Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases.

{Via my Instagram @miss_alk - follow me on Snapchat too with the same username!}

Ramblings:

• Friendsgiving: This was my third year out of four years of college spending Thanksgiving with families of my friends instead of my own extended family back home. Getting to spend so many Thanksgivings, and a few other holidays as well, with other families has been such an enriching experience. It's a wonderful feeling to be welcomed into someone's home for a holiday, and I absolutely love seeing the different traditions that each family holds near and dear. Honestly this has probably been one of my favorite parts of going to college far from home! This year's Thanksgiving with my best friend Mia and her family back in Pennsylvania was definitely one for the books. Since I plan to stay out-of-state following college, I know that I will have many more Friendsgivings to look forward to, and possibly even hosting some of my own wherever I end up living! 
• Grey Thursday is the new Black Friday: In all the years that I have Black Friday shopped, this was my very first year of starting shopping on Thanksgiving night. Typically I wake up somewhere between 6 and 8 a.m. on Friday, and just make for a 10 or 12 hour day at the malls! But this year since I was spending the holiday with my friend, things were a bit different. We ended up doing one traditional mall and also Philadelphia's huge outlet mall all on Grey Thursday! We started at about 8 pm, and didn't get home until after 2 a.m.. But what an awesome experience!! I am a total night owl so I loved being able to shop into the wee hours of the morning. (Of course the fun didn't stop on Thursday though... we hit up King of Prussia, the largest mall by retail space in the country, on Black Friday evening!)
• Winter Break Goals: I am starting to plan out my goals and list of things to accomplish over Christmas Break! I'm only going home to Maine for two weeks of break this time, and decided to return to Charlotte early. I am hoping to have a fun and productive Winter Break in both Maine and Charlotte- this is my last one as a college student after all! A few of my goals include making fun NYE plans for Charlotte (I'll be back by then), setting up apartment tours, planning some fun things with my Maine friends and family while I'm home, and beginning crafting for a birthday gift for a friend whose birthday is next semester! 

Purchases:

• This year's Black Friday sales did not disappoint! One of my favorite purchases of this year was finally finding the perfect pair of over-the-knee boots. And the best part?! They were only $20 during Black Friday!! I had been looking online at some OTK boots at department stores ranging $100 and higher. I'm so glad that I held out and struck gold with these!
• I shared on my Instagram last night a little preview of two adorable skirts that I purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch on Grey Thursday. Each was marked to about $25, so I got both of these for $50!! Sadly both of the skirts are no longer listed online, but here is a very similar option to one of the skirts that I got.
• Black Friday is always a great time to stock up on essential wardrobe items, since these are usually all on sale. I found some great pairs of of tights on sale here, and I know I'll get tons of use out of them this winter!
• Y'all-please help me to make a decision with this skirt! I purchased this on a whim on Grey Thursday, but after trying it on when we got home from shopping I realized I would have to exchange it for a different size. But I'm not sure if I still love it (at least maybe not in this color)... yet at the same time, I feel like a skirt like this is a blogger essential. Thoughts?! Should I exchange or return?

      For those of you who did Black Friday/Cyber Monday this year, how did it go for you?? In addition to purchasing these items and a few other things for myself, I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping, which makes me happy! I hate being a last minute present shopper.

     xoxo Miss ALK