Midweek Ramblings (on a Thursday!)

 

{Shopping in Downtown Edenton, NC this past weekend with my aunt and uncle! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

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Ramblings:

• 7 months in Virginia Beach: Tuesday of this week marked my 7th month as a Virginia Beach resident!! I can't believe how quickly time is flying. I'm also getting so excited for my second summer season here. I finally scheduled my first trip back to Charlottesville- I'll be visiting next month for the first time since the move!! I am so ready to see all of my friends (and go to a winery or two), but in some ways I am glad that I waited this long to go back. I think spending this fall and winter focused on building my new life in Virginia Beach has been really helpful. If you missed it last month- I shared a 6 Months in Virginia Beach update post here! 
• Tax season anxiety: I think I mention this on the blog every year around this time, but I get so much anxiety with tax season. Because of the fact that I have to do taxes for my blog, I never do them myself. (If I only had a W-2 for my day job, I'm sure I could handle that myself on TurboTax!) I used the same accountant all my years in Charlottesville, but I wanted to find a new local one here in Virginia Beach. Of course I keep procrastinating on this though!! Usually I file my taxes in February with an accountant, so I really need to get on this soon. April 15th will be here before I know it. Every single year I make taxes out to be a lot more in my head than they actually are, and yet I get anxiety the following year again like clockwork. Ha! Maybe writing this here will keep me accountable to making an appointment next week.

Weekend recaps:

• Last weekend: Actually not the best weekend if I'm being honest. I've been making dating more of a priority for the past few months, and I've been going on several first and second dates. Most of these have been pretty mediocre, and I haven't wanted to keep seeing these guys to potentially pursue a relationship. A few weeks ago, I had a great time on a first date with a guy who I thought really had potential. We went out a few times, but unfortunately that ended with him on Sunday (the day before Valentine's). 😓 I was kind of in a funk for the earlier part of the week- hence why this blog post is being written on Thursday and not Wednesday, ha! I know I'll be fine and I'm already trying to jump back into dating, but it was just kind of a bummer weekend. There were two bright spots in my weekend though- taking a day trip Saturday to spend the day with my aunt and uncle in Edenton, NC (my favorite little town!), and a Galentine's Day brunch at my friend LeighAnna's house! 
• This weekend: This weekend kicks off the next several weekends of travel for me! I am out of town most weekends in March and one in April. This weekend, I am finally heading to Atlanta to visit Cara and her husband. I was supposed to go in January, but it was during the weekend that Virginia Beach got a big storm, and I didn't want to risk having cancelled flights and I decided to postpone until now. 

Purchases:

• I treated myself to a spontaneous Target trip last week and picked up a few goodies! First were these under $10 hoop earrings. Not only are they cute and cheap, but amazingly I can wear them at work with my headphones and be completely comfortable (which is hard with most earrings). 
• Obsessed with these braided heels that I also grabbed! Styles like this are very on-trend for spring, and I can't wait to wear them soon.

Wishlist: 

• Have you seen the new Draper James collection at Kohl's? Kind of similarly to their bathing suit line with Lands' End, most of the pieces are more affordable than the regular Draper James items (think like Lilly Pulitzer for Target!). There are SO many cute items- but I really like this dress especially!
• A cute little spring blouse under $30.
• Here is a fun non-skinny jean option that would be very on-trend right now.
• If you live in a part of the country that will still have winter-like temperatures for March and April, this would be a darling sweater for spring. 
• Aren't these pearl heels absolutely darling? And such a deal!

Currently reading: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth - I got this from the library several weeks ago but had taken a break from it to get through an audiobook. Now I'm back to it! This is a thriller about a woman's mother-in-law who mysteriously dies. 

Recipe of the week: Chicken Sausage Rigatoni from Hello Fresh - I've been taking a Hello Fresh break for the past couple months, as I ordered it so much in 2020 and early 2021. I feel like I enjoy it most when I take periodic breaks from it. But they had some of my favorite recipes in this week's box, including the Chicken Sausage Rigatoni! This would be such an easy recipe to duplicate if you don't have Hello Fresh (love how they post all their recipes online).

Song of the week: Like a Boy by Priscilla Block - Priscilla Block is one of my favorite new country artists from last year. My co-host and I had the chance to meet and interview her on our Nashville work trip! Priscilla did a free concert for our radio station earlier this week, and I was really excited to hear her sing this one off her new album. I hope it's her next hit. 

Favorite blog posts of the week:

• Monica Dutia - Savannah is a southern city that I haven't gotten to visit yet, but it's high on my list. I enjoyed reading her weekend travel itinerary for Savannah.
• The Stripe - Grace announced that she is stepping down from co-hosting her podcast to focus on her blog and other ventures. There's a great message in this post about prioritizing doing the things that you really enjoy!
• Summer Wind - Sydney did the cutest post sharing her "starter pack" - this cracked me up! I also kind of want to do a post of my own like this.

On the blog this week:

• Best Amazon Jewelry Buys

      God Bless,

      xoxo Annaliese