{coffee date no.1}

The past three weeks have been nothing short of crazy and jam packed… I thought it would be a nice change of pace around here to get a bit more personal and fill y'all in on what's been happening in my life (and why I've been so MIA and will be a bit more this October)!

So grab a cup of coffee (or tea like me) and let's chat!

Sept. 18-20 // I finally went home to spend some time with my parents. It's no secret that I love being a quick train ride away from home - I normally make it back to Baltimore once a month but my busy summer schedule didn't allow that. I went home and simply hung out with my parents - this always seems to lift my dad's spirits and having momma time makes me the happiest girl in the world. We tried out a new spot in town, World of Beer, and had a great time catching after doing a little shopping!

I also got a haircut! Eek - almost 4 inches… for someone who hates going shorter this was a big deal because I needed some healthy ends. (If you're in Baltimore go to K Co Design Salon and ask for Tery!)

Sept. 21 // Back to DC - I was able to catch up with three of my favorite blogger ladies Kristyn, Brittney, and Laura! It's always nice to have a drink with girls who understand the inner workings of this world.

Sept. 26-27 // Landmark Festival!!! Having a music festival in your backyard? Amazing. Having the monuments be in the background? Freaking awesome! From Drake to Chvrches to Alt-J to Ben Howard this concert was so much fun. Huge thank you to The Blog Societies for making it possible!

Sept. 29 // The Washingtonian Magazine Style Setters Party featuring our very own Poor Little It Girl!! It was such an honor to attend this incredible party and see Cathy be presented her award. Truly a magical night… despite the crazy downpour and humidity.

Cathy, Kristyn, and me // photo via Kristyn 

WAYF Dress // Rebecca Minkoff Clutch // Necklaces via Rocksbox

Oct. 2-4 // So you may have noticed I got a little sappy on Instagram last week… My boy and I celebrated 7 years together and we finally were able to celebrate together despite being long distance :) We spent a night at the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, VA and it is by far the most romantic place I have ever been. I think I probably need to go back so I can document everything better and share it with y'all right??? hehe! We spent the afternoon at Cana Vineyard before heading back to the hotel and exploring the grounds. Then we got dressed up and had a fabulous dinner. The next morning I was surprised with breakfast in bed via room service… did I mention that we also had a fireplace in our room? Heaven, Best weekend I've had in such a long time.

Nordstrom Rack Floppy Hat

 Vera Bradley Duffle Bag

Oct.8-11 // I'm heading to Roanoke tonight via train to see the boy again (this is the most we've seen each other consecutively in 4 years) and then tomorrow morning we are off to Blacksburg!! LET'S GO HOKIES! I haven't been to a game yet this year so I'm really really excited! Saturday I'm playing laser tag with 2 of our friends and the inner 10 year old in me is literally squealing with joy.

Follow along on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat (jennrog3)!

Aaaaand the reason for my absence: exams. Yep, you may remember me talking about studying last March in regards to getting certified for Interior Architecture. Welp, they're back to haunt me again. I've kind of gone into full on panic/freak out/study like crazy/don't see anyone mode. They're expensive tests and I've got a lot riding on it. I'm squeezing studying into any and all free time I have so that doesn't leave room for much else. I hope you'll excuse my lack of posts as I cram tons of knowledge into my head!

I've been thinking a lot about priorities and scheduling myself. I tend to make decisions around what will make others happy and not circle back to my happiness. Agreeing to things because people wanted me to hang out even if that's not how I wanted to spend my night or saying I would help someone when I really don't have time to dedicate all of my energy. A couple of times I've caught myself putting the blog before things that are more pressing… like right now as I type this out - it's Wednesday night, I just finished packing for the weekend, I need to paint my nails, I need to keep studying and I'm taking the time to do a blog post. Silly! I've had this idea to start a "coffee date" series so that I can keep all of you awesome readers in the loop. Blogging will always be a top priority for me (a lot of times it's my #1 priority because it takes up soooo much time) but for right now I have to focus on passing this exam. It's caused me a lot of anxiety - like most people I put a ton of pressure on myself to be perfect and never fail. I don't want to let myself down or let you all down as a blogger. Even now I can admit that by taking a step back I'm disappointed in myself and worried people will stop following me…

So I want these coffee dates to play out like they would in real life… We catch up a bit on life and ask each other questions :) How's everyone doing? Do you have any fun plans this weekend?  What do you want to see on Southern Anchors in the coming months? You probably need another coffee now since this was a really long date! Happy Thursday my friends!

PS. Don't forget to enter the $500 giveaway to Nordstrom!!

Love Always,