Southern Belle in Training

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

December 31, 2020

2020 in Review: Blogging Highlights + Favorite Outfits.

     For my final blog post of the year, let's recap all things Southern Belle in Training! I'll be sharing my favorite outfits, readers' and my favorite blog posts, top selling items, and more. If you missed it, I recapped 2020 in my personal life outside of blogging in Monday's blog post


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December 30, 2020

2020 NYE Outfit Fail.

      Although I have no plans for New Year's Eve this year, I still wanted to dress up in a pretty and sparkly outfit at home to celebrate the end of 2020. But in true fashion for this year, there was a bit of a mishap with the outfit I was hoping to wear at home. Fortunately, I got these outfit pictures before that happened, so I can at least share what I planned to wear with you today! 

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December 29, 2020

What I Wore to Work: December 2020

      It's my last month of work outfits for 2020! I feel I should start off this month's post by saying I feel very grateful to still have had a reason to share work outfits with you from March until now. I've continued going into work at the radio station this whole year during the pandemic. While there have been moments of anxiety with still physically going to work (especially this month when we saw our first positive cases at work), overall I think it was very good for my mental health to still physically leave my apartment M-F for work rather than working from home. 

     This month I definitely dressed down a little more often than I normally do for work (a lot of jeans and sweaters thrown together) but I still tried to look presentable! In January I'm hoping to style more of my favorite winter dresses and skirts with tights for work outfits. I also included the ugly sweater outfit that I wore on Christmas Eve morning!

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December 28, 2020

2020 in Review: Highlights From My Year.

     It's finally the last week of the year that I've been ready to say goodbye to since March. As tough as 2020 was, there were still moments of joy and blessings in every season, month and week. Let's recap 2020 in my personal life outside of the blog! (As always, I'll be sharing a separate blog focused year-end recap post later this week.) 


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December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas 2020!

     From my little Charlottesville, VA household to yours...

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December 23, 2020

Midweek Ramblings.

 


{I can't believe this is my last Midweek Ramblings for 2020! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}
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December 21, 2020

Oh, The Places I Didn't Go (in 2020)!

      Can you believe that my word of the year for 2020 was "wander"? HAHA right! Boy, God must've had a good laugh when I picked that as my 2020 mantra. 😊2020 was the year I had the most PTO I'd ever had in my career thus far, my first year without any student loans, and I had just moved into an apartment with a roommate again in 2019, so I was saving money each month on my living expenses compared to the last couple years. All this to say- I was ready to TRAVEL! And travel I did, for February at least. After March... well, you know the rest!


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December 18, 2020

Barrington Gifts St. Anne Tote vs. Savannah Tote: Which Is Better?

     Over the past year, I have become a big fan of Barrington Gifts bags! They sell many items in their online boutique from luggage to accessories for him and her to diaper bags, but I feel their signature item and what they're best known for are their monogrammed and customized totes. And when it comes to Barrington totes, it really breaks down to two styles: the St. Anne and the Savannah. Today I'm comparing and contrasting both, and sharing why both are wonderful bags in their own right, yet also a little different from each other! There is an amazing Barrington promo happening right now, so I wanted to get this post up ASAP so you can take advantage.

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December 15, 2020

Home for the Holidays: Christmas Tree + Decor 2020.

     I can't believe it's already that time of year when I share my apartment Christmas decor on the blog! 2020 was the slowest year in some ways, and the fastest year in other ways. It seems like yesterday that I was sharing last year's version of this blog post. In past years, I've sometimes dressed up when sharing my apartment Christmas decor (I definitely did in 2017!). This year it only seemed fitting though to share this post while wearing festive pajamas... it is 2020 after all, and I've never spent more time at home. Welcome to our apartment!

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December 11, 2020

10 Socially Distanced or Virtual Experience Gift Ideas.

     Gift giving is my love language- I get so excited to find the perfect Christmas gift (or birthday gift) for someone I love, and see them enjoy receiving it. I've had a little bit of a change in my gift giving habits over the past few years though. I've started becoming a big fan of giving experience gifts instead of just material things! I love treating someone to a special experience that they probably wouldn't do for themselves otherwise. 

     Obviously not all traditional experience gifts are possible in 2020 with the pandemic, but there are still a lot of socially distanced or virtual experience gift ideas that would be unique, fun and memorable! I'm sharing 10 ideas in today's blog post:


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December 9, 2020

Midweek Ramblings.

 

 

{Delilah always loves being in the living room once the Christmas decoration are up! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}
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December 8, 2020

Untraditional Thanksgiving Menu: Our Thanksgiving Brunch

      I know that it's already been a few weeks since Thanksgiving and we are well into the Christmas season already, but I still wanted to get a post up about my menu for this Thanksgiving. Save this to use as inspiration for a future year, or maybe you'll even want to incorporate a recipe or two from here for your Christmas meals!

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December 7, 2020

Designer Diaries: Olivia Rubin Cardigan

     Last month, I purchased my very first designer clothing piece! While I do have a couple of lower-priced designer shoes and bags, I'd never had a clothing item that could be considered designer before. I am so excited about the gorgeous sweater that I ended up getting from Olivia Rubin, so wanted to write a full review of it! If you're new to my occasional Designer Diaries series, it's where I review purchases that are big splurges and share if I think they're worth it or not. It is rare that I get fashion items that are very expensive, and I try to be very thoughtful about those purchases, which is why I like to review them after using them here on the blog!

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December 4, 2020

Lilly Pulitzer Holiday 2020: Try-On + Sizing Guide! 💖🌴

     It's been a couple months too long since I've brightened up my blog and Instagram with some Lilly Pulitzer! I typically share most of my Lilly content in the spring and summer months (since it's when I'm wearing the most Lilly, and summer ends with an After Party Sale), but this year I think the holidays definitely need some more pink and green! In past years, I haven't been as into Lilly's holiday and winter collections. But this year that all changed! I was excited a couple weekends ago to spend an afternoon at Lilly Pulitzer River Road in Richmond shooting a dressing room try-on of all the gorgeous new arrivals.

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December 2, 2020

Midweek Ramblings.

 


{Surprise!! I got a haircut this weekend! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}
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