Southern Belle in Training

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

June 27, 2019

Summer 2019 Q&A + Life Update.

    A couple times a year I enjoy sharing updated Q&A posts on the blog! You guys always send me such fun and creative questions to answer, and it's a fun way to share a little more about myself on here. As always, I loved the questions for my summer Q&A! I also got a lot of questions regarding a life update that I shared in this blog post, and I'll address all of those similar questions with a little update at the end of the post. So grab your glass of wine or a hot beverage of choice- and let's chat!






Photography by Kate Greer

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     What is your favorite thing and least favorite thing about living in Virginia? Favorite thing about Virginia? I'll probably have to go with the sheer beauty of the state. Virginia truly has it all. Four distinct seasons, and so many different landscapes. Virginia has it all: mountains, lakes, ocean beaches, small towns, large cities... the list goes on! I've lived here over a year and am still constantly in awe of the natural wonders and great cities and towns.
     Least favorite thing is without a doubt Virginia's bi-annual car tax. There is a property tax paid to your county or city twice a year, that is separate from annual registration or other DMV fees. I HATE it and seriously get so irritated when the bill comes- I'd never lived in a state with this before moving here.

    What's your favorite Charlottesville winery you've been to? While I truly believe all of the Central Virginia wineries are awesome in their own way, King Family Vineyards in Crozet is my favorite. It's where the photos were taken above! I think all around they have the best tasting wines, and the views are just exceptionally stunning. King Family is also home to Sunday afternoon polo matches throughout the summer, which has become one of my favorite events to go to with friends. I actually haven't written a dedicated winery review for King Family yet- I need to soon for sure! If you want to see the other vineyards I've been to- check out the "Virginia Wineries" section on this page.

     What are the top three qualities you want in a dating partner? First and foremost, someone who is a Christian. Not only a Christian in name and someone that goes to church, but someone who upholds Christian values in their personal life, and in how they interact with me as a dating partner. Total dealbreaker if not. Two other important things to me are a great sense of humor and the third would be tied for financial responsibility and a love of travel. I wrote a blog post on this topic a few years ago- those things pretty much all still are true!

     What are you reading right now? Great question! I LOVE reading- it's actually one of my 2019 resolutions to read 52 books this year! I don't share book review specific posts too often on the blog, but you can always keep up with me on Goodreads. Anyways- to answer your actual question, yesterday I just finished reading a thriller called Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter, and now I have two more library books to start. I might add a "Currently Reading" section to my Wednesday Midweek Ramblings posts!

     Favorite inspirational quote? I'm not a huge inspirational quote person, but one that helped me out a lot when I was dealing with some serious stuff in 2016 was this one: "It will all be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

     How do you get up so early for work each day? Do you have any tips for waking up early? The short story: I am able to get up at 3:30 each Monday-Friday because I love what I do! Trust me- I wouldn't make such a huge lifestyle change for a job that I didn't really like. Being a morning radio host was my dream and it's a privilege to get to wake people up each morning, so that's what motivates me to get out of bed. My main tip for becoming more of a morning person is go to bed earlier. Sleep is so important to our bodies and our productivity at work, and you'll feel miserable if you wake yourself up earlier but are still going to bed late. Set a bedtime for yourself and hold yourself accountable to it! (Also look into taking Melatonin, an all natural sleep aid. But of course check with your doctor before starting any sort of sleep aid, prescription or not!)

     Do you want to move back to Charlotte? The Queen City will always be a special place to me, and I treasure the incredible memories I made there during college and for one year following. I currently have no active plans at this time to try to move back to Charlotte. I have a "never say never" attitude for moving back in the more distant future (if God opens that door, I'll be so excited!), but I also think it would be cool to live in the future in another new-to-me state. For now, I feel content in Charlottesville and so grateful Charlotte is easily drivable for visits. I still have a lot of close friends there, and do really believe it's one of the best cities ever.

     *Questions regarding my relationship*
      This was by far the most popular thing that I was asked questions about- so I'm going to blend all of those questions into this little update. In a Midweek Ramblings post earlier this month, I let it slip that I was dating someone. I also had started to share a couple photos with him on my personal Facebook. I wanted to wait a few more months before introducing him formally on the blog and blog social media, but I was so excited that we were officially boyfriend/girlfriend that I just had to let it out in some form on the blog that I had met someone. I'm sure you've experienced that new relationship excitement before and get it.
    I ended things unexpectedly a couple weeks later. The bottom line with this situation is that it takes awhile to get to really know someone- a couple of months of talking to and knowing someone doesn't get you to that point, even if you think it might. I mean- it just wouldn't be normal on a first or second date to divulge the most painful parts of your past, right? That stuff all takes time to come out when you're in a new relationship, whether that's a dating one or just a friendship. Anyways- as we continued to get to know each other, I learned something that was an automatic deal breaker for me. There are some types of behaviors and choices that just go against everything that I believe, and I'll leave it at that. I will say that this guy treated me absolutely wonderfully during the time that we were getting to know each other- I think he has many great qualities and I truly wish him the best going forward.
      If you've been following me for awhile, you know that I've been single for a long time. I do desire very much to fall in love and be married (as do most 20 something girls), but I would rather be single and content on my own any day then in a relationship with someone who had different views on an important Christian lifestyle/moral issue. I don't want to be with someone that just respects my views, I want someone who shares them as well, and shared them before they were dating me, not because of me. Back in high school and college, I might not have been confident enough in my beliefs and values to have been able to speak up to someone I was dating so early on. I'm thankful and proud that now in my mid 20s, I felt strong enough to do so!
      My monthly blog post series for July is going to be a bunch of new Relationship Monday posts, and I'm really excited for these topics and posts. The posts I have planned aren't specifically about this one situation (that would be kinda weird to do a whole month of blog posts on it lol!), but the topics are all related in a sense, since they will be about my views and experiences with dating.


     Thanks so much for reading and for asking me such fun questions as always! We'll do another one of these later in the year for sure.





    God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese
 
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4 comments

  1. I love learning more about you through these Q&A type posts, they are always so much fun! I applaud you for your ability to stay true to your values. I think sometimes people make exceptions to their values to date someone, thinking it will work out down the road, only to go through even more pain later when they are even further invested in the relationship and realize their values aren't aligning. You are amazing for being true to yourself! <3

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  2. Friend, I am SO proud of you! It's a hard lesson to learn, that walking away from something "good" opens you up to something "great"- but I can 100% promise you that when you are faithful to the Lord he will deliver something more wonderful than you can imagine! XOXO

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  3. This is such a good blog post! I love question and answer posts. I will have to friend you on Goodreads because I am always looking for good recommendations. I plan to read 52 books this year too.

    I so agree with everything you said about dating and your relationship. So many Christians loose their faith because they are with someone who "respects" it but doesn't challenge them to seek Christ further.

    Keep up the good work girl!

    xoxo,
    Juliana Grace | www.julianagraceblogspace.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this Q&A so much. I really loved to learn more about your values, you have amazing ones that I agree with. I am proud of you for knowing when to walk away too. It's hard to do sometimes. Also, your advice on becoming a morning person is great. This is something i'm really trying to do.

    ReplyDelete

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