Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases + Current Wishlist.

{A throwback to one of my favorite winter looks from last year! Follow me on social media @miss_alk}

Ramblings:

• Feeling bleh with blogging: Confession time: this has been kind of a rough month for me with blogging. I suppose you might not know that, as I've still been posting on the blog and my Instagram regularly each week. But internally, I've been struggling a bit. Last year I was really able to grow my blog's income, which was a huge blessing! However, the start of 2018 has been incredibly quiet for me on the collaboration front. A few things have fallen through, I've had some offers that weren't a good fit for my brand, and other then that my inbox has been very quiet. I had gotten used to several months in a row in 2017 of multiple blog and social media collaborations and being very busy managing all of it, so it is a bit of a shock to me for things to go still so suddenly, especially since I'm not quite sure why. I suppose that's part of the unpredictability with being an influencer! If you're a blogger and have been in a similar boat lately or were at another time, I'd love any of your tips to stay positive! Luckily this hasn't impacted my writing too much... I always have a lot of "rainy day" blog post topics saved, so I've had a lot of content for this month. But I am definitely feeling a little discouraged in the other parts of my blog, and it feels kind of good to admit that!
• Staying busy: In all honesty, I have been feeling a bit "bleh" in other aspects of my life besides for blogging, too. I've definitely noticed that my anxiety has been flaring up in recent weeks. January hasn't been the easiest month, but I'm trying to take things one day at a time! I've been trying my hardest to stay busy in my life outside of work to keep positive. I'm going to the gym a few times a week, I've still been trying new recipes, I've been trying to stick to a more regular schedule for cleaning my apartment, and I've also been doing some of the ideas that I shared in my 25 Ways to Beat Cabin Fever blog post from last week! I think the best thing I can do to combat all of this anxiety is to keep myself busy and productive in my spare time.
• Grammy's 2018: This year's Grammy awards sadly were not my favorite. There were some great performances- I really enjoyed DJ Khaled/Rihanna/Bryson Tiller doing Wild Thoughts, Kesha's performance was beautiful, and I liked Elton John and Miley Cyrus's collaboration as well. But I was disappointed in how political the show was made. The Grammy's should be a night to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of the biggest artists in the world, and a night to bring people together because of music... not a night to push political agendas (either conservative or liberal). There are definitely plenty of opportunities in media to talk politics, I don't think the Grammy's is that stage. That's just my opinion! What did you think of this year's show? 

Purchases: I am currently doing a month long shopping fast! So no personal purchases this week. 😊

Wishlist:

• I started thinking this week about how much I'd like to refresh some parts of my home decor in my next apartment... whenever that is! (I'm not moving anytime too soon.) Anyways, one easy thing to update are accent pillows. They can add so much character to a space! How cute and colorful are these pillows?
• If you're trying to fight off the winter blues (or as I call it, a "bleh spell") like I am right now, I think a neon pink shift dress would perk anyone right up!
• This is one of the cutest sports bras I've ever seen! I'd love this since I've been going to the gym more regularly. 
• I have no plans on the agenda for Valentine's that warrant wearing a spicy little dress like this- but I am still obsessed with it! 

Recipe of the week: Almond Frosting from Better Homes and Gardens. I made this over the weekend to frost some sugar cookies, and I think this frosting recipe is for sure a keeper!! It paired wonderfully with my favorite sugar cookie recipe, and the almond extract was a great addition to the frosting! 

Song of the week: Sick Boy by The Chainsmokers. I am absolutely obsessed with the new single by The Chainsmokers! I don't usually listen to too much Top 40 music outside of work (since I listen to it all day at my job), but this song has been on repeat nonstop on my Spotify at home! It was interesting to hear Alex and Drew interviewed on the Grammys' red carpet this past weekend and see them answer questions about the meaning behind this song- it definitely has a darker tone than their other songs! 

On the blog this week:

• What I Eat in a Week
• Vermont Bachelorette Pad Tour: My Little Kitchen
• Vermont Red Barn + Wearing White in Winter 
• Winter Ulta Haul + Blog Announcement.

     Remember to sign up for my brand new monthly newsletter for Southern Belle in Training if you haven't yet! I'll be sending the first one out later today and plan to do so in the future around the end of each month.

     God Bless,

    xoxo Annaliese 

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Winter Ulta Haul + Blog Announcement!

     Tea or Coffee. Cats or Dogs. Spring or Fall. Ulta or Sephora. These are some of life's greatest questions for girls! While the first three things listed might be easier for us ladies to have a defined opinion about, most makeup lovers that I know have a strong opinion about Ulta vs. Sephora. Both stores are great and both have their pros and cons, but beauty gurus usually gravitate towards one or the other for most of their shopping. I'm Team Ulta 100%. I love the bright aesthetic of their stores and branding, and it's so convenient that they carry both drugstore and prestige cosmetic brands. I personally think their rewards program is one of the best out there too!


      Anyways, go figure that Vermont doesn't have any Ulta stores, nor is there one is Plattsburgh, NY (the small shopping area across Lake Champlain in Upstate NY). The nearest Ulta is 3 HOURS from where I currently live! Sure there is the website... but there's just something about actually being in Ulta. Anyways, one of the things that I was most looking to about visiting a friend in Indiana over New Year's was getting to do some much needed shopping at Ulta! I stocked up on all of my regular beauty favs, but of course I had to treat myself to several new things to try as well. My excuse was that I rarely shop at Ulta anymore.... so I had to treat myself... right? 😉 Sharing my recent Ulta purchases in today's post!

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training!

       *Becca Sunlit Bronzer in Bronzed Bondi - I tried my first Becca products this summer, when I purchased their Chrissy Teigen highlighter palette, which also contained a bronzer. Chrissy's palette is a great entry to the Becca line- I'm definitely hooked now! While I loved the highlighters and blush, it was the bronzer that was the surprising star. It was a palette exclusive bronzer that I ran out of, so I purchased the Becca Sunlit Bronzer in Bronzed Bondi at Ulta, which is a pretty close match to the one in the Chrissy Teigen palette. Becca Bronzers blend beautifully and feel like butter, seriously! 

     *Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara - I have been well aware of the wonders of Essence mascaras for a few years now. Hands down, Essence is my favorite drugstore makeup brand! I've tried just about every makeup product they make, and have yet to find any I really dislike. Many I love and are apart of my daily routine. If you're unfamiliar with the line, Essence is a European beauty brand that Ulta started carrying a few years ago. Select Target stores now carry it too. Almost everything is under $10, most items under $5, and the quality is amazing. So far, I really like this mascara!! I wear three mascaras daily and I've been using this as my second layer to build volume. I think I'll repurchase! 

     *Essence Matt Matt Matt Lipstick in 03 Wow Effect - It can be difficult to find drugstore brand lipsticks that have high quality, feel, and pigmentation. I'm here to report that Essence's lipsticks really are too good to be true! Their Matt Matt Matt lipsticks are just a few dollars, and wear beautifully. I picked up a new one in shade Wow Effect, which has a pretty purple-berry tone to it. I've been wearing it a lot and love it, it's a great color for winter.



     *Essence Lip Liner in various shades: I've tried Essence lip liners before and have loved them! They're one of my favorite affordable lip liners to use. I really can't say enough good things about most Essence cosmetics if you can't tell! I bought some new ones in shades I didn't previously have.



     *Essence Kajal Eye Pencil in Feel the Mari-Time: I love playing around with colorful eyeliners with certain outfits or for fun occasions, and I realized while browsing at Ulta that I've never tried any of the Essence Kajal eye pencils. I love the radiant turquoise shade of Feel the Mari-Time!



     *Too Faced Metallic Gold Palette: I am such a sucker for eyeshadow palettes. This was my big splurge item of this Ulta trip! I couldn't get over the incredible color and shine or these shadows. I love bold metallic eyeshadows, and they're great colors to pair with winter outfits.

     Have you tried any of these products? Or had a fun Ulta haul of your own lately?


     Now for today's blog announcement! Something that I've wanted to do for a very long time is begin an email newsletter for Southern Belle in Training. I hesitated on doing this for a couple of years because I don't personally subscribe to many bloggers' newsletters (because my inbox is already normally so full!), but it finally started to dawn on me that just because I don't personally read a lot of newsletters, it doesn't mean that some of you might not like to read mine! So I've officially launched a blog newsletter. 😊To prevent inbox clogging- it will only be sent out once a month, at the end of the month. As of right now- it highlights a few favorite posts from the month, and it will preview what's to come on the blog in the next month, so you'll be in the know first! I'm hoping to add more exclusive content to it as time goes on.


     To sign up for my blog's email list, just enter your email in the widget below! I'll include that in future blog posts as well.

    God Bless,



    xoxo Annaliese

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Vermont Red Barn + Wearing White in Winter.

     What are the top three things that I associate with the state I've been calling home since the spring of 2017? Maple products, cheddar cheese, and classic red barns. I've done my fair share since moving to Vermont of consuming the first two, but the I hadn't had much exposure to that third item: the red barns! Vermont as a state has tons and tons of beautiful and classic red barns, some being used for traditional purposes as farming barns, and some restored into event venues, like the one you'll see in today's photos. The thing about finding a classic red barn is that the majority of them are in other parts of the state, either in the NEK (slang term for "Northeast Kingdom") or in Southern Vermont- both of these regions are about 2-ish hours from the Burlington area. I told one of my photographers, Melissa, that I wanted to try and find a beautiful red barn to visit within an hour radius to Burlington, and we were able to do just that!! I'm excited to share our visit to West Monitor Barn with you in today's post:

Photography by Melissa Lynn Studios. Thank you to West Monitor Barn for letting us shoot here! 

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training! 

Sweater {not online, very similar linked} // Vest {not online, very similar linked} // Scarf {Not online, very similar linked} // Jeans // Boots // Sunglasses c/o // Coat {old, this year's version linked} // Gloves {sold out, similar linked} // Lip Gloss //

      It was a mere six degrees outside when these photos were taken!! Hopefully I don't look too frozen here. 😊 I was so excited to finally do a photoshoot near a big red barn that I think my joy kept the freezing cold at bay at least for a little bit! I decided to style this classic white sweater and vest combo with bright pops of color in my accessories. I had fun pairing my pink Hunters and favorite blue DIFF sunglasses with this bold striped pom pom scarf. I think everything came out well for the finished product! That's the great thing about wearing "winter whites" like sweaters and vests, you can have so much fun adding color with your accessories. I've said this before on the blog, I am one of those people who follows the traditional rules about not wearing white after Labor Day. However- that applies to summer whites! Winter whites are awesome, I love my white sweaters especially. 

     The barn that Melissa and I went to is called West Monitor Barn, and it's about 45-ish minutes from the Burlington area. It's owned by the Vermont Youth Conversation Corps, but it can be rented out in the warmer months for weddings and other functions. This is literally the image I've had in my mind when I think of "classic Vermont barns," so I loved getting to visit here.

     I'm keeping today's post short and sweet, but I'm looking forward to the other posts that are coming up on Southern Belle in Training this week! I've been having a lot of fun this month with different types of lifestyle content. With the cold weather this winter, it's reduced the amount that I've been shooting fashion posts for the blog, so it's challenged me creatively in other ways to still provide the same amounts of weekly blog posts for y'all. I hope you have enjoyed what I've been putting together, and as always I love blog post suggestions!

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese  

   

Vermont Bachelorette Pad Tour: My Little Kitchen.

     Welcome to the next installment of my Vermont apartment tour series! Today I'm showing the smallest section in the apartment that I probably spend the most time in (after sleep in my bed of course). It's kitchen tour time!


     My kitchen in this apartment has a very different layout from the one in my Charlotte apartment from last year. They're both about the same size, but my previous kitchen had a bar area built in for additional seating, a pantry closet, and the laundry closet with additional storage was at the end of the kitchen. You could also see into the living area from the kitchen, so it was easy for me to watch TV while I cooked last year. You'll see in today's pictures that my current kitchen is a little "dead end" space in the apartment. The thing I dislike the most about it is that I can't see (or even really hear) my TV in the living room from the kitchen, so it's impossible to watch TV while I'm in there. Other then that, I really like this kitchen! Despite not having a pantry closet, it has a lot of storage with all the cabinets. So much so that I actually use a lot of the cabinets for things that aren't food or kitchen related! Closets and storage are lacking in the rest of my apartment, so I've used a few of the cabinets to store things like linens, cleaning supplies, and other miscellaneous items.

     Here's the beginning of my kitchen! I decided to take all of my furniture from my NC apartment to Vermont with me, even the pieces that didn't really fit in this apartment, like the bar stools. I just have them here at the start of the kitchen- I'm hoping whatever my next place is will have a spot for me to use them again! I use one of them to house my work bag every night when I get home. The cute art piece above the stools was a going away gift for me when I moved from my blogging friend Amy from Pastel n Pink. Isn't it cute? She drew Maine, North Carolina and Vermont on it!! I love personalized gifts like that.

          Here's the view of my whole kitchen! You can see a bunch of dishes drying after being washed- I am kind of weird and prefer to hand-wash my dishes over using the dishwasher! Anyone else like that? The painting in the center of the kitchen used to be in my living room in Charlotte last year, as I said, I moved everything to this apartment to save money! I just repurposed a lot and changed locations of a lot of my decor and furniture. My big Starbucks mug collection now lines the top of my kitchen cabinets. In Charlotte I had them on display on shelving, which I hope to do again wherever I live next.

     You might recognize both of these views if you follow my Instagram stories (@miss_alk), since these are usually the two spots in the kitchen that I showcase my culinary creations from! I have more counter space in this kitchen than I did in my previous one, so I wanted to find little ways to personalize the space. These are some of the decorations that I've put out- a lot of them were housewarming or dorm room decorating gifts over the past few years!

     And this is the biggest counter space, in between the stovetop and fridge. I do a lot of cooking over here since it's convenient to the stove and oven!



     And that's the whole kitchen! Not a very exciting part of my place as far as the tour on the blog goes, but it is a special part of the apartment, as I do love cooking and baking and truly spend a lot of time in here.


     Past apartment tour posts from my Vermont Bachelorette Pad:

• Bright + Cozy Living Room
• Bathroom

     More apartment tour posts to come soon!

     Thanks for reading, and have a great start to your weekend!

      God Bless,

      xoxo Annaliese 

What I Eat In a Week.

     I mention often on the blog that I love to cook and bake. Since moving to Vermont, I probably make 90% of my weekly meals at home from scratch, which has been a great money saver overall. However, cooking so often for just one person can be quite a challenge! Most recipes are designed with families in mind, so it's been quite a trial and error process to find meals that work for my solo lifestyle. (Trust me- if you have a big batch of even the most delicious recipe ever... anyone would be sick of eating leftovers of it by Day 7 straight in a row!)

Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases + Current Wishlist.

{Skiing this weekend at Smuggler's Notch Resort in Vermont! Follow me on social media @miss_alk}

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Ramblings: 

• Skiing! I went downhill skiing on Sunday, so essentially I finally took advantage of Vermont's #1 winter pastime. As I shared in last week's Midweek Ramblings, this was my first time going in over 10 years! My friend Anna and I went to Smuggler's Notch, which is under an hour away from Burlington. They have a wonderful group lesson and ski rental program, and Vermont residents can do all of that at a steep discount. I started the day on the smallest bunny slope, but by the end of the day I was going down an easier intermediate trail with the instructor and lesson group! I don't think I'm about to go out and by skiis for myself or a season pass, BUT I am really happy I put myself out of my comfort zone and gave skiing a try again, and I'd like to try it a second time this season if opportunity presents itself! Vermont does have tons of ski resorts. 
• Grammy's 2018: Who else is excited for the Grammy's this weekend? They are my very favorite out of all the awards shows! It's on my bucket list to attend and be in the audience someday! While I was a little disappointed by some of the nominations this year, the performances list keeps growing and getting better. I'm excited to see Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee perform Despacito, and really looking forward to Cardi B and Bruno Mars doing Finesse! I personally much prefer the Grammy's to the Super Bowl... I am just not a football girl in the least.
• Reading this year: I totally forgot to include this Monday's blog post about New Year's resolution check-ins... but I had another resolution for this year that was reading based! I want to read 30 books in 2018! I recently re-joined GoodReads to track my progress on this resolution and connect with other friends that love reading- follow me there! 

Purchases: 

• I shared in last week's post that I'm currently in the middle of a month long shopping fast! So no purchases this week. 😊

Wishlist: 

• What a cute clutch for a date night or fun occasion!! It's under $30 too.
• I feel like fuzzy sherpa pullovers are all the rage right now, and a monogrammed one would be even cuter! 
• If I had to dress in business casual clothes more frequently, I'd have a hard time resisting this elegant dress! I love the color and it's just gorgeous. 
• The color of these ballet flats has me dreaming of spring! 
• Okay- another dress on the wishlist this week! This striped one is darling and could be styled so many ways.

Recipe of the week: Oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies from Live Well Bake Often. I randomly had a craving for oatmeal cookies with chocolate this week, so after searching through a bunch of recipes I decided to try this one. Y'all- SO good! They have an amazing soft and chewy texture, and they're absolutely delicious. I used milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet and I think that made them even better.

Song of the week: God's Plan by Drake. Guess who blessed us all this week with two new surprise songs on all music platforms? None other than my favorite hip-hop artist, Drake! His new song God's Plan has been on repeat on my Spotify since Sunday. (Note: the version linked isn't edited.) 

On the blog this week: 

• Italy Travel Vlog + My Travel Destinations Bucket List! 
• Winter 2018 Reader Q&A.
• Best Casual Sweater Under $40 + 2018 Resolutions Check-In.
• 25 Ways to Beat Cabin Fever!

     Enjoy the rest of your week!

     

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese 

25 Ways You Can Beat Cabin Fever!

     During this past summer in Vermont, I spent a lot of my time outside of my job feeling lonely and bored. It's really unfortunate those were the months that I was still so new to living here and feeling very unsettled, as the couple months of summer weather that Vermont gets are definitely the nicest time of year! And yet those were the weeks that I would literally sit in my apartment before and after work and sometimes just stare at the walls out of bordeom (I wish I was joking...). But- it is what it is. It's now mid-January in Vermont, which is pretty much the height of New England's miserable winters. It's cold everyday, bitterly cold certain days, and it snows often. Not the type of weather that you want to be spending extended amounts of time outdoors in, unless you're really into winter sports (which I am not). I was already nervous this summer about not being able to tolerate winter well, and developing a bad case of cabin fever once it hit. I decided to make it one of my personal goals during this winter to do everything in my power to beat cabin fever!

     Sure- there might be lots of weekdays now where my life revolves around work and going straight home after, and there's also been weekend days this winter where I've had to cancel plans or stay in because of inclement weather conditions. But I am 100% determined not to become a hermit, and even on days when I have to be a hermit for safety reasons, I'm not going to be a bored and unproductive hermit like I was this summer. 😊 Here's a list of 25 indoor activities you can do at home when the winter weather keeps you inside!! Use these to keep cabin fever away: 

     1. Clean out your closet, and gather a bag(s) of items to donate or consign.

     2. Start a new bible study - either a book that you have lying around, or find one online/on an app. 

     3. Watch something new-to-you on Netflix. Don't pick the show that you always come back to and binge watch- try a documentary about a fascinating subject, or an international film with subtitles. 

     4. Set aside two hours and deep clean a room of your home. (Bonus: listen to episodes of a new-to-you podcast while doing it!)

     5. Re-organize how you store holiday decor or other seasonal items.

     6. Update your travel bucket list. (Bonus: plan a realistic vacation in your budget that you can actually take for the upcoming months or year.)

     7. Call or text a relative.

     8. Facetime with a friend. (Bonus points if it's someone you haven't caught up with in a year or more!)


     9. Put all of your close friends' and family members birthdays into your iPhone contacts and/or your agenda (get them from Facebook) so that you don't forget them in the upcoming year! 


    10. Take a nap... everyone loves zzzzz's.


    11. Try a new recipe.


    12. Print off or clip coupons for your next trip to the grocery store.


    13. Do a face mask.


    14. Find 10 new inspiring Instagram or Twitter accounts to follow. 


    15. Try an at-home Youtube workout video.


    16. Write a snail-mail letter to a friend.


    17. Make a DIY craft from your Pinterest boards.


    18. Update your Linkedin profile. (And if you've kept your employment description updated regularly, then keep things current by sharing a post with your network!)


    19. Make a new Spotify playlist, or subscribe to some new ones.


    20. Use Radiolocator.com to discover new-to-you local radio stations in your city or town! 


    21. Find a tutorial for a new hairstyle, and practice until you get it! 


    22. Make a vision board with craft supplies and old newspapers/magazines.


    23. Have a dance party (even better with your new Spotify playlists!). 


    24. Organize important "adult" paperwork (financial statements, medical forms, legal documents, etc). 


    25. BUNDLE UP and get outside in the cold, even if it's just a quick walk around the block! A little fresh air exposure does wonders for cabin fever.



     Those are just some of the ways that I've been trying to combat cabin fever this winter season in Vermont. Now I want to know, how do you avoid becoming "a boring and unproductive hermit" when you're forced indoors for inclement winter weather?



     Stay warm, friends!



     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese 

Best Casual Sweater Under $40 + 2018 Resolutions Check-In.

     One of my resolutions for 2018 is to actually stick to most of my resolutions for this year! I haven't formally shared all of my goals for the new year yet, so I thought as January comes to a close, today would be the perfect time to share some of my resolutions, and have I've been working towards them in the first few weeks of this year. I'm also sharing one of my new favorite casual sweaters for today's outfit. Pull up a chai latte with me, and let's have a virtual coffee or tea date and get to it!

Photography by Melissa Lynn Studios. Thanks to Black Cap Coffee in Stowe, VT for letting us shoot these pictures inside! 

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Sweater // Jeans // Boots // Earrings {on sale!} // Lipstick c/o 

     I picked up this sweater on my trip to Indiana for New Year's (the mall I visited there had much better store options than anywhere in Vermont!). As soon as I felt this sweater, I was amazed at how warm and thick it was for the price point. I knew it was a must-have with the bitter cold temperatures that Vermont has been having this winter. Anything to stay cozy while fashionable gets an enthusiastic "YES!" from me right now! These pink Hunter boots (my first pair!) finally made it to me via my parents over Christmas. I ordered them as this year's big Black Friday splurge to myself when they were on sale... but silly me sent them to my home address in Maine instead of Vermont. Hey- at least I didn't send them to one of my former addresses in Charlotte! My parents brought them to me at Christmas and now that I have them I'm kind of obsessed! You'll be seeing more of them soon. 

     So let's talk resolutions! I'll be sharing some of my 2018 ones below, and a check-in for each as to how it's been going so far in January:

     1. Complete 52 Week Savings Plan again (previously completed as 2016 resolution): So far so good! I recently wrote a blog post explaining this financial resolution and breaking it down for anyone who wants to join me in building their savings account this year. I have set phone alert reminders for every Friday to remind myself to make the deposits for that week's amount from my checking account to savings, and so far that's helping! 

     2. Do a minimum of two workouts a week, with goal of running a 5k in 2018: So far so good with this one too! It's been a goal of mine for years to run a 5K. I am not a runner, and have always struggled with running (running the mile in high school gym class was a nightmare). I want to stop making excuses and finally overcome that in 2018, and develop a hopeful love for running by working my way up to a 5k! I'm hoping to be hitting the gym or doing other types of exercise 3-4 times a week, by my minimum is twice a week. There's little to no physical activity in my job, so I really have to push myself to workout and make those healthy decisions. I have worked out or done some sort of physical activity at least twice a week since the start of the year. Hoping in February to really increase that to more times a week, but for now I'm happy to meet my minimum goal! 

     3. Spend quiet time each weekday morning in uninterrupted prayer: YES! Probably most proud of myself for doing so well at this one so far. I've always been very good at communicating with God throughout my day, both verbally and silently, but I've known for awhile I've needed to get better about "quiet time." Time where I can just focus on deep prayer and my relationship with the Lord. I've started doing this every weekday morning, before I eat breakfast. I set a timer on my phone to make sure that I actually have quiet time for enough time, and that's been working well and helping me from getting distracted! I haven't done this every weekend morning since my weekend schedules vary, but I've been able to get into a great weekday morning routine and it's already helping my faith! 

     I'm really quite happy with my progress on these three resolutions so far. I have a few other resolutions for 2018 as well (I'm telling y'all- this was MY YEAR for goals!) that were more personal, but I'm not quite ready to share all of those on the blog right now. Hopefully the time will come to share all of them with y'all later this year! 

      How are your New Year's resolutions coming so far? Have you stuck with them, or are you adjusting them going in February? 

     I'm really excited for two lifestyle blog posts that I have coming this week- I hope y'all will enjoy! It'll be a great week here on Southern Belle in Training.

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese

Winter 2018 Reader Q&A.

     I love doing Q&A posts here on the blog! Y'all always ask me the best questions, and I think this is such a fun way for me to share more about myself. I also love reading Q&A posts when other bloggers do them! They're just fun all around. My last one was in September so you can catch up on that here if you missed it! Thanks to everyone who DMd and emailed me these awesome questions!

Photo by Amanda Rose Photography

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My coat in the photo above is found here! 

      What is your favorite type of cheese? My girl Amy from Pastel n Pink always asking the TOUGH questions- haha! I had a huge sweet tooth growing up, and while I still have a fairly large one, I'd say my biggest food weakness is my CHEESE tooth. It's only gotten worse since I moved to Vermont, the dairy capital of the Northeast. I always know it's time to head to the grocery store if I've run out of cheese, true story. I love so many cheese and for different reasons (some area better to cook with, some are best to snack on), but I'll answer this question from a snacking perspective. My three favorite snacking cheeses that I generally rotate between are any type of sharp Cheddar, Havarti, and Muenster.



      What suggestions do you have for new bloggers to help gain followers and grow? This is a great question! It's funny, when I first read this I was like "I'm in no position to give advice about this!", and then the more I thought about it, I remembered I've been doing this whole blogging thing for 5+ years now. Wow! I guess I'm not a newbie anymore. While I'm definitely not the biggest or best blogger and I never will be, I've definitely learned some important things regarding the business of blogging in the last few years, and maybe now is the time to start sharing! I think this question would actually best be answered in a separate post or maybe even series about blogging, but to still answer it in some capacity: here's my number one tip to grow your blog and social following as a newer blogger. Be an active member of the blogging community! Befriend other bloggers, both those local in your community and also those online. Become active in blogger Facebook groups. Join some comment/like pods (yes, I'm a fan of these!). Network with other creatives like photographers too, I've learned so much from my photographer friends. The best benefit of this are the amazing relationships that you'll make, but the second plus is that you'll gain more followers and readers, and also learn a lot about blogging from networking with other bloggers!
      Again- this is my short answer. I think I'd like to write more about blogging tips in the coming months!



      How has your blog helped with being on-air in radio? Another great question! Y'all are killing it this time. The really short answer: SO MANY WAYS! Social media and blogging are becoming very integrated with the radio world, especially as radio continues to move into the digital space. Having an extensive prior knowledge of these things from Southern Belle in Training made it easy to write blog posts for our station website or do IG lives at radio events for example, as I've already had experience doing things like that. This is another question that I could write a more detailed blog post on- I might save it for my Radio 101 series, which will be back soon!



     What are your favorite TV shows? I am a huge TV buff and much prefer TV to movies. (And when I do watch a movie, it's usually a Lifetime or Hallmark channel one, haha!) I wrote a detailed blog post early this fall all about my picks for the Fall TV season, which you can check out here. I've still been watching all of the shows I wrote about in this post for the most part!! To answer your question more specifically:
     Favorite shows on TV now: The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Jane the Virgin, Great News, 9JKL, Star, The Mayor, The Bachelor(ette)
    Favorite shows off-air: 7th Heaven, That 70s Show, How I Met Your Mother, Hart of Dixie, Parks and Rec
     My all-time favorite show is That 70s Show, it's the only show I've seen more times than I can count on reruns and Netflix, and I still laugh hysterically at every episode and every joke. Kelso is my favorite character for comedic purposes, and I love how he and Jackie ended up together in real life. 😉



     Name a few places on your travel bucket list: I actually just blogged about this yesterday coincidentally! Check out my post here. (Spoiler alert: it's a lot of places!)



     When and how did you start your blog? I talk a bit about this on the About Me page of my blog! I'll give you the brief version of the story here. 😊 I actually started blogging in January 2011, during my junior year of high school. I had a personal writing blog called "Confessions of a Maine Teenager." (I cringe typing that name here now- lol!) My parents were really concerned back then about my privacy as a minor in the online world, so I didn't share photos of myself or blog under my name. I would sign my posts as "Miss ALK" - ALK is my initials, which is how my Instagram and later other social media handles were born! (I still signed my blog posts here on SBIT as Miss ALK for the first few years in tribute to my former blog!) Anyways, I stopped posting on my Confessions blog around the time that I graduated from high school, and took that summer between high school and college off to focus on my summer job and preparing to move to North Carolina. After I began college, I realized that I really missed the creative writing outlet that blogging brought, and since I'd always loved fashion, I thought it would be fun to start sharing pictures of the outfits that I put together each day for college classes on a new blog. So- I launched Southern Belle in Training on my birthday in 2012! The name honestly just came naturally to me, it seemed so fitting since I had just moved from Maine. I didn't start to monetize my blog until about a year after I started it. So I spent a long time just blogging in college solely because I enjoyed blogging! I've left up most of my old blog posts in the archives- sometimes I like to go back and read them just to see how far this blog has come!



     What are your go-to's for self-care? What a great question! While self-care is definitely important, I think the culture today has almost an unhealthy obsession with it. The premise of "self-care" can sometimes be used I think as an excuse for spending unnecessary money on things we don't really need or have the funds for. Sometimes it is also about spending too much of your time on mindless activities to divert from an actual problem in your life which needs to be addressed and is causing you stress. (See this article for more on that.) So anyways- while I think self-care is necessary and for sure has a place in our busy lives, it is a bit blown out of proportion in the culture today, with the whole #TreatYourself mentality. Just wanted to get that out there!
    With that said, since moving to Vermont, my favorite form of self-care is one that's super easy and costs nothing at all: SLEEP. I've started making it an absolute necessity that I get 8+ hours of sleep a night, and some weeknights I go to bed really early and get closer to 10 hours. Back in college and broadcasting school, many nights I was lucky to just have 6 hours of sleep! I'm really starting to reap the benefits of all of the extra sleep that I've been getting over the last several months. The chronic migraines that I've dealt with for the last few years have faded to becoming rare occurrences, rather than something to deal with weekly. I find that I'm very alert in the mornings, and also stay alert at work throughout my workday. (Knock on wood) I also haven't been sick once since I moved to Vermont! Not even a common cold. Every time some sort of sickness has gone around the radio station, I've avoided it. I seriously attribute that 100% to the fact that I sleep a lot and sleep helps your body better fight against illness!
      I also have one form of #TreatYourself self-care that I do partake in. My rant above wasn't to say that spending money on self-care is bad, it just shouldn't become an obsession. 😊 Around this time last year, I decided I wanted to quit nail biting once and for all, and I started getting acrylic nails and regular nail appointments. I ditched the acrylics after moving and now get gel manicures, which I like better (and they're cheaper!). It definitely has helped to curbed my bad nail biting habit, and I feel more prepared at work and with blogging to have nice nails. So this is my bi-weekly self-care splurge!





     Thanks again to everyone who sent these wonderful questions!! I hope to make my Q&A posts a seasonal thing in 2018, so look for another one in the springtime.



    Have a great start to your weekend! Friday- we made it! This is the first weekend in awhile where it's going to be warmer than negative temperatures here in Vermont. 30s and 40s... I'll take it!



     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese




   

Italy Travel Vlog + My Travel Destinations Bucket List!

     Well part one of today's blog post is about nine months overdue! I'm finally sharing my first vlog from my trip to Italy with my mom in March 2017, right before I moved to Vermont! In the spirt of wanderlust (and a little bit of winter cabin fever that's starting to hit), I'm also sharing my travel bucket lists!

     Despite the fact that I've taken a good few video editing classes between my major in undergrad and broadcasting school last year, video editing still isn't something that comes naturally to me. In broadcasting school especially, I had to work doubly hard on any video or TV assignments then I did on radio ones. That's honestly the main reason why I don't do more to grow my Youtube channel or incorporate more video stuff onto the blog! It's just something that really doesn't come naturally to me (unlike writing and photography). But it's always good to push yourself out of your creative comfort zone, so I'm hoping to challenge myself and make a few more videos for the blog in 2018. Youtube will never be a weekly (or maybe even monthly) component to Southern Belle in Training, but I'm hoping you'll be seeing more video content in the future! Anyways, I did decide last year though that I wanted to vlog the Italy trip, and I made the commitment to myself that I WOULD finish the vlogs- no matter how long it took! I wasn't quite expecting it to take nine months... but here we are, lol! Anyways, I loved the end product of this vlog and I think I would like to make more travel vlogs in the future for more "big trips" that I go on. Today's vlog is actually part one, and it covers Rome and Florence. Venice was my favorite part of the trip- and this winter I'll be working on a second vlog for that. (Hopefully it won't take me nine months! 😉)


     Check out my first Italy vlog below, and follow my Youtube channel here!

     Now let's talk travel bucket lists! Travel is one of the things that I'm most passionate about in life. There is so much to gain from visiting new places and exposing yourself to different cultures, both domestically with different states, and of course internationally with various countries and continents! I feel very thankful that I grew up with two parents who also love to travel and made it a priority during the years I was younger. They also supported my decision to study abroad for a summer in college, and although that actually didn't end up being the most positive experience, it definitely put me outside of my comfort zone and I'm still glad I did it!


     I've been blessed with the opportunity to go on some amazing trips during the last five years, last year's Italy trip being just one of them! Since I'm on my own in the working world now, I'm currently focused on paying off all of my school debts in the next couple years before going on any "big" trips. But I'm always dreaming about places around the globe that I'd like to visit, and my wanderlust list keeps growing and growing! I know that after I've finished paying off school it will be SO HARD for me to decide where to take my next international trip to. And who knows, it might also be a big domestic trip!



     *US Travel Bucket List:

• Every single state, and especially all 48 continental states. Seriously!! Want to see all 50! It's actually on my bucket list to do a cross-country road trip someday, and integrate it into both my blog and whatever radio show I'm working on at the time. I literally want to see every major US city, re-visit all the places I visited with my parents when I was little now that I'm an adult, and also see many of the national parks. That would be way too long to list all of my US bucket list destinations out, so let's jump into the international ones:

     *International Travel Bucket List:

• Panama (There's just something about the country of Panama, it's been on my bucket list for a few years now! It's fairly affordable to visit, there's minimal jet lag, Panama City has an incredible skyline, and I'd love to see the Panama Canal!)
• Saint Lucia (It looks like one of the Caribbean's most incredible islands, I'd love to see it for myself!)
• Mexico (I'd love to finally visit Cancun or Cabo, these destinations look like they'd be perfect to visit with a group of friends for a besties trip.) 
• Paris, France (Yes... I studied abroad in France for a whole month and never made it to Paris, outside of layovers in the airport!!) 
• Thailand (I think it would be so romantic to honeymoon here someday on a resort on one of Thailand's amazing beaches!)
• Singapore (One of Asia's cultural gems!)
• Japan (Such amazing culture and so many cool things to do! I also had a Japanese exchange student friend in high school so it would be fun to reunite as adults.) 
• India (I have been long obsessed with Bollywood movies and Indian food, and I would love to finally see this amazing country for myself. One of my favorite Bollywood movies is set in the beach state of Goa, so visiting there would be especially high on the bucket list!)
• Spain (My mom and I had a layover there en route to Italy, and it made me sad I wasn't able to explore this beautiful country too!)
• Greece (Some of the most gorgeous architecture and islands on earth- enough said!)
• Halifax, Nova Scotia (This city in Eastern Canada is another one that's been on my travel bucket list for years. It just seems like such a charming place to visit!)

     These countries are just my top travel bucket list destinations, but I'm not joking when I say that there are so many more places that I'd love to visit! My wanderlust is so real. 

     Do we share any of the same travel destinations on our bucket lists? Are your travel goals more international or domestically focused? (Or both, like mine?)



      God Bless,



      xoxo Annaliese

   

Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases + Current Wishlist.

{Last weekend brought some snow day selfies! Follow me on social media @miss_alk}

Ramblings:

• Productive day off: I wrote in last Friday's blog post that last Saturday was my first Saturday off from my job... ever!! (As in a Saturday off that I didn't have to use my PTO for.) I was so excited about this... until I saw the weather. It was very snowy and icy on Saturday, and since winter weather driving isn't my specialty, I ended up staying in all day. At first I was kind of bummed that my rare Saturday off was being used in such a boring way, but it ended up being the most productive day! I finally finished unpacking from my holiday travels, put away the rest of my holiday decor and organized it, tried a new muffin recipe, and spent most of the day deep cleaning and organizing my kitchen! Now I have a nice clean apartment, so it wasn't a day wasted! 
• Hitting the slopes: This upcoming weekend should be a bit more exciting though than last- I am crossing another item off of my Vermont bucket list! (Note: I feel like I refer to my "Vermont bucket list a lot" but I've never publicly shared it, maybe I should do that soon, lol!) I'm going downhill SKIING!!! Growing up in Maine, I went skiing a couple times growing up, but my parents didn't ski nor did any of my closet friends, so I never owned skis myself or went frequently. It's now been 10 years since I last went skiing (writing that makes me feel really old, lol!), but I'm excited to finally get out on the slopes in what is probably New England's premiere state for winter sports! And by "get out on the slopes," I mean the bunny hills obviously. 😉 But it should still be a memorable and fun day. I'm hoping to have the chance to do some cross country skiing at least once this winter also. #WhenInVermont
• Party planning: I feel like in the last few post-move updates that I've written about life in Vermont, the goal that I keep listing (and failing to achieve) is doing more hosting/entertaining at my apartment. Minus having guests from out of town, I've rarely been able to have people over, as in new friends that I've met in Vermont! I'm so excited that as of like *this month*, this is finally changing. I wasn't able to host a Christmas party this holiday season, but I do have a really fun party in the works for the next couple weeks right now! Party planning is one of my favorite things ever, and I think this will be a fun one. I can't wait to blog all about it after it happens of course! 

Purchases: 

• I decided to do a month-long shopping fast! I started it the second week of January. I last did one shortly after moving to Vermont, and it had so many great benefits! The biggest of course was being able to get ahead with saving money, and the start of the year is a great time to get a jump start on that. What motivated me to do this one is the fact that I bought so many winter clothes in the fall, and spring is still such a long time away in Vermont, so I don't really have anything fashion-wise I *need* to be buying this month! So it seemed like an ideal time to do one. 
• Right before I started my shopping fast, I did place an Amazon order for some tech related things that I needed. The first was a new case for my phone! My older Otterbox still works great, but the rubber is starting to peel and become discolored, so it was time for an upgrade. I'm loving the color of my new case!
• Of course I had to buy a new PopSocket as well. Amazon has an amazing selection of these- and this was one of the cutest ones I've seen!  
• I also bought this much needed accessory for my iPhone! This would've come in handy for the long road trip when I moved from NC to Vermont last year. 
• And lastly.... I treated myself to new headphones for work! If you're looking for really nice headphones or also in radio, these are the ones that I got! They're under $100 which isn't a bad price as far as professional headphones go. 

Wishlist:

• I really wish I was still in college and had a warm weather type spring break to look forward to... if I did I'd be buying this adorable bikini in a heartbeat! I can't believe it's under $20.
• This cute and casual peplum top is marked down to $20 right now (full price is still under $40 which isn't bad), this would be a great winter to spring transitional top, and it comes in a few colors. If it's still in stock when my shopping fast is done I might have to order it!
• If you're starting to make some fun Galentine's plans with your BFFs, these photobooth props are adorable!! 
• I love keeping random tote bags in my apartment, and I'm always using them for transporting stuff (especially on blog shoot days!). If you're a fellow blogger, I'm sure you can relate to the funny saying on this cute tote! 
• This puff sleeve dress comes in such a bold shade of yellow- if your mood is lagging during the rest of winter, wearing something sunny like this would cheer you right up!

Recipe of the Week: Raspberry Coconut Muffins from Taste of Lizzy T.  I tried a bunch of new recipes this week and they were all total DUDS. I was actually kind of panicked for writing today's post and thought I'd have to pull an old recipe favorite! But then this past Saturday I made these muffins and oh my gosh- so good! The coconut milk in them made them extra moist. I didn't have any desiccated coconut in my pantry as that's a speciality item, so I substituted and used regular shredded coconut instead and they still turned out delicious. 

Song of the Week: Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B: For someone that works in Top 40 radio... I'm actually not really a big Cardi B or Bruno Mars fan (which I probably shouldn't admit!) But stick the two of them together on a remix of a song and MAGIC happens. Seriously- this song is pure gold! Every time it comes on at work I want to start dancing. 

On the blog this week: 

• It's Not Too Late for a Resolution... Here's How To Save Almost $1,400 This Year!
• 2017's Best Blog Blooper Photos.
• Guide to My Favorite Fashion Brands: What I Buy From Different Stores.

     Thanks so much for reading! It's Wednesday... halfway through the work week!

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese