Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend! I’m thrilled that we’re out of January (why does it always feel like three months long?!). Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to over the past month or so.
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Home Projects & Updates
We’ve seen a lot of really great progress at our new build over the last month! We’re finally at the stage where some of the more “fun” details are being installed.
All of our closet systems have been built out, all trim has been installed (other than around doorways), and the beams have been built in our bedroom, bathroom and guest bedroom. They’ve also wrapped up filling, caulking, and sanding all of these trim details so it’s ready to be primed!
They also started building our pool! Before they dig, they have to drain a bunch of water from yards here. I don’t really know the technical process but basically they drill down with pipes and then use pumps to drain all the water for a few days before they dig. It’s kind of wild to watch!
Here’s how it looked once they had most of the forms set.
They sprayed the gunite late last week and it really gave us a better sense of the size and layout! It will now sit like this for several months until we get closer to completion. I still need to pick tile and pebble-tec colors.
They also primed and then filled and sanded, re-primed, and then painted our back screened-in porch. Here was the middle stage when they filled everything after the first round of primer. Let’s just say I’m glad it isn’t me that had to get up on those ladders and scaffolding to fill and sand all of those spots!
Here’s how it all looked once painted! They won’t install the screens until it’s much closer to move-in time.
The most exciting stage we’ve entered is the tiling stage! The bathroom below is the most complete at this point. We’ve run into a few challenges with tile not properly being ordered at the tile store so a few spaces were short (like this room as well as our shower). You can see the curb and then the upper right corner still need a few more pieces. But it feels fairly complete otherwise and it’s fun to see it all coming together!
The only major issue is the bathroom floor in the space attached to my future office. We stopped over yesterday and to check progress and hated how this looked. This was supposed to be tumbled Carrara subways and it honestly felt like we were given the boxes with all the rejected sheets someone else returned. There was so much orange and super dark gray and then ultra white pieces. It looked absolutely nothing like the samples at the store or on the manufacturer’s website. I’ve reached out to the tile store to see what our options are. I’ve also asked the installer to not grout it to see if we can salvage this by even pulling out the really offensive pieces. I’ll keep you posted! I’m hoping it just hadn’t fully dried and maybe today it will look better, but it seems there are way too many high-contrast pieces for this to look correct.
I believe all the interior doors are all arriving next week, so they’ll get those painted and then installed, which will make everything look even more complete! At that point, the trim guys can then come back and finish trimming out all the door casings and then walls and trim will get painted!
We met with the builder on Friday onsite, and he’s still really pushing for a July move-in date, so now that we’ve reached February, it feels like we’re getting really close!
January Top Sellers
Following are the top sellers from the past month across all of my channels. Links to each item are below the graphic.
BEST SELLERS (each number is clickable): #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
In Case You Missed It
Following are the posts I shared over the past month, in case you missed some days!
- Weekend Recap
- Life On Virginia Street Top 15 Blog Posts of 2025
- Wednesday Watch List: 01/07/26
- 2025 Life On Virginia Street Best Sellers
- Weekend Sale Alerts: 01/10/26
- New Build Progress: Part II
- Vases & Stems for Late Winter & Early Spring
- Wednesday Watch List: 01/14/26
- Weekend Sale Alerts: 01/17/26
- Amazon Finds for Home, Fashion, & Travel – January 2026
- Wednesday Watch List: 01/21/26
- Moody Navy Blue & Plaid Home Office Plans with Ralph Lauren Vibes
- Blue & White Striped Pool Bath Design Plans
- Wednesday Watch List: 01/28/26
- Weekend Sale Alerts: 01/31/26
Around Town & For Fun
The weather has been a bit all over the place in January. We’ve had incredibly beautiful and warm days mixed in with some of the coldest days we’ve had since moving to 30A!
One of my goals I set this year was to have 30 minutes of movement a day. Which doesn’t sound like a lot but coming off close to zero days for a lot of 2025, it was a good increase. The walking paths in our neighborhood are all so beautiful and it feels so great to get outside in January! Something that wasn’t really an option when we lived in Omaha.
We only hit Amigos once in the month of January which was wild! The green space just isn’t the same when the nights are cold!
We went to Aja for dinner one night with Rachel and Chris and our friends Becky and Michael who were in town visiting. Chris and Kurtis decided to order this dragon boat of sushi to share. Chris originally thought he could eat it all himself until he saw it once it arrived 😉 Let’s just say we all chipped in to help them finish the nine rolls.
As I mentioned, January was a wild one, weather-wise. I had days in shorts and flip flops and then days like last night in cozy shoes, sweaters, and jackets.
SOURCES: Top | Shorts | Flip Flops | Sherpa Jacket | Striped Sweater (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale purchase) | Sweatpant Jeans | Shearling Clog Slippers
Kurtis is still trying to walk 3+ miles a day and always finds such cool wildlife! Especially on days when it feels a lot more like spring than it does winter!
We used to have so many cardinals in Omaha and I absolutely loved them! But they’re a rare site down here in Florida. Kurtis found a few recently and we’ve also seen a few in the backyard at our new house!
We survived Dry January, and this time around, I tried more mocktails than I did in the past which I think made it my easiest year yet! I had a few friends doing it with me, as well, so we would trade notes on which mocktails we loved the most.
We had a few date nights, and finally got back to O-Ku. The food is fantastic if you’re even on 30A. But it’s one you definitely need a reservation for – even in the off-season!
The reality is, we’ve spent most of our weekends and free time purging, packing, and donating to prep for our house to get listed in early March. We’re hoping to get all photos done before we leave town later this month, so we’ve had a lot to get ready! I was going through my dishes in the back of the island yesterday and I had the best little supervisor watching over me 😉
Kurtis had to go to Dallas last week, and after moving his flight a day and lots of delays, he made it to his meetings. It certainly wasn’t a fun week of travel for most! I had two fun dinners with friends while he was away.
Not only did we get a brief bout of snow this month (almost to the exact date we had that massive snowstorm last year), we also had freezing overnight temps for far longer than we ever have in the past. Yesterday a bunch of yards were solid icicles – we’re guessing because they forgot to turn off their sprinklers! While we still have some really cold temps ahead of us this week, I think we’re at the turning point where spring temps should start arriving.
We’re expecting a lot more fun progress over at the house this month. We also head to the Big Island in Hawaii in a few weeks for Kurtis’ company trip. We’re really looking forward to exploring a new island! Any tips or recommendation on things to do there or places to eat would be appreciated!
Recent Buys & Sales
Following are some sales from the weekend that have carried over and are still going strong! You can see my top picks here.
- ABERCROMBIE is offering 25-40% off all jeans and 20% off almost everything else. You can shop their sale here.
- AMAZON has a bunch of items on sale in their Today’s Deals section. You can shop their site here.
- AMERICAN EAGLE is offering 25% off everything (or 30% off everything for members). You can shop their site here.
- ANN TAYLOR is offering $30 off denim and pants and an extra 60% off sale styles. You can shop their site here.
- ANNIE SELKE is offering 25% off sitewide with code WINTER. You can shop their site here.
- ANTHROPOLOGIE is offering up to 30% off Valentine’s Day Decor, and an additional 40% off items in their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- ARHAUS is currently hosting a storewide sale, with various discounts sitewide up to 50% off clearance items. You can shop their site here.
- BALLARD DESIGNS is offering 25% off lighting, rugs, wall decor and decorative accessories. You can shop their site here.
- BODEN is offering 10% off new womenswear with code WA7R. You can shop their site here.
- CAMP SNAP CAMERAS is offering 7% off their viral camera with code LIFEONVIRGINIASTREET. You can shop their site here.
- CHICO’S is offering 25% off new tops and all denim starting at $69 (up to 40% off). You can shop their site here.
- COCO & EVE is offering 15% off with code SARAHST15. You can shop their site here.
- COLLEEN ROTHSCHILD is offering up to 50% off and a free mini radiant cleansing balm with $125+ purchase! You can shop her site here.
- CRATE & BARREL has added a number of new items to their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- FRANK & EILEEN has a number of new items in their sale section, with markdowns up to 70% off. You can shop their site here.
- GAP is offering 50% off favorite layers. You can shop their sale here.
- GROVE COLLABORATIVE is offering 25% off a $75+ order with my code SARAHSTEWART. You can shop their site here.
- J CREW is offering up to an extra 60% off sale styles with code SHOPSALE. You can shop their site here.
- J CREW FACTORY is offering up to 60% off sitewide and an extra 60% off clearance with code TAKE60. You can shop their sale here.
- J MCLAUGHLIN has added additional sale styles to their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- LANDS’ END is offering 40% off full-priced styles plus up to 75% off sale and clearance with code MOUNTAINTOP. You can shop their site here.
- LOFT is offering 48% off your entire purchase plus an extra 22% off at checkout. You can shop their sale here.
- LULULEMON has 500+ new sale finds in their end of year sale. You can shop their site here.
- MADEWELL is offering up to 50% off cozy winter styles. You can shop their site here.
- MARK & GRAHAM is offering up to 50% off select sale and free shipping on hundreds of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
- MARSHALLS is offering free shipping on orders of $89+ with code SHIP89. You can shop their site here.
- MCGEE & CO. has a number of new items in their clearance section. You can shop their site here.
- NORDSTROM has a number of new markdowns in their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- OLD NAVY has new arrivals starting at $7. You can shop their sale here.
- POTTERY BARN is offering up to 60% off furniture, outdoor, bedding, and more. You can shop their sale here.
- REJUVENATION is offering up to 40% off lighting, furniture, and more. You can shop their site here.
- RUGGABLE is offering 15% off your purchase with my code LIFEONVIRGINIASTREET15. You can shop their site here.
- SALT & STONE is offering 15% off your purchase with code SARAHS15! I have really been loving their clean deodorant! You can shop their site here.
- SERENA & LILY is offering 20% off everything or 25% your purchase of $5,000+. They also have free shipping on all dining through the end of the day. I have a review of most items we own in this post if you’re interested. You can shop their sale here.
- SHOPBOP is offering up to 70% off items in their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- TARGET has a number of home deals like up to 50% off rugs, up to 60% off bedding and bath, up to 50% off storage and organization items, and more. You can shop their site here.
- TJ MAXX is offering free shipping on orders $89+ with code SHIP89! You can shop their site here.
- TORY BURCH has a number of new items in their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- TUCKERNUCK has a number of cute new items in their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- U BEAUTY is offering 20% off sitewide with my code LIFEONVIRGINIASTREET20. You can shop their site here.
- VINEYARD VINES is offering up to 70% off all sale styles with code SHOPSALE. You can shop their site here.
- VISUAL COMFORT has added a bunch of new items to their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- VIVRELLE is offering your first month free of borrowing designer bags and jewelry with my code LIFEONVIRGINIASTREET (requires 3 month membership, so you only pay for 2 months). Their selection of designer bags and jewelry you can borrow is stunning! You can shop their site here.
- WAYFAIR is offering up to 60% off during their 5 Day of Deals. You can shop their sale here.
- WEST ELM is offering up to 50% off items in their sale & clearance section. You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA is offering up to 75% off in their clearance section. You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA HOME has a number of new items in their sale section. You can shop their site here.
I hope you all have a great week!
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