December 2024:
Highs of the Month:
- An amazing 48 hour trip to Washington DC to visit my friend Alex and attend the iHeart Radio Jingle Ball concert! Although I have been to DC many times, I hadn't visited during the holiday season until this trip. DC is absolutely wonderful at Christmastime! I highly recommend. I thought that going to Jingle Ball would be the highlight of the trip (since that was the purpose of the trip), but the concert was upstaged by Alex and I running into the one and only Paris Hilton outside of the Capitol! We watched her conduct some media interviews for the bill that she was visiting Congress to lobby for, and then we had the chance to briefly meet her and get a picture. That was the first time in my life that I'd ever spontaneously run into a celebrity!! I will never forget it.
- 2024 Christmas parties! This year brought three to attend: my 4th Annual Ladies' Favorite Things party that I host, the staff Christmas party at the hotel that I work at, and a couple that we are friends with threw their own favorite things style gift swap party. While all of these were fairly low-key, I had such a nice time at all of them.
- My 4th annual Colonial Wiliamsburg Christmas day trip with Caroline! We've been doing this the second Sunday of December since 2021 with her mom. This year our husbands also tagged along for brunch and Williamsburg Christmas sightseeing. We especially always enjoy seeing the entries in the annual wreath decorating contest. This year's outing was especially fun and memorable, and I can't wait for year five of this tradition next year!
Lows of the Month:
- I had to work three out of four weekends in December. The hospitality industry can be a 24/7 job, so I know as long as I'm at my current job that working weekends is part of the deal. My weekend hours were just heavier than normal this month, and it felt harder due to it being the holiday season and seeing so many friends and Ryan having extra time off this month.
- I got a cold right before Christmas, and Ryan and his family got a different bad cold right after Christmas. Fortunately it wasn't anything more serious, but being sick around the holidays is still never fun. Especially since Ryan and I had (worse) colds as well right before our wedding in November!
December Weekend Recaps:
- 6th - 8th: I worked the entire weekend, but we still made time for some fun in the evenings! On Friday night, Ryan and I went out for Mexican food and then ran some errands at the mall after. We don't have the best mall in Virginia Beach, but Ryan and I both agree that any mall is honestly kind of fun and festive to visit at the holiday season! On Saturday night, we attended our friends' Alton and Carly's Christmas party and had a wonderful time.
- 13th-15th: The funnest weekend of the month for sure! I worked Friday, and then on Friday evening I hosted my 4th Annual Ladies Favorite Things Swap Christmas party! It was a smaller group of ladies this year, but still so much fun as always. Saturday morning I got up fairly early and went to a Jazzercise class, and then helped Ryan tidy our apartment post-party. I also worked on shooting some Instagram content at home. On Sunday it was my friend Caroline and I's annual Colonial Williamsburg Christmas day trip! Her mom joined us as always, and so fun to have our husbands come this year, too.
- 20th-22nd: Another weekend of working the entire weekend (since I'd had Mon-Wed off that week to go to DC!). I really didn't do much outside of work that I can remember, other than watching a couple holiday movies at home in the evenings.
- 27th-29th: I worked on Friday and Saturday, but Saturday was made so fun by having a surprise visit at work from my friend Kelly, who was in Virginia Beach for the holidays! On Sunday I went to church, and then headed to Downtown Norfolk to meet an old friend from my college summer job for lunch. On Sunday evening, I went out for hibachi for dinner with my in-laws!
December Purchases:
- I really didn't do much personal shopping at all in December between holiday gifts and finances being tighter post-wedding! But I did get a couple things at the very end of the month after Christmas. I received a Target gift card for Christmas from Ryan's aunt and uncle, and used it to get these shoes. They are such a classic and timeless style, and I think look like way more expensive versions of this type of shoe!
- The Avara boutique online warehouse sale got me to buy a few things! I've always seen other bloggers sharing cute Avara pieces, but had never shopped there myself until now. But the deals were just too good during this sale. First up- I couldn't resist this dress since it was called the AnnaLise dress! Can't wait to wear this spring and summer.
- I also bought this really fun and colorful skirt from the Avara warehouse sale. I've been wanting more midi skirts for the warmer months, and this one will be great to style different tops with.
- This was a Christmas gift from my in-laws and not something I bought myself, but I did want to share it! I'm really excited to try out this gel nail polish complete system from a popular nail care brand. I've been doing press-on nails and nail wraps for years instead of going to salons, but I'm excited to try out the long-lasting nail polishes in this set, especially for my toenails.
December Wishlist:
- I had gotten a sample size of this liquid blush a couple months ago as a free gift with purchase, and I finally started testing it out in December. I am obsessed! Not only does it work well, but it smells incredible. I'm slowly working my way through the sample, but I'll for sure want to buy a bigger size when I run out.
- Where were these darling light blue kitten heels for all my wedding festivites last year?! Can't believe the affordable price, too!
- My favorite brand for activewear on Amazon just launched a new style of leggings. These have a slightly different fabric that's built more for higher intensity workouts. I'd really like to try them!
- I already own a basic black faux leather skirt, but I love that this one has a tie waist! Makes it a little unique and fun.
December Blog Posts:
If you're reading this blog post between today-Wednesday (January 6th-8th, 2025):
The Lilly Pulitzer twice-annual Sunshine Sale starts today at 8am EST! I used to do full blog posts with all the sale info and my picks, but I haven't had the time to do that for the past couple of sales. Hopefully I can again for the next one! But in the meantime, if you are planning to shop or browse, I so appreciate everyone who does so through my blog's affiliate links. 😊 SHOP IT HERE!
xoxo Annaliese
No comments
Post a Comment
Thanks so much for reading Southern Belle in Training! Comments make my day- so feel free to share your thoughts on this post! I read each and every comment.
If you have a question in regards to one of my posts, or just want to say hi, the best way to get ahold of me is by e-mailing me directly at: rainbowflash94@yahoo.com. I am better about responding to e-mails than blog comments sometimes!
Xoxo