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20 Things I'm Thankful for at the End of 2020


Oh 2020, where do I even begin? So many aspects of life have been affected by the pandemic. My heart goes out to anyone who might have lost a loved one, their job, or been affected in any other life-altering way. Here's hoping that the vaccine can be quickly distributed to bring this all to an end. I think this year has put so many things in a new perspective, and it has brought me closer to my faith. I usually do an end of year post to share how my year went, and some of my favorite outfits. But this year, that just doesn't feel right. So instead I thought I would share 20 things I have been grateful to have in my life during this crazy year.

1. My wonderful family, getting to spend more time with them this year, and the health of us all.
2. The amazing man I will get to call my husband in 6 months.
3. The house that we will start our married life in together, and the apartment I've called home for 4 years.
4. Strengthening my faith, coincidentally in the year where I've spent the least time in a church.
5. The ability to work from home for half of the year and stay employed.
6. The essential workers who risked so much just going to work each day.
7. The quick development of the 2 vaccines.
8. Some great friends, although this has also been my least social year.
9. Access to technology that kept us connected to each other.
10. The endless entertainment the internet has provided while we've all been home.
11. The creative outlet that is this blog, and the community around it, that has always been mostly virtual.
12. Getting in to antiquing this year, both as something fun to do and to decorate the house.
13. The time to pick up new hobbies like making jewelry. I've also been attempting to learn to needlepoint.
14. Less traffic for all of the back and forth travel (9 trips so far!) from Charlotte to Atlanta.
15. The extra time we got to spend in Charlotte as TJ's office re-opening keeps getting pushed out. 
16. The fun of wedding planning, especially how much of it my mom has been so incredibly helpful getting done so early on.
17. All of the ideas we have for the house to pursue in 2021: decorating, cooking in a full kitchen, getting some outdoor space set up.
18. Watching some businesses successfully pivot, quickly brining everything online or outside. Especially in the fitness community.
19. That my hip injury from 2019 has just had some occasional flare-ups, but has otherwise allowed me to still workout as much as I would like to.
20. The countless other items I could list that go so much further than 20!


Thanks for reading!

After Christmas and End of Year Sales


I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Sorry I've been a little absent from the blog this month, but I've had a nice few days with my family this week. Here is my annual After Christmas/End of Year sale roundup, with the addition of some of the home retailers I have been browsing recently. I still have a bit to figure out in regards to getting to Atlanta, but I think I will have lots of content to share once I'm fully there!

Clothing
Ann Taylor- extra 70% off 3+ items, extra 60% off 2+ items, extra 50% off 1 item
Anthropologie- extra 40% off sale items
Amanda Uprichard- 35% off 
Asos- up to 70% off almost everything
Banana Republic- up to 75% off everything
Belk- up to 50% off select brands
Draper James- extra 40% off sale items
Duffield Lane- 20% off everything
Express- 40-60% off everything
Gap- up to 60% off everything and extra 20% off sale styles
H&M- up to 50% off
J. Crew- extra 70% off 3+ sale styles, 50% off sale 1 style
J. Crew Factory- up to 50% off new arrivals and extra 50% off clearance
Kate Spade- extra 50% off sale styles
Kate Spade Surprise- up to 75% off
Loft- extra 50-70% off sale styles
Madewell- up to 50% off
Modcloth- extra 30-50% off sale items
Nordstrom- up to 40% off
Nordstrom Rack- extra 25% off clearance
Old Navy- up to 75% off, styles from $2.99
Ralph Lauren- extra 30% off sale styles
Stuart Weitzman Outlet- up to 70% off
Trina Turk- extra 30% off sale styles
Urban Outfitters- extra 40% off sale styles
Vineyard Vines- up to 70% off

Activewear
Alala- extra 25% off sale styles
Alo Yoga-up to 70% off
Athleta- up to 60% off
Bandier- up to 80% off
Carbon 38- extra 40%off sale styles
lululemon- markdowns, prices as marked
Sweaty Betty- up to 50% off

Jewelry, Bags, and Shoes
Barrington Gifts- secret discounts with code
Baublebar- up to 80% off
Gigi New York- up to 40% off select styles
Jack Rogers- up to 80% off
Kendra Scott- extra 50% off 4+ styles, 40% off 3+ styles, and 30% off 2+ styles
Lisi Lerch- 50% off and free shipping
Mark and Graham- winter clearance
Sam Edelman- up to 40% off
Tory Burch- extra 25% off sale styles

Home
Caitlin Wilson Design- up to 65% off
Crate and Barrel- up to 60% off
Joss and Main- up to 40% off
One Kings Lane- 15% off orders of $300+, 30% off orders of $600+
Overstock- up to 70% off select items
Pottery Barn- up to 40% off select items
Serena and Lily- winter tent sale
Wayfair- up to 60% off select items
West Elm- up to 75% off and extra 50% off clearance
Williams & Sonoma- up to 75% off winter clearance
World Market- up to 50% off select styles

Thanks for reading!

Life Update: We're Moving!


A little life update for you, TJ moved in to our future home last weekend! If you didn't see my Instagram yesterday...surprise, it's in Georgia!

If you know either of us in real life, you know this has been a long time in the making. TJ has worked for the same company since he graduated from college, based in an Atlanta suburb. He started his career there, and was able to come home to Charlotte after being there for a year and a half. Now they have called him back to the area to work out of that office again. However, the pandemic actually got us more time in Charlotte than we were originally expecting. His office was supposed to re-open in September, then October, and then January. Now it is set for March. However, his house in Charlotte was sold in August, when the office was supposed to be re-opening in October.

We started taking some house hunting trips in September, which turned into a few more trips in October. We actually spent almost every weekend there, the 2020 housing market is no joke. The inventory is low, the prices are high, and the competition is tough. We had probably toured close to 40 houses spanning across several suburban cities. One house we loved went under contract within an hour of seeing it, another went for $20k over asking price. We lost one offer on a due diligence period, and two others were beat out with all cash offers. We even put several of the offers in over FaceTime because we knew they would go under contract within 24 hours. Not to mention the hours spent on the Redfin/Zillow/Realtor apps each day, as we looked at just about every house that came up in the price range. The last FaceTime tour was the one. It ended up being about 10 minutes further out from the main area we had been searching. We went to see the house for the first time on Halloween, and we loved it! This Instagram post saying we were going as "House Hunters" for Halloween was actually taken in the driveway. The inspections were done throughout the following week, TJ closed late last week, and he moved in last weekend! His company has some great relocation perks, including hiring services that unpacked most of his stuff on Saturday. So it is fairly quickly starting to look like a home, we even put up some Christmas decorations!

I won't be joining him in the house until after the wedding, but I am making my way down there before then. Although at the moment, I'm not quite sure exactly when that will be as it will be dependent on finding a job. As you likely know, I've always lived in NC, and TJ is a Charlotte native. So it is tough to leave, but we will ideally be back in NC at some point. But I can't wait to get started on decorating with all of our finds from antique stores and estate sales. Side note: I now have an Instagram story highlight of the stores we have been to in the Carolinas, and a few in Georgia. We have a few projects in mind, but won't be doing anything major to the house. The kitchen and master bathroom have been recently renovated, and we love how they were done. TJ is also very excited that is has a basement and a great deck space outside. I will be posting all about it as we go along, and I'm so excited to share!


Thanks for reading!

Turtleneck and Trench











Keeping it in classic and sharing an idea of the most I've been getting dressed up lately. As I mentioned a few posts back, I have a steady rotation of tissue turtlenecks in the fall and winter. I paired this some other great basics including with the trench I've had forever and my favorite skinny jeans (seriously the best fit ever). Plus some of my own earrings, and a few vintage touches. The silk scarf is actually a map of the Paris Arrondisements and I had to have the dogwood pin because it is North Carolina's state flower! This is probably a good example of what I've been wearing to church and vintage shopping, because that's about all of where I've been going besides work lately. But here's hoping the recent news all works out, and things start going back to normal in 2021!

 

Thanks for reading!