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.
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!
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:
Wrapping up (ha- pun not intended!) Gift Guide Week with one dedicated to one of my very favorite things to both give and receive: books! I think giving a book to a friend, family member or significant other is always a wonderful choice.
Typically, I think a non-fiction book or cookbook is the best way to go for a gift, versus fiction. I tend to read 99% of my fiction from the library or a cheap local used bookstore, it's rare that I buy a fiction book brand new at full price. But I have been lucky with fiction and read some truly wonderful novels in the past couple years, so I did include two of them that I think would appeal to a lot of readers in this guide.
Gift Guide Week continues today- let's chat gifts for all the guys! Dads, brothers and brothers-in-law, guy friends, and boyfriends. For today- I did want to share a mix of a few things that I've bought my dad in past years, and a few fun items that I'd buy for a significant other if I was seeing someone right now.
So funny story about today's guide. For the past few years, I haven't done a dedicated men's guide. Why you ask? Well- I don't feel very qualified to do so! 😂 I've only bought a Christmas gift for a romantic interest for once in my life. (One Christmas out of 26 of them... yes that's sad I know! #ForeverSingle) I don't have any brothers or brother-in-laws, and my guy friends and I don't typically do Christmas gifts. So that just leaves my dad! And he's an interesting one to buy for. He's not a fan of any sports (for real), and also isn't into some of the typical guy pastimes like hunting or fishing. So I always have to get a little more creative when thinking of what to get my dad. Some of my favorite gifts I've bought him have actually been experience gifts- I'll have a separate blog post on those ideas coming soon.
Welcome to Southern Belle in Training's first 2020 Gift Guide: Gifts for Her! I'm officially making this Gift Guide Week on the blog. 😊🎄Instead of breaking things down into very specific and separate gift guides for friends, sisters, moms, etc... I decided to keep it simple and just do all of my recommendations into this one: Gifts for Her! These 20 gifts are at a variety of price points ($10-200), and there's all different types of things featured, so there is bound to be something in the mix that a woman in your life would enjoy receiving this year.
Stay tuned later this week for Gifts for Him, and a Book Gift Guide for Her as well! Next week or the week after I'm also planning to share a Virtual and Experience Gift Guide which I'm excited about as well.
Kicking off this year's gift guides series with one that I'm especially excited about! Etsy is of course a great place to find really unique gifts that you wouldn't find in typical retailers, and it's a win-win as you're also supporting a small business in the process! However, Etsy can sometimes be kind of hit or miss with the customer service policies of a specific shop. Especially if it's a newer shop or one without a lot of reviews yet, you might not know what to expect!
For my first gift guide of 2019, I'm sharing some fun Etsy shop items that I personally own, or have gifted to others for holidays past!
Sharing a special Mother's Day post today on Southern Belle in Training! My mom actually just visited me recently here in Charlottesville - she was my first official overnight guest in Virginia. I've lived out of state from my family in Maine since I first went to college in 2012- almost six years ago now! Living far away from my mom most of the time now makes me think differently about the in-person time that we do get to spend together each year.
I'm sure that most of you would say equally amazing things about your own moms, but my mom really is quite a woman. The first thing that I would say about my mom is that she is very selfless, and always offers to help a needy cause. Growing up, I watched her always give of her time and talents to her friends, our family members, and our greater community, which taught me so much about the act of service. My mom has also been through a lot in her life; life certainly hasn't always been fair to her, but despite that she has a genuine smile on her face each day, and truly bestows kindness and love on everyone that she meets.
For today's blog post, I wanted to share some life lessons that I've learned from my relationship with my mom over the years!
Venice, Italy, 2017
Cape Ann, Massachusetts, 2015
Magic Kingdom, Disney World, 2010
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Life Lessons from My Mom:
*Always make time to enjoy the sunshine outdoors on a nice day. Vitamin D from the sun is so important! *Invest in good shades for your bedroom windows, and cover up any lights from technology (like cable boxes, TVs, alarms, etc). The best sleep happens in a very dark room. (I haven't always followed this rule... sorry mom!)
*Do NOT over-pluck your eyebrows- they don't grow back! (So glad I did listen to my mom on this one and never plucked my brows in middle or high school... full brows are finally in again and I've always had them!)
*When making fashion purchases, spend money on well-made, classic items that can be worn for years to come. *Use a spoon to take out the "stringy white things" that come with eggs when you crack them open, before baking with or cooking the eggs. *Cookbooks are multipurpose- not only do they contain recipes for cooking, but they can be great reading material as well. *Take time to ask older relatives stories about their pasts, and document said stories. It will mean a lot to them, and to you someday! *The L.L. Bean credit card is a great credit card to have. (Sorry Mom- this will never be in my wallet 😉)
*On the subject of credit cards, always protect them in RFID protector sleeves in your wallet, especially while traveling. Identity thieves are out there!
*Never underestimate the power of saying "Thank You" to someone, and especially doing so in a handwritten note. *Friends can come from all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life. *Watching the local news is important to stay informed about your state and community.
Those are just a few of the useful life lessons that I've learned from my mom over the years. I also wanted to share a few ideas for Mother's Day gifts!! There's still time to order something online for it to arrive in time for Mother's Day weekend.
I've done a ton of reading lately, so I'm looking forward to sharing a huge book reviews post on the blog next week. Have a wonderful weekend!
It's time to continue this year's holiday gift guide series today! I'm really excited about this one. It's kind of a refreshed version of a blog post of gift ideas for bloggers that I actually shared back in 2015! Since a big part of blogging is the community aspect and making friends with other bloggers, I thought this would be a fun gift guide to reprise for this holiday season. These would be fun ideas for your blogger bestie (or if you're not a blogger yourself but you are interested in starting a blog and want to treat yourself!!).
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I am such a sucker for cute mugs. It recently dawned on me that despite blogging for 5+ years now, I still don't own any mugs related to blogging! I think that both of these are so fun, and would be the perfect gift for any type of blogger (especially since they're not specific to just fashion blogging). There are tons and tons of blogging related mug options that you can find online, these were just two specifically that I thought were fun!
I am a firm believer that all bloggers should have business cards. Honestly I probably don't hand mine out nearly as much as I should!! One Christmas gift that I received a couple years ago which I love is the cutest little business card holder (I have it on my desk here at the station now so that I can keep my blog business cards handy at work). I think this adorable Kate Spade business card holder would be such a fun gift for a blogger bestie, especially someone newer to blogging!
If you or your blogger bestie do your photographer yourself with a DSLR camera, having a 50mm lens is SO helpful for fashion blogging! This is the type of camera lens which makes it easier to achieve the blurred out background that lots of bloggers use in their images. Just the lens itself usually isn't too pricy- at least not for some basic models of Canon DSLRs!
Today's post is a little bit shorter and sweeter I know, but I am heading into a busy weekend. I am working Saturday as usual, and having dinner Saturday night with my sweet friend Rebecca from the blog Caravan Sonnet, who will be in the Burlington area that day! Sunday afternoon at my church I have a hospitality ministry opportunity to help make food for, and I always enjoy helping with things like that. This weekend should be a fun way to welcome in the holiday season!
The holiday season brings some of my favorite annual posts to write on the blog. The end of December brings my end of the year recaps for my blog and my life outside of blogging, and this time of year gives me the chance to share my Christmas wishlist each year! I loved making a written gift wishlist each year growing up, and I think it's a heck of a lot more fun to make a visual one here on the blog. (Check out past Christmas wishlist posts from 2014 and 2016 here!) I always enjoy seeing what's on other bloggers' wishlists, and I hope y'all enjoy seeing mine too! I feel like I do write this every time that I share my Christmas wishlist, but it's still true so I say it yet again. I am so incredibly blessed, and really don't need any of these things on my list! This year, I'm thankful to have a job in the industry of my dreams, to have the greatest friends (who might live out-of-state, but are all still a huge part of my life), my health, two caring and involved parents, a cozy apartment of my very own, and so many more things! This year I think more so than years past, it's really hit me that I definitely don't *need* anything for Christmas.
However with all of that said, of course there are still things that I would like! Here is my 2017 Christmas list. Everything that is linkable is linked below of course:
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I am a big reader, and my mom loves to give books for the holidays! When I was growing up, she used to subscribe to a lot of discount book company catalogs and email lists, and every year for Christmas I would look forward to opening a HUGE box of brand new books. The past few years, most of the books my mom buys me are cookbooks. She collects cookbooks herself, and has now passed the tradition onto me! I have loved many of the cookbooks that my mom has bought me (and I do use several regularly), but where I'm at a point in life now where being a single girl who lives alone and doesn't entertain hardly ever... I really don't need anymore! So instead, I decided to make a book wishlist for my mom with some specific reads that I'd like to own. Since finishing school, I've become a big bookworm and I frequent my local library regularly, but that's usually just for fiction titles. The books on my Christmas list are non-fiction books about things that I'd like to educate myself on in 2018: career development, smart financial habits, and travel hacking!
My *big* wishlist item for the year is an iPhone X. I mean- can you get over the camera quality on this phone?! (This is definitely a *wishlist* item though that I'm not really expecting... my parents have already said they're not ready for me to upgrade, and I'm still enjoying full benefits of being on the family cell phone plan, so you take what you can get with that, lol! 😉)
On the same note of cell phones though, despite whatever iPhone I have, I absolutely need a new portable charger! I lost my old one while moving earlier this year. This cute little one is supposed to be the same size as a tube of lipstick, and got excellent reviews on Amazon. Another gadget that would be really helpful to have is a portable steamer!! A lot of the clothes that I receive to style for blogging arrive to me in a wrinkled state, and unfortunately I absolutely hate ironing! This portable steamer would be so helpful for my regular clothing needs, and it's also perfect for travel, a true win-win!
For fashion/accessories items on my wishlist this year, I kept it that portion of the list small but specific. I received this Tory Burch bag for my birthday which I've been obsessed with ever since, and the matching wallet would look amazing paired with it. It's also no secret that I love Kendra Scott jewelry!! I was introduced to the brand around the time that they opened a store in Charlotte a few years ago, and I absolutely love the Kendra pieces that I own. I don't own too much red jewelry, but I think these earrings would be just stunning for the holiday season! And lastly- I love wearing skirts and dresses year round, but that will be hard to do this winter with Vermont's harsh cold weather. Last year, I bought a pair of "sweater tights," and I've already been wearing them so much this season, as they're so warm! The same retailer brought them back for this year, so I want another pair of identical tights!
A couple miscellaneous items on my list: most days when I get to work, I make a to-do list for that day of emails that I need to send and social media posts that I need to schedule, both for things related to the radio station and also for my job. I always feel so productive at the end of the day when everything is crossed off! I'd love a new official to-do list notepad, wouldn't that be a fun stocking stuffer? Also- how fun is this Women in Radio hat? Women in Radio is an empowerment group for women working in all positions in the radio industry. They have an Instagram and blog, and I love following their posts and connecting with women across the country in broadcasting! Anyways, earlier this year they launched an online shop, and I love their hats!! I would love to wear their official hat to work during my weekend shifts, and it would be so cute for traveling also.
The last thing on my list for this year: GIFT CARDS! They might not be the most personal gifts in the world, but they sure are useful!! Here are some that I'd especially love right now:
*Burlington area nail salons for manicures/pedicures
*Gas stations
*Ulta
*Hobby Lobby
*Lilly Pulitzer (for the January After Party Sale!!)
So there you have it, my Christmas list for this year!! Please let me know in the comments if you've published your list in a blog post as well- I love to see other bloggers' too! 😊
Welcome to my first holiday gift guide post for this year's holiday season! I know that the blogging world can sometimes seem a bit over-saturated with gift guides during the next six weeks or so (especially if you yourself are also a blogger and also read a lot of other blogs!). I've tried very hard this year to make each of my gift guides themed and unique, rather than just something like "Gifts for Her Under $100" where every item is just something from the Nordstrom New Arrivals page. 😉 Because honestly.... that's not something very hard to put together, and if y'all are taking the time out of your day to read one of my gift guides, I'm hoping provide you with some actual creative ideas for gifts!! If you're familiar with the 5 Love Languages (you can take the free online quiz here and find out what yours are if you don't know what I'm talking about!), gifts are my #1 love language, and I love gift giving to those near and dear in my life. So holiday shopping is one of my favorite things, and I'm excited to hopefully share that excitement with y'all in my gift guides! Let's get to it! My first one for this season is some gift ideas that are great for any girls like myself who love to cook and practice hospitality!
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When I'm not in the radio studio or working on the blog, chances are I can be found in my kitchen! I adore cooking and baking, and when I lived in Charlotte I also loved entertaining. Currently, I try and cook dinner from scratch at least three nights a week (or two if it's a big meal with lots of leftovers!), and I have a lot of fun trying out new recipes. Although I do a lot of cooking from Pinterest, I am a cookbook enthusiast as well. One of my all-time favorite cookbooks is The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. I jokingly call this the "kitchen bible!" It has cooking and baking recipes for just about anything that a beginner cook could ever want to attempt, and the recipes are fantastic!! (My favorite-ever chocolate cake and icing recipes are found in here.) If you're looking to gift someone a more fun cookbook, you can't go wrong with Chrissy Teigen's book Cravings! A friend gave this to me in a gift swap last year, and I've loved trying out many of the delicious recipes in this book. Plus- if you follow Chrissy on Twitter you know she's absolutely hilarious, and her writing in the book doesn't disappoint!
I think aprons also make wonderful gifts. A cute apron isn't something that an aspiring cook will necessarily go out and buy for themselves, but it can be a delightful gift! Some of my favorite aprons were given to me as gifts, and I love wearing them. I think the aqua and red polka dot one is too cute, but an apron with a funny saying could be great for someone who loves the kitchen and also has a sense of humor!
One of my most prized possessions is my KitchenAid mixer. My mom had my KitchenAid when I was growing up, but she upgraded to a better model of KitchenAid about 10 years ago, and put her first one away in storage, to save for me to have someday. KitchenAids seriously last forever so they are an amazing investment!! My parents brought it down to North Carolina when I moved into my first apartment last year after college graduation, and I have used it every single week (if not daily sometimes) since then. This would obviously be a very big Christmas gift, but it would be an amazing one too! KitchenAid mixers come in tons of colors... mine is white, but I obsess over the pretty blue and pink ones!
My next gift guide will be posted next week! I have a few fun ideas for gift guides for the next few weeks, but I'd love to hear any suggestions that y'all have for them as well!
With the holidays just a couple weeks away, I thought that it was due time to share my Christmas list for this year here on the blog. A disclaimer that I share when I post each year's list: I certainly do not expect to receive everything on here! With each year, I am most thankful every Christmas for things such as my health, my parents and my friends, the fact that I am able to afford to continually pursue my education, and many other blessings God has given me. Non-monetary gifts also have started becoming more precious to me as I've gotten older- some of the best gifts that I've ever received include special letters and handmade presents.
But with all of that said- there are still a few things on my list for this year, and today I'm sharing them with y'all! Some are more dream wish list items, and some are smaller gifts.
1. Electric Blanket Throw:I've had a weird obsession with electric blankets in the colder months for several years now. As a dedicated winter hater, my trusty electric blanket was one of the few things that got me through my last few years of living in Maine when back when I was in high school! While NC doesn't have any sort of winters like my home state does, it still does get cold here in the winter, especially at night. I currently have a tiny electric blanket throw here in my apartment that I keep in the living room, but I would love to get another larger one for my bed, something like this one.
2. T3 Micro Whirl Interchangeable Styling Wand: I've been hearing so many bloggers rave about this curling wand for such a long time now, but most notably of course Caitlin from Southern Curls and Pearls (who let's be honest is #hairgoals for everyone!). I had wanted to wait until my hair really grew out again to invest in a nice curling wand. I cut it pretty short around the time that I transferred colleges a few years ago, and just now it's finally at a long length that I love again! So I'm thinking now is the time to finally take the plunge and get a super nice wand.
3. Sonix Rabbit iPhone Case: If you're a newer reader of my blog, then let me share with you one basic fun fact about me. I am obsessed with rabbits. I had a pet rabbit in middle and high school, and I'm literally dying to get another one as soon as I get a full-time job next year. I think they are the cutest and most precious animals! I'm in dire need of a new iPhone case, and this one is just adorable.
5. Blush Statement Coat: Dress coats have been my jam over the last couple winter seasons. Last year I received a beautiful coral J. Crew dress coat from my parents for Christmas (recently worn in this blog post!), but I have always dreamed of having a beautiful pale pink coat. This one is pretty much everything that I've always wanted!
6. Gem Pinata Tassel Drop Earrings: Tassels are a trend that have been all the rage this year, and out of all the tassel earrings that I've seen, I think these pink pretties are definitely my favorite! 7. Striped Ruffle Top: This list item isn't so much me wishing for this top specifically, but I would love to continue to build the section of my closet that is work-to-weekend appropriate tops! The one that I have featured here from J. Crew is super cute and I know that I'd be able to work it into many different outfits. At this stage of my life the most practical things fashion-wise for me to be investing in are pieces that I can dress up or down, so anything along the lines of this top would be great!
9. 50 mm Lense: Two years ago at Christmas I received my beloved DSLR camera for Christmas! I absolutely adore photography, and it's a hobby that I hope to have the time to develop more once I finish school for good after this spring. I still however do not own a fixed 50 mm lense! This type of lense is pretty much the standard for fashion blogger photography, so I would love to have one for my own camera.
10. Tweed Dress: Along the lines of wanting more work-to-weekend tops for my closet, I also want more conservative and feminine (but still cute) work dresses! This one from Cece, which is one of my favorite brands, is just darling, and exactly along the lines of the types of dresses that I'm looking to buy more of.
....And a few additional Christmas list items which I wasn't able to put into my collage:
11. Hulu: I have both regular Netflix and also their DVD service (which many people, including myself, forget still exists!), but I would love to also have a Hulu subscription so I could watch my other favorite shows that Netflix doesn't have. Because who doesn't need to spend more time streaming TV... am I right?! ;-)
12. Restaurant gift cards: My main source of spending is from eating out and groceries. Seriously though- FOOD is such a budget problem, haha! With the crazy schedule that I've had this year, as much as I love to cook meals from scratch in my apartment, it isn't always feasible each day of the week with my work and school schedule. And most of the social activities that I do with friends involve going out to eat. So I would be a happy camper just to get some restaurant gift cards for Christmas!
13. Belated Christmas gifts in the form of furniture for my next apartment: I will be moving when my lease is up this spring- I'm just not sure yet if it will be a move here locally in Charlotte, or a move to a new city to begin my career elsewhere! We will see as that time gets closer. But either way, a move means that I will be needing more home related things again later on in 2017, like furniture and kitchen items. In my current apartment, my roommate brought the couch and dining room set, so those are two big things already which I don't own!
Now that I have shared my Christmas list with you, share some of your wish list items with me in the comments! Also- I can hardly believe that I head to Maine for Christmas in only a week and a half. I've spent only two days (!!) visiting home in 2016, so this trip will be much overdue.
Just popping in with a quick gift guide today. This one is perfect for all of the preppy ladies in your life- or perhaps even as a little gift to yourself! Lilly Pulitzer's bright colors and bold prints are usually synonymous with summer weather, but I happen to think that a little bit of Lilly under the Christmas tree could make the winter season seem a whole lot sunnier.
Three of my favorite Lilly items are featured here: an Elsa top, an iPhone case, and a scarf! I've had a few Lilly iPhone cases in the past and have loved them- not only are the colors gorgeous, but they hold up very well! Lilly scarves are such a fun way to add a pop of color to any outfit. And Elsa tops have become a staple in my wardrobe, especially since entering post-grad life and having now having to wear business casual clothing more days out of the week than not. But I truly think anything shown here- or let's be honest, anything Lillyat all would be a great Christmas gift for a pink and green loving lady.
Hope that y'all are having a great week! Yesterday I finished a very big project at broadcasting school that I was working on with a classmate throughout the whole month of November- it is such a relief to have that over with! Of course I have another equally big project now that's due this Thursday... despite the fact that broadcasting school doesn't follow the traditional college schedule, you'd think it was Finals Week around here!
I'm really excited about today's gift guide post! Back in 2015, I shared a blog post that featured some great gift ideas bloggers (either for giving to blogger besties, or for gifting to yourself!). I wanted to do an update of sorts of that original post but for this year's holiday season. And what blogger wouldn't love to be surprised at the holidays with a special blogging related gift, or something that could assist her in running her website and business?!
I am a huge mug enthusiast, so of course I had to include some cute blog themed mugs!! The "Let's Blog Some Sh*t!" mug is by an Etsy shop called A Cup of Quotes - I actually own a different (and equally cute) mug by them, which you can see featured in this post from last year. Another thing that I'm an enthusiast of are cozy crewneck sweatshirts, so I know that I would adore wearing this fun Bloggers Gonna Blog sweatshirt.
And then I had to include a few fun home office supplies and art prints! These types of items are the things that we all love, but often forget to buy or put off buying for ourselves. I use a magazine caddy and business card holders to help keep my blog's materials organized in my apartment, and honestly I should invest in some cute file folders like the ones shown.
This year especially, I have grown so close to many of my blogging friends. The relationships made through the blogging world are so special and many of my blogging friendships have also turned into strong real-life friendships. Here's a quick tribute to just a few of the amazing bloggers who I have gotten to either meet or know better in 2016:
The girl above is one of my best friends not online in blogging, but in life! If you're not following Cara of Caralina Style- you should be!
All items from the collage are linked below as well!
Christmas Gift Guides are to bloggers in November and December what Nordstrom Sale blog posts are to bloggers in the summer- aka what everyone is writing about! Obviously gift guides make for great blog content- lots of readers (and sometimes even other bloggers!) love to hear what other bloggers are recommending at the holiday season, and gift guide posts can be a great way to find items that you might not have known about or thought of. But sometimes, especially in the weeks right before the holidays, it can feel like all that's being shared in the blogging world are gift guide posts, and the content can be a little overkill.
A fun fact about me (that I've been doing since before I started blogging event) is that I like to get my holiday shopping done early. If possible- I like to finish my shopping on Black Friday- a day when many people are just barely getting started on their Christmas lists! There are a number of reasons why I like to get my shopping done early. For one- there is always a better selection at any retailer, online or in-store, the earlier in the season that you begin gift shopping. Two- budget-wise, you take a smaller hit to your monthly spending budget if you pace out shopping for friends and family over time. As someone who is on a tighter budget this year, I definitely will be breaking up my holiday shopping in pieces over the next couple of months.
I think that these gift items shown above would be awesome options for anyone looking for Christmas gifts for the ladies in your life this year! Whether that is best friends, sisters, moms, coworkers... the list goes on! Every item is under $50. Some are more practical gifts, like the makeup brush set, and some are just plain fun, like the mini state pendant necklace! And how cute would this spoon rest look in a Bachelorette Pad kitchen?! I might just have to get that for myself.
