Happy Monday, team!

How was everyone’s weekend? As I was strategizing content for this week, I realized it’s been a hot second since I put together a life lately post for you, so I wanted to share a little bit about what’s been going on in my world—and I would love to hear about what’s going on in yours.

TOT CONTENT STRATEGY /

I have been thinking a lot lately about what kind of content I want to create moving forward for A Touch of Teal. I have so many different interests that I want to share, but I think I can create a more cohesive brand and voice if I hone my content in. As such, I recently redid the menu you see in the gray box above, and am really striving to create only content in those categories + subcategories for now. This also helps me better brainstorm posts.

My favorite blogs have a good balance of useful life posts—home decor ideas, fashion ideas, advice—and personal posts that allow me to feel like I know that blogger, even when we’ve never met in real life, so I really want to try to replicate that here. I’ve also been trying to share more useful snippets of my life over on Instagram stories, so definitely follow me there if you haven’t already. But of course, I always want to strive to write about things y’all want to read too, so if you have any posts ideas, favorite types of posts, or feedback in general, drop me a note on this (short) anonymous survey. None of the questions are required, so answer only the ones that speak to you. I’d appreciate the feedback so much!

2017 TRAVEL /

Two weekends, I spent the weekend at Wisp Ski Resort in McHenry, Maryland and this coming weekend I am going to Punta Cana! I am so, so excited. I have never been to the Caribbean before—that I can remember—and I have never been to an all-inclusive resort. I am going with the five other gals on my team at work, and I definitely will be sharing our adventures over on Instagram. I’ll be sharing all my Punta Cana fashion picks tomorrow, but I just couldn’t wait to share this this cute white off-the-shoulder tassel dress I picked up for the trip. Added bonus, it’s under $80! I think it will be perfect to wear to dinner one night.

I am working on lining up more fun trips since I want to continue to make travel a priority while I’ve got this fab lock-and-leave lifestyle. My cousin’s bachelorette will be at the end of March, and then I’ll be traveling to her wedding in Hickory, North Carolina in April. Shortly after, Monica and I are heading to Create & Cultivate‘s One-Day Conference in New York City, which I am so pumped about. It’s been a goal of mine to attend a conference I’ve never been to before, so this one is checking that item off the bucket list. Then, at the end of the summer, I am heading to Boston for a wedding. Somewhere along the way I hope to squeeze in a trip to Charleston as well as a trip somewhere new—Austin, Palm Beach, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Florida Keys are high on my list. (Are you picking up on the warm weather theme?!) I’d also like to make it back to Savannah as I haven’t been since 2003 and think it’s my kind of city. If you want to go on a trip or have a fun location to suggest—I am all ears! :]

MY EXPERIENCE (SO FAR!) WITH A FINANCIAL PLANNER /

You may remember from my 2017 goals post that I really wanted to work on getting my financial ducks in a row this year. As such, I have been working with a LearnVest* financial planner to do just that. I have been on my LearnVest plan for about a month now and already feel so much more confident in my finances. I have a much clearer way to track where my money is going, a solid savings plan to build up my emergency fund, and restructured my 401(K) contributions so that I won’t die destitute ;]. I am planning to write a full post on the experience soon, but wanted to be in the program a few more months and get a better handle on things myself so that I can share the most valuable action insights for you.

* This LearnVest link is a referral link. If you sign up for the program using my link, you get $50 off the program and I receive $50 off, too. A win-win! I pay for LearnVest each month with my own money and am not sponsored by them in any way—I just really think it’s a great way for millennials to organize their finances without spending a ton of money. The initial set-up fee is $200—or $150 if you use my link!—and then only $19 a month after that. Plus, you can cancel at anytime. That $150 includes the initial strategy call with your planner—mine was nearly four hours long!—and the time it takes for them to put together your personalized action plan. Then, each month after that they send you goals and financial to-do lists so that you stay on top of everything, and because they offer unlimited email support, it really is a great deal. I seriously can’t recommend them enough.

MY PARENTHOOD BINGE /

I know, I know. I should have listened to all my friends and my sister and watched Parenthood years ago. In all fairness, I tried once before, but had a really hard time getting into the first episode and never went back to it. Then, after reading Lauren Graham’s book and hearing her talk about the show live, I figured I should give it another go. And because I finished graduate school, I had more time to dedicate to the art of Netflix binge watching. So, I started watching it again while I was on vacation from work. I have to admit—it took me about half of the first season to get into it. I had a really hard time keeping everyone straight and determining who belongs to who. But once I got over that hurdle, I absolutely loved it—and I love how many crossovers there are from Friday Night Lights since it’s done by the same people. I am on season five right now and have started doing that thing where I procrastinate watching it so I can drag out its inevitable finale.

Current shows I’m loving include This Is Us and Scandal, and I’ be lying to you if I said I wasn’t excited for the return of Keeping Up With the Kardashians next month. I am, however, in need of another show after I finish Parenthood and would love your suggestions! I watched The Crown and can’t wait for more episodes to come out, but am thinking in the interim of starting The Man In the High Castle. Have any of you watched or have other good suggestions?

(NO) WINTER BLUES /

Usually, I get a bad case of the winter blues. There’s just something about less daylight and the lack of al fresco dining options due to weather that really bring me down from New Years to April. Luckily—knock on wood!—DC has experienced a very mild winter and surprisingly, I’ve found myself more upbeat this winter than most. Heck, I even opted for a cold weather escape to a ski resort! Now, I probably won’t become a cold-loving gal anytime soon, but not being miserable during the month of January is a welcome change.

TAKING IN SOME CULTURE /

In the last couple of months, I’ve really made an effort to take advantage of DC and the awesome culture we have here or that comes to town. I had the opportunity to see both Lauren Graham and Connie Britton—fun fact, they were roommates early on in their Hollywood careers—speak recently, and it wasn’t lost on me that one of the reasons that I’m able to go to these types of events is because of where I live. My friends and I also saw Titanic the Musical at the Signature Theater in Arlington back in early January, and it was such an amazing production. I forgot how much I enjoy seeing live plays and musicals, and really want to make an effort to dive deeper into DC’s arts scene this year. It’s also been a long while since I went to any of the (free!) Smithsonian museums, and I think it’s high time I revisit.

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Enough about me, what’s new with your life lately?