Courtney of “Life of a Med School Wife”

Meet Courtney! She’s this month’s Featured Fashionista and the uber-stylish gal behind the blog “Life of a Med School Wife.”

Courtney never fails to impress me with her outfits and fashion tips! Every post she publishes on Life of a Med School Wife is chock-full of useful advice. And did I mention her style is fantastic?

I also love how relatable Courtney is in the posts she writes, and every interaction she has with her readers is always bursting with kindness. But don’t just take my word for it! Check out how amazing Courtney is in her Q&A below, and be sure to check out her blog by clicking here.

*Update: Courtney has recently renamed her blog “A Byers Guide.” Click here to check it out!

Q&A With Courtney

Tell me a little about yourself.

Courtney: First off, thank you, Lindsey, for featuring me! I have been following your blog for a while and always enjoy your posts.

My name is Courtney Byers and I live in Oklahoma City, where my husband attends medical school at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. I grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and attended college at Oklahoma State University. I have always thought I would end up back in Dallas, but I met an Okie who swept me off of my feet and I have lived in Oklahoma ever since.

We have a Maine Coon kitty named Wom-Wom. We do not have kids yet, so she is our fur child. Her very unique name is always a conversation starter, so I have to tell the story of why my husband, Jake named her that. He had her before we even met and she is named after the kitty he grew up with, Mow-Mow. Jake got Mow-Mow when he was two and presumably was trying to name him Meow-Meow, but he was so little he could only say Mow-Mow. He had him until Mow-Mow was 18 years old. When old Mow- Mow passed away, his mom’s cousin was giving Wom-Wom away. Jake agreed to take her and he renamed her Wom-Wom because she looked identical to Mow-Mow (Wom-Wom is just Mow-Mow spelled backward; her original name was Shauna, which Jake felt did not fit her at all). Needless to say, he won’t be naming our future children (just kidding).

How would you describe your blog, “Life of a Med School Wife”?

Courtney: Life of a Med School Wife is my creative outlet where I share what I have been wearing lately and my favorite trends. The more and more I blog, the more I find myself becoming passionate about fashion. I have always been into fashion, but my love is always growing. My style is very girly and you can often see me sporting a dress on the blog. I try to make my outfit posts relatable to the time of year or trends/upcoming seasons. Lately, I have started a “what to wear,” series where I share what to wear for particular events. I do new blog posts every Monday and Thursday.

How did you start blogging? And what inspired the unique name “Life of a Med School Wife”?

Courtney: As you probably have figured out by now, my husband is a medical student. He is in his 4th year, and being married to a medical student is far from easy. However, I wouldn’t change a thing! There were tons of hours each week where I was home from work and had free time, but Jake had to study or be at the hospital, so I found myself needing a hobby to pass the time while he studied. But for the longest time, I had no idea what that would be. I have always loved to paint, but I wasn’t feeling inspired to do that at the moment. I had watched the full Gossip Girl series for the second time and had just finished Pretty Little Liars, so I had run out of shows to watch. I was bored and needed a purpose besides my full-time job.

My sister-in-law, mom, and I always send each other outfit selfies and screenshots of things we want. Around Christmas, my sister-in-law and I were sending each other a ton of outfit pics since we had a lot of fun events coming up. We would also send each other pictures of blogger outfits we liked. She told me I should start posting outfit pictures on Instagram. I kind of brushed it off, though every once in a while I would post some more fashion-focused material on my personal Instagram account. The week before Christmas, I was off work and I decided to take some mirror selfies of what I was wearing and noticed my engagement was way better than normal. This inspired me to do more.

On Christmas Day, I really liked a few accessories that I received from “Santa”, so I decided to take my first real outfit picture with my real camera and not just a mirror selfie on my phone. I remember telling my husband that I was going to start a blog. I expected him to laugh at me and say that is dumb, but he has been nothing but supportive! He told me he thought it would be a great idea and was fully in favor. He always felt bad when he had to study instead of hanging out with me, so he was glad I found something fun to fill the time with. After taking pictures of my daily outfits for about 2-3 weeks, I told my sister-in-law maybe I really should create a blog and she encouraged again me to do so.

For one of my classes back in college, I had a blog called “Fashion Is An Art You Wear”. After logging back into my old blog, I deleted pretty much everything and started to set up my blog for Life Of A Med School Wife. Finally, one Friday I got off work a little early due to the snow that was coming in. I had my hubby take a quick Outfit Of The Day picture and typed up a quick blog post. I was too scared to announce I created a blog, but after a little bit of wine, I announced it on my Facebook and Instagram. I was surprised by the support I received and it’s been a fun journey from there!

How long have you and your husband been married? And what has it been like to be married while your husband is in med school?

Courtney: Jake and I got married on June 28, 2014, so we have been married 3.5 years. We got married right before he started medical school in August of 2014. Being married to a medical student isn’t exactly easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Each little victory in med school, like great scores on exams and being inducted into the AOA medical honor society, makes it all worth it. It has also taught me to be independent. I have never seen anyone work so hard and my hubby makes me so proud.

Your husband will also be graduating soon – which is very exciting! Will your blog be changing at all when that happens?

Courtney: Jake finally graduates in May of 2018 and I cannot believe it! This has felt like such a long journey that I thought would never end. I have been asked many times if I have plans to change my blog name and to let you in on a little secret, yes, this in the works right now. I have hinted at it a little on my Instagram stories and even asked for suggestions. I also plan to do a little revamping of my blog very soon and do a relaunch. I will not share the name yet, but I can tell you it will be happening very soon and I am so excited! When I started my blog I never thought I would continue past medical school, but I definitely plan to continue.

What would you say your favorite blog post you’ve published so far is, and why?

Courtney: Lately, I’ve been blessed to be able to travel a lot. My most favorite post is one of my recent ones. We just went to Nashville, Tennessee and I shared one of my casual Christmas outfits: a cape and boots. I had a little bit of trouble styling the cape at first but loved how I ended up styling it. I loved that it could be worn day or night. You can find that post, here. My hubby and I plan to do a lot of traveling in 2018, so I am hoping to share more travel related fashion posts.

I know you have a degree and background in PR but I’m curious what your full-time job is? And has your background helped you at all when creating your blog?

Courtney: My full-time job is working in the marketing department at a local company and my PR background has absolutely helped me with blogging. It is kind of funny because, as I mentioned above, in one of my PR classes I did start a blog as a class project. I treated that blog very much as a class project and never continued it when I was done. When I finally decided to make a personal blog, I used this previous blog and deleted all of my old posts. Taking a class on blogging really did help me because I knew how to work the blog platform. However, I am still very much learning daily.

Your posts and style tips are always amazing! Have you always been so stylish? And when did your love of fashion begin?

Courtney: Aw thank you! I have always LOVED fashion. I remember being in middle school and I would be styling outfits instead of doing the homework I had due the next day. I even took a fashion design class in high school. Fashion has always been a huge part of my life. I get my love of fashion from my mom. She worked in retail for many years and she is the type of woman that is always dressed to the nines. Fashion is a huge bond that she and I share.

What is the best fashion tip you’ve learned over the years?

Courtney: My best fashion tip I have learned is to dress for your body and not necessarily follow each trend. I LOVE trends, but not every trend works for me. Over the years, I have learned that sometimes classic looks are the best.

What is your go-to look?

Courtney: My go-to look is definitely a dress in an A-line style. I feel most comfortable and beautiful in dresses. I also like to have some kind of statement piece, whether it’s my jewelry or a pop of color with an accessory. I love bright colors, so even in the winter you can usually find me with a pop of color somewhere.

If you had to pick, what would you say your favorite store is?

Courtney: I shop pretty much everywhere. For trendy items, SheIn is absolutely my go-to. They have great prices and fabulous items. For staple pieces, Nordstrom is my favorite. Oklahoma does not have a Nordstrom, so I have to order everything online or shop in-store when I visit my parents. They have such a variety in prices and great quality. Their customer service is amazing, and items usually come in quickly.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a blog of their own?

Courtney: I started mine kind of on a whim. I never knew if I would actually do it, so I launched it when I was very much unorganized. I would recommend building up content before you launch. I have been learning as I go, but would highly recommend getting organized prior to starting.

And last but not least, where can my readers find you?

*Blog
*Instagram
*Facebook
*Pinterest
*Twitter

*Update: Courtney has recently renamed her blog “A Byers Guide.” Click here to check it out!