This Monday is a very different one than I was expecting- and I'm sure I'm not alone in having a major change of plans! I ended up taking Thursday and Friday off from sharing new blog posts with all of the crazy news last week (it was a weird few days at work and blogging wasn't really my focus), but I'm ready to be back full force with new posts this week! 😊 It won't be the vacation content I was expecting to give you, but I'm doing the next best thing today: still styling a dress that I was going to wear on vacation!
SEVEN YEARS!!! Southern Belle in Training turns seven years old tomorrow, and I have so many feelings! I started this blog as a hobby on my 18th birthday my freshman year of college- I thought it would be fun to document the outfits that I wore to college classes and on weekends, and I also wanted a place to write and share about my experiences of moving far from home for school. If you had told me on September 6th, 2012 where my blog would be seven years later... I wouldn't have believed you! Honestly, I probably wouldn't have even believed that I'd still be blogging, haha!
I've been so excited to share this beautiful floral maxi dress with y'all! This is the ideal spring dress. I'm currently focused on buying more breezy and beautiful dresses that would be good for wearing to local wineries this summer, and this one fit the bill perfectly! I actually already wore it for a day of winery hopping this past weekend, and I got so many compliments. 😊
It's the most wonderful time of the year... all of the flowering trees of the South are in full bloom! There's just no time of year to me as beautiful as this. Fall is nice and all I suppose, but I'd take a blooming tree over fall foliage any day. This weekend, I was supposed to be going up to DC to see their famous cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, the trees up there reached peak bloom a little earlier than normal this year (last weekend), and on Friday there were heavy rains in that area... so I ended up cancelling my day trip as there wouldn't have been that much to see. 😓 Fortunately- I found these beautiful flowering trees here in Charlottesville to still take pictures with!
TGIF my friends! Today I'm sharing what might be one of my favorite fall dresses ever in today's post! I'm also sharing an announcement related to upcoming holiday content on the blog- I'd love your thoughts on it.
In just a couple years, Shein has quickly become one of my top online retailers to shop at! I first started shopping there during my junior or senior year of college. At first it was just a destination that I'd buy really trendy pieces at (things that probably wouldn't be in style six months later), but I think in the last couple years that they've really upped the quality of products on the website! The items with slightly higher price points ($25-40) usually are very well made and have a nice fit. I've become so impressed with many of my recent Shein purchases, that I now rarely shop at fast fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21.
This gorgeous floral bell-sleeve dress might just be one of my very favorite Shein purchases! I ordered the M (I'm normally an S in other retailers, but always order M at Shein), and it fits live a glove! It stretchy and so comfortable, and I think the length and bell-sleeves are so flattering! The best part about this dress is the fabric won't wrinkle! That's what makes this a perfect pick to pack for Thanksgiving travels next week. You won't have to worry about ironing or steaming it after it comes out of your suitcase! This dress is 100% coming with me on my Thanksgiving trip.
Shein has given me a discount code for y'all to use on their website!! If you decide to buy this dress, that'll make the already under $30 price tag even better! Use code HIMISSALK20 for 20% off your purchase.
Now for a brief update on holiday content on the blog. Drumroll please.... I've officially decided... not to do any gift guides this year! I know, I know... that's like breaking the blogger code of ethics to completely bypass Christmas gift guides right? A few weeks ago on Instagram Stories I did a little survey asking about what types of gift guides y'all wanted to see. So many of you responded with creative answers, so I really hope I'm not letting you down too much by deciding not to do them. There's a few factors that inspired my decision.
First and foremost... they take a lot of time to put together! Probably 2-3x the amount that it takes me to write any other type of blog post. Assembling the images of all the products and then making one large graphic takes a lot of time. And time is something that I don't have a ton of right now! Work has been absolutely insane lately, as what I thought would be a few days of filling in on my station's morning show has become a few weeks. In addition to work changes, I've had very full weekends (and have more on the way) and I'll be out of town for the next two weekends, so I have to really maximize the more limited time that I have to work on my blog.
Secondly... in addition to being time consuming to make, in past years I haven't seen the commissions that I'd like to be seeing from gift guides. (If you're not familiar with blogging affiliate programs - I use affiliate links in my blog posts to make commission on purchases made through my blog links!) Over the years, gift guides have never a high source of income for my blog, and with the time commitment involved I'm just not sure that it's worth it this year. Lastly- they seem to be very oversaturated in the blog industry right now! Just about every other blogger is doing many of them this season, so if you do like shopping through gift guides, there won't be a shortage to choose from!
So what does this mean for my blog in the next several weeks? Don't worry, even with the craziness at my job I'll still be blogging 4x a week! 😊I look forward to bringing you holiday-specific fashion and travel content, as well as everything else that you normally enjoy on Southern Belle in Training. If you are curious about the items that I'd recommend for gifts this year, feel free to DM or email me!! I'd love to provide you with personalized gift recommendations.
Have a great weekend! Stay tuned to my Instagram Stories tomorrow for a fun event.
I'm finally sharing this cute fall look that I wore during my visit to The Vermont Country Store a few weeks back! The Vermont Country Store is located in Southern Vermont, and I did a day trip there with a new blogger friend, Rebecca from Caravan Sonnet, who came over to Vermont for the day. (You can read more about our visit to the store and the rest of our day exploring Vermont in this blog post!) This outfit would be like my ideal look for a weekend of fall fun, a mini road trip, and blogging adventures. Read on through the post to also find out my top three short series podcast recommendations that are perfect for road trips or upcoming fall or holiday travels!
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training!
First off- a disclaimer that most of the things I'm wearing here are a bit older! I did try and link similar items for everything. In the earlier days of my blog when I was on a student budget, I used to restyle my favorite tops, bottoms, and accessories much more often. Honestly it is more realistic to re-wear favorite outfit pieces, and maybe I should try and start doing restyled outfits more regularly again! Let me know what you think? This suede skirt is something that's been on my blog several times for example (here and here are two favorite posts), and I still find new ways to wear it each season. Even though I work in a very casual office/radio setting, this outfit is still a little bit too casual for what I'd wear to work, but it's like my ideal fall weekend outfit! I knew it was the perfect choice for my day trip to The Vermont Country Store with Rebecca from Caravan Sonnet.
In the spirit of fun fall day trips as well as the approaching holiday road trip season, I thought it would be fun to share three of my favorite mini-series podcasts that are perfect to listen to on a road trip! I admit that I was a bit late to get into the podcast game. I actually didn't get into them until I was beginning to pack this spring for my move to Vermont! Now I love podcasts and almost every morning before work I listen to the latest episodes of one of my favorite ones. I think that regular series podcasts are great to listen to on a regular weekday basis, but shorter series podcasts are perfect to dive into during a road trip, and they can also be a great intro into what podcasts are! Here are three of my favorites which would be perfect for any upcoming road trips or long flights:
1. Missing Richard Simmons: This podcast came out in early spring 2017, and is the one that turned me onto podcasts in general! I started listening when I was packing for Vermont, and actually finished it on the bus trip portions of my mom and I's Italy trip in March! There were a few days of the trip that we were on the bus for hours at a time, and this podcast made the bus time fly by. This podcast is just six episodes long, and each one is extremely interesting and captivating. It follows the mysterious disappearance from public society of fitness guru Richard Simmons. I actually had a good friend in high school who was a big Richard Simmons fan, but I hadn't realized that he had "gone missing" in recent years. I got super into this podcast, and like I said, this was the one that turned me onto podcasting in general!
2. S-Town: This podcast was was produced by This American Life, which is the public radio program that's also behind the smash hit podcast Serial (The first season of Serial is another one of my favorite podcasts!). S-Town is the podcast that I listened to on my solo drive when I moved from NC to Vermont. The subject matter is a bit deep and heavy- it's definitely a podcast for mature audiences, but I enjoyed listening to it on my drive. S-Town is seven episodes, and tells the true biographical story of a man from a rural town in Alabama who is extremely dissatisfied with small town Southern life, and is also convinced that someone he knows in the town is a murderer, and that the murder was covered up. The murder in question doesn't end up to be quite true, but there is a death that occurs in the podcast, and the story really explores the hidden hardships of rural Southern life.
3. Dirty John: Dirty John just released this fall from The Los Angeles Times, and I knew from the first episode that I was hooked! It is six episodes, and the first episode was especially compelling. Dirty John tells the tale of an accomplished and well-to-do single middle aged woman named Debra Newell, who turns to online dating to try and have another chance at love. She meets a man named John online who seems like the ideal catch, he claims to be an anesthesiologist who just returned from Iraq with Doctors With Borders. However, very quickly Debra's family is extremely vary of some of John's concerning behaviors, and the podcast then dives into the truth behind his past. You won't believe the ending!
If y'all enjoyed these podcast recommendations, I'm happy to do another post soon with my recommendations of my favorite recurring series ones that I listen to weekly! It has been really fun to get into listening to podcasts here in Vermont. 😊
Who says that fun florals and bright patterns have to go away with the change of seasons? Not me!! I always get so excited when I find a fall appropriate floral dress, so I was so excited to style this one for y'all! In today's post I'm also sharing one of the best productivity life hacks that I've recently discovered- it's super easy to do, so be sure to keep reading for that!
Casual dresses like these are perfect for my job in the fall months! I look quite out of place in the radio studio if I come in to work in a full on business casual outfit and heels, but I can get away with feeling cute and put together in nice seasonal casual looks like this one. This dress is from a store that I never shop at- it's actually from one of my mom's favorite stores! My mom had a rewards certificate, and we went into the Burlington location when she came up to visit over Labor Day Weekend. I ended up finding this dress and loving it, and my mom got it for me! I know it that it will be a staple piece in my work wardrobe for this fall, especially now that the weather has really cooled down here in Vermont. I'm wearing it here with booties and hat, which would be a cute weekend look, but for work I would definitely wear it with a vest and riding boots!
Now I wanted to share with y'all my #1 productivity tip that I've recently discovered! Seriously- this has been a game changer for me at work, and I only wish I had started doing this right when I began my job. I've been able to stay so much more focused on the daily tasks that I need to accomplish for on-air and the behind the scenes parts of radio everyday, and now it even allows me a little time to work on my blog at the end of the workday too! So truly a win-win. And it's like the easiest thing, some of you might already do this. What is it?
Shutting off my phone during the workday! This actually started about a month ago when I was getting stressed over someone texting me and then not texting back for awhile (ladies... you feel me on that? 😉), anyways one day this was literally ALL that I could think about, and I was so unfocused on doing my radio show, that I decided right then that this had to stop! So I left my phone upstairs on my desk, and turned off for the duration of my show, which is five hours. And it was the best!! I was so focused and productive on work that day. So now that has stuck! At one of my internships last year, I used to do airplane mode on my phone on days that I had a lot to get done, but I found that I would still find ways to get distracted on it, even if it was just obsessively checking the time on my phone or looking for notifications out of habit. By shutting off my phone and leaving it to charge in a different part of the building where my workday happens, I'm forced to train myself away from it, and it's been great. Occasionally I do have to post things to my radio station's Instagram account during the workday or respond to a pressing text that can't wait several hours, but I've tried to put those things off and do them in the last hour of my workday, and still have my phone shut off during my first few hours of work.
My new favorite floral dress and a few other great fall dresses are linked below:
Do you also shut of your phone during the workday? Or have any other good productivity tips to share? I hope that you are having a great day and week.... my heart is still a bit heavy after earlier this week's events in Las Vegas. </3
I've been attending broadcasting school since mid-July, and choosing to enroll in this program has been one of the best decisions that I've ever made. I'm having so many incredible experiences, and furthering my education so much in my chosen career field. In addition to being a student, I also began an internship working for my broadcasting school in August, so I spend a good deal of time there each week! The school enforces a business casual dress code amongst students and staff. I always enjoyed dressing up for class in college, but that was always at my leisure, and there were definitely some days when I would sometimes roll out of bed and head to class with bedhead and in a wrinkled sweatshirt. But in post-grad life, I don't have that luxury anymore! I've really had to build my business casual wardrobe in the last few months.
While some investment pieces are necessary (such as some well-fitting dress pants, good pairs of heels, and a good work tote- like one that I'm carrying here!), I'm finding that you can also snatch up some more "fun" business casual pieces that both add flair to your workwear a little bit, and also don't break the bank.
This eye-catching floral dress is such a great way to mix up your business casual attire! The higher neckline and short sleeves give it a stylish modesty factor that make it office appropriate. And the stretchy fabric makes it comfortable and breathable for long days. And the best part of all is that it's UNDER $20!
This floral dress is another great buy from SheIn. While SheIn might typically be thought of as a shopping destination for trendy pieces or the perfect spot for weekend-wear, I've realized that there are actually some great picks to be found that could be great for work-wear also! Some people have asked me before on my thoughts about buying from SheIn- since their prices are insanely low, it can sometimes be hard to judge the quality of the items online and you can be left wondering if things will look the same when they arrive to you! So far, my experiences with SheIn have been only positive. My #1 tip is to order items from them that have been already purchased by other shoppers, and have pictures posted in the style gallery for the item (where real purchasers share how they wore the item, so you don't just see it on the models!). This is a great way to get a feel for if you would like an item or not.
My outfit details are below, and after that I'm also sharing some other great SheIn picks that I think would be perfect business casual attire for the upcoming fall months!
I hope that y'all have a great start to your weekends! Thank-you to everyone who has been keeping the city of Charlotte in your prayers this week in regards to the tensions and violent riots that have erupted throughout the city during this week. I feel very thankful that the area of the city that I live in is not near where any of these events have occurred, but it is still a very sad week to live in Charlotte. Praying that everything will be resolved soon and peace and love will cover the city!
The official beginning of the summer season also marks the start of wedding season! The older that I get, it seems like more and more people that I know are falling in love and tying the knot. My Facebook feed right now seems constantly filled with announcements and pictures of engagements or weddings! Although I wasn't invited to any weddings t
his summer, I will have the chance to be a member of a bridal party for the first time next spring (I'm already excited!). And I know that weddings will only continue to be in my future for the next several years- I'm now at the age where friends will be meeting the loves of their life and settling down.
I personally adore weddings, not only is it a chance to celebrate the love of those nearest and dearest to you, and a great chance to enjoy delicious food and dance the night away, but it's also a chance to get a bit more dressed up than usual, and to enjoy a fancier evening! But picking out what to wear to a wedding can sometimes be a bit of a task. Certain weddings, such as formal Black Tie occasions, have very strict and extremely formal dress codes (the type of wedding I dream about having someday ;-) ). And some weddings have a very casual flavor, such as elopement celebrations or certain beach weddings. But most weddings fall in the in-between category for attire, and err more on the side of church clothing or semi-formal wear.
I think that this beautiful floral dress which I'm wearing here would be the perfect piece for most summer weddings! It is bright and cheerful, and since it is so lightweight it makes it a great option both for weddings in hot climate, and for tearing up the dance floor! It's fine for wedding guest attire to be bright or eye-catching and different from your day-to-day style, but it shouldn't be anything overly immodest. A wedding day is the bride's day, and nothing that you wear should detract from her! This dress covers everything that it needs to cover, so it takes care of that department as well. And the best part about this specific dress is that's it's currently super reduced- be sure to check it out before it sells out!
Summer fashion is my favorite, and I try to incorporate my favorite elements of it into my wardrobe all year round: things like touches of Lilly Pulitzer or pops of color, or even pairing some of my favorite transitional sundresses with scarves and tights for the cooler months! But there are some summer fashion pieces that sadly just do not work all year round. The good part of this is they're just that much more special to wear during the months when it is acceptable! A perfect example of what I'm speaking of would be something like these darling purple seersucker bow shorts from Lauren James.
The name of this blog is "Southern Belle in Training," and to me these shorts would be apart of any Southern Belle's summer wardrobe! The fun bow adds such a cute and unique feminine touch, and they are the perfect piece to be dressed up or down. Lauren James sells these shorts in a variety of fun seersucker colors!
Also- how pretty is this darling little bouquet of Trader Joe's flowers?! Under $5 to add a splash of fresh blooms and happiness to your day. I actually picked these up as a little apartment housewarming present for my Little and her boyfriend- right after these pictures were taken, I went to visit their new apartment for the first time! But the flowers were so pretty that I had to steal them first for these photos (and these!). Hope you didn't mind Julie! ;-)
There are many things that I love about Lilly Pulitzer: the beautiful colors and iconic patterns of the brand, the classic silhouettes of their dresses, and the fact that no matter which season your Lilly is from, it's never out of style! But one thing that I don't love about Lilly Pulitzer are the high prices of each season's current line. Full priced dresses are often in the $200-$300 range, and at this point in my life, I just can't afford to be dropping that much money on dresses all of the time! Lilly's sales are wonderful, but they only happen a few times a year.
Enter thredUp as an excellent option for shopping Lilly Pulitzer pieces on a budget! thredUp is an online consignment store that sells like-new name brand clothing and accessories. Their brands range from popular mall brands all the way up to designer labels! thredUp carries a wide array of gently used Lilly Pulitzer items, and the prices are very reasonable. Many of the items in stock are Lilly dresses or clothing pieces from seasons past, but since Lilly is the epitome of classic, preppy style, everything is still in! How beautiful is the Lilly dress that I'm wearing here from thredUp?! It would be perfect for all spring occasions, and I'm sad that I didn't have it in time for attending the Carolina Cup last month!
Have you ever shopped with thredUp before? They have so many clothing brands on their website, so if Lilly isn't your thing, don't be afraid to still give it a try!
Hope that y'all had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Did anyone have any fun plans or travel anywhere exciting? My weekend was pretty low-key.... I caught up with some friends from college on Friday afternoon and enjoyed my first pool day of the year. On Saturday I attended the evening service at church, and then had a late dinner out with my Big and Little from ADPi (Jess, my Big, moves to Florida for an internship at Disney this week!), Most of my Sunday was spent working. It was a mellow weekend, but needed!
xoxo Miss ALK
P.S. On the actual Lilly Pulitzer website- the awesome free gifts with purchase for Memorial Day Weekend ends today!!
This is the outfit that I wore for the May meet-up for the North Carolina bloggers of the InfluenceHer (formally known as Her Campus) blogger network! I had originally planned to wear an even more summery-looking skirt outfit for the day of, but the weather ended up surprising us all and being a little chilly on the day of. With temperatures only peaking at about 70 in the afternoon, I knew that wearing long sleeves was a must. So I went through some of older clothes in my closet that I had recently re-discovered when moving, and put together this fun look. My top and skirt were originally featured in blog posts that I did a couple of years ago (found here and here).
For this month's blogging meet-up, we met at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, NC! This is about a forty minute drive west of the city. I love botanical gardens and had always wanted to visit this one while I was in college, but I suppose it was worth the wait. :-)
There were delightful and well-maintained outdoor gardens throughout the property, complete with fountains and other small attractions. An interesting feature of the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden are a series of small child sized houses that various artists have designed throughout the gardens and woods, which helps to add a sense of whimsy. A picture of our group exploring the "Mirrors" themed house is below!
I think that everyone's favorite part of the day though was getting to explore the beautiful indoor greenhouse. This is where we got to see the best species of plants!
They even had one of the little houses in the greenhouse, this one in the form of a teepee!
The icing on the cake to our day in the garden was that there were a few food trucks making their way around that afternoon! We all enjoyed some yummy snacks after exploring, and then finished the day with blog photos. (What else do you expect for a group of bloggers? ;-) )
It was so great to see some of my favorite NC bloggers last weekend, and I'm already looking forward to planning our next meet-up! If you are an NC blogger and/or member of the IHC Blogger Network, please email me at rainbowflash94@yahoo.com so that I can keep you in the loop about our future events!
