What I Wore to Work: January 2020.

     Time to share my first work outfits post of 2020! While January is usually the coldest month of the year in Virginia, this year it's been surprisingly mild! We have had a few chilly days, but it's been balanced with several days in the upper 50s and even into the mid 60s, which has made me enjoy work outfits this month more than I did last winter. 

     All of today's outfits are linked on my page on the LiketoKnow.it app, and as always I'm sharing a few fashion favorites from the month at the end of the post!

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Best Richmond VA Hair Salon: My Experience at Rituals Salon & Spa.

     For the past few months, I've been on a journey... a hair coloring journey that is! My 25th birthday was in September, and I decided a great way to celebrate my quarter of a century would be to change up my naturally dark hair. Later in the fall, I was looking to continue going lighter with my hair, but I was also in the market for a new salon, as I wasn't in love with the first one I went to. It was perfect timing that Rituals Salon & Spa in the Richmond area reached out to me at this time! I've now been a client at Rituals for about three and a half months, and I'm excited to share a full review of my experiences and their services with you today. Make sure to read all the way to the end of the post as I have a discount code to share with fellow Virginians (or anyone if you happen to be in the Richmond area!). 

     I was gifted some complimentary hair and spa services in exchange for today's review- but all opinions of Rituals Salon & Spa are honest and my own.

Midweek Ramblings.

{Delilah hanging out with me while I finished watching Cheer on Netflix! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

Charlottesville Apartment Tour: Before/After Pictures of My New Place!

     I'm excited to finally share the before and after shots of my new Charlottesville apartment on the blog today! I suppose "new apartment" is a loose term... I moved in during Labor Day Weekend which was already several months ago, and this apartment is much older than my previous one. 😂But either way- it's still my newest home! 

My 2020 New Years' Resolutions.

     I know I'm sharing a post with "New Years' Resolutions" in the title about three weeks after the start of 2020... whoops! In full honesty, I've found that I have a much better success rate of completing my resolutions when I don't start them in January 1st, but end up taking the first 2-3 weeks of the year to really brainstorm my goals and visions, instead of rushing coming up with them. Today I'm taking a look back at last year's resolutions, and also sharing the ones I have for 2020!

Midweek Ramblings.

{I still love wineries just as much in the winter! Loved going to Pippin Hill last Friday. Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

The Best Books I Read in 2019.

     In 2019 I completed my resolution of reading 52 books- one book per week! I read a good mix of fiction and non-fiction throughout the year. A few of the books I read were awful, a lot were decent, and some were absolutely wonderful- the type of books that stay with you and that you can't help but recommend to everyone you know.

3 Travel "Firsts" I'm Excited For in 2020.

     I feel so lucky to already have several fun trips on the calendar for 2020 that I know I'll love creating blog content for, but my 2020 travels actually don't begin until next month! For the second year in a row, I'm staying put here in Virginia for the whole month of January, which I actually don't really mind. I feel like the first month of the year is a great time to reflect and reset, and the cold weather that this month usually brings makes me want to stay in on weekends and be a homebody! But I'm super excited for traveling to pick up starting in February.

     I'll be heading to both domestic and international destinations- one of them being my fingers are crossed that my mom and I will be all good with rescheduling our Spain trip for late spring! Anyways, with travel arrangements already being made for upcoming plans, I thought for today's post it would be fun to share three travel "firsts" that I'll be experience in the first half of 2020!

Midweek Ramblings.

{Throwing diamonds this past weekend for my first Bid Day on the sorority advisor side! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk!}

My Best Purchases of 2019.

     2019 was a great year for me in terms of discovering new products to make my life easier or better! Just about everything featured here are things that I'm using on a weekly, if not daily basis! I truly love each and every one of these things, and hopefully you will also. In past best purchases of the year posts I number the items randomly, but this time I did it in order of how much I love the items! So #1 is my favorite purchase of the year, #2 is second favorite, etc. But with that said- I really do love everything on the list!

The Country Guest House: A Lighthearted Winter Read.

     This post is sponsored by Babbleboxx on behalf of Harper Collins.

     One of my favorite hobbies is reading, and I feel like the two seasons that I doing enjoy it the most are summer and winter! Summer because of the opportunity for reading by the pool (I literally do this almost every sunny weekday afternoon from May-September), and winter because I can get all cozy at home with blankets and tea and warm up with a good book.

     In 2019, I set a New Year's resolution to read 52 books. I'm thrilled to share with y'all that I did in fact complete it; I finished my final book of the year on December 30th. I'll be doing another blog post soon with all of my favorite reads of the year and sharing my tips for accomplishing such a large reading goal, but for today I wanted to share a review of book number 52 for me in 2019- which was a brand new novel, The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr.

A Shiny Start to 2020 + My Word of the Year!

     This past December ended up being busier for me than I anticipated, so sadly I wasn't able to share my favorite glam holiday look with y'all until today- a little over a week after New Year's. Whoops! Hopefully you'll excuse my lateness on that (and the fact there are Christmas trees in the background of these photos...). Anyways I still wanted to share this cute sequin dress with y'all as it could still be appropriate for other types of glamorous winter events besides just NYE. I'm also sharing my 2020 word of the year today!

Midweek Ramblings.

{Took down the Christmas decor this week and these coffee table books in my living room are getting me excited for Valentine's! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

LILLY PULITZER AFTER PARTY SALE: Items Still Available + My Purchases!

     Today is the second and final day of the Winter 2020 Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale! Did anyone else shop their little heart out online yesterday morning? 😉 I bought a few more items than I was planning to this time around, but I truly love Lilly so I know that I'll get a lot of use out of everything!

  

    If you didn't get a chance to shop yesterday, the After Party Sale is continuing today both in-store and online! I am amazed at how many items from yesterday are still in stock in all sizes online. The After Party Sale does end at 11:59pm tonight- so now is your last chance to buy! There are a lot of pieces in the APS this time that are perfect for winter, and of course tons of Lilly that you could buy now and save for when it's warmer. 

LILLY PULITZER AFTER PARTY SALE: 5 Lilly Unexpected Favorite Purchases.

     Happy First Day of the Winter 2020 After Party Sale!! 🎉Who is ready to shop at 8am this morning when the sale queue opens? (If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about- see this blog post!) 

     I'll be updating this post later today with my sale picks once the website opens and I can link them, but until then I wanted to do something different on the blog today for this After Party Sale. I'm sharing my five most unexpected favorite Lilly Pulitzer purchases from over the years. Obviously Lilly is known for their classic and colorful shift dresses, but they also make so much more apparel and accessories as well! Some of the items I'm highlighting today are older and the exact thing might still not be in stock, but I'll try linking a very similar other option instead if that's the case.

LILLY PULITZER AFTER PARTY SALE: Winter 2020 In-Store Try-On + My Shopping List!

     Happy Winter 2020 After Party Sale!! The in-store preview events kicked off at Lilly Pulitzer stores this morning, and of course the online sale will be debuting at 8am on Monday. I stopped by my local Lilly Pulitzer store in Charlottesville this weekend to do a try-on with some items! You can also see the video version of this on my Instagram in a little IGTV video.

LILLY PULITZER AFTER PARTY SALE: Winter 2020 Sale Dates + My Past Favorite Lilly Blog Posts!

     If you're in a little bit of a slump following the end of the holiday season- some good news came out today that might just cheer you up! The Winter 2020 Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale dates have been announced! Let's just say my agenda for the next week or so just got a lot sunnier. 😊 Normally when the APS sale dates are announced I write a detailed blog post sharing sale FAQs- but I figured for this time around I would share instead a round-up of my past favorite Lilly Pulitzer content, as I have a lot of it!!