Happy March everyone! February was a super busy and super fun month for me. I'm so excited to share it, but I also want to know what you guys have been up to this winter and what you're looking forward to this spring. Let me know in the comment section!
xo
elyse
elyse + residency
February was a pretty busy month for me in terms of residency.
Our mock board exam was February 16, 2017. I spent pretty much all of my free time studying the first two weeks of February. The exam was brutally hard, but I felt reasonably prepared for it. The hardest thing about the exam as a first year is 1) you have no idea what to expect and 2) the same exam is given to all three years, so it’s expected that first years won’t do well. This is the first time in my medical career where the expectation is that I’ll study like crazy but still not be prepared enough to do well (although, they do let you know your percentile compared to other people your year).
Anyway – the exam was on a Thursday and then it was over.
Then I had my very first weekend call of dermatology residency (excluding intern year of course) starting Friday afternoon, and I definitely underestimated how busy it would be! I was at the hospital until midnight Friday and Saturday evening. Sunday was thankfully pretty chill, and I only had to go in for a few hours. Monday was the worst. I left the hospital Tuesday morning at 2 am and finished updating my sign-out for the weekday residents who would be taking over the service at 3 am. It was a brutal weekend after two weeks of brutal studying, but I saw a lot of interesting cases and will definitely share with you all in a longer post!
Luckily, my program is incredibly supportive. One of our chief residents offered to come to the hospital to help me finish up Monday evening when he found out I still needed to do 5 biopsies at 10 pm. Tuesday afternoon my program director sent me home from afternoon clinic because I was basically a zombie and shouldn’t be providing medical care (yes, I know this is the state that most residents practice medicine everyday… I don’t believe in it and I don't have the stamina for it. Dermatologists are conditioned for 8 hours of beauty sleep, which is one of the reasons I went into dermatology). Related: why I chose dermatology, my advice on how to chose a medical specialty
The second half of February was much chiller. I intentionally took a sabbatical from studying to enjoy my last 2 weeks at our easiest site. Now that it's February, I've moved on to the last of our three clinical sites. I'll let you know how the first month goes in the March update.
elyse + culture
MOVIES: Let the record show that I told you to go see Moonlight back when it was only in select theaters. It is beyond deserving of the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards (although the mix up with La La was awkward..). I also really enjoyed La La Land (and this SNL review). I posted mini reviews of both on instagram after seeing them.
Speaking of the Academy Awards, did you see Chrissy Teigan wearing Glossier cloud paint?? Cloud paint is Glossier's newest blush that's inspired by NYC sunsets. I'll do a longer review of it on insta and probably the blog once I've given it a good try out! Related: my favorite glossier products here and 20% off your first purchase!
WOMEN: I can't speak of Chrissy Teigan without sharing this beautiful essay she shared on her struggle with post-partum depression. I know as a physician that depression can happen to anyone, but honestly she is the last person I would have thought of. She is beautiful, her husband is beautiful, their baby is breathtaking, their life seems equal parts down to earth and glamorous, she's so freaking funny and hot and pretty much every guy/gal's dream girl. All of these things make her story even more powerful. It's so easy to only share the good on social media.
MUSIC: I made you TWO spotify playlists. FOLLOW THEM, please. I’m obsessed with playlist, so expect more and more!
- Love and the Sky: cuffin season - a new love playlist featuring Jay-Z, Beyonce, Joss Stone, Al Green, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Bob Marley, and many more..
- Love and the Sky: summer time fine - a workout playlist with a fun mix of pop, hip-hop, and dance because #summeriscoming
TELEVISION: This episode of Black Mirror is a really interesting look at what social media can become. It’s a little too long and I didn’t like the ending, but it’s beautiful and good enough to waste an hour on.
Elyse + beauty
My first month of being a glossier brand rep has been so much fun! Thank you all for your support. Definitely drop a comment at the bottom of the article to let me know what you think of your glossier products. Remember – 20% off your first purchase here (that link is also live on the navigation bar). You can read more about my partnership with Glossier here.
Glossier had three big releases this month -
- Clear boy brow – I LIVE for this. This is one of the four products I wear every single day (including priming moisture rich, skin tint in deep, and haloscope in topaz). I’ve previously tried the Anastasia brow gel in clear and thought it was cool but unnecessary. This conditions the brows and gives them a defined look without adding much color which means you don't have to worry about overdoing the product. Highly, highly recommend it. Leave a comment if you’ve tried it (which many of you have because it was the most purchased item Feb 2017).
- Cloud paint - The brand recently launched a line of blushes inspired by NYC sunsets (I know.. this brand gets me so hard). I’ve been waiting for the brand to release blush for so long! I will keep you posted on my thoughts as soon as I receive it! Use code “2BLUSHES” to get two for $30 and free shipping!
- Haloscope in moonstone was previously a limited time production but it has been re-released!
Which products do you want me to review next?
Also – GIVEAWAY coming in March to thank you all for your support!
elyse + style
During the week I wear wearfigs scrubs while on call, but for weekend call, I went with four of the most versatile items in my closet. Casual enough to wear to brunch, but put together enough to see consults if I get called in. These shoes are so comfy and less than $50 (maybe the first bargain buy I've ever had on the blog). I'm addicted to my apple watch, especially now that I'm running. It's also great for clinic to know what's happening without taking my phone out and it keeps track of all my movement. I've had these Citizens of Humanity jeans for years and they haven't faded or stretched out one bit, still good as new (and I wear them at least 3 times a week).
Elyse + home
My favorite meal I’ve made this month is spaghetti with ground turkey and vegetables. DELICIOUS. I bought the sweet potatoes already spiralized so it was such an easy, healthy meal to make and very portable for lunch. BTW my all clad pots and pans are so legit.
Elyse + fitness
After a 3 year hiatus, I’m back to running.. in a major way.
When I moved to NYC, I had the goal of running the NYC marathon. There are three ways to enter the NYC marathon
- Acceptance through a lottery system. The lottery is open for approximately one month in January and runners find out in March if they're accepted to run the upcoming November NYC marathon.
- Charity - runners can fund raise for a charity and gain entry to the upcoming November NYC marathon.
- 9+1 - runners can run 9 races in a calendar year and volunteer at one race to earn entry to next year's NYC marathon.
One of my coresidents ran in 2015 and we planned to enter the lottery for the 2016 race together last year, but I chickened out and he ended up running again in 2016 by himself.
This year, I entered the lottery for 2017 and signed up for 9 races in order to guarantee entry into 2018. Well, I got the lottery! I'm still planning to do the 9+1 in order to train for the 2017 race and then possibly run the marathon again in 2018.
My first race is the Shape Women’s half marathon.
I’ve run one marathon before but I’m pretty terrified because it was so long ago! Leave running tips below.
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love you.
mean it.
elyse.
