgery rotation when I had to be at the hospital at 4:45 and was there most days till anywhere from 5:30 to 7:30 unless I was on call and was there overnight too! 

The headboard was an architectural screen that my mom and I found antiquing and my dad used L brackets to put it on the wall. Pillows were all from my bedroom at home, which had a similar vibe. 

My second desk was a piece I inherited from my grandmother, it doubles as a dining room table and we had it lacquered a navy color and it fit perfectly!

White Fur Stool - Pair from the living room

Lamp - Vintage 

Faux Succulent - HomeGoods 

Bunny Jewelry Holder - Anthropologie 

Framed Art - Gift from my mom (unknown source) 

So there you have it, my apartment from the past two years. I ended up living in the space for almost two full years as most of my fourth year was scheduled at close hospitals as well! 

I loved every piece and while the big pieces came together quickly all the little details were added over time. I also am someone who gets bored with the same accessories and style so over time and with seasons I changed out books or accessories, moved them around and added flowers, pumpkins and more! 

I cannot wait to find out where my next home will be, residency applications closed yesterday and now it's a waiting game for match! I'm excited to get to share the next apartment process on the blog as well. Stay tuned. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

xo 

Sunday Inspiration

Happy Sunday!! 

I've spent most of the past week dog sitting for two adorable ladies... a cavalier king charles and a little poodle mix. And spent the weekend home watching our family dog Teddy who I treat like a child. He's' a 13 year old cockapoo and is almost 50 pounds. 

I'm animal obsessed and have dreams of one day living on a piece of property where I can have dogs and chickens and who knows what else I'll fall in love with and add to the mix. 

Shhh. Don't tell my family, he isn't allowed on this sofa. Oops. 

Earlier this month my mom treated my sister and I to the Oprah 2020 Vision Tour at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. What an inspiring day filled with so many incredible women leaders including Oprah herself, Michelle Obama, Rachel Hollis and more. I loved Daybreaker who started the day at 9:30 am with a dance party. Followed by Oprah, who I grew up watching with my parents on tv. She is truly incredible and shared about how she found her focus and paved her own way by doing everything with intention, being okay with saying no and living her own life according to her plans. 

These were all incredible messages to hear especially at a time where I'm putting together my rank list for residency match and will be going out on my own in the coming year. Lots of change ahead, but I've looked forward to being a doctor my whole life and cannot wait for what lies ahead. I'm excited at the prospect of being the best doctor I can be while continuing to grow as an individual and honing in on my intentions in career, and more! 

Speaking of more, lately I've been trying to find more time to be creative. 

After watching a couple YouTube videos on how to embroider and basic stitches I got right to work. I found this adorable inspiration image on Pinterest and just went for it in my own way. I'm going to get started on my next project and I can't wait to share update photos. Here's to hoping it turns out just as cute as my first try. 

I also just finished reading The Most Fun We Ever Had written by Claire Lombardo. I'd give it a 4.5/5 stars, its a wonderfully well written dynamic book about the stories of a mom and her four daughters as they navigate through life. The good, the bad and the ugly and most importantly the ability to be resilient along the way, at least that's something I took from it. 

My next to read books are Followers which is the Bad On Paper Podcast Book Club pick for February and Uncanny which I saw on NYCBookGirl's incredible bookstagram. I use both resources weekly for book recommendations and my town library miraculously has many of the new releases they mention! I read so quickly and am not someone to read books twice so I prefer the library!

Last inspiration point from this week is The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast. I'm definitely late to the party on this one, I've been following bloggers and YouTubers forever who rave about this podcast and just recently listened to my first episode where they interview Ed Mylett which was awesome and have been going into their archives to listen to some of the later ones. I'm always interested in learning about wellness, healthy eating, empowerment, self-motivation and more so those are the episodes I've put on my list to listen so far. I'd love to hear recommendations if anyone has top favorite episodes or other podcasts they love. 

Lots of inspiration for the new week ahead! 

xo

This Week's Memories & Welcome Back

I guess I should begin by saying welcome back, or rather I'm back! 

I've always loved having a creative outlet to share words or wisdom, fun memories and inspiration and in the time that I've been gone I've finished medical school, applied to residency (more to come in March on this), am halfway through a Masters of Public Health degree, taught a Neuropsychiatry class at my undergraduate university, and much more. In addition I have spent way more time with family now that I'm back in Connecticut until the next steps of working as a doctor! 

I read 38 books last year, and already read five in January, am trying to learn embroidery, am obsessed with educating myself about sustainability, and wellness and just got back from an awesome few day trip with my sister in Florida. I thought the best way to start back up is to give a little recap of some special memories from this week, some things I loved and the books I read this past week. 

My sister and I left Sunday for a quick four day trip to Fort Lauderdale. It was such a great trip, we spent hours by the pool and the beach soaking up the beautiful sun. It was so warm, we both loved escaping the cold for 75 degree days. Only one day was cloudy but the others were amazing! 

Lunch with a view. 

Fort Lauderdale was so fun, loved the creative bike racks. 

Missing the warm weather already but I'm happy to be back home celebrating my mom's birthday today. 

Books from the week: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes and Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I will be compiling a list of all my January reads this week and will include reviews then. 

Loving: I've always been a huge fan of Tory Sport and came across these Love Slides and got them for Christmas. They were my go to shoes over my FL trip and have a few other adorable colors too!

Also, when In Southampton this summer we stopped in to Tenet and I found the softest t-shirt ever. It's by The Great, called The Boxy Crew with hearts and I'm obsessed, it also got a lot of use over vacation. 

Healthy Living: I know the health craze last year was all about juicing but I've stuck with it this year too. I have been juicing, usually celery, carrot and apple or orange in the mornings before breakfast and its a great way to start the day. 

Happiness: Practicing gratitude has been a new part of my morning routine and it just starts the day with a reminder of all the blessings and good in life. Before getting out of bed I think about all that I am grateful for, whether they are little or big it's a great way to start the day. 

Girl Power: I am so proud of all that my mom does. She is now selling her incredible one of a kind art pieces in the Lillian August Flagship store in Norwalk, CT. We went yesterday to shop for her client's and I snapped a few pictures of her pieces on display. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! 

xo