With September here to stay - it is time for another edition of Morning Routine; an interview series here on Simply Elegant with inspiring women in creative fields. Instead of attempting to accomplish too much in a short interview — I have narrowed it down to focus on the steps and tricks we do every morning. We are all so busy and therefore I find most of us have created habits and schedules that are productive, efficient and unique. While it is fun to hear about someone’s recent favorites as we see most often on blogs; I also love hearing about the tried and true favorites that people return to again and again. Last month we heard from Brooke Kiernan McCallion and this month we have another Charleston gal, Annie Reeves. 

Annie Reeves

• 24 years old. 
• Charleston, SC. 
• Works in Marketing, Sales, Social Media, Blogging and more! 
• Blog.       Instagram.        Pinterest.           Twitter.         Facebook. 

Rise and Shine

On a normal morning, I rise anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30. It depends on what I have scheduled for the day – sometimes I need to get started working around 8:00, in which case I wake up earlier to enjoy my morning. I’m a big fan of the snooze button, though, and it frequently gets me in trouble. Does the iPhone alarm confuse anyone else when they’re half asleep?

 The very first thing I do when I wake up is throw something over my PJ’s and take my dog, Hasell, outside. She’s frequently the one waking me up! 

Skincare

A shower in the morning helps me feel more put together for the rest of the day. It wakes up my body and keeps me from crawling back into bed. My skincare routine  is simple – I cleanse just with water and use a Vitamin C serum followed by tinted moisturizer. I don’t even dry my hair because it’s so hot and humid there’s little point. I usually just comb some Moroccan Oil through my hair to keep it nourished and soft.

Morning Eats

Unless I’m meeting someone for a coffee date (usually 1-2 times a week), I eat breakfast at home. 9 times out of 10, I’m drinking homemade cold brew with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and eating a slice of my favorite avocado toast.  

Start the Day on the Right Foot...

 When I am not rushing, my favorite mornings are spent browsing through some of my favorite blogs with the Today Show in the background. I’m really lucky because most mornings I don’t have to be at work until 9:45, so while I start working at 9, I get to watch my man Willie Geist on TV.

Daily Sweat Session

I so badly want to be a morning exercise gal, but it just doesn’t happen for me. I need more fuel and hydration in my body, so I’ve been working out around 5 or 6 everyday. I absolutely love spin classes, but I’ve actually been on the treadmill train lately. This is a really great interval workout that I’ve tried to incorporate with some weights a few days a week.

Go - To Outfit

My favorite outfit – always – is some form of denim (white, shorts, distressed, etc.), a strappy Tibi cami (I love the white one and my black peplum), my Daniel Wellington watch, a pair of simple studs (Charleston Rice Beads!), and tennis shoes. I have different varieties of each of these things, so it’s pretty easy to make it work day-to-day.

A Touch of Makeup

During the summer, I keep it pretty simple. I start with my It Cosmetics Undereye Concealer (literally cannot skip this step – I have the darkest undereye circles!) and top with my tinted moisturizer. I apply bronzer (either my Anastasia Contour Kit or Naked Flushed) just below my cheeks and on my forehead and my highlighter down my nose, above my eyebrows, and on my cheekbones (I am beyond obsessed with the Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop). I always fill in my eyebrows with my It Cosmetics Brow Power and apply several coats of Maybelline’s Lash Sensational mascara. I have smaller eyes, so I really don’t like to leave the house without some mascara – this is the best one I’ve ever tried! I usually use a neutral lip color like my rose salve or Clinique’s Almost Lipstick.

Off to Work

I work from home over half of the week, but when I drive to work, it’s just about 4 minutes from my house. More often than not, I use this time to call and check in with my mom or dad or listen to one full song – right now, it’s Electric Love by BORNS.

Work, Work, Work

I work for so many different companies it gets a little confusing! On Mondays, I have a standing meeting with one of my clients at their office at 9AM. I aim to get there about 5 minutes early, and I’m usually pretty on top of that. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I open up Candy Shop Vintage at 10:00 and arrive at 9:45 to straighten the store and answer any quick emails. On Wednesdays, I work from 12:15-5:15 at the store, and for some reason I have the hardest time getting there on time those days. I’m always quickly trying to finish eating lunch while headed out the door. Fridays are my days spent solely working from home, and it’s really, really nice to have one full day without interruptions. I rarely schedule meetings on these days, so that I can get into the zone and get as much done as possible!

My entire life I’ve been a planner girl – and let me tell ya, I’ve tried a lot of them. I still write down all big events in a planner, and always have it with me, but I’ve recently fallen in love with Google Calendar. I did not realize how much you could do! I’ve started obsessively managing my time on there – down to the minute – with what I need to be working on when. Did you know you can also set goals that the calendar will filter in week by week? I recently set a goal to run three times a week for 30 minutes and walk twice a week for an hour. Instead of having standing times scheduled, the calendar will fit it in once I’ve scheduled out the other things I have going on that week and remind me to go! It’s an amazing feature for someone whose schedule changes by the day!  

Daily Mindset

The weekend is just a few days away!

Haha, no I’m kidding. It’s important for me to crawl into bed knowing I did my very best that day – I accomplished as much as I could as well as I could in work, I poured love and grace out onto the people with who I came into contact. SO, I set out with those intentions every morning with the hope of a peaceful night’s sleep.

Images via Annie Reeves; by Kim Graham and Smith Photos. 

A big thank you to Annie for taking the time to fill us in on her morning routine and how she starts her day. Be sure to follow Annie, she is constantly reminding me how much I want to go to Charleston (I have never been and it looks beautiful!)  To catch up on last month's Morning Routine, read Brook's routine here.