{Monthly} Midweek Ramblings: September 2025

September 2025:

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 Highs of the Month:

• My fourth annual girls' trip with my friend Amanda, and finally getting to visit the iconic Omni Homestead resort in western Virginia! It's always so much fun to cross a travel destination that you've wanted to visit for years off of your bucket list. We booked this trip about a month or so before Ryan and I went under contract on our house. I'm so glad we booked it when we did, because it probably wouldn't have worked out to commit to this if had had happened after we got the house! It's so special Amanda and I have been able to keep this fun traditional going for four years now. You can read all about our stay at the Homestead and the 2025 girls' trip HERE.
• Having family and friends help us in both with projects at our new home, and packing for the upcoming move. Ryan's parents and my aunt and uncle both spent time multiple weekends helping us! I also had three girlfriends who gave up some of their time one weekend to help me pack our apartment. It is seriously so appreciated to have such kind family and friends who wanted to give their time to help with all we had on our plate this month.
• We finished one of biggest house projects: our dining room makeover! We turned the outdated dark red 90s style dining room into a coastal / grandmillennial blue and white dream dining room. This room took a lot of work, between hiring out for professional wallpaper installation and Ryan's hard work painting and installing a new lighting fixture. My parents kindly gifted us the wallpaper and professional installation fees as a housewarming gift, which was truly the best gift. See the before and after of the room and the grand reveal HERE! 

Lows of the Month:

• September was an absolutely grueling month with work needed at the house and packing our apartment for our upcoming early October move. I've moved many times so I'm well aware of what moving entails, but combining that with a house with lots of cosmetic projects needed prior to move-in... woof! Aside from the 24-hour girls trip I did with Amanda and attending church a couple of Sunday mornings, I had very minimal free time this month. Every bit of free time was spent helping Ryan at the house, running errands for the house or move, or packing our apartment. (For what it's worth, Ryan has been even busier than me! He's had more work flexibility and is able to spend more time than I am each week working on the house.) I am someone who really needs fun weeknights and/or weekends to keep my sanity outside of work, and having time eliminated for most fun stuff caused a lot of bad moods for me this month. I know that being an adult means there will be stressful and not-so-fun seasons of life... but doesn't mean I handle those stressful times with the best moods. 😅
• I am sad to leave the Jazzercise studio that I've been doing fitness classes at for the past two years! Longtime blog readers might remember that I loved doing Jazzercise classes from 2019-2021 when I lived in Charlottesville. I picked it up again in Virginia Beach in 2023 and have still really enjoyed it here as well. Our house will be a good bit further away from my studio than our apartment was, and with my new day job schedule and commute times from where we will be living now, it just doesn't make sense for me to stay at that studio anymore. I am looking forward to trying some new types of fitness studios in the next month or two after the move, but still bittersweet to leave one I'd become so accustomed to attending!

 

September Weekend Recaps:

• 5th-7th  - My 31st birthday weekend! Amanda and I left bright and early on Friday morning to head into the mountains to the Omni Homestead for our whirlwind 24-hour girls trip! You can read all about our stay at the Homestead HERE. Saturday was my actual birthday, and we took a rest stop in Charlottesville so I could use my birthday discount at Kendra Scott. Instead of going out to eat for my birthday, Ryan cooked a nice dinner at home for us, which was the last nicer dinner we had in our apartment! He got me an ice cream cake, and then I opened some cards and presents. Unfortunately Sunday was back to reality very quickly! We worked on the house all day. I am so thankful my aunt was able to come up and help us with some painting that day! 
• 12th-14th - I officially started packing up our apartment this weekend! Ryan and his parents were working at our house most of the weekend, and I alternated between some house work and packing at our apartment. I did make it to church Sunday morning which was a nice little break, and Ryan and I watched some football together Sunday afternoon. I also shot a few Instagram Reels on Sunday to get ahead on a couple weeks of content. 
• 19th-21st - My friend Sara Sullivan came to help me with apartment packing on Saturday afternoon, and my friends Megan and Abby helped on Sunday after church. So grateful for these ladies for being so helpful, and getting to see them all and catch up was such a nice distraction from the moving stress. 
• 26th-28th - You guessed it.... more packing the apartment and unpacking at the house! Are you seeing a theme here? 😉 A stressful and busy weekend as this was our last full weekend before the move. I also had to work on Saturday, but that meant I was off work on Friday. One unique highlight of the weekend was that our cat Delilah got to visit the house for the first time! I brought her over both Saturday and Sunday evenings to explore and familiarize herself. 

September Purchases:

• It wasn't a big month of shopping for myself with everything going on with the house, but I did enjoy using my Kendra Scott birthday discount as always. Last year I bought these earrings in light blue, and I liked them so much that I repurchased them for this year in another color.
• The one other thing I got for myself in September was these navy linen pants they I got a fantastic deal on. They were marked down quite a bit, and I also had a $10 birthday month reward as well. I will say that I'm not sure I love them enough to vouch for buying them at full price (over $100!), but for the deal I got on them they're not bad at all.
• I also wanted to link a few of the birthday gifts that sweet friends gave me this year!! All of these items are under $25, and I love all of them. My friend Julia sent me these adorable pajamas, my friend Caroline sent this lovely fall dress, and my friend Liane sent some really cute gold flower earrings that she bought on a recent trip (linking a very similar pair here!).
• September did end up being a very big month of buying things for our new house. Linking below my house purchases for the month! 
• Wine glass moving storage container
• Affordable bathroom shower curtain
• Guest towel holder for downstairs bathroom
• Master bedroom nightstands
• White ruffle statement mirror 
• Master bedroom bedding
• China cabinet 

September Wishlist:

• This little blue bow dress is adorable! I wish I had seen this before my wedding festivities last year. (The quality could be questionable since it's so cheap, but I still think it's so cute!)
• I want to branch out into more wider leg denim styles, but I feel like I prefer the look of cropped wide leg denim vs. super long. I want to try out this pair specifically!
• This darling dress is such a good Tuckernuck dupe for under $50, and would be ideal for any fall or holiday season cocktail events. 
• I am really trying not to buy anymore warm weather clothing items for awhile and just focus on fall and winter, but these brown and gold sandals are so chic and affordable. I might have to get them with next year in mind! 
• This fall printed maxi dress is stunning. It looks designer to me- I cannot believe it's the price point that it is! It would be so beautiful for Thanksgiving or fall family photos.

September Blog Posts: 

• HOTEL GUIDE: A 24-Hour Stay at the Omni Homestead
• Fall 2025 Outfit Ideas
• Wedding Wednesday: All Of Our Wedding Details
  
  

Current Discount Codes: 

• Echo of Pink (Block Print Dresses made sustainably in India) - Use code ANNALIESE20 for 20% off your purchase!

• Loopy Case (My absolute favorite phone cases) - Use code missalk at check-out for 10% off your purchase! 
• Maggy London (Classic and chic work + special occasion dresses) - Use code ANNALIESE15 for 15% off your purchase! 

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese