August Recap, Look Ahead to September

St. Jude Dream Home | Cobalt Chronicles | Houston Style Blogger
The infamous Amazon Dress (wearing Small) | Loeffler Randall Heels | Rattan Earrings

Fall is in the air! Ok, not really here in Houston, but I’m living vicariously through all of my DCers and North-easterners that I follow on Instagram – CRAVING those 60 degree mornings!

First, let’s chat about the dress I’m wearing in the photo above. It had a MOMENT this month. I bought my first #amazonnightgown (it’s not really a night gown) back in June when I saw Grace first post about it on her Instagram Stories. I then bought the one featured above in July for a photoshoot (I needed a blue dress). Grace dubbed it the #amazonnightgown on Instagram and it took off! She started sharing readers pics in the dress (it’s available in TONS of colors and prints so everyone had different versions). Then, last week multiple mainstream media outlets picked up the story – Glamour, The NY Post, People, the Today Show, etc. My two seconds of fame happened when my photo was featured in the Daily Mail article on the dress! Too funny! Happy to be part of the $30 mumu revolution. 😉 And if you missed out on the dress (it’s almost completely sold out at this point), the brand makes several other dresses that have the potential to become just as loved! You can check them out here.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, let’s take a look back at August and chat about the blog posts you loved, the items you clicked on the most, and more! And if you missed my July recap, you can check it out here!

Travel

I traveled a little less this month than in July. I was out of town 8 days with trips to DC and Atlanta.

Week In Review | Cobalt Chronicles | Houston Style Blogger
At Barnsley Resort for The Blog Societies Conference
Cami NYC Lace Cami (wearing XS) | Leith Blazer (wearing XS) | Abercrombie Jeans (wearing 26, TTS) | Everlane Sandals (TTS) | Gorjana Sunburst Necklace

I spent almost an entire work week in DC this month. It was a mixed work and play trip. I hosted a workshop at The Wing, Legal Contract Writing 101, on behalf of my Contracts for Creatives business. I met with a few CFC clients as well as had a few brand meetings for collaborations here on the blog. I squeezed in a few SoulCycle rides with my favorite instructors and got to see a lot of friends while I was in town! I’m actually planning on heading back to DC again in September!

I also spent a long weekend in North Georgia at Barnsley Resort for The Blog Societies Conference. I hosted a workshop, Contracts for Bloggers, and attended other sessions and networking events with my blogger hat on. It’s always a fun conference as I get to double dip and provide a bit of education to the attendees as well as learn from the other workshop leaders and speakers who are speaking on different blogging-industry related topics. It’s also always a great time to reconnect with blogging friends and meet new ladies in the blogging space!

Wellness

Wellness is always something I’m working on and these posts are an easy way to not only keep myself accountable, but hopefully a place to share a bit of inspiration and a dose of reality as well.

Workouts

Michael and I signed up for our 3rd half-marathon together this month (the race is in October). It will be my 5th half in addition to the 1 full that I’ve run. I shared the training program I swear by plus a few pieces of running gear I’m currently loving in this post!

With the race training, I’ve spent this month getting into a new workout schedule groove. On the running front, Michael and I have been getting in two weekday morning runs (usually around 3-4 miles each) plus our long run on the weekend (preferably on Saturday morning). In addition to the runs, I’ve been squeezing in 3 weight workouts a week at Anytime Fitness plus at least one SoulCycle ride, sometimes two if I’m in town all week. Yoga has fallen off this month, but I’m hoping to get back into a once a week practice in September.

If you’re interested in my weekly workout schedules, check out my Week In Review posts each Friday – I share my workouts from each day of the week!

Cobalt Chronicles | SoulCycle | Houston Fitness Blogger

Makeup & Skincare

I pulled back my shower curtain this month and shared all of my clean skincare products that I (and Michael) use on the daily! Check out the post here! As I’ve mentioned before, I buy most of my clean skincare, beauty, and makeup at either Beautycounter or Follain. And lucky for you, both are running end of the month (August) specials!

I’m a consultant with Beautycounter, so I’m running a end of the month special just for my customers (that’s you!). If you place any order of $50 or more before the end of the month (Saturday), I’ll send you a free set of samples from the brand new Countertime line! Countertime is Beautycounter’s new line that includes the plant based alternative to retinol! Shop here! You can always shop with me by going to beautycounter.com/ashleehightower.

And as for Follain, they’re having a 15% off Sitewide SALE! A few of my Follain favorites: the everyday soap (I have a few bottles around our house, you can buy the giant refill to keep on hand and refill the bottles), Jane Iredale Lash Conditioner & Primer, Follain’s Instant Glow Body Oil, Follain’s Sugar & Shea Body Scrub, and Tata Harper’s Regenerating Cleanser.

Clean Beauty Shower Essentials | Cobalt Chronicles | Houston Beauty Blogger

Most Read Blog Posts

cabi Fall Collection | Cobalt Chronicles | Houston Style Blogger
Original Post Here

I always find it interesting to see what you’re enjoying reading the most! This month’s most read posts were a mixed bag!

  1. Getting Fall Ready with the cabi Fall Collection!
  2. KTBS 3 / St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway – Win a HOUSE!
  3. Week In Review
  4. LAST DAY – 15% Off Beautycounter SALE Sitewide (No longer happening, but take advantage of my Beautycounter special mentioned above!)
  5. What’s In My Shower | Clean Beauty Shower Essentials

Most Clicked Items

Along with the most read blog posts of the month, I also wanted to share the most clicked items as well! This helps me to know what y’all are shopping for and what items are catching your attention the most! 

  1. Abercrombie Distressed Denim (seen here)
  2. Amazon Jumpsuit (full review here)
  3. The Amazon Dress (discussed above)
  4. Lululemon Align Short (My FAVORITE running short! I wear a size 6.)
  5. Everlane Day Cross Sandals (they run TTS)

A Look Ahead to September

I’m so looking forward to fall! Football season officially starts in September, and I’m hoping we get a few cool mornings here in Houston this upcoming month! I have a bit of travel planned for September – Michael and I are heading to Galveston for a quick Labor Day weekend getaway, we’re going to Austin for the LSU/Texas game, I’ll be heading to Shreveport later this month for a Beautycounter pop-up event, and I may make a trip to DC this coming month as well!

Cheers to the new month ahead!

3 Comments

  1. Alex wrote:

    So impressed with your marathon training in this insane heat! Go girl!

    Alex | adoredbyalex.com

    Posted 9.1.19
    • Ashlee wrote:

      Thanks Alex! It’s pretty brutal, but always feel good afterwards!

      Posted 9.2.19

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