Midweek Ramblings.

{Soaked up all of the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains while I was in Charlottesville this weekend! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}

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Ramblings:

• 25th anniversary: One of my favorite movies of all time, Selena, turned 25 this week! This was Jennifer Lopez's breakout role which helped to launch her career, and the movie was a biopic about the life of late Tejano pop star Selena Quintanilla, who was tragically murdered in 1995 right before her career exploded. I was so excited to hear that the movie will be re-released in select theaters for special showings nationwide next month! 
• Blast from the 2003 past: And for a little more nostalgic entertainment news, there's a certain Vanity Fair magazine cover from 2003 that might be among the most iconic covers of the early 2000s. "It's Totally Raining Teens" was the cover headline, and the photoshoot featured most of the big teen actresses and pop stars of the day. Hilary Duff recently had the chance to be interviewed by Vanity Fair about what it was like to participate in the iconic shoot- and I loved seeing what she had to say all these years later! (Also can we all agree how much Hilary Duff was absolutely thriving in 2003?!)
• Laptop issues: My aging Macbook stopped turning on earlier this week! I have been traveling so much on the weekends lately that I hadn't used it during the week as much as I normally do, and it had been a good few days since I'd last tried turning it on. I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I did make an appointment at Apple for tomorrow. Hopefully it's fixable, but if it isn't cost effective to do that, I guess I might be getting a new computer. Anyways- if my blog posts are a little more sporadic for awhile, that's why! I'm finishing this one on my work laptop.

Weekend recaps:

• Last weekend: The last two weekends have been so busy that I've been a bit behind on blog posts- hence why I didn't get Midweek Ramblings up last week! Two weekends ago, my friend Liane came up from Charlotte to visit me in Virginia Beach. And this past weekend, I went back to Charlottesville for my first visit since moving away last summer! It was the absolute best weekend, I got to see so many friends and former coworkers, and try a couple new-to-me restaurants and a new winery! 
• This weekend: On Sunday, I leave for a quick girls trip with my friend Amanda! We are going to a destination that has been near the TOP of my travel bucket list for the past few years. 😀 Any guesses?? 

Purchases:

• Madewell had their Insiders Sale last week. I had been wanting a pair of distressed straight leg jeans (I call them Gen Z jeans haha), and I used this sale to grab this pair. I love them already! Glad to try something a little out of my fashion comfort zone.
• I picked up a flat gold chain that was on major clearance in a mall store. I have tried layering it with a few other little necklaces that I have. The exact one isn't online, but this one is very similar.

Wishlist:

• I almost scooped up this cute necklace in the Madewell sale- now kind of wishing I had!
• This cute sundress would be perfect for winery trips or going to dinner by the beach this summer. 
• I also love this bright and happy color blocked dress! It's also marked down quite a bit this week (and I think it looks more expensive than it is). 
• A pretty blouse that I think would be perfect for work in the spring.
• One more dress! This is the absolute best dupe I've seen for the popular Hill House Nap Dress. It's so much cheaper than a Nap Dress, and still comes in a few color options!

Currently watching: I haven't had much time for TV this past week, but I did watch the How I Met Your Father finale on Hulu and OH MY GOSH- so good!!! Could not get over the fact they had a HIMYM original cast member make a cameo appearance. I've also been getting caught up on American Auto on Hulu.

Currently reading: Hot Under His Collar by Andie J. Christopher - This was the third novel in a romance trilogy that all features that same friend group of characters. I think this one was my favorite out of the three! I'm not sure that it would make as much sense without reading the other two first though. It's about an event planner in Chicago who falls for a priest, who of course she can't have (...or can she?).

Recipe of the week: Simple Perfect Enchiladas from The Pioneer Woman - This is a go-to comfort food recipe of mine!! (Also a favorite for me to make when I need to bring a meal to someone.) It is a little time consuming to make, but so worth it. I've been loving them for dinner this week.

Song of the week: Hallucination by Regard + Years & Years - A fun new dance track that I've been listening to on repeat. As the weather gets warmer, I listen to even more dance pop than normal! 

Favorite blog posts of the week:

• Chronicles of Frivolity - Katey had the most dreamy 30th birthday dinner! I loved seeing all the photos from her special day.
• Caralina Style - My friend Cara is the antiquing queen, and it was fun to read her best antique shopping tips in this blog post.
• Caravan Sonnet - I've followed Rebecca's blog for close to a decade, and she's had some very tough health struggles for a lot of recent years. It was so wonderful to read this exciting update post- not only is Rebecca's health greatly improved, but she has gotten to finally begin working on a lifelong academic dream of hers! 

On the blog this week:

• Virginia Beach Apartment Tour: Kitchen + Bathroom

      God Bless,

       xoxo Annaliese