TGIT, squad!

Today I am working from Charlottesville, which as you may have gathered from reading this blog for a while, is one of my favorite places. Added bonus: I get to eat dinner with my sister tonight at The Fitzroy. I’m hoping it is warm enough to sit outside—fingers crossed!

I wanted to chat a little bit about life lately and give you a peak at what’s been going on in mine.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN /

Y’all, I am about to put my TSA Pre-Check status to a lot of use! Here’s how my summer travel schedule is shaking out so far—I would love recommendations on any of these places!

• Miami — I am heading to South Beach, Miami with my BFF from middle/high/college/now. We found a great deal for the Loews on Expedia a couple of Saturdays and booked it on the spot. I’m looking forward to putting my toes in the sand with a drink in my hand!
• Charleston — heading to my all-time favorite city with three of my best gals! We’re obviously hitting up Husk and are wanting to go on a boozy ghost tour. It’ll be fun to be in the low country once again!
• Palm Beach — the following weekend, it’s wheels up again! My sister and I are going to Palm Beach to celebrate our respective graduations from grad school. On the agenda right now is Nick & Johnnies, a sunset Catamaran tour, plenty of pool and beach time at our hotel, and a night cap at The Breakers.
• Savannah — Eek! This might be the trip I am excited most for—my family is heading down to Savannah for a hot, humid, and fun five days at the end of July. I haven’t been to Savannah since I was 13, and am excited to take advantage of the no open container laws. I put myself in charge of creating the itinerary for this trip, so please send recommendations!
• Boston — I will be spending Labor Day in Boston heading to a former coworker’s wedding. I have nearly the whole day to myself on Saturday to explore, and haven’t been to Boston since I was 17—I’m excited to explore!

Since my trips to Florida require—twist my arm—ample time on the beach, I’ve been stocking up on new swimwear. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money, and once I found a ton of cute suits at Old Navy, I knew they had to be mine. I’ve included my favorite ones below—how cute is that palm print cover up?!

CREATE + CULTIVATE NYC /

Another trip I am looking forward to is a sort of “working trip” that Monica and I are taking together next week—we’re heading to the Create + Cultivate Conference in New York City! If you’re curious about the conference, I’ll be sure to give a recap here on the blog when I’m back, but the general overview is that it’s a conference geared towards creative and entrepreneurial women. You can see the schedule and rundown of the day here—I’m on Track One and am so excited to hear from all the women they have lined up. Gloria Steinem is the keynote! The kickoff cocktail party is Friday night, and my new business cards are ordered—now all I need to do is figure out my wardrobe.

Monica and I are making a long weekend out of it and taking the good ol’ Northeast Regional up there on Thursday night. It’s no secret we’re both huge Mexican food fans, so it’s only fitting we can be ladies who lunch on Cinco de Mayo. We’ve already snagged a reservation for Avenida for lunch and mid-day margs. We’re also making time to see friends of ours that live in the city on Saturday night, which will be a highlight after a long day for sure.

I’M MOVING! /

You heard it here first—I’m moving! Don’t worry DC-area friends, I am staying in Arlington but finally getting a little place to call my own. Luckily, I have most everything I need, but one big ticket item I’ll be looking to buy is a couch—thank goodness for tax returns!

I’m also hoping this move will be a good way for me to incorporate more home decor content here on A Touch of Teal. Since up until now I’ve always had roommates, I’ve wanted to be respectful of the space we share and not post our common areas all over the internet. But come August when it’s just me, I’ll definitely do a full apartment tour.

I’ll shoot you straight—getting an apartment sans roommates is definitely going to be an increase in cost. I’m looking at an added $300-400/month, so I am currently working on ways to pad my budget to make up for that extra amount. I know I am definitely going to have to get a little creative—Mom, can I use the Fios login in lieu of cable?—but the excitement outweighs any financial stress for sure!

MY NEW OBSESSION WITH SPIN CLASS /

I think I’ve mentioned this on here before, but recently I have really committed myself to making it to spin class two to three times a week. I picked a studio that had convenient class times and was right on my way home so that I basically had no excuses not to go. It’s really helped with my overall stress levels and I really think I was missing that third place—besides home or work—ever since grad school ended.

Until recently, most of my workout gear was leftover sorority date function t-shirts paired with my favorite Zella leggings. I wanted to up the top half of my workout gear game, so recently stocked up on some new workout tops—again, Old Navy came through in the clutch—and snuck in a few crop leggings too, which are perfect for these warmer temps as I usually walk home after class. Here’s a few of my new favorites:

THE CLIENT LIST ON NETFLIX /

My friend Lauren and I share a love of subpar sitcoms, and she recently introduced me to the two-season wonder The Client List, a Lifetime original series starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. I crushed this show in two weeks flat, and it was the first show I’d binged since Parenthood. If you loved shows like Hart of Dixie, One Tree Hill, and others in that genre, definitely add this one to your list.

But, since it was such a short series—it literally ended on a cliffhanger due to an unforeseen cancellation—I’m back at square one and in need of a new Netflix show I can binge.

Other than that, work has been really busy lately and since it’s warmer outside, it seems my weekends have gotten busier, meaning I’m playing catch up on chores/errands/the blog during the week. I’m trying to get into a better rhythm and have some great posts in my head I just need to put down on paper! And so that about sums up what’s been going on in my life lately—or, the big things at least. I’d love to know what your life has looked like lately—let me know in the comments below! x