Happy new year! 2024, wow, can you believe it? I don’t think a year has ever gone by so fast as 2023 did… I still feel like my trip to Puerto Rico was last month when in reality it was in March. My boyfriend and I rang in 2024 with a few friends in downtown Denver at a hotel party. I’m soooo sleepy today (I was already yawning at 9:30 last night) but at least it was beautiful and sunny out, the perfect way to kickstart the new year.

Monday, December 25

Christmas morning! We spent the day lounging around our rental house, opening presents and stockings, eating brunch in the backyard, and playing games. We had chili for dinner and then watched Don’t Worry Darling. I stayed in my penguin PJs all day, the sign of a good Christmas!

Tuesday, December 26

We tried to do the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway this morning, one of the city’s top attractions, but it turned out to be closed for the day due to technical difficulties. Instead, we went back to Joshua Tree National Park for a seven mile hike. In the evening, we all went out to a Mexican restaurant downtown for our final dinner of vacation and had a great time sipping margaritas and chowing down on guac. I packed lots of outfits for the seven day trip but this was only the second one I ended up wearing!

Green Leopard Blouse: Cabi, $89 ($5.56 per wear), last worn here | Black Leather Jacket: Blank NYC via local boutique, $25 ($0.39 per wear), last worn here | Cropped Flared Jeans: Express, $40 ($0.66 per wear), last worn here | Black Booties: Vivaia, gifted by brand, last worn here

Wednesday, December 27

We spent the morning packing up the house and playing Euchre before my brother, sister-in-law, and I went to the airport. Our flights were only an hour apart so we had fun playing cribbage outside while we waited (I’d never been to an open-air airport before, but everything in between gates was outside! So cool). I wore this new tee that I got in my stocking, which says, “My favorite childhood memory is not paying bills.” Ha. Once I got back to Denver, my boyfriend and I picked up dinner and had our own little Christmas celebration.

Tee: Christmas Gift | Cropped Flared Jeans: Express, $40 ($0.65 per wear), last worn here | Black Booties: Vivaia, gifted by brand, last worn here

Thursday, December 28

It was mostly a lazy day lounging around the house and unpacking. After spending a week in Palm Springs not doing anything but relaxing, I had a lot of catching up to do and tried my best to be productive, to little avail (the lounge set may or may not have had something to do with it).

Tie-Dye Sweatshirt: American Eagle, $18 ($0.86 per wear) | Tie-Dye Joggers: American Eagle, $16 ($1.45 per wear) | Sneakers: Steve Madden via DSW, $60 ($0.44 per wear), last worn here

Friday, December 29

Today I really was productive and worked on lots of blogging tasks. In the evening my boyfriend and I went to his friend’s house for a belated Christmas party, where we made gingerbread houses and played games. I was going to dress up cuter but am really glad I went the more casual route, which was definitely the vibe. This tie-dye top was my mom’s when she was in college, and I love it paired with these grey bootcut jeans—it reminds me of something Donna would wear in “That 70s Show”.

Purple Tee: Hand-me-down | Grey Jeans: Express, $24 ($6.00 per wear) | Black Booties: Vivaia, gifted by brand, last worn here

. . . . .

Saturday, December 30

Despite not changing out of my workout clothes, I had a really productive day running errands, running—period, and cranking out blog posts.

Sunday, December 31

I worked on more blog stuff in the morning before my boyfriend and I drove to downtown Denver in the early afternoon. Last year we went to a NYE party at a hotel within walking distance of my boyfriend’s apartment, which was so convenient. But they weren’t hosting it again this year! We didn’t want to drive on NYE, especially downtown, but it turned out my boyfriend had a free hotel night that was just about to expire. We checked into our room early and got ready there, ate dinner with friends at the hotel restaurant, and then went to the party in the hotel’s convention center. It was really fun! They had two DJs and a band, table games, party favors, and lots of drinks. The people watching was really entertaining, and it was so festive to ring in the new year with a large crowd counting down and confetti flying everywhere.

I wasn’t sure what to wear because I got the chance to style a lot of my fun, sparkly outfits while in Vegas in September. I considered going with the same blue velour dress I wore last year, but I ended up choosing this sparkly mint number instead. I wore it to homecoming and prom in high school but haven’t worn it since! I paired it with a thrifted black feather purse, black heels (with sparkly shoe clips), and matching mint eyeshadow. It wasn’t the most NYE outfit ever but I thought the color was unique for the occasion. Too bad people ruined the big 2024 sign of the photo backdrop!

Mint Dress: JCPenney, $50 ($16.67 per wear), last worn here | Black Heels: DSW, $40 ($2.35 per wear), last worn here | Black Feather Purse: Thrifted, $6 ($1.50 per wear), last worn here

. . . . .

Did you go out for New Year’s or stay home? And what did you wear?! I love the excitement and dressing up of going out, but it is always such a hassle. My boyfriend and I were discussing hosting our own party next year for a more affordable and laidback option.

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace