What I Wore to Work: May 2020.

     Happy Saturday! I don't typically post on the weekends, but I realized yesterday that I needed to get May's work outfits posted before June, and today's the last chance for me to do that. 

     May was an interesting month weather-wise in Charlottesville. You know the saying "April Showers Bring May Flowers?" Well, it was the opposite here this year. March and April were both beautiful and unseasonably warm months in Virginia. May on the other hand was quite rainy, and also cold! We had frost advisories in the overnight for several nights in the first half of the month, which is really weird for Virginia this late into spring. Unfortunately that cold weather wasn't great for our local wineries- many have lost significant amounts of their crop. 

    Anyways, weird weather or not- I did have fun as always with my work outfits this month! See my LikeToKnow.It page for more details on each individual outfit. 

Spring/Summer Try-On: Quarantine Shopping Purchases Vol. 2

     I know I'm definitely not alone in using online retail therapy as a way to cope and cheer up during this pandemic. I foresee my online purchases slowing down significantly for the rest of summer (scratch that- rest of 2020) now that I have a car payment each month, but for the past couple months I've been having a steady stream of packages arrive each week.

    I shared a try-on haul of my March and early April buys last month in this blog post, and today I'm sharing my more recent purchases from late April to now!

Midweek Ramblings.

{2020: the year of socially distanced patio dining! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

Midweek Ramblings.

{Showing off my latest ImPRESS manicure from my new car!! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

Pink & Green Outfit: Day + Night.

     Nothing says "classic summer preppy outfit" to me like the color combination of pink and green! These two colors when worn together just make me so happy. Anyone else? 😊

    I purchased this retro looking green gingham shift dress a couple months ago, and I knew that when I styled it I wanted to add hot pink accessories. I came up with two different pink accessorized outfits... and I liked them both so much that I shot both for today's blog post! One is more of a daytime look, and the other I think would be cute for a fun evening out or a date night. So here's one of my new favorite dresses, styled two ways!

10 Best Recipes From My Quarantine Kitchen.

    If there's one thing I've been doing a lot more of while staying home, it's cooking and baking! I've loved both of these things for many years, but never in my life have I eaten this much at home and tried to rely as much as possible on my own culinary skills. Today I'm rounding up my 10 favorite recipes that I've made over the past two months! There's a mix of dinners and desserts- but one theme here is that most of these are comfort food items. With all the stress going on in the world, I've craved comfort food more than ever. Some of these recipes might not be the healthiest... but at least they're homemade right? 😉

    The photo below is of my very first cheesecake, which I baked a few weeks ago. The irony of me sharing this photos is this is probably the worst thing that I made in the past two months, haha! I labored over it one Saturday morning, and when it was finally ready to eat I was so proud that I made my roommate Abigail take my picture with it. Turns out that it was nice looking on the outside but didn't taste good in the slightest. You will most definitely not find the recipe for it in today's post. Oh well! 

Midweek Ramblings.

{Scenes from one of my favorite local parks in Charlottesville- social distancing makes me so thankful for outdoor spaces! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

5 Things I've Enjoyed While Staying Home.

     Happy Monday Friends! It is a happy Monday indeed, as the state of Virginia is set to slowly begin re-opening at the end of this week. While I know it will be quite awhile before things fully go back to normal, it does make me thrilled to know we are starting to move to that direction!

     In today's post, I wanted to share five things that I've been really enjoying during these past two months at home. Aside from going to work and occasional grocery store trips and walks in the park, I've spent just about all of this time in my apartment. I am looking so forward to spending less time home in the months to come, but also thankful for the things I did to pass the time.

No Bad Years.

      You don't need me to tell you that 2020 has been about as far from our expectations of it as we could have ever imagined. And as we move on through the weeks and months, it doesn't show any signs of being less weird anytime soon. In more ways than just COVID-19, 2020 seems like a bad year on paper. It's easy to go into a dark place mentally when thinking about all of the losses, cancellations, new restrictions, and fears that 2020 has brought. I know that I've certainly had my fair share of bad days during all of this. 

     But over the past few weeks, God has been teaching me something and put this message on my heart to share on my blog. He's been teaching me this lesson in the most interesting way- through the power of my own memory and self-reflection. I can't wait to share this with you today, and I hope it might help with your perspective as we move through this year. 

Midweek Ramblings.

{Visiting the Virginia Safari Park was such a fun weekend activity! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

How I'm Using My Stimulus Check + Ideas For Yours.

     I had to wait a couple weeks longer then some of my friends did for theirs, but my stimulus check finally arrived last Thursday. In today's blog post, I thought I'd share what I'm using my check for, and a few extra ideas for other things you can do with them. And I'm also sharing a fun and preppy spring outfit! 

Surprise Lilly Pulitzer Spring Sale!

     Hi and happy Friday! Popping in with a very short blog post just to let you know that Lilly Pulitzer is having a new type of special online sale for this weekend, and if you're a Lilly fan this is one you don't want to miss!