Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA
Time for my final blog post of 2021! I always like to end each year by recapping the past 12 months in blogging. (If you missed it- I shared my 2021 for my personal life outside of blogging earlier this week!) I can't believe I've been blogging here at Southern Belle in Training for almost 9.5 years- next year in 2022 will bring the big 10 year blogiversary!!
The first year that I went all out and decorated for Christmas was the year that I graduated college and was living back in my first apartment. Since then, I've never missed a year in sharing my Christmas decorations and tree on the blog. This year I only had time to snap a few quick iPhone photos of my living room, but I'm glad I was still able to capture a few photos. It is my first Christmas season living in Virginia Beach after all- and that's worth celebrating!
This post is going to be very short in comparison to most of my monthly work outfit round-ups, because I'm publishing it pretty early in the month! I leave tomorrow to go home to Maine for Christmas for the rest of the week, and for the last week of December all I have planned on the blog are my annual Year in Review posts. So today was the day for me to share this months work outfits, even though December is only like halfway done- ha! Also- can you tell that I upgraded my phone halfway through this month? I can totally notice a change in photo quality on some of these!
This December in Virginia Beach has been unseasonably warm. There's been multiple days in the 70s (!!), a ton of days in the 60s, and I think the coldest highs of the month have been in the 50s. My type of December!! I'm so here for this.
While cities like Nashville, Charleston and Las Vegas might be best known nationally as the biggest bachelorette party destinations, there's a small regional destination in the Mid-Atlantic that's quickly gaining in popularity for bachelorette tourism: Charlottesville, VA! Home to beautiful mountain views and outdoor activities, a charming downtown with a surprising local food scene, and a reputation of being the Napa Valley of the East Coast for wine drinkers. It's also one of my former homes, and where I lived for 3.5 years between 2018-2021. While I have my Ultimate Charlottesville Travel Guide that I've already published on the blog, I've been wanting to write a separate one with specific bachelorette party themed recommendations such as best wineries for bachelorette groups, trendy restaurants and lodging, and an overall review of Charlottesville as a bachelorette destination.
{Loved going to a holiday event at the Pinner House bed and breakfast this weekend! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}
I am beyond thrilled to share with you today the final Inspiring Woman interview guest of 2021 on the blog! Gentry from Girl Meets Bow has not only become one of my dearest friends from the blogging world, but has also become like an honorary "big sister" to me. We first met and bonded through blogging from a shared over and passion for Lilly Pulitzer and other bright and colorful fashion pieces, and over the years I've also grown to know Gentry's sweet heart and her genuine faith and loving for serving others. If you enjoy reading my blog, I can guarantee you'll love hers!
Gentry's Inspiring Woman interview includes everything from loving life in Florida to her fun career to dating, marriage and motherhood. Enjoy!!
Happy December! I wanted to share this casual holiday look with y'all today, and a few thoughts about this holiday season being a lot more normal than 2020. So much to be thankful for and excited about this month!
Time to recap November work outfits! I have to be honest- I was not as consistent this month at documenting work outfits like I normally am. Part of that is because I was out-of-office for six weekdays this month (between traveling to Nashville for work, a long weekend for a wedding, and Thanksgiving). It was also a month where I just didn't feel very inspired with most of my everyday looks, if I'm being honest! Spring and summer fashion is more my thing, so I think it's normal for me to feel a little uninspired as the weather first turns colder again. But anyways, here are the outfits that I did snap photos of this month:
Earlier this month, I had the work opportunity of a lifetime. My co-host, my boss and I traveled to the home of country music, Nashville Tennesee, to broadcast live from Sharla McCoy's Music Row Live event during CMA Awards Week. I documented the trip in real-time on my Instagram Stories, but I've been wanting to share a more in-depth recap of everything here on the blog. I've been working full-time in radio for four and a half years now, but this was the first work trip that I've ever had the chance to go on. And what a first trip it was!
Let's kick off the biggest shopping week of the year by chatting about a sale for one of my favorite brands, Vera Bradley! I wanted to highlight some of my favorite Vera items that I use regularly that are included in the sale. They'd be perfect for treating yourself, or gifting this holiday season!
{Enjoying a beautiful sunset last week by the Norfolk Botanical Garden! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}
I think it's been a few years since I've shared a Christmas wishlist on my blog for myself, but I thought I'd resume this year! I was thinking this weekend about a few stocking stuffers that I wanted to tell my parents I'd like, and that's what got me thinking of resuming sharing my own Christmas list on the blog like I used to.
I do want to give a disclaimer beforehand that I am well aware that I don't need any of these things. I am so blessed to be at a point in life with both my day job and blogging side hustle where I can afford most of the things in life that I want to buy myself. I'm also thankful that my parents (and especially my mom) taught me the importance of saving and avoiding debt, and how fulfilling it can be to save up for a larger purchase. But with all that said, we do still do Christmas gifts in my family, and it is always helpful to give my parents an idea of things that I'd like, so I thought I'd share a few of those things here with y'all today.
Today (November 12th, 2021) is the day that Britney Spears's conservatorship is supposed to finally be dissolved in court. Everyone following the #FREEBRITNEY movement knows that this has been a very long time coming. Last month, I styled a Britney Spears concert t-shirt for the blog, and as soon as I remembered that her final conservatorship hearing was coming up, I decided to save these photos for today!
My pandemic hobby that I'm most proud of and that I've stuck with the most consistently is practicing the French language on the Duolingo app. In August, I hit my one year anniversary of using Duolingo, and I'm proud of myself for continuing on for this long! I wanted to share a review and some thoughts about how much I like Duolingo. I apologize in advance for how long this post is- I had a lot to say!
Happy November 1st! This holiday season is going to look a little bit different on Southern Belle in Training for blog content. I've made the executive decision not to do any Gift Guides this year. I'll get more into why I decided not to do them later in the post, but I mainly wanted to share with you some other bloggers that you should check out if you're looking for Gift Guides. There are a few ladies I follow who absolutely kill it with this content every holiday season, and you should definitely check them out if you're looking for gift ideas!
Another month of work outfits has come and gone! This is the first month that I've started to get a little taste of the fall season in Virginia Beach. The first half of the month was still very warm. I was still on the beach in a bathing suit right through mid-October! The past week especially it has been getting a bit colder, but it's been beautiful fall days in the 60s and 70s. I'm hoping this type of weather will last way into November!
Here are this month's daily work outfits. Enjoy!
{Fun painting pumpkins this weekend at fellow blogger Kelly-Anne's fall party! Follow me on Instagram @miss_alk}
I've found that I am a lot more likely to do something that I need to do if I share it publicly on Instagram or my blog to hold myself accountable. Working my way through my first 101 in 1001 bucket list has really affirmed this! For the past few weeks, I've been trying to find the motivation to do a few last post-move tasks here in Virginia Beach. I'm still looking for that motivation, so today I figured I'd share these things with y'all in hopes that it will be the kick I need to actually do this stuff. Ha!
I got some great feedback last month after sharing a review of a few Amazon tops for fall, so I wanted to bring you a mini fall dress haul this month. I was excited that I truly loved all three of the dresses that I ordered! Amazon can definitely be sometimes be hit or miss, but these three are all hits.
I can't believe that it's already been three months since I moved to Virginia Beach! I feel like I blinked and the first 90 days went by. Although I share small day-to-day updates week week in my Midweek Ramblings posts, I thought it might be good to get all caught up on how everything has really been going since I moved here. (Spoiler alert: very good!)
Time for another Inspiring Woman interview! As always, I'm very excited about this awesome guest. I've been trying to alternate guests between women who inspire me in radio (my day job) and blogging/influencing (my side hustle). Today we are back to radio!
I've been following Shelby and her career for a few years now. We are around the same age, so it's especially interesting for me to keep up with her since we both have gone from being radio interns just a few years ago, to working full-time in the industry. I already knew Shelby was talented, but I learned so much more about her from her answers to these questions! If you live in Atlanta or the DC/Baltimore (DMV) areas especially, you'll definitely want to know Shelby.
Just popping in quickly today with a few details about the current Shopbop Fall Style Event sale! I'm part of Shopbop's blogger affiliate program, and I'm excited to keep browsing the sale myself this week.
In September, I got to take a quick long weekend trip down to Texas to visit one of my dearest friends! I love visiting the Houston metro area, and was thrilled to return again after my first trip in 2018. Here's a little recap of how the weekend was:
One thing that I'm always curious about is what non-necessary items fellow 20-30 somethings are spending their disposable income on. I'm not talking about things like housing, food, insurance, etc.- I mean non-essential items! I frequently hear about subscription services or memberships to various things that I think sound really cool, but I'm pretty particular about keeping my reoccurring monthly and yearly expenses only to things that I really love or find necessary. I thought it would be fun today to share what (non-essential) things I can personally justify spending money on each month or year!
Here are this month's work outfits! While there usually are warm days in Virginia in October and November, September is typically the last very hot month. To take advantage of this, I wore a lot of summery Lilly Pulitzer pieces for the last time this year, and all my favorite sandals! As always, you can find my work outfits linked on my LIKEtoKNOW.it!
The most popular request from my last two years of blog reader surveys has been to feature more Amazon Fashion picks. I'm hoping for the rest of 2021 to finally bring you some more frequent Amazon content! I ordered a few new tops to try out for fall- three out of the four that I ordered were winners.
It's time again to check in with my 101 in 1001 list of goals, which I made for myself all the way back in precedented times, aka September 2019. Only two years ago- but seems like so much longer thanks to the world circumstances, and also the changes in my own life! Here's how I did with my goals for the past six months:
The second day batch of new arrivals have just dropped in the Lilly Pulitzer Sunshine Sale! 🌞 Some of my favorite Lilly styles are included in this round- run don't walk on these!
As of 8am EST this morning, the first-ever Lilly Pulitzer Sunshine Sale (formerly known as the After Party Sale) is open for business! Fellow Lilly lovers- let's get shopping!
September is one of my favorite months of the year- the weather here in the South is usually perfect in the 70s and 80s, it's my birthday month, and also my blogging anniversary month. Another reason to love it? September is when the biggest Lilly Pulitzer sale of the year is held!! So excited to share some information and shopping tips with you. And the biggest news of all... the sale has a NEW NAME this year and is now being called the Sunshine Sale!! 🌞
This blog turns nine years old today!! I can't even believe it. I've been posts here for the entirety of my college years, early and mid 20s, and now I'm still continuing into my late 20s, which also start today. Yes, my blogiversary and birthday are the same day! Today I also turn 27.
I'm so excited to finally share all of my Charlottesville recommendations in one place on the blog! I lived in Charlottesville for about three and a half years between 2018-2021. I am kind of in the minority for living in Cville in that I didn't attend the University of Virginia, or move to the area for a job associated with UVA. But despite that, I was absolutely charmed by the area, and had a great experience making Charlottesville my home for part of my 20s. Charlottesville is a great destination for a weekend trip for wine lovers, history lovers, food lovers, nature lovers.... it's true, Virginia is for Lovers!
The week after I moved to Virginia Beach, I did the most fun and relatively easy DIY project that transformed my basic little apartment kitchen! It'll be a little while before my new apartment is 100% decorated and I can share a full tour with you, but I did want to get this post up sooner as I'm still so excited about it. Here's everything you need to know about my peel and stick kitchen backsplash!
