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How stinking cute is this outfit?? Don’t mind me as I toot my own horn… I thrifted these fuzzy Steve Madden sneakers a while ago but this is the first time I’m wearing them. They’re just too fun to resist. I paired them with my pinstripe + polka dot button down, dark wash Express jeans, and dainty pearl accessories. The mint Kate Spade New York purse was a graduation gift and my new ‘everyday’ bag (contrary to popular belief, I do not usually switch my purses for every outfit—only for special occasion looks). Anywayyy, now that we got the outfit talk out of the way, onto this month’s recap!
What’s New?
- I survived the first month of my big girl job! I work in a hybrid position as an evaluation specialist, so I help analyze the effectiveness of different nonprofit, educational, and state-run programs in the public health space. Things are still kind of slow some days as I work to get integrated into projects, but I really love the busy days! So far, I spend my time in Excel, running statistical analyses in SPSS, meeting with clients, editing reports, and—my favorite part—making maps. I didn’t think my geography major and cartographic skills would be very relevant in this position, but it turns out my GIS knowledge is an asset to the team. So exciting!!
- I’m still trying to adjust to post-grad life and establish any sort of routine. As much as I love my job so far, college made me forget what it’s like to sit down and have commitments for an entire day. I get home from work feeling exhausted, with absolutely no motivation to work out or accomplish blog tasks. It’s slowly getting better as I start to adjust, and I know it will only continue to improve… But for now, I’m just so tired all the time! All the bad sleeping habits of college do not fly in adulthood—staying up past 10 pm is now the equivalent of staying up until 3 am in college.
- As of July 5, Graceful Rags is officially six years old. I always forget to share a celebratory “blog birthday” post, hence today’s quick shoutout. Hard to believe I’ve been doing this whole blogging thing for almost a quarter of my life!
- I started intermittent fasting two weeks ago (mostly out of necessity because I hadn’t gone to the grocery store in ages). If you know me, you know I’m a diehard breakfast person—as in, if I’m not fed within a few minutes of waking up, you’re taking your life into your own hands. But now, I’m training my body to not eat until about noon everyday… Sounds crazy, right? However, I actually feel less hungry throughout the day and I don’t seem to get hangry anymore. I could write a whole blog post about this but, yah, it’s been pretty interesting so far.
- The last big update is that I got a new phone. Up until about a month ago, my Google Pixel 2—which I’ve had since June 2018—was still running fine, aside from decreased battery life and a constant lack of storage (always too many photos). But within the past month, my phone really took a turn for the worse. I wasn’t receiving some texts, the battery only lasted a few hours, and—worst of all—the phone would automatically die if I tried to open Maps. I was stranded once, but thankfully I don’t have the worst sense of direction and managed to find my way home. Google was running a sale throughout July, so I finally bit the bullet and got the Pixel 6. I haven’t settled into it yet, as the phone only arrived a few days ago, but I’m excited for the fancy camera and the 256 GB of storage (instead of a measly 64)!
Top Performing Blog Posts
What I Watched, Read, and Listened To
- The Black Phone—My boyfriend and I saw this in theaters, and we both decided it was a little lackluster. There were some missing plot points, it had cheesy dialogue, and it wasn’t all that scary… You can pass on it.
- Pulp Fiction—I had never seen this movie before and finally watched the cult classic. What a trip! It was such a weird movie, but I can’t say I was disappointed. The film definitely kept me engaged with all the crazy happenings (I would be lying if I didn’t admit that part of the motivation for watching it was so I could finally understand the reference in Fall Out Boy’s song “Uma Thurman”).
- “Death Note” —This is another anime show that my boyfriend wanted me to watch… Apparently it’s one of the most popular anime series? And there’s rumor that the Duffer brothers (the writers of “Stranger Things”) might make a live-action version of it. It follows the story of Light (a kid with a major god complex) as he navigates a newfound power granted to him by a special notebook, which was dropped into the human world by a Shinigami (Japanese god of death). The show was fineee. I actually enjoyed the first half and thought it raised some interesting moral questions, but it went on for way too long. One of those shows with time skips and multiple sets of characters that makes it feel like you’re watching three separate series.
- Elizabeth is Missing—I just started this book a few days ago, and it’s really interesting so far! It’s told from the point of view of an old woman with dementia, which is a very unique perspective and unlike anything I have read before. I’ll keep you posted next month once I finish it!
- July’s Spotify playlist is a little shorter than usual and is mostly comprised of songs I heard on the radio on the way to work, a few throwback tunes from 4th of July parties earlier in the month, and a healthy dose of Taylor Swift. You can listen to it here.
What I’ve Been Loving Lately
I used to have a category in my monthly recaps called “Products I’m Loving”, and I’ve decided to bring it back under the rebranding “What I’ve Been Loving Lately”. I hardly use any hair or face products to begin with, let alone trying new ones every month… So this new category gives me the opportunity to share all sorts of random things that have been bringing me joy lately, not just products!
- Zebra Midliner Creative Markers—My old markers were slowly dying, so I bought these Zebra highlighters for my Passion Planner the first week of work. I love the vibrant hues, double ends, and width of these. They don’t bleed through, but I will admit they smear sometimes when applying them right after writing.
- New York Times Mini Crossword—I mentioned in last month’s recap how I now do the Wordle every day. Well, I added the NYT Mini to my morning puzzles. I loveee crossword puzzles, but they’re too much of a time commitment to do every day. This is the perfect alternative.
- Canary melons—King Soopers has been carrying these big yellow melons lately and (assuming you pick a good one) they’re delicious. They’re similar to a honeydue but have a sort of cucumber, fresh taste on the end.
- First Aid Beauty Ingrown Hair Pads—I was sent these for a brand collaboration on Instagram and actually really like them. I’ve been using them on my bikini area post-shave and I definitely have fewer ingrown hairs as a result!
Quote of the Month
- July’s Quote: “As soon as I saw you I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.” -Winnie the Pooh
- August’s Quote: “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” -Elbert Hubbard
What I’m Looking Forward to in August
- Seeing my brother and sister-in-law! I’m heading to Minneapolis next weekend for a visit because I had Southwest funds (from March 2020) that were about to expire in September. I figured, what better excuse for a lil’ weekend getaway? I’ve been talking about visiting them in Minneapolis forever and am so excited to finally do it.
- I’ll be taking another weekend trip later in the month with my boyfriend, just to the cute lil’ ski town of Breckenridge, about an hour and a half outside of Denver. I’ve never been before, so I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend of hiking and reading as the BF golfs.
This Month on Graceful Rags
- Weekly Recap #25, 2022
- Weekly Recap #26, 2022
- June 2022 Month in Review
- Weekly Recap #27, 2022
- Weekly Recap #28, 2022
- A Garden Party with The Thrifty Six
- Weekly Recap #29, 2022
- Leopard + Linen for the Summertime
Wow, turns out I had a lot to update y’all on this month! I hope you enjoyed today’s post and that you have a great weekend. I’d love to hear in the comments below—what was your favorite part of July?
Miles of smiles,
Grace
Pinstripe Top: JCPenney, $20 ($1.33 per wear), last worn here | Cropped Flared Jeans: Express, $25 ($1.79 per wear), last worn here | Grey Fluffy Sneakers: Thrifted, $20 ($20 per wear) | Striped Sunglasses: Charming Charlie, $10 ($0.59 per wear), last worn here | Mint Purse: Kate Spade New York, gift