Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases.

{Via my Instagram}

     Time again for my new favorite weekly series! So glad that y'all seem to be enjoying these posts- I love writing them!

Ramblings:

• Less than ONE WEEK until Charlotte: I leave Maine for my senior year of college next Tuesday! Every year, my dad and I pack up Lucy (my car :-) ) to the brim, and road trip down to Charlotte. We do the same drive each May to bring me home for the summer, but as I'm planning to be living full-time in Charlotte next year (or interning in another city), this will probably be the last time we do the drive. This is a little bittersweet for me! These road trips with my dad have become some of my fondest memories with him. We aren't the type of people who like to drive overnight or over-do it, so we always break up the drive into a few days and spend nights along the road in various states and cities along the way. (A few months ago on the drive up to Maine, we even spent an evening in NYC!) 
• Leaving my job: With going back to school and the thought that I probably won't ever be a full-time Maine resident again (knock on wood.... haha), this week means that it's not only my last week at my summer job for this summer, but also for good! I have worked in retail at the same little store for three years now, and overall really enjoyed it! My favorite part of my job is my coworkers. They're all such incredible women, and because of them I am excited to come back to work every summer and Christmas break. So this is a little bittersweet for me, but exciting at the same time to start dreaming about what next summer will bring for me. (And I could absolutely dedicate several blog posts just to some of the strange customer interactions that I've had over the past few years!)
• About that new Macbook: As I mentioned in last week's Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases post, my 21st birthday gift from my parents came a little early, and in the form of a new Macbook! But here's the catch, I have yet to even touch that brand new computer since I brought it home a week ago! After bringing it home, it kind of hit me how much is on my old laptop- pretty much my whole life! I've had it since high school... and I spent a good deal of time online! Nothing has been transferred to the new one yet, and honestly that just seems like a lot of work to me during a week when I'm finishing up my job and starting to pack for school. So I think it will continue to sit in the box for a few more days (as my old computer continues to be slow and freeze on me, ha!). 
• No make-up: In the photo above that I shared from my Instagram account, I am 100% make-up free! Y'all know that I'm a huge make-up lover. I can spend easily a couple hours everyday on my hair and make-up if I let myself! But over the past few weeks, I've found myself each day wearing less and less make-up (and not heat treating my hair so often). Finally today I just went make-up free to work. Make-up is a wonderful thing, but it's also so important to remember to be confident and feel pretty in your own skin! I also think it's good that I'm letting my skin breath a little now before heading back to school school soon. 

Purchases: 

• Not super exciting for my bank account but I got my textbooks for the upcoming semester last weekend! If the textbooks that I need are available for rent, I always rent them. This year I rented most of them through Chegg and then bought a couple on Amazon. 
• I just ordered this gorgeous cover for my new Macbook! Maybe once it arrives I will be more motivated to use my new computer! ;-) 
• My favorite purchase of the week was finally finding the perfect wine glass to take with me on my upcoming beach trip for my 21st birthday! Hint hint: it's Lilly Pulitzer! (I didn't shop Lilly's After Party Sale this past week since I just bought textbooks and had some other expenses, so this was like my little tribute Lilly purchase!) See which adorable glass I bought here! 

     Soon I will be sharing my last post recapping my summer study abroad experience in France! It will be all about my favorite day trip that I took while abroad, so I can't wait to share that. And hopefully I will have some time to shoot some outfits this week in between finishing work and packing! :-)

     Thanks for reading!

     xoxo Miss ALK