NPC Badge Day 2018 - Life as a Sorority Alumna....

     Something that was a huge part of my life between 2013-2016 was being a member of Alpha Delta Pi, my sorority. I went through sorority recruitment after transferring colleges in the fall semester of my sophomore year of college, and remained an active sister until my college graduation almost two years ago. Alpha Delta Pi is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, which means that it's one of the 26 premiere sororities for collegiate women, and holds itself to NPC governing rules (and stances against anti-hazing, etc). My college had four of the NPC sororities on campus, but I knew from the very first night of my college recruitment experience that I wanted to be an Alpha Delta Pi. 😊


     Anyways- today, Monday March 5th, is national NPC Badge Day for all Greek women, both current active collegiate members and alumni! This includes all members past and present of all 26 sororities. NPC sorority women are encouraged to wear their sorority's pin and pin attire (business casual) today to celebrate being Greek! Back when I was in college, I did a fun link-up on my blog each year on NPC Badge Day, where I'd wear a pin attire appropriate outfit with my sorority pin and share what ADPi sisterhood meant to me. I wasn't able to do this last year, so I wanted to bring it back to the blog for 2018. For today's post I was planning to wear my ADPi pin with a pin attire appropriate outfit to go with it, and do something similar to what I used to do for NPC Badge Day blog posts back in college. Well- thanks to a big life update/change and crazy things happening for me (which you'll hear about TOMORROW!), I had to cancel and re-arrange some planned blog photoshoots over the past couple weeks, which means these photos weren't able to get done in time for today. I'm proudly wearing my ADPi pin to work today (I'll post a snap on my Instagram Story!), but I decided I'd focus today's post instead on my thoughts about being a sorority alumna almost two years after graduation.

One of my Alpha Delta Pi senior photos, April 2016

     The last almost two years have been surprisingly.... not very full of sorority alumna related moments. After my college graduation, I wanted a long break from anything that reminded me of undergrad, Greek life included. I was starting broadcasting school and a new chapter in my life, and I was in the process of dealing with a painful legal situation (which began right before I graduated college), so anything associated with my college experience reminded me of what was going on with that. I did attend an alumni event that my ADPi chapter hosted shortly before I moved to Vermont, but other then that I spent a lot of last year trying to focus on anything not related to my undergraduate experience, which is what I needed to do that the time for my mental health. 

     Now that the legal situation has been resolved and over for the last year and a half and my feelings are much more settled about things related to my college years, I very much want to start becoming an active Alpha Delta Pi alumna member. I was actually really sad that there was no active alumni organization here in Vermont, nor was the collegiate chapter in Burlington at UVM seeking new advisors last fall. So I guess my time here in Vermont wasn't the time for me to get re-involved with my sorority, but that's okay- I had an intense work schedule this year, and had a lot to adjust to with life in Vermont. If I saw myself being in Vermont more as a long-term thing, I might have tried to start an ADPi alumni organization here, but where I never saw myself being here longer than just for my first job, that didn't seem too feasible.

     In the future, I have many goals for getting back involved with Alpha Delta Pi. First and foremost, I want to do a better job with staying in touch with sister friends from my chapter. While I have done a good job at keeping up long-distance with some friends since moving to Vermont, I think I could definitely improve with keeping up with a lot of my ADPi sisters. Many of them were such important people in my life during my college years, and I don't want to forget those special bonds! Next, I'd love to serve as an ADPi chapter advisor (an alumni sister who volunteers her time to oversee a collegiate chapter)- it's on my bucket list for the next 10 years! I think this would be a great way to give back to an organization that gave me so much in college. Another goal of mine is to finally visit ADPi's Memorial Headquarters, located in Atlanta. I've only been to Atlanta once and I didn't have time to visit on that trip, so I definitely want to go back and see this special place! And lastly, a very longterm goal is that I'd love to attend ADPi's National Convention, which is held every two years. I never had the chance to attend as a collegiate member, but I'd still love to attend someday and be in the company of so many of my sisters! 

     One special ADPi memory that did happen in 2017 was that my first bridesmaid experience was for an ADPi! My sister Perrin was married last April, and it was so fun to have sisters all around to celebrate her.

ADPi sisters at Perrin's wedding

     And since today is NPC Badge Day- not just related to my specific sorority, I wanted to share something special that doesn't just relate to Alpha Delta Pi. Three of my very best friends from Maine are members of another Panhellenic sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. My high school best friend, Jules, went through sorority recruitment around the same time I did, and I was just thrilled when I found out she'd received a bid from AXiD! One year later, my childhood best friend, Katie, (who went to the same university as Jules), went through recruitment and ended up becoming an Alpha Xi Delta sister as well. Jules was one of the first to welcome Katie home, and despite being in North Carolina at the time... I cried my eyes out when I saw Bid Day photos of two of my very best friends (who didn't know each other prior!) becoming sisters. And finally- Jules and Katie being in AXiD lead me to my friend Mercedes! I met Mercedes through Katie, when I went as her date to their chapter's winter formal a few years ago. Mercedes and I hit it off right away and became social media friends, and this year we've gotten really close. She came to visit me in Vermont and we have many plans to see each other this year! I always joke that Alpha Xi Delta is my "second sorority" since three of my best friends are in it, and it just goes to show how important a day like NPC Badge Day is - all Panhellenic sororities are important, and it's wonderful to have friends in other organizations! 

     

Katie, myself and Jules during one of my trips home last summer!

Throwback to when Mercedes came to visit me in Vermont and got a tour of the radio studios!

     So all of that goes to show that even though I haven't been the most involved alumna during my first two years post-grad... Alpha Delta Pi and being a Greek woman still means so much to me, and I'm so thankful for the memories, and also for what is to come!! I thought I would conclude this post by linking some of my favorite sorority blog posts from years past on Southern Belle in Training:

• My Bid Day - 2013
• My First ADPi Recruitment - 2014
• DIY State Pride Sorority Craft Idea for your Little - 2014
• Guest Post on the Alpha Delta Pi blog about my internship with the Fraternity Communications Association Conference (representing ADPi) - 2015
• My Final ADPi Recruitment - 2015
• My Final Black Diamond Formal - 2016

     Were you in an NPC sorority in college (or are you now)? Are you wearing your pin today? Also: my blogger friend Nicole from What Nicole Wore, who is a Sigma Kappa alumna, is also writing a blog post today in honor of NPC Badge Day!! Be sure to check hers out and show it some love!

     P.S. Stay tuned for the BIG NEWS I've been teasing.... it's coming in tomorrow's post!

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese 

   

   

My T-Shirt Quilt: My Favorite Graduation Present.

Photography by Deeana Kourtney Photography

White jeans // Shoes // Lipstick // 

     One of my favorite sayings is "Good things are worth the wait." Such was definitely the case for my favorite graduation present, which just arrived to me a few weeks ago! It was such a special and priceless gift for me to receive that I had to dedicate a whole blog post to it. My high school best friend, Julia (who I usually call Jules here on the blog), has spent the better part of 2016 working on this beautiful t-shirt quilt for me! Isn't it incredible?!

     I like to think of myself as a crafty person, but Jules's DIY abilities pretty much blow mine out of the water. A couple of years ago, she took a quilting class over the summer and made her first beautiful quilt. She had been wanting to try a t-shirt quilt, and I had been dying to have one made with my college and sorority t-shirts, so the timing of this worked out perfectly! I had saved all of my favorite college t-shirts. The quilt begins in the top left corner with a cute Southern themed t-shirt that I bought on my college orientation trip for my former university in summer 2012. The last shirt is one that I bought at the Carolina Cup this spring when I went with Cara (attending this event was a bucket list item for me during college!). In between are shirts from countless memories of two college orientations, homecomings, Bid Days, Greek Week, sorority formals and college semi-formals, and everything in between. The whole last four years for me is represented in this beautiful quilt! (And amazingly- I still have PLENTY of t-shirts left to wear from college. #sororitygirlprobs)

      If you're thinking of doing a t-shirt quilt with your college or sorority shirts, or any t-shirts for that matter, DO IT!! If you don't have an incredibly crafty friend in your life, then fortunately there are lots of small companies online that will make t-shirt quilts for you. This is such an incredible way to preserve special memories, and to keep something alive for years to come. 

     Here's throwback picture of Jules and I - this is the night before I moved to NC for college! When we see each other at Christmas when I go back home to visit Maine, it will be the first time in 2016 that we've seen each other! Long distance best-friendships are the worst. 

      Happy Friday! Thanks so much for reading and have a great weekend! Soon I'll be posting more holiday gift guides.... what types of gift guides specifically would you like to see? Next week I am also planning to share a post about my favorite cookbooks so stay tuned for that! 

    xoxo Miss ALK

Sorority Recruitment Fashion Inspiration.

     As many of you know, I was in a Panhellenic sorority for three out of my four years in college! I transferred to Queens University of Charlotte at the beginning of my sophomore year, and went through Formal Recruitment (which is the biggest time of the year that sororities take new members for those of you unfamiliar with Greek life!) that fall. I became a sister of Alpha Delta Pi in September 2013 at the conclusion of recruitment, and overall I did enjoy my time in Greek Life throughout my college years at Queens. While I am happy to be currently finished with being a collegiate member in Greek Life (and happy to be done with college in general!), and I am instead focusing on other endeavors in my life, I am still so proud to be a sister of Alpha Delta Pi, and do hope to get involved with the organization as an alumni someday.


     Formal Recruitment can seem like a huge undertaking to college girls who are about to embark on the beginning of their Greek journeys. I am here to tell you first and foremost that it's not something to be scared of- it's actually a super fun and exciting process! Girls in every sorority on campus are literally over-the-moon excited to meet and get to know you- how flattering is that?! I am also here to tell you that recruitment gets a lot more stressful and nerve-wracking once you are on the other side and participate in it with your own sorority- there is way more behind the scenes stuff to learn! So enjoy your own recruitment year while you can. :-)


     I thought that it would be fun to share some of my outfit inspiration ideas for any college ladies who read my blog that might be going through or considering sorority recruitment! The best part about today's post is that it's actually a collaboration with Audrey from Audrey Madison Stowe- but more on that later in the post!

Top // Skirt // Shoes // Earrings 

Dress // Shoes // Earrings // Bracelet 

Dress // Shoes // Bracelet // Hairclip 

     At Queens, sorority recruitment always took place about a month into the school year, and over a weekend. At larger universities throughout the nation, recruitment will often take place over a whole week either before the school year starts, or during the first week of school. If that's the case for your school, then you might need more outfits to wear! I was just using my own experience as a guide. 

     The first night of sorority recruitment is usually the most informal, and you do the most walking and talking as you're visiting all of the houses! (Or in the case of my college, "lodges" instead of sorority houses.) I wore a pair of Lilly Pulitzer dress pants on my first night of recruitment, but a skirt option like the one in the collage is also a great choice, as is a more casual (yet still conservative dress). Dressing modestly is very important for sorority recruitment! This isn't the time to be looking sexy or trying to use your body to impress anyone. It's a time for outfits that show how elegant, poised, and confident you are- let your clothes help add to showing off your personality and wonderful attributes! :-) 

     My personal taste is to lean more towards traditionally preppy brands for recruitment attire. I featured a Lilly Pulitzer dress here for my second night outfit inspiration (I also wore a Lilly dress for my second night of recruitment!), but I think that any dresses by Lauren James, Vineyard Vines, Kate Spade, or anything similar from department store brands would be find. 

     When I went through Formal Recruitment, I found that the last night, Preference Round, was the hardest to dress for. It is a formal round, but your outfit should still be more conservative and not distracting or revealing. Many of the formal or semi-formal dresses that I had at school at the time were covered with embellishments, which would have been too much. I ended up wearing a simple green dress from Francesca's that fit me well, and dressing it up with wedges and coordinating gold and green jewelry. 

 Me shortly before my third and final round of sorority recruitment, back in 2013!

     I think the Preference Round outfit that I featured here would be a great choice to wear! A cute pair of heels, some simple jewelry or hair accessories, and a bold but simple cocktail dress and you'll be good to go! 

     I didn't feature any watches or purses in these collages, as the rules at my school for recruitment didn't encourage girls to bring either of these things to the recruitment rounds. I'm not sure if this varies school to school! 

   

     As I mentioned earlier, this sorority recruitment outfit post is a collaboration with one of my blogger friends! Audrey from Audrey Madison Stowe is a Zeta Tau Alpha and sophomore at Texas Tech University. Her school has a very different Greek life culture from mine- not only is about 75% of the school Greek (not sure what the percentage was at my college but I don't even think it was 25%!), but the university itself is huge! Audrey's chapter alone is bigger then all four of the Panhellenic sororities at Queens. There are definitely pros and cons to being in large or small chapters of a sorority, but it's interesting for me to have met some friends through the blogging world who have had such different Greek life experiences than I did!

   

     Go check out Audrey's guide to recruitment fashion today, and also follow her blog if you aren't! She's a total cutie, and is a fellow member of the Millennial Blogger Network.

     And if you're interested in seeing posts that I wrote while in college about my sorority experiences:

Posts about Recruitment/Bid Day:

*2013 - My own Formal Recruitment Experience

*2014 - My First ADPi Recruitment

*2015 - Recruitment as a Senior

Posts about Black Diamond Formal (ADPi's annual Spring Formal event):

*2014

*2015

*2016

Posts about my internship through Alpha Delta Pi at the 2015 Fraternity Communications Conference:

*Guest post about the internship on the Alpha Delta Pi official blog

*Visiting Churchill Downs

Misc. Greek Life Posts:

*DIY Tutorial: State Pride Sorority Craft 

*7 Truths About Greek Life



     I hope this post was helpful to you if you're thinking about going through recruitment this year or in a future year! If you're also a college grad, were you in a sorority in college? How was your recruitment experience?

     One last fun memory that I have from my recruitment week is that at the very same time, my best friend Jules from high school was participating in recruitment at her university in Maine! She ended up becoming a sister of Alpha Xi Delta that week.... and one year later, my other dear friend from home, Katie, joined Jules's chapter of AXiD! So now my two favorite friends from home are sorority sisters. :-) 

    xoxo Miss ALK

The Best is Yet to Come - My College Senior Photos.

     I'm so excited to be sharing my senior photos here on the blog today!! And it's about time I do, because it was a month ago this weekend that I graduated! A few weeks ago, I had a special photoshoot done to commemorate college graduation. Senior photos are a big tradition for graduating high school seniors, and I think that the trend is just starting to catch on for college graduations as well. Jess, my Big in Alpha Delta Pi, and Ciera, my bestie from my first college and my new roommate in my apartment, joined me as they are both recent graduates as well! My wonderful new blog photographer, Deeana of Deeana Kourtney Photography, did the pictures for us at on my college's beautiful campus. You all might recognize some of the spots that the pictures were taken at from my outfit shoots from the blog over the past few years. :-)

     Jess painted me these letters a few years ago as one of my initiation gifts when I joined ADPi!

     One of the main reasons that I've never regretted spending my freshman year at a different school is because it lead me to this girl! We have only become closer since I came to Queens, and now we are roommates in post-grad life!

     Lastly, a couple photos from my actual graduation day! I was very lucky to have my parents here in Charlotte for the festivities, as well as some extended family from Maine, Connecticut and New York! I was only a couple weeks recovered from the unexpected concussion that I was dealing with near the end of the school year by the time that graduate came around, and I will forever be thankful that I was feeling well on the day of the festivities, as it had been a very rough few weeks leading up to it.

     I wore a gorgeous Lilly Pulitzer dress for graduation... my specific dress is sold out now (although it might be brought back for this summer's After Party Sale!), but I am linking a very similar one below!


     If you would like to see a peak into my senior year dorm room, check out this post from earlier in the week!

     Now that all of my college and graduation recap posts are over, I'll be starting to plan out some fun new blog content about my apartment and things related to beginning post-grad life!


     xoxo Miss ALK

Senior Year Dorm Room Tour + 4 Reasons Why I'm Glad I Lived on Campus.

     This post comes many months belated, but before it gets too far out after my college graduation, I wanted to share a few pictures with y'all of my dorm room from this year! I lived on campus all four years of college. My former college offered many different types of housing, everything from traditional freshman dorms, to suites and apartments. I was lucky enough to get to live in one of the suite buildings during my freshman year there, which was very large, and I lived with six other girls! (We shared two bathrooms and a large common room area, in addition to several bedrooms.) When I transferred colleges, I had a traditional dorm room, hall bathroom and random roommate experience for my sophomore year. For junior year, I got to move into an upperclassmen dorm, but still had a roommate for both semesters.

     Finally for this year, I had a single room! My room was still in the building I lived in junior year, but having a single was so nice! I shared a bathroom with the best suitemate ever, who was my dear friend Caroline. Caroline has been mentioned on Southern Belle in Training many times, as she took most of the photos for my blog during my final semester of college, and I also traveled with her for my senior spring break.


     I apologize in advance for the quality of these pictures.... the reason that I never took many flat lay shots/selfies/mirror pictures/really ANY blogs photos in my dorm room is that the lighting in my building absolutely SUCKED! I had about four additional lights including what came with the ceiling... and it didn't make any difference at all! I'm so thankful that my apartment now has a much better lighting situation. (But I still treasure these photos of my last home on campus! ;-) )

     This is the little piece of wall before my door that opened to mine and Caroline's shared bathroom. I decorated this wall with all of the letters I've received from bloggers or companies that I've worked with on my blog. I've saved everything from when I started blogging during freshman year!! Both my collage of blog letters and also this cute wall art print are now hanging in the bathroom of my apartment.

     The thing that I hated the most about my junior and senior year rooms the past two years, possibly even more than the bad lighting situation, was the fact that the rooms in this building didn't have closets! The traditional style dorm room that I lived in my sophomore year when I transferred surprisingly had excellent closet space. I would have thought that it would be even better in an upperclass building, but nope! More like non-existent. All that students are given are small armoires, shown above. They're kind of like the furniture that some hotels have, which definitely isn't enough storage for the closet of a fashion blogger! 

     This year I invested in a closet rack, which I kept dresses on. It was such a good investment! I have a walk-in closet in my apartment now, but I kept the closet rack up and use it for outfit planning for blog shoots. You can find the one that I have here- it's super affordable and works great! 

    This is the desk area of my room. Each year of college I turned my desk into a makeup vanity area, as I preferred to do homework either in my bed or in the library. (Also: ignore the beer bottle on my desk. I am laughing now at the fact this is in the photos.... I almost never drank in my room/on campus, so I must have taken these dorm room photos on a night before I went out with friends, haha!!)

      My bed! I have lofted my bed for the past two years and it was such a great way to add extra storage to a small room. In my sophomore year room I made a picture heart above my bed, and I brought that back for senior year. :-) The cards around it are various birthday cards, and the pictures on the other side of my bed are photos from bloggers that I've met up with over the years!

     Lastly, the little gallery wall that I had over my TV this year! This was probably my favorite part of my senior year dorm room, so the fact that the picture is so dark makes me sad! I will link the prints used in my gallery wall at the end of this post. All of these came with me to the apartment and are now incorporated into a new and even better gallery wall in my dining room!



      Finally, I wanted to share with y'all four reasons why I'm glad that I lived on campus all four years of college. I realize that at many large-scale universities, both public and private, residing on campus for all four years isn't an option for most students, due to either a lack of housing or more affordable off campus alternatives. For students at smaller schools where this is an option however, I would highly recommend that you stay on campus each year as I did! Here are my top four reasons why I'm happy I stayed on campus:

• Convenience: Nothing beats being able to leave your dorm room 5-10 minutes before class starts and being able to make it on time, if not early! And also being a short walk away from the cafeteria, gym, quad, bookstore, friends' dorms, Greek Village, or really anything else that you could want! Now that I live in a different part of Charlotte in an apartment, I've had to completely re-adjust my schedule and allow much more time for when I have to drive to work or other commitments- I was definitely spoiled by living on campus for four years, and I'll never get that opportunity again.
• Making friends: While some collegiate friendships are made through academics or organized activities, some of the best ones are formed randomly through various interactions on campus. You will be spending a lot more time on campus if you're a residential student, and that definitely increases your chances of making friends! The building that I lived in during my last two years of school wasn't really an "open door" building (people minded their own business and no one on the hall left their doors open), but I do know of friends at other colleges whose dormitories were filled with open doors and friendly neighbors, and sometimes people make their best friends that way! 
• Greek Life: It isn't a requirement to live on campus to be involved in Greek life, but I think it makes it a heck of a lot easier! Sorority recruitment is such a demanding thing to participate in, whether you are on the new member side or the recruiting side! After being involved in both sides of recruitment, I can't even imagine factoring in commuting to school on top of all of the stress involved. Greek life also can provide stress at other times of the year, such as Greek Week and preparations for philanthropy events. It is so convenient if you live on campus so you can have easier access to your lodge or house! My own college didn't offer Greek housing, but if we did, I think that could have been a cool option for a year to get to know some of my sisters better.
• All-inclusive: Sure, on campus living isn't perfect. There are sometimes internet and cable outages, there are occasionally fire drills in the middle of the night, and not having a kitchen means that you will rely on the cafeteria or eating out for all of your meals. But when you think about how busy and involved you will be as a student and how much on campus living offers, it just makes sense (at least it did for me!). Now that I have an apartment, it seems like I am constantly cleaning everything, from dishes in the kitchen to tidying up our living room. Cooking meals and paying bills are another thing to worry about! These are all things that I never dealt with in college, as I was only responsible for my bedroom, and everything such as my meal plan, utilities, and cable/internet was all paid for. Dorm rooms also come furnished... I have quickly learned in the real world that furniture isn't cheap! Ha!

     I am linking below my closet rack and the prints that I had in my gallery wall! My college bedding is all old and from childhood... I would definitely recommend bringing your childhood bedding to school with you if you can! Save your money on college bedding and instead save it for your first apartment bedding and decor. I'm definitely glad I did that. ;-)

     

     xoxo Miss ALK

Black Diamond Formal 2016.

     Along with Bid Day/Recruitment, one of my favorite sorority traditions to do a recap for each year on the blog is my chapter of Alpha Delta Pi's annual Black Diamond formal. This is our biggest social event of the year, and it's an off campus formal which all of the sisters look forward to! During my sophomore year, it was held at an estate home in a different neighborhood in Charlotte, and last year, Black Diamond took a different approach when it was held at a sports bar (I personally wasn't as big of a fan of that year's). This year's Black Diamond was absolutely fantastic though! Our current Social Chair planned the event at a beautiful and intimate venue that was right in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. The food was tasty, the DJ played awesome music, and I spent the whole night dancing away with sisters and friends!

     But possibly my favorite part of the whole evening was my dress. Yes- I committed a fashion sin and re-wore a dress. ;-) But how could I not?! My senior prom dress was everything that I ever wanted in a formal dress and more, and I knew from the time that I joined my sorority that I wanted to wear it for my Formal during my senior year. It isn't a small dress by any means (it has an actual TRAIN), so I flew it down to school with me after Christmas break in its own suitcase - haha! But I am so happy that I got to wear the dress of my dreams again. And this time around, I got much better pictures than at prom! (I shared a throwback collage of prom photos on my Instagram last week @miss_alk, it's definitely funny to look back!)


     I started the evening off with some fun pictures in the dress on top of a parking deck in Uptown Charlotte- these were taken by my Charlotte blogger bestie Morgan!

     Later in the evening, my suitemate Caroline (aka Southern Belle in Training's head photographer for most of this semester! Thanks, C!) captured some photos of my date and I, and some sisters and I before the main event! My date this year was my best friend Max, for the second year in a row. He is always a fun date to formal events!

My dress: Mori Lee Paparazzi Collection {old prom style from 2012!} // Shoes: DSW {old, similar here} // Earrings: J. Crew Factory {obsessed!} // Bracelet: {From the store that I've worked at in Maine :-) } // Lips: Essence XXXL Shine Lip Gloss in Pretty in Hibiscus  

     The day after Black Diamond, on Sunday, my chapter held its special ritual ceremony, in which senior members transition to alumni. It is unbelievable to me that after three incredible years, I am an alumni member of my sorority! I don't think that it will all fully sink in until I see my younger sisters beginning Fall Recruitment in a few months, and knowing that the sisters in my graduating year won't be there to join them! 

    If you would like to see my recaps from past Black Diamond Formals, check out these posts:

   Black Diamond Formal 2014

    

    Black Diamond Formal 2015

     xoxo Miss ALK