{Monthly} Midweek Ramblings: February 2025

February 2025:

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Highs of the Month:

My travels at the end of February. I spent a whirlwind five days between Raleigh, NC and Delray Beach and Miami, FL! After a disappointing and long month of January and first half of February, I really needed to get away for a bit and clear my head. I feel so lucky to have a supportive husband who encouraged me to do this trip for myself. 😊 I wouldn't have been able to do this trip money-wise and PTO-wise if I had ended up going to California last month (that trip was cancelled for the wildfires), so it was a good reminder that when some things in life don't work out, something even better could be right around the corner. Anyways, my travels in February involved a girls' weekend in Raleigh with two of my bridesmaids, visiting my dad's side of the family in Delray Beach, and then meeting up with my blogging friend Gentry in Miami for something very fun!! More on that in the next bullet point.

My friend Gentry inviting me to Miami to accompany her to an LTK Happy Hour event for influencers! If you aren't familiar, LTK is the premiere affiliate link software platform for bloggers and content creators. I've been an active LTK Creator using their softwares since 2016! This was my first time ever getting to attend one of their events and meet their staff, and I'm just so grateful to Gentry for inviting me to go with her! I learned a lot, met some other wonderful bloggers and influencers, and it was just the type of fun and memorable night I needed after a long winter.

Ryan and I don't typically do much gift-wise for Valentine's Day, but he went above and beyond this year and surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of lilies! I also ordered us a cute Valentine's mini cake from my friend Bri of Baking It Caking It that's pictured above. Bri also did our wedding cake, and we are huge fans of her cakes!

Lows of the Month:

It was another tough month mentally on the job searching front. While I made progress in giving my resume a big overhaul and branching out into more fields and types of jobs that I was applying to, I really struggled to land interviews. It's rough out there right now! If you are also job searching and struggling, please I know I feel your pain.

Ryan and I started really struggling in February with Delilah (my cat) waking us up in the middle of the night. I've never really talked about this in depth online, but although Delilah and I have lived with Ryan for over a year before we got married, he and I mostly slept in separate bedrooms until getting back from our honeymoon. (Part of that was for my former crazy work schedule as a morning radio host, and part of it for faith / waiting for marriage reasons!) Delilah hasn't adjusted as well as I hoped to Ryan sharing the bed every night with us now. February hit a high of her being loud and disruptive to both of us in the middle of the night. Honestly- we don't have a solution yet! We've been trying different things but there's no good answer. I'll have to ask her vet for tips when she has her annual appointment this spring. While she is a bit of an early bird for a cat, when it's just her and I in the bed she does usually sleep at least 5-6 hours without interruption. That's not the case with Ryan being there too, and he's also a very light sleeper. Woof! (Or should I say Meow, ha!)

We had another unseasonably cold month of weather in Virginia Beach, and it even brought a whopping (and rare) 12 inches of snow!! While I am so thankful that I was able to be home and not stuck at work during the two days that the snow fell, I am just not a winter girl overall. I missed the February of weather in the 60s that we had two years ago so badly!!

February Weekend Recaps:

31st-2nd - I was off work on Saturday and Sunday, which was so nice! I went to a Jazzercise class Saturday morning, and then Ryan and I got groceries and ran errands. We spent most of the afternoon hanging wedding photos and setting up our bar cabinet area in our apartment! Our friends Bea and Eric had us over for dinner Saturday night, which was so nice. On Sunday I went to church, and then attended a ladies' golf clinic with my friend Amanda in the afternoon.

7th-9th - I was supposed to go visit my friend Cara in Harrisonburg, VA for the weekend, but they had some questionable winter weather up there on Saturday morning, and I cancelled at the last minute as I felt unsafe driving that far from home when the road conditions could be bad. 😓 I was off work though, so I got to be home most of the weekend. I tried to stay busy though! I did a good amount of cooking and baking, did some chores, and worked ahead on blog and Instagram content. Ryan and I watched the Super Bowl together Sunday evening for a low-key night at home.

14th-16th - I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday of this weekend, so I don't have too much to share from this one. But I did have fun Saturday night attending my friend Tracy and her boyfriend Josh's Valentine's themed housewarming party for their beautiful new home!

21st - 23rd - I worked on Friday, and then headed out on Saturday for my big February trip! I spent Saturday night in Raleigh, NC with my friends (and recent bridesmaids!) Emily and Perrin. On Sunday, I flew out of the Raleigh airport to Fort Lauderdale, FL, and then spent a few days visiting my aunt and uncle and other extended family in Florida. More about this trip in the February Highs section of this post above!

February Purchases:

I was obsessed with this white lace floral blouse that I got in my February case from Armoire clothing rental, and I had to purchase it to keep! This will be such a closet staple for me this spring and summer.

This might go down as one of my best Amazon Fashion finds and best designer dupe finds ever! I purchased this darling blue and white dress (that is a dead-ringer for a much more expensive Tuckernuck dress), but didn't have high hopes for it. I was so happy to be wrong! The quality of the material is great, the print is beautiful, and it's so comfortable and flattering to wear. It's under $50, too! I normally find Amazon clothing to run small and I normally size up to an L in most things I order, but I got my true size M in this dress and it fit perfectly. You can see how I styled it when wearing for the first time here!

February Wishlist:

What a great month of wishlist finds! For anyone that is headed somewhere warm in March or April on a Spring Break type trip, how darling is this blue and white bikini?! Never thought I'd put the words "grandmillenial" and "bikini" in the same sentence, but if there was one, it would be this!

If anyone has a spring cocktail event or an upcoming wedding with a cocktail or semi-formal dress code, how fun it this gorgeous floral dress?!

I think that this semi-precious stone bracelet looks a lot more high-end than the price point! Would be a great way to add a subtle pop of color to a more neutral work outfit.

Another lovely spring find for anyone who has a formal event soon, how darling this this pink beaded clutch?! If I had an occasion worthy of this bag in the next few months, I would've ordered it for sure!

I haven't hopped on the high-heeled platform sandal trend yet, but I really like this pair that are under $100!!

February Blog Posts:

Current Discount Codes:

Armoire (Clothing Rental Service) - Use code miss_alk for 50% off your first month of clothing rentals, plus two extra rental bonus items!

Cloth + Bristle (Non-toxic cleaning products) - Use code ANNALIESE at check-out for 20% off your first order!

Loopy Case (My absolute favorite phone cases) - Use code missalk at check-out for 10% off your purchase!

God Bless,

xoxo Annaliese

March 5, 2025