It's been a long time since I did a Q&A post with y'all, so I thought I was much overdue for a new one! I always enjoy reading them when other bloggers do them, so here's my latest one! Thanks to everyone who sent in these great questions! As always- you can email me or tweet me questions anytime (and about anything!), not just when I'm doing a Q&A post. 😊
Photo by Deeana Kourtney Photography
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training!
Favorite random item you always get at the grocery store? Cheese. The obsession has only gotten worse since I moved to Vermont, one of America's dairy capitals. If I don't have cheese in my fridge at home than something feels wrong! I have been joking lately that if I don't have a radio endorsement with Cabot Cheddar before my time in Vermont has come to a close... I have failed in the Green Mountain State.
What's one beauty product you could never live without? This is probably an unexpected answer, but eyebrow gel! I used to use one by Benefit, but then I found this under $5 dupe version by my favorite drugstore cosmetics line and I swear by it. It'll change your life if you have bold yet pesky brows like I do!
What's your favorite part about living in Vermont? So since fellow blogger Katie tweeted me this question... I have literally been thinking over it for a week. And have had trouble thinking of an answer! True, true story. Which leads me back to something I already know... Vermont is definitely not my forever home and I have not fallen in love with living here like I did with Charlotte. If I was asked the same question about NC, I would have about 25 answers for you in 10 seconds.
I guess I will give two (weird) answers. The first is that Vermont is where I got to begin my radio career and live my dream of being on-air everyday, so even if I dislike living here, this state will always be special to me for that reason! And secondly, Vermont has been a difficult move transition and has very much put me out of my comfort zone.... but that has been a good thing and a God thing. I know it will make me appreciate my next home so much more!
What are your favorite dressy jacket/cardigan/outerwear options? One word: BLAZERS! A nice, fitted blazer is a professional girl's wardrobe's BFF. I own several blazers and used to wear them more days out of the week then not in Charlotte! Now- I rarely wear blazers as they don't really fit my Vermont lifestyle. My favorite one that I own is from this retailer- theirs aren't the cheapest, but they will last you awhile! It's good to have some staple ones like black and navy, but also play around with some in fun colors or patterns such as tweed!
I'm amazed that you've still been posting so much on your blog and Instagram since you moved to Vermont! How do you balance your blog with working full time in radio? I'm actually planning to write a full blog post on this later this fall or winter! It's an answer that I think is a little long for a Q&A blog post! But the short answer is- you prioritize things that are important for you! The second part of the short answer is I don't have the same social life that I had in college, so even though I sometimes have weird hours/work a lot at my day job, I don't have the same social schedule I used to have last year, so I have more time outside of work to blog. But again, more of this to be explained in an upcoming post. It is 110% possible to blog regularly and work full-time, and I think it's much easier to do both of those things than be in college and blog honestly!
Since you ended up moving back to New England after broadcasting school, would you ever move home to Maine? Errr... probably not. It would have to be for a really good, like "can't pass up" radio job type offer. While living in Vermont has given me a new appreciation for my hometown and home state than I never had in the past (and I am thankful for that!), the appreciation just isn't strong enough to make me move home for good. Even though I was only in North Carolina for five years, I truly consider it to be just as much my home as Maine. 😉 (Although with an entry level radio personality salary... I will say sometimes moving back in with my mom sounds quite tempting instead of paying rent for a year, haha!)
What's your favorite memory from 2017 (so far)? Hands down, the day that I told everyone in person at my broadcasting school (staff and fellow students) about my job offer in Vermont! I literally drove to school straight from the airport, and I had a 6 am flight, so I was a bit deliriously tired, but I was too excited to wait any longer to share the news! We had a tradition this year at broadcasting school where during a winter workshop, a lot of students made vision boards, and hung them on a big wall in the break room. The opposite wall was where people moved their vision boards when they got a job in the radio or TV business. I gathered everyone in the break room that day and screamed my happy news as I moved my board to the other wall!
What are your favorite fall trends? I actually just wrote a blog post about that this week! Riding boots and floppy fall hats are always two favs year after year.
What are your favorite Lilly Pulitzer purchases? AH! Tough question!!! Well- shopping the famous Lilly for Target brand launch in Charlotte in 2015 was an experience that I'll never forget, and I still love and wear my dresses that I bought from that collection regularly in the summer months! I also have a Lilly skort in Let's Cha Cha which amazingly I don't think I've ever worn on the blog, but it's a very special purchase to me! A few summers ago, my dad took me out shopping to some of my favorite local stores in my hometown, and when I fell in love with this skort he bought it for me on a whim, which was such a lovely surprise! Let's Cha Cha was also one of my favorite Lilly prints ever.
Favorite airline? I really like this question! I have flown the most on American Airlines (formally US Airways), as Charlotte is one of their largest hubs, so that's always what I took to get home in college. However, probably my favorite flight experiences have been on JetBlue and Delta! I know that Southwest is a popular airline, however I have yet to fly on them, but I'd definitely like to!
Thanks so much again to everyone who sent questions! Hope y'all enjoyed this post, and that you're having a great week! Vermont's week-long, record breaking heat wave came to an end today, and traditional fall weather has returned. I'm trying to stay positive about the cooler weather and embrace fall, ha!
P.S. - if you follow other fashion bloggers you might know that there is a big Shopbop sale going on right now! Shopbop tends to be a pricier retailer so it's not usually one of my go-to stores, but they do carry all of the designer brands that I like such as Tory Burch and Kate Spade! I'm sitting this sale out, but I thought I'd share a few wishlist picks that are under $200:
God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese (or Charlotte XO on-air!)