Midweek Ramblings.

{Delilah showing off her new leash outside this weekend! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

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Ramblings:

• Washing sneakers: I was reading through the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, and there was a detailed article about how to wash unique articles of clothing and certain household items in your washing machine. It touched on how to wash sneakers, and it reminded me that one of my favorite pairs of Nikes had gotten a big dirt stain on them while hiking when I was home in Maine. It took two trips through the washing machine- but after the second wash they came out looking incredible! I couldn't find the article I read online, but this lists similar tips for washing sneakers. Have you done this before?
• Radio road trip: One of my dreams for the future is to be able to take whatever radio show I'm working for at the time on the road, and road trip around the US while broadcasting. Sounds amazing, but far fetched right? Well that's exactly what two co-hosts from Seattle have been doing this month! Carla Marie and Anthony were sadly let go from their morning show job in Seattle in July. Since then, they've continued doing a podcast and are currently road tripping the US, recording episodes in cities all over and holding socially distanced meet-ups. They're literally living the dream I've had and it's so cool to watch! You can follow their podcast Instagram here for updates from the road. I'm hoping to meet them if I can when they're in Virginia!

Weekend recaps:

• Last weekend: Friday night was so much fun! Some girlfriends and I went to the Quirk Hotel Rooftop bar in Charlottesville to celebrate our friend Emily's grad school graduation. The Quirk Rooftop just opened this year, and it's the first true panoramic rooftop bar in Charlottesville! I was very impressed at the social distancing and safety measures being taken. I'm pretty sure it was the first time since March that I got really dressed up for something other than blog photos, haha! Saturday and Sunday were more low key days at home but I was able to get a lot of blog work done, and play tennis.
• This weekend: It's my birthday weekend! I'm having a small, outdoor party on Saturday, and my roommate and I are doing something fun on Sunday (my actual birthday). My birthday is also my blogiversary, and I'm really excited about the special blog post I have for that this year!

Purchases:

• My bridesmaid dress for Cara's wedding! ☺️Her wedding isn't until next year, but the store she's having us order them from offered a special discount if we got our orders in ASAP, so I wanted to take advantage of that this week. It'll also be easier as months go on to know the dress is all set and paid for. 
• More of my favorite self-tanner! (If you missed my blog post about it, check it out here!)
• Can't believe I scored these leopard sandals for $10!
• I have these wedges in animal print and love them, so I grabbed them in a solid color as well while on sale. 

Wishlist:

• I think I'm finally going to splurge and treat myself next weekend to a pair of these! 
• Love this basic sweater in the light blue color! It also comes in several other colors too.
• This chunky turtleneck comes in a bunch of colors and would be perfect for the cooler months ahead.
• The most darling tweed dress that just got further marked down.
• I thought this pink mini dress was so cute at the start of summer it's now marked down to just $20!

Sale of the week: J. Crew Factory's already great clearance sale got even better! Now clearance items that were already on sale are an extra 75% off. Go go go!

Currently reading: Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho - I read about this book from another blogger's review, and she said the writing style was similar to the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, which are some of my favorite fiction books ever. In some ways- this novel is similar to CRA. It's also set in Singapore with Asian main characters, and I agree in some ways the writing style is similar too. Plot-wise, I think CRA was much more fun to read, but this one is still a good light summer read. 

Recipe of the week: Soft Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Live Well Bake Often - I had the biggest craving for oatmeal cookies yesterday and whipped these up yesterday evening. They're super easy and delicious too!

Song of the week: Waves by Mr. Probz - Throwing it back just a few years for this week's song! I'm doing the 2011-2015 edition of my one hit wonder bracket on my Instagram Stories this week, and this is one of the ones included. 

Favorite blog posts of the week:

• Alicia Tenise - I am obsessed with how Alicia  added some gorgeous DIY touches to her master bathroom! The before/after is amazing, and this whole project was done on a budget. 
• Carly the Prepster - I have thought the Samsung frame TV would be a great investment to make in the future once I'm living somewhere a little more permanently. I loved Carly's review of hers!
• Covering the Bases - Wow- definitely a strong home decor theme with all my favorite posts this week haha! I really enjoyed Krista's NYC apartment tour- her home is so gorgeous and decorated in a way that's so "her"! 

On the blog this week:

• My Experience Flying During COVID-19
• What I Wore to Work: August 2020  

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese