{Monthly} Midweek Ramblings: February 2024

 February 2024:

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Highs of the Month:

• Getting to be invited to and attend four separate Galentine's parties this year!! Recaps of all of them are below in the Weekend Recaps section of this blog post. January felt very busy between two weekends out-of-town and lots of wedding planning, so it was great to catch up with so many local girlfriends in February. 
• I got to eat at one of my favorite local restaurants, Cooper's Hawk, twice this month! Cooper's Hawk is technically a chain, but this is the first place I've lived where they have it. I am obsessed with their food and wine (they have an in-house winery with their own wine label!). 
• LOVE IS BLIND SEASON 6!!! Caps lock needed for how much I am enjoying this season. Wednesday nights have been the absolute highlight of Ryan and I's month! I am so excited for the wedding episode this week but also so sad that such a good season is coming to an end. Dare I say this might be the best season of Love is Blind yet? Definitely tied with Season 1 at least. And I love that it's set in Charlotte, my very favorite city! 

Lows of the Month:

• Realizing that a few wedding vendors I looked into would be completely out of our budget. Why is anything on earth to do with weddings just so expensive! Ha!! I know everything will work out just fine for our special day, but sometimes it is tough not the play the comparison game with friends who have higher wedding budgets than us. 
• It was a really busy month at my job. A coworker from a different department is out on maternity leave, and myself and two other coworkers are each taking about 1/3 of her work responsibilities for the next few months. My new duties aren't related to being on-air or my morning show, so it's been different types of work to add in to my daily schedule. It is definitely not a bad thing to add new skills outside of on-air radio stuff to my resume, but it for sure was a busy month getting used to my new temporary duties.
• We had to change the date of our engagement party due to circumstances beyond our control. It's all worked out (Ryan's parents already sent the invitations for the new date!), but I always do get bummed when things that are set and planned have to be changed, especially when it's for an uncontrollable reason. But again- it'll all be okay! We are still having an engagement party. 😊

February Weekend Recaps:

• 2nd-4th: My friend Caroline visited Virginia Beach to join me for my staycation with Transcendent Stays in one of their beautiful rental properties! We worked on content for my blog and our Instagrams on Saturday afternoon, and then Saturday night my friend Kelly-Anne met us for a delicious dinner at an upscale Latin American restaurant called Quemar in Virginia Beach. On Sunday, I went to church with Ryan, and then I went to my first Galentine's event of the year, which was a craft market with proceeds benefitting a meaningful local cause. I attended with my friends Kathryn and Amanda, and it was a great way to kick off a fun month of girl time and Galentine's plans!
• 8th-10th - I was up in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville Virginia for a fun weekend!! (If you're new here, I lived in Charlottesville for about three and a half years between 2018-2021). I started the weekend by driving up to Harrisonburg after work, which is where my friend Cara lives. I got to spend Friday night with her and she took me to a wonderful local winery that was open late on Friday nights (a lot of Virginia wineries close at 5pm). We had a delicious late dinner after at a Mexican restaurant in Downtown Harrisonburg. On Saturday morning, Cara hosted her annual Galentine's brunch + crafting party that I was so happy to attend this year. It was fun to meet all of Cara's local friends. I had to leave that party a bit early though for my second party of the day: my friend Emily's bridal shower in Charlottesville! It was great to celebrate her and her upcoming wedding this spring. I then spent Saturday night in Charlottesville and stayed at my friends Lily and Meredith's house. On Sunday, I stopped at my former radio cohost Marc's house to get to catch up with him and his family before my drive back to Virginia Beach. Such a fun and full weekend seeing so many people that I love!
• 15th-17th - Ryan and I had a belated Valentine's date night on Friday at one of our favorite restaurants, Cooper's Hawk. That restaurant is right by our local mall, so we went to the mall after Fun fact: it was our first time ever going to our local mall together. 😂 I had two more Galentine's celebrations to attend during this weekend! (That makes four total for this February.) On Saturday was my friend Liza's Galentine's party! I went with my friend Bri and we had a great time, and we even made a new friend at the party! On Sunday we went to church, and then that evening I went to my friend Sarah's Galentine's dinner at her home. She cooked a full Italian meal for everyone! I met Sarah through Junior League, and I got to see some other JL ladies that I hadn't seen in a few months. 
• 22nd-24th - My friend Bri and her husband were hosting a couple's game night on Friday night, but Ryan and I had to bail at the last minute when I got a bad migraine! I felt so badly to cancel but stayed home and went to bed early. I went to a workout class on Saturday morning, and then had a hair appointment at Drybar (as part of my Instagram collaboration with them) that afternoon. Saturday evening, my friend Sara-Sullivan hosted a dinner party for her 30th birthday at her place! It was a great time, and I got to meet several awesome ladies. Ryan and I went to church on Sunday... and to be honest I can't remember what we did after! It must have been an uneventful Sunday, but sometimes those are so needed. 😊

February Purchases:

• First up, some beauty purchases! I was influenced by multiple creators on TikTok to try the Rare Beauty bronzer stick. I had a reward in my account at Sephora, so I used that to get a little discount on it. I actually haven't used it yet as I'm trying to use up a powder bronzer I have, but I think I'm going to start using it this week! 
• I had a travel size of this Pureology dry shampoo for several months, and I loved it so much that I finally splurged on the big can. Aside from my ride-or-die affordable hairspray. I have moved away from drugstore hair products and pretty much use exclusively prestige brands now. But I think it's worth it! 
• Another high-end hair product I tried in February was the Kenra heat protectant! I want to try more Kenra products in the future.
• The cutest white heeled sandals for our engagement party this spring, and they're super affordable!! Still can't believe the price on these. (I wrote a whole blog post about them here!)
• My biggest purchase of the month was my getting-ready outfit for my wedding morning!! Fun fact: I spent more on this than I did on my wedding dress, since I got my dress at a sample sale!  But I am so excited about the look I ordered. Half of it is here, and half arrives next week. I'll wait to share my exact look until the wedding, but this is the store I ordered it from! 
• I also wanted to share a shopping fail from this month. I decided to splurge on this white bathing suit for our honeymoon. It got great reviews, and I'd always wanted a really nice white bathing suit for a honeymoon trip someday. Well... it looked terrible on me. Not an understatement I promise!! Probably one of the least flattering bathing suits I've ever put on. 😂I'm returning it this week and so bummed, but the white swimsuit hunt will continue in the months to come.

February Blog Posts:

• Worthwhile Beauty Splurge: BeautyBio R45 Retinol Review
• Wedding Wednesday: 9 Months Out Checklist + Early Wedding Planning Q&A
• My 2024 Word of the Year
• The Cutest New Target Shoes for Spring
• Transcendent Stays: The Best Short-Term Rentals in Virginia Beach

     God Bless,

      xoxo Annaliese