5 Life Lessons I Learned When I Lived in Vermont.

    This month marks two years since I moved from Vermont to Virginia!! (March 18th, 2018 to be exact.) Last year I celebrated my first move anniversary by sharing a detailed post on all things Charlottesville: things I loved about living here, things about the area that confused me, and how the first year had been for me from a work and personal standpoint. This year I wanted to do something different to celebrate year two! Instead of focusing on all things Charlottesville... I wanted to go back down memory lane to Vermont.

     I lived in Vermont for 11.5 months- I love to joke that I couldn't quite make it to the full one year mark! 😂April 2017 to March 2018 was by far the most unique, trying, confusing, and lonely phase of my life to date. But with that said- it was also a time of reflection, growth, refinement, and some special happy moments as well. 11.5 months of high highs and some low lows!

     To commemorate two years since the move, today I wanted to share the five most prominent life lessons that I learned while living in Vermont:

VERMONT TRAVEL GUIDE: Ultimate Burlington VT Summer Guide!

     Ah- Vermont! Best known as the Green Mountain State, for being one of the smallest states both geographically and population-wise, and the home of beloved ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's. Lesser known as the home state of Annaliese from April 2017-March 2018. While Vermont didn't work out to be my long-term home, I definitely have a new appreciation for it as a special type of vacation destination. Vermont really is its own unique state- it's also quite different from other New England states! I'm originally from Maine, so I thought moving to Vermont would be an easy transition. While both states do have very rough and long winters in common, I'd say overall they are quite different culturally.


     Anyways, Vermont is a popular winter vacation destination for skiers, but if that's not your thing then summer would be a great to visit! This could be a lovely summer vacation spot if you're from a large city, a very different part of the country geographically and looking for new scenery, or just used to living a fast-paced lifestyle and needing a few days off from that. Vermont is a place to slow down, enjoy nature, enjoy local cuisine, and just... breath. Definitely a great spot for a unique type of summer vacation!


     I had written a few posts previously during my time living in Vermont with some local recommendations, but I'd never officially written a full travel guide! I figured now was the time to do it, with the summer travel season just kicking off, and things still being fresh in my head from recently living there. This guide will focus specifically on the Burlington area, since that's where I lived and worked! A few travel facts: Burlington is Vermont's largest city, although it's the smallest biggest city out of all 50 states! The population of Burlington is under 50,000 people- isn't that crazy?! Burlington is located directly on Lake Champlain, in the northwest corner of the state, just under an hour from the Canadian border. Southern, central, and northeastern (called the Northeast Kingdom) Vermont are also popular vacation spots, but I'm obviously most familiar with the Burlington, Chittenden county, and Lake Champlain areas, since that's where I lived during my time in the state.

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     Travel:


     Burlington is in the northern part of Vermont, right on Lake Champlain. If you're coming from outside of New England, flying is probably the easiest way to get to Vermont. The Burlington International Airport is actually the only commercial airport in the state! It's pretty small as far as commercial airports go, and therefore can be expensive to fly into, but it's definitely the most convenient option for flying. They do offer direct flights to most major airports on the East Coast. (The next closest airport is actually international- in Montreal!) Driving to this part of Vermont is also an option- Interstate 89 runs through Burlington, and Route 22A is another popular way to get up to northern Vermont from where the southern part of the state meets New York.
      Where a lot of things in Vermont are spread apart from each other (it's a very rural state), if you do fly in, I highly recommend renting a car! There is Uber and Lyft in Burlington, but they don't run too far outside of the city limits.

     Stay: 


     So, since I lived in Burlington and didn't vacation there myself, I've actually only stayed in one of these hotels (the one I stayed at during my job interview trip). But thanks to working in media in such a small city, and also having friends and family visit during the year I was there, I was able to become familiar with a lot of the local hotels in the area. So here are my recommendations for lodging:

•      Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbor, Burlington: This is one of the nicest hotels in downtown! It's in walking distance to Church Street Marketplace, (where most of the downtown shopping, restaurants and bars are), and many of the guest rooms have stunning views of Lake Champlain. Since Burlington is such a tiny "big" city, this is also one of the tallest buildings in both Burlington and the entire state- fun fact! I haven't stayed here myself as a guest, but I am quite familiar with the hotel as I have rapelled off of the building! I did a rapelling event for charity (representing the radio station I worked for in Vermont) last September, and this took place at the hotel! 
•      Hampton Inn Burlington, Colchester: This is the hotel that I stayed at during my job interview trip! Colchester is the quaint lakeside town located just north of Burlington, and hotel prices can be a bit cheaper staying here since it's not right in the city. This hotel is located right on I-89, so it's conveniently located to get to downtown Burlington, the airport, or destinations north or south for day trips. 
•      Green Mountain Suites Hotel, South Burlington: My friend Shara stayed here when she visited me last fall, and I visited her there and we swam in the pool together! I didn't even know this hotel was here before she told me she booked it, but I was so impressed with it. The lobby of the hotel has a cozy ski lodge vibe, and it's a huge property! The indoor pool was also really nice. This hotel is located in South Burlington, very close to the mall and the University of Vermont, about 10 minutes from downtown Burlington. 
•      The Essex Resort and Spa, Essex: This is a luxurious inn, with a full service spa and restaurant on the property! It's located in the nearby town of Essex, which is about 20 minutes from Burlington. I haven't stayed here as a guest, but I did go visit the spa for a manicure last summer, so I got to see the hotel up close and personal, and it's very nice! It's not cheap to stay here, but it would definitely be a relaxing and nice experience! 

    Eat:

       I have previously shared a guide to my favorite Burlington and Chittenden County restaurants on the blog! You can check that out here. 

     Play:     

     *Hiking and nature trails: There are lots of different types of hiking trails in drivable distance from Burlington! Everything from walking trails to more strenuous hikes. I shared some of my favorite trails in this blog post! 

      *Explore Church Street Marketplace: Church Street in Burlington is the heart of downtown, and it's also a pedestrian-only walking street filled with local shops, restaurants, and some nightlife. This was one of my favorite parts of Burlington (I did a lot of my blog photos here!), and whenever I had company in Vermont I'd usually take them to eat at a restaurant on Church Street, or at least for a walk up there and to window shop at some of the stores.

     *Eat the best maple creemee in the state: Here's some weird Vermont slang for you: Vermonters call soft serve ice cream "creemees." ...Weird, I know!! That name never really grew on me. Anyways, the most special type of Vermont creemee which really can only be found there are maple creemees, made of course with local Vermont dairy products and maple syrup! I had my fair share of maple creemees during the summer I lived there, but I truly believe the BEST maple creemee to be found is at a little off-the-beaten-path place called Palmer Lane Maple in Jericho (about 30 mins from Burlington). This place is 100% worth the drive, and their homemade maple soft serve is unreal!! They also sell maple syrup there and other maple products.

     *Have a drink at a waterfront bar: I don't think either of these made my restaurant guide, so I'll include them here! Burlington is located right on Lake Champlain, and this part of the lake has beautiful views of the Adirondack Mountains on the other side in New York. You'll want to spend some time gazing at the lake, and enjoying an evening at one of the waterfront bars is a great way to do that! My two favorites were Splash! At the Boathouse and The Spot. Both of these bars are seasonal and only open in the spring/summer! I also wouldn't really recommend the food at either- both have very overpriced and limited menus since they're lakefront bars. However- the drinks are fabulous at both! The Spot makes one of my favorite mojitos of all time. Splash! is located on a floating dock attached to a boathouse so it has a real nautical and casual feel, and The Spot almost has a very modern city rooftop bar vibe (except it's right on the lake and near the ferry terminal).

    *Visit the Burlington area breweries: Burlington and surrounding towns are a huge area for craft beer! I didn't really take much advantage of this while I lived in the area- I only visited Citizen Cider in Burlington and Goodwater Brewery in Williston. Other notable ones in the area are Queen City Brewery, Switchback Brewery, Zero Gravity Brewery, and many more!

     *Take a lake cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen III: Continuing with our Lake Champlain theme, going for a lake cruise would be a great vacation activity! This had been on my bucket list last summer, and I finally got to do it with my dad on one of his visits. The Spirit of Ethan Allen cruise company offers daily lake cruise excursions- some offer meals, and I think some are even themed! We did the standard sunset cruise. I really enjoyed getting to see unique views of Burlington and the mountains from the middle of the lake!

      *Rent kayaks or canoes: Another way to experience Lake Champlain by boat is to paddle yourself around! There are many companies in the area that offer canoe or kayak rentals. My dad stayed in Colchester visiting me for a week last summer and his rental home came with kayak usage, so we spent a morning kayaking on the lake which was so much fun! I wish I'd gotten the chance to do more of that while living there.

     *Beach day at Sandbar State Park: Lake Champlain sadly isn't known as the cleanest or best lake for swimming and beaches, due to a variety of factors including its sheer size, boat traffic, and its other uses. However- one great beach that I fell in love with last summer (and is one of the safer ones for swimming!) is Sandbar State Park, on the Colchester/Milton town line. There is a beautiful sandy beach here, and you can see amazing views of both the Champlain Islands and the mountains. This state park is located right off of US 2, which I talk more about further down in regards to doing a drive through the Islands- so you could combine both of these things into one day!

     *Waterbury food activities: Ben & Jerry's Factory, Cabot Annex and Cold Hollow Cider Mill : The little town of Waterbury is about 45 minutes south from Burlington on I-89. Waterbury is a pretty small community, but there are a lot of unique Vermont food opportunities to be found there, so it's worth spending an afternoon there! Most notably, the Ben & Jerry's factory is located in Waterbury, which you can tour! The factory is open seven days a week, and has tours running throughout each day. The tours are brief but fun, and would be a great family friendly activity. They also have a gift shop and ice cream shop on site! Just about a mile or two down the road from Ben & Jerry's is one of my favorite places in Vermont- the Cabot Annex store! Cabot Cheddar is one of Vermont's most famous cheese companies, and one of their factory stores is in Waterbury. It offers unlimited samples of 20-30+ of their cheeses... so if you're a cheese enthusiast like myself, this store is a dream! Cabot cheeses are sold at chain grocery stores nationwide, but the Cabot Annex store does have some special varieties of cheese that most grocery stores don't carry, and the prices are great! And lastly, Cold Hollow Cider Mill is also located in Waterbury! Their peak season is fall when the apples are ready to be picked, but Cold Hollow's store is open year round, and sells all sorts of local Vermont food items (they have tons of maple items!). Most notable to me are their apple cider donuts!

     *Ride the Mt. Mansfield Gondola in Stowe: If you're a lover of the mountains, Stowe is a must-visit! It's the most charming little village town, right smack in the Green Mountains, and about an hour from Burlington. It's also the same highway exit as Waterbury, so you can make it a day trip and also do the food activities mentioned above! My favorite activity in Stowe is riding the gondola up Mount Mansfield, which is the tallest mountain in the state of Vermont. The views are breathtaking, and it's a really unique thing to do! My mom and I did this on Labor Day last year when she came to visit for my birthday, and it was such a great day.

     *Shop at Pink Colony in Stowe: If you make it to Stowe for some mountain adventures, you must stop at my favorite Lilly Pulitzer specialty boutique! They're bringing preppy, colorful style to Vermont, and the store is absolutely adorable. I did two blog collaborations with Pink Colony while I lived in VT, and now love keeping up with the store via Instagram!!

     *Drive US 2 through the Champlain Islands: Lake Champlain has several large islands in the middle of it, in between Vermont and New York. The largest ones are connected to the mainland via US 2, and do have some year-round residents! This is also where Vermonters go to pick up the ferry to go across the Plattsburgh, NY. Anyways, the Champlain Islands are absolutely stunning. The landscapes are completely different from the rest of Vermont and upstate NY, and driving through in the summer is unbelievable! When my friend Ciera visited last summer, we took the scenic and longer route coming back from Montreal, and drove through the entirety of the islands. We were in so much awe that we just drove and drove and barely even spoke during the drive- our eyes could barely contain the natural beauty we were seeing!! Honestly - I really do wish I'd had the chance to drive through here one more time before I moved.

     *Cross the border - day trip to Montreal or shopping at Dix30: If you have a passport or live in a state with the enhanced license program- take advantage of this if you're visiting Vermont!! Burlington is just under an hour from the Canadian border, and Montreal is just under two hours away. Montreal is the most amazing city- I wish I'd explored and visited more times while I lived there! I have a Montreal Travel Guide here, and a guide specific to my favorite shopping center near the border, Dix30, in this post! Dix30 is the most amazing outdoor mall and lifestyle center- it's only about an hour and a half from Burlington and so worth a trip, especially since shopping in Canada is to the US dollar advantage right now!

     Whew!! Alright being totally honest- I didn't realize I did this many things during my time in Vermont last year, haha! I guess I definitely did more things last summer than I thought. All of these activities would be awesome summer vacation activities in the Green Mountain State.



     Have you visited Vermont before? Or are you planning any New England trips soon?



     God Bless,


    xoxo Annaliese
   

Vermont Bachelorette Pad Tour: New England Chic Bedroom.

     Welcome to the last installment of my Vermont apartment tour blog post series! (Who would have guessed that I'd be finishing these posts from a new state and apartment?!) I decided to share my bedroom last. If you've been reading my blog since I had my first apartment back in Charlotte and shared my bedroom tour from there- you'll notice many similarities between the two rooms. My bedroom furniture was my graduation gift from my parents and a few other family members, so it was all brand-new when I lived in my Charlotte apartment! Obviously everything moved with me to Vermont, and the same bedroom furniture pieces are here with me in Virginia as well. Furniture is expensive and built to last- so this will all be sticking with me for awhile! Anyways, my goal was to make my Vermont bedroom have a totally different feel than my Charlotte bedroom, even though I still had the same furniture and bedding. You can check out my Charlotte bedroom tour blog post here- I think overall I did a pretty good job with my vision for similar but different!

     A lot of the items in my bedroom are from Home Goods or At Home (my FAV store that I miss so much!) or are just older items, but I'll link everything that can be linked below:

Photography by Amanda Rose Photography 

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My outfit: Top c/o // Jeans // Earrings c/o // Lipstick c/o // 


Bedroom Tour - Linked: Dresser {still available!} // Headboard {mine not online, very similar here} // Blue Electric Blanket // White Bedding Set // Shoe Rack // Always Carry Confetti Print // 


Bedroom Tour - Not Linked: Headboard Lights - DIY project // Bed Accent Pillows - HomeGoods // Bed Side Table - At Home // Bed Side Mirror - Local Discount Store // White Light {dresser} - At Home // Earring Holders - Icing // 

     

     So here is my bedroom!! The main way that I made my bed feel different from having it in my Charlotte apartment was to switch out the accent pillows, add a fun DIY light garland to the headboard (I can post a tutorial for that project if y'all are interested!), and I added an electric blanket for the fall and winter months, which gave me both extra warmth and also some color! I am always cold, so I loved having this cozy electric blanket to cuddle up to on very cold nights in Vermont. 

     The biggest pro of this bedroom was the large window- this room had a ton of natural light which I loved!! My childhood bedroom wasn't very bright, and the dorm rooms I lived in during my college years were crazy dark, so it's always been important to me since college to have bright and airy rooms- daylight, especially in the early mornings, is so important to get your morning started right! The biggest con of this bedroom you can probably guess from the photos.... the small closet. UGH!!! Seriously.... I had a bigger closet in a dorm room my sophomore year of college!! That's saying something. I went from having a decent sized walk-in closet, a coat closet, and a second hallway coat closet that my roommate didn't use (so three total!) back in Charlotte to ONLY having this one. As a fashion blogger and clothes enthusiast in general, that was a huge downgrade. But- I ended up making do. I'm actually planning to write a blog post next month all about my small closet tips! 

      

     So this is kind of funny- I had my little college dorm room TV set up in my bedroom in my Charlotte apartment, on my dresser. But pretty much from the second that I moved into that apartment, I had issues with the cable box in my bedroom almost every time I wanted to use that TV!! The lights on that cable box used to go haywire and it would never work- it was so bad that getting it to try and work used to keep me entertained at the time. I really think the Charlotte cable company gave me a faulty cable box in that apartment. Anyways- when I moved to Vermont I didn't even want to attempt putting a TV in my bedroom again, thinking it would be a repeat of that experience, so I just had one out in the living room. But I realized I really missed the idea of watching things in bed! My bedroom isn't really set up fully yet here in Virginia- but I do have my smaller TV on my dresser again. I have a different cable provider now and the bedroom cable box I have is working fine... I have so been enjoying watching TV from bed every night before I go to sleep! I feel like I waited over two years for this... it's the little things in life I'm telling you!! Haha. 

     If you'd like to check out the rest of my Vermont Bachelorette Pad Tour, see these blog posts:

• Bright & Cozy Living Room
• Bathroom
• My Little Kitchen
• Blog Office 
• Christmas Decor in Vermont 

     A lot of my new Virginia apartment is still covered in bubble wrap and boxes, so it'll be awhile before any sort of apartment tour posts from here- but I'll be excited to of course whenever that time arrives! 😉Today begins my first full week at my new job, last week went pretty well but was filled with lots of training and new station information. I'm hoping to feel more settled this week! 

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese 

9 Things I Won't Miss About Living in Vermont.

     Around this time last year, I wrote a blog post entitled "Charlotte NC: 10 Things I'll Miss the Most About Living Here." A full year later- and most of those things still hold up for Charlotte! The city that I went to college in (and stayed for one year after) will always hold a very special place in my heart. Now as I prepare to move out of Vermont and head back to the South... I realize how not bittersweet this move is in comparison, and how truly happy I am to be getting the heck out of here!  Many of you know that I haven't really enjoyed Vermont culture or found that I've acclimated well here, and I am so happy to be going back South. Vermont is truly a very unique place.... it's super different even from my home state of Maine (even though Maine is just four hours away!). I thought it would be fun to reprise last year's post in honor of my move this week... but instead of 10 Things I'll Miss... I'm sharing 9 Things I WON'T Miss! I've found during my time living here that the Vermont lifestyle is kind of idolized in media portrayals and in reality is very different- so this might open your eyes a bit to what it's like in the Green Mountain state if you've never been here!

     1. The lack of cities and population in general: Shortly after I accepted my job last year, I was Googling resources about moving to Vermont. The "Move Here" page on Vermont.org begins by saying "It's true, Vermont is not for everyone. We're not known for high rises and an all-night club scene." I remember reading this line a year ago and thinking "Uh oh... how small is this place that I'm moving to?" Spoiler alert: MUCH smaller than I properly anticipated!
     The entire state of Vermont had an estimated population of just under 625,000 residents in 2016. The entire state! For comparison, Charlotte had a population of almost 850,000 in 2016 just within the city limits, and almost 2 million within the greater metro and surrounding counties. YIKES! That's a huge difference. I knew Vermont was going to be smaller and slower paced, but I had no idea how much of a shock it would be until I actually arrived. I am definitely a city girl and need to be in a place near large metro areas... and that just is not Vermont. I love cities because it's great to be living in a place where you feel like there is always something going on, and to me looking out over a skyline is magical. Burlington is actually the smallest biggest city in a state in the country. It really is more like a glorified large town. There is one interstate exit for Burlington. ONE! Have you ever heard of a biggest city in a state with one interstate exit?!
     Sometimes when I think back on how much I struggled in my first several months here to make friends and develop a social life outside of work, I have to remind myself of what I was dealing with. Burlington just isn't that big! 2017 was actually the first year since 2013 that Vermont saw a gain in population in census data... that means from 2013-2016 the state lost population, either to death (mainly from the elderly) or residents moving out-of-state.



     2. A state of bedroom communities: I've shared on the blog before that I became a morning person during my year in Vermont. While all in all I think this was a positive lifestyle change and I have grown to love mornings, I kind of became an early bird without a choice. Vermont is an entire state of bedroom communities. Minus some things geared for college kids that live here to go toUVM and a couple other schools  in the area (which is a nighttime scene I wanted no part of obviously), there is non-existent nightlife and things to do after like 7 pm in Vermont. Your nighttime options are going to the movies, a few weird bars downtown which are mostly full of 18 year olds with fake IDs or sketchy older people... and well, that's it! People aren't really into going out at night, especially in the colder months. When my hours at work switched this fall and I started getting out of work at 7 instead of 4:30, whatever chance I had at a weeknight social life was 100% shot. Back in Charlotte, I didn't really do super exciting things on weeknights, but it wasn't uncommon to go to a friend's apartment to hangout, or to go run and get fast food late at night. That just like wasn't apart of my life here in Vermont! I'd come home from work, make dinner, watch TV, go to bed, and do it all over again on both weeknights and weekends.



     3. EXPENSIVE living costs: Oh my goodness... it is so expensive to live in Vermont!! You are paying Boston prices without getting a Boston quality of life or Boston amenities. When I first accepted my job, I genuinely thought for awhile that I'd have to live in an extended stay hotel on the outskirts of town for awhile when I first got here, because it seemed hopeless to find a safe and comfortable apartment (sans roommate) in my price range. I finally did find a very nice apartment, but it was a lot more money than I'd wanted to be paying for rent. And despite the high cost it still didn't have some of the amenities that my Charlotte apartment had either- like pools or a tennis court! (And I definitely didn't live in a luxury apartment complex in Charlotte.) It's not just rent that's high in Vermont either. For those that do decide to buy property here, the housing market is exorbitant, and property taxes are high. Scratch that- all taxes are high in Vermont! There is a high tax called "Meals and Rooms" (for dining out and lodging), and gas is also very expensive here! Another thing that's a lot of money in Vermont are driving associated costs. Not only are snow tires a necessity, but getting a Vermont license was more than double the cost of my North Carolina one, and annual car inspections here cost four times what they did back home in Maine. So this is not a cheap state to call home, and I wish I had done more research about that before accepting my job.



     4. Depressing for dating: I got the BIGGEST kick out of the fact that so many holiday Hallmark movies are love stories set in Vermont, and also that the Bachelor spin-off show Bachelor Winter Games was set in Vermont this year. (Although in that show's defense, it was filmed about three hours from where I lived- so maybe Southern Vermont is where it's at?) I won't go into too much detail on this one, but this is NOT THE PLACE to find love if you're a single girl like myself. By this fall, it became evidently clear to me that if I stayed in Vermont long-term... I better start praying to have a miraculous healing from my cat allergies because #CatLady was the future that awaited me in this place....
     However- if you are looking for dating app matches who list "organic farmer" or "aspiring musician" in their bio- this is definitely the place for you!! Lots and lots of men to choose from!  (In my defense, my Christian faith is very important to me and where I'm looking for someone who shares that, I knew that dating options would already be more limited in a more secular area like Burlington. But even taking faith out of the equation hypothetically.... still TERRIBLE guy options! Lol.)



     5. The priciest airport: Travel is another one of my huge passions, and it's something that I crave getting to do every few months. I didn't realize until I finally got to Vermont how far away Vermont is from everything. There is only one commercial airport in the state. Let's just say that growing up in Maine, I always thought the Portland airport was the smallest airport ever. I WAS WRONG!!! The Burlington International Airport is the tiniest "biggest" airport, and it is exorbitantly expensive to fly anywhere. When I traveled to Indiana for New Year's... it was over $500!!! And that was for not-direct flights, booked months and months in advance. Had I traveled over the same dates but flown out of a larger airport like Manchester or Boston in New England, I could have saved between $200-300. It sadly didn't make sense for me to drive the long distance to those airports (in the winter) for such a brief weekend trip, but that price difference made me angry and is INSANE!!!! (I don't even want to tell y'all what the cost was for my last-minute booked interview flight to Virginia from Vermont....) Where travel is such a love and passion for me, it's important that I live in a place with a variety of airports to choose from, and a place where travel just isn't so expensive or hard to come by!



     6. The severe lack of chain restaurants: I can't help this, and I own it. I love me some chain restaurants, and there's several that I'm very loyal to. Don't get me wrong- I don't exclusively eat out or eat fast food (I love to cook, and I also enjoy trying local restaurants when I travel) but I definitely appreciate my favorite national restaurants for when the cravings hit. If you move to Vermont, expect to say your forever goodbyes to Chick Fil A, Dairy Queen, Waffle House, Sonic, Krispy Kreme, (and two of my Carolinas favorites, Bojangles and Cookout). Sit-down chain restaurants are limited here as well. There are a few chains in the South Burlington/Williston area, but a lot of my favorites didn't make it up here, like On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Maggiano's, P.F. Chang's... and the love of my food life, The Cheesecake Factory. Out of all of these.... Dairy Queen is probably the one I have missed the most!! Nothing like a Blizzard, y'all.



     7. Worst highway driving: Vermont's Interstate 89 has to be the worst interstate I've ever driven on- ever. I have always enjoyed highway driving, ever since I first learned to drive in high school. A lot of my friends were scared of highway driving when they first got their licenses, but it was always my favorite! When I moved to Charlotte, I actually really liked having major city interstates to drive on. I'm weird I know. Anyways, I-89 up here has almost killed my joy and love for the American Interstate System. In the Burlington corridor (if you can even call it that... remember that earlier in this post I taught you that Burlington, the largest city in the state, only has one highway exit!), the speed limit on I-89 for several miles is 55. 55!!! And the cops will pull you over for going 60+! They are always hanging out in the median, just waiting. Clearly because Vermont is so boring and has no major crimes or anything exciting going on, so catching drivers cruising down the highway at 65 mph is a priority.
      Once you're out of Burlington either north or south, the speed limit on I-89 does increase, but the driving conditions get low-key terrifying. There is NOTHING on this highway. It goes to 10-20 miles between exits. And there is NOTHING between exits. Sometimes you may see a farm on the side of the road if you're luck- that's it!! It's just trees, trees, more trees, maybe some mountains, maybe a river, and TREES. No cities, no town, and no billboards because Vermont is one of four states (my home state of Maine included) that they're illegal! A lot of stretches on I-89 also have little to no cell phone service because it runs through such secluded parts of the state. It's TERRIFYING. Once you cross from VT into NH there is a decent sized town on the border, and then it becomes New Hampshire nothing-ness for a lot of miles again.
     A lot of people have asked me why I didn't try and go home to Maine more while I lived in Vermont. Part of it was due to my insane work schedule, but part of it was due to the fact that making the drive from Vermont to Maine solo on I-89 terrified me! Like what if something every happened to my car on one of the stretches that was 15 miles between exits?! And again- this is coming from someone who genuinely enjoys interstate road trips.... but not here!! I'll just say thank goodness Vermont didn't have tolls. It did have that going for it I suppose!



     8. The not-hot summers: I'm not going to list Vermont winter as one of my list items because everyone knows Vermont winter is snowy and cold. That's not an earth shattering fact or a surprise... and that was something I knew when I moved here. However- something I was not expecting was how not-hot Vermont summer's are. It barely got out of the 70s at all last year! The midwest is also known for having brutal cold and snow-filled winters, but many midwestern states also have very hot summers so they at least get a true summer season. Vermont does NOT. Pretty sure it only hit over 90 degrees for five days in 2017? Most of summer was in the 60s and 70s... and after a few years in North Carolina that is April weather to this girl- not July weather!!!



     9. Burlington parking costs: You can see my frustration with this illustrated in one of the photos above- lol! Burlington, like many other cities around the country, has very limited free parking. There are a couple public garages (TBH I was amazed Vermont had parking garages), some lots, and many meters throughout downtown. My gripe about paying for parking in Burlington is that Burlington isn't like a city at all and really is like a glorified large town, so there is nothing there worth paying for parking! Sure, it was annoying to pay for parking in Uptown Charlotte, but Charlotte is a real city and when I'd go to dinner in Uptown with friends, it felt like a real night out on the town, and worth it to spend a few dollars to park and treat yourself. There is nothing city-like feeling about Burlington... so why on earth should I pay Charlotte parking costs to go there?! Some of the lots are truly ridiculous in what they charge. Once when my parents were visiting, I changed my mind on a restaurant I wanted to take them to because the lot closest to it was charging so much that day!
     Some good news related to Burlington parking: all the city meters are free on Sundays, so that is a plus. And a couple of the garages are free for the first two hours, so if you have quick business to do downtown and keep track of your time, you don't have to pay. But still very annoying!!
   

   

     Thank you for making it through this list of grievances about my time in Vermont!! You might be wondering with all these things that I won't miss- if there's anything that I will miss. The answer is yes! I will definitely miss going for nature walks at my favorite trail in Vermont, the Colchester Causeway. This summer I was walking there as much as 3-4x weekly! (The photos for this blog post were shot on the trail there!)


     I will also miss a few wonderful friends that I have made here in Vermont. I have truly met some incredible people here. It was very hard to make friends when I first moved to Vermont, and figure out how to have a social life with my weird and crazy work schedule, especially since I worked both Saturdays and Sundays for my first five months here. Around the holidays, it finally hit me one day that I finally had made a few good friends here, and that was an amazing revelation to have! Although I am SO EXCITED to be leaving for Virginia, I will treasure the friendships I did make during this year, and I have no doubts I will keep in touch with everyone. I might even expect a couple Vermont visitors to Virginia in the next year or two!




     I can't believe that I'm just a few days away from moving day- eeeek!



     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese

   

Lilly Pulitzer Casual Workwear Looks with Pink Colony.

     Earlier this week on the blog I announced my upcoming move and new job in Virginia! A new job means the perfect chance to update the workwear section of my closet. I've touched on this a little bit in my Radio 101 blog posts, but my industry is a bit unique in terms of attire for the office in that it's very casual. At my former station in Vermont, I wore jeans to work all winter long (ripped jeans are allowed too!), and shorts were allowed for both male and female staff members for work in the summer- both for events and in-studio. I never want to show up for work looking like I just rolled out of bed- I always try to do my hair and makeup for work. But at the same time, I don't work in an industry where wearing a suit and heels is appropriate... that would be way overdressed! I honestly dress for work very similarly now to how I did for college classes.


     It's a known fact here on the blog that my love fore Lilly Pulitzer runs deep! While the Lilly brand is often associated with their classic bright shift dresses, their clothing line carries tons of pieces- many that are work appropriate for both business casual work environments and more casual workplaces like a radio station! I had the chance to partner again Vermont's largest specialty Lilly boutique, Pink Colony, on a couple of fun posts for this month. Today's post is all about styling Lilly Pulitzer for a radio station work environment, or other types of casual office jobs. I worked with Pink Colony back in January for the most recent Lilly After Party Sale, so I was so excited to do another fun collaboration!

   

Photography by Amanda Rose Photography

Today's post is in collaboration with Pink Colony. This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training!

     *Look #1: Navy Skort + Leslie Silk Top

Leslie Silk Top  // Madison Skort in True Navy // Beachcomber Earrings // Pumps

     As I mentioned above, my workplace in Vermont allowed employees to wear shorts to work in the summer months. I tried not to wear them too often (usually just for outdoor events), but had I owned this cute Lilly Pulitzer Madison Skort this summer I definitely would have worn it to work! Since it's a skort there are built in shorts which gives it an extra modesty factor, which would make me feel comfortable wearing it in the casual radio work environment. I love it paired with the Leslie Silk Top! The Leslie is similar to Lilly's classic Elsa,  but has fun details on the back (which you can see pictured), and a slight v-neck in the front. I would probably wear this outfit with flats or sandals for work instead of pumps, but I thought it looked cute with pumps too!

     *Look #2: Cowl Neck Pullover + Black Pants

Belinda Pullover // Kelly Pant // KEP Designs Large Pom Earrings // Ski VT Clutch // Shoes {similar} 

     This outfit is literally the perfect example of something I'd wear to my job as a radio personality in the fall or spring months! This Belinda Pullover from Lilly Pulitzer is both casual yet put together, and I love how you can wear it regularly, or off-the-shoulder. I styled this look with these fun KEP Designs Large Pom Earrings- I ended up loving them so much that I took them home with me! A big fun pair of gold studs are very versatile and I know I'll be wearing these earrings a lot both for work and play. 

     *Look #3: Florin Reversible Tank for Work

Florin Tank // Luanna Cardigan // Alessia Dinner Pant // Earrings c/o // Purse {similar} // Shoes {similar} 

     I love the new Lilly Pulitzer Florin tank!! I had seen this on the Lilly website prior to my visit to Pink Colony, and it was great to try it on in person. This is such a versatile piece, and I adore the fact that it's reversible! The plain navy side would be ideal to wear to the office, for both casual and more formal workplaces. I loved pairing it here with the Bridget Cardigan. Hot pink and fuchsia are hues that Lilly does very well- and this cardigan is no exception!! 

  *Look #4: Florin Reversible Tank for Happy Hour: 

Florin Tank // Alessia Dinner Pant // Caught Up Necklace // Earrings c/o // Pumps //

     How fun and convenient is this?! The same tank that was office appropriate in the last set of photos can be turned inside out and is suddenly perfect for Happy Hour or a dinner date after work! I am loving this fun Via Amor print- while I didn't take home the Florin Tank I did end up taking home something else in the print. Just can't get enough of those cute hot pink flamingos! I also had fun styling the Caught Up Necklace for this look. I feel like this necklace is very different for Lilly's typical jewelry style- but I liked it! Side note: I wasn't too crazy about the fit of the Alessia pant, I personally prefer the Lilly Pulitzer Kelly pant. But that's the great thing about getting to try Lilly on in person, you can really see which fits you like the best! 🙂

     *Look #5: Classy Navy Dress

Brandi Dress // Pumps // 

     Is this classy number not the quintessential winter or early spring dress? It's a bit different in style and color from traditional Lilly dresses, but it's still very ladylike and gorgeous on! I love the bell sleeve detail. This dress would be great for anything ranging from a dressier workplace, a business meeting or job interview (I wish I'd had this for my interview trip to Virginia!), church, or occasions that fall in the winter months like bridal or baby showers. 

       

     Thank you so much for reading today's workwear style guide with Pink Colony!! Please stay tuned next week on the blog for a second spring collaboration with the store featuring some classic spring Lilly dresses AND a giveaway on my Instagram! 🙂If you liked any of the Lilly items in today's post, you can shop in-store at Pink Colony if you're in Vermont, or via phone or the Pink Colony website if you're out of state. Jessica and her staff would love to help you find some new Lilly for spring wherever you are!



     Have a great weekend! My weekend plans are continuing with packing and saying more goodbyes to some of the friends I've made here in Vermont.




     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese 

Southern Belle in Vermont: 10 Months Post-Move Update.

      10 months in Vermont! Double digits. Almost a full year of life in the Green Mountain State! Wow wow wow. It seems like so long ago since my last post-move update, and I feel like I have a lot to update y'all on today.

December 2017-February 2018 - Months 8-10 in Burlington, VT



     SUMMARY: You might remember that "homesickness for North Carolina" was the theme of my 8 Months Post-Move Update that I wrote in December. Those feelings definitely hit an all-time high around the holiday season this year. I still struggle frequently with missing my friends and life in Charlotte... but I will say that I think I have gotten better in the last two months at managing my homesickness, and also identifying and being able to avoid some specific triggers. It's definitely not a "solved problem" by any means and something that I'm still working through every single day, but in 2018 I'm really making an effort to not let it control me.
     How have I been doing this? I've made a lot of little changes, but I'll touch briefly on the two bigger things I've been doing. First, my fitness New Year's resolution has been not only great for my physical health, but even better for my mental health. The gym is a great place to work through my feelings of homesickness and anxiety, which is why I've been trying to increase the amount of times per week that I go! Secondly, I started seeing a counselor weekly around New Year's. I'm not going to go into too much depth about that in today's blog post (I'm sure there will be a time down the road on the blog where it'll be more appropriate to talk more about this), but I will say that I wish I had taken my mom's advice and started doing this last fall, and hadn't waited so long to begin. It's been great to have a safe space each week to talk about things.



     HOME: Things are still going well living in my apartment. My parents surprised me for Christmas and generously bought me a brand new TV (much bigger then the little one from my college dorm room that I'd been using as my living room TV before), and it's been really nice to be watching my shows every week on that. It was a sad day in January when I finally put my Christmas tree and decorations away.... but I had the chance to do a little bit of Valentine's decorating, and I'm REALLY excited that Easter is on the way soon, my favorite holiday! Now that I've really settled into living in my own place, I'm starting to realize how much I enjoy cleaning sometimes? 10-years ago Annaliese never would have believed that would ever happen... I was so messy growing up and for most of college!
     I also have finally been getting better about being a hostess and inviting friends over to my apartment, which has been a goal of mine in these post-move updates since like, forever! I hosted my very first party in late January for Galentine's, and have just overall been doing better with inviting people over a couple times a month for dinner or to hang out on weekends.



     WORK: Winter in Vermont is the "slow season" for radio! I should explain... not slow as in being on-air and doing radio shows, there's no season for that and there's always on-air shows to be done! However, things here do really slow down in the winter as far as our community events go. For a lot of this summer, I had at least one (if not 2-3) events per week outside of work, so I was super busy! I haven't had an event now since the fall, so my schedule has just been very normal, which has honestly been nice since Vermont winter weather is no walk in the park.
     Something on a personal note is I have been really proud about how my voice is improving with voicing commercials for our stations. I listened this week to some of the ads that I did when I started my job last spring versus the ones I've done recently, and I can definitely hear improvements!



     FAITH: Here's an exciting update! In January, I started attending a College and Career (20 Somethings) church group that meets at another local church. I've made some wonderful friends through this church, and it was so kind of them to invite me to their meetings, even though I attend a different church for Sunday services. The College and Career group has a lot more young people than attend my church, so it's been a great social outlet, and I've also felt very motivated and challenged in my faith after every meeting that I've gone to. I'm looking forward to continuing to attend this! I also still volunteer with the Hospitality ministry at my church once a month with my friend Anna (we've been doing this since October), and I really look forward to our Sundays that we are in charge of the Sunday service food and refreshments.
      On more of a personal note about faith, I feel like God has been challenging me a lot in my personal walk with Him. Prayer time has definitely been very vocal and interesting lately! My friend Rachel from Something Delightful and I were having a text conversation about faith a couple weeks ago, and she told me to remember the phrase "Be Still." Since then, I feel like I keep hearing or seeing "Be Still" everywhere, so that might be one of my faith mantras for 2018!



     SOCIAL: This is so weird... in the two coldest months since I moved to Vermont, I've been the most social. I finally feel like I have made some solid girlfriends up here which has been such a blessing to me! Most weekends now I do something with a friend, whether it's going to dinner, a church event, or something else in the community. My social life right now is still nothing like the life I lived for the last few years in Charlotte.... but these last two months in Vermont have brought some changes and new opportunities for me as far as socializing, and I sure am thankful for it. 🙂I'm also proud of myself for still doing a great job staying connected with my college, broadcasting school, and blogging friends who are all out-of-state!



     DATING: No dates or dating so far in 2018, and honestly I couldn't be more content with that! I've been single for a very long time, but this might be the first time ever in my life that I am single and content with this season of life... and that makes a big difference! I am 100% focused on my relationship with God and my career right now.



      ACTIVITIES: I finally took the time to write out my Vermont Bucket List (into a blog post!), and hold myself accountable to completing the things that I want to do while I live in Vermont. The biggest item off the list that I checked off in the last two months was finally going downhill skiing! Skiing is one of the things that Vermont is famous for, and now that I've experienced it here I'll say that their ski resorts know how to make it a great experience. I hadn't been skiing in over 10 years, but I was happy I was able to pick it up easily again! I'm hoping to check cross-country skiing off my bucket list before winter ends. If "surviving coping with winter" is also an activity I can list here, I've definitely been doing my best at attempting an A+ job with that- haha!



     5 NEW VERMONT THINGS I DID:

• Went downhill skiing at Smuggler's Notch.
• Threw my first party in my Vermont apartment!
• Went to my first semi-formal event in Vermont.
• Survived the record-breaking cold-snap that hit Vermont during the holidays.
• Shopped the Macy's store closing sale in downtown Burlington.

      The next update post in April will mark ONE YEAR!!! It's gone by both so slowly and also so quickly- funny how life can be like that. Thanks to all of you who read these updates and have been so supportive to me since I moved! 

      Unrelated- but my blog's annual reader survey went up in Tuesday's post! If you haven't taken the survey yet, it's only 10 questions and all of the answers will help me so much! You can take it here. 

      No blog post this Monday as I'm off work for President's Day and will be enjoying my day off, (keep up with me on Instagram!)- but talk to you Tuesday! 

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese 

   

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