Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Spring Styled Shots From Work

After beginning to share the published photos, I’ve styled for work on my Instagram stories I was surprised by how many of you messaged me saying that you enjoyed seeing them and the behind the scenes of what I do. For those who may not know, I am a prop/photo stylist for a magazine production company meaning that I am the one that orders in products and styles the photos for the various titles our company owns. I shared a whole post about what I do in this role, but to cut to the chase, I love it. My preference when styling tends to come with lifestyle shoots ranging from home styling to tablescapes and parties, but lately, I’ve been doing a lot more food shoots as well. So as to not limit these shots to Instagram alone, I thought it might be fun to start sharing some of the things I’ve styled that have been posted by the brands on their Instagram platforms right here on the blog as well. This just scratches the surface when it comes to what has been published, but it is a good start for sure. I wish I could take credit for the photography of what I’ve styled, but all that credit goes to our awesome staff photographers. It truly takes a village, and there are a lot more people involved in the making of a great shoot than I can name. 

I went ahead and included links to the different magazines and where you can purchase subscriptions in case you’re like me and love reading magazines at the pool or the beach! 


  


 


















I hope that y'all liked seeing some of what I get to create in my real job since I am so lucky to allow my creativity to expand beyond the blog. 

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Step Into My Week 5.26

Since yesterday was a work holiday for me, I decided to take it off from blogging as well. It was nice to have a day to regroup in Birmingham for the week ahead and spend some time relaxing too. Even though it was the first week our office was technically reopened to a larger group of people, it didn’t feel completely back to usual since I’m working from home on days I don’t have shoots and took Thursday and Friday off. I’m interested to see how this week looks since I have my first “location” shoot again, which is really just a tablescape outside at our office. I’m hoping it kicks me back into gear when it comes to being productive, but I guess I’ll fill y’all in on all of that next week and focus on last week for the time being.


I had a shoot on Monday, which meant that I started my week with an early alarm and headed into the office after a trip to the flower shop to gather some supplies. We were shooting two small tabletop features, which lasted until about 1:00, given that I also had a meeting during that time. I was bummed that I didn’t pack my lunch since I was so hungry by the time I did finally make it home. I ate, planned some shoots, and sent out a few emails before going on a walk to catch up on the phone with Nell after that. We ended up talking for about an hour and a half before I showered and made myself dinner, which I ate while reading. A friend from college ended up calling that night, so we caught up for a bit before I eventually went to bed. 

 
shop this top


Tuesday morning, I woke up and spent the morning working from home. I felt an added amount of pressure to get a lot done since I was taking Thursday and Friday off. Because of that, I decided to go into the office to get things done in the afternoon. I left a little bit before 5:00, feeling slightly relieved by getting some checks on my to-do list. I went to dinner at a friend’s house that night before coming home and going to bed. 

Wednesday was my second shoot day of the week, and it went really well. We were able to fly through a lot of our shots and finished around 1:00. Initially, we were going to head to my roommate’s family’s condo in Navarre, Florida, on Wednesday but ultimately decided to wait and leave on Thursday, which gave me a little bit more time that afternoon to get tasks accomplished. When I got home, I did some laundry before going for a run, showering, eating dinner, and packing. 

 

We decided to make 9:30 our departure time for the beach on Thursday, which gave me some time to work on blog posts and finish packing before we left. My roommate and I picked up our friend Allie on the way, and I was able to do some work on our drive. We arrived at the beach close to 3:00 and another one of our friends showed up around the same time. All our stuff was put in the condo, we made a grocery list, and ended up spending a couple of hours on the beach that evening. Another friend came in that evening, and we all ate a charcuterie board on the balcony that evening before playing a few games. We went to bed relatively early to prepare for the full day ahead.

 

shop this pullover

 

Our Friday morning started very slowly with a leisurely breakfast. I drank coffee and ate my oatmeal while working on blog posts before heading out to the beach close to 10:30. We spent the whole day out there reading, bobbing in the water, and enjoying each other’s company. The last of our friends arrived Friday afternoon after about an hour of playing Monopoly. We made a dinner of shrimp and beef tacos complete with margaritas and salsa and guacamole that we ate on the balcony. After cleaning up, we played Apples to Apples and watched Mamma Mia 2 before going to bed. 

 
 shop this bathing suit

Saturday was another full beach day with our whole group. We lucked out with awesome weather the entire time, and the water felt especially lovely this day. That made us spend even more time bobbing in it and riding the waves in and out, given their large size. Unfortunately, I got a less than appealing sand burn doing that at one point, but it kept my dad’s famous saying that “it’s not a holiday without a flesh wound” stand true. After we got cleaned up that night, we continued with our Monopoly game until the pizza we ordered arrived. We ate out on the balcony one last time before making cookies and watching TV before bed. 


 


We woke up on Sunday morning and cleaned up some before eating breakfast and packing to head out. We got on the road around 9:45 and got back to Birmingham close to 3:30. Once I was home, I started unpacking before heading to a friend’s house to eat sushi for dinner. We watched a few episodes of The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix (which I had already seen but have forgotten a lot of what happened). I was pretty tired, so despite having Monday off, I went to bed around 11:00. 

Monday was Memorial Day, and although I wasn’t still at the beach, I definitely made the most of it. I didn’t really do much that morning but went to the pool with some friends around lunchtime, where we grilled out and hung out there until close to 6:30. After heading home to shower, I went back to a friend’s house for us to all eat dinner and hang out to wrap up the long weekend. 

I hope that y’all had an enjoyable long weekend and that maybe your forecast for the week is looking a little less rainy than ours.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Sunday Styling vol. 3

It’s a holiday weekend, and I’m a sucker for a good theme, so don’t tell me you couldn’t see this coming. While I don’t typically put together overly patriotic pieces for Memorial Day, these outfits already have me thinking ahead to the Fourth of July. Now there’s no excuse not to have a red, white, and blue ensemble come Independence Day thanks to today’s outfit ideas. Would you believe  this top is only $20? If anything, you can bet I’ll be adding that to my cart! 

I was sure to mix and match affordable items into each of these looks so that they better appeal to a broader price range. And like last time, my internal dialogue about each outfit can be found below, as can links to the pieces featured. 

Look One
When you’re at the beach and want to look put-together, patriotic, and comfortable, this outfit does all that and more. A breezy tank and shorts keep you from getting too hot while a rope headband gives nod to the boat you were cruising on earlier in the day.

Look Two
Whether on the beach or at the pool, no shirt, no shoes, no service does not apply to you with a coverup this cute. A ruffled bandeau and monogrammed boat tote are icing on the cake along with a woven sunhat that literally tops off the look. 

Look Three
Accessories epitomize this outfit idea with a festive beaded star bracelet being my favorite of the featured items. Affordable paper bag shorts with contrasting trim look great with this blue top for a party or a casual t-shirt for a more casual occasion. 

Look Four
Our fourth of July plans never involve dressing up, but if they did, a classic white dress showcasing a bit of a tan would be my outfit of choice. Light blue accessories are a little more subtle than their cobalt counterparts, making them easy to re-wear for less patriotic occasions.

Look Five
White jeans are a classic in the summer and look crisp with a red top and star-studded sandals. Add in a few accessories for an easy to put together look that’s as comfortable as it is cute. 

If you’re looking for more outfit ideas, you can find them in my previously put together posts below.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Saturday Shopping vol. 45

Happy Saturday! I’m going to keep it short and sweet today since I’m eager to eat breakfast and head down to the beach. Today’s finds are really all over the place when it comes to where they are from, price, and even color scheme. Hopefully, y’all don’t mind and enjoy seeing them either way. Be sure to check to see if there are any discount codes available on the sites you go to since many places have started their Memorial Day sales early!


Friday, May 22, 2020

What I Pack In My Beach Bag

The unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day Weekend, is upon us, and sadly the exciting buildup to the season has undoubtedly been overshadowed by the Coronavirus pandemic. Even a few years out of school, it’s hard not to feel the excitement in the air as students attend their last few days of class and begin their long break. With travel plans changed and everyone’s lives looking a little bit different this year, I am certainly fortunate to still be getting to kick off summer at the beach with some of my friends. 

We got down here yesterday and very quickly found ourselves in our bathing suits on the beach. It seems almost silly to be sharing my beach bag must-haves with y’all, but as I was packing things up, I realized I’m probably not alone in heading somewhere close to the water even if it is a change from people’s original travel plans and am sharing this post nonetheless. And for those of you that may not be headed on vacation anytime soon, the beach bag in the image below is actually a do it yourself post I shared years ago on the blog that may be a fun time filler for you! 


Growing up near the water beach towels seemed to fill our laundry room shelf after receiving them as gifts over the years. While those towels were great, many of them had run their course, and an update was in order (my brother was still using one with Polo bears on it a few years ago…). With beach towels, my mindset is the bigger, the better, and this tassel one from Serena & Lily fits that bill. I couldn’t say no to the blue and white design and stripes, but if that’s not your thing, there are plenty of other towel designs out there. 

I’m a lover of ponytails pretty much all of the time but especially at the pool or on the boat. I like to keep an extra one on hand in case the one I am using breaks. A breezy boat ride and wearing my hair down do not mesh, so it’s better for me to be safe than sorry. 

Books
While I love the sun, laying out by the pool or on the beach doing nothing can get boring. If I have a book on hand, it makes it infinitely better. I find that I read so much more in the summer just to have an excuse to be outside. I’m hoping to start making a dent in my to-read list and have a few books packed in my beach bag to read this weekend. And by a few I mean I aggressively packed three. In my bag for the weekend are The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You, Revolver Road, and What Happens in Paradise. You can see other book suggestions in yesterday's post!

There is no denying the fact that the sun dehydrates you. To help avoid that, I like to bring a reusable water bottle with me to the pool. If I’m not bringing a bottle, I’ll at least bring a Yeti (or similarly insulated) cup and hugger with me. 

I keep at least two bottles of sunscreen in my pool bag at all times, considering if I don’t lather up, I am bound to get burned. I like to have one that’s more gentle on my face and another (usually a spray) that is easy and quick to apply to my whole body. Right now, my Truffle pouch (which I can’t recommend enough) is overflowing with options, so let’s hope I don’t come back burned. 

Another no brainer for the pool and beach, especially when I am trying to read! My favorite sunglasses for the past few summers have been by Madewell and are reasonably priced (love lenses of this color for summer). This is especially nice given that I’ve had sunglasses fall overboard before, and losing these wouldn’t be quite as much of a bummer as losing a pricier pair. 

Headphones can be tricky when it comes to the pool. If there are a bunch of people and I am trying to be productive, I like having them on hand to drown out the noise. If I’m spread out away from people on the beach, then a speaker and a good playlist is an equally as great option.

In the summer, even when I use a lot of sunscreen, my freckles tend to pop out. I like my freckles, so it isn’t a big deal, but sometimes I want my face to have a bit more protection. Because of that, I like keeping a hat in my bag. While sunhats are cute, I usually opt for a more classic baseball hat since they are easier to store and take up less space! 

I’d love to know if you have any additional essentials that I should start bringing with me that I may have forgotten! 

Thursday, May 21, 2020

#StepUpYourReading Thrillers To Add To Your Reading List

Today may be one of my favorite posts Phoebe has written for the blog since it includes my favorite book genre, thrillers. I wish I could pinpoint when I started loving books of this nature or why, but since I can’t, my bookshelf will continue to house novels with dark covers and relatively creepy or elusive names. I am leaving for the beach today and ambitiously packed three books, two of which could definitely be classified as thrillers. The other is more motivational/self-helpy, so that’ll make for an interesting balance and an easy target to be made fun of by my friends. So whether you are going to be able to make it to the beach soon or not, I’d like to think thrillers make the perfect beach read and Phoebe has some great suggestions for y’all! I actually just finished You Are Not Alone which she has suggested below!

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I will be the first to admit that I do not read Thrillers. It’s become a running joke on my blog when people ask me why because I just say, ‘I like to sleep.” And it’s true! I’ve never been a fan of being scared for fun, but you know what I am really, really good at? Book FOMO! Thrillers seem to be books that get EVERYONE talking, so I’ve made it my goal to start diving into a few more...with the lights on and my sweet fiance at home! 

During the Shelter in Place time, I’ve seen a lot of people talking about comfort reads or cozy books. But for some people, those are thrillers! I was reminded of that recently when we were planning out a series on Beach Reads for my podcast. Some people think of thrillers as beach reads because they are so compulsively readable! I’m pretty sure Dorothy might be one of those people... (guilty!)

Here are a few recommendations from myself and trusted friends who read thrillers all the time! 

The Guest List by Lucy Foley 
One Sentence Synopsis: The perfect wedding for the perfect couple on a remote island off the coast of Ireland hits a sour note when someone ends up dead. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie and especially fun because you don’t know who the killer or victim is! 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley 
One Sentence Synopsis: A group of college friends gathers years after graduation in the Scottish Highlands over New Years to reminisce on the good old day, but a historic snowstorm traps them in their lodge, and they begin the new year with one friend dead and one friend guilty. 

Both of these are FANTASTIC audiobooks that are read and performed by a full cast as well! If you’ve been taking lots of walks or need a cooking companion, I highly recommend these! 

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
These are YA Thrillers that remind me of a darker version of The Breakfast Club! They’re a series too, unlike the Lucy Foley books, which are stand-alone. 

One Sentence Synopsis: A classic rag-tag high bunch with The Brain, The Beauty, The Criminal, The Athlete, and The Outcast are stuck together for Saturday detention, but only four make it out alive. 

One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus
One Sentence Synopsis: Read the first one otherwise you’ll have the plot spoiled! 

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Pekkanen 
One Sentence Synopsis: Shay Miller envies every aspect of her new glamourous friends, the Moore sisters, lives...but what happens when they’re really after is hers? 

I’d love to know if you enjoy any of these! And as always, you can find more book reviews, recommendations, and reading updates on my blog and Instagram!

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

May Questions and Answers

Happy Wednesday! Today is my last "work" day of the week, and I am pretty excited. I meant to have this month's question and answers post go up last week, but I took an impromptu break during the week and am finally getting to posting it now. Y'all asked a lot of fun questions over on Instagram that I enjoyed responding to here. Hopefully you either learn something new from these responses or are entertained! 


What’s the hardest part about blogging?
Lately, it has been dedicating time specifically to blogging. I am so used to spending any time working from home working specifically on the blog, and now that I am working from home for my regular job, that sense of normalcy and balance has been skewed. Now I feel like any time I’m using my brain power at home, it should be for my real job, which isn’t necessarily the case if I’m not on the clock. It has been an adjustment for sure, and I’m hoping it’ll only feel that way temporarily. 

Favorite Trader Joe’s products?
This could be a whole post of its own. I love Trader Joe’s way more than anyone should probably love a grocery store, but lately, their Toasted Coconut Granola Bark tops my list (you can read me rave about it here).

How are you, especially with so much uncertainty right now?
Overall, I think I’m doing pretty well. While I by no means love not getting to see my friends who have been quarantining in their hometowns, I recognize how lucky I am to live in a house that provides my roommate and me with some elbow room to work from home (also very thankful to have a job that I can do from home), in a place where the weather has been incredibly comfortable allowing me to get outside a lot, and remain healthy during all of this. That’s a concise list of what I have to be grateful for, but it’s a good reminder when I start getting frustrated by selfish thoughts about how I wish I could be at a baseball game or a large social gathering on the weekends. I think the times that this has been toughest for me is when I start to overconsume information about the virus online and get in my head about how long it will last and what that may mean for me. 

Advice for recent college grads or biggest shocks you had your first year of being on your own?
I think what hit me the hardest was that no one is really taking care of you (not to discount my parents because I feel like they are continually taking care of me even just by checking in, but since they were 8 hours away it still felt distant) when you feel responsible for taking care of so many people. This could just have been because I was teaching and, in turn, taking care of my students and their parents, which was a lot more than I was used to coming from the student teaching perspective. With a lot of friends scattered further away, it felt like I was solo aside from my roommates and a few friends left in Greenville. I also found myself prioritizing taking care of other people instead of myself, which certainly didn’t help.

You just won $10,000 – what are you going to do with the money?
I think the first thing I would do is pay off my car. My parents were generous enough to get me a new car (as in put an initial amount of money towards it) when I graduated from Furman with an agreement in place that they would cover the payments for a while, and they did that until January of 2019. Since then, car payments have been on me. I pay more than my required amount each month, which will mean that it should be paid off than the statement initially estimates, but it would be nice to completely pay that off and put that amount towards savings instead. As for the remaining amount of that $10,000, it would be smartest to put it into savings, but I’d also be very tempted to spend a little of it on this robe I’ve had my eyes on for a while.

Did you follow a plan when training for your half marathon? If so, what was it? 
In the beginning, I was building up miles just to build up miles and explore more of Birmingham. Once I decided to run the Seaside Half Marathon, I then consolidated a few training plans I had found online into my own plan. I did this mainly because I wanted to make sure I could mix up my long and short runs based on my schedule each week. I shared more about that training plan and my half here

What are your favorite basics (tees, tops, etc.)? 
This is an excellent question since lately, I have felt like I have no casual t-shirts to wear with jeans or jean shorts when I do opt to actually get dressed. I recently got this top from Loft and need to order it in more colors because it’s really cute and comfortable.

What have you been doing during quarantine? 
Does struggling to be productive count? Because that has definitely been part of my reality. I’ve been on so many walks and runs that I really wish I had thought to record all the miles I’ve gone just to know for my own curiosity. Aside from that, I’ve been cooking and trying new recipes, getting to know my neighbors, and flying through a few TV shows with my roommate.

Are you hoping to make roots in Birmingham, or do you want to move home to Fairhope?
I’m not sure at the moment. For now, I love Birmingham and can’t see myself leaving any time soon. I would be happy to settle here for a while (and who knows, maybe forever), but Fairhope would be an excellent place to be as well. The joke in Fairhope is that it’s full of newlyweds and almost deads since it has become a place mainly for families and people retiring, so I don’t see myself heading there anytime soon. 

You seem very mature and responsible for your age, do you have very strict parents?
Thank you, that’s quite the compliment! For fear of sounding conceited, I have to give it to my parents that I think they did a pretty great job at the whole parenting my brother and me thing. It’s funny because they recently had a similar conversation with each other about this, and I sure hope that’s not the first time they felt that way given that he and I are 26 and 25, respectively. I remember jokingly telling them at one point that I was an easy teenager and could have made life a lot more difficult for them to which they pointed out that was because of their parenting and not solely because of my own choices. I’d say that my parents aren’t all that strict but had solid expectations for us growing up that impacted the decisions we made without feeling like it came across as being told what to do or having super-specific rules. I also should point out that although we are very close in age, my parents were careful not to compare my brother and I and had separate expectations for both of us. For example, my parents recognized that I cared more about my grades and performance in school than they ever could and always emphasized that if I was doing my best, then that was good enough for them. My brother, on the other hand, is naturally very smart, but that made his work ethic in some things a bit lazy. They would pretty consistently check his grades online to make sure he was fully reaching his potential while they never even asked me for a password to check mine. Often it seems like the wildest kids are the ones with overly strict parents since they may feel a need to “rebel” as a way to feel more independent. I hope that one day I can be half as good of a parent to kids as my parents are to me.

What are you doing to stay positive during all this virus craziness?
I don’t know if this is just to stay positive or just to stay sane, but I’ve been talking on the phone with friends a lot. Going on walks has definitely been another way to attempt to stay positive, and working outside has done that for me too. I’ve been trying to be better about truly appreciating where I live, that I have a roommate, and that I have a job that has allowed me to work from home in an attempt to keep selfish inconveniences in perspective.

Do you miss teaching at all? 
I feel kind of bad saying this, but no, not really. There are aspects of it that I do find myself missing, but it’s not typically to do with the act of teaching but instead the people I surrounded myself with while teaching. 

How do you make your “What I Wish I Were Wearing” posts? 
I actually make them using PowerPoint. I did a tutorial a long time ago about how I create graphics for my blog post, and it still rings true now.

Where is the first vacation you want to go on after quarantine? 
Hmm, I actually don’t know. I didn’t necessarily have any significant vacations planned that had to be canceled, so the traveling aspect of quarantine wasn’t as much of a bummer to me as it may be for those that have been more impacted by it. I’ve been lucky to be able to drive to the beach and stay with people I’ve already seen, so getting out of Birmingham on occasion has made me slightly less stir crazy. 

Do you use any presets/can you recommend any? 
I don’t have any purchased presets I use, but I did create my own preset on Lightroom that I use to edit most of my pictures. I would recommend trying to make your own if you know what you like to normally do to enhance a picture. If not, I feel like I’ve seen lots of bloggers selling their own preset bundles over the years. 

What are your favorite white sneakers?
My favorite is this pair from J.Crew that I’ve had since my junior or senior year of college. I wear them all the time for work when I have photoshoots and love that they don’t make an outfit feel frumpy.

If you have lived alone, do you have any tips? Moving to a new city by myself for a job after college and would love tips.
I have never lived alone, so I may not be the best person to ask for that specifically, but I have done a post all about trying to make new friends. Hopefully, that helps you out as you transition into a new job and city!

What is your favorite face sunscreen?
I am actually looking for something new. I’ve had a sample from Supergoop that I liked for a while, but when I was at the beach a few weeks ago, it got in my eyes and irritated them. I tend to use whatever I am using on my body on my face but would love any recommendations y’all may have. 

What is your favorite way to make work from home life more exciting right now?
Coffee, lots of coffee, and breaking up my day with walks. Other than that, I am open to suggestions. 

Do you still wear Lilly? 
I do still wear the Lilly I have and love, but when purchasing new clothing items, I try to buy things that I can wear over and over again in several settings and ways. Sometimes with the bold patterns Lilly has, that makes things difficult, and I know I won’t get as much wear out of one of their pieces, which can be hard given the price you’re paying. I still love Lilly and check their site often, but when being responsible with clothing purchases, I am not able to justify their pieces as well as some others.

How do you avoid burnout? 
Remember, it is ok to take a break. I have to remind myself of this often since I definitely am not the best at it, but taking a break usually makes me more excited to come back to something.

Feel free to leave me your sunscreen and making work from home more exciting recommendations in the comments! 

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Cute Face Mask Finds

Had you ever told me that one day I’d be doing a roundup of my favorite cute face masks I’ve seen online, I wouldn’t have believed you. My how times have changed. While I’m certainly not used to wearing a face-covering when I go into public yet I understand the importance of them and am continually impressed with those people that have always had to wear them as part of their jobs. 
Since in Birmingham we are required to wear a face mask in public and the same is true for when I go into the office, I figured it was about time to search out one that’s a bit sturdier than the blue paper one I’ve been reusing. Luckily, I’ve found plenty that fit the bill, and some of these even give back to causes related to Coronavirus. I’ve included some of my favorites for you below to shop in case you’re in the same boat as me needing a mask but without the supplies to make one yourself. You can click directly on the products in the image below to be taken to where they can be shopped! 


Monday, May 18, 2020

Step Into My Week 5.18

I’m back! So sorry for the radio silence for the past week. I think I started to realize how crazy things are about to get now that we are slowly getting back into the office, and the thought of being overwhelmed by that made me want to soak up my time at home to the best of my ability. We will still be doing our work from home while we can, but our shoot schedules will be a bit more frequent than the one shoot a week I’ve been assigned the past few weeks. In a lot of ways, I’m excited to get back into a routine, but I have a feeling it will be an adjustment. I’m also going to go ahead and apologize right here for the lack of photos I have for this week. While I did some fun things, I haven’t been documenting things with photos very well lately. Hopefully this week I’ll be better about that since I will be heading to the beach with friends. 

Mondays have definitely felt like my most structured work from home days since I have conference calls for shoots most of the time that morning. I had two this past Monday for my day in the office on Thursday, and by the time those wrapped up and I sent information to those teams, it was nearly lunchtime. In the afternoon, I worked on finalizing details for a few of the shoots that I’ll be working on at the end of the month, and it felt good to have a deadline for a project I was doing. Since the weather was nice, I went for a run on my lunch break and then showered and finished my day with some emails and other tasks. I had made a crockpot meal that I had for dinner on the deck and hung out there for a while before coming inside, watching Chopped, and going to bed. 

I was at home again on Tuesday doing pretty much the same thing as Monday. At this point, I can’t really remember all I got done but our friend Mary came over that night and watched a movie with my roommate and I. Wednesday was pretty much the same too although I definitely felt like I hit a wall in terms of productivity since I was trying so hard to get things done but felt unsuccessful. I went for a walk around 10:30 for a change of scenery and had lunch and worked on some stuff before leading a training session that afternoon. My boss and I chatted on the phone once that wrapped up, and I opted to go for another walk with a friend. We were supposed to have bible study that night virtually, but it didn’t seem like everyone was going to be able to make it, so we moved when that was going to be, and my roommate and I watched a movie on Netflix instead.

Thursday, it was back to the office for a cover shoot and food shoot for two of our different titles. The cover shoot felt like it was taking forever, but fortunately, the other shoot seemed to move quickly. After work, I had planned to go on a walk with a girl I met walking through my neighborhood over the past couple of months. She has been so sweet and intentional about becoming friends that it was exciting to finally get to hang out and get to know one another. We walked for about an hour and a half before I went to a friend’s house to make dinner and watch a movie before heading home. 


I started my Friday with a run before settling into emails and the rest of the tasks I wanted to accomplish before the week wrapped up. I treated myself to coffee at Church Street Coffee and Books and went to the store to prepare for my evening plans. I was really productive in the afternoon and got lots of laundry and cleaning done, which felt nice. That night, some friends that live a couple of streets over from my roommate and I came over for appetizers to kick off the progressive dinner we had planned. We stayed at our house for over an hour and then walked to another friend’s house for a shrimp boil as our dinner. While that was cooking, we played a board game and then it was time to walk to the last home for dessert. We ate it outside while drinking wine and finally called it a night around 12:30. 

Saturday morning, I had a relatively lazy morning drinking coffee in bed. I read outside for a while since it was nice and then played scrabble with a friend before going on a run. I came home and quickly showered and got ready so that I could head to dinner at a friend’s parent’s house. We grabbed a drink and my friend’s brother’s dog and went on a walk on the golf course before coming back and helping with dinner. After that, we played Scrabble for a bit, and then I went to bed early. 

I didn’t realize Sunday was supposed to be rainy, but it made for a good day to not do too much in the morning and watch Netflix instead. In the afternoon, I went to see my friends Macy and Drew at the house they just purchased. Macy and I hadn’t seen each other in nearly ten weeks, so we went on a walk to catch each other up on life. We ended up going four and a half miles before coming back to see the progress Drew had made on the backsplash. After a little bit more chatting, I headed home to shower, make dinner, and watch TV with my roommate. I was in bed by 9:00 and asleep pretty soon after!



I hope that y’all had a nice week and weekend, and I hope to be a bit more consistent over here this week! 

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