Southern Belle in Training

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

January 22, 2018

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!


Blue Leopard Print Sweater - Winter Style

Best Casual Sweater Under $40

Pink Hunter Boots Preppy Outfit


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



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     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




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14 comments

  1. I love all of your resolutions! One of my resolutions was to be more intentional about spending time in His word so I have been making a point to wake up earlier so I have time to do my devotional and pray. It has made my mornings start off so much better! ... Those pink Hunters are perfect with that sweater... so cute!

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  2. Love the pink Hunter boots! One of my resolutions is to exercise more, so I think setting a minimum of workouts is super helpful.

    -Carine
    www.rinnyandbean.com

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  3. I love this sweater! And those are great resolutions - good luck on training for a 5k! You got this girl!

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  4. I love the blue color in this sweater! So fun in this gloomy state!
    -Nicholle
    www.nichollesophia.com

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  5. Yay for sticking to your resolutions! Good luck with your 5k training!

    xo Deborah
    Coffee, Prose, and Pretty Clothes

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  6. How cute do you look!? I am loving this entire look.
    My husband and I want to do the 52 week money savings challenge too, I just haven't sat down to narrow done the details

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  7. I'm trying to workout twice a week as well! My other goal is for more mindful eating, which is a slow progressing resolution, but eventually I will get there!

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  8. I have those pink Hunters too and I love them! I am also trying to work out twice a week but the first week of the month I got sick so that didn't happen lol.

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  9. Great idea to set phone alerts for yourself to deposit into savings. Thats always the hardest part for me!

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  10. I've been making myself work out every other day, and I feel so much better!

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  11. Good to hear you are doing amazing on those goals! I've been wanting to pray every morning too but haven't exactly tackled every morning just yet.

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  12. That's great that you're still keeping to your resolutions! I've been pretty consistent with mine, thankfully. Working out twice a week was also one of my goals. At first, I was stressing about fitting it into my schedule, but now, my office-mate and I are holding each other accountable and trying to do 10 push-ups or other work-out every hour. It's been an easy way to fit it into my schedule!

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  13. Those pink Hunters are SO CUTE! I have a burgundy/darker pink pair, and I've been wanting a hot pink pair like this. I love them! Good job with sticking to your resolutions!

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  14. I have a goal of running a 5K too! Love your goals, can't wait to see what you accomplish!

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