Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

September 30, 2014

OOTD: Of Fall Florals & Friendship.








Dress: Dillard's || Cardigan: LOFT || Boots: L.L. Bean || Necklace: Pink Slate Boutique || Bracelet: c/o Stella and Dot || Rings: Charming Charlie, c/o A-List Greek Designs || Bag: Vera Bradley || Nails: Forever 21 || Lips: Essence XXL Shine Lipgloss in Pretty in Hibiscus


     This was one of those outfits that I formed by just mixing and matching random things from my closet together, and then being really pleased at how everything turned out! (Don't you just love when that happens?) I got this dress on sale at Dillard's last Spring. I absolutely love the dress department at Dillard's! In both the Misses and the Juniors departments they always have so many on-trend styles, and you can get really great deals on their clearance racks (like I did with this dress!). I wore it a couple times over the summer but I think that it's truly meant for Fall. I don't wear my cowboy boots very often but I thought that throwing them on here would give this whole outfit a sweet Southern look! :-)

     I am absolutely obsessed with this necklace that I am wearing from Pink Slate Boutique. I first heard about Pink Slate Boutique a couple months ago after I won a gift card to their shop from Nicole's blog Keeping You Stylish. I have to note that Pink Slate Boutique had some of the best customer service of any online store that I have ever worked with- and that made shopping with them a breeze! This floral statement necklace that I ordered is just perfect for Fall! It matches so many things in my closet and adds the perfect pop of glam. And y'all know that I adore anything floral! The necklace also came with a darling little pair of purple earrings to match (which I am wearing here but aren't pictured). I also got another fun fashion item from the Pink Slate Boutique that I can't wait to blog about soon!


     My sweet friend that took these pictures for this post is my friend Liane from France. We met during my freshman year of college when I was at my former college. I took French there (I still take French and one of my minors is actually in French!) and that year I was Vice President of the school French club. Liane was visiting my former college for that year from France as a grad assistant for the French program. She taught my French class's lab and helped with French club activities. We quickly became friends outside of the classroom and hung out a lot during my freshman year! Both of us left the school after that year though- me because I transferred schools, and her going back to Europe.

My freshman year of college at a French club event!

     Fast forward to this year: both of us have found ourselves in Charlotte! I ended up transferring to a college in Charlotte, and Liane is now pursuing her Masters degree at a different university in Charlotte (but still the same city!). We finally got to see each other this past weekend for the first time in over a year! And where did the much-awaited reunion take place? None other than Bojangles!! Two years ago one of our favorite places to go together was the beloved Southern chicken and biscuits fast food chain, so of course this is the first place we decided to head together. 



     
     I am so thankful that our friendship has lasted through time and distance, and that both of us have found ourselves in the same city again!! 
    

     I feel like such a productive blogger because today is Tuesday and this is my second OOTD post of the week! And last night I finished and sent off a guest post that I am writing for another blog. This is the type of productive blogging that I would like to be back to doing every week... if only I could always be this on top of things! ;-) 

     xoxo Miss ALK
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September 29, 2014

OOTD: Coral Crush.





Far away picture but shows how bright this dress is!




Dress: Old Navy || Shoes: The Walking Company || Sunglasses: Kohl's || Necklace: {Made by me!} || Bracelets: c/o Jet Chic Arm Candy, {Local Boutique + Gift} || Ring: {Local Boutique} || Purse: Michael Kors || Nails: Ulta Nail Lacquer in Taupe on a Rope || Lips: NYC Color Expert Last Lipstick in Coralista 


     This dress was one of my favorite bargain finds of Summer 2014! I found it marked down to $7.99 at Old Navy during Memorial Day Weekend while I was outlet shopping. I barely own anything from Old Navy because I never seem to luck out with a.) finding good deals there, or b.) finding things that fit me well from there, but this dress surprisingly worked out for both of these! I love this dress for the beautiful bold coral color, how easy it is to dress it up or down, and the fact that the material is so gosh darn comfortable!! I styled the dress for this outfit for a birthday dinner at a Tex-Mex restaurant for a sorority sister of mine. Fun fact about the necklace that I paired it with: I actually made the necklace!! During high school I was really into jewelry making- my high school even offered metalsmithing (which was a fancy name for jewelry making) as an art elective and I took two semesters of it. :-)

     It has been really hard for me to get into the mindset of Fall fashion! Spring and summer fashion are my favorite seasons to dress for- I love floral prints, as well as pastels and summer brights. Over the past two years I have loved the month of September in Charlotte because the summer temperatures tend to stick around for the whole month... but this month Fall made a very early debut in the South! This past week was quite chilly in the Queens City, and on Monday the colder weather is supposed to return. So that means that y'all should be seeing more colder weather inspired outfits on the blog soon- whether I like it or not! ;-)



     xoxo Miss ALK
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September 27, 2014

Snapshots from New Brunswick.

Entering the city of Saint John, New Brunswick


A delicious "adult" milkshake (I am legal in Canada! This was my big treat of the trip :-) )















Saint John Harbor




Cutest dentist sign I've ever seen!




The main street in St. Andrews, the resort town that we stayed in.



Beautiful churches of St. Andrews.





But first, let's take a selfie!


Watching the Red Moon rise over the beach.


     Finally getting around to sharing the rest of my pictures from the little vacation that I went on in New Brunswick, Canada, right before school started in August! My mom and I vacationed in a quiet resort town called St. Andrews that was just under five hours away from where we live in Maine. We also took a day trip to the city of Saint John during our vacation (which was about an hour North of St. Andrews). 

     One thing that amazed me about New Brunswick is how much the province is covered in natural beauty. Much of the New Brunswick that I saw had a very "untouched" feel to it, and the scenery was absolutely stunning (and surprisingly very different from Maine even though they border each other!).

     I am very grateful that I did a social media fast during my trip- it really gave me time to fully rest and relax before the new school year, to enjoy some of my hobbies, and to just be more present. I still need to blog more about my thoughts on the social media break, that post will come eventually!! ;-)


     xoxo Miss ALK
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September 23, 2014

OOTD: Neutral Glam.












All pictures credit to Olivia Miller Photography


Dress: Spool 72 {Birthday gift from my bestie Jules!} || Shoes: Nine West ||  Sunglasses: LOFT || Necklace: Charlotte Russe || Bracelet: {Local Boutique} || Ring: {Old} || Purse: New Look {Bought on my trip to the UK last year} || Lips: Maybelline The Elixer ColorSensational in Nude Illusion


     Y'all don't even know how excited I was this past weekend to finally be able to do some blog pictures! :-) The spot where I did these pictures is currently my favorite spot in all of Charlotte to do blog pictures at. (You might even recognize the location from this post and this post!) My fabulous photographer for these pictures was a sweet friend of mine from school, Olivia from Olivia Miller Photography. How amazing did she do on these pictures?! If you're in the Charlotte area and need portrait photography services then definitely contact her! I'm sure this will be the first of many times that I will be featuring Olivia's photography on my blog... 

      So today I am linking up for the weekly Trend Spin Link-up for fashion bloggers hosted by Laura from Walking in Memphis in High Heels  and Erin from The Fashion Canvas. (Check out a previous Trend Spin Link-Up post of mine here!) This week's theme was "Dressed Up" so it really wasn't even a question that I would be participating. ;-) I think that putting together semi-formal or formal outfits during transition seasons can be difficult, so I wanted to share one of my favorite options for this time of year, which is to go with neutral colors. I am normally all about dressing up bright and bold colors, but I think that early Fall is the perfect time to make neutrals glam! Save the darker colors for the winter months, and keep the brights for the warmer months. 

     The dress that I'm wearing in the post has a special story attached with it. It was my birthday gift this year from my Maine bestie Jules! She had told me before my birthday this year that she wanted to send me something special and unique, and hopefully something that I could style on my blog. When my birthday package from her finally arrived in my school mailbox I was so excited to open it! This dress was the best surprise! It's from the online boutique Spool 72 which is one of Jules's favorite online places to shop (and somewhere I need to check out ASAP!), and it fit perfectly. I love this dress because you can easily dress it up or down. Last week I put together a more casual outfit for class with it by pairing it with a jean jacket and cowboy boots, and it looked great that way too. Thank-you Jules for such a sweet and thoughtful birthday gift! (She also mailed me two Maine whoopie pies- a favorite dessert of mine from home.) 

     I kept half of my accessories neutral; nude pumps and nude lipgloss, tiny stud earrings, and a simple bracelet and a glam cocktail ring. And then I finished off the look with a bold statement necklace and a colorful clutch for an element of surprise. I am still obsessed with this Charlotte Russe statement necklace! I have featured it in more casual OOTD posts before, but here it shows that it can easily be dressed up as well! I got the necklace last Spring for only $5 at a Charlotte Russe outlet store in NC- such a great bargain!!


      How do you dress for semi-formal or formal events during transition seasons? Do you also like to go with a nude color scheme?




     xoxo Miss ALK
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