Happy December! I wanted to share this casual holiday look with y'all today, and a few thoughts about this holiday season being a lot more normal than 2020. So much to be thankful for and excited about this month!
Big This Week
Recent Posts
December 3, 2021
January 25, 2021
3 Current Fashion Trends I Just Don't Get (+ One I Do Like!)
Fashion trends come and go, and I do my best to keep up with them. I think my personal style is like 50% classic (preppy, timeless and feminine), and 50% trendy. While there are usually some trends each year that I love, I've found that in recent years there's more and more that I'm not into. (Maybe that means I'm getting old?! 😉Haha.) Let's start off this week on the blog by chatting about the three current trends that I personally *don't get*. And I'll also share one that I've been surprisingly loving! That one is is something I'm wearing in these photos- can you guess it?
January 18, 2021
My 2021 New Year's Resolutions + Word of the Year.
I am a big fan of resolutions with the start of each new year, but if I had to be honest I had trouble for the first couple weeks of 2021 narrowing mine down for this year! Life still seems so uncertain as we are in such a difficult part of the pandemic. I didn't want to make resolutions that would be unrealistic for how the rest of the year ends up being. But after a lot of brainstorming, I finally came up with some that should be good goals to work towards- pandemic or not! I'm also going over last year's resolutions, and sharing my word of the year.
December 7, 2020
Designer Diaries: Olivia Rubin Cardigan
Last month, I purchased my very first designer clothing piece! While I do have a couple of lower-priced designer shoes and bags, I'd never had a clothing item that could be considered designer before. I am so excited about the gorgeous sweater that I ended up getting from Olivia Rubin, so wanted to write a full review of it! If you're new to my occasional Designer Diaries series, it's where I review purchases that are big splurges and share if I think they're worth it or not. It is rare that I get fashion items that are very expensive, and I try to be very thoughtful about those purchases, which is why I like to review them after using them here on the blog!
April 6, 2020
Checking In...
March 9, 2020
Vera Bradley x New Hope Girls.
January 24, 2020
My 2020 New Years' Resolutions.
November 21, 2019
Neutral Thanksgiving Outfit + My Thanksgiving Plans!
November 11, 2019
Why I Don't Use Instagram on Sundays.
January 21, 2019
Back to Basics with Outfit Posts.

December 3, 2018
Christmas Photos 2018 + My Christmas Traditions!
- Set up my Christmas tree on November 1st (est. 2016): Fall 2016 was a really rough season of life for me. By the end of October, I was ready to bring on as much early Christmas cheer as possible! That year I decided to set up my Christmas tree on November 1st. It was also the first year that I had a Christmas tree of my very own, and my first year living in an apartment. Since then, I've continued to set-up the tree on November 1st. The past two years, I have decorated it later in November, but I still make sure to at least get the tree out of the box on November 1st! The season is so short as is, why not enjoy your beautiful tree for a little longer?
- Design a Christmas card and send to friends and family (est. 2016): Since I went to college out-of-state and have lived in two additional states since then, it's safe to say that most of my closest friends and family are far away! I always loved when my family received Christmas cards when I grew up, so I wanted to start that tradition for myself after I was out of college. Weirdly I don't use the Christmas photos that I take for the blog each year for my card, I usually select another favorite photo or photos from the year. I love how my cards turned out this year and I've already started sending them!
- Watch a Hallmark or Lifetime movie premiere (est. 2017): Last year in Vermont I got VERY into Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. Most of them play on repeat throughout the season, but I think there is something really fun about being able to catch a live premiere! This year I watched the premiere of Christmas at Graceland on Hallmark (starring Kellie Pickler), and I hope to watch at least one more premiere live before the season is over.

the more entries you receive, and the better your chance at winning!
This giveaway runs until Monday, December 17th at 12am PST
*this giveaway is in no way sponsored by Nordstrom.

November 5, 2018
Fall Business Casual + Things I'm Looking Forward To This Month.
So this sweater that I'm wearing... pretty sure it's my favorite sweater for 2018! It's so soft to the touch, and I felt so cozy wearing it! It's available in a few colors right now. I thought that the grey would be a practical shade for accessorizing and wearing with other things. The thing that really drew me to these dress pants was the tie-waist detail! The color is very pretty as well, in person it really is like a dark blue/grey shade that would look great with fall work outfits. My earrings are also apart of the LOFT fall collection. I've been a loyal LOFT shopper for years, so it was so fun to join Alicia for her campaign with them and put together this look.
Now let's chat a little bit about November! In the past, this was always one of my least favorite months. I'm from New England, and usually by Halloween all of the beautiful fall colors are gone, and everything looks dead and brown. It's bitterly cold outside, and sometimes it has even snowed by Thanksgiving! Speaking of that, Thanksgiving is also one of my least favorite holidays (Not the being thankful part! Just the traditions.) Thankfully, November is a bit nicer here in the South. This past weekend was peak foliage in the Charlottesville area, and the whole city was filled with the most vibrant trees.
Anyways, I thought I'd share a few things that I'm looking forward to this month, in the spirit of being thankful and thinking positively!
*A baby shower for someone in my small group at church
*A really fun blog collaboration (where I'll get to attend a fun event in Richmond)
*My mom visiting
*Traveling out-of-state for Thanksgiving to visit my good friend/former roommate
*Watching more Hallmark Christmas movies
*Decorating my Christmas tree (I set it up each year on November 1st, but I still have to decorate it!)
*BLACK FRIDAY!!!!
I'd love to know what you're excited about this month! Let me know in the comments.

God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese
October 15, 2018
If You Told Me 5 Years Ago...

October 9, 2018
Fall Blues.

April 14, 2018
What I Wore for Visiting the DC Cherry Blossoms.

March 12, 2018
Vermont Bachelorette Pad Tour: Blog Office
Outfit Details: Jumper c/o // Sweater {sold out, similar} // Necklace {old, similar} // Shoes // Lipstick c/o //
My desk was generously given to me a couple years ago by a friend who was moving in Charlotte and didn't need it anymore, and I built the rest of this little area over time around the desk. (Pro tip for getting furniture on the cheap or for free: if a friend or family member is moving, see if they're getting rid of any furniture pieces for free, especially if it was a college or first apartment! A lot of the stuff I have now is hand-me-downs from friends in Charlotte who had moved before I did.) Anyways, I wanted my blog desk area to reflect the colors of my current website/branding: which are black, gold and pink. I was so excited when I found this pink acrylic chair right before I left Charlotte last year- it's actually very comfortable to sit in too!
Ironically- I rarely ended up doing blog work at this desk while living in my Vermont apartment! When I did blog work at home, I almost always worked at my dining table (usually while eating). I'm hoping in my new apartment in Virginia to set up this desk area again and actually start doing more work at the space I have set aside for Southern Belle in Training!
Out of all of my desk decor, the thing I have to recommend the most is this package of gallery wall art. I've talked about this before on the blog but I have to share again! Most of my gallery wall art comes from a big book of prints from me and my BIG ideas. The book contains art prints of all sizes and colors, and you just cut out and frame the ones you want to use! I think this would make an amazing graduation or housewarming gift for someone. I received my book of wall art in a PR package years ago and clearly I'm still using a lot of the prints today! I might even buy a different book with more prints for my new apartment.
Thanks so much for checking out my apartment blog office area! You can also check out these other posts from my Vermont apartment tour:














































