Midweek Ramblings.

Ramblings:

• Songs from a decade ago: It is no secret that the music of the late 90s and the early 2000s is my favorite! I'll forever be very passionate about the music and pop culture from these years. With that said, I do often overlook the music from around a decade ago- the songs that were huge when I was in middle school and high school. Buzzfeed rounded up a great list of the best songs from 2007-2011- I love so many of these!
• Current international travel rules: With vaccines happening and life going back to normal, travel is also surely but slowly starting to resume. Even though I have no international travel plans this year, I have been really fascinated to see which countries have been the first to re-open to international visitors, and what their requirements are. It can be kind of complicated to keep up with which countries currently require what. I loved this detailed article from The Points Guy which goes over all of the current travel rules and restrictions all over the world for Americans.

Weekend recaps:

• Last weekend: I was visiting my aunt and uncle at their new home in the charming small town of Edenton, NC. They moved to the South from Connecticut last year. It was great to see them and I really enjoyed seeing Edenton as well- it is such a cute little coastal town! 
• This weekend: Flying home to Maine for an extended long weekend! Can I just say... I will never again take for granted just getting to go home easily without having to get a COVID test first like I did last summer! Last summer I was really careful about how many people I saw besides for my parents (I only saw a couple friends and all outdoors/socially distanced), so this year I'm really looking forward to spending more time with my grandmother and a few more friends, and of course my parents too. 

Purchases:

• One of my favorite Instagram bloggers, April, shared the cutest bikini on her Instagram Story this week! I have a bunch of swimsuits and honestly didn't really need a new one for this season... but once I saw that this was only $20 I absolutely couldn't resist! 
• I love the look of patriotic outfits in July, but I surprisingly don't own much red and blue to match my summer whites! I didn't want to re-wear the same outfit I wore last year on July 4th, so I just ordered this darling and affordable gingham top for this year's 4th! 

• If I was going somewhere tropical anytime soon, I would definitely order this affordable and trendy pink and white two piece set! 
• This white cropped flare dress pants would be fun for dressier occasions this summer- a nice change from always wearing a dress. 
• I can't believe that I don't yet own a garment bag! I've always just saved the plastic coverings that some dresses come with from stores. I do want to finally purchase a garment bag before I'm in a wedding next month, and this set of five is pretty affordable. 
• Are sunglasses chains still going to be in style this summer? If so- this one is cute, colorful and under $10. 
• I want to stock up on more of my favorite summer cardigans! They're currently 40% off... hoping they'll get marked down to a full 50% off during Memorial Day Weekend.

Currently reading: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - I've read many of Kristin Hannah's books, so I was so excited when a friend lent me her copy of Kristin's latest! This book takes place during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, and is a heartbreaking but beautiful story of a family's will to survive. I'm about halfway through it but have really enjoyed it so far.

Recipe of the week: Since I was out of town this weekend and have had a very busy start to the week- I actually haven't tried any recipes this week. The only "cooking" I've done has been quickly heating up turkey burgers and pasta- ha! 

Song of the week: Tu Veneno by J. Balvin - I'm always down for some Latin pop, and especially so when the weather starts to get warmer! This song makes me think of warm weather getaways and dance floors.

Favorite blog posts of the week:

• Lonestar Southern - Kate's younger sister got engaged this weekend, and her recap of the proposal and celebratory weekend was so fun to read! 
• Adored by Alex - I've been seeing Veja sneakers pop up all over Instagram and the blogging world in the past year, and I really enjoyed Alex's detailed review of her pairs. 
• Chronicles of Frivolity - Katey shared the most delicious sounding brownie recipe... I'm a sucker for anything with marshmallows!

On the blog this week:

• Results of my 2021 Blog Reader Survey!
• Happiest in Lilly.

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese